Reproducible and replicable CFD: it's harder than you think

TL;DR

This paper discusses the challenges of achieving reproducibility and replicability in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) research, based on a three-year study involving multiple codes and numerous simulations.

Contribution

It highlights the practical difficulties in reproducing CFD results despite good practices and shares insights gained from extensive replication efforts.

Findings

Reproducing CFD results is more complex than expected.

Sharing code and data alone does not guarantee reproducibility.

Practical challenges persist even with good research practices.

Abstract

Completing a full replication study of our previously published findings on bluff-body aerodynamics was harder than we thought. Despite the fact that we have good reproducible-research practices, sharing our code and data openly. Here's what we learned from three years, four CFD codes and hundreds of runs.