12. Mechanical Spring

Design of Machine Members
Mechanical
Springs
Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies,

Basar
Design of Machine Member RGUKT Basar
Introduction
• A spring is an elastic machine member whose function is to distort
when loaded and to recover its original shape when the load is
removed.
• Mechanical springs are used in machines and other applications
mainly
• to exert force,
• to provide flexibility
• to store or absorb energy
Types of spring
• Wire springs helical
compression
spring helical tension spring
helical torsion spring
• Flat springs
cantilever type spring semi elliptical (leaf) types flat spring washers
• Flat wound springs
Power or
motor
springs Constant Force
spring
Terminology of Helical Springs
• d = wire diameter of spring
• Di = inside diameter of spring coil
• Do = outside diameter of spring coil
• D = mean coil diameter
• The spring index is defined as the ratio of mean

coil diameter to wire diameter
• Preferred range of C is from 4 to 12.

• At C < 4, the spring is difficult to manufacture
• At C > 12 it is prone to buckling
Free length (Lf): Compressed length: (Lc) Solid Length (Ls):

axial length of an axial length of the spring axial length of the spring
unloaded helical subjected to maximum which is so compressed
compression spring. compressive force. that the adjacent coils
Total axial gap touch each other
Lf= Lc+ δ = (Nt – 1) x Gap between Ls= Nt .d
= LS+ axial gap + δ adjacent coils Nt = total number of coils
Lc= LS + total axial gap
• Pitch of the coil (p): Axial distance between adjacent coils in
uncompressed state of spring.
• Stiffness of the spring (k) is defined as the force required to produce

unit deflection.
• Active (N) and inactive coils: Active coils are the coils in the spring
which contribute to spring action, support the external force and
deflect under the action of force
• End coils which do not contribute to spring action are called inactive
coils.
inactive coils = Nt – N
where,
N= number of active coils.
• The number of active turns for different styles of end
Helical extension spring

• different styles of end for the helical extension spring
• number of active coils (N) is same as the total number of coils (Nt).
• Two basic equations for the design of helical springs

• Load-stress equation
• Load-deflection equation
Unbent Spring
• The diameter of the bar is equal to the wire diameter of the

spring (d)
• The length of the equivalent bar is N
• Bar is fitted with bracket of length (D/2)
• Torsional moment due to force P
• Torsional shear stress in the bar
• When the equivalent bar is bent in the form of helical coil, there
are additional stresses on account of
• direct or transverse shear stress in the spring wire.
• length of the inside fibre is less than the length of the
outside fibre. This results in stress concentration at the
inside fibre of the coil.
• Resultant stress consists of superimposition of torsional shear
stress, direct shear stress and additional stresses due to the
curvature of the coil
Stresses in Spring Wire:

(a) Pure Torsional Stress
(b) Direct Shear Stress
(c) Combined Torsional, Direct and Curvature Shear Stresses
• Modification in the stress equation to accommodate the
direct shear and curvature stress effect
• KS = factor to account for direct shear stress
• KC = factor to account for stress concentration due to
curvature effect
K = KS KC
• K - factor to account for the combined effect
• Direct shear stress in the bar
• Superimposition of torsional shear stress

and direct shear stress
(a) Direct shear

• Load-stress equation stress
• Combined torsional, direct and

curvature shear stress by AM Wahl. (b) Torsional shear
stress
(c) Combined direct

• K is stress factor or Wahl factor shear and
torsional stress
(d) Effects of stress

KC= K/KS concentration
at inside edge
Load-deflection equation
• Consider a small segment of
spring of length ds, subtending P
an angle of dβ at the center of
the spring coil
• Rotation, dφ, of the section a-d
with respect to b-c is given as,
D D
P ( d)
M t ds 2 2 8 PD 2 (d  )
d   4

GJ d G d 4
G
32
• The rotation, dφ will cause the
end of the spring O to rotate to
O'
O  O  Id
• Due to symmetric condition, there is no lateral deflection of
spring, ie, the horizontal component of O-O' gets cancelled.
• The vertical component of O-O', dδ, is given as,
D
d  Id sin   Id 
2I
8PD 2 (d  ) D 4 PD 3 ( d  )
 4
 
G d 2 G d 4
• Total deflection of spring, δ, can be

obtained by integrating the above
expression for entire length of the
spring wire.
2 N
4 PD 3 (d  ) 8PD3 N
  
0
G d 4 Gd 4
• Load deflection equation
• Spring rate
• A helical spring of wire diameter 6mm and spring index 6 is
acted by an initial load of 800N. After compressing it further by
10mm the stress in the wire is 500MPa. Find the number of
active coils. G = 84000MPa
• Load-stress equation =6
• P= 940.6 N
• Spring rate
• N = 21 turns
Series Connections
• The force acting on each spring is same and equal to
the external force
• The total deflection of the spring combination is equal
to the sum of the deflections of individual springs
  1   2   3
P δ3
 P P P
k
1  2  3 
k1 k2 k3
P P P P 1 1 1 1 δ2
     
k k1 k2 k3 k k1 k2 k3
δ1
• k is the combined stiffness of all springs in the P
connection
Parallel Connections
• Force acting on the spring combination is equal
to the sum of forces acting on individual springs
• Deflection of individual springs is same and equal
to the deflection of the combination.
P  k
P  P1  P2  P3 P1  k1 P1 P3
P2  k2 P2
k  k1  k2  k3 P3  k3

k  k1  k2  k3 δ
P1 + P2+ P3
• k is the combined stiffness of all springs in the

connection
Spring Materials
• Ideal spring material should provide maximum energy storage (area
under the elastic portion of the stress-strain curve)
S yt2
U
2E
• There are four basic varieties of steel wire which are used in springs
in the majority of applications:
(i) patented and cold-drawn steel wires (unalloyed);
(ii) oil-hardened and tempered spring steel wires and valve spring
wires;
(iii) oil-hardened and tempered steel wires (alloyed); and
(iv) stainless steel spring wires.
Patented and cold-drawn steel wires (unalloyed);

• most extensively used spring material
• made of high carbon steel and contain 0.85–0.95% carbon
• has high tensile strength, high elastic limit
• least expensive of all spring materials
• music spring wire is the highest quality of hard drawn steel spring
• used in springs subjected to static forces and moderate fluctuating
forces
• modulus of rigidity (G) : 81370 N/mm2.
Unalloyed oil hardened and tempered spring
steel wires and valve spring wires
• Oil-hardened and tempered spring steel wires contain 0.55–
0.75% carbon.
• valve spring wire contains 0.60–0.75% carbon.
• excellent surface finish
• most reliable for applications involving fluctuating forces
• used for applications where the stresses are severe.
• modulus of rigidity (G) is 81370 N/mm2.
Alloyed steel wires

• two popular varieties
• chromium–vanadium steel
• chromium–silicon steel.
• Chromium–vanadium steel are used for applications involving
higher stresses and for springs subjected to impact or shock
loads, such as in pneumatic hammers.
• Chromium–silicon spring steel was originally developed for
recoil springs in aircraft guns and for control springs in
torpedos in England.
• used for applications involving highly stressed springs
subjected to shock or impact loading
• Alloy steel wires are superior to carbon steel wires. However,
the cost is their limiting factor.
Stainless steel springs
• excellent corrosion resistance

• ideal to work in steam or other corrosive media.
Design procedure of Helical Springs

1. Estimate the maximum spring force (P) and the corresponding
required deflection (δ) of the spring.
2. Select a suitable spring material and calculate the permissible shear
stress as
3. Assume a suitable value for the spring index (C).

• For industrial applications, the spring index varies from 8 to 10.
• spring index for springs in valves and clutches is 5.
4. Calculate the Wahl factor
5. Determine wire diameter (d)
6. Determine mean coil diameter (D)
7. Determine the number of active coils (N)
8. Decide the style of ends for the spring depending upon the
configuration of the application. Determine the number of
inactive coils. Adding active and inactive coils, find out the total
number of coils (Nt).
9. Determine the solid length of the spring
10. Determine the actual deflection of the spring
11. Determine the free length of the spring

total gap = (Nt – 1) X gap between two adjacent coils
total axial gap is taken as 15% of the maximum deflection
12. Determine the pitch of the coil
13. Determine the rate of spring

Buckling of compression spring

• Free length (L) should be less than 4 times the coil diameter (D) to
avoid buckling for most situations.
• For slender springs central guide rod is necessary.
• However, provision of guide results in friction between the spring
and the guide and this may damage the spring in the long run and
reduce the load delivered at the spring end.
• A guideline for free length (L) of a
spring to avoid buckling
• An automotive single plate clutch consists of two pairs of friction
surfaces, one between the friction lining and the pressure plate and the
other between the friction lining and the flywheel as shown in Fig. Eight
identical helical compression springs, arranged in parallel, provide the
required axial thrust on the friction surface. The total spring force
exerted by all springs is 2400 N and the corresponding deflection of
each spring is approximately 15 mm. The spring index can be taken as 8.
The springs are made of patented and cold-drawn steel wire with
ultimate tensile strength of 1390 N/mm2 and modulus of rigidity of 81
370 N/mm2. The permissible shear stress for the spring wire can be
taken as 30% of the ultimate tensile strength.
Design the springs.
• P = 2400 N for 8 springs
• δ = 15 mm
• C=8
• Sut = 1390 N/mm2
• G = 81 370 N/mm2
• τ= 0.3 Sut
• Wire diameter
• force acting on each spring:
• permissible shear stress for the spring wire
• Mean coil diameter

• Number of active coils
• Total number of coils

• assuming that the springs have square and ground ends. The
number of inactive coils is 2.
• Solid length of spring
• The actual deflection of the spring

• Free length of spring
total gap = (Nt – 1) X gap between two adjacent coils

• Assuming that there will be a gap of 1 mm between the adjacent
coils when the spring is subjected to the maximum force of 300 N.
• Pitch of coils
• Required stiffness
• Actual stiffness
Designing Helical Springs for Fatigue Loading

• The valve spring of an automotive engine is subjected to millions of
stress cycles during its lifetime.
• Let external fluctuating force, which changes its magnitude from Pmax
to Pmin in the load cycle.
• Mean force Pm and the force amplitude Pa are given by,
• spring is never subjected to a completely reversed load

• A helical compression spring is subjected to purely
compressive forces.
• A helical extension spring is subjected to purely tensile forces.
• Mean stress (τm)
• Ks is the correction factor for direct shear stress and it is

applicable to mean stress only
• Torsional stress amplitude (τa)
• K is the Wahl factor

• spring wires are subjected to pulsating shear stresses, which vary
from zero to (S’se)
• S’se is the endurance limit in shear for the stress variation from
zero to some maximum value.
• For Patented and cold-drawn steel
• For oil-hardened & tempered steel
• where Sut is the ultimate tensile strength

Fatigue Diagram for
Spring Design
• Point A failure point
in fatigue.
• Point B (Ssy, 0) failure point
in static loading.
• Line AB is line of failure.
• Design line (Line CD parallel to Line AB) is used to find out permissible
stresses with a particular factor of safety.
• Torsional shear stress due to initial preload on spring: Point G (τi, 0)
• point of intersection between
design line DC and load line
GH is X (τm, τa)
• Considering similar triangles

XFD and AEB
• The constructional details of an exhaust valve of a diesel engine are
shown in Fig. The diameter of the valve is 32 mm and the suction
pressure in the cylinder is 0.03 N/mm2. The mass of the valve is 50 g.
The maximum valve lift is 10 mm. The stiffness of the spring for the
valve is 10 N/mm. The spring index can be assumed as 8. The
permissible shear stress in the spring wire is recommended as 30% of
the ultimate tensile strength. Neglecting the effect of inertia forces,
design the spring for static considerations and determine the factor of
safety against fluctuating stresses.
• Spring material:
• oil-hardened and tempered valve spring
wire
• initial pre-load on the spring against
• negative pressure inside a cylinder during the suction stroke.
• weight of valve
• Suction force = valve area X suction pressure
• Weight of the valve = mg = (0.05)(9.81) = 0.49 N

• Minimum pre-load, Pmin= 24.13 + 0.49 = 24.62 N
• To be on the safer side, the initial pre-load is taken as 30 N.
• During the exhaust stroke, valve lift is 15 mm.
Design against static load
for d= 3 mm, τ= 348.4 N/mm2

τd = 0.3 Sut= 429 N/mm2
τ< τd
considering fatigue load
take d= 4 mm
Mean coil diameter, D = Cd = 8(4) = 32 mm
• Number of active coils
• assuming the spring has square and ground ends
• actual deflection
• Solid length
• Total axial gap considering 0.5 mm gap between consecutive coils
• Free length = solid length + total axial gap + δ

• Factor of safety against fluctuating stresses
• for d= 4mm, Sut= 1400 N/mm2

• for oil hardened and tempered steel wire
• factor of safety against

fluctuating stresses
Spring Surge
• If a load act on a spring there is a downward movement of the
spring and due to this movement a wave travels along the spring in
downward direction and a to and fro motion continues. This
particular situation is called surge of spring.
• If the frequency of surging becomes equal to the natural

frequency of the spring the resonant frequency will occur which
may cause failure of the spring.
• The fundamental critical frequency should be from 15 to 20 times

the frequency of the force or motion of the spring in order to avoid
resonance with harmonics
• natural frequency of helical compression springs held between two
parallel plates
• natural frequency of helical compression springs with one end on the

flat plate and the other end free, supporting the external force
k = stiffness of spring (N/m)

m = Alρ=mass of spring (kg)
A = cross-sectional area of spring
l = length of spring
ρ = mass density of spring material
Multi leaf spring

• widely used for the suspension of cars, trucks and railway wagons.
• consists of a series of flat plates, usually of semi-elliptical shape.
• longest leaf at the top is called master leaf.
• leaves are held together by means of two U-bolts and a centre clip.
• Rebound clips are provided to keep the leaves in alignment and
prevent lateral shifting of the leaves during operation.
• extra full-length leaves are provided to support the transverse shear
force
• For the purpose of analysis, the leaves are divided into two groups
1. master leaf along with graduated-length leaves
2. extra full-length leaves
• nf = number of extra full-length leaves
• ng = number of graduated-length leaves including master leaf
• n = total number of leaves
• b = width of each leaf (mm)
• t = thickness of each leaf (mm)
• L = length of the cantilever or half the length of semi-elliptic spring
(mm)
• P = force applied at the end of the spring (N)
• Pf = portion of P taken by the extra full-length leaves (N)
• Pg = portion of P taken by the graduated-length leaves (N)
1. The group of graduated-length leaves along with the master
leaf can be treated as a triangular plate,
• bending stress in the plate at the support
(i)
• deflection (δg) at the load point of the triangular plate
(ii)
2. extra full-length leaves can be treated as a rectangular plate of
thickness t and uniform width (nf b)
• bending stress at the support
(iii)
• deflection at the load point
(iv)
• Since the deflection of full-length leaves is equal to the deflection of
graduated- length leaves
• Also
• Substituting the above values of Pg and Pf in equation (i) and (iii)
respectively
• hence bending stresses in full-length leaves are 50% more than

those in graduated-length leaves.
• Substituting the above values of Pg in equation (ii)
• Multi-leaf springs are designed using

• load stress equation
• load-deflection equations
• The standard dimensions for the width and thickness of the leaf
section are
• Nominal thickness (mm): 3.2, 4.5, 5, 6, 6.5, 7, 7.5, 8, 9, 10,
11, 12, 14, and 16
• Nominal width (mm): 32, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80,
90, 100 and 125
• The leaves are usually made of steels, 55Si2Mn90, 50Cr1 or
50Cr1V23.
• The plates are hardened and tempered.
• The factor of safety based on the yield strength is from 2 to 2.5 for
the automobile suspension.
• IS 1135–1966: Specifications for leaf-springs for automobile

suspension
Nipping of Leaf Springs

• stresses in extra full-length leaves are 50% more than the stresses in
graduated-length leaves.
• stresses in different leaves are equalized by pre-stressing the spring.
• pre-stressing achieved by bending the leaves to different radii of
curvature called nipping.
• The radius of curvature decreases
with shorter leaves.
• initial gap C between an extra full-length
leaf and the graduated-length leaf
before the assembly, is called a ‘nip’
• pre-stressing results in stress equalisation,
(i)
• Also (ii)
• Solving (i) and (ii)
where
• deflection of graduated- length leaves
• deflection of full- length leaves
• Under the maximum force P, the deflection of graduated-length

leaves will exceed the deflection of extra full-length leaves by
an amount equal to the initial nip C.
• initial pre-load Pi required to close the gap C between the extra full-
length leaves and graduated length leaves is determined by
considering the initial deflection of leaves.
• Under the action of pre-load Pi,
• Resultant stress in the extra full-length leaves is obtained by
superimposing the stresses due to initial pre-load (Pi) and the
external force (P).
• Since the stresses are equal in all leaves

• A semi-elliptic leaf spring used for automobile suspension consists
of three extra full-length leaves and 15 graduated-length leaves,
including the master leaf. The centre-to-centre distance between
two eyes of the spring is 1 m. The maximum force that can act on
the spring is 75 kN. For each leaf, the ratio of width to thickness is
9:1. The modulus of elasticity of the leaf material is 207 000
N/mm2. The leaves are pre-stressed in such a way that when the
force is maximum, the stresses induced in all leaves are same and
equal to 450 N/mm2. Determine
1. width and thickness of the leaves;
2. initial nip; and
3. initial pre-load required to close
the gap C between extra full-length
leaves and graduated-length leaves.
• Width and thickness of the leaves
2P = 75 kN or P = 37 500 N
2L = 1 m or L = 500 mm
b = 9t n = nf + ng = 3 + 15 = 18
E = 207 000 N/mm2 σb = 450 N/mm2
• Initial nip
• Initial pre-load

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Design of Machine Members

Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies,

• The spring index is defined as the ratio of mean

• Preferred range of C is from 4 to 12.

Free length (Lf): Compressed length: (Lc) Solid Length (Ls):

• Stiffness of the spring (k) is defined as the force required to produce

Helical extension spring

• Two basic equations for the design of helical springs

• The diameter of the bar is equal to the wire diameter of the

• Torsional shear stress in the bar

Stresses in Spring Wire:

• Superimposition of torsional shear stress

(a) Direct shear

• Combined torsional, direct and

(c) Combined direct

(d) Effects of stress

• Total deflection of spring, δ, can be

• Load deflection equation

k  k1  k2  k3 P3  k3

• k is the combined stiffness of all springs in the

Patented and cold-drawn steel wires (unalloyed);

Alloyed steel wires

Stainless steel springs

• excellent corrosion resistance

Design procedure of Helical Springs

3. Assume a suitable value for the spring index (C).

6. Determine mean coil diameter (D)

7. Determine the number of active coils (N)

11. Determine the free length of the spring

12. Determine the pitch of the coil

13. Determine the rate of spring

Buckling of compression spring

• Mean coil diameter

• Total number of coils

• Solid length of spring

• The actual deflection of the spring

total gap = (Nt – 1) X gap between two adjacent coils

Designing Helical Springs for Fatigue Loading

• spring is never subjected to a completely reversed load

• Ks is the correction factor for direct shear stress and it is

• K is the Wahl factor

• For oil-hardened & tempered steel

• where Sut is the ultimate tensile strength

• Considering similar triangles

• Weight of the valve = mg = (0.05)(9.81) = 0.49 N

for d= 3 mm, τ= 348.4 N/mm2

• assuming the spring has square and ground ends

• Total axial gap considering 0.5 mm gap between consecutive coils

• Free length = solid length + total axial gap + δ

• for d= 4mm, Sut= 1400 N/mm2

• factor of safety against

• If the frequency of surging becomes equal to the natural

• The fundamental critical frequency should be from 15 to 20 times

• natural frequency of helical compression springs with one end on the

k = stiffness of spring (N/m)

Multi leaf spring

• deflection (δg) at the load point of the triangular plate

• deflection at the load point

• hence bending stresses in full-length leaves are 50% more than

• Multi-leaf springs are designed using