J.T. Omotani F. Militello L. Easy N.R. Walkden
A complete model of the dynamics of scrape-off layer filaments will be rather complex, including temperature evolution, three dimensional geometry and finite Larmor radius effects. However, the basic mechanism of E x B advection due to electrostatic potential driven by the diamagnetic current can be captured in a much simpler model; a complete unde…
Preprint PublishedC. A. Bowie R. O. Dendy M. J. Hole
The sandpile paradigm is widely used to model aspects of the phenomenology of magnetically confined fusion (MCF) plasmas, including enhanced confinement, edge pedestals and, potentially, the impulsive energy and particle release process known as ELMing. Here we identify new points of contact between ELMing and the systemwide avalanches in a sandpil…
Preprint PublishedJ. Omotani I. Pusztai S. Newton T. Fülöp
Neutral atoms can strongly influence the intrinsic rotation and radial electric field at the tokamak edge. Here, we present a framework to investigate these effects when the neutrals dominate the momentum transport. We explore the parameter space numerically, using highly flexible model geometries and a state of the art kinetic solver. We find that…
Preprint PublishedA. Geraldini F. I. Parra F. Militello
We develop a gyrokinetic treatment for ions in the magnetic presheath, close to the plasma-wall boundary. We focus on magnetic presheaths with a small magnetic field to wall angle, a << 1 (in radians). Characteristic lengths perpendicular to the wall in such a magnetic presheath scale with the typical ion Larmor orbit size, r
Preprint PublishedA.G. Peeters F. Rath R. Buchholz Y. Camenen J. Candy F.J. Casson S.R. Grosshauser W.A. Hornsby D. Strintzi A. Weikl
It is shown that ITG turbulence close to the threshold exhibits a long time behaviour, with smaller heat fluxes at later times. This reduction is connected with the slow growth of long wave length zonal flows and, consequently, the numerical dissipation on these flows must be sufficient small. Close to the nonlinear threshold for turbulence generat…
Preprint PublishedK.G. McClements E.D. Fredrickson
Spherical tokamaks (STs) typically have lower magnetic fields than conventional tokamaks, but similar mass densities. Suprathermal ions with relatively modest energies, in particular beam-injected ions, consequently have speeds close to or exceeding the Alfven velocity, and can therefore excite a range of Alfvenic instabilities. STs heated with neu…
Preprint PublishedA. Xu D.E.J. Armstrong C. Beck M. P. Moody G. D.W. Smith P. A. J. Bagot S. G. Roberts
In tungsten plasma-facing fusion reactor components, Ta is the third most abundant element formed by transmutation (after Re and Os), yet little is known about the behaviour of W-Ta alloys under irradiation and any effects Ta might have on Re clustering in W-Re-Ta alloys. In this study, W-4.5 at.%Ta, W-2 at.% Re-1 at.%Ta andW-2 at.%Re alloys were e…
PublishedH. Tanabe T. Yamada T. Watanabe K. Gi M. Inomoto R. Imazawa M. Gryaznevich C. Michael B. Crowley N. J. Conway R. Scannell J. Harrison I. Fitzgerald A. Meakins N. Hawkes K. G. McClements T. O'Gorman C. Z. Cheng Y. Ono The MAST team
In the last three years, magnetic reconnection research in the MAST spherical tokamak achieved major progress by use of new 32 chord ion Doppler tomography, 130 channel YAG and 300 channel Ruby Thomson scattering diagnostics. In addition to the previously achieved high power plasma heating during merging, detailed full temperature profile measureme…
Preprint PublishedP.M.S. Buller I. Pusztai S.L. Newton J.T. Omotani
In tokamak transport barriers, the radial scale of profile variations can be comparable to a typical ion orbit width, which makes the coupling of the distribution function across flux surfaces important in the collisional dynamics. We use the radially global steady-state neoclassical f code Perfect to calculate poloidal and toroidal flows, and radi…
Preprint PublishedB. Layden Z. S. Qu M. Fitzgerald M. J. Hole
A number of tools have recently been developed to study equilibrium and stability in tokamaks with pressure anisotropy. Here we apply these tools to a Mega Ampere Spherical Tokamak (MAST) discharge to calculate equilibrium, Alfven continua and eigenmodes, through to linear growth and nonlinear saturation of a toroidal Alfven eigenmode (TAE); this i…
Preprint Published