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Updated: Jun 12, 2026

Experiments on Ultrasonic Lubrication Using a Piezoelectrically-assisted Tribometer and Optical Profilometer
Published on: September 28, 2015
Inertial lubrication theory
N O Rojas1, M Argentina, E Cerda
1Université de Nice Sophia Antipolis, Laboratoire J. A. Dieudonné, Parc Valrose, 06108 Nice Cedex 2, France.
Abstract:
Thin fluid films can have surprising behavior depending on the boundary conditions enforced, the energy input and the specific Reynolds number of the fluid motion. Here we study the equations of motion for a thin fluid film with a free boundary and its other interface in contact with a solid wall. Although shear dissipation increases for thinner layers and the motion can generally be described in the limit as viscous, inertial modes can always be excited for a sufficiently high input of energy. We derive the minimal set of equations containing inertial effects in this strongly dissipative regime.
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