Predicting continuum breakdown with deep neural networks

Abstract

The multi-scale nature of gaseous flows poses tremendous difficulties for theoretical and numerical analysis. The Boltzmann equation, while possessing a wider applicability than hydrodynamic equations, requires significantly more computational resources due to the increased degrees of freedom in the model. The success of a hybrid fluid-kinetic flow solver for the study of multi-scale flows relies on accurate prediction of flow regimes. In this paper, we draw on binary classification in machine learning and propose the first neural network classifier to detect near-equilibrium and non-equilibrium flow regimes based on local flow conditions. Compared with classical semi-empirical criteria of continuum breakdown, the current method provides a data-driven alternative where the parameterized implicit function is trained by solutions of the Boltzmann equation. The ground-truth labels are derived rigorously from the deviation of particle distribution functions and the approximations based on the Chapman-Enskog ansatz. Therefore, no tunable parameter is needed in the criterion. Following the entropy closure of the Boltzmann moment system, a data generation strategy is developed to produce training and test sets. Numerical analysis shows its superiority over simulation-based samplings. A hybrid Boltzmann-Navier-Stokes flow solver is built correspondingly with an adaptive partition of local flow regimes. Numerical experiments including the one-dimensional Riemann problem, shear flow layer, and hypersonic flow around a circular cylinder are presented to validate the current scheme for simulating cross-scale and non-equilibrium flow physics. The quantitative comparison with a semi-empirical criterion and benchmark results demonstrates the capability of the current neural classifier to accurately predict continuum breakdown. The code for the data generator, hybrid solver, and neural network implementation is available in the open source repositories [1,2].