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Sakai Lab
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The lab studies digital twins of powder processes, reproducing the motion of powders through simulation.
AboutAbout the lab
Integrating multiphysics simulation and AI
The Sakai Lab studies technology for reproducing industrial processes that handle powders (collections of fine particles and grains) on a computer.
Its targets span a wide range of fields, including nuclear engineering, food, electronics, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and resource recycling.
Toward digital twins that replicate real processes inside a computer, the lab combines multiphysics simulation with AI.
The computational models it has developed are incorporated into commercial software, and the lab also runs social collaboration courses with companies.
Key terms
- Digital twin
- An exact replica of the behavior of a real device or process, reproduced inside a computer
- Multiphysics simulation
- A simulation that combines multiple physical phenomena in one calculation, such as the motion of particles and the flow of air or liquid
- Discrete Element Method (DEM)
- A method that calculates the motion of each individual powder particle based on Newton's laws of motion
- Multiphase flow
- A flow in which two or more of gas, liquid, and solid are mixed together, such as a flow of powder and air
ResearchResearch themes
The lab develops the foundational technologies needed to build digital twins of industrial processes that involve powders and multiphase flows. To this end, it works on building and validating multiphysics simulation models and on using AI to speed up computation.
*Illustrative imageDiscrete Element Method (DEM)
A powder simulation method that calculates the motion of each individual particle. The lab proposed a simple model for representing the walls of containers with complex shapes, making it possible to calculate powder flow inside screws and mixers.
*Illustrative imageCoupled powder-fluid simulation
The lab studies the DEM-CFD method, which combines powder simulation with computational fluid dynamics (CFD). It has developed methods for handling walls with complex shapes, as well as algorithms that stabilize the calculation.
*Illustrative imageLarge-scale simulation with coarse-grained models
The lab has independently developed a coarse-grained model that treats many particles together as a single larger particle. This makes large-scale powder simulations possible on a PC, without needing a supercomputer.
*Illustrative imageSurrogate models
Surrogate models are substitute models for obtaining the results of time-consuming simulations quickly. Using DEM simulation data as training data, the lab develops models based on reduced-order models and neural networks.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Sakai Lab consist of faculty, project researchers, visiting researchers, administrative assistants and academic specialist staff, students in the doctoral, master's, and undergraduate programs, and collaborators.As of 2026
- ProfessorMikio SakaiPublications ↗
- Project Assistant ProfessorRyosuke MitaniPublications ↗
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Granulaat” Stegemeijer / Public domain (cropped)
- Discrete Element Method (DEM): “DEMHopperEmptyingForceChains” Cchabalk / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Coupled powder-fluid simulation: “Dusty turbulence CFD” Wikisurplus / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Large-scale simulation with coarse-grained models: “Grains qui courent IZZET” Adrien Izzet / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Surrogate models: “Convolutional Neural Network” Irisbox / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Okuda-Matsunaga Lab): “Pleiades two row” NASA Ames Research Center / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Yamada Lab): “Oak Ridge - Kraken (Cray XT5)” Daderot / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Koshizuka-Shibata Lab): “DeltaSPH” Salvatore Marrone / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Suzuki Lab): “DH-60 Gipsy Moth Wing Structure” Peripitus / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
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