In this paper, the effects of two flow-induced vibration (FIV) mitigation components on hard disk drive (HDD)airflow, vortex splitters and flow diverters, were verified. The edges of the components were also modified by filletingand the resulting effect on airflow determined. A perspective review on HDDs and their operation, and the mechanismand mitigation of FIV was discussed. Three suitable turbulent models from the commercial fluid flow solver FLUENTwere briefly compared. A preliminary study was then carried out on a simplified HDD model to determine the meshfineness required in HDD turbulent flow simulation in order to obtain accurate results. Another study was done tocompare between the RNG k- and LES turbulent models in FLUENT. A full 3.5 inch commercial HDD model was usedand results indicated that the LES model was suitable for turbulent flow modelling of a HDD. Lastly, flow simulation ofthree HDD models with different FIV mitigating features was carried out. Results showed that flow diverters are effectivein reducing airflow turbulence in HDD for Re of 12.5x104. The modification and filleting of component edges to makethem more aerodynamic streamlining was shown to be less effective but further studies should be done to conclude on theeffectiveness of filleting. An optimized HDD structure which includes both vortex splitters and flow diverters, with thefilleting of component edges recommended but not mandatory was proposed.
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