In the construction industry, applications often involve long-term unidirectional loads or stable asymmetric loads. Because the loads are asymmetric and relatively stable, these applications often require specialized bearing designs. For example, if one side bears greater force and the other side bears less force, the side bearing greater force may require wider inner and outer rings. This can be achieved by pairing two sets of bearings or customizing single-row bearings.
In wind turbines, the blades' main shaft bearings experience a steady downward radial load due to their heavy weight. The thrust generated by the blades cutting through the air also carries a steady axial load. Furthermore, the blades' rotation also carries significant rotational loads. In the northwest region, where northwest winds prevail, the blade-connected main shaft bearings experience long-term clockwise rotational loads. In the southeast monsoon region, however, they experience bidirectional rotational loads.
As shown in the figure above, due to the combined effects of rotational and thrust loads, the load on the blade's main shaft bearing facing away from the blade is significantly greater than on the blade side. Asymmetric bearings are often used in such applications, as shown in the figure below, which shows an asymmetric bearing for a wind turbine.
We can clearly see that the contact surface between the rear rollers and the raceway is larger than that between the front rollers. Due to force transfer, the rear rollers and the outer ring experience a greater load, while the front rollers on the inner ring experience axial pressure from the rear rollers, resulting in the design shown above.
This unique design achieves a long lifespan in wind turbines, allowing for single-installation, long-term operation and eliminating the difficulty of bearing replacement. Similar scenarios are often encountered in other industries, requiring specialized designs. With the advancement of computational science, mathematical modeling has become an increasingly reliable research tool. At the outset of product design, computational physics research is used to develop an optimized product solution, which is then integrated into production and field testing, making it increasingly common practice.
