Thermomechanical Validation of an Additively Manufactured Test Chamber for Sustainable Aviation Fuel Atomisation in Jet-in-Crossflow Conditions

This study presents a comprehensive numerical validation of the structural integrity and thermal performance of an innovative test chamber developed using additive manufacturing (AM) technologies, specifically for the atomisation of sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) under jet-in-crossflow (JICF) conditions. The proposed test chamber is designed to replicate the harsh thermo-fluid dynamic environment typical of gas turbine afterburners, enabling the analysis of primary and secondary break-up phenomena in high-temperature fuel sprays. A transient coupled thermomechanical finite element (FE) analysis was performed using Abaqus on a full-scale chamber geometry fabricated from Inconel 718, a high-performance alloy compatible with Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS). Results were compared to those from an identical configuration built with conventional AISI 316L stainless steel, commonly adopted in traditional CNC machining and referenced widely in the literature. Both configurations were subjected to internal thermal loads of 400°C and pressure loads of 10 bar applied over a 300-second operational window. The study focuses on stress distribution, temperature fields, and structural displacement, providing insights into the advantages of AM for high-temperature aerospace applications. The Inconel 718 structure showed up to 15% lower peak stresses, more uniform stress distribution, and improved thermal gradients compared to the 316L configuration. The results confirm the feasibility and effectiveness of additive manufacturing in producing highly customised, mechanically resilient structures for advanced experimental setups. The validated test chamber enables high-fidelity characterisation of spray dynamics using SAFs, thus contributing to the development of cleaner and more efficient propulsion systems.