From surrogate modeling to aerospace engineering: a NASA case study | by Piero Paialunga | August 2024

How Surrogate Modelling is revolutionising the world of aerospace engineering – from theory to practice

Imagine you go to the Physician because you have a stomach ache. Imagine that the doctor had to perform a numerical simulation to tell you the reason for your pain. This numerical simulation solves the differential equation of your body and the approximation error is so small that it basically gives 100% accuracy: you will know Exactly why you have this stomachache, and there can be no room for error (I know this sounds crazy, but bear with me). Would you use numerical simulation? Of course you would, why not?

Now imagine Because This numerical simulation solves very complicated differential equations. To get the answer from the computer, you have to wait 35 years GPU lifespan. This would immediately reduce the attractiveness of the method. What is the use of this method if it takes so long to get an answer? Sure, it could be 100% accurate, but the computational effort is too high.

Well, engineers thought of a solutionThis solution is called Surrogate modelling. As the name suggests, the approach is to surrogate the original simulation…