A Description of the Full Particle Orbit Following SPIRAL Code for Simulating Fast-ion Experiments in Tokamaks
The numerical methods used in the full particle-orbit following SPIRAL code are described and a number of physics studies performed with the code are presented to illustrate its capabilities. The SPIRAL code is a test-particle code and is a powerful numerical tool to interpret and plan fast-ion experiments in Tokamaks. Gyro-orbit effects are important for fast ions in low-field machines such as NSTX and to a lesser extent in DIII-D. A number of physics studies are interlaced between the description of the code to illustrate its capabilities. Results on heat loads generated by a localized error-field on the DIII-D wall are compared to measurements. The enhanced Triton losses caused by the same localized error-field are calculated and compared to measured neutron signals. MHD activity such as tearing modes and Toroidicity-induced Alfven Eigenmodes (TAEs) have a profound effect on the fast-ion content of Tokamak plasmas and SPIRAL can calculate the effects of MHD activity on the confined and lost fast-ion population as illustrated for a burst of TAE activity in NSTX. The interaction between Ion Cyclotron Range of Frequency (ICRF) heating and fast ions depends solely on the gyro-motion of the fast ions and is captured exactly in the SPIRAL code. A calculation of ICRF absorption on beam ions in ITER is presented. The effects of high harmonic fast wave heating on the beam-ion slowing-down distribution in NSTX is also studied.
- Research Organization:
- Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States); University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA (United States); General Atomics, San Diego, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC)
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-ACO2-09CH11466
- OSTI ID:
- 1056825
- Report Number(s):
- PPPL-4788
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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