Thermal Effects on the Fluid Film in the Cylinder Block/Valve Plate Interface due to Compression and Expansion of the Fluid

This paper presents the effects on the fluid film temperature distribution and performance of the cylinder block/valve plate interface due to compression heating/cooling effects on the fluid film. The fluid film temperature distribution plays a major role in the solution of the non-isothermal fluid flow in the lubricating interface due to the change in fluid properties and heat fluxes to the surrounding solid bodies. The heat fluxes result in a modified temperature distributions and thermal deflections of the solid bodies. The changing fluid properties and the heat generation make this a complex numerical problem. For this purpose, a thermo-elastohydrodynamic model was developed which solves for the pressure and temperature distributions in the fluid film, the temperature distribution in the solid bodies and its elastic deformations due to pressure and thermal effects. The developed model is utilized to predict the fluid film temperature distributions in a 130 cc stock hydraulic unit.