Abstract
In the quest to conserve natural resources and economic energy. Weight reduction has been the focus of auto-manufactures and the aerospace industry in the present day. Weight reduction can be archived primarily by introducing better design optimization, better material, and improved manufacturing processes. This approach by introducing composite materials into automobile industries, which has high strength to weight ratio and excellent corrosive resistance, can fulfil the requirement. This review paper investigates the use of composite materials in the design of leaf springs for automotive vehicles. The paper underscores the suitability of composite materials for leaf spring in automobiles and develops a new leaf spring design that optimizes weight reduction and strength. The review provides details regarding previous efforts conducted on the design of leaf springs while outlining the knowledge gap areas. This review commences with an introduction to leaf springs and a brief history of their development. Followed by the properties that make an excellent leaf spring, this helps narrow down the information required for further developments providing avenues for possible future research.
Highlights
Leaf springs are essential elements in the suspension systems of vehicles including sport utility vehicles, trucks, SUVs, and railway carriages
Driven by the goal to reduce vehicle weight, interest has been drawn into the development of composite leaf springs, which have a higher strength to weight ratio than the conventional materials on the market
In one of the recent studies made by Mahanthi and Murali [16], they made a comparative study between eight materials, four alloys and four composite materials to check which of the eight materials perform better when it comes to strength to weight ratio
Summary
Leaf springs are essential elements in the suspension systems of vehicles including sport utility vehicles, trucks, SUVs, and railway carriages. The purpose of leaf springs is to separate and protect the vehicle chassis from vibrations that it experiences as it travels over rough and bumpy terrain [1]. They aid in giving control to the wheels during braking acceleration and general vehicle manoeuvres experienced during road undulations [2]. Present-day, the automobile and aerospace industry face rapidly growing competition to improve existing products [3]. Their quest aims at conserving natural resources and economizing energy through weight reduction. This paper studies various composite materials and geometries to find the best material and geometry that performs better than any existing leaf springs
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