Aerodynamics is a relatively young scientific discipline, which started developing in the 50´s of last century. There are known several methods for calculating and measuring of the aerodynamic variables – in-situ measurements, wind tunnel measurements, CFD simulations and calculations according to national standards. Each method has its advantages and disadvantages. Nowadays a large focus is on experimental verifying the findings achieved with calculations help and CFD simulations. One of the verification possibilities are measurements in wind tunnels. The submitted paper deals with construction and using of the wind tunnel by the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava. This device was put into operation after experimental verification in 2012, so this wind tunnel is one of the newest of its kind in Europe. The concept of the construction of individual structural elements and the wind tunnel parts has been designed in collaboration with the Aeronautical Research and Test Institute (Czech Republic) and was based on previous made analysis of aerodynamic tunnels. Its structure was designed and realized by Konštrukta Industry (Slovak Republic). We could it characterized as atmospheric boundary layer wind tunnel with open test section. It is unique with two test sections – front and back measuring space, where the front measuring space is used for uniform flow and the back measuring space is used for turbulent flow. That is why it is not only usable in the civil engineering sector (buildings, bridges, chimneys etc.), but also in city urbanism (pedestrian wind comfort and wind safety, dispersion of air pollutants), aircraft and automotive industries.
Numerical Investigation of the Effect of Tower Dam and Rotor Misalignment on Performance and Loads of a Large Wind Turbine in the Atmospheric Boundary Layer
