# An Advanced Physics-Informed Neural Operator for Comprehensive Design Optimization of Highly-Nonlinear Systems: An Aerospace Composites Processing Case Study

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2406.14715 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.14715/

## Key facts

- Cited by 6 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 29 of its 50 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 20 Jun 2024.

## Builds on (most cited first, 29 of 29)

- [Fourier Neural Operator for Parametric Partial Differential Equations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2010.08895/) (2020)
- [DeepONet: Learning nonlinear operators for identifying differential equations based on the universal approximation theorem of operators](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1910.03193/) (2019)
- [On the Spectral Bias of Neural Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1806.08734/) (2018)
- [Neural Operator: Graph Kernel Network for Partial Differential Equations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2003.03485/) (2020)
- [DGM: A deep learning algorithm for solving partial differential equations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1708.07469/) (2017)
- [Characterizing possible failure modes in physics-informed neural networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2109.01050/) (2021)
- [When and why PINNs fail to train: A neural tangent kernel perspective](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2007.14527/) (2020)
- [Scientific Machine Learning through Physics-Informed Neural Networks: Where we are and What's next](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2201.05624/) (2022)
- [Learning the solution operator of parametric partial differential equations with physics-informed DeepOnets](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2103.10974/) (2021)
- [GNOT: A General Neural Operator Transformer for Operator Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2302.14376/) (2023)
- [A comprehensive study of non-adaptive and residual-based adaptive sampling for physics-informed neural networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2207.10289/) (2022)
- [MIONet: Learning multiple-input operators via tensor product](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2202.06137/) (2022)
- [PhyGeoNet: Physics-Informed Geometry-Adaptive Convolutional Neural Networks for Solving Parameterized Steady-State PDEs on Irregular Domain](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2004.13145/) (2020)
- [Solving Allen-Cahn and Cahn-Hilliard Equations using the Adaptive Physics Informed Neural Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2007.04542/) (2020)
- [Long-time integration of parametric evolution equations with physics-informed DeepONets](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2106.05384/) (2021)
- [NOMAD: Nonlinear Manifold Decoders for Operator Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2206.03551/) (2022)
- [Wavelet neural operator: a neural operator for parametric partial differential equations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2205.02191/) (2022)
- [A Mathematical Guide to Operator Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.14688/) (2023)
- [DeepGreen: Deep Learning of Green's Functions for Nonlinear Boundary Value Problems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2101.07206/) (2020)
- [Pretraining Codomain Attention Neural Operators for Solving Multiphysics PDEs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.12553/) (2024)
- [Physics-Informed Neural Network for Modelling the Thermochemical Curing Process of Composite-Tool Systems During Manufacture](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2011.13511/) (2020)
- [HyperDeepONet: learning operator with complex target function space using the limited resources via hypernetwork](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.15949/) (2023)
- [Improved generalization with deep neural operators for engineering systems: Path towards digital twin](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2301.06701/) (2023)
- [Learning Only On Boundaries: a Physics-Informed Neural operator for Solving Parametric Partial Differential Equations in Complex Geometries](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.12939/) (2023)
- [A multi-fidelity deep operator network (DeepONet) for fusing simulation and monitoring data: Application to real-time settlement prediction during tunnel construction](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.00057/) (2023)
- [Physics-informed Discretization-independent Deep Compositional Operator Network](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.13646/) (2024)
- [Residual fourier neural operator for thermochemical curing of composites](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2111.10262/) (2021)
- [Real-Time Prediction of Gas Flow Dynamics in Diesel Engines using a Deep Neural Operator Framework](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.00567/) (2023)
- [A Sequential Meta-Transfer (SMT) Learning to Combat Complexities of Physics-Informed Neural Networks: Application to Composites Autoclave Processing](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.06447/) (2023)

## Built on by (most cited first, 6 of 6)

- [Physics-Informed Latent Neural Operator for Real-time Predictions of time-dependent parametric PDEs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2501.08428/) (2025)
- [ON-Traffic: An Operator Learning Framework for Online Traffic Flow Estimation and Uncertainty Quantification from Lagrangian Sensors](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.14053/) (2025)
- [Localized PCA-Net Neural Operators for Scalable Solution Reconstruction of Elliptic PDEs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2509.18110/) (2025)
- [FB-HyDON: Parameter-Efficient Physics-Informed Operator Learning of Complex PDEs via Hypernetwork and Finite Basis Domain Decomposition](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2409.09207/) (2024)
- [Accelerated Gradient-based Design Optimization Via Differentiable Physics-Informed Neural Operator: A Composites Autoclave Processing Case Study](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.11504/) (2025)
- [DETNO: A Diffusion-Enhanced Transformer Neural Operator for Long-Term Traffic Forecasting](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.19389/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Deep Operator Networks (DeepONets) and their physics-informed variants have shown significant promise in learning mappings between function spaces of partial differential equations, enhancing the generalization of traditional neural networks. However, for highly nonlinear real-world applications like aerospace composites processing, existing models often fail to capture underlying solutions accurately and are typically limited to single input functions, constraining rapid process design development. This paper introduces an advanced physics-informed DeepONet tailored for such complex systems with multiple input functions. Equipped with architectural enhancements like nonlinear decoders and effective training strategies such as curriculum learning and domain decomposition, the proposed model handles high-dimensional design spaces with significantly improved accuracy, outperforming the vanilla physics-informed DeepONet by two orders of magnitude. Its zero-shot prediction capability across a broad design space makes it a powerful tool for accelerating composites process design and optimization, with potential applications in other engineering fields characterized by strong nonlinearity.