Coreform Awarded Large Grant for Isogeometric Analysis for MOOSE

Coreform LLC, developer of computer-aided engineering software, has received a $1.1M grant from the Department of Energy to develop adaptivity capabilities for their isogeometric analysis technology.

This award will permit Coreform to develop automatic adaptivity for its technology and integrate it with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s open-source multiphysics code, MOOSE.

“This award underscores the importance of new methods for computer simulation, which plays an important role in product development but has suffered from severe bottlenecks and limitations that have blunted its impact,” notes Chief Strategy Officer Matt Sederberg. “This funding will allow us to develop fully automatic solver-driven adaptivity and integrate it into MOOSE to facilitate the development of new nuclear energy designs.”

The need for clean energy has driven innovations in development of fission-based power generation. But nuclear energy companies that design  reactor technology are hampered by lack of accessible  engineering simulations for engineers who are not computational specialists. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission states that adaptivity is key to improving accessibility of these tools to non-experts. Such technology will automate one of the most error-prone parts of finite element analysis, Coreform reports. 

Coreform is developing a new product, Coreform Flex, that eliminates those complex steps but has not yet added fully automatic solver-driven adaptivity.

“This grant provides further support for our efforts to develop IGA for nuclear energy development and will help put advanced simulation in the hands of less experienced users,” says Coreform CEO Michael Scott.

The Energy Department states its mission is to ensure America’s security and prosperity by addressing its energy, environmental, and nuclear challenges through transformative science and technology solutions.

This grant represents the third phase of significant government investment in Coreform’s development of automated adaptivity. 

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.