NOVA: A nonvariational code for solving the MHD stability of axisymmetric toroidal plasmas

C. Z. Cheng, M. S. Chance

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

158 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

A nonvariational approach for determining the ideal MHD stability of axisymmetric toroidal confinement systems is presented. The code (NOVA) employs cubic B-spline finite elements and Fourier expansion in a general flux coordinate (ψ, φ, ζ) system. At least as much accuracy and faster convergence were obtained in comparison with the existing variational PEST and ERATO codes which employ linear finite elements. This nonvariational approach benchmarked here on the ideal MHD problem is a prelude to a future extended version applicable to problems having non-Hermitian eigenmode equations where variational energy principles cannot be obtained.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)124-146
Number of pages23
JournalJournal of Computational Physics
Volume71
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1987 Jul

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Numerical Analysis
  • Modelling and Simulation
  • Physics and Astronomy (miscellaneous)
  • General Physics and Astronomy
  • Computer Science Applications
  • Computational Mathematics
  • Applied Mathematics

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