With the advent of Artificial Intelligence research in the 1960s, the need for intelligent systems that are able to truly comprehend the... Show moreWith the advent of Artificial Intelligence research in the 1960s, the need for intelligent systems that are able to truly comprehend the physical world around them became relevant. Significant milestones in the realm of machine learning and, in particular, deep learning during the past decade have led to advanced data-driven models that are able to approximate complex functions from pure observations. When it comes to the application of physics-based scenarios, the vast majority of these models rely on statistical and optimization constructs, leaving minimal room in their development for the physics-driven frameworks that more traditional engineering and science fields have been developing for centuries. On the other hand, the more traditional engineering fields, such as mechanics, have evolved on a different set of modeling tools that are mostly based on physics driven assumptions and equations, typically aided by statistical tools for uncertainty handling. Deep learning models can provide significant implementation advantages in commercial systems over traditional engineering modeling tools in the current economies of scale, but they tend to lack the strong reliability their counterparts naturally allow. The work presented in this thesis is aimed at assessing the potential of deep learning tools, such as Convolutional Neural Networks and Long Short-Term Memory Networks, as data-driven models in engineering mechanics, with a major focus on vibration problems. In particular, two implementation cases are presented: a data driven surrogate model to a Phononic eigenvalue problem, and a physics-learning model in rigid-body dynamics scenario. Through the applications presented, this work that shows select deep learning architectures can appropriately approximate complex functions found in engineering mechanics from a system’s time history or state and generalize to set expectations outside training domains. In spatio-temporal systems, it is also that shown local learning windows along space and time can provide improved model reliability in their approximation and generalization performance Show less
