A Mini Project Report On

STRUCTURAL ANALYSYS OF A LEAF SPRING

A Mini Project Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirement for award of the degree
BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY
IN
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
BY
SD.RIYAZ B.KARUN TEJA
(147R5A0303) (137R1A0366)
SURAJA NAYAK A.SRINIVASA RAO
(147R5A0304) (137R1A0361)
UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF
L.MANGESH

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

CMR TECHNICAL CAMPUS
KANDLAKOYA (V), MEDCHAL (M), RANGAREDDY-501401
 DECLARATION
I hereby declare that the mini project entitled STRUCTURAL ANALISYS
OF LEAF SPRING submitted under the supervision of L.Mangesh, Assoc.Prof.
Is a record of bonafied work carried out for the partial fulfillment forward of
degree of bachelor of technology in mechanical engineering.

I solemnly declare that to the best of my knowledge, no part of this report

has been submitted here or elsewere in a previous application for award of degree.
All sources of knowledge used have been duly acknowledged.

.........................

SD. RIYAZ

(147R5A0303)

.........................

B.KARUN TEJA

(137R1A0361)

.........................

SURAJA NAYAK

(147R5AO304)

.........................

A.SRINIVASA RAO

(137R1A0361)
 CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the project titled Structural analysis of a leaf spring
carried by SD RIYAZ (147R5A0306), B KARUNTEJA (137RIA0366),
SURAJA NAYAK (147R5A0304), A SRINIVASA RAO (137RIA0361) has been
read and approved for meeting part of the requirements and regulations governing
the award of the bachelor of mechanical engineering degree by Jawaharlal Nehru
Technological University Hyderabad, Telengana state, India.

..................... ..............
L.MANGESH Date

(Project supervisor)

.....................
D.MANEIAH Date

(Head of department)

..................... ..................

DR.A. RAJI REDDY Date

(Director)
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The success and final outcome of this project required a lot of guidance and
assistance from many people and we are extremely fortunate to have got this all
along the completion of my project work. Whatever we have done is only due to
such guidance and assistance and we would not forget to thank them.

We heartly thank Mr. L. Mangesh (Assoc. Prof), project guide for the
support and valuable information and guidance. We also like to Thank Mr. D.
Maneiah, Head of the Mechanical Department and Mr. Vijay Chander (Assoc.
prof) who helped us in completing this task through various stages.

We Respect and thank our Director, Dr.A.Raji Reddy for providing

constant encouragement, support, we are extremely grateful to him for providing
all the facilities to make our project successful.

SD. RIYAZ

A.SRINIVASA RAO

B.KARUN TEJA

SURAJA NAYAK
 ABSTRACT

Increasing competition and innovation in automobile sector tends to

modify the existing products by new and advanced material products.

A suspension system of vehicle is also an area where these innovations

are carried out regularly. Leaf springs are one of the oldest suspension components
that are being still used widely in automobiles.

Our aim is to design a Composite Leaf Spring which helps in reduction of

weight and Better performance than Conventional Steel Leaf springs. Dimensions
of the composite leaf spring are to be taken as same dimensions of the
conventional leaf spring. The objective is to compare the bending stress, total
deflection and percentage of weight saving of different types of composite
materials such as steel, carbon epoxy, graphite epoxy, E-glass epoxy.

Modeling and analysis of a Composite leaf spring is performed on Ansys

workbench to determine total deflection and equivalent (von misses) stresses under
loading conditions.
 LEAF SPRING
Introduction
Leaf springs also referred to as semi-elliptical springs or cart springs are one of the oldest forms
of suspension used in vehicles, especially heavy vehicles. A leaf spring looks similar to a bow
minus the string. It consists of a stack of curved narrow plates of equal width and varied length
clamped together with shorter plates at the centre to form a semi-elliptical shape. The center of
the arc provides location for the axle, tie holes are provided at either end for attaching to the
body.

A leaf spring is a simple form of spring commonly used for the suspension in wheeled
vehicles. Originally called a laminated or carriage spring, and sometime referred to as a semi
elliptical spring or chart spring, it is one of the oldest forms of springing, dating backto medieval
times.

Fig no (1)

Fig no (2)
 Fig no (3)

Fig no (4)

A leaf spring takes the form of a slender arc-shaped length of spring steel of rectangular
cross-section. In the most common configuration, the center of the arc provides location for
the axle, while tie holes are provided at either end for attaching to the vehicle body. For very
heavy vehicles, a leaf spring can be made from several leaves stacked on top of each other in
several layers, often with progressively shorter leaves. Leaf springs can serve locating and to
some extent damping as well as springing functions. While the interleaf friction provides a
damping action, it is not well controlled and results in striation in the motion of the suspension.
For this reason some manufacturers have used mono-leaf springs.

A leaf spring can either be attached directly to the frame at both ends or attached directly
at one end, usually the front, with the other end attached through a shackle, a short swinging arm.
The shackle takes up the tendency of the leaf spring to elongate when compressed and thus
makes for softer springiness. Some springs terminated in a concave end, called a spoon
end (seldom used now), to carry a swiveling member.

A leaf spring is a simple form of spring commonly used for the suspension in wheeled
vehicles. Originally called a laminated or carriage spring, and sometimes referred to as a semi-
elliptical spring or cart spring, it is one of the oldest forms of springing, dating back to medieval
times.
 PARTS OF LEAF SPRING

Parts:
1) Spring hanger
2) Spring eye with bush
3) Spring bolt &locknut
4) Camber
5) Spring leaves
6) Centre bolt
7) Rear Hanger
8) Spring Bolts and locknuts
9) Eye spring components
10)Rebound clips
11) Spring shackles

TYPES OF LEAF SPRING

Multi Leaf Springs:
The most common kind of leaf spring for LCVs and HGVs is the multi leaf spring. This type of
spring gets its name because it is made of multiple metal plates, placed one on top of the other.
These are engineered to take a greater amount of load and stress for a vehicle.

The size of the plates on a multi leaf spring get smaller, laid lengthwise to layer them, with the
longest piece containing the eyes or hooks. This stacked format makes this type of spring thicker
at its centre, giving it a semi elliptical look.

F
ig no (5)
Mono Leaf Springs:
Not designed for heavier vehicles, a mono leaf spring is a single plate of metal, slightly thicker in
the middle, thinning out at the ends. This single leaf spring system was once popular but can
dangerous if the spring breaks, hence why it is not used on any vehicle requiring protection
against a heavy load or the weight of the vehicle itself.

Fig no (6)
 HISTORY OF LEAF SPRING
There were a variety of leaf springs, usually employing the word "elliptical". "Elliptical" or "full
elliptical" leaf springs referred to two circular arcs linked at their tips. This was joined to the
frame at the top center of the upper arc; the bottom center was joined to the "live" suspension
components, such as a solid front axle. Additional suspension components, such as trailing arms,
would usually be needed for this design, but not for "semi-elliptical" leaf springs as used in the
Hotchkiss drive. That employed the lower arc, hence its name. "Quarter-elliptic" springs often
had the thickest part of the stack of leaves stuck into the rear end of the side pieces of a short
ladder frame, with the free end attached to the differential, as in the Austin Seven of the 1920s.
As an example of non-elliptic leaf springs, the Ford Model T had multiple leaf springs over its
differential that were curved in the shape of a yoke. As a substitute for dampers (shock
absorbers), some manufacturers laid non-metallic sheets in between the metal leaves, such as
wood.

Elliptic

Semi-elliptic

Three quarter-elliptic

Quarter-elliptic
 Transverse

Leaf springs where very common on automobiles, right up to the 1970s in Europe and Japan and
late 1970s in America when the move to front wheel drive, and more sophisticated suspension
design saw automobile manufacturers use coil springs instead. Today leaf springs are still used in
heavy commercial vehicles such as vans and trucks, SUVs and railway carriages. For heavy
vehicles, where as coil spring transfer it to a single point. unlike coil springs, leaf spring also
locate the rear axle, eliminating the need for trailing arms and a pan hard rod, thereby Saving
cost and weight in a simple live axle rear suspension. A further advantage of a leaf spring over a
helical spring is that the end of the leaf spring may be guided along a definite path.

A more modern implementation is the parabolic leaf spring. This design is characterized
by fewer leaves whose thickness varies from centre to ends following a parabolic curve. In this
design, inter-leaf friction is unwanted, and therefore there is only contact between the springs at
the ends and at the centre where the axle is connected. Spacers prevent contact at other points.
Aside from a weight saving, the main advantage of parabolic springs is their greater flexibility,
which translates into vehicle ride quality that approaches that of coil springs. There is a trade-off
in the form of reduced load carrying capability, however. The characteristic of parabolic springs
is better riding comfort and not as "stiff" as conventional "multi-leaf springs". It is widely used
on buses for better comfort. A further development by the British GKN company and by
Chevrolet with the Corvette amongst others is the move to composite plastic leaf springs.
Nevertheless, due to missing inter-leaf friction and internal dampening effects this type of
springs requires more powerful dampers or shock absorbers.

Typically when used in automobile suspension the leaf both supports an axle and locates/
partially locates the axle. This can lead to handling issues (such as 'axle tramp'), as the flexible
nature of the spring makes precise control of the unsprung mass of the axle difficult. Some
suspension designs use a Watts link (or a Pan hard rod) and radius arms to locate the axle and do
not have this drawback. Such designs can use softer springs, resulting in better ride. The various
Austin-Healey 3000's and Fiat 128's rear suspension are examples.

ADVANTAGE AND DISADVANTAGE

ADVANTAGES
1) The construction of the suspensions is simple and strong as a linkage for holding the axle in
position and thus a separate linkage isnt necessary.

2) As they locate the rear axle, the need for trailing arms and panhard rod is eliminated, thus
saving cost and weight.

3) It supports the weight of the chassis.

4) It controls axle damping.

5) It controls chassis roll more efficiently by utilizing a higher rear moment centre and a wider
spring base. The wider the springs are mounted part, the lesser the roll tendencies. As the
moment center height is high, this shortens the moment arm which in turn produces less roll.

DISADVANTAGES

1) The leaf spring systems are not easy to install.

2) The inter-leaf friction between the leaf springs reduces the ride comfort.

3) The leaf springs may tend to lose shape and sag over time. If the sag is uneven, it alters the
cross weight of the vehicle which changes the handling. It also changes the axle-to-mount angle.

4) Acceleration and braking torque cause wind-up and vibration. Also wind-up causes rear-end
squat and nose-diving
 MATERIALS USED IN LEAF SPRINGS

The material used for leaf spring is usually a plain carbon steel having 0.90 to 1.0% carbon. The
leaves are heat treated after the forming process. The heat treatment of spring steel produces
greater strength and there for greater load capacity, greater range of deflection and better fatigue
properties.

According to Indian standards, the recommended materials are:

1. For automobiles: 50 Cr 1, 50 Cr 1 V 23, and 55 Si 2 Mn 90 all used in hardened and

tempered state.
2. For rail road springs: C 55 (water-hardened), C 75 (oil-hardened), 40 Si 2 Mn 90 (water
hardened) and 55 Si 2 Mn 90 (oil-hardened).
3. Physical properties of some of these materials are given in following table.

materials condition Ultimate tensile tensile yield Brinell hardness

strength (Mpa) strength (Mpa) No.
50 Cr 1 Hardened 1680-2200 1540-1750 461-601

50Cr 1 V 23 And 1900-2200 1680-1890 534-601

55 Si 2Mn 90 tempered 1820-2060 1680-1920 534-601

 MANUFACTURING OF LEAF SPRING
Raw material stock ready for supply

Shearing or cutting process inspection

Drilling labeling

Eye rolling of main blades painting

Hardening fitting

Tempering hardness testing

Raw material
generally leaf springs are made of various fine grade alloy steel. The most
commonly used grades of steel are 55 Si 7, 60 Si Cr7, 50 Cr V4. The others are En 45 A, 65 Si 7,
55 Si Cr 7, 65 Si cr7, En 42 60 s 87.
In our project we are going to use En 42 60 S87 grade of steel alloy.
Generally the width of the raw material varies from 40-100 mm and thickness varies from 4
to 20mm.

Fig no (7)
Shearing or cutting process
Shearing is a process for cutting sheet metal to size out of a larger stock such as
roll stock. The raw material is cut into different sizes with the help of the 100 ton cutting press
machine.
1) At first the raw material is placed on the roller bed so that it will be easy to move the material
towards the machine.
2) Required length of the material to be cut is measured with a tape and marking is done on the
raw material.
3) Now move the material in to the cutting area of the machine so that the mark is placed exactly
at the cutting edge of the blade.
4) Now lock the material with the help of the lock nut provided.

5) Allow the lubricant to flow for free action of cutting and for reducing friction.
6) Now apply the load on the material by pressing the brake provided.
7) Now the required length of the material piece can be obtained.

Drilling operation

Necessary holes are provided on the strips of leaf springs to hold all the plates together.
So drilling operation is performed. Generally vertical drilling machine is used for this operation.
1.) The given material piece is placed on the table of the drilling machine.
2.) The diameter of the required hole is choosen and the required drill bit is connected to the
spindle.
3.) The work piece is placed in the required position for drilling and the coolent oil is
sprayed over the work piece.
4.) Now by applying the hand lever the required hole diameter is drilled. Required numbers of
holes are drilled.

Eye rolling of main blade

The master blade is heated at its two ends for eye formation, these
are done to attach with the frame of the vehicle. The heating is done in a end heating
furnace at a temperature of 1000 degree centigrade. The heating is done only at the ends
so that it will be easy to bend at the ends.
Furnace oil and the air are used for heating the furnace. The furnace is first
allowed to heat freely for 45 min. Now the master blades are placed in the furnace such
that only ends are heated.
After heating is done for one end it is bending to form the eye and again it is
placed in the furnace to heat the other end. After heating the main blade is bent slightly to
form curve at the end with the help of 50 ton punching machine so that it will be easy to
roll to form eye formation.
In the eye rolling machine the master blade end is placed between the circular wheel
 and the die. After placing the hand lever is moved so that the end of the master blade rolls
over the die thus forming eye shape

Hardening (Quenching)

Hardening is carried out to achieve the maximum hardness.

The main blades after the eye formation are heated to a temperature of 800-1000 degree
centigrade in a furnace to increase the hardness of the material.

The other blades along with main blades are heated in the furnace. The furnace is heated
by using air and furnace oil through conventional air flow system. The conventional air flow
system is used to mix both air and furnace oil for heating purpose. A pump is required for the air
to go out.

After heating the blades in the furnace for 45 minutes they are taken out and bent to the
required angle on the hydraulic bending machine. The required angle can be obtained by using
required angle dies.

The blades after making the required angle they are immersed in the Quenchngon oil to
increase the hardness. The hardness at the end of the stage is about 50 to 60.

Tempering

Quenched steel, while very and strong, is too brittle to be useful for more applications. A method
for alleviating this problem is called tempering. For most steels, tempering involves heating to
between 250 and 5000C, holding that temperature (soaking) for an appropriate amount of time
(on the order of seconds of hours), then cooling slowly over an appropriate length of time
(minutes or hours). This heat treatment result in higher toughness and ductility, without
sacrificing all of the hardness and tensile strength gained from rapid quenching. Tempering
balances the amount of hard martensite with ductile ferrite and pearlite. In some applications,
different areas of single object are given different heat treatments. This is called differential
hardening. It is common in high quality knives and swords.
Clamps

Clamps are the devices which are used for holding the leaf springs together. Clamps are made of
mild steel.

At first the material is cut into the required length on the 50 ton cutting machine by using
blades. Next the cutter material is punched on the 50 ton punching machine to obtained required
circular shape at the edge by using suitable die.

Now after measuring the correct size the other end is also punched on 50 ton punching
machine to obtain circular shape by using the same die. This circular shape at the end is provided
for clamps of width greater than 20 mm

After making the required size the clamp materials are heated in the end heating furnace
at 1000 degree centigrade by using the furnace oil and air. The clamps are heated for 15 min in
the furnace.

After heating they are taken out and replaced on the 50 ton punching machine to make
the clamp of U shape by using the clamp dies. Different dies are used for making clamps for
different widths. Generally 4 clamps are used for 12 plates and 2 clamps are used for 7 leaf
plates. The clamps are arranged at equal distance from the centre

Fig no (8)

Stock ready to supply

After inspection the leaf springs with good quality and performance are allowed to stock storage.
Now the stock is are ready to supply.
 WHEN TO REPLACE OR CHANGE LEAF SPRINGS
Leaf springs are an important part of your vehicles suspension. They are in place to support the
weight of the vehicle, keep the tires on the road by regulating wheelbase lengths while
accelerating and breaking, control ride height and controls axle damping. There are many reasons
why someone would want to replace their leaf springs. Two reasons you would have to replace
them are when your springs begin to get worn out they will start to sag and lower the chassis
height of the vehicle, or if the leaf springs breaks or cracks. Also sometimes people just want to
upgrade to a heavier duty spring to increase support and keep the vehicle safe and a leaf spring
helper will simply not suffice. Once you find the right replacement springs you are going to need
to know how to install them. Here is a basic step by step guide to installing leaf springs.

HOW TO INSTALL LEAF SPRINGS - STEP BY STEP

Step 1 - Prepare

Before spring installation you will have to prepare your old suspension. You should begin to
prepare at least 3 days before you remove the old springs. The old leaves may be rusted on; you
want to make sure that they come off without damaging any parts that need to be reused while
swapping the old leaf springs for new ones. To prepare the old suspension soak all of the existing
parts (brackets, nuts and bolt) in oil, this will loosen up your springs and make removal a bit
easier.

Step 2 - Raise Vehicle

When the leaf springs have been prepared and you are ready to install the new ones, the first step
will be to raise the rear end of the vehicle and remove rear tires. Use a floor jack to raise the car
so that the rear tires are 3 inches off the ground. Place a jack stand on either side of the car about
one foot in front of each rear tire. Lower the floor jack and use it to support the rear axle by
placing it under the rear axle gear housing.

Step 3 - Remove Springs

Next you are going to start to remove the old leaf springs. Loosen the nuts and bolts on the leaf
spring bracket U-bolts first then remove the U-bolts and place them to the side. Now remove the
leaf springs by first removing the eyelet bolts from the bushings. Now you can carefully take
down the old leaf springs.

Step 4 - Attach Eye Bolts

As long as you are not doing any type of conversion, such as an Astro van fiberglass to
steel spring kit, it is time to begin installation of the new leaf springs. First, place the leaf spring
in position and insert mounting bolts and retainer nuts at each end to secure the spring to the
hangers. It is recommended to use new nuts and bolts as the old ones may be worn down.

Step 5 - Attach U-Bolts

Make sure all of your mounting bolts are secure by tightening them up. Now place the U-bolt
brackets around the leaf spring and rear axle, make sure these are securely in place and the bolts
are tight. Many people like to go back and check these for tightness about a week after
installation.

Step 6 - Lower Vehicle

Now that you have your new leaf springs installed remove the floor jacks and lower the vehicle.
Installing new leaf springs can be a simple job. As long as you follow these instructions the task
can be easily completed, safely, in just a few short steps.
 I. DESIGN PROCEDURE OF LEAF SPRING
1) Click start button and open Ansys workbench 14.5

2) Double click on static structural from toolbox then static structural toolbox is disappearing.

3) In that toolboxes double click on geometry and select the desired unit length mm<ok.

4) Select on sketching and draw as per given dimensions by using command like (line, arc by
3point, arc by center, circle).

5) Take centre point on the y-axis and draw the radius of curvature 961.11 mm, give the half
length 560 mm right and left side from the centre point of the curvature.

6) Similarly draw the remaining 9 curves with 6 mm thickness one by one.

Design parameters of leaf spring:

Leaf NO. Full leaf length in Half leaf length in Radius of curvature
mm (2L) mm (L) R in mm
1. 1120 560 961.11

2. 1120 560 967.11

3. 1007 503.5 973.11

4. 894 447 979.11

5. 780 390 985.11

6. 667 333.5 991.11

7. 554 277 997.11

8. 440 220 1003.11

9. 327 163.5 1009.11

10. 214 107 1015.11

7) After drawn first leave select extrude then give depth 50mm (width),change operation in
add frozen, change direction in reverse and change its type from face<ok.

8) select on generate to form solid view then changes its plane and draw the similarly ten leaves
one over another depend on different plane and sketch. So that it is individually assemble one
over another leaves.

9) Save the name as leaf spring. Finally the design procedure is completed.

Analysis part of leaf spring

1) After design click on modeling

2) Model A4<click on geometry <select ten solid parts and changes its material properties.

3) Double click on assignment and select the new materials. Click on engineering data sources
then go through general materials < click on structural steel and modify the structural steel into
steel like small changes its properties

a) Youngs modules of steel 210000 Mpa

b) Poissons ratio of steel 0.3

4) Create a new data sources composite material because there is no composite material data
source in Ansys workbench 14.5 version.

5) Enter the composite material like carbon epoxy, E-glass epoxy and graphite epoxy values in
table. As shown in below

Serial Properties E-glass epoxy Carbon epoxy Graphite epoxy

No.
1. EX(Mpa) 43000 177000 294000
2. EY(Mpa) 6500 10600 6400
3. EZ(Mpa) 6500 10600 6400
4. PRXY 0.27 0.27 0.023
5. PRYZ 0.06 0.02 0.01
6. PRZX 0.06 0.02 0.01
7. GX(Mpa) 4500 7600 4900
8. GY(Mpa) 2500 2500 3000
9. GZ(Mpa) 2500 2500 3000
10. (kg/mm3) 0.000002 0.0000016 0.00000159
6) After enter the properties click ok and select on return to the project. Then double click on
mesh < generate mesh. Finally entire body will take meshed.

7) Right click on static structural insert fixed support. There is select the face which we have to
fixed the area and then apply through geometry.

8) Finally one eye end to be fixed and another eye end we have to give remote displacement

a) X degree of freedom - free

b) Y degree of freedom -zero

c) Z degree of freedom -zero

9) Click face and select surface area which we have to give remote displacement < apply

10) Insert force in Y direction 6685N at middle of the leaf spring.

The picture of static structure as shown in below.

11) Right click on solution < insert what we have to find out from leaf spring after applied load?

12) We have found

a) Total deformation of leaf spring

b) Equivalent stress (or) bending stress

13) Right click on solution and select solve (finally we get the results of all above)

Deformation of steel

Bending stress of steel

 CONVENTIONAL STEEL RESULT
Model (A4) > Static Structural (A5) > Solution (A6) > Results
Object Name Total Deformation Equivalent Stress

State Solved

Scope

Scoping Method Geometry Selection

Geometry All Bodies

Definition

Type Total Deformation Equivalent (von-Misses) Stress

Results

Minimum 0. m 1.1384e+005 Pa

Maximum 2.7971e-003 m 2.7642e+008 Pa

Properties
Volume 2.1984e-003 m
Mass 17.258 kg
Scale Factor Value 1.
Statistics
Bodies 10
Active Bodies 10
Nodes 6510
Elements 680

Calculation the weight of conventional steel leaf spring:

Mass of steel leaf spring M = 17.258 kg

Gravity g = 9.81 m/sec2

Then total weight of leaf spring W = Mg

W = 17.258*9.81= 169.3N (were 1kg=9.80665N)

W = 169.3*1/9.80665 = 17.263kg
Composite material deformation

Composite material bending stress

COMPOSITE MATERIAL RESULT

Model (A4) > Static Structural (A5) > Solution (A6) > Results
 Object Name Total Deformation Equivalent Stress

State Solved

Scope

Scoping Method Geometry Selection

Geometry All Bodies

Definition

Type Total Deformation Equivalent (von-Mises) Stress

Results

Minimum 0. m 88545 Pa

Maximum 2.1549e-002 m 1.4401e+008 Pa

Properties
Volume 2.1984e-003 m
Mass 3.8699 kg
Scale Factor Value 1.
Statistics
Bodies 10
Active Bodies 10
Nodes 6510
Elements 680
Calculation the weight of the composite leaf spring:
Mass of composite leaf spring M = 3.8699 kg

Then total weight of leaf spring is also W = Mg=3.8699kg

Percentage of weight compare to conventional steel leaf spring:

(Composite spring weight/steel spring weight)*100 = (3.8699/17.258)*100 = 22.428%

Percentage of weight saving in composite metal:

100% - percentage of composite metal weight

100% - 22.428% = 77.576%

Compare the overall results:

Serial Materials. Loads (N). Total Stiffness=load/deflection
No. deformation (N/mm)
(mm).

1. Conventional steel 6685 21.549 310.223

2. Composite 6685 2.7971 2389.975

materials

Percentage of weight saving:

Sl No. Materials. Weights (kg) % of weight saving

1. Conventional steel 17.263 ------

2. Composite metal 3.869 77.576%

CONCLUSION:

In the present work, a steel leaf spring was replaced by a composite leaf spring due
to high strength to weight ratio for the same load carrying capacity and stiffness
with same dimension as that of steel leaf spring.
*A multi leaf spring is designed for a four wheel automobile and replaced with a
composite multi leaf spring made of E-glass/epoxy, carbon epoxy and graphite
epoxy
*Under the same static load conditions the stresses and the deflection in leaf
springs are found with great difference. Stresses and deflection in composite leaf
springs is found out to be less as compared to the conventional steel leaf springs.
*Composite leaf spring reduces the weight by 77.576% compare to conventional
steel.
*composite leaf spring can be suggested for replacing the steel leaf spring from
stiffness, total deformation and von misses stress point of view.
*Totally it is found that the composite leaf spring is the better that of steel leaf
spring. Therefore, it is concluded
*that composite multi leaf spring is an effective replacement for the existing steel
leaf spring in vehicles.