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At least 559 records · Page 31

3D Coded SUMMA: Communication-Efficient and Robust Parallel Matrix Multiplication

In this paper, we propose a novel fault-tolerant parallel matrix multiplication algorithm called 3D Coded SUMMA that achieves higher failure-tolerance than replication-based schemes for the same amount of redundancy. This work bridges the gap between recent developments in coded computing and fault-tolerance in high-performance computing (HPC). The core idea of coded computing is the same as algorithm-based fault-tolerance (ABFT), which is weaving redundancy in the computation using error-correcting codes. In particular, we show that MatDot codes, an innovative code construction for parallel matrix multiplications, can be integrated into three-dimensional SUMMA (Scalable Universal Matrix Multiplication Algorithm [30]) in a communication-avoiding manner. To tolerate any two node failures, the proposed 3D Coded SUMMA requires ~50% less redundancy than replication, while the overhead in execution time is only about 5–10%.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

An international review of occupant-related aspects of building energy codes and standards

In light of recent research, it is evident that occupants are playing an increasingly important role in building energy performance. Furthermore, despite the important role of building energy codes and standards in design, the occupant-related aspects are typically simple and have not kept up with the leading research. This paper reviews 23 regions’ building energy codes and standards by first comparing their quantitative aspects and then analyzing their mandated rules and approaches. While the present paper focuses on offices, general recommendations are applicable to other building types as well. The review revealed a wide range of occupant-related values, approaches, and attitudes. For example, code-specified occupant density varies by nearly a factor of three between different codes. This underlines the need for development of advancement in occupant behavior modeling approaches for future occupant-centric building performance codes and standards. Moreover, occupants are often referred to only implicitly; underlying expectations about energy-saving occupant behavior from building occupants varies greatly; and, only a few codes address occupant feedback and system usability. Based on the findings of the review, a set of initial recommendations for future building energy codes is proposed.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

A long-term, integrated impact assessment of alternative building energy code scenarios in China

China is the second largest building energy user in the world, ranking first and third in residential and commercial energy consumption. Beginning in the early 1980s, the Chinese government has developed a variety of building energy codes to improve building energy efficiency and reduce total energy demand. This paper studies the impact of building energy codes on energy use and CO2 emissions by using a detailed building energy model that represents four distinct climate zones each with three building types, nested in a long-term integrated assessment framework GCAM. An advanced building stock module, coupled with the building energy model, is developed to reflect the characteristics of future building stock and its interaction with the development of building energy codes in China. This paper also evaluates the impacts of building codes on building energy demand in the presence of economy-wide carbon policy. We find that building energy codes would reduce Chinese building energy use by 13% - 22% depending on building code scenarios, with a similar effect preserved even under the carbon policy. The impact of building energy codes shows regional and sectoral variation due to regionally differentiated responses of heating and cooling services to shell efficiency improvement.

Building energy codes↗

What, why and when to go virtual: An international analysis of early adopters of virtual building energy codes inspections

To meet greenhouse gas reduction targets, several countries are pursuing more ambitious policies in their buildings and construction sectors, such as introducing zero net energy/carbon building codes. Countries often report not having enough qualified staff for performing building energy code inspections and many are exploring faster, easier, and more reliable methods to check the compliance of buildings with their codes. Building inspections are a critical element for ensuring code compliance and they have traditionally been performed in person. However, in-person inspections can be labor and travel intensive, costly, and prone to human error. In this paper, the authors explore how virtual inspections, particularly in light of the recent COVID-19 pandemic, have impacted processes for building code compliance checks in jurisdictions and communities around the world. Here, the authors collected data on four key parameters (time and financial savings, scope of inspections, changing practices and technological innovation, and benefits to consumers) from six jurisdictions and communities in five countries (Australia, Canada, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, and the United States) to analyze the impacts of virtual inspections on code compliance checks. The analysis found the greatest value from virtual inspections in geographically dispersed regions and for cities experiencing rapid building construction. The study also explored emerging technologies that are being piloted for virtual inspections. Although many of these technologies hold promise, more resources and capacity are needed to make them viable for use in building energy code inspections.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

TIME-DEPENDENT MULTI-GROUP MULTI-DIMENSIONAL RELATIVISTIC RADIATIVE TRANSFER CODE BASED ON SPHERICAL HARMONIC DISCRETE ORDINATE METHOD

We develop a time-dependent, multi-group, multi-dimensional relativistic radiative transfer code, which is required to numerically investigate radiation from relativistic fluids that are involved in, e.g., gamma-ray bursts and active galactic nuclei. The code is based on the spherical harmonic discrete ordinate method (SHDOM) which evaluates a source function including anisotropic scattering in spherical harmonics and implicitly solves the static radiative transfer equation with ray tracing in discrete ordinates. We implement treatments of time dependence, multi-frequency bins, Lorentz transformation, and elastic Thomson and inelastic Compton scattering to the publicly available SHDOM code. Our code adopts a mixed-frame approach; the source function is evaluated in the comoving frame, whereas the radiative transfer equation is solved in the laboratory frame. This implementation is validated using various test problems and comparisons with the results from a relativistic Monte Carlo code. These validations confirm that the code correctly calculates the intensity and its evolution in the computational domain. The code enables us to obtain an Eddington tensor that relates the first and third moments of intensity (energy density and radiation pressure) and is frequently used as a closure relation in radiation hydrodynamics calculations.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Offshore Code Comparison Collaboration, Continuation within IEA Wind Task 30: Phase II Results Regarding a Floating Semisubmersible Wind System: Preprint

Offshore wind turbines are designed and analyzed using comprehensive simulation tools (or codes) that account for the coupled dynamics of the wind inflow, aerodynamics, elasticity, and controls of the turbine, along with the incident waves, sea current, hydrodynamics, and foundation dynamics of the support structure. This paper describes the latest findings of the code-to-code verification activities of the Offshore Code Comparison Collaboration, Continuation (OC4) project, which operates under the International Energy Agency (IEA) Wind Task 30. In the latest phase of the project, participants used an assortment of simulation codes to model the coupled dynamic response of a 5-MW wind turbine installed on a floating semisubmersible in 200 m of water. Code predictions were compared from load-case simulations selected to test different model features. The comparisons have resulted in a greater understanding of offshore floating wind turbine dynamics and modeling techniques, and better knowledge of the validity of various approximations. The lessons learned from this exercise have improved the participants? codes, thus improving the standard of offshore wind turbine modeling.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

Material report in support to RCC-MRX code 2010 stainless steel parts and products

This paper presents the Material Report dedicated to stainless steels parts and products issued by AFCEN (Association Francaise pour les regles de Conception et de Construction des Materiels des Chaudieres Electro-Nucleaires) in support to RCC-MRx 2010 Code. The RCC-MRx Code is the result of the merger of the RCC-MX 2008, developed in the context of the research reactor Jules Horowitz Reactor project, in the RCC-MR 2007, which set up rules applicable to the design of components operating at high temperature and to the Vacuum Vessel of ITER (a presentation of RCC-MRx 2010 Code is the subject of another paper proposed in this Congress; it explains in particular the status of this Code). This Material Report is part of a set of Criteria of RCC-MRx (this set of Criteria is under construction). The Criteria aim at explaining the design and construction rules of the Code. They cover analyses rules as well as part procurement, welding, methods of tests and examination and fabrication rules. The Material Report particularly provides justifications and explanations on requirements and features dealing with parts and products proposed in the Code. The Material Report contains the following information: Introduction of the grade(s): codes and standards and Reference Procurement Specifications covering parts and products, applications and experience gained, - Physical properties, - Mechanical properties used for design calculations (base metal and welds): basic mechanical properties, creep mechanical properties, irradiated mechanical properties, - Fabrication: experience gained, metallurgy, - Welding: weldability, experience gained during welding and repair procedure qualifications, - Non-destructive examination, - In-service behaviour. In the article, examples of data supplied in the Material Report dedicated to stainless steels will be exposed. (authors)

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

Comprehensive Report For Proposed Elevated Temperature Elastic Perfectly Plastic (EPP) Code Cases Representative Example Problems

Background: The current rules in the nuclear section of the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel (B&PV) Code , Section III, Subsection NH for the evaluation of strain limits and creep-fatigue damage using simplified methods based on elastic analysis have been deemed inappropriate for Alloy 617 at temperatures above 1200F (650C)1. To address this issue, proposed code rules have been developed which are based on the use of elastic-perfectly plastic (E-PP) analysis methods and which are expected to be applicable to very high temperatures. The proposed rules for strain limits and creep-fatigue evaluation were initially documented in the technical literature 2, 3, and have been recently revised to incorporate comments and simplify their application. The revised code cases have been developed. Task Objectives: The goal of the Sample Problem task is to exercise these code cases through example problems to demonstrate their feasibility and, also, to identify potential corrections and improvements should problems be encountered. This will provide input to the development of technical background documents for consideration by the applicable B&PV committees considering these code cases for approval. This task has been performed by Hollinger and Pease of Becht Engineering Co., Inc., Nuclear Services Division and a report detailing the results of the E-PP analyses conducted on example problems per the procedures of the E-PP strain limits and creep-fatigue draft code cases is enclosed as Enclosure 1. Conclusions: The feasibility of the application of the E-PP code cases has been demonstrated through example problems that consist of realistic geometry (a nozzle attached to a semi-hemispheric shell with a circumferential weld) and load (pressure; pipe reaction load applied at the end of the nozzle, including axial and shear forces, bending and torsional moments; through-wall transient temperature gradient) and design and operating conditions (Levels A, B and C).

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

MCNP ® Code Version 6.3.1 Theory & User Manual

This document acts as a repository of knowledge for the Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP) transport computer code. It is maintained alongside the source code and attempts to introduce new users and re-familiarize experienced users with the theory and practices of using the MCNP code for the wide range of particle transport analyses that it is appropriate for. The latest version of the MCNP code, version 6.3.1, provides the Monte Carlo particle transport community with the latest feature developments and bug fixes in the MCNP code. The MCNP code version 6.0 and later is also known as the MCNP6 code.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Perspective on “code qualifying” new graphite grades for use in advanced nuclear reactors*

The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) publishes the Boiler and Pressure Vessel (BPV) Code, which include guidance for the safe development, construction, and operation of boilers and pressure vessels. ASME BPV Code Section III “Rules for Construction of Nuclear Facility Components” Division 5 focuses on “High Temperature Reactors”. Subsection HH, subpart A lists the different materials properties that are to be measured and how those properties change due to different environmental conditions (oxidation and irradiation damage) for a graphite to be accepted for use in a high temperature reactor core (i.e., “Code Qualified”). Currently there are no nuclear graphite grades that are “Code Qualified” (i.e., a reactor designer can select a graphite grade and build their reactor without any additional testing), which is due in part to development of new graphite grades in the last 20 years and the lack of comprehensive programs needed to produce the data for the code cases. This perspective is going to discuss the requirements, as called out in the ASME BPV Code, that are necessary to “code qualify” a nuclear graphite grade but will primarily focus on the practical and technical challenges associated with irradiation-induced property changes and how to address these to assist with getting graphite ready for use in advanced nuclear reactors. These same technical challenges can be expected to arise for other materials being developed for advanced reactor concepts.

advanced nuclear reactors↗

Recent evidence for evolution of the genetic code

The genetic code, formerly thought to be frozen, is now known to be in a state of evolution. This was first shown in 1979 by Barrell et al. (G. Barrell, A. T. Bankier, and J. Drouin, Nature [London] 282:189-194, 1979), who found that the universal codons AUA (isoleucine) and UGA (stop) coded for methionine and tryptophan, respectively, in human mitochondria. Subsequent studies have shown that UGA codes for tryptophan in Mycoplasma spp. and in all nonplant mitochondria that have been examined. Universal stop codons UAA and UAG code for glutamine in ciliated protozoa (except Euplotes octacarinatus) and in a green alga, Acetabularia. E. octacarinatus uses UAA for stop and UGA for cysteine. Candida species, which are yeasts, use CUG (leucine) for serine. Other departures from the universal code, all in nonplant mitochondria, are CUN (leucine) for threonine (in yeasts), AAA (lysine) for asparagine (in platyhelminths and echinoderms), UAA (stop) for tyrosine (in planaria), and AGR (arginine) for serine (in several animal orders) and for stop (in vertebrates). We propose that the changes are typically preceded by loss of a codon from all coding sequences in an organism or organelle, often as a result of directional mutation pressure, accompanied by loss of the tRNA that translates the codon. The codon reappears later by conversion of another codon and emergence of a tRNA that translates the reappeared codon with a different assignment. Changes in release factors also contribute to these revised assignments. We also discuss the use of UGA (stop) as a selenocysteine codon and the early history of the code.

Review↗

Manchester Coding Option for SpaceWire: Providing Choices for System Level Design

This paper proposes an optional coding scheme for SpaceWire in lieu of the current Data Strobe scheme for three reasons. First reason is to provide a straightforward method for electrical isolation of the interface; secondly to provide ability to reduce the mass and bend radius of the SpaceWire cable; and thirdly to provide a means for a common physical layer over which multiple spacecraft onboard data link protocols could operate for a wide range of data rates. The intent is to accomplish these goals without significant change to existing SpaceWire design investments. The ability to optionally use Manchester coding in place of the current Data Strobe coding provides the ability to DC balanced the signal transitions unlike the SpaceWire Data Strobe coding; and therefore the ability to isolate the electrical interface without concern. Additionally, because the Manchester code has the clock and data encoded on the same signal, the number of wires of the existing SpaceWire cable could be optionally reduced by 50. This reduction could be an important consideration for many users of SpaceWire as indicated by the already existing effort underway by the SpaceWire working group to reduce the cable mass and bend radius by elimination of shields. However, reducing the signal count by half would provide even greater gains. It is proposed to restrict the data rate for the optional Manchester coding to a fixed data rate of 10 Megabits per second (Mbps) in order to make the necessary changes simple and still able to run in current radiation tolerant Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs). Even with this constraint, 10 Mbps will meet many applications where SpaceWire is used. These include command and control applications and many instruments applications with have moderate data rate. For most NASA flight implementations, SpaceWire designs are in rad-tolerant FPGAs, and the desire to preserve the heritage design investment is important for cost and risk considerations. The Manchester coding option can be accommodated in existing designs with only changes to the FPGA.

Electrical Isolation↗

Novel Visual and Analytical Methods in Repurposing Legacy Scientific Code - A Case Study

Scientific computing is dominated by team-authored legacy code that has evolved over decades with the purpose of capturing the evolving understanding of a scientific discipline. Accumulated deprecated code, various optimization techniques, and evolving algorithms lead to convoluted source code that is impractical to reverse engineer using mainstream methods. This prevents codes from being truly repeatable or understandable, which are two of the most essential needs in scientific computing. We refactored a long-standing implementation of a common biosequence alignment algorithm in an effort to reproduce its salient behaviors in usable form. Because of the sheer size and complexity of this code base, we developed custom tools to visualize and manipulate the source code behavior under a variety of conditions. We present a case study of extracting and refactoring the algorithmic core and a novel process of discovery/prototyping/testing using a combination of openly available and custom-built tools. The result is a reduction in code size of over 2 orders of magnitude while reconstructing the key protein alignment function in BLAST

bioinformatics, scientific computing↗

Overcoming Codes and Standards Barriers to Innovations in Building Energy Efficiency

In this journal article, the authors discuss approaches to overcoming building code barriers to energy-efficiency innovations in home construction. Building codes have been a highly motivational force for increasing the energy efficiency of new homes in the United States in recent years. But as quickly as the codes seem to be changing, new products are coming to the market at an even more rapid pace, sometimes offering approaches and construction techniques unthought of when the current code was first proposed, which might have been several years before its adoption by various jurisdictions. Due to this delay, the codes themselves can become barriers to innovations that might otherwise be helping to further increase the efficiency, comfort, health or durability of new homes. . The U.S. Department of Energy’s Building America, a program dedicated to improving the energy efficiency of America’s housing stock through research and education, is working with the U.S. housing industry through its research teams to help builders identify and remove code barriers to innovation in the home construction industry. The article addresses several approaches that builders use to achieve approval for innovative building techniques when code barriers appear to exist.

Building America↗

ALEPH2 - A general purpose Monte Carlo depletion code

The Monte-Carlo burn-up code ALEPH is being developed at SCK-CEN since 2004. A previous version of the code implemented the coupling between the Monte Carlo transport (any version of MCNP or MCNPX) and the ' deterministic' depletion code ORIGEN-2.2 but had important deficiencies in nuclear data treatment and limitations inherent to ORIGEN-2.2. A new version of the code, ALEPH2, has several unique features making it outstanding among other depletion codes. The most important feature is full data consistency between steady-state Monte Carlo and time-dependent depletion calculations. The last generation general-purpose nuclear data libraries (JEFF-3.1.1, ENDF/B-VII and JENDL-4) are fully implemented, including special purpose activation, spontaneous fission, fission product yield and radioactive decay data. The built-in depletion algorithm allows to eliminate the uncertainties associated with obtaining the time-dependent nuclide concentrations. A predictor-corrector mechanism, calculation of nuclear heating, calculation of decay heat, decay neutron sources are available as well. The validation of the code on the results of REBUS experimental program has been performed. The ALEPH2 has shown better agreement with measured data than other depletion codes. (authors)

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

BWR transient analysis using neutronic / thermal hydraulic coupled codes including uncertainty quantification

The KIT is involved in the development and qualification of best estimate methodologies for BWR transient analysis in cooperation with industrial partners. The goal is to establish the most advanced thermal hydraulic system codes coupled with 3D reactor dynamic codes to be able to perform a more realistic evaluation of the BWR behavior under accidental conditions. For this purpose a computational chain based on the lattice code (SCALE6/GenPMAXS), the coupled neutronic/thermal hydraulic code (TRACE/PARCS) as well as a Monte Carlo based uncertainty and sensitivity package (SUSA) has been established and applied to different kind of transients of a Boiling Water Reactor (BWR). This paper will describe the multidimensional models of the plant elaborated for TRACE and PARCS to perform the investigations mentioned before. For the uncertainty quantification of the coupled code TRACE/PARCS and specifically to take into account the influence of the kinetics parameters in such studies, the PARCS code has been extended to facilitate the change of model parameters in such a way that the SUSA package can be used in connection with TRACE/PARCS for the U and S studies. This approach will be presented in detail. The results obtained for a rod drop transient with TRACE/PARCS using the SUSA-methodology showed clearly the importance of some kinetic parameters on the transient progression demonstrating that the coupling of a best-estimate coupled codes with uncertainty and sensitivity tools is very promising and of great importance for the safety assessment of nuclear reactors. (authors)

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

Integrating Sudo-Kaminaga Correlation to the Safety Analysis Code PARET-ANL

The accuracy and reliability of the reactor safety analysis code are critical because the specifications of the safety systems will depend on the analytical results for initiating events that could occur to the reactor. In safety analyses for power reactors, there exist many proficient and applicable computer codes such as RELAP5, CATHARE, RETRAN, or CATHENA. For non-power research reactors, an issue arises, however, due to lacking of such specialized codes. As a result, computer codes developed for the transient analysis of power reactors need to be applied carefully after proving their applicability to a specified research reactor. The safety analysis discussed in this paper concerns the prevention of fuel damage in hypothetical accidental scenarios for the new research reactor design at National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). One fuel integrity criterion is analyzed by investigating the Minimum Critical Heat Flux Ratio (MCHFR) in the core during the accidental transients. Some previous studies develop a relationship that correlates the nominal value of the minimum CHFR with the probability of CHF occurring and causing fuel damage. Using a statistical approach, the nominal value of the MCHFR for the low-enriched uranium (LEU) reactor needs to remain above the recommended limiting value to better ensure the safety of the research reactor. The probability of no fuel failure increases as the MCHFR increases. More importantly, as long as the MCHFR remains above the recommended limiting value of 1.301, the reactor will have a 90% probability that CHF is not reached. The safety analysis program PARET, developed by Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), is employed to obtain the CHFR information in this study. PARET/ANL is a digital computer programming code intended primarily for the analysis of test and research reactors that use plate-type (flat) fuel elements. This program has its own set of correlations that are used to calculate the CHFR. One of them is the Mirshak correlation, which was believed to provide the best estimation of the critical heat flux under the operating conditions of the new reactor at the time. Following the critical heat flux (CHF) experiments for vertical rectangular channels in the JRR-3 (Japan Research Reactor unit 3), the CHF calculations now use the Sudo- Kaminaga correlation. This correlation is of our interest because this method has an enhanced geometric similarity and an increased range of applicability that are more representative of the actual operating conditions of our current design, and has a more mechanistic approach [9]. Since the source code of PARET/ANL is inaccessible, a MATLAB-based utility has been written to integrate the Sudo-Kaminaga correlation as a substitute for the Mirshak correlation in the code. As a result, both the Mirshak and the Sudo-Kaminaga correlations are used to analyze the standard output from the PARET program to calculate the CHFR.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

Library for RF Interactions in Orbit Following Codes

A new code-library has been developed to handle quasi-linear wave particle interactions in orbit following Monte Carlo codes, RFOF (RF interactions in Orbit Following codes). This library will enable a large number of orbit following codes to model fast ion acceleration during ICRF and Lower Hybrid heating. The RFOF consists of two main modules: one evaluates the resonance condition, the other the resulting RF acceleration. The resonance condition is tested at each step along the orbit and the location of the next upcoming resonance is predicted. When a particle reaches the resonance, a quasi-linear acceleration is calculated with a novel Monte Carlo technique that avoids the time-consuming evaluation of phase-space derivatives of the interaction strength. In RFOF the wave-particles interactions are assumed to be localized to a single point on the orbit. This is often valid for the ion cyclotron and lower hybrid frequency ranges, but prevents the treatment of bounce and precessional resonances. The RFOF has been developed within the European Task Force for Integrated Tokamak Modelling, enabling interaction between experts in different fields. As a result the code is designed with a simple and generic interface, with a minimum of assumptions on e.g. the geometry. Successful integration with the two orbit following codes, ASCOT and SPOT, has already been demonstrated.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗