Fatigue safety of the shaft member of the floating wave power generating device (FWPGD) is one of the most important factors in the design process of the device. Shaft and the plate in the pendulum wave converter type of FWPGD play a big role in converting wave energy to electricity but they are also structurally the most vulnerable points within the device. It is known that a low cycle wave load can produce fatigue failure in such structure. In this paper, fatigue strength of the shaft of FWPGD is investigated using fatigue sensitivity analysis in the ANSYS code. Finite element methods and relevant structural analysis for the fatigue analysis using the code are carried out. Application of the fatigue sensitivity module of the ANSYS provides an estimated fatigue life of the shaft structure member in corresponding environmental circumstances. Fatigue sensitivity of the shaft member can be the basis of the initial design of the FWPGD.

fatigue sensitivity, floating wave power generating device, shaft member, ANSYS code.