Blob dynamics in the TORPEX experiment

Riva, Fabio Matteo; Colin, C; Denis, J; Easy, L; Furno, I; Madsen, J; Militello, F; Naulin, V; Nielsen, A H; Olsen, J M B; Omotani, J T; Rasmussen, J J; Ricci, P; Serre, E; Tamain, P; Theiler, C

doi:10.1088/0741-3335/58/4/044005

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Journal article

Blob dynamics in the TORPEX experiment : a multi-code validation

Riva, Fabio Matteo ORCID Istituto ricerche solari Aldo e Cele Daccò (IRSOL), Faculty of Informatics, Università della Svizzera italiana Switzerland - Swiss Plasma Center (SPC), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland
Colin, C Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, Centrale Marseille, France
Denis, J Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, Centrale Marseille, France - CEA, IRFM, Saint Paul-lez-Durance, France
Easy, L Department of Physics, University of York, UK - CCFE, Culham Science Centre, Abingdon, UK
Furno, I Swiss Plasma Center (SPC), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland
Madsen, J Deparment of Physics, Technical Univervsity of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
Militello, F CCFE, Culham Science Centre, Abingdon, UK
Naulin, V Deparment of Physics, Technical Univervsity of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
Nielsen, A H Deparment of Physics, Technical Univervsity of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
Olsen, J M B Deparment of Physics, Technical Univervsity of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
Omotani, J T CCFE, Culham Science Centre, Abingdon, UK
Rasmussen, J J Deparment of Physics, Technical Univervsity of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
Ricci, P Swiss Plasma Center (SPC), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland
Serre, E Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, Centrale Marseille, France
Tamain, P CEA, IRFM, Saint Paul-lez-Durance, France
Theiler, C Swiss Plasma Center (SPC), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland

2016

Published in:

Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion. - 2016, vol. 58, no. 4, p. 044005

English Three-dimensional and two-dimensional seeded blob simulations are performed with five different fluid models, all based on the drift-reduced Braginskii equations, and the numerical results are compared among themselves and validated against experimental measurements provided by the TORPEX device (Fasoli et al 2006 Phys. Plasmas 13 055902). The five models are implemented in four simulation codes, typically used to simulate the plasma dynamics in the tokamak scrape-off layer, namely BOUT++ (Dudson et al 2009 Comput. Phys. Commun. 180 1467), GBS (Ricci et al 2012 Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion 54 124047), HESEL (Nielsen et al 2015 Phys. Lett. A 379 3097), and TOKAM3X (Tamain et al 2014 Contrib. Plasma Phys. 54 555). Three blobs with different velocities and different stability properties are simulated. The differences observed among the simulation results and the different levels of agreement with experimental measurements are investigated, increasing our confidence in our simulation tools and shedding light on the blob dynamics. The comparisons demonstrate that the radial blob dynamics observed in the three-dimensional simulations is in good agreement with experimental measurements and that, in the present experimental scenario, the two-dimensional model derived under the assumption of k∥ = 0 is able to recover the blob dynamics observed in the three-dimensional simulations. Moreover, it is found that an accurate measurement of the blob temperature is important to perform reliable seeded blob simulations.

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