Modeling and Testing for Slotted Disk Springs Considering Linearly Gradient Thickness and Friction

Abstract

The slotted disk spring has been widely used given its nonlinear characteristics. However, the number of studies on them is limited, and the influences of nonuniform thickness have not been investigated theoretically and experimentally. Additionally, the hysteresis caused by friction has been neglected in most studies. By introducing the symmetric friction condition and the dimensionless thickness variation parameter, the present study establishes a mathematical model for slotted disk springs with linearly graded thickness. By treating the slotted segment as a number of cantilever beams with both a linearly gradient thickness and width, a new analytical formula is developed to characterize the load–deflection of slotted disk springs based on the moment equilibrium equation. The proposed model allows the direct quantification of the influences of the thickness variation parameter and the symmetric friction condition on the load–deflection characteristics. To validate the proposed model, slotted disk springs with different parameter configurations are designed and tested. Comparisons between measured and theoretical results illustrate that the proposed model can effectively describe the load–deflection characteristics of slotted disk springs with both uniform thickness and linearly gradient thickness. Due to the hypothetic linear variable width of slotted segments, the proposed model has a better performance in predicting slotted disk springs with rectangular slots.