No abstract

The pressure at the top of the edge transport barrier (or "pedestal height") strongly impacts fusion performance, while large Edge Localized Modes (ELMs), driven by the free energy in the pedestal region, can constrain material lifetimes. Accurately predicting the pedestal height and ELM behavior in ITER is an essential element of prediction and optimization of fusion performance. Investigation of intermediate wavelength MHD modes (or "peeling-ballooning" modes) has led to improved understanding of important constraints on the pedestal height and the mechanism for ELMs. The combination of high resolution pedestal diagnostics, including substantial recent improvements, and a suite of highly efficient stability codes, has made edge stability analysis routine on several major tokamaks, contributing both to understanding, and to experimental planning and performance optimization. Here we present extensive comparisons of observations to predicted edge stability boundaries on several tokamaks, both for the standard (Type I) ELM regime, and for small ELM and ELM-free regimes. We further use the stability constraint on pedestal height to test models of the pedestal width, and self-consistently combine a simple width model with peeling-ballooning stability calculations to develop a new predictive model (EPED1) for the pedestal height and width. This model is tested against experimental measurements, and used in initial predictions of the pedestal height for ITER.

An H-mode edge pedestal plasma transport benchmarking exercise was undertaken for a single DIII-D pedestal. Transport modelling codes used include 1.5D interpretive (ONETWO, GTEDGE), 1.5D predictive (ASTRA) and 2D ones (SOLPS, UEDGE). The particular DIII-D discharge considered is 98889, which has a typical low density pedestal. Profiles for the edge plasma are obtained from Thomson and charge-exchange recombination data averaged over the last 20% of the average 33.53 ms repetition time between type I edge localized modes. The modelled density of recycled neutrals is largest in the divertor X-point region and causes the edge plasma source rate to vary by a factor ∼10 2 on the separatrix. Modelled poloidal variations in the densities and temperatures on flux surfaces are small on all flux surfaces up to within about 2.6 mm (ρ N > 0.99) of the mid-plane separatrix. For the assumed Fick's-diffusion-type laws, the radial heat and density fluxes vary poloidally by factors of 2-3 in the pedestal region; they are largest on the outboard mid-plane where flux surfaces are compressed and local radial gradients are largest. Convective heat flows are found to be small fractions of the electron (10%) and ion (25%) heat flows in this pedestal. Appropriately averaging the transport fluxes yields interpretive 1.5D effective diffusivities that are smallest near the mid-point of the pedestal. Their 'transport barrier' minima are about 0.3 (electron heat), 0.15 (ion heat) and 0.035 (density) m 2 s −1. Electron heat transport is found to be best characterized by electron-temperaturegradient-induced transport at the pedestal top and paleoclassical transport throughout the pedestal. The effective ion heat diffusivity in the pedestal has a different profile from the neoclassical prediction and may be smaller than it. The very small effective density diffusivity may be the result of an inward pinch flow nearly balancing a diffusive outward radial density flux. The inward ion pinch velocity and density diffusion coefficient are determined by a new interpretive analysis technique that uses information from the force balance (momentum conservation) equations; the paleoclassical transport model provides a plausible explanation of these new results. Finally, the measurements and additional modelling needed to facilitate better pedestal plasma transport modelling are discussed.

The GLF23 and multi-mode core transport models are used along with models for the H-mode pedestal to predict the fusion performance for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, Fusion Ignition Research Experiment, and IGNITOR tokamak designs. Simulations using combinations of core and pedestal models have also been compared with experimental data for H-mode profiles in DIII-D, JET, and Alcator C-Mod. Power-independent (ballooning mode limit) and power-dependent pedestal scalings lead to very different predictions when used with the core models. Although the two drift-wave transport models reproduce the core profiles in a wide variety of tokamak discharges, they differ in their projections to burning plasma experiments for the same pedestal parameters. Differences in the core transport models in their response to the ion temperature gradient (i.e. their stiffness) and impact of the power dependence of the H-mode pedestal on fusion performance predictions are discussed.

Joint experiment/theory/modelling research has led to increased confidence in predictions of the pedestal height in ITER. This work was performed as part of a US Department of Energy Joint Research Target in FY11 to identify physics processes that control the H-mode pedestal structure. The study included experiments on C-Mod, DIII-D and NSTX as well as interpretation of experimental data with theory-based modelling codes. This work provides increased confidence in the ability of models for peeling-ballooning stability, bootstrap current, pedestal width and pedestal height scaling to make correct predictions, with some areas needing further work also being identified. A model for pedestal pressure height has made good predictions in existing machines for a range in pressure of a factor of 20. This provides a solid basis for predicting the maximum pedestal pressure height in ITER, which is found to be an extrapolation of a factor of 3 beyond the existing data set. Models were studied for a number of processes that are proposed to play a role in the pedestal n e and T e profiles. These processes include neoclassical transport, paleoclassical transport, electron temperature gradient turbulence and neutral fuelling. All of these processes may be important, with the importance being dependent on the plasma regime. Studies with several electromagnetic gyrokinetic codes show that the gradients in and on top of the pedestal can drive a number of instabilities.