A New Method for the Numerical Solution of the Reynolds Equation at Low Spacing

In this paper, an implicit scheme, based on the Patankar-Spalding method which is commonly utilized in numerical heat transfer and fluid flow problems, is developed for the numerical solution of the compressible Reynolds equation. The method has eliminated the numerical instability in pressure distribution in the high bearing number region. Some of the difficulties encountered by the different discretization approach when applied to slider geometries that have a discontinuous clearance slope, such as the tapered-flat slider, can be easily handled