The strength analysis of the Direct Drive Wind Turbine´s support shaft

The support shaft in the Direct Drive Wind Turbine is an important supporting component of the wind turbine and its performance directly affects the safety of turbine. Through combining characteristics of the Direct Drive Wind Turbine´s support shaft with finite element method and engineering method, this paper analyzes the support shaft finite element of static and modal fatigue life. Through the static analysis of the support shaft, the deformation and stress-strain results show that the maximum stress is lower than the allowable stress, and the support shaft meets the static strength safety requirements; through fatigue life analysis, the maximum fatigue stress is lower than the theoretical fatigue limit and meets the fatigue strength requirements of the support shaft. The results provide a theoretical basis of improvement of the design and program finalization.