Why, what and how? Those are just some of the questions answered at our 2025 UK MOOSE Conference. We connected experts from different industry domains to discuss current challenges with design engineering and the simulation tool landscape. Our speakers shared insights into MOOSE, what it is, how it can be used and shared comparisons to existing commercially available off-the-shelf tools (COTS). They considered their use cases, discussing challenges and how MOOSE has helped to overcome some of them.
Flexible
MOOSE is a very flexible framework. It has the ability to scale and run simulations natively on both desktop and HPC. Unlike other more commercially used tools, it is easier to add additional physics modules to solve a range of complex multi-physics problems. Traditional COTS tools struggle to provide the flexibility required for novel engineering design challenges, stalling project completion.
This flexibility brings cost benefits. MOOSE is an open-source tool that is not licence constrained. A user can scale their simulation as big as their available compute instead of being restricted by their licence. It also allows users to run many models in parallel without additional licence costs, providing designers more insight into the variability of their product.
As with any tool, it’s not perfect, but this flexibility allows for greater tailoring to the required needs.
Speed
Experimental development is hugely impractical, expensive and time-consuming. For novel system solutions, we need a way to predict performance quickly. This is where modelling & simulation are advantageous. Using numerical modelling and more specifically MOOSE, we can estimate performance without committing extensive resources (time and people) to physical builds.
Essentially, we can get to a better starting point more quickly. For novel, unproven innovation, being able to demonstrate the solution is viable quickly and economically is critical and reduces wasted resources on dead-end avenues.
Mindset
There are boundless possibilities that tools like MOOSE and its peripherals can unlock. However, people need to be open to these possibilities. Whether it’s big in terms of the size of the simulation or in terms of complexity (timesteps, multi-physics), there is the capability to solve these. It’s a case of adopting a more open, curious mindset, embracing new technologies to solve these challenges.
There is ongoing discourse surrounding the approach to design. If we want to effectively embrace novel design and take large leaps in innovation that are required to solve the problems we face, then we need to be open to other approaches. The speed and flexibility that MOOSE enables means that a more parametric approach can be taken, enabling designers to more deeply explore the expansive design spaces of new products.
Collaboration
Industries are rich with knowledge and experience that others could benefit from. Years of research and application have the potential to be revolutionary for other industries, simply if the learnings were shared.
The same is true for MOOSE. Where organisations and industries have been using MOOSE as a part of their simulation tool stack for some time already, sharing their challenges, solutions and learnings could advance the use of the tools and help those who might not be so familiar with MOOSE.
There is a need to develop a community in this space. Ideas shared, problems discussed, solutions found. A specific UK community could be especially fruitful, with more users looking to leverage MOOSE’s capabilities.
This conference highlighted just some of the possibilities that MOOSE enables. We would like to extend our thanks to our speakers and contributors for making the session engaging and thought-provoking.