Nonlinear simulations of peeling-ballooning modes with anomalous electron viscosity and their role in edge localized mode crashes

X. Q. Xu, B. Dudson, P. B. Snyder, M. V. Umansky, H. Wilson

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

148 Scopus citations

Abstract

A minimum set of equations based on the peeling-ballooning (P-B) model with nonideal physics effects (diamagnetic drift, E×B drift, resistivity, and anomalous electron viscosity) is found to simulate pedestal collapse when using the new BOUT++ simulation code, developed in part from the original fluid edge code BOUT. Nonlinear simulations of P-B modes demonstrate that the P-B modes trigger magnetic reconnection, which leads to the pedestal collapse. With the addition of a model of the anomalous electron viscosity under the assumption that the electron viscosity is comparable to the anomalous electron thermal diffusivity, it is found from simulations using a realistic high-Lundquist number that the pedestal collapse is limited to the edge region and the edge localized mode (ELM) size is about 5%-10% of the pedestal stored energy. This is consistent with many observations of large ELMs.

Original languageEnglish
Article number175005
JournalPhysical Review Letters
Volume105
Issue number17
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 22 2010
Externally publishedYes

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Nonlinear simulations of peeling-ballooning modes with anomalous electron viscosity and their role in edge localized mode crashes'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this