Numerical analysis of heat load distribution in Heliotron J with magnetic field tracing and plasma transport modeling

Abstract

We model and characterize the heat load patterns on the vacuum chamber wall in an advanced helical device, Heliotron J, based on the peripheral transport code EMC3-EIRENE, in three typical magnetic configurations with different toroidal mirror ratios (bumpiness). The heat flux distribution on the vacuum chamber wall evaluated with the EMC3-EIRENE code shows several groups of heat flux footprints, some of which are not seen in the connection length distribution obtained with the magnetic field tracing code. This clearly shows the necessity for plasma modeling in addition to magnetic field line tracing in the design of three-dimensional devices. At high electron density, a displacement and an expansion of the heat flux distribution in both the toroidal and poloidal directions are observed. As a result of the heat flux expansion, the peak value of the heat flux decreases at high electron density. Further, an approach that uses the heat distribution function is proposed to evaluate the global power distribution in the entire vacuum chamber. The evaluation results confirm a decrease in the peak heat flux and an increase in the plasma-wetted area at high electron density. The heat flux distribution expansion is larger for the low-bumpiness configuration, in which the peak heat value is by more than lower than that for the high-bumpiness configuration.