Impact of drifts in the ASDEX upgrade upper open divertor using SOLPS-ITER

SOLPS-ITER L-mode-like simulations with the full set of currents and drift velocities activated, and fluid neutrals have been carried out to interpret experimental results obtained in AUG. Drifts are critical to quantitatively reproduce the experimental results; however, simulations without drifts can also reproduce some trends qualitatively. The magnitude and dependence of the peak heat flux onto both targets on the upstream collisionality are, in general, in quantitative agreement within uncertainties with infrared thermography measurements in favourable field direction. The onset of power detachment is observed. In unfavourable toroidal field direction, a more symmetrical inner/outer target solution with regards to the power distribution is predicted, in agreement with experimental observations. However, also in unfavourable toroidal field direction, insufficient power is dissipated in the simulations and therefore q${}_{peak,inn}$ is overpredicted by up to a factor of 4 and q${}_{peak,out}$ by up to a factor of 1.5. The largest contribution to the sources due to radial transport in the energy balance equation is the radial divergence of the energy flux due to V/(_{E /times B}/). (© 2020 The Authors Contributions to Plasma Physics Published by Wiley‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA)