Variational Rank Reduction Autoencoders for Generative Thermal Design

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Tierz, Alicia, Mounayer, Jad, Moya, Beatriz, Chinesta, Francisco
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Tierz, Alicia
Mounayer, Jad
Moya, Beatriz
Chinesta, Francisco
author_facet Tierz, Alicia
Mounayer, Jad
Moya, Beatriz
Chinesta, Francisco
contents Generative thermal design for complex geometries is fundamental in many areas of engineering, yet it faces two main challenges: the high computational cost of high-fidelity simulations and the limitations of conventional generative models. Approaches such as autoencoders (AEs) and variational autoencoders (VAEs) often produce unstructured latent spaces with discontinuities, which restricts their capacity to explore designs and generate physically consistent solutions. To address these limitations, we propose a hybrid framework that combines Variational Rank-Reduction Autoencoders (VRRAEs) with Deep Operator Networks (DeepONets). The VRRAE introduces a truncated SVD within the latent space, leading to continuous, interpretable, and well-structured representations that mitigate posterior collapse and improve geometric reconstruction. The DeepONet then exploits this compact latent encoding in its branch network, together with spatial coordinates in the trunk network, to predict temperature gradients efficiently and accurately. This hybrid approach not only enhances the quality of generated geometries and the accuracy of gradient prediction, but also provides a substantial advantage in inference efficiency compared to traditional numerical solvers. Overall, the study underscores the importance of structured latent representations for operator learning and highlights the potential of combining generative models and operator networks in thermal design and broader engineering applications.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2509_08515
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Variational Rank Reduction Autoencoders for Generative Thermal Design
Tierz, Alicia
Mounayer, Jad
Moya, Beatriz
Chinesta, Francisco
Machine Learning
Artificial Intelligence
Generative thermal design for complex geometries is fundamental in many areas of engineering, yet it faces two main challenges: the high computational cost of high-fidelity simulations and the limitations of conventional generative models. Approaches such as autoencoders (AEs) and variational autoencoders (VAEs) often produce unstructured latent spaces with discontinuities, which restricts their capacity to explore designs and generate physically consistent solutions. To address these limitations, we propose a hybrid framework that combines Variational Rank-Reduction Autoencoders (VRRAEs) with Deep Operator Networks (DeepONets). The VRRAE introduces a truncated SVD within the latent space, leading to continuous, interpretable, and well-structured representations that mitigate posterior collapse and improve geometric reconstruction. The DeepONet then exploits this compact latent encoding in its branch network, together with spatial coordinates in the trunk network, to predict temperature gradients efficiently and accurately. This hybrid approach not only enhances the quality of generated geometries and the accuracy of gradient prediction, but also provides a substantial advantage in inference efficiency compared to traditional numerical solvers. Overall, the study underscores the importance of structured latent representations for operator learning and highlights the potential of combining generative models and operator networks in thermal design and broader engineering applications.
title Variational Rank Reduction Autoencoders for Generative Thermal Design
topic Machine Learning
Artificial Intelligence
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.08515