Approach to nonlinear magnetohydrodynamic simulations in stellarator geometry. (5th July 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zhou, Yao; Ferraro, N.M.; Jardin, S.C.; Strauss, H.R.
• Is Part Of: Nuclear fusion. Volume 61:Number 8(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-07-05
• Subjects: stellarators -- magnetohydrodynamics -- finite elements; Nuclear fusion -- Periodicals; 621.48405
• DOI: 10.1088/1741-4326/ac0b35
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0029-5515

Abstract

Abstract: The capability to model the nonlinear magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) evolution of stellarator plasmas is developed by extending the M3D- C 1 code to allow non-axisymmetric domain geometry. We introduce a set of logical coordinates, in which the computational domain is axisymmetric, to utilize the existing finite-element framework of M3D- C 1 . A C 1 coordinate mapping connects the logical domain to the non-axisymmetric physical domain, where we use the M3D- C 1 extended MHD models essentially without modifications. We present several numerical verifications on the implementation of this approach, including simulations of the heating, destabilization, and equilibration of a stellarator plasma with strongly anisotropic thermal conductivity, and of the relaxation of stellarator equilibria to integrable and non-integrable magnetic field configurations in realistic geometries.