The 21st Century COE Program
Mechanical Systems Innovation
The University of Tokyo

11

No.

The 21st Century COE Program
Mechanical Systems Innovation, The University of Tokyo

Dec 1, 2006

The 3 years of “Mechanical Systems Innovation” at the University of Tokyo
Three and a half years have already passed since the 21COE program began its research and education activities with the aim ofproviding improved comfort and secure societies for the diverse
people of the world through the creation and application of new
knowledge. Through active interactions between the project promoters and Ph.D students, our COE program has implemented
cross-disciplinary fusional research activities with focus on energy
and biomedical fields, which are indispensable fundamentals forindividual life, and also a hyper modeling/simulation field, which
supports leading-edge designs of mechanical systems. Now,
these activities are yielding remarkable results. Meanwhile, ourCOE program also makes advancement in the reform of humanresource development through industry-government-academia
discussions and new educational programs at the graduate schoollevel. Thanks to these efforts, the program has become recognized internationally as the center that makes contributions to achieving the aforementioned goals in the 21st century.
In the Energy Innovation Project, we have disclosed a Japan Energy Vision through industry-academia collaborations with major
heavy electric machinery companies with focus on Japan’s energy
security. Based on this vision, we have extracted technological issues and implemented several fundamental research projects. In
addition, we have launched an Innovative Aerial Robot Project(IARP) for resource exploration and security surveillance. We participated in many activities both within and outside the university
such as the Nagoya World Exposition and also organized aerial
robot contests for students.
In the Biomedical Innovation Project, we have seen remarkableadvancement in the fundamental research of human-friendly medical treatment, namely, non-invasive and low-invasive treatment,

and remote medical systems. Integrating the interaction between
micro-bubbles and ultrasoundinto advanced robotics technologies, we are now developing a
new integrated system for diagnostic treatment. Furthermore,
toward realization and spreading
the state-of-the-art medical technologies, such as regenerative
medicine, we have studied theeffects of mechanical stress at
Nobuhide Kasagi
the cell level on cell differentiaProgram Leadertion, while making progress indevelopment of a micro cell separation device for extracting
scarce cells from peripheral blood. These activities played an important part in the establishment of the Department of Bioengineering in 2006.
We have also advanced the hyper modeling and simulation technologies that support the designing of the inventive and cuttingedge mechanical systems mentioned above. Currently, we are developing computational methodologies which accurately analyze
the multiscale problems that cover a wide range of issues from themolecular level to the continuum level, and also the multiphysics
problems such as the complex mechanical, electromagnetic andchemical phenomena. In addition, we are making progress in simulating overall mechanical systems through large-scale computation and system optimization.
In this issue, we will take a look at some of the research results
obtained under this 21COE program.

E

Energy Innovation Project
Research Initiative for Sustainable Society
Nobuhide Kasagi, Shigehiko Kaneko, Hiroshi Asano, Naoki Shikazono
Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering
The energy innovation project of the 21COE “Mechanical systems
innovation” program is a collaboration between researchers fromdifferent departments, and is strongly focusing on relations withindustrial world and the society. “Research Initiative for Sustainable
Society” is a joint activity with four heavy electric machinery companies
and was established in April 2004. In this work, long-term energy
strategy and technological road map were discussed. Finally, the vision“Triple 50” was proposed, in which self-sufficiency ratio, fossil fueldependence, and the energy utilization efficiency were improved to all
50% in 2030. Furthermore, joint symposia with “Holonic energy system(Tokyo Gas chair)”, AIST (National Institute of Advanced Industrial
Science and Technology) and JHIF (Japan Hydrogen Industrial Forum)
were held, which all concluded with great success. Researchachievements for biogas heat engines, solid oxide fuel cells and micro
high value added energy devices can be noted as successful research
topics in the project. Moreover, many COE members are giving lecturesof above mentioned topics in “Energy and society” that started as apublic course in school of engineering from April, 2006.

Energy • Trilemma

Energy Systems Innovation- Self-sufficiency ratio- Use efficiency- Dependence rate of fossil fuel- Fusion and Harmony (Large-scale and centralized, Individual dispersion- Renewable Energy/Dispersion Energy- Creation for new energy machine

Holonic Energy Systems

Prof. Asano

Quantification of Distributed Energy Resource

Acceptable Biomass Fuel (Gas Engine, Gas Turbine)

Prof. Kaneko

Low calorie, Composition change

Micro gas turbine/Solid oxide fuel cell hybrid system

Prof. Kasagi

High thermal efficiency ( > 60 %) Energy diversity

GT/SOFC

Bio gas engine

Hybrid system block diagram

Innovative Arial Robot Project
Shinji Suzuki, Kazuro Kageyama, Nobuo Takeda, Keiji Kawachi, Hideaki Murayama
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Department of Environmental & Ocean Engineering, School of Engineering
IARP (Innovative Aerial Robot Project) is a collaborative effort between the university and other public and private organizations. The project isorganized within the framework of the COE program called “Mechanical Systems Innovation.” We developed a series of small sized unmanned
aerial vehicles in time for display at the NEDO Prototype Robot Exhibition held in June last year as a part of the Expo 2005 Aichi Japan. The
developed aerial robots are small and lightweight, suitable for airborne imagery in emergency operation. We have been conducting flight
experiments to explore their use for such purposes. For disaster-related applications, we have been participating in the emergency drill in Nagata
Ward, Kobe along with MELCO and the University of Kyoto for two consecutive years since 2005. We flight-tested our robots for airborne
imagery in simulated post-earthquake emergency operations. In November 2005, we photographed the reconstruction of former Yamakoshi
Village using our robots. For non-time-critical applications, we saw their potential in environment monitoring missions, and conducted such
experiments in November 2005 and in June 2006. We succeeded in the aerial imagery of the vegetation over the Yahata Moor using multi-band
cameras developed by the Hiroshima Prefectural Forestry Research Center. Our technical development led to the successful autonomous takeoff
and landing of the aircraft in April 2005, and we expect to see further expansion in the potential application areas of our systems. Designing,production, and testing of the aircrafts are led by the students. To promote such activities, we organized “The 1st National Indoor Aerial Robot
Student Competition” in Ota Ward in January 2006. Twenty-two teams from ten universities and technical colleges participated in the competition,
and a team from our university won the first prize in the airplane category. We would like to hold this competition every year, and we hope that it
will evolve into a competition of international scope. The aircrafts that we exhibited at the expo is on display at the Engineering Building No. 11. It
is expected to be in display until next summer. You are welcome to pay a visit and have a look at them.

Test Flight at emergency drill in Nagata Ward, Kobe

Success in Full Automatic Flight (2006.4)

The 1st National Indoor Aerial Robot Student
Competition at Oota Industry PlazaBiomedical Innovation Project
Micro-Cell-Processing System
Nobuhide Kasagi, Takashi Ushida, Yuji Suzuki, Naoki Shikazono, Katsuko Furukawa
Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering
Regenerative medicine, a novel approach to regenerate
damaged tissues has been recognized as a promising
methodology, using potential capabilities of stem cells suchas mesenchymal stem cells. However, technologies capable
to separate stem cells from heterogeneous cell mixture, havenot been established at clinical application levels. For that
purpose, we have been developing a micro-cell-processing
system, which can realize to separate stem cells from a small
volume of cell suspension under flow conditions, by
combining the following two kinds of approach: cone-platetype rheometer and antibody-patterned surfaces with thermosensitive gel; MEMS-based micro-mixer and magnetic
separator of target cells specifically bound to magnetic beads
with antigen-antibody interaction.

antibody-patterned surfaces
with thermo-sensitive gel

Cell attached with antibodyconjugated magnetic beads

Micro-mixer cell separation systemCone-plate cell separation system

Non-Invasive Ultrasound Diagnosis and Treatment System
Yoichiro Matsumoto, Mamoru Mitsuishi
Department of Mechanical Engineering & Department of Engineering Synthesis, School of Engineering
It is possible to selectively diagnose and treat an abnormal body part noninvasively using
HIFU (High Intensity Focused Ultrasound). The method is presented as an alternative tocurrent surgical methods, such as conventional abdominal surgery and endoscopic surgery,and a number of new research studies have been reported in the area. The fundamental
principle of CCL (Cavitation Control Lithotripsy) is that high frequency ultrasonic waves (3MHz) produce micro-bubbles and lower frequency ultrasonic waves (550 kHz) erode thetargeted renal stone. The renal stone is crushed by the energy generated by cavitation. Oneof the features of the method is that the debris particles from the renal stone are smallenough to be safe for neighboring organs. One of the main problems with conventional
HIFU systems is that they cannot compensate for the motion of internal structures caused bybreathing, thereby increasing the ultrasound exposure of the peripheral organs of the patient
and the workload on the surgeon. Therefore, it is desirable to control the focus of theultrasound irradiation to follow the movement of the body parts under treatment as they
move during respiration. To overcome this problem, an integrated system is proposed for
non-invasive ultrasound diagnosis and treatment. In the system, the motion of the affectedpart is compensated by tracking it in the stereo ultrasound images.
The concept of the proposed system is to treat the cancer region or stone, such as a renal
calculus, utilizing focused ultrasound without injuring the healthy tissues (skin, muscles,organs, etc.) of the patient, by tracking the affected part. The authors have implemented a
prototype system, which tracks an artificial renal stone. In addition, the following experiment
was conducted to crush a stone. The stone was moved in correspondence with the recorded
input motion pattern of a real human kidney produced by respiration. In this test, it was foundnecessary to enhance the tracking performance from 2 mm to the sub-millimeter range toobtain a better result. In the future, the authors are planning to conduct clinical tests,
including the treatment of various types of cancers.

Overview of the non-invasive ultrasounddiagnosis and treatment system

Motion tracking of a model stone using
the ultrasound image

Hyper Modeling / Simulation Project
Multiscale analysis of microcirculatory system
Yoichiro Matsumoto

Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering

We are aiming at developing a technology to simulate human blood circulation by making progress in multiscale analyses which coverfrom molecular-level transportations into cells through biomembrane to continuum level fluid-structure coupling between blood flow anddispersed bodies.
Molecular-scale phenomena have much effect on membrane transportation and physical properties of membrane. Therefore, weinvestigated lipid bilayers using molecular simulation methods such as the Molecular Dynamics (MD) method, Coarse-Grained Molecular
Dynamics (CGMD) method, and Dissipative Particle Dynamics (DPD) method. We also employed MD-continuum hybrid simulation which
couples atomistic simulation and continuum simulation and enables us to investigate meso- or macro-scale phenomena while retaining
molecular-scale resolution near membrane. At a continuum scale, deformation and interaction of dispersed bodies such as red blood
cells play an important role in the flow structure in a microcirculation. A coupled fluid-structure analysis between blood flow anddispersed bodies was conducted using Immersed-boundary method. We treated a Red blood cell and a giant vesicle (GV) as dispersed
body and investigated the motion in a simple shear flow. Our scheme was validated through the comparison with the experiments.
Moreover, we succeeded in simulating the dispersed bodies to pass through a microchannel with their shapes largely deformed.

MD simulation of lipid bilayer

Continuum simulation of GVs
in a microchannel
CGMD simulation of lipid bilayer

CGMD-continuum hybrid simulationof a lipid bilayer vesicle

Continuum simulation of a red blood
cell in a simple shear flow

Multiscale analysis of mechanical properties of materials
Molecular Dynamics

Shinsuke Sakai

Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering

The interatomic interaction is given in the Classical Molecular Dynamics Method asinteratomic potential function. Although the interatomic potential function is normallydetermined for reproducing experimental values and the results of electronic statecalculation, there is still no generic developing method established. Under the current
research, we developed a 3-level method for the creation of interatomic potentialfunction as follows:
1. Determine the function form that indicates the binding conditions well.
2. Use robustness and properties for calculation purpose as add-in data.
3. Optimize through global method.
We developed a method consisting of the above three phases, improved the Tersoff
potential, developed the interatomic potential that recreates the melting-point ofsilicon, developed the binary potential for Si-B system, and reproduced the diffusion ofborons in silicon. We also created the binary ZrNi-EAM potential and succeeded inrecreating the radial distribution function of the Zr70Ni30 amorphous structure.

LargesystemComputation of
an Interatomic Force
Interatomic Potential Function

Fitting to material properties
SmallsystemAb-initio Calculation &Experimental Data

Application to the Covalent and Metallic Systems
Covalent System

Metallic System

181 Zr atoms
75 Ni atoms
Amorphous Zr70Ni30
Solid/Liquid equilibrium interface
system with 1024 Si atoms
Reproduce a melting point of Si

Kick-out mechanism of Si atom in Si-B system
Reproduce a boron diffusion in Si

Reproduce a Zr70Ni30 Amorphous Structure

Radial Distribution Function of Amorphous Zr70Ni30

Developing Smart Composite Structures for Application
to the Next-generation Japanese-Made Aircraft is My Dream.
Professor Nobuo Takeda
Department of Advanced Energy, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences
Additional Post: Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics,
School of Engineering(University of Tokyo)• Developing composite material structures with embedded small-diameter fiber optic sensors.
Aircrafts require light and strong materials. CFRP (carbon-fiber reinforced plastics) withexcellent properties are being extensively used to replace metals for the fuselage andwings of aircrafts in service in the next 2 or 3 years.
My research is concerned with smart material systems able to carry out self-monitoring of
damages and self-repairs, hoping to apply such material systems in aircrafts or satellites.
We have developed unique small-diameter optic fibers measuring 40 μm in diameter, oneCFRP laminate with embedded
third of the usual one, and are the first in the world to have succeeded in embedding thesesmall-diameter fiber optic sensors.
fibers in CFRP. When equidistant gratings are inscribed into the core of the glass optic
fibers, light signals with a certain wavelength are reflected and bounced back. This can be used as strain sensor called FBG (fiber
Bragg grating) by analyzing the wavelength of this light and measuring the strain in the Bragg grating. Furthermore, the CFRP do
not weaken in strength even with this type of FBG optic sensors embedded in CFRP structures.
• Constant search for originality in my research.
I decided to become a researcher after I saw the live broadcast of the launch of Apollo 11, when I was in my second year of seniorhigh school. I had wanted to become a detective up to when I was in junior high, but gave up the idea because I was afraid of thesight of blood.
I knew I was not gifted and would be better being a research engineer than a scientist, and have since been working on advanced
composite materials research. In the course of that I began asking myself constantly what the originality of my research is.
I wish for the young generation to always think about the originality of their own research. While today we can look up anything
quickly on the Internet, I am concerned that many young people may be misled by the information they have obtained and forget touse their own thinking. It is vital for a researcher to come up with his or her own unique story and to explain it for others tounderstand.
To this end, language skills will also be essential. I myself have also spent a fortune in my younger days to acquire the English
language as a skill, and I found the repeated shadowing method being the most effective.
When no ideas come to mind we can always turn to nature for inspiration. For instance, the reinforcing fibers of the bamboo toprotect the branch are mainly distributed at the edges than in the middles burdened with weight when the bamboo is bent. Suchamazing property of natural elements can unexpectedly offer hints.
I find reading a great way to refresh my mind during my one-hour one-way commute. A recent book of interest is “The Da Vinci
Code”. The mystery books by the author Michael Connelly, a fellow student from The University of Florida, are my favorite. If I havefree time then I go to the cinemas on Sundays. My favorites are of course detective films.
While looking at research works by other professors within the COE program on “Mechanical Systems Innovation”, I am hoping toalso obtain cooperation from them. The root of my current research can be traced back to the time I spent at the Research Center
for Advanced Science and Technology of the University of Tokyo, where I was located next door to Professor Hotate, a researcher
on fiber optic sensors. Discussing ideas with researchers from different fields is a great stimulation, and can sometimes create newresearch fields.
Perhaps in about 10 years we might see the smart composite material systems we are developing now being used on nextgeneration aircrafts. About 35% of Boeing 787 parts now being produced are made by Japanese companies and are mostly madeof composite materials. Our ambitious goal in the near future is to apply our systems to Japanese-made aircrafts.
<Profile>
Completed master in Aeronautics and Astronautics at the School of Engineering, University of Tokyo, in 1977. Entered Ph.D
program in the same year. Entered Ph.D program in Engineering Mechanics at the University of Florida in 1978 and was laterawarded his PhD title there. Returned to the Ph.D program at the University of Tokyo and received his PhD title in engineering. His
experiences include working as researcher at the Takasaki Laboratory of the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, associate
professor at Kyushu University (Applied Elasticity Division within the Research Institute for Applied Mechanics), associate professor
at the University of Tokyo (Area of Robotics Material, Advanced Material Department at the Research Center for Advanced Scienceand Technology). Assumed current position in 1998.

Program Executive Organization
Project Promoters
Program leader

Biomedical innovation

Nobuhide Kasagi
Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering

Mamoru Mitsuishi
Professor, Department of Engineering Synthesis, School of Engineering
Masao Washizu
Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering
Masayuki Nakao
Professor, Department of Engineering Synthesis, School of Engineering
Teruo Fujii
Associate Professor, Department of Environmental and Ocean Engineering,
Institute of Industrial Science
Takashi Ushida
Professor, Center for Disease Biology and Integrative Medicine,
School of Faculty of Medicine

Energy innovation
Toshio Nagashima
Professor, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, School of Engineering
Chisachi Kato
Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Institute of Industrial Science
Takayuki Terai
Professor, Department of Nuclear Engineering and Management, School of Engineering
Kazuro Kageyama
Professor, Department of Technology Management for Innovation, School of Engineering
Nobuo Takeda
Professor, Department of Advanced Energy, School of Frontier Sciences
Tamaki Ura
Professor, Department of Environmental and Ocean Engineering,
Institute of Industrial Science
Shinichi Nakasuka
Professor, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, School of Engineering
Toyoshisa Fujita
Professor, Department of Geosystem Engineering, School of Engineering
Shigehiko Kaneko
Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering
Shinji Suzuki
Professor, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, School of Engineering

Hyper modeling / simulation
Yoichiro Matsumoto
Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering
Takafumi Fujita
Professor, Department of Engineering Synthesis, Institute of Industrial Science
Hideaki Miyata
Professor, Department of Environmental and Ocean Engineering,
School of Engineering
Shinsuke Sakai
Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering
Shinobu Yoshimura
Professor, Department of Quantum Engineering and Systems Science,
School of Engineering

Project members
Tomonori Yamada
Yosuke Hasegawa
Yoshiaki Akematsu

Project Lecturer, International Research and Education Center for Mechanical Systems Innovation, School of Engineering
Project Research Associate, International Research and Education Center for Mechanical Systems Innovation, School of Engineering
Project Research Associate, International Research and Education Center for Mechanical Systems Innovation, School of Engineering

Advisory Committee
Advisory Committee
Koutaro Inoue
Noboru Kikuchi

Senior Fellow, Japan Science and Technology Agency
Professor, The University of Michigan

Yoshitsugu Kimura
Tetsuya Tateishi

Professor Emeritus, The University of Tokyo
Fellow, National Institute for Material Science

Activities of Mechanical Systems Innovation Program〈Open Seminars〉◎FY2006-1st Seminar
Date: May 15th, 2006 14:00-16:00
Venue : Conference Room 1, Institute of Industrial Science, Komaba Campus
Subject: : 21st Century COE Mechanical Systems Innovation Open Seminar(IIS NonoBio Seminar/Foreign Researchers Seminar)
Speaker : Dr. Vincent Senez (CNRS/IEMN)
Dr. Taher Saif (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)◎FY2006-2nd Seminar
Date: June 5th, 2006 14:00-15:30
Venue : Lecture Room 72, Faculty of Engineering Bldg.7, Hongo Campus
Subject : Numerical Simulation of Mechanical Behavior of Composite
Structures by Parallel Supercomputing Technology
Speaker : Dr. Seung-Jo Kim (Professor, Department of Aerospace Engineering,Seoul National University)◎FY2006-3rd Seminar
Date: July 20th, 2006 14:00-15:30
Venue : Lecture Room 232, Faculty of Engineering Bldg.2, Hongo Campus
Subject : Scale Your Enthusiasm: Designing Nanomaterials
Speaker : Dr. Stephen O'Brien (Associate Professor, Materials Science andEngineering Department ofApplied Physics and Applied Mathematics,
Columbia University)◎FY2006-4th Seminar
Date: Sept. 22nd, 2006 10:00-12:00
Venue : Conference Room, Faculty of Engineering Bldg.7, Hongo Campus
Subject : Introducing the Sir Lawrence Wackett Centre for Aerospace
Design Technologies
Speaker : Dr. Cees Bil (Associate Professor, Department of Aerospace
Engineering, RMIT University)◎FY2006-5th Seminar
Date: Oct. 18th, 2006 15:00-17:00
Venue : Conference Room 2-31A, Faculty of Engineering Bldg.2, Hongo Campus
Subject : On the Non-destructive Determination of the Mechanical
Response of Engineering Materials Using Pattern-recognition andClassification Methodology
Speaker : Dr. Y. M. Haddad (Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering,
University of Ottawa)◎FY2006-6th Seminar
Date: Nov. 2nd, 2006 10:30-11:30
Venue : Lecture room 72, Faculty of Engineering Bldg.7, Hongo Campus
Subject : Influence of NDE/SHM on Aircraft Structural Design
Speaker : Dr. Christophe Paget (Airbus UK)〈Domestic Symposium〉◎The 2nd symposium on Holonic Energy Systems
Date: July 10th, 2006
Venue : Takeda Hall, Takeda Building, Asano Campus

The 21st Century COE Program Mechanical Systems Innovation,Newsletter No.11E
Dec 1, 2006
The 21st Century COE Program Mechanical Systems Innovation Office, The University of Tokyo
7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656, JAPAN
Phone and Fax/+81 3 5841 7437
URL/ http://www.mechasys.jp

In the interests of environmental conservation,thisnewsletter was printed
using soybean oil ink