Simulation verification and validation

Article By:

Roy, Christopher J. Department of Aerospace and Ocean Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia.

Oberkampf, William L. Consulting Engineer, Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Last reviewed:2009

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.YB090042

With the advent of digital computers in the middle of the twentieth century, simulation joined theory and experiment as an approach for predicting the behavior of engineering and natural systems. Advances in processor speed and in the ability to compute on a large number of processors at once (parallel processing) have resulted in the world's fastest computers doubling their computing power roughly every 14 months. These remarkable advances in computing power have led to an increased reliance on simulation in the decision-making process for researchers, project managers, and policy makers. The weaknesses of modern-day simulations are only now beginning to be understood. This fact should not be surprising given the relatively short 50-year history of simulation versus that of theory (about 300 years) and experimentation (more than 3000 years). Over the last two decades, verification and validation have emerged as a framework for rigorously assessing the accuracy and reliability of computer simulations.

The content above is only an excerpt.