Abstract: In order to study the applicability of the finite element model of wind turbine structure with different degrees of fineness for different analysis purposes, based on the 2 MW three-blade horizontal axis wind turbines, seven finite element models of wind power generation structures with different degrees of fineness were established by using the finite element software ANSYS. The deformation, internal force, stress and stress concentration of wind turbine structure were achieved to evaluate the efficiency of each model. The results show that when calculating the deformation of wind power generation structure, numerical model with low-order elements can get better simulation results due to the fact that the upper engine room and blades have little influence on it. When calculating the shear force and bending moment of the section at the bottom of the tower, the finite element model of the engine room and blades should be considered to achieve more accurate results, so the high-order solid element should be used when selecting the element. The stress of wind turbine tower will be discrete when the coupling effect of the blades, hub and nacelle are not considered, and the shell element can better simulate the stress of wind turbine in this situation. The superstructures such as blade and nacelle have a great influence on the stress concentration of the wind turbine door opening, so it is suggested to use the multi-scale model of shell element for the tower and solid element for the door opening.

Key words: wind turbine structure, finite element model, seismic response analysis