International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Computer Applications, Vol 1, Issue 7, December 2013, ISSN 2320-6349

M. M. Patunkar1 II year M.E.(Mfg. Engg.) Mech. Engg. Dept., MGMs Jawaharlal Nehru Engineering College, Aurangabad, Maharashtra 431003, India. (mpatunkar@gmail.com)
nd

Experimental Investigation and FEA of Mono Composite Leaf Spring under the Static Load Condition

D. R. Dolas2 Associate Professor, Mech. Engg. Dept., MGMs Jawaharlal Nehru Engineering College, Aurangabad, Maharashtra 431003, India. (dhananjaydolas@rediffmail.com) Abstract The automobile Industry has shown during cornering, accelerating, braking, and uneven increased interest in the replacement of steel springs road surfaces. with fiberglass reinforced composite leaf springs. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to present a In the present work, mono steel leaf spring general study on the design, manufacturing, testing is tested for static load condition and results are and analysis of mono composite leaf spring under compared with an actual model of mono composite static loading condition. It is well known that leaf GFRP leaf spring. Leaf spring is modeled and springs are designed in such a way to absorb and simulated in ANSYS 11.0 for better understanding. store energy and then release it hence; strain energy Results of Composite Leaf Spring are compared on of the material becomes a major factor in designing the basis of analysis reports produced by ANSYS the leaf springs. Therefore, composite materials software. The material used for conventional steel leaf become the predominant alternative material for spring is 60Si7 (BIS) and for composite leaf spring E replacing the spring steels. Application of composite - Glass/Epoxy with 350 GSM is used. materials shows significant weight savings which is II. LITERATURE SURVEY essential to decrease the unsprung weight of the Investigation of composite leaf springs in the vehicle. Composite leaf spring of GFRP is early 60s failed to yield the production facility manufactured with hand-layup technique and tested because of inconsistent fatigue performance and under static loading condition. Results are compared absence of strong need for mass reduction. with the mono steel leaf spring. Finite Element Researches in the area of automobile components Analysis is done with the help of ANSYS 11.0. have been receiving considerable attention now. Keywords - Composite Leaf Springs, Glass Fiber Many industrial visits, past recorded data shows that Reinforced Plastic (GFRP), Static load condition. steel leaf springs are manufactured by EN45, EN45A, 60Si7, EN47, 50Cr4V2, 55SiCr7 and 50CrMoCV4 I. INTRODUCTION etc. These materials are widely used for production of In order to conserve natural resources and the parabolic leaf springs and conventional multi leaf economize energy, weight reduction has been the springs and extensively tested for fatigue life and on main focus of automobile manufacturers in the road comfort performances. present scenario. Weight reduction can be achieved The introduction of composite materials primarily by the introduction of better material, made it possible to reduce the weight of the leaf design optimization and better manufacturing spring without any reduction on the load carrying processes. The real challenge is to introduce the capacity and stiffness. Studies were conducted on the composite materials for reduction in the weight at the application of composite structures for automobile same time it should also enhance load carrying suspension system [2, 3]. Leaf springs absorb the capacity by absorbing more shocks and jerks as a vehicle vibrations, shocks and bump loads (Induced result for comfort riding. Since, the composite due to road irregularities) by means of spring materials have more elastic strain energy storage deflections, so that the potential energy is stored in capacity and high strength to weight ratio as the leaf spring and then relieved slowly. Efforts were compared with those of conventional steel materials. taken for Finite Element Analysis of multi leaf When a tyre hits an obstruction, there is a springs. These springs were simulated and analyzed reaction force. The intensity of this reaction force by using ANSYS 7.1[1, 5]. Replacement of the steel depends on the unsprung mass at each wheel leaf spring with a Genetic Algorithm based optimally assembly. Vehicle ride and handling can be improved designed composite leaf spring [6]. Study is also done by keeping unsprung mass as low as possible. At the on numerical analysis of large deflection of prismatic same time, a suspension system must be strong cantilever beams for various types of materials by enough to withstand loads imposed by vehicle mass using MATLAB so as to find out displacements [8].

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International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Computer Applications, Vol 1, Issue 7, December 2013, ISSN 2320-6349
A double tapered beam for automotive suspension leaf spring has been designed and optimized [9]. Optimization of steel leaf spring in design is also done for many of vehicles. [7,12]. Premature failure in leaf springs was also studied so as to suggest remedies on application of composite leaf springs. III. SPECIFICATION OF THE CONVENTIONAL LEAF SPRING Generally leaf springs are made of various fine grade alloy steel. The test steel leaf spring used for Sr. No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 experimentation purpose is made up of 65Si7. The composition of material is 0.56 C%, 1.80 SI%, 0.70 Mn%, 0.045 P%, 0.045 S%. The parabolic leaf spring is used in the TATA SUMO vehicle, for Rear Suspension. Before testing of the leaf spring Shot Peening is done leaf spring. Following are the parameters for the 65Si7.

Table No.1 Specification of Existing Mono Steel Leaf Spring Parameters Total Length of the spring (Centers of Eye to Eye) Free Camber (At no load condition) No. of full length leave (Master Leaf) Thickness of leaf at centre Thickness of leaf at middle Width of leaf spring Max Load given on spring (Calculated from chassis and load carrying capacity on axles) Internal Radius of Berlin Eye Youngs Modulus of the spring Weight of the leaf spring
m

Value 1220 mm 140 mm 01 12.5 mm 9.0 mm 70 mm 2540 N 24 mm 200 x 103 N/mm2 7.5 Kg

IV. MANUFACTURING OF MONO COMPOSITE LEAF SPRING Hand Lay Up Technique is used for manufacturing of Mono Composite Leaf Spring. Before proceeding for the composite leaf spring it is essential to manufacture the wooden mould of exact size and thickness of Steel Leaf spring. Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 shows the wooden mould of same shape and size that of Leaf Spring and mono composite leaf spring accordingly. Wooden mould surface is finished by sand paper and made very smooth. 50 laminates of E-Glass Epoxy Fibres are cut in proper length and are applied with the help of resin. This process is continued till the correct height is achieved. Now entire mould with laid fiber is allow for curing and after that composite leaf spring is separated from wooden mould. Excess fibers are cut and grind to give the proper shape and obtained an exact size of mono composite leaf spring.

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International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Computer Applications, Vol 1, Issue 7, December 2013, ISSN 2320-6349
Fig.1 Wooden Mould for Composite Leaf Spring

Fig.2 Mono Composite Leaf Spring V. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE In this paper, a comparative analysis of conventional mono steel leaf spring is done with a mono composite leaf spring under static load condition only. Conventional leaf spring is first tested under static load condition by using Hydraulic Static Load Test Rig as shown in Fig.1. Mounting of the leaf spring is done by keeping it in inverted manner on the test bed. Two eye ends are held in the clamping devices and load is applied from the top, at the center of leaf spring. The spring is loaded from zero to maximum load (i.e. 2540 N) and again back to zero. The vertical deflection of the spring is recorded in the deflection with the interval of 15mm and specified as per the SOP prescribed by SAE Leaf Spring Manual (SAE - HS788). Load Vs. Deflection is measured on digital panel which is governed and controlled by PLC operated circuits and results of indicator diag. produced by software ASTRA Run 32.

Fig. 3 Composite Leaf Spring under Static Load Testing VI. SELECTION OF COMPOSITE MATERIAL As mentioned earlier, the ability to absorb and store more amount of energy ensures the comfortable operation of a suspension system. However, the problem of heavy weight of spring is still persistent. This can be remedied by introducing composite material, in place of steel in the conventional leaf spring. Research has indicated that the results of E-Glass/Epoxy were found with good characteristics for storing strain energy [1]. So, leaf spring is model in ANSYS. Material is specified as an Orthotropic in nature with all other data then material is assigned to the model. These results can be used for comparison with the conventional steel leaf spring.

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International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Computer Applications, Vol 1, Issue 7, December 2013, ISSN 2320-6349

MATERIAL PROPERTIES OF E-GLASS/ EPOXY Table No.2 Properties of E-Glass/Epoxy material Sr. No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Properties Tensile modulus along X-direction (Ex), MPa Tensile modulus along Y-direction (Ey), MPa Tensile modulus along Z-direction (Ez), MPa Tensile strength of the material, MPa Compressive strength of the material, MPa Shear modulus along XY-direction (Gxy), MPa Shear modulus along YZ-direction (Gyz), MPa Shear modulus along ZX-direction (Gzx), MPa Poisson ratio along XY-direction (NUxy) Poisson ratio along YZ-direction (NUyz) Poisson ratio along ZX-direction (NUzx) Mass density of the material (), Kg/mm3 Flexural modulus of the material, MPa Flexural strength of the material, MPa Value 34000 6530 6530 900 450 2433 1698 2433 0.217 0.366 0.217 2.6x103 40000 1200

VII. COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF LOAD AND DEFELECTION OF THE MONO STEEL AND MONO COMPOSITE LEAF SPRINGS Table No.3 Comparative Analysis of mono Steel Leaf and mono Composite Leaf Spring on Experimental basis Sr. No. Load (N) 470 765 922 1177 1422 1638 Mono Steel leaf spring Deflection () (mm) 15 30 45 60 75 90 Stress () (N/mm2) 223.313 362.884 437.321 558.283 674.592 776.944 Mono Composite Leaf Spring Deflection () (mm) 28 45 57 71 90 102 Stress () (N/mm2) 126.939 126.86 126.88 161.97 195.72 225.42

1 2 3 4 5 6

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International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Computer Applications, Vol 1, Issue 7, December 2013, ISSN 2320-6349
7 8 9 10 1795 2011 2256 2540 105 120 135 150 851.382 953.734 1070.043 1204.961 113 121 139 153 247.02 300.63 334.01 389.96

Table No.4 Comparative Analysis of mono Steel Leaf and mono Composite Leaf Spring on FEA basis Sr. No. Load (N) 470 765 922 1177 1422 1638 1795 2011 2256 2540 Mono Steel leaf spring Deflection () (mm) 27.971 45.452 54.776 69.926 84.494 97.314 106.638 119.458 134.026 150.924 Stress () (N/mm2) 171.672 278.968 336.192 429.181 518.594 597.277 654.501 733.184 822.597 926.316 Mono Composite Leaf Spring Deflection () (mm) 30.204 49.081 59.151 75.512 91.243 105.087 115.156 128.999 144.731 160.583 Stress () (N/mm2) 90.318 146.767 122.648 156.572 189.191 217.896 238.772 267.477 300.096 454.933

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

VIII. COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF LOAD AND DEFELECTION OF THE STEEL AND COMPOSITE LEAF SPRINGS Table No.3 Overall Comparative Analysis of Composite Leaf Spring Sr. No 1 2 3 4 5 Parameter Load (Kg) Max. Stress (N/mm2) Max. Deflection (mm) Max. Stiffness (N/mm) Weight (Kg) Expt. result 2540 424.68 154.012 16.49 2.5 Analytical Result 2540 389.96 153 16.60 2.5 FEA (ANSYS 11.0) 2540 454.93 160.583 15.81 2.5

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International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Computer Applications, Vol 1, Issue 7, December 2013, ISSN 2320-6349

Stress in Steel & Composite Leaf Spring (N/mm2)

Stress Vs Load of Leaf Spring

1400 1200 1000 800 600 400 200 0
470.88 765.18 922.14 1177.2 1422.45 1638.27 1795.23 2011.05 2256.3 2540.79 362.884 223.313 558.283 437.321 674.592 776.944 851.382 1204.961 1070.043 953.734

Load on steel & Composite Leaf Spring (N) Stress in Steel Leaf Spring Stress in Composite Leaf Spring

Graph No.1 Comparison of Steel Leaf Spring and Composite Leaf Spring for Stress and Load

Deflection of Steel & Composite Leaf Spring (mm)

Deflection Vs Load of Leaf Spring (Experimental)

180 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0
135 150

15

30

45

60

75

90

105

120

Load on steel & Composite Leaf Spring (N) Deflection in Steel Leaf Spring Deflection in Composite Leaf Spring

Graph No.2 Comparison of Steel Leaf Spring and Composite Leaf Spring for Load and Deflection Graph No. 1 and 2 show the behavior of the leaf springs when subjected to load and its effect on Deflection and Stress.

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International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Computer Applications, Vol 1, Issue 7, December 2013, ISSN 2320-6349
IX. FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS OF COMPOSITE LEAF SPRING USING ANSYS 11.0 All the analysis for the composite leaf spring is done by using ANSYS 11.0. For composite leaf spring the same parameters are used that of conventional leaf spring. For designing of composite leaf spring also the camber is taken 140 mm. The constraint is given at the two eye-rolled ends. One of the end is provided with translational movement so as to adjust with the deflection. This eye end is free to travel in longitudinal direction. This particular motion will help leaf spring to get flattened when the load is applied. Produced results are very well compared with the mono steel leaf spring. The range of loads is applied and results are analyzed. The maximum principle stress is evaluated by software i.e. Von Mises Stress and Maximum Deflection is also observed. It is very much clear from the results produced by the ANSYS for Conventional Steel Leaf Spring, that red colored area indicated that eye end is the possible failure area for leaf spring. This failure at eye end is occurred when the load of 2540 Kg is applied (ANSYS Result 1). It is also interesting to see the results for Composite Leaf Spring when same load is applied i.e. 2540 Kg (ANSYS Result 3). Observation shows the same red colored area on Composite Leaf spring but with minimum Von Mises stress than steel leaf spring. Element SOLID 191 Layered is used for Composite Leaf Spring whereas SOLID 186 structural is used for Steel Leaf Spring. Material is specified with 50 layers of fibers with the orientation (0/90). Entire volume is mapped meshed with tetrahedral shape. ANSYS Result 1 and 2 represent the Stress and Deflection analysis of Conventional Steel Leaf Spring. ANSYS Result 3 and 4 represents the Stress and Deflection of E-Glass/Epoxy material respectively. X. CONCLUSION 1. Under the same static load conditions deflection and stresses of steel leaf spring and composite leaf spring are found with the great difference. 2. Deflection of Composite leaf spring is less as compared to steel leaf spring with the same loading condition. 3. Conventional mono steel leaf spring was found to weigh 7.5 Kg. whereas E-Glass/Epoxy mono leaf spring weighs only 2.5 Kg. Indicating reduction in weight by 33.33% with same level of performance. 4. Conventionl Leaf spring show failure at eye end only. At maximum load condition also Composite Leaf Spring shows the amximum deflection as compared to Steel Leaf Spring. 5. Load bearing capacity of Composite Leaf Spring can be increase by increasing its thickness. 6. Composite leaf spring can be used on smooth roads with very high performance expectations. 7. However on rough road conditions due to lower chipping resistance failure from chipping of composite leaf spring is highly probable. XI. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The authors would like to thank Dr. Sudhir Deshmukh, Dr. V. B. Tungikar, Prof. Abhay Kulkarni for their valuable guidance along with Mr. Nitin Kingaonkar of AKAR Suspension Pvt. Ltd. UNIT III, Aurangabad for significant information on leaf springs and making available their test facility.
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[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

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XII. REFERENCES Senthil kumar and Vijayarangan, Analytical and Experimental studies on Fatigue life Prediction of steel leaf soringand composite leaf multi leaf spring for Light passanger veicles using life data analysis ISSN 1392 1320 material science Vol. 13 No.2 2007. Shiva Shankar and Vijayarangan Mono Composite Leaf Spring for Light Weight Vehicle Design, End Joint, Analysis and Testing ISSN 1392 Material Science Vol. 12, No.3, 2006. Niklas Philipson and Modelan AB Leaf spring modelling ideon Science Park SE22370 Lund, Sweden Zhian Yang and et al Cyclic Creep and Cyclic Deformation of High-Strength Spring Steels and the Evaluation of the Sag Effect:Part I. Cyclic Plastic Deformation Behavior Material and Material Transaction A Vol 32A, July 20011697 Muhammad Ashiqur Rahman and et al Inelastic deformations of stainless steel leaf springs-experiment and nonlinear analysis Meccanica Springer Science Business Media B.V. 2009 C.K. Clarke and G.E. Borowski Evaluation of Leaf Spring Failure ASM International, Journal of Failure Analysis and Prevention, Vol5 (6) Pg. No.(54-63) J.J. Fuentes and et al Premature Fracture in Automobile Leaf Springs Journal of Science Direct, Engineering Failure Analysis Vol. 16 (2009) Pg. No. 648-655. J.P. Hou and et al Evolution Of The Eye End Design Of A Composite Leaf Spring For Heavy Axle Load Journal of Science Direct, Composite Structures 78(2007) Pg. No. (351358)

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Practical Finite Element Analysis by Nitin S. Gokhale [10] Composites A Design Guide by Terry Richardson [11] ANSYS 10.0 Help for FEA Analysis [12] Text book of Machine Design by R.S. Khurmi and J.K. Gupta
[9]

Introduction to Steel Reference Books S. N. Bagchi and Kuldeep Prakash [14] Spring Designers Hand Book by Carlson [15] Properties of Engineering Materials by Higgins R. A [16] Handbook of Design of Equipments by Abdulla and Shariff.
[13]

Ansys Relult Image 1 : Deflection of Steel Leaf Spring under load of 2540N.

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International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Computer Applications, Vol 1, Issue 7, December 2013, ISSN 2320-6349

Ansys Relult Image 2: Stress in Steel Leaf Spring under load of 2540N

Ansys Relult Image 3: Deflection of Composite Leaf Spring under load of 2540N

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International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Computer Applications, Vol 1, Issue 7, December 2013, ISSN 2320-6349

Ansys Relult Image 4: Stress in Composite Leaf Spring under load of 2540N

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