Three-dimensional microstructure generation using generative adversarial neural networks in the context of continuum micromechanics

Multiscale simulations are demanding in terms of computational resources. In the context of continuum micromechanics, the multiscale problem arises from the need of inferring macroscopic material parameters from the microscale. If the underlying microstructure is explicitly given by means of μCT-scans, convolutional neural networks can be used to learn the microstructure–property mapping, which is usually obtained from computational homogenization. The CNN approach provides a significant speedup, especially in the context of heterogeneous or functionally graded materials. Another application is uncertainty quantification, where many expansive evaluations are required. However, one bottleneck of this approach is the large number of training microstructures needed. This work closes this gap by proposing a generative adversarial network tailored towards three-dimensional microstructure generation. The lightweight algorithm is able to learn the underlying properties of the material from a single μCT-scan without the need of explicit descriptors. During prediction time, the network can produce unique three-dimensional microstructures with the same properties of the original data in a fraction of seconds and at consistently high quality.