Mask-PINNs: Mitigating Internal Covariate Shift in Physics-Informed Neural Networks

Fuente: arXiv
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Hauptverfasser: Jiang, Feilong, Hou, Xiaonan, Ye, Jianqiao, Xia, Min
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2025
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author Jiang, Feilong
Hou, Xiaonan
Ye, Jianqiao
Xia, Min
author_facet Jiang, Feilong
Hou, Xiaonan
Ye, Jianqiao
Xia, Min
contents Physics-Informed Neural Networks (PINNs) have emerged as a powerful framework for solving partial differential equations (PDEs) by embedding physical laws directly into the loss function. However, as a fundamental optimization issue, internal covariate shift (ICS) hinders the stable and effective training of PINNs by disrupting feature distributions and limiting model expressiveness. Unlike standard deep learning tasks, conventional remedies for ICS -- such as Batch Normalization and Layer Normalization -- are not directly applicable to PINNs, as they distort the physical consistency required for reliable PDE solutions. To address this issue, we propose Mask-PINNs, a novel architecture that introduces a learnable mask function to regulate feature distributions while preserving the underlying physical constraints of PINNs. We provide a theoretical analysis showing that the mask suppresses the expansion of feature representations through a carefully designed modulation mechanism. Empirically, we validate the method on multiple PDE benchmarks -- including convection, wave propagation, and Helmholtz equations -- across diverse activation functions. Our results show consistent improvements in prediction accuracy, convergence stability, and robustness. Furthermore, we demonstrate that Mask-PINNs enable the effective use of wider networks, overcoming a key limitation in existing PINN frameworks.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2505_06331
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Mask-PINNs: Mitigating Internal Covariate Shift in Physics-Informed Neural Networks
Jiang, Feilong
Hou, Xiaonan
Ye, Jianqiao
Xia, Min
Machine Learning
Artificial Intelligence
Physics-Informed Neural Networks (PINNs) have emerged as a powerful framework for solving partial differential equations (PDEs) by embedding physical laws directly into the loss function. However, as a fundamental optimization issue, internal covariate shift (ICS) hinders the stable and effective training of PINNs by disrupting feature distributions and limiting model expressiveness. Unlike standard deep learning tasks, conventional remedies for ICS -- such as Batch Normalization and Layer Normalization -- are not directly applicable to PINNs, as they distort the physical consistency required for reliable PDE solutions. To address this issue, we propose Mask-PINNs, a novel architecture that introduces a learnable mask function to regulate feature distributions while preserving the underlying physical constraints of PINNs. We provide a theoretical analysis showing that the mask suppresses the expansion of feature representations through a carefully designed modulation mechanism. Empirically, we validate the method on multiple PDE benchmarks -- including convection, wave propagation, and Helmholtz equations -- across diverse activation functions. Our results show consistent improvements in prediction accuracy, convergence stability, and robustness. Furthermore, we demonstrate that Mask-PINNs enable the effective use of wider networks, overcoming a key limitation in existing PINN frameworks.
title Mask-PINNs: Mitigating Internal Covariate Shift in Physics-Informed Neural Networks
topic Machine Learning
Artificial Intelligence
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.06331