An investigation of a slider air bearing with a asperity contact by a three-dimensional direct simulation Monte Carlo method

A direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method is used to solve a slider air bearing problem when isolated contacts occur. A flat slider with a spherical asperity underneath is simulated when the tip of the asperity contacts a plate moving at constant speed. Two-dimensional pressure profiles are obtained by using the ideal gas law. The air bearing force on the slider is obtained by calculating the time-averaged change in the vertical momentum of the simulated particles striking the slider. The results show that the pressure is bounded at the contact point. There exists a vacuum region around the contact point where no molecule is small enough to enter. The results also show that the peak pressure and the resultant force converges as the calculation grid gets denser.