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Title: MHD modeling of shattered pellet injection in JET

Journal Article · · Nuclear Fusion

Abstract Nonlinear 3D MHD simulations of shattered-pellet injection (SPI) in JET show prototypical SPI- driven disruptions using the M3D-C1 and NIMROD extended-MHD codes. Initially, radiation-driven thermal quenches are accelerated by MHD activity as the pellet crosses rational surfaces, leading to a radiation spike, global stochasticization of the magnetic field, and a complete thermal quench. Eventually, current quenches, preceded by a current spike are seen as the Ohmic heating becomes equal to the radiative cooling. The results are qualitatively similar for both a single monolithic pellet, pencil-beam model, and a realistic shatter to represent the SPI plume. A scan in viscosity from 500-2000 m2/s for MHD simulations finds that reducing viscosity increases MHD activity and decreases thermal quench time 1slightly. A realistic cloud of fragments modeling shows that mixed-D-Ne pellet travels deeper into the plasma core before the thermal quench. At the slow pellet speeds, the pellet is found to be moving slowly enough inward that even the 5% neon in the mixed pellet is enough to effectively radiate the thermal energy available. Radiation toroidal peaking is predicted to be at levels consistent with experimental observations and reduced as the pellet travels deeper into the plasma. These simulations lay the ground work for more-sophisticated validative and predictive modeling of SPI in JET using both M3D-C1 and NIMROD

Research Organization:
General Atomics, San Diego, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Fusion Energy Sciences (FES)
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0020299
OSTI ID:
1973160
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1969428; OSTI ID: 1973012
Report Number(s):
DOE-GA-20299-2
Journal Information:
Nuclear Fusion, Journal Name: Nuclear Fusion Vol. 63 Journal Issue: 6; ISSN 0029-5515
Publisher:
IOP PublishingCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
IAEA
Language:
English

References (15)

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Disruption thermal load mitigation with shattered pellet injection on the Joint European Torus (JET) journal November 2021
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Review: Pellet injection experiments and modelling journal July 2007
Nonlinear magnetohydrodynamics simulation using high-order finite elements journal March 2004
3D two-temperature magnetohydrodynamic modeling of fast thermal quenches due to injected impurities in tokamaks journal November 2018
Radiation asymmetry and MHD destabilization during the thermal quench after impurity shattered pellet injection journal January 2021
Shatter Thresholds and Fragment Size Distributions of Deuterium–Neon Mixture Cryogenic Pellets for Tokamak Thermal Mitigation journal September 2020
Modeling of rapid shutdown in the DIII-D tokamak by core deposition of high-Z material journal June 2017
Axisymmetric benchmarks of impurity dynamics in extended-magnetohydrodynamic simulations journal April 2019
Shattered pellet injection simulations with NIMROD journal April 2019
Transport simulations of pre-thermal quench shattered pellet injection in ITER: code verification and assessment of key trends journal September 2022
Enhanced Material Assimilation in a Toroidal Plasma Using Mixed H2+Ne Pellet Injection and Implications to ITER journal December 2022
Chapter 6: Steady state operation journal June 2007
Effect of Parallel Flows and Toroidicity on Cross-Field Transport of Pellet Ablation Matter in Tokamak Plasmas journal April 2005

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