TY - JOUR
T1 - Verification and validation of the flag hydrocode for impact cratering simulations
AU - Caldwell, Wendy K.
AU - Hunter, Abigail
AU - Plesko, Catherine S.
AU - Wirkus, Stephen
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors gratefully acknowledge the Lagrangian Applications Project code team for providing valuable assistance. This work was supported by the Advanced Simulation and Computing (ASC)–Integrated Codes (IC) program and the ASC–Threat Reduction (TR) program at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Los Alamos National Laboratory, an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer, is operated by Triad National Security, LLC, for the National Nuclear Security Administration of the U.S. Department of Energy under contract 89233218NCA000001.
Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2018 by ASME.
PY - 2018/9
Y1 - 2018/9
N2 - Verification and validation (V&V) are necessary processes to ensure accuracy of the computational methods used to solve problems key to vast numbers of applications and industries. Simulations are essential for addressing impact cratering problems, because these problems often exceed experimental capabilities. Here, we show that the free Lagrange (FLAG) hydrocode, developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory (Los Alamos, NM), can be used for impact cratering simulations by verifying FLAG against two analytical models of aluminum-on-aluminum impacts at different impact velocities and validating FLAG against a glass-into-water laboratory impact experiment. Our verification results show good agreement with the theoretical maximum pressures, with relative errors as low in magnitude as 1.00%. Our validation results demonstrate FLAG's ability to model various stages of impact cratering, with crater radius relative errors as low as 3.48% and crater depth relative errors as low as 0.79%. Our mesh resolution study shows that FLAG converges at resolutions low enough to reduce the required computation time from about 28 h to about 25 min. We anticipate that FLAG can be used to model larger impact cratering problems with increased accuracy and decreased computational cost on current systems relative to other hydrocodes tested by Pierazzo et al. (2008, “Validation of Numerical Codes for Impact and Explosion Cratering: Impacts on Strengthless and Metal Targets,” MAPS, 43(12), pp. 1917-1938).
AB - Verification and validation (V&V) are necessary processes to ensure accuracy of the computational methods used to solve problems key to vast numbers of applications and industries. Simulations are essential for addressing impact cratering problems, because these problems often exceed experimental capabilities. Here, we show that the free Lagrange (FLAG) hydrocode, developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory (Los Alamos, NM), can be used for impact cratering simulations by verifying FLAG against two analytical models of aluminum-on-aluminum impacts at different impact velocities and validating FLAG against a glass-into-water laboratory impact experiment. Our verification results show good agreement with the theoretical maximum pressures, with relative errors as low in magnitude as 1.00%. Our validation results demonstrate FLAG's ability to model various stages of impact cratering, with crater radius relative errors as low as 3.48% and crater depth relative errors as low as 0.79%. Our mesh resolution study shows that FLAG converges at resolutions low enough to reduce the required computation time from about 28 h to about 25 min. We anticipate that FLAG can be used to model larger impact cratering problems with increased accuracy and decreased computational cost on current systems relative to other hydrocodes tested by Pierazzo et al. (2008, “Validation of Numerical Codes for Impact and Explosion Cratering: Impacts on Strengthless and Metal Targets,” MAPS, 43(12), pp. 1917-1938).
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U2 - 10.1115/1.4042516
DO - 10.1115/1.4042516
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85065401410
SN - 2377-2158
VL - 3
JO - Journal of Verification, Validation and Uncertainty Quantification
JF - Journal of Verification, Validation and Uncertainty Quantification
IS - 3
M1 - 031004
ER -