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At least 397 records · Page 22

TETA Autoresearch [SWR-26-089]

TETA Autoresearch is a template repository based on github.com/karpathy/autoresearch for AI-assisted research science in the TETA group in the Center for Integrated Mobility Sciences (CIMS) center at the National Laboratory of the Rockies. This software is a template for running autonomous research experiments that iteratively improve an ML model for a single optimization objective. Two execution modes share one harness: LLM mode - an agent (e.g. Claude Code) edits a scaffold train.py one change at a time, tagging each experiment, logging reasoning, and pushing results. Defined by program.md. Optimizer mode - an Optuna-backed driver (TPE / CMA-ES / Random) iterates over a domain-defined search space. Defined by optimizers/. RouteE (vehicle energy prediction) is the reference domain under domains/routee/. Adding a new domain is mechanical - see EXTENDING.md.

Reinicke, Nicholas [National Laboratory of the Roc↗

Orbital Conflict: Cutting Planes for Symmetric Integer Programs

Cutting planes have been an important factor in the impressive progress made by integer programming (IP) solvers in the past two decades. However, cutting planes have had little impact on improving performance for symmetric IPs. Rather, the main breakthroughs for solving symmetric IPs have been achieved by cleverly exploiting symmetry in the enumeration phase of branch and bound. In this work, we introduce a hierarchy of cutting planes that arise from a reinterpretation of symmetry-exploiting branching methods. There are too many inequalities in the hierarchy to be used efficiently in a direct manner. However, the lowest levels of this cutting-plane hierarchy can be implicitly exploited by enhancing the conflict graph of the integer programming instance and by generating inequalities such as clique cuts valid for the stable set relaxation of the instance. We provide computational evidence that the resulting symmetry-powered clique cuts can improve state-of-the-art symmetry-exploiting methods. Furthermore, the inequalities are then employed in a two-phase approach with high-throughput computations to solve heretofore unsolved symmetric integer programs arising from covering designs, establishing for the first time the covering radii of two binary-ternary codes.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Improving Mathematical Exposition of an Industrial-Scale Linear Program

Industrial-scale models require considerable setup time; hence, once built, they are used in myriad ways to consider closely related cases. In practice, the code for these models frequently evolves without appropriate notational choices, largely as a result of the lengthy development time of, and the number of individuals contributing to, their formulation. This leads to inefficiencies and obfuscates model structures that might be leveraged to expedite solutions. In this paper, we advocate for an emerging literature on model formulation “best practices” and present the reformulation of a widely used industrial-scale linear program. The efficient mathematical expression of this linear program, used to plan capacity expansion in the energy sector, allows for greater transparency of model structures and enhanced ability to identify computational performance improvements, as well as a lucid interpretation of its solutions. This type of formulation is employed in several mathematical programming courses at our university as an example of the advantages of best practices; the model more broadly is used widely to inform policy in the U.S. energy sector.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Status of the NEAMS and ARC neutronic fast reactor tools integration to the NEAMS Workbench

The Workbench initiative was launched in FY-2017 within the Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) program to facilitate the transition from conventional tools to high-fidelity tools. The Workbench provides a common user interface for model creation, real-time validation, execution, output processing, and visualization for integrated codes. The integration of the Argonne Reactor Computation (ARC) suite of codes into the NEAMS Workbench was initiated in FY-2017.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Seismic Source Modeling Software Enhancements (FY21)

Seismic source modeling allows researchers both to simulate how a source that induces seismic waves interacts with the Earth to produce observed seismograms and, inversely, to infer what the time histories, sizes, and force distributions were for a seismic source given observed seismograms. In this report, we discuss improvements made in FY21 to our software as applies to both the forward and inverse seismic source modeling problems. For the forward portion of the problem, we have added the ability to use full 3-D nonlinear simulations by implementing 3-D time varying boundary conditions within Sandia’s linear seismic code Parelasti. Secondly, on the inverse source modeling side, we have developed software that allows us to invert seismic gradiometer-derived observations in conjunction with standard translational motion seismic data to infer properties of the source that may improve characterization in certain circumstances. First, we describe the basic theory behind each software enhancement and then demonstrate the software in action with some simple examples.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

(U) Marker Lagrangian Simulations using Geometry from CAD Assembly Files [Slides]

The Eulerian code PAGOSA now contains an option for the forward time integration of any user selected material in the Lagrangian frame of reference. This option is accomplished using a Multifield version of Brackbill’s FLIP plus Sulsky’s MPM. FLIP+MPM is a Marker Lagrangian scheme that is not to be confused with well known Grid Lagrangian schemes. This Marker Lagrangian method allows materials to undergo completely arbitrary deformation, up to and including fracture and separation. Using this option makes PAGOSA into a mixed frame simulation tool such that fluids can be integrated in the Eulerian frame and solids integrated in the Lagrangian frame. Boundaries between the fields are said to be ’immersed’ in the computational domain, and their nature is formulated using Multifield Theory. Each Marker in a field of FLIP+MPM material tracks the thermodynamic state of a small (but finite) piece of mass. Initiation of the Markers using the geometry and material information from CAD Assembly files is the subject of the talk. The ease and speed with which the dynamics of the assembly can be studied is demonstrated.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Status of the NEAMS and ARC fast reactor tools integration to the NEAMS Workbench

The Workbench initiative was launched in FY-2017 within the Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) program to facilitate the transition from conventional tools to high-fidelity tools. The NEAMS Workbench provides a common user interface for model creation, real-time validation, execution, output processing, and visualization for integrated codes. The integration of the Argonne Reactor Computation (ARC) suite of codes into the NEAMS Workbench through the PyARC module was initiated in FY-2017. The ARC codes, which focus on fast reactor multiphysics analysis, contain both legacy codes like DIF3D and REBUS-3 that were developed with over 30 years of experience, and newer NEAMS additions like MC 2 -3, PERSENT, and PROTEUS. Recent work expended this integration to other tools to support the U.S. fast reactor community such as DASSH for sub-channel thermal-hydraulics, Griffin for high-fidelity deterministic transport calculations, and OpenMC for Monte Carlo simulations (with Shift integration planned for FY-2023). The integration of the “extended ARC” suite of codes into the NEAMS Workbench interface relies on the PyARC and PyGriffin modules to handles the pre- and post-processing of these codes input, and the runtime environment. The PyARC module together with the NEAMS Workbench interface are both released under Open Source Software licenses.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

SolarAPP+ Performance Review (2023 Data)

The Solar Automated Permit Processing Plus (SolarAPP+) platform is an online portal to facilitate and expedite rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) and battery storage permitting processes. SolarAPP+ allows PV contractors to upload system specifications, have that information automatically reviewed for code compliance, and receive instant approval for code-compliant systems, reducing authority having jurisdiction (AHJ) staff time needed for review. SolarAPP+ also provides inspection checklists to verify installation practices and adherence to approved designs. SolarAPP+ is available to AHJs at no cost. This report is part of an ongoing series of reviews of SolarAPP+ performance. Consistent with previous performance reviews, we summarize SolarAPP+ adoption trends to date and compare various metrics for PV systems permitted through SolarAPP+ versus systems permitted through traditional AHJ permitting processes. As of the end of 2023, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) had contacted over 1,700 AHJs with significant solar permitting volume regarding SolarAPP+. Of those, 793 AHJs had expressed interest in the platform as of the end of 2023. 161 AHJs had begun piloting the platform and 97 of these had publicly launched the platform by the end of 2023. In 2023, 668 installers submitted 18,906 permits through the SolarAPP+ platform, including 4,834 permits submitted as part of a solar plus storage program. SolarAPP+ permits accounted for around 43% of all permits issued in participating AHJs. We compare permitting timelines through SolarAPP+ to traditional AHJ permitting processes to assess the platform's performance. Consistent with previous SolarAPP+ performance reviews, we find that permitting timelines are significantly shorter for SolarAPP+ projects. Based on median timelines, a typical SolarAPP+ project is permitted and inspected 14.5 business days sooner than traditional projects. We estimate that automatic SolarAPP+ permitting saved around 7,200 hours of AHJ staff time in 2023. Finally, we estimate that SolarAPP+ eliminated over 150,000 business days in permitting-related delays in 2023.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

SolarAPP+ Performance Review (2024 Data)

The Solar Automated Permit Processing Plus (SolarAPP+) platform is an online portal to facilitate and expedite rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) and battery storage permitting processes. SolarAPP+ allows PV contractors to upload system specifications, have that information automatically reviewed for code compliance, and receive instant approval for code-compliant systems, reducing authority having jurisdiction (AHJ) staff time needed for review. SolarAPP+ also provides inspection checklists to verify installation practices and adherence to approved designs. This report is part of an ongoing series of reviews of SolarAPP+ performance. Consistent with previous performance reviews, we summarize SolarAPP+ adoption trends to date and compare various metrics for PV systems permitted through SolarAPP+ versus systems permitted through traditional AHJ permitting processes. As of the end of 2024, 799 AHJs had expressed interest in the platform, with 264 fully adopting (215) or piloting (49) the platform. In 2024, 861 installers submitted 37,393 permits through the SolarAPP+ platform, including 27,375 permits for PV+storage systems. SolarAPP+ permits accounted for around 43% of all permits issued in all participating AHJs, and more than 60% of all permits in several participating AHJs. We compare permitting timelines through SolarAPP+ to traditional AHJ permitting processes to assess the platform's performance. Consistent with previous SolarAPP+ performance reviews, we find that permitting timelines are significantly shorter for SolarAPP+ projects. Based on median timelines, a typical SolarAPP+ project is permitted and inspected 12 business days sooner than traditional projects. We estimate that automatic SolarAPP+ permitting saved around 18,400 hours of AHJ staff time in 2024. Finally, we estimate that SolarAPP+ eliminated over 100,000 business days in permitting-related delays in 2024.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

FUN-BioCROP model with litter decomposition parameters derived from the LIDET dataset

This repository contains the code and data necessary to run the FUN-BioCROP (Fixation and Uptake of Nitrogen-Bioenergy Carbon, Rhizosphere, Organisms, and Protection) model with litter decomposition parameters derived from a modified Monte Carlo simulation that used the Long-term Intersite Decomposition Experiment Team dataset. Related publication:Juice, S.M., Ridgeway, J.R., Hartman, M.D., Parton, W.J., Berardi, D.M., Sulman, B.N., Allen, K.E., & Brzostek, E.R. Reparameterizing litter decomposition using a simplified Monte Carlo method improves litter decay simulated by a microbial model and alters bioenergy soil carbon estimates. Description of Files: FUNBioCROP_LIDET Study.Rmd R code with FUN-BioCROP model that can be run with 10 different sets of parameters for litter decomposition (Baseline, LIDET, or eight other best parameter sets identified in the modified Monte Carlo simulation. CORPSE Functions_Bioenergy_V2.R Code with CORPSE model functions, called by FUNBioCROP_LIDET Study.Rmd Model Input Data: bulk.csv, bulk_till.csv, rhizo.csv, rhizo_till.csv, litter.csv Initial C and N (kg C or N/m2) pool values for each soil compartment, final values from spin up. All five files have the same columns: (Column - Description - Units) uFastC - Unprotected fast decomposing carbon - kg carbon/m2 uSlowC - Unprotected slow decomposing carbon - kg carbon/m2 uNecroC - Unprotected necromass carbon - kg carbon/m2 pFastC - Protected fast decomposing carbon - kg carbon/m2 pSlowC - Protected slow decomposing carbon - kg carbon/m2 pNecroC - Protected necromass carbon - kg carbon/m2 livingMicrobeC - Carbon in living microbial biomass - kg carbon/m2 uFastN - Unprotected fast decomposing nitrogen - kg nitrogen/m2 uSlowN - Unprotected slow decomposing nitrogen - kg nitrogen/m2 uNecroN - Unprotected necromass nitrogen - kg nitrogen/m2 pFastN - Protected fast decomposing nitrogen - kg nitrogen/m2 pSlowN - Protected slow decomposing nitrogen - kg nitrogen/m2 pNecroN - Protected necromass nitrogen - kg nitrogen/m2 inorganicN - Inorganic nitrogen - kg nitrogen/m2 CO2 - Carbon in carbon dioxide - kg carbon/m2 livingMicrobeN - Nitrogen in living microbial biomass - kg nitrogen/m2 Model Input Data: FluxTower_AvgSoilT.csv: Average daily soil temperature (oC) at 10 cm depth at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) Energy Farm flux tower from 7/2008-3/2016. (One year of averaged data) Model Input Data: FluxTower_AvgSoilVWC.csv: Average daily soil volumetric water content (VWC) at 10 cm depth at UIUC Energy Farm flux tower from 7/2008-3/2016. (One year of averaged data) Model Input Data: input_CCS_LIDET Study.csv: This file has daily data to run FUN-BioCROP (Column - Description - Units): yr - calendar year - year doy - day of year (1 to 365) (no leap year) - day anpp - aboveground NPP (DayCent) - kg C/m2/day bnpp - belowground NPP (DayCent) - kg C/m2/day aglivc - live aboveground biomass carbon (DayCent) - kg C/m2 bglivcj - live juvenile fine root biomass carbon (DayCent) - kg C/m2 bglivcm - live mature fine root biomass carbon (DayCent) - kg C/m2 aglivn - live aboveground biomass nitrogen (DayCent) - kg N/m2 bglivnj - live juvenile fine root biomass nitrogen (DayCent) - kg N/m2 bglivnm - live mature fine root biomass nitrogen (DayCent) - kg N/m2 nyr - simulation year - year cult - indicates a cultivation event (0 or 1) crop - indicates a new crop (0 or 1) fert - indicates a fertilizer event (0 or 1) frst - indicates the first day of the growing season (0 or 1) harv - indicates a harvest event (0 or 1) last - indicates the end of the growing season (0 or 1) croptype - crop type (0=none; 1=alfalfa; 2=corn; 3=grass clover pasture; 4=soybean; 5=wheat) cropsrl - crop specific root length - mm/g root cultrhizmix - fraction of rhizosphere mixed with bulk soil during cultivation (0.0-1.0) - fraction cultlitmix - fraction of litter mixed with bulk soil during cultivation (0.0-1.0) - fraction harvremov - fraction of above ground biomass removed during harvest (0.0-1.0) - fraction fertamt - fertilization amount - g N/m2 lifehist - plant life history (0 = annual, 1 = perennial) froot_turnover_c - amount of C in fine root turnover - kg C/m2 froot_turnover_n - amount of N in fine root turnover - kg N/m2 agrd_turnover_c - amount of C in aboveground biomass turnover - kg C/m2 agrd_turnover_n - amount of N in aboveground biomass turnover - kg N/m2 leaf_litter_fastfrac - Fast decomposing fraction of leaf litter (0.0-1.0) - fraction root_litter_fastfrac - Fast decomposing fraction of root litter (0.0-1.0) - fraction root_diameter - root diameter - mm root_length - root length - mm root/m2 rhizo_frac - fraction of total soil volume that is rhizosphere (0.0 - 1.0) - fraction date - date in format YYYY-MM-DD Instructions: Save the model code ("FUN-BioCROP_LIDET Study.Rmd") and accompanything files (data streams and CORPSE function code) in the same folder. In model code "Chunk 3: Load CORPSE Data Streams" set the working directory (setwd) to the folder with the files saved in step #1. In "Chunk 5: Define LIDET parameter sets" select the litter decomposition parameter set to be used in the run, and comment out all other sets. If changing any parameter values, edit them in "Chunk 6: Load parameters." Run all chunks up to and including "Chunk 10: Prepare Data for Export." In "Chunk 11: Export Output Data" edit data frames for export and filenames, as necessary. "Chunk 12: Graph Total Soil C" makes a figure of C remaining over the model run period. Description of each model chunk (in file FUN-BioCROP_LIDET Study.Rmd): Chunk 1: Remove all functions, clear memory. Removes all functions from R environment, clears the memory. Chunk 2: Load Packages. Loads packages necessary to run the code. Chunk 3: Load CORPSE Data Streams. Sets the working directory and loads the data files necessary to run CORPSE. Chunk 4: Load CORPSE Functions. Loads the R script with CORPSE functions from the working directory, "CORPSE Functions_Bioenergy_V2.R". Chunk 5: Define LIDET parameter sets. Has ten different parameter sets for litter decomposition tested in this study: Baseline parameters, LIDET parameters, and the other 8 best performing parameter sets identified in the modified Monte Carlo. To run the model, all but one parameter set must be commented out. Chunk 6: Load Parameters. Loads all fixed parameters to run the model. Data frame with definitions of parameters is in the CORPSE function script "CORPSE Functions_Bioenergy_V2.R" Chunk 7: Prepare Data Streams. Takes data streams loaded in Chunk 3 and puts them in the format necessary to run the model. The model is coded to run at least two sites at a time, so if only one site is being run it must be run in duplicate. Individual data tables of daily values are created in this chunk from the input data file. Chunk 8: Set Initial Conditions. Creates data tables of soil C and N pools for each soil compartment (rhizo_till, rhizo, bulk_till, bulk, litter) and loads initial values into the data tables. Creates lists for each soil compartment to hold model output. Chunk 9: Load FUN Data and Set Up Matrices. Uses DayCent data to calculate FUN input data: root and leaf N demand, total N demand, plant CN, leaf N available for retranslocation, and litter production. Creates matrices for FUN model outputs. Chunk 10: Run Model. Runs the model. Chunk 11: Prepare Data for Export. Combines data from each day saved as lists into data frames for each soil compartment. Adds values from all soil compartments together to calculate total soil values, creates separate data frames for each soil C and N pool (e.g., protected slow C) for the total soil value. Adds different C and N pools together to calculate total soil C and N for all layers. Creates data frame of ratio of protected to unprotected SOC. Organizes FUN data for export. Chunk 12: Export Results. Exports CSV files of model results to the working directory. Chunk 13: Graph Total Soil C. Makes figure of C remaining over time. Related Links: Original FUN-BioCROP model: https://github.com/BrzostekEcologyLab/FUN-BioCROP LIDET dataset: https://andlter.forestry.oregonstate.edu/data/abstract.aspx?dbcode=TD023

Juice, Stephanie↗

Recommendation for Limiting Conditions for ASME BPVC Section III Division 5 Allowable Stress Criteria

Section III, Division 5 of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code (BPVC) specifies rules for elevated temperature nuclear reactors. Time dependent allowable stresses are an important aspect of the high temperature design models and are related to the time to 1% strain, time to rupture, and time to onset of tertiary creep. The time to onset of tertiary creep criterion has an overly strong negative influence on the allowable stresses for some structural materials, likely due to very limited datasets and misidentification of microstructural changes rather than onset of significant creep damage, as tertiary creep is meant to represent. It is recommended that the onset of tertiary creep be determined through an alloy specific ratio between onset of tertiary creep and creep rupture time, which would give access to the significantly larger creep rupture time datasets.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

Statistical Approaches for Pebble Bed Reactor Operations and Safeguards

The design of pebble bed reactors (PBRs) and their method of operation align more closely with statistical approaches used in manufacturing and process control than traditional safeguards statistical approaches. The reason is PBRs will employ a nondestructive assay (NDA) measurement (burnup measurement system [BUMS]) that is part of the fuel handling system supporting discharge decisions in addition to the reactor code which monitor performance. The integration of these two approaches provides the opportunity to monitor reactor performance statistically for both operations and safeguards in ways not achievable using other reactor designs. For light water reactors (LWRs), knowledge about reactor code performance in predicting irradiated special nuclear material (SNM) content historically was only achieved from special measurement campaigns or from fuel reprocessing. Conversely, through statistical comparison of the BUMS with the reactor code-predicted values, PBRs can achieve this in real time. The resulting SNM distribution is an indicator of reactor performance because factors such as transit time and path of the pebble fuel through the reactor determine the plutonium production and uranium depletion. By analyzing the predicted and measured values, opportunities exist to adjust operating parameters, fuel design, and other characteristics to optimize performance and fuel utilization. From a safeguards perspective, this approach also provides the information necessary to validate declared values and evaluate whether the reactor is being operated as expected. This paper outlines statistical approaches for PBRs that can be used to support both operations and safeguards.

Ball, Cory↗

TECHNICAL BACKGROUND FOR THE UPDATE AND EXTENSION OF THE TIME-DEPENDENT ALLOWABLE STRESSES OF TYPE 304H AND 316H STAINLESS STEELS

Type 304H and 316H stainless steels are codified in the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code for Section III, Division 5, Class A construction for up to 1500F (816C) and 300,000 hours. Extension of the design lifetimes to 500,000 hours has been undertaken by various research projects and by the ASME Section III, Division 5 Code Committees. Due to a long-standing issue related to non-classical creep behavior on the use of the time to the onset of tertiary creep as one of the time-dependent allowable stress criteria, little progress was made in the extension of the time-dependent allowable stresses for Type 304H and 316H stainless steels. A recent effort by Dabrow and Nestell (Impact of Tertiary Creep on Time Dependent Allowable Stresses for Type 304H and 316H Stainless Steels, Report 0300-0003-RPT-001, MPR Associates, Alexandria, VA, 2020) has provided a rational method for the treatment of the highly variable data for the time to onset of tertiary creep. In this paper, the background formulas for determining the time-dependent allowable stress values of Type 304H and 316H stainless steels, as assembled from relevant project work, are presented. These updates and extensions are being recommended to the ASME Code committees for approval, and are subject to change upon feedback from ASME Section III Code committees.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

TECHNICAL BACKGROUND FOR THE UPDATE AND EXTENSION OF THE TIME-DEPENDENT ALLOWABLE STRESSES OF TYPE 304H AND 316H STAINLESS STEELS

Type 304H and 316H stainless steels are codified in the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code for Section III, Division 5, Class A construction for up to 1500F (816C) and 300,000 hours. Extension of the design lifetimes to 500,000 hours has been undertaken by various research projects and by the ASME Section III, Division 5 Code Committees. Due to a long-standing issue related to non-classical creep behavior on the use of the time to the onset of tertiary creep as one of the time-dependent allowable stress criteria, little progress was made in the extension of the time-dependent allowable stresses for Type 304H and 316H stainless steels. A recent effort by Dabrow and Nestell (Impact of Tertiary Creep on Time Dependent Allowable Stresses for Type 304H and 316H Stainless Steels, Report 0300-0003-RPT-001, MPR Associates, Alexandria, VA, 2020) has provided a rational method for the treatment of the highly variable data for the time to onset of tertiary creep. In this paper, the background formulas for determining the time-dependent allowable stress values of Type 304H and 316H stainless steels, as assembled from relevant project work, are presented. These updates and extensions are being recommended to the ASME Code committees for approval, and are subject to change upon feedback from ASME Section III Code committees.

304/316 life extension↗

Thermonuclear Burn in a Multiphysics Code on GPUs

Multiphysics codes links to a library called SINGE for the calculation of thermonuclear (TN) burn rates, but some current multiphysics codes do not attempt to leverage the support for parallel operation that SINGE provides. Our goal is to investigate implementations of the SINGE workflow and analyze how the use of a performance portability layer could reduce run time on CPU archi tectures while also supporting GPU architectures without requiring code modifications. We looked to the Kokkos C++ Performance Portability Ecosystem to implement hardware agnostic parallel patterns.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Efficient Multi-Scale, Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical Numerical Model for Simulation of Long-Term Stability of Rooms for Nuclear Waste Disposal

This project demonstrated the feasibility of developing a numerical modeling tool that provides an efficient and unique approach to analyze the geomechanical performance of a deep geological repository (DGR) for high-level nuclear waste. The numerical modeling tool is physics-based and models the thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM) processes during the required time (up to one million years) for a DGR. The unique capability of the developed code is explicit representation of fracturing and a discrete fracture network (DFN) in the model that includes the entire repository layout for simulated time of one million years. Therefore, it can potentially address one of the challenges of analysis of a DGR, which is efficient numerical simulation of a multi-scale, physics-based models.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Microstructure homogenization of concrete used in nuclear power plants

Almost all nuclear power plants in the United States are operating past their intended lifetimes or are requesting lifetime extensions. Therefore, understanding changes to the concrete containment structure over time is crucial to evaluate the structure’s continued viability. Concrete materials are heterogeneous particulate composites that exhibit viscoelastic material properties, which can lead to slow deformation over time, causing stress redistribution and the potential for creep cracking. A code to generate random, three dimensional (3D) concrete microstructures has been developed and paired with finite element analysis to predict the long-term viscoelastic properties of concrete. Data from these simulations are used to develop constitutive equations for the viscoelastic behavior of the homogenized concrete. The codes in this work are used to virtualize laboratory experiments, to obtain long-term creep data in a faster, cheaper manner. To validate this work, the simulated creep behavior of concrete is compared to 800 d of experimental data that has been extended to 27 y of data using the Time-Temperature superposition (TTS) principal. Excellent agreement between the simulation results and experimental data is seen.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Deep learning for NLTE spectral opacities

Computer simulations of high energy density science experiments are computationally challenging, consisting of multiple physics calculations including radiation transport, hydrodynamics, atomic physics, nuclear reactions, laser–plasma interactions, and more. To simulate inertial confinement fusion (ICF) experiments at high fidelity, each of these physics calculations should be as detailed as possible. However, this quickly becomes too computationally expensive even for modern supercomputers, and thus many simplifying assumptions are made to reduce the required computational time. Much of the research has focused on acceleration techniques for the various packages in multiphysics codes. In this work, we explore a novel method for accelerating physics packages via machine learning. The non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) package is one of the most expensive calculations in the simulations of indirect drive inertial confinement fusion, taking several tens of percent of the total wall clock time. We explore the use of machine learning to accelerate this package, by essentially replacing the physics calculation with a deep neural network that has been trained to emulate the physics code. Overall, we demonstrate the feasibility of this approach on a simple problem and perform a side-by-side comparison of the physics calculation and the neural network inline in an ICF Hohlraum simulation. We show that the neural network achieves a 10× speed up in NLTE computational time while achieving good agreement with the physics code for several quantities of interest.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗