Wilczynski, F, Hughes, DW orcid.org/0000-0002-8004-8631, Van Loo, S orcid.org/0000-0003-4746-8500 et al. (2 more authors) (2019) Stability of scrape-off layer plasma: a modified Rayleigh-Benard problem. Physics of Plasmas, 26 (2). 022510. ISSN 1070-664X
Abstract
We present an extensive linear stability analysis of a two-dimensional fluid model used to study the plasma dynamics in the scrape-off layer of tokamaks. The model equations are based on the Braginskii fluid equations under the assumptions of drift ordering and electrostatic plasma. The model also employs the commonly used slab geometry approximation, whereby the magnetic field is assumed constant and straight, with the effects of curvature reintroduced as effective gravitational terms. We study the linear instability in the system by solving a boundary value problem, thereby extending previous studies, which focused on a local analysis. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the governing plasma equations for the scrape-off layer can be viewed as describing a thermal convection problem with additional effects. The new features include a non-uniform basic state gradient, linear damping terms, and additional advective terms. We characterize the conditions at the onset of instability and perform an extensive parameter scan to describe how the stability threshold varies as a function of plasma parameters.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2019 Author(s). Published under license by AIP Publishing. This is an author produced version of a paper published in Physics of Plasmas. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | damping, plasma boundary layers, plasma instability, plasma magnetohydrodynamics, plasma nonlinear processes, plasma toroidal confinement, Rayleigh-Benard convection, Tokamak devices |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Mathematics (Leeds) > Applied Mathematics (Leeds) The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Physics and Astronomy (Leeds) > Astrophysics (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 25 Mar 2019 11:32 |
Last Modified: | 25 Mar 2019 11:32 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | AIP Publishing |
Identification Number: | 10.1063/1.5064765 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:144083 |