A review based on evaluation experiences with ten-years activity in VAWT experimental wind tunnel testing

The purpose of this paper is to provide guidance on the practice gained on vertical-axis wind turbine (VAWT) testing by a combined group of researchers from the Università di Trento (IT) and the Politecnico di Milano (IT), from early experiences dating back to 2007 up to the present day. The adopted operating procedures are discussed with particular care set to the achievement of high precision measurements to be used both as a benchmark for the validation of numerical codes and as a contribution to a deeper understanding of the flow field around VAWTs, to be converted into novel measurement procedures. As a matter of fact, by providing historical and technical information from the ongoing research activity, the lessons learned about the main obtained results could serve as a valuable tool for use by other research groups who are facing similar activities, providing information on which to help base their project plans.