Raffaella Sesana

Raffaella Sesana is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the Polytechnic University of Turin. She is a member of the Interdepartmental Center J-Tech@PoliTO and serves on the Single Guarantee Committee. Her academic career spans multiple teaching levels from bachelor to PhD programs, with specialization in mechanical design, experimental mechanics, and thermographic analysis.

Dr. Sesana's research focuses on fatigue behavior, mechanical characterization of materials, nanostructured materials, and thermography applications. Her work bridges theoretical mechanics with practical industrial applications, particularly in non-destructive testing and mechanical design. She has developed significant expertise in active and passive thermography techniques for material characterization and defect detection.

Her recent publications demonstrate a strong trend toward applying thermographic methods to solve engineering challenges in aerospace, mechanical design, and materials science. These works show increasing integration of computational methods with experimental techniques, particularly in fatigue analysis, residual stress measurement, and additive manufacturing applications. Her research has clear applications in rocket engine development, bearing technology, and sustainable materials.

• Start Cup Piemonte and Valle d'Aosta (2024)
• Fund for the financing of basic research activities FFABR 2017

Dr. Sesana actively supervises numerous PhD students across mechanical and aerospace engineering programs, with current advisees working on topics ranging from liquid rocket engines to thermographic evaluation techniques. She leads multiple research projects including RILEnergy (2023-2024), development of active thermography methodology (2023-2024), and research on new Liquid Rocket Engine cooling systems (2024-2025). Her commercial research spans from 2010 to present, addressing industry challenges in mechanical design, welding, and materials characterization.

She is a key member of the ISED: Industrial Systems Engineering and Design research group and leads the Design and Experimentation of Mechanical Drive Components and Thermography group. Her work connects academic research with industrial applications through numerous collaborative agreements with commercial partners across various engineering sectors.