A Coupled FEM-BEM Approach for the Solution of the Free-Boundary Axi-Symmetric Plasma Equilibrium Problem
Year: 2022
Author: M. Bonotto, D. Abate, P. Bettini, F. Villone
Communications in Computational Physics, Vol. 31 (2022), Iss. 1 : pp. 27–59
Abstract
In this paper we present a coupled Finite Element Method – Boundary Element Method (FEM-BEM) approach for the solution of the free-boundary axi-symmetric plasma equilibrium problem. The proposed method, obtained from an improvement of the Hagenow-Lackner coupling method, allows to efficiently model the equilibrium problem in unbounded domains by discretizing only the plasma region; the external conductors can be modelled either as 2D or 3D models, according to the problem of interest. The paper explores different iterative methods for the solution of the nonlinear Grad-Shafranov equation, such as Picard, Newton-Raphson and Newton-Krylov, in order to provide a robust and reliable tool, able to handle large-scale problems (e.g. high resolution equilibria). This method has been implemented in the FRIDA code (FRee-boundary Integro-Differential Axisimmetric – https://github. om/matteobonotto/ FRIDA), together with a suitable Adaptive Integration Technique (AIT) for the computation of the source term. FRIDA has been successfully tested and validated against experimental data from RFX-mod device, and numerical equilibria of an ITER-like device.
You do not have full access to this article.
Already a Subscriber? Sign in as an individual or via your institution
Journal Article Details
Publisher Name: Global Science Press
Language: English
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4208/cicp.OA-2021-0062
Communications in Computational Physics, Vol. 31 (2022), Iss. 1 : pp. 27–59
Published online: 2022-01
AMS Subject Headings: Global Science Press
Copyright: COPYRIGHT: © Global Science Press
Pages: 33
Keywords: FEM-BEM MHD plasma equilibrium Grad-Shafranov equation.