3D structure and dynamics of filaments in turbulence simulations of WEST diverted plasmas

We study the effect of a diverted magnetic geometry on edge plasma turbulence, focusing on the three-dimensional structure and dynamics of filaments, also called blobs, in simulations of the WEST tokamak, featuring a primary and secondary X-point. For this purpose, in addition to classical analysis techniques, we apply here a novel fully 3D Blob Recognition And Tracking (BRAT) algorithm, allowing for the first time to resolve the three-dimensional structure and dynamics of the blobs in a turbulent 3D plasma featuring a realistic magnetic geometry. The results are tested against existing theoretical scalings of blob velocity [Myra et al, Physics of Plasmas 2006]. The complementary analysis of the 3D structure of the filaments shows how they disconnect from the divertor plate in the vicinity of the X-points, leading to a transition from a sheath-connected regime to the ideal-interchange one. Furthermore, the numerical results show non-negligible effects of the turbulent background plasma: approximately half of the detected filaments are involved in mutual interactions, eventually resulting in negative radial velocities, and a fraction of the filaments is generated by turbulence directly below the X-point.

F. Nespoli, P. Tamain, N. Fedorczak, G. Ciraolo, D. Galassi, et al.. 3D structure and dynamics of filaments in turbulence simulations of WEST diverted plasmas. Nuclear Fusion, 2019. ⟨hal-02364554⟩

Journal: Nuclear Fusion

Date de publication: 01-09-2019

Auteurs:
  • F. Nespoli
  • P. Tamain
  • N. Fedorczak
  • G. Ciraolo
  • D. Galassi
  • R. Tatali
  • E. Serre
  • Y. Marandet
  • H. Bufferand
  • Ph Ghendrih


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