The present paper is a synthesis of the work performed by the authors on the problems characterising the high Reynolds number lubrication namely the turbulent flow regime and the presence of inertia effects. The paper introduces the first approach of the turbulent regime based on the mixing length concept and shows how the Reynolds equation was modified. The problem of distributed inertia forces is then addressed by showing the adaptation of an approach borrowed from the boundary layer theory. The inertia dominated thin film model is reliable as long as the main hypotheses of lubrication theory are verified. A different approach should be used if concentrated inertia effects have an important influence as for hydrostatic and hybrid bearings and for labyrinth seals. This approach is based on a combination between the inertia dominated thin film model and the numerical solution of the complete Navier-Stokes equations. The thin film model predicts the characteristics of the seal or of the bearing and the numerical solution of the Navier-Stokes equations enables the estimation of concentrated inertia effects. On the authors experience this is a successful compromise between the accuracy and the computational effort. The paper briefly presents how this combined approach is used for stator-grooved labyrinth seals and for hybrid bearings.
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