Title: Design and simulation of a novel hybrid leaf spring with embedded cylindrical structures

Authors: N. Hema Rajesh; M. Sreekumar

Addresses: Indian Institute of Information Technology Design and Manufacturing (IIITDM), Kancheepuram, Chennai 600127, India ' Indian Institute of Information Technology Design and Manufacturing (IIITDM), Kancheepuram, Chennai 600127, India

Abstract: Leaf springs are widely used in the suspension system of automotive vehicles. They have many advantages over coil springs, mainly in terms of load-carrying capacity. Leaf springs have a few disadvantages as well, like development of enormous stresses during operation and less flexibility compared to coil springs. The recent advances in the fabrication of leaf springs using composites also have some disadvantages in terms of cost and recyclability compared to conventional materials such as spring steel. Considering these factors, two novel hybrid leaf spring designs are proposed which have a reduction in the development of stresses under similar loading conditions besides improved damping ability and enhanced flexibility. Modelling is done in Autodesk Inventor^® and FEM simulation is carried out in ANSYS^® and the results are compared. The knowledge obtained from this research work will be utilised in experimental analysis and details will be presented in future communications.

Keywords: automobile industry; automotive suspension; leaf springs; FEM; finite element method; simulation; modal analysis; structural analysis; stiffness; damping; leaf spring design; embedded cylindrical structures; vehicle suspension; stresses; flexibility; modelling.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHVS.2016.075503

International Journal of Heavy Vehicle Systems, 2016 Vol.23 No.2, pp.131 - 154

Received: 14 Mar 2015
Accepted: 05 Oct 2015
Published online: 27 Mar 2016 *

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