Energy Sources, Part A: Recovery, Utilization, and

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Vibration isolation characteristics of

magnetorheological damper for the large wind
turbine gearbox

Liang Zhen, Yongbao Feng & Zhenhua Zhang

To cite this article: Liang Zhen, Yongbao Feng & Zhenhua Zhang (2023) Vibration isolation
characteristics of magnetorheological damper for the large wind turbine gearbox, Energy
Sources, Part A: Recovery, Utilization, and Environmental Effects, 45:4, 10330-10349, DOI:
10.1080/15567036.2023.2244922

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/15567036.2023.2244922

Published online: 13 Aug 2023.

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ENERGY SOURCES, PART A: RECOVERY, UTILIZATION, AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
2023, VOL. 45, NO. 4, 10330–10349
https://doi.org/10.1080/15567036.2023.2244922

Vibration isolation characteristics of magnetorheological damper

for the large wind turbine gearbox
Liang Zhena,b, Yongbao Fenga, and Zhenhua Zhangc
a
Xi’an Research Inst. of Hi-Tech, Hong Qing Town, Xi’an, P.R. China; bKey Laboratory of Solar Power System
Engineering, Jiuquan Vocational and Technical College, Jiuquan, P.R. China; cBeijing Research Institute of Special
Mechanic, Beijing, P.R. China

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

The gearbox vibration isolation theory in the large wind turbine transmission Received 23 September 2022
system is analyzed. The host frame is flexible, and the vibration isolation Revised 14 March 2023
system is approximately equivalent to a two-degree-of-freedom system. Accepted 31 March 2023
According to large wind turbine gearbox isolation requirement, and KEYWORDS
a vibration isolation device of magnetorheological damper of the large Vibration isolation
wind turbine gearbox is designed, the magnetic field characteristics inside characteristics;
the magnetorheological damper are simulated and calculated by using magnetorheological damper;
COMSOL, when 0.5, 1, 1.5and 2 A currents are passed through the magne­ COMSOL; output damping
torheological damper coil, the magnetic induction intensity of the damping force; on-off control strategy;
gap and the output force of the magnetorheological damper are calculated, field test
it can reach 1300N-5400N, which meets the gearbox vibration isolation
requirements. It designed the on-off current control method of the magne­
torheological damper. The prototype is tested on a certain type of offshore
wind turbine, and the acceleration spectrum signals of the gearbox in the
Z direction are collected under the working conditions of 990, 1200 and
2000 r/min. According to the collected data values, the vibration isolation
characteristics of the designed magnetorheological damper are analyzed;
the data show that the vibration level drop is about 20 dB, and the vibration
isolation effect is good. By using the coherence coefficient method to pro­
cess the measured data, the modified transfer function is obtained, which is
consistent with the theoretical transfer function of the vibration model of
two-degree-of-freedom system, so it is proved to be reasonable. The vibra­
tion isolation characteristics of rubber and the magnetorheological damper
are compared at the rated speed, and it shows that the maximum vibration
acceleration of the gearbox under the magnetorheological damper reduces
from 0.375 m/s2 to 0.175 m/s2, which verify the damping effect of the mag­
netorheological damper.

Introduction
In recent years, with constantly increasing installed capacity of large wind turbine and the extension of
running time of large wind turbine, transmission system vibration becomes more and more promi­
nent. The large wind turbine transmission system mainly includes blade, hub, spindle, gearbox,
vibration isolation device, generator, and so on. The large wind turbine is a huge and complex system
as a whole, and the system not only bears various disturbances such as pneumatic, mechanical, and
electromagnetic, but also bears the coupling excitation of various disturbances. These disturbances will
cause vibration during the large wind turbine operation. As an important component of transmission
system, the gearbox causes more severe vibration, because of its high internal speed and complex
operating environment, which has a greater impact on the safe operation. In the design of large wind

CONTACT Yongbao Feng fyb1213@sina.com Xi’an Research Inst. of Hi-Tech, Hong Qing Town, Xi’an 710025, P.R. China
© 2023 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
 ENERGY SOURCES, PART A: RECOVERY, UTILIZATION, AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS 10331

turbine, it is usually considered to install vibration isolation devices to reduce or isolate these harmful
vibrations, the vibration energy of vibration isolation devices mainly comes from the gear meshing
excitation of the gearbox on the transmission system (Yongsheng et al. 2016). The gearbox and
generator of large wind turbine usually need to be connected to the frame with vibration isolation
device, it can be to avoid the resonance phenomenon of the transmission system, and improve the life
and safety of large wind turbine. The transmission system basic structure is shown in Figure 1, 3D
installation diagram of gearbox vibration isolation device is shown in Figure 2.
According to the different layout of large wind turbine transmission system, there are three
different vibration isolation devices applied to the large wind turbine at present, which are bearing
bush vibration isolation device, reed vibration isolation device, and liquid composite vibration
isolation device. The first two kinds of vibration isolation device have weak vibration isolation effect
for high-power large wind turbine when vibration changes greatly, the third is the liquid composite
vibration isolation device, it is also the most commonly used in the MW wind turbine gearbox
vibration isolation system, although this vibration isolation device uses the excellent damping char­
acteristics of liquid flow, but its damping cannot be arbitrarily changed with the size of the transmis­
sion system vibration, as well as the support stiffness requirements, in the process of vibration
isolation, it need to consider the resonance phenomenon (Huixin et al. 2015; Xiaolin et al. 2014).
The vibration isolation device characteristics have a certain influence on transmission system dynamic
characteristics and vibration energy. There are few literatures on the vibration isolation device of large

Figure 1. Large wind turbine transmission system schematic diagram.

Figure 2. 3D installation diagram of gearbox vibration isolation system.

10332 L. ZHEN ET AL.

wind turbine, the latest literature is few, and there are few researches on the application of new
materials and new technologies on the isolation device. Zongxian X (Zongxian and Jianjun 2019)
applies the numerical simulation technology to the rubber vibration isolation device fatigue analysis of
large wind turbine gearbox, and establishes the numerical simulation calculation model of vibration
isolation device of the bearing bush by using the rubber model parameters. Ruibo, Datong, and
Changzhao (2022), Jianjun et al (2020), and Jing et al (2022). explore the influence of flexibility on the
gearbox system electromechanical dynamic characteristics. Peng (2018) proposes a tuned inertia
damper for large wind turbine transmission system, which shows that it can effectively suppress the
torsional vibration and improve the generator over speed condition. Zhao et al (2016) studied and
tested the vibration characteristics of large wind turbine transmission system, but the vibration
isolation device in the analysis process is a bearing type structure, which is only applicable to the
small power unit. Tianpin, Detong, and Qingchao (2016) studied the influence law of large wind
turbine gearbox speed, and Hongwen et al (2016). studied the natural frequency and stiffness of the
gearbox and elastic components, and it analyzes the transmission system structure size and the
relationship between these parameters, the above research on large wind turbine gearbox vibration
isolation components are the traditional bearing type and rubber type structure of vibration isolation
device, with the development of smart materials, new technology, wind turbine gearbox vibration
isolation device technology also needs to be updated in time. The traditional large wind turbine
gearbox vibration isolation device is mainly designed for the vibration frequency of the equipment in
the structure. Once the gearbox structural parameters are determined, they cannot be adjusted, and
the gearbox speed changes in real time in the actual work, the corresponding vibration frequency also
changes in a certain range. The frequency shift range of vibration isolation device is narrow, and the
stiffness do not change, the gearbox vibration isolation effect is greatly affected.
The vibration excitation of large wind turbine transmission system is periodic. The gearbox is
installed on the vibration isolation device, by changing stiffness to adjust the transmission system
natural frequency, it avoids resonance with the excitation frequency of large wind turbine, because of
the change of the gearbox speed, the stiffness of vibration isolation device is required to change with
the gearbox speed in real time. The traditional vibration isolation device stiffness is fixed, so it cannot
meet the real-time and effective vibration isolation requirements of large wind turbine transmission
system. As a new smart material, under the external magnetic field, magneto-Rheological fluid (MRF)
can change from Newtonian fluids to non-Newtonian fluids in milliseconds, thus changing yield stress
of MRF. By utilizing this characteristic of MRF, a Magneto-Rheological Damper (MRD) is designed.
By changing the input current, the MRD damping can be changed in real time, so it is widely used as
a damper for various equipment, for example, marine gearbox power suction vibrator (Zhirong et al.
2020), hydraulic pipeline damping damper (Dekui et al. 2019), shafting damper of water turbine
generator set (Wanquan and Ning 2020). However, there is no relevant application and research in the
large wind turbine. MRD is a new type of vibration isolation device, whose output damping force
changes with the magnetic field, and it is a kind of vibration isolation device with adjustable damping,
which just solves the deficiency of the fixed stiffness of large wind turbine gearbox isolation system.
Therefore, it is necessary to design an MRD to meet large wind turbine gearbox isolation system. This
study has the great significance for improving the vibration isolation effect of large wind turbine
isolation system, which can effectively reduce the failure rate of large wind turbine and extend service
life of large wind turbine gearbox.
In this paper, the vibration isolation device of the MW wind turbine gearbox is taken as the research
object, it establishes mathematical model of the gearbox isolation system, and the vibration isolation
theory is analyzed. According to large wind turbine transmission system parameters and gearbox
vibration isolation device parameters, the MRD for large wind turbine gearbox isolation system is
designed. It uses to simulate and calculate the magnetic field characteristics of MRD by the COMSOL
simulation software, and the current control strategy of MRD is designed. The designed MRD is tested
on a certain type of large wind turbine, and test result provides a reference for the design of new large
wind turbine gearbox isolation system.
 ENERGY SOURCES, PART A: RECOVERY, UTILIZATION, AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS 10333

Modeling and vibration isolation theory analysis of gearbox vibration system

Generally, when designing the gearbox vibration isolation device, the natural frequency of
vibration isolation device should be calculated first, and then the natural frequency should be
compared with the minimum vibration frequency (the minimum engagement frequency of the
gearbox). If the minimum vibration frequency is greater than 1.414 times, the designed stiffness
is considered to meet the requirements of vibration isolation. According to calculating natural
frequency of vibration isolation device, it establishes the mathematical model of gearbox isola­
tion system. The gearbox isolation system generally installs four vibration isolation devices on
the gearbox ends, so as to ensuring a certain stiffness in the vertical and horizontal directions,
and it only discusses vertical direction. For the gearbox isolation system, it is equivalent to
different models according to different assumptions of the host frame. If host frame is regarded
as a completely rigid body, it is composed of a gear box, vibration isolation device and the host
frame as a single-degree-of-freedom system, host frame is regarded as flexible rather than rigid
body, the host frame is regarded as a system with stiff springs and mass blocks. In this way, the
original single-degree-of-freedom system becomes a two-degree-of-freedom system, as shown in
Figure 3.
For single-degree-of-freedom isolation system model, the gearbox equivalent mass under the
sinusoidal excitation force isFðtÞ ¼ F0 sin ωt, and the force on the host frame isFg ðtÞ, the motion
equation of isolation system can be derived from the vibration theory as follows (1)
8 �� �
<
M xðtÞ þC xðtÞ þkxðtÞ ¼ FðtÞ
� (1)
: F ðtÞ ¼ C xðtÞ þkxðtÞ
g

From Eq. (1), the transfer function of force can be inferred as equation (2)
vffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
u
Fg ðtÞ u 1 þ ð2ζ ωωn Þ2
μ¼ ¼ t (2)
2 2
FðtÞ ð1 ω 2 Þ þ ð2ζ ω Þ2 ωn ωn

where Mis gearbox mass, kg,cis vibration isolation device damping coefficient,kis vibration isolation
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
device stiffness, N/m, ωn is natural frequency, ω n ¼ k=M , Hz, ζ is relative damping
pffiffiffiffiffiffi
ratio,ζ ¼ c=ccr ,ccr is critical damping coefficient, ccr ¼ 2ωn M ¼ 2 Mk.

a) Single-degree-of-freedom isolation system b) Two-degree-of-freedom isolation system

model model
Figure 3. Large wind turbine gearbox isolation system model. a) Single-degree-of-freedom isolation system model. b) Two-degree-of
-freedom isolation system model.
10334 L. ZHEN ET AL.

For two-degree-of-freedom isolation system model, the gearbox equivalent mass under sinusoidal
excitation force isFðtÞ ¼ F0 sin ωt, and the force on the host frame isFg ðtÞ, the motion equation of
isolation system can be derived from the vibration theory as follows (3)
8 �� � �
>
< M1 x1��ðtÞ þc1 ðx1�ðtÞ x2 ðtÞÞ þ k1 ðx1�ðtÞ x2�ðtÞÞ ¼ F1 ðtÞ
>
M2 x2 ðtÞ þc2 x2 ðtÞ þk2 x2 ðtÞ þ c1 ðx2 ðtÞ x1 ðtÞÞ þ k1 ðx1 ðtÞ x2 ðtÞÞ ¼ F2 ðtÞ (3)
>
>
: �
Fg ðtÞ ¼ c2 x2 ðtÞ þk2 x2 ðtÞ

From Eq. (3), the transfer function of force can be inferred as equation (4)
1
μ ¼ ω2 ω2
(4)
n1
ω2n2
ðωωn1 Þ4 ½1 þ ð1 þ kk21 Þ ωn1 ω 2
2 �ðω Þ þ 1
n1 n2

where M1 is gearbox equivalent mass, kg,k1 is equivalent stiffness of vibration isolation device, N/m,M2
is machine base equivalent mass, kg,k2 is equivalent stiffness of machine base, N/m, ωn1 is natural
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
frequency when M1 fixed, ω n1 ¼ ðk1 þ k2 Þ=M2 , Hz,ωn2 is natural frequency whenM2 is 0,
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
ω n2 ¼ k1 k2 =ðk1 þ k2 Þ=M2 , Hz.
The isolation design of vibration isolation device is mainly concerned with its stiffness. During the
design, it is necessary to consider both the maximum allowable value under the limit load and the
requirements of vibration isolation theory, the minimum meshing frequency of gearbox is greater than
1.414 times of the natural frequency. According to above dynamic theory, the natural frequency is the
decisive factor affecting large wind turbine gearbox vibration isolation effect when designing vibration
isolation device. For the general structure form of gearbox vibration isolation, its natural frequency is
calculated in using the simplified model in Figure 4.
In Figure 4, M1 is gearbox mass, kg,M2 is hub and blade mass, kg, MS is main shaft mass, kg,b1
is distance between center of gravity of gearbox and bearing, m,b2 is distance between center of
impeller and bearing, m,Lis distance between vibration isolation device and bearing, m,kis
vibration isolation device stiffness, N/m, if ignoring vibration isolation device damping, the
differential equation is
��
I ϕ þkL2 ϕ ¼ 0 (5)
where the moment of inertia is
1
I ¼ MS L2 þ M2 b21 þ M1 b22 (6)
3

Figure 4. Gear box vibration isolation system structure diagram.

 ENERGY SOURCES, PART A: RECOVERY, UTILIZATION, AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS 10335

Then it deduced the natural frequency to

sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
1 3kL2
ωn ¼ (7)
2π 3ðM1 b1 þ M2 b22 Þ þ MS L2 2

Structure design and analysis of MRD for gearbox isolation system

Mechanical model of MRD for gearbox isolation system
MRD is generally a shear valve structure, which is mainly composed of power supply line, piston,
outer protruding rod, electromagnetic coil, compensation chamber, and cylinder block. The
compensation chamber is generally filled with nitrogen, and a certain pressure is generated in
the rod-free chamber of MRD, and its structural diagram is shown in Figure 5. A ring damping
gap is formed between piston and cylinder inner wall. In this case, MRD is in valve mode, and
external magnetic field is applied in the direction of the plate. When outer protruding rod is
subjected to the vibration impact from the gearbox, the pressure difference between two cavities is
generated, and MRF flows in the damping gap. At this time, electromagnetic coil is charged, and
magnetic field passes through the damping gap, which changes MRF shearing force in the
damping gap, resulting in the required damping force, and the damping force can be generated
by the continuous current.
When the MRD acts as the vibration isolation device receives gearbox vibration, it causes the
damper piston to reciprocate and the MRF in the upper and lower cavities flows up and down through
the damping gap. The piston will bear the viscous damping force generated by MRF flow and the
coulomb force generated by the change of external magnetic field. The viscous damping force is
determined by MRF viscosity, and the coulomb force is determined by the magnetic field generated by
damping gap between piston collar and cylinder block. It is ignored that the viscosity changes with the
increase of MRD temperature in this paper, the magnetic field strength can be changed by changing
electromagnetic coil current on the piston, thus adjusting the MRF shear yield strength. Therefore, the

Figure 5. MRD vibration isolation device structure diagram.

10336 L. ZHEN ET AL.

damping force generated by MRD also changes accordingly. MRD output force can be adjusted
arbitrarily by electromagnetic coil current.
The Bingham viscoplastic model is the most commonly used model of MRD. This model can not
only describe the Bingham viscoplastic characteristics of MRF, but also the damping force character­
istics of MRD. The expression is

12ηLA2p πDηL � 3LAp

F¼ð þ Þ x þð þ πDLÞτ (8)
πDh3 h h
�
where Fis MRD output force, N,Lis the piston effective length, m, x is the relative motion speed
between piston and cylinder, m/s,Dis damping channel circumference, m,his damping gap effective
height, m,Ap is piston cross section, m2, η is MRF dynamic viscosity, Pa·s, τ is MRF shear yield strength,
Pa. In the above formula, the first half is viscous force, which is related to the speed, and its magnitude
is completely determined by the relative speed between piston and cylinder, and has nothing to do
with the external magnetic field, and it is an unadjusted damping force, the latter part is coulomb
force, which is related to the MRF shear yield strength and it can provide a changing coulomb force
with magnetic field strength changing.
The MRF is a new type of material with yield stress, when the MRF shear stress is greater than its
own yield stress, shear flow will occur. The relationship between shear stress and shear rate is linear,
and its expression is
� �
τ ¼ τ y ðHÞsgnðγÞ þ η γ (9)
�
where τ y ðHÞis MRF yield stress, Pa, which is related to applied magnetic field strength, γ is MRF shear
rate, andηis MRF viscosity, Pa·s.

Magnetic circuit design of MRD for gearbox isolation system

The magnetic field of MRD is the major factor of the variation of output force. Based on the design
method of flux equalization theory, all sections of the magnetic loop reach magnetic saturation at the
same time, so as to avoid the influence of local section saturation on the maximum output of the
damper. φ1 ; φ2 ; φ3 ; φ4 are the saturated magnetic flux through the core cross-section, the minimum
cross section of piston yoke, the damping gap cross section and the cylinder wall cross-section. The
magnetic flux calculation formula is as follows.
φ1 ¼ φ2 ¼ φ3 ¼ φ4 (10)

φ1 ¼ πðr2 rp2 ÞBp (11)

φ2 ¼ 2πrLw Bp (12)

φ3 ¼ 2πðr þ hs ÞLw Bm (13)

φ4 ¼ π½ðr þ hs þ h þ εÞ2 ðr þ hs þ hÞ2 �By (14)

where r is radius of piston magnetic core, m, Lw is piston yoke width, m, hs is wire groove depth, m, εis
cylinder wall thickness, m, Bm ; Bp ; By is MRF saturation magnetic induction intensity, piston core and
cylinder wall material, T.
By substituting Eqs. (11) and (12) into equations (10), the relation between the width of piston
yokeLw and the core radius of pistonris obtained
 ENERGY SOURCES, PART A: RECOVERY, UTILIZATION, AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS 10337

Lw ¼ r=2 (15)
the relation between the depth of the sloths and the core radius of pistonris obtained
hs ¼ ðBp Bm Þr=Bm (16)

By substituting Eqs. (13) and (14) into equations (10), the damper cylinder wall thickness is
expressed as
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
ε ¼ 2ðr þ hs ÞLw Bm =By þ ðr þ h þ hs Þ2 r h hs (17)

According to Ohm’s law for the magnetic circuit, the required magnetomotive force can be calcu­
lated as
NI ¼ φðRp þ Rm þ Ry Þ
¼ φ½ðLw þ Lc þ hs Þ=ðμp SP Þ þ ð2hÞ=ðμm Sm Þ þ ðLw þ Lc Þ=ðμy Sy Þ� (18)

where N is corresponding number of electromagnetic coil turns,Iis current passing through electro­
magnetic coil, A,φis total magnetic flux of entire magnetic circuit, Wb,Lc is width of wire slot, m and
μp ; μm ; μy are piston magnetic permeability, MRF and cylinder wall,H·m−1,Sp ; Sm ; Sy are piston average
cross section, damping gap and magnetic circuit of cylinder wall, m2,Rp ; Rm ; Ry are reluctance of piston
damping gap and cylinder wall, Ω.
The magnetic flux in the damping gap is
φ ¼ B m Sm (19)
Because the sum of the permeability of the piston and the cylinder is much larger than the MRF, the
magnetic resistance of MRF is also much larger than that of the piston and the cylinder. In this paper,
the reluctance of the piston and the cylinder is ignored, and the number of the electromagnetic coil
turns is calculated as
N ¼ ð2Bm h=μm IÞ (20)

Parameter design of MRD for gearbox isolation system

Through theoretical analysis, according to the vibration isolation requirements of the large
wind turbine gearbox, the MRD is designed to meet gearbox maximum vibration output force
of 5400 N. The MRF was selected from lord company, the material of piston and cylinder is
pure iron, and outer protruding rod is made of 45 steel. MRD performance parameters are
shown in Table 1.

Simulation analysis of MRD for gearbox

The problem of electromagnetic field analysis can be reduced to solving Maxwell’s equations
under certain boundary conditions. The Maxwell’s equations is shown in the following
equation.
8
>
> Ñ � E þ @B
@t ¼ 0
<
Ѽ0
(21)
> Ñ � H @D
> @t ¼ J
:
Ñ ¼ ρe
10338 L. ZHEN ET AL.

Table 1. MRD internal structure parameters.

parameter parameter parameter
parameter name value parameter name value parameter name value
MRF permeability 6π×10−7 MRF saturation magnetic 1.0 Magnetic core saturation 1.5
μm /(H·m−1) induction magnetic induction
Bm /T Bp /T
Cylinder saturation 1.5 Maximum coil current 4 MRF viscosity 0.28
magnetic induction Imax /A η/(Pa·s)
By /T
Piston diameter 300 Damping clearance 2 MRF heat capacity 800
dp /mm hc /mm Cp /(J/(kg·K))
Effective Damping Channel 9 Damping chamber 160 Thermal conductivity of MRF 22.5
Length height W/(m·K)
Lc /mm H/mm
MRD outer diameter 320 MRD stroke 30 ambient temperature 300
dd /mm S/mm T0 /K
Outer protruding rod 150 MRF heat transfer 28 relative permeability 3.5
diameter coefficient μ/(N/A2)
dr /mm h/W/(m2·K)
MRD barrel wall thickness 4 MRF density 2650 Coil turns 350
ε/mm ρ/(kg/m3) N/T

Figure 6. MRD axisymmetric calculation model.

where H is applied magnetic field strength, A·m−1, Jis current density, A·m−2, Dis electric induction
intensity vector, Eis electric field strength,V·m−1, ρe is charge density, Bis magnetic induction inten­
sity, T.
For linear and isotropic media, the electromagnetic field satisfies the following equation.
8
< D ¼ εE
B ¼ μH (22)
:
J ¼ σE
where σ is electrical conductivity, S·m−1,εis the dielectric constant, μis the magnetic permeability, N/A2.
In this paper, it uses COMSOL to simulate internal magnetic field distribution. Since MRD is
a rotary device, the two-dimensional axisymmetric model is adopted to conduct magnetic field
 ENERGY SOURCES, PART A: RECOVERY, UTILIZATION, AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS 10339

Figure 7. 2D axisymmetric model meshing.

simulation analysis of MRD, and the MRD simulation model is established in COMSOL software.
During the MRD operation, the piston drives the coil to move up and down in the cylinder block
under the action of excitation. the structure is shown in Figure 6.

Meshing
The dynamic grid technology in COMSOL is used to divide different areas into grids, set the
displacement of piston and coil respectively, and specify the deformation in different areas.
The grid division of 2D axisymmetric model is shown in Figure 7. The grid division is dense
at the MRD damping gap, and the complete grid contains 2,143 domain units and 309
boundary units.

Magnetic field simulation calculation

The magnetic field under the motion state of the damper is calculated through simulation. When the
current of 0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2 A is passed into the electromagnetic coil, when the sinusoidal excitation
xðtÞ ¼ A0 sinð2π f tÞis applied to the piston rod, when displacement amplitude is set as�10mmand
frequency is 5 Hz, the 3D magnetic field simulation results are shown in Figures 8 and 2 magnetic field
are shown in Figure 9.
Figure 9 reflects that a closed magnetic circuit is formed in MRD after the electromagnetic coil is
supplied with current, and the magnetic inductance lines are evenly distributed. With the electro­
magnetic coil input current, the magnetic induction intensity increases. The input current increases
from 0.5 to 2 A, and the magnetic induction intensity increases from 2.85 to 11.4 T, and increasing 8.55
T. The distribution of magnetic inductance lines and magnetic induction intensity is basically
consistent with the expected effect, indicating that the structure design and material selection of the
damper meet the requirements. The magnetic inductance line diffuses in the MRF, resulting in
magnetic leakage of the magnetic circuit, which reduces the magnetic induction intensity at the
damping gap.
10340 L. ZHEN ET AL.

Figure 8. 3D magnetic field calculation results.

Figure 9. 2D magnetic field simulation results.

 ENERGY SOURCES, PART A: RECOVERY, UTILIZATION, AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS 10341

Figure 10. Average magnetic induction intensity simulation curve.

Figure 11. Output force simulation curve.

When 0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2 A currents are passed into the electromagnetic coil, the average magnetic
induction intensity at the damping gap is 0.651, 1.302, 1.953 and 2.604 T. The variation curve between
average magnetic induction intensity and current is shown in Figure 10. The MRF shear rates at the
damping gap are 156.601 1/s. According to the selected material parameters of MRF, the damping
forces are calculated as 1367, 2726, 4085 and 5410 N under different current by using the relation
between yield stress of MRF and magnetic induction intensity. Figure 11 shows relationship between
damping force and current.

Design of current control strategy of MRD vibration isolation device

The natural frequency of large wind turbine transmission system is calculated, and the MRD vibration
isolation device of large wind turbine gearbox is designed. The damping and stiffness of MRD change
with the input current. Because the MRD isolator needs different control strategies under different
excitation forms, in order to better control the MRD isolator, different control strategies are designed
to satisfy different incentive forms. According to the natural frequency calculation formula, the
10342 L. ZHEN ET AL.

parameters of a certain type of offshore wind turbine are substituted into Eq. (7) to calculate natural
frequency, which is about 12.7 Hz. It satisfies the vibration isolation effect with isolation rate less than
1, the minimum engagement frequency under rated working conditions is greater than 17.8 Hz, and
the corresponding motor speed is calculated to be 850 r/min. According to the control principle of
MRD, when the rotational speed is greater than 850 r/min until the rated rotational speed achieves
2050 r/min, applying 2 A current can make the MRD frequency far away from the natural frequency of
large wind turbine system 12.7 Hz to the maximum extent, so as to minimize the acceleration
response. However, when the rotational speed of the unit is less than 850 r/min, when the current
of 2 A is applied, the vibration isolation effect of MRD is not ideal. At this time, the input current is too
large, the main reason is that MRD output force is large, and its damping and stiffness cannot better
match the vibration isolation requirements of large wind turbine. Based on the variable damping and
variable stiffness characteristics of MRD, the vibration isolation requirements of large wind turbine,
and the full utilization of MRD energy, which combined with on-off damping control and on-off
stiffness control, it designed an on-off control strategy that meets the vibration isolation requirements
of large wind turbine.
The required on-off control strategy can be expressed as
�
K ¼ Kmax andc ¼ cmax ifV � 0
(23)
K ¼ Kmin andc ¼ cmin ifV < 0
Where Kmin and Kmax are minimum stiffness and maximum stiffness of MRD for gearbox isolation
system,N=m,cmin andcmax are minimum damping and maximum damping of MRD for gearbox isola­
tion system, V and S are gearbox relative velocity and relative displacement of the gearbox with respect
to the host frame. V � S < 0indicates that the force generated by the vibration of the gearbox is
approaching the equilibrium position, and the MRD provides the minimum damping coefficient,
which helps to reduce the vibration force generated by the gearbox and quickly return it to the
equilibrium position. V � S � 0indicates that the force generated by the vibration of the gearbox is
moving away from the equilibrium position, the MRD provides the maximum damping coefficient,
which helps to suppress this tendency. In this way, the MRD is kept in the equilibrium position as
much as possible through damping control. On the basis of the damping on-off control, the stiffness
on-off control is added, energy dissipation occurs, which can reduce the transfer of vibration energy
from the vibration source to the load.
In large wind turbine gearbox isolation system, the MRD damping is directly proportional to the
electromagnetic current. Therefore, according to the above analysis, the on-off damping control and
on-off stiffness control can be expressed as
�
2AifV � 0
I¼ (24)
1AifV < 0

Unit field test and result analysis

According to the parameters of a certain type of offshore wind turbine, the natural frequency is 12.7
Hz, and the minimum engagement frequency under rated working conditions is greater than 17.8 Hz,
which meets the requirements of vibration isolation theory. The vibration test is carried out on this
type of offshore wind turbine, and the isolation effect of MRD is analyzed through the test data, the
transfer function of gearbox isolation system is extracted. According to the previous literature, the
acceleration data of the gearbox collected on site are analyzed. As the gearbox excitation is mainly
a rotating motion perpendicular to the spindle, the vibration energy in the X direction and Y direction
is small, and the vibration energy of the gearbox mainly comes from the Z direction. Meanwhile, the
higher gearbox rotation speed, the more severe vibration and the greater energy generated by the
vibration. The damping force generated by MRD should also be large, which conforms to the
 ENERGY SOURCES, PART A: RECOVERY, UTILIZATION, AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS 10343

Accelerometer

MRD vibration
isolation device

Figure 12. The vibration isolation device of large wind turbine gearbox arrangement and installation drawing.

requirements of the current control strategy designed above. A vibration sensor is installed on the
gearbox, and the acceleration signal in the Z direction is measured. By studying the influence of large
wind turbine speed on the vibration isolation performance, it sets the different speed conditions. In
this paper, three working conditions including generator speed of 990, 1200 and 2000 r/min are
selected for analysis. The unit layout and installation are shown in Figure 12.

Vibration analysis of the gearbox based on MRD vibration isolation device

The acceleration measurement signal of the gearbox is collected by the M-system online vibration
monitoring equipment, and the Z direction acceleration spectrum of the gearbox is obtained by data
processing. The frequency characteristics of the collected data are analyzed to determine the vibration
excitation situation of the gearbox. When the generator speed is 990, 1200 and 2000 r/min, Figures 13,
14 and 15 show the vibration spectrum diagram of the gearbox in the Z direction. Figure 16 shows the
power spectrum amplitude curves under different working conditions. The main wave peaks are
marked with Arabic numerals, and the corresponding frequencies are shown in Table 2.

Figure 13. Frequency amplitude spectrum of 990 r/min gear box in Z direction.
10344 L. ZHEN ET AL.

Figure 14. Frequency amplitude spectrum of 1200 r/min gear box in Z direction.

Figure 15. Frequency amplitude spectrum of 2000 r/min gear box in Z direction.

According to the data in Table 2 listed in the frequency amplitude spectrum of the gearbox in the
Z direction under different working conditions, there are some errors in the collected data due to the
installation errors measured on site and the influence of the environment, but the frequency has
obvious frequency doubling characteristics, which indicates that the vibration energy of the gearbox
near the vibration isolation device is mainly from the gear meshing excitation inside the gearbox. The
vibration energy of the gearbox is mainly concentrated in the middle and high frequency, so
the second stage meshing frequency of the gearbox should be taken as the target value when designing
the gearbox vibration isolation device.

Analysis on isolation performance of MRD vibration isolation device

The natural frequency calculated above is about 12.7 Hz, the minimum engagement frequency under
rated working condition is greater than 17.8 Hz, and the motor speed calculated corresponds to 850 r/
min. According to the control principle of MRD, when the unit speed is greater than 850 r/min until
the rated speed is 2050 r/min, applying 2 A current can make the frequency of MRD far away from the
natural frequency of large wind turbine system 12.7 Hz, so as to minimize the acceleration response.
 ENERGY SOURCES, PART A: RECOVERY, UTILIZATION, AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS 10345

Figure 16. Power spectrum peak curve in Z direction under different conditions.

Figure 17. Transfer function curve in Z direction under 1200 r/min condition.

However, when the unit speed is less than 850 r/min and the current of 2 A is applied, the vibration
isolation effect of MRD is not ideal. At this time, the input current is too large, because the output force
is large, and its damping and stiffness cannot better match the vibration isolation requirements of large
wind turbine, therefore, the on-off current control strategy is designed. When the rotational speed of
the unit is less than 850 r/min, a current of 1 A is applied. Because the vibration transfer rate of gearbox
is not easy to obtain, the MRD vibration isolation effect is usually measured by the vibration level drop,
which can be calculated by the formula.

X1
L ¼ 20 lg (25)
X2

Where X1 和 X2 are effective amplitudes of vibration signals of the gearbox and the host frame.
According to the data collected on field test, the vibration level drop in Z direction calculated by the
vibration isolation device under the three working conditions of 990, 1200 and 2000 r/min is about 20
dB, and it has little relationship with the speed of the generator. Therefore, the MRD isolation device
between the gearbox and the host frame has obvious vibration isolation effect.
10346 L. ZHEN ET AL.

Figure 18. Coherence coefficient curve in Z direction under 1200 r/min condition.

Table 2. Peak frequency of amplitude spectrum of gearbox under 990, 1200 and 2000 r/min conditions (Hz).

rotational speed crest

(r/min) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
990 25.1 66.1 216.3 382.1 492.6 536.9 956.5 1075.9 1181.7 1362.6 1598.2 1765.5
1200 26.2 60.8 176.8 263.1 356.1 445.6 886.7 1012.7 1128.6 1324.3 1572.8 1775.1
2000 28.1 70.3 239.2 305.5 448.0 503.9 746.8 1213.4 1344.9 1504.1 1551.5 1850.7

Transfer function analysis of gearbox isolation system

The transfer function of gearbox isolation system is the ratio of output and input in the frequency domain,
the large wind turbine transmission system is more complex, the gearbox connected with the more
components, and there are also more components installed on the host frame, gearbox and main frame
energy transfer each other, as well as vibration sensor installation will bring deviation to the measurement
data, therefore, the accuracy of the transfer function obtained by the experiment is not very high, so it needs
to be corrected, the most commonly used correction method is to use the coherence coefficient to screen out
the transfer function value with high accuracy. Figure 17 shows the transfer function curve of the measured
model at 1200 r/min, and Figure 18 shows the corresponding coherence coefficient curve. The coherence
coefficients of the transfer function values are all less than 1 under 1200 r/min in Figure 18, indicating that
the coherence of the collected data is relatively small, and the transfer function curve is distorted, so the data
needs to be reprocessed. The frequency points with large coherence coefficient are selected, and then their
transfer function values are separately drawn into the transfer function curve, as shown in Figure 19, the
accuracy of the transfer function is relatively high in this way, and the 17 peak points are selected to draw the
transfer function. In the range of 0 ~ 150 Hz, the value of the transfer function has a peak greater than zero,
which should be the second peak of the transfer function curve, because the first peak should be at the
natural frequency of vibration isolation device 12.7 Hz, which is not captured in the figure. There is also
a wave peak at a frequency of 1000 Hz, which should be caused by the flexibility of the main frame. Its
general variation trend is in good agreement with the transfer function curve in Figure 19, which also verifies
the rationality of equivalent gearbox isolation system to the two-degree-of-freedom vibration isolation
model.
At the rated speed of the generator, the acceleration spectra of the rubber and MRD vibration isolation
device in the Z direction are collected, as shown in Figures 20 and 21, it can be clearly seen that the vibration
damping effect of MRD vibration isolation device is significantly better than that using rubber vibration
isolation device. The amplitude of acceleration spectrum is greatly reduced, with the maximum peak value
 ENERGY SOURCES, PART A: RECOVERY, UTILIZATION, AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS 10347

Figure 19. Transfer function curve corrected in Z direction under 1200 r/min condition.

Figure 20. Acceleration spectrum of bearing-type vibration isolation device.

Figure 21. MRD vibration isolation device acceleration spectrum.

10348 L. ZHEN ET AL.

decreasing from 0.375 to 0.175 m/s2, and a large peak value of 0.175 m/s2 appears only at 1500 Hz. The
reason is that the on-off current switch of MRD at this moment, which is consistent with the theoretical
analysis results. The vibration isolation effect of other frequency segments is very obvious. Figures 20 and 21
show that vibration isolation effect has been significantly improved, there are still many peaks at different
frequency points. Because of the instability of the wind speed, the speed of the gearbox is not a fixed value. As
the MRD can output the matched damping force in real time with the speed change of the gearbox, it is
necessary to design a more advanced current control strategy of MRD, it can make full use of the advantages
of MRD to better meet the vibration isolation requirements of the gearbox.

Conclusions
In this paper, a vibration model is established for large wind turbine gearbox isolation system, a new type
vibration isolation device is designed, and simulation analysis is carried out. The stiffness of the traditional
gearbox vibration isolation device remained unchanged after designing, while the MRD vibration isolation
device can adjust the input current of MRD in real time according to the size of vibration energy, and an
effective current control strategy is designed. It meets the vibration isolation requirements of gearbox
isolation system, and unit test is carried out, it provides the theoretical basis and technical support for the
design of large wind turbine drive vibration isolation device. The conclusions of this paper are as follows.

(1) The large wind turbine gearbox isolation system is not a single-degree-of-freedom system, and the
elasticity of the host frame needs to be considered, so it needs to be equivalent to a two-degree-of-
freedom system, the reasonableness of the two-degree-of-freedom model is verified by the unit test.
(2) In view of the vibration control requirements of large wind turbine gearbox isolation system,
a single rod shear valve type MRD with output force of no less than 5400 N is designed. The
damper magnetic circuit design is combined with the structural design, and the various
structural parameters of the damper are designed. The MRD magnetic circuit design is
combined with the structural design, and it obtains the MRD structural parameters. By
changing the input electromagnetic coil current to change the damping gap magnetic field,
the output force is changed, and the MRD on-off current control strategy is designed to meet
the vibration isolation requirements of large wind turbine gearbox isolation system.
(3) The MRD magnetic field is simulated by COMSOL, the simulation results show that MRD
magnetic induction intensity in the damping gap at different input current and the MRD
output force are calculated. Through magnetic circuit simulation calculation, the physical field
characteristics of each part in the MRD can be visually seen, with higher calculation accuracy.
(4) According to the parameters of a certain type of offshore wind turbine, natural frequency of the
system and rotating speed of the generator are calculated, and the field measurement test is carried
out. By analyzing the collected data values, the vibration isolation performance of vibration excita­
tion and vibration isolation device is verified. The results show that the vibration level drop of the
gearbox isolation system is about 20 dB, and the vibration isolation effect is obvious. By using
coherence coefficient method to process the measured data, the modified transfer function is
obtained, which is consistent with the theoretical transfer function of the two-degree-of-freedom
vibration model, and the model is verified to be reasonable. At the rated speed, the vibration isolation
performance of rubber vibration isolation device and MRD is compared. The results show that the
maximum acceleration of the gearbox is reduced from 0.375 to 0.175 m/s2 under the MRD vibration
isolation device, which verifies the effectiveness of the MRD vibration isolation device.

Acknowledgements
The research is financially supported by the following: 1. National Vocational Education Teacher Teaching Innovation
Team Research Project (YB2020100103), 2. Supported by Foundation of Key Laboratory of Solar Power System
Engineering (2023SPKL04).
 ENERGY SOURCES, PART A: RECOVERY, UTILIZATION, AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS 10349

Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Funding
The work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Youth Project) [51805503]; Gansu
Province Higher Education Innovation Fund Project [2021B-507]; National Vocational Education Teacher Teaching
Innovation Team Research Project [YB2020100103].

Notes on contributors
Liang Zhen is the main author of the article.
Yongbao Feng is responsible for ensuring that the descriptions are accurate and agreed by all authors.
Zhenhua Zhang provides the research ideas, and the contributions to the manuscript have been approved by
all authors

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