Knowledge-Enriched Recommendations: Bridging the Gap in Alloy Material Selection With Large Language Models

Navigating materials performance databases efficiently is a persistent challenge in materials science and engineering, particularly in the selection of alloy materials. While recommendation systems address information overload, traditional approaches relying on historical user data face limitations such as data sparsity and cold-start issues. This study presents a novel recommendation model that integrates domain-specific knowledge graphs with large language models (LLMs) to enhance recommendation accuracy in alloy material selection. A knowledge graph for alloys is developed, encapsulating technical material data and relationships to improve retrieval and recommendation outcomes. LLMs are employed for label clustering and natural language-based instruction-following to craft user profiles and enhance data representation. Two graph enhancement strategies, integrated with attention mechanisms, effectively capture user preferences. Experimental results on a ferroalloy dataset demonstrate the model’s superior performance compared to baseline methods, significantly addressing data sparsity while offering personalized, accurate recommendations. This research bridges the gap between knowledge graphs and LLMs in recommendation systems, contributing a flexible, intelligent solution to streamline material selection processes.