arXiv subjects

Weisheng Zhang

Publications and source records attributed to Weisheng Zhang.

13 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Causal Inference under Dynamic Selection: Time-Varying Covariates and Latent Heterogeneity

I study dynamic treatment effects in panel data under staggered adoption when treatment timing depends jointly on unobserved time-invariant heterogeneity and time-varying pretreatment covariates, including lagged outcomes. Untreated potential outcomes follow a nonparametric dynamic panel model that allows flexible interactions between time-varying covariates and latent heterogeneity. I use pretreatment outcome histories to find individuals with similar time-invariant latent factors, and the key requirement is that these histories are sufficiently informative about those latent factors. I develop an identification strategy for the dynamic average treatment effect on the treated (ATT) and propose kernel-based doubly robust estimators for the dynamic ATT. I further combine double cross-fitting with undersmoothing and show that, under suitable regularity conditions, the proposed estimators are $\sqrt{n}$-consistent, asymptotically normal, and asymptotically unbiased. The simulation study demonstrates that the proposed method provides accurate inference across a wide range of data-generating processes. I illustrate the method with an application to the U.S. family planning program studied by Bailey (2012) and reestimate its effect on fertility rates.

econ.EM↗

arXiv2026

Flexible Imputation of Incomplete Network Data

Sampled network data are widely used in empirical research because collecting complete network information is costly. However, empirical analyses based on sampled networks may lead to biased estimators. We propose a nonparametric imputation method for sampled networks and show that empirical analyses based on imputed networks yield consistent estimates. Our approach imputes missing network links by combining a projection onto covariates with a local two-way fixed-effects regression. The method avoids parametric assumptions, does not rely on low-rank restrictions, and flexibly accommodates both observed covariates and unobserved heterogeneity. We establish entrywise convergence rates for the imputed matrix and prove the consistency of generalized method of moments (GMM) estimators based on imputed networks. We further derive the convergence rate of the corresponding estimator in the linear-in-means peer-effects model. Simulations show strong performance of our method both in terms of imputation accuracy and in downstream empirical analysis. We illustrate our method with an application to the microfinance network data of Banerjee et al. (2013).

econ.EM↗

arXiv2026

Culturally-Aware AI for Cross-Boundary Community Learning: Undergraduate Innovation at the Intersection of Computation and Design

Research on artificial intelligence in education (AIED) is rapidly expanding, yet technical progress often lacks human-centered grounding and adequate attention to cultural context. Community-Based Learning, a pedagogy rooted in social work, remains underrepresented in AIED research, particularly within Asia-Pacific contexts. This paper reports on cross-boundary Community-Based Learning where undergraduate students develop AI-enabled solutions for cultural heritage preservation and sustainable development. We examine how community-engaged computing operationalizes culturally aware, human-centered AIED through participatory elicitation of cultural knowledge, bilingual representation, and stakeholder validation across education, technology, and culture. We contribute a collaborative framework for culturally aware AIED designed to support multi-stakeholder collaboration and widen participation by bridging social work and computational science.

cs.CY↗

arXiv2026

Tractable Estimation of Nonlinear Panels with Interactive Fixed Effects

Interactive fixed effects are routinely controlled for in linear panel models. While an analogous fixed effects (FE) estimator for nonlinear models has been available in the literature (Chen, Fernandez-Val and Weidner, 2021), it sees much more limited use in applied research because its implementation involves solving a high-dimensional non-convex problem. In this paper, we complement the theoretical analysis of Chen, Fernandez-Val and Weidner (2021) by providing a new computationally efficient estimator that is asymptotically equivalent to their estimator. Unlike the previously proposed FE estimator, our estimator avoids solving a high-dimensional non-convex optimization problem and can be feasibly computed in large nonlinear panels. Our proposed method involves two steps. In the first step, we convexify the optimization problem using nuclear norm regularization (NNR) and obtain preliminary NNR estimators of the parameters, including the fixed effects. Then, we find the global solution of the original optimization problem using a standard gradient descent method initialized at these preliminary estimates. To make our method readily applicable in practice, we also propose specific numerical algorithms for solving the involved optimization problems, establish their convergence, and provide their efficient implementation in our R package NNRPanel.

econ.EM↗

arXiv2023

A novel explicit design method for complex thin-walled structures based on embedded solid moving morphable components

In this article, a novel explicit approach for designing complex thin-walled structures based on the Moving Morphable Component (MMC) method is proposed, which provides a unified framework to systematically address various design issues, including topology optimization, reinforced-rib layout optimization, and sandwich structure design problems. The complexity of thin-walled structures mainly comes from flexible geometries and the variation of thickness. On the one hand, the geometric complexity of thin-walled structures leads to the difficulty in automatically describing material distribution (e.g., reinforced ribs). On the other hand, thin-walled structures with different thicknesses require various hypotheses (e.g., Kirchhoff-Love shell theory and Reissner-Mindlin shell theory) to ensure the precision of structural responses. Whereas for cases that do not fit the shell hypothesis, the precision loss of response solutions is nonnegligible in the optimization process since the accumulation of errors will cause entirely different designs. Hence, the current article proposes a novel embedded solid component to tackle these challenges. The geometric constraints that make the components fit to the curved thin-walled structure are whereby satisfied. Compared with traditional strategies, the proposed method is free from the limit of shell assumptions of structural analysis and can achieve optimized designs with clear load transmission paths at the cost of few design variables and degrees of freedom for finite element analysis (FEA). Finally, we apply the proposed method to several representative examples to demonstrate its effectiveness, efficiency, versatility, and potential to handle complex industrial structures.

cs.GR↗

arXiv2023

Efficient Design of Helical Higher-Order Topological Insulators in 3D Elastic Medium

Topological materials (TMs) are well-known for their topological protected properties. Phononic system has the advantage of direct observation and engineering of topological phenomena on the macroscopic scale. For the inverse design of 3D TMs in continuum medium, however, it would be extremely difficult to classify the topological properties, tackle the computational complexity, and search solutions in an infinite parameter space. This work proposed a systematic design framework for the 3D mechanical higher-order topological insulators (HOTIs) by combining the symmetry indicators (SI) method and the moving morphable components (MMC) method. The 3D unit cells are described by the MMC method with only tens of design variables. By evaluating the inherent singularity properties in the 3D mechanical system, the classic formulas of topological invariants are modified accordingly for elastic waves. Then a mathematical formulation is proposed for designing the helical multipole topological insulators (MTIs) featured corner states and helical energy fluxes, by constraining the corresponding topological invariants and maximizing the width of band gap. Mechanical helical HOTIs with different symmetries are obtained by this method and verified by full wave simulations. This design paradigm can be further extended to design 3D TMs among different symmetry classes and space groups, and different physical systems.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2022

An efficient and easy-to-extend Matlab code of the Moving Morphable Component (MMC) method for three-dimensional topology optimization

Explicit topology optimization methods have received ever-increasing interest in recent years. In particular, a 188-line Matlab code of the two-dimensional (2D) Moving Morphable Component (MMC)-based topology optimization method was released by Zhang et al. (Struct Multidiscip Optim 53(6):1243-1260, 2016). The present work aims to propose an efficient and easy-to-extend 256-line Matlab code of the MMC method for three-dimensional (3D) topology optimization implementing some new numerical techniques. To be specific, by virtue of the function aggregation technique, accurate sensitivity analysis, which is also easy-to-extend to other problems, is achieved. Besides, based on an efficient identification algorithm for load transmission path, the degrees of freedoms (DOFs) not belonging to the load transmission path are removed in finite element analysis (FEA), which significantly accelerates the optimization process. As a result, compared to the corresponding 188-line 2D code, the performance of the optimization results, the computational efficiency of FEA, and the convergence rate and the robustness of optimization process are greatly improved. For the sake of completeness, a refined 218-line Matlab code implementing the 2D-MMC method is also provided.

math.OC↗

arXiv2019

On speeding up an asymptotic-analysis-based homogenisation scheme for designing gradient porous structured materials using a zoning strategy

Gradient porous structured materials possess significant potential of being applied in many engineering fields. To accelerate the design process of infill graded microstructures, a novel asymptotic homogenisation topology optimisation method was proposed by Zhu et al.(2019), aiming for 1) significantly enriching the pool of representable graded microstructures; 2) deriving an homogenised formulation for stress analysis in consistency with fine-scale results. But the work is severely confined from being widely applied, mainly due to the following two reasons. Firstly, to circumvent the macroscopically pointwise computation for solving various microscopic cell problems, linearisation had to be adopted for its numerical implementation, and this significantly reduces the design freedom. Secondly, lacking of sensitive analysis, genetic algorithm was chosen for optimisation, inevitably decreasing the computational efficiency. To address these bottleneck challenging issues, a zoning scheme empowered by computational parallelism is introduced, and the sensitivity analysis associated with the new asymptotic framework is conducted. Through comparisons with fine-scale simulation results, the proposed algorithm is shown to be an effective tool for evaluating the mechanical behaviour of graded microstructures. As an optimisation tool, the mapping function takes a concise and explicit form. But its parameterisation still needs further investigation, so as to improve the solution optimality of the present approach, especially in comparison with another recently proposed method by Groen et al (2018). The high computational efficiency shown by the proposed scheme is also demonstrated with optimisation results for three-dimensional graded microstructures, which are not frequently discussed in literature, possibly because of the high computational cost generated.

cs.CE↗

arXiv2019

Optimal design of shell-graded-infill structures by a hybrid MMC-MMV approach

In the present work, a hybrid MMC-MMV approach is developed for designing additive manufacturing-oriented shell-graded-infill structures. The key idea is to describe the geometry of a shell-graded-infill structure explicitly using some geometry parameters. To this end, a set of morphable voids is adopted to describe the boundary of the coating shell, while a set of morphable components combing with a coordinate perturbation technique are introduced to represent the graded infill distribution. Under such treatment, both the crisp boundary of the coating shell and the graded infill can be optimized simultaneously, with a small number of design variables. Numerical examples demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

cs.CE↗

arXiv2018

An efficient Moving Morphable Component (MMC)-based approach for multi-resolution topology optimization

In the present work, a highly efficient Moving Morphable Component (MMC) based approach for multi-resolution topology optimization is proposed. In this approach, high-resolution optimization results can be obtained with much less number of degrees of freedoms (DOFs) and design variables since the finite element analysis model and the design optimization model are totally decoupled in the MMC-based problem formulation. This is achieved by introducing super-elements for structural response analysis and adopting a domain decomposition strategy to preserve the topology complexity of optimized structures. Both two-and three-dimensional numerical results demonstrate that substantial computational efforts can be saved with use of the proposed approach.

cs.CE↗

arXiv2017

Explicit three dimensional topology optimization via Moving Morphable Void (MMV) approach

Three dimensional (3D) topology optimization problems always involve huge numbers of Degrees of Freedom (DOFs) in finite element analysis (FEA) and design variables in numerical optimization, respectively. This will inevitably lead to large computational efforts in the solution process. In the present paper, an efficient and explicit topology optimization approach which can reduce not only the number of design variables but also the number of degrees of freedom in FEA is proposed based on the Moving Morphable Voids (MMVs) solution framework. This is achieved by introducing a set of geometry parameters (e.g., control points of B-spline surfaces) to describe the boundary of a structure explicitly and removing the unnecessary DOFs from the FE model at every step of numerical optimization. Numerical examples demonstrate that the proposed approach does can overcome the bottleneck problems associated with a 3D topology optimization problem in a straightforward way and enhance the solution efficiency significantly.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2017

Self-supporting structure design in additive manufacturing through explicit topology optimization

One of the challenging issues in additive manufacturing (AM) oriented topology optimization is how to design structures that are self-supportive in a manufacture process without introducing additional supporting materials. In the present contribution, it is intended to resolve this problem under an explicit topology optimization framework where optimal structural topology can be found by optimizing a set of explicit geometry parameters. Two solution approaches established based on the Moving Morphable Components (MMC) and Moving Morphable Voids (MMV) frameworks, respectively, are proposed and some theoretical issues associated with AM oriented topology optimization are also analyzed. Numerical examples provided demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methods.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2014

Topology optimization based on moving deformable components: A new computational framework

In the present work, a new computational framework for structural topology optimization based on the concept of moving deformable components is proposed. Compared with the traditional pixel or node point-based solution framework, the proposed solution paradigm can incorporate more geometry and mechanical information into topology optimization directly and therefore render the solution process more flexible. It also has the great potential to reduce the computational burden associated with topology optimization substantially. Some representative examples are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

cs.CE↗