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At least 217 records · Page 12
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2026

Modeling the effect of MHD activity on runaway electron generation during SPARC disruptions

Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) instabilities and runaway electrons (REs) interact in several ways, making it important to self-consistently model these interactions for accurate predictions of RE generation and the design of mitigation strategies, such as massive gas injection (MGI). Using M3D-C1 – an extended MHD code with a RE fluid model – we investigate the effects of 3-D nonlinear MHD activity, material injection, and 2-D axisymmetric vertical displacement events (VDEs) on RE evolution during disruptions on SPARC – a high-field, high-current tokamak designed to achieve a fusion gain Q > 1. Several cases, comprising different combinations of neon (Ne) and deuterium (D 2 ) injection, are considered. Here, our results demonstrate key effects that arise from the self-consistent RE + MHD coupling, such as an initial increase in RE generation due to MHD instability growth, decreased saturation energies of the m/n = 1/1 mode driving sawteeth-like activity, RE losses in stochastic magnetic fields, and subsequent RE confinement and plateau formation due to re-healing of flux surfaces. Large RE plateaus (>5 MA) are obtained with Ne-only injection (2-5 × 10 21 atoms), while combined D 2 + Ne injection (2 × 10 21 Ne atoms; 1.8 × 10 22 D 2 molecules) produces a lower RE current (<2 MA). With D 2 + Ne injection, a post thermal quench "cold" VDE terminates the RE beam, preventing a steady plateau. These simulations couple REs, 3-D MHD instabilities, MGI, and axisymmetric VDEs for the first time in SPARC disruption simulations and represent a crucial step in understanding RE generation and mitigation in high-current devices like SPARC.

Datta, Rishabh [Massachusetts Inst. of Technology ↗
DOE OSTI2021

NRC Multiphysics Analysis Capability Deployment (FY2021 - Part 2)

This report details the progress and activities of Idaho National Laboratory (INL) on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) project “Development and Modeling Support for Advanced Non-Light Water Reactors.” Task 4b was completed for this report. INL developed a sample problem showing how to use Serpent 2 to calculate macroscopic cross sections for use in Griffin for a typical sodium fast reactor Unprotected Loss of Flow (ULOF) transient. The complicating factor is the relatively large axial gradient of the coolant (and hence fuel) temperature and its evolution during the transient. A 3D Griffin model of the Advanced Burner Test Reactor (ABTR) is coupled to the System Analysis Module (SAM) to perform the ULOF transient. The model includes various explicit feedback mechanisms for fast reactors, including Doppler, radial expansion from the displacement of the support plate, and axial expansion from the displacement of the fuel pins. The results for the ULOF transient are consistent with published values. We observed small effects in the transient results that arise from the superhomogenization equivalence correction of uniform and nonuniform temperature data sets, but they diminish as more dominant reactivity mechanisms are added to the model. Potential improvements to the neutronics model include: adding the differential control rod and sodium feedback mechanisms, implementing cross section re-homogenization based on the partial volume of the various materials, and enhancing the kinetics parameters. Furthermore, the fluids model only includes four subchannels to represent the entire active core due to performance limitations in SAM when attempting to model one subchannel per assembly.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2022

A conservative implicit-PIC scheme for the hybrid kinetic-ion fluid-electron plasma model on curvilinear meshes

We report that the hybrid kinetic-ion fluid-electron plasma model is widely used to study challenging multi-scale problems in space and laboratory plasma physics. Here, a novel conservative scheme for this model employing implicit particle-in-cell techniques is extended to arbitrary coordinate systems via curvilinear maps from logical to physical space. The scheme features a fully non-linear electromagnetic formulation with a multi-rate time advance - including sub-cycling and orbit-averaging for the kinetic ions. By careful choice of compatible particle-based kinetic-ion and mesh-based fluid-electron discretizations in curvilinear coordinates, as well as particle-mesh interpolations and implicit midpoint time advance, the scheme is proven to conserve total energy for arbitrary curvilinear meshes. In the electrostatic limit, the method is also proven to conserve total momentum for arbitrary curvilinear meshes. Although momentum is not conserved for arbitrary curvilinear meshes in the electromagnetic case, it is for an important subset of Cartesian tensor-packed meshes. The scheme and its novel conservation properties are demonstrated for several challenging numerical problems using different curvilinear meshes, including a merging flux-rope simulation for a space weather application, and a helical m = 1 mode simulation for magnetic fusion energy application.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2025

Fluid-like shock compression of dilute polymer nanocomposites

The shock Hugoniot of heterogenous mixtures of discrete particles has been experimentally investigated for porous agglomerates and fluids, while the study of full-density solids has been primarily limited to compressed powders and high-dimensional composites. By dispersing ceria nanoparticles in a polyethylene matrix, we are able to examine the hydrodynamic behavior of a nonporous, heterogenous solid in thermal equilibrium during weak shock compression. Phase-driven discontinuities in the Hugoniot particle velocity–shock velocity (u−D) relationship of pure polyethylene are replicated in the nanocomposites but are shifted to lower velocity and to higher pressure with higher particle concentration. The results are explained using an isothermal, two-velocity fluid model under the hydrodynamic approximation. The model, which assumes a theoretical equation-of-state for ceria and either a low-order or high-order fit to the measured polyethylene Hugoniot, reasonably predicts the Hugoniot for two different polyethylene/ceria nanocomposites. Using the model, the mixture Hugoniot is shown to be insensitive to the Hugoniot of the stiffer constituent when the moduli are sufficiently disparate, while dependence on particle density and volume fraction is preserved through fluid-like motion.

Moore, Nathan W. [Sandia National Laboratories (SN↗
DOE OSTI2025

Simulation Center for Runaway Electron Avoidance and Mitigation (SCREAM SciDAC) (Technical Final Report)

Runaway electrons can severely damage the plasma facing components on ITER during a major disruption and pose a major risk for tokamak fusion. It has been recognized that an adequate disruption mitigation system (DMS) is essential for the safe operation of ITER. The United States is responsible for the design and implementation of the disruption mitigation system on ITER, and in July 2016 the Simulation Center for Runaway Electron Avoidance and Mitigation (SCREAM) was launched by DOE, in a joint Fusion Energy Sciences (FES) and Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR) collaboration. SCREAM was a comprehensive theory and simulation SciDAC center that provided physics guidance in the avoidance and mitigation of runaway electrons, and in tandem with domestic and international experiments, helped establish the qualitative and quantitative bases for safe operational scenarios and viable mitigation techniques. The SCREAM center assembled a national team of experts in runaway electron physics, tokamak disruptions, magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulation, and advanced algorithms and computing. The team combined advanced simulation and analysis capability facilitated by direct participation of ASCR SciDAC institutes with theoretical models and code development by FES scientists to focus on the runaway risk for ITER and tokamaks in general. The research scope was focussed on integrated simulations of kinetic runaway electrons, including MHD and fluid models of impurity transport, within a research plan guided by theory. The specific research tasks were (1) establish the fundamental physics of runaway generation, saturation, and dynamical evolution in a tokamak; (2) examine the critical path toward runaway avoidance; and (3) investigate the viability and effectiveness of the leading candidate schemes for runaway mitigation. In all three areas, members of the team carried out scoping studies that established the readiness for rapid and critical advances, especially in the deployment and further development of large-to extreme-scale simulation tools. Our multi-pronged computational approach included (1) relativistic Fokker-Planck solvers with discretization in phase space, (2) self-consistent particle-in-cell techniques, (3) particle-based Monte-Carlo, and (4) MHD-particle hybrid simulations. Cross-check between these different methods provided an additional means for verification and further bolstered the fidelity of our physics prediction. Validation against experimental results brings confidence to the predictive capability for ITER and frequently leads to new ideas for understanding and mitigating the thermal quench driven runaway electron phenomenon.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Theory-based scaling laws of near and far scrape-off layer widths in single-null L-mode discharges

Abstract Theory-based scaling laws of the near and far scrape-off layer (SOL) widths are analytically derived for L-mode diverted tokamak discharges by using a two-fluid model. The near SOL pressure and density decay lengths are obtained by leveraging a balance among the power source, perpendicular turbulent transport across the separatrix, and parallel losses at the vessel wall, while the far SOL pressure and density decay lengths are derived by using a model of intermittent transport mediated by filaments. The analytical estimates of the pressure decay length in the near SOL is then compared to the results of three-dimensional, flux-driven, global, two-fluid turbulence simulations of L-mode diverted tokamak plasmas, and validated against experimental measurements taken from an experimental multi-machine database of divertor heat flux profiles, showing in both cases a very good agreement. Analogously, the theoretical scaling law for the pressure decay length in the far SOL is compared to simulation results and to experimental measurements in TCV L-mode discharges, pointing out the need of a large multi-machine database for the far SOL decay lengths.

Physics↗
DOE OSTI2024

Effects of alpha-ion stopping on ignition and ignition criteria in inertial confinement fusion experiments

With the advent of ignited plasmas at the National Ignition Facility (NIF), alpha physics has become a driving factor in theoretical understanding and experimental behavior. In this communication, we explore aspects of direct alpha-ion heating through comparison of the consequences from the one-fluid and two-fluid models in the hydrodynamic approach. We show that the case with all alpha energy deposited in electrons raises the ignition criteria by ∼4 keV or ∼0.2 g/cm2 in the hotspot relative to the case with all alpha energy deposited in ions. In the case of the recently ignited NIF implosion, 30% of the 3.5 MeV α energy is deposited into the DT fuel ions, for which there is negligible difference between the one-fluid and two-fluid ignition criteria. However, changes in the ion stopping fraction through profile effects and alternate stopping power models could lead to ignition curve shifts of ∼1 keV.

Physics↗
DOE OSTI2022

Modelling of electrostatic ion-scale turbulence in divertor tokamaks with the gyrokinetic code $\mathrm{COGENT}$

Here, continuum gyrokinetic simulations of electrostatic ion scale turbulence are presented for the case of a diverted (single-null) tokamak geometry. The simulation model, implemented in the finite-volume code COGENT, solves the long-wavelength limit of the full-F gyrokinetic equation for ion species coupled to a vorticity equation for electrostatic potential variations, where a fluid model is used for an electron response. The model describes the ion scale ion temperature gradient (ITG) and resistive drift modes as well as neoclassical ion physics effects. Different turbulence regimes are observed depending on the plasma profiles, and the roles of a self-consistent background electric field and an X-point geometry are explored. In particular, increasing the pedestal density gradient and the corresponding radial electric field is demonstrated to suppress the ITG turbulence, whereas the same edge plasma background can still be destabilized by the resistive modes when the plasma resistivity is increased. The effects of X-point geometry are assessed by comparing cross-separatrix simulations with counterpart calculations performed for a toroidal annulus geometry. For the simulation parameters considered, similar global behaviour is observed in both cases, whereas strong local suppression of turbulence fluctuations is demonstrated near the X-point for the case of a single-null geometry.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

STORM: Scrape-off layer turbulence in tokamak fusion reactors

The scrape-off layer of a tokamak fusion reactor carries the plasma exhaust from the hot core plasma to the material surfaces of the reactor vessel. The heat loads imposed by the exhaust are a critical limit on the performance of fusion power plants. Turbulent transport of the plasma regulates the width of the scrape-off layer plasma and must be modelled to understand the intensity of these heat loads. STORM is a plasma turbulence code capable of simulating three dimensional turbulence across the full scrape-off layer of a tokamak fusion reactor, using a drift reduced, collisional fluid model. STORM uses mostly finite difference schemes, with a staggered grid in the direction parallel to the magnetic field. We describe the model, geometry and initialisation options used by STORM, as well as the numerical methods, which are implemented using the BOUT++ plasma simulation framework. BOUT++ has been enhanced alongside the development of STORM, providing better support for staggered grid methods. We summarise these enhancements, including a detailed explanation of the parallel derivative methods, which underwent a major update for version 4 of BOUT++.

BOUT++↗
DOE OSTI2021

Precambrian Crystalline Basement Properties From Pressure History Matching and Implications for Induced Seismicity in the US Midcontinent

Injection-induced seismicity across the US midcontinent has almost exclusively occurred in the crystalline basement that underlies the Arbuckle Group aquifer and its equivalents, the primary wastewater disposal zone in this region. However, the properties of the basement are not well known. Newly compiled data, from Class I wells in Kansas, provide a unique record of pressures in the Arbuckle and an opportunity to constrain the reservoir-scale properties of the basement such as permeability, diffusivity, and specific storage. Constraints on these parameters are critical for modeling fluid flow and pressures across the entire Arbuckle-basement system, and are necessary for accurate evaluation and prediction of injection-induced earthquakes. Here, we present a detailed, three-dimensional geological and pressure history-matched numerical model for the Arbuckle and basement, based on data from >400 wells covering a large region in south-central Kansas, where injection-induced seismicity has been concentrated since 2014. Simulations of dynamic data from 319 wells indicate that Arbuckle pressures have increased by 1.1 MPa in high injection rate areas and an overpressure of <0.1 MPa may be the cause of seismicity in the basement. Pressure-history matching also yields the likely range in porosity (0.3%–7%), permeability (0.1–0.7 mD), and diffusivity (0.004–0.07 m2 /s) for the basement. The resulting estimates suggest reservoir-scale properties of the basement are enhanced by faults and fractures. Importantly, the diffusivities determined in this study are lower than estimates derived from Kansas earthquake triggering fronts, and suggest that such seismicity-based techniques may have limitations, particularly where spacetime patterns between injection and seismicity are complex.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Physically rigorous reduced-order flow models of fractured subsurface environments without explosive computational cost

Fractured media models comprise discontinuities of multiple lengths (e.g. fracture lengths and apertures, wellbore area) that fall into the relatively insignificant length scales spanning millimeter-scale fractures to centimeter-scale wellbores in comparison to the extensions of the field of interest, and challenge the conventional discretization methods imposing highly-fine meshing and formidably large numerical cost. By utilizing the recent developments in the finite element analysis of electromagnetics that allow to represent material properties on a hierarchical geometry, this project develops computational capabilities to model fluid flow, heat conduction, transport and induced polarization in large-scale geologic environments that possess geometrically-complex fractures and man-made infrastructures without explosive computational cost. The computational efficiency and robustness of this multi-physics modeling tool are demonstrated by considering various highly-realistic complex geologic environments that are common in many energy and national security related engineering problems.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2024

HL-2A's ELM cycle simulations by integrating BOUT++'s drift MHD and transport code

A new integrating model has been developed to couple tokamak edge multiscale magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) events and transport simulations, such as edge-localized mode (ELM) cycles. As a proof of principle, we first start from a set of three-field two-fluid model equations, which includes the pressure, current, and vorticity. Here, the equations are separated into the slowly evolving part of the axisymmetric component by taking a time average of the axisymmetric component. The time-averaged fluxes, which are quadratic in fluctuating quantities, act as driven terms for the time-averaged axisymmetric quantities that determine the plasma transport, and therefore the large-scale evolution of the plasma profiles. Then the HL-2A's ELM cycles are simulated using the model. Good agreements of ELM size and pedestal recovery time have been achieved for the solutions obtained from the coupled simulation compared with experiment. For one ELM cycle simulation, the coupled code can achieve a speedup of a factor of up to 30 over standalone code.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Implementation and verification of a model linearized multi-species collision operator in the COGENT code

We implement the multi-species linearized model collision operator, based on the approach proposed by Kolesnikov, in the full-f continuum gyrokinetic code COGENT. We describe the operator and use it in several COGENT simulations of highly collisional plasmas. We analyze simulation results with the Braginskii fluid model to illustrate that COGENT recovers both friction and thermal forces. Finally, we simulate the neoclassical transport of heavy impurities with COGENT and illustrate agreement with previously published theoretical results.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2020

Influence of Clay Wettability Alteration on Relative Permeability

Abstract Understanding the wettability of porous materials is important to model fluid flow in the subsurface. One of the critical factors that influences wetting in real reservoirs is the composition of geologic materials. The wetting properties for clay minerals can have a particularly strong impact on flow and transport. In this work, we analyze the chemical composition of a Mt. Simon sandstone core to resolve the microscopic structure of clay regions and assess how alterations to the local wetting properties influence multiphase transport based on core flooding experiments and relative permeability simulations. We show that whichever fluid has greater affinity toward clay minerals will tend to accumulate within these high surface area regions, leading to dramatic shifts in the relative permeability. This work establishes the essential importance of the mineral composition and associated wetting properties in the modeling of flow and transport in reservoir‐scale systems.

Fan, Ming↗
DOE OSTI2023

Model-based quantification of margins and uncertainties in metal additive manufacturing for process design and qualification

Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) Additive Manufacturing (AM) has the potential to enable the production of components with novel designs and material properties unachievable otherwise. However, process repeatability is a challenge, making qualification ill-defined and greatly reducing the utility of what could be an important manufacturing technology. In this work, a combination of modeling, uncertainty quantification (UQ), and experimentation are used in an effort to predict and bound the range of possible outcomes of the LPBF process. Quantities of interest predicted are melt pool dimensions, microstructure features, and mechanical distortions. A combination of high fidelity thermal-fluid models, microstructure growth models, and reduced fidelity, rapid thermal and mechanical models are used. Uncertainty propagation techniques are used to predict probability distributions of quantities of interest from estimates of process uncertainties. Repeated experiments are done to quantify observed probability distributions and compared to predicted distributions to determine if predictions are precise and accurate. Novel modeling methods are microstrucutre characterization techniques are also discussed. It is found that high fidelity models do a generally good job bounding experimentally observed melt pool morphologies for both bead-on-plate and powder bed cases. Microstructure models are able to bound a number of experimentally observed microstructure statistics, but with low precision due to challenges with calibrating the microstructure growth model parameters. A developed modified inherent strain distortion model does not accurately predict observed distortions. A lumped laser distortion model shows promise in being both accurately and precisely bounding observed outcomes from the deflection comb build, but requires further evaluation on more builds and geometries.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Modeling active control of resistive wall mode with power saturation and sensor noise on HL-2M

The resistive wall mode (RWM) control on the HL-2M tokamak is simulated with the MARS-F code (Liu et al 2000 Phys. Plasmas 7 3681), aiming at quantifying control current and voltage requirements when more realistic issues are taken into account, i.e. the control power saturation and the sensor signal noise. The fluid model predicts a narrow stability region for the n = 1 RWM without magnetic feedback, in the 2D parameter space of the plasma pressure versus the toroidal flow speed. Magnetic feedback can fully stabilize the RWM on HL-2M. Without considering the voltage limitation and the sensor signal noise, it is found that plasma flow helps active control of the mode, by reducing the required critical feedback gain for both flux-to-current and flux-to-voltage control schemes. In the absence of the sensor signal noise, the lowest control voltage saturation level, below which the RWM control is lost, is found to roughly satisfy a linear relation to the plasma flow frequency, indicating that subsonic plasma flow is effective in relaxing the control power requirement for the RWM feedback stabilization. The presence of the sensor signal noise substantially modifies the feedback results. A statistical study finds that the sensor signal noise, with the standard deviation of 0.1 G on HL-2M, roughly doubles the required control voltage for successful mode control. The synergistic stabilization effect due to plasma flow is somewhat weakened by the presence of the sensor signal noise. At a given rotation, the tolerable voltage limit generally increases with increasing feedback gain due to the sensor signal noise.

Physics↗
DOE OSTI2025

Direct comparison of gyrokinetic and fluid scrape-off layer simulations

Typically, fluid simulations are used for tokamak divertor design. However, fluid models are only valid if the scrape-off layer (SOL) is highly collisional. This assumption is valid in many present-day experiments but is questionable in the upstream SOL of some high-power scenarios envisioned for burning plasmas and fusion pilot plants. This paper reports on comparisons between fluid and kinetic simulations of the SOL for upstream parameters and geometry representative of the Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production fusion pilot plant. The SOLPS-ITER (fluid) and Gkeyll (gyrokinetic) codes are operated in a two-dimensional axisymmetric mode, which replaces turbulence with ad-hoc diffusivities. In kinetic simulations, we observe that the ions in the upstream SOL experience significant mirror trapping. This substantially increases the upstream temperature and has important implications for impurity dynamics. We show that the mirror force, which is excluded in SOLPS’s fluid equations, enhances the electrostatic potential drop along the field line in the SOL. We also show that the assumption of equal main ion and impurity temperatures, which is made in commonly used fluid codes, is invalid for the regimes explored here. The combination of these effects results in superior confinement of impurities to the divertor region in kinetic simulations, consistent with our earlier predictions [Kotschenreuther et al., in 29th IAEA 29 Fusion Energy Conference (IAEA, London, UK, 2023)]. This effect can be dramatic, reducing the midplane impurity density by orders of magnitude. These results indicate that in lower collisionality SOL’s the tolerable downstream impurity densities may be higher than would be predicted by fluid simulations, allowing for higher radiated power while avoiding unacceptable core contamination. Our results highlight the importance of kinetic simulations for divertor design and optimization for fusion pilot plants.

Computational fluid dynamics↗
DOE OSTI2021

NEAMS TH CRAB

The MOOSE framework is a library designed to make it straightforward for physicists and engineers to model partial differential equations using finite element and finite volume methods. Finite elements have been a part of the framework library since MOOSE's inception over a decade ago. Initial finite volume capability, however, was added only as recently as May of 2020. Since that time, significant work has been conducted to develop fluid modeling capability based on the finite volume method. Much of this work has taken place in MOOSE's navier_stokes module and in the NEAMS program's coarse mesh CFD code Pronghorn. We report here on development in MOOSE and Pronghorn of incompressible, porous incompressible, and weakly compressible finite volume simulation capabilities and their application to modeling of MSR and FHR advanced reactor concepts.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗