An improved neutral diffusion model and numerical solution of the two dimensional edge plasma fluid equations. Final report
In this work, it has been shown that, for the given sets of parameters (transport coefficients), the Tangent-Predictor (TP) continuation method, which was used in the coarsest grid, works remarkably well. The problems in finding an initial guess that resides well within Newton`s method radius of convergence are alleviated by correcting the initial guess by the predictor step of the TP method. The TP method works well also in neutral gas puffing and impurity simulations. The neutral gas puffing simulation is performed by systematically increasing the fraction of puffing rate according to the TP method until it reaches a desired condition. Similarly, the impurity simulation characterized by using the fraction of impurity density as the continuation parameter, is carried out in line with the TP method. Both methods show, as expected, a better performance than the classical embedding (CE) method. The convergence criteria {epsilon} is set to be 10{sup {minus}9} based on the fact that lower value of {epsilon} does not alter the solution significantly. Correspondingly, the number of Newton`s iterations in the corrector step of the TP method decrease substantially, an extra point in terms of code speed. The success of the TP method enlarges the possibility of including other sets of parameters (operations and physics). With the availability of the converged coarsest grid solution, the next forward step to the multigrid cycle becomes possible. The multigrid method shows that the memory storage problems that plagued the application of Newton`s method on fine grids, are of no concern. An important result that needs to be noted here is the performance of the FFCD model. The FFCD model is relatively simple and is based on the overall results the model has shown to predict different divertor plasma parameters. The FFCD model treats exactly the implementation of the deep penetration of energetic neutrals emerging from the divertor plate. The resulting ionization profiles are relatively smooth as a consequence of the less localized recycling, leading to an improved convergence rate of the numerical algorithm. Peak plasma density is lower and the temperature correspondingly higher than those predicted by the standard diffusion model. It is believed that the FFCD model is more accurate. With both the TP continuation and multigrid methods, the author has demonstrated the robustness of these two methods. A mutually beneficial hybridization between the TP method and multigrid methods is clearly an alternative for edge plasma simulation. While the fundamental transport model considered in this work has ignored important physics such as drifts and currents, he has nevertheless demonstrated the versatility and robustness of the numerical scheme to handle such new physics. The application of gaseous-radiative divertor model in this work is just a beginning and up to this point numerically, the future is exciting.
- Research Organization:
- Univ. of New Mexico, Chemical and Nuclear Engineering Dept., Albuquerque, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Research, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- FG03-92ER54182
- OSTI ID:
- 656806
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/ER/54182-T1; ON: DE98006418; BR: AT150403B; TRN: 98:011155
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: [1998]
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Plasma Wall Interaction with 3-D Plasma Boundaries
Status of Continuum Edge Gyrokinetic Code Physics Development