Abstract
The dynamic equilibrium among the condensation, evaporation and shear flow of the lubricant on a slider has been modeled by solving a continuum-based partial differential equation, with temperatures obtained from a finite element model. Zero-flux and specified-flux boundary conditions were used to study the trailing pad of a slider. The results show that the average lubricant thickness on the trailing pad gradually approaches a steady state, and the steady-state value increases with increasing disk lubricant thickness. A reduction of the flying height leads to a reduced steady-state slider lubricant thickness. The temperature rise of the disk surface tends to promote the lubricant transfer to the slider in a region close to the trailing edge. However, this effect may be locally suppressed by the laser-induced local thinning of the lubricant film on the disk.
