Highly-parallelized simulation of a pixelated LArTPC on a GPU

The rapid development of general-purpose computing on graphics processing units (GPGPU) is allowing the implementation of highly-parallelized Monte Carlo simulation chains for particle physics experiments. This technique is particularly suitable for the simulation of a pixelated charge readout for time projection chambers, given the large number of channels that this technology employs. Here we present the first implementation of a full microphysical simulator of a liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) equipped with light readout and pixelated charge readout, developed for the DUNE Near Detector. The software is implemented with an end-to-end set of GPU-optimized algorithms. The algorithms have been written in Python and translated into CUDA kernels using Numba, a just-in-time compiler for a subset of Python and NumPy instructions. The GPU implementation achieves a speed up of four orders of magnitude compared with the equivalent CPU version. The simulation of the current induced on 10^3 pixels takes around 1 ms on the GPU, compared with approximately 10 s on the CPU. The results of the simulation are compared against data from a pixel-readout LArTPC prototype

HAZID, a computer aid for hazard identification:3. The fluid model and consequence evaluation systems

The hazard and operability, or HAZOP, study is a prime method for the identification of hazards on process plants. This is the third in a series of papers which describes progress in the emulation of hazard identification in the style of HAZOP. The work reported is embodied in a computer aid for hazard identification, or HAZOP emulator, HAZID. The HAZID code is one of a suite of codes developed as part of the STOPHAZ project. The present paper describes the fluid model system and the evaluation of consequences.Companion papers describe: an overview of HAZID, with an account of HAZOP and HAZOP emulation, and of the issues underlying it; the unit model system; the evaluation and improvement of HAZID using case studies and other methods; some development topics. Conclusions from the work are given in the final paper

HAZID, a computer aid for hazard identification:1. The STOPHAZ package and the HAZID code: an overview, the issues and the structure

The hazard and operability, or HAZOP, study is a prime method for the identification of hazards on process plants. This is the first in a series of papers which describes progress in the emulation of hazard identification in the style of HAZOP. The work reported is embodied in a computer aid for hazard identification, or HAZOP emulator, HAZID. The HAZID code is one of a suite of codes developed as part of the STOPHAZ project. The present paper gives an overview of HAZID, with an account of HAZOP and HAZOP emulation, and of the issues underlying it.Companion papers describe the unit model system, the fluid model system and the evaluation of consequences, the evaluation and improvement of HAZID using case studies and other methods, and some development topics. Conclusions from the work are given in the final paper

Evaluating and Improving the Visualisation of CHOOSE, an Enterprise Architecture Approach for SMEs

International audienceEnterprise architecture (EA) serves as a means to improve business-IT and strategy-operations alignment in an organisation. While it is a fairly mature domain in large enterprises, the need for EA in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has only been recently addressed. As SMEs have different characteristics and cope with specific problems, a different approach is essential to enable a successful adoption of EA. In order to meet these particular requirements of SMEs, the EA approach CHOOSE has been developed. In previous research, emphasis has been put on refining the method and metamodel of CHOOSE and on the development of supporting software tools. However, the visual notation of CHOOSE has not been investigated yet, while the form of representation has a great impact on the cognitive effectiveness of a diagram. This paper assesses the current visualisation of CHOOSE, describes alternatives and conducts an experimental comparison