diff --git a/validation/dam_break_2d/validation_dam_break_2d.jl b/validation/dam_break_2d/validation_dam_break_2d.jl
index bfe216fde..4bf57d59e 100644
--- a/validation/dam_break_2d/validation_dam_break_2d.jl
+++ b/validation/dam_break_2d/validation_dam_break_2d.jl
@@ -115,12 +115,12 @@ run_file_edac_name = joinpath("out",
 reference_data = JSON.parsefile(reference_file_edac_name)
 run_data = JSON.parsefile(run_file_edac_name)
 
-error_edac_P1 = interpolated_mse(reference_data["pressure_P1_fluid_1"]["time"],
+error_edac_P1 = interpolated_mre(reference_data["pressure_P1_fluid_1"]["time"],
                                  reference_data["pressure_P1_fluid_1"]["values"],
                                  run_data["pressure_P1_fluid_1"]["time"],
                                  run_data["pressure_P1_fluid_1"]["values"])
 
-error_edac_P2 = interpolated_mse(reference_data["pressure_P2_fluid_1"]["time"],
+error_edac_P2 = interpolated_mre(reference_data["pressure_P2_fluid_1"]["time"],
                                  reference_data["pressure_P2_fluid_1"]["values"],
                                  run_data["pressure_P2_fluid_1"]["time"],
                                  run_data["pressure_P2_fluid_1"]["values"])
@@ -150,12 +150,12 @@ run_file_wcsph_name = joinpath("out",
 reference_data = JSON.parsefile(reference_file_wcsph_name)
 run_data = JSON.parsefile(run_file_wcsph_name)
 
-error_wcsph_P1 = interpolated_mse(reference_data["pressure_P1_fluid_1"]["time"],
+error_wcsph_P1 = interpolated_mre(reference_data["pressure_P1_fluid_1"]["time"],
                                   reference_data["pressure_P1_fluid_1"]["values"],
                                   run_data["pressure_P1_fluid_1"]["time"],
                                   run_data["pressure_P1_fluid_1"]["values"])
 
-error_wcsph_P2 = interpolated_mse(reference_data["pressure_P2_fluid_1"]["time"],
+error_wcsph_P2 = interpolated_mre(reference_data["pressure_P2_fluid_1"]["time"],
                                   reference_data["pressure_P2_fluid_1"]["values"],
                                   run_data["pressure_P2_fluid_1"]["time"],
                                   run_data["pressure_P2_fluid_1"]["values"])
diff --git a/validation/validation_util.jl b/validation/validation_util.jl
index 01db69635..56433f0f0 100644
--- a/validation/validation_util.jl
+++ b/validation/validation_util.jl
@@ -1,3 +1,9 @@
+# Perform linear interpolation to find a value at `interpolation_point` using arrays `x` and `y`.
+#
+# Arguments:
+# - `x`                   : The array of abscissas (e.g., time points).
+# - `y`                   : The array of ordinates (e.g., data points corresponding to `x`).
+# - `interpolation_point` : The point at which to interpolate the data.
 function linear_interpolation(x, y, interpolation_point)
     if !(first(x) <= interpolation_point <= last(x))
         throw(ArgumentError("`interpolation_point` at $interpolation_point is outside the interpolation range"))
@@ -12,6 +18,15 @@ function linear_interpolation(x, y, interpolation_point)
     return y[i] + slope * (interpolation_point - x[i])
 end
 
+
+# Calculate the mean squared error (MSE) between interpolated simulation values and reference values
+# over a common time range.
+#
+# Arguments:
+# - `reference_time`    : Time points for the reference data.
+# - `reference_values`  : Data points for the reference data.
+# - `simulation_time`   : Time points for the simulation data.
+# - `simulation_values` : Data points for the simulation data.
 function interpolated_mse(reference_time, reference_values, simulation_time,
                           simulation_values)
     if last(simulation_time) > last(reference_time)
@@ -34,6 +49,37 @@ function interpolated_mse(reference_time, reference_values, simulation_time,
     return mse
 end
 
+# Calculate the mean relative error (MRE) between interpolated simulation values and reference values
+# over a common time range.
+#
+# Arguments:
+# - `reference_time`    : Time points for the reference data.
+# - `reference_values`  : Data points for the reference data.
+# - `simulation_time`   : Time points for the simulation data.
+# - `simulation_values` : Data points for the simulation data.
+function interpolated_mre(reference_time, reference_values, simulation_time, simulation_values)
+    if last(simulation_time) > last(reference_time)
+        @warn "simulation time range is larger than reference time range. " *
+              "Only checking values within reference time range."
+    end
+
+    # Remove reference time points outside the simulation time
+    start = searchsortedfirst(reference_time, first(simulation_time))
+    end_ = searchsortedlast(reference_time, last(simulation_time))
+    common_time_range = reference_time[start:end_]
+
+    # Interpolate simulation data at the common time points
+    interpolated_values = [linear_interpolation(simulation_time, simulation_values, t)
+                           for t in common_time_range]
+
+    filtered_values = reference_values[start:end_]
+
+    # Calculate MRE only over the common time range
+    mre = sum(abs.(interpolated_values .- filtered_values) ./ abs.(filtered_values)) / length(common_time_range)
+    return mre
+end
+
+
 function extract_number_from_filename(filename)
     # This regex matches the last sequence of digits in the filename
     m = match(r"(\d+)(?!.*\d)", filename)