NSFsim Validation as a DIII-D Plasma Equilibrium Simulator

We present validation of NSFsim as a DIII-D compatible plasma equilibrium code. NSFsim is a non-linear time-dependent simulation code capable of simulating both the plasma equilibrium response and intrinsic transport modeling, modelled after DINA. The validation is performed utilizing DIII-D magnetics data from recent shots and the closed-loop plant model GSevolve. The results of the first phase of the project were focused on the validation of the plasma equilibrium capability of NSFsim at DIII-D. Low beta shots were chosen for comparison to avoid additional complexities originating from the effects of plasma pressure and the need for further validation of the transport model in NSFsim. Different plasma shapes were evaluated during this test, specifically, LSN, USN, DN, IWL, and plasmas with negative triangularity. NSFsim has been shown to reliably estimate the poloidal flux surface/shape and simulate the magnetic probe and flux loop sensors to a high degree of agreement with both real shot data and GSevolve simulated data. The next phase will focus on validation of transport mechanisms via comparisons with interpretive TRANSP models and experimentally measured plasma profiles. Ultimately, this work seeks to make NSFsim available as a viable plasma simulator for the DIII-D community.