Kai Liu, Ph.D., Master's advisor, has long been engaged in research on the lightweight design and safety of transportation equipment.

He has led multiple projects, including a sub-project of the National Key R&D Program of China, the Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province, national defense and military industry projects, and major university-enterprise collaborative projects. He has published more than 20 SCI Q1 journal papers and has been granted 8 national invention patents.

He has received the Science and Technology Award from the China Association for the Promotion of Science and Technology Industrialization. He also serves as a committee member of the Railway Transportation Branch of the China Composites Industry Association, Guest Editor of special issues for SCI journals such as Biomimetics and Applied Sciences, and reviewer for several authoritative international SCI journals.

Each year, the research group recruits 2–3 master's students. The group has sufficient research funding and a harmonious academic atmosphere. Students may flexibly choose their research directions and topics according to their interests and strengths.

Among the Ph.D. and master's students whom he has supervised or co-supervised, each has published at least one SCI Q1 paper on average.

Students majoring in transportation engineering, civil engineering, mechanics, mechanical engineering, weapon science and technology, and related fields are warmly welcome to communicate and join the group.

Email: liu_kai@csu.edu.cn

Research Areas and Directions

1. Service Safety of Transportation Equipment under Extreme Conditions

• Safety of composite equipment under multi-foreign-object impact

• Safety of advanced protective equipment under hypervelocity impact

• Constitutive safety of transportation equipment throughout the full life cycle

2. Lightweight and Multifunctional Design of Materials/Structures

• High-performance lightweight energy-absorbing mechanical metamaterials

• Integrated load-bearing / energy-absorbing / vibration-isolating materials

• Multifunctional materials with coupled sound absorption / sound insulation / mechanical performance

3. Multiscale Intelligent Simulation and Digital Engineering

• Concurrent multiscale modeling and simulation technologies

• Machine-learning-based constitutive modeling and characterization of complex materials

• Intelligence-driven full-life-cycle safety management

Funded Research Projects

[1] Ministry of Science and Technology of China:
Research on Theoretical Methods for Performance Evaluation and Lightweight Design of Transportation Equipment under Complex Environmental Service Conditions
(2022YFB4300101), 2022-12-01 to 2027-11-30, funding: RMB 2.40 million, Principal Investigator.

[2] Science and Technology Commission of the Central Military Commission:
Research on Lightweight Device for Ground-to-Air XXX Demonstration and Validation
2024-01-01 to 2025-01-01, funding: RMB 3.00 million, Principal Investigator.

[3] Major Special Project of China North Industries Group Corporation:
Research on Key Technologies for XXX Series Development and Performance Improvement
(BQGY2025LK01), 2023-12-01 to 2025-12-31, funding: RMB 1.00 million, Principal Investigator.

[4] Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities:
Research on Safety Evaluation and Enhanced Design Methods for Advanced Transportation Equipment under Extreme Environmental Service Conditions
(502044001), 2022-11-30 to 2025-11-30, funding: RMB 0.25 million, Principal Investigator.

[5] Hunan Provincial Department of Science and Technology:
Theoretical Modeling and Concurrent Multiscale Analysis of Liquid Phase-Transition Dynamic-Pressure Composite Containers
(2023JJ40734), 2023-01-01 to 2025-12-31, funding: RMB 0.05 million, Principal Investigator.

[6] China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation:
Technical Development of Y23 Aluminum Honeycomb Buffer
(G-A357-FW-2022-0103), 2022-12-01 to 2025-12-31, funding: RMB 0.18 million, Principal Investigator.

Selected Publications

[1] Kai Liu, Shujian Yao*, Zhifu Wang, Zhaijun Lu*.
A phase-diagram-formulated EOS and fluid-solid coupling analysis for eco-friendly blasting of carbon dioxide phase transition.
Energy, 2024, 313.
(IF = 9.4, SCI JCR Q1, CAS Q1 TOP)

[2] Kai Liu, Lanren Tian, Tianyu Gao, Zhonggang Wang, Pei Li*.
An explicit D-FE2 method for transient multiscale analysis.
International Journal of Mechanical Sciences, 2025, 285.
(IF = 9.4, SCI JCR Q1, CAS Q1 TOP)

[3] Kai Liu, Lu Meng, Ang Zhao, Zhonggang Wang, Leilei Chen, Pei Li*.
A hybrid direct FE2 method for modeling of multiscale materials and structures with strain localization.
Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering, 2023, 412.
(IF = 7.3, SCI JCR Q1, CAS Q1 TOP)

[4] Kai Liu, Pei Li, Zhonggang Wang*.
Buckling-regulated origami materials with synergy of deployable and undeployable features.
International Journal of Mechanical Sciences, 2023, 247.
(IF = 9.4, SCI JCR Q1, CAS Q1 TOP)

[5] Shujian Yao, Hui Zhou, Tianyu Gao, Feipeng Chen, Zhifu Wang, Kai Liu*.
Origami-inspired highly impact-resistant metamaterial with loading-associated mechanism and localization mitigation.
International Journal of Mechanical Sciences, 2025, 290.
(IF = 9.4, SCI JCR Q1, CAS Q1 TOP)

[6] Zhonggang Wang, Shaocheng Yao, Kai Liu*, Kai Wei, Tianyu Gao, Minquan Zhao.
Origami embedded honeycomb with three-axial comparable and improved energy absorption performance.
Thin-Walled Structures, 2023, 193.
(IF = 6.6, SCI JCR Q1, CAS Q1 TOP)

[7] Zhonggang Wang, Xinxin Wang, Kai Liu*, Jian Zhang, Zhaijun Lu.
Crashworthiness index of honeycomb sandwich structures under low-speed oblique impact.
International Journal of Mechanical Sciences, 2021, 208.
(IF = 9.4, SCI JCR Q1, CAS Q1 TOP)

[8] Shujian Yao, Feipeng Chen, Yanjing Wang, Hui Zhou, Kai Liu*.
Manufacturing defect-induced multiscale weakening mechanisms in carbon fiber reinforced polymers captured by 3D CT-based machine learning and high-fidelity modeling.
Composites Part A, 2025, 197.
(IF = 8.9, SCI JCR Q1, CAS Q2 TOP)

[9] Kai Liu, Pei Li, Zhonggang Wang*.
A rate-sensitive and pressure-dependent failure criterion for hail ice.
International Journal of Impact Engineering, 2022, 168.
(IF = 5.7, SCI JCR Q1, CAS Q1)

[10] Kai Liu, JiaLong Liu, Zhonggang Wang*.
A damage threshold prediction model of CFRP panel by hail impact based on delamination mechanism.
Engineering Fracture Mechanics, 2020, 239.
(IF = 5.1, SCI JCR Q1, CAS Q2)

[11] Zhonggang Wang, Minquan Zhao, Kai Liu*, Ke Yuan, Jiajie He.
Experimental analysis and prediction of CFRP delamination caused by ice impact.
Engineering Fracture Mechanics, 2022, 273.
(IF = 5.1, SCI JCR Q1, CAS Q2)

[12] Kai Liu, Pei Li, Zhonggang Wang*.
Statistical modeling of random hail impact.
Extreme Mechanics Letters, 2021, 48.
(IF = 4.5, SCI JCR Q1, CAS Q3)

[13] Lumin Shen, Yuanzhi Wu, Tuo Ye, Tianyu Gao, Shanmei Zheng, Zhihao Long, Xi Ren, Huangyou Zhang, Junwen Huang, Kai Liu*.
Biomimetic Modular Honeycomb with Enhanced Crushing Strength and Flexible Customizability.
Materials, 2024, 17(20).
(IF = 3.2, SCI JCR Q2, CAS Q3)

[14] Chaozhi Zhai, Shaocheng Yao, Quanwen Li, Dalian Yu, Shujian Yao, Kai Liu*.
Mechanical analysis and bionic improvement on buckling of CFRP tubes with high energy absorption capacity.
Advanced Composite Materials, 2024.
(IF = 2.3, SCI JCR Q3, CAS Q4)

[15] Tianyu Gao, Kai Liu, Qingping Ma, Junhao Ding, Zongxin Hu, Kai Wei, Xu Song*, Zhendong Li, Zhonggang Wang*.
Unveiling the mechanics of micro-LPBF manufactured hierarchical composites: a novel FE2-nested homogenisation approach.
Virtual and Physical Prototyping, 2025, 20(1).
(IF = 8.8, SCI JCR Q1, CAS Q1 TOP)

[16] Tianyu Gao, Kai Liu, Xinxin Wang, Lumin Shen, Yiming Zhao, Kai Wei, Zhonggang Wang*.
Elastic wave manipulation via functional incorporation of air-solid phases in hybrid TPMS.
Composites Communications, 2023, 44.
(IF = 7.7, SCI JCR Q1, CAS Q2)

[17] Tianyu Gao, Kai Liu, Xinxin Wang, Kai Wei, Zhonggang Wang*.
Multi-level mechanism of biomimetic TPMS hybridizations with tailorable global homogeneity and heterogeneity.
Extreme Mechanics Letters, 2024, 68.
(IF = 4.5, SCI JCR Q1, CAS Q3)

[18] Fu Shaoqing, Liu Kai, Xiong Wei, Zhou Wei*.
Study on the fatigue characteristics of rivet connections in the fan bottom plate of high-speed trains under alternating aerodynamic loads.
Journal of Railway Science and Engineering, 2020, 17(12): 3003–3012.
(EI indexed)

[19] Tianyu Gao, Kai Liu, Xinxin Wang, Zhendong Li, Zhonggang Wang*.
Elastic mechanical property hybridization of configuration-varying TPMS with geometric continuity.
Materials & Design, 2022, 221.
(IF = 7.9, SCI JCR Q1, CAS Q2)

[20] Ke Yuan, Kai Liu, Zhonggang Wang*, Kai Wei, Mingzhi Yang.
Dynamic fracture in CFRP laminates: effect of projectile mass and dimension.
Engineering Fracture Mechanics, 2021, 251.
(IF = 5.1, SCI JCR Q1, CAS Q2)

[21] Ke Yuan, Kai Liu, Zhonggang Wang*, Mingzhi Yang.
An investigation on the perforation resistance of laminated CFRP beam and square plate.
International Journal of Impact Engineering, 2021, 157.
(IF = 5.7, SCI JCR Q1, CAS Q1)

[22] Ke Yuan, Kai Liu, Minquan Zhao, Kai Wei, Zhonggang Wang*.
The in situ matrix cracking behavior in cross-ply laminates under out-of-plane shear loading.
Composite Structures, 2022, 290.
(IF = 7.1, SCI JCR Q1, CAS Q1)

[23] Zhonggang Wang, Junjie Deng, Kai Liu, Yong Tao*.
Hybrid hierarchical square honeycomb with widely tailorable effective in-plane elastic modulus.
Thin-Walled Structures, 2022, 171.
(IF = 6.6, SCI JCR Q1, CAS Q1 TOP)

[24] Zhaijun Lu, Zhifu Wang, Shujian Yao*, Mu Zhong, Kai Liu, Jiaqiang Wang.
Theoretical and experimental studies on the interior ballistic of large UAV ejection based on trifluoromethane phase transition.
Scientific Reports, 2025, 15.
(IF = 3.9, SCI JCR Q1, CAS Q3)

[25] Lanren Tian, Ling Zhu*, Zhonggang Wang, Kai Liu.
Strain rate effects on impulse saturation response based on membrane factor method.
Thin-Walled Structures, 2024, 204.
(IF = 6.6, SCI JCR Q1, CAS Q1 TOP)