Preparation of Ti–Nb–Ta–Zr alloys for load‐bearing biomedical applications

Ti–Nb–Ta–Zr alloys for biomedical applications were successfully fabricated by arc melting (AM) and diffusion bonding. The microstructure, mechanical properties and electrochemistry behavior in a simulated body fluid (SBF) were studied. It shows that melted Ti–Nb–Ta–Zr alloy mainly contains β phase although there are a few Ti‐rich phases and micropores, the number of which is lower than that in sintered sample with a few Ti‐rich and Ta‐rich phases. The melted alloys present higher strength (1224 MPa), Young's modulus (15.3 GPa) and corrosion potential (− 0.34 V) in SBF, while total recovery strain ratio (67.5%) and pseudoelastic strain ratio (8.4%) of sintered Ti–Nb–Ta–Zr alloy keep higher value than 35.7% and 5.0% for melted Ti–Nb–Ta–Zr. The reasons were discussed based on the microstructure of the Ti–Nb–Ta–Zr alloys.