AMS2759/4 REV.

C
AEROSPACE MATERIAL
SPECIFICATION Issued 1984-10
Revised 2008-03
Reaffirmed 2014-04

Superseding AMS2759/4B

Heat Treatment
Austenitic Corrosion-Resistant Steel Parts

RATIONALE

AMS2759/4C has been reaffirmed to comply with the SAE five-year review policy.

1. SCOPE

This specification, in conjunction with the general requirements for steel heat treatment covered in AMS2759, establishes
the requirements for annealing, stress relieving, and stabilizing heat treatment of austenitic corrosion-resistant steel parts.
Parts are defined in AMS2759.

1.1 Application

This specification is applicable to parts made from the following corrosion-resistant steels: 201, 202, 301, 302, 303, 304,
304L, 305, 309, 310, 314, 316, 316L, 321, 347, and 348 (See Table 1, Note 1).

2. APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS

The issue of the following documents in effect on the date of the purchase order forms a part of this specification to the
extent specified herein. The supplier may work to a subsequent revision of a document unless a specific document issue
is specified. When the referenced document has been cancelled and no superseding document has been specified, the
last published issue of that document shall apply.

2.1 SAE Publications

Available from SAE International, 400 Commonwealth Drive, Warrendale, PA 15096-0001, Tel: 877-606-7323 (inside
USA and Canada) or 724-776-4970 (outside USA), www.sae.org.

AMS2759 Heat Treatment of Steel Parts, General Requirements

ARP1820 Chord Method of Evaluating Surface Microstructural Characteristics

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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SAE INTERNATIONAL AMS2759/4C Page 2 of 7

2.2 ASTM Publications

Available from ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, P.O. Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959,
Tel: 610-832-9585, www.astm.org.

ASTM A 262 Detecting Susceptibility to Intergranular Attack in Austenitic Stainless Steels

ASTM A 380 Cleaning and Descaling Stainless Steel Parts, Equipment, and Systems
ASTM E 3 Preparation of Metallographic Specimens

3. TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

3.1 Heat Treatment

Shall conform to AMS2759 and requirements specified herein.

3.2 Equipment

Shall conform to AMS2759. Furnace temperature uniformity requirements for annealing, stress relieving, and stabilizing
shall be ±25 °F (±14 °C).

3.3 Atmospheres

Shall be controlled to not contaminate the parts being heat treated. Furnaces used to heat treat other classes of steel
using atmospheres, which could contaminate austenitic corrosion-resistant steel parts, such as endothermic, exothermic,
carbon-containing nitrogen base, etc, shall have purge cycles (See 8.2) run and then shall be tested to ensure that the
surfaces of parts are not contaminated beyond the limits specified in 3.5.1. Materials which could attack or contaminate
metal shall not contact parts. Composition and maintenance of salt baths shall be such as to prevent contamination of the
parts. Salt baths shall be tested in accordance with AMS2759. Heat treating performed in air shall be in the natural
atmosphere of a muffle furnace.

3.3.1 Heating Environment

Parts shall be heat treated in either air or protective atmosphere. Acceptable protective atmospheres include argon,
helium, hydrogen, neutral salt, vacuum, and exothermic. Nitrogen and nitrogen-hydrogen blends are permitted below
1425 °F (774 °C). Nitrogen and nitrogen-hydrogen blends are permitted at 1425 °F (774 °C) or over only if 0.020 inch
(0.51 mm) is removed from all surfaces after heat treatment. Nitrogen and nitrogen-hydrogen blends are permitted up to
1925 °F (1052 °C) as a backfill quench for vacuum furnaces. Use of nitrogen from dissociated ammonia is prohibited. For
scale-free or discoloration-free parts, an air atmosphere and air cooling should be avoided.

3.3.2 Protective Coatings

A supplemental coating is permitted, to minimize oxidation on finished machined surfaces, when approved by the
cognizant engineering organization.

3.4 Procedure

3.4.1 Acid Cleaning

Parts shall be acid cleaned in accordance with ASTM A 380 before thermal treatment following forming with dies made
from lead, kirksite, or other low-melting-temperature materials.
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3.4.2 Soaking

Heating shall be controlled, as described in AMS2759, such that either the heating medium or the part temperature, as
applicable, is maintained at the set temperature shown in Table 1 for the soak time shown in Table 2. Soaking shall
commence when all control, indicating, and recording thermocouples reach the specified set temperature minus the
required temperature uniformity tolerance or, if load thermocouples as defined in AMS2759 are used, when the part
temperature reaches the minimum of the furnace uniformity at the set temperature.

3.4.3 Annealing, Stress Relief, and Dimensional Stabilization

Shall be accomplished by heating, soaking, and cooling as shown in Tables 1 and 2.

3.4.4 Heating, stress relieving, or slow coaling of unstabilized grades, except 304L and 316L, between 875 and 1500 °F
(468 and 816 °C) is prohibited.

3.4.5 Straightening

When approved by the cognizant engineering organization, straightening shall be accomplished at ambient temperature
with a post-straightening stress relief as shown in Table 1 or at the stress relieving temperature shown in Table 1 without a
subsequent stress relief. For parts subject to excessive warpage, dimensional stabilization may be substituted for stress
relief, when approved by the cognizant engineering organization.

3.5 Properties

3.5.1 Surface Contamination

When any surface of a part is not machined after heat treatment, the protective atmosphere or backfill medium in
furnaces, for heating parts above 1350 °F (732 °C), shall be controlled not to produce carburization or nitriding (See
3.5.1.1), and intergranular oxidation shall not exceed 0.0007 inch (0.018 mm). Parts heat treated in salt baths shall be free
of residual salts.

3.5.1.1 Unless specifically informed that the parts will be machined all over, the heat treating processor shall process
the parts as though some surfaces will not have subsequent metal removal and, therefore, shall heat treat parts
using controlled atmosphere which will conform to the surface contamination requirements. Unless specified,
controlled atmosphere is not required for parts with only raw material surfaces, except those made from sheet or
strip.

3.5.1.2 Furnaces used exclusively to heat treat parts which will have all contamination removed shall not require testing.

3.5.2 Carbide Precipitation

When using other means of cooling in accordance with Table 1, Note 2, carbide precipitation is not permitted.

3.6 Test Methods

Shall be in accordance with AMS2759 and as follows:

3.6.1 Surface Contamination

Testing shall be by metallurgical examination at approximately 500X magnification of etched specimens prepared in
accordance with ASTM E 3. The chord method in ARP1820 may be used to enhance this examination.
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3.6.2 Carbide Precipitation

Shall be determined in accordance with ASTM A 262.

4. QUALITY ASSURANCE PROVISIONS

The responsibility for inspection, classification of tests, sampling, approval, entries, records, and reports shall be in
accordance with AMS2759 and as specified in 4.1 and 4.2.

4.1 Classification of Tests

The classification of acceptance, periodic, and preproduction tests shall be as specified in AMS2759 and as specified in
4.1.1 and 4.1.2.

4.1.1 Periodic Tests

Surface contamination (3.5.1) is a periodic test and shall be performed for each piece of equipment after the purging of
atmospheres whenever the equipment has been used previously to heat treat using atmospheres, such as endothermic,
exothermic, carbon-containing nitrogen base, etc, which could contaminate austenitic corrosion-resistant steel parts.

4.1.2 Preproduction Tests

Surface contamination (3.5.1) is a preproduction test and shall be performed prior to any production heat treating for each
piece of equipment and type of atmosphere to be used in each furnace. Additionally, tests to determine conformance to
the requirements for carbide precipitation shall be performed prior to any production heat treatment for each piece of
equipment and each alternate means of cooling.

4.2 Sampling

Shall be in accordance with AMS2759 and as follows:

4.2.1 Surface Contamination Testing

One or more samples shall be processed.

5. PREPARATION FOR DELIVERY

See AMS2759.

6. ACKNOWLEDGMENT

See AMS2759.

7. REJECTIONS

See AMS2759.

8. NOTES

Shall be in accordance with 8.1, 8.2, and AMS2759.

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8.1 A change bar (|) located in the left margin is for the convenience of the user in locating areas where technical
revisions, not editorial changes, have been made to the previous issue of this document. An (R) symbol to the left of
the document title indicates a complete revision of the document, including technical revisions. Change bars and (R)
are not used in original publications, nor in documents that contain editorial changes only.

8.2 Purge Cycles

Effective purge cycles can be run to remove contamination from refractory furnace linings using inert gases with small
amounts of reducing agents.

8.3 Terms used in AMS are clarified in ARP1917.

8.4 Dimensions and properties in inch/pound units and the Fahrenheit temperatures are primary; dimensions and
properties in SI units and the Celsius temperatures are shown as the approximate equivalents of the primary units
and are presented only for information.

PREPARED BY AMS COMMITTEE "F" AND AMEC

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TABLE 1 - ANNEALING, STRESS RELIEVING, AND DIMENSIONAL STABILIZING TREATMENTS

FOR AUSTENITIC CORROSION-RESISTANT STEEL PARTS
Set Set
Temperature Temperature Soaking Time Quench or
Treatment Alloy (1) °F °C Minutes Cooling Method (2)
Annealing (3) (4) 201, 202, 301, 1950 1066 Table 2 Water (5)
302, 303, 304,
305, 309, 310
(6)
Annealing (3) (4) 314, 316 (6) 2000 1093 Table 2 Water (5)

Annealing (3) 321 1800 982 Table 2 Air, Oil, Polymer,

or Water (7)
Annealing (3) (4) 347, 348 1900 1038 Table 2 Air, Oil, Polymer,
or Water (7)
Stress 201, 202, 1650 (8) 899 (8) Table 2 Water (5)
Relieving (3) (9) 301, 302,
303, 304,
305
309, 310,
314, 316 (6)
Stress Relieving (3) (9) 321, 347, 348 1650 (8) 899 (8) Table 2 (9) Air, Polymer,
(6) or Water (7)
Dimensional All (6) 800 (10) 427 (10) 60 (11) (12) Air
Stabilizing (3)
NOTES:
1. Includes letter designations of the same alloy, unless otherwise indicated. Examples: 302B, 303S, 303Se, 304L, 309S, 310S, 316L, etc.
2. Other means of cooling are permitted provided tests substantiate that the rate is rapid enough to prevent carbide precipitation.
3. Parts fabricated from material in a strain-hardened condition 1/4 hard, 1/2 hard, etc shall not be annealed, stress relieved, or dimensionally
stabilized without approval of the cognizant engineering organization.
4. When specified, lower temperatures down to 1800 °F (982 °C) may be used to maintain a fine grain size.
5. Sections under 0.10 inch (2.5 mm) thick may be air cooled or polymer quenched to minimize distortion.
6. Heat treating or slow cooling of unstabilized grades, except 304L and 316L, between 875 and 1500 °F (468 and 816 °C) is prohibited.
7. Sections over 0.25 inch (6.4 mm) thick should be water quenched to minimize carbide precipitation.
8. Annealing treatment temperatures for these alloys are also permitted.
9. When stress relieving after welding is specified, hold for 30 minutes minimum at the annealing temperature followed by water quenching or
2 hours minimum at the stress relieving temperature.
10. Set temperatures between 750 and 850 °F (399 and 454 °C) are permitted.
11. Per inch (25 mm) of section thickness or diameter or fraction thereof.
12. Minimum.
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TABLE 2 - SOAKING TIME FOR AUSTENITIC CORROSION-RESISTANT STEEL PARTS

Diameter or Diameter or
Thickness of Thickness of Minimum Soaking Minimum Soaking
Maximum Section (2) Maximum Section (2) Time (3) (4) Time (3) (4)
Alloy (1) Inches Millimeters Atmosphere Furnace Salt Bath
201, 202, Up to 0.100, incl Up to 2.54, incl 20 minutes 17 minutes
301, 302, Over 0.100 to 0.250, incl Over 2.54 to 6.35, incl 25 minutes 18 minutes
303, 304, Over 0.250 to 0.500, incl Over 6.35 to 12.70, incl 45 minutes 35 minutes
305 Over 0.500 to 1.00, incl Over 12.70 to 25.4, incl 1 hour, 40 minutes
309, 310, Over 1.00 to 1.50, incl Over 25.4 to 38.1, incl 1 hour, 15 minutes 45 minutes
314, 316 Over 1.50 to 2.00, incl Over 38.1 to 50.8, incl 1 hour, 30 minutes 50 minutes
Over 2.00 to 2.50, incl Over 50.8 to 63.5, incl 1 hour, 45 minutes 55 minutes
Over 2.50 to 3.00, incl Over 63.5 to 76.2, incl 2 hours, 1 hour,
Over 3.00 Over 76.2 (5) (6)

321, 347, Up to 0.100, incl Up to 2.54, incl 40 minutes 37 minutes

348 Over 0.100 to 0.250, incl Over 2.54 to 6.35, incl 45 minutes 38 minutes
Over 0.250 to 0.500, incl Over 6.35 to 12.70, incl 1 hour, 5 minutes 55 minutes
Over 0.500 to 1.00, incl Over 12.70 to 25.4, incl 1 hour, 20 minutes 1 hour,
Over 1.00 to 1.50, incl Over 25.4 to 38.1, incl 1 hour, 35 minutes 1 hour, 5 minutes
Over 1.50 to 2.00, incl Over 38.1 to 50.8, incl 1 hour, 50 minutes 1 hour, 10 minutes
Over 2.00 to 2.50, incl Over 50.8 to 63.5, incl 2 hours, 5 minutes 1 hour, 15 minutes
Over 2.50 to 3.00, incl Over 63.5 to 76.2, incl 2 hours, 20 minutes 1 hour, 20 minutes
Over 3.00 Over 76.2 (7) (8)
NOTES:
1. See Table 1, Note 1.
2. Thickness is the minimum dimension of the heaviest section of a part or nested load of parts.
3. Soaking shall commence as specified in 3.4.2.
4. In all cases, the parts shall be held for sufficient time to ensure that the center of the most massive section has reached temperature and the
necessary transformation and diffusion have taken place.
5. 2-1/4 hours plus 15 minutes for every 1/2 inch (12.7 mm) or increment of 1/2 inch (12.7 mm) over 3 inches (76 mm).
6. 1 hour, 5 minutes, plus 5 minutes for every 1/2 inch (12.7 mm) or increment of 1/2 inch (12.7 mm) over 3 inches 76 mm).
7. 2 hours, 35 minutes, plus 15 minutes for every 1/2 inch (12.7 mm) or increment of 1/2 inch (12.7 mm) over 3 inches (76 mm).
8. 1 hour, 25 minutes, plus 5 minutes for every 1/2 inch (12.7 mm) or increment of 1/2 inch (12.7 mm) over 3 inches (76 mm).