Simulation and Analysis of the Influence of the Support Structure on a Wind Turbine Gear Set

This work presents the numerical modeling, simulation and analysis of a wind turbine gearset supported by a flexible structure model. Gearboxes based on epicyclic gear trains applied to wind turbines have some advantages, i.e., compactness, robustness and low maintenance requirements. The gearbox is one of its main components because it is responsible for transforming the low angular speed of the rotor into the higher operation speed of the induction generator. Failures in this component cause loss of efficiency and directly impact the energy generated. The gearbox is attached to the nacelle, which is supported by the wind turbine tower. Wind gusts and shear can cause vibration that affects the tower and the nacelle and, therefore, all the components attached to them. To model these phenomena, a detailed model of a 600 kW turbine was built using the MBDyn software. The bearing, gear and the induction generator models were implemented as user-defined modules and were further integrated into the complete model of the wind turbine. Results showed that the gearbox components were affected by the dynamic behavior of the support structure and, therefore, its influence should be accounted for in the design of wind turbines.