Research Center of Solid Mechanics (RCSM) at Beihang University was founded in 1980. Solid mechanics was among the firstly approved disciplines that were authorized to award Ph.D degree in 1981 and qualified to accept postdoctoral researchers in 1987. In 1997, solid mechanics attained the authorization of awarding Ph.D degree in the discipline of mechanics and construct the Base of State Engineering Basic Courses by the Ministry of Education. It was entered into the "Yangtze River Scholar Program" in 1998. In 2001, it was evaluated as the national key discipline. In 2007, the mechanics of Beihang University was approved by the Ministry of Education (MOE) as the national leading discipline.
Currently, RCSM has 35 faculties, 13 full professors, 14 doctoral supervisors and 27 young and middle-aged teachers with PhD degree, including one academician of the Chinese Academy of Science, two "Yangtze River Scholar" Chair Professors, and one winner of National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars.
Since 2010, RCSM has received more than 16 million Yuan research funding each year. The research projects include National Key Projects, 973 and 863 Projects of National Defense, National Defense Basic Scientific Research of China, National Science Foundation of China, Doctoral Fund of Ministry of Education of China, Aero-space Science Foundation, Defense Pre-research Fund, and so on. RCSM publishes approximately 80 papers in the international and domestic key academic journals each year, and has published 20 academic books since 1995. RCSM has been awarded more than 20 national awards and awards by educational committee, among them are one First Class, two Second Class, two Third Class Awards of National Science &Technology Progress, 6 First Class, more than 10 Second Class Awards of Educational Committee or Provinces, two First Class Awards of “Huoyingdong” Young Teacher, two First Class and two Second Class Awards of “Guanghua” Science &Technology, one National Excellent Doctorate Thesis, two Second Class State Awards of Excellent Teaching Achievements, and 3 First Class Awards of Excellent Teaching Achievements by Educational Committee. The course of "Mechanics of Materials" has received National Level Excellent Course and Beijing Paradigmatic Course. The teaching and research division of Mechanics of Materials and Theoretical Mechanics were jointly awarded National Level Outstanding Teaching Team.
The scientific research projects completed by RCSM cover important leading theoretical findings of the international academic level and results of significant application values to aerospace engineering. Some of these research results have been directly applied to aircraft, missiles, satellites and manned space flight, resulting in huge economic and social benefits.
The main research directions of RCSM are as follows:
- Structural fatigue life and reliability
- Small sample theory and technology
- Aircraft mechanics and impact protection technology
- Aircraft structural dynamics
- Structural analysis technology of light-weighted materials and composite materials
- Multi-field coupling analysis for complex structure
- Multi-scale mechanical analysis and numerical simulation techniques
There are five research groups in the RCSM:
- Research group of fatigue and fracture
- Research group of structural dynamics
- Research group of aircraft structural defense
- Research group of computational structural mechanics
- Research group of light-weighted and composite material structures
RCSM has three affiliated research centers:
- Research Center of Small Samples
- Research Center of Applied Damage Mechanics
- The Engineering Research Center for Structural Safety
RCSM has six laboratories:
- Laboratory of Fatigue and Fracture
- Impact Laboratory of Materials and Structures
- Laboratory of Structural Heat-Strength
- Laboratory of Structural Dynamics
- Laboratory of Material Mechanics
- Laboratory of Material Micro-testing (Under preparation)
