Study on photoelastic method for measuring elastohydrodynamic lubrication pressure in line contact

In the present paper, a new method for measuring elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) pressure in line contact is proposed, which is based on the photoelastic technique. The pressure distribution of EHL film and the inner stresses in the friction pairs are fundamental issues to carry out EHL research. The film thickness, pressure and temperature have been successfully obtained with solving the basic equations such as Reynolds equation and energy equation simultaneously or separately, with numerical model of EHL problem. The film thickness can be also measured with the optical interference technique. However, the pressure measurement is still a problem which has not been well solved yet, so as the inner stresses inside the friction pairs. With the experimental mechanics, the photoelastic technique is a possible method to be used for measuring the pressure distribution of EHL film and inner friction pair in the line contact. Therefore, A flat plastic disk and a steel roller compose the frictional pairs of the photoelastic pressure measuring rig with combining the monochromatic LED light source, polarizer CCD camera and stereomicroscope to form the whole pressure measuring system of the line contact MAL. The experimental results with the rig display the typical features of EHL pressure. This shows that the method is feasible to be used for measuring the pressure of EHL film and the inner stresses of the friction pairs in the line contact.