SPRINGS

INTRODUCTION
A spring is an elastic member which stores energy and provides a force over a distance by
elastic deflection. Springs are characterized by their ability to withstand relatively large
deflection elastically.

USES OF SPRINGS
1. To cushion, absorb or control energy due to shock or vibration, such as in railway
wagons, automobiles, shock absorbers etc.
2. To exert a force, as in spring loaded safety valve, clutches etc.
3. To support moving masses or to isolate vibration.
4. To control motion by maintaining contact between two elements, as in
the case of cam and follower etc.
5. To measure forces
6. To store energy as in clocks, toys and motors.

Of all types of springs, helical springs of circular section and leaf springs are widely
used.
Helical springs are made up of round or rectangular wire wound to form a helix.
The spring may be wound in hot or cold condition depending on the application and the
material.

ADVANTAGES OF HELICAL SPRINGS

1. Ease to manufacture,
2. Reliability,
3. Availability in a wide range,
4. Constant spring rate k,
5. Performance can be predicted more accurately,
6. Their characteristics can be varied by changing dimensions.

A leaf spring comprises a flat plate fixed at the centre and loaded at both ends and thus
acting as double cantilever. Leaf springs are made by fastening a number of strips of
uniform section and different length to obtain uniform strength spring.
These occupy less space, have high spring rate, withstand heavy loads and damps out
vibration due to the inter-leaf movement.
They are widely used in automobiles, power hammers etc.

Spiral springs have low spring rate and are capable of storing energy. They are used in
clocks, electrical instruments etc.

Disc springs, rectangular and conical springs are employed for higher spring rate within a
limited space.

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SPRING TERMINOLOGY
D -mean coil diameter
C -spring index (D/d)
d-wire diameter
l - free length when the spring is free from the load
n number of active turns ( resisting the load)
- helix angle or pitch angle (tan-1(p/D)
e gap existing between adjacent coils
- spring deflection
k spring rate or stiffness or constant

MATERIALS

Usually high strength materials such as high carbon steel cold rolled and precipitation
hardening stainless and non ferrous alloys and a few specialised non-mettallics such as
laminated fibre glass are used

Extension and Compression springs are usually made from high-carbon steel, manganese
steel or silicon steel.
Heavily loaded springs in internal combustion engines are made form chromium and
vanadium steel.

STRESS ANALYSIS

Consider a spring of wire diameter d and coil mean diameter D subjected to an axial load F.
FD
Torque on spring; T
2
Tr
Shear stress due to the torque; s
J
d d 3
Where; r and J
2 32
Therefore;

2
 8FD
s
d 3
Shear stress due to the force F will be given by;

F 4F
s
A d 2

8 FD 4 F
Total shear stress, s max
d 3 d 2

8 FD
s max
1
d 3 1
2c
1
1 is known as shear multiplication factor Ks
2c
The above stress equation holds if the wire is a straight one.
Due to the curvature of the wire, the stress does not remain uniform, it increases on the
inside layers of the wire and decreases slightly on the outside layer. Hence a factor Kc to
account for the effect of curvature is used to find the maximum shear stress as follows;

8 FD
s max Ks Kc
d 3

Ks Kc = K (Wahl correction factor)

4c 1 0.615
K
4c 4 c
8 FDK
s max
d 3

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In the case of rectangular section;
FDK r
s max
2hb 2

Where; h dimension of wire in axial direction

b dimension of wire in radial direction
b
Kr experimental factor depending on
d

b
1.0 1.5 2.0 3.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0 infinite
d
Kr 4.79 4.35 4.05 3.71 3.52 3.35 3.25 3.20 3.00

DEFLECTION ANALYSIS

As the axial load increases linearly from zero to F, the work required to compress the
F F
spring is average times the deflection; i.e.
2 2
The strain energy in the twisted wire by a torsional moment (T) through angle is
T
2
If n is the number of active turns, then the total active length if spring will be,
nD
Cos
Where - is the lead angle of helix which for close coiled springs is of the order of 50
Hence Cos = 1

Tl
The angular deflection
JG
1
But, T FD
2
16 FD 3 n

Gd 4

1
The work done by a force F in deflecting the spring through F
2
1 1
Equating the potential energy due to twisting of wire (i.e. x FD to the
2 2
work done buy the load F.

1 1 16 FD 3 n 1
x FD 4
F
2 2 Gd 2

4
 8 FD 3 n

Gd 4
F Gd 4
k
8D 3 n
This shows that the stiffness of spring is the function of the geometrical dimensions of
the spring and the material of the spring.

FD 3 n
For rectangular springs, Kd
4Gh 3b

Where K d depends on the ratio b

h

b 1,0 1,5 2,0 3,0 4,0 6,0 8,0 10,0 Infinite

h
Kd 7,09 5,10 4,36 3,80 3,56 3,36 3,26 3,21 3,00

RELATIONSHIP AMONG SPRING SOLID LENGTH, FREE LENGTH AND

ACTIVE NUMBER OF TURNS

When compression springs are subjected to maximum permissible stress they get
compressed solid and the length of spring at this time is known as closed length.
Free length of spring is the solid length plus the maximum deflection.
The closed length is dependent upon the number of effective coils and the type of ends
provided.
The part of the coil in contact with the seat does not contribute to spring action and
therefore it should not be taken into account while determining the deflection.
Turns which impart spring action are called active turns and the equations to determine
the actual number of turns, solid length, and free length are given in the table below;

Type of end Number of Total number of Free length Solid length

active turns turns (height)
Plan n n pn + d (n = 1)d
Ground n n pn nd
Square n n+2 pn + 3d (n + 3)d
Square & n n+2 pn + 2d (n + 2)d
Ground

p- is pitch of coils and is given by;

Free.length Solid .length

p
Actual.number.of .turns ( n ' )

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ENERGY STORED IN HELICAL SPRINGS

1
From the above analysis energy stored U F if the force F is applied gradually.
2
In the case of force F being due to a weight P falling freely from a height of h then;

1
P h F
2
But
8 FDK
s max
d 3

d 3 s max
F
8 DK

8 FD 3 n
and
d 4G

8d 3 s max D 3 n
Hence
8Dkd 4 G

s max D 2 n

KdG

1 d 3 s max s max D 2 n
U ( )( )
2 8 DK KdG

s max 2 d 2
U Dn
4K 2G 4

2
s max
U V
4K 2G

Where V is the volume Al

s
2
Hence energy stored per unit volume =
4K 2G

SPRINGS IN COMBINATION

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Because of space limitations springs are often used in combinations, hence more efficient
than a single equivalent spring.

a) SPRINGS IN PARALLEL

F12 F1 F2

12 1 2
k12 k1 k 2

If two or more springs are used in parallel, the total load equals the sum of the loads of
the individual springs. The total deflection is the same as the deflection of the individual
springs. The total gradient is the sum of the individual springs.

b) SPRINGS IN SERIES

F12 F1 F2

12 1 2
1 1 1

k12 k1 k2

The deflection is the sum of the deflections of individual springs. The total gradient is the
reciprocal of the sum of the reciprocals of the individual springs.

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c) SERIES AND PARALLEL SPRINGS

F123 F1 F2 F3
123 1 23
23 1 3
1 1 1

K 123 K 1 K 23

K 23 K 2 K 3

FLAT OR LEAF SPRINGS

These function as structural members in addition to being energy absorption devices and
find widespread use in automobiles. Laminated steel spring is usually of semi-elliptical
type. The leaves are usually held together by a centre bolt and are prevented from lateral
shifting by clips. A leaf spring can be compared to an equivalent cantilever as shown
below in figures 1 and 2.

My
The stress in such a spring as shown above will be give by;
I
bt 3 t
But and y
12 2

8
 M t
2 6M
bt3
bt 2
12

and M PL

6 FL
b
nbt 2

Where n - number of strips

b- width of strip
t- thickness of strip

The deflection will be given by:

1 FL3 1 12 FL3 4bt 2 L3 2 b L2

( ) 3
3 EI 3 bt E 6nbt 3 LE 3tnE

If the plate is cut into a series of n strips of width b and these are placed as shown above
then the above equations can be transformed to the once below for springs of uniform
cross-section;

6 FL
b
nbt 2
4 FL3 2 b L2

nbt 3 E 3Et
If a rectangular plate is used as shown below the stress will be uniform throughout.

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If the rectangular plate is cut into strips and placed as shown below to form a graduated
leaf spring then;
6 FL
b
nbt 2
6 FL3 b L2

nbt 3 E tE

If bending stress alone is considered, the graduated spring may have zero width at the
loaded end but sufficient metal must be provided to support the shear.
Hence it is necessary to have one or more leaves of uniform cross-section extending clear
to the end. It has been proved that the stress in the uniform section leaves is 50% greater
than in the graduated leaves, assuming that each spring element deflects according to its
own elastic curve.
Letting f - be subscript for full length (uniform section)
g- be graduated leaves

Then;

3
bf bg
2

6F f L 3 6 Fg L
2

n f bt 2 n g bt 2

10
 2 ng F f 2n g
From which : Fg = F
3 nf 2n g 3n f

3n f
and Ff F
2n g 3n f

6 FL
From b
nbt 2

6 FL 3n f 18 FL
Therefore; bf 2
n f bt 2 2n g 3n f bt 2n g 3n f
This gives the relationship between the maximum stress and the load applied at the end of
the spring when all leaves have the same thickness.

The deflection of the spring will be;

12 FL3


bt 3 E 2n g 3n f

PROBLEMS:

QUESTION 1.

Determine the width and thickness of the leaves of a six-leaf steel cantilever spring
300mm long to carry a load of 1500N with a deflection of 30mm. The maximum stress in
this spring should not exceed 320x10 6 N/m2 and E = 200GN/m2. (t= 4.8mm: b= 61
035mm)

QUESTION 2:

A load of 10 tonnes is to be supported on 4 leaf springs, each consisting of 10 leaves. The

span of each spring is 80cm and the material of the spring is chromium vanadium steel
having permissible tensile stress of 60kg/mm2. Calculate the thickness and width of the
spring strips so that the maximum deflection is not to exceed 80mm. E =2x104 kg/mm2 (t
= 6mm : b = 138.888mm)

QUESTION 3:

A helical compression spring is to carry a load of 1500N . The deflection is 40mm. The
spring index may be taken as 5. The shear stress in the spring wire should not exceed
400x106N/m2 and the modulus of rigidity is 80GN/m2; Calculate

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a) the wire diameter (8mm)
b) the coil diameter (40mm)
c) the number of active turns for square and ground ends (19)
d) the free length of the spring taking 1mm clearance between coils. (210mm)

QUESTION 4:

Design a cylindrical helical spring of circular cross section wire to carry safely an axial
compression load of 500N at a maximum stress of 750x106N/m2. The spring stiffness
should be 25kN/m and other proportions are as follows; spring index 6 to 8, ratio of
closed length to mean diameter of coil 1.7 to 2.3 and G is 75GN/m2. Determine;
a) the mean coil diameter (84mm)
b) the wire diameter (12)
c) the length of coil when load assuming closed and ground ends (180mm)
d) the length of coil before the application of the load (379.702mm)

QUESTION 5:

a) What information should be given to specify a spring completely?

b) How many types of ends are possible in compression springs and how many number
of inactive coils are taken for each?
c) A close coiled spring with 40mm mean diameter is required to work under a load of
600N. The wire diameter is 5mm and the number of active turns is 7. The ends are
ground and square and the modulus of rigidity is 80GN/m2. Determine;

- the induced shear stress (579. 918MN/m2)

-the unit deflection (43,008mm)
-the total number of coils (9)
-the length of spring when under load assuming a 2mm clearance. (61mm)

QUESTION 6.

A truck spring has 10 leaves of graduated length and 2 full length leaves. The spring
supports are 106 cm apart and the central band is 88mm wide. The central load is to be
540kg with a permissible
Stress of 2800kg/cm2. The spring should have a ratio of total depth to width of about 2, 5
and the modulus of rigidity is 21x106N/m2. Determine;
a) the width of the spring 39,492mm)
b) the thickness of the spring (8.214mm)
c) the deflection of the spring (31.123mm)

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