325 research outputs found
Angular momentum transport modeling: achievements of a gyrokinetic quasi-linear approach
QuaLiKiz, a model based on a local gyrokinetic eigenvalue solver is expanded
to include momentum flux modeling in addition to heat and particle fluxes.
Essential for accurate momentum flux predictions, the parallel asymmetrization
of the eigenfunctions is successfully recovered by an analytical fluid model.
This is tested against self-consistent gyrokinetic calculations and allows for
a correct prediction of the ExB shear impact on the saturated potential
amplitude by means of a mixing length rule. Hence, the effect of the ExB shear
is recovered on all the transport channels including the induced residual
stress. Including these additions, QuaLiKiz remains ~10 000 faster than
non-linear gyrokinetic codes allowing for comparisons with experiments without
resorting to high performance computing. The example is given of momentum pinch
calculations in NBI modulation experiments
Semianalytical calculation of the zonal-flow oscillation frequency in stellarators
Due to their capability to reduce turbulent transport in magnetized plasmas,
understanding the dynamics of zonal flows is an important problem in the fusion
programme. Since the pioneering work by Rosenbluth and Hinton in axisymmetric
tokamaks, it is known that studying the linear and collisionless relaxation of
zonal flow perturbations gives valuable information and physical insight.
Recently, the problem has been investigated in stellarators and it has been
found that in these devices the relaxation process exhibits a characteristic
feature: a damped oscillation. The frequency of this oscillation might be a
relevant parameter in the regulation of turbulent transport, and therefore its
efficient and accurate calculation is important. Although an analytical
expression can be derived for the frequency, its numerical evaluation is not
simple and has not been exploited systematically so far. Here, a numerical
method for its evaluation is considered, and the results are compared with
those obtained by calculating the frequency from gyrokinetic simulations. This
"semianalytical" approach for the determination of the zonal-flow frequency
reveals accurate and faster than the one based on gyrokinetic simulations.Comment: 30 pages, 14 figure
Trinity: A Unified Treatment of Turbulence, Transport, and Heating in Magnetized Plasmas
To faithfully simulate ITER and other modern fusion devices, one must resolve
electron and ion fluctuation scales in a five-dimensional phase space and time.
Simultaneously, one must account for the interaction of this turbulence with
the slow evolution of the large-scale plasma profiles. Because of the enormous
range of scales involved and the high dimensionality of the problem, resolved
first-principles global simulations are very challenging using conventional
(brute force) techniques. In this thesis, the problem of resolving turbulence
is addressed by developing velocity space resolution diagnostics and an
adaptive collisionality that allow for the confident simulation of velocity
space dynamics using the approximate minimal necessary dissipation. With regard
to the wide range of scales, a new approach has been developed in which
turbulence calculations from multiple gyrokinetic flux tube simulations are
coupled together using transport equations to obtain self-consistent,
steady-state background profiles and corresponding turbulent fluxes and
heating. This approach is embodied in a new code, Trinity, which is capable of
evolving equilibrium profiles for multiple species, including electromagnetic
effects and realistic magnetic geometry, at a fraction of the cost of
conventional global simulations. Furthermore, an advanced model physical
collision operator for gyrokinetics has been derived and implemented, allowing
for the study of collisional turbulent heating, which has not been extensively
studied. To demonstrate the utility of the coupled flux tube approach,
preliminary results from Trinity simulations of the core of an ITER plasma are
presented.Comment: 187 pages, 53 figures, Ph.D. thesis in physics at University of
Maryland, single-space versio
Evidence and modeling of turbulence bifurcation in L-mode confinement transitions on Alcator C-Mod
© 2020 Author(s). Analysis and modeling of rotation reversal hysteresis experiments show that a single turbulent bifurcation is responsible for the Linear to Saturated Ohmic Confinement (LOC/SOC) transition and concomitant intrinsic rotation reversal on Alcator C-Mod. Plasmas on either side of the reversal exhibit different toroidal rotation profiles and therefore different turbulence characteristics despite the profiles of density and temperature, which are indistinguishable within measurement uncertainty. Elements of this bifurcation are also shown to persist for auxiliary heated L-modes. The deactivation of subdominant (in the linear growth rate and contribution to heat transport) ion temperature gradient and trapped electron mode instabilities is identified as the only possible change in turbulence within a reduced quasilinear transport model across the reversal, which is consistent with the measured profiles and inferred heat and particle fluxes. Experimental constraints on a possible change from strong to weak turbulence, outside the description of the quasilinear model, are also discussed. These results indicate an explanation for the LOC/SOC transition that provides a mechanism for the hysteresis through the dynamics of subdominant modes and changes in their relative populations and does not involve a change in the most linearly unstable ion-scale drift-wave instability
Angular momentum transport modeling: achievements of a gyrokinetic quasi-linear approach
International audienceQuaLiKiz, a model based on a local gyrokinetic eigenvalue solver is expanded to include momentum flux modeling in addition to heat and particle fluxes. Essential for accurate momentum flux predictions, the parallel asymmetrization of the eigenfunctions is successfully recovered by an analytical fluid model. This is tested against self-consistent gyrokinetic calculations and allows for a correct prediction of the E×B shear impact on the saturated potential amplitude by means of a mixing length rule. Hence, the effect of the E×B shear is recovered on all the transport channels including the induced residual stress. Including these additions, QuaLiKiz remains ∼10 000 faster than non-linear gyrokinetic codes allowing for comparisons with experiments without resorting to high performance computing. The example is given of momentum pinch calculations in NBI modulation experiments
Global simulations of tokamak microturbulence: finite-β effects and collisions
In this paper, we present global nonlinear gyrokinetic simulations including finite beta effects and collisions in tokamak geometry. Global electromagnetic simulations using conventional delta-f particle in cell methods are very demanding, with respect to numerical resources, in order to correctly describe the evolution of the non-adiabatic part of the electron distribution function. This difficulty has been overcome using an appropriate adjustable control variate method in the conventional delta-f scheme. Linearized inter-species and like-species collision operators have also been introduced in the model. The inclusion of the collisional dynamics makes it possible to carry out simulations of microturbulence starting from a global neoclassical equilibrium and to study the effect of collisions on the transport induced by electrostatic microinstabilities
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