Neural-operator element method: Efficient and scalable finite element method enabled by reusable neural operators

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ouyang, Weihang, Shin, Yeonjong, Liu, Si-Wei, Lu, Lu
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866916806534365184
author Ouyang, Weihang
Shin, Yeonjong
Liu, Si-Wei
Lu, Lu
author_facet Ouyang, Weihang
Shin, Yeonjong
Liu, Si-Wei
Lu, Lu
contents The finite element method (FEM) is a well-established numerical method for solving partial differential equations (PDEs). However, its mesh-based nature gives rise to substantial computational costs, especially for complex multiscale simulations. Emerging machine learning-based methods (e.g., neural operators) provide data-driven solutions to PDEs, yet they present challenges, including high training cost and low model reusability. Here, we propose the neural-operator element method (NOEM) by synergistically combining FEM with operator learning to address these challenges. NOEM leverages neural operators (NOs) to simulate subdomains where a large number of finite elements would be required if FEM was used. In each subdomain, an NO is used to build a single element, namely a neural-operator element (NOE). NOEs are then integrated with standard finite elements to represent the entire solution through the variational framework. Thereby, NOEM does not necessitate dense meshing and offers efficient simulations. We demonstrate the accuracy, efficiency, and scalability of NOEM by performing extensive and systematic numerical experiments, including nonlinear PDEs, multiscale problems, PDEs on complex geometries, and discontinuous coefficient fields.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2506_18427
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Neural-operator element method: Efficient and scalable finite element method enabled by reusable neural operators
Ouyang, Weihang
Shin, Yeonjong
Liu, Si-Wei
Lu, Lu
Computational Engineering, Finance, and Science
The finite element method (FEM) is a well-established numerical method for solving partial differential equations (PDEs). However, its mesh-based nature gives rise to substantial computational costs, especially for complex multiscale simulations. Emerging machine learning-based methods (e.g., neural operators) provide data-driven solutions to PDEs, yet they present challenges, including high training cost and low model reusability. Here, we propose the neural-operator element method (NOEM) by synergistically combining FEM with operator learning to address these challenges. NOEM leverages neural operators (NOs) to simulate subdomains where a large number of finite elements would be required if FEM was used. In each subdomain, an NO is used to build a single element, namely a neural-operator element (NOE). NOEs are then integrated with standard finite elements to represent the entire solution through the variational framework. Thereby, NOEM does not necessitate dense meshing and offers efficient simulations. We demonstrate the accuracy, efficiency, and scalability of NOEM by performing extensive and systematic numerical experiments, including nonlinear PDEs, multiscale problems, PDEs on complex geometries, and discontinuous coefficient fields.
title Neural-operator element method: Efficient and scalable finite element method enabled by reusable neural operators
topic Computational Engineering, Finance, and Science
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.18427