Abstract: In this paper, numerical simulations and experimental validation were carried out to gain an insight into the complex flow field developing around a small wind rotor and to evaluate its performance. We consider the Navier-Stokes equations in conjunction with the standard k-ε turbulence model to study the aerodynamic parameters of a NACA2415 airfoil type wind turbine. These equations are solved numerically to present the local characteristics of the flow and the models tested are implemented using the software "SolidWorks Flow Simulation". Experiments have been also conducted on an open wind tunnel equipped by a small NACA2415 airfoil type wind turbine to validate the numerical results. This will help improving the aerodynamic efficiency in the design of packaged installations of the NACA2415 airfoil type wind turbine.

Key words: NACA2415 airfoil wind turbine, wind tunnel, turbulent flow, aerodynamic structure.