Numerical investigation of texturing and wall slip in lubricated sliding contact considering cavitation

Abstract

In lubricated systems with textured surfaces cavitation is of importance, therefore, in the present paper, a modified Reynolds equation including wall slip is combined with a cavitation model. A numerical investigation was carried out to study the interaction of wall slip and surface texturing on the lubrication of lubricated MEMS devices. Textured surfaces with different patterns were studied and compared with the results of similar untextured surfaces. The results showed that the presence of wall slip could result in a significant reduction in the coefficient of friction. It is found that slip can improve the load support because the cavitation zone is reduced. This effect was particularly large for untextured surfaces with an optimized slip surface.