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Advanced Simulation Services

NSFsim is foundational to many technologies and products we create. In addition to simulating DIII-D, ISTTOK, SMART, EAST, JET, and other tokamaks, it is also a core component of the Fusion Twin Platform and part of our Reinforcement Learning toolkit for training ML models for plasma shape, position, and other parameter control.

Continual enhancements to NSFsim, our simulator, allow us to provide our customers with precise and reliable tokamak simulations:

  1. Feedforward Simulations: Customizable calculations for plasma equilibrium evolution.
  2. Discharge Scenario Building: Development of reliable discharge scenarios to achieve specific targets.
  3. Plasma Performance Optimization: Optimization of plasma behavior to meet specific performance goals.
  4. Disruption Simulation: Analysis of plasma dynamics before and during disruptions.

Contact us to create a free digital replica of your tokamak or to begin designing your new tokamak together!
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Next Step Fusion Simulator

NSFsim is an advanced Grad-Shafranov 2D solver designed for simulating and controlling free-boundary plasma equilibrium in tokamaks. It efficiently couples plasma evolution with external circuits, conducting structures, and magnetic diagnostics, providing accurate and reliable predictions across various control scenarios. NSFsim is based on the renowned DINA simulation approach and a modular architecture that has been extensively tested on numerous tokamaks.

Simulations of DIII-D, ISTTOK, NSF NTT, SMART, and other tokamaks, using NSFsim and other codes, are available to the fusion community on the Fusion Twin Platform, a web service for running tokamak simulations and managing fusion data in the cloud.

  • Tokamak Digital Replica

    Solving all the equations together in a self-consistent manner requires the introduction of a mathematical abstraction of real devices. This is known as a configuration or digital replica, unique to each tokamak. The digital replica is based on the geometrical and electrical characteristics of the magnetic system and passive conducting structures, including poloidal field coils, the vacuum vessel, and the limiter. The calculation domain is represented by a mesh that can vary for each element.

  • Magnetic Diagnostics

    For plasma shape and position control, magnetic diagnostics such as magnetic probes and flux loops are essential. Synthetic signals of those sensors are calculated considering the mutual magnetic fields arising from toroidal currents in plasma, active, and passive elements. Read more about the validation and verification of synthetic magnetic diagnostics in the blog post.

  • Accurate Predictions

    By considering factors such as thermal conductivity, compression, and electron drift, NSFsim can accurately predict plasma evolution and solve reverse tasks, providing a comprehensive understanding of tokamak operations. This approach allows us to simulate the intricate details of plasma physics, magnetic fields, energetics, and control mechanisms.

  • Variety of Scenarios

    NSFsim is leveraged for myriad purposes, including simulation, experiment planning, disruption prediction and analysis, research, and crucially, for training machine learning (ML) models designed for plasma control and behavior prediction by simulating complex plasma behaviors and dynamics to provide an essential environment for developing advanced control systems.

  • Publications

    The following are recommended sources of information on the DINA simulation approach, NSFsim progress, and its use cases: the initial DINA publication, the ITER simulation by DINA, the EPS 2024 poster on NSFsim validation using DIII-D experimental data, NSFsim blog posts.
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