Simulations of Argon plasmas in the linear plasma device GyM with the SOLPS-ITER code

• Published in: Plasma physics and controlled fusion 2020-05, Vol.62 (5), p.55005
• Main Authors: Sala, M, Tonello, E, Uccello, A, Bonnin, X, Ricci, D, Dellasega, D, Granucci, G, Passoni, M
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Argon plasma; linear plasma device; plasma modelling; SOLPS-ITER
• ISSN: 0741-3335; 1361-6587
• DOI: 10.1088/1361-6587/ab7c4f

Edge plasma codes, such as SOLPS, are widely used to study plasma transport in tokamaks scrape-off layers (SOL). The possibility to apply these codes to non hydrogenic plasmas and to linear plasma devices is gaining the interests of the fusion community. These facilities play a pivotal role in plasma-material interaction studies for future fusion devices and may allow to test the code capabilities both in terms of geometry and simulated plasma species. In this contribution, we apply the SOLPS-ITER code for the simulations of Argon plasmas in the medium-flux linear machine GyM. A sensitivity scan over the pumping efficiency, transport coefficients and absorbed electron power was done, performing B2.5-EIRENE coupled simulations. A quantitative analysis of the different flux contributions is provided through the use of a two-point modelling. Comparison with experiments shows a promising qualitative and quantitative agreement, with the sole exception of the simulated neutrals pressure. Dedicated EIRENE standalone simulations were performed to investigate this issue, also highlighting the role of neutral-neutral elastic collisions at high values of the puffing intensity.