Enabling the broader use of MOOSE for nuclear energy and other simulation

Nuclear energy codes developed by the Department of Energy are increasing in importance, as a growing number of private nuclear companies rely on them to develop nonlightwater reactors and government agencies continue to push the frontier in nuclear science. However, these codes are currently underutilized because of onerous workflows to prepare and review designs for simulation. In this SBIR, the company is working closely with a national laboratory and private companies to develop an integration of a leading Department of Energy nuclear simulation code with a leading meshing software. The company is also advancing the state of the art in preprocessing and meshing to enable more efficient nuclear simulations. In Phase I, a proofofconcept integration between the nuclear simulation code and the mesher was completed. Enhancements to their shared file format were completed to allow for cuttingedge, highly accurate spline meshing representations to be fully leveraged in the simulation code. In Phase II, the integration will be more broadly completed, the workflow will be tested extensively with the national lab and private companies, and it will be commercially released. Additional enhancements to be made to the integration throughout Phase II include support to more easily set up and solve uncoupled individual physics systems, as well as improved ease of use to create the spline meshing representations in the mesher. A training course will be prepared and delivered to nuclear energy engineers to accelerate adoption of this new workflow. This work will enable nuclear companies to accelerate their time to market for safe nuclear reactors, improving their ability to simulate detailed, fully 3D models with more reliable quality assurance. Similar benefits will be seen in other industries, including automotive, defense, and aerospace.