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Author: Michael D J Cole
Requested Type: Poster
Submitted: 2018-02-28 16:59:48

Co-authors: T.Moritaka,C.S.Chang,R.Hager,S.Ku,S.Lazerson

Contact Info:
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
PO Box 451
Princeton, New Jersey   08542-0
United States

Abstract Text:
A 3D version of the whole-volume global gyrokinetic Particle-In-Cell (PIC) code XGC[1] is under development that has been applied to study alpha particle confinement in stellarators. With whole-volume gyrokinetic simulations of stellarators, it will be possible to better predict and optimise transport of thermal and energetic particles. The equilibrium magnetic field is interpolated to the last closed flux surface from an initial calculation using the VMEC MHD equilibrum code. Code for producing a 3D mesh on which to calculate the evolution of the potentials has also been developed.

The XGC stellarator version was first benchmarked benchmarked with the NBI code BEAMS3D[2] and the core 3D gyrokinetic code EUTERPE[3] for energetic particle orbit tracing in Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) geometry. This tool has then been applied XGC to investigate collisionless alpha particle confinement for potential stellarator reactor designs. Some characteristics of collisionless alpha particle loss in potential reactor designs have been considered, and collisionless alpha particle confinement between quasi-axisymmetric and quasi-isodynamic designs compared.

In on-going work, a solver for the electrostatic Poisson equation in stellarator geometry is implemented, which allows the physics of ion-scale anomalous particle loss mechanisms to be investigated. As an initial step, linear delta-f simulations of the Ion Temperature Gradient-driven (ITG) instability will be performed.

References

1. S.-H. Ku, C.-S. Chang, and P. Diamond, Nucl. Fusion 49, 115021 (2009).
2. M. McMillan and S. A. Lazerson, Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion 56, 095019 (2014). 3. V. Kornilov and R. Kleiber, Phys. Plasma 11, 3196 (2004).
3. V. Kornilov and R. Kleiber, Phys. Plasma 11, 3196 (2004).

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