Specification of requirements for the virtual environment for reactor applications simulation environment

In 2010, the United States Dept. of Energy initiated a research and development effort to develop modern modeling and simulation methods that could utilize high performance computing capabilities to address issues important to nuclear power plant operation, safety and sustainability. To respond to this need, a consortium of national laboratories, academic institutions and industry partners (the Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors - CASL) was formed to develop an integrated Virtual Environment for Reactor Applications (VERA) modeling and simulation capability. A critical element for the success of the CASL research and development effort was the development of an integrated set of overarching requirements that provides guidance in the planning, development, and management of the VERA modeling and simulation software. These requirements also provide a mechanism from which the needs of a broad array of external CASL stakeholders (e.g. reactor / fuel vendors, plant owner / operators, regulatory personnel, etc.) can be identified and integrated into the VERA development plans. This paper presents an overview of the initial set of requirements contained within the VERA Requirements Document (VRD) that currently is being used to govern development of the VERA software within the CASL program. The complex interdisciplinary nature of these requirements together with a multi-physics coupling approach to realize a core simulator capability pose a challenge to how the VRD should be derived and subsequently revised to accommodate the needs of different stakeholders. Thus, the VRD is viewed as an evolving document that will be updated periodically to reflect the changing needs of identified CASL stakeholders and lessons learned during the progress of the CASL modeling and simulation program. (authors)