Numerical simulation of touchdown/takeoff hysterisis of spherical pad slider by considering the liquid bridge between the slider and lubricant-disk

This work carries on a numerical simulation of the touchdown/takeoff (TD/TO) hysterisis of the spherical pad slider. It numerically studies the meniscus bridge's formation and meniscus force interaction between the spherical pad and lubricant over the disk surface. It proposes a geometry model for the lubricant bridge, and correspondingly, a force model for the meniscus force acting on the spherical pad slider due to the lubricant bridge. By solving the liquid balance state at the meniscus boundary, it obtains the geometry of the liquid bridge. A parametric study is done to study the effects of the geometry of spherical pad, Hamaker constant of lubricant-disk, and surface energy of lubricant on the formation of the liquid bridge. The overflow phenomenon is analyzed to find out the acceptable dimension of the spherical pad design. Moreover, a three-dimensional (3D) model of spherical pad slider/disk interface is built to study the steady-state flying of the spherical pad slider. The different parameters are analyzed to study their effects on the TD/TO hysteresis.