Powder Metallurgy Preparation of Metastable <i>β</i> Ti–Cr–Ge Alloys for Medical Applications

Despite being a promising candidate for alloying with titanium, with good biocompatibility and extended solubility in the Ti matrix, germanium (Ge) has received limited attention as an α ‐stabilizing addition for biomedical titanium alloys. This study investigates the mechanical performance and microstructure of novel Ti– x Cr–2Ge ( x = 10, 20 wt%) alloys to assess their suitability for implant applications. Both alloys retain near fully β‐phase structures after solution treatment with high yield strengths (&gt;1100 MPa) and relatively low Young's moduli (&lt;85 GPa). The increase in Cr concentrations from 10 to 20 wt% enhance β‐phase stability, effected their mechanical behaviors. The primary deformation mode transitions from twinning/transformation‐induced plasticity (TWIP/TRIP) dominated behavior in the lower stability Ti–10Cr–2Ge alloy to dislocation slip in the higher stability Ti–20Cr–2Ge alloy. This manifests distinct differences in the strain hardening rate behaviors. Ti–10Cr–2Ge alloy displays a characteristic peak in strain hardening rate indicative of TWIP/TRIP behaviors at ≈25% strain, while Ti–20Cr–2Ge alloy exhibits a monotonous increase throughout deformation. Ti–10Cr–2Ge alloy demonstrates higher yield strength and lower Young's modulus than Ti–20Cr–2Ge alloy, contributing to an outstanding elastic admissible strain of ≈1.8%. Overall, solution‐treated Ti–10Cr–2Ge alloy exhibits superior mechanical performance for load‐bearing biomedical applications.