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QF Solver 0.2.5a0 scope

Product intent

Unify material nonlinearity, geometric nonlinearity, stability, path following and contact around one inspectable nonlinear structural mechanics engine. The release is evidence-driven: code presence is not qualification.

Final Owner-approved release scope — 2026-08-28

OWNER_SCOPE_REVISION = APPROVED and SCOPE_CHANGE = YES are recorded in 0_2_5_owner_scope_revision.md. The original 0.2.5a0 plan is preserved below for traceability; its G04 and G06 MUST rows are not erased and are not marked as passed. They are explicitly excluded from the qualified 0.2.5a0 release claims because their required evidence is incomplete.

The final qualified release scope is limited to G01, G02, G03, G05, G08, G09 and G11, each within its documented bounded envelope. G04 remains EXPERIMENTAL / NOT_QUALIFIED, G06 remains CODE_COMPLETE / EXPERIMENTAL / QUALIFICATION_DEFERRED, and G07 remains NOT_IN_RELEASE_SCOPE. No finite-kinematic J2, general arc-length, triple coupling or physical-validation claim is made.

No test, tolerance or historical numerical result was relaxed: CONTRACT_LOWERED = NO. The change is an explicit release-scope decision, not an implicit conversion of an unmet MUST into PASS.

Original MUST plan (preserved for traceability)

Scope Required release claim
0.2.4 J2 debt multi-element, mesh/load-step convergence, energy, rollback and stronger tangent evidence
Common nonlinear contracts one global residual/tangent, convergence, increment transaction and diagnostics model
Geometric nonlinear core objective Total-Lagrangian or Owner-approved equivalent for TET4 and HEX8
Stability sparse linearized buckling factors/modes with analytical and external evidence
Path following one sparse arc-length method for a bounded class of limit-point problems
Frictionless contact finite-sliding opening/closure/recontact integrated into common Newton and rollback
Couplings J2 + geometric and geometric + contact, subject to approved stress/strain measures
Robust failures classified failures, no false convergence, state-safe rollback
Regression full 0.2.4 linear and nonlinear release scope remains green
V&V analytical, numerical, mesh/load-step and bounded external correlation evidence

Original SHOULD plan (preserved for traceability)

Scope Condition
TET10 and HEX20 large deformation only after low-order objectivity and tangent gates close
Augmented Lagrangian contact only if penalty/active-set sensitivity blocks acceptable contact evidence
J2 + geometric + contact only after both pairwise coupled gates close
Multiple external solvers when comparable formulations and tools are available
Targeted optimization only for measured hotspots with numerical non-regression

Original COULD plan (preserved for traceability)

  • Coulomb friction with stick/slip state and dissipation evidence.
  • Additional arc-length controls after the primary method is verified.
  • Additional nonlinear performance optimizations.

COULD items are excluded from release completeness unless the Owner explicitly promotes them before implementation and assigns new mandatory evidence.

Explicitly out of scope

  • WEDGE, PYRAMID or any other new element family.
  • Hyperelasticity, damage, fracture, creep, viscoplasticity or thermoplasticity.
  • Generalized self-contact, cohesive, thermal or advanced mortar contact.
  • Explicit nonlinear dynamics, multiphysics, CFD, thermal analysis or GUI work.
  • General HPC/PETSc redesign.
  • A physical-validation claim based only on numerical code-to-code correlation.

Qualification vocabulary

State Meaning
implemented code exists; no evidence claim
PASS_INTERNAL defined internal verification passed on a traced SHA
OBSERVED_INTERNAL local working-tree evidence observed during implementation; not final-SHA controlled evidence
PASS_EXTERNAL_CORRELATION_BOUNDED reproducible external numerical correlation passed in the stated envelope
owner_accepted_experimental_bounded_use Owner accepts use only within documented limits
qualified all mandatory release requirements, evidence and Owner decision are closed

Release claim boundary

The public 0.2.5a0 claim is qualified / bounded only for the capabilities listed in the final readiness record: four-family J2 small-strain, the bounded TET4/HEX8 elastic Total-Lagrangian path, bounded sparse first-instability buckling, bounded frictionless contact, performance characterization and the failure contract. Each claim remains limited by its element, material, kinematic, load-path and contact envelope. No claim covers arbitrary finite-strain plasticity, arbitrary contact, snap-back, general arc-length or friction. Those capabilities remain experimental, research or out of scope.