Models with multiple levels of fidelity, tractability, and computational cost for nuclear weapon radiation effects
Abstract
Assessing survivability of equipment and personnel to Nuclear Weapon Effects (NWE) requires solution of the Boltzmann equation for the transport of neutrons, photons, and electrons. Boltzmann simulation models are computationally expensive and do not meet mission needs for NEW analysis tools that have varying levels of fidelity and computational demands. We propose to blend traditional (projection-based) and physics-informed Reduced-Order Modeling (ROM) techniques with novel radiation-transport techniques to enable estimates of Quantities of Interest (QoIs) with varying levels of fidelity and computational cost. QoIs can include dose rates, SREMP and SGEMP source terms, radiation fluxes through boundaries, etc., which can be transferred to other physics models to compute important effects (biological, electronic, etc.). We will develop methods for estimating QoI errors and employ modern statistical techniques for quantifying uncertainties. Our methods will provide rapid estimates of changes in QoIs due to changes in the radiation source (location, emission spectra) and geometrical configurations (terrain, equipment locations, shield thicknesses, etc.). We will develop and demonstrate methodologies to create models with multiple levels of fidelity, tractability, and computational cost for NW radiation effects, which depend on neutron, gamma, x-ray, and coupled electron-photon transport solutions. This will include methods for merging precomputed high-fidelity simulations with rapidly computed lower-fidelity results to enable high-confidence predictions of these effects for both terrestrial and space-based assets. We propose a base period of 3 years to demonstrate ROM techniques for neutral particle (neutron/gamma) radiation transport, with 2 additional years to apply the developed ROM techniques to coupled electron/photon radiation transport.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jul 16, 2019
- Source ID
- HDTRA11810020
Entities
People
- Jean C. Ragusa
Organizations
- Defense Threat Reduction Agency
- Texas Engineering Experiment Station