A simple deterministic plastoelastohydrodynamic lubrication (PEHL) model in mixed lubrication

Most power transmitting components operate under mixed lubrication conditions. Concentrated pressures and smaller lubricant film thickness may cause surface and subsurface stresses to exceed the material yield limit causing permanent geometrical changes. A model was developed to include elastoplastic behaviour within a deterministic unified mixed lubrication framework. Model details are presented and the model is validated against published simulation data. A parametric study to address the effect of material yielding on the contact parameters is performed. It is found that the model successfully produces all the key features of the PEHL contact. The model provides a valuable tool to analyse the PEHL contacts with minimal increase in computational effort and complexity.