The flow of an Oldroyd liquid in a continuous-flow squeeze film (Q1060902)

The flow in a conventional squeeze film, where the fluid is squeezed by constant approach of two discs, can be simulated by continuous injection of a fluid into the narrow gap between two discs through the lower plate [cf. \textit{D. R. Oliver}, \textit{R. C. Ashton} and \textit{G. D. Wadelin}, Appl. Sci. Res. 34, 25-48 (1978)]. Using such a nonconventional squeeze film and usual lubrication approximations, the authors have analysed theoretically the flow of a six-constant Oldroyd model fluid. A perturbation method which allows velocity components, pressure, extra stresses to be expanded in terms of a small perturbation parameter, \(\alpha\) (equal to the ratio of the gap width to the radius of the discs), has been employed to express the normal force on the upper disc - the parameter of great physical significance in lubrication problems - up to first order in \(\alpha\). For the case of a uniform input velocity at the lower disc, the contributions of ''inertia'' and ''nomral stress'' on the normal force have been illustrated by plots of various components of normal force with Weissenberg number, in five cases. The results have demonstrated that although the effect of inertia is small, that due to elasticity of the fluid can be quite large.