ME 308
MACHINE ELEMENTS II
CHAPTER 2
SPRING DESIGN_1
1
SPRINGS
NO RIGID BODY BEHAVIOUR(AS IN STATICS),
ON THE CONTRARY,
• A LOT OF DEFLECTION AND DEFORMATION
• BUT MAINLY ELASTIC
• PLASTIC DEFORMATION IN SPRINGS MEANS
“FAILURE”
2
Objectives of the Chapter
Identify, describe, and understand principles of several
types of springs including
helical compression springs,
helical extension springs and
torsion springs.
Design and analyze helical compression springs, including
compatibility with allowable stresses.
Develop necessary analytical tools for spring design.
Review principles of design for other types of springs, such
as extension springs and torsion springs.
Select predesigned springs from manufacturers’ catalogs
and
incorporate them in appropriate designs.
3
Mechanical Springs
Springs are mechanical elements
used in machines for
exerting force,
storing and absorbing energy, and
providing flexibility.
Springs are classified as
Wire springs,
Flat springs, or
special-shaped springs
4
2.1 INTRODUCTION
Springs are the mechanical elements which transfer a tensile or
compressive force with a certain linear deflection or a torque with
angular deformation.
They also store energy and release it when the load or torque is
removed from the system.
They have a characteristic called „‟spring rate‟‟ , „‟spring constant‟‟ or
F
„‟scale of spring‟‟ k or k
dF for compression springs
y
dy
Fig. 2.1 Deflection of compression
spring under load
5
Force, N
dF
Fig. 2.2 Linear springs
(with constant spring rate) dy
Constant rate y, deflection, mm
Fig. 2.3 Non-linear springs Stiffening spring Softening spring
(with variable spring rate)
6
2.2 SPRING TYPES
A. Wire springs (made of wire with B. Other springs (made of
round crossection) non-wire)
1) Helical compression springs 4)Spring washers
Standard constant rate (Belleville, wave, slotted
Variable pitch-variable rate finger, curved etc.)
Barrel 5)Beam springs
Hour glass 6)Volute springs
Conical 7)Constant force
8)Power or motor springs
2)Helical extension springs
Extension springs with hooks
Draw bar springs (compression
springs) used in tensile loading are
a kind of extension springs
applications.
3)Torsion springs
7
Here are some examples for wire springs
Fig. 2.4 Wire springs of compression, extension and
torsion types
8
These are the other springs (non-wire)
Fig. 2.7 Beam springs
Fig. 2.6 Other type springs
9
2.2.2 Wire springs
Wire springs are usually
manufactured from circular
crossection wires in different
configurations like
helical compression springs
helical extension springs and
torsion springs
10
2.2.3 A torsion spring application in a garage door
Torsion springs
11
This is how coil springs are manufactured on a lathe
12
2.3 Spring configurations
There are two configurations of
springs
a) In series
b) In parallel
13
14
2.3 Spring configurations
There are two configurations of springs
a) In series b) in parallel
k1
k1 k2
X1
k2
X X1 X 2 X
Ft
xt F X2
F= F1=F2 Ft= F1+F2
Xt = X1+X2 X = X1=X2
15
a) In series
xt x1 x2 1
F1 F2 Ft 2
F1 k1
F1 k1.x1 x1
k1
F2
F2 k2 .x2 x2 into
X1
k2 eqn 1
Ft k2
Ft kt .xt xt
kt
Ft
F1 F2
, Ft F1 F2 xt F X2
kt k1 k2
1 1 1
... (2.1)
kt k1 k2 kt is the total system stiffness
in series applications.
16
b) In parallel
x1 x2 1
Ft F1 F2 2 k1 k2
F1 k1.x1 k1.x
X X1 X 2 X
F2 k2 .x2 k2 .x into 2 Ft
Ft kt .x F1 F2
kt .x k1.x k2 .x
kt k1 k2 ... (2.2)
F1 F2
total system stiffness in parallel
applications F1 F2
Ft 17
2.4 Spring materials
• Springs store potential energy while deflecting a noticable amount under
reasonably high loads.
• By doing so, they provide maximum elastic energy storage while not
failing due to high stresses in material
• Elastic energy storage capacity or Modulus of resilience was defined as
the area under the σ-ɛ curve within elastic range
1 1 y S
1 y
2
R y y (2.3)
2 2 E 2 E
Therefore springs are required to have:
High yield strength (and hence high ultimate strength) and
Low modulus of elasticity
There is, however, a limited number of materials and alloys suitable for
such applications of springs. Examples are:
Medium to high carbon steels
Alloys steels
Few of stainless steel alloys
18
2.4.1 Spring Wire
Spring wires are usually “round” cross-section despite the fact that some
rectangular cross-sections are also available .
d
Wire diameters usually vary from 0.1 mm to 16 mm.
Common spring wire materials designated
in different standarts are:
SAE ASTM No Materials
1066 A227 cold drawn (hard drawn) wire
1085 A228 music wire
1065 A229 oil tempered wire (general purpose use)
1070 A230 oil tempered wire (valve spring quality-fatigue loading)
6150 A232 chrome vanadium
30302 A313 stainless steel
5254 A401 chrome silicon
etc. etc.
19
2.4.2 Tensile strength of spring materials
As known from ME 215 and ME307 courses, for the same mat. composition,
•Larger the material or specimen size higher the risk of having non-
homogenous material hence lower the material strength (Sy or Sut )
•On the contrary, smaller
the material or specimen size lower the risk of
having non-homogenous material or higher the chance of having a more
homogenous & cleaner material hence higher the material strength .
d ; Sut ıf d
sut
If or ; Sut
A=2000, m=0.167
d
3000
Function of y=1/x 2500
Sut, MPa
2000
Or Sut=1/d 1500
1000
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
wire diameter, mm 20
For spring materials Sut is defined as A
Sut m (2.4)
d
where d is wire diameter in mm and constants A & m
are given in tables for different spring materials
( A= 1750 - 2170 MPa, m= 0.112 - 0.192)
The yield strength in tensile loading (stress) is usually
given as:
S = 0.75S (2.5)
y ut
When applying distortion-energy theory the yield strength in shear
loading (stress) is given as:
(2.6)
Ssy = 0.577Sy or nearly Ssy = 0.60Sy
Similarly, the ultimate shear strength (Sus ) could be taken as
Sus = 0.60Sut (2.7)
21
2.4.3 Materials for Helical Springs
Springs are most commonly manufactured by hot- or cold-working processes
depending upon the material size, the spring index (C), and the desired
properties.
The are a numerous spring materials available for the designer. These
include: plain carbon steels, alloy steels, corrosion resisting steels, phosphor
bronze (nonferrous alloy), spring brass, beryllium copper and various nickel
alloys.
The most common way for selecting spring materials is
by looking at their tensile strength, a property that is only A
defined once the wire diameter is chosen: S ut m (2.4)
d
Table 1.1 Spring materials and constant for estimating tensile strength
Material Size range Exponent, m Constant, A
(mm) ([Link])
Music wire 0.10-6.5 0.146 2170
Oil-tempered wire 0.50-12 0.186 1880
Hard-drawn wire 0.70-12 0.192 1750
Chrome-vanadium 0.80-12 0.167 2000
Chrome silicone 1.60-10 0.112 2000
22
A=2000, m=0.167
A
Sut m 3000
Where d
2500
Sut, MPa
A ([Link]-m) is a constant defined
2000
through experimentation,
d (mm) is the diameter of the wire and 1500
m is the slope for the Force vs. 1000
Displacement graph for the wire. 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
wire diameter, mm
Strength(Sut) has units of MPa.
Sy usually varies between 60% to 95% of Sut. (average 75%)
Torsional yield strength (Ssy ) of wire can be estimated using distortion
energy theory (Ssy = 0.577Sy).
This then results in the range (steel only):
0.35Sut S sy 0.52Sut (2.8)
23
Here are the lower limits of Ssy for different
spring materials:
For Music & Hard-drawn wire: S sy 0.45Sut (2.9)
Valve Spring Wire (Cr-Va, Cr-Si), hardened and tempered carbon and
low alloy steel wire:
S sy 0.50Sut (2.10)
Nonferrous Materials:
S sy 0.35Sut (2.11)
24
2.5 Helical Compression Spring Geometry
Compression springs carry only compression loads.
Compression springs are the wire springs wound helically with coils not
touching each other under no load and while operating.
The figure below shows compression spring under different loads
25
There are 4 common types of ends of compressions springs:
Plain end
Squared end
Plain& ground end
Squared & ground end
26
Here again 4 common types of compressions springs ends and
corresponding inactive (dead) coils due to squaring and grinding
27
“d” is the wire diameter
“D” is the mean coil diameter
N is the number of coils (7.5 coils here)
Lf (or Lo) is the free length of the spring
Ls is the solid length of the spring
and spring index, C, is a parameter
defined as:
D
C
d
28
The solid height/length of a spring is the height of a compression
spring when under sufficient load to bring all the coils into contact
with adjacent coils.
Ls Nt a d
For squared ground ends
Where Nt = total number of coils,
“a” represents the dead coils and can vary
depending on the amount ground off (see
table).
“d” is the spring wire diameter.
The free length is represented by Lo.
For a squared & ground end spring this free
length (Lo) takes the form:
L0 pN a 2d
p
29
Here are the similar equations for different end conditions:
Ls Nt a d
L0 pN a 2d
30
2.5 Helical Compression Springs under loads (Recommended
Design Conditions)
Spring Index factor C usually takes a value between 4 & 12.
D
C 4 C 12 (2.12)
d
For C>>12 springs tend to tangle and thereby require individual
packaging (spring are likely to buckle)
For C<<4 spring wire diameters become too large compared to the
diameter of the coil thus increasing the risk of surface cracking when
winding the spring (spring are difficult to manufacture)
The number of active coils (when designing springs) is suggested as:
3 N a 15 (2.13)
31
Spring rate or stiffness of the spring is
the ratio of force applied to
corresponding deflection (or the slope
of the curve)
F
k (2.14)
y
Springs are not to be used in first and
last 15% of the deformation range
hence leaving a “clash allowance”
before the solid condition
0.15
In case the spring is forced to solid
condition, design factor of solid
height, ns is also suggested as
ns 1.2 (2.15)
32
F
Applying
section method
and taking
upper half of
the spring
F FreeBodyDiagram of the same spring –
Compression spring wire being exposed to
under axial load
F • direct shear (F) and
• torsional shear (T) loads
33
Wire cross section resists both direct shear
stress and torsional shear stress at the same
time
F Tr
max (2.16)
A J
Direct Torsional
shear part shear part
Since T
FD
r
d d 4 d 2
2
J A
2 32 4
The shear stress is then expressed as
4 F 8FD
max 2 (2.17)
d d 3
Direct shear
Torsional
part
shear part 34
Defining the spring index, C=D/d 4 F 8FD
and using it in the stress equation max (2.18)
d 2
d 3
leads to the following expression for
the maximum stress:
8FD 0.5
max 3
1
d C (2.19)
Now defining the shear
stress concentration
factor, Ks, as
0.5
K s 1
C the maximum shear stress in (2.20)
the spring element is then given
as
8FD
max Ks
d 3 (2.21)
8FD
OR in general terms max K (2.22)
d 3
35
Within the general equation
8FDK is called “Wahl correction factor” and includes
max K
d 3
two types of effects:
• Shear stress concentration (direct shear)
4C 1 0.615 effect (Ks) and
K • curvature effect (Kc) due to circular coil
4C 4 C
shape
Ks was derived for a straight wire and does not
include curvature effect.
Thus the actual multiplication factor for coil
springs is K (including both direct shear and
curvature effects) and can be defined as: K K S KC
K
KC is the curvature effect and can be found from KC
KS
36
2.5.2 The Effect of Curvature on Stress
8FD 0.5 8FD
max
8FD 4F
2 max 1 max K s
d 3
d d 3 C d 3
Original equations above are based upon the
assumption of wire being straight.
The curvature of the wire actually increases the
stress on the inside of the wire & decreases the
stress on the outside of the wire.
Therefore Ks in equations is replaced by K
which corrects for both the curvature and the
direct shear effects.
Following two eqn‟s could be used for factor K max K s
8FD
since the results are so close to each other. d 3
8FD
4C 1 0.615 4C 2 max K
K K d 3
4C 4 C 4C 3 (2.26)
37
In static type loadings (constant load), the curvature factor
Kc will be neglected and only factor Ks will be used within
equation
8FD
Ks
d 3
Whereas in fatigue type loadings (varying load), the
curvature factor Kc will be used, but not as a stress raiser, on
the contrary as a strength reduction factor in Sse. Factor Ks
will still be used in stress equation
K 1 8FD
KC 1 ke Ks
KS Kc d 3
S se ka * kb * kc * kd * ke * k f * S se '
38
Remembering from failure theories of ME307 (static loading
case) that:
For a safe spring under maximum load, the maximum
stress created within the spring material should be less
than the strength of the spring material,
max S sy or max K
8Fmax D
S sy
d 3
Or the ratio of spring material strength to the maximum
stress created in the spring should be more than unity.
S sy
s 1.2
max
39
2.5.3 Deflection and Stiffness of Helical Springs
By using Castiglione's theorem, the total
strain energy for a helical spring is
composed of a torsional component and a
shear component.
Now if the spring is deformed a distance y
and if the Force– displacement relationship
is elastic (linear), the strain energy is equal
to the product of the average force and the
deflection.
F F2
U y U
T 2l
F 2l
2 2k 2GJ 2 AG
Where
FD d 4 d 2
T , l DN , J , A , N Active CoilNumber
2 32 4
40
Therefore to find total deflection the total strain energy
is partial derivated wrt the force F
U 8FD 3 N 4 FDN
y 2
F 4
d G d G
Since C = D/d
8FD 3 N 1 8FD 3 N
y 1 2
(2.28)
d G 2C
4
d 4G
F
The spring rate (know also as the scale of the spring) is : k
y
d 4G k is spring constant
k Na=active coil number (2.29)
8 D 3 Na
41
Remembering that there are 4 common types of compression spring ends
with some coils made inactive (dead) due to squaring and grinding:
42
For important or critical applications springs
should be both squared and ground for
better load transfer and stability.
Stability means a spring will not buckle
under load
A long/tall spring with small mean diameter
will easily buckle (similar to long columns)
under load and this will prevent the
functioning of the spring.
This condition of buckling (also called spring
surge ), therefore, is a failure of the spring.
To prevent buckling of springs the
geometrical ratios between
• free length and mean diameter and l f D
• deflection under maximum load and
free length y lf
have to be kept in certain limits.
43
44
Since springs are flexible in nature they may buckle depending on the end
conditions and Lf /D and y / Lf ratios when they are loaded in compression
To prevent buckling:
1) Either the ratios of y l f andl f D should be kept in
certain limits given in figure in text book.
2) or a rod should be inserted through the spring to hold it
straight
Drod Dinsidespring
3) or it should be inserted into a hole
Dhole
Dhole Doutside spring
Drod Do
Di Drod 0.1d w
Di Dhole Do 0.1d w
45
2.6 Buckling of the springs in compression
Springs with
Lf /D > 3.8 are likely to fail by buckling
Lf /D < 3.8 are likely not to buckle (SAFE).
.
ymax .
.
lf .
.
.
3.8 lf D
46
Example 1
A Chromium-Vanadium wire spring has a mean diameter of 10.0 mm,
a spring index, C = 5.56, and there are 100 active coils. The pre-load
is 20 N and the modulus of elasticity is 207.5 GPa.
Table 1.1 Spring materials and constant for estimating tensile strength
Material Size range Exponent, m Constant, A
(mm) ([Link])
Music wire 0.10-6.5 0.146 2170
Oil-tempered wire 0.50-12 0.186 1880
Hard-drawn wire 0.70-12 0.192 1750
Chrome-vanadium 0.80-12 0.167 2000
Chrome silicone 1.60-10 0.112 2000
47
Determine:
The tensile and torsional yield strengths of the wire
The initial torsional stress in the wire
The spring rate; and
The force required to cause the spring to be stressed to the yield
strength
Solution:
Given: material=Chromium-Vanadium, coil mean dia D=10mm,
coil no=100, C=5.56 (can determine wire diameter, d)
This is not a design problem. This is an analysis problem since spring
specifications like material, diameter, coil no etc. are known)
therefore we do not use 3<Na<15 criterion
• C = 5.56 = D/d = 10/d
therefore, d = 10/5.56 = 1.8mm
2000
Using Table 1.1,
Sut 1813.00MPa
1.8mm 0.167
48
Determine:
The tensile and torsional yield strengths of the wire (Sy and Ssy)
Sy=0.75*Sut A 2000
S ut m Sut 1813.00MPa
Ssy=0.577*Sy d 1.8mm 0.167
Then calculating the tensile yield Strength:
S y 0.75Sut 0.75 1813 1360MPa
We can then get the torsional yield Strength
(based on distortion energy theory):
S sy 0.577 S y 0.577 0.75Sut 0.433Sut
0.433 1813 785.03MPa Ans
49
Determine:
• The initial torsional stress τi in the wire under the effect of preleoad
ii. In order to calculate τ we first need to 8FD
get the multiplication factor K (Ks or K) K
d 3
Using Ks given below:
0.5 0.5
K s 1 1 1.089
C 5.56
τ
Initial stress i can be calculated as follows:
8Fi D 8 20 N 10mm
i Ks 1.089 95.1MPa
d 3
(1.8mm) 3
50
Determine:
The spring rate; and
The force required to cause the spring to be stressed to the yield strength
iii. The spring stiffness can now be calculated (with G=77.2GPa):
Gd 4 (77.2 103 N / mm2 ) (1.8mm) 4
k
3
8D N a 8 (10mm)3 *100
1.013N / mm Ans
iv. Finally the force required to yield the material can now be
calculated from:
8Fsy D
max K s Ssy
d 3
d 3 S sy (1.8mm)3 785 N / mm2
Fsy
8K s D 8 1.089 10mm
165 N Ans 51
Problem: A helical spring of wire diameter 6mm and
spring index, C, 6 is acted by an initial load of 800 N.
After compressing it further by 10 mm the stress in the
wire is 500 MPa.
Find the number of active coils.
G=84000 Mpa.
d 4G
Solution: k
8D 3 N a
F F 2 F1
k
y y 2 y1
52
2.7 Critical frequency of helical springs
Since the springs are flexible they can vibrate at certain
frequencies under the effect of loadings.
When the loading frequency „f „of the spring under the
dynamic load F= F*sin wt reaches one of its natural
frequencies (f n) the spring coils will vibrate at large
amplitudes until the coils impact each other and create
high impact loads and hence fail.
To prevent this resonant condition (f = f n) the forcing
frequency f should be much smaller than f n . f << f n
;
the suggested limit is f n ≥ 15 f .
The fundamental critical frequency should be greater than 15 to 20 times the
frequency of the force or motion of the spring in order to avoid resonance with
the harmonics.
If the frequency is not high enough, the spring should be redesigned to increase
k or decrease spring weight W. 53
Natural frequency
rad / sec
1 k*g k*g k N /m (kg * m / s2) / m
fn
2 Wa m* g m kg kg
where d 4G 2 d 2 DNa ρ is the material weight
k Wa
8D 3 N a density (N/m3)
4
2 d G*g
or fn rad / sec
N a D 2 32
For flat-flat surfaces fn
1 kg 1
k
rad / sec
2 Wa 2 m
For flat-free(rounded) end fn
1 kg 1
k
rad / sec
4 Wa 4 m
54
Example for compression springs
Question: Design a compression spring for a static load known deflection
such that the spring must give a minimum force of 500 N and a maximum
force of 750 N over an adjustment range of 20 mm deflection.
Solution: Use the least expensive, unpeened, cold drawn (hard drawn) spring wire
(ASTM A 227) since the load is static (table 10.1)
From table 10.2; for hard drawn wires diameter range is between 0.7 mm-12 mm
The coefficients are: m= 0.192, A= 1750 MPa to be used in eqn.
A
Sut m
d
S sy
Design criteria: 1) max S sy or ns 1.0
max
2) 4 C 12
Lf ymax
3) check for buckling ? ? (related figure)
D Lf
4) not a must , but check if solid S sy
55
Table 1.1 Spring materials and constant for estimating tensile strength
Material Size range Exponent, m Constant, A
(mm) ([Link])
Music wire 0.10-6.5 0.146 2170
Oil-tempered wire 0.50-12 0.186 1880
Hard-drawn wire 0.70-12 0.192 1750
Chrome-vanadium 0.80-12 0.167 2000
Chrome silicone 1.60-10 0.112 2000
56
For a spring to be designed, the parameters:
d=? D=? Nt = ? Lf = ? should be determined.
1) Since none of the design parameters are known, we have to start
by assuming a wire diameter d between 0.7-12 mm
Let d= 4 mm and C= 8 D= C.d = 32 mm
8 FD 0.5
Thus :
max Ks Ks 1 1.0625
d 3 C
(8)(750)(32) F 750 N
max 1.0625
43 D 32 mm
max 1014.6 MPa d 4 mm
1750
Sut 1341 MPa
40.192
S sy 0.5770.75 1341 580 MPa
S sy 580
ns 0.57 1.0 FAILURE !
max 1014.6
57
Re-size the wire diameter to reduce τmax
Let d= 5 mm & c =8 D=40 mm
0.5 8(750)(40)
Ks 1 1.0625 max 1.0625 649.4 MPa
8 5 3
Sut 0.192 1284.8 MPa S sy 0.577 0.751285 556 MPa
1750
5
S sy 556
s 0.85 1.0 FAILURE !
max 649.4
Re-size to d=5mm & C=6 D=30mm
Ks=1.0833, τmax =496.5MPa, Ssy=556MPa,
ns=556/496.5=1.12 >1 SAFE
Thus a spring material of ASTM A 227 with
d=5mm & D=30mm satisfies the criteria of 1 & 2 (C=6)
58
To find out other parameters Nt & Lf we proceed as:
Given a deflection of 20 mm over a force range of 500N-750 N
F 750 500 250 N
k 12.5 N mm or k 12500 N m
y 20 20 mm
Also
d 4G
k 3
12.5 N mm
8D N a
where
d 5 mm
G 79.3 109 N m 2 or G 79.3 103 N mm2
D 30 mm
Na ?
59
d 4G 5 79.3103
4
So
Na rounded to nearest quarter
830 12.5
3 3
8D k
49562500
Na 18.356 coils N a 18.5 coils
2700000
Assuming squared & ground ends N D 2 Nt N a N D 20.5 coils
Ls NT d 20.5 5 102.5 mm
y w 20 mm given in problem
L f Ls yclash ywork yinitial y clash 0.1 y w 2 mm
L f 102.5 2 20 40 164.5 mm Fmin 500
yinitial 40 mm
L f 164.5 mm k 12.5
60
3) Check for buckling
.
Lf 164.5 ymax .
5.48 3.8 likely to buckle Lf .
D 30 .
ymax yi yw 40 20 . B
0.365 . A
Lf Lf 164.5 3.8 Lf D
If one end of spring is rounded (curve A) it buckles,
but if both ends are compressed between flat & parallel surfaces
(curve B) it does not buckle although near the curve B. 61
So these springs should be compressed between flat & parallel surfaces.
If not compressed between parallel-flat surfaces then some kind of rod or
hole mechanism should be used to fix the springs.
If you use rod inside the spring: d rod Di 0.1 d
max
d rodmax 30 5 0.1 5 24.5 mm
If you fit the spring in a hole: Dholmin Do 0.1 d
Dholmin 30 5 0.1 5 35.5 mm
62
?
4)
solid S sy
solid requires the force Fsolid k L f Ls
12.5164.5 102.5 775 N
8 775 30
solid 1.0833 513 MPa
53
S sy
nsolid
max
556
1.08 1.0 OK ! no failure
513
63
5) critical frequency
fn
1 k
rad / sec
2 ms
102 rad / sec
1 12500 N / m
fn
2 0.296 kg
52 9 m 3
30 20.5 10
kg
ms A L
3
7800 3
4 mm m
ms 0.296 kg
if dynamic force is applied
f force
fn
10 rad / sec 10rad / sec*
1cycle
1.6cycle / sec 1.6Hz
10 2 * pi * rad
64
SOLUTION:
ASTM A 227 hard-drawn wire with
d 5 mm
D 30 mm Di 25 mm NT 20.5 coils squared & ground ends.
C 6 Do 35 mm L f 164.5 mm flat & parallel ends.
65
TO BE CONTINUED
66