Load distribution and friction torque in four-point contact slewing bearings considering manufacturing errors and ring flexibility

TL;DR

This paper presents a new methodology for calculating load distribution and friction torque in four-point contact slewing bearings, accounting for manufacturing errors and ring flexibility, leading to more accurate and computationally efficient results.

Contribution

It introduces a novel model considering ring deformations and a refined, cost-effective approach for friction torque calculation in slewing bearings.

Findings

Ring deformations significantly affect load distribution under no external load.

The proposed friction torque calculation is more accurate and computationally efficient.

Ring flexibility has minimal impact under external loading conditions.

Abstract

This work introduces a methodology for the calculation of the load distribution in four-point contact slewing bearings considering ball preload, manufacturing errors and ring flexibility. The model is built by the formulation and minimization of the potential energy of the bearing. Comparing with the rigid rings assumption, the results show that ring deformations involve lower interferences in idling conditions, and have a great effect in the load distribution, but not under external loads. Additionally, a new approach has been proposed for the calculation of the friction torque, which has lower computational cost in comparison to a previous approach by the authors, so more accurate results can be obtained due to refined calculations with no significant cost increase.