Features of Selective Laser Melting of Aluminum Powder Modified with Vanadium Pentoxide Gel

The results of a study of the features of selective laser melting (SLM) of the aluminum powder modified with V2O5 gel in an amount of 0.8 wt % are presented. It has been shown that, in the process of SLM on an EOS M 280 printer, it was impossible to obtain a material with the required porosity. It has been established that the reason for the excessive porosity of the samples consists in a high rate of heating and cooling of powders during the melting process and the formation of low-melting phase components (AlVO4, V2O5). The temperature conditions of the process (heating and cooling rates) do not allow the synthesis of intermetallides of the Al–V system during SLM to change the functional properties of aluminum. It has been shown that the positive effect of V2O5 on the melting of aluminum particles is possible by reducing its concentration on the surface of the Al powder to values that are only sufficient to ensure the destruction of the existing oxide layer.