ILLINOISROCSTAR LLC — Department of Defense STTR Phase I: N20A-T004

Description

Illinois Rocstar LLC (IR) will develop a robust methodology and software for automated decomposition and hexahedral mesh generation to address the U.S. Navy modeling and simulation (M&S) needs. Extending the Sandia National Laboratory (SNL) CUBIT package and the IR Nuclear Energy Modeling System (NEMoSys) meshing software, the proposed automated hex-meshing software, offered as an extension module to CUBIT, uses artificial intelligence for decomposition and robust hex meshing algorithms. The product software will support meshing of solid objects, required types of input and output, cross-OS functionality, and compatibility with Naval M&S software. The geometric constraints of hexahedral elements require that a complex domain be first decomposed to a set of hex-meshable sub-domains, a critical task that can take a large portion of total M&S time. NEMoSys is the IR in-house, cross operating system, open-source meshing software. The package integrates a carefully selected set of open-source computational geometry and meshing libraries into a coherent tool that provides meshing services including automated mesh generation, quality evaluation, partitioning/joining, accurate and conservative grid data transfer, re-meshing, adaptive mesh refinement (AMR), physics solution verification, and format conversion. IR will investigate the potential for replacing user expertise with artificial intelligence in the critical task of domain decomposition. IR will establish technical feasibility through research, development, and prototyping of the smart decomposition and automated hex-meshing methodology. SNL will provide technical advice on CUBIT, modifications to the underlying algorithm, testing, and benchmarking. IR will perform preliminary testing and verification to demonstrate the feasibility of decomposition and hex meshing processes. In consultation with SNL, IR will develop plans for the full implementation and testing of the plugin in subsequent phases.