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Title: Flux-driven simulations of turbulence collapse

Journal Article · · Physics of Plasmas
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4914841· OSTI ID:22408206
; ; ;  [1];  [1];  [2]
  1. National Fusion Research Institute, Daejeon 305-333 (Korea, Republic of)
  2. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94551 (United States)

Using three-dimensional nonlinear simulations of tokamak turbulence, we show that an edge transport barrier (ETB) forms naturally once input power exceeds a threshold value. Profiles, turbulence-driven flows, and neoclassical coefficients are evolved self-consistently. A slow power ramp-up simulation shows that ETB transition is triggered by the turbulence-driven flows via an intermediate phase which involves coherent oscillation of turbulence intensity and E×B flow shear. A novel observation of the evolution is that the turbulence collapses and the ETB transition begins when R{sub T} > 1 at t = t{sub R} (R{sub T}: normalized Reynolds power), while the conventional transition criterion (ω{sub E×B}>γ{sub lin} where ω{sub E×B} denotes mean flow shear) is satisfied only after t = t{sub C} ( >t{sub R}), when the mean flow shear grows due to positive feedback.

OSTI ID:
22408206
Journal Information:
Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 22, Issue 3; Other Information: (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1070-664X
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

Cited By (4)

A fast low-to-high confinement mode bifurcation dynamics in the boundary-plasma gyrokinetic code XGC1 journal May 2018
Interplay between fluctuation driven toroidal axisymmetric flows and resistive ballooning mode turbulence journal May 2019
Quasilinear nature of L-mode edge turbulent transport in fluid nonlinear simulations journal October 2019
Fast Low-to-High Confinement Mode Bifurcation Dynamics in a Tokamak Edge Plasma Gyrokinetic Simulation journal April 2017