Effects of fluid inertia forces in ferrofluid lubricated circular stepped squeeze films – Shliomis model

Purpose This paper aims to study the inertia squeeze film characteristics between ferrofluid-lubricated circular stepped disks. Owing to the development of modern machine systems, the application of ferrofluids has received great attention. Because the circular disks are a special situation of circular stepped squeeze films, a further study of fluid inertia force effects on the ferrofluid-lubricated circular stepped squeezing mechanism is motivated. Design/methodology/approach On the basis of the ferrohydrodynamic flow model of Shliomis incorporating the momentum integral method, the effects of fluid inertia forces in ferrofluid-lubricated circular stepped squeeze films in the presence of external magnetic fields are investigated in this study. Analytical solutions of squeeze film performances are derived. Findings The fluid inertia force effects provide an increased load capacity and a longer squeeze film time for the ferrofluid-lubricated circular stepped squeeze film, especially for a larger value of the inertia parameter, the Langevin parameter and the volume concentration and a smaller value of the radius ratio and the step height ratio. Originality/value For engineering applications, numerical tables for squeeze film loads of circular stepped disks are also provided in this paper.