Recent Advances on Machine Learning for Computational Fluid Dynamics: A Survey

Abstract: This paper explores the recent advancements in enhancing Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) tasks through Machine Learning (ML) techniques. We begin by introducing fundamental concepts, traditional methods, and benchmark datasets, then examine the various roles ML plays in improving CFD. The literature systematically reviews papers in recent five years and introduces a novel classification for forward modeling: Data-driven Surrogates, Physics-Informed Surrogates, and ML-assisted Numerical Solutions. Furthermore, we also review the latest ML methods in inverse design and control, offering a novel classification and providing an in-depth discussion. Then we highlight real-world applications of ML for CFD in critical scientific and engineering disciplines, including aerodynamics, combustion, atmosphere & ocean science, biology fluid, plasma, symbolic regression, and reduced order modeling. Besides, we identify key challenges and advocate for future research directions to address these challenges, such as multi-scale representation, physical knowledge encoding, scientific foundation model and automatic scientific discovery. This review serves as a guide for the rapidly expanding ML for CFD community, aiming to inspire insights for future advancements. We draw the conclusion that ML is poised to significantly transform CFD research by enhancing simulation accuracy, reducing computational time, and enabling more complex analyses of fluid dynamics. The paper resources can be viewed at https://github.com/WillDreamer/Awesome-AI4CFD.