Abstract Details
Abstracts
Author: Robert Hager
Requested Type: Poster
Submitted: 2025-03-14 22:47:49
Co-authors: S. Ku, A. Kleiner
Contact Info:
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
100 Stellarator Road
Princeton, New Jersey 08540
USA
Abstract Text:
We use the global total-f gyrokinetic code XGC to study resistive peeling-ballooning (PB) modes in NSTX, the instabilities responsible for edge-localized modes (ELMs) in tokamaks. Mitigating ELMs is vital to prevent damage to reactor walls, motivating research aimed at finding naturally ELM-free operating scenarios. In this context, advanced gyrokinetic and magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations help explore fusion pilot plant (FPP) design regimes beyond experimental databases and simplified models. Insights gained from these high-fidelity simulations can subsequently refine faster, more efficient modeling approaches suitable for FPP design. Historically, PB modes have been studied extensively with MHD codes, whereas gyrokinetic simulations were challenging due to the proximity of ELMs to the separatrix. Recent enhancements, such as the electromagnetic extension of XGC and the implementation of a toroidally spectral field solver capable of handling MHD-type modes, now enable realistic global gyrokinetic simulations covering the pedestal, edge, and scrape-off layer. We validate PB mode physics in XGC by examining an NSTX discharge previously studied using the MHD code M3D-C1 [A. Kleiner et al., Nucl. Fusion 61 064002 (2021)], comparing growth rates and mode structures for unstable electromagnetic modes with low-to-intermediate toroidal mode numbers.
This material is based upon work performed at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory under contract DE-AC02-09CH11466 and supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Advanced Scientific Computing Research and Office of Fusion Energy Science, Scientific Discovery through Advanced Computing (SciDAC) program. This research used resources of the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC), a Department of Energy Office of Science User Facility using NERSC awards ERCAP0027958/ERCAP0027464.
Characterization: 1.0
Comments: