Posted November 9th 2011

Integrated Tokamak Modelling Task Force

Interim Leader

Gloria Falchetto

I am confident that the ITM Task Force effort to coordinate the outstanding European numerical developments on Integrated Tokamak Modelling contributes to the European scientific excellence both in terms of providing a standardised, flexible and solid simulation infrastructure and in promoting effective pan-European collaborations. I had the opportunity to take the lead ad interim of the ITM-Task Force when it started producing integrated tools for scientific exploitation on actual experiments and I trust it will head towards delivery of a valuable simulator for ITER.

After completing her Master in Physics at the University of Turin, Gloria Falchetto obtained her PhD in 2002 at the Swiss Research Centre on Plasma Physics (CRPP) of the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne. Between 2002 and 2004 she was a post-doctorate at CEA Cadarache fusion department, now called Institut de Recherche sur la Fusion Magnétique, where she has held a permanent position since 2005 in the Transport, Turbulence and MHD group. She currently works on fluid turbulence simulations and interpretative modelling of density fluctuation measurements. Dr Falchetto has been contributing to the EFDA Integrated Tokamak Modelling (ITM) Task Force since 2005 as a member of the turbulence and microstability Integrated Modelling Project, of which she became Deputy Project Leader in 2007. In 2009, she was appointed Deputy Leader of the ITM Task Force and Leader ad interim in 2010.

Deputy Leaders

Rui Coelho

In view of modelling ITER and other device discharges, the ITM Task Force plays a crucial role in the modelling effort that EFDA pursues. It consolidates a software infrastructure where state-of-the-art codes from all European partners, and comprising all major tokamak physics, come together building true capacity for whole device modelling.

Rui Coelho obtained his PhD at Universidade Técnica de Lisboa in collaboration with the Istituto di Fisica del Plasma – CNR Milano in 2001. His research was dedicated to the non-linear coupling between tearing modes and interaction with resonant magnetic perturbations and their impact on the seeding of neoclassical tearing modes. He then completed a one year post-doctorate on theoretical aspects on the feedback vertical stabilisation of elongated plasmas at the Politecnico di Torino. Since 2005, Dr Coelho has been a researcher at the Instituto de Plasmas e Fusão Nuclear / Instituto Superior Técnico, Portugal. His work primarily addresses the theoretical study of plasma instabilities, in particular the seeding, sheared flow effect and feedback stabilisation of neoclassical tearing modes and also the real-time processing of fusion plasma diagnostic data. Since 2008, he has been Deputy Leader of the EFDA ITM Task Force and is in charge of the coordination of the Experimentalists and Diagnosticians Resource Group.

David Coster

Modern science rests on a triad of experiment, theory and modelling. Theory can explain individual pieces of the picture, but to combine the pieces to explain and predict the jigsaw that is the experiment, one often requires extensive computer simulations. These simulations have moved on from exploring single physics, single time- and space-scale phenomena to examining multi-physics, multi time- and space-scale phenomena. The Integrated Tokamak Modelling Task Force aims to provide an environment where many tokamak physics codes can be integrated so that new physics issues can be explored – on present experiments, on ITER and beyond.

David Coster is the Group Leader for Edge Physics in the Division of Tokamak Physics, one of the two theory divisions at IPP Garching. He earned his PhD in plasma physics from Princeton University in 1993. He is the Project Leader for Integrated Modelling Project 3 (Core and Edge Transport) within the EFDA ITM Task Force. As well as being a Deputy Task Force Leader, Dr Coster was the deputy coordinator of the seventh European Framework Programme (FP7) project EUFORIA and is also involved in the FP7 project MAPPER. SOLPS, the edge modelling code he maintains and co-develops, is in use in various laboratories in Europe, Japan, Korea, Russia, China, India and the USA, as well as at ITER.

Plasma Wall Interaction Task Force

Wolfram element after several melting processes (Image: FZJ)

Leader

Karl Krieger

The design challenges for fusion devices the size of ITER and beyond have led to the recognition of power exhaust and corresponding plasma-wall interactions as key issues for the success of nuclear fusion. Europe’s leading role in this field is, to a large extent, a result of successful collaboration. The Plasma Wall Interaction Task Force provides a framework for the participating partners to organise and further develop their cooperative efforts. It also brings together experts to promote the exchange of ideas and to shape a research programme, which makes optimal use of the available resources.

Karl Krieger received his PhD in 1990 from the Munich Technical University, with a dissertation on impurity transport studies in the tokamak ASDEX. Since 1991 he has held a permanent research position at IPP Garching, working on plasma-wall interactions and impurity migration. In addition to experiments at ASDEX Upgrade and participation in the JET programme, he has designed and commissioned a dual-ion beam experiment for plasma-wall interactions studies. Alongside his research activities, Dr Krieger also organised the IPP Summer University for Plasma Physics and Nuclear Fusion up until 2010. From 2009 to 2010, he coordinated EFDA Plasma Wall Interaction (PWI) studies on mixed material effects as Leader of the relevant special expert working group. He was subsequently appointed as Leader of the EFDA PWI Task Force.

Deputy Leaders

Marek Rubel

“The role of the Task Force is to integrate our research community and to promote projects which improve the understanding of PWI processes and, as a result, the technology of plasma-facing materials and components. It is also important to establish new co-operations to broaden expertise which eventually brings benefits to all involved parties.”

Marek Rubel obtained his PhD in 1983 at the Warsaw University of Technology for his studies of surface physics and the interaction of low temperature plasma with materials. He subsequently joined the Swedish Manne Siegbahn Institute of Physics and worked at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA. Dr Rubel is an Associate Professor at the Alfvén Laboratory of the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm. His scientific interests lie in plasma-wall interactions, the development of plasma-facing materials and diagnostic techniques. He has a broad cooperation network with major fusion plasma physics and material science laboratories in Europe, Japan and the USA. Marek Rubel is author/co-author of over 180 papers published in international journals. He is committee member of five international conference series and project evaluator for several funding agencies. Since 2007, he has been a member of the Technical Advisory Panel at Fusion for Energy and, as of 2010, has also been Deputy Leader of the EFDA PWI Task Force.

Sebastijan Brezinsek

With the ITER-Like-Wall at JET starting operation, one of the key issues of our Task Force is to bring together PWI activities in the Associations related to metallic plasma-facing components and exploitation of the ITER-LIKE-WALL. Of particular interest are material migration, fuel retention and fuel removal. Our aim is to maximise the outcome of European PWI research for a successful and safe operation of ITER.

Sebastijan Brezinsek is Deputy Task Force Leader in the JET Task E2 with the ITER-Like-Wall. He earned a PhD in plasma physics in 2002 from Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, Germany. He subsequently joined Forschungszentrum Jülich (FZJ) as the scientist responsible for passive spectroscopy. He participated in and led several PWI experiments at JET, DIII-D, Tore Supra and ASDEX Upgrade and became the Leader of the EFDA Task Force PWI special expert working group for chemical erosion and transport. He is co-project Leader for the spectroscopy upgrade project for the ITER-Like-Wall at JET and was appointed Deputy Leader of the Plasma Wall Interactions Group at FZJ. In July 2007, he became Deputy Task Force Leader for JET Task Force Exhaust. Dr Brezinsek is a member of the international programme committee for several PWI related conferences and teaches plasma physics at the University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany. In 2010, he was appointed Deputy Leader of the EFDA PWI Task Force.

Wojciech Fundamenski

The exhaust of particles and power from a burning plasma is one of the key challenges on the road to commercialisation of fusion energy. The solution of this problem is the main focus of the EFDA Plasma Wall Interaction Task Force.

Wojciech Fundamenski received his PhD from the Institute of Aerospace studies at the University of Toronto. In 1999, he joined the scientific team at JET where he pursued research in edge plasma physics and particle/power exhaust. Since 2004, he has headed the JET Task Force for Exhaust Physics, first as a Deputy Leader (2004-2007), then as Leader (2007-2010). Dr Fundamenski is currently a tokamak science programme area Leader for scrape-off layer and divertor physics at the CCFE, where he also leads a plasma exhaust theory and modelling group. He is the author of “Power Exhaust in Fusion Plasmas” (Cambridge, 2009), a visiting professor in plasma physics at Imperial College, London, and a fellow of the Institute of Physics.