Expediting nuclear engineering research with computer modeling

Modern technology such as high-performance computing and advanced simulation software has dramatically accelerated innovation across engineering. Texas A&M University nuclear engineering professor Carlo Fiorina leads the newly named Modeling, Engineering, Design and Analysis Laboratory (MEDAL), a research group working to support and accelerate this transformation in nuclear technology.

MEDAL focuses on advancing and using computer simulations to analyze, design and optimize nuclear energy systems. High-fidelity computational models allow researchers and engineers to understand the behavior of complex systems, emulate experiments and explore new reactor concepts with unprecedented speed.

According to Fiorina, advanced fission and fusion systems are approaching deployment timelines that require modeling and simulation to take a central role in design, safety evaluation, licensing and operation.

“For a long time, advances in nuclear engineering were driven mostly by experimentation because we didn’t have access to sufficient computing resources or accurate tools,” Fiorina said. “While experiments remain an integral part of the development workflow, the idea of the lab is to drastically accelerate design iteration and de-risk deployment for nuclear systems through advanced modeling and simulation.”

The lab’s research spans a wide range of nuclear energy systems, including both nuclear fission reactors and fusion energy concepts. Current commercial reactors rely on nuclear fission — the splitting of heavy atoms like uranium to release energy. Nuclear fusion, still under active research, generates energy by combining light atoms such as hydrogen isotopes. Despite their differences, both systems share governing physics and engineering challenges, particularly related to neutron generation and transport, heat transfer and materials performance.

“I develop methodologies that apply to both worlds, and both worlds have a lot of synergies,” Fiorina said. “One can use ideas from one to improve the other, and vice versa.”

MEDAL is currently placing significant emphasis on inertial fusion energy (IFE) systems. IFE uses high-energy lasers to compress and heat fuel capsules until they reach conditions where fusion occurs. While recent scientific advances have generated excitement, translating laboratory results into a robust, repeatable and economically viable energy system remains an active engineering challenge.

“The general idea is to help companies turn a lab idea into something that is viable and feasible from an engineering perspective,” Fiorina said.

In the fission domain, MEDAL investigates the use of modern simulation tools for non-traditional reactor designs, including molten salt reactors, microreactors and nuclear thermal propulsion for deep-space exploration. Another active research area involves optimizing the placement of sensors in microreactors to maximize uptime, enhance safety margins, and improve power output.

Nuclear engineering experiments are often costly and time-consuming — constraints that conflict with today’s accelerated commercialization timelines. Modern computational tools, combined with evolving risk-informed, performance-based regulatory frameworks, offer a pathway to significantly shorten development cycles and reduce uncertainty for novel reactors while supporting continuous operational optimization.

“The resources we have now compared to what we had 10 years ago are on a completely different level,” Fiorina said. “We can predict things using computers that used to be impossible. We can produce full-resolution multiphysics models of nuclear reactors that can reproduce experimental results virtually without calibration. The objective of my lab is to help develop those capabilities into something that is usable for companies and labs and that can accelerate progress while minimizing technical risks.”