A process-synergistic active learning framework for high-strength Al-Si alloys design

High-strength Al-Si alloys are important lightweight materials, but their optimal design is hindered by scarce-imbalance data, and complex compositional-process-property relationships. Traditional trial-and-error experimentation fails to explore this multi-dimensional design space, where processing routes (PRs) and composition must be co-optimized to achieve superior strength. This study introduces a process-synergistic active learning (PSAL) framework leveraging a conditional Wasserstein autoencoder (c-WAE) to enable the data-efficient design. By encoding PRs as conditional variables, the PSAL framework reveals exceptional synergistic effects across diverse PRs, significantly outperforming single-process approaches. The process-aware latent representation facilitates the efficient exploration of potential compositions across multi-PRs simultaneously. Through iterative active learning cycles integrating machine learning predictions with experimental validations, ultimate tensile strength is greatly improved: 459.8 MPa for gravity casting with T6 heat treatment within three iterations and 220.5 MPa for gravity casting with hot extrusion in a single iteration. This framework handles sparse datasets effectively, capturing complex process-composition-property relationships and establishing a new paradigm for accelerated multi-objective material design. © The Author(s) 2025.