BEKAN: Boundary condition-guaranteed evolutionary Kolmogorov-Arnold networks with radial basis functions for solving PDE problems

Deep learning has gained attention for solving PDEs, but the black-box nature of neural networks hinders precise enforcement of boundary conditions. To address this, we propose a boundary condition-guaranteed evolutionary Kolmogorov-Arnold Network (KAN) with radial basis functions (BEKAN). In BEKAN, we propose three distinct and combinable approaches for incorporating Dirichlet, periodic, and Neumann boundary conditions into the network. For Dirichlet problem, we use smooth and global Gaussian RBFs to construct univariate basis functions for approximating the solution and to encode boundary information at the activation level of the network. To handle periodic problems, we employ a periodic layer constructed from a set of sinusoidal functions to enforce the boundary conditions exactly. For a Neumann problem, we devise a least-squares formulation to guide the parameter evolution toward satisfying the Neumann condition. By virtue of the boundary-embedded RBFs, the periodic layer, and the evolutionary framework, we can perform accurate PDE simulations while rigorously enforcing boundary conditions. For demonstration, we conducted extensive numerical experiments on Dirichlet, Neumann, periodic, and mixed boundary value problems. The results indicate that BEKAN outperforms both multilayer perceptron (MLP) and B-splines KAN in terms of accuracy. In conclusion, the proposed approach enhances the capability of KANs in solving PDE problems while satisfying boundary conditions, thereby facilitating advancements in scientific computing and engineering applications.