Experimental Validation and Dynamic Analysis of Additive Manufacturing Burner for Gas Turbine Applications
Alessio Cascino, Enrico Meli, Andrea Rindi, Egidio Pucci, Emanuele Matoni
Abstract
In the context of a rapidly evolving energy sector, the development of hydrogen-ready gas turbines, a key milestone in the energy transition toward decarbonization, requires advanced gas injectors capable of operating with both natural gas and hydrogen. Additive manufacturing (AM) significantly accelerates the iterative design process, enabling the production of single-piece, fully three-dimensional components and supporting rapid prototyping with optimized process parameters. Early assessment of component durability, particularly structural damping, is crucial to predicting dynamic response and high-cycle fatigue life, reducing costly design modifications in later stages. In this work, a methodology is proposed for structural damping characterization at the early prototypal stage, combining ping test measurements with a numerical approach based on the Half-Power Bandwidth Method (HBM) enhanced by an iterative procedure. This approach enables the accurate estimation of representative damping values for low-mass, high-stiffness components, overcoming the limited accuracy of standard Rayleigh damping models at this stage. The methodology was applied to a gas turbine burner manufactured via additive manufacturing, demonstrating that even with partial experimental data, it is possible to obtain reliable damping estimates, support rapid design iteration, and ensure convergence toward optimal mechanical performance.