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Imamura Lab (Aircraft Design Lab)
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A lab that designs the shapes of future aircraft based on aerodynamics.
AboutAbout the lab
Creating the aircraft of the future.
The Imamura Lab (Aircraft Design Lab) studies the analysis and design of the shapes of aircraft and wings, based on aerodynamics.
Aircraft are on the verge of a major change in their very form amid decarbonization and digitalization, with hydrogen aircraft, electric aircraft, and new wing shapes.
The lab's research rests on three pillars: conceptual design tools for aircraft, its own original flow analysis programs, and the development of aerodynamic devices through wind tunnel testing.
By combining theory, numerical analysis, and wind tunnel experiments, the lab aims to create highly practical design methods.
Key terms
- conceptual design
- Design carried out at the earliest stage of aircraft development to determine the rough form of the aircraft, such as its size, shape, and engine placement
- computational fluid dynamics
- A method of expressing the flow of air or water with equations and investigating it through computer calculation. Also called CFD
- wind tunnel
- A tunnel-shaped device that generates wind artificially. Wind is blown over a model to measure the forces acting on it and the behavior of the flow
NewsLab news
Assistant Professor Tamaki received the Grand Prize (Fluid Dynamics Division) at the 58th Fluid Dynamics Conference
A master's student received the Outstanding Presentation Award (Student) at the 58th Fluid Dynamics Conference
A student received the Grand Prize in the APC-11 Student Visualization Competition
A student received the Dean's Award of the Faculty of Engineering (Research)
A student received the Japan Society for Aeronautical and Space Sciences Student Award
ResearchResearch themes
Starting from aircraft conceptual design, the lab studies methods for designing next-generation aircraft. It also works on analysis using computational fluid dynamics, the development of aerodynamic devices through wind tunnel experiments, and the prediction and reduction of aircraft noise.
*Illustrative imageCreating new aircraft shapes
The lab uses its original conceptual design tool, UTPlane, in combination with optimization and computational fluid dynamics. It examines the shapes and operating conditions of aircraft powered by new energy sources, such as hydrogen aircraft and electric aircraft.
*Illustrative imageComputing the flow around aircraft
Using its original flow analysis program, UTCart, the lab analyzes the flow around complex geometries close to those of real aircraft. It also tackles challenges such as analyses that treat the engine and airframe as an integrated whole, and icing.
*Illustrative imageDeveloping new aerodynamic devices
The lab studies unprecedented aerodynamic devices, such as the vertical aileron and passive morphing wings that change shape in the direction they are pushed. Experiments are carried out in facilities such as the lab's own low-speed wind tunnel, and the results are checked against numerical analysis.
*Illustrative imagePredicting and reducing aircraft noise
The lab investigates the sound generated by high-lift devices and landing gear by computing in detail the flow around the noise sources. It also analyzes noise data from real aircraft using neural networks and develops programs that predict noise around airports.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Imamura Lab consist of faculty, project specialist staff, and doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students.As of 2026
- ProfessorImamura TaroPublications ↗
- Assistant ProfessorYoshiharu Tamaki
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “A340 wake turbulence simulation” Deutsches Zentrum für Luft und Raumfahrt / CC BY 3.0 de (cropped)
- Creating new aircraft shapes: “Blended Wing Body design by DLR” DLR / CC BY 3.0 de (cropped)
- Computing the flow around aircraft: “3840x1080 F16 OpenFOAM” Marek Cel / CC0 (cropped)
- Developing new aerodynamic devices: “10deg-Mach3-cone-PSUSWT-color-schlieren” Settles1 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Predicting and reducing aircraft noise: “Airplane approaching to Palma de Mallorca airport” Abrget47j / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Himeno Lab): “Compressor case from turbojet” Olivier Cleynen / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Oyama Lab): “Ingenuity Helicopter Deployment Successful” NASA JPL / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Ogawa-Odagiri Lab): “BepiColombo spacecraft model” National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Teramoto-Okamoto Lab): “Shuttle Main Engine Test Firing” NASA / Public domain (cropped)
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