Simulation of load/unload process and parameter optimization for a hard disk drive

The tribological and dynamic characteristics of the head/disk and lift-tap/ramp interfaces during load/unload (L/UL) process for hard disk drives were modeled. The equation of motion for the L/UL system was proposed, in which the air bearing force at the ultra-thin film lubrication was solved by using a PDE-based method. The contacts between the slider and suspension, as well as the lift-tab/ramp interface, were simulated to analyze the effect of the stiffness of lift-tab, the stiffness at the lift-tab/ramp interface, and the ramp angle on the stability of the suspension slider. It is indicated that PDE-based method has enough accuracy for the description of the air bearing force. The stability of the slider is determined by the suspension stiffness, contact stiffness at the interfaces and the ramp angle. These results are beneficial to improvement of the slider/disk interface and further application of L/UL technology.