Verification & Validation of Computational Simulations

Luís Eça

Instituto Superior Técnico, University of Lisbon

Relevance to WCCM–ECCOMAS

Computational simulations have become an Engineering tool that complements model testing. As for physical models, such capability requires the assessment of the quality of the results, which depends on the mathematical model (basin or wind tunnel for physical models in fluid dynamics) and its numerical solution (instrumentation for experiments).

Course description

Computational simulations have become an Engineering tool that complements model testing. As for physical models, such capability requires the assessment of the quality of the results, which depends on the mathematical model (basin or wind tunnel for physical models in fluid dynamics) and its numerical solution (instrumentation for experiments).

This course teaches Computational Simulations practitioners to distinguish numerical and modelling errors. It presents the definitions of the different contributions to the numerical error of steady and unsteady flow simulations. Techniques to quantify numerical (Verification) and modelling errors (Validation) in Computational Simulations are presented including examples from practical simulations of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). The course provides a framework for the establishment of the credibility of simulations so that they can be safely used for engineering decisions.

You will learn how to demonstrate the quality of your computational simulations and evaluate the accuracy of the mathematical models behind those simulations.

Objectives and target groups

You will learn to:

  • You will learn how to demonstrate the quality of your computational simulations and evaluate the accuracy of the mathematical models behind those simulations.

Everyone that relies on Modelling and Simulation for their research or professional activities.

Scientific and technical areas covered

  • Introduction
  • Numerical Errors and Uncertainties
  • Code Verification
  • Solution Verification
  • Validation

Bio-sketch

Luís Eça is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering of Instituto Superior Técnico (IST) of the University of Lisbon. He received the M.S, Ph.D. and “Agregação” degrees from Technical University of Lisbon in 1987, 1993 and 2009 respectively. He has been working in Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) for the last 35 years in cooperation with the Maritime Research Institute Netherlands (MARIN).

The main topics of the research have been the simulation of high Reynolds number flows around complex geometries and Verification and Validation in CFD. He is a member of the ASME Standards Sub-Committee in Verification, Validation and Uncertainty Quantification in Computational Fluid Dynamics and Heat Transfer since June 2015. Member of the ASME Standards Committee of Verification, Validation and Uncertainty Quantification since June 2018.