Dr James Kratz
B Eng (Carleton), MEng (McGill), PhD (McGill)
Expertise
We study and optimise the manufacturing process for high-performance composite structures at the lab scale. The focus and direction are guided by close engagement with industry partners and to tackle broader societal challenges.
Current positions
Associate Professor in Composites Processing
School of Civil, Aerospace and Design Engineering
Contact
Press and media
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Research interests
My research is focused on the manufacturing process of composite structures. Unlike their metallic counterparts, a composite's material properties and shape are created simultaneously. Developing a better understanding between the material behaviour and process paramaters will help enable future production of affordable high-performance composite structures.
Projects and supervisions
Research projects
Additively Manufactured Cure Tooling
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
Department of Aerospace EngineeringDates
01/11/2021 to 30/09/2022
Heated Tooling For Complex and Variable Thickness Composite Structures
Principal Investigator
Role
Co-Investigator
Description
Impact Accelerator Account: Exploratory Impact Award.
Knowledge and understanding from university research programmes was used to trial methods for industry to increase production rates and reduce manufacturing embodied energy for high…Managing organisational unit
Department of Aerospace EngineeringDates
01/10/2021 to 31/03/2022
Layer by Layer
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
School of Civil, Aerospace and Design EngineeringDates
01/06/2020 to 30/11/2023
Layer By Layer
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
Department of Aerospace EngineeringDates
01/06/2020 to 30/11/2023
Layer by Layer Curing
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
Department of Aerospace EngineeringDates
01/06/2020 to 30/11/2023
Thesis supervisions
A study of the pyramid of testing for forming of non-crimp fabrics for aerostructures
Supervisors
Void characterisation of composite prepreg laminates using X-ray Imaging and Deep Learning methods
Supervisors
Automating “design for manufacture” of aerospace composite components
Supervisors
Uncertainty in composite manufacturing and consequences for thermoplastic-thermoset co-curing
Supervisors
Simulation of Composite Preforming and Liquid Moulding Processes
Supervisors
Physical, mechanical and rheological behaviour of prepreg tapes for part quality and deposition rate improvement in composites automated manufacture
Supervisors
Publications
Recent publications
01/06/2025In-plane waviness parameterisation from in-factory photographs of non-crimp fabrics
Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing
The effect of semi‑cured elements on the quality of integrated composite structures
International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology
Annotator bias and its effect on deep learning segmentation of uncured composite micrographs
NDT & E International
CFRP layer-by-layer curing using research-based automated deposition system
Advanced Composites Letters
Development of a lab-based In situ XCT oven for vacuum-bag processing of prepreg laminates
Journal of Composite Materials
Related people
Dr Iryna Tretiak
Lecturer
School of Civil, Aerospace and Design Engineering
Mr Vincent Maes
Senior Research Associate
School of Civil, Aerospace and Design Engineering
Mr Arjun Radhakrishnan
Senior Research Associate
School of Civil, Aerospace and Design Engineering
Dr Duc Nguyen
Lecturer in Flight Dynamics and Control
School of Civil, Aerospace and Design Engineering
Mr Michael O'Leary
Research Associate
School of Physics