LAUSR

Purpose The aim of this paper is to study the effect of deterministic roughness and small elastic deformation of surface on flow rates, load capacity and coefficient of friction in Rayleigh step bearing under thin film lubrication. Design/methodology/approach Reynolds equation, pressure-density relationship, pressure-viscosity relationship and film thickness equation are discretized using finite difference method. Progressive mesh densification (PMD) method is applied to solve the related equations iteratively. Findings The nature and shape of roughness play a significant role in pressure generation. It has been observed that square roughness dominates the pressure generation for all values of minimum film thickness. Deformation more than 100 nm in bounding surfaces influences the film formation and pressure distribution greatly. Divergent shapes of film thickness in step zone causes a delay of pressure growth and reduces the load capacity with decreasing film thickness. The optimum value of film thickness ratio and step ratios have been found out for the maximum load capacity and minimum coefficient of friction, which are notably influenced by elastic deformation of the surface. Practical implications It is expected that these findings will help in analysing the performance parameters of a Rayleigh step bearing under thin film lubrication more accurately. It will also help the designers, researchers and manufacturers of bearings. Originality/value Most of the previous studies have been limited to sinusoidal roughness and thick film lubrication in Rayleigh step bearing. Effect of small surface deformation due to generated pressure in thin film lubrication is significant, as it influences the performance parameters of the bearing. Different wave forms such as triangular, sawtooth, sinusoidal and square formed during finishing operations behaves differently in pressure generation. The analysis of combined effect of roughness and small surface deformation has been performed under thin film lubrication for Rayleigh step bearing using PMD as improved methods for direct iterative approach.