Hydrodynamic performance study of a dimple textured surface at various area ratios and sliding speeds using CFD

A three dimensional computational fluid dynamic (CFD) analysis was conducted to understand the hydrodynamic performance of a dimple texture produced using recently invented low-cost dynamic-assisted tooling (DAT) in the machining process. Five different area ratios, α_r of 0%, 1.63%, 3.26%, 6.53%, and 9.80%, and three different sliding speeds represented by Reynolds number, Re of 10, 45, and 80 were analyzed. From the study, there existed an optimum area ratio of 3.26%, which generated up to 290% higher load-carrying capacity compared to a fully textured surface. These findings revealed the benefits of dimple texture produced using DAT, as well as proposing the optimum area ratio needed to be considered in order to optimize the dimple performance for actual application on piston engine surfaces in the near future.