Machine Design 1

Problems on
Springs
Engr. Edwin C. Esperanza
Professor, ME Department
How long a wire is needed to
coil a spring having a mean
diameter of 1 inch if there are
8 active coils?

a. 52.13 in. b. 36.4 in.

c. 25.13 in. d. 42.5 in.
A spring has a load of 50 lb
with a spring index of 8. If the
induced stress is 90ksi,
determine the wire diameter

a. 0.116 in. b. 0.182 in.

c. 0.252 in. d. 0.220 in.
A spring with a squared and ground
end has a pitch of 20mm and a wire
diameter of 12.5mm. If there are 12
actual number of coils, determine
the deflection of the spring at solid
height.

a. 85mm b. 95mm
c. 75mm d. 65mm
All four compression coil springs
supports a load of 400 kg. The
springs are arranged in parallel
and have a uniform rate of 0.709
kg ∕mm. Compute deflection in mm

a. 564 b. 1457
c. 171 d. 134.7
Three extension springs are
hooked in series and supports a
weight of 70 kg. One spring has a
rate of 0.209 kg ∕mm and the other
two have equal spring rate of
0.643 kg ∕mm. Find the deflection.

a. 243mm b. 444mm
c. 553mm d. 286mm
A spring sustains 200 ft-lb of energy
with a deflection of 3’’. Assume that
the mean coil diameter is 7 times
the wire diameter and that the
allowable stress is 100ksi.
Determine the wire diameter.

a. 0.642in. b. 0.348in.
c. 0.482in. d. 0.588in.
The smaller of two concentric helical springs is
made of 22mm diameter steel spring and has an
outside diameter of 100mm with 10 active coils.
The outer spring is made of 32mm steel spring
and has an outer diameter of 250mm with 8
active coils. Shear modulus is 80 Gpa for both
springs. Before the load is applied, the outer
spring is 25mm longer than the inner spring.
Determine the spring rate of the inner spring.

a. 493.8 N ∕mm b. 126. N ∕mm

c. 254.3 N ∕mm d. 365.2 N ∕mm
A crate of mass 1800 kg at speed 1.2 m
∕s is brought to rest by steel helical
compression springs. In stopping the
crate, the springs are compressed by
200mm. Spring index is 6 and the
allowable stress is 360 MPa on each
spring. Determine the load on each
spring.

a. 5620 N b. 3450 N
c. 6480 N d. 4360 N
A mass weighing 12 kg falls at a
distance of 1.52 m from the
unsupported end of a vertical helical
spring having a spring constant of
3.5 N ∕mm. What will be the velocity
of the mass after it has a compressed
the spring by 203.2 mm?

a. 4.7 m/s b. 4.7 mm/s

c. 7.4 m/s d. 7.4 mm/s
Two extension springs are
hooked in series and support a
load of 445N. One spring has a
constant of 8.75 N/mm and other
17.52 N/mm. What is the
deflection of the load?

a. 56.4mm b. 85.4mm
c. 76.2mm d. 65.6mm
A spring with plain ends has 15
active coils, a wire diameter of 6mm
and a mean diameter of 70mm. If
its spring modulus is 100kN/m,
determine the solid force. Spring’s
free length is 276mm.

a. 21kN b. 18kN
c. 15kN d. 16kN
A spring with squared and ground
ends has a free length of 250mm.
There are 8 active coils with a wire
diameter of 12.5mm. If the spring
rate is 150kN/m and the mean coil
diameter is 100mm, determine the
spring’s solid stress.

a. 2504.2MPa b. 2200MPa
c. 2894.4MPa d. 2604.8MPa
A concentric helical spring is used to
support a load of 90kN. The inner spring
has a rate of 495.8N/mm and the outer
spring has 126.5 N/mm. If initially he
inner spring is 25 mm shorter than the
outer spring, find the percentage of load
carried by the inner spring after the load
is applied.

a. 76.87% b. 52.54%
c. 62.5% d. 68.2%