A Theoretical Analysis of the Mixed Elastohydrodynamic Lubrication in Elliptical Contacts with an Arbitrary Entrainment
Numerical simulations of the EHL have been conducted by many researchers, in which the entraining velocity is usually parallel to one of the axes of Hertzian contact ellipse. However, in some engineering applications, such as spiral bevel and hypoid gears, entraining velocity vector may have an oblique angle that could possibly influence the lubrication characteristics significantly. In the present study the recently developed mixed EHL model is modified to include the effect of arbitrary entraining velocity angle, then the model is validated by comparing its results with available experimental data and previous numerical analyses found in literature. Based on this, computer simulations are conducted in a wide range of operating conditions covering the entire lubrication spectrum from thick-film and ultra-thin film lubrication all the way down to mixed and boundary lubrication. In addition, film thickness prediction method is also discussed in this paper.