The influence of Ta additions on the microstructure, transformation characteristics, and damping capacities of Cu-Al-Ni shape memory alloys was investigated in this research. It was found that the addition of Ta significantly affects the green and porosity densities; the minimum percentage of porosity was observed with the modified prealloyed Cu-Al-Ni-2.0wt% Ta. The microstructures of modified and unmodified prealloyed samples were almost fully martensitic in nature, consisting of a mixture of〖 β〗_(1 )^` and〖 γ〗_1^` martensite along with different types of precipitates. The phase transformation temperatures were shifted towards the highest values after Ta was added. In addition, the damping capacity (or internal friction, IF) of the pre-alloyed Cu-Al-Ni shape memory alloys (SMAs) increases with increasing Ta content. The alloy Cu-Al-Ni-3.0 wt% Ta has very high internal friction, with the maximum equivalent internal friction value twice as high as that of the pre-alloyed Cu-Al-Ni SMA. Moreover, the pre-alloyed Cu-Al-Ni SMAs with the addition of 2.0 wt% Ta exhibited the highest shape recovery ratio in the first cycle (i.e., 100% recovery), and when the number of cycles is increased, this ratio tends to decrease. On the other hand, the modified alloys with 1.0 and 3.0 wt% Ta implied a linear increment in the shape recovery ratio with increasing number of cycles. Polarisation tests in NaCl solution showed that the corrosion resistance of Cu-Al-Ni-Ta SMA improved with escalating Ta concentration as shown by lower corrosion current densities, higher corrosion potential, and formation of stable passive film. Consequently, Ta plays a crucial role in adjusting composition and improving the microstructural and mechanical properties of Cu-Al-Ni alloys
