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Causal Surrogate Modeling for High Performance Finite Element Earthquake Simulations


Thesis topic details

General information

Organisation

The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) is a key player in research, development and innovation in four main areas :
• defence and security,
• nuclear energy (fission and fusion),
• technological research for industry,
• fundamental research in the physical sciences and life sciences.

Drawing on its widely acknowledged expertise, and thanks to its 16000 technicians, engineers, researchers and staff, the CEA actively participates in collaborative projects with a large number of academic and industrial partners.

The CEA is established in ten centers spread throughout France
  

Reference

SL-DES-27-0050  

Thesis topic details

Category

Engineering science

Thesis topics

Causal Surrogate Modeling for High Performance Finite Element Earthquake Simulations

Contract

Thèse

Job description

High-resolution earthquake simulations are essential for understanding seismic wave propagation in complex geological structures. However, finite element simulations require significant computational resources, particularly when exploring multiple scenarios or accounting for uncertainties. This PhD project aims to develop causal surrogate models that reduce computational costs while preserving the physical consistency of seismic simulations. The proposed approach combines causal machine learning, Bayesian statistics, and high-performance computing (HPC). Using data generated by large-scale finite element simulations, the research will investigate methods for identifying directed relationships between seismic variables across space and time. These causal relationships will then be used to construct surrogate models capable of approximating selected components of numerical simulators. Bayesian approaches will also be explored to quantify uncertainties in the learned causal structures and model predictions. The developed methods will be integrated into parallel simulation environments, particularly ArcaneFEM and PSD, to ensure their applicability to large-scale problems. The expected results include efficient causal learning algorithms, computationally scalable surrogate models, and hybrid simulation strategies combining numerical methods and artificial intelligence. Ultimately, this research aims to improve the efficiency of earthquake simulations and support uncertainty quantification, adaptive mesh refinement, and data assimilation.

University / doctoral school

Interfaces (INTERFACES)
Paris-Saclay

Thesis topic location

Site

Saclay

Requester

Position start date

01/02/2027

Person to be contacted by the applicant

BADRI Mohd Afeef mohd-afeef.badri@cea.fr
CEA
DES/DM2S/SGLS/LESIM
CEA/Saclay DES-ISAS-DM2S-STMF
91191 Gif sur Yvette Cedex
01 69 08 27 89

Tutor / Responsible thesis director

LOMET Aurore aurore.lomet@cea.fr
CEA
DES/DM2S/SGLS/LIAD
CEA Saclay, Bât 451, Pce 64
F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex
01 69 08 58 21

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