Projects
Projects: Projects for Investigator |
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| Reference Number | EP/G041814/1 | |
| Title | Global Turbulence Simulations of Spherical Tokamak Physics | |
| Status | Completed | |
| Energy Categories | Nuclear Fission and Fusion(Nuclear Fusion) 100%; | |
| Research Types | Basic and strategic applied research 100% | |
| Science and Technology Fields | PHYSICAL SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS (Physics) 100% | |
| UKERC Cross Cutting Characterisation | Not Cross-cutting 100% | |
| Principal Investigator |
Dr A (Chippy ) Thyagaraja No email address given Culham Centre for Fusion Energy EURATOM/CCFE |
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| Award Type | Standard | |
| Funding Source | EPSRC | |
| Start Date | 01 January 2009 | |
| End Date | 31 December 2009 | |
| Duration | 12 months | |
| Total Grant Value | £1 | |
| Industrial Sectors | No relevance to Underpinning Sectors | |
| Region | South East | |
| Programme | Infrastructure & International | |
| Investigators | Principal Investigator | Dr A (Chippy ) Thyagaraja , Culham Centre for Fusion Energy, EURATOM/CCFE (99.997%) |
| Other Investigator | Dr K McClements , Culham Division, United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) (0.001%) Dr R J Akers , Culham Division, United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) (0.001%) Dr PJ (Peter ) Knight , Culham Centre for Fusion Energy, EURATOM/CCFE (0.001%) |
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| Web Site | ||
| Objectives | ||
| Abstract | This proposal seeks computing time on the HPCx supercomputer and aims to address key issues in the magnetically confined plasma route to fusion power plants that use "tokamak" devices. This will be done using the global, electromagnetic plasma turbulence code CENTORI developed at Culham in collaboration with the Edinburgh Parallel Computer Centre (EPCC) on HPCx. This proposal is particularly well-suited to HPCx in that CENTORI is optimised for parallel computers and is capable of check-pointed, extended time simulations of long-term, global, plasma dynamics.It is known theoretically and experimentally that electromagnetic turbulence plays a very fundamental role in determining how heat and particles are lost from tokamak plasmas. These losses are important to understand and control, since the possibility of economic, safe and virtually inexhaustible fusion power production ultimately depends upon reducing them to acceptable levels by proper design of the power plant and control of the plasma instabilities responsible for the turbulence in the first place.The electromagnetic turbulence in a fusion device is known to occur on a very large range of spatial scales (ranging from the size of the device - order of metres - to microscopic lengths like the radius at which electrons spin around the magnetic field - of order a tenth of a millimetre) and time-scales (from the electron spin-rate of order a trillionth of a second, to pulse times of order 30 s). This range cannot be simulated in comprehensive and accurate detail by any computer at present or in the foreseeable future. In this project, we are concentrating on understanding the crucial phenomena which occur on larger spatial and longer temporal scales relevant to present experiments and future fusion power plants based on tokamak devices. Thus, our global approach models scales larger than the radius of ions gyrating around the magnetic field - of order 3 millimetres, which is where most of the turbulent fluctuations are observed to occur.We propose to simulate this range of wave lengths over time-scales much longer than typical turbulence time-scales (1-100 microseconds) and investigate four crucial issues for tokamak power plants: 1. fuelling of fusion plants by injecting frozen deuterium pellets and the consequent particle losses induced by the electromagnetic turbulence, which must be calculated along with the plasma density, temperature, current and flows; 2. how plasma turbulence re-distributes highly energetic particles produced by fusion reactions or those used in heating the plasma; 3. turbulent redistribution and losses of impurities which can contaminate the plasma and affect the performance of the power plant; 4. effects of turbulence on plasma rotation and the spontaneous formation of regions known as "transport barriers" where turbulence is suppressed and losses are thus significantly reduced.We propose to carry out our simulations in the context of the Mega AmpereSpherical Tokamak (MAST) at UKAEA Culham Science Centre, which is a world-leading device in terms of the wealth of diagnostics and results. The issues listed are key to making successful progress towards achieving the goal of developing an economical, safe and environmentally friendly fusion power plants. MAST has exhibited supersonic rotation already and has produce a variety of interesting experimental results relating to the above issues for which there is as yet no complete or satisfactory theoretical interpretation. We will aim, using extended time, high resolution CENTORI runs combined with our Monte Carlo, full orbit particle computer code MCUEBIT, a more thorough and systematic investigation than has been possible hitherto, anywhere in the world. Thus, this project is not merely an incremental advance, but has the potential to be a pioneering one | |
| Publications | (none) |
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| Final Report | (none) |
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| Added to Database | 03/11/11 | |
