Review of Related Literature

Mechanical spring is defined as an elastic body that has the primary function to deflect or distort
under load, and to return to its original shape when the load is removed. First step in the design
of spring in general, is to determine the loads and the deflections required for a given spring
application depending upon the type of the loading. In addition to this tentative selection of the
material must be made. In case of the most general approach for the spring design, the maximum
stress in the spring wire may be computed by superposition of direct shear and the torsional shear
stress. (MULLA,KADAM,KENGAR)
Automotive seats are mounted either on the steel pan fixed to the seat frame or on the zigzag
spring across the seat frame. The latter type of mounting will give additional flexibility and the
static equilibrium position will be lowered.
Only a zigzag spring is modeled and subjected to a uniform load to see the effect of lowing the
stiffness. The increase in displacements of the human body due to four zigzag springs is not as
much as predicted with a zigzag spring only. It is because a considerable fraction of the contact
force is transmitted to the seat frame directly. (Seok-Jae Chu)
In finite element stress analysis, the elastic body is first divided into discrete connected parts,
which are the finite elements. The points at which the elements are connected are the nodes. The
process of dividing the domain into elements is called discretisation and the pattern of elements
is the mesh. We then relate, using a stiffness matrix, the forces applied to the nodes of a single
element and the resultant nodal displacements. The final step is to combine together all the
stiffness matrices of the individual elements into a single large matrix which is the global
stiffness matrix. We shall now illustrate this process using linear elastic springs.(Bhadeshia)
A major reason to use the FEA in coil design is the ability to reduce error caused by the
simplication of equations, mainly by the pitch angle. An FEA based design begins with the
selection of the element type, how the model should be constructed, how accurate the results
should be, and how fast the model should be run. The most accurate FEA results can be obtained
by creating 3D parts of a coil spring and its seats, followed by meshing the parts with a 3D solid
element. (Y. Prawoto, Ikeda & Nishikaw)

Finite element analysis of suspension coil springs is standard practice for investigating spring
behavior during compression. One increasingly important aspect of spring behavior under recent
demand is precise control of the spring's force line. Proper control reduces side loading on the
damper assembly, which increases ride comfort. The force line is the reaction force axis
produced by a coil spring and its interaction with the spring seats during compression. Not only
does the geometric configuration of the spring and seats affect the force line, but it has also been
seen experimentally that the spring seat material has an effect.(ikeda,2002)
Sinusoidal springs are a more recent development. Two advantages frequently attributed to these
springs are simplicity and economy of constructions. Originally, each row of coil springs rested
on stretchers that transferred seats loads to the front and back rail as vertical in-plane loads.
(Zang)
In the analysis of springs, it was intented to construct a model with basic elements such as beam
elements, truss elements, shell elements, solid elements, and so on avoiding special elements like
contact elements or friction elements as much as possible. In the course of discussion, advice on
the construction of FEM Model and the analysis of solution will be explained. Furthermore, the
analytical accuracy will be examined against the experimental results to confirm the limit of
linear analysis. (Shimoseki,2003)
In EU, it is aimed to have at least 130gr CO2/km emission in accordance with the new rules for
passenger cars (European Parliament and of the Council Regulation, 2009). As a general rule, the
modification to have 100kg weight reduction provides approximately 0.005lt/km fuel cut. It is
also corresponds to 10gr/km CO2 emission. 1kg weight reducing for cars, which the required
emission rate cannot be complied, costs roughly 10. Therefore, with the help of reducing
weight, developing new engines and transmissions, alternative fuels and other advancements,
engineers are optimistic to reach the expected CO2 emission goals (Eureka Project-Lightweight
Seatbacks, 2013).
Reference:
http://home.ulsan.ac.kr/user/sjchu/images/pap0006.pdf
http://www.moldedfoam-ip.com/linkedpdf/Technical%20Info%20-%20Automotive
%20Cushioning%20Through%20the%20Ages.pdf

http://www.kinkisharyo.co.jp/pdf/gihou/KSW13/KSW13_e_P10-11.pdf
http://www.academia.edu/1177917/Design_and_failure_modes_of_automotive_suspension_sprin
gs
http://www.msm.cam.ac.uk/phase-trans/mphil/MP7-2.pdf
http://www.interscience.in/ijmie_vol2iss3/74-77.pdf
http://papers.sae.org/2002-01-0317/
https://www.agriculture.purdue.edu/fnr/faculty/eckelman/documents/d200003a.pdf
http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-662-05044-6_5#page-1
http://www.tojsat.net/index.php/tojsat/article/viewFile/189/188