Flow field prediction in bed configurations: A parametric spatio-temporal convolutional autoencoder approach

The use of deep learning methods for modeling fluid flow has drawn a lot of attention in the past few years. Here we present a data-driven reduced-order model (ROM) for predicting flow fields in a bed configuration of hot particles. The ROM consists of a parametric spatio-temporal convolutional autoencoder. The neural network architecture comprises two main components. The first part resolves the spatial and temporal dependencies present in the input sequence, while the second part of the architecture is responsible for predicting the solution at the subsequent timestep based on the information gathered from the preceding part. We also propose the utilization of a post-processing non-trainable output layer following the decoding path to incorporate the physical knowledge, e.g. no-slip condition, into the prediction. The ROM is evaluated by comparing its predicted solution with the high-fidelity counterpart. In addition, proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) is employed to systematically analyze and compare the dominant structures present in both sets of solutions. The assessment of the ROM for a bed configuration with variable particle temperature showed accurate results at a fraction of the computational cost required by traditional numerical simulation methods.