Modeling and Simulation of a Wind Turbine Gear Set with Hydrodynamic Bearings Attached to an Induction Generator

This work presents the numerical modeling and simulation of a wind turbine gearset with hydrodynamic bearings and an induction generator. Transmissions based on epicyclic gear trains applied to wind turbines have some advantages, i.e., compactness, robustness and low maintenance requirement. The early stages of the development of such mechanism need numerical results in order to design it properly. The complexity of this machine requires a multidisciplinary approach to model and simulate a system comprising of mechanical, fluid and electrical components. The bearing model is integrated to the kinetics of the gearbox, allowing a precise evaluation of the journal bearing's movements. Through a multidisciplinary multibody dynamics software, the gearbox dynamics, the bearing behavior and the induction generator are calculated in a single system. The numerical solution of the hydrodynamic lubrication problem of a finite bearing is achieved using the finite element method. The hydrodynamic bearing and the induction generator are implemented as a user module in MBDyn software, which makes them available to model and simulate other types of rotating machinery. Simulations of two different conditions showed a better damping property when compared to rolling bearings, in this gearset.