Scalar Transport System Requirements Specification

This template follows INL template TEM-135, "IT System Requirements Specification".

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This document serves as an addendum to Framework System Requirements Specification and captures information for SRS specific to the Scalar Transport module.

Introduction

System Purpose

The MOOSE Scalar Transport module purpose is to model mass transfer due to advection, diffusion, and reaction.

System Scope

The MOOSE Scalar Transport module scope is to model mass transfer due to advection, diffusion, and reaction.

System Overview

System Context

The Scalar Transport module is command-line driven. Like MOOSE, this is typical for a high-performance software that is designed to run across several nodes of a cluster system. As such, all usage of the software is through any standard terminal program generally available on all supported operating systems. Similarly, for the purpose of interacting through the software, there is only a single user, "the user", which interacts with the software through the command-line. The Scalar Transport module does not maintain any back-end database or interact with any system daemons. It is an executable, which may be launched from the command line and writes out various result files as it runs.

Figure 1: Usage of the Scalar Transport module and other MOOSE-based applications.

System Functions

Since the Scalar Transport module is a command-line driven application, all functionality provided in the software is operated through the use of standard UNIX command line flags and the extendable MOOSE input file. The Scalar Transport module is completely extendable so individual design pages should be consulted for specific behaviors of each user-defined object.

User Characteristics

Like MOOSE, there are three kinds of users working on the Scalar Transport module:

  • Scalar Transport module Developers: These are the core developers of the Scalar Transport module. They are responsible for following and enforcing the software development standards of the module, as well as designing, implementing, and maintaining the software.

  • Developers: A scientist or engineer that uses the Scalar Transport module alongside MOOSE to build their own application. This user will typically have a background in modeling or simulation techniques (and perhaps numerical analysis) but may only have a limited skillset when it comes to code development using the C++ language. This is the primary focus group of the module. In many cases, these developers will be encouraged to contribute module-appropriate code back to the Scalar Transport module, or to MOOSE itself.

  • Analysts: These are users that will run the code and perform analysis on the simulations they perform. These users may interact with developers of the system requesting new features and reporting bugs found and will typically make heavy use of the input file format.

Assumptions and Dependencies

The Scalar Transport module is developed using MOOSE and can itself be based on various MOOSE modules, as such the SRS for the Scalar Transport module is dependent upon the files listed at the beginning of this document. Any further assumptions or dependencies are outlined in the remainder of this section.

The Scalar Transport module is designed with the fewest possible constraints on hardware and software. For more context on this point, the Scalar Transport module SRS defers to the framework Assumptions and Dependencies assumptions and dependencies. Any physics-based assumptions in this module's objects are highlighted in their respective documentation pages.

References

  1. ISO/IEC/IEEE 24765:2010(E). Systems and software engineering—Vocabulary. first edition, December 15 2010.[BibTeX]
  2. ASME NQA-1. ASME NQA-1-2008 with the NQA-1a-2009 addenda: Quality Assurance Requirements for Nuclear Facility Applications. first edition, August 31 2009.[BibTeX]

Definitions and Acronyms

This section defines, or provides the definition of, all terms and acronyms required to properly understand this specification.

Definitions

  • Verification: (1) The process of: evaluating a system or component to determine whether the products of a given development phase satisfy the conditions imposed at the start of that phase. (2) Formal proof of program correctness (e.g., requirements, design, implementation reviews, system tests) (24765:2010(E), 2010).

Acronyms

AcronymDescription
INLIdaho National Laboratory
LGPLGNU Lesser General Public License
MOOSEMultiphysics Object Oriented Simulation Environment
NQA-1Nuclear Quality Assurance Level 1
POSIXPortable Operating System Interface
SRSSoftware Requirement Specification

System Requirements

In general, the following is required for MOOSE-based development:

A POSIX compliant Unix-like operating system. This includes any modern Linux-based operating system (e.g., Ubuntu, Fedora, Rocky, etc.), or a Macintosh machine running either of the last two MacOS releases.

HardwareInformation
CPU Architecturex86_64, ARM (Apple Silicon)
Memory8 GB (16 GBs for debug compilation)
Disk Space30GB

LibrariesVersion / Information
GCC8.5.0 - 12.2.1
LLVM/Clang10.0.1 - 16.0.6
Intel (ICC/ICX)Not supported at this time
Python3.7 - 3.11
Python Packagespackaging pyaml jinja2

Functional Requirements

  • scalar_transport: Multiple-Species
  • 17.1.1The system shall be able to solve for multiple species masss transport with various dissociation and recombination reactions occurring at boundaries
  • 17.1.2The system shall calculate a domain averaged flux consistent with the theoretical value for the surface limited case
  • scalar_transport: Ncp-Lms
  • 17.2.1The system shall be able to solve a positively constrained system of ODEs using NCP and have a non-singular matrix
  • 17.2.2The system shall be able to solve a positively constrained PDE using nodal NCP, have diagonal components for the LM variable because of PSPG-type stabilization, and have a non-singular matrix
  • 17.2.3Nodal enforcement of the positivity constraint shall be solvable using algebraic multi-grid
  • 17.2.4The system shall be able to solve a positively constrained PDE using nodal NCP and have a non-singular matrix
  • 17.2.5The system shall be able to solve a positively constrained PDE using nodal NCP, and nodal application of resultant forces, and have a non-singular matrix
  • 17.2.6The system shall be able to solve a positively constrained PDE using nodal NCP and nodal application of resultant forces, have diagonal components because of PSPG-type stabilization, and and have a non-singular matrix
  • scalar_transport: Physics
  • 17.3.1The system shall be able to restart several diffused Physics in the shorthand Physics-syntax
    1. with a user-defined initial condition,
    2. when performing a regular checkpoint restart, but still obeying the user-defined initial condition,
    3. when performing manual restart from a mesh file, ignoring the default initial condition.
  • 17.3.2The system shall be able to solve a diffusion equation for multiple species with a continuous Galerkin discretization with a shorthand syntax and
    1. without automatic differentiation for several terms,
    2. with automatic differentiation,
    3. with diffusivities and heat sources provided in a flexible manner.

Usability Requirements

No requirements of this type exist for this application, beyond those of its dependencies.

Performance Requirements

No requirements of this type exist for this application, beyond those of its dependencies.

System Interfaces

No requirements of this type exist for this application, beyond those of its dependencies.

System Operations

Human System Integration Requirements

The Scalar Transport module is command line driven and conforms to all standard terminal behaviors. Specific human system interaction accommodations shall be a function of the end-user's terminal. MOOSE (and therefore the Scalar Transport module) does support optional coloring within the terminal's ability to display color, which may be disabled.

Maintainability

  • The latest working version (defined as the version that passes all tests in the current regression test suite) shall be publicly available at all times through the repository host provider.

  • Flaws identified in the system shall be reported and tracked in a ticket or issue based system. The technical lead will determine the severity and priority of all reported issues and assign resources at their discretion to resolve identified issues.

  • The software maintainers will entertain all proposed changes to the system in a timely manner (within two business days).

  • The core software in its entirety will be made available under the terms of a designated software license. These license terms are outlined in the LICENSE file alongside the Scalar Transport module source code. As a MOOSE physics module, the license for the Scalar Transport module is identical to that of the framework - that is, the LGPL version 2.1 license.

Reliability

The regression test suite will cover at least 90% of all lines of code within the Scalar Transport module at all times. Known regressions will be recorded and tracked (see Maintainability) to an independent and satisfactory resolution.

System Modes and States

MOOSE applications normally run in normal execution mode when an input file is supplied. However, there are a few other modes that can be triggered with various command line flags as indicated here:

Command Line FlagDescription of mode
-i <input_file>Normal execution mode
--split-mesh <splits>Read the mesh block splitting the mesh into two or more pieces for use in a subsequent run
--use-split(implies -i flag) Execute the simulation but use pre-split mesh files instead of the mesh from the input file
--yamlOutput all object descriptions and available parameters in YAML format
--jsonOutput all object descriptions and available parameters in JSON format
--syntaxOutput all registered syntax
--registryOutput all known objects and actions
--registry-hitOutput all known objects and actions in HIT format
--mesh-only (implies -i flag)Run only the mesh related tasks and output the final mesh that would be used for the simulation
--start-in-debugger <debugger>Start the simulation attached to the supplied debugger
commentnote

The list of system-modes may not be extensive as the system is designed to be extendable to end-user applications. The complete list of command line options for applications can be obtained by running the executable with zero arguments. See the command line usage.

Physical Characteristics

The Scalar Transport module is software only with no associated physical media. See System Requirements for a description of the minimum required hardware necessary for running the Scalar Transport module.

Environmental Conditions

Not Applicable

System Security

MOOSE-based applications such as the Scalar Transport module have no requirements or special needs related to system security. The software is designed to run completely in user-space with no elevated privileges required nor recommended.

Information Management

The core framework and all modules in their entirety will be made publicly available on an appropriate repository hosting site. Day-to-day backups and security services will be provided by the hosting service. More information about MOOSE backups of the public repository on INL-hosted services can be found on the following page: GitHub Backups

Polices and Regulations

MOOSE-based applications must comply with all export control restrictions.

System Life Cycle Sustainment

MOOSE-based development follows various agile methods. The system is continuously built and deployed in a piecemeal fashion since objects within the system are more or less independent. Every new object requires a test, which in turn requires an associated requirement and design description. The Scalar Transport module development team follows the NQA-1 standards.

Packaging, Handling, Shipping and Transportation

No special requirements are needed for packaging or shipping any media containing MOOSE and Scalar Transport module source code. However, some MOOSE-based applications that use the Scalar Transport module may be export-controlled, in which case all export control restrictions must be adhered to when packaging and shipping media.

Verification

The regression test suite will employ several verification tests using comparison against known analytical solutions, the method of manufactured solutions, and convergence rate analysis.