# Surrogate and inverse modeling for two-phase flow in porous media via theory-guided convolutional neural network

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2110.10080 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2110.10080/

## Key facts

- Cited by 5 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 15 of its 34 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 12 Oct 2021.

## Builds on (most cited first, 15 of 15)

- [Adam: A Method for Stochastic Optimization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1412.6980/) (2014)
- [Physics-Constrained Deep Learning for High-dimensional Surrogate Modeling and Uncertainty Quantification without Labeled Data](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1901.06314/) (2019)
- [hp-VPINNs: Variational Physics-Informed Neural Networks With Domain Decomposition](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2003.05385/) (2020)
- [Bayesian Deep Convolutional Encoder-Decoder Networks for Surrogate Modeling and Uncertainty Quantification](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1801.06879/) (2018)
- [PPINN: Parareal Physics-Informed Neural Network for time-dependent PDEs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1909.10145/) (2019)
- [Deep UQ: Learning deep neural network surrogate models for high dimensional uncertainty quantification](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1802.00850/) (2018)
- [Physics-Informed Neural Networks for Multiphysics Data Assimilation with Application to Subsurface Transport](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1912.02968/) (2019)
- [A deep-learning-based surrogate model for data assimilation in dynamic subsurface flow problems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1908.05823/) (2019)
- [Deep convolutional encoder-decoder networks for uncertainty quantification of dynamic multiphase flow in heterogeneous media](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1807.00882/) (2018)
- [Deep Learning of Subsurface Flow via Theory-guided Neural Network](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1911.00103/) (2019)
- [Accelerating Asymptotically Exact MCMC for Computationally Intensive Models via Local Approximations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1402.1694/) (2014)
- [Efficient Uncertainty Quantification for Dynamic Subsurface Flow with Surrogate by Theory-guided Neural Network](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2004.13560/) (2020)
- [Deep-Learning based Inverse Modeling Approaches: A Subsurface Flow Example](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2007.15580/) (2020)
- [Weak Form Theory-guided Neural Network (TgNN-wf) for Deep Learning of Subsurface Single and Two-phase Flow](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2009.04543/) (2020)
- [Theory-guided Auto-Encoder for Surrogate Construction and Inverse Modeling](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2011.08618/) (2020)

## Built on by (most cited first, 5 of 5)

- [Physics-informed Convolutional Recurrent Surrogate Model for Reservoir Simulation with Well Controls](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.09056/) (2023)
- [Transfer learning-based physics-informed convolutional neural network for simulating flow in porous media with time-varying controls](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.06319/) (2023)
- [Graph Network Surrogate Model for Subsurface Flow Optimization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.08625/) (2023)
- [Machine learning for sustainable geoenergy: uncertainty, physics and decision-ready inference](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.14907/) (2026)
- [AutoSurrogate: An LLM-Driven Multi-Agent Framework for Autonomous Construction of Deep Learning Surrogate Models in Subsurface Flow](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2604.11945/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

The theory-guided convolutional neural network (TgCNN) framework, which can incorporate discretized governing equation residuals into the training of convolutional neural networks (CNNs), is extended to two-phase porous media flow problems in this work. The two principal variables of the considered problem, pressure and saturation, are approximated simultaneously with two CNNs, respectively. Pressure and saturation are coupled with each other in the governing equations, and thus the two networks are also mutually conditioned in the training process by the discretized governing equations, which also increases the difficulty of model training. The coupled and discretized equations can provide valuable information in the training process. With the assistance of theory-guidance, the TgCNN surrogates can achieve better accuracy than ordinary CNN surrogates in two-phase flow problems. Moreover, a piecewise training strategy is proposed for the scenario with varying well controls, in which the TgCNN surrogates are constructed for different segments on the time dimension and stacked together to predict solutions for the whole time-span. For scenarios with larger variance of the formation property field, the TgCNN surrogates can also achieve satisfactory performance. The constructed TgCNN surrogates are further used for inversion of permeability fields by combining them with the iterative ensemble smoother (IES) algorithm, and sufficient inversion accuracy is obtained with improved efficiency.