Slewing rings have a large pitch diameter compared to rolling element diameter, they are mostly based on either four point bearings, cross roller bearings, double row angular contact bearings or three row axial-radial-roller bearings and they can have radial, axial and moment load. For four point bearings, cross roller bearings or angular contact bearings contact stresses and bearing life can be calculated using the MESYS Rolling Bearing Calculation according ISO/TS 16281 . The loading can be defined in five degrees of freedom.
An influence of hardness on load capacity is considered according NREL DG03. The required hardness depth can be determined using the subsurface shear stresses. A load rating diagram can show permissible moment load dependent on axial load for different criteria. A calculation with load spectra can be used to consider different load cases and a possibility for automatic parameter variations is available. The bearing rings are assumed to be rigid, therefore the results are independent on the location of loading.
The calculation or three row axial-radial-roller bearings is currently only possible with the FEA based Axial-Radial-Roller-Bearing-Calculation, which also supports cross roller bearings. In this calculation elastic bearin rings are considered, therefore boundary conditions and location of loading can have a large impact on results.
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