The transition of a “temperatureviscosity wedge” dimple into a squeezed entrapment of oil film in a sudden stop under different entraining velocity and load was experimentally explored on a balldisk test rig using optical interference technique.The pictures were measured using a dichromatic interference intensity modulation (DIIM) software to obtain the midsection film thickness.A lubricant with higher viscosity was used in order to generate the dimpled oil film governed by “temperatureviscosity wedge” effect.The results show that the whole process of a sudden stop is divided into two stages,the one with decreasing entraining velocity and the other with fully stopping.In the beginning of the zero velocity stage,the evolution of the oil film is controlled by both the “temperatureviscosity wedge” and the squeeze effects.The “temperatureviscosity wedge” effect delays the existence of the oil film but this effect gradually vanishes and the oil film is completely controlled by the squeeze effect.As the load increases,the amount of grease in the contact area as well as the film thickness is increased.As the speed decreases,the single central dimple firstly evolves into two dimples,then into one before it is entrapped in the contact area and gradually disappears with the extension of the time.