Issues in computational fluid dynamics code verification and validation

A broad range of mathematical modeling errors of fluid flow physics and numerical approximation errors are addressed in computational fluid dynamics (CFD). It is strongly believed that if CFD is to have a major impact on the design of engineering hardware and flight systems, the level of confidence in complex simulations must substantially improve. To better understand the present limitations of CFD simulations, a wide variety of physical modeling, discretization, and solution errors are identified and discussed. Here, discretization and solution errors refer to all errors caused by conversion of the original partial differential, or integral, conservation equations representing the physical process, to algebraic equations and their solution on a computer. The impact of boundary conditions on the solution of the partial differential equations and their discrete representation will also be discussed. Throughout the article, clear distinctions are made between the analytical mathematical models of fluid dynamics and the numerical models. Lax`s Equivalence Theorem and its frailties in practical CFD solutions are pointed out. Distinctions are also made between the existence and uniqueness of solutions to the partial differential equations as opposed to the discrete equations. Two techniques are briefly discussed for the detection and quantification of certain types of discretization and grid resolution errors