Friction torque in ball slewing bearings for wind turbines

Abstract

In recent years, there has been a significant increase in wind energy, with notable growth in both offshore and onshore installations, according to the IEA. Slewing bearings are large rolling bearings that enable the yaw and pitch rotations of bladed wind turbines. These bearings are designed to support the axial loads, radial loads and tilting moment caused by wind forces. This Doctoral Thesis focuses on the structural modelling and friction torque calculation of fourpoint and eight-point contact slewing bearings. However, the proposed approaches can be adapted for other types of slewing bearings, such as crossed roller slewing bearings.