Annealing Finished Products

[metmike]

Hi everyone,

Is it possible to anneal piping products that have already been final machined? Specifically it is F304/L.
The bar we made the parts from were orginally Normalized and Air Cooled. I need them to be Water Quenched.
Can this be done without ruining the dimensions of the parts or creating scale that would be just too dificult to remove?
(I was considering heat treating in vacuum to prevent scale, but I don't know if that will work or if dimensions will still change).

Please let me know ASAP. THANKS!

 

[metengr]

Yes, it is possible but distortion on a final machined product form will be likely. Annealing in an inert atmosphere (bright anneal) will take care of the scaling concerns.

 

[EdStainless]

If this is 304L you don't need water quench, high pressure gas cooling a vacuum furnace will be good enough.
How large are the parts?
You may find someone that can bright anneal these in hydrogen.

Have you looked at a micro?
Why are you annealing?

I ask because the annealing temp will depend on what you are trying to fix.
If the structure is clean then lower temps will work, say 1850F.

Remember that the annealed parts will still have significant residual stresses, they will just be random.

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Plymouth Tube

 

[metmike]

Thanks metengr for the quick response.
EdStainless:
The parts were supposed to be done to A182-F304/L, which requires solution annealing and a liquid quench.
The parts vary from 2" - 5" OD.

I just want to re-anneal the finished parts and liquid quenched them without distorting their dimensions beyond tolerances of, say +-0.030 inches.