Shahed Rezaei

Shahed Rezaei, Ali Harandi, Ahmad Moeineddin et al.

Physics-informed neural networks (PINNs) are capable of finding the solution for a given boundary value problem. We employ several ideas from the finite element method (FEM) to enhance the performance of existing PINNs in engineering problems. The main contribution of the current work is to promote using the spatial gradient of the primary variable as an output from separated neural networks. Later on, the strong form which has a higher order of derivatives is applied to the spatial gradients of the primary variable as the physical constraint. In addition, the so-called energy form of the problem is applied to the primary variable as an additional constraint for training. The proposed approach only required up to first-order derivatives to construct the physical loss functions. We discuss why this point is beneficial through various comparisons between different models. The mixed formulation-based PINNs and FE methods share some similarities. While the former minimizes the PDE and its energy form at given collocation points utilizing a complex nonlinear interpolation through a neural network, the latter does the same at element nodes with the help of shape functions. We focus on heterogeneous solids to show the capability of deep learning for predicting the solution in a complex environment under different boundary conditions. The performance of the proposed PINN model is checked against the solution from FEM on two prototype problems: elasticity and the Poisson equation (steady-state diffusion problem). We concluded that by properly designing the network architecture in PINN, the deep learning model has the potential to solve the unknowns in a heterogeneous domain without any available initial data from other sources. Finally, discussions are provided on the combination of PINN and FEM for a fast and accurate design of composite materials in future developments.

Ali Harandi, Ahmad Moeineddin, Michael Kaliske et al.

Physics-informed neural networks (PINNs) are a new tool for solving boundary value problems by defining loss functions of neural networks based on governing equations, boundary conditions, and initial conditions. Recent investigations have shown that when designing loss functions for many engineering problems, using first-order derivatives and combining equations from both strong and weak forms can lead to much better accuracy, especially when there are heterogeneity and variable jumps in the domain. This new approach is called the mixed formulation for PINNs, which takes ideas from the mixed finite element method. In this method, the PDE is reformulated as a system of equations where the primary unknowns are the fluxes or gradients of the solution, and the secondary unknowns are the solution itself. In this work, we propose applying the mixed formulation to solve multi-physical problems, specifically a stationary thermo-mechanically coupled system of equations. Additionally, we discuss both sequential and fully coupled unsupervised training and compare their accuracy and computational cost. To improve the accuracy of the network, we incorporate hard boundary constraints to ensure valid predictions. We then investigate how different optimizers and architectures affect accuracy and efficiency. Finally, we introduce a simple approach for parametric learning that is similar to transfer learning. This approach combines data and physics to address the limitations of PINNs regarding computational cost and improves the network's ability to predict the response of the system for unseen cases. The outcomes of this work will be useful for many other engineering applications where deep learning is employed on multiple coupled systems of equations for fast and reliable computations.

Shahed Rezaei, Ahmad Moeineddin, Ali Harandi

We applied physics-informed neural networks to solve the constitutive relations for nonlinear, path-dependent material behavior. As a result, the trained network not only satisfies all thermodynamic constraints but also instantly provides information about the current material state (i.e., free energy, stress, and the evolution of internal variables) under any given loading scenario without requiring initial data. One advantage of this work is that it bypasses the repetitive Newton iterations needed to solve nonlinear equations in complex material models. Additionally, strategies are provided to reduce the required order of derivative for obtaining the tangent operator. The trained model can be directly used in any finite element package (or other numerical methods) as a user-defined material model. However, challenges remain in the proper definition of collocation points and in integrating several non-equality constraints that become active or non-active simultaneously. We tested this methodology on rate-independent processes such as the classical von Mises plasticity model with a nonlinear hardening law, as well as local damage models for interface cracking behavior with a nonlinear softening law. In order to demonstrate the applicability of the methodology in handling complex path dependency in a three-dimensional (3D) scenario, we tested the approach using the equations governing a damage model for a three-dimensional interface model. Such models are frequently employed for intergranular fracture at grain boundaries. We have observed a perfect agreement between the results obtained through the proposed methodology and those obtained using the classical approach. Furthermore, the proposed approach requires significantly less effort in terms of implementation and computing time compared to the traditional methods.

Da Chen, Nima Emami, Shahed Rezaei et al.

The local geometrical randomness of metal foams brings complexities to the performance prediction of porous structures. Although the relative density is commonly deemed as the key factor, the stochasticity of internal cell sizes and shapes has an apparent effect on the porous structural behaviour but the corresponding measurement is challenging. To address this issue, we are aimed to develop an assessment strategy for efficiently examining the foam properties by combining multiscale modelling and deep learning. The multiscale modelling is based on the finite element (FE) simulation employing representative volume elements (RVEs) with random cellular morphologies, mimicking the typical features of closed-cell Aluminium foams. A deep learning database is constructed for training the designed convolutional neural networks (CNNs) to establish a direct link between the mesoscopic porosity characteristics and the effective Youngs modulus of foams. The error range of CNN models leads to an uncertain mechanical performance, which is further evaluated in a structural uncertainty analysis on the FG porous three-layer beam consisting of two thin high-density layers and a thick low-density one, where the imprecise CNN predicted moduli are represented as triangular fuzzy numbers in double parametric form. The uncertain beam bending deflections under a mid-span point load are calculated with the aid of Timoshenko beam theory and the Ritz method. Our findings suggest the success in training CNN models to estimate RVE modulus using images with an average error of 5.92%. The evaluation of FG porous structures can be significantly simplified with the proposed method and connects to the mesoscopic cellular morphologies without establishing the mechanics model for local foams.

Rasoul Najafi Koopas, Shahed Rezaei, Natalie Rauter et al.

A spatiotemporal deep learning framework is proposed that is capable of 2D full-field prediction of fracture in concrete mesostructures. This framework not only predicts fractures but also captures the entire history of the fracture process, from the crack initiation in the interfacial transition zone to the subsequent propagation of the cracks in the mortar matrix. In addition, a convolutional neural network is developed which can predict the averaged stress-strain curve of the mesostructures. The UNet modeling framework, which comprises an encoder-decoder section with skip connections, is used as the deep learning surrogate model. Training and test data are generated from high-fidelity fracture simulations of randomly generated concrete mesostructures. These mesostructures include geometric variabilities such as different aggregate particle geometrical features, spatial distribution, and the total volume fraction of aggregates. The fracture simulations are carried out in Abaqus, utilizing the cohesive phase-field fracture modeling technique as the fracture modeling approach. In this work, to reduce the number of training datasets, the spatial distribution of three sets of material properties for three-phase concrete mesostructures, along with the spatial phase-field damage index, are fed to the UNet to predict the corresponding stress and spatial damage index at the subsequent step. It is shown that after the training process using this methodology, the UNet model is capable of accurately predicting damage on the unseen test dataset by using 470 datasets. Moreover, another novel aspect of this work is the conversion of irregular finite element data into regular grids using a developed pipeline. This approach allows for the implementation of less complex UNet architecture and facilitates the integration of phase-field fracture equations into surrogate models for future developments.

Shahed Rezaei, Reza Najian Asl, Kianoosh Taghikhani et al.

We introduce a method that combines neural operators, physics-informed machine learning, and standard numerical methods for solving PDEs. The proposed approach extends each of the aforementioned methods and unifies them within a single framework. We can parametrically solve partial differential equations in a data-free manner and provide accurate sensitivities, meaning the derivatives of the solution space with respect to the design space. These capabilities enable gradient-based optimization without the typical sensitivity analysis costs, unlike adjoint methods that scale directly with the number of response functions. Our Finite Operator Learning (FOL) approach uses an uncomplicated feed-forward neural network model to directly map the discrete design space (i.e. parametric input space) to the discrete solution space (i.e. finite number of sensor points in the arbitrary shape domain) ensuring compliance with physical laws by designing them into loss functions. The discretized governing equations, as well as the design and solution spaces, can be derived from any well-established numerical techniques. In this work, we employ the Finite Element Method (FEM) to approximate fields and their spatial derivatives. Subsequently, we conduct Sobolev training to minimize a multi-objective loss function, which includes the discretized weak form of the energy functional, boundary conditions violations, and the stationarity of the residuals with respect to the design variables. Our study focuses on the steady-state heat equation within heterogeneous materials that exhibits significant phase contrast and possibly temperature-dependent conductivity. The network's tangent matrix is directly used for gradient-based optimization to improve the microstructure's heat transfer characteristics. ...

Shahed Rezaei, Thorsten Schindler

This work deals with the integration of nonsmooth flexible multibody systems with impacts and dry friction. We develop a framework which improves a non-impulsive trajectory of state variables by impulsive correction after each time-step if necessary. This correction is automatic and is evaluated on the same kinematic level as the piecewise non-impulsive trajectory. The resulting overall mixed timestepping scheme is consistent with respect to impacts and friction as well as benefits from advantages of the base integration schemes used to calculate the approximation inside the time-step. Therefore, we compare the generalized-$α$ method, the Bathe method and the ED-$α$ method.

Yusuke Yamazaki, Reza Najian Asl, Markus Apel et al.

This work presents a finite element-guided physics-informed operator learning framework for multiphysics problems with coupled partial differential equations (PDEs) on arbitrary domains. Implemented with Folax, a JAX-based operator-learning platform, the proposed framework learns a mapping from the input parameter space to the solution space with a weighted residual formulation based on the finite element method, enabling discretization-independent prediction beyond the training resolution without relying on labaled simulation data. The present framework for multiphysics problems is verified on nonlinear thermo-mechanical problems. Two- and three-dimensional representative volume elements with varying heterogeneous microstructures, and a close-to-reality industrial casting example under varying boundary conditions are investigated as the example problems. We investigate the potential of several neural operator backbones, including Fourier neural operators (FNOs), deep operator networks (DeepONets), and a newly proposed implicit finite operator learning (iFOL) approach based on conditional neural fields. The results demonstrate that FNOs yield highly accurate solution operators on regular domains, where the global topology can be efficiently learned in the spectral domain, and iFOL offers efficient parametric operator learning capabilities for complex and irregular geometries. Furthermore, studies on training strategies, network decomposition, and training sample quality reveal that a monolithic training strategy using a single network is sufficient for accurate predictions, while training sample quality strongly influences performance. Overall, the present approach highlights the potential of physics-informed operator learning with a finite element-based loss as a unified and scalable approach for coupled multiphysics simulations.

Kianoosh Taghikhani, Yusuke Yamazaki, Jerry Paul Varghese et al.

We propose a Newton-based scheme, initialized by neural operator predictions, to accelerate the parametric solution of nonlinear problems in computational solid mechanics. First, a physics informed conditional neural field is trained to approximate the nonlinear parametric solutionof the governing equations. This establishes a continuous mapping between the parameter and solution spaces, which can then be evaluated for a given parameter at any spatial resolution. Second, since the neural approximation may not be exact, it is subsequently refined using a Newton-based correction initialized by the neural output. To evaluate the effectiveness of this hybrid approach, we compare three solution strategies: (i) the standard Newton-Raphson solver used in NFEM, which is robust and accurate but computationally demanding; (ii) physics-informed neural operators, which provide rapid inference but may lose accuracy outside the training distribution and resolution; and (iii) the neural-initialized Newton (NiN) strategy, which combines the efficiency of neural operators with the robustness of NFEM. The results demonstrate that the proposed hybrid approach reduces computational cost while preserving accuracy, highlighting its potential to accelerate large-scale nonlinear simulations.

Yusuke Yamazaki, Ali Harandi, Mayu Muramatsu et al.

We propose a novel finite element-based physics-informed operator learning framework that allows for predicting spatiotemporal dynamics governed by partial differential equations (PDEs). The proposed framework employs a loss function inspired by the finite element method (FEM) with the implicit Euler time integration scheme. A transient thermal conduction problem is considered to benchmark the performance. The proposed operator learning framework takes a temperature field at the current time step as input and predicts a temperature field at the next time step. The Galerkin discretized weak formulation of the heat equation is employed to incorporate physics into the loss function, which is coined finite operator learning (FOL). Upon training, the networks successfully predict the temperature evolution over time for any initial temperature field at high accuracy compared to the FEM solution. The framework is also confirmed to be applicable to a heterogeneous thermal conductivity and arbitrary geometry. The advantages of FOL can be summarized as follows: First, the training is performed in an unsupervised manner, avoiding the need for a large data set prepared from costly simulations or experiments. Instead, random temperature patterns generated by the Gaussian random process and the Fourier series, combined with constant temperature fields, are used as training data to cover possible temperature cases. Second, shape functions and backward difference approximation are exploited for the domain discretization, resulting in a purely algebraic equation. This enhances training efficiency, as one avoids time-consuming automatic differentiation when optimizing weights and biases while accepting possible discretization errors. Finally, thanks to the interpolation power of FEM, any arbitrary geometry can be handled with FOL, which is crucial to addressing various engineering application scenarios.

Shahed Rezaei, Reza Najian Asl, Shirko Faroughi et al.

To obtain fast solutions for governing physical equations in solid mechanics, we introduce a method that integrates the core ideas of the finite element method with physics-informed neural networks and concept of neural operators. This approach generalizes and enhances each method, learning the parametric solution for mechanical problems without relying on data from other resources (e.g. other numerical solvers). We propose directly utilizing the available discretized weak form in finite element packages to construct the loss functions algebraically, thereby demonstrating the ability to find solutions even in the presence of sharp discontinuities. Our focus is on micromechanics as an example, where knowledge of deformation and stress fields for a given heterogeneous microstructure is crucial for further design applications. The primary parameter under investigation is the Young's modulus distribution within the heterogeneous solid system. Our investigations reveal that physics-based training yields higher accuracy compared to purely data-driven approaches for unseen microstructures. Additionally, we offer two methods to directly improve the process of obtaining high-resolution solutions, avoiding the need to use basic interpolation techniques. First is based on an autoencoder approach to enhance the efficiency for calculation on high resolution grid point. Next, Fourier-based parametrization is utilized to address complex 2D and 3D problems in micromechanics. The latter idea aims to represent complex microstructures efficiently using Fourier coefficients. Comparisons with other well-known operator learning algorithms, further emphasize the advantages of the newly proposed method.

Shahed Rezaei, Ahmad Moeineddin, Michael Kaliske et al.

We present a method that employs physics-informed deep learning techniques for parametrically solving partial differential equations. The focus is on the steady-state heat equations within heterogeneous solids exhibiting significant phase contrast. Similar equations manifest in diverse applications like chemical diffusion, electrostatics, and Darcy flow. The neural network aims to establish the link between the complex thermal conductivity profiles and temperature distributions, as well as heat flux components within the microstructure, under fixed boundary conditions. A distinctive aspect is our independence from classical solvers like finite element methods for data. A noteworthy contribution lies in our novel approach to defining the loss function, based on the discretized weak form of the governing equation. This not only reduces the required order of derivatives but also eliminates the need for automatic differentiation in the construction of loss terms, accepting potential numerical errors from the chosen discretization method. As a result, the loss function in this work is an algebraic equation that significantly enhances training efficiency. We benchmark our methodology against the standard finite element method, demonstrating accurate yet faster predictions using the trained neural network for temperature and flux profiles. We also show higher accuracy by using the proposed method compared to purely data-driven approaches for unforeseen scenarios.

Rasoul Najafi Koopas, Shahed Rezaei, Natalie Rauter et al.

In this study, we develop a novel multi-fidelity deep learning approach that transforms low-fidelity solution maps into high-fidelity ones by incorporating parametric space information into a standard autoencoder architecture. This method's integration of parametric space information significantly reduces the need for training data to effectively predict high-fidelity solutions from low-fidelity ones. In this study, we examine a two-dimensional steady-state heat transfer analysis within a highly heterogeneous materials microstructure. The heat conductivity coefficients for two different materials are condensed from a 101 x 101 grid to smaller grids. We then solve the boundary value problem on the coarsest grid using a pre-trained physics-informed neural operator network known as Finite Operator Learning (FOL). The resulting low-fidelity solution is subsequently upscaled back to a 101 x 101 grid using a newly designed enhanced autoencoder. The novelty of the developed enhanced autoencoder lies in the concatenation of heat conductivity maps of different resolutions to the decoder segment in distinct steps. Hence the developed algorithm is named microstructure-embedded autoencoder (MEA). We compare the MEA outcomes with those from finite element methods, the standard U-Net, and various other upscaling techniques, including interpolation functions and feedforward neural networks (FFNN). Our analysis shows that MEA outperforms these methods in terms of computational efficiency and error on test cases. As a result, the MEA serves as a potential supplement to neural operator networks, effectively upscaling low-fidelity solutions to high fidelity while preserving critical details often lost in traditional upscaling methods, particularly at sharp interfaces like those seen with interpolation.

Reza Najian Asl, Yusuke Yamazaki, Kianoosh Taghikhani et al.

In this work, we introduce implicit Finite Operator Learning (iFOL) for the continuous and parametric solution of partial differential equations (PDEs) on arbitrary geometries. We propose a physics-informed encoder-decoder network to establish the mapping between continuous parameter and solution spaces. The decoder constructs the parametric solution field by leveraging an implicit neural field network conditioned on a latent or feature code. Instance-specific codes are derived through a PDE encoding process based on the second-order meta-learning technique. In training and inference, a physics-informed loss function is minimized during the PDE encoding and decoding. iFOL expresses the loss function in an energy or weighted residual form and evaluates it using discrete residuals derived from standard numerical PDE methods. This approach results in the backpropagation of discrete residuals during both training and inference. iFOL features several key properties: (1) its unique loss formulation eliminates the need for the conventional encode-process-decode pipeline previously used in operator learning with conditional neural fields for PDEs; (2) it not only provides accurate parametric and continuous fields but also delivers solution-to-parameter gradients without requiring additional loss terms or sensitivity analysis; (3) it can effectively capture sharp discontinuities in the solution; and (4) it removes constraints on the geometry and mesh, making it applicable to arbitrary geometries and spatial sampling (zero-shot super-resolution capability). We critically assess these features and analyze the network's ability to generalize to unseen samples across both stationary and transient PDEs. The overall performance of the proposed method is promising, demonstrating its applicability to a range of challenging problems in computational mechanics.

Jaber Rezaei Mianroodi, Shahed Rezaei, Nima H. Siboni et al.

The elastic properties of materials derive from their electronic and atomic nature. However, simulating bulk materials fully at these scales is not feasible, so that typically homogenized continuum descriptions are used instead. A seamless and lossless transition of the constitutive description of the elastic response of materials between these two scales has been so far elusive. Here we show how this problem can be overcome by using Artificial Intelligence (AI). A Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) model is trained, by taking the structure image of a nanoporous material as input and the corresponding elasticity tensor, calculated from Molecular Statics (MS), as output. Trained with the atomistic data, the CNN model captures the size- and pore-dependency of the material's elastic properties which, on the physics side, can stem from surfaces and non-local effects. Such effects are often ignored in upscaling from atomistic to classical continuum theory. To demonstrate the accuracy and the efficiency of the trained CNN model, a Finite Element Method (FEM) based result of an elastically deformed nanoporous beam equipped with the CNN as constitutive law is compared with that by a full atomistic simulation. The good agreement between the atomistic simulations and the FEM-AI combination for a system with size and surface effects establishes a new lossless scale bridging approach to such problems. The trained CNN model deviates from the atomistic result by 9.6\% for porosity scenarios of up to 90\% but it is about 230 times faster than the MS calculation and does not require to change simulation methods between different scales. The efficiency of the CNN evaluation together with the preservation of important atomistic effects makes the trained model an effective atomistically-informed constitutive model for macroscopic simulations of nanoporous materials and solving of inverse problems.