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Applying Gaussian Process Regression to Injection Moulding Including Material Uncertainty
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In injection moulding, shrinkage and warpage lead to shape deviations of the produced parts with respect to the cavity. Caused by shrinkage and warpage, these deviations occur due to uneven cooling and internal stresses inside the part. One method to mitigate this effect is to adapt the cavity shape to the expected deformation. This deformation can be determined using appropriate simulation models, which then also serve as a basis for determining the optimal cavity shape. Shape optimization usually requires a sequence of forward simulations, which can be computationally expensive. To reduce this computational cost, we use Gaussian Process Regression (GPR) as a reduced order model. The GPR learns the objective function, which measures the shape difference. This difference is computed by taking the average Euclidean distance of sample points on the surface of the deformed product on the one hand and the desired shape on the other hand. Additionally, GPR has the benefit that it allows to account for uncertainty in the model parameters and thus provides a means to investigate their influence on the optimization result. We present a GPR trained with samples from a finite-element solid-body model. It predicts the deformation of the product after solidification and, together with GPR, allows for efficient cavity shape optimization. To further improve the learning efficiency, we use Bayesian optimization. This approach selects the next training points by utilizing an acquisition function that balances exploration and exploitation. Here, training points with low function values and high uncertainty are given priority. This achieves the goal of finding the optimal solution with the least number of training points. The Bayesian optimization framework was implemented in Python code using an opensource GPR library named PSimPy, developed by Hu Zhao [1]. The material parameters can underlie fluctuations because of different batches or when using recycled material. To account for these uncertainties in the material parameters, a new formulation of the objective function is proposed to still find the optimal shape. Because the objective function then depends on the distribution of the material parameters, the acquisition function of the Bayesian optimization must be adapted as well. Here, we discuss possible formulations, where new data points should be generated during training of the GPR.