Last week I wrote about digital image correlation as a method for measuring surface strain and displacement fields.  The simplicity and modest cost of the equipment required combined with the quality and quantity of the results is revolutionizing the field of experimental mechanics.  It also has the potential to do the same in computational mechanics by enabling more comprehensive validation of models and thus enhancing the credibility and confidence in engineering simulations.  I have written and lectured on this topic many times, see for instance my post of September 17th, 2012 entitled ‘Model credibility’ or  http://sdj.sagepub.com/content/48/1.toc

At the moment, I am chair of a CEN workshop WS71 that is developing a precursor to a standard on validation of computational solid mechanics models.  To inform our deliberations, we have organised an Inter-Laboratory Study (ILS) to allow people to try out the proposed validation protocol and give us feedback.   If you would like to have a go then download the information pack.  You don’t need to do any experiments or modelling, just try the validation procedure with some of the data sets provided.  The more engineers that participate in the ILS then the better that the final CEN document is likely to be; so if you know someone who might be interested then forward this blog to them or just send them the link.

Displacement field measured using digital image correlation for a metal wedge indenting a rubber block

CEN WS71: http://www.cen.eu/cen/Sectors/TechnicalCommitteesWorkshops/Workshops/Pages/WS71VANESSA.aspx

EU FP7 project VANESSA: www.engineeringvalidation.org

For information on the data field shown to the right see: http://sdj.sagepub.com/content/49/2/112.abstract