OpenMC for Windows

Overview

OpenMC is a powerful Monte Carlo particle transport code widely used in reactor physics and radiation transport research. Traditionally, OpenMC is primarily developed and tested in Linux environments. This project demonstrates how OpenMC can be compiled and executed natively on Microsoft Windows systems while maintaining compatibility with the existing Python API and nuclear data libraries.

The goal of this work is to make OpenMC easier to use for students, researchers, and engineers who primarily work in Windows environments.

This particular openmc-windows-v0.1-beta does not have any dependencies like the other compilation methods have. The installer just needs openmc provided hdf5 cross sections and python. There is NO requrement of any subsystems, virtual systems and containers like docker.

Key Features of the Windows Build

The Windows build provides a native executable that can run directly on Windows 10 and Windows 11 systems without requiring Linux emulation or virtual machines.

Portable Distribution

The compiled package is distributed as a installer (openmc-windows-v0.1-beta.exe) containing:

openmc.exe, DLL libraries, examples/, python module installer.whl

All required runtime libraries are included so the executable can run on any compatible Windows system without additional installations.

Python Integration

The OpenMC Python API are installed along with openmc-windows executable, allowing users to generate XML input files, run simulations, and analyze results exactly as done on Linux systems.

Download and Install

Author

Sachin Shet

Future Work

• Automated Windows build pipeline
• Graphical user interface for running simulations
• Benchmark validation on Windows systems