Generative Inverse Design: From Single Point Optimization to a Diverse Design Portfolio via Conditional Variational Autoencoders

• URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2510.05160v1
• Date: Fri, 03 Oct 2025 16:28:19 GMT
• Title: Generative Inverse Design: From Single Point Optimization to a Diverse Design Portfolio via Conditional Variational Autoencoders
• Authors: Muhammad Arif Hakimi Zamrai,
• Abstract summary: Inverse design seeks to find optimal parameters for a target output.<n>This paper presents a paradigm shift from single-point optimization to generative inverse design.
• Score: 0.0
• License: http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/
• Abstract: Inverse design, which seeks to find optimal parameters for a target output, is a central challenge in engineering. Surrogate-based optimization (SBO) has become a standard approach, yet it is fundamentally structured to converge to a single-point solution, thereby limiting design space exploration and ignoring potentially valuable alternative topologies. This paper presents a paradigm shift from single-point optimization to generative inverse design. We introduce a framework based on a Conditional Variational Autoencoder (CVAE) that learns a probabilistic mapping between a system's design parameters and its performance, enabling the generation of a diverse portfolio of high-performing candidates conditioned on a specific performance objective. We apply this methodology to the complex, non-linear problem of minimizing airfoil self-noise, using a high-performing SBO method from a prior benchmark study as a rigorous baseline. The CVAE framework successfully generated 256 novel designs with a 94.1\% validity rate. A subsequent surrogate-based evaluation revealed that 77.2\% of these valid designs achieved superior performance compared to the single optimal design found by the SBO baseline. This work demonstrates that the generative approach not only discovers higher-quality solutions but also provides a rich portfolio of diverse candidates, fundamentally enhancing the engineering design process by enabling multi-criteria decision-making.

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