Fabrication of a porous CuAlMn shape memory alloy by the sintering–dissolution process

A porous CuAlMn shape memory alloy with adjustable pore characteristics and mechanical properties has been successfully fabricated via the sintering–dissolution process for the first time. Micro amount of fluoride was added to accelerate the sintering of CuAlMn powders covered with the oxide film. The resultant material exhibits uniformly distributed and interconnected macroscopic pores. In order to eliminate possible adverse effects of the microstructures resulted from slow cooling on the properties of the resultant materials, appropriate solution and quench treatments were carried out. The microstructures and quasi-static compressive deformation behaviors of the resultant materials were also examined before and after treatments.