Can stainless steel and composite steel plates (carbon steel/stainless steel) be heat-treated?

The heat treatment of composite plates should be considered based on carbon steel materials. The heat treatment of stainless steel generally involves solution treatment for austenitic stainless steels. Ferrite is annealed.

It shouldn’t be possible, I remember this was also a test question.

If the deformation rate of stainless steel exceeds the specified range, heat treatment must be carried out.

Heat treatment of pressure vessels made of explosive-zhā stainless steel composite plates: Due to their excellent combination of corrosion resistance and mechanical strength, along with their favorable cost-performance ratio, explosive-zhā stainless steel composite plates are being used increasingly widely in the pressure vessel industry. However, the heat treatment aspects of this material also deserve attention. For blast-resistant composite steel plates, attention is usually paid to their bonding rate, while the issue of heat treatment is often given little consideration or it is assumed that this matter should be addressed by technical standards and manufacturers. The process of explosive welding metal composite sheets is essentially a process of applying energy to the metal surface. Under the action of high-speed pulses, the coating impacts the substrate at an inclined angle; in the state of metal jets, a serrated composite interface is formed between the coating metal and the substrate metal, achieving atomic-level bonding. The base metal that has undergone explosion machining is, in fact, subjected to a strain-hardening processing process. As a result, the tensile strength increases, the plasticity indices decrease, and the yield strength shows no significant change. In this regard, the requirements regarding heat treatment in NBT 47002.1–4-2009 \"Welded composite plates for pressure vessels\" are vague and general, with rights and responsibilities being shifted to the designer, material supplier, and manufacturer. At this point, it’s as if nothing was said. Care should be taken when performing post-weld heat treatment on composite plate containers. The main points are as follows: First, regarding the heat treatment of stainless steel: 1. Austenitic stainless steels possess good toughness and strain-hardening properties, and generally do not require heat treatment ； 2. The sensitization temperature for austenitic stainless steel is 400–850°C, and sensitization may occur if the treatment is not carried out properly ； 3. Solvent heat treatment at 1150°C is not recommended for austenitic stainless steel equipment. Overall stainless steel equipment is generally not very thick due to cost considerations; carrying out heat treatment at such high temperatures requires numerous fixtures, and the equipment is prone to deformation ； 4. Even if heat treatment is required, it is advisable to use a stabilization heat treatment at 875°C, as it is cost-effective and does not easily cause deformation ； 5. Addressing the corrosion of austenitic stainless steel primarily involves considering the medium and structure, rather than through heat treatment. II. For the grassroots level, the main thing to consider is whether there is stress corrosion, as well as the impact of processing and manufacturing on the material’s properties ； For composite panels, following the principle of choosing the option that brings more benefits and minimizes harms, the final decision needs to be made through specific analysis based on the particular circumstances.