Software verification
Automated reference suites and self-tests run against the codebase (solver, exports, entitlements, UI truth labels). They show the software does what its documentation says — nothing more.
Validation & Reference Cases
Reference checks are visible, bounded, and traceable.
RPL Engine Workbench is checked against bounded automated reference cases for common thermochemistry, sizing, feed-system, reporting, and steady-state solve workflows. These checks support software consistency and engineering review; they are not a substitute for hardware qualification.
| Area | Reference coverage | Engineering use |
|---|---|---|
| Thermochemistry | LOX/RP-1, LOX/LH2, NTO/MMH, LOX/methane, and LOX/ethanol reference cases. | Supports review of embedded-data behavior against documented reference expectations. |
| Feed closure | Pressure-fed closure cases for representative propellant combinations. | Supports review of pressure-budget behavior across supported workflows. |
| Sizing modes | Target thrust, total mass flow, throat diameter, and injector-geometry cases. | Checks consistency across common engine setup paths. |
| Coupled solving | Steady-state coupled and fixed-inlet cases, plus fallback behavior. | Supports current steady-state review; it does not constitute transient qualification. |
| Flowfield Studio | Engineering checks, export behavior, and UI/report truth labels for supported visualization paths. | Supports preliminary inspection, comparison, and validation planning; it is not a claim of independently validated CFD. |
Engineering use
Automated reference checks are evidence of software behavior within the documented model scope. Final hardware decisions still require qualified engineering review, appropriate reference data, documented tolerances, and test evidence.
Kinds of evidence
Not all “validation” means the same thing.
These categories are kept distinct in the app, in reports, and on this page. When you evaluate the software, ask which category a given claim belongs to.
Reference-case comparison
Solved results compared against documented reference expectations for common propellant combinations and sizing modes — the table above. The downloadable reference project is one worked example you can reproduce.
Mesh and convergence evidence
Flowfield solves report convergence classification, mass-balance behavior, and provenance (requested vs. actual solver backend) per run. Grid-sensitivity tooling supports mesh-dependence checks on your own cases; it is reported per solve, not claimed globally.
Conservation and stale-result protection
Non-converged results are labeled, never silently presented as converged. Outputs that no longer match the inputs are flagged stale, and reports carry the same warnings shown on screen.
Experimental correlation
The test-data-reduction workflow turns your measured hot-fire records into effective c*, Cf, discharge coefficients, O/F, and Isp with residuals, for calibrating the model against your own tests. We do not claim correlation against tests we have not run.
Preliminary physics
Flowfield Studio is preliminary axisymmetric analysis for early inspection and validation planning. It is not independently validated CFD, not a reacting/combustion model, and not a substitute for qualified analysis.
A public validation dossier consolidating these categories with numbered cases is planned; until it exists, this page and the reference project are the published evidence. No claim on this page is based on results we have not produced.
Review posture
Professional software still needs engineering review.
RPL Engine Workbench is intended to shorten design iteration and make assumptions easier to audit. Hardware decisions still require qualified review, appropriate test data, and organization-specific safety processes.
