Computer Programs
CCC-0767 SWORD 7.0.
last modified: 25-JAN-2023 | catalog | categories | new | search |

CCC-0767 SWORD 7.0.

SWORD 7.0, SoftWare for Optimization of Radiation Detectors

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1. NAME OR DESIGNATION OF PROGRAM

SWORD 7.0

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2. COMPUTERS

To submit a request, click below on the link of the version you wish to order. Rules for end-users are available here.

Program name Package id Status Status date
SWORD 7.0 CCC-0767/06 Arrived 25-JAN-2023

Machines used:

Package ID Orig. computer Test computer
CCC-0767/06 MAC,Linux-based PC,PC Windows
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3. DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM OR FUNCTION

Software for Optimization of Radiation Detectors (SWORD) is a framework to allow easy simulation and evaluation of radiation detection systems. It is targeted at system designers who want the ability to evaluate and optimize system parameters without building hardware first; sponsors who must evaluate proposed or actual system designs independent of the supplier, without having access to actual hardware; and operators who aim to use simulation to evaluate observed phenomena.

 

SWORD is vertically integrated and modular. It allows users to define their own radiation detection instruments by building them from basic geometric “objects” and assigning those objects materials, detection, and/or radioactive emission properties. This process is accomplished by a computer-aided design (CAD)-like graphical user interface, in which objects may be defined, translated, rotated, grouped, arrayed, and/or nested to produce compound objects. In addition to providing the ability to build a detection system model from scratch, SWORD provides a library of “standard” detector design objects that can be used as-is or modified by the user.

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4. METHODS

Using existing radiation transport codes, SWORD supplies a vertically integrated framework for creating models, assigning emission spectra, running the transport code, and analyzing the results. The user interface is independent of the chosen transport code.

 

SWORD gives the user the option of running their simulation using one of two well-known known Monte Carlo simulation engines: Geant4 from CERN (Version 10.1 included in package distribution) and Monte Carlo N-Particle Transport (MCNP). In addition, SWORD supports the Denovo discrete ordinates solver. In general, the SWORD workflow consists of four steps:

  • Design the scenario. In this step, all the geometric elements of the simulation are defined, together with material properties, radioactive emission, and detector properties. The tool used here is the SWORD geometry builder, a CAD-like graphical tool.

  • Configure the run. Here, all the simulation run parameters are defined. This includes simulated duration, which analysis processes will be run, and what outputs will be produced.

  • Run the simulation. Normally this is done from within the SWORD interface. However, SWORD can also be run in batch mode without graphical interfaces. The latter is useful for running high compute time runs on high-performance machines. SWORD as supplied includes Geant4. SWORD can also run MCNP 6.1.1 or newer or the Denovo discrete ordinates solver.

  • Examine the results. Spectrum histograms can be created in the SWORD Analyzer Python app. Various histogram binning can be created. Spectra can be output as N42.42 XML files or as SWORD emission spectrum files to be used for further simulation. The Analyzer app also serves as a spectrum viewer and allows fitting model lines and continua to the data. Alternatively, the output files can be read and analyzed using a variety of software tools such as spreadsheet programs.

  • Improvements in SWORD7 over SWORD6

Simulation Engine Support:

Geant4 support added for LLNL/Rapiscan improved fission modeling

Geant4 support added for polarization physics

MCNP output rewritten to work with much more complicated models

Denovo interface changed from ADVANTG to OMNIBUS package; the latter is part of the SCALE package

 

Geometry Builder:

Global/Parent frame options

Expanded standard library

 

Analysis:

Spectrum creation moved to Analyzer app

Spectra can be created from coordsAndEnergy.dat, N42.42 files, SWORD emission spectra files, and MCNP outputs for various tallies

Spectra creation from flux.dat and SILO files in a future release

Spectrum plot/fitting moved to Analyzer app

 

Performance:

Faster program launch

Geometry viewer use of hardware acceleration improved, especially with high‑end GPUs

Geant4 run speed performance improved, especially with complex models

MCNP model performance improved

 

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5. RESTRICTIONS ON THE COMPLEXITY OF THE PROBLEM

This is beta code. It has been tested and has no known issues, but users should keep in mind that it is beta code.

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6. TYPICAL RUNNING TIME

Run time varies depending on complexity of models and statistics of simulation run.

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8. RELATED OR AUXILIARY PROGRAMS

AUXILLARY LIBRARIES INCLUDED:

  • LLNL/RAPISCAN FISSION

  • GEANT4 10.1

  • XERCES

 

AUXILLARY PROGRAMS INCLUDED:

  • RADSRC

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9. STATUS
Package ID Status date Status
CCC-0767/06 25-JAN-2023 Masterfiled Arrived
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10. REFERENCES
  • W. Duvall, B. Phlips, A. Hutcheson, R. Cordes, J. Hartsell and M. Strickman, "Improving Radiation Transport Simulation Capabilities for Nuclear Threat Detection Using SWORD," 2019 IEEE International Symposium on Technologies for Homeland Security (HST), 2019, pp. 1–6, doi: 10.1109/HST47167.2019.9032903.

CCC-0767/06, included references:
SWORD Installation Guide (SWORD Version 7.0 Beta, 7 October 2021).
SWORD Release notes (SWORD Version 7.0 Beta, 7 October 2021).
SWORD Training Problem Set (SWORD Version 7.0 Beta, 7 October 2021).
SWORD Reference Guide (SWORD Version 7.0 Beta, TO BE RELEASED AT A LATER DATE).
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11. HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS

Any Intel-based Windows, Linux, or Mac OSX platform with at least 4 GB of RAM and 30 GB of free disk space (see software requirements).

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12. PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE(S) USED
Package ID Computer language
CCC-0767/06 C++, JAVA, PYTHON
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13. SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS

Current distribution is available as a virtual appliance in the Open Virtual Appliance (OVA) format. The file can be opened in Virtualbox or imported into VMware. The guest operating system is Ubuntu 20.04 Linux. Binary installers for Ubuntu and Centos will be distributed at a later date.

 

Installation instructions are included in the provided documentation. Note that MCNP and Denovo are not distributed with SWORD and must be obtained by the user. They are available as the MCNP package (available from RSICC) and the SCALE package (available from NEA Databank and RSICC).

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15. NAME AND ESTABLISHMENT OF AUTHORS

Contributed by: Radiation Shielding Information Computational Center
                Oak Ridge National Laboratory
                Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA

 

Developed by:   Naval Research Laboratory

                Washington, DC, USA

 

This package contains Geant4 V10.1, which was developed at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, Genève, Switzerland.

 

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16. MATERIAL AVAILABLE
CCC-0767/06
sword7.0-beta.ova: virtual appliance for 64-bit architectures and installation
SWORD_V7_CentOS_Stream_Installer_RSICC.sh
SWORD_V7_Installation_Guide_RSICC.pdf
SWORD_V7_Reference_Guide.pdf
SWORD_V7_Reference_Guide.tar.gz
SWORD_V7_Release_Notes_RSICC.pdf
SWORD_V7_Training_Problem_Set_RSICC.pdf
SWORD_V7_Ubuntu_20_04_Installer_RSICC.sh
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17. CATEGORIES
  • O. Experimental Data Processing

Keywords: Monte Carlo method, radiation detectors, simulation.