The edge-plasma profiles and fluxes to the divertor and walls of a divertor tokamak with a magnetic X-point are simulated by coupling a 2D transport code (UEDGE) and a 3D turbulence code (BOUT). An relaxed iterative coupling scheme is used where each code is run on its characteristic time scale, resulting in a statistical steady state. Plasma variables of density, parallel velocity, and separate ion and electron temperatures are included, together with a fluid neutral model for recycling neutrals at material surfaces. Results for the DIII-D tokamak parameters show that the turbulence is preferentially excited in the outer radial region of the edge where magnetic curvature is destabilizing and that substantial plasma particle flux is transported to the main chamber walls. These results are qualitatively consistent with some experimental observations. The coupled transport/turbulence simulation technique provides a strategy to understanding edge-plasma physics in more detailed than previously available and to significantly enhance the realism of predictions of the performance of future devices.

Journal of a trip to a GAR encampment in Washington, DC. Very detailed description of his trip to the White House. Includes description of a day spent sight seeing in Cleveland, OH on the return trip to Michigan.

The edge plasma plays key roles in tokamak devices: generates the edge transport-barrier yielding the L-H core confinement transition, distributes the core charged-particle energy to surrounding material surfaces, shields the core from impurities, and removes helium ash in fusion plasmas. The transport of density, momentum, and energy in the near-separatrix edge region, and the corresponding self-consistent electrostatic potential, require a two-dimensional description, here incorporated into the UEDGE code. In the direction across the B-field, both turbulent transport and classical cross-field flows are important. The role of classical flows is analyzed in detail in the presence of an assumed diffusive turbulent transport. Results and explanations are given for the generation of radial electric field near the separatrix, edge plasma asymmetries and differences between double-null DIII-D and NSTX devices, comparisons with DIII-D diagnostics for single-null divertor, and core/edge transport coupling.

The possibility to produce power by using magnetically confined fusion is a scientific and technological challenge. The perspective of ITER conveys strong signals to intensify modeling effort on magnetized fusion plasmas. The success of the fusion operation is conditioned by the quality of plasma confinement in the core of the reactor and by the control of plasma exhaust on the wall. Both phenomena are related to turbulent cross-field transport that is at the heart of the notion of magnetic confinement studies, particle and heat losses. The study of edge phenomena is therefore complicated by a particularly complex magnetic geometry.This calls for an improvement of our capacity to develop numerical tools able to reproduce turbulent transport properties reliable to predict particle and energy fluxes on the plasma facing components. This thesis introduces the TOKAM3X fluid model to simulate edge plasma turbulence. A special focus is made on the code Verification and the Validation. It is a necessary step before using a code as a predictive tool. Then new insights on physical properties of the edge plasma turbulence are explored. In particular, the poloidal asymmetries induced by turbulence and observed experimentally in the Low-Field-Side of the devices are investigated in details. Great care is dedicated to the reproduction of the MISTRAL base case which consists in changing the magnetic configuration and observing the impact on parallel flows in the poloidal plane. The simulations recover experimental measurements and provide new insights on the effect of the plasma-wall contact position location on the turbulent features, which were not accessible in experiments.

The Plasma Boundary of Magnetic Fusion Devices introduces the physics of the plasma boundary region, including plasma-surface interactions, with an emphasis on those occurring in magnetically confined fusion plasmas. The book covers plasma-surface interaction, Debye sheaths, sputtering, scrape-off layers, plasma impurities, recycling and control, 1D and 2D fluid and kinetic modeling of particle transport, plasma properties at the edge, diverter and limiter physics, and control of the plasma boundary. Divided into three parts, the book begins with Part 1, an introduction to the plasma boundary. The derivations are heuristic and worked problems help crystallize physical intuition, which is emphasized throughout. Part 2 provides an introduction to methods of modeling the plasma edge region and for interpreting computer code results. Part 3 presents a collection of essays on currently active research hot topics. With an extensive bibliography and index, this book is an invaluable first port-of-call for researchers interested in plasma-surface interactions.

In the scope of designing future nuclear fusion reactors, a clear understanding of the plasma-wall interaction is mandatory. Indeed, a predictive estimation of heat flux impacting the surface and the subsequent emission of impurities from the wall is necessary to ensure material integrity and energy confinement performances. In that perspective, the fluid code SolEdge2D has been developed to simulate plasma transport in the tokamak edge plasma. The plasma-wall interaction is modeled using an innovative penalization technique. This method enables in particular to take complex plasma facing components geometry into account. In parallel to this numerical effort, a theoretical work has been achieved to find appropriate corrections to fluid closures when collisionality drops. The study of stochastic 1D models has been realized in collaboration with physicists from the CSDC group in Florence. A generalized Fourier law taking long range spatio-temporal correlations has been found to properly account for ballistic transport in the low collisional regime. This formulation is expected to be used to model parallel heat flux or turbulent cross-field transport in tokamak plasmas.