As sliders fly closer and closer to the disks, asperity contact is inevitable due to the roughness on the sliders and the disks. A single asperity contact problem was solved using the molecular gas-film lubrication (MGL) model with the no-fly-zone (NFZ) condition, which was discovered with the direct simulation Monte Carlo method (DSMC). It shows that the MGL model can also provide bounded pressure and resultant force in the presence of contact. Moreover, the MGL results agree well with the DSMC results. A database for a single asperity contact force and moment was then created using the MGL model with the NFZ condition. This force and moment was superimposed to the air bearing force calculated by the MGL model calculated by the MGL model when the nominal plane of the slider and the disk are not in contact. The total additional air bearing force due to asperity contact was obtained. Its effect on the slider’s flying attitude was investigated and found to change the flying height and pitch angle up to 20 percent and 10 percent, respectively. [S0742-4787(00)02402-4]

1.
Anaya-Dufresne
,
M.
, and
Sinclair
,
G. B.
,
1997
, “
On the Breakdown under Contact Conditions of Reynolds Equation for Gas Lubricated Bearings
,”
ASME J. Tribol.
,
119
, pp.
71
75
.
2.
Huang
,
W.
, and
Bogy
,
D. B.
,
1998
, “
An investigation of a Slider Air Bearing with an Asperity Contact by a Three-Dimensional Direct Simulation Monte Carlo Method
,”
IEEE Trans. Magn.
,
34
, No.
4
, pp.
1810
1812
.
3.
Cha
,
E.
, and
Bogy
,
D. B.
,
1995
, “
Numerical Simulations of Slider Interaction with Multiple Asperity Using Hertzian Contact Model
,”
ASME J. Tribol.
,
117
, pp.
575
579
.
4.
Greenwood
,
J. A.
, and
Williamson
,
J. B. P.
,
1966
, “
Contact of Nominally Flat Surface
,”
Proc. R. Soc. London, Ser. A
,
295
, pp.
300
319
.
5.
Chang
,
W. R.
,
Etsion
,
I.
, and
Bogy
,
D. B.
,
1987
, “
An Elastic-Plastic Model for the Contact of Rough Surfaces
,”
ASME J. Tribol.
,
109
, pp.
257
263
.
6.
Hu, Y., 1996, “Head-Disk-Suspension Dynamics,” Doctoral Dissertation, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, University of California at Berkeley.
7.
Wahl
,
M. H.
,
Kwon
,
H.
, and
Talke
,
F. E.
,
1997
, “
Simulation of Asperity Contacts at the Head/Disk Interface of Tri-Pad Sliders During Steady-State Flying
,”
Tribol. Trans.
,
40
, No.
1
, pp.
75
80
.
8.
Lacey
,
C. A.
, and
Talke
,
F. E.
,
1992
, “
Measurement and Simulation of Partial Contact at the Head/Tape Interface
,”
ASME J. Tribol.
,
114
, pp.
646
652
.
9.
Mitsuya
,
Y.
,
1984
, “
A Simulation Method for Hydrodynamic Lubrication of Surface with Two-Dimensional Isotropic or Anisotropic Roughness Using Mixed Averaged Thickness
,”
Bull. JSME
,
27
, No.
231
, pp.
2036
2044
.
10.
Mitsuya
,
Y.
,
Ohkubo
,
T.
, and
Ota
,
H.
,
1989
, “
Averaged Reynolds Equation Extended to Gas Lubrication Possessing Surface Roughness in the Slip Flow Regime: Approximate Method and Confirmation Experiments
,”
ASME J. Tribol.
,
111
, pp.
495
503
.
11.
Mitsuya
,
Y.
, and
Hayashi
,
T.
,
1990
, “
Numerical Study of Film Thickness Averaging in Compressible Lubricating Films Incurring Stationary Surface Roughness
,”
ASME J. Tribol.
,
112
, pp.
230
237
.
12.
Patir
,
N.
, and
Cheng
,
H. S.
,
1978
, “
An Average Flow Model for Determining the Effects of Three-Dimensional Roughness on Partial Hydrodynamic Lubrication
,”
ASME J. Lubr. Technol.
,
100
, pp.
12
17
.
13.
Patir
,
N.
, and
Cheng
,
H. S.
,
1979
, “
Application of Average Flow Model to Lubrication between Rough Sliding Surfaces
,”
ASME J. Lubr. Technol.
,
101
, pp.
220
230
.
14.
Bhushan
,
B.
,
Yang
,
L.
,
Gao
,
G.
,
Suri
,
S.
,
Miller
,
R. A.
, and
Marchon
,
B.
,
1995
, “
Friction and Wear Studies of Magnetic Thin-film Rigid Disks with Glass-ceramic, Glass and Aluminum-magnesium Substrates
,”
Wear
,
190
, pp.
44
59
.
15.
Huang
,
W.
,
Bogy
,
D. B.
, and
Garcia
,
A. L.
,
1997
, “
Three-Dimensional Direct Simulation Monte Carlo Method for Slider Air Bearings
,”
Phys. Fluids
,
9
, pp.
1764
1769
.
16.
Machcha
,
A.
,
McMillan
,
T.
, and
Talke
,
F. E.
,
1996
, “
The Tribology of Tri-Pad Sliders with Hydrogenated and Nitrogenated Disks
,”
IEEE Trans. Magn.
,
32
, p.
5
5
.
17.
Lu, S., 1997, “Numerical Simulation of Slider Air Bearings,” Doctoral Dissertation, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, University of California at Berkeley.
You do not currently have access to this content.