Convergence of (Soft) Elastohydrodynamic Lubrication Simulations of Textured Slider Bearings

We study the convergence of elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) simulations of textured slider bearings. EHL simulations are computationally expensive because the equations that describe the lubricant film pressure and the deformation of the bearing surfaces are coupled and, thus, must be solved simultaneously. Additional simulation requirements, such as maintaining a specific bearing load-carrying capacity or lubricant film thickness, further increase the computational cost because they impose additional constraints or add equations that must converge simultaneously with those that describe the lubricant film pressure and bearing surface deformation. We methodically quantify the convergence of EHL simulations of textured slider bearings as a function of simulation parameters, including different convergence metrics and criteria, but also cavitation models, texture design parameters, and bearing operating parameters. We conclude that the interplay between discretization, the convergence metric, and the convergence criterion must be carefully considered to implement numerical simulations that converge to the correct physical solution. Our analysis also illustrates that a well-designed convergence study can minimize the computational cost.