Blended Isogeoemtric Discontinuous Galerkin (BIDG) Methods for Plasma Physics

The Blended Isogeometric Discontinuous Galerkin (BIDG) method was developed to facilitate the creation of computational frameworks capable of simulating large integrated systems. In plasma applications, BIDG enables the modeling of processes that involve interfaces between highly anisotropic plasma and solid structures/materials such as vessel walls, protective tiles, ports, nozzles, substrate holders, antennae, etc. BIDG utilizes tools from IsoGeometric Analysis (IGA) to automate the construction of analysis-suitable finite element meshes capable of exactly preserving: (1) boundary domain geometries (e.g. exact reactor geometries, etc.), (2) internal geometric entities (e.g. contact surfaces, PMI, PFC, etc.), and (3) prominent physical features of the system (e.g. magnetic flux surfaces, etc.). Offering direct and lossless coupling to computer aided design (CAD) and computer aided manufacturing (CAM), BIDG closes the design-to-analysis bottleneck, making it possible to automate the design, manufacturing, and analysis of devices (e.g. fusion reactors) and systems in a correct and fully integrated manner.