ABSTRACT
This paper will describe experimental measurements of mean and time dependent pressures on a rotor blade as it passes through the region of influence of the tower. The measurements are carried out on a 2m-diameter model rotor in a wind tunnel and are for both the usual case when the rotor is upstream of the tower and the case of the downstream rotor which passes through the wake of the tower. In the former case significant interaction only occurs when the blade passes close to the tower, within its ‘potential’ flow field, but in the latter case the interaction occurs for a larger range of separations. The measurements are made using pressure transducers mounted in one of the blades and in the hub of the model and are taken under conditions of controlled, uniform incident flow.
