DeepONet Augmented by Randomized Neural Networks for Efficient Operator Learning in PDEs

Deep operator networks (DeepONets) represent a powerful class of data-driven methods for operator learning, demonstrating strong approximation capabilities for a wide range of linear and nonlinear operators. They have shown promising performance in learning operators that govern partial differential equations (PDEs), including diffusion-reaction systems and Burgers' equations. However, the accuracy of DeepONets is often constrained by computational limitations and optimization challenges inherent in training deep neural networks. Furthermore, the computational cost associated with training these networks is typically very high. To address these challenges, we leverage randomized neural networks (RaNNs), in which the parameters of the hidden layers remain fixed following random initialization. RaNNs compute the output layer parameters using the least-squares method, significantly reducing training time and mitigating optimization errors. In this work, we integrate DeepONets with RaNNs to propose RaNN-DeepONets, a hybrid architecture designed to balance accuracy and efficiency. Furthermore, to mitigate the need for extensive data preparation, we introduce the concept of physics-informed RaNN-DeepONets. Instead of relying on data generated through other time-consuming numerical methods, we incorporate PDE information directly into the training process. We evaluate the proposed model on three benchmark PDE problems: diffusion-reaction dynamics, Burgers' equation, and the Darcy flow problem. Through these tests, we assess its ability to learn nonlinear operators with varying input types. When compared to the standard DeepONet framework, RaNN-DeepONets achieves comparable accuracy while reducing computational costs by orders of magnitude. These results highlight the potential of RaNN-DeepONets as an efficient alternative for operator learning in PDE-based systems.