Abstract
A study, on the contact stresses and inter-laminate stress distributions in laminated leaf springs, is presented in this research. Several configurations and models of leaf springs are analyzed by finite element method. The aim is to find a configuration, which provides minimum values of contact stresses and inter-laminate stresses, for the same spring constant and load- deflection response. Results of the analyses show that making certain types of cuts in leaf springs could provide better designs than original unmodified springs, and leads to reduction in contact and inter-laminate stresses. This reduction in stresses is expected to increase the service life of leaf springs.
Highlights
Leaf springs are widely used in suspension systems of heavy truck and some cars
Contact stresses arise between leafs during service
Due to the operation conditions of leaf springs, it is not easy to maintain some type of lubrication between leafs
Summary
Leaf springs are widely used in suspension systems of heavy truck and some cars. The design of these types of spring is simple and well known. Contact stresses arise between leafs during service These stresses, along with dry sliding between leafs during operation, causes wear and surface fatigue which would reduce the service life of the spring. Most of them are related to classical stress analysis of springs, such as those in references [1,2,3,4, and 5]. Some researches are directed towards using composite materials ivinstead of steel to reduce total weight and cost of spring. Sample of such results are in references [6,7, and 8]. The current study presents an investigation on contact stresses between leaf springs during service. Several types of modifications on original classic springs are made aiming to reduce contact and inter-laminate stresses. To author’s knowledge, this matter has not been studied or analyzed by other researchers, and no similar contribution has been published
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