Advances in Manufacturing ›› 2026, Vol. 14 ›› Issue (1): 103-143.doi: 10.1007/s40436-025-00545-0

• • 上一篇    

Review of empowering computer-aided engineering with artificial intelligence

Xu-Wen Zhao1, Xiao-Meng Tong1, Fang-Wei Ning1, Mao-Lin Cai1, Fei Han2, Hong-Guang Li3   

  1. 1. School of Automation Science and Electrical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, People's Republic of China;
    2. State Key Laboratory of Structural Analysis for Industrial Equipment, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, 116024, Liaoning, People's Republic of China;
    3. School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, People's Republic of China
  • 收稿日期:2024-04-12 修回日期:2024-06-04 发布日期:2026-03-23
  • 通讯作者: Xiao-Meng Tong Email:E-mail:tongxiaomeng@buaa.edu.cn E-mail:tongxiaomeng@buaa.edu.cn
  • 作者简介:Xu-Wen Zhao is a doctoral candidate at School of Automation Science and Electrical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, China. His main research interests are intelligent manufacturing, computer-aided engineering, and artificial intelligence.
    Xiao-Meng Tong is currently an associate professor and master’s tutor at School of Automation Science and Electrical Engineering, Beihang University. His main research interests include intelligent manufacturing, artificial intelligence, fluid bearings, finite element prediction of the Morton effect, and rotor dynamics analysis.
    Fang-Wei Ning Ph.D., graduated from Beihang University. His research interests include intelligent manufacturing, feature recognition, artificial intelligence, model retrieval, and automatic quotation.
    Mao-Lin Cai is a professor and Doctoral Supervisor, School of Automation Science and Electrical Engineering, Beihang University, with main research interests in digital agile smart manufacturing technology for non standard parts, commonality inspection of pneumatic components.
    Fei Han is a professor, School of Mechanical Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, with main research interests in peridynamics theory and coupling techniques, computer geometric modeling techniques, and 3D complex mesh generation techniques.
    Hong-Guang Li is a professor, School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, with main research interests in dynamics analysis and control, signal processing and fault diagnosis, reliability, and life assessment technologies.
  • 基金资助:
    This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 12202026), the State Key Laboratory of Structural Analysis for Industrial Equipment (Grant No. GZ22114), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2024YFB3409700), and the State Key Laboratory of Mechanical System and Vibration (Grant No. MSV202401).

Review of empowering computer-aided engineering with artificial intelligence

Xu-Wen Zhao1, Xiao-Meng Tong1, Fang-Wei Ning1, Mao-Lin Cai1, Fei Han2, Hong-Guang Li3   

  1. 1. School of Automation Science and Electrical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, People's Republic of China;
    2. State Key Laboratory of Structural Analysis for Industrial Equipment, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, 116024, Liaoning, People's Republic of China;
    3. School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, People's Republic of China
  • Received:2024-04-12 Revised:2024-06-04 Published:2026-03-23
  • Contact: Xiao-Meng Tong Email:E-mail:tongxiaomeng@buaa.edu.cn E-mail:tongxiaomeng@buaa.edu.cn
  • Supported by:
    This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 12202026), the State Key Laboratory of Structural Analysis for Industrial Equipment (Grant No. GZ22114), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2024YFB3409700), and the State Key Laboratory of Mechanical System and Vibration (Grant No. MSV202401).

摘要: Computer-aided engineering (CAE) is widely used in the industry as an approximate numerical analysis method for solving complex engineering and product structural mechanical performance problems. However, with the increasing complexity of structural and performance requirements, the traditional research paradigm based on experimental observations, theoretical modeling, and numerical simulations faces new scientific problems and technical challenges in analysis, design, and manufacturing. Notably, the development of CAE applications in future engineering is constrained to some extent by insufficient experimental observations, lack of theoretical modeling, limited numerical analysis, and difficulties in result validation. By replacing traditional mathematical mechanics models with data-driven models, artificial intelligence (AI) methods directly use high-dimensional, high-throughput data to establish complex relationships between variables and capture laws that are difficult to discover using traditional mechanics research methods, offering significant advantages in the analysis, prediction, and optimization of complex systems. Empowering CAE with AI to find new solutions to the difficulties encountered by traditional research methods has become a developing trend in numerical simulation research. This study reviews the methods and applications of combining AI with CAE and discusses current research deficiencies as well as future research trends.

The full text can be downloaded at https://doi.org/10.1007/s40436-025-00545-0

关键词: Artificial intelligence (AI), Computer-aided engineering (CAE), Deep learning (DL), Computational mechanics

Abstract: Computer-aided engineering (CAE) is widely used in the industry as an approximate numerical analysis method for solving complex engineering and product structural mechanical performance problems. However, with the increasing complexity of structural and performance requirements, the traditional research paradigm based on experimental observations, theoretical modeling, and numerical simulations faces new scientific problems and technical challenges in analysis, design, and manufacturing. Notably, the development of CAE applications in future engineering is constrained to some extent by insufficient experimental observations, lack of theoretical modeling, limited numerical analysis, and difficulties in result validation. By replacing traditional mathematical mechanics models with data-driven models, artificial intelligence (AI) methods directly use high-dimensional, high-throughput data to establish complex relationships between variables and capture laws that are difficult to discover using traditional mechanics research methods, offering significant advantages in the analysis, prediction, and optimization of complex systems. Empowering CAE with AI to find new solutions to the difficulties encountered by traditional research methods has become a developing trend in numerical simulation research. This study reviews the methods and applications of combining AI with CAE and discusses current research deficiencies as well as future research trends.

The full text can be downloaded at https://doi.org/10.1007/s40436-025-00545-0

Key words: Artificial intelligence (AI), Computer-aided engineering (CAE), Deep learning (DL), Computational mechanics