The normal force in sliding lubrication of deformable spheres and substrates
Abstract
When a sphere slides tangent to a nearby boundary the pressure distribution in the gap can produce deformation both of the sphere and the substrate. The deformation is responsible for a normal force that is otherwise absent for the familiar case of a rigid sphere sliding adjacent to a rigid substrate. Most previous calculations for these elastohydrodynamic problems have either been numerical or restricted to two-dimensional configurations. Here we provide analytical results for the three-dimensional case where there are small deformations of either the sphere or the substrate. The analysis makes use of an application of the Reciprocal Theorem of low-Reynolds-number hydrodynamics.
- Publication:
-
APS Division of Fluid Dynamics Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- November 2004
- Bibcode:
- 2004APS..DFD.FP006S