The stainless steel tubing made of austenitic stainless steels shall be annealed or bright annealed after they are cold worked. The annealing or bright annealing processes not only eliminate residual stresses and improve its ductility, but also enhance the tubing‘s corrosion resistance by dissolving the chromium carbides formed. The annealing temperature shall be cautiously controlled to ensure the complete dissolution (austenitizing) of chromium carbides and to avoid grain growth. According to many engineering experiences, recommended annealing temperatures for typical austenitic stainless steels are listed in below table.

UNS No.	Designation	Temp. °C	Temp. °F
S30400	SS 304	1010-1120	1850-2050
S30900	SS 309	1040-1120	1900-2050
S30908	SS 309S	1040-1120	1900-2050
S30100	SS 310	1040-1065	1900-1950
S31008	SS 310S	1040-1065	1900-1950
S31600	SS 316	1040-1120	1900-2050
S31700	SS 317	1065-1120	1950-2050
S32100	SS 321	955-1065	1750-1950
S34700	SS 347	980-1065	1800-1950
S34800	SS 348	980-1065	1800-1950
N08020	Alloy 20	925-955	1700-1750
S30403	SS 304L	1010-1120	1850-2050
S31603	SS 316L	1040-1110	1900-2025
S31703	SS 317L	1040-1110	1900-2025
N08904	904L	1075-1125	1965-2055
S31254	254SMO	1150-1205	2100-2200

*Classification of austenitic stainless steels: (1) conventional grades: 304, 309, 309S, 310, 310S, 316, 317; (2) stabilized grades: 321, 347, 348, alloy 20; (3) low-carbon grades: 304L, 316L, 317L; (4) high alloyed grades: 904L, 254SMO.