Self-consistent coupling of JOREK and CARIDDI: On the electromagnetic interaction of 3D tokamak plasmas with 3D volumetric conductors

The self-consistent electromagnetic integration of tokamak plasma magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) models with external conductors is considered in this manuscript. We integrate the extended MHD code JOREK and the eddy current code CARIDDI, via a scheme based on the virtual casing principle enabling two-way coupled fully implicit simulations. The robustness of this new integrated tool is validated against JOREK-STARWALL and CarMa0NL simulations for vertical displacement events in a simplified ASDEX Upgrade-like geometry and for n = 1 tearing modes in a circular high-aspect-ratio tokamak. The impact of 3D wall structures on the plasma evolution is highlighted introducing ports at different locations of a simplified axisymmetric wall and characterizing its effect on the plasma evolution. In addition to realistically capturing the 3D interactions between plasma and wall structures, the coupled codes will allow in the future 1:1 comparisons to experiments using virtual magnetic diagnostics that capture screening effects accurately.