Performance and accuracy of criticality calculations performed using WARP – A framework for continuous energy Monte Carlo neutron transport in general 3D geometries on GPUs

Bergmann, Ryan M.; Rowland, Kelly L.; Radnović, Nikola; Slaybaugh, Rachel N.; Vujić, Jasmina L.

doi:10.1016/j.anucene.2017.01.027

Performance and accuracy of criticality calculations performed using WARP – A framework for continuous energy Monte Carlo neutron transport in general 3D geometries on GPUs

Journal Article · Mon May 01 00:00:00 EDT 2017 · Annals of Nuclear Energy

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anucene.2017.01.027· OSTI ID:1344092

Bergmann, Ryan M. ^[1]; Rowland, Kelly L. ^[2]; Radnović, Nikola ^[2]; Slaybaugh, Rachel N. ^[2]; Vujić, Jasmina L. ^[2]

Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Dept. of Nuclear Engineering; University of California, Berkeley
Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Dept. of Nuclear Engineering

In this companion paper to "Algorithmic Choices in WARP - A Framework for Continuous Energy Monte Carlo Neutron Transport in General 3D Geometries on GPUs" (doi:10.1016/j.anucene.2014.10.039), the WARP Monte Carlo neutron transport framework for graphics processing units (GPUs) is benchmarked against production-level central processing unit (CPU) Monte Carlo neutron transport codes for both performance and accuracy. We compare neutron flux spectra, multiplication factors, runtimes, speedup factors, and costs of various GPU and CPU platforms running either WARP, Serpent 2.1.24, or MCNP 6.1. WARP compares well with the results of the production-level codes, and it is shown that on the newest hardware considered, GPU platforms running WARP are between 0.8 to 7.6 times as fast as CPU platforms running production codes. Also, the GPU platforms running WARP were between 15% and 50% as expensive to purchase and between 80% to 90% as expensive to operate as equivalent CPU platforms performing at an equal simulation rate.

Research Organization:: Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)

Grant/Contract Number:: NA0000979

OSTI ID:: 1344092

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1429509

Journal Information:: Annals of Nuclear Energy, Journal Name: Annals of Nuclear Energy Journal Issue: C Vol. 103; ISSN 0306-4549

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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A Monte Carlo volumetric-ray-casting estimator for global fluence tallies on GPUs Sweezy, Jeremy E. Journal of Computational Physics, Vol. 372 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcp.2018.06.032	journal	November 2018

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