Case Study: GE Renewable Energy reduces physical testing needs for tidal turbines with MSC Software Adams

Adams Simulation Helps Reduce Need for Physical Testing of Tidal Turbines

GE Renewable Energy was developing its Oceade tidal turbine and needed a better way to understand dynamic behavior in a large, complex structure before building a physical prototype. The company wanted to model interactions inside the drivetrain, including backlash, bearing friction, shaft flexibility, and gear behavior, while reducing the risk of multiple build-and-test iterations.

MSC Software used Adams multibody simulation tools, along with Adams/Machinery, Adams/Bearing Advanced Technology, and MSC Nastran, to model nine flexible bodies and co-simulate the turbine with GE’s control system. The results showed good agreement with GE’s high-level model, helped validate design assumptions and margins, and gave GE the confidence to move into testing with the design de-risked from a dynamic and kinematic standpoint.

GE Renewable Energy

Valentin Radigois

Lead Engineer, Mechanical-Components