Electron Temperature Gradient Driven Transport Model for Tokamak Plasmas

Rafiq, Tariq ; Wilson, Christopher ; Luo, Lixiang; Weiland, Jan; Schuster, Eugenio; Pankin, Alexei ; Guttenfelder, Walter ; Kaye, Stanley
Issue date: 2022
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY)
Cite as:
Rafiq, Tariq, Wilson, Christopher, Luo, Lixiang, Weiland, Jan, Schuster, Eugenio, Pankin, Alexei, Guttenfelder, Walter, & Kaye, Stanley. (2022). Electron Temperature Gradient Driven Transport Model for Tokamak Plasmas [Data set]. Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton University. https://doi.org/10.11578/1888259
@electronic{rafiq_tariq_2022,
  author      = {Rafiq, Tariq and
                Wilson, Christopher and
                Luo, Lixiang and
                Weiland, Jan and
                Schuster, Eugenio and
                Pankin, Alexei and
                Guttenfelder, Walter and
                Kaye, Stanley},
  title       = {{Electron Temperature Gradient Driven Tra
                nsport Model for Tokamak Plasmas}},
  publisher   = {{Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Pri
                nceton University}},
  year        = 2022,
  url         = {https://doi.org/10.11578/1888259}
}
Description:

A new model for electron temperature gradient (ETG) modes is developed as a component of the Multi-Mode anomalous transport module [T. Rafiq \textit{et al.,} Phys Plasmas \textbf{20}, 032506 (2013)] to predict a time dependent electron temperature profile in conventional and low aspect ratio tokamaks. This model is based on two-fluid equations that govern the dynamics of low-frequency short- and long-wavelength electromagnetic toroidal ETG driven drift modes. A low collisionality NSTX discharge is used to scan the plasma parameter dependence on the ETG real frequency, growth rate, and electron thermal diffusivity. Electron thermal transport is discovered in the deep core region where modes are more electromagnetic in nature. Several previously reported gyrokinetic trends are reproduced, including the dependencies of density gradients, magnetic shear, $\beta$ and gradient of $\beta$ $(\betap)$, collisionality, safety factor, and toroidicity, where $\beta$ is the ratio of plasma pressure to the magnetic pressure. The electron heat diffusivity associated with the ETG mode is discovered to be on a scale consistent with the experimental diffusivity determined by power balance analysis.

Show More