Effect of Air Bearing Pressure and Slider/Disk Contact on Lubricant Depletion Using Molecular Dynamics Simulation

Slider/disk contact, which will lead to lubricant depletion, is likely to occur due to the nano spacing between slider and disk. To understand the mechanism of lubricant depletion under contact, a molecular dynamics model is developed in this article. The effects of air bearing pressure, the contact force, and the disk velocity on the penetration depth of the slider and the depletion volume of lubricant is studied. The results show that higher contact force and smaller air bearing pressure cause deeper penetration depth, which leads to a larger amount of lubricant depletion. The effect of disk velocity on lubricant depletion can be neglected at a high contact force. In order to effectively reduce lubricant transfer and lubricant depletion, high air bearing pressure should be suggested and slider/disk contact should be avoided.