The Variation of Film Thickness in Highly Loaded Contacts

Abstract

Systematic measurements with a disk machine of the thickness of the lubricating film separating the surfaces of heavily loaded rollers have been made, and the variation of film thickness with applied load and rolling speed has been studied. It was found that the results can be expressed by: H = h_p + 0.2 = 0.7 W^−0.2 (ηU)^0.83 where H is the minimum film thickness in the contact in microns, W is the applied load per unit width in dynes per centimeter, and ηU is expressed in dynes per centimeter.