HL-3托卡马克中性束加热功率影响H模等离子体约束性能的模拟

Simulation on Impact of Neutral Beam Heating Power on Confinement Performance of H-mode Plasmas in HL-3 Tokamak

  • 摘要: 磁约束核聚变能因其燃料丰富、安全环保等特点,有望成为人类社会的终极清洁能源。为实现聚变点火,发生聚变反应的等离子体需要达到足够高的约束水平。本文基于中国环流三号(HL-3)托卡马克磁约束聚变装置的磁位形结构,利用OMFIT集成模拟平台,研究了中性束加热功率对H模等离子体约束性能的影响。模拟研究结果表明,在相同H模台基密度条件下,当中性束加热功率从2 MW增大到4 MW时,等离子体能量约束时间由0.32 s下降为0.20 s(下降约37.5%)。进一步分析发现,中性束加热功率提高时,电子温度梯度所驱动的不稳定性模式的增长率明显增加,电子通道的湍性能量输运增强,从而加热功率提高时电子热储能的增长趋近饱和,导致总的热储能与加热功率的比值减小,因此等离子体的约束时间下降。

     

    Abstract: Magnetic confinement fusion energy is anticipated to become the ultimate clean energy source for human society due to its abundant fuel resources, safety, and environmental friendliness. Achieving fusion ignition requires plasma to reach extremely high energy confinement levels. Under normal circumstances, ohmic heating alone cannot achieve the high-confinement mode, necessitating additional auxiliary heating to transition from low-confinement mode to H-mode, which forms an edge transport barrier that significantly increases energy confinement time and overall plasma performance. As one of the most critical auxiliary heating methods in Tokamak, the penetration depth of neutral beam injection in plasma and its deposition power in the core are influenced by the edge pedestal density in H-mode. Precise control of pedestal density is urgently required for maintaining plasma stability during operation of future international thermonuclear experimental reactors. The research tool utilized in this paper is the OMFIT integrated modeling platform, currently recognized as one of the most mature integrated simulation platforms internationally for steady-state plasma modeling. It integrates the EFIT program for calculating equilibrium configurations, the ONETWO program for computing currents and source terms, the TGYRO program for simulating core kinetic profile evolution, and the EPED program for predicting pedestal structures in H-mode plasma. This study employed the OMFIT integrated modeling platform to investigate the modulation effects of neutral beam heating power (2-4 MW) on H-mode confinement performance in China’s HL-3 Tokamak, utilizing its magnetic configuration under fixed pedestal density conditions with 1 MA plasma current and 2.2 T toroidal magnetic field. Simulations demonstrate that increasing power from 2 MW to 4 MW reduces energy confinement time by 37.5% (0.32 s→0.20 s) while marginally elevating total thermal energy (WE) from 0.57 MJ to 0.67 MJ, with ion thermal energy (WE,i) dominating the increase (0.25 MJ→0.39 MJ, +56%) versus constrained electron thermal energy growth (WE,e: 0.32 MJ→0.36 MJ, +11%). Turbulence transport analysis reveals that under 4 MW heating power, the growth rates of electron-temperature-gradient-driven instability modes increased dramatically at normalized minor radii ρ=0.5 and ρ=0.8, with trapped electron mode turbulence emerging at ρ=0.5. This leads to enhanced turbulent transport in the electron channel and substantially elevated electron thermal transport coefficients, causing electron thermal energy to approach saturation. Consequently, the ratio of total thermal energy to heating power decreases, ultimately resulting in reduced plasma energy confinement time. These simulation findings provide valuable insights for the design of operational scenarios in future fusion reactors.

     

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