Hermes: Global plasma edge fluid turbulence simulations

TL;DR

This paper introduces Hermes, a 5-field reduced 2-fluid plasma model built on BOUT++, capable of simulating global plasma edge turbulence and transport in realistic tokamak geometries.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel self-consistent plasma turbulence simulation model for edge regions in tokamaks, enabling realistic geometry and transport predictions.

Findings

Successful simulation of plasma turbulence in diverted tokamak configurations

Self-consistent evolution of profiles, flows, and electric fields

Flux-driven cross-field transport determined by electromagnetic turbulence

Abstract

The transport of heat and particles in the relatively collisional edge regions of magnetically confined plasmas is a scientifically challenging and technologically important problem. Understanding and predicting this transport requires the self-consistent evolution of plasma fluctuations, global profiles and flows, but the numerical tools capable of doing this in realistic (diverted) geometry are only now being developed. Here a 5-field reduced 2-fluid plasma model for the study of instabilities and turbulence in magnetised plasmas is presented, built on the BOUT++ framework. This cold ion model allows the evolution of global profiles, electric fields and flows on transport timescales, with flux-driven cross-field transport determined self-consistently by electromagnetic turbulence. Developments in the model formulation and numerical implementation are described, and simulations are performed in poloidally limited and diverted tokamak configurations.