Comparisons of gyrofluid and gyrokinetic simulations* | CU Experts

The gyrokinetic and gyrofluid models show the most promise for large scale simulations of tokamak microturbulence. This paper discusses detailed comparisons of these two complementary approaches. Past comparisons with linear theory have been fairly good, therefore the emphasis here is on nonlinear comparisons. Simulations include simple two-dimensional slab test cases, turbulent three-dimensional slab cases, and toroidal cases, each modeling the nonlinear evolution of the ion temperature gradient instability. There is good agreement in both turbulent and coherent nonlinear slab comparisons in terms of the ion heat flux, both in magnitude and scaling with magnetic shear. However, the nonlinear saturation level for ‖Φ‖ in the slab comparisons shows differences of approximately 40%. Preliminary toroidal comparisons show agreement within 50%, in terms of ion heat flux and saturation level.

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