Cyclus Archetypes

TL;DR

Cyclus is a modular, agent-based nuclear fuel cycle simulator that simplifies archetype development through the cycpp preprocessor, enabling easier, validated, and flexible modeling of nuclear systems.

Contribution

This paper introduces cycpp, a preprocessor that automates and simplifies the creation of archetypes in the Cyclus nuclear fuel cycle simulation framework.

Findings

Reduces archetype development code by approximately tenfold.

Automates validation of archetypes.

Enhances flexibility and adaptability of nuclear fuel cycle simulations.

Abstract

The current state of nuclear fuel cycle simulation exists in highly customized form. Satisfying a wide range of users requires model modularity within such a tool. Cyclus is a fuel cycle simulator specifically designed to combat the lack of adaptability of previous generations of simulators. This is accomplished through an agent-based infrastructure and treating time discretely. The Cyclus kernel was developed to allow for models, called archetypes, of differing fidelity and function depending on need of the users. To take advantage of this flexibility, a user must write an archetype for their desired simulation if it does not yet exist within the Cyclus ecosystem. At this stage, a user graduates to the title of archetype developer. Without automation, archetype development is difficult for the uninitiated. This paper presents the framework developed for simplifying the writing of archetypes: the Cyclus preprocessor, or cycpp. cycpp addresses the computer science and software development aspects of archetype development that can be addressed algorithmically, allowing the developer to focus on modeling the physics, social policies, and economics. cycpp passes through the code three times to perform the following tasks: normalizing the code via the C preprocessor, accumulation of notations, and code generation. Not only does this reduce the amount of code a developer must write by approximately an order of magnitude, but the archetypes are automatically validated.