20-10-2012, 11:02 AM
NUMERICAL MODELING AND FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS OF LEAF SPRING
ABSTRACT
A leaf spring is a simple form of spring, generally used for the suspension in automotives. It is also one of the oldest forms of springing techniques used. It looks like a slender arc-shaped having length of a spring steel of rectangular cross-section. Axle is located at the center of the arc, at the end are the while tie holes which are being used for attaching to the vehicle body. The automobile industry has shown increased interest in the replacement of steel springs with fiberglass reinforced composite leaf springs. Therefore, the aim of this project is to present a general study on the analysis, design and fabrication of composite springs.
A single leaf, variable thickness spring of glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP) with similar mechanical and geometrical properties to the multiyear steel spring, was designed,
This project is based on a complete study and design of leaf spring. Here Finite element models were developed to optimize the material and geometry of the composite elliptical spring based on the spring rate, log life and shear stress. The influence of ellipticity ratio on performance of composite elliptical springs was investigated computationally.