Abstract
We numerically analyzed the bouncing vibrations of two-degree-of-freedom (2-DOF) model a tripad contact slider with air bearing pads over a random wavy surface and manifested design conditions of a contact slider. As a result, we found that friction force decreases contact sliding ability at the boundary of intermittent and continuous contact sliding. We also found that the distance between the rear air bearing center and the contact pad has a significant effect on the contact sliding ability. Based on the analytical study, we proposed the two design concepts : 1) Make the distance between the rear air bearing center and the contact pad be as small as possible. In this case, the larger rear air bearing stiffness results in the better contact ability. 2) If some distance between the rear air bearing center and the contact pad is inevitable, make the rear air bearing stiffness much small than the contact stiffness.
