Stochastic Polynomial Interpolation for Uncertainty Quantification With Computer Experiments

Multivariate polynomials are increasingly being used to construct emulators of computer models for uncertainty quantification. For deterministic computer codes, interpolating polynomial metamodels should be used instead of noninterpolating ones for logical consistency and prediction accuracy. However, available methods for constructing interpolating polynomials only provide point predictions. There is no known method that can provide probabilistic statements about the interpolation error. Furthermore, there are few alternatives to grid designs and sparse grids for constructing multivariate interpolating polynomials. A significant disadvantage of these designs is the large gaps between allowable design sizes. This article proposes a stochastic interpolating polynomial (SIP) that seeks to overcome the problems discussed above. A Bayesian approach in which interpolation uncertainty is quantified probabilistically through the posterior distribution of the output is employed. This allows assessment of the effect of interpolation uncertainty on estimation of quantities of interest based on the metamodel. A class of transformed space-filling design and a sequential design approach are proposed to efficiently construct the SIP with any desired number of runs. Simulations demonstrate that the SIP can outperform Gaussian process (GP) emulators. This article has supplementary material online.     

Nonlinear random vibration analysis: A Bayesian nonparametric approach

Random vibration analysis aims to estimate the response statistics of dynamical systems subject to stochastic excitations. Stochastic differential equations (SDEs) that govern the response of general nonlinear systems are often complicated, and their analytical solutions are scarce. Thus, a range of approximate methods and simulation techniques have been developed. This paper develops a hybrid approach that approximates the governing SDE of nonlinear systems using a small number of response simulations and information available a priori. The main idea is to identify a set of surrogate linear systems such that their response probability distributions collectively estimate the response probability distribution of the original nonlinear system. To identify the surrogate linear systems, the proposed method integrates the simulated responses of the original nonlinear system with information available a priori about the number and parameters of the surrogate linear systems. There will be epistemic uncertainty in the number and parameters of the surrogate linear systems because of the limited data. This paper proposes a Bayesian nonparametric approach, called a Dirichlet Process Mixture Model, to capture these uncertainties. The Dirichlet process models the uncertainty over an infinite-dimensional parameter space, representing an infinite number of potential surrogate linear systems. Specifically, the proposed method allows the number of surrogate linear systems to grow indefinitely as the nonlinear system observed dynamic unveil new patterns. The quantified uncertainty in the estimates of the unknown model parameters propagates into the response probability distribution. The paper then shows that, under some mild conditions, the estimated probability distribution approaches, as close as desired, to the original nonlinear system’s response probability distribution. As a measure of model accuracy, the paper provides the convergence rate of the response probability distribution. Because the posterior distribution of the unknown model parameters is often not analytically tractable, a Gibbs sampling algorithm is presented to draw samples from the posterior distribution. Variational Bayesian inference is also introduced to derive an approximate closed-form expression for the posterior distribution. The paper illustrates the proposed method through the random vibration analysis of a nonlinear elastic and a nonlinear hysteretic system.     

Surrogate-assisted Bayesian inference inverse material identification method and application to advanced high strength steel

Proper definition of certain material properties is a paramount issue for accurate simulation. However, the values of a material parameter are commonly uncertain due to multiple factors in practice. To obtain reliable material parameters, parameter identification via Bayesian theory has become an attractive framework and received more attention recently. Based on this frame, the determination of likelihood function is critical for posterior probability. Unfortunately, it is commonly difficult to be determined directly, especially for complex engineering problems. In this study, Bayesian formulas for material parameter identification are given. To make it feasible for real engineering problems, the least square-support vector regression surrogate and Monte Carlo Simulation are integrated to obtain the maximum likelihood estimation of likelihood function. The uncertainty of parameter identification is quantified via the Bayesian method. In two benchmarks, two cases with single and multiple uncertainty sources are used to propagate and quantify uncertainties in material parameters based on Bayesian approach. Moreover, the proposed method is used to identify the material parameters of advanced high strength steel used in vehicle successfully.     

一种基于Bayes方法的随机模型修正方法

提出了一种随机模型的修正方法用以估计结构参数的统计特性.基于Bayes方法的参数估计原理,将需要修正的结构参数的均值和方差看作符合一定先验概率分布的随机变量,根据核密度估计原理构建得到似然函数,进而使用基于差分进化的MCMC方法估计参数的后验概率密度,并根据最大后验概率密度准则估计结构参数的均值和方差.同时使用Kriging方法建立了结构输入和输出之间的代理模型,保证计算精度的同时极大地节约了计算时间.数值算例验证了本方法的可行性.     

Index to Volume 32

ABSTRACT

Most of the recently developed methods on optimum planning for accelerated life tests (ALT) involve “guessing” values of parameters to be estimated, and substituting such guesses in the proposed solution to obtain the final testing plan. In reality, such guesses may be very different from true values of the parameters, leading to inefficient test plans. To address this problem, we propose a sequential Bayesian strategy for planning of ALTs and a Bayesian estimation procedure for updating the parameter estimates sequentially. The proposed approach is motivated by ALT for polymer composite materials, but are generally applicable to a wide range of testing scenarios. Through the proposed sequential Bayesian design, one can efficiently collect data and then make predictions for the field performance. We use extensive simulations to evaluate the properties of the proposed sequential test planning strategy. We compare the proposed method to various traditional non-sequential optimum designs. Our results show that the proposed strategy is more robust and efficient, as compared to existing non-sequential optimum designs. Supplementary materials for this article are available online.     

基于Kriging代理模型的多点加点序列优化方法

基于Kriging 代理模型提出了一种同时考虑预测响应值及其不确定性的多点加点准则,并基于该准则发展了一套序列近似优化方法。多点加点准则基于初始样本信息和所预测的对象函数特征增加新样本集,以在寻优迭代过程中自适应地提高代理模型的精度。该文方法依据多点加点准则在一次迭代中增加多个空间无关的新样本点,适用于多机同时计算或并行计算,从而提高计算效率。以两个经典的数学函数为例,将该优化方法与期望提高准则方法进行了比较,结果表明该文提出的优化方法能够有效地提高最优解的全局性。将方法用于一盒式注塑件的成型工艺优化设计,优化结果也表明了该方法的有效性。     

Fast Bayesian approach for parameter estimation

This paper presents two techniques, i.e. the proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) and the stochastic collocation method (SCM), for constructing surrogate models to accelerate the Bayesian inference approach for parameter estimation problems associated with partial differential equations. POD is a model reduction technique that derives reduced‐order models using an optimal problem‐adapted basis to effect significant reduction of the problem size and hence computational cost. SCM is an uncertainty propagation technique that approximates the parameterized solution and reduces further forward solves to function evaluations. The utility of the techniques is assessed on the non‐linear inverse problem of probabilistically calibrating scalar Robin coefficients from boundary measurements arising in the quenching process and non‐destructive evaluation. A hierarchical Bayesian model that handles flexibly the regularization parameter and the noise level is employed, and the posterior state space is explored by the Markov chain Monte Carlo. The numerical results indicate that significant computational gains can be realized without sacrificing the accuracy. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A fast Bayesian approach using adaptive densifying approximation technique accelerated MCMC

A novel algorithm is presented in this study to improve the efficiency and accuracy of Bayesian approach for fast sampling of posterior distributions of the unknown structure parameters. This algorithm can save a computational cost by resolving the efficiency problem in Bayesian identifications. In this algorithm, an approximation model based on the radial basis function is first used to replace the actual joint posterior distribution of the unknown parameters. An adaptive densifying technique is then introduced to increase the accuracy of the approximation model by reconstructing them with densified samples. Finally, the marginal posterior distributions for each parameter with fine accuracy can be efficiently achieved using the Markov Chain Monte Carlo method based on the present densified approximation model. Two numerical examples are investigated to demonstrate that the present algorithm can achieve significant computational gains without sacrificing the accuracy.     

A Bayesian framework for uncertainty quantification of perturbed gamma process based on simulated likelihood

The perturbed gamma process (PGP) has recently been widely used in modeling the noisy degradation data collected from engineering structures and components since it can simultaneously consider the temporal variability of degradation and measurement uncertainty. As a result of the sampling and inspection uncertainty in engineering practice, it is necessary to account for the resulting parameter uncertainty. Meanwhile, the flexibility of the form of measurement error motivates a potential demand for quantifying the model uncertainty and selecting the most fitting error model for the given inspection data. The Bayesian approach is well-suited to quantity the parameter uncertainty induced by imperfect inspection and limited inspection data, but its practical implementation is extremely challenging due to the intractable likelihood function of PGP. In the paper, a novel Bayesian framework for quantifying parameter and model uncertainty of PGP is presented, where the simulated likelihood that is an unbiased estimator generated by Sequential Monte Carlo (SMC) is introduced to overcome the intractable likelihood of PGP. More specifically, an Adaptive Particle Markov chain Monte Carlo (APMCMC) is proposed to perform the Bayesian sampling from the posterior distributions of parameters, achieving the requirement for the quantification of parameter uncertainty. By utilizing the posterior samples from APMCMC, a model selection method based on the Bayes factor is employed to determine the most fitting one from some alternative error models. Finally, two simulation examples are presented to illustrate the efficiency and accuracy of the proposed framework and its applicability is confirmed by a practical case involving the corrosion modeling of a group of pipelines.     

A Bayesian Approach to Sequential Optimization based on Computer Experiments

Computer experiments are used frequently for the study and improvement of a process under study. Optimizing such process based on a computer model is costly, so an approximation of the computer model, or metamodel, is used. Efficient global optimization (EGO) is a sequential optimization method for computer experiments based on a Gaussian process model approximation to the computer model response. A long‐standing problem in EGO is that it does not consider the uncertainty in the parameter estimates of the Gaussian process. Treating these estimates as if they are the true parameters leads to an improper assessment of the precision of the approximation, a precision that is crucial to assess not only in optimization but in metamodeling in general. One way to account for these uncertainties is to use bootstrapping, studied by previous authors. Alternatively, some other authors have mentioned how a Bayesian approach may be the best way to incorporate the parameter uncertainty in the optimization, but no fully Bayesian approach for EGO has been implemented in practice. In this paper, we present a fully Bayesian implementation of the EGO method. The proposed Bayesian EGO algorithm is validated through simulation of noisy nonlinear functions and compared with the standard EGO method and the bootstrapped EGO. We also apply the Bayesian EGO algorithm to the optimization of a stochastic computer model. It is shown how a Bayesian approach to EGO allows one to optimize any function of the posterior predictive density. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Bayesian compressive sensing for approximately sparse signals and application to structural health monitoring signals for data loss recovery

The theory and application of compressive sensing (CS) have received a lot of interest in recent years. The basic idea in CS is to use a specially-designed sensor to sample signals that are sparse in some basis (e.g. wavelet basis) directly in a compressed form, and then to reconstruct (decompress) these signals accurately using some inversion algorithm after transmission to a central processing unit. However, many signals in reality are only approximately sparse, where only a relatively small number of the signal coefficients in some basis are significant and the remaining basis coefficients are relatively small but they are not all zero. In this case, perfect reconstruction from compressed measurements is not expected. In this paper, a Bayesian CS algorithm is proposed for the first time to reconstruct approximately sparse signals. A robust treatment of the uncertain parameters is explored, including integration over the prediction-error precision parameter to remove it as a “nuisance” parameter, and introduction of a successive relaxation procedure for the required optimization of the basis coefficient hyper-parameters. The performance of the algorithm is investigated using compressed data from synthetic signals and real signals from structural health monitoring systems installed on a space-frame structure and on a cable-stayed bridge. Compared with other state-of-the-art CS methods, including our previously-published Bayesian method, the new CS algorithm shows superior performance in reconstruction robustness and posterior uncertainty quantification, for approximately sparse signals. Furthermore, our method can be utilized for recovery of lost data during wireless transmission, even if the level of sparseness in the signal is low.     

基于广义协同高斯过程模型的结构不确定性量化解析方法

结构不确定性量化是定量参数不确定性传递到结构响应的不确定性大小。传统的蒙特卡洛法需要进行大量的数值计算,耗时较高,难以应用于大型复杂结构的不确定性量化。代理模型方法是基于少量训练样本建立的近似数学模型,可代替原始物理模型进行不确定性量化以提高计算效率。针对高精度样本计算成本高而低精度样本计算精度低的问题,该文提出了整合高、低精度训练样本的广义协同高斯过程模型。基于该模型框架推导了结构响应均值和方差的解析表达式,实现了结构不确定性的量化解析。采用三个空间结构算例来验证结构不确定性量化解析方法的准确性,并与传统的蒙特卡洛法、协同高斯过程模型和高斯过程模型的计算结果对比,结果表明所提方法在计算精度和效率方面均具有优势。     

Probabilistic calibration of discrete element simulations using the sequential quasi-Monte Carlo filter

The calibration of discrete element method (DEM) simulations is typically accomplished in a trial-and-error manner. It generally lacks objectivity and is filled with uncertainties. To deal with these issues, the sequential quasi-Monte Carlo (SQMC) filter is employed as a novel approach to calibrating the DEM models of granular materials. Within the sequential Bayesian framework, the posterior probability density functions (PDFs) of micromechanical parameters, conditioned to the experimentally obtained stress–strain behavior of granular soils, are approximated by independent model trajectories. In this work, two different contact laws are employed in DEM simulations and a granular soil specimen is modeled as polydisperse packing using various numbers of spherical grains. Knowing the evolution of physical states of the material, the proposed probabilistic calibration method can recursively update the posterior PDFs in a five-dimensional parameter space based on the Bayes’ rule. Both the identified parameters and posterior PDFs are analyzed to understand the effect of grain configuration and loading conditions. Numerical predictions using parameter sets with the highest posterior probabilities agree well with the experimental results. The advantage of the SQMC filter lies in the estimation of posterior PDFs, from which the robustness of the selected contact laws, the uncertainties of the micromechanical parameters and their interactions are all analyzed. The micro–macro correlations, which are byproducts of the probabilistic calibration, are extracted to provide insights into the multiscale mechanics of dense granular materials.     

A new surrogate modeling method combining polynomial chaos expansion and Gaussian kernel in a sparse Bayesian learning framework

Surrogate modeling techniques have been increasingly developed for optimization and uncertainty quantification problems in many engineering fields. The development of surrogates requires modeling high-dimensional and nonsmooth functions with limited information. To this end, the hybrid surrogate modeling method, where different surrogate models are combined, offers an effective solution. In this paper, a new hybrid modeling technique is proposed by combining polynomial chaos expansion and kernel function in a sparse Bayesian learning framework. The proposed hybrid model possesses both the global characteristic advantage of polynomial chaos expansion and the local characteristic advantage of the Gaussian kernel. The parameterized priors are utilized to encourage the sparsity of the model. Moreover, an optimization algorithm aiming at maximizing Bayesian evidence is proposed for parameter optimization. To assess the performance of the proposed method, a detailed comparison is made with the well-established PC-Kriging technique. The results show that the proposed method is superior in terms of accuracy and robustness.     

Model validation under epistemic uncertainty

This paper develops a methodology to assess the validity of computational models when some quantities may be affected by epistemic uncertainty. Three types of epistemic uncertainty regarding input random variables - interval data, sparse point data, and probability distributions with parameter uncertainty - are considered. When the model inputs are described using sparse point data and/or interval data, a likelihood-based methodology is used to represent these variables as probability distributions. Two approaches - a parametric approach and a non-parametric approach - are pursued for this purpose. While the parametric approach leads to a family of distributions due to distribution parameter uncertainty, the principles of conditional probability and total probability can be used to integrate the family of distributions into a single distribution. The non-parametric approach directly yields a single probability distribution. The probabilistic model predictions are compared against experimental observations, which may again be point data or interval data. A generalized likelihood function is constructed for Bayesian updating, and the posterior distribution of the model output is estimated. The Bayes factor metric is extended to assess the validity of the model under both aleatory and epistemic uncertainty and to estimate the confidence in the model prediction. The proposed method is illustrated using a numerical example.     

A Bayesian method for robust tolerance control and parameter design

This paper proposes a Bayesian method to set tolerance or specification limits on one or more responses and obtain optimal values for a set of controllable factors. The existence of such controllable factors (or parameters) that can be manipulated by the process engineer and that affect the responses is assumed. The dependence between the controllable factors and the responses is assumed to be captured by a regression model fit from experimental data, where the data are assumed to be available. The proposed method finds the optimal setting of the control factors (parameter design) and the corresponding specification limits for the responses (tolerance control) in order to achieve a desired posterior probability of conformance of the responses to their specifications. Contrary to standard approaches in this area, the proposed Bayesian approach uses the complete posterior predictive distribution of the responses, thus the tolerances and settings obtained consider implicitly both the mean and variance of the responses and the uncertainty in the regression model parameters.     

基于预测模型的虚拟试验不确定性分析方法

 工程系统中不可避免地存在各种参数不确定性,利用数值计算模型对系统进行虚拟试验时应进行不确定性分析.大型耗时计算模型的不确定性分析将面临严重的的计算复杂性问题,为此,针对工程应用中耗时计算模型,提出一种基于贝叶斯预测模型的不确定性分析仿真方法,采用概率分布为参数不确定性建模,研究系统响应预测不确定性的概率特征.泰勒杆撞击实例验证了该方法的高效性.     

考虑参数不确定性的列车-桥梁垂向耦合振动的PC-ARMAX代理模型研究

车-桥耦合系统不可避免的受到系统参数不确定性的影响,为了研究车-桥耦合系统参数随机性的影响,提出了可考虑动态时变系统参数不确定性的PC-ARMAX (Polynomial Chaos expansions and AutoRegressive Moving-Average with eXogenous inputs) 模型。该模型采用ARMAX模型建立了不同系统参数条件下的代理模型,针对不同系统参数条件下代理模型的参数进行混沌多项式展开。在不考虑随机轨道不平顺影响的条件下,分析了车体质量、二系刚度和阻尼等参数随机性对车-桥响应的影响。研究了轨道不平顺随机性和参数不确定性共同作用的影响。结果表明:该模型的预测结果和蒙特卡洛模拟(MCS)的结果吻合,最大误差仅为2%,计算效率较MCS提高了2个~3个数量级;车体质量参数随机对车辆响应的影响最大,系统参数随机性的影响在车-桥耦合振动分析中是不可忽略,且同时考虑参数不确定性和激励随机性的影响是必要的。     

三水源新安江模型参数不确定性分析PAM算法

针对水文模型参数不确定性分析常用方法 收敛速度缓慢,容易陷入参数空间局部最优区域等 问题,提出了PAM (parallel adaptive metropolis) 算法;对三水源新安江模型参数不确定性进行分析 研究。实例研究表明显著提高了计算速度和求解质 量,参数后验分布结果为区间预报提供了条件。     

不确定度的Bayes表征与分析

本给出了测量不确定度的Ｂａｙｅｓ表征方法，该方法是通过对待测对象的测量结果验后分布的分析，获得不确定度表征所需参数值。与古典统计方法相比，Ｂａｙｅｓ方法具有估计精度高，不确定度的表征更为客观的特点。