New load distribution method for one-row slewing ball bearing considering retainer force

This paper studied the load distribution for one-row slewing ball bearing. The contact force between the balls and raceways is calculated based on Hertz contact theory. The retainer force was considered for satisfying the force equilibrium of the balls because the contact forces from two raceways are not on the same plane. Also, there is no reaction moment for each raceway in the axial direction, so each raceway freely rotates about each axial axis. The direction of relative displacement of the two raceways is shown to differ from the direction of combined loads due to contact geometric nonlinearity of the slewing bearing. The retainer reduces the number of contact balls in the slewing bearing, so the maximum contact load increases compared to when the retainer is not considered.