Development of a computational tool for limiter edge plasma modeling with application to IGNITOR

IGNITOR is the only experiment today designed with the ambitious goal of achieving ignition. During the discharge, the First-Wall Limiter (FWL) will receive about 20 MW [B. Coppi, A. Airoldi, F. Bombarda, et al., Nucl. Fusion 41 (2001) 1253–1257] power, split between conduction/convection and radiation channels. Previous estimates suggested a peak heat flux on the FWL close to 1 MW/m2. This value should be re-evaluated, accounting for the latest developments in the design of the IGNITOR first wall and changes in the operational scenarios, in order to assess the risk of damages to the FWL deriving from the combination of thermal and mechanical stresses. For this purpose, the development of the ASPOEL code, implementing a 2D model of the edge plasma and including a detailed representation of the FWL, was started at Politecnico di Torino. Here we present the main features of the new code, and illustrate its potential via a preliminary application to IGNITOR.