Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “MOOSE”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

MOOSE–Workbench Integration and MOOSE Meshing Capability Enhancements to Facilitate Inputs and Outputs for Multiphysics Modeling

The Multiphysics Object-Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE) is an open-source framework that supports many of the US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) technical areas (TA). These TAs develop and use NEAMS physics and coupling modules in multiple ways to enable the research and development of complex physics models. In addition to the MOOSE framework, the NEAMS Workbench user interface provides a common analysis environment with user-interaction accelerators that streamline the tasks of model creation, review, execution, and output inspection. In FY 2024, objectives were realized in the MOOSE framework application development support and user-oriented improvements. Application development improvements support both developers and users with an expanded Reactor Module and Mesh System, stateful material property support for mortar contact, and customizable convergence criteria. Additionally, new user-oriented features were implemented in the MOOSE framework language server, including autocompletion snippets, definition from source and find reference navigations, and syntax overrides. Lastly, improvements were made to the input interpreter necessary to support the MOOSE language server and the NEAMS Workbench so that they can interact with syntactically incomplete user inputs. These improvements and more were intended to address stakeholder feedback and improve developer and user ability to conduct advanced nuclear energy modeling and simulation in support of DOE and industry needs.

97 - MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2024

MOOSE-Workbench integration and MOOSE meshing capability enhancements to facilitate inputs and outputs for multiphysics modeling

The Multiphysics Object-Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE) is an open-source framework that supports many of the US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) technical areas (TA). These TAs develop and use NEAMS physics and coupling modules in multiple ways to enable the research and development of complex physics models. In addition to the MOOSE framework, the NEAMS Workbench user interface provides a common analysis environment with user-interaction accelerators that streamline the tasks of model creation, review, execution, and out put inspection. In FY 2024, objectives were realized in the MOOSE framework application development support and user-oriented improvements. Application development improvements support both developers and users with an expanded Reactor Module and Mesh System, stateful material property support for mortar contact, and customizable convergence criteria. Additionally, new user-oriented features were implemented in the MOOSE framework language server, including autocompletion snippets, definition from source and find reference navigations, and syntax overrides. Lastly, improvements were made to the input interpreter necessary to support the MOOSE language server and the NEAMS Workbench so that they can interact with syntactically incomplete user inputs. These improvements and more were intended to address stakeholder feedback and improve developer and user ability to conduct advanced nuclear energy modeling and simulation in support of DOE and industry needs.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Kinetic Plasma Simulation in the MOOSE Framework: Verification of Electrostatic Particle In Cell Capabilities

In magnetic confinement nuclear fusion reactors, the interaction between the plasma edge and plasma facing components is extremely important. At the plasma edge, a kinetic representation such as particle-in-cell (rather than a fluid representation) is required to accurately capture the plasma behavior. General purpose particle-in-cell plasma simulation capabilities have been developed in the Multiphysics Object-Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE) framework. This new capability is a part of the development of a new MOOSE-based framework for modeling plasma facing components, the Fusion ENergy Integrated multiphys-X (FENIX) framework. In this work, the verification of foundational particle-in-cell capabilities in FENIX is presented. This new plasma simulation capability has three main components: moving particles in discrete steps on the finite element mesh, mapping charge density from the particle's location to the finite element mesh, and solving for the electrostatic potential based on the charge density mapped from particles to the mesh. In this paper, simple verification problems demonstrating each of these new capabilities are presented, and future work includes electromagnetic capabilities and Monte Carlo collisions with neutral gas particles.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

MOOSE Thermal-Hydraulics Module - MOOSE workshop

The MOOSE Thermal Hydraulics Module (THM) is designed to facilitate the development of thermal hydraulic system models. It provides the capability to assemble networks of coupled components such as pipes, junctions, valves, turbomachinery, and heat exchangers. Its library of components supports a single-phase, compressible flow model based on a variable-area formulation of the Euler equations of gas dynamics and discretized using a finite volume scheme. THM offers a flexible system for specifying closures such as friction factors or heat transfer coefficients, allowing the user to choose from built-in correlations or define their own in the input file. A control logic system can be used to control input parameters, necessary for implementing transient scenarios and mirroring real control systems in thermal hydraulic systems. THM can be coupled with other MOOSE-based applications for multiphysics calculations. This training will give an introduction to the capabilities of THM and provide some examples of its usage and validation.

97 - MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2023

The Study of Lightbridge Metallic Fuel Rods in MOOSE for Meshing Capabilities and Studying Lightbridge Metallic Fuel Rods with MOOSE

Supporting INL’s mission to transform our nation’s energy future, notably through innovative nuclear energy solutions, this project focuses on modeling accidental tolerant fuel. In collaboration with MIT, we modeled with MOOSE-based tools the Lightbridge metallic fuel design. Lightbridge fuel is envisioned to enable higher power output and larger safety margins for both current and advanced nuclear reactors. We present here the advanced meshing capabilities developed and preliminary physics results.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2023

MOOSE Reactor Module: An Open-Source Capability for Meshing Nuclear Reactor Geometries

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) program has developed numerous physics solvers utilizing the open-source Multiphysics Object-Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE) framework for multiphysics reactor analysis. These solvers require input finite element meshes representing the discretized spatial domain. Typically, reactor analysts turn to licensed tools for the creation of reactor geometry meshes. Recently, open-source functionality has been added to the MOOSE framework to mesh common reactor geometries and improve MOOSE-based nuclear reactor application user workflows. The new functionality is primarily contained in the new Reactor module of MOOSE and includes support for hexagonal pins, assemblies, and cores, extended Cartesian geometry support, options for modeling static and rotating control drums within a hexagonal assembly, core periphery triangulation, and automatic tagging of pin, assembly, plane, and depletion regions for easier post processing of physics results. A set of reactor geometry mesh builder objects further streamlines the construction of hexagonal and Cartesian cores and allows mapping of materials to regions during mesh generation. The meshes produced with the MOOSE Reactor module may be used directly within MOOSE-based applications or exported as Exodus II files for use in other finite element solvers. The tools have been demonstrated and verified using a variety of NEAMS physics solvers on a range of reactor applications, including a sodium-cooled fast reactor core analysis using Griffin, a fast reactor assembly thermal deformation analysis using MOOSE Tensor Mechanics, and a heat pipe–cooled microreactor coupled analysis using Griffin, Bison, and Sockeye. MOOSE’s Reactor module provides significant advantages compared to the use of external meshing tools when analyzing Cartesian and hexagonal reactor lattices using MOOSE-based applications: immediate accessibility (open-source) to the end user, low barrier to entry for new users, speed of mesh generation, volume preservation of meshed fuel pins, and simplification of analysis workflow when used in conjunction with MOOSE-based applications.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Progress on Demonstration of a MOOSE-Based Coupled Capability for Hot Channel Factors in Fast Reactors

Hot channel factors (HCFs) are computed values that account for the impact on predicted peak fuel, cladding, and coolant temperatures due to uncertainties in the as-built reactor’s material properties and geometry as well as uncertainties due to modeling approximations. Reduction in computed HCF values via reduction or elimination of modeling approximations may translate to significant economic savings if the reactor power can be raised due to the extra temperature margin gained. While limited historical datasets exist for sodium-cooled fast reactors (SFRs), there are no available HCF data for lead-cooled fast reactors (LFRs) outside of work generated previously within NEAMS. The computation of HCFs involves insights from reactor physics, thermal fluids and heat conduction calculations to determine how the peak temperatures respond to various uncertainties in the design. Due to the significant advantages for multi-physics coupling offered by the MOOSE framework, Griffin (MOOSE-based reactor physics code), MOOSE Heat Conduction Module, and Cardinal (MOOSE-wrapped multi-physics application which includes the NekRS thermal fluids code) are being coupled together using the MOOSE MultiApp System to develop a highfidelity multi-physics modeling capability for HCF simulations. This high-fidelity coupling workflow may also be beneficial for other fast reactor applications in the future. In previous work, Griffin and NekRS were individually assessed to ensure the necessary capabilities were in place. This work describes initial efforts to couple the codes (including folding in the MOOSE Heat Conduction Module) and determining the workflow for the perturbed calculations which will leverage the Stochastic Tools Module (STM). To our knowledge, this is the first coupling of Griffin and NekRS as well as the first exploratory use of Stochastic Tools Module for Cardinal. In this report, the neutronics code Griffin, the heat conduction solver in MOOSE, and the MOOSE-wrapped application containing NekRS (Cardinal) are linked together to demonstrate the coupled capability. Griffin and Cardinal are linked dynamically by specifying shared libraries. Different coupling hierarchies are tested for selecting the most appropriate coupling strategy. A coupling scheme is selected based on the efficiency of calculation and ease of data communication. Multiple tests are performed to choose suitable mesh structure, model configurations, scheme setup and boundary conditions to avoid loss of energy due to data interpolation between different modules or weak imposition of fluxes in finite element codes. Computational experiments are performed to study the tolerance control of each type of iteration to avoid false convergence. The coupled capability is demonstrated in both single pin and 7-pin models based on LFR materials and geometry. The study finds that the use of too large a time step size in the heat conduction module can lead to temperature oscillation even though the heat conduction equation does not have a time-derivative kernel, but only the time-dependent boundary condition. A 7-pin model without duct region achieved good convergence in the coupled calculation while a 7 pin model with duct region experienced data communication issues which need to be resolved.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Assembling Multiphysics Nuclear Reactor Simulations Using the MOOSE Framework

The Multiphysics Object Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE) [1] is an open-source, parallel finite element framework which provides the foundation for many advanced modeling and simulation tools developed under the Department of Energy (DOE) Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) Program [2] for the analysis of advanced reactors. The MOOSE framework provides the common foundational capability on which many NEAMS codes for reactor analysis are built. The MOOSE framework also includes several systems to assemble unique workflows and couplingamong MOOSE-based applications. In particular, the MultiApp and Transfer Systems are widely used to assemble different MOOSE-based or MOOSE-wrapped physics applications together to perform loosely or tightly coupled multiphysics simulations. The National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC) Virtual Test Bed (VTB) [3] hosts publicly available nuclear reactor multiphysics simulation examples which leverage MOOSE’s MultiApp System to meet the modeling needs of different reactor types. The flexibility and robustness of coupling provided by MOOSE permits rapid development of coupled physics models for a wide range of reactor types and events

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Multiphysics Demonstration of Temperature-Driven Assembly Bowing in SFRs using MOOSE-Based Codes

Core bowing is an important passive safety mechanism in liquid metal cooled fast reactors. When the core restraint system is properly designed, temperature and flux gradients influence assemblies in the core to bow into less reactive configurations during accident scenarios, resulting in negative reactivity feedback. Prediction of core bowing involves complex interplay of radiation transport, impacts of fluid flow and heat transfer on duct temperature, and mechanical responses to the induced temperature and flux gradients. Under the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy’s Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) Program [1], an integrated multiphysics approach is being developed to model the core bowing phenomena in liquid metal-cooled fast reactors with the Multiphysics Object Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE) [2]. In this methodology, the MOOSE-based reactor physics code Griffin [3] will solve the neutron transport equation and determine the power distribution. With the detailed power distribution from Griffin, the subchannel analysis codes MOOSE-Subchannel [4] and Pronghorn [5] are utilized to calculate the assembly temperature distribution. MOOSE’s Solid Mechanics [6] and Contact [7] Modules are leveraged to calculate the thermal expansion and duct bowing displacement with the duct wall temperature from thermal hydraulics calculation. In this work, an initial one-way coupling demonstration of the integrated multiphysics approach has been performed on a seven-assembly problem based on the sodium-cooled fast reactor ABR-1000 design [8]. The neutronics calculation with Griffin is not yet involved in the current simulation. MOOSE-Subchannel and Pronghorn evaluate fluid and solid temperature based on a fixed power distribution. In addition, one-way coupling is utilized in this coupled calculation, via Pronghorn passing the duct temperature data to the MOOSE Solid Mechanics calculation. An assessment of the Solid Mechanics module was performed in parallel to verify duct bowing behavior with duct-to-duct contact phenomenon [9]. The displacement from MOOSE Solid Mechanics is not yet transferred back and utilized in the Pronghorn and MOOSE-Subchannel calculation. This model will be available on the National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC) Virtual Test Bed (VTB) repository [10]. Future stages of this work will involve solving problems of increasing complexity as well as adding more physics (e.g. reactor physics) to the integrated workflow to reach the end goal of modeling the core bowing phenomenon with an integrated multiphysics workflow.

22 - GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2021

MOOSE Framework Meshing Enhancements to Support Reactor Analysis

MOOSE-based physics codes require an input finite element mesh on which the physics solution is calculated, reported, and transferred to other physics codes. The use of difficult-touse, external licensed software is often required to generate high quality meshes for reactor geometries. High-fidelity geometry modeling also requires elaborate tracking of groups of elements for material property assignment and output reporting which can be considerably complex for the user to identify and maintain. Under the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) program, several meshingrelated enhancements have been developed for the MOOSE framework to address user challenges in creating finite element meshes for advanced reactor geometries. MOOSE mesh generators have been developed to mesh hexagonal geometries (pins, ducted assemblies, and cores) commonly found in liquid-metal cooled fast reactor concepts. The mesh generator used for hexagonal pin cells is generic for regular polygons and therefore may also be used for Cartesian pin cells. Hexagonal pin cells can be stitched into ducted assemblies, and assemblies can be stitched together into a core. The user may specify region ids, region names, and other preferences on the mesh. This control is useful for later material mapping in the MOOSE-based physics codes input. A capability was also developed for meshing rotating control drums including determination of material volume fractions in each mesh element as a function of time. Control drum meshes may be stitched to other hexagonal assemblies to create a core configuration. Additional mesh generators were developed that wrap around the hexagonal meshing capabilities and utilize “extra element integer” ID values on each element. In regular Cartesian or hexagonal assemblies or cores, the bookkeeping of element groups for both material assignment and output reporting can now be automated through assignment of pin, assembly, core, axial and depletion id values stored as extra element integers. The extra element tags on the mesh greatly speed the reactor analyst’s efforts to map materials to meshes, track depletion zones, and parse output such as axial pin power distributions. At the highest level, pin, assembly, and core mesh generators (with this reactor terminology) have also been developed to easily generate regular Cartesian and hexagonal cores, including axial extrusion. These reactor geometry builders call upon the previously mentioned capabilities to produce analysis-ready 3D meshes including material assignments. Open source mesh triangulation capabilities were also investigated for integration into the MOOSE framework to address the need for meshing the core periphery region which extends from the irregular outer assembly border to a cylindrical boundary. Options are limited due to licensing constraints, and the recommendation is pursue building a native MOOSE Delaunay triangulator routine with full functionality. Finally, a series of verification problems were performed with NEAMS physics tools. All developed capabilities will be available in the new open-source “Reactor” module of the MOOSE framework, which is accessible to any MOOSE-based NEAMS physics tool.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2024

NEAMS-Multiphysics MOOSE End Year Framework Activities FY20

The Multiphysics Object Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE) is a general finite element package meant for high performance solution of multiphysics problems in science and engineering. In this report, we present additions and enhancements to MOOSE funded by the Nuclear Engineering Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) program. NEAMS-funded MOOSE framework library improvements include: expansion of support for multi-level multi-application restart; enhancement of coupling between native MOOSE applications and external libraries; addition of a sparse automatic differentiation (AD) container enabling non-local degree of freedom coupling; block-specific quadrature rules; further development of an eigenvalue executioner; faster setup of periodic boundary conditions; and creation of a mesh meta-data system streamlining simulation startup. Besides developing the framework library, NEAMS funds were used to overhaul a swath of important MOOSE infrastructure in order to substantially improve user experience. These critical infrastructure changes included adapting MOOSE to python 3, improving the test harness to catch race conditions, and most importantly transitioning MOOSE to use Conda, a globally known packaging system, that greatly eases software adoption.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2022

Development of a MOOSE thermal model of the MPC-32 canister and HI-STORM overpack

Nuclear power is a significant source of electricity in the United States, but the average age of nuclear power plants is around 40 years old. Safe management of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) is a key aspect of the back end of the nuclear fuel cycle, and SNF dry storage systems are becoming a popular, effective solution in this area, given the absence of a final disposal system. The spent fuel cask system (dry cask method) provides a feasible solution for maintaining SNF (~60 years) prior to final disposal. This project aims to develop a thermal model of the MPC-32 canister and HI-STORM overpack, using the Multiphysics Object-Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE). MOOSE is an open-source framework developed by Idaho National Laboratory (INL) for multiscale, multiphysics simulations. This study will investigate and demonstrate the thermal-hydraulics capabilities of the MOOSE framework, including natural circulation, heat transfer, porous flows, etc. The ultimate goal of the project is to verify whether MOOSE tools (including Pronghorn) can be used to study the thermal performance of the SNF dry cask storage system. This study provides reliable and inclusive solving strategy for dry cask problems. The detailed information about the solving scheme and the governing equations related to the physics of the system is provided in the report. The results for thermal-hydraulic analysis of the HI-STORM system is produced with using open source modules of the MOOSE framework. This results highlights the flexibility and modularity of the MOOSE which makes it a unique candidate for the frameworks and code packages. Therefore, integration of the MOOSE to UNF ST&DARDS will improve the thermal-hydraulic capability of the system while providing distinctive features to users.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2023

The MOOSE fluid properties module

The fluid properties module in MOOSE~\cite{lindsay2022moose} serves a variety of fluid simulation applications based on MOOSE, including the MOOSE Navier Stokes module~\cite{moose_ns}, Pronghorn~\cite{pgh}, the MOOSE thermal hydraulics module, SAM~\cite{sam}, RELAP-7~\cite{relap7}, Sockeye~\cite{sockeye}, Pronghorn-subchannel~\cite{subchannel} and the MOOSE porous flow module~\cite{porous}. These applications are used to solve coarse mesh multi-dimensional thermal-hydraulics~\cite{pgh}, 1D systems analysis~\cite{sam,relap7} in nuclear reactor analysis, heat pipe modeling~\cite{sockeye} and porous flow simulations~\cite{porous} for underground gas storage and water seepage. The use of consistent fluid properties across fluid flow applications facilitates coupled flow simulations~\cite{anl_sam_pgh,osti_1889653}. Each application has historically driven the implementation of several fluid properties, which were later extended to be compatible with other applications. The unique diversity of applications of the module, due to its presence in MOOSE, has driven its expansion to new fluids, such as advanced nuclear reactor coolants and, more recently, arbitrary functions or tables-based property definitions, as detailed in section~\ref{content}, as well as numerous thermophysical properties and variable sets, as detailed in subsection~\ref{sec:prop}. The need for different discretizations of flow equations based on the compressibility of the fluid has motivated support for both primitive (pressure- and temperature-based) and conservative (internal energy- and specific volume-based) flow variables in the module. Thermodynamic relations are used to convert between these two formulations, as needed. The module serves a dual purpose of providing fluid properties for direct use in flow simulations and facilitating the implementation of user-specific fluid properties. Contributions of new properties for existing fluids or new fluids are strongly encouraged.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2023

MOOSE: A Modular Platform for Fission and Fusion Multiphysics

The Multiphysics Object-Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE) Framework, as well as MOOSE-based simulation tools, have accelerated the development of fission energy and advanced reactor technologies through the United States Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Science, Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling & Simulation (NEAMS) Program. MOOSE contains a complete platform of multiphysics simulation capabilities, capable of running on massively parallel systems, and is developed in an open-source manner with great attention paid to high-quality software quality assurance practices. This overall approach could greatly benefit the fusion energy community, which requires rapid design iteration and improvement in order to facilitate the successful development of fusion as an alternative energy source to fossil fuels. In the first half of this talk, applications of MOOSE and MOOSE-based tools for advanced reactor designs will be showcased, as well as MOOSE ecosystem infrastructure (such as the NEAMS Virtual Test Bed) that enables and accelerates fission reactor design. In the second half, a discussion of how the MOOSE approach to modeling and simulation is currently being applied internationally in fusion energy research and development at the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority will be discussed, and ongoing/future domestic research efforts will be highlighted.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Initial Development of Fusion Magnet Simulation Capabilities for Performance and Safety Evaluation Using the MOOSE Framework

Fusion energy holds the promise of being a transformative technology as a carbon-neutral, sustainable source of energy. Whole device modeling and the development of fusion digital twins will be increasingly important for emerging fusion device concepts at both national laboratories and within the commercial fusion industry. However, meeting the challenge of whole device modeling of fusion energy devices requires robust, multiphysics, multiscale modeling and simulation technologies capable of running on large-scale supercomputers. Detailed analysis of individual systems at-scale is also required to ensure safe and efficient operation as well as provide the safety basis for future device designs and licensing activities. In a tokamak, toroidal and poloidal magnets confine and shape the fusion plasma to promote the fusion reaction. High plasma temperatures and high magnetic field requirements in modern design concepts (leading to high amounts of energy stored within each magnet) impose electrical, thermal, and mechanical loads on the magnet components, which in turn impacts the safety considerations of the magnet and their supporting systems. Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has a history of working in this space, including development and benchmarking of the Magnetic System Circuitry Analysis Program (MSCAP) and Magnet Arcing (MAGARC) codes to study magnet quench events; notably, MAGARC was used to study quenching during the ITER Engineering Design Activity. However, these legacy codes and capabilities are not parallel and scalable, and new tools are required for future advances in this area, which leads to the INL-developed Multiphysics Object-Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE) framework. Developed originally for fission reactor systems under United States Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy modeling and simulation programs, the MOOSE framework has been well-suited to multiscale, multiphysics modeling and simulation needs for nuclear systems. The framework is open-source, well-tested, under continuous development and deployment, and developed to a Nuclear Quality Assurance, Level 1 software quality standard. MOOSE has also been used in the fusion space previously in several projects: INL’s Tritium Migration Analysis Program, Version 8 (TMAP8) for tritium migration, UK Atomic Energy Authority’s A Unified Resource for OpenMC (fusion) Reactor Applications (AURORA) code for fusion thermo-mechanical and neutronics analysis, and Argonne National Laboratory’s Cardinal for high-fidelity computational fluid dynamics and neutronics. However, to model superconducting magnets, several MOOSE enhancements are required: additions to the current MOOSE electromagnetic capabilities, new material libraries for superconductors of interest (such as YBCO), as well as fusion-specific models for thermo-mechanics. This talk will discuss initial development activities to build these capabilities in MOOSE, focusing on initial validation and benchmarking activities. Proposed coupling workflows and future work to support the simulation of fusion magnets and magnet structural assemblies for performance and safety evaluation in MOOSE will also be discussed.

70 - PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Simple, Secure, Internet Delivery of MOOSE-based Applications

Application packaging and distribution are the final steps for delivering software to end-users; both are frequently neglected when creating scientific software. Commercial businesses rely on electronic distribution systems that have rendered disk drives obsolete. Still, national laboratories continue to rely heavily on removable media to distribute and limit access to controlled applications. With increasing concerns of unauthorized copying of sensitive applications, a modern distribution system that utilizes cryptographically secure communication and authentication protocols has been developed. This new distribution system will secure the chain of custody for nuclear software while simultaneously simplifying access to these tools. This report summarizes four primary advancements made toward the secure distribution of Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS)-developed, Multiphysics Object Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE)-based applications: application installation, package distribution, automated package building, and distribution of documentation. NEAMS is currently developing more than ten separate applications based on the open-source MOOSE Framework. Distribution of these applications has primarily been accomplished by distributing source code, with end-users compiling the applications themselves. This work created a mechanism where MOOSE applications can be installed in a similar way to any other software. This allows both administrators and end-users simplified access to runnable executables. With this new installation capability, it was then possible to rethink distribution. A new, secure capability for delivering MOOSE-based applications over the internet has been created. This system requires unique cryptographic tokens for authentication, greatly securing the custody chain for software. Once granted access, installation of any NEAMS code can be accomplished with these terminal commands: "conda install ncrc" "ncrc install ncrc-bison." After these two commands (and authenticating) the BISON application will be securely down- loaded from Idaho National Laboratory (INL)’s servers, installed, and ready to use. To enable this new distribution capability to be successful, the open-source Continuous Integration, Verification, Enhancement, and Testing (CIVET) Continuous Integration (CI) capability was augmented to add Continuous Delivery (CD). CD enables the automated building and packaging of MOOSE-based applications as they are modified by development teams, ensuring that our customers can obtain up-to-date versions of the software at any time. The need for instruction on how to use these applications was addressed through modifications to the MOOSE documentation system. The MooseDocs capability, which enables robust documentation of MOOSE-based applications, has been extended to allow both for the installation of documentation and the packaging of documentation with installed applications. Together, these enhancements form the core of a new, secure distribution mechanism for nuclear simulation tools. In concert with the Nuclear Computational Resource Center (NCRC), NEAMS- developed applications will now be straightforward to obtain securely.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2022

MOOSE Reactor Module Meshing Enhancements to Support Reactor Physics Analysis

The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) program develops an integrated suite of advanced reactor physics tools built upon the Multiphysics Object-Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE) framework. Each code generally requires an input finite element mesh on which the physics solution is calculated, reported, and transferred to other physics codes. The meshing process is often burdensome for the complex geometries present in reactors due to lack of easy-to-use, open-source meshing tools. To address the bottleneck associated with meshing complex geometries found in nuclear reactors, NEAMS initiated the development of the MOOSE Reactor Module starting in FY21. The Reactor Module builds off the existing MOOSE Mesh System to include targeted meshing capabilities such as the ability to generate hexagonal pin cells, assemblies with ducts, rotating control drums, cores, peripheral zones around a core, as well as the automatic labeling (“reporting IDs”) of pin, assembly, and planar zones to simplify post-processing of results. As a Physics Module in MOOSE, the Reactor Module is open-source, available with any MOOSE installation, directly compatible with MOOSE-based tools, and can be invoked from MOOSEbased applications to generate meshes. Functionality from the Reactor Module has been applied to several advanced reactor concepts to demonstrate user workflow improvements and accuracy. The primary objective of the Reactor Module is to improve useability of MOOSEbased tools by streamlining mesh generation and output inspection processes. During FY22, the functionality of the Reactor Module (and accompanying Mesh System) has been expanded based on user needs. First, the Reactor Geometry Mesh Builder capability developed primarily in FY21 has been refactored and merged to the public MOOSE repository. This capability wraps underlying Reactor Module mesh generators into a “Pin – Assembly – Core” workflow appropriate for conventional Cartesian and hexagonal geometries, and notably assigns material IDs during mesh generation stage and generates only the minimal number of blocks needed in order to reduce computational burden. Biasing and boundary layer options have been added to the base mesh generators as required by thermal hydraulics solvers. The reporting ID functionality has been expanded to differentiate ring-wise and azimuthal sectors within a pin for use with depletion algorithms, and VectorPostProcessor and Reporter objects are now available to integrate solution variables across zones based on ID combinations. Functionality to trim hexagonal meshes along the center or periphery has been developed so users may leverage symmetry and reflective boundary conditions to reduce the mesh size. A flexible and powerful tool to fill the space between two sidesets has been introduced to the framework and can be used for transition layers such as stitching two assemblies together with different numbers of pins, or for complex geometries which do not follow conventional Cartesian/hexagonal patterns. Finally, additional verification problems were performed with NEAMS physics tools in complement with existing NEAMS work.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗