A Graphical Means for Controlling Integrated Numerical Experiments for Accelerators

Linear accelerator systems place high demands on the computer codes needed to simulate all parts of the accelerator. In order to simulate the entire system, several codes need to be used together; often, the output of one code is used as the input of another. This so-called integrated numerical modeling, or start-to-end simulation, can be difficult to achieve because of the differences in data formats and input instructions that are used by each codes. This project will develop a graphical user interface for streamlining the integrated numerical modeling process. All particle distribution and machine description data will be represented in common well-established formats and converted to the specialized formats required by each simulation. Different simulations will be graphically represented as boxes, allowing a user to easily send the output of one simulation to the input of another. In Phase I, an alpha version of the software program will be developed, with emphasis on the parts needed to test the core architectural concepts of the approach. Commercial Applications And Other Benefits as described by the Applicant: The graphical user interface should greatly facilitate the difficult task of integrated numerical experiments. The interface will diminish the amount of time a user needs to learn a new simulation program by providing an insulating layer around the simulation, and by making data exchange between different simulations trivial. The architecture could be applied to any integrated modeling application where many codes have to exchange information to simulate a whole system.