Analytical and Numerical Results for the Liquid-Lubricated Magnetic Head-disk Interface Using Measured Rheological Data

To increase the information storage density in magnetic disk files, the head, the headdisk spacing must be reduced. This has motivated the investigation of alternatives to the conventional air-lubricated head-disk interface (HDI), which operates at a spacing of about 100 nm. One such alternative under consideration is the liquid-lubricated bearing. To properly model the HDI with a liquid bearing it is necessary to incorporate the theological properties of liquid lubricants at high shear rates. These rheological properties themselves are most easily measured within the HDI. Recently, some question has arisen in the literature concerning the interpretation of the frictional data acquired in this manner. In this study analytical and numerical solutions of the Reynolds eqn. are applied to the starved, liquid lubricated HDI to provide some validation of the rheological data reported the author and coworkers (Streator et al., 1994). Results of the analysis highlight the importance of the inlet taper region in determining the equilibrium configuration of the starved HDI even when only a small fraction of its length is wetted by the lubricant.