Estimation of impact of non-local ion heat flux model on transport simulation for DEMO-relevant scrape-off layer plasma

Abstract

In a fusion DEMOnstration reactor (DEMO)-relevant scrape-off layer plasma (SOL), whose collisionality is lower than in the SOLs of present-day tokamaks, kinetic effects are predicted to reduce the plasma heat conductivity along the magnetic field below the value obtained with the classical Spitzer–Harm model. As a part of ongoing efforts to improve the predictive capability of SOL heat transport calculations, we have implemented the non-local heat flux model proposed by [Luciani, Mora and Virmont, Phys. Rev. Lett. 51 (1983) 1664–1667] (here referred to as the LMV model) in the integrated SOL–divertor simulation code SONIC in order to account for the kinetic effect on the heat conduction due to the parallel streaming of rapidly moving particles. Our transport simulations for the Japanese demonstration tokamak reactor concept, JA DEMO, show that the LMV model yields a significantly reduced ion parallel conductive heat flux density both on the low- and high-field side of the upstream SOL. The heat flux obtained with the LMV model seems to be consistent with earlier kinetic simulations of tokamak ion transport. As a consequence of the reduced heat flux, a significant increase in the ion temperature and a decrease in the density have also been found over a broad area of the upstream SOL.