Research Topics


1. Structural Performace of Plates and Shells
High structural performance of shells and assembled plates is provided by their three dimensional arrangement of material. Thin, light, and effective structures such as shells, space frames, cable structures, membrane structures, and folded plates are mainly investigated.
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2. Development of New Structural Systems
Three dimensional arrangement of material enables us to develop light and effective structural systems. So far, concrete shells, space frames, cable structures, and pneumatic membrane structures have been developed. For the development of new structural systems not only the structural efficiency but also construction scheme, economy, flexibility in design, and some other factors should be carefully examined.
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3. Dynamic Responce and Failure of Spatial Structures
Theoretical and experimental researches are carried out in order to grasp dynamic bihavior and failure of spatial structures.
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4. Morphology and Computational Morphogenesis of Structures
The efficiency of the spatial structures is provided by its physical form. Morphological aspects of structures are important for the deeper understading and better design of structural systems. Investigation of morphogenesis process of structures using numerical computation scheme is carried out.
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5. Morphocontrol of Structures
Stress under external loading or initially induced stress in the structural members can be varied by controling the physical form of the structure. Morphocontrol of the structures can control the structural performance of the system.
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6. Foldable Structure
Folding of structures can be applied to effective construction and safe demolishing, or even to deployable or adaptive structures.
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7. Adaptive and/or Mobile Structures
Architectures in the future should be more adaptable to human demands such as comfort, envionment-consciousness, or safety.
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8. Large Enclosures in Disaster
Light-weight structures are frequently used to enclose the area where many people gather for events. In the emergency of natural disasters, such enclosures are often converted as refugee shelters. Therefore, the safety of the large enclosures should be strongly ensured. We investigate the behavior and the damage of large enclosres in natural disasters, and point out the design factors which should be imporved.
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9. Tension Structures
Lightness and rigidity of the tension structures such as cable structures and membrane structures are provided by pretensioned members that can carry compressive stress until their slackening. Geometrical tension effect also provide some rigidity to structures, which is called geometrical rigidity. Such structural advantages of tension structures are investigated from engineering aspects.
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10. Kinematically Indeterminate Structures
Flexible structures such as membrane structures and cable structures are clasified as kinematically indeterminate structures, and frequently used for light-weight system. The flexible and incompressible nature of membrane and cable presents the common features of large displacement. Although this flexibility is useful for constructiton of light-weight structures, it is sometimes troublesome in the stage of numerical prediction. Therefore theoretical treatment of such material and structures is difficult but important.
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