Fully implicit solution methods for fluid plasma equations with physics-based pre-conditioning

Summary form only given. Many problems of interest in plasma modelling are subject to the `tyranny of scales', specifically, problems that encompass physical processes that operate on timescales that are separated by many orders of magnitude. Investigating such problems therefore requires the use of implicit time-integration schemes, which advance problem solutions on the timescale of interest, while incorporating the physics of the fast-timescales. One promising route to develop these implicit solvers is the combination of Jacobian-Free Newton-Krylov methods, combined with physics-based pre-conditioners based on Schur complement analysis of the physical system. We describe the incorporation of such approaches into a fluid/plasma modeling tool, Ulixes
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. Ulixes has capabilities to model a variety of plasma fluid models encompassing the regimes of neutral flow (important in aeronautics) to high temperature plasmas important in nuclear fusion. Ulixes incorporates algorithms to solve both full-wave electromagnetic and magnetohydrodynamic models. The fluid models can use either ideal gas laws or general equation of state and all models can be solved on unstructured meshes in three-dimensions. In combination with mesh generation tools, Ulixes can be used to model fluid plasma effects in realistic geometries for applications such as arc plasma torch modeling and spacecraft re-entry into the atmosphere.