On the Interpretation and Scope of the V&V 20 Standard for Verification and Validation in Computational Fluid Dynamics and Heat Transfer

The goal of this paper is to summarize and clarify the scope and interpretation of the validation procedure presented in the V&V20-2009 ASME Standard. In V&V20-2009, validation is an assessment of the model error, without regard to the assessment satisfying validation requirements. Therefore, validation is not considered as a pass/fail exercise. The purpose of the validation procedure is the estimation of the accuracy of a mathematical model for specified validation variables (also known as quantities of interest, system responses or figures of merit) at a specified validation point for cases in which the conditions of the actual experiment are simulated. The procedure proposed in V&V20-2009 can be applied to variables defined by a scalar. For the sake of clarity, the paper reiterates the development and assumptions behind the V&V20-2009 procedure that requires the knowledge of the experimental D and simulation S values at the set point and an estimate of the experimental, numerical and parameter uncertainties. The difference E between S and D is the center of the interval that should contain the model error (with a certain degree of confidence) and the width of the interval is obtained from the validation uncertainty that is a consequence of the combination of the experimental, numerical, and parameter uncertainties. The paper presents the alternatives to address parameter uncertainty and expands upon the interpretation of the final result. The paper also includes two examples demonstrating the application of the V&V20-2009 validation procedure including one problem from V&V10.1-2012 on solid mechanics.