Demand for higher relibilit, robustness and performance in epicyclical gearboxes have led SKF to develop
Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) based simulation tools and methods.
This paper will ilustrate the advantages of using simulation driven design in the development of planetary
gearboxes for multi megawatt wind turbines. The simulation example will show the influence of the housing
flexibility and of the non-linear bearing and gear stiffness on the gearbox performance under transient load. In
particular the load distribution and deformation of the planetary gears and bearings will be analyzed.
The flexibility and accurate stiffness description led to non-intuitive results. The gear deformation and load
distribution led to significantly different results compared to results obtained by using traditional calculation
tools and methods. A comparison between advanced and standard calculation methods is given as evidence
that advanced analyses should be used to design reliable, robust and high performing gearboxes.
A virtual design of experiments was used to determine the most influential parameters affecting the gearbox
performance. This paper will highlight the results of this DFSS study.

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