The Thin-Film Flow, Shell (tffs) interface (), found under the Thin-Film Flow branch () when adding a physics interface, is used to solve the Reynolds equation or the modified Reynolds equation in a narrow channel that is represented by a surface within the geometry. It is used for lubrication, elastohydrodynamics, or gas damping simulations when the fluid channel is thin enough for the Reynolds equation or the Modified Reynolds equation to apply. The physics interface is available for 3D geometries.

This physics interface is defined in a boundary mode, which means that the boundary level is the highest level for which this physics interface has equations and features; it does not have any features or equations on the domain level. The boundary level represents a reference surface on which the flow is solved. On one side of the boundary level there is a wall and on the other a base surface, neither of which is represented in the geometry. The wall and base surfaces are orientated with respect to the reference surface normal as shown in Figure 9-1. Fluid flows in the gap between the wall and the base.

Using equations on the reference surface, the physics interface computes the pressure in a narrow gap between the wall and the base. When modeling the flow, it is assumed that the total gap height, h = hw+hb, is much smaller than the typical lateral dimension L of the reference surface. The physics interface is used to model laminar flow in thin gaps or channels. A lubricating oil between two rotating cylinders is an example of this.

When this physics interface is added, the following default nodes are also added in the Model Builder — Fluid-Film Properties, Border, and Initial Values. Then, from the Physics toolbar, you can add other nodes that implement, for example, boundary conditions. You can also right-click Thin-Film Flow, Shell to select physics features from the context menu.

The Label is the default physics interface name.

The Name is used primarily as a scope prefix for variables defined by the physics interface. Refer to such physics interface variables in expressions using the pattern <name>.<variable_name>. In order to distinguish between variables belonging to different physics interfaces, the name string must be unique. Only letters, numbers, and underscores (_) are permitted in the Name field. The first character must be a letter.

The default Name (for the first physics interface in the model) is tffs.

Select an Equation type — Reynolds equation (the default) or Modified Reynolds equation.

To display this section, click the Show More Options button () and select Show Advanced Physics Options in the Show More Options dialog box. Select the Cavitation check box to use when modeling bearings, for example. Then enter a Cavitation transition width (SI unit: Pa). The default is 1 MPa.

See the theory section for Cavitation for more information.

Enter a Reference pressure level pref (SI unit: Pa). The default value is 1[atm]. This pressure represents the ambient pressure and fluid loads are computed without accounting for this pressure.

The dependent variable (field variable) is the Pressure pf. The name can be changed but the names of fields and dependent variables must be unique within a component.