Original Article

Reliability based design optimization of a two-stage wind turbine gearbox

¹ National Engineering School of Gabes, University of Gabes, Gabes, Tunisia
² Normandie University, UNIHAVRE, CNRS, LOMC, 76600 Le Havre, France
³ Laboratory of Mechanics, Modeling and Production (LA2MP), National Engineering School of Sfax, University of Sfax, Sfax, Tunisia
⁴ Laboratory of Mechanics of Normandy (LMN), INSA Rouen Normandy, University of Rouen, St Etienne de Rouvray 76801, France
⁵ DRIVE Lab, University of Burgundy, Nevers, France

^* e-mail: bilel.karmi@etu.univ-lehavre.fr

Received: 26 September 2023
Accepted: 8 March 2024

Abstract

This paper describes a multi-objective reliability-based design optimization (MORBDO) of a two-stage wind turbine gearbox. The optimization process incorporates the gear's reliability of accounting for the uncertainty of its internal geometric parameters. It also ensures that constraints relating to the gear's reliability index and efficiency are respected. The objective functions are to minimize both the total volume and the center distance. A specific reliability target is established, and to address the multi-objective reliability-based design optimization (MORBDO), the hybrid method (HM) in conjunction with the constrained non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (C-NSGA-II) is employed. The outcomes demonstrate that applying C-NSGA-II to solve the multi-objective reliability-based design optimization problem yields dependable Pareto solutions that are well-distributed in relation to the desired reliability level. The optimization using C-NSGA-II with a population size of 300 particles and 1000 generations produced the most favorable outcomes. This research significantly contributes to the multi-objective design optimization of wind turbine gear while simultaneously considering their reliability.