Mechanical stability of the interface between a padded slider and magnetic recording disk

Contact state, friction, and meniscus load between a padded slider and a smooth disk are discrete; friction is determined by the number of pads in contact and the meniscus load acting at each pad. By inducing frictional changes through varying sliding direction, we force the slider from one stable state to another and infer which pads are in contact from the corresponding changes in friction. We find the stability of a given contact state is influenced by friction coefficient, pad location, meniscus load, applied mechanical loads and applied moments. A model is proposed to account for these effects.