Oilââ?¬â??air lubrication supplies lubricants in the form of droplets to elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL)\ncontacts, such as those in high-speed spindle bearings. However, there is a paucity of information related\nto understanding the lubrication behaviors of oil droplets within EHL contacts. In this study, behaviors of\nlubricant droplets, in terms of spreading around a static contact as well as passing through a rolling contact,\nwere studied with an optical ball-on-disk EHL test rig. Influences of oil droplet size, viscosity, and surface\ntension on droplet spreading were examined. Lubricating film formation was also investigated when droplets\ntraveled through the EHL contact region. The results indicated that droplet size and running speed significantly\ninfluenced film profiles. With increasing entrainment speeds, a small droplet passed through the contact without\nspreading and generated films with a significant depression in the central contact region.
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