Shock Test Modeling of a Hard Disk Drive Using Hypermesh and LS-Dyna

A finite element model of a hard disk drive (HDD) is developed for simulating shock testing and head slap. Individual components of the disk drive are modeled using Hypermesh, a commercially available mesh generator. The following components are modeled: the base plate, the impact surface, the actuator arm, the suspension arm, the head gimbal assembly (HGA) and the disk. The boundary conditions and contact surfaces are defined in Hypermesh [1] prior to importing them to the solver, LS-Dyna [2], for the transient finite element solution. The solution calculates displacement, velocity, acceleration and stress at every time step.