Coupled 2D MHD and runaway electron fluid simulations of SPARC disruptions

Datta, R.; Clauser, C.; Ferraro, N.; Liu, C.; Sweeney, R.; Tinguely, R. A.

doi:10.1063/5.0272430

Coupled 2D MHD and runaway electron fluid simulations of SPARC disruptions

Journal Article · Fri Aug 08 00:00:00 EDT 2025 · Physics of Plasmas

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0272430· OSTI ID:2586664

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Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA (United States)
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States)
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States); Peking University, Beijing (China)
Commonwealth Fusion Systems, Devens, MA (United States)

Runaway electrons (REs) generated during disruption events in tokamaks can carry mega-Ampère level currents, potentially causing damage to plasma-facing components. Understanding RE evolution during disruption events is important for evaluating strategies to mitigate RE damage. Using two-dimensional toroidally symmetric magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations in M3D-C1, which incorporates a fluid RE model evolved self-consistently with the bulk MHD fluid, we examine the seeding and avalanching of REs during disruptions in the SPARC tokamak – a compact, high-field, high-current device designed to achieve a fusion gain Q > 2 in deuterium–tritium plasmas. The M3D-C1 simulations of unmitigated disruptions demonstrate RE plateau formation and peaking of the final current density, which agree well with the results of lower-fidelity reduced RE fluid models. This work provides the first systematic comparison and benchmarking of different primary sources, including activated tritium beta decay and Compton scattering, in SPARC disruption simulations with self-consistent MHD and RE coupling.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-09CH11466

OSTI ID:: 2586664

Journal Information:: Physics of Plasmas, Journal Name: Physics of Plasmas Journal Issue: 8 Vol. 32; ISSN 1070-664X; ISSN 1089-7674

Publisher:: AIP PublishingCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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