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Aluminium alloys are highly valued for their exceptional strength-to-weight ratio, making them a preferred choice in structural applications. Among these alloys, EN AW 7075 stands out for its superior mechanical properties, finding widespread use in industries such as aerospace, mechanical engineering, and sports equipment. This study investigates the high-temperature oxidation behavior of EN AW 7075 alloy. The gathered results can provide valuable insights into the behavior of the mentioned alloy during the selective laser melting (SLM) process. These results can contribute to a better understanding of how the alloy responds to specific conditions and parameters. SLM is an additive manufacturing technique. The process involves the sequential steps of preheating, melting, and rapid cooling of metal powder. To minimize the influence of oxygen, the build chamber is filled with inert gas. A protective argon atmosphere is continuously maintained. However, despite these precautions, oxidation can still occur, leading to potential issues in the final product. Hence, we examined the oxidation kinetics of the EN AW 7075 alloy in an oxygen atmosphere in the temperature range of 300-500 °C. The findings of this investigation significantly contribute to an understanding of the behavior of the alloy during high-temperature oxidation, particularly for ongoing studies focused on processing Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloys using the selective laser melting technique. Thermogravimetry was employed to analyze the oxidizing behavior, with three samples subjected to a 6-hour exposure in an oxidizing atmosphere at temperatures of 300, 400, and 500 °C. Surprisingly, no oxidation occurred, as indicated by the negligible and negative changes in mass observed across all samples.
Keywords: EN AW 7075, high-temperature oxidation, oxide film, selective laser melting© This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.