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Narumi Lab (Solidification Process Engineering)
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The lab uses synchrotron radiation to directly observe and explain how molten metal solidifies.
AboutAbout the lab
Exploring the laws of how liquids solidify
The lab studies the mechanisms of solidification and crystal growth when liquids such as molten metals (melts) solidify.
In casting, defects such as cracks can form while the metal is solidifying. The lab aims to clarify how these defects arise and to develop microstructure control methods that prevent them.
Using synchrotron radiation, a type of intense X-ray, the lab directly observes metals as they solidify, following the process over time.
The lab publishes videos related to solidification, including X-ray imaging, on YouTube.
Key terms
- Casting
- A manufacturing process in which molten metal is poured into a mold and solidified to form a shape
- Synchrotron radiation
- Very bright light emitted when electrons traveling at nearly the speed of light change direction. It is used for observation as intense X-rays
- Metastable
- Not the most stable state, but one that can be maintained for some time
- X-ray CT (tomography)
- A method of reconstructing the inside of an object in three dimensions from X-ray transmission images taken from many directions
NewsLab news
Paper on solidification segregation in titanium accepted and selected as an Editor's Choice
Open lab with casting demonstrations and more at the Komaba Research Campus Open House
Introduced labs at the Institute of Industrial Science and elsewhere at the graduate admissions information session of the Department of Materials Engineering
Lecturer Narumi received the Sawamura Paper Award from the Iron and Steel Institute of Japan
Lecturer Narumi joined the Institute of Industrial Science and launched the lab
ResearchResearch themes
The lab aims to establish the scientific foundations of the dynamics of solidification and crystal growth from the melt, to clarify how casting defects form, and to develop microstructure control methods that prevent them. Using synchrotron radiation, the lab directly observes metals and semiconductor materials solidifying from the melt over time and analyzes the process quantitatively.
*Illustrative imageThe Phenomenon of Metal "Solidifying Twice"
The lab uses synchrotron radiation to observe a phenomenon in which, when molten steel solidifies, a metastable crystal forms first and later transforms into the stable crystal. The lab aims to develop a new approach to control that produces very fine microstructures without compositional segregation.
*Illustrative imageCracking in Metal That Is Just Starting to Solidify
Semi-solid metal, a mixture of solid and liquid, cracks easily, which leads to casting defects. The lab has developed synchrotron imaging that can directly evaluate its mechanical behavior, and uses it to study how the solid grains move.
*Illustrative imageX-ray CT That Captures Solidification Quickly
In time-resolved synchrotron X-ray CT (4D-CT), the faster the scan, the lower the image quality. Together with computational science experts, the lab aims to achieve high-speed 4D-CT by reconstructing images using computational models of solidification.
MembersFaculty
The lab's members consist of faculty, technical assistants, and master's students. Students are supervised jointly with Prof. Okabe.As of 2026
- LecturerTaka NarumiPublications ↗
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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: “In-stream inoculation addition while molten cast iron is poured to a green sand mold in a foundry in Bangladesh” Sm faysal / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- The Phenomenon of Metal "Solidifying Twice": “High-Mn steel dendrite inside shrinkage cavity” Mykhailo Voron / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Cracking in Metal That Is Just Starting to Solidify: “Glockenbronze” Eisenbeisser / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- X-ray CT That Captures Solidification Quickly: “SPring-8” Koji101 / CC BY 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Nagashio Lab): “Graphen” AlexanderAlUS / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Abe Lab): “Stohrem” Materialscientist / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Materials Modelling Lab): “Color Metallography of Engineering Alloys” OndrejAmbroz / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Edagawa Lab (Strength and Physical Properties of Materials)): “Icosahedrite Diffraction Pattern” Paul Steinhardt / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
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