Abstract
This manuscript presents an innovative methodology for the assessment of the friction torque of ball slewing bearings. The methodology aims to overcome the limitations of state-of-the-art approaches, especially when the friction torque is conditioned by the preload of the balls. To this end, the authors propose to simulate the preload scatter when solving the load distribution problem, prior to the friction torque calculation. This preload scatter allows to simulate a progressive transition of the balls from a four-point contact state to a two-point contact one. By implementing this capability into an analytical model, the authors achieve a successful correlation with experimental results. Nonetheless, depending on the stiffness of the structures to which the bearing is assembled, it is demonstrated that the rigid ring assumption can lead to inaccurate friction torque results when a tilting moment is applied. The methodology described in this research work is meant to have a practical application. Therefore, the manuscript provides guidelines about how to use and tune the analytical model to get a reliable friction torque prediction tool.
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Abbreviations
- α 0 :
-
Ball-raceway initial contact angle
- β :
-
Ball rotation angle
- C :
-
Constant parameter for the friction torque
- D w :
-
Ball diameter
- D pw :
-
Pitch diameter of the ball set
- i :
-
Number of ball rows
- μ :
-
Coefficient of friction
- m :
-
Mean effective preload
- RMSE:
-
Root mean square error
- MRE:
-
Mean relative error
- M f :
-
Friction torque
- s :
-
Ball-raceway contact osculation ratio
- SD :
-
Standard deviation of the effective preload
- z :
-
Number of balls per row
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness of the Spanish Government through the projects with grant number DPI2017-85487-R and PID2021-122746OB-I00 (MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and FEDER Una manera de hacer Europa) and the Basque Government through the project with grant number IT1542-22 for their financial support. Furthermore, this research has been supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action through the iBAC project with grant number 0324344A.
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Iñigo ESCANCIANO. He is currently a Ph.D. candidate in mechanical engineering in the University of the Basque Country, Bilbao, Spain. As part of the Mechanical Analysis and Design research group, his research consists on the simulation and analysis of ball slewing bearings. He received his B.Sc. degree in mechanical engineering in 2016 in the University of the Basque Country, Spain. Since then until today he has been part of the Bizkaia EIB Bilbao MotoStudent team at the University of the Basque Country, where he received his M.Sc. degree in mechanical engineering in 2018.
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Escanciano, I., Heras, I., Schleich, F. et al. Methodology for the assessment of the friction torque of ball slewing bearings considering preload scatter. Friction 12, 1838–1857 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40544-024-0867-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40544-024-0867-6