Visualization as a bridge between chemical and nuclear engineering simulations

Collaborating across disciplines can be a difficult task for a variety of reasons. One of which is the lack of common methodologies and tools for visualization and analysis. Tools developed in one group can rarely be applied directly to data from another group, due to differences in data formats, analysis methodologies, and learning curves associated with the advanced visualization systems necessary for modern scientific data. Despite these difficulties, multi-physics collaboration is key to developing and understanding the next generation of computational models, which couple the dynamic processes and scales of multiple disciplines. As a step towards integrative models, we propose a visualization and analysis system to serve as a common interconnect between chemical and nuclear engineering. This choice allows multiple organizations to fruitfully exchange data and example visualizations in a reproducible manner, providing a foundation for productive discussion. In this work, we demonstrate the utility of a visualization system as it applies to bridging simulation domains and providing for multidisciplinary research in nuclear and chemical engineering. ∗Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute, University of Utah †Radiation Protection, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory ‡Utah Nuclear Engineering Program, University of Utah §Interactive Visualization and Data Analysis Group, DFKI Saarbrucken, Germany ¶Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Utah