Flow field reconstruction from sparse sensor measurements with physics-informed neural networks

In the realm of experimental fluid mechanics, accurately reconstructing high-resolution flow fields is notably challenging due to often sparse and incomplete data across time and space domains. This is exacerbated by the limitations of current experimental tools and methods, which leave critical areas without measurable data. This research suggests a feasible solution to this problem by employing an inverse physics-informed neural network (PINN) to merge available sparse data with physical laws. The method's efficacy is demonstrated using flow around a cylinder as a case study, with three distinct training sets. One was the sparse velocity data from a domain, and the other two datasets were limited velocity data obtained from the domain boundaries and sensors around the cylinder wall. The coefficient of determination (R-2) coefficient and mean squared error (RMSE) metrics, indicative of model performance, have been determined for the velocity components of all models. For the 28 sensors model, the R-2 value stands at 0.996 with an associated RMSE of 0.0251 for the u component, while for the v component, the R-2 value registers at 0.969, accompanied by an RMSE of 0.0169. The outcomes indicate that the method can successfully recreate the actual velocity field with considerable precision with more than 28 sensors around the cylinder, highlighting PINN's potential as an effective data assimilation technique for experimental fluid mechanics.