| EPSRC Reference: |
EP/K006940/1 |
| Title: |
Plasma turbulence in complex environments |
| Principal Investigator: |
Dudson, Dr BD |
| Other Investigators: |
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| Project Partners: |
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| Department: |
Physics |
| Organisation: |
University of York |
| Scheme: |
First Grant - Revised 2009 |
| Starts: |
31 March 2013 |
Ends: |
30 March 2015 |
Value (£): |
97,882
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| EPSRC Research Topic Classifications: |
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| Related Grants: |
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| Panel History: |
| Panel Date | Panel Name | Outcome |
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26 Jul 2012
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EPSRC Physical Sciences Physics - July
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Announced
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
This project addresses a challenging and important area of plasma physics: the interaction of 3D turbulent plasma with neutral gas. This has applications in astrophysical and industrial plasmas, but the focus of this proposal is to broaden and deepen our understanding of plasma-neutral interactions in high power tokamak fusion devices, where the power leaving the core plasma must be handled without exceeding material limits. This is one of the most important issues in fusion research. crucial to the operation of ITER, a 10 billion Euro project currently being built in France, and even more so to the design of a future demonstration power plant DEMO.
Modelling of turbulence in the edge of magnetic confinement devices is a complex problem, but significant progress has been made in this field in recent years. The equations which govern the dynamics of the tokamak plasma edge are well known, but are difficult to solve numerically due to the wide range of time- and spatial scales and strong anisotropy. This project will position the UK at the leading edge of nonlinear plasma edge simulation through development of the BOUT++ code, which has been designed to handle these requirements. A gyro-fluid model will be formulated which can include neutrals whilst conserving momentum and energy, and will be coupled to the state of the art EIRENE Monte Carlo code to follow the neutral particles. By using EIRENE, this project will benefit from almost two decades of work, and enable the model to capture the relevant atomic and molecular physics, and the complicated geometry of real machines including pumps and baffles.
To validate these models, and provide a link to experiment, this project will study plasma edge turbulence in the existing Mega-Amp Spherical Tokamak (MAST) at the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy (CCFE). Through collaboration with researchers at CCFE, the validity of the models and the importance of 3D effects will be tested, in order to understand the level of detail required. Once this is understood, predictions will be made for the novel Super-X magnetic geometry design to be employed on MAST-Upgrade, part of a 30 million pound upgrade due to be completed in 2015. This machine will be very flexible, with a wide range of geometries and plasma parameters possible. By identifying interesting regions of operation which can distinguish between models, this project will guide the experimental campaign and maximise the physics output from this investment.
This project will provide the UK with a unique capability to model coupled 3D turbulence in magnetised plasmas interacting with neutral gas and material surfaces. This will then be used to link tokamak experiments to fundamental physics understanding, and address key issues in the design and operation of future tokamak fusion machines. To maximise the impact of this work, results will be disseminated in journal papers and at conferences; through relevant ITER Physics Advisory groups; national and international collaborators; and through a workshop to be run towards the end of the project.
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Key Findings |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Potential use in non-academic contexts |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Impacts |
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| Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
| Summary |
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| Date Materialised |
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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| Project URL: |
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| Further Information: |
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| Organisation Website: |
http://www.york.ac.uk |