Non-linear MHD simulation of ELM energy deposition

Abstract

The mechanisms of edge-localized mode (ELM) energy deposition are studied by means of non-linear magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulation of ELMs. The footprint of the ELM heat flux at the divertor is found to increase approximately linearly with the total ELM energy loss for JET-scale plasmas, which is similar to the experimentally observed broadening of the ELM energy deposition with ELM energy loss. For these relatively large ELMs, in which conductive losses dominate, the divertor footprint broadening is due to an increase in the magnetic perturbation of the ballooning mode with increasing ELM energy loss, which results in a widening of the homoclinic tangles intersecting the target. The first results from ELM simulations in the ITER Q = 10 scenario indicate that on the ITER scale the broadening is similar for conductive and convective ELMs at least up to an ELM energy loss of 4 MJ. For the larger conductive-type ELMs the magnetic perturbation and its homoclinic tangles determine the pattern of the ELM heat flux at the divertor target similar to the JET-scale results. For the smaller convective ELMs, the ELM footprint is determined by the radial distance travelled by plasma filaments expelled by the ELM and the loss of the plasma energy in the filaments along the magnetic field lines.