Symbolic Regression of Data-Driven Reduced Order Model Closures for Under-Resolved, Convection-Dominated Flows

Data-driven closures correct the standard reduced order models (ROMs) to increase their accuracy in under-resolved, convection-dominated flows. There are two types of data-driven ROM closures in current use: (i) structural, with simple ansatzes (e.g., linear or quadratic); and (ii) machine learning-based, with neural network ansatzes. We propose a novel symbolic regression (SR) data-driven ROM closure strategy, which combines the advantages of current approaches and eliminates their drawbacks. As a result, the new data-driven SR closures yield ROMs that are interpretable, parsimonious, accurate, generalizable, and robust. To compare the data-driven SR-ROM closures with the structural and machine learning-based ROM closures, we consider the data-driven variational multiscale ROM framework and two under-resolved, convection-dominated test problems: the flow past a cylinder and the lid-driven cavity flow at Reynolds numbers Re = 10000, 15000, and 20000. This numerical investigation shows that the new data-driven SR-ROM closures yield more accurate and robust ROMs than the structural and machine learning ROM closures.

Machine Learning Based Optimal Design of Fibrillar Adhesives

Fibrillar adhesion, observed in animals like beetles, spiders, and geckos, relies on nanoscopic or microscopic fibrils to enhance surface adhesion via 'contact splitting.' This concept has inspired engineering applications across robotics, transportation, and medicine. Recent studies suggest that functional grading of fibril properties can improve adhesion, but this is a complex design challenge that has only been explored in simplified geometries. While machine learning (ML) has gained traction in adhesive design, no previous attempts have targeted fibril-array scale optimization. In this study, we propose an ML-based tool that optimizes the distribution of fibril compliance to maximize adhesive strength. Our tool, featuring two deep neural networks (DNNs), recovers previous design results for simple geometries and introduces novel solutions for complex configurations. The Predictor DNN estimates adhesive strength based on random compliance distributions, while the Designer DNN optimizes compliance for maximum strength using gradient-based optimization. Our method significantly reduces test error and accelerates the optimization process, offering a high-performance solution for designing fibrillar adhesives and micro-architected materials aimed at fracture resistance by achieving equal load sharing (ELS).

Discovering Interpretable Physical Models Using Symbolic Regression and Discrete Exterior Calculus

Computational modeling is a key resource to gather insight into physical systems in modern scientific research and engineering. While access to large amount of data has fueled the use of Machine Learning (ML) to recover physical models from experiments and increase the accuracy of physical simulations, purely data-driven models have limited generalization and interpretability. To overcome these limitations, we propose a framework that combines Symbolic Regression (SR) and Discrete Exterior Calculus (DEC) for the automated discovery of physical models starting from experimental data. Since these models consist of mathematical expressions, they are interpretable and amenable to analysis, and the use of a natural, general-purpose discrete mathematical language for physics favors generalization with limited input data. Importantly, DEC provides building blocks for the discrete analogue of field theories, which are beyond the state-of-the-art applications of SR to physical problems. Further, we show that DEC allows to implement a strongly-typed SR procedure that guarantees the mathematical consistency of the recovered models and reduces the search space of symbolic expressions. Finally, we prove the effectiveness of our methodology by re-discovering three models of Continuum Physics from synthetic experimental data: Poisson equation, the Euler's Elastica and the equations of Linear Elasticity. Thanks to their general-purpose nature, the methods developed in this paper may be applied to diverse contexts of physical modeling.