VERA-Workbench: A Unified Multi-Physics Interface for the VERA

Nuclear engineering simulations typically involve a multi-scale setup to resolve phenomena at various levels of fidelity. There is a need for a multiphysics environment (like an Integrated Development Environment (IDE)) that allows users to setup, install, execute codes and postprocess results. Such a framework would also support coupling between various codes and would enable novice users to adopt VERA codes quickly. The VERA-Workbench will be a Python-based platform that will offer an IDE like environment for the various VERA tools to be used. We will base our platform off the Enthought Python distribution, which is a mature platform and uses well tested and proven modules for developing Scientific Computing applications. The Phase I effort will leverage the modular design and plugin-based support in the Enthought Tool Suite (belonging to the Enthought Python distribution) to develop a multi-physics capable workbench-like environment. We will support processing of VERA input files using the VERAin processor, job launch and execution using one of the VERA-CS tools and develop APIs to carry out visualizations and post-processing of output from the numerical codes. The proposed tools will significantly encourage the adoption of VERA-CS tools by removing the hassle in compilation and environment setup. Additionally the proposed platform will interact with local and cloud-based clusters and readily allow access to latest developments in hardware to better improve simulation performance.