CASE STUDIES OF NUCLEAR RESEARCH SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

Experimental and operational data are valuable assets for the field of nuclear science and technology. It is very important to develop software tools to assist scientists to manage the data effectively and to conveniently access and share the data. This paper presents 5 case studies on software development pertaining to topical areas such as nuclear fuel performance, waste management, biological research, reactor physics, and chemistry analysis at Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL). Each case study illustrates the design and development of the database and user interface for its target research area and end users. While datasets based on flat files are still used in reactor physics studies, full-scale relational databases are developed for most of the other studies. The user interfaces developed for these areas include web applications, desktop applications, and mobile applications. These software tools have become essential parts of the research activities at CNL.