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A study of acoustic noise generating mechanisms of small form factor HDDs

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Abstract

A combined experimental and numerical study of the acoustic noise from a small form factor hard disk drive (HDD) is made to investigate the relative contribution of structure-borne idle noise to the total generated noise. Initially, the idle noise of a 1.8″ HDD was measured in an anechoic chamber, and a clear high-frequency peak is found in its total idle noise frequency spectrum. Then the modeling and simulation (M&S) of the top cover vibration and the associated sound radiation are performed to identify the dominant source and transmission path causing this noise peak. The M&S process consists of a 3D structural finite element (FE) modeling of the HDD to calculate the frequency-domain vibration response of the top cover, and a boundary element (BE) modeling of the HDD for calculating the radiated sound pressure. The loading specified in the FE model is motor torque ripple: the dominant electromagnetic excitation of fluid dynamic bearing spindle motor for HDDs. Finally, the obtained acoustic BE results of the sound pressure levels at a selected field point are compared to those measured physically in the chamber. It is shown that for the HDD considered, the coincidence of a high-frequency resonant mode with the fifth harmonic frequency of motor torque ripple is responsible for the high-frequency peak noise in the idle noise spectrum.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. A*STAR Institute of High Performance Computing, 1 Fusionopolis Way, #16-16 The Connexis, Singapore, 117528, Singapore

    H. Zheng

  2. A*STAR Data Storage Institute, DSI Building, 5 Engineering Drive 1, Singapore, 117608, Singapore

    J. Q. Mou, F. Gao, W. Z. Lin & E. H. Ong

Authors
  1. H. Zheng
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  2. J. Q. Mou
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  3. F. Gao
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  4. W. Z. Lin
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  5. E. H. Ong
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Correspondence to H. Zheng.

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Zheng, H., Mou, J.Q., Gao, F. et al. A study of acoustic noise generating mechanisms of small form factor HDDs. Microsyst Technol 16, 143–148 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00542-009-0773-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00542-009-0773-x

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