arXiv subjects

Ricardo Vinuesa

Publications and source records attributed to Ricardo Vinuesa.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2025

SmartFlow: A CFD-solver-agnostic deep reinforcement learning framework for computational fluid dynamics on HPC platforms

Deep reinforcement learning (DRL) is emerging as a powerful tool for fluid-dynamics research, encompassing active flow control, autonomous navigation, turbulence modeling and discovery of novel numerical schemes. We introduce SmartFlow, a CFD-solver-agnostic framework for both single- and multi-agent DRL algorithms that can easily integrate with MPI-parallel CPU and GPU-accelerated solvers. Built on Relexi and SmartSOD2D, SmartFlow uses the SmartSim infrastructure library and our newly developed SmartRedis-MPI library to enable asynchronous, low-latency, in-memory communication between CFD solvers and Python-based DRL algorithms. SmartFlow leverages PyTorch's Stable-Baselines3 for training, which provides a modular, Gym-like environment API. We demonstrate its versatility via three case studies: single-agent synthetic-jet control for drag reduction in a cylinder flow simulated by the high-order FLEXI solver, multi-agent cylinder wake control using the GPU-accelerated spectral-element code SOD2D, and multi-agent wall-model learning for large-eddy simulation with the finite-difference solver CaLES. SmartFlow's CFD-solver-agnostic design and seamless HPC integration is promising to accelerate RL-driven fluid-mechanics studies.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2025

Evaluating Visual Mathematics in Multimodal LLMs: A Multilingual Benchmark Based on the Kangaroo Tests

Multimodal Large Language Models (MLLMs) promise advanced vision language capabilities, yet their effectiveness in visually presented mathematics remains underexplored. This paper analyzes the development and evaluation of MLLMs for mathematical problem solving, focusing on diagrams, multilingual text, and symbolic notation. We then assess several models, including GPT 4o, Pixtral, Qwen VL, Llama 3.2 Vision variants, and Gemini 2.0 Flash in a multilingual Kangaroo style benchmark spanning English, French, Spanish, and Catalan. Our experiments reveal four key findings. First, overall precision remains moderate across geometry, visual algebra, logic, patterns, and combinatorics: no single model excels in every topic. Second, while most models see improved accuracy with questions that do not have images, the gain is often limited; performance for some remains nearly unchanged without visual input, indicating underutilization of diagrammatic information. Third, substantial variation exists across languages and difficulty levels: models frequently handle easier items but struggle with advanced geometry and combinatorial reasoning. Notably, Gemini 2.0 Flash achieves the highest precision on image based tasks, followed by Qwen VL 2.5 72B and GPT 4o, though none approach human level performance. Fourth, a complementary analysis aimed at distinguishing whether models reason or simply recite reveals that Gemini and GPT 4o stand out for their structured reasoning and consistent accuracy. In contrast, Pixtral and Llama exhibit less consistent reasoning, often defaulting to heuristics or randomness when unable to align their outputs with the given answer options.

cs.AI↗

arXiv2025

Easy attention: A simple attention mechanism for temporal predictions with transformers

To improve the robustness of transformer neural networks used for temporal-dynamics prediction of chaotic systems, we propose a novel attention mechanism called easy attention which we demonstrate in time-series reconstruction and prediction. While the standard self attention only makes use of the inner product of queries and keys, it is demonstrated that the keys, queries and softmax are not necessary for obtaining the attention score required to capture long-term dependencies in temporal sequences. Through the singular-value decomposition (SVD) on the softmax attention score, we further observe that self attention compresses the contributions from both queries and keys in the space spanned by the attention score. Therefore, our proposed easy-attention method directly treats the attention scores as learnable parameters. This approach produces excellent results when reconstructing and predicting the temporal dynamics of chaotic systems exhibiting more robustness and less complexity than self attention or the widely-used long short-term memory (LSTM) network. We show the improved performance of the easy-attention method in the Lorenz system, a turbulence shear flow and a model of a nuclear reactor.

cs.LG↗

arXiv2025

Decoding complexity: how machine learning is redefining scientific discovery

As modern scientific instruments generate vast amounts of data and the volume of information in the scientific literature continues to grow, machine learning (ML) has become an essential tool for organising, analysing, and interpreting these complex datasets. This paper explores the transformative role of ML in accelerating breakthroughs across a range of scientific disciplines. By presenting key examples -- such as brain mapping and exoplanet detection -- we demonstrate how ML is reshaping scientific research. We also explore different scenarios where different levels of knowledge of the underlying phenomenon are available, identifying strategies to overcome limitations and unlock the full potential of ML. Despite its advances, the growing reliance on ML poses challenges for research applications and rigorous validation of discoveries. We argue that even with these challenges, ML is poised to disrupt traditional methodologies and advance the boundaries of knowledge by enabling researchers to tackle increasingly complex problems. Thus, the scientific community can move beyond the necessary traditional oversimplifications to embrace the full complexity of natural systems, ultimately paving the way for interdisciplinary breakthroughs and innovative solutions to humanity's most pressing challenges.

cs.LG↗

arXiv2025

Separation control applied to the turbulent flow around a NACA4412 wing section

We carried out high-resolution large-eddy simulations (LESs) to investigate the effects of several separation-control approaches on a NACA4412 wing section with spanwise width of $L_z = 0.6$ at an angle of attack of $AoA=11^{\circ}$ at a Reynolds number of $Re_c = 200,000$ based on chord length $c$ and free-stream velocity $U_{\infty}$. Two control strategies were considered: (1) steady uniform blowing and/or suction on the suction and/or pressure sides, and (2) periodic control on the suction side. A wide range of control configurations were evaluated in terms of aerodynamic efficiency (i.e., lift-to-drag ratio) and separation delay. Uniform blowing and/or suction effectively delayed flow separation, leading to a lift increase of up to $11\%$, but yielded only marginal improvements in aerodynamic efficiency. In contrast, periodic control neither enhanced separation delay nor improved efficiency. A detailed analysis of the interaction between uniform blowing and/or suction and turbulent boundary layers (TBLs) over the wing was performed, including assessments of (1) integral boundary-layer quantities, (2) turbulence statistics, and (3) power-spectral densities. Significant modifications in Reynolds stresses and spectral characteristics were observed. To the authors' best knowledge, this is the first numerical study utilizing high-resolution LESs to provide comprehensive assessments on separation control.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2025

Critical misalignments in climate pledges reveal imbalanced sustainable development pathways

We explore the integration of climate action and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in nationally determined contributions (NDCs), revealing persistent synergies and trade-offs across income groups. While high-income countries emphasize systemic challenges like health (SDG3) and inequality (SDG10), low-income nations prioritize the water-energy-food nexus (SDGs 6-7-12) and natural resource management (SDG15) due to vulnerabilities to climate impacts. Harnessing an innovative artificial intelligence routine, we discuss what these diverging development trajectories imply for the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development in terms of global inequality, the climate and sustainable finance flows and multilateral governance.

physics.soc-ph↗

arXiv2025

Transformer-Based Fault-Tolerant Control for Fixed-Wing UAVs Using Knowledge Distillation and In-Context Adaptation

This study presents a transformer-based approach for fault-tolerant control in fixed-wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), designed to adapt in real time to dynamic changes caused by structural damage or actuator failures. Unlike traditional Flight Control Systems (FCSs) that rely on classical control theory and struggle under severe alterations in dynamics, our method directly maps outer-loop reference values -- altitude, heading, and airspeed -- into control commands using the in-context learning and attention mechanisms of transformers, thus bypassing inner-loop controllers and fault-detection layers. Employing a teacher-student knowledge distillation framework, the proposed approach trains a student agent with partial observations by transferring knowledge from a privileged expert agent with full observability, enabling robust performance across diverse failure scenarios. Experimental results demonstrate that our transformer-based controller outperforms industry-standard FCS and state-of-the-art reinforcement learning (RL) methods, maintaining high tracking accuracy and stability in nominal conditions and extreme failure cases, highlighting its potential for enhancing UAV operational safety and reliability.

cs.RO↗

arXiv2025

Regional climate projections using a deep-learning-based model-ranking and downscaling framework: Application to European climate zones

Accurate regional climate forecast calls for high-resolution downscaling of Global Climate Models (GCMs). This work presents a deep-learning-based multi-model evaluation and downscaling framework ranking 32 Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) models using a Deep Learning-TOPSIS (DL-TOPSIS) mechanism and so refines outputs using advanced deep-learning models. Using nine performance criteria, five Köppen-Geiger climate zones -- Tropical, Arid, Temperate, Continental, and Polar -- are investigated over four seasons. While TaiESM1 and CMCC-CM2-SR5 show notable biases, ranking results show that NorESM2-LM, GISS-E2-1-G, and HadGEM3-GC31-LL outperform other models. Four models contribute to downscaling the top-ranked GCMs to 0.1$^{\circ}$ resolution: Vision Transformer (ViT), Geospatial Spatiotemporal Transformer with Attention and Imbalance-Aware Network (GeoSTANet), CNN-LSTM, and CNN-Long Short-Term Memory (ConvLSTM). Effectively capturing temperature extremes (TXx, TNn), GeoSTANet achieves the highest accuracy (Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) = 1.57$^{\circ}$C, Kling-Gupta Efficiency (KGE) = 0.89, Nash-Sutcliffe Efficiency (NSE) = 0.85, Correlation ($r$) = 0.92), so reducing RMSE by 20% over ConvLSTM. CNN-LSTM and ConvLSTM do well in Continental and Temperate zones; ViT finds fine-scale temperature fluctuations difficult. These results confirm that multi-criteria ranking improves GCM selection for regional climate studies and transformer-based downscaling exceeds conventional deep-learning methods. This framework offers a scalable method to enhance high-resolution climate projections, benefiting impact assessments and adaptation plans.

cs.LG↗

arXiv2025

Deep-reinforcement-learning-based separation control in a two-dimensional airfoil

The aim of this study is to discover new active-flow-control (AFC) techniques for separation mitigation in a two-dimensional NACA 0012 airfoil at a Reynolds number of 3000. To find these AFC strategies, a framework consisting of a deep-reinforcement-learning (DRL) agent has been used to determine the action strategies to apply to the flow. The actions involve blowing and suction through jets at the airfoil surface. The flow is simulated with the numerical code Alya, which is a low-dissipation finite-element code, on a high-performance computing system. Various control strategies obtained through DRL led to 43.9% drag reduction, while others yielded an increase in aerodynamic efficiency of 58.6%. In comparison, periodic-control strategies demonstrated lower energy efficiency while failing to achieve the same level of aerodynamic improvements as the DRL-based approach. These gains have been attained through the implementation of a dynamic, closed-loop, time-dependent, active control mechanism over the airfoil.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2025

Large language models in climate and sustainability policy: limits and opportunities

As multiple crises threaten the sustainability of our societies and pose at risk the planetary boundaries, complex challenges require timely, updated, and usable information. Natural-language processing (NLP) tools enhance and expand data collection and processing and knowledge utilization capabilities to support the definition of an inclusive, sustainable future. In this work, we apply different NLP techniques, tools and approaches to climate and sustainability documents to derive policy-relevant and actionable measures. We focus on general and domain-specific large language models (LLMs) using a combination of static and prompt-based methods. We find that the use of LLMs is successful at processing, classifying and summarizing heterogeneous text-based data. However, we also encounter challenges related to human intervention across different workflow stages and knowledge utilization for policy processes. Our work presents a critical but empirically grounded application of LLMs to complex policy problems and suggests avenues to further expand Artificial Intelligence-powered computational social sciences.

cs.CY↗

arXiv2024

On Deep-Learning-Based Closures for Algebraic Surrogate Models of Turbulent Flows

A deep-learning-based closure model to address energy loss in low-dimensional surrogate models based on proper-orthogonal-decomposition (POD) modes is introduced. Using a transformer-encoder block with easy-attention mechanism, the model predicts the spatial probability density function of fluctuations not captured by the truncated POD modes. The methodology is demonstrated on the wake of the Windsor body at yaw angles of [2.5,5,7.5,10,12.5], with 7.5 as a test case. Key coherent modes are identified by clustering them based on dominant frequency dynamics using Hotelling T2 on the spectral properties of temporal coefficients. These coherent modes account for nearly 60% of the total energy while comprising less than 10% of all modes. A common POD basis is created by concatenating coherent modes from training angles and orthonormalizing the set, reducing the basis vectors from 142 to 90 without losing information. Transformers with different size on the attention layer, (64, 128 and 256), are trained to model the missing fluctuations. Larger attention sizes always improve predictions for the training set, but the transformer with an attention layer of size 256 overshoots the fluctuations predictions in the test set because they have lower intensity than in the training cases. Adding the predicted fluctuations closes the energy gap between the reconstruction and the original flow field, improving predictions for energy, root-mean-square velocity fluctuations, and instantaneous flow fields. The deepest architecture reduces mean energy error from 37% to 12% and decreases the Kullback--Leibler divergence of velocity distributions from KL=0.2 to below KL=0.026.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2024

Multi-agent reinforcement learning for the control of three-dimensional Rayleigh-Bénard convection

Deep reinforcement learning (DRL) has found application in numerous use-cases pertaining to flow control. Multi-agent RL (MARL), a variant of DRL, has shown to be more effective than single-agent RL in controlling flows exhibiting locality and translational invariance. We present, for the first time, an implementation of MARL-based control of three-dimensional Rayleigh-Bénard convection (RBC). Control is executed by modifying the temperature distribution along the bottom wall divided into multiple control segments, each of which acts as an independent agent. Two regimes of RBC are considered at Rayleigh numbers $\mathrm{Ra}=500$ and $750$. Evaluation of the learned control policy reveals a reduction in convection intensity by $23.5\%$ and $8.7\%$ at $\mathrm{Ra}=500$ and $750$, respectively. The MARL controller converts irregularly shaped convective patterns to regular straight rolls with lower convection that resemble flow in a relatively more stable regime. We draw comparisons with proportional control at both $\mathrm{Ra}$ and show that MARL is able to outperform the proportional controller. The learned control strategy is complex, featuring different non-linear segment-wise actuator delays and actuation magnitudes. We also perform successful evaluations on a larger domain than used for training, demonstrating that the invariant property of MARL allows direct transfer of the learnt policy.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2024

Advanced deep-reinforcement-learning methods for flow control: group-invariant and positional-encoding networks improve learning speed and quality

Flow control is key to maximize energy efficiency in a wide range of applications. However, traditional flow-control methods face significant challenges in addressing non-linear systems and high-dimensional data, limiting their application in realistic energy systems. This study advances deep-reinforcement-learning (DRL) methods for flow control, particularly focusing on integrating group-invariant networks and positional encoding into DRL architectures. Our methods leverage multi-agent reinforcement learning (MARL) to exploit policy invariance in space, in combination with group-invariant networks to ensure local symmetry invariance. Additionally, a positional encoding inspired by the transformer architecture is incorporated to provide location information to the agents, mitigating action constraints from strict invariance. The proposed methods are verified using a case study of Rayleigh-Bénard convection, where the goal is to minimize the Nusselt number Nu. The group-invariant neural networks (GI-NNs) show faster convergence compared to the base MARL, achieving better average policy performance. The GI-NNs not only cut DRL training time in half but also notably enhance learning reproducibility. Positional encoding further enhances these results, effectively reducing the minimum Nu and stabilizing convergence. Interestingly, group invariant networks specialize in improving learning speed and positional encoding specializes in improving learning quality. These results demonstrate that choosing a suitable feature-representation method according to the purpose as well as the characteristics of each control problem is essential. We believe that the results of this study will not only inspire novel DRL methods with invariant and unique representations, but also provide useful insights for industrial applications.

cs.LG↗

arXiv2024

Deep reinforcement learning for the management of the wall regeneration cycle in wall-bounded turbulent flows

The wall cycle in wall-bounded turbulent flows is a complex turbulence regeneration mechanism that remains not fully understood. This study explores the potential of deep reinforcement learning (DRL) for managing the wall regeneration cycle to achieve desired flow dynamics. We integrate the StableBaselines3 DRL libraries with the open-source DNS solver CaNS to create a robust platform for dynamic flow control. The DRL agent interacts with the DNS environment, learning policies that modify wall boundary conditions to optimize objectives such as the reduction of the skin-friction coefficient or the enhancement of certain coherent structures features. Initial experiments demonstrate the capability of DRL to achieve drag-reduction rates comparable with those achieved via traditional methods, though limited to short time periods. We also propose a strategy to enhance the coherence of velocity streaks, assuming that maintaining straight streaks can inhibit instability and further reduce skin friction. The implementation makes use of the message-passing-interface (MPI) wrappers for efficient communication between the Python-based DRL agent and the DNS solver, ensuring scalability on high-performance computing architectures. Our results highlight the promise of DRL in flow control applications and underscore the need for more advanced control laws and objective functions. Future work will focus on optimizing actuation periods and exploring new computational architectures to extend the applicability and the efficiency of DRL in turbulent flow management.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2024

Enhancing Graph U-Nets for Mesh-Agnostic Spatio-Temporal Flow Prediction

This study aims to overcome the limitations of conventional deep-learning approaches based on convolutional neural networks in complex geometries and unstructured meshes by exploring the potential of Graph U-Nets for unsteady flow-field prediction. We present a comprehensive investigation of Graph U-Nets, originally developed for classification tasks, now tailored for mesh-agnostic spatio-temporal forecasting of fluid dynamics. Our focus is on enhancing their performance through systematic hyperparameter tuning and architectural modifications. We propose novel approaches to improve mesh-agnostic spatio-temporal prediction of transient flow fields using Graph U-Nets, enabling accurate prediction on diverse mesh configurations. Key enhancements to the Graph U-Net architecture, including the Gaussian-mixture-model convolutional operator and noise injection approaches, provide increased flexibility in modeling node dynamics: the former reduces prediction error by 95\% compared to conventional convolutional operators, while the latter improves long-term prediction robustness, resulting in an error reduction of 86\%. We demonstrate the effectiveness of these enhancements in both transductive and inductive learning settings, showcasing the adaptability of Graph U-Nets to various flow conditions and mesh structures. This work contributes to the field of reduced-order modeling for computational fluid dynamics by establishing Graph U-Nets as a viable and flexible alternative to convolutional neural networks, capable of accurately and efficiently predicting complex fluid flow phenomena across diverse scenarios.

cs.LG↗

arXiv2024

Navigation in a simplified Urban Flow through Deep Reinforcement Learning

The increasing number of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in urban environments requires a strategy to minimize their environmental impact, both in terms of energy efficiency and noise reduction. In order to reduce these concerns, novel strategies for developing prediction models and optimization of flight planning, for instance through deep reinforcement learning (DRL), are needed. Our goal is to develop DRL algorithms capable of enabling the autonomous navigation of UAVs in urban environments, taking into account the presence of buildings and other UAVs, optimizing the trajectories in order to reduce both energetic consumption and noise. This is achieved using fluid-flow simulations which represent the environment in which UAVs navigate and training the UAV as an agent interacting with an urban environment. In this work, we consider a domain domain represented by a two-dimensional flow field with obstacles, ideally representing buildings, extracted from a three-dimensional high-fidelity numerical simulation. The presented methodology, using PPO+LSTM cells, was validated by reproducing a simple but fundamental problem in navigation, namely the Zermelo's problem, which deals with a vessel navigating in a turbulent flow, travelling from a starting point to a target location, optimizing the trajectory. The current method shows a significant improvement with respect to both a simple PPO and a TD3 algorithm, with a success rate (SR) of the PPO+LSTM trained policy of 98.7%, and a crash rate (CR) of 0.1%, outperforming both PPO (SR = 75.6%, CR=18.6%) and TD3 (SR=77.4% and CR=14.5%). This is the first step towards DRL strategies which will guide UAVs in a three-dimensional flow field using real-time signals, making the navigation efficient in terms of flight time and avoiding damages to the vehicle.

cs.AI↗

arXiv2024

Inverse Problems with Diffusion Models: A MAP Estimation Perspective

Inverse problems have many applications in science and engineering. In Computer vision, several image restoration tasks such as inpainting, deblurring, and super-resolution can be formally modeled as inverse problems. Recently, methods have been developed for solving inverse problems that only leverage a pre-trained unconditional diffusion model and do not require additional task-specific training. In such methods, however, the inherent intractability of determining the conditional score function during the reverse diffusion process poses a real challenge, leaving the methods to settle with an approximation instead, which affects their performance in practice. Here, we propose a MAP estimation framework to model the reverse conditional generation process of a continuous time diffusion model as an optimization process of the underlying MAP objective, whose gradient term is tractable. In theory, the proposed framework can be applied to solve general inverse problems using gradient-based optimization methods. However, given the highly non-convex nature of the loss objective, finding a perfect gradient-based optimization algorithm can be quite challenging, nevertheless, our framework offers several potential research directions. We use our proposed formulation to develop empirically effective algorithms for image restoration. We validate our proposed algorithms with extensive experiments over multiple datasets across several restoration tasks.

cs.CV↗

arXiv2024

Additive-feature-attribution methods: a review on explainable artificial intelligence for fluid dynamics and heat transfer

The use of data-driven methods in fluid mechanics has surged dramatically in recent years due to their capacity to adapt to the complex and multi-scale nature of turbulent flows, as well as to detect patterns in large-scale simulations or experimental tests. In order to interpret the relationships generated in the models during the training process, numerical attributions need to be assigned to the input features. One important example are the additive-feature-attribution methods. These explainability methods link the input features with the model prediction, providing an interpretation based on a linear formulation of the models. The SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP values) are formulated as the only possible interpretation that offers a unique solution for understanding the model. In this manuscript, the additive-feature-attribution methods are presented, showing four common implementations in the literature: kernel SHAP, tree SHAP, gradient SHAP, and deep SHAP. Then, the main applications of the additive-feature-attribution methods are introduced, dividing them into three main groups: turbulence modeling, fluid-mechanics fundamentals, and applied problems in fluid dynamics and heat transfer. This review shows thatexplainability techniques, and in particular additive-feature-attribution methods, are crucial for implementing interpretable and physics-compliant deep-learning models in the fluid-mechanics field.

physics.flu-dyn↗