Experiments have shown that the addition of small amounts of long-chained polymer additives to a Newtonian fluid produces desirable lubricants. Additives added to oil make the fluid viscoelastic. The effect of viscoelasticity on lubrication characteristics has recently taken on added significance with the move to yet lower-viscosity lubricants for improved energy efficiency. Any factor influencing load-bearing capacity and wear is clearly of renewed importance. The general trend towards the usage of high performance lubricants and environmentally friendly products also support the design of new lubricants. This thesis is aimed at investigating viscoelastic flows within eccentric rotating cylinders (practical application - journal bearings) using a commercial finite element software POLYFLOW. Numerous validations are performed and excellent agreements are achieved. Steady shear and small-amplitude oscillatory shear (SAOS) experiments are performed for specific lubricants including mineral-based and bio-based lubricants to characterize their rheological behavior. Experimental data are fitted by a viscoelastic constitutive model used for numerical simulations. The effects of fluid viscoelasticity between eccentric rotating cylinders on the flow field and on the lubrication performances are revealed in 2D and 3D respectively. From 2D investigation, an increased load capacity on the inner cylinder is found to be achieved by increasing the viscoelasticity of flow. For the first time, to our knowledge, 3D results for an UCM (Upper-Convected Maxwell) fluid at steady state are presented and the flow patterns along the axial direction within the eccentric rotating cylinders are investigated. The viscoelastic effects of those lubricants on the journal bearing performances are revealed and compared at various temperatures. The modeling and numerical simulations used to predict the flow of lubricant in a journal bearing can generate important economic benefits. This research will lead to advanced predictive tools that can be used to improve the design of journal bearing and to propose new economically viable and environmentally friendly lubricants.

Experiments have shown that the addition of small amounts of long-chained polymer additives to a Newtonian fluid produces desirable lubricants. Additives added to oil make the fluid viscoelastic. The effect of viscoelasticity on lubrication characteristics has recently taken on added significance with the move to yet lower-viscosity lubricants for improved energy efficiency. Any factor influencing load-bearing capacity and wear is clearly of renewed importance. The general trend towards the usage of high performance lubricants and environmentally friendly products also support the design of new lubricants. This thesis is aimed at investigating viscoelastic flows within eccentric rotating cylinders (practical application - journal bearings) using a commercial finite element software POLYFLOW. Numerous validations are performed and excellent agreements are achieved. Steady shear and small-amplitude oscillatory shear (SAOS) experiments are performed for specific lubricants including mineral-based and bio-based lubricants to characterize their rheological behavior. Experimental data are fitted by a viscoelastic constitutive model used for numerical simulations. The effects of fluid viscoelasticity between eccentric rotating cylinders on the flow field and on the lubrication performances are revealed in 2D and 3D respectively. From 2D investigation, an increased load capacity on the inner cylinder is found to be achieved by increasing the viscoelasticity of flow. For the first time, to our knowledge, 3D results for an UCM (Upper-Convected Maxwell) fluid at steady state are presented and the flow patterns along the axial direction within the eccentric rotating cylinders are investigated. The viscoelastic effects of those lubricants on the journal bearing performances are revealed and compared at various temperatures. The modeling and numerical simulations used to predict the flow of lubricant in a journal bearing can generate important economic benefits. This research will lead to advanced predictive tools that can be used to improve the design of journal bearing and to propose new economically viable and environmentally friendly lubricants.

Experiments have shown that the addition of small amounts of long-chained polymer additives to a Newtonian fluid produces desirable lubricants. Additives added to oil make the fluid viscoelastic. The effect of viscoelasticity on lubrication characteristics has recently taken on added significance with the move to yet lower-viscosity lubricants for improved energy efficiency. Any factor influencing load-bearing capacity and wear is clearly of renewed importance. The general trend towards the usage of high performance lubricants and environmentally friendly products also support the design of new lubricants. This thesis is aimed at investigating viscoelastic flows within eccentric rotating cylinders (practical application - journal bearings) using a commercial finite element software POLYFLOW. Numerous validations are performed and excellent agreements are achieved. Steady shear and small-amplitude oscillatory shear (SAOS) experiments are performed for specific lubricants including mineral-based and bio-based lubricants to characterize their rheological behavior. Experimental data are fitted by a viscoelastic constitutive model used for numerical simulations. The effects of fluid viscoelasticity between eccentric rotating cylinders on the flow field and on the lubrication performances are revealed in 2D and 3D respectively. From 2D investigation, an increased load capacity on the inner cylinder is found to be achieved by increasing the viscoelasticity of flow. For the first time, to our knowledge, 3D results for an UCM (Upper-Convected Maxwell) fluid at steady state are presented and the flow patterns along the axial direction within the eccentric rotating cylinders are investigated. The viscoelastic effects of those lubricants on the journal bearing performances are revealed and compared at various temperatures. The modeling and numerical simulations used to predict the flow of lubricant in a journal bearing can generate important economic benefits. This research will lead to advanced predictive tools that can be used to improve the design of journal bearing and to propose new economically viable and environmentally friendly lubricants. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Mechanical Engineering, Department of / Graduate

Cette thèse est une contribution à la fois expérimentale, théorique et numérique à l'étude des écoulements bidimensionnels de fluides complexes dans une conduite cylindrique présentant des singularités et dans une géométrie annulaire à cylindres excentrés. Le fluide utilisé est une solution de xanthane à différentes concentrations présentant un caractère non newtonien rhéofluidifiant. L'objectif principal de cette thèse est la caractérisation de l'influence des propriétés rhéofluidifiantes sur le comportement des zones de recirculation, en terme de morphologie, de positionnement et d'intensité, par l'utilisation et le développement de techniques de mesures non intrusives et performantes. La première méthode expérimentale utilisée une technique laser classique: la vélocimétrie par images de particules. La seconde technique mise en oeuvre est une méthode originale: la vélocimétrie par imagerie par résonance magnétique. Elle est utilisée pour la première fois au laboratoire pour la mesure de champ de vitesse d'écoulement de fluides complexes en conduite cylindrique, représentant l'intérêt majeur de cette thèse. La première partie de notre travail consiste en une description rhéologique complète de nos fluides modèles avec la détermination de leur loi de comportement et la mise en évidence de leurs propriétés viscoélastiques, par ailleurs négligeables. Par la suite les mesures de champ de vitesse des écoulements bidimensionnels étudiés et la représentation des lignes de courant montrent que les propriétés rhéofluidifiantes influencent très fortement la structure et la morphologie de ces écoulements et le comportement des zones de recirculation. Par une étude fine nous observons qu'il existe une compétition entre les effets d'inertie et les effets rhéofluidifiants induisant un champ de contrainte variable qui modifie le positionnement et la taille de la zone de recirculation. Nous montrons également que l'augmentation du caractère rhéofluidifiant affaiblit son intensité de la zone de recirculation. Enfin, des simulations numériques utilisant la loi de comportement macroscopique déterminée par rhéométrie classique ont été réalisées avec le logiciel Fluent. Une bonne concordance est observée entre les résultats de ces simulations numériques et les expérimentaux. Cette comparaison permet ainsi de valider le code de calcul et la loi de comportement, utilisée pour les simulations numériques au travers de sa modélisation suivant la loi de Cross, pour les écoulements considérés / This thesis is an experimental and numerical study of structured fluids bidimensional flows in a cylindrical pipe with singularity and in an annular geometry with eccentric cylinders. The objective of this thesis is to characterize the influence of the shear thinning properties on the recirculation zones by using efficient and non-intrusive techniques: particle image velocimetry and velocimetry by nuclear magnetic resonance imaging. Materials are xanthane solutions at different concentrations. In the first part, we determine the rheological and viscoelastic properties of the fluids used. The second part concerns the measured velocity field. It is shown that the shear thinning behavior have a strongly influence on the structure and the morphology of these flows and the pattern of the recirculation zones. Simultaneously, numerical simulations performed by Fluent and using the rheological behavior. A good concordance is observed between the experimental and numerical results. For the flows considered here, this comparison allows to validate the computational code and the behavior law used in the numerical simulations and modelling by a Cross model