A Fully Integrated Simulation Approach of Drive Trains towards Tonality Free Wind Turbines

Abstract

Wind turbine manufacturers are now facing stricter noise regulations as turbines are being placed closer to urban areas. While rotor blade aero-acoustic noise is the dominant noise component in the total sound pressure level of a wind turbine, mechanical noise originating from gears and generators are gaining importance as well, especially when producing tonal noise. To minimize the tonal noise originating from the gears it is crucial to compare different drivetrain concepts and gear designs early in the design phase and consider the NVH performance as part of the design selection criteria. Unfortunately, the software available on the market allows the prediction of the acoustic performance of a drivetrain design when all details are already known, but these software’s are unable to do this in the early concept design phase when making design choices have the biggest impact. Therefore, an integrated simulation platform has been developed to predict wind turbine tonality, considering factors like gear mesh excitation and aero-acoustic masking, which is already applicable in the design concept phase when lots of design details are not known yet. This platform, linked to optimization software, allows ZF to proactively develop strategies to mitigate Noise, Vibration, and Harshness risks, resulting in cost-effective and harmonized solutions across their product platforms.