Fusion Modelling and Simulation are very challenging and the high performance computing issues are addressed here. Based on the framework developed by the European Integrated Tokamak Modelling project and on the EUFORIA infrastructure, a tool solving nicely these difficulties has been developed for the end users and applied to several fusion simulation cases. The first part recalls the issues with GRID and high performance computing, while the second part presents the solutions and the tool for developing easily a GRID/HPC actor. The last part reports the use of this tool in MHD equilibrium and plasma edge simulations.

Keywords: Simulation

The status of the European Transport Solver, a new 1-D core transport code that is being developed by the members of Integrated Modelling Project 3 ("Transport Code and Discharge Evolution") of the EFDA Task Force on Integrated Tokamak Modelling (ITM), is described. The approach taken by the ITM is to couple codes so that the only exchange is via well-specified data structures (Consistent Physical Objects), with the aim of having the workflow managed by Kepler, a scientific workflow engine.

Keywords: 1D core transport code;EFDA task force;European transport solver;consistent physical objects;discharge evolution;integrated Tokamak modelling;integrated modelling project 3;scientific workflow engine;well-specified data structures;Tokamak devices;plasma simulation;plasma toroidal confinement;plasma transport processes;

The European Integrated Tokamak Modelling Task Force (ITM-TF) is developing a new type of fully modular and flexible integrated tokamak simulator, which will allow a large variety of simulation types. This ambitious goal requires new concepts of data structure and workflow organisation, which are described for the first time in this paper. The backbone of the system is a physics- and workflow-oriented data structure which allows for the deployment of a fully modular and flexible workflow organisation. The data structure is designed to be generic for any tokamak device and can be used to address physics simulation results, experimental data (including description of subsystem hardware) and engineering issues.

Keywords: Plasma simulation

The Integrated Tokamak Modelling Task Force (ITM-TF) is developing an infrastructure where the validation needs, as being formulated in terms of multi-device data access and detailed physics comparisons aiming for inclusion of synthetic diagnostics in the simulation chain, are key components. As the activity and the modelling tools are aimed for general use, although focused on ITER plasmas, a device independent approach to data transport and a standardized approach to data management (data structures, naming, and access) is being developed in order to allow cross-validation between different fusion devices using a single toolset. Extensive work has already gone into, and is continuing to go into, the development of standardized descriptions of the data (Consistent Physical Objects). The longer term aim is a complete simulation platform which is expected to last and be extended in different ways for the coming 30 years. The technical underpinning is therefore of vital importance. In particular the platform needs to be extensible and open-ended to be able to take full advantage of not only today's most advanced technologies but also be able to marshal future developments. As a full level comprehensive prediction of ITER physics rapidly becomes expensive in terms of computing resources, the simulation framework needs to be able to use both grid and HPC computing facilities. Hence data access and code coupling technologies are required to be available for a heterogeneous, possibly distributed, environment. The developments in this area are pursued in a separate project-EUFORIA (EU Fusion for ITER Applications) which is providing about 15 professional person year (ppy) per annum from 14 different institutes. The range and size of the activity is not only technically challenging but is providing some unique management challenges in that a large and geographically distributed team (a truly pan-European set of researchers) need to be coordinated on a fairly detailed project level. The 2009 Work programme of ITM-TF organizes 240 individuals from 24 different associations providing about 60 ppy in total. Remote participation and collaborative tools and facilities as the ENEA sponsored Gateway have proven indispensible to meet this challenge.The current status of ITM-TF and EUFORIA is presented and discussed.

Keywords: Simulation

The Integrated Tokamak Modelling Task Force (ITM-TF) is developing an infrastructure where the validation needs, as being formulated in terms of multi-device data access and detailed physics comparisons aiming for inclusion of synthetic diagnostics in the simulation chain, are key components. A device independent approach to data transport and a standardized approach to data management (data structures, naming, and access) is being developed in order to allow cross validation between different fusion devices using a single toolset. The effort is focused on ITER plasmas and ITER scenario development on current fusion device. The modeling tools are, however, aimed for general use and can be promoted in other areas of modelling as well. Extensive work has already gone into the development of standardized descriptions of the data (Consistent Physical Objects) providing initial steps towards a complete fusion modelling ontology. The longer term aim is a complete simulation platform which is expected to last and be extended in different ways for the coming 30 years. The technical underpinning is therefore of vital importance. In particular, the platform needs to be extensible and open-ended to be able to take full advantage of not only today's most advanced technologies but also be able to marshal future developments. A full level comprehensive prediction of ITER physics rapidly becomes expensive in terms of computing resources and may cover a range of computing paradigms. The simulation framework therefore needs to be able to use both grid and HPC computing facilities. Hence, data access and code coupling technologies are required to be available for a heterogeneous, possibly distributed, environment. The developments in this area are pursued in a separate project - EUFORIA (EU Fusion for ITER Applications). The current status of ITM-TF and EUFORIA is presented and discussed.

Keywords: EU Fusion for ITER Applications;EUFORIA;European infrastructure;HPC computing facility;ITER plasmas;Integrated Tokamak Modelling Task Force;code coupling technology;consistent physical objects;data management;data structures;data transport;device independent approach;fusion device;fusion modelling ontology;fusion simulations;grid computing facility;multidevice data access;simulation platform;Tokamak devices;data structures;digital simulation;grid computing;physics computing;plasma simulation;

The EFDA task force on Integrated Tokamak Modelling (ITM-TF) is providing the EU fusion community with a complete and flexible suite of reliable software tools and codes able to simulate the next ITER and DEMO plasma discharges. EFDA has launched the Gateway project as the first computing facility to be jointly used by EU fusion associations. The Gateway has been designed to allow the ITM-TF members to work together on a common platform and share their codes, developments tools and technologies as well as to make able the inter-operation with tera-scale supercomputer facilities. Technically the Gateway is a rather small high computing facility in operation since 2008, with 1 Teraflops of theoretical peak and 100 Terabytes shared storage area for experimental and simulation data. This paper describes the information technologies involved in the Gateway facility, particularly as regards the low latency interconnect network for multi-core platform as well as fast I/O solutions implemented with storage over Infiniband and high performance parallel file systems. The solutions adopted on the Gateway facility had undergone to specific benchmarks showing excellent performances in typical fusion data handling issues. Finally the interoperability between Gateway and ENEA CRESCO supercomputer will be described showing the access solutions that allow the exploitation of tera-scale supercomputer facilities.

Keywords: ITM-task force

Fusion Modelling and Simulation are very challenging and the High Performance Computing issues are addressed here. Toolset for jobs launching and scheduling, data communication and visualization have been developed by the EUFORIA project and used with a plasma edge simulation code.

Keywords: Simulation

In the context of the Integrated Tokamak Modelling Task Force, a large number of software projects are made available to the task force members, including developers and end-users. This has been achieved through a combination of tools and technologies. The front-end is represented by a Java based portal system exposing a PHP project management system, GForge. These two applications are linked by a single sign-on mechanism, Shibboleth [1], and through secure HTTP [2] request rewriting, where appropriate. Furthermore, the underlying storage facility is an OpenAFS [3] distributed file system and the user base comes from both a network information server and an LDAP [4] directory. Security mechanisms are those of a distributed system, with multiple access points and protocols used for reading and writing data. The present paper presents the challenges of integrating these different technologies and programming languages into a single, working, application presented to its users as a web portal. Chaining of the tools is explored through the user perspective, with an in-depth overview of the background transitions between the various systems involved with regard to security requirements for the front-end nodes and the policies as seen by the users.

Keywords: Portal

Keywords: nuclear fusion; Tokamak devices; plasma applications; sputtering

The ITER Scenario Modelling Working Group (ISM WG) is organized within the European Task Force on Integrated Tokamak Modelling (ITM-TF). The main responsibility of the WG is to advance a pan-European approach to integrated predictive modelling of ITER plasmas with the emphasis on urgent issues, identified during the ITER Design Review. Three major topics are discussed, which are considered as urgent and where the WG has the best possible expertize. These are modelling of current profile control, modelling of density control and impurity control in ITER (the last two topics involve modelling of both core and SOL plasma). Different methods of heating and current drive are tested as controllers for the current profile tailoring during the current ramp-up in ITER. These include Ohmic, NBI, ECRH and LHCD methods. Simulation results elucidate the available operational margins and rank different methods according to their ability to meet different requirements. A range of 'ITER-relevant' plasmas from existing tokamaks were modelled. Simulations confirmed that the theory-based transport model, GLF23, reproduces the density profile reasonably well and can be used to assess ITER profiles with both pellet injection and gas puffing. In addition, simulations of the SOL plasma were launched using both H-mode and L-mode models for perpendicular transport within the edge barrier and in the SOL. Finally, an integrated approach was also used for the predictive modelling of impurity accumulation in ITER. This includes helium ash, extrinsic impurities (such as argon) and impurities coming from the wall (including tungsten). The relative importance of anomalous and neo-classical pinch contributions towards impurity penetration through the edge transport barrier and further accumulation in the core was assessed.

A cross-comparison and verification of state-of-the-art European codes describing gradient-driven plasma turbulence in the core and edge regions of tokamaks, carried out within the EFDA Task Force on Integrated Tokamak Modelling, is presented. In the case of core ion temperature gradient (ITG) driven turbulence with adiabatic electrons (neglecting trapped particles), good/reasonable agreement is found between various gyrokinetic/gyrofluid codes. The main physical reasons for some deviations observed in nonlocal simulations are discussed. The edge simulations agree very well on collisionality scaling and acceptably well on beta scaling (below the MHD boundary) for cold-ion cases, also in terms of the non-linear mode structure.

The Integrated Tokamak Modelling (ITM) Task Force aims at providing a suite of codes for preparing and analyzing future ITER discharges. In the framework of the ITM, the universal access layer (UAL) provides the capability of storing and retrieving data involved in simulation. The underlying data structure is hierarchical and the granularity in data access is given by the definition of a set of consistent physical objects (CPOs). To describe the data structure of the overall ITM database, the XML schema description (XSD) has been used. Originally intended to describe the structure of XML documents, XSD is used here to provide an unambiguous way of describing how data are structured, regardless of the actual implementation of the underlying database. The MDSplus-based UAL implementation is currently under test and other prototypes for investigating alternative data storage systems are foreseen.

Keywords: Data structures

The Infrastructure and Software Integration Project must provide the hardware and software environment for the European integrated tokamak modelling taskforce to build and simulate a comprehensive fusion device. Several frameworks have been evaluated in 2006 and this paper reports on the current status of the gateway, the data communication system, the Web portal and the various ITM applications. The first version will be delivered in 2007, prefiguring the next decades' tools.

Keywords: Simulation

In parallel to the ITER project itself, many initiatives address complementary technological issues relevant to a fusion reactor, as well as many remaining scientific issues. One of the next decade's scientific challenges consists of merging the scientific knowledge accumulated during the past 40 years into a reliable set of validated simulation tools, accessible and useful for ITER prediction and interpretation activity, as well as for the conceptual design of the future reactors. Obviously such simulators involve a high degree of "integration" in several respects: integration of multi-space, multi-scale (time and space) physics, integration of physics and technology models, inter-discipline integration etc. This very distinctive feature, in the framework of a rather long term and world-wide activity, constrains strongly the choices to be made at all levels of developments. A European task force on integrated tokamak modelling has been activated with the long-term aim of providing the EU with a set of codes necessary for preparing and analysing future ITER discharges, with the highest degree of flexibility and reliability. In parallel with the development of simulation tools and software environment, the long term evolution of hardware needs is also discussed at several levels (EU, EU-Japan broader approach, high performance computing, grid technology, data access, etc.), and progress in this domain is reported. Finally, the ITM task force is also working out the worldwide compatibility through regular collaboration with the similar integrated modelling structures which already exist or are being put in place by the other ITER partners.

Keywords: Plasma physics

I. Introduction (Z. Lin, G. Y. Fu, J. Q. Dong) II. Role of theory and simulation in fusion sciences 1. The Impact of theory and simulation on tokomak experiments (H. R. Wilson, T.S. Hahm and F. Zonca) 2. Tokomak Transport Physics for the Era of ITER: Issues for Simulations (P.H. Diamond and T.S. Hahm) III. Status of fusion simulation and modeling 1. Nonlinear Governing Equations for Plasma Simulations (T. S. Hahm) 2. Equilibrium and stability (L.L. Lao, J. Manickam) 3. Transport modeling (R.E. Waltz) 4. Nonlinear MHD (G.Y. Fu) 5. Turbulence (Z. Lin and R.E. Waltz) 6. RF heating and current drive (D.A. Batchelor) 7. Edge physics Simulations (X.Q. Xu and C.S. Chang) 8. Energetic particle physics (F. Zonca, G.Y. Fu and S.J. Wang) 9. Time-dependent Integrated Modeling (R.V. Budny) 10. Validation and verification (J. Manickam) IV. Major initiatives on fusion simulation 1. US Scientific Discovery through Advanced Computing (SciDAC) Program & Fusion Energy Science (W. Tang) 2. EU Integrated Tokamak Modelling (ITM) Task Force (A. Becoulet) 3. Fusion Simulations Activities in Japan (A. Fukuyama, N. Nakajima, Y. Kishimoto, T. Ozeki, and M. Yagi) V. Cross-disciplinary research in fusion simulation 1. Applied mathematics: Models, Discretizations, and Solvers (D.E. Keyes) 2. Computational Science (K. Li) 3. Scientific Data and Workflow Management (S. Klasky, M. Beck, B. Ludaescher, N. Podhorszki, M.A. Vouk) 4. Collaborative tools (J. Manickam)