Simulations run in Świerk will increase the security of the country

Śr, 01 cze 2011 15:25:00 +0200

The Świerk Computing Centre (CIŚ) is a large computing centre, currently under construction in Otwock-Świerk on the terrain where nuclear research institutions are located. One of the main objectives of CIŚ will be to perform calculations related to the design, installation, optimization and operational security of devices for power supply. Thanks to the collaboration with the Centre of Excellence MANHAZ – Management of Health and Environmental Hazards, the scope of the Centre activities will also include, among others, simulations of the transport and dispersion of chemical pollutants in the atmosphere, water and soil, and the analysis of radiological and terrorist hazards. CIŚ will not only provide computing power for MANHAZ but also finance a part of research job positions. New staff will be trained as a result of the collaboration between the two centres. Their main task will be to carry out safety analyses related to the release of hazardous substances to the environment.

Simulations on large computer clusters require adequately prepared computational models and programs. Special numerical algorithms are developed and dedicated computing environments, allowing the effective use of computing power of hundreds and thousands of processors at a time, are built for this purpose. "Specialists from MANHAZ have great insight into the issues related to advanced computational models performed on supercomputers. We are mutually interested in making optimal use of our capabilities," says Prof. Wojciech Wiślicki from the Institute for Nuclear Studies in Świerk, Head of the Świerk Computing Centre project.

A single frame from a simulation of the transport of volcanic dust in the atmosphere during the eruption of the Icelandic Eyafjallajökull volcano, April 2010.
(Source: CD MANHAZ)

The Centre of Excellence MANHAZ was set up at the Institute of Atomic Energy POLATOM in Świerk within the framework of the European Union's Fifth Framework Programme. "We work on issues related to the modelling of environmental hazards, mainly radiological and chemical, for example, resulting from a failure at industrial plants," explains Mieczysław Borysiewicz, PhD, Director of CoE MANHAZ. The Centre develops, among others, models of hazards that may arise during road and railway transport of hazardous substances and simulations of the effects of terrorist activities. Other simulations concern air quality and the transport of harmful chemicals and dust in the atmosphere, including volcanic dust. The scope of the Centre activities also includes the modelling of the transport of pollutants in surface waters, soil and ground waters as well as fluid dynamics simulations, which accurately reproduce the real conditions. The latter type of simulations makes it possible, among others, to monitor contamination in urban environment, where terrain features and individual buildings play an important role. MANHAZ also carries out ensemble forecasting. It consists of running multiple simulations with perturbated initial conditions. Calculations of this type allows for assessing the reliability of forecasts.

Simulation of the transport of pollutants following the release of 9 tons of liquefied chlorine in a tank truck accident. Zone ICT50 (orange) indicates that 50% of the population will suffer serious health damage.
(Source: CD MANHAZ)

"Thanks to the collaboration with CIŚ our calculation times will be reduced even one hundred times," points out Sławomir Potempski, PhD, from CoE MANHAZ and adds that it will be possible to prepare a three-day high-resolution weather forecast in no more than several dozen minutes after receiving the data. Adequately protected services will allow registered users to enter their own data remotely. Simulation results, in text or graphic form, will be available immediately after the calculations are completed. A part of the developed services will be adapted for processing of higher-level security information and therefore available only to selected, privileged users.

Animation of predicted distribution of volcanic dust in the atmosphere during the eruption of the Icelandic Eyafjallajökull volcano, April 2010.
(Source: CD MANHAZ)

Some of the results obtained by scientists from Świerk was presented to the general public in Warsaw. In May CIŚ took part in two large science popularisation events. On May 26th the CoE MANHAZ presentation was one of the elements of a nuclear exposition in the IPJ tent on a scientific festival in celebration of the opening of an educational path dedicated to Maria Skłodowska-Curie in Wawelska Street. The scientists put in a second appearance on Saturday, May 28th, on the Science Picnic in the tent 229-230. Animations prepared for those events included, among others, simulations prepared by cooperating foreign computing centres of the transport of pollutants resulting from damage at the Fukushima I power plant in Japan. The scientists pointed out, however, that it was not based on the data on the actual contamination but the simulations of hypothetical but possible scenarios of the development of the situation. Apart from the meetings with MANHAZ specialists, the festival and picnic also offered a chance to talk to the experts from the Nuclear Reactor Analysis Group CIŚ-IPJ about the course and aftermath of the failure in Fukushima.