Finite element structural analysis of wind turbine gearbox considering tooth contact of internal gear system

Gearbox for wind turbine must be designed to have the sufficient structural strength to sustain the extreme torque and forces transferred from rotor blades. Traditionally, the structural analysis of gearbox has been made using the simplified FEM models in which the contacts between gear teeth are replaced with the equivalent forces acting on the gear shafts, because the consideration of the detailed internal gear transmission system requires a huge number of degrees of freedom. But, the traditional method can neither accurately reflect the gear transmission forces, nor is it preferable for the dynamic analysis. In order to solve these problems, a structural analysis method considering the tooth contact of internal gear system is introduced in this paper. The actual tooth contact between a pair of gears is modeled with spring elements and the spring constants are determined through the stiffness analysis of gear teeth. The current analysis technique is justified through the comparison with the simplified gear system model and applied to the structural analysis of a 2-stage differentialtype gearbox for wind turbine.