An Exact and General Model Order Reduction Technique for the Finite Element Solution of Elastohydrodynamic Lubrication Problems

This work presents an exact and general model order reduction (MOR) technique for a fast finite element resolution of elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) problems. The reduction technique is based on the static condensation principle. As such, it is exact and it preserves the generality of the solution scheme while reducing the size of its corresponding model and, consequently, the associated computational overhead. The technique is complemented with a splitting algorithm to alleviate the hurdle of solving an arising semidense matrix system. The proposed reduced model offers computational time speed-ups compared to the full model ranging between a factor of at least three and at best 15 depending on operating conditions. The results also reveal the robustness of the proposed methodology which allows the resolution of very highly loaded contacts with Hertzian pressures reaching several GPa. Such cases are known to be a numerical challenge in the EHL literature.