FUSED: Fusion Simulation Evaluation and Development
A free resource for the simulation software industry to benchmark and demonstrate capability required to solve future fusion engineering challenges.
Overview
The Fusion Simulation Evaluation and Development (FUSED) problems are concise, self-contained case studies that target the simulation capabilities needed to solve future fusion engineering challenges.
We provide the FUSED problems as a free resource for the simulation software industry to benchmark and demonstrate their software.
The FUSED problems span a wide range of simulation physics and numerical techniques. They facilitate cross-comparison of results from different software, and demonstration of new modelling methods.
We encourage any organisation with relevant simulation software capability to work on the FUSED problems.
Background
Simulation software will be a vital tool in the design, construction, and operation of future fusion power plants and facilities. Identification, evaluation, and development of simulation capabilities for design and qualification of fusion components is a central goal of the engineering team at UKAEA.
Financial and time constraints will severely limit experimental validation of fusion machine component behaviour. Regulators and investors will need demonstration of system safety and performance by extensive use of analysis and simulation. Verified simulation capability is therefore essential for delivery of all major fusion projects.
We recognise that industry and academia provide simulation software and methods covering a wide range of capabilities. They will be invaluable for the design and operation of fusion machines. However, there are specific modelling challenges in the realisation of commercial fusion power plants that existing software may not resolve.
To help address this challenge, UKAEA has developed the Fusion Simulation Evaluation and Development (FUSED) problem set. It is a collection of simulation challenges spanning a range of fusion engineering problems for simulation software demonstration and benchmarking.
The FUSED problems
The FUSED problems all originate from case studies defined in the Industry Simulation Software for Fusion (ISSF) project. In this project, new problems are defined and contracts for completion of the problems are awarded via competitive tender. Find out more about UKAEA tenders.
This is the current FUSED problems list with links to the definition documents. They are revised every year.
Contact us to request access to the problems.
1. Induction heating of a monoblock in HIVE
Modelling an induction heating experimental setup.
Capabilities assessed:
- thermal
- electromagnetic
- multi-physics co-simulation
2. MAST-U-E double beam box hypervapotron thermal-structural analysis
Studying software scalability running a non-linear thermal-structural analysis of a high-performance heat sink.
Capabilities assessed:
- thermal
- structural
- highly scalable simulation
3. Magnetostatic 3D magnetohydrodynamic flow
Modelling flow of liquid metal in straight pipes in the presence of a uniform and static magnetic field.
Capabilities assessed:
- magnetohydrodynamics
4. Topology optimisation of an intercoil structure
Running a topology optimisation on a structure supporting large magnetic coils, subject to electromagnetic loads on the structure.
Capabilities assessed:
- structural
- topology optimisation
5. A neutronics-thermal-structural analysis
Demonstrating ability to interface with a third-party neutronics solver and perform co-simulations of neutronic-thermal-structural behaviour of a breeder blanket.
Capabilities assessed:
- thermal
- structural
- multi-physics co-simulation with a third-party solver
6. Structural response of thin structures to induced electromagnetic loads
Modelling transient electromagnetic loads on thin structures during representative tokamak operating scenarios and evaluating the resulting mechanical response of these structures.
Capabilities assessed:
- electromagnetics
- structural
7. Reliability analysis of monoblock failure
Performing probabilistic reliability analysis to quantity failure probabilities of a heatsink components.
Capabilities assessed:
- surrogate modelling
- reliability analysis
8. Liquid metal magnetohydrodynamics in non-uniform magnetic fields and subject to external heating
Modelling flow of liquid metal in a straight pipe, subject to spatial variation in magnetic field and localised heating of the pipe.
Capabilities assessed:
- magnetohydrodynamics
- thermal
Submit your results
We’re interested in your results. If you have worked on any of these problems and want to submit your results, send us a message in the first case.