Both dust and silica phytoliths have been shown to contribute to reducing tooth volume during chewing. However, the way and the extent to which they individually contribute to tooth wear in natural conditions is unknown. There is still debate as to whether dental microwear represents a dietary or an environmental signal, with far-reaching implications on evolutionary mechanisms that promote dental phenotypes, such as molar hypsodonty in ruminants, molar lengthening in suids or enamel thickening in human ancestors. By combining controlled-food trials simulating natural conditions and dental microwear textural analysis on sheep, we show that the presence of dust on food items does not overwhelm the dietary signal. Our dataset explores variations in dental microwear textures between ewes fed on dust-free and dust-laden grass or browse fodders. Browsing diets with a dust supplement simulating Harmattan windswept environments contain more silica than dust-free grazing diets. Yet browsers given a dust supplement differ from dust-free grazers. Regardless of the presence or the absence of dust, sheep with different diets yield significantly different dental microwear textures. Dust appears a less significant determinant of dental microwear signatures than the intrinsic properties of ingested foods, implying that diet plays a critical role in driving the natural selection of dental innovations.

While grazing as a selective factor towards hypsodont dentition on mammals has gained a lot of attention, the importance of fruits and seeds as fallback resources for many browsing ungulates has caught much less attention. Controlled‐food experiments, by reducing the dietary range, allow for a direct quantification of the effect of each type of items separately on enamel abrasion. We present the results of a dental microwear texture analysis on 40 ewes clustered into four different controlled diets: clover alone, and then three diets composed of clover together with either barley, corn, or chestnuts. Among the seed‐eating groups, only the barley one shows higher complexity than the seed‐free group. Canonical discriminant analysis is successful at correctly classifying the majority of clover‐ and seed‐fed ewes. Although this study focuses on diets which all fall within a single dietary category (browse), the groups show variations in dental microwear textures in relation with the presence and the type of seeds. More than a matter of seed size and hardness, a high amount of kernels ingested per day is found to be correlated with high complexity on enamel molar facets. This highlights the high variability of the physical properties of the foods falling under the browsing umbrella.

After a short presentation of state-of-the-art experimental studies on the thermal behavior of non-contacting face seals, the literature about numerical models for thermal effects is investigated. Next, the geometry, kinematics and dynamics of a steady state three-dimensional model are developed. Simplified Navier-Stokes equations, a generalized Reynolds equation and an energy equation with proper boundary conditions are established for flow regimes, varying from laminar to turbulent. The numerical computer code for solving the governing equations is presented and representative results are shown. It is demonstrated that face distortions strongly modify the seals’ thermal behavior. An original test rig has been developed in order to ensure full fluid film conditions. This apparatus and the experimental procedure are described. The ability of the numerical model to simulate real configurations is also illustrated. Theoretical and experimental results are in good agreement. Yet an improved model of heat transfer on boundaries is still needed.

Some non contacting mechanical face seals are running near the laminar boundary flow limit. A modification of operating conditions leads to a non laminar fluid flow in the seal interface while inertia forces remain negligible. A numerical model has been developed to determine pressure and velocity fields in the sealing dam for laminar to turbulent regime. The turbulent viscosity determination is based on the Elrod and Ng model. Evolutions of seal characteristics (opening force, friction torque, leakage rate…) and fluid film dynamic coefficients versus running conditions are presented. Numerical results show that great variations appear in the transition to turbulence.