arXiv subjects

Timo Neumeier

Publications and source records attributed to Timo Neumeier.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Compression of Polyconvex Envelopes of Isotropic Functions via Monotonic Input Convex Neural Networks

This work presents a novel neural-network compression approach for polyconvex envelopes of isotropic functions. The approach relies on a classical sufficient criterion for polyconvexity and is particularly suited for the representation of determinant-constrained energy densities arising in non-linear elasticity. Compared with existing compression methods based on the necessary and sufficient characterisation of polyconvex isotropic functions, the proposed framework reduces computational costs, due to the domain reduction through the restriction to the positive octant in the singed singular value space. The underlying neural-network architecture employs input-convex neural networks (ICNNs) with non-negative weight constraints to enforce the required convexity and monotonicity properties. The additional symmetry and inequality conditions characterising the polyconvex envelope are incorporated weakly through the loss function during training. Although the employed criterion is only sufficient and thus generally yields only a lower bound on the polyconvex envelope, numerical experiments based on the classical Saint Venant--Kirchhoff energy demonstrate that the proposed approach produces accurate approximations in practice while offering a computationally more efficient alternative to existing methods.

math.NA↗

arXiv2025

Neural Network Enhanced Polyconvexification of Isotropic Energy Densities in Computational Mechanics

We present a neural network approach for fast evaluation of parameter-dependent polyconvex envelopes, which are crucial in computational mechanics. Our method uses a neural network architecture that inherently encodes polyconvexity in the main variable by combining a feature extraction layer that computes the minors function on the signed singular value characterisation of isotropic energy densities with a Partially Input Convex Neural Network (PICNN). The envelope inequality is weakly enforced by penalisation during training, as are the symmetries of the function. As a guiding example, we focus on a pseudo time incremental variational damage problem, which is parameter-dependent on previous time-step iterates, the deformation gradient and the internal variable. This problem is reformulated in terms of signed singular values and a splitting approach is applied to reduce the dimension of the parameter space, thereby making training more tractable. Numerical experiments show that the networks achieve favourable accuracy for engineering applications while providing high compression and significant speed-up over traditional polyconvexification schemes. Most importantly, the network adapts to varying physical or material parameters, enabling real-time polyconvexification in large-scale computational mechanics scenarios.

math.NA↗

arXiv2024

Hierarchical Rank-One Sequence Convexification for the Relaxation of Variational Problems with Microstructures

This paper presents an efficient algorithm for the approximation of the rank-one convex hull in the context of nonlinear solid mechanics. It is based on hierarchical rank-one sequences and simultaneously provides first and second derivative information essential for the calculation of mechanical stresses and the computational minimization of discretized energies. For materials, whose microstructure can be well approximated in terms of laminates and where each laminate stage achieves energetic optimality with respect to the current stage, the approximate envelope coincides with the rank-one convex envelope. Although the proposed method provides only an upper bound for the rank-one convex hull, a careful examination of the resulting constraints shows a decent applicability in mechanical problems. Various aspects of the algorithm are discussed, including the restoration of rotational invariance, microstructure reconstruction, comparisons with other semi-convexification algorithms, and mesh independency. Overall, this paper demonstrates the efficiency of the algorithm for both, well-established mathematical benchmark problems as well as nonconvex isotropic finite-strain continuum damage models in two and three dimensions. Thereby, for the first time, a feasible concurrent numerical relaxation is established for an incremental, dissipative large-strain model with relevant applications in engineering problems.

cs.CE↗

arXiv2023

Computational polyconvexification of isotropic functions

Based on the characterization of the polyconvex envelope of isotropic functions by their signed singular value representations, we propose a simple algorithm for the numerical approximation of the polyconvex envelope. Instead of operating on the $d^2$-dimensional space of matrices, the algorithm requires only the computation of the convex envelope of a function on a $d$-dimensional manifold, which is easily realized by standard algorithms. The significant speedup associated with the dimensional reduction from $d^2$ to $d$ is demonstrated in a series of numerical experiments.

math.NA↗

arXiv2022

Multidimensional rank-one convexification of incremental damage models at finite strains

This paper presents computationally feasible rank-one relaxation algorithms for the efficient simulation of a time-incremental damage model with nonconvex incremental stress potentials in multiple spatial dimensions. While the standard model suffers from numerical issues due to the lack of convexity, the relaxation by rank-one convexification prevents non-existence of minimizers and mesh dependence of the solutions of finite element discretizations. By the combination, modification and parallelization of the underlying convexification algorithms, the novel approach becomes computationally feasible. A descent method and a Newton scheme enhanced by step-size control prevent stability issues related to local minima in the energy landscape and the computation of derivatives. Numerical techniques for the construction of continuous derivatives of the approximated rank-one convex envelope are discussed. A series of numerical experiments demonstrates the ability of the computationally relaxed model to capture softening effects and the mesh independence of the computed approximations. An interpretation in terms of microstructural damage evolution is given, based on the rank-one lamination process.

cs.CE↗