In this work, the feasibility of an Al–20Sn (mass%) alloy to improve its mechanical properties through the Equal Channel Angular Pressing (ECAP) process is presented and discussed. Al–20Sn (mass%) alloy samples with a square section of 16 × 16 mm and a length of 100 mm were subjected to the ECAP process through route C (i.e., rotation of 180 degrees between each pass). The characterization of the samples was carried out using X-ray diffraction and the sin²(ψ) method for residual stresses. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was used to analyze the morphology and grain size. Vickers microhardness was carried out to analyze the homogeneity of the states of deformation and tensile testing to evaluate the yield strength, ultimate tensile strength and elongation. The results showed that the residual stresses were relatively low, confirming the effect of Sn as stress reliever. The grain size was refined to a sub-micron scale and a ribbon-like morphology was observed. The microhardness values of the severely deformed samples showed a significant increase when compared to the as-cast sample. The tensile tests showed an increase in the yield strength after the first pass, that doubled the yield strength of the as cast sample. A marginal increase in the yield strength after the fifth pass was observed; whilst the ductility remained very similar from 1 to 5 passes.

Commercially pure aluminum (Al) was refined through the addition of the Al-5Ti-0.25C master alloy, resulting in the formation of Al₃Ti and TiC phases, which serve as refining agents. Open-cell metallic foams were successfully produced using the replication casting technique, with pore sizes ranging from 1.00 to 3.35 mm. For the infiltration process, refined aluminum was used, while unrefined aluminum served as a baseline reference. The resultant foams underwent multiple annealing cycles at 480 °C, with the most refined and homogeneous microstructure observed after 504 h. Comprehensive microstructural characterization was conducted utilizing scanning electron microscopy and optical microscopy. Additionally, uniaxial compression tests were performed to generate stress–strain profiles for the foams, facilitating an assessment of their energy absorption capacity. The findings indicated an enhancement in energy absorption capacity by a factor of 2.4 to 3, which can be attributed to the incorporation of Al-5Ti-0.25C and the subsequent annealing process.

The Cu–26.84Zn–5.37Al (Wt%) alloy was investigated to determine the effect of rolling temperature on microstructural evolution, dislocation density, and shape memory properties. Following fabrication and homogenization treatments (900 °C + β-phase precipitation at 500 °C), samples were plastically deformed by rolling (30% reduction) at room temperature (25 °C) and cryogenic temperature (−196 °C), followed by recrystallization at 850 °C. Complementary characterization techniques optical microscopy, XRD, DSC, Warren–Averbach analysis, nanoindentation, EIS, and potentiodynamic polarization are consistent with a higher density of lattice defects under cryogenic deformation, as indirectly indicated by XRD peak broadening, mechanical hardening, and surface electrochemical reactivity. Warren–Averbach analysis revealed a 51% reduction in crystallite size (453.4 Å → 223.7 Å). Nanoindentation confirmed superior strain hardening, constituting the principal evidence for this trend; complementary, exploratory electrochemical studies further indicated increased surface reactivity in the deformed samples, consistent with though not independently establishing dislocations acting as preferential anodic sites. Rolling followed by recrystallization, at either room or cryogenic temperature, produced a substantial grain size reduction relative to the coarse-grained homogenized condition (≈ 3816 μm) a general outcome of the deformation recrystallization route rather than a feature unique to cryogenic processing. The distinctive contribution of cryogenic deformation is evidenced by direct comparison with room-temperature processing: recrystallized grain size decreased from 64 (room temperature) to 53 μm (cryogenic), a further ≈17% refinement attributable specifically to the suppression of dynamic recovery at low temperature. The reversible martensitic transformation, a necessary precursor for the shape memory effect, was preserved after processing, as confirmed by DSC, and thermal hysteresis decreased by 42%. These results demonstrate that cryogenic deformation followed by controlled recrystallization is an effective thermomechanical route for simultaneously optimizing grain size and functional properties in Cu–Zn–Al shape memory alloys.