A Low Cost, Low Speed Wind Tunnel For Dynamic Stall Measurement

Aiming to improve the knowledge on both dynamic and static stall of airfoils for wind turbine applications, a new experimental facility (CCB6 wind tunnel) specifically devoted to this application has been developed. The design goals of this project have been to build up a low cost, low speed wind tunnel which can be easily adapted to a wide range of experimental specifications, whose test chamber, and even the whole geometry, can be modified at low cost. In this paper the main features of this new facility as well as the instrumentation involved are described. Besides, results of some preliminary tests concerning dynamic stall conducted on bodies with elliptical shape, when subjected to an oscillatory pitching motion, are presented.