Simulation of runaway electron generation and diffusion during major disruptions in the HL-2A tokamak

•The strong and long duration magnetic perturbation (δB/B ∼ 1.0 × 10−3) can restrain the RE generation effectively.•The REs are generated initially in the plasma core during disruptions.•The toroidal electric field does not exhibit a centrally hollow phenomenon.•The toroidal effects have little impact on the generation of RE and the evolution of toroidal electric field.

The generation and diffusion of runaway electrons (REs) during major disruptions in the HL-2A tokamak has been studied numerically. The diffusion caused by the magnetic perturbation is especially addressed. The simulation results show that the strong magnetic perturbation (δB/B ∼ 1.0 × 10−3) can cause a significant loss of REs due to the radial diffusion and restrain the RE avalanche effectively. The results also indicate that the REs are generated initially in the plasma core during disruptions, and that the toroidal electric field does not exhibit a centrally hollow phenomenon. In addition, it is found that the toroidal effects have little impact on the generation of RE and the evolution of toroidal electric field.