Introduction to Simulation Credibility

Welcome to this practical course that shows you how to turn raw finite-element or CFD results into defensible engineering evidence. Over a series of concise modules we unpack code and solution verification, data-driven calibration, rigorous validation, and the construction of a high-dimensional validation domain. You’ll will get a glimpse into quantify numerical, input and model-form uncertainties, rolling them up through system hierarchies, and communicating predictive capability in language that managers and regulators trust.

T​he course is based on the discussion videos recorded with the members of the Simulation Governance and Management Working Group.

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Course Outline

C​ourse Authors

W​illiam Oberkampf

William Oberkampf is an engineering consultant who has devoted 45 years to studying and advancing the state of the knowledge in fluid mechanics, heat transfer, and solid mechanics. During the last 25 years he has become an expert in verification, validation, and uncertainty quantification applied to modeling and simulation in a wide range of applications. He served in staff and management positions at Sandia National Laboratories in the United States for 29 years, and early in his career served on the faculty at the University of Texas at Austin for 9 years. He is an active volunteer in the Simulation Governance & Management Working Group for NAFEMS, the ASME Standards Committee on Verification and Validation in Computational Solid Mechanics, the AIAA Committee on Standards for Verification and Validation in Computational Fluid Dynamics, and the AIAA Publications Committee. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Gregory Westwater

Gregory Westwater is a Senior Engineer Specialist at Fisher Controls International LLC, part of Emerson Automation Solutions, with 20 years of experience in numerical simulation. His work has focused extensively on control valves, pressure vessels, and piping, as well as the verification and validation of engineering simulations. He holds BSME and MSME degrees from Iowa State University. Greg is the Chair of the NAFEMS Simulation Governance & Management Working Group.

Keywords

Verification & Validation, Simulation Governance, Credibility