Engineering topics

Chang, Chih-Wei

Publications and source records attributed to Chang, Chih-Wei.

5 records

DOE OSTI2020

Reynolds-Averaged Turbulence Modeling Using Deep Learning with Local Flow Features: An Empirical Approach

Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stoke (RANS) models offer an alternative avenue in predicting flow characteristics when the corresponding experiments are difficult to achieve due to geometry complexity, limited budget, or knowledge. RANS models require the knowledge of subgrid scale physics to solve conservation equations for mass, energy, and momentum. Mechanistic turbulence models, such as k-epsilon, are generally evaluated and calibrated for specific flow conditions with various degrees of uncertainty. These models have limited capability to assimilate a substantial amount of data due to model form constraints. Meanwhile, deep learning (DL) has been proven to be universal approximators with the potential to assimilate available, relevant, and adequately evaluated data. Moreover, deep neural networks (DNNs) can create surrogate models without knowing function forms. Such a data-driven approach can be used in updating fluid models based on observations as opposed to hard-wiring models with precalibrated correlations. The paper presents progress in applying DNNs to model Reynolds stress using two machine learning (ML) frameworks. A novel flow feature coverage mapping is proposed to quantify the physics coverage of DL-based closures. It can be used to examine the sufficiency of training data and input flow features for data-driven turbulence models. The case of a backward-facing step is formulated to demonstrate that not only can DNNs discover underlying correlation behind fluid data but also they can be implemented in RANS to predict flow characteristics without numerical stability issues. Finally, the presented research is a crucial stepping-stone toward the data-driven turbulence modeling, which potentially benefits the design of data-driven experiments that can be used to validate fluid models with ML-based fluid closures.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2018

Classification of machine learning frameworks for data-driven thermal fluid models

Thermal fluid processes are inherently multi-physics and multi-scale, involving mass-momentum-energy transport phenomena at multiple scales. Thermal fluid simulation (TFS) is based on solving conservative equations, for which – except for “first-principles” direct numerical simulation – closure relations (CRs) are required to provide microscopic interactions or so-called sub-grid-scale physics. In practice, TFS is realized through reduced-order modeling, and its CRs as low-fidelity models can be informed by observations and data from relevant and adequately evaluated experiments and high-fidelity simulations. This paper is focused on data-driven TFS models, specifically on their development using machine learning (ML). Five ML frameworks are introduced including physics-separated ML (PSML or Type I ML), physics-evaluated ML (PEML or Type II ML), physics-integrated ML (PIML or Type III ML), physics-recovered (PRML or Type IV ML), and physics-discovered ML (PDML or Type V ML). The frameworks vary in their performance for different applications depending on the level of knowledge of governing physics, source, type, amount and quality of available data for training. Notably, outlined for the first time in this paper, Type III models present stringent requirements on modeling, substantial computing resources for training, and high potential in extracting value from “big data” in thermal fluid research. Here the current paper demonstrates and investigates ML frameworks in three examples. First, we utilize the heat diffusion equation with a nonlinear conductivity model formulated by convolutional neural networks (CNNs) and feedforward neural networks (FNNs) to illustrate the applications of Type I, Type II, Type III, and Type V ML. The results indicate a preference for Type II ML under deficient data support. Type III ML can effectively utilize field data, potentially generating more robust predictions than Type I and Type II ML. CNN-based closures exhibit more predictability than FNN-based closures, but CNN-based closures require more training data to obtain accurate predictions. Second, we illustrate how to employ Type I ML and Type II ML frameworks for data-driven turbulence modeling using reference works. Third, we demonstrate Type I ML by building a deep FNN-based slip closure for two-phase flow modeling. The results show that deep FNN-based closures exhibit a bounded error in the prediction domain.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2016

A Study of Physics-Informed Deep Learning for System Fluid Dynamics Closures

The sub-grid-scale (SGS) physics models, or so-called closure relations (CR), are essential in thermal-fluid modeling and simulation codes, ranging from large-eddy simulation to system-level thermo-fluid dynamic problems. While details vary, all thermo-fluid codes solve coupled mass-momentum-energy conservation partial differential equations (PDE). Traditionally, the analytical form of closure models has to be known, and then we calibrate the model using data from a set of applicable experiments. Characteristically, it takes long effort to gain insights and mechanistic understanding needed for developing closure models. Such a model is a compact form of data. The long time required for new model development limits the pace of model application while dealing with new geometries, new coolants or system conditions, particularly in newly designed systems. Alternative to mechanistic and semi-analytical models, it is possible to discover the pattern of closure relations by applying the modern machine learning methods to the body of relevant experimental data. Deep learning (DL) is a relatively new branch in the machine learning family, and a major breakthrough has been achieved since Hinton introduces a fast algorithm to efficiently train a feed-forward neural network (NN) with multilayer perceptrons. Generally, any NN with more than two layers is considered as deep learning, and it contains a large number of hyper-parameters to achieve pattern recognition or regression for complex datasets. Hornik shows that multilayer NN is compatible with universal approximation theorem. There is no constraint for a multilayer NN to capture the properties of any measurable information. This capability makes DL attractive for closure models in a system thermal-hydraulic code. As system geometry and/or operating conditions change, new physical experiments (increasingly sophisticated) are conducted to support evaluation and revision of closure models. Such a so-called data-driven modeling relaxes the structural form of system codes to directly assimilate data instead of hard-wiring the model to pre-calibrated correlations. The objective of this research is to enable cost-effective development of a DL-based closure that reflects the data. The previous work on applying machine learning techniques to fluid dynamics focused on statistical learning with basic NN from direct numerical simulations (DNS) dataset. In the present work, we show that DL-based closure models can cause the fluid calculation to diverge if multilayer NN is used. To address the issue, we investigate conditions by which the DL-based closure models work compatibly, stably, and effectively with PDE-constrained forward prediction problems. Optimally meeting the compatibility conditions constitutes a physics-informed deep learning (PIDL) strategy. We refer to this process as PDE-constrained machine learning or PDE-ML. To develop the technical basis for PDE-ML using DL-based fluid dynamics closure, numerical experiments are performed for manufactured problems of increasing complexity. (authors)

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

DOE OSTI2015

Development of Hexagonal Nodal Diffusion Codes at National Tsing-Hua University

The development of nodal methods for hexagonal geometry reactors at National Tsing-Hua University is reviewed. In particular, the development of the Hybrid Nodal Green's Function Method in hexagonal geometry is re-cast into the Direct-Coarse Mesh Finite Difference Method for efficient implementation with residual solution techniques such as GMRES. The method is further modified to include a rigorous treatment of non-physical terms that arise from the transverse integration procedure. The treatment follows the conformal mapping approach first developed by Y-A Chao and his co-workers. The overall development is implemented into a code written in C++ and tested on a number of well known benchmarks. The new code is shown to be very highly accurate while extremely efficient computationally.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

DOE OSTI2014

Tunable thermal link

Disclosed is a device whereby the thermal conductance of a multiwalled nanostructure such as a multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) can be controllably and reversibly tuned by sliding one or more outer shells with respect to the inner core. As one example, the thermal conductance of an MWCNT dropped to 15% of the original value after extending the length of the MWCNT by 190 nm. The thermal conductivity returned when the tube was contracted. The device may comprise numbers of multiwalled nanotubes or other graphitic layers connected to a heat source and a heat drain and various means for tuning the overall thermal conductance for applications in structure heat management, heat flow in nanoscale or microscale devices and thermal logic devices.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗