Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Recorded 07 May 2026. Lin Yang of Idaho National Laboratory presents "Multiscale and Multiphysics Modeling in Fusion Energy Systems Using Open-Source MOOSE-Based Tools: TMAP8 and SALAMANDER" at IPAM's Fusion Device Design and Engineering Workshop.
Abstract: The accelerated design, optimization, and safe deployment of fusion energy systems require multiphysics and multiscale simulations of tritium fuel cycle analysis, neutronics, heat transfer, thermomechanics and plasma kinetics. Critically, modeling tools must bridge the gap between scientific understanding and technology deployment. To address these modeling and prediction challenges, Idaho National Laboratory has developed two open-source computational tools built on the Multiphysics Object-Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE): the Tritium Migration Analysis Program, Version 8 (TMAP8) and the Software for Advanced Large-scale Analysis of MAgnetic confinement for Numerical Design, Engineering & Research (SALAMANDER).
TMAP8 is a multiscale application designed to provide cutting-edge capabilities for tritium transport and fuel cycle modeling that captures key physics including bulk diffusion, trapping and detrapping at defects, surface dissociation and recombination, and gas-phase transport. Based on these capabilities, SALAMANDER integrates TMAP8 and Cardinal into a multiscale and multiphysics framework to facilitate high-fidelity, three-dimensional (3D) fusion system analysis. In addition to tritium transport, SALAMANDER enables neutron transport, thermal hydraulic, and thermomechanics modeling of fusion components. Both TMAP8 and SALAMANDER are Nuclear Quality Assurance Level 1 (NQA-1) compliant, providing high reliability and a flexible open-source framework for both academic research and industrial applications. These tools can capture complex coupled mechanisms in high-fidelity simulations while also supporting simpler scoping studies for rapid design iteration.
TMAP8 and SALAMANDER includes verification, validation, and examples against experimental data and plant-relevant conditions to demonstrate their feasibility and accuracy. TMAP8 has been applied to demonstrate the hydrogen isotope transport mechanisms in proton-conducting ceramic membranes, highlights the link between scientific endeavors and technology deployment. In collaboration with Tokamak Energy, TMAP8 is being applied to fusion pilot plant design under multiscale modeling, enabling rapid design iterations while capturing the fidelity of the component-level calculations. In addition, SALAMANDER has demonstrated the 3D high-fidelity simulations of divertor monoblock and breeder blanket using multiphysics simulations, providing safety assessment and design optimization for critical fusion components.
These tools establish a comprehensive multiphysics and multiscale modeling framework for predicting and optimizing the performance of critical fusion components, thereby supporting accelerated development and deployment of fusion energy systems.
Learn more online at: https://www.ipam.ucla.edu/programs/workshops/workshop-iii-fusion-device-design-and-engineering/
Recorded 07 May 2026. Lin Yang of Idaho National Laboratory presents "Multiscale and Multiphysics Modeling in Fusion Energy Systems Using Open-Source MOOSE-Based Tools: TMAP8 and SALAMANDER" at IPAM's Fusion Device Design and Engineering Workshop.
Abstract: The accelerated design, optimization, and safe deployment of fusion energy systems require multiphysics and multiscale simulations of tritium fuel cycle analysis, neutronics, heat transfer, thermomechanics and plasma kinetics. Critically, modeling tools must bridge the gap between scientific understanding and technology deployment. To address these modeling and prediction challenges, Idaho National Laboratory has developed two open-source computational tools built on the Multiphysics Object-Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE): the Tritium Migration Analysis Program, Version 8 (TMAP8) and the Software for Advanced Large-scale Analysis of MAgnetic confinement for Numerical Design, Engineering & Research (SALAMANDER).
TMAP8 is a multiscale application designed to provide cutting-edge capabilities for tritium transport and fuel cycle modeling that captures key physics including bulk diffusion, trapping and detrapping at defects, surface dissociation and recombination, and gas-phase transport. Based on these capabilities, SALAMANDER integrates TMAP8 and Cardinal into a multiscale and multiphysics framework to facilitate high-fidelity, three-dimensional (3D) fusion system analysis. In addition to tritium transport, SALAMANDER enables neutron transport, thermal hydraulic, and thermomechanics modeling of fusion components. Both TMAP8 and SALAMANDER are Nuclear Quality Assurance Level 1 (NQA-1) compliant, providing high reliability and a flexible open-source framework for both academic research and industrial applications. These tools can capture complex coupled mechanisms in high-fidelity simulations while also supporting simpler scoping studies for rapid design iteration.
TMAP8 and SALAMANDER includes verification, validation, and examples against experimental data and plant-relevant conditions to demonstrate their feasibility and accuracy. TMAP8 has been applied to demonstrate the hydrogen isotope transport mechanisms in proton-conducting ceramic membranes, highlights the link between scientific endeavors and technology deployment. In collaboration with Tokamak Energy, TMAP8 is being applied to fusion pilot plant design under multiscale modeling, enabling rapid design iterations while capturing the fidelity of the component-level calculations. In addition, SALAMANDER has demonstrated the 3D high-fidelity simulations of divertor monoblock and breeder blanket using multiphysics simulations, providing safety assessment and design optimization for critical fusion components.
These tools establish a comprehensive multiphysics and multiscale modeling framework for predicting and optimizing the performance of critical fusion components, thereby supporting accelerated development and deployment of fusion energy systems.
Learn more online at: https://www.ipam.ucla.edu/programs/workshops/workshop-iii-fusion-device-design-and-engineering/
