Spring Design

SPRINGS
 A spring is an elastic body whose function is to distort when loaded and to recover its original
shape when the load is removed.

Applications of springs:
1. To cushion, absorb or control energy due to either shock or vibration as in car springs,
railway buffers, air-craft landing gears, shock absorbers, vibration dampers, etc.
2. To apply forces, as in brakes, clutches and spring loaded valves.
3. To control motion by maintaining contact between two elements as in cams and followers.
4. To measure forces, as in spring balances and engine indicators.
5. To store energy, as in watches, toys, etc.
 Helical Extension Springs (with hook)

Leaf Spring

Helical Springs

Conical Spring Volute Spring

Belleville Springs
 Helical Compression springs
• Made from round wire and wrapped in cylindrical form with a fixed pitch
• least expensive
• Has plain and ground end; squared and ground end
• Tends to bow sideways under load
• Joining conditions should be flat
• Likely to get entangled in storage

Types of compression springs

Plain end Plain and ground Squared Squared &

ground
Helical Extension springs
• Similar to compression springs
• Manufactured with each winding touching the adjacent winding
with a preset residual load

Torsion springs

 To resist turning motion

 Left or right hand motion
 Design of Helical Compression Springs

Lf - Free length; Ls - Solid length; δ - Deflection

Li – Installed length; Lo – Operating length

OD - Outside diameter
ID - Inside diameter
Dm - Mean diameter
Dw - Wire diameter
1. Solid length (Ls).
 When the compression spring is compressed until the coils come in contact with each other,
then the spring is said to be solid.

 Solid length of the spring, Ls = n'.d where n' = Total number of coils, and d = Diameter of
the wire.

2. Free length (Lf).

 The free length of a compression spring is the length of the spring in the free or unloaded
condition.
LF = Solid length + Maximum
compression + *Clearance between
adjacent coils (or clash allowance)
= n'.d + δmax + 0.15 δmax
Spring Rate (k)

• This is the ratio of change in force to the change in length:

∆𝑭
𝒌=
∆𝑳
• Hence, force (F) exerted by the spring is: 𝑭 = 𝒌. ∆𝑳 = 𝒌 (𝑳𝒇 − 𝑳𝒐 )

Spring index (C)

 Ratio of mean diameter of a spring to the wire from which the spring is
constructed:
𝑫𝒎
𝑪=
𝑫𝒘
 Low indices result in difficulty with spring manufacture and in stress concentrations
induced by curvature.
 Springs in the range 5 ≤ C ≤ 12 are preferred, while indices less than 3 are
generally impractical.
Pitch.
 The pitch of the coil is defined as the axial distance between adjacent coils in uncompressed
state. Mathematically, pitch of the coil:

Storage and Dissipation of Energy

 When a spring deflects under an external load, the work associated with the load is
stored as strain energy.
 The input work is equal to the area under the given characteristic curve.

U – strain energy
𝑈𝑜 − 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑠 𝑑𝑢𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑓𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛
λ − deflection = ΔL
Materials and Allowable Stresses
 While selecting spring materials, material properties, application conditions,
manufacturing process, as well as costs and availability are factors that need to be
considered.
 For reliable functioning of springs, candidate spring materials should have high
strength (including ultimate, yield and fatigue strength), high resilience and good
resistance to corrosion and creep.
 Hard-drawn or oil tempered carbon steel spring wire is adequate for statically
loaded springs, while an alloy steel with restricted surface quality is preferred for
cyclically loaded springs.
 When it is required to prevent corrosion and magnetism, nonferrous materials are
preferred. For springs operate at elevated temperatures, nickel alloys are the best
choice.
 Spring materials may be formed into bar, wire or strip by hot-working or cold-
working processes. Normally, cold-working is used for spring wires with diameters
less than 8–10 mm, while hot-working is used for greater wire diameters.
Stresses in Helical Springs : Stress Analysis

• Consider a helical compression

spring made of circular wire and
subjected to an axial load F, as
shown in Fig.(a).

• Whether an axial load produces extension or compression, the wire is twisted.

• The primary stress developed in the cross section of wire is torsional shear stress.
• When friction is absent, the stored energy is fully recovered as the spring returns to
its original length; however, when present, the area surrounded by loading and
unloading characteristic curve represents energy loss U0.
• The lost energy is for overcoming friction and may generate undesirable heat,
however, it can be desirable whenever impact or vibration must be reduced.
• The larger the ratio of U0 to U, the stronger the capability of shock and vibration
absorption.
• Ring springs, Belleville springs and multilayer leaf springs are functioned according
to this principle and are used as buffing springs widely, especially in heavy
machinery.

Potential Failure Modes

• Springs are elastic elements which can produce large deflection under applied
loads. They are expected to exert desired force or to deliver stored energy essential
for the machine operation over long periods of time.
• Common potential failure modes that prohibit proper functioning of springs include:
- yield, fatigue, buckling, resonance, corrosion, creep, fretting fatigue, etc.
 Springs are usually subjected to static or fluctuating loads during operation.
 Excessive static loads may cause the induced stress to exceed the yield strength
of spring material, resulting in permanent dimensional change.
 Fluctuating loads may cause stress variation and eventually fatigue failure.
 Extreme axial load on a slender compression spring may cause buckling.
 Resonance or surging may occur if cyclic operating frequencies are close to the
resonant frequency of spring.

 Operating conditions may also affect failure modes. Corrosive environments may
reduce the strength and surface hardness of spring, leading to accelerated
corrosion failure.
 Elevated temperatures may cause thermal relaxation and creep, producing
unacceptable dimensional change or reduction of load carrying capability.
 It is extremely important to identify potential failure modes and propose proper
measures to prevent failures at the design stage.
 Let D = Mean diameter of the spring coil,
d = Diameter of the spring wire,
n = Number of active coils,
G = Modulus of rigidity for the spring material,
F = Axial load on the spring,
τ = Maximum shear stress induced in the wire,
C = Spring index = D/d, p = Pitch of the coils, and
δ = Deflection of the spring, as a result of an axial load W.

o Now consider a part of the compression spring as shown in Fig. (b). The load W tends to
rotate the wire due to the twisting moment ( T ) set up in the wire.
o Thus torsional shear stress is induced in the wire.
o It is shown that part of the spring, as shown in Fig.(b), is in equilibrium under the action of
two forces F and the twisting moment T.
  torsional shear stress (τ1) induced in the wire is: 𝐹𝐷
𝑇= ;
𝑇𝑟 𝐹𝐷 𝑑 1 𝐹𝐷𝑑 32𝐹𝐷𝑑 8𝐹𝐷 2
𝜏1 = = 𝑥 𝑥 = = =
𝐽 2 2 𝐽 4𝐽 4𝜋𝑑 4 𝜋𝑑 3
𝜋𝑑4
𝐽= ;
 stress (τ2) due to curvature of wire is: 32
𝑑
𝜏2 =
𝐹 4𝐹
= 2 𝑟= ;
2
𝐴 𝜋𝑑

 Resultant shear stress τ is:

8𝐹𝐷 4𝐹
𝜏 = 𝜏1 ± 𝜏2 = ±
𝜋𝑑 3 𝜋𝑑 2
8𝐹𝐷 4𝐹
 Maximum shear obtained when: 𝜏𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 𝜏1 + 𝜏2 = 𝜋𝑑 3
+ 2
𝜋𝑑

 Factoring out the torsional stress:

𝟖𝑭𝑫 𝒅
𝜏𝑚𝑎𝑥 = ( 𝟑) 𝟏 +
𝝅𝒅 𝟐𝑫
 8𝐹𝐷 𝑑 8𝐹𝐷 1 8𝐹𝐷
𝜏=( ) 1+ =( ) 1+ = 𝑘𝑠 𝑥 Where C = D/d
𝜋𝑑 3 2𝐷 𝜋𝑑 3 2𝐶 𝜋𝑑 3
1
𝐾𝑠 𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 = 1 +
2𝐶
 The Wahl factor, Kw, is introduced to account for the curvature of wire. For a
circular cross section spring wire, the Wahl factor is expressed as:
4𝐶 − 1 0.615
𝐾𝑤 ≈ +
4𝐶 − 4 𝐶
8𝐹𝐷
 The maximum shear stress can then be calculated as: 𝜏 = 𝑘𝑤 𝑥
𝜋𝑑 3

𝑘𝑤 = 1.1 − 1.4
Static strength analysis
 Considering the Wahl factor and strength conditions at the inner radius of coil
wire cross section, the shear stress and shear strength can then be expressed as:

o The wire diameter is designed by:

Fatigue strength analysis
o Springs are almost always subject to fatigue loading. If the number of load cycles
is less than 1000, or the load is constant during operation, static strength analysis is
sufficient.
o For important springs working under variable stresses with millions of cycles during
lifetime, it is necessary to calculate fatigue strength.
 When the load varies from preload Fi to operating load Fo, the maximum stress is:

The minimum stress is :

 When the mean stress (𝜏m) is constant, ie 𝜏m =const., then the fatigue strength
safety factor is:
 While for 𝜏min =const, the fatigue strength safety factor is:

 The static strength safety factor for both cases is:

𝜓 𝜏 mean shear stress influencing factor

Rigidity Analysis

1) Deflection
 Assuming an initially unloaded spring carrying an external axial force F and
generating a linear deflection 𝜆, the linear deflection is:

Where: n - number of active coils,

G - shear modulus of spring material
d – wire diameter

2) Spring rate
3) Number of active coils
 For a compression spring or an extension spring without preload, the number of
active coils of cylindrical helical spring can be obtained as:

 For extension springs with preload, the number of active coils of a cylindrical
helical spring is:

If n <15, n is selected as a multiple of 0.5. If n >15, n is selected as an integer

 Design Procedure

 This to specify the spring geometry to obtain the desired load-defe aim of spring design
lection response and the required load in defined spatial confines with
expected life under operating conditions.
 Additional considerations include natural frequency, shock absorption, corrosion resistance
and so on. A well-designed spring functions properly and is manufactured easily.
 To ensure proper function of spring, spring design must satisfy both strength and load-
deflection requirements.
 The design criteria involve two basic equations, the strength equation and the deflection
equation.
 The static strength calculation determines mean diameter D and spring wire diameter d,
while the rigidity calculation decides the number of active coils n.
 When a spring is subjected to fluctuating loads, fatigue strength safety factors are used
against fatigue failure.
 Flow chart for SpringDesign
1
5
 Select spring materials and heat
treatments according to operating  Check rigidity, load, deflection,
conditions static and fatigue strength, stability
 Decide allowable stresses 𝜏 , 𝝈𝒃 of compression spring and
potential surging if required
2
6
 Select spring index C and calculate Wahl factor 𝐾𝑤
 Decide dimensions of spring
3 7
 Calculate wire diameter, d  Produce working drawing for
the spring
4
 Calculate the number of active coils
n and total number of coils ntotal
Example
Design a cylindrical helical compression spring with a mean diameter of 18mm. The
spring deflects 5mm when the applied load varies from Fmin =150N to Fmax =250N.
Loading is essentially static. The spring end is closed but not ground and both ends
are fixed.
Solution
Steps Computation Results
1. Select material, the • Select oil tempered carbon steel for
diameter of spring wire and spring wire.
allowable stress • Select the diameter of spring wire as
d =3 mm.
• From Figure 1, select 𝜎e =1150MPa,
 Steps Computation Results

2. Select mean diameter for the The mean diameter of spring coil is D =18 D =18 mm.
coil mm.
3. Calculate spring index C C =6 mm

4. Calculate the Wahl factor Kw Kw = 1.2525

5. Compute spring wire

diameter
d =3 mm.
Select d =3 mm.
6. Calculate the number of From Table 2, select G = 80 Gpa
active coils
 Steps Computation Results

6. Calculate the number of

active coils (cont.) n =7

Select n =7
7. Check the rigidity, load and The required spring rate is
deflection

The spring rate of designed spring is

calculated as:

(Good enough for required spring rate).

 Steps Computation Results

7. Check the rigidity, load and

deflection (cont.)

Calculated load is good enough (Fmax =

250 N)
 Steps Computation Results

8. Decide the dimensions of the

spring

9. Check stability Slenderness ratio

From Figure 2, the spring will not buckle.

Table 1: Effect of end configurations on the number of coils and spring length
Table 2: Spring materials and their properties
Table 3: Allowable stress of spring materials
Tables & Figures for springs

Figure 1: Tensile elastic limit strength of spring materials.

Figure 2: Buckling limits for helical
compression springs under different
end configurations
Self Practice:

 Example 23.7; Khurmi & Gupta (2005), 14th Ed.; Pg 838,

 Example 23.11; Khurmi & Gupta (2005), 14th Ed.; Pg 845,

 Example 23.15; Khurmi & Gupta (2005), 14th Ed.; Pg 850

References:

Wei J., (2019), Analysis & Design of Machine Elements, John Wiley

Khurmi, R.S. and Gupta, J.K. (2005), Machine Design, Eurasia Publishing
House (PVT) Limited.