Quantitative validation of numerical technique results against experimental data

Continual developments in both numerical technique algorithms and the platforms on which to run them have encouraged the widespread use of computer simulations in areas such as antenna design, EMC, RF device design and propagation studies. It is common for numerical modelling software to be validated on a case basis, against other models or experimental results by visual means. Using this approach it is difficult to obtain truly quantitative comparisons, especially in circumstances where different parts of a complex trace may be regarded in different ways. In order to overcome the subjectivity, which accompanies such comparisons, this paper presents a technique based on reliability factors which allows a quantitative comparison and thereby offers a more objective comparison. The utility of Reliability Factors is also compared with correlation based techniques. Circumstances where one method is more appropriate than the other are also discussed