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Title: Verification and validation of linear gyrokinetic and kinetic-MHD simulations for internal kink instability in DIII-D tokamak

Journal Article · · Nuclear Fusion
ORCiD logo [1];  [2]; ORCiD logo [3];  [3];  [1]; ORCiD logo [3];  [1];  [4]; ORCiD logo [1];  [5]; ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [2]; ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [6];  [1];  [7]
  1. Univ. of California, Irvine, CA (United States)
  2. Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing (China)
  3. Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States)
  4. General Atomics, San Diego, CA (United States)
  5. Dalian Univ. of Technology (China)
  6. Ecole Polytechnique Federale Lausanne (Switzerland)
  7. Ecole Polytechnique, Palaiseau (France)

Here, verification and linear validation of the internal kink instability in tokamak have been performed for both gyrokinetic (GTC) and kinetic-MHD codes (GAM-solver, M3D-C1-K, NOVA, XTOR-K). Using realistic magnetic geometry and plasma profiles from the same equilibrium reconstruction of the DIII-D shot #141216, these codes exhibit excellent agreement for the growth rate and mode structure of the internal kink mode when all kinetic effects are suppressed. The simulated radial mode structures, obtained from linear simulations, are in reasonable agreement with the normalised electron cyclotron emission measurement after adjusting, within the experimental uncertainty, the safety factor q = 1 flux-surface location in the equilibrium reconstruction. Compressible magnetic perturbations strongly destabilize the kink, while poloidal variations of the equilibrium current density reduce the growth rate of the kink. Furthermore, kinetic effects of thermal ions are found to decrease the kink growth rate in kinetic-MHD simulations, but increase the kink growth rate in gyrokinetic simulations, due to the additional drive of the ion temperature gradient and parallel electric field. Kinetic thermal electrons are found to have negligible effects on the internal kink instability.

Research Organization:
General Atomics, San Diego, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC); European Research Council (ERC)
Grant/Contract Number:
FC02-04ER54698; AC05-00OR22725; AC02-05CH11231; AC02-09CH11466; SC0020337; 633053; 0510813
OSTI ID:
1846294
Journal Information:
Nuclear Fusion, Vol. 62, Issue 3; ISSN 0029-5515
Publisher:
IOP ScienceCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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