Enhanced superelasticity and notable elastocaloric effect of Cu71Al17.5Mn11.5 shape memory alloys by laser-based powder bed fusion

• High-density and high-textured samples were successfully produced using laser-based powder bed fusion. • Additively manufactured samples showed enhanced superelasticity without the need of post heat treatment. • Notable elastocaloric temperature change was demonstrated in additively manufactured Cu–Al–Mn for the first time. • The phase transformation behavior was systematically investigated. Cu-based shape memory alloys (SMAs) with highly oriented columnar grains and high densities are promising candidates for solid-state refrigeration. In this work, the Cu 71 Al 17.5 Mn 11.5 alloys with a strong 〈001〉 texture columnar grains and a high relative density were fabricated using laser-based powder bed fusion of metals (PBF-LB/M) technique. The Cu 71 Al 17.5 Mn 11.5 alloys exhibited enhanced superelasticity, with a superelastic strain of 6.2 %. A maximum recoverable strain of 8.5 % was achieved under 9 % compressive loading, which includes both superelastic and elastic strain components. Additionally, a notable elastocaloric temperature change of 8.0 K was achieved upon fast unloading under adiabatic conditions. The phase transformation behavior has been systematically investigated by the digital image correlation (DIC) and the transmission wide-angle X-ray diffraction measurements. The current results suggest that the additive manufacturing could be a promising route for near-net-shape high-performance Cu-based elastocaloric refrigerants.