Effect of combined use of inoculation and hot rolling on microstructures and damping property of a Cu-Al-Ni-Mn-Ti shape memory alloy

•The micostructure of SMA was modified by combined use of inoculation and hot rolling.•Refining mechanism of LaB6 on the Cu-Al-Ni-Mn-Ti SMA was revealed.•Hot rolling does not degrade the refining effect of the inoculant.•Hot rolling can further improve the damping of the inoculated Cu-Al-Ni-Mn-Ti SMA. To provide a better way for the property enhancement of Cu-based shape memory alloys (SMAs), combined use of inoculation and hot rolling was adopted to modify the microstructures of a Cu-Al-Ni-Mn-Ti SMA. Through in-depth microscopic observation, it is confirmed that LaB6 particles in the Al-La-B inoculant can be used as effective heterogeneous nucleation centers of the Cu-Al-Ni-Mn-Ti melt due to their good lattice matching relationship with the Cu-Al-Ni-Mn-Ti SMA, so they can significantly refine the grains and martensites. Hot rolling does not degrade the refining effect and can further significantly improve the damping of the Cu-Al-Ni-Mn-Ti SMA. Correlated mechanisms were discussed.