Blob velocity scaling in diverted tokamaks: A comparison between theory and simulation

Abstract

The present work uses the results of a fluid full-turbulence 3D simulation of the tokamak periphery to present the first self-consistent analysis of the radial velocity scaling of plasma blobs in a diverted geometry. A diverted double-null configuration is considered, and the blob motion is studied using a pattern recognition algorithm. The velocity obtained from the simulation results is compared to an analytical scaling accounting for the presence of the X-point. Agreement is found between numerical and analytical results.