Turbulence simulations of drift-Alfvén wave effects on edge-localized modes and divertor target heat flux width

He, X. X.; Xia, T. Y.; Li, Y. L.; Fan, K. X.; Qi, H. M.; Xu, Xueqiao Q.; Li, Z. Y.; Li, Nami M.

doi:10.1088/1741-4326/ae1309

Turbulence simulations of drift-Alfvén wave effects on edge-localized modes and divertor target heat flux width

Journal Article · Wed Nov 19 00:00:00 EST 2025 · Nuclear Fusion

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/1741-4326/ae1309· OSTI ID:3013927

He, X. X. ^[1]; Xia, T. Y. ^[1]; ^[1]; Fan, K. X. ^[2]; Qi, H. M. ^[1]; ^[3]; ^[4]; ^[3]

Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Hefei (China)
Peking University, Beijing (China)
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
General Atomics, San Diego, CA (United States)

A series of BOUT++ turbulence simulations are performed for two Pre-Fusion Power Operation (PFPO-1,2) phases of the ITER Research plan proclaimed in 2019. Linear simulation results show that PFPO-1 is unstable to Peeling-ballooning modes (PB), while the PFPO-2 is unstable to the coupling of PB and Drift-Alfvén wave (DAW) instabilities. The linear results are qualitatively consistent with the dispersion relation of DAW. To study the influence of the DAW on the edge-localized mode (ELM) crash, the PFPO-2 is adopted in this section. Different from the grassy ELM in [Li et al 2022 Nucl. Fusion 62, 096030], nonlinear simulations show that the ELM size of PFPO-2 is almost one-third of the grassy ELM, representing a distinct small ELM. However, simulations then show that if the PB instability is removed, the fluctuation amplitude drops by an order of magnitude and the ELM crash disappears, which is in accord with the theory in [Xu et al 2010 Physical Review Letters, Vol. 105, 175005] and the results in [Li et al 2022 Nucl. Fusion 62, 096030], confirming that the PB instability is a necessary condition for an ELM crash. Furthermore, removing the DAW drive also suppresses ELM crashes, implying that PB instability is necessary but insufficient for PFPO-2 ELM and that DAW could amplify PB-driven turbulence. In addition, by integrating results of both PFPO phases by BOUT++ turbulence analysis with heat flux width (λ_q) and electron thermal diffusivity (χ_e), these simulations establish a predictive framework for heat flux width and its dominant mechanisms, thereby providing a comprehensive scheme for the prediction of the heat flux width. Moreover, simulations indicate that DAW driving can increase the transport coefficient by enhancing the turbulent transport, leading to a broadened heat flux width once the transport coefficient exceeds

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC52-07NA27344

OSTI ID:: 3013927

Report Number(s):: LLNL--JRNL-2015029

Journal Information:: Nuclear Fusion, Journal Name: Nuclear Fusion Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 66; ISSN 0029-5515; ISSN 1741-4326

Publisher:: IOP Science - IAEACopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

References (55)

BOUT++: A framework for parallel plasma fluid simulations Dudson, B. D.; Umansky, M. V.; Xu, X. Q. Computer Physics Communications, Vol. 180, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpc.2009.03.008	journal	September 2009
Calculation of two-dimension radial electric field in boundary plasmas by using BOUT++ Li, N. M.; Xu, X. Q.; Rognlien, T. D. Computer Physics Communications, Vol. 228 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpc.2018.03.003	journal	July 2018
Drift reduced Landau fluid model for magnetized plasma turbulence simulations in BOUT++ framework Zhu, Ben; Seto, Haruki; Xu, Xue-qiao Computer Physics Communications, Vol. 267 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpc.2021.108079	journal	October 2021
Consequences of a reduction of the upstream power SOL width in ITER Kukushkin, A. S.; Pacher, H. D.; Pacher, G. W. Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 438 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2013.01.027	journal	July 2013
Fluctuation entrainment and SOL width broadening in small/grassy ELM regime Xu, X. Q.; Li, N. M.; Zhao, M. L. Nuclear Materials and Energy, Vol. 42 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nme.2025.101866	journal	March 2025
Turbulence spreading effects on the ELM size and SOL width Li, Nami; Xu, X. Q.; Diamond, P. H. Journal of Plasma Physics, Vol. 90, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022377824000199	journal	February 2024
How turbulence spreading improves power handling in quiescent high confinement fusion plasmas Li, Zeyu; Chen, Xi; Diamond, Patrick. H. Communications Physics, Vol. 7, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/s42005-024-01590-0	journal	March 2024
Edge localized modes and the pedestal: A model based on coupled peeling–ballooning modes Snyder, P. B.; Wilson, H. R.; Ferron, J. R. Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 9, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1449463	journal	May 2002
Edge-localized-modes in tokamaks Leonard, A. W. Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 21, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4894742	journal	September 2014
Turbulent transport regimes and the scrape-off layer heat flux width Myra, J. R.; D'Ippolito, D. A.; Russell, D. A. Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 22, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4919255	journal	April 2015
The physics mechanisms of the weakly coherent mode in the Alcator C-Mod Tokamak Liu, Z. X.; Xu, X. Q.; Gao, X. Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 23, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4972088	journal	December 2016
Progress towards modeling tokamak boundary plasma turbulence and understanding its role in setting divertor heat flux widths Chen, B.; Xu, X. Q.; Xia, T. Y. Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 25, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5016582	journal	May 2018
Simulations of divertor heat flux width using transport code with cross-field drifts under the BOUT++ framework Li, N. M.; Xu, X. Q.; Hughes, J. W. AIP Advances, Vol. 10, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5126884	journal	January 2020
Digital bispectral analysis of self-excited fluctuation spectra Kim, Y. C.; Powers, E. J. Physics of Fluids, Vol. 21, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.862365	journal	January 1978
Simulations of heat fluxes in an ELMy H-mode discharge on HL-2A He, X. X.; Xia, T. Y.; Wang, Z. H. AIP Advances, Vol. 11, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0038922	journal	March 2021
Edge-localized mode mitigation enabled by active control of pedestal density gradient with new EAST tokamak divertor Lin, X.; Yang, Q. Q.; Xu, G. S. Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 32, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0237976	journal	January 2025
Chapter 4: Power and particle control Loarte, A.; Lipschultz, B.; Kukushkin, A. S. Nuclear Fusion, Vol. 47, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1088/0029-5515/47/6/S04	journal	June 2007
Principal physics developments evaluated in the ITER design review Hawryluk, R. J.; Campbell, D. J.; Janeschitz, G. Nuclear Fusion, Vol. 49, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1088/0029-5515/49/6/065012	journal	May 2009
Heuristic drift-based model of the power scrape-off width in low-gas-puff H-mode tokamaks Goldston, R. J. Nuclear Fusion, Vol. 52, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1088/0029-5515/52/1/013009	journal	December 2011
Impact of a large density gradient on linear and nonlinear edge-localized mode simulations Xi, P. W.; Xu, X. Q.; Xia, T. Y. Nuclear Fusion, Vol. 53, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1088/0029-5515/53/11/113020	journal	September 2013
Six-field two-fluid simulations of peeling–ballooning modes using BOUT++ Xia, T. Y.; Xu, X. Q.; Xi, P. W. Nuclear Fusion, Vol. 53, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1088/0029-5515/53/7/073009	journal	May 2013
Scaling of the tokamak near the scrape-off layer H-mode power width and implications for ITER Eich, T.; Leonard, A. W.; Pitts, R. A. Nuclear Fusion, Vol. 53, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1088/0029-5515/53/9/093031	journal	August 2013
2D simulations of transport dynamics during tokamak fuelling by supersonic molecular beam injection Wang, Z. H.; Xu, X. Q.; Xia, T. Y. Nuclear Fusion, Vol. 54, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1088/0029-5515/54/4/043019	journal	March 2014
Nonlinear fluid simulation of particle and heat fluxes during burst of ELMs on DIII-D with BOUT++ code Xia, T. Y.; Xu, X. Q. Nuclear Fusion, Vol. 55, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1088/0029-5515/55/11/113030	journal	September 2015
CORSICA modelling of ITER hybrid operation scenarios Kim, S. H.; Bulmer, R. H.; Campbell, D. J. Nuclear Fusion, Vol. 56, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1088/0029-5515/56/12/126002	journal	August 2016
Edge localized modes (ELMs) Zohm, H. Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion, Vol. 38, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1088/0741-3335/38/2/001	journal	February 1996
Edge-localized modes - physics and theory Connor, J. W. Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion, Vol. 40, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1088/0741-3335/40/5/002	journal	May 1998
Evidence for Reynolds-stress driven shear flows using bispectral analysis: theory and experiment Holland, C.; Tynan, G. R.; Diamond, P. H. Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion, Vol. 44, Issue 5A https://doi.org/10.1088/0741-3335/44/5A/350	journal	April 2002
Spectral characteristics of geodesic acoustic mode in the HL-2A tokamak Lan, T.; Liu, A. D.; Yu, C. X. Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion, Vol. 50, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1088/0741-3335/50/4/045002	journal	February 2008
Simulations of particle and heat fluxes in an ELMy H-mode discharge on EAST using BOUT++ code Wu, Y. B.; Xia, T. Y.; Zhong, F. C. Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion, Vol. 60, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6587/aab52c	journal	March 2018
Development of ITER non-activation phase operation scenarios Kim, S. H.; Poli, F. M.; Koechl, F. Nuclear Fusion, Vol. 57, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1088/1741-4326/aa763e	journal	June 2017
Divertor heat flux simulations in ELMy H-mode discharges of EAST Xia, T. Y.; Xu, X. Q.; Wu, Y. B. Nuclear Fusion, Vol. 57, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1088/1741-4326/aa7bba	journal	August 2017
Edge turbulence and divertor heat flux width simulations of Alcator C-Mod discharges using an electromagnetic two-fluid model Chen, B.; Xu, X. Q.; Xia, T. Y. Nuclear Fusion, Vol. 57, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1088/1741-4326/aa7d46	journal	August 2017
Gyrokinetic projection of the divertor heat-flux width from present tokamaks to ITER Chang, C. S.; Ku, S.; Loarte, A. Nuclear Fusion, Vol. 57, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1088/1741-4326/aa7efb	journal	August 2017
Ideal MHD stability and characteristics of edge localized modes on CFETR Li, Ze-Yu; Chan, V. S.; Zhu, Yi-Ren Nuclear Fusion, Vol. 58, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1088/1741-4326/aa9149	journal	November 2017
Investigation of key parameters for the development of reliable ITER baseline operation scenarios using CORSICA Kim, S. H.; Casper, T. A.; Snipes, J. A. Nuclear Fusion, Vol. 58, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1088/1741-4326/aab034	journal	March 2018
Prediction of divertor heat flux width for ITER using BOUT++ transport and turbulence module Li, Ze-Yu; Xu, X. Q.; Li, Na-Mi Nuclear Fusion, Vol. 59, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1088/1741-4326/ab0184	journal	February 2019
Modelling one-third field operation in the ITER pre-fusion power operation phase Schneider, M.; Polevoi, A. R.; Kim, S. H. Nuclear Fusion, Vol. 59, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1088/1741-4326/ab3de0	journal	September 2019
Simulations of tokamak boundary plasma turbulence transport in setting the divertor heat flux width Xu, X. Q.; Li, N. M.; Li, Z. Y. Nuclear Fusion, Vol. 59, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1088/1741-4326/ab430d	journal	October 2019
Simulation of divertor heat flux width on EAST by BOUT++ transport code Deng, G. Z.; Xu, X. Q.; Li, N. M. Nuclear Fusion, Vol. 60, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1088/1741-4326/ab70d6	journal	July 2020
Achieving a robust grassy-ELM operation regime in CFETR Zhu, Yi-Ren; Li, Ze-Yu; Chan, V. S. Nuclear Fusion, Vol. 60, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1088/1741-4326/ab72c0	journal	February 2020
SOLPS-ITER modelling of ITER edge plasma with drifts and currents Kaveeva, E.; Rozhansky, V.; Senichenkov, I. Nuclear Fusion, Vol. 60, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1088/1741-4326/ab73c1	journal	March 2020
Physical mechanism behind and access to the I-mode confinement regime in tokamaks Manz, P.; Happel, T.; Stroth, U. Nuclear Fusion, Vol. 60, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1088/1741-4326/ab9e17	journal	August 2020
Edge-localized-mode simulation in CFETR steady-state scenario Tang, T. F.; Xu, X. Q.; Li, G. Q. Nuclear Fusion, Vol. 62, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1088/1741-4326/ac3294	journal	December 2021
Prediction of divertor heat flux width for ITER pre-fusion power operation using BOUT++ transport code He, X. X.; Xu, X. Q.; Li, Z. Y. Nuclear Fusion, Vol. 62, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1088/1741-4326/ac3e80	journal	March 2022
The simulation of ELMs mitigation by pedestal coherent mode in EAST using BOUT++ Li, Y. L.; Xia, T. Y.; Zou, X. L. Nuclear Fusion, Vol. 62, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1088/1741-4326/ac5449	journal	April 2022
Simulation study of particle transport by weakly coherent mode in the Alcator C-Mod tokamak Lang, Yong; Xu, Xueqiao; Guo, Zhibin Nuclear Fusion, Vol. 62, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1088/1741-4326/ac7245	journal	June 2022
Experimental and theoretical study of weakly coherent mode in I-mode edge plasmas in the EAST tokamak Liu, Z. X.; Liu, Y. J.; Xiao, J. Y. Nuclear Fusion, Vol. 62, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1088/1741-4326/ac7537	journal	June 2022
Characteristics of grassy ELMs and their impact on the divertor heat flux width Li, Nami; Xu, X. Q.; Wang, Y. F. Nuclear Fusion, Vol. 62, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1088/1741-4326/ac83d9	journal	August 2022
How fluctuation intensity flux drives SOL expansion Li, Nami; Xu, X. Q.; Diamond, P. H. Nuclear Fusion, Vol. 63, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1088/1741-4326/ad0599	journal	November 2023
The simulation of ELM control by the advanced divertor configuration in EAST Li, Y. L.; Xia, T. Y.; Luo, Z. P. Nuclear Fusion, Vol. 65, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1088/1741-4326/ada1e2	journal	January 2025
Nonlinear Simulations of Peeling-Ballooning Modes with Anomalous Electron Viscosity and their Role in Edge Localized Mode Crashes Xu, X. Q.; Dudson, B.; Snyder, P. B. Physical Review Letters, Vol. 105, Issue 17 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.105.175005	journal	October 2010
Inter-ELM Power Decay Length for JET and ASDEX Upgrade: Measurement and Comparison with Heuristic Drift-Based Model Eich, T.; Sieglin, B.; Scarabosio, A. Physical Review Letters, Vol. 107, Issue 21 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.107.215001	journal	November 2011
Regime of Improved Confinement and High Beta in Neutral-Beam-Heated Divertor Discharges of the ASDEX Tokamak Wagner, F.; Becker, G.; Behringer, K. Physical Review Letters, Vol. 49, Issue 19 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.49.1408	journal	November 1982
Digital Bispectral Analysis and Its Applications to Nonlinear Wave Interactions Kim, Young C.; Powers, Edward J. IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science, Vol. 7, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1109/TPS.1979.4317207	journal	January 1979

Similar Records

Characteristics of grassy ELMs and their impact on the divertor heat flux width

Journal Article · Mon Aug 15 20:00:00 EDT 2022 · Nuclear Fusion · OSTI ID:1893604

Achieving a robust grassy-ELM operation regime in CFETR

Journal Article · Thu Feb 27 19:00:00 EST 2020 · Nuclear Fusion · OSTI ID:1829585

Prediction of divertor heat flux width for ITER using BOUT++ transport and turbulence module

Journal Article · Tue Feb 26 23:00:00 EST 2019 · Nuclear Fusion · OSTI ID:1529937

Related Subjects

Drift-Alfvén wave
Physics - Plasma physics
heat flux width
small ELM
turbulence

Turbulence simulations of drift-Alfvén wave effects on edge-localized modes and divertor target heat flux width

Citation Formats

References (55)

Similar Records

Related Subjects