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Software Quality Assurance for the MOOSE-Based Open-Source Multiphysics Code Cardinal - An Expanded CI Testing Suite

Cardinal is a wrapping of the GPU-oriented spectral element Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code NekRS and the Monte Carlo particle transport code OpenMC within the Multiphysics Object-Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE). Cardinal provides high-resolution thermal-hydraulics and/or radiation transport feedback to MOOSE multiphysics simulations. Multiphysics feedback is implemented in a geometry-agnostic manner which eliminates the need for rigid one-to-one mappings. A generic data transfer implementation also allows NekRS and OpenMC to couple to any MOOSE application, enabling a broad set of multiphysics capabilities. Cardinal simulations can also leverage combinations of MPI, OpenMP, and GPU resources. Cardinal continuous development and improvement efforts have led to the software being considered as a high-fidelity design and licensing tool for key areas of nuclear reactor relevant physics, including neutron transport, fluid flow, heat transfer, and mechanical processes. The fast development and expansion of the software from a pure R&D framework towards its application in the nuclear industry and regulation require a focus on developing, enhancing and, maintaining Cardinal’s software quality through strict adherence to a Software Quality Assurance (SQA) framework and SQA program. To facilitate compliance with SQA standards, the Cardinal SQA Program has been initiated during Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23). During the development of the Cardinal SQA Program, multiple gaps have been identified. These gaps are primarily related to model verification and code pedigree as they relate to the use of Cardinal as a safety analysis tool. These gaps have been captured in a report published in 2023. A second report highlighted the progress made during Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) and described Argonne’s effort to document and integrate software verification within Cardinal’s software development process. This report documents a snapshot of the verification test cases currently available for Cardinal and NekRS in their assimilation into a Continuous Integration (CI) platform. Following the CI practice permits the integrating of source code changes frequently and ensuring that the integrated codebase clears the verification testing for the software. It should be noted that the SQA program itself, including the program plans, procedures, configuration management, and testing strategies, need to be developed in a future step of this task.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS

SDN-Based Smart Cyber Switching (SCS) for Cyber Restoration of a Digital Substation

In recent years, critical infrastructure and power grids have increasingly been targets of cyber-attacks, causing widespread and extended blackouts. Digital substations are particularly vulnerable to such cyber incursions, jeopardizing grid stability. This paper addresses these risks by proposing a cybersecurity framework that leverages software-defined networking (SDN) to bolster the resilience of substations based on the IEC- 61850 standard. The research introduces a strategy involving smart cyber switching (SCS) for mitigation and concurrent intelligent electronic device (CIED) for restoration, ensuring ongoing operational integrity and cybersecurity within a substation. The SCS framework improves the physical network’s behavior (i.e., leveraging commercial SDN capabilities) by incorporating an adaptive port controller (APC) module for dynamic port management and an intrusion detection system (IDS) to detect and counteract malicious IEC-61850-based sampled value (SV) and generic object-oriented system event (GOOSE) messages within the substation’s communication network. The framework’s effectiveness is validated through comprehensive simulations and a hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testbed, demonstrating its ability to sustain substation operations during cyber-attacks and significantly improve the overall resilience of the power grid.

Liu, Chen-Ching (ORCID:0000000289417958)

Success Path Method: Introduction to the Success Path Method Software Tool©

As part of its commitment to advancing safety and reliability assessment methodologies, Argonne National Laboratory pioneered the use of an evaluation method called the Success Path Method (SPM) to improve risk management for offshore oil and gas operations. The development of the SPM at Argonne has been driven by the need to improve existing risk assessment methodologies by focusing on the steps necessary for success rather than failure modes alone. This is particularly important for industrial environments like offshore facilities that perform multiple functions under a continuously evolving set of operational conditions – such as water depth and temperature, currents, and weather conditions. In these dynamic environments, the traditional Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) approach is far too complex as it focuses on what can go wrong – which comprises an infinite failure space that must be fully explored and understood. By shifting the focus to a finite space of success paths, the SPM enables operators and decision makers to prioritize a manageable number of steps that must go right to ensure success. Building on its five decades of experience in safety assessments for the nuclear industry, Argonne made major adaptations to existing risk assessment methods utilizing features similar to fault trees that are traditionally used in PRA to map all pathways in which the system can malfunction. In contrast, SPM identifies the components and processes that must function correctly to achieve specific outcomes – such as preventing the uncontrolled release of hydrocarbons during drilling operations. The SPM framework integrates equipment, procedures, software, processes, and human actions to ensure that physical barriers meet critical safety functions in dynamic operational conditions. This approach helps identify failure modes and improve operational risk management by narrowing the focus to key success elements, which in turn reduces uncertainty and helps users understand, manage, and respond to failures.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING

Benders Decomposition Using Graph Modeling and Multi-Parametric Programming

Benders decomposition is a widely used method for solving large and structured optimization problems, but its performance is affected by the repeated solution of subproblems. We propose a flexible and modular algorithmic framework for accelerating Benders decomposition. Specifically, we express the problem structure by using a graph-theoretic modeling abstraction in which nodes represent optimization subproblems and edges represent connectivity between subproblems. A key innovation of our approach is that we embed multiparametric programming (mp) surrogates for node subproblems, which maps the exact analytical map of the subproblem solution space. The use of mp surrogates allows us to replace subproblem solves with fast look-ups and function evaluations for primal and dual variables during the iterative Benders process. We formally show the equivalence between classical Benders cuts and those derived from the mp solution. We implement our framework in the open-source PlasmoBenders.jl software package. To demonstrate the capabilities of the proposed framework, we apply it to a two-stage stochastic programming problem, which aims to make optimal capacity expansion decisions under market uncertainty. We evaluate both single-cut and multicut variants of Benders decomposition and show that the use of mp surrogates achieves substantial speedups in subproblem solve time, while preserving the convergence guarantees of Benders decomposition. We highlight advantages in solution analysis and interpretability that is enabled by mp critical region tracking; specifically, we show that these reveal how decisions evolve geometrically across the Benders search. Our results aim to demonstrate that combining surrogate modeling with graph modeling offers a promising and extensible foundation for structure-exploiting decomposition. In addition, by decomposing the problem into more tractable subproblems, the proposed approach also aims to overcome scalability issues of mp. Finally, the use of mp surrogates provides a unifying and modular optimization framework that enables the representation of heterogeneous node subproblems as modeling objects with a homogeneous structure.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH

Fortran Compiler Test Suite v0.1.0

There is no currently available, open-source, easily adapted test suite for checking a compiler's conformance to the Fortran Standard. The main innovation of this software is in the framework to make the test suite apply to a new compiler. Making it open-source will enable community contributions of the test cases. Single organization construction of a comprehensive test suite is something that would be financially infeasible.

Richardson, Bradley

arco (Assembled Resource-Constrained Optimization) [SWR-26-030]

Arco (Assembled Resource-Constrained Optimization) is a memory-smart optimization DSL and solver for LP and MIP problems on constrained hardware. The software is an optimization framework built around a KDL-based domain-specific language and a CLI compiler/solver. You write optimization models in .kdl files, and the arco CLI compiles, validates, inspects, and solves them. Language bindings (Python today, more planned) provide programmatic access to the same engine. Built for harder optimization problems on constrained resources, Arco is intentional about every allocation, careful with stack and heap behavior, and relentless about minimizing memory usage so more systems can run real workloads. Arco is built primarily for internal use within our organization. You are welcome to try it, but we make no guarantees about API stability or robustness at this stage

Sanchez Perez, Pedro Andres [National Laboratory o

Enhancing Security and Resiliency in Operational Technology Environments Through Network Slicing and Federated Learning

The growing convergence of Information Technology (IT) and Operational Technology (OT) within Industry 4.0 environments has introduced new demands on industrial network infrastructure. As cyber-physical systems become increasingly interconnected, ensuring the secure, timely, and efficient exchange of critical data is essential. This thesis explores how network slicing, a method of creating isolated virtual network segments, can be applied within OT environments to address challenges such as latency, security, and resource allocation. The first research question addressed in this thesis is: How can OT networks take advantage of NFV and SDN technology to become cyber resilient? This study examines the operational, security, and architectural implications of introducing network slicing into traditionally static OT infrastructures such as Industrial Control Systems (ICS) and SCADA. Through simulated deployments and case studies, the research demonstrates how slicing enables better isolation between critical and non-critical services, thereby improving response time, throughput, and security in sensitive environments. The second question considers: How to dynamically implement network slicing and take advantage of network resources towards integrating decentralized machine learning? In response, this thesis proposes a framework that combines Software-Defined Networking (SDN), Network Function Virtualization (NFV), and Federated Learning (FL) to enable real-time analytics while maintaining data locality. The proposed approach reduces the burden on centralized infrastructure and minimizes privacy risks by supporting on-site training of models across distributed OT nodes, coordinated through dynamically allocated network slices. The third focus explores: How slicing helps to increase the resiliency of OT networks through the orchestration of a dynamic DMZ? To answer this, the thesis presents a method for creating and managing Dynamic Demilitarized Zones (DMZs) using network slicing. This enables flexible and automated isolation of sensitive subsystems during threat scenarios or high-risk operations. Coupled with intelligent orchestration and containerized security services, the dynamic DMZ significantly enhances the system's ability to respond to cyber incidents without halting production. Ultimately, this thesis contributes a comprehensive architecture that blends network slicing with machine learning, secure segmentation, and automation, paving the way for resilient, adaptive, and intelligent OT environments. Performance evaluations across multiple scenarios show improvements in system reliability, threat response time, model accuracy, and resource utilization, providing a strong foundation for future industrial automation systems.

Rodiles Delgado, Brian G

Generalized framework for likelihood-based field-level inference of growth rate from velocity and density fields

Measuring the growth rate of large-scale structures ( f ) as a function of redshift has the potential to break degeneracies between modified gravity and dark energy models, when combined with expansion-rate probes. Direct estimates of peculiar velocities of galaxies have attracted interest as a means of estimating fσ 8 . In particular, field-level methods can be used to fit the field nuisance parameter along with cosmological parameters simultaneously. This article aims to provide the community with a unified framework for the theoretical modeling of the likelihood-based field-level inference by performing fast field covariance calculations for velocity and density fields. Our purpose is to lay the foundations for a nonlinear extension of the likelihood-based method at the field level. We have developed a generalized framework, implemented in the dedicated software flip to perform a likelihood-based inference of fσ 8 . We derived a new field covariance model, which includes wide-angle corrections. We also included the models previously described in the literature inside our framework. We compared their performance against ours, and we validated our model by comparing it with the two-point statistics of a recent N-body simulation. The tests we performed have allowed us to validate our software and determine the appropriate wavenumber range to integrate our covariance model and its validity in terms of separation. Our framework allows for a wider wavenumber coverage to be used in our calculations than in previous works, which is particularly interesting for nonlinear model extensions. Finally, our generalized framework allows us to efficiently perform a survey geometry-dependent Fisher forecast of the fσ 8 parameter. We show that the Fisher forecast method we developed gives an error bar that is 30% closer to a full likelihood-based estimation than a standard volume Fisher forecast.

Ravoux, Corentin

IBPSA Project 2 BOPTEST: An update on the test cases available in the framework for testing advanced control strategies in buildings

Project 2 develops software infrastructure, test cases, and extensions for the Building Optimization Testing Framework (BOPTEST) to address the expanding needs of building and urban energy system controls through open international collaboration. This paper provides an overview of the new test cases available as of BOPTEST version 0.7.1. Each test case is developed using open-source Modelica libraries and Spawn of EnergyPlus, enabling the creation of high-fidelity building models that incorporate envelope dynamics, Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems, and explicit control representations. Currently, eight test cases are available, with five additional cases under development. These test cases cover a wide range of climates, building types, and HVAC systems. This paper compiles and summarizes test case descriptions, cites original manuscripts that developed them for a more detailed description, and reports baseline control performance metrics. Furthermore, two example applications are presented: one illustrating different levels of control, from supervisory to low-level, and another demonstrating how Model Predictive Control (MPC) solutions must be adapted from continuous to integer to control some building actuators.

Zanetti, Ettore

Simulation-Based Validation of An Open-Source, Scalable Framework for Building Energy Management in Small and Medium-Sized Commercial Buildings

Abstract: Small and medium-sized commercial buildings (SMCBs) represent 94% of U.S. commercial buildings but encounter substantial obstacles in adopting Building Energy Management (BEM) systems. Current approaches exhibit fundamental limitations: vendor-specific API platforms restrict interoperability through proprietary ecosystems; commercial automation software demands extensive technical expertise and licensing costs; open-source IoT solutions lack native support for building automation protocols and semantic models. This paper introduces a configuration-driven web interface framework addressing the gap between smart device advancements and accessible BEM software infrastructure for SMCBs. The framework leverages VOLTTRON middleware integrated with an automated converter that processes unified YAML configurations into heterogeneous system files, reducing required configuration artifacts from six separate files to a single unified specification. The system architecture enables vendor-agnostic operation through BACnet and Modbus protocols while supporting semantic building model integration via automated Brick Schema parsing. Configuration-driven interfaces automatically adapt to diverse HVAC types without custom development. Simulation-based validation using BOPTEST demonstrates automatic interface generation between fan coil and hydronic systems, with the automated converter successfully generating all platform-specific outputs from the single YAML input. The result demonstrates the framework's capability to streamline BEM system deployment through reduced configuration complexity. This work bridges simulation capabilities with operational deployment, demonstrating how virtual testbeds validate generalizable software frameworks for real-world building automation.

Chung, Jihoon [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000184880815)

Visualizing a Vulnerability: Its Connections to Hardware and Software

All Hazards Analysis (AHA) is a framework developed by Idaho National Laboratory that provides capabilities to collect, store, analyze, and visualize critical infrastructure information. A core function of AHA is its ability to simulate faults or outages in networks of infrastructure originating from a plethora of causes, ranging from natural disasters to cyberattacks. AHA utilizes Hardware and Software Bills of Material (HBOM and SBOM, respectively) along with Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEVs) to document the potential attack vectors for each piece of infrastructure. The objective of this contribution to AHA was to create a visualization tool that could capture the small details held in each individual artifact as well as preserve the large-scale connections that link them together to aid threat modeling.

58 GEOSCIENCES

StructuredFuzzer: Fuzzing Structured Text-Based Control Logic Applications

Rigorous testing methods are essential for ensuring the security and reliability of industrial controller software. Fuzzing, a technique that automatically discovers software bugs, has also proven effective in finding software vulnerabilities. Unsurprisingly, fuzzing has been applied to a wide range of platforms, including programmable logic controllers (PLCs). However, current approaches, such as coverage-guided evolutionary fuzzing implemented in the popular fuzzer American Fuzzy Lop Plus Plus (AFL++), are often inadequate for finding logical errors and bugs in PLC control logic applications. They primarily target generic programming languages like C/C++, Java, and Python, and do not consider the unique characteristics and behaviors of PLCs, which are often programmed using specialized programming languages like Structured Text (ST). Furthermore, these fuzzers are ill suited to deal with complex input structures encapsulated in ST, as they are not specifically designed to generate appropriate input sequences. This renders the application of traditional fuzzing techniques less efficient on these platforms. To address this issue, this paper presents a fuzzing framework designed explicitly for PLC software to discover logic bugs in applications written in ST specified by the IEC 61131-3 standard. The proposed framework incorporates a custom-tailored PLC runtime and a fuzzer designed for the purpose. We demonstrate its effectiveness by fuzzing a collection of ST programs that were crafted for evaluation purposes. We compare the performance against a popular fuzzer, namely, AFL++. The proposed fuzzing framework demonstrated its capabilities in our experiments, successfully detecting logic bugs in the tested PLC control logic applications written in ST. On average, it was at least 83 times faster than AFL++, and in certain cases, for example, it was more than 23,000 times faster.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION

Evaluation of New Additions to OLI Software in Predicting Mercuric and Mercurous Species in Liquid Waste Operations

Speciation of mercury during the pretreatment steps of tank waste processing is critical to successful mercury removal prior to vitrification during Liquid Waste Operations (LWO) at SRS. OLI software has been used to predict mercury speciation and activity throughout LWO. The OLI software operates based on a thermodynamic framework called the Mixed Solvent Electrolyte (MSE) framework. The MSE framework allows prediction in theoretically infinitely dilute to concentrated mixtures (e.g., purely solute solutions). Before modification to the MSE framework databanks, certain critical mercury species were missing in the MSE databank, and some thermodynamic data needed to be updated for the OLI software to accurately predict mercury chemical species in SRS waste tanks. To better reflect streams across LWO, new mercury species were integrated into the MSE database. To evaluate the changes to the OLI MSE framework per the Technical Task Request (TTR) and the Task Technical and Quality Assurance Plan (TTQAP), waste stream compositions from Tanks 38, 43, and Tank 50 decontaminated salt solution (DSS) were used as model inputs. Models were developed and executed using both the old and new databases. Compositional analyses from caustic Tank 50 DSS and caustic Tanks 38 and 43 were used as the input streams. These streams represent the most comprehensive chemical data sets where both mercury and tank constituents were measured together. Results for Tank 50 DSS predict HgO as the predominant species in both databases. Both methyl and dimethyl Hg species are present when the new database is ‘on’ and are not predicted with the new database turned ‘off’. The new database predicts a greater amount of HgO and a greater fraction of it in the solid phase. Pourbaix diagrams (potential vs. pH) generated for each Tank 50 DSS were identical regardless of which database was used. Elemental Hg and HgO were predicted in the water stable region under basic conditions. Tanks 38 and 43 follow similar trends as the Tank 50 DSS models. Unlike Tanks 38 and 50 DSS, the Tank 43 Pourbaix plot shows a region of stability for an aqueous HgOHCO3 - species between approximately pH 7-11. In all streams, when MeHg+ is included in the inputs, the new database predicts aqueous MeHgOH as the dominant species. If elemental or dimethyl mercury is in the waste stream, the new database model predicts they are unchanged and remain in those states and quantities. Additionally, the total mercury values are reported for both the measured input data and the OLI output data for all considered tanks. The summary indicates that the percentage error between the measured and calculated values is less than 1% in all cases The reconciliations and generation of the Pourbaix diagrams for Tank 50 DSS took approximately ten times longer with the new database ‘on’. In addition, over the course of that time, models with the new database ‘on’ were more likely to crash or display an error. Some modest performance improvements were noted when modeling with an i7 processor versus an i5. An example error is found in Appendix A. Furthermore, Appendix B provides V&V for two chemical systems analyzed with the OLI software, results were satisfactory. It is recommended to utilize the new databases (i.e., HCO.ddb and SR-Hg.ddb) in future Savannah River Mission Completion applications of OLI to represent pseudo steady-state. Furthermore, the integration and utilization of the new databases (i.e., HCO.ddb and SR-Hg.ddb) in modeling applications (e.g., Aspen) is also recommended.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W

Innovating the next generation of commercial smart building software

Nearly 30% of commercial building energy use is wasted due to equipment faults and HVAC controls problems. The result is increased emissions, compromised comfort and productivity, and less reliable coordination of building power needs with a clean grid. The energy impact alone represents $17 billion in potential savings. Today’s smart building software provides a robust solution to address these operational deficiencies. Energy management and information systems (EMIS) are saving up to 9% on average, with two-year paybacks. They are being incorporated into energy management processes, commissioning services, and utility programs. As effective as they are, two barriers prevent even deeper benefits; limited personnel to fix problems once they are identified, and the expense and time to manually implement changes in control systems. In partnership with the research community, the EMIS industry is developing new capabilities to overcome these barriers. Moving beyond siloed products for either fault detection and diagnostics, or optimal control, these new capabilities empower users to not only automatically identify faults, but also to push corrective action, and control improvements to their buildings. In this paper, several areas for enhancements are documented: ‘one-time’ correction of faults such as setpoints, schedules, and economizer lockouts; short-term active testing for automated proportional integral derivative (PID) loop tuning and functional testing; and continuous supervisory control for demand flexibility and year-round efficiency. Results are presented from a pair of partner implementations out of a dozen providers integrating these enhancements into their products, including field tests from across the country, and insights into operator acceptance and integration into operations and maintenance practices.

Casillas, Armando

pathSQE : an automated workflow for single-crystal inelastic neutron scattering data processing and analysis

Inelastic neutron scattering (INS) experiments utilizing modern time-of-flight spectrometers enable the comprehensive mapping of the energy (E)- and momentum (Q)-resolved dynamical structure factor of single crystals, probing both the lattice and magnetic excitations. Yet, the large size and complexity of four-dimensional INS data are challenging current analysis workflows, often resulting in an underutilization of the measured information. To help address this issue, this paper introduces new software interfaced with the Mantid framework, pathSQE, designed to streamline the processing, analysis and interpretation of 4D single-crystal INS data. By automating key tasks such as 1D/2D slicing, symmetrization, Brillouin zone folding, data visualization, prioritization and filtering, and comparisons with simulations, pathSQE facilitates and accelerates INS data analysis workflows. Here, this paper outlines the features and implementation and provides several illustrations of the use of pathSQE on data collected on single crystals using direct-geometry time-of-flight spectrometers at the Spallation Neutron Source, including Ge, FeSi, MnO and SnS single-crystal measurements on the ARCS, HYSPEC and CNCS neutron spectrometers. Beyond streamlining post-experiment data processing, pathSQE establishes an automated and modular processing pipeline that could support future real-time experiment steering.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE

Peach analytics framework for Ghdira

SAND2025-11740O Peach analytics framework for Ghidra is a software application that runs and displays custom analyses within Ghidra. The program provides a server/client architecture to dynamically run external tools. Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA0003525.

Bradley, Jon [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Liver

Integrating ytopt and libEnsemble to autotune OpenMC

Ytopt is a Python machine-learning-based autotuning software package developed within the ECP PROTEAS-TUNE project. The ytopt software adopts an asynchronous search framework that consists of sampling a small number of input parameter configurations and progressively fitting a surrogate model over the input-output space until exhausting the user-defined maximum number of evaluations or the wall-clock time. libEnsemble is a Python toolkit for coordinating workflows of asynchronous and dynamic ensembles of calculations across massively parallel resources developed within the ECP PETSc/TAO project. libEnsemble helps users take advantage of massively parallel resources to solve design, decision, and inference problems and expands the class of problems that can benefit from increased parallelism. In this paper we present our methodology and framework to integrate ytopt and libEnsemble to take advantage of massively parallel resources to accelerate the autotuning process. Specifically, we focus on using the proposed framework to autotune the ECP ExaSMR application OpenMC, an open source Monte Carlo particle transport code. OpenMC has seven tunable parameters some of which have large ranges such as the number of particles in-flight, which is in the range of 100,000 to 8 million, with its default setting of 1 million. Setting the proper combination of these parameter values to achieve the best performance is extremely time-consuming. Therefore, we apply the proposed framework to autotune the MPI/OpenMP offload version of OpenMC based on a user-defined metric such as the figure of merit (FoM) (particles/s) or energy efficiency energy-delay product (EDP) on Crusher at Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility. In conclusion, the experimental results show that we achieve the improvement up to 29.49% in FoM and up to 30.44% in EDP.

Autotuning