Surface roughness effect on a very thin curved slide bearing lubrication

Equations are developed for determining the lubrication pressure in a thin lubricant film, and a numerical method is presented for calculating the lubricant pressures in a slide bearing with a convex pad surface. A mathematical model is formulated for a convex bearing geometry, assuming that the surfaces are covered with a one-dimensional roughness, i.e., ridges and valleys running in the flow direction. The Reynold's equation for hydrodynamic lubrication is employed to find the pressure distribution, and account is taken of the hydrodynamic and interference regions. Pressure values are available as a function of the position in the bearing, with the numerical solution defined in terms of finite areas for each continuous function of the pressure integrals.