Our research subject is advanced composite materials which are rapidly put into practical use especially for aerospace applications. The main target of the group is to improve properties of the materials and to develop durability and reliability evaluation methods for effective usage of composites. Main themes are:
   Investigating micromechanics of composites based on experiments and analysis, which has been conducted for a long time in our laboratory.
   Development of smart materials/structures inspired by living things, which is a rapidly developing research area. Structural health monitoring (SHM) and life-cycle monitoring including cure process monitoring are particular interests. We are actively collaborating with companies and foreign researches.

Detailed research themes are as follows.
(1) Internal strain monitoring during out-of-autoclave curing process
(2) Evaluation of skin-core effects in thick CFRTP laminates
(3) High accuracy cure analysis of cmoposites based on internal strain measurement
(4) Residual stress reduction method for thick-walled CFRP pipes
(5) Detection and assessment of dimpling in honeycomb sandwich structures
(6) Quality control of composite bonding process using fiber-optic-based
     pressure monitoring
(7) Crack arrester for composite bonded joint
(8) Monitoring and modeling barely visible damage in foam core sandwich structures
(9) Hierarchical system for sensing-healing of damage
(10) Ultra-lightweight composite structures designed based on SHM
       and rapid repair systems
(11) Structural integrity diagnosis and evaluation of advanced composite structures
        (ASC-SIDE Project; FY 2003-2012)