Thermal Quench in ITER Locked Mode Disruptions

Abstract

Simulations and theory are presented of an ITER locked mode thermal quench (TQ). In present experiments, locked mode disruptions have a long precursor phase, followed by a rapid termination and thermal quench, which can be identified with a resistive wall tearing mode (RWTM). In ITER, the RWTM will be slowed by the highly conductive vacuum vessel. The rapid termination might be absent, and the plasma could remain in the precursor phase. If the edge temperature is in the collisional regime, the TQ would proceed on a long timescale, limited by the RWTM to almost $100ms.$ This is an important self mitigating effect.