(cha:benchmarks)=
# Benchmarks
Benchmarks are used to verify that a solver solves the problem correctly,
i.e., to *verify* correctness of a code.[^footnote1] Over the past decades, the
geodynamics community has come up with a large number of benchmarks.
Depending on the goals of their original inventors, they describe stationary problems in
which only the solution of the flow problem is of interest (but the flow may
be compressible or incompressible, with constant or variable viscosity, etc),
or they may actually model time-dependent processes. Some of them have
solutions that are analytically known and can be compared with, while for
others, there are only sets of numbers that are approximately known. We have
implemented a number of them in ASPECT to
convince ourselves (and our users) that ASPECT
indeed works as intended and advertised. Some of these benchmarks are
discussed below. Numerical results for several of these benchmarks are also
presented in a number of papers (such as {cite:t}`kronbichler:etal:2012,heister:etal:2017,tosi:etal:2015,fraters:etal:2019`) in much
more detail than shown here.
Before going on with showing these benchmarks, let us mention that the data
shown below (and in the papers mentioned above) reflect the state of ASPECT at a particular time. On the other hand, ASPECT has become more accurate and faster over time,
for example by implementing better stabilization schemes for the advection
equations and improving assembly and solver times. We occasionally update
sections of the manual, but when reading through the sections on individual
benchmarks below, it is worthwhile keeping in mind that ASPECT may yield different (and often better) results
than the one shown.
[^footnote1]: *Verification* is the first half of the *verification and validation* (V&V) procedure: *verification* intends to ensure that the
mathematical model is solved correctly, while *validation* intends to ensure that the mathematical model is correct. Obviously,
much of the aim of computational geodynamics is to validate the models that we have.
:::{toctree}
benchmark-run.md
benchmarks/onset-of-convection/doc/onset-of-convection.md
../cookbooks/cookbooks/van-keken/doc/van-keken.md
../cookbooks/cookbooks/van-keken-vof/doc/van-keken-vof.md
../cookbooks/cookbooks/bunge_et_al_mantle_convection/doc/bunge_et_al_mantle_convection.md
benchmarks/rayleigh_taylor_instability/doc/rayleigh_taylor_instability.md
benchmarks/polydiapirs/doc/polydiapirs.md
benchmarks/sinking_block/doc/sinking_block.md
benchmarks/solcx/doc/solcx.md
benchmarks/solkz/doc/solkz.md
benchmarks/inclusion/doc/inclusion.md
benchmarks/burstedde/doc/burstedde.md
benchmarks/slab_detachment/doc/slab_detachment.md
benchmarks/hollow_sphere/doc/hollow_sphere.md
benchmarks/annulus/doc/annulus.md
benchmarks/rigid_shear/doc/rigid_shear.md
../cookbooks/cookbooks/stokes/doc/stokes.md
benchmarks/viscosity_grooves/doc/viscosity_grooves.md
../cookbooks/cookbooks/latent-heat/doc/latent-heat.md
benchmarks/davies_et_al/doc/davies_et_al.md
benchmarks/crameri_et_al/doc/crameri_et_al.md
benchmarks/solitary_wave/doc/solitary_wave.md
benchmarks/operator_splitting/doc/operator_splitting.md
benchmarks/tosi_et_al_2015_gcubed/doc/tosi_et_al_2015_gcubed.md
benchmarks/layeredflow/doc/layeredflow.md
benchmarks/doneahuerta/doc/doneahuerta.md
benchmarks/advection/doc/advection.md
benchmarks/yamauchi_takei_2016_anelasticity/doc/yamauchi_takei_2016_anelasticity.md
benchmarks/gravity_thin_shell/doc/gravity_thin_shell.md
benchmarks/gravity_thick_shell/doc/gravity_thick_shell.md
benchmarks/infill_density/doc/infill_density.md
benchmarks/gravity_mantle/doc/gravity_mantle.md
benchmarks/buiter_et_al_2016_jsg/doc/buiter_et_al_2016_jsg.md
benchmarks/compressibility_formulations/README.md
benchmarks/entropy_adiabat/README.md
benchmarks/geoid-spectral-comparison/README.md
benchmarks/newton_solver_benchmark_set/nonlinear_channel_flow/README.md
benchmarks/newton_solver_benchmark_set/spiegelman_et_al_2016/README.md
benchmarks/newton_solver_benchmark_set/tosi_et_al_2015/README.md
benchmarks/nsinker/README.md
benchmarks/nsinker_spherical_shell/README.md
benchmarks/time_dependent_annulus/README.md
benchmarks/viscoelastic_plastic_shear_bands/README.md
:::