The poloidal asymmetries of parallel flows in edge plasmas are investigated by the 3D fluid turbulence code TOKAM3X. A diverted COMPASS-like magnetic equilibrium is used for the simulations. The measurements and simulations of parallel Mach numbers are compared, and exhibit good qualitative agreement. Small-scale turbulent transport is observed to dominate near the low field side midplane, even though it co-exists with significant large-scale cross-field fluxes. Despite the turbulent nature of the plasma in the divertor region, simulations show the low effectiveness of turbulence for the cross-field transport towards the private flux region. Nevertheless, a complex pattern of fluxes associated with the average field components are found to cross the separatrix in the divertor region. Large-scale and small-scale turbulent transport, along with the drift, drive the asymmetries in parallel flows. A semi-analytical model based on mass and parallel momentum balances allows the poloidal drift effects on the asymmetry pattern to be evaluated. As in the experiments, a reversed B T simulation provides a way of self-consistently separating the effects of turbulent transport and large-scale flows, which must be reversed for a reversed field. The large-scale contribution is found to be responsible for typically 50% of the effect on the Mach number, evaluated at the top of the machine. The presented picture shows the complex interplay between drifts and turbulence, underlining the necessity of a global approach to edge plasma modelling, including a self-consistent description of the turbulence.

Plasma material interactions on the first wall of future tokamaks such as ITER and DEMO are likely to play an important role, because of turbulent radial transport. The latter results to a large extent from the radial propagation of plasma filaments through a tenuous background. In such a situation, mean field descriptions (on which transport codes rely) become questionable. First wall sputtering is of particular interest, especially in a full W machine, since it has been shown experimentally that first wall sources control core contamination. In ITER, beryllium sources will be one of the important actors in determining the fuel retention level through codeposition. In this work, we study the effect of turbulent fluctuations on mean sputtering yields and fluxes, relying on a new version of the TOKAM-2D code which includes ion temperature fluctuations. We show that fluctuations enhance sputtering at sub-threshold impact energies, by more than an order of magnitude when fluctuation levels are of order unity.

International audienceIn order to improve cross-field transport description, drifts and currents have been implemented in SOLEDGE2D–EIRENE. The derivation of an equation for the electric potential is recalled. The resolution of current equation is tested in a simple slab case. WEST divertor simulations in forward-B and reverse-B fields are also discussed. A significant increase of ExB shear is observed in the forward-B configuration that could explain a favorable L-H transition in this case

The 3D global edge turbulence code TOKAM3X is used to study the properties of edge particle turbulent transport in circular limited plasmas, including both closed and open flux surfaces. Turbulence is driven by an incoming particle flux from the core plasma and no scale separation between the equilibrium and the fluctuations is assumed. Simulations show the existence of a complex self-organization of turbulence transport coupling scales ranging from a few Larmor radii up to the machine scale. Particle transport is largely dominated by small scale turbulence with fluctuations forming quasi field-aligned filaments. Radial particle transport is intermittent and associated with the propagation of coherent structures on long distances via avalanches. Long range correlations are also found in the poloidal and toroidal direction. The statistical properties of fluctuations vary with the radial and poloidal directions, with larger fluctuation levels and intermittency found in the outboard scrape-off layer (SOL). Radial turbulent transport is strongly ballooned, with 90% of the flux at the separatrix flowing through the low-field side. One of the main consequences is the existence of quasi-sonic asymmetric parallel flows driving a net rotation of the plasma. Simulations also show the spontaneous onset of an intermittent E × B rotation characterized by a larger shear at the separatrix. Strong correlation is found between the turbulent particle flux and the E × B flow shear in a phenomenology reminiscent of H-mode physics. The poloidal position of the limiter is a key player in the observed dynamics.