Advanced methods in global gyrokinetic full f particle simulation of tokamak transport

A new full f nonlinear gyrokinetic simulation code, named ELMFIRE, has been developed for simulating transport phenomena in tokamak plasmas. The code is based on a gyrokinetic particle-in-cell algorithm, which can consider electrons and ions jointly or separately, as well as arbitrary impurities. The implicit treatment of the ion polarization drift and the use of full f methods allow for simulations of strongly perturbed plasmas including wide orbit effects, steep gradients and rapid dynamic changes. This article presents in more detail the algorithms incorporated into ELMFIRE, as well as benchmarking comparisons to both neoclassical theory and other codes.Code ELMFIRE calculates plasma dynamics by following the evolution of a number of sample particles. Because of using an stochastic algorithm its results are influenced by statistical noise. The effect of noise on relevant magnitudes is analyzed.Turbulence spectra of FT-2 plasma has been calculated with ELMFIRE, obtaining results consistent with experimental data.