Injury biomechanics. we will study mechanisms which may cause injury, study how we can use external mechanical loading, electric loading, or magnetic wave to help injury healing process. Study how damaging electric and mechanical loading can affect bone remodeling process, affect soft tissue in human body, causing injury. We are particularly interested in bone injury and injury of musculoskeletal system from movement and in workplace or sports.

Tissue mechanics. We focus on how to characterize and identify physical properties and mechanical performance of soft and hard biological tissues. Study how the microstructure of material can affect material performance and how the external electric and mechanical loading can change their material microstructure. In particular, study how the multi-fields, i.e., thermal, electrical, chemical, magnetic, and mechanical fields can simultaneously affect the medical performance of biological structures, and how to use them to achieve active control in injury healing process.

Dentin materials and bioceramics. Previous study indicated that bone material exhibits piezoelectricity. The coupling between electric and mechanical field makes it possible using electric vibration or magnetic wave to speed up healing process. We question if dentin material also have piezoelectric property. So far, no attempt has been done to answer this question. We intend to do some experiment on dentin material to explore if some dentin material do have electric and mechanical coupling, i.e., piezoelectricity. We also study the effective properties of dentin composites so that we can understand better how the material properties of dentin can be affected by exposure to acidic beverages, how the material properties of dentin and bioceramics can be affected by the changes of their microstructure. This can be done by using micromechanics theory and nano indentation techniques. Further study on how the microdamage and fatigue can affect the dentin remodeling process and adaptation.

Piezoelectric properties of biomaterials. The existence of piezoelectricity in bone makes it worthwhile to try if application of electric stimuli or magnetic stimuli can enhance the formation of born or soft tissue, muscle. It is found some bone exhibits small but definite piezoelectric property. How the electric stimuli can affect bone growth and bone recovery. How we can use this mechanism in medical healing process.

Multifield bone remodelling. In this program, internal and surface bone remodelling of inhomogeneous long cylindrical bone are studied both theoretically and numerically. Based on the theory of adaptive elasticity, analytical and numerical  solutions for thermoelectroelastic problems of bone remodelling, are presented to study effects of mechanical, thermal, magnetic, and electric loads on bone remodelling process. The external loads may be of coupled axial force, external lateral pressure, electric, magnetic and thermal loads or the load as a result of a force-fitted medullary pin. The analytical solution is used for investigating bone remodelling process on the basis of assuming a homogeneous bone material. Though all bone is heterogeneous, assumption of homogeneity is made to entail a smoothing over features such as osteons, lamellae, fibres, and other structural elements, so that a continuum representation can be obtained. In contrast, the semi-analytical solution are used for analysing bone materials that are assumed to be radially inhomogeneous. Numerical simulation are performed to verify the proposed formulation and to show the effects of mechanical, thermal and electric loads on bone remodelling process.