Modeling of Impurity Transport in the Core Plasma

Modeling of Impurity Transport in the Core Plasma
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages: 26
Release: 1992
Genre:
ISBN:

This paper presents a brief overview of computer modeling of impurity transport in the core region of controlled thermonuclear fusion plasmas. The atomic processes of importance in these high temperature plasmas and the numerical formulation of the model are described. Selected modeling examples are then used to highlight some features of the physics of impurity behavior in large tokamak fusion devices, with an emphasis on demonstrating the sensitivity of such modeling to uncertainties in the rate coefficients used for the atomic processes. This leads to a discussion of current requirements and opportunities for generating the improved sets of comprehensive atomic data needed to support present and future fusion impurity modeling studies.

Models for Impurity Production and Transport in Tokamaks

Models for Impurity Production and Transport in Tokamaks
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 1976
Genre:
ISBN:

Models for the edge conditions which are commonly used in tokamak transport codes have been kept simple partly because of a lack of data. A report is presented on an improved model for the particle and energy balance of e−, H1, H1°, H2, H2°, O°, O/sup (1 yields 8)/sup +// in the plasma scrape-off region. Experiments should yield the needed data in the near future, and allow one to test the model. The diffusion of impurities has been studied with a neoclassical model. The role of 'anomalous spreading' of the impurity distribution has been studied for the case of Fe. A model is presented for the expulsion of low-Z (oxygen) impurities for cases where q(0) greater than 1, but in which a large shear-free region is produced in the plasma core.

Experimental Data Analysis Techniques for Validation of Tokamak Impurity Transport Simulations

Experimental Data Analysis Techniques for Validation of Tokamak Impurity Transport Simulations
Author: Mark Alan Chilenski
Publisher:
Total Pages: 485
Release: 2017
Genre:
ISBN:

This thesis presents two new techniques for analyzing data from impurity transport experiments in magnetically confined plasmas, with specific applications to the Alcator C-Mod tokamak. The objective in developing these new techniques is to improve the quality of the experimental results used to test simulations of turbulent transport: better characterization of the uncertainty in the experimental results will yield a better test of the simulations. Transport codes are highly sensitive to the gradients of the background temperature and density profiles, so the first half of this thesis presents a new approach to fitting tokamak profiles using nonstationary Gaussian process regression. This powerful technique overcomes many of the shortcomings of previous spline-based data smoothing techniques, and can even handle more complicated cases such as line-integrated measurements, computation of second derivatives, and 2d fitting of spatially- and temporally-resolved measurements. The second half of this thesis focuses on experimental measurements of impurity transport coefficients. It is shown that there are considerable shortcomings in existing point estimates of these quantities. Next, a linearized model of impurity transport data is constructed and used to estimate diagnostic requirements for impurity transport measurements. It is found that spatial resolution is more important than temporal resolution. Finally, a fully Bayesian approach to inferring experimental impurity transport coefficient profiles which overcomes the shortcomings of the previous approaches through use of multimodal nested sampling is developed and benchmarked using synthetic data. These tests reveal that uncertainties in the transport coefficient profiles previously attributed to uncertainties in the temperature and density profiles are in fact entirely explained by changes in the spline knot positions. Appendices are provided describing the extensive work done to determine the derivatives of stationary and nonstationary covariance kernels and the open source software developed as part of this thesis work. The techniques developed here will enable more rigorous benchmarking of turbulent transport simulations, with the ultimate goal of developing a predictive capability.

Gyrokinetic Simulations of Turbulent Impurity Transport in Tokamaks

Gyrokinetic Simulations of Turbulent Impurity Transport in Tokamaks
Author: Pierre Manas
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2015
Genre:
ISBN:

Understanding impurity transport in the core of tokamak plasmas is central to achieving controlled fusion. Indeed impurities are ubiquitous in these devices and their presence in the core are detrimental to plasma confinement (fuel dilution, Bremsstrahlung). Recently, specific attention was given to the convective mechanism related to the gradient of the toroidal rotation to explain experimental flat/hollow impurity profiles in the plasma core. In this thesis, up-to-date modelling tools (NEO for neoclassical transport and GKW for turbulent transport) including the impact of toroidal rotation are used to study both the neoclassical and turbulent contributions to impurity fluxes. A comparison of the experimental and modelled carbon density peaking factor (R/LnC) is performed for a large number of baseline and hybrid H-mode plasmas (increased confinement regimes) with modest to high toroidal rotation from the European tokamak JET. Confrontation of experimental and modelled carbon peaking factor yields two main results. First roto-diffusion is found to have a nonnegligible impact on the carbon peaking factor at high values of the toroidal rotation frequency gradient. Second, there is a tendency to overpredict the experimental R/LnC in the core inner region where the carbon density profiles are hollow. This disagreement between experimental and modelled R/LnC, closely related to the collisionality, is also observed for the momentum transport channel which hints at a common parallel symmetry breaking mechanism lacking in the simulations.

Final Report

Final Report
Author: B. I. Cohen
Publisher:
Total Pages: 3
Release: 2005
Genre:
ISBN:

The Plasma Theory and Simulation Group (PTSG) is collaborating with LLNL in order to model the edge region of a tokamak plasma and its interaction with the diverter plate. In the overall framework of the project, MHD will be used to model the bulk plasma. Near the edge, the MHD model will interface with the gyrokinetic code UEDGE developed at LLNL. Since the UEDGE model approximations may not be accurate within a few cyclotron radii of the diverter plate, the UEDGE code will interface with a collisional PIC-hybrid code developed by the PTSG under this project. The PTSG PIC code will include a self-consistent potential with kinetic or fixed hydrogen ions. The sputtering profile of the plate, under development at LLNL, will be used as input to the PIC code in order to correctly model the kinetic behavior of sputtered carbon. These carbon products will interact with hydrogen according to known chemistry cross-sections. While some kinetic electrons may be used to model the fast tail of the distribution function (if necessary), the bulk of the electron population will be modeled as being in thermal equilibrium using the Boltzmann relation, resulting in a significant improvement in code speed. Coulomb collisions may also be considered. The Boltzmann model has been implemented with various features in three of the PTSG codes: XPDP1 and OOPD1 (both 1d-3v), and OOPIC (2d-3v), according to the methodology of Cartwright [1]. When the model is fully implemented, it will include fluid interaction with the boundaries, energy conservation through the temperature term, and take into account collisions with the Boltzmann species. A more rigorous convergence analysis has been developed than is outlined in [1]; boundary effects are included explicitly in a formulation valid in arbitrary coordinate systems. In OOPD1, the Boltzmann model is included in an object-oriented manner as part of a general fluid model framework. The basic Boltzmann solver has been implemented and shown to give self-consistent results. The details and results were described in detail in a talk presented at LLNL (updated slides attached). Currently, the output of the three codes is being compared for a test case of a current-driven DC discharge. Computational speed-up and accuracy will be compared between PIC and the Boltzmann-PIC hybrid. A framework for general binary and three-body collisions is being developed for OOPD1. Given known cross-sections or reaction rates, this will function as a chemistry model for the code. The framework may then be imported into OOPIC.

Integrated Model for Transport and Large Scale Instabilities in Tokamak Plasmas

Integrated Model for Transport and Large Scale Instabilities in Tokamak Plasmas
Author: Federico David Halpern
Publisher:
Total Pages: 140
Release: 2009
Genre:
ISBN: 9781109166835

Improved models for neoclassical tearing modes and anomalous transport are developed and validated within integrated modeling codes to predict toroidal rotation, temperature and current density profiles in tokamak plasmas. Neoclassical tearing modes produce helical filaments of plasma, called magnetic islands, which have the effect of degrading tokamak plasma confinement or terminating the discharge. An improved code is developed in order to compute the widths of multiple simultaneous magnetic islands whose shapes are distorted by the radial variation in the magnetic perturbation [F. D. Halpern, et al., J. Plasma Physics 72 (2006) 1153]. It is found in simulations of DIII-D and JET tokamak discharges that multiple simultaneous magnetic islands produce a 10% to 20% reduction in plasma thermal confinement. If magnetic islands are allowed to grow to their full width in ITER fusion reactor simulations, fusion power production is reduced by a factor of four [F. D. Halpern, et al., Phys. Plasmas 13 (2006) 062510]. In addition to improving the prediction of neoclassical tearing modes, a new Multi-Mode transport model, MMM08, was developed to predict temperature and toroidal angular frequency profiles in simulations of tokamak discharges. The capability for predicting toroidal rotation is motivated by ITER simulation results that indicate that the effects of toroidal rotation can increase ITER fusion power production [F. D. Halpern et al., Phys. Plasmas 15 (2008), 062505]. The MMM08 model consists of an improved model for transport driven by ion drift modes [F. D. Halpern et al., Phys. Plasmas 15 (2008) 012304] together with a model for transport driven by short wavelength electron drift modes combined with models for transport driven by classical processes. The new MMM08 transport model was validated by comparing predictive simulation results with experimental data for 32 discharges in the DIII-D and JET tokamaks. It was found that the prediction of intrinsic plasma rotation is consistent with experimental measurements in discharges with zero net torque. A scaling relation was developed for the toroidal momentum confinement time (angular momentum divided by net torque) as a function of plasma current and torque per ion.

Collisional Transport in Magnetized Plasmas

Collisional Transport in Magnetized Plasmas
Author: Per Helander
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 316
Release: 2005-10-06
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9780521020985

A graduate level text treating transport theory, an essential element of theoretical plasma physics.