Physicochemical Studies of Al-Cu Alloy Powder and Material on Its Basis Produced under Nonoptimal Conditions of 3D Printing

The surface structure and volume of a 3D article produced by the method of selective laser melting from a powder of the D-16 alloy has been studied. Using the XPS method, it has been determined that there is an Al2O3 layer on its surface and a metal alloy Al-Cu with a copper content of similar to 5% under it, which coincides with the data of energy dispersive X-ray analysis conducted on the initial powder by the method of scanning electron microscopy. Local areas with an increased copper content (up to 13 at %) were revealed at the boundaries of the crystal grains. A high porosity of the obtained material has been established, which resulted from the specifics of crystallization of the Al-Cu system's alloys related to the transfer of substance along the interfaces, as a consequence of the presence of concentration, temperature and, surface tension gradients along with nonoptimal 3D printing conditions.