The transition between sliding and flying of a magnetic recording slider

In this paper we investigate the dynamics of a magnetic recording slider of a rigid disk file during its transition between sliding and flying. The slider is modeled as a three degree-of-freedom system, capable of lift, pitch, and roll. In addition to considering loads from air pressure, inertia, and the suspension arm, we also consider impulsive loads arising from slider/disk collisions. A coefficient-of-restitution model is introduced. Numerical results are provided for typical conditions of disk velocity, suspension preload, and surface roughness.