NEDO and AIST Develop Technology to Visualize Drying Behavior of Submicron Particles in Slurry
NEDO and the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) have developed a new technology to visualize and quantify the drying behavior of submicron particles in fine ceramic slurries under atmospheric pressure using a laser microscope. This technique, applicable to common ceramics like alumina and silica, aims to resolve issues in fine ceramics manufacturing and is expected to contribute to building Process Informatics.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: May 19, 2026 at 19:20
- 🔍 Collected: May 19, 2026 at 11:01
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: May 19, 2026 at 11:10 (9 min after Collected)
NEDO and the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) are working on the "Development of Infrastructure and Applications for Next-Generation Fine Ceramics Manufacturing Processes" (hereafter, this project) to establish Process Informatics (PI) for fine ceramics. As part of this, they have developed a technology to visualize the drying behavior of submicron particles in fine ceramic slurries using a laser microscope in an actual atmospheric drying environment.
This technology has been confirmed to be applicable to general-purpose ceramic slurries such as alumina and silica, and it allows for the observation of drying behavior at a micro-level, which affects the quality and dimensions of ceramic materials.
1. Background and Overview
In the field of fine ceramics, manufacturing process technology often relies on "experience and intuition," leading to significant time and cost in process development. This project aims to build a PI that covers all manufacturing processes of fine ceramics, establishing a foundation for innovative process development by leveraging advanced computational science and cutting-edge process measurement technologies. To achieve this, it is necessary to develop a technology to visualize the drying behavior of slurries, which affects dimensions and density.
Against this backdrop, NEDO and AIST have been working on the "Development of Visualization Technology and Mechanism Analysis Technology for Manufacturing Processes" since FY2022. As part of this, they have been developing methods to visualize and quantify the drying behavior of fine ceramic slurries.
Conventional evaluation of slurry drying behavior primarily involved measuring weight changes during drying or the overall shrinkage of the molded body. While methods to directly capture particle behavior during drying were considered, they required measurements in a vacuum environment or under electron beam irradiation.
The newly developed technology uses a laser microscope and Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) to observe the behavior of submicron particles during drying in an actual atmospheric environment (air) and quantify their movement speed and thickness displacement. It allows the use of practical-thickness sheet samples, and in addition to observing particle behavior, integrating 3D microscope observation enables the evaluation of overall sheet shrinkage and warping in the same environment, a significant advancement over conventional slurry evaluation methods.
2. Results
(1) Development of Visualization Technology Using a Laser Microscope
By conducting operando observation of ceramic slurry with a laser microscope, the dynamic drying behavior of submicron particles during the drying process was visualized and recorded in high resolution in an actual drying environment. Applying the PIV method to the resulting videos made it possible to directly evaluate the movement speed and direction of ceramic particles in the slurry.
(2) Quantitative Evaluation of the Effect of Relative Humidity on Drying Behavior of Submicron Particles
In a booth where relative humidity could be controlled, the drying behavior of the same slurry was observed under three different conditions. By applying the PIV method to the resulting videos and quantifying the particle movement speed, direction, and displacement in the thickness direction, it was clearly demonstrated that lower relative humidity conditions led to increased particle movement speed and faster shrinkage of the film thickness.
3. Future Plans
NEDO and AIST will proceed with the development to apply this technology to the PI for the drying process. They will also continue verification with slurries and pastes of various compositions and viscosities. This technology is expected to enable the optimization of the slurry drying process and the refinement of slurry formulation design, contributing to quality improvement and efficiency enhancement of the entire ceramics manufacturing process. The results of this research were published in the academic journal "Journal of the Ceramic Society of Japan" on May 19, 2026.
This technology has been confirmed to be applicable to general-purpose ceramic slurries such as alumina and silica, and it allows for the observation of drying behavior at a micro-level, which affects the quality and dimensions of ceramic materials.
1. Background and Overview
In the field of fine ceramics, manufacturing process technology often relies on "experience and intuition," leading to significant time and cost in process development. This project aims to build a PI that covers all manufacturing processes of fine ceramics, establishing a foundation for innovative process development by leveraging advanced computational science and cutting-edge process measurement technologies. To achieve this, it is necessary to develop a technology to visualize the drying behavior of slurries, which affects dimensions and density.
Against this backdrop, NEDO and AIST have been working on the "Development of Visualization Technology and Mechanism Analysis Technology for Manufacturing Processes" since FY2022. As part of this, they have been developing methods to visualize and quantify the drying behavior of fine ceramic slurries.
Conventional evaluation of slurry drying behavior primarily involved measuring weight changes during drying or the overall shrinkage of the molded body. While methods to directly capture particle behavior during drying were considered, they required measurements in a vacuum environment or under electron beam irradiation.
The newly developed technology uses a laser microscope and Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) to observe the behavior of submicron particles during drying in an actual atmospheric environment (air) and quantify their movement speed and thickness displacement. It allows the use of practical-thickness sheet samples, and in addition to observing particle behavior, integrating 3D microscope observation enables the evaluation of overall sheet shrinkage and warping in the same environment, a significant advancement over conventional slurry evaluation methods.
2. Results
(1) Development of Visualization Technology Using a Laser Microscope
By conducting operando observation of ceramic slurry with a laser microscope, the dynamic drying behavior of submicron particles during the drying process was visualized and recorded in high resolution in an actual drying environment. Applying the PIV method to the resulting videos made it possible to directly evaluate the movement speed and direction of ceramic particles in the slurry.
(2) Quantitative Evaluation of the Effect of Relative Humidity on Drying Behavior of Submicron Particles
In a booth where relative humidity could be controlled, the drying behavior of the same slurry was observed under three different conditions. By applying the PIV method to the resulting videos and quantifying the particle movement speed, direction, and displacement in the thickness direction, it was clearly demonstrated that lower relative humidity conditions led to increased particle movement speed and faster shrinkage of the film thickness.
3. Future Plans
NEDO and AIST will proceed with the development to apply this technology to the PI for the drying process. They will also continue verification with slurries and pastes of various compositions and viscosities. This technology is expected to enable the optimization of the slurry drying process and the refinement of slurry formulation design, contributing to quality improvement and efficiency enhancement of the entire ceramics manufacturing process. The results of this research were published in the academic journal "Journal of the Ceramic Society of Japan" on May 19, 2026.