PINN構造解析

Category: 解析 | Integrated 2026-04-06
Mohr's Circle stress transformation for PINN structural mechanics — principal stresses sigma1 sigma2 and maximum shear stress tau_max on navy background
モールの応力円によるPINN構造解析の応力テンソル変換 — 主応力 σ₁, σ₂ と最大せん断応力 τ_max を可視化
Theory & Physics

Theory and Physics

Overview

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Teacher! Today's topic is about PINN structural analysis, right? What is it?


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A method to obtain the displacement field of an elastic body using PINN. It incorporates the stress equilibrium equations and boundary conditions into the loss function, enabling mesh-free stress analysis for complex geometries.


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Your explanation is easy to understand! The haze around the displacement field of an elastic body has cleared up.


Governing Equations


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Expressing this mathematically, it looks like this.


$$\mathcal{L}_{eq} = \frac{1}{N}\sum\left|\frac{\partial \sigma_{ij}}{\partial x_j} + f_i\right|^2$$

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Hmm, just the equation doesn't really click... What does it represent?


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Constitutive law constraint:



$$\sigma_{ij} = \lambda \varepsilon_{kk}\delta_{ij} + 2\mu\varepsilon_{ij}$$
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Hearing this far, I finally understand why the constitutive law constraint is important!


Theoretical Foundation

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I've heard of "theoretical foundation," but I might not have properly understood it...


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PINN structural analysis is an important method aiming to fuse data-driven approaches and physics-based modeling. While computational cost is a major bottleneck in conventional CAE analysis, introducing PINN structural analysis can significantly improve the trade-off between computational efficiency and prediction accuracy. The mathematical foundation of this method is based on function approximation theory and statistical learning theory, with theoretical research topics including guarantees of generalization performance and rigorous analysis of convergence. Particularly, dealing with the "curse of dimensionality" when the input dimension is high is a key practical challenge, and approaches like dimensionality reduction and leveraging sparsity are important.



Details of Mathematical Formulation

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Next is "Details of Mathematical Formulation"! What is this about?


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It shows the basic mathematical framework for applying machine learning models to CAE.



Loss Function Composition

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What does "loss function composition" mean specifically?


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The loss function in AI×CAE is composed as a weighted sum of a data-driven term and a physics constraint term:



$$ \mathcal{L} = \lambda_d \mathcal{L}_{\text{data}} + \lambda_p \mathcal{L}_{\text{physics}} + \lambda_r \mathcal{L}_{\text{reg}} $$


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Here, $\mathcal{L}_{\text{data}}$ is the squared error with observed data, $\mathcal{L}_{\text{physics}}$ is the residual of the governing equations, and $\mathcal{L}_{\text{reg}}$ is the regularization term. Adjusting the weight parameters $\lambda$ greatly affects learning stability and accuracy.




Generalization Performance and Extrapolation Problem

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Please tell me about "Generalization Performance and the Extrapolation Problem"!


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The biggest challenge for surrogate models is prediction accuracy outside the range of training data (extrapolation region). Incorporating physical laws can improve extrapolation performance, but complete guarantees are difficult.




Curse of Dimensionality

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Please tell me about the "Curse of Dimensionality"!


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When the dimension of the input parameter space is high, the required number of samples increases exponentially. Efficient sample placement using Active Learning or Latin Hypercube Sampling (LHS) is extremely important.



$$ N_{\text{samples}} \propto d^{\alpha}, \quad \alpha \geq 1 $$

Assumptions and Applicability Limits

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Isn't this formula universal? When can't it be used?


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  • The training data sufficiently represents the physics of the analysis target.
  • The relationship between input parameters and output is smooth (if discontinuities exist, domain decomposition is necessary).
  • Reducing computational cost is the main purpose; conventional solvers should be used in conjunction for final verification requiring high accuracy.
  • If the quality of training data (mesh-converged, V&V completed) is insufficient, model reliability decreases.

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Ah, I see! So that's how the mechanism of training data representing the analysis target works.


Dimensionless Parameters and Dominant Scales

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Teacher, please tell me about "Dimensionless Parameters and Dominant Scales"!


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Understanding the dimensionless parameters governing the physical phenomenon under analysis forms the basis for appropriate model selection and parameter setting.


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  • Peclet Number Pe: Relative importance of convection and diffusion. For Pe >> 1, convection dominates (stabilization techniques are needed).
  • Reynolds Number Re: Ratio of inertial forces to viscous forces. A fundamental parameter for fluid problems.
  • Biot Number Bi: Ratio of internal conduction to surface convection. For Bi < 0.1, the lumped capacitance method is applicable.
  • Courant Number CFL: Indicator of numerical stability. For explicit methods, CFL ≤ 1 is required.

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Ah, I see! So that's how the mechanism of the physical phenomenon under analysis works.



Verification via Dimensional Analysis

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Please tell me about "Verification via Dimensional Analysis"!


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For order-of-magnitude estimation of analysis results, dimensional analysis based on Buckingham's Π theorem is effective. Using characteristic length $L$, characteristic velocity $U$, and characteristic time $T = L/U$, the order of each physical quantity is estimated beforehand to confirm the validity of the analysis results.


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I see. So if the physical phenomenon under analysis is understood, then it's basically okay to start?


Classification of Boundary Conditions and Mathematical Characteristics

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I've heard that if you get the boundary conditions wrong, everything fails...


TypeMathematical ExpressionPhysical MeaningExample
Dirichlet Condition$u = u_0$ on $\Gamma_D$Specification of variable valueFixed wall, specified temperature
Neumann Condition$\partial u/\partial n = g$ on $\Gamma_N$Specification of gradient (flux)Heat flux, force
Robin Condition$\alpha u + \beta \partial u/\partial n = h$Linear combination of variable and gradientConvective heat transfer
Periodic Boundary Condition$u(x) = u(x+L)$Spatial periodicityUnit cell analysis
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Choosing appropriate boundary conditions is directly linked to solution uniqueness and physical validity. Insufficient boundary conditions lead to an ill-posed problem, while excessive boundary conditions create contradictions.



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I've grasped the overall picture of PINN structural analysis! I'll try to be mindful of it in my practical work from tomorrow.


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Yeah, you're doing great! Actually getting your hands dirty is the best way to learn. If you don't understand something, feel free to ask anytime.


Coffee Break Casual Talk

Elasticity and PINN—Imposing Equilibrium Equations on Neural Networks

In applying PINN to structural analysis, Navier's equilibrium equations (div σ + f = 0) and constitutive laws (σ = C:ε) are incorporated into the loss function. What's particularly interesting is that by also adding the strain compatibility condition (Saint-Venant's compatibility equations) to the loss, consistency can be ensured not only for the displacement field but also for the stress-strain field. Unlike FEM, where stress is obtained from integration within elements as a post-process, PINN can learn the stress field directly as a network output, naturally ensuring spatial continuity of stress.

Physical Meaning of Each Term
  • Time Variation Term of Conserved Quantity: Represents the rate of change over time of the physical quantity in question. Becomes zero for steady-state problems. 【Image】When filling a bathtub with hot water, the water level rises over time—this "rate of change per time" is the time variation term. The state where the valve is closed and the water level is constant is "steady," and the time variation term is zero.
  • Flux Term (Flow Term): Describes the spatial transport/diffusion of a physical quantity. Broadly classified into convection and diffusion. 【Image】Convection is like "a river's current carrying a boat," where something is carried along by the flow. Diffusion is like "ink naturally spreading in still water," where something moves due to concentration differences. The competition between these two transport mechanisms governs many physical phenomena.
  • Source Term (Generation/Destruction Term): Represents the local generation or destruction of a physical quantity, such as external forces or reaction terms. 【Image】Turning on a heater in a room "generates" thermal energy at that location. When fuel is consumed in a chemical reaction, mass is "destroyed." A term representing physical quantities injected into the system from the outside.
Assumptions and Applicability Limits
  • The continuum assumption holds for the spatial scale.
  • The constitutive laws of materials/fluids (stress-strain relation, Newtonian fluid law, etc.) are within the applicable range.
  • Boundary conditions are physically valid and mathematically well-defined.
Dimensional Analysis and Unit Systems
VariableSI UnitNotes / Conversion Memo
Characteristic Length $L$mMust match the unit system of the CAD model.
Characteristic Time $t$sFor transient analysis, time step should consider CFL condition and physical time constants.

Numerical Methods and Implementation

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Explains numerical methods and algorithms for implementing PINN structural analysis.


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Wait, wait, "for implementing structural analysis" means it can be used in cases like this too?


Discretization and Calculation Procedure

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How do you actually solve this equation on a computer?


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Normalization/standardization of input features is important as data preprocessing. Since CAE data have vastly different scales for each physical quantity, appropriate selection of Min-Max normalization or Z-score normalization is necessary. In selecting learning algorithms, appropriate methods should be chosen according to data volume, dimensionality, and degree of nonlinearity.



Implementation Considerations

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What is the most important thing to be careful about when using PINN structural analysis in practical work?


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Implementation leveraging the Python ecosystem (scikit-learn, PyTorch, TensorFlow) is common. Keys to implementation are learning acceleration via GPU parallelization, automatic hyperparameter tuning, and preventing overfitting via cross-validation. Using the HDF5 format is recommended for efficient I/O processing of large-scale CAE data.



Verification Methods

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Teacher, please tell me about "Verification Methods"!


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It's important to use k-fold cross-validation, Leave-One-Out method, and holdout method appropriately according to purpose, and to evaluate prediction performance comprehensively using coefficient of determination R², RMSE, MAE, and maximum error.


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Now I understand what my senior meant when they said, "At least do cross-validation properly."


Code Quality and Reproducibility

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What is the most important thing to be careful about when using PINN structural analysis in practical work?


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Ensure code quality and experiment reproducibility by introducing version control (Git), automated testing (pytest), and CI/CD pipelines. Strictly enforce dependency library version pinning (requirements.txt) to facilitate reconstruction of the computational environment. Fixing random seeds to ensure result reproducibility is also an important implementation practice.


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Ah, I see! So that's how the mechanism of version control works.


Implementation Algorithm Details

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I want to know a bit more about what's happening behind the scenes of the calculation!



Neural Network

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構造解析流体解析V&V・品質保証
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