TY - JOUR T1 - Investigation of HDD Ramp Unloading Processes with an Efficient Scheme AU - Liu , Yan AU - Du , Hejun JO - Advances in Applied Mathematics and Mechanics VL - 6 SP - 716 EP - 728 PY - 2011 DA - 2011/03 SN - 3 DO - http://doi.org/10.4208/aamm.10-m1001 UR - https://global-sci.org/intro/article_detail/aamm/192.html KW - Hard disk drive, ramp, unloading, head-disk interface, suspension, Reynolds equation, performance surfaces. AB -

Ramp load/unload (L/UL) mechanisms are widely used to rest sliders in hard disk drives (HDDs). Loading/unloading a slider swiftly and smoothly is crucial in a HDD design. A novel, efficient simulation scheme is proposed to investigate the behaviors of a head disk interface (HDI) in ramp unloading processes. A dual scale model is enabled by decoupling the nano-meter scale change of an air bearing and the micro- or milli-meter scale deformation of a suspension. A modified Reynolds equation governing the air bearing was solved numerically. The slider design was characterized with performance functions. Three stages in an unloading process were analyzed with a lumped parameter suspension model. Key parameters for the model were estimated with a comprehensive finite element suspension model. Finally, simulation results are presented for a commercial HDI design.