Nonlinear Simulation of Edge-Localized Mode in Spherical Tokamak

A numerical modeling for the dynamics of an edge-localized mode (ELM) crash in the spherical tokamak is proposed with a consecutive scenario which is initiated by the spontaneous growth of the ballooning mode instability by means of a three-dimensional nonlinear magnetohydrodynamic simulation. The simulation result shows a two-step relaxation process which is induced by the intermediate-n ballooning instability followed by the m/n=1/1 internal kink mode, where m and n represent the poloidal and toroidal mode numbers, respectively. By comparing with the experimental observations, we have found that the simulation result can reproduce several characteristic features of the so-called type-I ELM in an appropriate time scale:(1) relation to the ballooning instability, (2) intermediate-n precursors, (3) low-n structure on the crash, (4) formation and separation of the filament, and (5) considerable amount of loss of plasma. Furthermore, the model is verified by examining the effect of diamagnetic stabilization and comparing the nonlinear behavior with that of the peeling modes. The ion diamagnetic drift terms are found to stabilize some specific components linearly; nevertheless they are not so effective in the nonlinear dynamics such as the filament formation and the amount of loss. For the peeling mode case, no prominent filament structure is formed in contrast to the ballooning case

Nonlinear Dynamics of Collapse Phenomena in Heliotron Plasma with Large Pressure Gradient

We have executed nonlinear magnetohydrodynamic(MHD) simulations in a heliotron-type configuration with a large pressure gradient to reveal the nonlinear dynamics of collapse phenomena. The simulation results reproduce the qualitative characteristics of the experimental observation on the so-called core density collapse (CDC) events in the Large Helical Device (LHD) plasma with the super dense core (SDC) profile. A long-term nonlinear behavior on the event, including the flushing mechanism of the core pressure, is clarified. The simulation result shows the linear growth of the ballooning-like resistive instability modes with the intermediate poloidal wavenumbers. The growth of the modes are saturated soon, and the system experiences the energy relaxation in about 1 msec. It should be noted that the linear mode structures are localized in the edge region, whereas the core pressure rapidly falls as the system reaches the relaxed state. The co-existence of the edge perturbation and the core collapse is consistent with the experimental observations. The lost pressure forms a wider tail in the peripheral region. The core pressure is remarkably reduced at a certain period, while it had withstood the disturbance before it. The most salient feature on this period is the disordering of the magnetic field structure. The system keeps the nested-flux-surface structure well in the beginnings, whereas part of them are abruptly lost at this period. Such a situation can induce a flattening of the pressure profile along the reconnected field lines. By checking the place where the plasma loss due to this mechanism occurs, such plasma outlets are found to be located mainly on the disordered region. Thus, one can conclude that the core collapse can be caused by the disturbance of the magnetic field