Organisation
The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) is a key player in research, development and innovation in four main areas :
• defence and security,
• nuclear energy (fission and fusion),
• technological research for industry,
• fundamental research in the physical sciences and life sciences.
Drawing on its widely acknowledged expertise, and thanks to its 16000 technicians, engineers, researchers and staff, the CEA actively participates in collaborative projects with a large number of academic and industrial partners.
The CEA is established in ten centers spread throughout France
Reference
2026-40254
In magnetic fusion research, managing heat fluxes in the edge plasma region is a major scientific and technological challenge, particularly for devices such as ITER. Controlling power exhaust is essential to protect plasma-facing components from extreme heat loads.
This apprenticeship is part of a project aimed at investigating the impact of stochastic boundary layers on plasma transport, turbulence, and plasma-wall interactions.
The work will address several levels of complexity:
- Studying the impact of magnetic ripple on heat flux deposition in the WEST tokamak;
- Analyzing configurations with Resonant Magnetic Perturbations (RMP), in connection with devices such as ASDEX Upgrade;
- Investigating ergodic divertor configurations based on helical magnetic perturbations at the plasma edge.
The objective is to better understand how these configurations affect plasma transport, turbulence, and heat fluxes, and to assess their potential as alternatives to the conventional axisymmetric divertor.
The project will rely on the state-of-the-art fluid code SOLEDGE to perform realistic simulations of edge plasma behavior. Various operating conditions will be explored by varying key parameters (magnetic perturbations, gas puffing, heating power).
Your main tasks will include:
- Running and analyzing edge plasma simulations using SOLEDGE;
- Studying the impact of RMP and ergodic divertor configurations on transport and heat fluxes;
- Comparing ergodic and axisymmetric divertor performances;
Using synthetic diagnostics to compare simulations with experimental data;
Contributing to the development of reduced models to interpret the observed phenomena.
This apprenticeship offers the opportunity to work on cutting-edge plasma physics topics at the interface of modeling, numerical simulation, and experimental validation.
You are currently enrolled in an engineering school or a Master’s degree in physics, applied mathematics, or fluid mechanics.
Ideally, you have:
- Knowledge of plasma physics or fluid dynamics;
- Interest in modeling and numerical simulations;
- Basic programming skills (Python, Fortran, or similar);
- Ability to analyze and interpret complex data.
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