Twins in cryomilled and spark plasma sintered Cu–Zn–Al

Nanostructured Cu–30 wt.% Zn–0.8 wt.% Al alloy (commercial designation brass 260) was fabricated by cryomilling of brass powders and subsequent spark plasma sintering (SPS). Cryomilling resulted in a high density of deformation twins with an average thickness as small as 4 nm. Following SPS, the bulk samples exhibited 10 vol.% of twins with an average twin thickness of 30 nm and unusual twin morphology, which are rationalized on the basis of grain boundary migration, twin boundary migration, recrystallization and detwinning during SPS.