This paper presents a new solver developed in OpenFOAM for the modeling of lubricant in the narrow gap between two surfaces inducing hydrodynamic pressures up to few gigapascal. Cavitation is modeled using the homogeneous equilibrium model. The mechanical and thermodynamic constitutive behavior of the lubricant is accurately captured by inclusion of compressibility, lubricant rheology and thermal effects. Different constitutive models can be selected at run time, through the adoption of the modular approach of OpenFOAM. By combining the lubricant solver with a structural solver using a coupling tool, elastohydrodynamically lubricated contacts can be accurately simulated in a partitioned way. The solution approach is validated and examples with different slip conditions are included. The benefit for the OpenFOAM community of this work is the creation of a new solver for lubricant flow in challenging conditions and at the same the illustration of combining OpenFOAM solvers with other open-source software packages.

翻译：本文提出了一种在OpenFOAM中开发的新型求解器，用于模拟两个表面之间狭窄间隙中的润滑剂，该间隙可产生高达数吉帕斯卡的流体动压。空化现象采用均质平衡模型进行建模。通过纳入压缩性、润滑剂流变学和热效应，精确捕捉了润滑剂的力学和热力学本构行为。通过采用OpenFOAM的模块化方法，可在运行时选择不同的本构模型。通过使用耦合工具将润滑剂求解器与结构求解器相结合，可以分区方式精确模拟弹性流体动力润滑接触。该求解方法经过验证，并包含了不同滑移条件下的算例。本工作对OpenFOAM社区的贡献在于创建了一种适用于苛刻工况下润滑剂流动的新型求解器，同时展示了将OpenFOAM求解器与其他开源软件包相结合的方法。