The GBS code for the self-consistent simulation of plasma turbulence and kinetic neutral dynamics in the tokamak boundary

• Published in: Journal of computational physics 2022-08, Vol.463, p.111294, Article 111294
• Main Authors: Giacomin, M., Ricci, P., Coroado, A., Fourestey, G., Galassi, D., Lanti, E., Mancini, D., Richart, N., Stenger, L.N., Varini, N.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Boussinesq approximation; Computational physics; Configurations; Coordinates; Discharge; Fluid flow; GBS code; Iterative methods; Plasma; Plasma turbulence; Simulation; Solvers; Tokamak boundary; Tokamak devices
• ISSN: 0021-9991; 1090-2716
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jcp.2022.111294

A new version of GBS (Ricci et al. (2012) [27]; Halpern et al. J. Comput. Phys. 315 (2016) 388-408; Paruta et al. (2018) [11]) is described. GBS is a three-dimensional, flux-driven, global, two-fluid turbulence code developed for the self-consistent simulation of plasma turbulence and kinetic neutral dynamics in the tokamak boundary. In the new version presented here, the simulation domain is extended to encompass the whole plasma volume, avoiding an artificial boundary with the core, hence retaining the core-edge-SOL interplay. A toroidal coordinate system is introduced to increase the code flexibility, allowing for the simulation of arbitrary magnetic configurations (e.g. single-null, double-null and snowflake configurations), which can also be the result of the equilibrium reconstruction of an experimental discharge. The implementation of a new iterative solver for the Poisson and Ampère equations is presented, leading to a remarkable speed-up of the code with respect to the use of direct solvers, therefore allowing for efficient electromagnetic simulations that avoid the use of the Boussinesq approximation. The self-consistent kinetic neutral model, initially developed for limited configurations, is ported to the magnetic configurations considered by the present version of GBS and carefully optimized. A new MPI parallelisation is implemented to evolve the plasma and neutral models in parallel, thus improving the code scalability. The numerical implementation of the plasma and neutral models is verified by means of the method of manufactured solutions. As an example of the simulation capabilities of the new version of GBS, a simulation of a TCV tokamak discharge is presented. •The GBS code is now able to simulate medium size tokamaks with realistic geometry and magnetic equilibrium.•The use of a non-field aligned grid combined with the MPI domain decomposition allow for a very efficient code scalability.•The plasma model is coupled to a kinetic neutral model improving the reliability of tokamak boundary turbulence simulations.•The use of iterative solvers for Poisson and Ampère laws significantly improve the code performance.