Mechanical and Civil Engineering Seminar
Title: "Mechanical design in the age of AI"
Abstract:
Complex mechanical design endeavours often leverage computational methods to circumvent costly experimental programmes. However, the need to consider a wide range of conditions and system parameters often impedes the use of advanced computationally expensive simulations on a large scale. Instead, in a seemingly ever-increasing number of cases, AI has shown promises that seem to bypass the need altogether of mechanistic understanding. Unfortunately, the sacrifice of causation for correlation comes at a price and – as we all know – AI is not without limitations. In this talk, we propose a range of methods allowing for the consideration of complex expensive systems at scale, while retaining mechanical insights. We first present the so-called Galerkin Stochastic Finite Element method, allowing for the simultaneous simulation of a range of systems. After highlighting the advantages and drawbacks of this method, we then turn our attention towards the use of coupled mechanics/machine learning schemes in optimisation frameworks to alleviate the cost of the underlying problem. We present these methods in a variety of design problems; both in Materials Sciences with examples in metamaterials and composite materials, and in Engineering applications with examples in aeronautics and bioengineering designs.
Bio:
Professor Antoine Jérusalem graduated in 2004 with a double degree from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de l'Aéronautique et de l'Espace with a Diplôme d'Ingénieur, and from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a Master of Science in Aeronautics and Astronautics. In 2007, he obtained his Ph.D. in Computational Mechanics of Materials from MIT, where he stayed as a Postdoctoral Associate for an additional year.
Professor Jérusalem was the group leader of the Computational Mechanics of Materials Group in Madrid's Advanced Studies Institute of Materials (IMDEA Materials) from 2008 to 2012, after which he moved to the University of Oxford where he is currently a Professor of Mechanical Engineering.
Professor Jérusalem's research activities focus on the computational modelling of many types of materials and structures, ranging from metals to composite materials with a major interest in the multiphysics of neurons and brain with applications in Ultrasound Neuromodulation and Traumatic Brain Injury, and more recently Women's Health. His modelling activities involve the development and use of state-of-the-art advanced numerical techniques with a focus on novel design optimisation methods and AI-mechanical coupling.