Development and Validation of a Source-Term Based High-Order CFD Framework for Vertical Axis Wind Turbine Simulation

Wind turbine simulation requires accurate modeling of complex aerodynamic interactions between rotating blades and fluid flow. This study introduces a coupled framework that combines high-order Flux Reconstruction/Correction Procedure via Reconstruction (FR/CPR) methods with Actuator Disk Model (ADM) techniques on a structured cartesian grid to simulate a Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT). The use of a simple cartesian grid is a key advantage, as it eliminates the significant time and complexity required to generate body-fitted meshes around turbine components. Through a series of validation tests, including inviscid and viscous cylinder flows at multiple Reynolds numbers and rotating cylinder dynamics, the framework demonstrates strong agreement with reference solutions. Then the solver is applied to a VAWT simulation with non-rotating ADM (ADM-NR) model and captures the predicted momentum deficit characteristics. Despite simplifications in blade modeling, the model offers computational efficiency and sets a baseline for future extensions to rotating disk models, three-dimensional analysis, and wind farm applications.