An automated shell for management of parametric dispersion/deposition modeling

In 1993, the US Army tasked Argonne National Laboratory to perform a study of chemical agent dispersion and deposition for the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program using an existing Army computer model. The study explored a wide range of situations in terms of six parameters: agent type, quantity released, liquid droplet size, release height, wind speed, and atmospheric stability. A number of discrete values of interest were chosen for each parameter resulting in a total of 18,144 possible different combinations of parameter values. Therefore, the need arose for a systematic method to assemble the large number of input streams for the model, filter out unrealistic combinations of parameter values, run the model, and extract the results of interest from the extensive model output. To meet these needs, we designed an automated shell for the computer model. The shell processed the inputs, ran the model, and reported the results of interest. By doing so, the shell compressed the time needed to perform the study and freed the researchers to focus on the evaluation and interpretation of the model predictions. The results of the study are still under review by the Army and other agencies; therefore, it would be premature to discussmore » the results in this paper. However, the design of the shell could be applied to other hazards for which multiple-parameter modeling is performed. This paper describes the design and operation of the shell as an example for other hazards and models.« less