arXiv subjects

Mostafa Faghih Shojaei

Publications and source records attributed to Mostafa Faghih Shojaei.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

AI University: An LLM-Powered Learning Assistant for Engineering---A Finite Element Method Case Study

We introduce AI University (AI-U), a flexible framework for AI-driven course content delivery that adapts to a course's instructional style. AI-U combines a fine-tuned large language model (LLM) with retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) and a reasoning synthesis model to generate style-aligned responses from lecture videos, notes, and textbooks. Using a graduate-level finite-element-method (FEM) course as a case study, we present a pipeline to synthesize course-grounded training data, fine-tune an open-source LLM with Low-Rank Adaptation (LoRA), and apply RAG-based synthesis. Our evaluation---combining cosine similarity, LLM-based assessment, expert review, and user studies---shows improved alignment with course materials relative to the base model. We have also developed a prototype web application, available at https://my-ai-university.com, that enhances AI-generated responses with references to relevant sections of the course material and clickable links to time-stamped video lectures. Our expert model is found to be higher scoring by a quantitative measure on 86% of test cases. An LLM judge also preferred our expert model to its base model under both evaluation prompts. Human evaluation by advanced users showed a preference for our expert model approximately twice as often as for the base model. The FEM course instructor found our expert model to achieve better alignment with class-specific content than a recent closed-weight model when both were combined with the reasoning synthesis model. AI-U offers a practical approach to developing course-specific learning assistants using fine-tuned and retrieval-augmented LLMs. By presenting our framework in an FEM class---central to training PhD and master's students in engineering science---we offer a template with potential for extension across STEM fields.

cs.CY↗

arXiv2024

A continuum, computational study of morphogenesis in lithium intermetallic interfaces

The design of solid state batteries with lithium anodes is attracting attention for the prospect of high capacity and improved safety over liquid electrolyte systems. The nature of transport with lithium as the current carrier has as a consequence the accretion or stripping away of the anode with every charge-discharge cycle. While this poses challenges from the growth of protrusions (dendrites) to loss of contact, there lurks an opportunity: Morphogenesis at the anode-electrolyte interface layer can be studied, and may ultimately be controlled as a factor in solid state battery design. The accessible interface morphologies, the dynamic paths to them, and mechanisms to control them expand considerably if lithium alloys are introduced in the anode. The thermodynamics and kinetics of lithium intermetallics present principled approaches for morphogenic interface design. In this communication we adopt a computational approach to such an exploration. With phase field models that are parameterized by a combination of first principles atomistic calculations and experiments, we present phenomenological studies of two lithium intermetallics: Li-Mg and Li-Zn. An array of parametric investigations follows on the influence of kinetics, charge-discharge rate, cycling, transport mechanisms and grain structure. The emphasis across these computations is on the dynamic morphogenesis of the intermetallic interface. Specifically, the plating, segregation and smooth distribution of Li, Mg and Zn, the growth and disappearance of voids, evolution of solid electrolyte-anode contact area, and grain boundary structure are investigated. The computational platform is a framework for future studies of morphogenic electrolyte-anode interfaces with more extensive inputs from first principles atomistics and experiments.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2023

Optimal Elastostatic Cloaks

An elastic cloak hides a hole or an inhomogeneity from elastic fields. In this paper, a formulation of the optimal design of elastic cloaks based on the adjoint state method, in which the balance of linear momentum is enforced as a constraint, is presented. The design parameters are the elastic moduli of the cloak, while the objective function is a measure of the distance between the solutions in the physical and in the virtual bodies. Both the elastic medium and the cloak are assumed to be made of isotropic linear elastic materials. In order to guarantee smooth inhomogeneous elastic moduli within the cloak a penalization term is added to the objective function. Mixed finite elements are used for discretizing the weak formulation of the optimization problem. Several numerical examples of optimal elastic cloaks designed for both single and multiple loads are presented. We consider different geometries and loading types and observe that in some cases the optimal elastic cloaks for cloaking holes (cavities) are made of auxetic materials.

cs.CE↗

arXiv2022

Soft and transferable pseudopotentials from multi-objective optimization

Ab initio pseudopotentials are a linchpin of modern molecular and condensed matter electronic structure calculations. In this work, we employ multi-objective optimization to maximize pseudopotential softness while maintaining high accuracy and transferability. To accomplish this, we develop a formulation in which softness and accuracy are simultaneously maximized, with accuracy determined by the ability to reproduce all-electron energy differences between Bravais lattice structures, whereupon the resulting Pareto frontier is scanned for the softest pseudopotential that provides the desired accuracy in established transferability tests. We employ an evolutionary algorithm to solve the multi-objective optimization problem and apply it to generate a comprehensive table of optimized norm-conserving Vanderbilt (ONCV) pseudopotentials (https://github.com/SPARC-X/SPMS-psps). We show that the resulting table is softer than existing tables of comparable accuracy, while more accurate than tables of comparable softness. The potentials thus afford the possibility to speed up calculations in a broad range of applications areas while maintaining high accuracy.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2019

Compatible-Strain Mixed Finite Element Methods for 3D Compressible and Incompressible Nonlinear Elasticity

A new family of mixed finite element methods$-$compatible-strain mixed finite element methods (CSFEMs)$-$are introduced for three-dimensional compressible and incompressible nonlinear elasticity. A Hu-Washizu-type functional is extremized in order to obtain a mixed formulation for nonlinear elasticity. The independent fields of the mixed formulations are the displacement, the displacement gradient, and the first Piola-Kirchhoff stress. A pressure-like field is also introduced in the case of incompressible elasticity. We define the displacement in $H^1$, the displacement gradient in $H(curl)$, the stress in $H(div)$, and the pressure-like field in $L^2$. In this setting, for improving the stability of the proposed finite element methods without compromising their consistency, we consider some stabilizing terms in the Hu-Washizu-type functional that vanish at its critical points. Using a conforming interpolation, the solution and the test spaces are approximated with some piecewise polynomial subspaces of them. In three dimensions, this requires using the Nédélec edge elements for the displacement gradient and the Nédélec face elements for the stress. This approach results in mixed finite element methods that satisfy the Hadamard jump condition and the continuity of traction on all internal faces of the mesh. This, in particular, makes CSFEMs quite efficient for modeling heterogeneous solids. We assess the performance of CSFEMs by solving several numerical examples, and demonstrate their good performance for bending problems, for bodies with complex geometries, and in the near-incompressible and the incompressible regimes. Using CSFEMs, one can capture very large strains and accurately approximate stresses and the pressure field. Moreover, in our numerical examples, we do not observe any numerical artifacts such as checkerboarding of pressure, hourglass instability, or locking.

cs.CE↗