arXiv subjects

Nicola Parolini

Publications and source records attributed to Nicola Parolini.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Polytopal Discontinuous Galerkin Discretizations of Coupled Non-Newtonian Stokes-Darcy Systems

We propose and analyze a polytopal discontinuous Galerkin method for the numerical approximation of a coupled non-Newtonian Stokes-Darcy system modeling the interaction between a non-Newtonian free-flow fluid and a non-Newtonian flow through a porous medium. Due to its geometric flexibility and arbitrary-order accuracy, the proposed discretization scheme is well-suited to configurations with complex geometries. We provide a complete a-priori analysis that considers shear-dependent and velocity-dependent non-Newtonian viscosity models for the free-flow and porous media regions, respectively. The well-posedness, stability, and error bounds of the method are established in the framework of generalized inf-sup theory. Error estimates are confirmed by numerical results.

math.NA↗

arXiv2026

Physics-constrained identification of graph-based thermal networks for spacecraft digital twins

Reconstructing a thermal model capable of efficiently simulating the behavior of a spacecraft from sparse and localized temperature measurements remains a challenging task. To address this, we introduce a physically-constrained calibration framework for Lumped Parameter Thermal Models (LPTMs), formulated as a trajectory-based inverse problem for graph dynamical systems. The model reconstructs thermal dynamics directly from temperature measurements and known inputs, without relying on a priori parameter values derived from material properties or geometric assumptions. Physical admissibility is enforced at the parameterization level: positivity of nodal coefficients and symmetry of conductive interactions are imposed by construction. This guarantees stable dynamics and restricts the identification problem to a physically meaningful parameter space, improving conditioning without the need of additional regularization. The identification problem is addressed through trajectory matching, ensuring stable rollout over extended time horizons. The methodology is validated on synthetic datasets generated from high-fidelity finite element simulations under progressively complex forcing conditions. The calibrated LPTMs accurately reproduce long-term temperature evolution and exhibit robustness to measurement noise. The proposed framework provides a systematic approach to the calibration of reduced-order thermal models by combining physical structure with data-driven identification. The numerical results show a favorable balance between accuracy and computational efficiency, making the models suitable for integration in spacecraft thermal Digital Twin applications.

math.NA↗

arXiv2026

A Volume of Fluid Immersed Boundary Method for Industrial Polymer Mixing

This work develops advanced numerical methods for free-surface simulations of polymer mixing processes, integrating a Volume of Fluid (VOF) interface-capturing approach with a non-conforming Immersed Boundary (IB) method to model two-phase flows of highly viscous polymer melts and air within partially filled rotating mixing devices, implemented within the Finite Volume OpenFOAM library. To overcome severe numerical instabilities arising from the strong viscosity contrast between polymer melts and air, a block-coupled scheme providing fully implicit viscous diffusion treatment is integrated into the VOF-IB framework, relaxing time-step stability constraints and substantially reducing computational cost with respect to standard segregated solvers. The resulting BC-VOF-IB solver is applied to industrially relevant geometries of single- and twin-screw extruders, yielding physically consistent predictions of velocity and pressure fields under partial filling conditions. While further developments, most notably the inclusion of thermal effects, remain necessary, the proposed framework represents a meaningful step toward bridging academic CFD research and the practical demands of industrial polymer processing.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2026

A hybrid reduced-order and high-fidelity discontinuous Galerkin Spectral Element framework for large-scale PMUT array simulations

Piezoelectric Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducers (PMUTs) are essential for next-generation ultrasonic sensing and imaging due to their bidirectional electromechanical behavior, compact design, and compatibility with low-voltage electronics. As PMUT arrays grow in size and complexity, efficiently modeling their coupled electromechanical-acoustic behavior becomes increasingly challenging. This work presents a novel computational framework that combines model order reduction with a Discontinuous Galerkin Spectral Element Method (DGSEM) paradigm to simulate large PMUT arrays. Each PMUT's mechanical behavior is represented using a reduced set of vibration modes, which are coupled to an acoustic domain model to describe the full array. To further improve efficiency, a secondary acoustic domain is connected via DG interfaces, enabling non-conforming mesh refinement, with variable approximation order, and accurate wave propagation. The framework is implemented in the SPectral Elements in Elastodynamics with Discontinuous Galerkin (SPEED) software, an open-source, parallelized platform leveraging domain decomposition, high-order polynomials, METIS graph partitioning, and MPI for scalable performance. The proposed methodology addresses key challenges in meshing, supporting high-fidelity simulations for both PMUT transmission and reception phases. Numerical results demonstrate the framework's accuracy, scalability, and efficiency for large PMUT array simulations.

math.NA↗

arXiv2025

A High-Order Spectral Element Solver for Steady-State Free Surface Flows

We present a spectral element solver for the steady incompressible Navier-Stokes equations subject to a free surface. Utilizing the kinematic behaviour of the free surface boundary, an iterative pseudo-time procedure is proposed to determine the a priori unknown free surface profile. The numerical model is implemented in the open-source finite element framework Firedrake, which enables the use of a high-order polynomial basis on unstructured meshes through weak formulations. Additionally, the curvature of the free surface and submerged bodies is incorporated through curvilinear elements obtained via transfinite linear blending, which conserves the high-order convergent properties of the overall scheme. The model is applied to several benchmark cases in two spatial dimensions. Initially, it addresses fixed-domain problems, including the lid-driven cavity flow and flows around bodies such as a cylinder and a NACA airfoil. Subsequently, with the presence of a free surface, it is extended to determine the flow around a bathymetry bump and a submerged NACA airfoil. The results confirm the high-order accuracy of the model through convergence studies and demonstrate a substantial speed-up over low-order numerical schemes.

math.NA↗

arXiv2025

Learning cardiac activation and repolarization times with operator learning

Solving partial or ordinary differential equation models in cardiac electrophysiology is a computationally demanding task, particularly when high-resolution meshes are required to capture the complex dynamics of the heart. Moreover, in clinical applications, it is essential to employ computational tools that provide only relevant information, ensuring clarity and ease of interpretation. In this work, we exploit two recently proposed operator learning approaches, namely Fourier Neural Operators (FNO) and Kernel Operator Learning (KOL), to learn the operator mapping the applied stimulus in the physical domain into the activation and repolarization time distributions. These data-driven methods are evaluated on synthetic 2D and 3D domains, as well as on a physiologically realistic left ventricle geometry. Notably, while the learned map between the applied current and activation time has its modelling counterpart in the Eikonal model, no equivalent partial differential equation (PDE) model is known for the map between the applied current and repolarization time. Our results demonstrate that both FNO and KOL approaches are robust to hyperparameter choices and computationally efficient compared to traditional PDE-based Monodomain models. These findings highlight the potential use of these surrogate operators to accelerate cardiac simulations and facilitate their clinical integration.

math.NA↗

arXiv2025

SEIHRDV: a multi-age multi-group epidemiological model and its validation on the COVID-19 epidemics in Italy

We propose a novel epidemiological model, referred to as SEIHRDV, for the numerical simulation of the COVID-19 epidemic, which we validate using data from Italy starting in September 2020. SEIHRDV features the following compartments: Susceptible (S), Exposed (E), Infectious (I), Healing (H), Recovered (R), Deceased (D) and Vaccinated (V). The model is age-stratified, as it considers the population split into 15 age groups. Moreover, it takes into account 7 different contexts of exposition to the infection (family, home, school, work, transport, leisure, other contexts), which impact on the transmission mechanism. Thanks to these features, the model can address the analysis of the epidemics and the efficacy of non-pharmaceutical interventions, as well as possible vaccination strategies and the introduction of the Green Pass, a containment measure introduced in Italy in 2021. By leveraging on the SEIHRDV model, we successfully analyzed epidemic trends during the COVID-19 outbreak from September 2020 to July 2021. The model proved instrumental in conducting comprehensive what-if studies and scenario analyses tailored to Italy and its regions. Furthermore, SEIHRDV facilitated accurate forecasting of the future potential trajectory of the epidemic, providing critical information for informed decision making and public health strategies.

q-bio.PE↗

arXiv2024

A model learning framework for inferring the dynamics of transmission rate depending on exogenous variables for epidemic forecasts

In this work, we aim to formalize a novel scientific machine learning framework to reconstruct the hidden dynamics of the transmission rate, whose inaccurate extrapolation can significantly impair the quality of the epidemic forecasts, by incorporating the influence of exogenous variables (such as environmental conditions and strain-specific characteristics). We propose an hybrid model that blends a data-driven layer with a physics-based one. The data-driven layer is based on a neural ordinary differential equation that learns the dynamics of the transmission rate, conditioned on the meteorological data and wave-specific latent parameters. The physics-based layer, instead, consists of a standard SEIR compartmental model, wherein the transmission rate represents an input. The learning strategy follows an end-to-end approach: the loss function quantifies the mismatch between the actual numbers of infections and its numerical prediction obtained from the SEIR model incorporating as an input the transmission rate predicted by the neural ordinary differential equation. We validate this original approach using both a synthetic test case and a realistic test case based on meteorological data (temperature and humidity) and influenza data from Italy between 2010 and 2020. In both scenarios, we achieve low generalization error on the test set and observe strong alignment between the reconstructed model and established findings on the influence of meteorological factors on epidemic spread. Finally, we implement a data assimilation strategy to adapt the neural equation to the specific characteristics of an epidemic wave under investigation, and we conduct sensitivity tests on the network hyperparameters.

q-bio.QM↗

arXiv2024

A geometry aware arbitrary order collocation Boundary Element Method solver for the potential flow past three dimensional lifting surfaces

This work presents a numerical model for the simulation of potential flow past three dimensional lifting surfaces. The solver is based on the collocation Boundary Element Method, combined with Galerkin variational formulation of the nonlinear Kutta condition imposed at the trailing edge. A similar Galerkin variational formulation is also used for the computation of the fluid velocity at the wake collocation points, required by the relaxation algorithm which aligns the wake with the local flow. The use of such a technique, typically associated with the Finite Element Method, allows in fact for the evaluation of the solution derivatives in a way that is independent of the local grid topology. As a result of this choice, combined with the direct interface with CAD surfaces, the solver is able to use arbitrary order Lagrangian elements on automatically refined grids. Numerical results on a rectangular wing with NACA 0012 airfoil sections are presented to compare the accuracy improvements obtained by grid spatial refinement or by discretization degree increase. Finally, numerical results on rectangular and swept wings with NACA 0012 airfoil section confirm that the model is able to reproduce experimental data with good accuracy.

math.NA↗

arXiv2024

A posteriori error analysis for a coupled Stokes-poroelastic system with multiple compartments

The discretization of fluid-poromechanics systems is typically highly demanding in terms of computational effort. This is particularly true for models of multiphysics flows in the brain, due to the geometrical complexity of the cerebral anatomy - requiring a very fine computational mesh for finite element discretization - and to the high number of variables involved. Indeed, this kind of problems can be modeled by a coupled system encompassing the Stokes equations for the cerebrospinal fluid in the brain ventricles and Multiple-network Poro-Elasticity (MPE) equations describing the brain tissue, the interstitial fluid, and the blood vascular networks at different space scales. The present work aims to rigorously derive a posteriori error estimates for the coupled Stokes-MPE problem, as a first step towards the design of adaptive refinement strategies or reduced order models to decrease the computational demand of the problem. Through numerical experiments, we verify the reliability and optimal efficiency of the proposed a posteriori estimator and identify the role of the different solution variables in its composition.

math.NA↗

arXiv2024

Learning epidemic trajectories through Kernel Operator Learning: from modelling to optimal control

Since infectious pathogens start spreading into a susceptible population, mathematical models can provide policy makers with reliable forecasts and scenario analyses, which can be concretely implemented or solely consulted. In these complex epidemiological scenarios, machine learning architectures can play an important role, since they directly reconstruct data-driven models circumventing the specific modelling choices and the parameter calibration, typical of classical compartmental models. In this work, we discuss the efficacy of Kernel Operator Learning (KOL) to reconstruct population dynamics during epidemic outbreaks, where the transmission rate is ruled by an input strategy. In particular, we introduce two surrogate models, named KOL-m and KOL-$\partial$, which reconstruct in two different ways the evolution of the epidemics. Moreover, we evaluate the generalization performances of the two approaches with different kernels, including the Neural Tangent Kernels, and compare them with a classical neural network model learning method. Employing synthetic but semi-realistic data, we show how the two introduced approaches are suitable for realizing fast and robust forecasts and scenario analyses, and how these approaches are competitive for determining optimal intervention strategies with respect to specific performance measures.

math.NA↗

arXiv2024

Structure-preserving neural networks in data-driven rheological models

In this paper we address the importance and the impact of employing structure preserving neural networks as surrogate of the analytical physics-based models typically employed to describe the rheology of non-Newtonian fluids in Stokes flows. In particular, we propose and test on real-world scenarios a novel strategy to build data-driven rheological models based on the use of Input-Output Convex Neural Networks (ICNNs), a special class of feedforward neural network scalar valued functions that are convex with respect to their inputs. Moreover, we show, through a detailed campaign of numerical experiments, that the use of ICNNs is of paramount importance to guarantee the well-posedness of the associated non-Newtonian Stokes differential problem. Finally, building upon a novel perturbation result for non-Newtonian Stokes problems, we study the impact of our data-driven ICNN based rheological model on the accuracy of the finite element approximation.

math.NA↗

arXiv2023

A hybrid finite volume -- spectral element method for aeroacoustic problems

We propose a hybrid Finite Volume (FV) - Spectral Element Method (SEM) for modelling aeroacoustic phenomena based on the Lighthill's acoustic analogy. First the fluid solution is computed employing a FV method. Then, the sound source term is projected onto the acoustic grid and the inhomogeneous Lighthill's wave equation is solved employing the SEM. The novel projection method computes offline the intersections between the acoustic and the fluid grids in order to preserve the accuracy. The proposed intersection algorithm is shown to be robust, scalable and able to efficiently compute the geometric intersection of arbitrary polyhedral elements. We then analyse the properties of the projection error, showing that if the fluid grid is fine enough we are able to exploit the accuracy of the acoustic solver and we numerically assess the obtained theoretical estimates. Finally, we address two relevant aeroacoustic benchmarks, namely the corotating vortex pair and the noise induced by a laminar flow around a squared cylinder, to demonstrate in practice the effectiveness of the projection method when dealing with high order solvers. The flow computations are performed with OpenFOAM [46], an open-source finite volume library, while the inhomogeneous Lighthill's wave equation is solved with SPEED [31], an opensource spectral element library.

math.NA↗

arXiv2023

Level set-fitted polytopal meshes with application to structural topology optimization

We propose a method to modify a polygonal mesh in order to fit the zero-isoline of a level set function by extending a standard body-fitted strategy to a tessellation with arbitrarily-shaped elements. The novel level set-fitted approach, in combination with a Discontinuous Galerkin finite element approximation, provides an ideal setting to model physical problems characterized by embedded or evolving complex geometries, since it allows skipping any mesh post-processing in terms of grid quality. The proposed methodology is firstly assessed on the linear elasticity equation, by verifying the approximation capability of the level set-fitted approach when dealing with configurations with heterogeneous material properties. Successively, we combine the level set-fitted methodology with a minimum compliance topology optimization technique, in order to deliver optimized layouts exhibiting crisp boundaries and reliable mechanical performances. An extensive numerical test campaign confirms the effectiveness of the proposed method.

cs.CE↗

arXiv2023

Polytopal discontinuous Galerkin discretization of brain multiphysics flow dynamics

A comprehensive mathematical model of the multiphysics flow of blood and Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) in the brain can be expressed as the coupling of a poromechanics system and Stokes' equations: the first describes fluids filtration through the cerebral tissue and the tissue's elastic response, while the latter models the flow of the CSF in the brain ventricles. This model describes the functioning of the brain's waste clearance mechanism, which has been recently discovered to play an essential role in the progress of neurodegenerative diseases. To model the interactions between different scales in the porous medium, we propose a physically consistent coupling between Multi-compartment Poroelasticity (MPE) equations and Stokes' equations. In this work, we introduce a numerical scheme for the discretization of such coupled MPE-Stokes system, employing a high-order discontinuous Galerkin method on polytopal grids to efficiently account for the geometric complexity of the domain. We analyze the stability and convergence of the space semidiscretized formulation, we prove a-priori error estimates, and we present a temporal discretization based on a combination of Newmark's $β$-method for the elastic wave equation and the $θ$-method for the other equations of the model. Numerical simulations carried out on test cases with manufactured solutions validate the theoretical error estimates. We also present numerical results on a two-dimensional slice of a patient-specific brain geometry reconstructed from diagnostic images, to test in practice the advantages of the proposed approach.

math.NA↗

arXiv2023

An efficient and accurate implicit DG solver for the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations

We propose an efficient, accurate and robust implicit solver for the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations, based on a DG spatial discretization and on the TR-BDF2 method for time discretization. The effectiveness of the method is demonstrated in a number of classical benchmarks, which highlight its superior efficiency with respect to other widely used implicit approaches. The parallel implementation of the proposed method in the framework of the deal.II software package allows for accurate and efficient adaptive simulations in complex geometries, which makes the proposed solver attractive for large scale industrial applications.

math.NA↗

arXiv2023

AeroSPEED: a high order acoustic solver for aeroacoustic applications

We propose AeroSPEED, a solver based on the Spectral Element Method (SEM) that solves the aeroacoustic Lighthill's wave equation. First, the fluid solution is computed employing a cell centered Finite Volume method. Then, AeroSPEED maps the sound source coming from the flow solution onto the acoustic grid, where finally the Lighthill's wave equation is solved. An ad-hoc projection strategy is adopted to apply the flow source term in the acoustic solver. A model problem with a manufactured solution and the Noise Box test case are used as benchmark for the acoustic problem. We studied the noise generated by the complex flow field around tandem cylinders as a relevant aeroacoustic application. AeroSPEED is an effective and accurate solver for both acoustics and aeroacoustic problems.

math.NA↗

arXiv2022

Optimized numerical solutions of SIRDVW multiage model controlling SARS-CoV-2 vaccine roll out: an application to the Italian scenario

In the context of SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, mathematical modelling has played a fundamental role for making forecasts, simulating scenarios and evaluating the impact of preventive political, social and pharmaceutical measures. Optimal control theory can be a useful tool based on solid mathematical bases to plan the vaccination campaign in the direction of eradicating the pandemic as fast as possible. The aim of this work is to explore the optimal prioritisation order for planning vaccination campaigns able to achieve specific goals, as the reduction of the amount of infected, deceased and hospitalized in a fixed time frame, among age classes. For this purpose, we introduce an age stratified SIR-like epidemic compartmental model settled in an abstract framework for modelling two-doses vaccination campaigns and conceived with the description of COVID19 disease. Overall, we formalize an optimal control framework adopting the model as state problem by acting on the administrations of vaccine-doses. An extensive campaign of numerical tests, featured in the Italian scenario and calibrated on available data from Dipartimento di Protezione Civile Italiana, shows that the presented framework can be a valuable tool to support the planning of vaccination campaigns minimizing specific goals.

math.OC↗