Numerical simulation of the steady state flying characteristics of a 50% slider with surface texture

The steady state flying characteristics of a 50% taper-flat two-rail slider with discrete surface texture features have been numerically simulated using finite elements. Various shapes and patterns of surface texture features are considered. This investigation analyzes the dependence of flying height and pitch angle on the height and number of the surface texture features and on the linear velocity. The results suggest that the surface texture does not significantly change the flying behavior at nominal flying heights but the influence of surface texture becomes more important at low spacings