Effects of geometric parameters on static load capacity of a double-row four-point contact ball bearing

The geometric parameters, which are difficult to design because of the lack of a corresponding theory and tool, of a double-row four-point contact ball bearing, determine its carrying capacity. In this study, a mechanical model (nonlinear algebraic equations) with the effect of the row spacing, which is different from the current theory for a single-row ball bearing, has been developed. Also, using the corresponding calculation procedure programmed by MATLAB, the effects of the geometric parameters on the load capacity of the bearing have been studied. Some design suggestions have been made for the bearing geometric parameters: to improve the contact strength between the ball and raceway, the row spacing should be designed as small as possible if the bending strength of the mid beam among the rows is enough. To avoid more interference force, the negative clearance should be near zero.