Module

7
Design of Springs
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 Lesson
1
Introduction to Design of
Helical Springs
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Instructional Objectives:
At the end of this lesson, the students should be able to understand:

• Uses of springs
• Nomenclature of a typical helical spring
• Stresses in a helical spring
• Deflection of a helical spring

Mechanical springs have varied use in different types of machines. We shall briefly
discuss here about some applications, followed by design aspects of springs in
general.

7.1.1 Definition of spring: Spring act as a flexible joint in between two parts
or bodies

7.1.2 Objectives of Spring

Following are the objectives of a spring when used as a machine member:

1. Cushioning , absorbing , or controlling of energy due to shock and

vibration.

Car springs or railway buffers

To control energy, springs-supports and vibration dampers.

2. Control of motion
Maintaining contact between two elements (cam and its follower)
In a cam and a follower arrangement, widely used in numerous applications, a
spring maintains contact between the two elements. It primarily controls the
motion.

Creation of the necessary pressure in a friction device (a brake or a clutch)

A person driving a car uses a brake or a clutch for controlling the car motion. A
spring system keep the brake in disengaged position until applied to stop the car.
The clutch has also got a spring system (single springs or multiple springs) which
engages and disengages the engine with the transmission system.

Restoration of a machine part to its normal position when the applied force is
withdrawn (a governor or valve)
A typical example is a governor for turbine speed control. A governor system
uses a spring controlled valve to regulate flow of fluid through the turbine, thereby
controlling the turbine speed.

3. Measuring forces
Spring balances, gages

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4. Storing of energy
In clocks or starters
The clock has spiral type of spring which is wound to coil and then the stored
energy helps gradual recoil of the spring when in operation. Nowadays we do not
find much use of the winding clocks.

Before considering the design aspects of springs we will have a quick look at the
spring materials and manufacturing methods.

7.1.3 Commonly used spring materials

One of the important considerations in spring design is the choice of the spring
material. Some of the common spring materials are given below.

Hard-drawn wire:
This is cold drawn, cheapest spring steel. Normally used for low stress and static
load. The material is not suitable at subzero temperatures or at temperatures above
1200C.

Oil-tempered wire:
It is a cold drawn, quenched, tempered, and general purpose spring steel. However,
it is not suitable for fatigue or sudden loads, at subzero temperatures and at
temperatures above 1800C.

When we go for highly stressed conditions then alloy steels are useful.

Chrome Vanadium:
This alloy spring steel is used for high stress conditions and at high temperature up
to 2200C. It is good for fatigue resistance and long endurance for shock and impact
loads.

Chrome Silicon:
This material can be used for highly stressed springs. It offers excellent service for
long life, shock loading and for temperature up to 2500C.

Music wire:
This spring material is most widely used for small springs. It is the toughest and has
highest tensile strength and can withstand repeated loading at high stresses.
However, it can not be used at subzero temperatures or at temperatures above
1200C.

Normally when we talk about springs we will find that the music wire is a common
choice for springs.

Stainless steel:
Widely used alloy spring materials.

Phosphor Bronze / Spring Brass:

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It has good corrosion resistance and electrical conductivity. That’s the reason it is
commonly used for contacts in electrical switches. Spring brass can be used at
subzero temperatures.

7.1.4 Spring manufacturing processes

If springs are of very small diameter and the wire diameter is also small then the
springs are normally manufactured by a cold drawn process through a mangle.
However, for very large springs having also large coil diameter and wire diameter
one has to go for manufacture by hot processes. First one has to heat the wire and
then use a proper mangle to wind the coils.

Two types of springs which are mainly used are, helical springs and leaf springs. We
shall consider in this course the design aspects of two types of springs.

7.1.5. Helical spring

The figures below show the schematic representation of a helical spring acted upon
by a tensile load F (Fig.7.1.1) and compressive load F (Fig.7.1.2). The circles denote
the cross section of the spring wire. The cut section, i.e. from the entire coil
somewhere we make a cut, is indicated as a circle with shade.

F F

Wire Diameter (d)

Shear Force (F)

Torsion (T)

Coil diameter (D)

Fig 7.1.1 Fig 7.1.2

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If we look at the free body diagram of the shaded region only (the cut section) then
we shall see that at the cut section, vertical equilibrium of forces will give us force, F
as indicated in the figure. This F is the shear force. The torque T, at the cut section
and it’s direction is also marked in the figure. There is no horizontal force coming into
the picture because externally there is no horizontal force present. So from the
fundamental understanding of the free body diagram one can see that any section of
the spring is experiencing a torque and a force. Shear force will always be
associated with a bending moment.
However, in an ideal situation,
when force is acting at the centre Force F is acting perpendicular
of the circular spring and the coils to the plane of the paper
of spring are almost parallel to
each other, no bending moment The cut section
would result at any

Fig 7.1.3
section of the spring ( no moment arm), except torsion and shear force. The
Fig.7.1.3 will explain the fact stated above.

7.1.5.1 Stresses in the helical spring wire:

From the free body diagram, we have found out the direction of the internal torsion T
and internal shear force F at the section due to the external load F acting at the
centre of the coil.

The cut sections of the spring, subjected to tensile and compressive loads
respectively, are shown separately in the Fig.7.1.4 and 7.1.5. The broken arrows
show the shear stresses ( τT ) arising due to the torsion T and solid arrows show the
shear stresses ( τF )due to the force F. It is observed that for both tensile load as
well as compressive load on the spring, maximum shear stress (τT + τF) always
occurs at the inner side of the spring. Hence, failure of the spring, in the form of
crake, is always initiated from the inner radius of the spring.

τF τF
τT τT

Fig 7.1.4 Fig 7.1.5

The radius of the spring is given by D/2. Note that D is the mean diameter of the
spring.
The torque T acting on the spring is

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 D
T = F×
2
(7.1.1)
πd 4
If d is the diameter of the coil wire and polar moment of inertia, I p = , the shear
32
stress in the spring wire due to torsion is

D d
Tr F × 2 × 2 8FD
τT = = = (7.1.2)
Ip πd 4 πd 3
32

Average shear stress in the spring wire due to force F is

F 4F
τF = = 2
πd
2
πd
4
(7.1.3)

Therefore, maximum shear stress the spring wire is

8FD 4F
τT + τF = +
πd 3
πd 2

⎛ ⎞
8FD ⎜ 1 ⎟
or τ max = 3 ⎜
1+
πd ⎜ 2D ⎟⎟
⎝ d ⎠

8FD ⎛ 1 ⎞ D
or τ max = 3 ⎜
1+ ⎟ where, C = , is called the spring
πd ⎝ 2C ⎠ d
index.

8FD 1
finally, τ max = ( K s ) where, K s = 1 +
πd 3 2C
(7.1.4)

The above equation gives maximum shear stress occurring in a spring. Ks is the
shear stress correction factor.

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7.1.5.2 Stresses in helical spring with curvature effect
c
What is curvature effect? Let us look at a small section of
b
a circular spring, as shown in the Fig.7.1.6. Suppose we
hold the section b-c fixed and give a rotation to the section
a-d in the anti clockwise direction as indicated in the
figure, then it is observed that line a-d rotates and it takes a
d
up another position, say a'-d'. The inner length a-b being
smaller compared to the outer length c-d, the shear strain
γi at the inside of the spring will be more than the shear d'
strain γo at the outside of the spring. Hence, for a given
wire diameter, a spring with smaller diameter will a d
experience more difference of shear strain between d'
outside surface and inside surface compared to its larger a'
counter part. The above phenomenon is termed as c b γi
γO a,d
curvature effect. So more is the spring index ( C = D ) the
d a'
lesser will be the curvature effect. For example, the
suspensions in the railway carriages use helical springs. Fig 7.1.6
These springs have large wire diameter compared to the
diameter of the spring itself. In this case curvature effect
will be predominantly high.

To take care of the curvature effect, the earlier equation for maximum shear stress in
the spring wire is modified as,
8FD
τ max = (K w )
(7.1.5) πd 3

Where, KW is Wahl correction factor, which takes care of both curvature effect and
shear stress correction factor and is expressed as,

4C − 1 0.615
Kw = +
4C − 4 C
(7.1.6)

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7.1.5.3 Deflection of helical spring

c
b
dβ ds
F
a
d

d'

a d
dφ
a'
Fig 7.1.7 (b)

l
γ

dφ
Fig 7.1.7 (a)
O
O' dδ
γ

The Fig.7.1.7(a) and Fig.7.1.7 (b) shows a schematic view of a spring, a cross
section of the spring wire and a small spring segment of length dl. It is acted upon by
a force F. From simple geometry we will see that the deflection, δ, in a helical spring
is given by the formula,

8FD3 N
δ=
Gd 4
(7.1.7)

Where, N is the number of active turns and G is the shear modulus of elasticity. Now
what is an active coil? The force F cannot just hang in space, it has to have some
material contact with the spring. Normally the same spring wire e will be given a
shape of a hook to support the force F. The hook etc., although is a part of the
spring, they do not contribute to the deflection of the spring. Apart from these coils,
other coils which take part in imparting deflection to the spring are known as active
coils.

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7.1.5.4 How to compute the deflection of a helical spring ?
Consider a small segment of spring of length ds, subtending an angle of dβ at the
center of the spring coil as shown in Fig.7.1.7(b). Let this small spring segment be
considered to be an active portion and remaining portion is rigid. Hence, we consider
only the deflection of spring arising due to application of force F. The rotation, dφ, of
the section a-d with respect to b-c is given as,

D D
Tds F × 2 × 2 × dβ 8FD ( dβ )
2

dϕ = = =
GI p πd 4 G πd 4
G×
32
(7.1.8)
The rotation, dφ will cause the end of the spring O to rotate to O', shown in
Fig.7.1.7(a). From geometry, O-O' is given as,
O − O′ = ldϕ
However, the vertical component of O-O' only will contributes towards spring
deflection. Due to symmetric condition, there is no lateral deflection of spring, ie, the
horizontal component of O-O' gets cancelled.

The vertical component of O-O', dδ, is given as,

D
dδ = ldϕ sin γ = ldϕ ×
2l
8FD 2 ( dβ ) D
= ×
G πd 4 2
3
4FD
= dβ
G πd 4

Total deflection of spring, δ, can be obtained by integrating the above expression for
entire length of the spring wire.

2 πN 4FD3 ( dβ )
δ=∫
0 Gπd 4

Simplifying the above expression we get,

8FD3 N
δ=
(7.1.9) Gd 4

The above equation is used to compute the deflection of a helical spring. Another
important design parameter often used is the spring rate. It is defined as,
F Gd 4
K= =
δ 8D3 N
(7.1.10)

Here we conclude on the discussion for important design features, namely, stress,
deflection and spring rate of a helical spring.

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Problem

A helical spring of wire diameter 6mm and spring index 6 is acted by an initial load of
800N.
After compressing it further by 10mm the stress in the wire is 500MPa. Find the
number of active coils. G = 84000MPa.

Solution:

D=spring index(C) x d=36 mm

8FD 4C − 1 0.615
τ max = ( K w ) Kw = + = 1.2525
πd3 4C − 4 C
8F × 36
or ,500 = 1.2525 × (Note that in case of static load one
π ×63 can also use KS instead of KW .)
∴ F = 940.6 N

F 940.6 − 800
K= = = 14 N / mm
δ 10

Gd 4
K=
8D 3 N
Gd 4 84000 × 6 4
or, N = = ≈ 21 turns
K 8D 3 N 14 × 8 × 36 3

Questions and answers

Q1. What are the objectives of a spring?

A1. The objectives of a spring are to cushion, absorb, or controlling of energy arising
due to shock and vibration. It is also used for control of motion, storing of energy
and for the purpose of measuring forces.

Q2. What is the curvature effect in a helical spring? How does it vary with spring
index?

A2. For springs where the wire diameter is comparable with the coil diameter, in a
given
segment of the spring, the inside length of the spring segment is relatively
shorter than the outside length. Hence, for a given magnitude of torsion, shearing
strain is more in the inner segment than the outer segment. This unequal
shearing strain is called the curvature effect. Curvature effect decreases with the
increase in spring index.

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Q3. What are the major stresses in a helical spring?

A3. The major stresses in a helical spring are of two types, shear stress due to
torsion and direct shear due to applied load.

References
1. V.Maleev and James B. Hartman , Machine Design, CBS Publishers And
Distributors.3rd Edition. 1983.
2. J.E Shigley and C.R Mischke , Mechanical Engineering Design , McGraw Hill
Publication, 5th Edition. 1989.
3. M.F Spotts, Design of Machine Elements, Prentice Hall India Pvt. Limited, 6th
Edition, 1991.

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