In the present 2-D study, experimental and numerical simulation approaches have been carried out to investigate the significance of turbulence (turbulence intensity and length scale) on a wind turbine blade performance. The aim was to provide an adequate insight into the turbulent flow and its effect on the wind turbine blade. An experimental investigation was performed in a tunnel in the University of Manchester with a 1 m~2 cross section and length of 6m. The flow turbulent characteristics have been established and maintained along the tunnel using three conventional obstacles (grid, elliptic vortex generator and a number of wooden cubes) and combination of the above. The flow features have been measured using cross hot wire anemometry. The effect of different flow patterns has been quantified on an NACA4705 aerofoil using force balance technique for a range of low Reynolds numbers (4×10~4-7×10~4). In parallel to the experimental effort, a simulation approach has been conducted by means of two commercial packages, Fluent and Star-CD. The results confirmed the significant effect of turbulent intensity on aerofoil performance.
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