A mixed lubrication model incorporating measured surface topography. Part 2: Roughness treatment, model validation, and simulation

A mixed lubrication flow factor model that permits real three-dimensional surface topography as input has been developed. Part 1 gives the theory of computing flow factors within the model. In this article, a method of adapting the measured surface topography signal to suit the numerical models is developed and presented in detail. The mixed lubrication model is validated through flow measurements for three different rough surface test specimens. Simulation of a hydrodynamic bearing was conducted and the results are presented in terms of pressure distributions and Stribeck curves covering all lubrication regimes. The results indicate that the model may be an efficient and accurate engineering design and research tool for tribological devices operating in all lubrication regimes.