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At least 667 records · Page 37

A Python Library for Radiance Matrix-based Simulation Control and EnergyPlus Integration

Radiance matrix-based methods enable efficient parametric simulations, allowing users to vary sky conditions, fenestration systems, and other model parameters at a minimal cost to computation. However, the steep learning curve and complex workflow hinder the widespread adoption of matrix-based methods. The frads Python library with a series of command-line tools was developed to automate the entire matrix-based simulation process, lowering entry barriers and reducing human error. Co-simulation between EnergyPlus and Radiance was also enabled using the Python library from EnergyPlus. Key Innovations • Command-line based automation of Radiance matrix-based simulation methods • Python library facilitates broader adoption of Radiance matrix-based simulation methods • Radiance EnergyPlus run-time integration enabling the modeling of advanced control systems Practical Implications The frads library, with associated command-line tools, provides practitioners with the capability to easily adopt and use Radiance matrix-based simulation methods for various daylighting, solar control, and energy-related evaluations. Frads' current form is designed for 1) users familiar with a command-line interface and 2) software developers to integrate the matrix-based methods into existing software packages.

Wang, Taoning↗

EOSPAC User's Manual: Version 6.5 Second Edition (Rev. 3)

The EOSPAC utility package is a collection of interface routines, which can be used to access the SESAME data library and perform various data adjustments and interpolations on the SESAME data. The SESAME data library contains both thermodynamic (e.g., equation of state) and transport coefficients (e.g., opacity and conductivity). Note, for simplicity, the term EOS (equation of state) used herein includes both thermodynamic variables and transport coefficients. The EOSPAC utility package is designed to be used by physics codes (henceforth ”host codes”) written in multiple languages and on multiple platforms. The remainder of this manual is organized into several sections. Chapter 2 discusses conventions such as data organization and routine names. Chapter 3 provides a general overview of basic theory and models implemented within EOSPAC. Chapter 4 provides a general overview of how to use the EOSPAC interface library. Chapters 5 to 7 describe the public interfaces of EOSPAC in detail. Chapter 8 provides a brief introduction to some related tools, which may be of use to the user. Chapter 9 provides details related to some selected numerical features of EOSPAC. Chapter 10 gives examples for using the interface routines described in chapters 5 to 7. Chapter 11 provides technical support contact information. Chapter 12 contains a brief set of acknowledgments. Chapter 13 contains a list of referenced documents. Finally, chapter 14 lists the “table types: mnemonic conventions”, “table types: grouped by category, sorted by name”, “table types: eospac version 5 cross reference”, “options: setup phase”, “data information parameters”, “meta-data information parameters”, “options: interpolation phase”, and the “error codes”.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Dakota, A Multilevel Parallel Object-Oriented Framework for Design Optimization Parameter Estimation Uncertainty Quantification and Sensitivity Analysis: Version 6.12 User's Manual

The Dakota toolkit provides a flexible and extensible interface between simulation codes and iterative analysis methods. Dakota contains algorithms for optimization with gradient and nongradient-based methods; uncertainty quantification with sampling, reliability, and stochastic expansion methods; parameter estimation with nonlinear least squares methods; and sensitivity/variance analysis with design of experiments and parameter study methods. These capabilities may be used on their own or as components within advanced strategies such as surrogate-based optimization, mixed integer nonlinear programming, or optimization under uncertainty. By employing object-oriented design to implement abstractions of the key components required for iterative systems analyses, the Dakota toolkit provides a flexible and extensible problem-solving environment for design and performance analysis of computational models on high performance computers. This report serves as a user's manual for the Dakota software and provides capability overviews and procedures for software execution, as well as a variety of example studies.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Dakota A Multilevel Parallel Object-Oriented Framework for Design Optimization Parameter Estimation Uncertainty Quantification and Sensitivity Analysis (V.6.14) (User's Manual)

The Dakota toolkit provides a flexible and extensible interface between simulation codes and iterative analysis methods. Dakota contains algorithms for optimization with gradient and nongradient-based methods; uncertainty quantification with sampling, reliability, and stochastic expansion methods; parameter estimation with nonlinear least squares methods; and sensitivity/variance analysis with design of experiments and parameter study methods. These capabilities may be used on their own or as components within advanced strategies such as surrogate-based optimization, mixed integer nonlinear programming, or optimization under uncertainty. By employing object-oriented design to implement abstractions of the key components required for iterative systems analyses, the Dakota toolkit provides a flexible and extensible problem-solving environment for design and performance analysis of computational models on high performance computers. This report serves as a users manual for the Dakota software and provides capability overviews and procedures for software execution, as well as a variety of example studies.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Dakota, A Multilevel Parallel Object-Oriented Framework for Design Optimization, Parameter Estimation, Uncertainty Quantification, and Sensitivity Analysis: Version 6.13 User's Manual

The Dakota toolkit provides a flexible and extensible interface between simulation codes and iterative analysis methods. Dakota contains algorithms for optimization with gradient and nongradient-based methods; uncertainty quantification with sampling, reliability, and stochastic expansion methods; parameter estimation with nonlinear least squares methods; and sensitivity/variance analysis with design of experiments and parameter study methods. These capabilities may be used on their own or as components within advanced strategies such as surrogate-based optimization, mixed integer nonlinear programming, or optimization under uncertainty. By employing object-oriented design to implement abstractions of the key components required for iterative systems analyses, the Dakota toolkit provides a flexible and extensible problem-solving environment for design and performance analysis of computational models on high performance computers. This report serves as a user’s manual for the Dakota software and provides capability overviews and procedures for software execution, as well as a variety of example studies.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Dakota, A Multilevel Parallel Object-Oriented Framework for Design Optimization, Parameter Estimation, Uncertainty Quantification, and Sensitivity Analysis (V.6.16 User's Manual)

The Dakota toolkit provides a flexible and extensible interface between simulation codes and iterative analysis methods. Dakota contains algorithms for optimization with gradient and nongradient-based methods; uncertainty quantification with sampling, reliability, and stochastic expansion methods; parameter estimation with nonlinear least squares methods; and sensitivity/variance analysis with design of experiments and parameter study methods. These capabilities may be used on their own or as components within advanced strategies such as surrogate-based optimization, mixed integer nonlinear programming, or optimization under uncertainty. By employing object-oriented design to implement abstractions of the key components required for iterative systems analyses, the Dakota toolkit provides a flexible and extensible problem-solving environment for design and performance analysis of computational models on high performance computers. This report serves as a user's manual for the Dakota software and provides capability overviews and procedures for software execution, as well as a variety of example studies.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

IDAES-PSE 2.5.0 Release

The Institute for the Design of Advanced Energy Systems (IDAES) Integrated Platform is a versatile computational environment offering extensive process systems engineering (PSE) capabilities for optimizing the design and operation of complex, interacting technologies and systems. IDAES enables users to efficiently search vast, complex design spaces to discover the lowest cost, most environmentally sustainable solutions while supporting the full process modeling lifecycle, from conceptual design to dynamic optimization and control. The extensible, open platform empowers users to create models of novel processes and rapidly develop custom analyses, workflows, and end-user applications. IDAES-PSE 2.5.0 Release Highlights Upcoming Changes IDAES will be switching to the new Pyomo solver interface in the next release. Whilst this will hopefully be a smooth transition for most users, there are a few important changes to be aware of. The new solver interface uses a different version of the IPOPT writer (“ipopt_v2”) and thus any custom configuration options you might have set for IPOPT will not carry over and will need to be reset. By default, the new Pyomo linear presolver will be activated with ipopt_v2. Whilst are working to identify any bugs in the presolver, it is possible that some edge cases will remain. IDAES will begin deploying a new set of scaling tools and APIs over the next few releases that make use of the new solver writers. The old scaling tools and APIs will remain for backward compatibility but will begin to be deprecated. New Models, Tools and Features New diagnostics check for near-parallel variables and constraints. New diagnostics tools for identifying causes of infeasibility in models. New example for creating a custom model of a liquid-liquid extractor unit operation. Bug Fixes Fixed bug in Gibbs reactor that caused it to appear to have additional spurious degrees of freedom. Fixed bug in the Modular Property Framework that would cause errors when trying to use phase-based material balances with phase equilibria. Fixed bug in Modular Properties Framework that caused errors when initializing models with non-vapor-liquid phase equilibria. Testing and Robustness Deployed the IDAES Diagnostics Toolbox to confirm that there are no structural or numerical issues in the core model libraries. Additional robustness tests for core model, and some associated improvements in the converge tester class. Fixed a number of issues that were causing unexpected warnings to be emitted during testing. Deprecations and Removals Removed examples for RIPE tool which has not been supported for a number of releases.

AS↗

IDAES-PSE 2.6.0 Release

The Institute for the Design of Advanced Energy Systems (IDAES) Integrated Platform is a versatile computational environment offering extensive process systems engineering (PSE) capabilities for optimizing the design and operation of complex, interacting technologies and systems. IDAES enables users to efficiently search vast, complex design spaces to discover the lowest cost solutions while supporting the full process modeling lifecycle, from conceptual design to dynamic optimization and control. The extensible, open platform empowers users to create models of novel processes and rapidly develop custom analyses, workflows, and end-user applications. IDAES-PSE 2.6.0 Release Highlights Upcoming Changes IDAES will be switching to the new Pyomo solver interface in the next release. Whilst this will hopefully be a smooth transition for most users, there are a few important changes to be aware of. The new solver interface uses a different version of the IPOPT writer (“ipopt_v2”) and thus any custom configuration options you might have set for IPOPT will not carry over and will need to be reset. By default, the new Pyomo linear presolver will be activated with ipopt_v2. Whilst are working to identify any bugs in the presolver, it is possible that some edge cases will remain. IDAES will begin deploying a new set of scaling tools and APIs over the next few releases that make use of the new solver writers. The old scaling tools and APIs will remain for backward compatibility but will begin to be deprecated. New Models, Tools and Features New Intersphinx extension automatically linking Jupyter notebook examples to project documentation New end-to-end diagnostics example demonstrated on a real problem New complementarity formulation for VLE with cubic equations of state, backward compatibility for old formulation New solver interface with presolve (ipopt_v2) in support of upcoming changes to the initialization and APIs methods, with default set to ipopt to maintain backwards compatibility; this will deprecate once all examples have been updated New forecaster and parameterized bidder methods within grid integration library Updated surrogates API and examples to support Keras 3, with backwards compatibility for older formats such as TensorFlow SavedModel (TFSM) Updated costing base dictionary to include the 2023 cost year index value Updated ProcessBlock to include information on the constructing block class Updated Flowsheet Visualizer to allow visualize() method to return value and functions Bug Fixes Fixed bug in the Modular Property Framework that would cause errors when trying to use phase-based material balances with phase equilibria. Fixed bug in Modular Properties Framework that caused errors when initializing models with non-vapor-liquid phase equilibria. Fixed typos flagged by June update to crate-ci/typos and removed DMF-related exceptions Minor corrections of units of measurement handling in power plant waste/transport costing expressions, control volume material holdup expressions, and BTX property package parameters Fixed throwing >7500 numpy deprecation warnings by replacing scalar value assignment with element extraction and item iteration calls Testing and Robustness Migrated slow tests (>10s) to integration, impacting test coverage but also yielding a nearly 30% decrease in local test runtime Pinned pint to avoid issues with older supported Python versions Pinned codecov versions to avoid tokenless upload behavior with latest version Bumped extensions to version 3.4.2 to allow pointing to non-standard install location Deprecations and Removals Python 3.8 is no longer supported. The supported Python versions are 3.9 through 3.12 The Data Management Framework (DMF) is no longer supported. Importing idaes.core.dmf will cause a deprecation warning to be displayed until the next release The SOFC Keras surrogates have been removed. The current version of the SOFC surrogate model in the examples repository is a PySMO Kriging model.

AS↗

DYFLOW: A flexible framework for orchestrating scientific workflows on supercomputers

Modern scientific workflows are increasing in complexity with growth in computation power, incorporation of non-traditional computation methods, and advances in technologies enabling data streaming to support on-the-fly computation. These workflows have unpredictable runtime behaviors, and a fixed, predetermined resource assignment on supercomputers can be inefficient for overall performance and throughput. Inability to change resource assignments further limits the scientists to avail of science-driven opportunities or respond to failures.We introduce DYFLOW, a flexible framework that orchestrates scientific workflows on supercomputers based on user-designed policies. DYFLOW compartmentalizes orchestration stages into simplified constructs, and end-users can program and reuse them according to their workflow requirements through an easy-to-use interface. These constructs hide the intricacies involved in runtime management from end-users, for instance, procurement of information to understand the workflow state, assessment, and supervision of the runtime changes. DYFLOW is designed to work alongside existing workflow management systems and reuse the available (static) support for workflow management. We have integrated DYFLOW with an existing workflow management tool as a demonstration. With experiments performed on use cases from three types of scientific workflows and two different parallel architectures, we show that DYFLOW achieves the desired orchestration incurring a small cost to carry out the runtime changes.

Singhal, Swati↗

Dakota, A Multilevel Parallel Object-Oriented Framework for Design Optimization, Parameter Estimation, Uncertainty Quantification, and Sensitivity Analysis: Version 6.15 User's Manual

The Dakota toolkit provides a flexible and extensible interface between simulation codes and iterative analysis methods. Dakota contains algorithms for optimization with gradient and nongradient-based methods; uncertainty quantification with sampling, reliability, and stochastic expansion methods; parameter estimation with nonlinear least squares methods; and sensitivity/variance analysis with design of experiments and parameter study methods. These capabilities may be used on their own or as components within advanced strategies such as surrogate-based optimization, mixed integer nonlinear programming, or optimization under uncertainty. By employing object-oriented design to implement abstractions of the key components required for iterative systems analyses, the Dakota toolkit provides a flexible and extensible problem-solving environment for design and performance analysis of computational models on high performance computers.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

VERAView User's Manual

VERAView has been developed as an interactive graphical interface for the visualization and engineering analyses of output data from VERA. The Python-based software is easy to install, intuitive to use, and provides instantaneous 2D and 3D images, 1D plots, and alpha-numeric data from VERA multi-physics simulations. This document provides a brief overview of the software and some description of the major features of the application, including examples of each of the encapsulated “widgets” that have been implemented thus far. VERAView is still under major development and large changes in the software and this document are still anticipated.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Evaluating Thermostats’ Deadbands Using HVAC Hardware-In-the-Loop Experiment for Advanced Control Strategies

Thermostats play a crucial role in energy consumption, user control, and occupant comfort by serving as the interface between the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system and the building's occupants. The deadband, also referred to as temperature differential, is defined as the temperature difference between the desired setpoint and upper threshold or lower threshold for the HVAC equipment to turn on or off. It is a key factor influencing energy efficiency and user satisfaction. This paper presents a comparative analysis of the deadbands of five different thermostats, tested with a residential heat pump, aiming to identify variations in their deadband settings and implications for energy usage and management. The experimental study was conducted using a HVAC hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) system that allows thermostats to be connected with physical HVAC equipment, driven by conditions in a simulated residential building. The study explores the trade-offs between energy efficiency and occupant comfort and highlights how different thermostats cycle differently based on their deadband settings. The findings offer valuable insights into how thermostat deadband affects comfort and energy use, as well as the cycling frequency of a heat pump.

Ramaraj, Sugirdhalakshmi [National Renewable Energ↗

Grid Modeling and Hosting Capacity Analysis

An interface with the OpenDSS distribution grid simulator, facilitating users in calibrating and validating models. Additionally, three distinct tools have been developed: PV Hosting Capacity: This tool allows users to determine the additional amount of photovoltaic (PV) generation that can be integrated into the system without breaching operational constraints. EV Hosting Capacity: This tool focuses on identifying the capacity for incorporating extra electric vehicle (EV) load into the system without surpassing operational limitations. Project Impact Analysis Tool: This tool is designed to assess and report all potential grid violations associated with a specific project, providing valuable insights into its impact on the distribution grid.

Poudel, Shiva↗

Toadstool Deep Learning Framework

SAND2025-11741O Toadstool is a deep learning framework and support library that provides PyTorch boiler plate training and testing loops. This enables the user to remember parts and customize a callback interface. Toadstool also provides useful callbacks and other methods for deep learning experimentation. The framework also implements publicly available temperature and calibration methods, model initialization methods, learning rate schedulers, and model evaluation methods. Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA0003525.

Heidbrink, Scott↗

Tools for Water Ingress Testing

The Safety Storage and Engineering Team, as part of the Production Support Services division (PSS-2), is tasked with ensuring the safety of containers used for handling and storage of nuclear materials. As part of this work, water ingress tests are conducted to evaluate the water-tightness of containers intended for in-glovebox use. In collaboration, the statistics group of the Computer and Computational Sciences Division (CCS-6) provided support in developing a statistically defensible approach for determining appropriate sample sizes for water ingress testing. Water ingress testing involves multiple measurements on multiple containers. Our approach uses a simple random effects model to analyze a pilot data set, implementing prediction limits to evaluate the efficacy of collecting additional data. Although this study capitalizes on available data, our approach can be used with estimates of the ratio of between and within variability and average values, often available from past testing or expert knowledge. An interactive Shiny tool was developed as a final user-friendly product for future testing. The Shiny interface is an open-source package providing a framework for building web applications. Raw data exploration and prediction interval-based sample size assessments can quickly be conducted by the engineering team without needing to interact with the underlying code.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

Human Factors Design for Particle Accelerator Control Room Interfaces

Fermilab, the birthplace of many scientific discoveries in physics and particle accelerator sciences, is in the midst of a widescale modernization effort. The Accelerator Control Operations Research Network (ACORN project’s goal is to modernize the accelerator control system by replacing end-of-life power supplies and enhance future operations of the Fermilab accelerator complex with megawatt particle beams. Within ACORN, opportunities for process improvement concerning software development, human-system interface design, and task performance are also being considered. Human factors researchers from Idaho National Laboratory in collaboration with usability experts from Fermilab, are currently investigating human-centered design improvements for the accelerator control system. For example, substantial tribal knowledge and memory recall are required to effectively operate the accelerator system. This contributes to high cognitive workload and potential burnout of accelerator operators. Developing guidance for consistent visual and functional design enables a more intuitive interaction and relieves operators of cognitive burden. Additionally, developing more intuitive and integrated interfaces can also lead to improved accelerator efficacy by empowering operators with greater understanding and control of the systems. The challenge in developing such interfaces is in designing for a wide variety of user goals, system specifications, and level of experience in users. The challenges need to be met while e also considering the maintainability of the control system. The purpose of this paper is to detail the human factors process and design within the ACORN project, describe results gathered thus far, and discuss the larger implications for this work.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

EOSPAC User’s Manual: V.6.5

The EOSPAC utility package is a collection of interface routines, which can be used to access the SESAME data library and perform various data adjustments and interpolations on the SESAME data. The SESAME data library contains both thermodynamic (e.g., equation of state) and transport coefficients (e.g., opacity and conductivity). Note, for simplicity, the term EOS (equation of state) used herein includes both thermodynamic variables and transport coefficients. The EOSPAC utility package is designed to be used by physics codes (henceforth "host codes") written in multiple languages and on multiple platforms. The remainder of this manual is organized into several sections.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Flibcpp User Manual

Flibcpp uses SWIG-Fortran to generate native Fortran-2003 interfaces to efficient and robust algorithms and data containers implemented in the C++ standard library.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗