Search NASA⌕ Search

Engineering topics

Atzberger, Paul

Publications and source records attributed to Atzberger, Paul.

SDYN-GANs: Adversarial learning methods for multistep generative models for general order stochastic dynamics

We introduce adversarial learning methods for data-driven generative modeling of dynamics of nth-order stochastic systems. Our approach builds on Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) with generative model classes based on stable m-step stochastic numerical integrators. From observations of trajectory samples, we introduce methods for learning long-time predictors and stable representations of the dynamics. Our approaches use discriminators based on Maximum Mean Discrepancy (MMD), training protocols using both conditional and marginal distributions, and methods for learning dynamic responses over different time-scales. We show how our approaches can be used for modeling physical systems to learn force-laws, damping coefficients, and noise-related parameters. Our adversarial learning approaches provide methods for obtaining stable generative models for dynamic tasks including long-time prediction and developing simulations for stochastic systems.

• Artificial intelligence (AI) / machine learning ↗

GMLS-Nets: A Framework for Learning from Unstructured Data

Data fields sampled on irregularly spaced points arise in many applications in the sciences and engineering. For regular grids, Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) have been successfully used to gaining benefits from weight sharing and invariances. We generalize CNNs by introducing methods for data on unstructured point clouds based on Generalized Moving Least Squares (GMLS). GMLS is a nonparametric technique for estimating linear bounded functionals from scattered data, and has recently been used in the literature for solving partial differential equations. By parameterizing the GMLS estimator, we obtain learning methods for operators with unstructured stencils. In GMLS-Nets the necessary calculations are local, readily parallelizable, and the estimator is supported by a rigorous approximation theory. We show how the framework may be used for unstructured physical data sets to perform functional regression to identify associated differential operators and to regress quantities of interest. The results suggest the architectures to be an attractive foundation for data-driven model development in scientific machine learning applications.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Topological Methods for Polymeric Materials: Characterizing the Relationship Between Polymer Entanglement and Viscoelasticity

We develop topological methods for characterizing the relationship between polymer chain entanglement and bulk viscoelastic responses. We introduce generalized Linking Number and Writhe characteristics that are applicable to open linear chains. We investigate the rheology of polymeric chains entangled into weaves with varying topologies and levels of chain density. To investigate viscoelastic responses, we perform non-equilibrium molecular simulations over a range of frequencies using sheared Lees–Edwards boundary conditions. We show how our topological characteristics can be used to capture key features of the polymer entanglements related to the viscoelastic responses. We find there is a linear relation over a significant range of frequencies between the mean absolute Writhe W r and the Loss Tangent tan ( δ ) . We also find an approximate inverse linear relationship between the mean absolute Periodic Linking Number L K P and the Loss Tangent tan ( δ ) . Our results show some of the ways topological methods can be used to characterize chain entanglements to better understand the origins of mechanical responses in polymeric materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Fluctuating Hydrodynamic Methods for Fluid-Structure Interactions in Confined Channel Geometries

Computational methods are developed for the study of fluid-structure interactions subject to thermal fluctuations when conned within channels having slit-like geometry. The methods take into account the hydrodynamic coupling and diusivity of microstructures when influenced by their proximity to no-slip walls. We develop stochastic numerical methods subject to no-slip boundary conditions using a staggered nite volume discretization. We show that by imposing an exact fluctuation-dissipation condition to discretize the stochastic driving elds combined with using an exact projection method to enforce incompressibility is sucient to ensure results consistent with statistical mechanics. We demonstrate our methods by investigating how the proximity of ellipsoidal colloids to the channel wall eects their active hydrodynamic responses and passive diusivity. We also study the collective dynamics of a large number of particles by considering the intermediate scattering functions for the relaxation of density fluctuations. We expect our introduced stochastic computational methods to be applicable broadly to applications in which confinement effects play an important role in the dynamics of microstructures subject to hydrodynamic coupling and thermal fluctuations. uctuations.

Wang, Yaohong↗