Solution of the Reynolds Equation for Viscous-Fluid Flow in the Clearance between a Rotating Ellipsoid and a Surface

Slow viscous-fluid flows in the narrow clearance (i) between a moving ellipsoid and a straight tube of elliptic cross section and (ii) between a rotating ellipsoid and a toroidal tube, including the case of an ellipsoid near a plane, are considered. A solution of the boundary-value problem for the Reynolds equation describing the flow in the clearance is found. The similarity of the pressure profiles in the “ellipsoid-plane” and “ cylinder-plane” systems is indicated.