In this paper, numerical investigations were carried out to study the bucket design effect on the turbulent flow around unconventional Savonius wind rotors. The numerical model is based on the resolution of the Navier Stokes equations in conjunction with the standard k-epsilon turbulence model. These equations were solved by a finite volume discretization method. The software "Solidworks Flow simulation" has been used to characterise the flow characteristics in different transverse and longitudinal planes. Experimental results are conducted on an open wind tunnel equipped by an incurved Savonius wind rotor. The good agreement between numerical and experimental results confirms the validity of the numerical method. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.