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Maruta Lab
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The lab explores the behavior of thermal fluids involving combustion and chemical reactions.
AboutAbout the lab
Exploring new combustion technologies through heat and mass recirculation
The Maruta Lab studies the behavior of thermal fluids involving combustion and chemical reactions.
With heat and mass recirculation as a keyword, the lab works on micro combustion, slow combustion, combustion in microgravity, control of catalytic reactions, and more.
While pursuing industry-academia collaboration and joint research with institutions in Japan and abroad, the lab approaches these phenomena through both experiments and numerical computation, with an eye toward technologies based on new concepts.
On the lab's website, it is presented under the shared name "Maruta/Morii Lab" together with the lab of Associate Professor Yuhi Morii.
Key terms
- Micro combustion
- Combustion in a very small space. Heat easily escapes to the walls, so flames are easily extinguished.
- Lean burn
- A method of burning fuel at a lower proportion than conventional methods. Also called lean-fuel combustion.
- Microgravity
- A state in which the effect of gravity is almost absent. It is created in drop towers, aircraft parabolic flights, and the like.
NewsLab news
"Knocking Prediction Based on Fundamental Combustion Research" was published in the JSME Thermal Engineering Division newsletter
A paper on the effect of flame stretch on the boundary of the "explosive transition of deflagration" was published in Physics of Fluids
A paper on the thermal decomposition and combustion characteristics of lithium-ion battery electrolyte components was published in Applications in Energy and Combustion Science
ResearchResearch themes
With heat and mass recirculation as a keyword, the lab investigates the behavior of thermal fluids involving combustion and chemical reactions. Keeping technologies based on new ideas, such as micro combustion and combustion in microgravity, in view, it combines experiments and numerical computation in its research.
*Illustrative imageA micro flow reactor for measuring ignition temperature
In its micro combustion research, the lab discovered a phenomenon in which flames repeatedly ignite and extinguish on their own, as well as flames with very weak heat release. Using these, it developed a test device, the "Micro Flow Reactor with a Controlled Temperature Profile," that can accurately measure the ignition temperature and the minimum flame temperature of each fuel, and uses it to observe chemical reactions separately for each temperature range.
*Illustrative imageStudying combustion limits in microgravity
As fuel is reduced, combustion becomes unstable or goes out. On the ground, flames are affected by buoyancy, so the lab creates microgravity in drop towers and aircraft parabolic flights for experiments, and has observed unstable flames that were previously unknown. Its experiment proposal for the Kibo module of the International Space Station has also been selected.
*Illustrative imageUltra-lean combustion in engines
Lean burn, which lowers the proportion of fuel, is attracting attention as a way to raise the thermal efficiency of gasoline engines. Super lean burn, which is even leaner, requires strong turbulence, but ignition becomes difficult. Using a constant-volume combustion chamber, the lab investigates ignition in turbulence and laminar burning velocity.
Ignitability of battery electrolytes
It has been pointed out that the electrolyte solvents of lithium-ion batteries are flammable and can become an ignition source. Focusing on gas-phase reactions, the lab analyzes the ignition process in a micro flow reactor to validate and build combustion reaction models, and also searches for additives that suppress ignition.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Maruta Lab consist of faculty, visiting professors and researchers, technical staff, technical assistants, secretaries, and graduate and undergraduate students.As of 2026
- ProfessorKaoru Maruta
- Associate ProfessorYuhi Morii
VoicesStudent voices
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Write a lab reviewAnonymous · Your draft is saved if you stopRelatedLabs similar to Maruta Lab
Morii LabFaculty of Engineering, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace EngineeringEnergy dynamics research
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Sato-Yamaguchi LabFaculty of Engineering, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace EngineeringDistributed energy systemsThe information on this page is compiled by the LabLog team from the lab's public information and interviews. For corrections or removal requests, please contact LabLog, not the lab.
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.
- Top image: “ISS-65 Mark Vande Hei works on the Combustion Integrated Rack” NASA / Public domain (cropped)
- A micro flow reactor for measuring ignition temperature: “CHEMISTRY LABORATORY ROOMS 6 AND 7 CHEMICAL SHOCK TUBE - HIGH ENERGY FUELS LABORATORY HEFL ROOM 112 CATALYTIC PARTIAL OXIDATION REACTOR - NARA - 17497812” Donald Huebler / Public domain (cropped)
- Studying combustion limits in microgravity: “NASA 932 during parabolic flight (JSC2006-E-02418)” NASA / Public domain (cropped)
- Ultra-lean combustion in engines: “Oil on a car engine closeup” Shixart1985 / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Morii Lab): “Iss072e456120 (Jan 13, 2025) --- NASA astronaut and Expedition 72 Flight Engineer Nick Hague works in the Destiny laboratory module's Combustion Integrated Rack swapping samples of materials to observe how they burn i” NASA Johnson Space Center / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Shigeta-Sugimoto Lab): “Plasma Cutter” Tim Drivas / CC BY 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Muneoka Lab): “Nano-plasma” Al126 at wiki / CC0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Sato-Yamaguchi Lab): “Battery researcher” Altynay N Zhumabekova / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
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