Code Verification Exemplars in Computational Solid Mechanics

Preface

This book was written at the behest of the NAFEMS Simulation Governance & Management Working Group to provide a demonstration of a rigorous approach to code verification. This approach determines the asymptotic mesh convergence rate, also referred to as the observed order of accuracy, of the simulation software using numerical solutions on multiple mesh resolutions. An important characteristic of the approach is that it does not require access to the source code and so may be carried out by the end user. In order to perform such a test, a problem is needed for which an exact solution is known.

It is clearly important that the user of simulation software have confidence in the numerical correctness of software that is used to establish product performance and safety. Significant numerical testing is conducted by software developers, but rarely is rigorous code verification testing conducted and documented. As computational simulation incurs more responsibility for predicting the performance, safety and reliability of systems, higher demands should be placed on software developers for documentation of observed order of accuracy testing.

Whilst observed order of accuracy testing provides a means to verify numerical solution correctness in differing physics domains, this publication is focused upon problems of linear solid mechanics.

Contents