A tightly coupled numerical foil bearing solution

Equations describing the steady-state flying height of magnetic tape over a recording head are solved using an algorithm that incorporates a linearized approximation of air bearing stiffness into the tape equation. The one-dimensional infinitely wide equations include compressibility and slip flow in the air bearing, as well as tension, momentum, and flexural rigidity in the tape. The stiffness coupling between the equations allows simulation of complicated head geometries and reduces the computational effort required to determine the steady-state flying height by more than an order of magnitude compared to previously published methods which are based on time-dependent equations. Two example problems are presented, both of which were solved on a personal computer in under one minute