Failure prediction for automotive suspension springs using Gaussian and Monte Carlo method

Abstract

This research presents the modelling of fatigue crack propagation in order to predict the fatigue life of automotive suspension coil springs. Two types of coil spring are analysed, which have a single pigtail and a double pigtail, respectively. Stress analysis is conducted using the Finite Element Method (FEM) in order to identify the distribution of stress intensity factor, a parameter that depends on the component geometry, the crack size and location, and the load applied. The fracture toughness is set as the failure criterion for the crack to be generated. The crack is initialised and the propagation of the crack is randomly defined by the probabilistic approach of Gaussian-Monte Carlo method. The Gaussian-Monte Carlo results are further used for predicting the life cycle of the coil spring, and this is the major contribution of this research.