Isasa I., Pagalday J., Abete J., Sagartzazu X., Cogan S.

Despite the availability of complex and highly detailed finite element models to guide the analyst in the design and diagnosis of their real physical counterparts, establishing the credibility of model-based decisions still remains a delicate process. This is essentially due to the presence of a wide variety of uncertainties, both aleatory and epistemic, which have a direct impact on the fidelity of the model predictions and thus the models usability. The objective of a model validation methodology is to rationalize the process of establishing model credibility for a well-defined application by attempting to insure that: (1) the model calculations are performed correctly, (2) the essential physical effects have been taken into account, and (3) the sources and effects of variability have been evaluated. The objective of this article is to illustrate several essential steps of this process on a simple elevator model in preparation for a full-scale elaboration in the near future.