To explore the spread behavior of the deposited oil film formed by droplet-housing impact in aero-engine bearing chamber

a three-dimensional numerical model was presented using volume of fluid (VOF) method to predict the oil/air two-phase flow during the normal impact of oil droplet onto a smooth stainless steel surface. The static contact angle between droplet and surface was measured by experiment. The dynamic spreading and recoiling process of deposited oil film during the normal impact was analyzed

and the effects of droplet diameter and impact velocity on dynamic characteristics such as spread diameter

nominal film thickness

spread velocity and impact force were discussed. The calculation results showed preliminarily that at maximum spread diameter the film appeared to be a flat disk with slightly concave center

and in the recoiling period

it appeared to be a disk with thin rim and thick center. The recoiling velocity of film and the impact force in the recoiling period reduced nearly to 0 and remained approximately constant. The oil film spread diameter

nominal film thickness

spread velocity and impact force increased with the increasing droplet diameter. The spreading diameter and impact force increased with the increasing impact velocity of droplet

whereas the nominal film thickness decreased. Finally

the reliability and correctness of the model presented was validated by comparing with relevant experimental data.