Effect of separatrix magnetic geometry on divertor behavior in DIII-D

We report on recent experiments on DIII-D that examined the effects that variations in the parallel connection length in the scrape-off layer (SOL), L||, and the radial location of the outer divertor target, RTAR, have on divertor plasma properties. Two-point modeling of the SOL plasma predicts that larger values of L|| and RTAR should lower temperature and raise density at the outer divertor target for fixed upstream separatrix density and temperature, i.e., nTAR ∝ [RTAR]2[L||]6/7 and TTAR ∝ [RTAR]−2[L||]−4/7. The dependence of nTAR and TTAR on L|| was consistent with our data, but the dependence of nTAR and TTAR on RTAR was not. The surprising result that the divertor plasma parameters did not depend on RTAR in the predicted way may be due to convected heat flux, driven by escaping neutrals, in the more open configuration of the larger RTAR cases. Modeling results using the SOLPS code support this postulate.