For a particle entrained in an air bearing, various forces, such as the viscous drag force, Saffmann and Magnus lift forces and gravity force, will act on it. Such particles may pass through the air bearing or impact the slider or disk and then adhere to the surface or bounce off. In this paper, particle flow in an air bearing is simulated. The contamination of particles on a slider’s surface is analyzed using the assumption of adhesion upon impact. The effect of particle size and density on particle paths in the air bearing is studied. The numerical results show that particles are likely to contaminate slider surfaces in the transition regions on the rails. The density of the particles and the pitch angle of the slider are also found to strongly affect the flying path of the particles, and therefore, the accumulation of the particles on slider surfaces.
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April 2003
Technical Papers
Particle Flow and Contamination in Slider Air Bearings for Hard Disk Drives
Xinjiang Shen,
Xinjiang Shen
Computer Mechanics Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720
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David B. Bogy, Fellow ASME
David B. Bogy, Fellow ASME
Computer Mechanics Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720
Search for other works by this author on:
Xinjiang Shen
Computer Mechanics Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720
David B. Bogy, Fellow ASME
Computer Mechanics Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720
Contributed by the Tribology Division for publication in the ASME JOURNAL OF TRIBOLOGY. Manuscript received by the Tribology Division February 26, 2002; revised manuscript received August 6, 2006. Associate Editor: J. L. Streator.
J. Tribol. Apr 2003, 125(2): 358-363 (6 pages)
Published Online: March 19, 2003
Article history
Received:
February 26, 2002
Online:
March 19, 2003
Revised:
August 6, 2006
Citation
Shen , X., and Bogy, D. B. (March 19, 2003). "Particle Flow and Contamination in Slider Air Bearings for Hard Disk Drives ." ASME. J. Tribol. April 2003; 125(2): 358–363. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.1537746
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