Simulation of dry and lubricated contacts in multi-body systems

The present. paper investigates the modeling of counterformal elastohydrodynamic lubricated (EHL) contacts in multi-body system (MBS) environments. The aim is to obtain a representation of the dynamic behaviour of machine elements and characteristic values as the lubrication film thickness for lifetime calculations. Two contact models are presented for the study of cam-roller tappet and raceway-roller systems. The first model is a one-dimensional representation of the EHL contact behaviour. It is based on the calculation of the central lubrication film thickness by means of dimension less values (functions of the operating conditions) and provides a simplified model of the mixed lubrication. The second one, still under development, investigates the modeling of 3D dry and lubricated contacts. The fluid-structure interaction is here fully considered and a discretised form of the contact, problem is solved using an iterative algorithm. This paper proposes, in the latter case, some perspectives and a discussion of its implementation.