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PSEs and Grid Computing

Measured rough surface profile

This project is concerned with the efficient numerical solution of Elastohydrodynamic Lubrication problems - an important branch of tribology concerning the separation by a lubricant film of two bodies in relative motion under an applied load. Journal bearings, gear teeth and ball bearings are amongst the numerous examples. These, normally rigid bodies, deform elastically under the very high operating pressures (commonly up to 3 GPa).

It is very important to be able to understand and predict the performance of lubricants under their often extreme working conditions in order to achieve efficiency (generally reduced friction) and durability of the machine components. These calculations are also used in the development of new lubricants with desired physical properties.

EHL PSE 'Ellipse' running inside SCIRun. The numerical solver outputs solution profiles each timestep for visualization

Using large supercomputers is beneficial for individual EHL problems. If these large machines are put on the Grid (as is expected) then it is necessary to interface with them. Another reason for Grid use is that commercially companies will want to run many hundreds of EHL calculations at once. Being able to spread these out over a network of processors, be they in a single computer or scattered around the internet, would give results much quicker improving productivity.

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Principal Researchers:

• Dr. Martin Berzins
• Dr. Christopher Goodyer