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At least 811 records · Page 45

Fast Adaptive Neural Control of Resonant Extraction at Fermilab

We present progress on the development of a machine learning (ML) regulation system for third-order resonant extraction of the beam delivered to the Mu2e experiment at Fermilab. We consider classical and ML-based controllers optimized on semi-analytic simulations and provide perfor- mance comparisons for several models. Additionally, we discuss the efficiency of each model in training, which has implications for future work on adaptive control. We also discuss progress on developing optimized implementations of ML models for edge-based inference.

Whitbeck, A. [Fermilab]↗

Using automated machine learning for the upscaling of gross primary productivity

Estimating gross primary productivity (GPP) over space and time is fundamental for understanding the response of the terrestrial biosphere to climate change. Eddy covariance flux towers provide in situ estimates of GPP at the ecosystem scale, but their sparse geographical distribution limits larger-scale inference. Machine learning (ML) techniques have been used to address this problem by extrapolating local GPP measurements over space using satellite remote sensing data. However, the accuracy of the regression model can be affected by uncertainties introduced by model selection, parameterization, and choice of explanatory features, among others. Recent advances in automated ML (AutoML) provide a novel automated way to select and synthesize different ML models. In this work, we explore the potential of AutoML by training three major AutoML frameworks on eddy covariance measurements of GPP at 243 globally distributed sites. We compared their ability to predict GPP and its spatial and temporal variability based on different sets of remote sensing explanatory variables. Explanatory variables from only Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) surface reflectance data and photosynthetically active radiation explained over 70 % of the monthly variability in GPP, while satellite-derived proxies for canopy structure, photosynthetic activity, environmental stressors, and meteorological variables from reanalysis (ERA5-Land) further improved the frameworks' predictive ability. We found that the AutoML framework Auto-sklearn consistently outperformed other AutoML frameworks as well as a classical random forest regressor in predicting GPP but with small performance differences, reaching an r 2 of up to 0.75. We deployed the best-performing framework to generate global wall-to-wall maps highlighting GPP patterns in good agreement with satellite-derived reference data. This research benchmarks the application of AutoML in GPP estimation and assesses its potential and limitations in quantifying global photosynthetic activity.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

ML-based Micro-CT SOFC Microstructure Models (from Kent 2026 Microstructural Augmentation paper)

Overview -------------------------- This repository contains datasets from the manuscript **"Enhanced Generalizability to Deep-Learning Quantification of 3D Microstructural Characteristics through Microstructurally Aware Augmentation of Scarce Data"** (*William F. Kent, Rochan Bajpai, Rachel C. Kurchin, William K. Epting, Harry W. Abernathy, Paul A. Salvador. Submitted 2026*). The methods are also described in the dissertation **Data Intensive Analysis of Solid Oxide Cell Microstructures** (*Doctoral dissertation, Carnegie Mellon University, 2025*). The datasets here are trained convolutional neural network (CNN) models for predicting key microstructural properties of solid oxide cell (SOC) electrodes from low-res, 2-channel 3D images, as well as some helpful code. The parameters for input images are provided in the paper. Sample data is provided in the file `Combined_anode_aug_dual_1k_examples` - that particular data was used to train `anode_all_aug.pth` and will work most accurately with that model. Please familiarize yourself with all caveats on accuracy and applicability, as detailed in the associated paper. Usage -------------------------- The basic usage is as follows, assuming `model_fn` is the path to the .pth file, and `X` is 2-channel input image(s) of the proper dimensions (either one image of shape `[2,12,24,24]`, or a batch of N input images of shape `[N,2,12,24,24]`): from CNN_inferencer import load_model_for_inference model = load_model_for_inference(model_fn) y_predicted = model(X) The model object automatically handles input scaling and output de-scaling based on the way the models were trained - in other words, pass in a 2-channel micro-CT image, and it will output microstructural property values in real units. ## Other model object attributes Note that model has useful attributes other than its forward pass model(X). * `model.output_descaler` - returns the output descaler object. Model does the de-scaling when generating inferences, but you may want to re-use this de-scaler on other values to e.g. compare predictions to ground truth from already-scaled training data. * `model.prop_names` - Gives the property names of the predicted y values, in order. Only exists if there's an output scaler as part of the model object, which there will be in the models provided here. ## Usage with sample data Here is a short script to use with the included sample data. from CNN_inferencer import display_predictions, load_model_for_inference, calculate_mape, parity_plot import h5py import numpy as np model_fn = 'anode_all_aug.pth' data_fn = 'Combined_anode_aug_dual_1k_examples.h5' N_samples = 200 figure_outdir = '.' model = load_model_for_inference(model_fn) with h5py.File(data_fn,'r') as f: XX = f['X'] #These are the 2-channel 3D images yy = f['y'] #These are the ground-truth microstructural properties, but they have been scaled for training - need to de-scale below N = XX.shape[0] #How many images total in the input data file #Run inferences on N_samples random samples from XX. #Run in a batch, much more efficient than one at a time. ii = np.random.choice(N,N_samples,replace=False) ii.sort() y_pred = model(XX[ii]) #Get the original/true (but normalized/scaled) values from the training dataset... #Because they were normalized, they are not in real units yet. So let's also de-scale them using model.output_scaler. y_true = model.output_scaler.transform(yy[ii]) #Let's display actual values for just 5 random ones for i in np.random.choice(N_samples,5,replace=False): display_predictions(y_true[i], y_pred[i], model.prop_names) #Make parity plots for each property (ground truth vs predicted values) #Also label each plot with the mean abs. percent error (MAPE) of the predicted values for i,key in enumerate(model.prop_names): mape = calculate_mape(y_true[:,i], y_pred[:,i]) parity_plot(y_true[:,i], y_pred[:,i], figure_outdir, key, extra_title=f' ({mape:.2f}% MAPE)')

3D microstructure↗

Phenomena Portal: Large- Scale Visual Exploration of Atmospheric Phenomena

The Earth science community is experiencing a high influx of remote sensing data due to recent advancements in sensor technology. This enables the community to extend their research on a larger scale than ever before. Unfortunately, traditional data processing techniques do not scale well to these new, high volume data sources. State-of-the-art machine learning (ML) pipelines have been proven to overcome these burdens in various other fields but are underexploited within the physical sciences community. Moreover, ML is reliant on labeled data, which is currently sparsely available, owing to the fact that ML adoption is still in the early stages within the Earth and atmospheric science communities. To address these issues, we developed the Phenomena Portal, a visual exploration tool that uses ML to detect various atmospheric phenomena on a global scale. This allows the Earth and atmospheric science communities to view trends of occurrences of phenomena, identify potential relationships between them, and analyze spatiotemporal patterns over time. These detections can also serve as initial labeled data for ML research pertaining to the respective phenomena. The tool also incorporates feedback from subject matter experts to further improve the model detection accuracy, thereby facilitating human-in-the-loop. This presentation will provide an overview of the ML model development and cloud deployment. We also discuss the capabilities of the user interface for displaying the detections.

Muthukumaran Ramasubramanian↗

Determining Catalytically Relevant Surfaces through Coverage-Dependent Lattice Gas Models: Carbon Adsorption on Fe(100)

Here, we have quantified the C–C lateral interactions on Fe(100) using a density functional theory (DFT)-parameterized lattice gas cluster expansion (LG CE) model trained using 265 unique configurations spanning a C coverage from 0 to 1 monolayer (ML). Our LG CE model shows high predictive accuracy with a leave-multiple-out cross-validation score of 10.2 and 16.6 meV/site for systems with and without the top two layers of Fe atoms fixed, respectively. Electronic ground-state structures identified from the lattice gas model (including the structures at 0 and 1 monolayers) were further used to generate ab initio phase diagrams under a range of temperatures and pressures. At low temperatures (<400 K), we found that the 1.0 monolayer structure is dominant, whereas at higher temperatures (>500 K), the 0.88 ML structure is most likely to form on the Fe surface. Interestingly, our model identified a c (2 × 2) ordered structure at 1/2 ML, which correlates well with previous DFT studies for carbon adsorption on iron surfaces and matches with the experimentally observed low-energy electron diffraction structure. Overall, the DFT-parameterized energies for the C/Fe system including effects of coverage and configurational space can further help in developing multiscale models for various heterogeneous reactions involving C–C and C–Fe interactions.

08 HYDROGEN↗

Predicting nepheline precipitation in waste glasses using ternary submixture model and machine learning

Nepheline precipitation in nuclear waste glasses during vitrification can be detrimental due to its negative effect on chemical durability. Developing models to accurately predict nepheline precipitation from compositions is important to increase waste loading since existing models can be overly conservative. In this study, an expanded dataset containing 955 glasses was compiled from literature data, where 355 glasses are for high-level waste (HLW). Previously developed submixture models were refitted using the new dataset, where a misclassification rate of 7.8% was achieved. Nine machine learning (ML) algorithms (e.g., k-nearest neighbor, Gaussian process regression, artificial neural network, support vector machine, decision tree, etc.) were applied to evaluate their ability of predicting nepheline precipitation from compositions. Model accuracy, precision, recall/sensitivity, and F1 score were systemically compared between different ML algorithms and modeling protocols. Good model prediction with an accuracy ~0.9 (misclassification rate of ~10%) was observed with different algorithms under certain protocol. This study evaluated various ML models to predict nepheline precipitations in waste glasses, highlighting the importance of data preparation, modeling protocol, and their effect on model stability and reproducibility. The results provide insights into applying ML to predict glass properties and suggest areas for future research on modeling nepheline precipitations.

Lu, Xiaonan↗

Comparison of Supervised and Un-Supervised Machine Learning Algorithms for Threat Detection and Scintillator Performance for Radiation Portal Monitoring

Following the events of September 11, 2001, international border crossing have been equipped with radiation portal monitors (RPMs) to identify illicit radioactive material. Polyvinyl toluene (PVT) scintillators are commonly used due to their low cost and reasonable maintainability, however they offer low spectral resolution. Despite the fact that over twenty years has transpired since this event, radioisotopes are still typically identified by hand-crafted classification algorithms, e.g., total counts or energy windowing, and exhibit relatively poor performance in detecting threats at the low false alarm rates required to support the stream of commerce. While some improvement to performance has been realized via the use of supervised machine learning, these classification algorithms typically utilize simulations in lieu of real data due to the sparsity of data for one or more classes. Accordingly, the performance of these algorithms is somewhat less than optimal when examining experiments or simulations with model mismatch. Consequently, in this work, we examine the application of a number of unsupervised machine learning, anomaly detection based algorithms, to circumvent the inverse crime when analyzing spectroscopy data for RPMs. We also compare anomaly detection results with those obtained via the use of supervised classification detection ML algorithms when model mismatch is introduced between the simulated threat items utilized for training/testing. Finally, we compared the performance of the PVT scintillators to those obtained with higher resolution detectors using both anomaly detection and supervised classification algorithms.

98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL P↗

Benchmarking for AI for Science

AI has been instrumental for recent developments in a number of domains of the sciences. With several hundred machine learning (ML) algorithms and models, and numerous AI-specific hardware platforms, a common quest for all scientists working on AI for Science is around the selection of machine learning algorithm(s) to solve their domain-specific scientific problems. A number of different initiatives around AI Benchmarking have been set up and have been useful in understanding the benefits of different ML algorithms for different tasks.However, with the majority of these AI Benchmarking initiatives focusing on the conventional notions of benchmarking, where the focus is purely runtime performance (such as training time or inference time), their suitability for benchmarking different ML algorithms for solving scientific problems has been viewed as a performance problem even though both are hardly the same. To make reasonable, explainable, and justifiable advancements in science using AI, it is critical to focus on the merits of these algorithms in handling different domain science problems. In other words, more emphasis must be given on Benchmarking for AI for Science than AI Benchmarking. The vision of the former is not only to assess the performance of ML algorithms, but also to assess, and understand the benefits and merits of different ML algorithms in handling scientific problems. Benchmarking for AI for Science, instead of pure performance focused AI Benchmarking, has several benefits: (i) it has the potential to offer advances in the sciences, much more rapidly than through pure performance-based AI methods, (ii) it will encourage the community to focus on developing better domain-specific AI techniques, particularly given the provision for being able to benchmark different techniques, and (iii) it will encourage hardware manufacturers to focus on developing science-specific hardware subsystems.

Thiyagalingam, Jeyan↗

Cooperative Agreement To Analyze variabiLity, change and predictabilitY in the earth SysTem (CATALYST)

CATALYST proposes to perform foundational coordinated research in a team-oriented collaborative effort aimed at advancing a robust understanding of modes of Earth system variability and change using models, observations and process studies. The proposed research will address the DOE/BER mission by exploring the limits to predictability, identifying fundamental underlying mechanisms, quantifying interactions among modes of variability, and discovering tipping points in the Earth system to understand the current and future impacts of these phenomena on regional and global climate. Four fundamental gaps are identified in our knowledge of the Earth system: 1) What are the limits to predictability on various timescales? 2) What are the interactions among modes of Earth system variability? 3) How may modes of Earth system variability change in response to changes in external forcing, and what are the tipping points involved with those changes? 4) How are high impact events connected to modes of Earth system variability and how may they change in the future? Related to those gaps in our knowledge, we formulate four research objectives to address those gaps using a combination of Earth system models (ESMs) and machine learning (ML) methods. Research Objective 1 (RO1) addresses the first gap above and proposes to understand modes of variability and their limits of predictability on subseasonal to decadal timescales using ESMs and ML. Research Objective 2 (RO2) addresses the second gap and proposes to use a hierarchy of models to understand relevant processes and feedbacks related to how modes of variability interact with each other. Research Objective 3 (RO3) is designed to study the third gap and proposes to examine the role of external forcings in changes of modes of Earth system variability and their interactions, and the likelihood and predictability of tipping points and irreversible changes. Research Objective 4 (RO4) will address the fourth gap and proposes to use high resolution ESMs, regionally refined models (RRMs), and ML methods to investigate the relationships between high impact events (e.g. flash droughts and precipitation extremes, atmospheric rivers (ARs), tropical cyclones (TCs), storm surge/sea level rise), the synoptic systems that produce them, and their changes related to modes of Earth system variability. The research will involve the use of the Community Earth System Model (CESM), Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM), CMIP multi-model data sets, a hierarchy of simpler models, and numerous observational data sets. In the course of the proposed research, CATALYST will contribute to metrics and diagnostics that will be integrated in Coordinated Model Evaluation Capabilities (CMEC), particularly with regards to the Quasi-biennial Oscillation (QBO) and its interactions with the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO), high atmospheric pressure blocking, and new precipitation metrics.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Describing Point Defect Topology in 2D Energy Materials Through Computer Vision

Point defects such as vacancies and impurity atoms strongly impact the performance of 2D materials. Traditional efforts often rely on manual detection, a process that is time-intensive, prone to human error, and challenging to scale. Here we leverage machine learning (ML) methods to identify and quantify vacancies within 2D transition metal carbides (Ti3C2, MXenes), aiming to expedite detection while improving accuracy. MXenes exhibit valuable defect-defined electrochemical properties, but we currently lack statistical understanding of defect topology needed to fully harness these materials. Here we employ a convolutional neural network for semantic segmentation of experimental MXene images, opening an opportunity to conduct a rigorous statistical study on defect hierarchy while investigating local relaxation in the lattice. We show how the integration of ML can yield fundamental insight into point defects, providing a powerful tool that will play an increasingly crucial role in the future of materials science. ML is often not just a matter of straightforward application, and pretrained models proved ineffective in this case. Instead, we trained our own neural network (NN) and applied data augmentation techniques and fine-tuning to the training dataset. Since labeled microscopy data is often scarce, we developed training data from a previously published wide-frame MXene image, using customized Gaussian fitting to locate atomic positions. Our trained model was then applied to a large dataset of experimental images, enabling a statistical study of defect configurations across three samples prepared with different HF etchant concentrations (5%, 9.1%, and 12.5%), as shown in Fig. 1. This also allowed us to investigate local strain around vacancies, though we find that we are limited by the precision of measurements using high-angle annular dark field (HAADF) images, as shown in Fig. 2. This study demonstrates how ML enables large-scale, quantitative analysis of atomic defects - an otherwise infeasible task with traditional methods. While our NN was specialized for Ti3C2 MXenes, the pipeline we developed provides a foundation for future ML models tailored to other materials. Ultimately, we envision embedding the NN onto the microscope to give real-time feedback to the user. To make this a reality, continued work is necessary to fully understand the NN's capabilities and limitations. This study gets one step closer to our goals of automated experimentation moving away from traditional methods of manual labeling. As ML capabilities advance, we hope to continue adapting and applying these techniques in microscopy.

2D materials↗

LENS: Learning Enabled Network Synthesis

RTRC and UMD have developed novel machine learning based methods under the ARPA-E DIFFERENTIATE program for rapid acceleration of hypothesis generation in complex architecture design spaces involving both discrete choices of component inclusion and interconnection and continuous parametric decisions. The project named Learning Enabled Network Synthesis (LENS) further demonstrated the developed methods on challenging electrical power converter design problems by identifying the most suitable circuit topologies and simultaneously selecting the most appropriate components to achieve optimized design of power converter with improved performances. We demonstrated that LENS could enable exploration of very large design space of circuit topologies and components by addressing the limitations of conventional design process in non-linear, high switching speed, multi-dimensional power converter design and optimization. The key innovation developed in LENS is the seamless integration of statistical learning and logical reasoning techniques and building on the individual strengths of these techniques for rapid hypothesis discovery. The main component of LENS comprises of: 1) Graph Reasoning Engine (GRE) to enforce composition rules that rapidly reject all discrete architectures that are composed incorrectly and generates an adaptive database of feasible designs which can be used by ML modules, 2) Graph Generative Learning module which is a deep neural network based generative model for graph architectures which can enable design space exploration beyond the dataset generated by the GRE, 3) Graph Reduced Order Model (ROM) for graph domains for accelerating computation of output metrics, and 4) Active learning and Rule Discovery module for sample efficient learning and extracting logical rules from the learned ML models which will be integrated in the GRE to enhance the filtering effectiveness. LENS approach can be applied to any design domains where designs can be represented as multi-attribute graphs. The LENS team integrated the various technical innovations listed above into an optimization pipeline and exercised the optimization pipeline on the converter design problem. The LENS project demonstrated that the developed AI/ML technologies can be used to generate novel converter circuits >45x faster than experts on chosen use-cases. This can enable faster design space exploration and identification of new designs which are not considered by experts due to the increasing design space complexity. This has significant potential impact on the public and energy needs of the country. It is currently estimated that 30% of all electrical powers generated passes through power converters. The future estimate is that 80% of all power generated would be passing through converters. LENS fills a critical gap in this space since by accelerating the design process the designers would be able to generate more efficient converters which can lead to significant energy savings for the country.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Applying Corrective Machine Learning in the E3SM Atmosphere Model in C++ (EAMxx)

The Simplified Cloud-Resolving E3SM Atmosphere Model (SCREAM) is the newest addition to the family of Earth System Models capable of explicitly resolving convective systems. SCREAM is a kilometer-scale configuration of the advanced E3SM Atmosphere Model (EAMxx), designed for heterogeneous systems. While the enhanced accuracy of kilometer-scale modeling offers significant benefits, it comes with a substantial computational cost, limiting feasible simulation durations to only a few years, even on the fastest supercomputers. Machine learning presents an opportunity for scientists to achieve the high accuracy of storm-resolving models at a significantly reduced cost. Building on the previous success of applying corrective machine learning (ML) to the FV3 model, this study explores the effects of implementing corrective ML in EAMxx-SCREAM. We also address the computational challenges of integrating the corrective ML, which is written in Python, with the C++/Kokkos EAMxx driver, as well as the potential pitfalls of generalizing an approach that was effective with one atmosphere model to another.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Quantifying wildfire drivers and predictability in boreal peatlands using a two-step error-correcting machine learning framework in TeFire v1.0

Abstract. Wildfires are becoming an increasing challenge to the sustainability of boreal peatland (BP) ecosystems and can alter the stability of boreal carbon storage. However, predicting the occurrence of rare and extreme BP fires proves to be challenging, and gaining a quantitative understanding of the factors, both natural and anthropogenic, inducing BP fires remains elusive. Here, we quantified the predictability of BP fires and their primary controlling factors from 1997 to 2015 using a two-step correcting machine learning (ML) framework that combines multiple ML classifiers, regression models, and an error-correcting technique. We found that (1) the adopted oversampling algorithm effectively addressed the unbalanced data and improved the recall rate by 26.88 %–48.62 % when using multiple datasets, and the error-correcting technique tackled the overestimation of fire sizes during fire seasons; (2) nonparametric models outperformed parametric models in predicting fire occurrences, and the random forest machine learning model performed the best, with the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve ranging from 0.83 to 0.93 across multiple fire datasets; and (3) four sets of factor-control simulations consistently indicated the dominant role of temperature, air dryness, and climate extreme (i.e., frost) for boreal peatland fires, overriding the effects of precipitation, wind speed, and human activities. Our findings demonstrate the efficiency and accuracy of ML techniques in predicting rare and extreme fire events and disentangle the primary factors determining BP fires, which are critical for predicting future fire risks under climate change.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Maximizing machine learning interatomic potential transferability for the discovery of the novel stellated octadecagon Bi18-Pt24 cage structure

Achieving true transferability remains the central challenge for Machine Learning Interatomic Potentials (ML-IAPs) in modeling complex bimetallic nanoclusters across their vast potential energy surfaces. We systematically investigate data selection strategies to optimize the Chebyshev Interaction Model for Efficient Simulation (ChIMES) potential for the Bi-Pt nanoclusters by comparing three innovative sampling methods: Principal Component Analysis (PCA)/k-means (structural diversity), t-distributedStochasticNeighborEmbedding (t-SNE)/k-means (force-space diversity), and hierarchical clustering. Quantitatively, the PCA/k-means strategy proved most effective for global accuracy, yielding the lowest force errors and achieving energy root mean square errors (RMSE) values competitive with Density Functional Theory (DFT), demonstrating excellent accuracy (19.16meV/atom). Structural validation on 34 unique DFT-optimized isomers further confirmed the potential’s high fidelity, with the best model PCA/k-means reproducing structures with an average root mean square deviation (RMSD) of 0.10 Å. However, the t-SNE methods, by maximizing diversity in the force space, demonstrated superior extrapolative power, leading to the more precise prediction of a novel stellated octadecagon Bi18⁢Pt24 cage structure, demonstrating the potential for exploring previously unseen morphologies. Our results establish a clear methodology for strategic data sampling that successfully maximizes ML-IAP transferability, providing an accurate and computationally efficient tool that accelerates the theoretical discovery of complex bimetallic architectures.

Vangheluwe, Raphaël [Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS↗

Link Scheduling in Satellite Networks via Machine Learning Over Riemannian Manifolds

Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites play a crucial role in enhancing global connectivity, serving a complementary solution to existing terrestrial systems. In wireless networks, scheduling is a vital process that allocates time-frequency resources to users for interference management. However, LEO satellite networks face significant challenges in scheduling their links towards ground users due to the satellites’ mobility and overlapping coverage. This paper addresses the dynamic link scheduling problem in LEO satellite networks by considering spatio-temporal correlations introduced by the satellites’ movements. The first step in the proposed solution involves modeling the network over Riemannian manifolds, thanks to their representation as symmetric positive definite matrices. We introduce two machine learning (ML)-based link scheduling techniques that model the dynamic evolution of satellite positions and link conditions over time and space. To accurately predict satellite link states, we present a recurrent neural network (RNN) over Riemannian manifolds, which captures spatio-temporal characteristics over time. Furthermore, we introduce a separate model, the convolutional neural network (CNN) over Riemannian manifolds, which captures geometric relationships between satellites and users by extracting spatial features from the network topology across all links. Simulation results demonstrate that both RNN and CNN over Riemannian manifolds deliver comparable performance to the fractional programming-based link scheduling (FPLinQ) benchmark. Remarkably, unlike other ML-based models that require extensive training data, both models only need 30 training samples to achieve over 99% of the sum rate while maintaining similar computational complexity relative to the benchmark.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Model-based, in-situ, non-destructive qualification and certification of parts made by autonomous additive manufacturing

To address the significant productivity challenges associated with the qualification and certification (Q&C) tasks of additively manufactured (AM) parts, which have traditionally relied on rigorous post‐build inspection and testing, we propose an integrated framework that combines model‐based qualification and certification (MBQ&C) with autonomous additive manufacturing (AAM). MBQ&C employs high‐fidelity predictive models, developed within the Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME) paradigm, to simulate process–structure–property–performance relationships for assessing a part’s fitness for use. Since predictive models are commonly machine learning (ML)-based or reduced-order surrogates of validated physics models, they run efficiently, enabling timely inference. In parallel, the self-driving AAM utilises ML-based adaptive, closed‐loop control strategies to avoid, mitigate, or repair defects and anomalies during fabrication, thereby increasing the likelihood of producing acceptable parts. A key feature of the combined AAM-MBQ&C framework is that predictive models explicitly incorporate defects or anomalies that persist after the build, using instance-specific data captured via in-situ sensing. This customisation enables a build‐specific assessment of fitness for use, rather than relying on nominal or generic parameters. Such individualised evaluation provides a robust basis for Q&C-related acceptance decisions relating to each build. Additionally, the rapid solution capabilities of ML or reduced-order models enable the determination of a part’s suitability for service shortly after build completion. As the framework matures, it has the potential to substantially reduce reliance on conventional point‐design approaches—such as time‐consuming post‐build computed tomography scanning and costly destructive testing. Thus, the AAM-MBQ&C framework represents a transformative, scalable strategy for quality assurance of AM components, as parts produced within a stable, validated, and certified envelope can be certified with reduced testing. Key benefits include: (1) significant gains in Q&C productivity through efficient, model-centric assessment; (2) performance-based classification of defects into critical and non-critical categories; (3) the ability to predict potential deviations in the performance of parts affected by real-time, adaptive process control interventions relative to those produced under a certified process, and (4) the enabling of virtual Q&C for service environments that are difficult, hazardous, or impractical to access or reproduce experimentally. Collectively, these capabilities strengthen the business case for AM, particularly for high‐consequence and mission‐critical applications. Finally, although this work focuses on powder-based AM, the proposed techniques could be extended to AM processes employing alternative feedstock forms.

Gunasegaram, Dayalan↗

Detecting Large Explosions With Machine Learning Models Trained on Synthetic Infrasound Data

Explosions produce low-frequency acoustic (infrasound) waves capable of propagating globally, but the spatio-temporal variability of the atmosphere makes detecting events difficult. Machine learning (ML) is well-suited to identify the subtle and nonlinear patterns in explosion infrasound signals, but a previous lack of ground-truth data inhibited training of generalized models. We introduce a physics-based method that propagates infrasound sources through realistic atmospheres to create 28,000 synthetic events, which are used to train ML classifiers. A simple artificial neural network and modern temporal convolutional network discriminate synthetic events from background noise with >90% accuracy and, more importantly, successfully identify the majority of real-world explosion signals recorded during the Humming Road Runner experiment. ML models trained entirely on physics-based synthetics advance explosion detection capabilities and make ML more viable to related fields lacking training data.

45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEF↗