Modelling plasma dynamics in linear plasma devices with 0D, 2D and 3D approaches

We present the first attempt to model helium plasma dynamics in linear plasma devices (LPDs) using self-consistently 0D, 2D and 3D numerical approaches. LPDs are an essential and widely exploited tool for nuclear fusion research to understand crucial aspects of the plasma-wall interaction and edge plasma behaviour. Providing the possibility to study complex phenomena – like plasma turbulence – in a simple geometry, LPDs are the ideal testbed for the development and validation of modelling strategies of interest for tokamaks. The modelling of helium plasma dynamics in LPD was performed employing a recently developed 0D global model for LPDs [1], together with two state-of-the-art numerical codes for the edge plasma adapted to the linear geometry. On the one hand, we used the 2D mean field fluid code SOLPS-ITER [2, 3], able to describe full-size axial-symmetric devices, including currents, impurities from plasma-wall interaction (PWI) and a large set interactions between the plasma and the neutral atoms. On the other hand, the 3D turbulent code Global Braginskii Solver (GBS) [4, 5, 6] was used to investigate the details of plasma turbulence and the underlying physical mechanisms driving this phenomenon. A benchmark of the three different approaches is presented.