We are forming one round of coil from spring steel wire(flat wire of size 1.4 mm thick and 3.50mm width) having hardness in the range of 39~41HRC.
We have done stress relieving at a temperature of 280°C~300°C for 15 minutes after making the coil.
After stress relieving we observe that the Hardness was increased to 44~46HRC?
Can anyone explain how this happened?