Fundamental study of turbulence in fusion technology using direct numerical simulation

PhD Student: Alex Old

Supervisor: Shuisheng He

Co-supervisor: Wei Wang (STFC)

Collaborators: Chris Harrington (UKAEA), Nakul Sashidharan (UKAEA)

Turbulence in the cooling system of a fusion machine such as the blanket is especially complex and its understanding and prediction is one of the major challenges facing the reactor design. The purpose of this project is to advance the understanding of the turbulence dynamics in a cooling system subjected to extremely strong heating and magnetic fields using direct numerical simulation (DNS). In particular, this project will research into magnatohydrodynamics (MHD) and turbulence dynamics under varied wall conditions and magnetic fields. The PhD project will begin with the adaptation of the DNS code, CHAPSim, for fusion applications including the capacity of simulating the magnetic forces under various conditions. The new development will be used to study turbulence subject to strong heating and MHD influences at chosen flow geometries/conditions making use of recent advances in flow laminarisation and re-transition. This fundamental research will interact with/support investigations into more complex conditions and geometries that are directly relevant to fusion research facilities (such as CHIMERA at UKAEA) or component designs (such as those for STEP or DEMO).