McCAD Library Save

McCAD: a CAD to Monte Carlo conversion library

McCAD is a library for the conversion of CAD solid models into the input syntax of a variety of Monte Carlo codes; from Boundary Representation "BREP" to Constructive Solid Geometry "CSG". The library is written in C++ and consists of two main algorithms:

1- Decompostion:

• carries out tasks pertinent to the simplification of complex solids by means of decomposition into their primitive convex subsolids. 2- Void generation & Conversion:
• carries out tasks pertinent to the generation of void cells and conversion of the primitive solids into MCNP input syntax, and later on to other MC codes.

Useful links:

• [Older version] McCAD-SALOME: McCAD library integrated with the Salome <https://www.salome-platform.org/>_ platform:

  • docs <https://github.com/inr-kit/McCad-Salome-Docs>_
  • source <https://github.com/inr-kit/McCad-Salome-Source>_
  • binaries <https://github.com/inr-kit/McCad-Salome-Binaries>_

• [Older version] McCAD-FreeCAD: an improved McCAD library integrated with the opensource CAD software FreeCAD <https://www.freecadweb.org/>_:

  • source <https://github.com/inr-kit/McCAD-FreeCAD>_

• csg2csg: a tool for the translation between a variety of Monte Carlo code formats:

  • source <https://github.com/makeclean/csg2csg>_.

Dependencies:

1- CMake (version 3.25.2 <https://cmake.org/download/>_):

• the standard build system for McCAD library.

2- Boost C++ Libraries (version 1.81.0 <https://www.boost.org/users/download/>_):

• used for multiprocessing.

3- Open CASCADE Technology (version 7.7.0 <https://dev.opencascade.org/release>_):

• the geometry engine used for manipulating and decomposing solids.

Installation:

Please refer to the "Installation from Source" section in the manual </docs/Manual/McCAD_manual.pdf>_.

General notes on Usage:

1- The library assumes a clean CAD model, one with no intersections/overlapping.

• while in theory the library won't report an error with intersections/overlapping as solids are processed individually, it will cause issue for void generation and conversion! 2- There are known bugs with the decomposition algorithm which are currently being investigated.
• a list of bugs and proposed workaround can be found in the "Known issues" section in the manual </docs/Manual/McCAD_manual.pdf>_.

Reporting issues:

Please don't hesitate to report any issues with running the code or errors in the manual by:

• raising issues in the github repo.
• sending an email to [email protected] & [email protected].

Citation:

Please use the citation below to reference the code in published articles: Harb, M.; Leichtle, D.; Fischer, U. A Novel Algorithm for CAD to CSG Conversion in McCAD. J. Nucl. Eng. 2023, 4, 436-447. https://doi.org/10.3390/jne4020031