Parametric lightweight design of a direct-drive wind turbine electrical generator supporting structure for minimising dynamic response

Abstract

Heavy, large and robust supporting structures are needed to keep the airgap clearance of direct-drive multi-MW wind turbine electrical generators open and stable. As rotating pieces of machinery, generators vibrate when their natural frequencies are excited introducing potentially large amplitude oscillations due to the forces acting on them that could cause structural fatigue, noise and, in the worst-case scenario, their sudden collapse. A novel procedure for cost-effective and dynamically efficient structural design of a generator has been developed through a series of different finite element studies for a proposed 3MW machine with a conical rotor structure working under extreme conditions. Following a parametric approach coupled with the use of a topology optimisation tool it was demonstrated that the structural mass and dynamic response of the machine can be minimised, while complying with the deflection requirements.

An Efficient Computational Analysis and Modelling of Transferred Aerodynamic Loading on Direct-Drive System of 5 MW Wind Turbine and Results Driven Optimisation for a Sustainable Generator Structure

“…As a result, it will not only increase the total deflection of the rotor structure, but also change the magnetic attraction. For this purpose, a derived model for the Maxwell stress calculation from [7] was used.…”

Structural Analysis and Lightweight Optimization of a Buoyant Rotor-Type Permanent Magnet Generator for a Direct-Drive Wind Turbine

“…In order to enhance the efficiency of optimization while eliminating the constraints of shape parameterization, topology optimization has also been considerably employed [10][11][12]. Jaen-Sola et al [10] minimized the structural mass of the rotor and stator of a directdrive wind turbine generator using topology optimization.…”

“…Starting from a disk-type rotor (or stator) with no holes, spiral-shaped (or circular-shaped) holes were removed from the disk through topology optimization for a mass-minimized design. They also optimized the thickness and topology of a conical rotor by considering dynamic responses as well as static stiffness to maintain the airgap clearance [11]. However, in their research, the main structure of the rotor had a predefined shape, and topology optimization was subsequently performed as a secondary design process.…”

Structural Optimization Design of Dual Robot Gripper Unloading Device Based on Intelligent Optimization Algorithms and Generative Design

“…Therefore, generative design can employ topology optimization to create the form of solutions, thereby obtaining optimized structures. Generally, the process of generative design is divided into the following stages: first, problem definition, followed by conceptual design, and finally, detailed structural design [27]. This process requires manual execution and can be iterated to fulfill design requirements.…”