MOOSE: Enabling massively parallel multiphysics simulation

TLDR

Harnessing modern parallel computing resources to achieve complex multi‑physics simulations is a daunting task. MOOSE enables multiphysics simulation development by offering simplified interfaces for PDEs, boundary conditions, material properties, and simulation aspects, abstracting parallel, adaptive, nonlinear, finite‑element solving. MOOSE achieves this through reusable, composable interfaces and inheritance, allowing code sharing across research groups, supporting multiscale, multiphysics simulations via simultaneous sub‑applications with data transfer, and providing automatic differentiation, large‑scale scaling, hybrid parallelism, and mesh adaptivity. MOOSE has enabled applications across nuclear physics, geothermal science, magneto‑hydrodynamics, seismic events, fluid flow, microstructure evolution, and advanced manufacturing.

Abstract

Harnessing modern parallel computing resources to achieve complex multi-physics simulations is a daunting task. The Multiphysics Object Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE) aims to enable such development by providing simplified interfaces for specification of partial differential equations, boundary conditions, material properties, and all aspects of a simulation without the need to consider the parallel, adaptive, nonlinear, finite-element solve that is handled internally. Through the use of interfaces and inheritance, each portion of a simulation becomes reusable and composable in a manner that allows disparate research groups to share code and create an ecosystem of growing capability that lowers the barrier for the creation of multiphysics simulation codes. Included within the framework is a unique capability for building multiscale, multiphysics simulations through simultaneous execution of multiple sub-applications with data transfers between the scales. Other capabilities include automatic differentiation, scaling to a large number of processors, hybrid parallelism, and mesh adaptivity. To date, MOOSE-based applications have been created in areas of science and engineering such as nuclear physics, geothermal science, magneto-hydrodynamics, seismic events, compressible and incompressible fluid flow, microstructure evolution, and advanced manufacturing processes.