---
tags:
- physics
- simulation
- FEM
- PDE
- neural-operator
- scientific-computing
- domain-decomposition
size_categories:
- 100K
Created by Bosch Center for Artificial Intelligence (BCAI)
Paper: Operator Learning with Domain Decomposition for Geometry Generalization in PDE Solving (ICLR 2026)
A benchmark of 2D finite-element PDE solutions for training and evaluating neural operators with geometry generalization. Each sample is a complete FEM problem defined on an unstructured triangular mesh—random polygon geometry, boundary conditions (Dirichlet and/or Neumann), and optionally coefficient fields or time-stepping parameters—paired with the solved solution field $u$.
The dataset accompanies the **Schwarz Neural Inference (SNI)** framework, which combines local operator learning with domain decomposition methods to generalize to unseen complex geometries at inference time.
## Dataset Summary
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Domain | 2D Partial Differential Equations (FEM) |
| Number of PDE types | 5 |
| Training samples | 200,000 |
| Test samples (simple domains) | 26,500 |
| Test samples (evaluation domains) | 1,330 |
| Total samples | ~227,830 |
| File format | Pickle (`.pkl`) |
| Mesh type | Unstructured triangular (gmsh) |
| Solver | FEniCSx (dolfinx) |
## PDE Types
| PDE | Equation | Boundary Conditions | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| `laplace2d` | $-\nabla^2 u = 0$ | Dirichlet | Stationary |
| `laplace2d_mixed` | $-\nabla^2 u = 0$ | Mixed Dirichlet / Neumann | Stationary |
| `darcy2d` | $-\nabla \cdot (a(x)\nabla u) = f(x)$ | Dirichlet | Stationary |
| `heat2d` | $\partial u / \partial t - \alpha \nabla^2 u = 0$ | Time-dependent Dirichlet | Transient |
| `nonlinear_poisson2d` | $-\nabla \cdot (q(u)\nabla u) = 0$, $q(u) = 1 + u^2$ | Dirichlet | Stationary (nonlinear) |
### PDE Details
**Laplace (Dirichlet):** The classical Laplace equation on random polygonal domains with randomized Dirichlet boundary values at each boundary node.
**Laplace (Mixed):** Same equation, but the boundary is split into contiguous Dirichlet and Neumann segments. With probability 0.2 the entire boundary is Dirichlet; otherwise a random contiguous portion is assigned Neumann conditions.
**Darcy Flow:** A variable-coefficient elliptic PDE. The coefficient field $a(x)$ and source term $f(x)$ are independently randomized per node ($a \in [0, 1]$, $f \in [-5, 0]$). Boundary values are scaled by a random factor in $[0.3, 1.0]$.
**Heat Equation:** Time-dependent diffusion solved with implicit Euler. Training uses 10 time steps ($T = 0.1$, $\Delta t = 0.01$) with random thermal diffusivity $\alpha \in [0.1, 1.0]$. Evaluation uses 50 time steps ($T = 0.5$) with fixed $\alpha = 1.0$.
**Nonlinear Poisson:** A nonlinear PDE with solution-dependent diffusivity $q(u) = 1 + u^2$, solved via Newton's method with GMRES and BoomerAMG preconditioning.
## Training Data
Training data is generated on **random simple polygons** with varying numbers of vertices, triangulated using gmsh.
| Subset | Samples | Polygons × Batch | Vertices | Mesh Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| `laplace2d_simple` | 20,000 | 2000 × 10 | 3–12 | 0.1 |
| `laplace2d_mixed_simple` | 40,000 | 2000 × 20 | 3–12 | 0.1 |
| `darcy2d_simple` | 40,000 | 2500 × 10 | 3–16 | 0.1 |
| `heat2d_simple` | 80,000 | 1600 × 50 | 3–12 | 0.1 |
| `nonlinear_poisson2d_simple` | 20,000 | 2000 × 10 | 3–12 | 0.1 |
> **Note:** Each random polygon is reused for multiple samples (the "Batch" count) with different boundary conditions and/or coefficient fields. Coordinates are shifted by $[0.5, 0.5]$ to center domains around the origin.
## Test Data
### Simple Domain Test Sets
Test data on random polygons (same generation process as training, different samples):
| Subset | Samples |
|---|---|
| `laplace2d_simple` | 2,500 |
| `laplace2d_mixed_simple` | 4,000 |
| `darcy2d_simple` | 2,500 |
| `heat2d_simple` | 12,500 |
| `nonlinear_poisson2d_simple` | 2,500 |
### Evaluation Domain Test Sets
Test data on **pre-defined complex geometries** (fixed meshes), used to evaluate geometry generalization:
| Domain | Mesh File | Description |
|---|---|---|
| **A** (Schwarz) | `A-schwarz.msh` | Overlapping disk and rectangle |
| **B** (Holes) | `B-holes.msh` | Square with two interior holes |
| **C** (Bosch) | `C-bosch.msh` | Disk with complex shape removed |
Each PDE is evaluated on each domain with 100 samples (10 for `heat2d`):
| Subset | Domain A | Domain B | Domain C |
|---|---|---|---|
| `laplace2d` | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| `laplace2d_mixed` | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| `darcy2d` | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| `heat2d` | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| `nonlinear_poisson2d` | 100 | 100 | 100 |
Additional evaluation meshes (`D-dolphin.msh`, `E-disk.msh`, `F-triangle.msh`) are available for extended evaluation.
## Data Format
All data is stored in Python pickle files (`.pkl`). Each file contains a **list of samples**. The format varies by PDE type:
### Laplace2d / Laplace2d Mixed / Nonlinear Poisson2d
Each sample is a tuple: `(sol, [bc])`
| Array | Shape | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `sol` | `(N, 3)` | Solution field: `[x, y, u]` at each mesh node |
| `bc` | `(M, 4)` | Boundary conditions: `[x, y, value, type]` at each boundary node |
- `type = 0` → Dirichlet boundary condition ($u = \text{value}$)
- `type = 1` → Neumann boundary condition ($\partial u / \partial n = \text{value}$)
- For `laplace2d` and `nonlinear_poisson2d`, all boundaries are Dirichlet (`type = 0`)
### Darcy2d
Each sample is a tuple: `(sol, [qf, bc])`
| Array | Shape | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `sol` | `(N, 3)` | Solution field: `[x, y, u]` |
| `qf` | `(N, 4)` | Coefficient and source: `[x, y, a, f]` at each mesh node |
| `bc` | `(M, 4)` | Boundary conditions: `[x, y, u_D, 0]` |
### Heat2d
Each sample is a tuple: `(sol, alpha, [bc])`
| Array | Shape | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `sol` | `(N, 2 + T)` | Solution trajectory: `[x, y, u_0, u_1, ..., u_{T-1}]` |
| `alpha` | scalar | Thermal diffusivity |
| `bc` | `(M, 2 + T + 1)` | Boundary trajectory: `[x, y, bc_0, ..., bc_{T-1}, 0]` |
- Training: $T = 10$ time steps ($\Delta t = 0.01$)
- Evaluation: $T = 50$ time steps ($\Delta t = 0.01$)
## Directory Structure
```
data/
├── 2d/
│ ├── laplace2d_simple_20000_train.pkl
│ ├── laplace2d_simple_2500_test.pkl
│ ├── laplace2d_schwarz_100_test.pkl
│ ├── laplace2d_holes_100_test.pkl
│ ├── laplace2d_bosch_100_test.pkl
│ ├── laplace2d_mixed_simple_40000_train.pkl
│ ├── laplace2d_mixed_schwarz_100_test.pkl
│ ├── laplace2d_mixed_holes_100_test.pkl
│ ├── laplace2d_mixed_bosch_100_test.pkl
│ ├── darcy2d_simple_40000_train.pkl
│ ├── darcy2d_simple_2500_test.pkl
│ ├── darcy2d_schwarz_100_test.pkl
│ ├── darcy2d_holes_100_test.pkl
│ ├── darcy2d_bosch_100_test.pkl
│ ├── heat2d_simple_100000_train.pkl
│ ├── heat2d_simple_12500_test.pkl
│ ├── heat2d_schwarz_10_test.pkl
│ ├── heat2d_holes_10_test.pkl
│ ├── heat2d_bosch_10_test.pkl
│ ├── nonlinear_poisson2d_simple_20000_train.pkl
│ ├── nonlinear_poisson2d_simple_2500_test.pkl
│ ├── nonlinear_poisson2d_schwarz_100_test.pkl
│ ├── nonlinear_poisson2d_holes_100_test.pkl
└── └── nonlinear_poisson2d_bosch_100_test.pkl
```
## Quick Start
```python
import pickle
# Load training data
with open("data/2d/laplace2d_simple_20000_train.pkl", "rb") as f:
datalist = pickle.load(f)
# Each sample is a tuple
sol, (bc,) = datalist[0]
# Solution field
x, y, u = sol[:, 0], sol[:, 1], sol[:, 2] # (N,) each
# Boundary conditions
bx, by, bc_val, bc_type = bc[:, 0], bc[:, 1], bc[:, 2], bc[:, 3]
print(f"Number of samples: {len(datalist)}")
print(f"Mesh nodes: {sol.shape[0]}, Boundary nodes: {bc.shape[0]}")
```
```python
# Load Darcy flow data (includes coefficient field)
with open("data/2d/darcy2d_simple_40000_train.pkl", "rb") as f:
datalist = pickle.load(f)
sol, (qf, bc) = datalist[0]
# Coefficient field a(x) and source f(x)
a_coeff = qf[:, 2] # (N,)
f_source = qf[:, 3] # (N,)
```
```python
# Load Heat equation data (time-dependent)
with open("data/2d/heat2d_simple_80000_train.pkl", "rb") as f:
datalist = pickle.load(f)
sol, alpha, (bc,) = datalist[0]
# Solution at each time step
x, y = sol[:, 0], sol[:, 1]
u_timesteps = sol[:, 2:] # (N, 10) — solution at 10 time steps
print(f"Thermal diffusivity: {alpha}")
```
## Data Generation
Data is generated using [FEniCSx](https://fenicsproject.org/) (dolfinx) for the FEM solver and [gmsh](https://gmsh.info/) for mesh generation:
```bash
# Generate training data (parallelized across processes)
bash scripts/generate_data.sh laplace2d train 8
# Generate evaluation data on pre-defined domains
python data_generation/generate_eval.py --pde all --domain all
```
See the [project repository](https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.00510) for the full training and inference pipeline.
## Intended Use
SNI-Dataset is designed to:
- Train and benchmark **neural operators** for PDE solving on irregular geometries.
- Evaluate **geometry generalization** — training on simple random polygons, testing on complex unseen domains.
- Support research on **domain decomposition methods** combined with learned operators.
- Provide a diverse set of PDE types (elliptic, parabolic, nonlinear) with varying boundary condition types.
## Citation
If you use SNI-Dataset in your work, please cite:
```bibtex
@inproceedings{
title={Operator Learning with Domain Decomposition for Geometry Generalization in PDE Solving},
booktitle={International Conference on Learning Representations (ICLR)},
year={2026},
url={https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.00510}
}
```