2. Mechanical modeling of contact operation

2.1 Problem position

Analyzing the operation of an elastohydrodynamic contact in which the surfaces of the masses are rough is a scientifically relevant problem, and a very useful one from an industrial point of view. Its modeling is at the frontier of several fields of mechanics: elasticity, rational mechanics, fluid mechanics, lubricant rheology and thermics in particular. It also calls on other disciplines, such as the physics of materials and the chemistry of lubricants and surfaces. It is therefore a multidisciplinary approach.

In mechanisms, these contacts constitute links whose dynamic characteristics - stiffness and damping - influence their behavior, and vice versa.

According to Godet et al