Impact of the Plasma Geometry on the Divertor Power Exhaust in a Magnetic Fusion Reactor

Download or read book Impact of the Plasma Geometry on the Divertor Power Exhaust in a Magnetic Fusion Reactor written by Alberto Gallo and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A deep understanding of plasma transport at the edge of a magnetically confined fusion device is mandatory for a sustainable and controlled handling of the power exhaust. In the next-generation fusion device ITER, technological limits constrain the peak heat flux on the divertor. For a given exhaust power the peak heat flux is determined by the extent of the plasma footprint on the wall. Heat flux profiles at the divertor targets of X-point configurations can be parametrized by using two length scales for the transport of heat in SOL. In this work, we challenge the current interpretation of these two length scales by studying the impact of divertor geometry modifications on the heat exhaust. In particular, a significant broadening of the heat flux profiles at the outer divertor target is diagnosed while increasing the length of the outer divertor leg. Modelling efforts showed that diffusive simulations well reproduce the experimental heat flux profiles for short-legged plasmas. Conversely, the broadening of the heat flux for a long divertor leg is reproduced by a turbulent model, highlighting the importance of turbulent transport not only in the main SOL but also in the divertor. These results question the current interpretation of the heat flux width as a purely main SOL transport length scale. In fact, long divertor leg magnetic configurations highlighted the importance of asymmetric divertor transport. We therefore conclude that main SOL and divertor SOL transport cannot be arbitrarily disentangled and we underline the importance of the divertor magnetic geometry in enhancing asymmetric turbulent transport with the potential benefit of an unexpected power spreading.