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Low power efficiency is a critical factor that restricts the engineering application of the vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT). In order to improve the efficiency of VAWT and reduce aerodynamic load, an improved aerodynamic performance optimization model for a large VAWT with trailing edge flaps at a medium tip speed ratio (TSR=2.65) is proposed. A numerical simulation is conducted using the SST k-ω turbulence model. The results indicate that compared with the base model, the power coefficient of the model under the synergic motion of pitch and flap can be increased by 12.2%. In addition, the synergic motion of pitch and flap can significantly reduce the thrust and lateral force on the VAWT, which are reduced by 12.4% and 7.5% respectively compared with the base model. The load fluctuation of thrust and lateral force is also significantly lower than that of the base model, which is helpful to reduce the fatigue load on wind turbine. This model is expected to be applied to MW-level VAWT.