diff --git a/.github/workflows/performance-benchmarking.yml b/.github/workflows/performance-benchmarking.yml
index b8c7eb9b..ff1ab5e7 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/performance-benchmarking.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/performance-benchmarking.yml
@@ -69,16 +69,16 @@ jobs:
       run: |
         if [ "$RUNNER_OS" == "Linux" ]; then
           sudo apt-get update
-          sudo apt-get install -y valgrind linux-tools-common
+          sudo apt-get install -y valgrind linux-tools-common libfontconfig1-dev
         fi
 
     - name: Build benchmarks
-      run: cargo build --release --bench comprehensive_cfd_benchmarks
+      run: cargo build --release --bench performance_benchmarks
 
     - name: Run comprehensive benchmarks
       if: github.event.inputs.benchmark_type == 'comprehensive' || github.event_name != 'workflow_dispatch'
       run: |
-        cargo bench --bench comprehensive_cfd_benchmarks | tee benchmark_results.txt
+        cargo bench --bench performance_benchmarks | tee benchmark_results.txt
 
     - name: Run regression detection benchmarks
       if: github.event.inputs.benchmark_type == 'regression' || github.event_name == 'schedule'
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 066d60e1..fab6f320 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -45,3 +45,10 @@ report/
 *.dll
 *.so
 *.dylib
+.venv/
+
+# Python compilation artifacts
+__pycache__/
+*.pyc
+*.pyo
+*.pyd
diff --git a/validation/__pycache__/__init__.cpython-313.pyc b/validation/__pycache__/__init__.cpython-313.pyc
deleted file mode 100644
index 5198d1c6..00000000
Binary files a/validation/__pycache__/__init__.cpython-313.pyc and /dev/null differ
diff --git a/validation/__pycache__/fenics_reference.cpython-313.pyc b/validation/__pycache__/fenics_reference.cpython-313.pyc
deleted file mode 100644
index d4d28b3d..00000000
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diff --git a/validation/__pycache__/reference_cavity_mac.cpython-313.pyc b/validation/__pycache__/reference_cavity_mac.cpython-313.pyc
deleted file mode 100644
index 105f3aba..00000000
Binary files a/validation/__pycache__/reference_cavity_mac.cpython-313.pyc and /dev/null differ
diff --git a/validation/__pycache__/reference_cavity_psiomega.cpython-313.pyc b/validation/__pycache__/reference_cavity_psiomega.cpython-313.pyc
deleted file mode 100644
index 5fd6010e..00000000
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diff --git a/validation/__pycache__/validation_analytical.cpython-313.pyc b/validation/__pycache__/validation_analytical.cpython-313.pyc
deleted file mode 100644
index 06c6784c..00000000
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diff --git a/validation/compare_cavity_external.py b/validation/compare_cavity_external.py
index 2d0b092e..b585c4bd 100644
--- a/validation/compare_cavity_external.py
+++ b/validation/compare_cavity_external.py
@@ -104,8 +104,31 @@ def compare_solutions(cfd_python_result, external_result, Re: float):
     # Ensure same grid size
     if cfd_python_result["u"].shape != ext_sol["u"].shape:
         print(f"WARN: Grid size mismatch: cfd_python {cfd_python_result['u'].shape} vs external {ext_sol['u'].shape}")
-        # TODO: Interpolate if needed
-        return None
+        print("Interpolating cfd_python results to match external reference grid...")
+        from scipy.interpolate import RectBivariateSpline
+
+        # cfd_python arrays are (ny, nx), RectBivariateSpline expects (x, y)
+        # So we transpose the CFD result fields (.T) for interpolation
+        interp_u = RectBivariateSpline(cfd_python_result["x"], cfd_python_result["y"], cfd_python_result["u"].T)
+        interp_v = RectBivariateSpline(cfd_python_result["x"], cfd_python_result["y"], cfd_python_result["v"].T)
+        interp_p = RectBivariateSpline(cfd_python_result["x"], cfd_python_result["y"], cfd_python_result["p"].T)
+
+        # Evaluate on the external grid. Note that ext_solver.x and ext_solver.y are 1D arrays
+        new_u = interp_u(ext_solver.x, ext_solver.y).T
+        new_v = interp_v(ext_solver.x, ext_solver.y).T
+        new_p = interp_p(ext_solver.x, ext_solver.y).T
+
+        cfd_python_result["u"] = new_u
+        cfd_python_result["v"] = new_v
+        cfd_python_result["p"] = new_p
+
+        # Also interpolate centerlines using 1D interpolation
+        cfd_python_result["u_centerline"] = np.interp(ext_solver.y, cfd_python_result["y"], cfd_python_result["u_centerline"])
+        cfd_python_result["v_centerline"] = np.interp(ext_solver.x, cfd_python_result["x"], cfd_python_result["v_centerline"])
+
+        # Update coordinates to match the external grid for proper plotting
+        cfd_python_result["x"] = ext_solver.x
+        cfd_python_result["y"] = ext_solver.y
     
     # Compute L2 errors
     u_diff = cfd_python_result["u"] - ext_sol["u"]