A framework for data-driven analysis of materials under uncertainty: Countering the curse of dimensionality

A new data-driven computational framework is developed to assist in the design and modeling of new material systems and structures. The proposed framework integrates three general steps: (1) design of experiments, where the input variables describing material geometry (microstructure), phase properties and external conditions are sampled; (2) efficient computational analyses of each design sample, leading to the creation of a material response database; and (3) machine learning applied to this database to obtain a new design or response model. In addition, the authors address the longstanding challenge of developing a data-driven approach applicable to problems that involve unacceptable computational expense when solved by standard analysis methods – e.g. finite element analysis of representative volume elements involving plasticity and damage. In these cases the framework includes the recently developed "self-consistent clustering analysis" method in order to build large databases suitable for machine learning. The authors believe that this will open new avenues to finding innovative materials with new capabilities in an era of high-throughput computing ("big-data").