Mechanical

Springs Spring steels are low-alloy manganese

or silicon manganese, medium-carbon steel
or high-carbon steel with
a very high yield strength

Elastic Deformation Energy stored = ½ (Stress x Strain) = ½ (stress2/E)

Energy storage
Modulus of resilience

Spring steel, Controlled heat treatment

Spring Types 1. Helical springs (Tension / Compression)
2. Torsion spring
3. Leaf springs
4. Spiral spring
5. Belleville springs
6. Volute spring
Helical Wire Compression Spring
Compression Spring end designs
Helical Wire Tension Spring
Helical Wire Torsion Spring
Helical Wire Spring Nomenclature

D
Spring Index C 
d

For vast majority of springs, C ranges between 6 and 12.

Spring size
Stresses in Helical Springs

inner side

T  FD / 2
Tr F 16FD / 2 4 F 8 FD 4 F
 max     2   2
J A d 3
d d 3
d
 Shear Stress in spring

Expressed in terms of spring index:

8 FD 4 F 8 FD  d  8FD  1 
 max    1   1 
d 3 d 2 d 3  2 D  d 3  2C 

8 FD
 max  Ks
d 3
Where Ks is called as the “shear stress correction factor” and serves to
correct the shear stress estimated from the torsion alone for the direct
shear. Here Ks is 2C  1
Ks 
2C
Curvature effect in fatigue loading
• Due to curvature, the shear stress is not equally
distributed. Many factors have been suggested for
correction. Prominent are Wahl factor (Kw) and
Bergstrasser factor (KB).
• As the surface is smooth, and there is no size transition,
there is no other correction factor to be incorporated

4C  1 0.615 4C  2
Kw   or KB 
4C  4 C 4C  3
Check for critical frequency
Energy Stored:

 The total strain energy for a helical spring consists of

torsional component and shear component.
where,
The strain energy T 2l F 2l
U  FD
2GJ 2 AG T ;
2
l  DN a ;
d 4
4 F 2 D 3 N 2 F 2 DN J ; and
U  4
 32
Gd Gd 2 d 2
A
4
N- Number of active coil (Na )
 4 F 2 D 3 N 2 F 2 DN
U  
Gd 4 Gd 2
Deflection and Stiffness:
Castigliano' s second theorem :
U 8FD 3 N a 4 FDN a
y  
F Gd 4
Gd 2

Introducing spring index C  D/d,

8 FD 3 N a  
3 3
1 8 FD N 8 FC Na
y 1  2 
 a

 2C 
4 4
Gd Gd Gd
Spring rate or Spring constant
4
F Gd
k 
y 8D 3 N a
Compression Springs

Check for buckling

Formulas for the Dimensional Characteristics of Compression-Springs

Table 10–1
 Tempered high-carbon steel,
SPRING MATERIALS 0.85 to 0.95%C
• Music wire, Oil-tempered wire, Hard drawn wire,
Chrome-vanadium wire and Chrome-silicon wire
A
Minimum tensile strength, Sut  m Use Table 10-4 for “A” and “m”.
d

Table 10–4
Presetting of Compression Spring (static loading)
• Is a process used in the manufacturing of compression
springs to induce useful residual stresses
• The spring is made to a longer free length than required and
then is compressed beyond the elastic limit by 30% of the
length
• Residual stress sets up that are opposite in direction to the
working stresses
• Hence the springs behave stronger in service

The same operation is also

called “set removal” !
Maximum allowable Torsional shear stress 

Table 10–6

Maximum Allowable Torsional Stresses for Helical Compression

Springs in Static Applications
Check for stability:
• A compression spring is stable if it does not buckle under the
load   C ' 
1/ 2

ycr  L0C1' 1  1  22  
  eff  
 
L0 E  2
E  G 
eff  C 
'
C2' 
2
2E  G 
1
D 2G  E
Effective
Slenderness ratio Elastic constants (dimensionless)

For absolute stability and buckling not to occur,  - End condition

constraint for
D  2E  G  spring as column
1/ 2
C2'
 1  L0  (Table 10.2)
2eff   2G  E 
End -condition constants (α) for helical compression springs

Table 10–2, page 522

Problem:

A helical compression spring subjected to a force of 500

N, which causes the deflection of 20 mm. The spring
index is 6. The spring is made of music wire A228 (Sut=
2000 MPa, G = 81GPa, & E= 196 GPa) and has square
and ground ends. Calculate (i)wire diameter (d should be
round-up to next standard diameter), (ii) mean coil
diameter (D), (iii) active number of coils (Na, should be
round-up to the next integer), (iv) total number of coils
(Nt) (v) Solid length and (vi) pitch of the coils (p). (v)
check for stability of the spring.
Q. It is required to design a helical spring made of Chrome Vanadium steel with
wire diameter 2mm to be fitted over a mandrel 16mm in diameter with spring
rate 5N/mm. Find coil diameter and number of active coil.

D = 2mm, D-d > 16mm

From table: m = 0.168 A = 2005
Sut = A/dm = 1784.6 Mpa
 = 0.5 Sut = 892.3 Mpa

Since the load to be supported is not very large, a soft spring with large coil
diameter to be selected, Assume C = 10 => D = 20 mm =>D-d = 18 mm > 16mm

From table 10.5, G = 77.2 Gpa

K = F/ = d4G / 8D3Na => Na = 3.86 Assume hole number 4 active coil
Q. A concentric spring consists of two helical compression springs one inside the
other. The free length of the outer spring is 15 mm greater than that of the inner
spring. The wire diameter and mean coil diameter of the inner spring are 5 and
30 mm respectively. Also, the wire diameter and mean coil diameter of the outer
spring are 6 and 36 mm respectively. The number of active coils in the inner
and outer springs are 8 and 10 respectively. Assume same material for both with
G=81.37 GPa. The composite spring is subjected axial load 1 kN. Find:
(a) deflection of each spring (b) the load borne by each spring (c) maximum
torsional shear stress induced in each spring.
Design for Fatigue Load:

• Shot peening is used on large spring to improve the

fatigue strength of dynamically loaded springs. Shot
preening can increase the torsional fatigue strength by 20
percent or more.
• Springs are designed for infinite life based on
Zimmerli’s data.
Zimmerli’s Data:
• Unpeened & Peened springs were tested from a minimum torsional
stress of 138 MPa to a maximum of 620 MPa and peened springs in
the range 138 MPa to 930 MPa . The corresponding endurance
strength components for infinite life were found to be

Unpeened :
S sa  241 MPa S sm  379 MPa
Peened :
S sa  398 MPa S sm  534 MPa

S su  0.67 Sut or 0.35Sut  S sy  0.557S ut

Design for Fatigue Loading Based on Zimmerli’s Data

Fmax , Fmin given, find Fa , Fm ,  a ,  m , S e , S sy or S su ,

and then apply a fatigue failure criterion.

Fmax  Fmin Fmax  Fmin

Fa  and Fm 
2 2
8Fa D 8Fm D
 a  KW and  m  KW
d 3
d 3
Zimmerli’s Data (Gerber criteria)
Then find the endurance limit Ssa and Ssm are
2 from Zimmerli’s
S sa  S sm  S sa
    1  S se  2
data.
S se  S su   S sm 
1-  Ssu= 0.67Sut
 S su 
Inter sec tion coordinate for given load line
 2 
 1  1   2 S se  
2 2
r S
S sa  su
 rS  
Refer Table 6-7 ; page 307
2 S se   ut  

 a Fa
r 
 m Fm
S sa
Factor of Safety, n f 
a
Zimmerli’s Data (Goodman criteria)

Then find the endurance limit Ssa and Ssm are from
Zimmerli’s data.
S sa  S sm  S sa
    1  S se 
S se  S su   S sm  Ssu= 0.67Sut
1- 
 S su 
Inter sec tion cordinate for given load line
rS se S su
S sa  Refer Table 6-6 ; page 307
rS su  S se
 a Fa
r 
 m Fm
S sa
Factor of Safety, n f 
a
Zimmerli’s Data (ASME- Elliptic criteria)

Then find the endurance limit Ssa and Ssm are from
2 Zimmerli’s data.
 S sm 
2
 S sa  S sa
     1  S se  0.35Sut  S sy  0.557Sut
S 
 S se 
2
 sy   S sm 
1- 
S 
 sy 
Inter sec tion cordinate for given load line
 r 2S 2 S 2 
S sa    Refer Table 6-8 ; page 308
se sy

 se
S 2
 r 2 2
S sy 
 a Fa
r 
 m Fm
S sa
Factor of Safety, n f 
a
Q. 10.26) A compression spring is needed to fit over a 12 mm dia rod with a
clearance of 1.5mm all round.Use spring index 10. The spring is compressed from
free length 125mm through a stroke of 75mm to its solid length. Find
a) Wire diameter b) coil diameter c) spring constant
d) Static factor of safety when compressed to solid length
e) Fatigue factor of safety when repeatedly cycled from free length to solid length.
Use Gerber-Zimmerli fatigue criteria.
Tension/ Extension springs: end preparation
Combined axial tension and bending stress at A

Only torsion at B

Improved design

Side view
Inherent safety concern with tension spring Spring testing
Analysis of stresses in tension springs
The maximum tensile stress at A due to combined axial tension bending moment
 16D 4 
 A  F K A 3  2 
 d d 
K A  Bending strss correction factor for curvature, given by
4C12  C1  1 2r
KA  , C1  1
4C1 C1  1 d

The maximum torsional shear stress at B is given by

8 FD
 B  KB
d 3
K w  Torsional strss correction factor for curvature, given by
4C2  1 2r2
KB  , C2 
4C2  4 d
Initial tension in close-wound tension springs

• When extension springs are made with coils in contact with one
another, they are said to be close-wound.
• Spring manufacturers prefer some initial tension in close-wound
springs in order to hold the free length more accurately.

F  Fi  ky
Free length : Lo  2D  d    N b  1d  2C  1  N b d
G
Active number of coils, N a  N b  No of body coils
E
INITIAL TENSION IN CLOSE-WOUND TENSION SPRINGS:
• The initial tension in an extension spring is created in the
winding process by twisting the wire as it is wound onto
the mandrel.
• When the spring is completed and
removed from the mandrel, the
initial tension is locked in because
the spring cannot get any shorter.

Preferred range of uncorrected torsional stress is,

i 
231 
 6.9 4 
C  3 MPa

e 0.105C  6.5 
TORSION SPRINGS:

Close wound like helical coil

extension spring
Negligible initial tension
The ends connect a force at a
distance from coil axis to apply
a torque
Wound with a pitch that just
separates the body coils to avoid
inter-coil friction.
The wire in the torsion
spring is under bending load
TORSION SPRING
In specifying Torsion spring, the ends
must be located relative to each other

Angular rotation,
proportional to Fl

Back
Free
angle
End

Free end
location angle

Fixed End

For all positions of the moving end θ + α = constant.


N b  integer  o
 integer  N p
360
N b  body turns; N p  partial turns
Bending Stress :
The bending stress can be expressed as
Md / 2
 K
I
where ' K ' is stress correction factor (Wahl’s factor)
4C 2  C  1 4C 2  C  1
Ki  and K o 
4C (C  1) 4C (C  1)
K o is always less than K i and also less than unity
d 4
Substituting I 
64
32 Fl
the bending equationis,   K i
d 3
Torsional stiffness:
The angle subtended by the end deflection of a cantilever,
when viewed from the built-in ends, is y/l radian.
From Table A–9–1,

End deflection :
y Fl 2 Fl 2 64Ml
e    
l 3EI 4

3E d / 64 
3d 4 E
radians

64Ml
 e  radians
3d 4 E
Torsional stiffness

The end deflection is bending of a cantilever beam whereas

the coils undergo bending action under M = Fl requiring
application of Castigliano theorem.
M 2 dx
Strain energy in bending, U 
 2EI
The Force ‘F’ will deflect body coil through a distance “lθc”
DN b DN b
U   F 2l 2 dx   Fl 2 dx 
l c 
F
 0
F

 2 EI 
  0

 EI 


I  d 4 / 64
64 FlDN b 64MDN b
 c  4

d E d 4E
Torsional stiffness

The total angular deflection (rad),  t   c   e 1   e 2

64MDN b 64Ml1 64Ml2 64MD  l1  l2 

t      Nb  
4
d E 3d E 3d E
4 4
d E 
4
3D 

Defining
l1  l2 64MD
Ne  , N a  Nb  N e ; t  Na
3D 4
d E

Na is equivalent number of active turn. In Most application l1 = l2

Torsional stiffness
Stiffness expressions in torque/radian units:
Full Spring or Total Coils Extension

d 4E
M M d 4E M 3d 4 E
ks   kc   ke  
 t 64DN a  c 64DN b  e 64l1  l2 

Stiffness values in torque/turn values (i.e 2π rad /turn) :

M d 4
E M d 4
E M 3 d 4
E
k s'  '   2 kc'  '   2 ke'  '   2
 t 64DN a  c 64DN b  e 64l1  l2 

Tests show that the effect of friction between the coils is such that the constant
10.186 (i.e 64/2π) should be increased to 10.8

d 4E
M M d 4E 3d 4 E
M
k  ' 
'
k  ' 
'
k  ' 
'
s
 t 10.8DN a c
 c 10.8DN b e
 e 10.8l1  l2 
Torsion spring supported on round bar or pin:
When the load is applied to a torsion spring, the spring winds up, causing
a decrease in the inside diameter of the coil body.
Ensure that the inside diameter of the coil never becomes equal to or less
than the diameter of the pin,
The helix diameter of the coil D′ becomes
Nb D
D'  , from volume balance before and after deformation
Nb  c
'

A  πD'  N b 
 θc'  A  πD   N b  
The new inside diameter D′i = D′ − d makes the diametral clearance Δ
between the body coil and the pin of diameter Dp
Nb D
  Di'  D pin  D ' d  D pin   d  D pin
N b   c1
 c'   d  D pin 
Nb 
D    d  D pin
Design of Torsion Springs for Strength:
•Static strength

A
S ut  m
d
Table 10–6
First column entries in Table 10–6 can be divided by 0.577 (from distortion-energy
theory) to give
Design of Torsion Springs for Strength:
• Dynamic strength
– The dynamic design can not be based on Zimmerli’s data (which
was used for compression/tension springs) because the nature of
loading and stresses are due to bending rather than torsion.
– We have to use the repeated bending stress data provided by
‘Associated Spring’ data for repeated bending fatigue strength (Sr)

Table 10–10 (Sr values for fatigue)

Maximum Recommended Bending Stresses (Kw Corrected) for Helical
Torsion Springs in Cyclic Applications as Percent of Sut
 Q. A helical torsion spring made of A313 stainless steel has wire diameter 1.5 mm,
coil diameter 18 mm, number of body coil 20 with straight torsion arm of 25mm at
each end. External applied force is 5N. Find
a) Is the developed stress level safe with a factor of safety fs=2 2?
b) Spring constant

D = 1.5mm & for A313 stainless steel, m = 0.146, A=1867, E=193 GPa, G=69 GPa
Applied Moment = 25x5 = 100 Nmm
C=D/d=18/1.5 = 12 Sut = A/dm = 1759.68 MPa
Sy = 0.61 Sut = 1073.4 MPa
allowable = Sy / fs = 536.7 MPa

Ki = (4C2-C-1) / (4C(C-1) ) = 1.089

Stress developed  = Ki x 32M/d3 = 328.67 MPa

Number of active coil Na = Nb + (l1+l2)/3D = 20 + 25x2/3 x18 = 20.295

Spring constant = k = d4E/10.8DNa = 247.65 N/mm

Problem
Refer to the finger grip exerciser, the
spring is twisted to 2.5 body turns and
then a wire clip is used to lock it in a
position to obtain comfortable grip as
shown. The spring is made of cold
drawn stainless steel wire A227. Find:
a. Configuration of the spring before
the wire clip is fixed
b. Force necessary to close thr grip
PROBLEM :
Consider the twin torsional springs used in the bicycle
carrier. The spring material is oil quenched and tempered
(OQ & T) carbon steel (A229) having E = 198 GPa with a
spring index of 4. Each spring has lengths of the ends of
l1=100 mm and l2=200 mm. The number of body turns in
each spring is 5.3.

Find the required wire diameter (d) if the spring is to be

safe in bending as well as the maximum total angular
deflection be limited to 70o.
PROBLEM :
• A stock spring is shown in Fig. It is made from 1.8 -mm-diameter
music wire and has 4 .25 body turns with straight torsion ends. It
works over a pin of 10 mm diameter. The coil outside diameter is 15
mm.

(a) Find the maximum operating torque

and corresponding rotation for static
loading.
(b) Estimate the inside coil diameter and
pin diametral clearance when the spring
is subjected to the torque in part (a).
(c) Estimate the fatigue factor of safety
nf if the applied moment varies between
Mmin = 0.1 to Mmax = 0.5 N-m.
Leaf Springs:
Consists of a series of flat plates, usually of
semi-elliptical shape.
The leaves are held together by means of two
U-bolts and a centre bolt
Rebound clips are provided to keep the leaves
in alignment and prevent lateral shifting of the
plates during operation
The master leaf (longest leaf) is bent to form
the spring eye
 Leaf springs are capable of exerting large forces within comparably small spaces
Leaf Springs:
Extra full length leaves are
F L F
provided to protect the ends. L
They are not uniform strength
beams and hence 50% more
bending stress exists in them. To
2F
protect them they are sometimes
Without pre-stress
pre-stressed during the
assembly. F F
L L
Also Nipping to induce pre stress
Shot peening

2F
Pre-stressed
The multi-leaf spring shown and the single
triangular section beam both have the same stress
and deflection characteristics with the exceptions
that the multi-leaf spring is subject to additional
damping due to friction between the leaves
• The bending stress in the plate which is uniform throughout is given
F L h / 2 
by
Mc 6 FL
b   
( ng b)h 
2
I 1 3 n g bh
12
Where “ng” is no. of graduated leaves including master leaf
• The deflection at load point is given by (deflection of a triangular
plate)
F L3 F L3 6 FL3
   
 1 3 E ng b h 3
( ng b)h  
2 EI
2E
 12 
The Spring rate is given by F En g bh 3
k  
 6L3
Problem:
• A truck spring has 6 no of leaves. The supports are 1.5 m
apart and maximum central load is to be 5.4 kN. The
permissible stress for spring material is 280 MPa.
Determine the thickness and width of the spring, if ratio of
total width to depth of the spring is 4. Also find the
deflection of the spring.