Elastic analysis of thermally induced stresses in the magnetic recording head gimbal assembly

Abstract

The thermal bending of the magnetic recording head gimbal assembly is modeled with elastic theory. The bending arises from the thermal expansion coefficient difference between the ceramic slider and the stainless-steel suspension which are bonded together with an adhesive. The system is modeled as a trilayer composite beam. Displacement compatibility equations describe the stress distribution. In our approach, the Laplace transform is used to solve the coupled integral equations, and this provides the analytical solution for the stress in this geometry. Calculations are performed to investigate the effects of material properties and geometry on thermal bending of the slider.