N. Okamoto et al., A COMPUTATIONAL STUDY OF CONTACT MECHANICS BETWEEN MAGNETIC RECORDING-HEADS AND THIN-FILM DISKS, Tribology transactions, 39(2), 1996, pp. 490-494
The tribological phenomena between magnetic head sliders and thin-film
disks are studied during rest, during start-up and shutdown, and duri
ng regular operation using numerical simulations. A theoretical model
of stiction is first derived based on the surface tension of liquid an
d capillary condensation. Next, a hybrid method of FEM and BEM is deve
loped in order to carry out high-precision microscopic contact stress
analysis of a disk covered by multilayer thin films. An impact simulat
or bared on FEM is then presented which considers the air lubricant fi
lm to be an elastic spring system determined from the solution of a co
mpressible Reynolds equation. It is found that these simulators can be
used to effectively study the tribology of slider/disk interactions a
nd that the results can be used to establish qualitative design criter
ia for slider/disk. mechanisms.