A finite volume model for multi-component diffusion in magnetically confined plasmas

K S C Peerenboom (1, 2) , J van Dijk (1) , W J Goedheer (2) , G Degrez (3, 4) , a M van Der Mullen (1)

1 Department of Applied Physics [Eindhoven]
2 FOM Institute for Plasma Physics Rijnhuizen
3 VKI - von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics
4 ULB - Département d'Informatique [Bruxelles]

In partially ionized, magnetically confined plasmas, the diffusive fluxes of the different species are coupled. Additionally, the fluxes are directionally coupled as well due to the Lorentz force. The challenge in modelling of multicomponent , magnetized plasmas is to take care of this coupling in the numerical method. In this paper, a complex form of the Stefan-Maxwell equations is used, to account for the coupling between the flow directions. To handle the coupling between the species fluxes in the finite volume method, a generalised, coupled form of the exponential scheme is used. The presented numerical method is applied to a magnetically confined hydrogen jet. The results show that the numerical method is capable of describing typical characteristics of magnetized plasmas, such as anisotropic diffusion and the presence of a pressure gradient sustained by the Lorentz force.

Mots clés: Physical Sciences

K S C Peerenboom, J van Dijk, W J Goedheer, G Degrez, a M van Der Mullen. A finite volume model for multi-component diffusion in magnetically confined plasmas. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, 2011, 44 (19), pp.194006. ⟨10.1088/0022-3727/44/19/194006⟩. ⟨hal-00615138⟩