Abstract—A boundary layer wind tunnel facility has been adopted in order to conduct experimental measurements of the flow field around a model of the Panorama Giustinelli Building, Trieste (Italy). Information on the main flow structures has been obtained by means of flow visualization techniques and has been compared to the numerical predictions of the vortical structures spread on top of the roof, in order to investigate the optimal positioning for a vertical-axis wind energy conversion system, registering a good agreement between experimental measurements and numerical predictions. Keywords—Boundary layer wind tunnel, flow around buildings, atmospheric flow field, vertical-axis wind turbine (VAWT). I. INTRODUCTION ECENT instabilities of world economy, due to the increasing price of carbon-derivative fuels along with the connected socio-political turbulences, have aroused the interest in the production of renewable energy among the most industrialized western nations. In this scenario, the continuous quest for clean energy is now focusing on the local production of electric power, spread in a wide area, so as to cooperate with the big electric power plants positioned in just few specific strategic locations of the countries. One of the most promising resources is wind power associated with local production of clean electric power inside the built environment, such as industrial and residential areas, which has also renewed the interest in vertical-axis wind turbines (VAWTs). As observed by Bahaj et al. [1], such machines have the potential to reduce built environment related CO 2 emissions, coupled with reductions in consumers’ electricity costs. Moreover, the produced energy can be fed directly into the grid of the building, determining a reduction of its external energy demand. Some of the specific technology and design issues in the use of wind energy for buildings have been described by several authors: Mertens [2] focused on the design of civil architectures that maximize wind harvest and Marco Raciti Castelli is a Research Associate at the Department of Industrial Engineering of the University of Padua, Via Venezia 1, 35131 Padova, Italy (e-mail: marco.raciticastelli@unipd.it). Stefano Mogno is a M.Sc. Student in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Padua, Via Gradenigo 6/B, 35131 Padova, Italy (e-mail: stefano.mogno@studenti.unipd.it). Stefano Giacometti is Chief Maintainer at O.Z. S.p.A., Via Monte Bianco 10, 35018 San Martino di Lupari (PD), Italy (e-mail: stefano.giacometti@ozracing.com). Ernesto Benini is an Associate Professor at the Department of Industrial Engineering of the University of Padua, Via Venezia 1, 35131 Padova, Italy (e-mail: ernesto.benini@unipd.it). examined a set of turbines that provide power for buildings. Stankovic et al. [3] focused on the potential for exploiting wind power in urban areas, identifying three main categories of project, that is: small wind and retrofitting, large-scale stand-alone turbines and building-integrated turbines. Mertens [4] described concentrator effects for wind turbines close to buildings, in order to compensate the lower average wind speeds and higher turbulence levels of the built environment. Although - in a near future - buildings and wind turbines will probably start to be designed as an integrated system, by now, one very real possibility to achieve commercial success is to simply place wind turbines on the roof of buildings, profiting of the hill effect locally generated. VAWTs seem to be more appropriate than commonly used Horizontal-Axis Wind Turbines (HAWTs), since these kinds of machines do not suffer from the frequent wind direction changes. Moreover, their power output is not conditioned by the operation in turbulent flows, which are typical of the built environment. II. THE CASE STUDY The present work is part of a research project finalized to the installation of a wind energy conversion system (WECS) on top of the Panorama Giustinelli Building, Trieste (Italy). Fig. 1 shows a rendering of the building and the selected position of the turbine mounting point. Fig. 1 Rendering of the Panorama Giustinelli Building, showing also the selected position for the placement of the WECS M. Raciti Castelli, S. Mogno, S. Giacometti, and E. Benini Wind Tunnel Investigation of the Turbulent Flow around the Panorama Giustinelli Building for VAWT Application R World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology International Journal of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Vol:6, No:11, 2012 2556 International Scholarly and Scientific Research & Innovation 6(11) 2012 scholar.waset.org/1307-6892/11676 International Science Index, Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Vol:6, No:11, 2012 waset.org/Publication/11676