Title: Failure analysis of leaf spring suspension system for heavy load truck vehicle

Authors: M. Nataraj; S. Thillikkani

Addresses: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Government College of Technology, Coimbatore, 641013, India ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, Rathinam Technical Campus, Coimbatore, 641021, India

Abstract: The failure of leaf spring suspension system used in heavy load truck vehicle TATA LPT 1613TCIC model was investigated in the research reported in this paper. In order to analyse the variations in the chemical composition, micro-structural analysis along with material specification has been performed. The failed leaf spring fractured part was analysed by using a visual inspection technique and scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis. Based on the fractography study, it was inferred that the failure of the fractured part was due to the cyclic load. This load lead to fatigue growth on leaf spring of the model truck vehicle. Then finite element analysis of leaf spring was carried out to find out the root cause of the leaf spring suspension system. The failure parameters were also optimised for the truck vehicle during safe operation on the road. The fatigue life of the proposed leaf spring has increased in comparison with the existing model lifecycles.

Keywords: leaf spring; finite element analysis; SEM; scanning electron microscope; fatigue life.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHVS.2020.104413

International Journal of Heavy Vehicle Systems, 2020 Vol.27 No.1/2, pp.1 - 17

Received: 16 Feb 2018
Accepted: 17 May 2018
Published online: 10 Jan 2020 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article