Supporting Multi-Physics Workflowsfor Advanced Nuclear Reactor Simulation

The US Department of Energy’s Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) Toolkithas accelerated both the solutions to existing problems and deployment of new designsfor current and advanced reactors. The task of coupling these tools into integrated workflows has now become a significant impediment to timely, cost-effective modeling and simulation for ad- vanced nuclear system design. The work proposed here will remedy this situation by developingan integrated computational system that will greatly simplify nuclear power system design and analysis, help bring to fruition the many investments that the DOE and other organizations have made in this area, and ensure that nuclear energy remains a critical and safe component of the nation’s energy strategy. In Phase I, Kitware developed tools to define reactor core geometry with an intuitive graphical user interface using Kitware’s Computational Model Builder (CMB) framework.The projectalso provided support for the DIF3D nodal neutronics simulation workflows using CMB’s Mod- elBuilder application and the Simulation Model ToolKit (SMTK) and visualized the results using CMB’s post-processing tools. Finally, the project showed it was possible to integrate the CMB approach with NEAMS Workbench’s Template Engine and that it was possible to execute simula- tions remotely on DOE HPC systems. The overall goal of the Phase II effort is to develop a workflow management infrastructure for supporting the life-cycle of multi-physics reactor core simulations and will assist nuclear en- gineers, scientists, and other stakeholders with handling the complexity of modern simulation- based design and analysis related to nuclear reactor cores. It will be incorporated into the DIF3D neutronics simulationworkflowdevelopedinPhaseI.Inaddition,supportforcomputational fluid dynamics simulations based on the System Analysis Module (SAM) will be developed. Ac-cess to both workflows will be provided using CMB’s ModelBuilder application. Tools will be de- veloped allowing NEAMS Workbench to leverage both workflow support and reactor core mod- eling capabilities within its native user interface. The ability to switch between workflows definedin CMB and NEAMS Workbench will also be implemented, allowing for the use of whichever toolis most appropriate for the current stage of the simulation process. Finally, enhancements will be made to CMB’s reactor core modeling and post- processing capabilities to reduce the time re- quired to define the core models needed by these workflows and to streamline the post-processing pipelines that are associated with key tasks within the workflow.Throughout this project therewill be interaction with the NEAMS Workbench developers, and feedback from end-users and other developers from NEAMS and the nuclear industry will guide the project. Commercial applications & other benefits: This work will further our open-source platform for modeling and simulation workflow. Such a platform provides Kitware with significant business opportunities, as open software platforms lend themselves to a services business model where the company can provide technology integration services with customers and collaborators to build valuable, competitive products and services.