3D Printed Micro-Burners

During the combustion of gaseous and liquid fuels, various methods are used to prepare the fuel and form the fuel / air mixture. Whereas the mixture formation with gaseous fuels can be achieved using relatively simple mechanisms, it always represents a challenge with liquid fuels.

Liquid fuels need to be mixed in a suitable manner with the combustion air. But before this can take place, the surface area of the liquid fuel must be greatly increased. This means that the availability of burners that support the use of gaseous as well as liquid fuels of all compositions is greatly limited. Euro-K refused to accept this and set about developing optimized burner geometry. The production technology to match this challenge was quickly located: Additive Manufacturing.

In addition to experience and equipment — the project team used an EOS M 290 from technology supplier EOS — Euro-K was also able to access a further, highly valuable resource: its own test rig and simulation technology. In terms of material, the project team chose EOS NickelAlloy IN718, a heat and corrosionresistant nickel alloy that has excellent tensile strength, resilience, creep resistance and fracture resistance at temperatures up to 700 °C. With this material and this production technology, the engineers created the perfect burner — ready for use in the micro-gas turbines of a Berlin-based plant builder.

The new burner is able to use gaseous and liquid fuels equally effectively. The new, optimized geometry also allows the use of liquid fuels that are classified as difficult to burn, such as fusel oils that are created from the distillation of alcohol.