Integrated EM & Thermal Simulations with Upgraded VORPAL Software

Nuclear physics accelerators are powered by microwaves which must travel in waveguides between room-temperature sources and the cryogenic accelerator structures. The ohmic heat load from the microwaves is affected by the temperature-dependant surface resistance and in turn affects the cryogenic thermal conduction problem. Integrated EM & thermal analysis of this difficult non-linear problem is now possible with the VORPAL finite-difference time-domain simulation tool. We highlight thermal benchmarking work with a complex HOM feed-through geometry, done in collaboration with researchers at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Laboratory, and discuss upcoming design studies with this emerging tool. This work is part of an effort to generalize the VORPAL framework to include generalized PDE capabilities, for wider multiphysics capabilities in the accelerator, vacuum electronics, plasma processing and fusion R&D fields, and we will also discuss user interface and algorithmic upgrades which facilitate this emerging multiphysics capability.