Simulation of disruptions triggered by Vertical Displacement Events (VDE) in tokamak and leading edge effect in plasma energy deposition to material surfaces

Abstract

Abstract The paper describes two major non-linear properties of the vertical instability of a tokamak plasma, which has a vertical elongation: (a) inductive excitation of surface (edge) currents stabilizing the instability and converting it into fast equilibrium evolution, and (b) creation of a wetting zone without the normal component of the magnetic field when the plasma has contact with material surfaces. Two major disruption effects for both mitigated and non-mitigated disruptions, important for JET and ITER, were considered: (a) excitation of vertical disruption during the current quench (i.e., abnormal plasma current ramp down) and (b) related to the wetting zone, potential leading edge effect in plasma energy deposition to the in-vessel tiles during disruptions. Our considerations together with a 2-D version of the VDE (Vertical Disruption Event) code are based on a new mathematical model, called Tokamak MHD (TMHD), as a replacement for the conventional model, a model that cannot solve numerical problems related to extreme plasma anisotropy and negligible mass. The code includes a 3-D model of surface currents on a thin conductive wall and has a well-specified algorithm for extension to vertical disruptions that excite asymmetric kink modes.