TA18 alloy was chosen as the experimental material. The samples were subjected to thermal oxidation treatment in a conventional muffle furnace under air atmosphere. The effect of thermal oxidation temperature on the microstructure and performance was studied. The microstructure

phase constituents

hardness

corrosion and wear resistance were evaluated by optical microscope (OM)

XRD

micro-hardness tester

immersion test in 36%–38% (mass fraction) HCl solution

friction and wear tester. The results showed that the oxidized film was consisted of oxide layer and oxygen diffusion zone beneath

with rutile TiO

2

as the predominant phases along with a small amount of Al

2

O

3

and the amount of rutile

increased with the increase of oxidation temperature. The results also showed that the surface hardness increased with the increase of oxidation temperature of 500–800 ℃

while decreased beyond 800 ℃. The corrosion and wear resistance was obviously improved after thermal oxidation

and 800 ℃ was the optimal temperature to improve the corrosion resistance in 36%–38% (mass fraction) HCl solution

and 700 ℃ was the optimal temperature to improve the wear resistance.