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Adaptive Materials Mechanics Lab
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The lab uses a microscopic view to reveal how lightweight, strong composite materials fail.
AboutAbout the lab
Composite strength, from the microstructure.
The lab studies how to improve the performance of advanced composite materials used in aerospace and transportation equipment.
It investigates where and how materials combining carbon fiber and resin fail, using both in situ observation under an electron microscope and numerical analysis.
Spanning fields such as mechanics of materials, fluid dynamics, thermodynamics, and polymer chemistry, the lab clarifies how the way a material is molded determines its strength.
The lab also aims to develop smart material systems whose properties change to suit the environment and the required function.
Key terms
- Mesostructure
- A structure at an intermediate scale between the microscale of atoms and molecules and the macroscale of the whole material, ranging from nanometers to tens of micrometers in size
- Micromechanics
- A branch of mechanics that explains the strength and failure behavior of a whole material from its fine constituents, such as fibers and resin
- Soft active materials
- Soft materials that change shape or properties in response to stimuli such as electricity or heat
ResearchResearch themes
The lab works on improving the performance of advanced composite materials used in cutting-edge fields such as aerospace, transportation, and energy. The best-known example, CFRP (carbon fiber reinforced plastic), is lightweight with excellent specific strength and specific stiffness, and is used in aircraft structures, automobile parts, and sporting goods. From the standpoint of experimental and computational micromechanics, the lab reveals how strength and functions emerge, and aims to develop new material systems that adapt to the environment and the functions required.
*Illustrative imageFundamental Science for Optimal Molding
Composite materials allow integral molding, in which the material and the shape are created at the same time from the raw constituents. The lab studies resin flow in low-cost RTM (resin transfer molding) through experiments using microchannels and analysis of gas-liquid two-phase flow, building up the fundamental science of molding.
*Illustrative imageCFRP Used in Aircraft: Revealing How It Fails
In CFRP, the mesostructure of fibers, resin, and interfaces, ranging from a few nanometers to tens of micrometers, governs how the material fails. The lab observes it in situ under load with a modified scanning electron microscope and models it with finite element analysis.
*Illustrative imageFracture Resistance of Thin-Film Superconducting Wires
In thin-film superconducting wires, when the superconducting layer fails, the limit on the current the wire can carry drops. The lab established evaluation methods using the DCB (double cantilever beam) test and the four-point bending test, and found that the conditions under which the superconducting layer fails change depending on how the load is applied.
*Illustrative imageSoft, Moving Materials
Soft active materials are being considered for applications such as deployable space structures and morphing wings. The lab aims to quantify how their functions emerge, based on the microstructure and the mobility of molecular chains.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Adaptive Materials Mechanics Lab consist of faculty members, master's students, and undergraduate students.As of 2026
- Associate ProfessorMasaaki Nishikawa
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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: “Woven carbon fiber fabric” Acheolg / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Fundamental Science for Optimal Molding: “Dominican Amber housing an Insect” LucasFassari / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- CFRP Used in Aircraft: Revealing How It Fails: “Photoelasticity stiffener” SSMG-ITALY / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Fracture Resistance of Thin-Film Superconducting Wires: “Levitation of a magnet on top of a superconductor 2” Julien Bobroff, Frederic Bouquet, Jeffrey Quilliam, LPS, Orsay, France / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Soft, Moving Materials: “Miura-ori origami tessellations” Origamicke / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Functional Structural Mechanics Lab): “Ultrasonic pipeline test” w:en:User:Davidmack / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Quantum Beam Science Lab): “Ion Beam - GPN” NASA/GRC / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Functional Systems Design Lab): “Nondestructive inspection, Finding the cracks 130806-F-JF989-080” Senior Airman Benjamin Stratton / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Nano Material Properties Engineering Lab): “Holifield charging chains and high-energy acceleration tubes ( )” Oak Ridge National Laboratory / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
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