Uncertainty Quantification at the 100 Million Degree Edge of the Burning Tokamak Plasma

The student assigned to this project will contribute significantly to a pan-European, British-led endeavour to deliver an advanced pedestal prediction model. Moreover, the thesis work may, to a larger extent than is usual, be directed by the student's preferences and interests.

There are opportunities to examine model discrepancy in the application of both experimental data, and simulation codes, or a combination of the two, since the main aim of the pedestal project is to find surrogate models for some six physical processes thought to be important in the tokamak pedestal. These processes, which include linear magnetic field instability, heat transfer and plasma turbulence, are modelled by a range of simulation techniques, ranging from computational fluid dynamics to Monte Carlo particle transport. The student might, for example, collaborate to help identify sources of model discrepancy, and/or to provide advice on how to combine the phenomena into a single surrogate for implementation into a model of the complete tokamak plasma. Alternatively, or additionally, the student might help quantify uncertainty in the advanced model, using the COSSAN platform produced at Liverpool, perhaps contributing to the further development of the COSSAN framework.