Squeeze film lubrication of coupled stress electrically conducting inertial fluids in wide parallel rectangular conjunctions subjected to a magnetic field

The paper presents analytical solution of squeeze film characteristics in wide parallel rectangular conjunctions with incompressible electrically conducting couple stress fluids subjected to a magnetic field. Analytical expressions are obtained by combined solution of modified Reynolds equation and Stokes micro-continuum for couple stress fluids with averaged inertia. Various cases of magneto-hydrodynamic, conducting and non-conducting fluid characteristics with and without convective inertial contributions are investigated. It is shown that, in general, couple stress fluids enhance the load carrying capacity of the contact and inhibit the incidence of thin films which can result in direct contact of surfaces. Convective inertia also significantly improves the load carrying capacity. However, with impulsive loading the response time of couple stress fluids deteriorates relative to Newtonian lubricants on account of their increased viscosity. An important conclusion of the study is that magneto-hydrodynamic couple stress fluids are best suited to applications with high relatively steady load applications. © IMechE 2013 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions. nav.