DESIGN OF MACHINE

ELEMENTS
DESIGN OF SPRINGS
LECTURE: 3
Presented By:
Jagdip Chauhan
Assistant Professor
MED, GJUS&T, Hisar
 DESIGN OF HELICAL SPRING:
 Objectives for design of the helical Spring, which are:

1. It should have sufficient strength to withstand the external load.

2. It should follow Load-deflection characteristics.
3. It should not buckle under the external load.
 The main dimension to be calculated in the spring design are wire diameter, mean coil diameter
and the number of active coils.
 The first two are calculated by the load stress equation, while the third is calculated by the
Load- deflection equation.
= K()
Substituting,
Hence, = K ()
 FACTOR OF SAFETY:
 Factor of safety: The FOS in the design of spring is usually 1.5 or less. Low FOS is taken due to:

1. Spring operate with well defined deflections generally. Therefore the external forces can be
calculated precisely and no need to take higher factor of safety.
2. In case of helical spring the overload will simply close up the gaps between coils without a
dangerous increase in deflection and stresses.
3. In case of helical compression springs, usually overload stops are provided to prevent excessive
deflection and stresses.
4. The spring material is carefully controlled at all stages of manufacturing. The thin and uniform
wire cross-section permits uniform heat treatment and cold working of the entire spring.
• Therefore, the factor of safety based on torsional yield strength () is taken as 1.5 that are
subjected to static force.

= (a)

Assuming,
= 0.75 & = 0.577
Expression (a) is written as :
=

0.3 or 30% of
This is the permissible shear stress. But the Indian standard 4454-1981 recommended 50% . This
is due to higher tensile yield strength exhibited by the spring wire. So, in design of helical spring
the permissible shear stress (τ)is taken from 30% to 50% of .
PROCEDURE TO DESIGN HELICAL SPRING:
1. For the given application, estimate the maximum spring force (P) and the corresponding
required deflection (δ) of the spring. In some cases force (P) and stiffness (K), which is
(P/δ), are specified.
2. Select a suitable spring material and find out ultimate tensile strength (). Calculate the
permissible shear stress for the spring wire by:
τ=0.30 or 0.50
3. Assume a suitable value for the spring index (C). For industrial applications, the spring
index varies from 8 to 10. A spring index of 8 is considered as good value. For springs in
valves and clutches is 5. It should never be less than 3.
4. Calculate the Whal factor by: K= +
5. Determine the wire diameter (d) by: = K ()
PROCEDURE TO DESIGN HELICAL SPRING:
6. Determine the mean coil diameter(D) by: D = Cd
7. Determine the active number of coils (N) by: δ =
8. Decide the styles of ends for the spring depending upon the configuration of the
application. Determine the inactive number of coils and add active & non active coils
which gives total number of coils ().
9. Determine the solid length of the spring by: Solid length = d
10. Determine the actual deflection of the spring by: δ =
11. Assume a gap of 0.5 to 2 mm between adjacent coils, when the spring is under the action
of maximum load. The total axial gap between coils is given by: Total gap = (-1) x
gap between adjacent coils
* In some cases, the total axial gap is taken as 15% of the maximum deflection.
PROCEDURE TO DESIGN HELICAL SPRING:
12. Determine the free length of the spring by the following relationship:
Free length = solid length + total gap + δ
13. Determine the pitch of the coil by: P =
14. Determine the rate of spring by: K =
15. Prepare a list of spring specifications.
16. If the free length is high as compared to Mean coil diameter then spring may buckle and
the spring should be designed as buckle proof. If it is not possible guides provided in a
sleeve by follow this:
(Guides not required)
(Guides required)
From the above tables shows the ultimate tensile strength decreases as wire diameter increases.
Therefore, tensile strength is inversely proportion to wire diameter.

The permissible shear stress is given by,

0.3 or 0.5
Which means,
& the induced shear stress is given by,
= K ()
It shows ,
Hence, in these types of problems trial & error method is used.
TRIAL & ERROR METHOD TO DESIGN HELICAL SPRING:

The trial-and-error procedure consists of the following steps:

(i) Assume some wire diameter (d).

(ii) Find out the corresponding tensile strength from Table 10.1 or 10.2 and using this value
find out permissible stress.
(iii)Find out induced stress.
(iv)Check up whether permissible stress is more than induced stress. If not, increase the wire
diameter and repeat the above steps.
(v) The above mentioned procedure is repeated till the value of induced stress comes out to Be
less than permissible stress.
DESIGN AGAINST
FLUCTUATING LOAD:
 The spring subjected to fluctuating are designed on the basis of two criteria:
 Design for infinite life.
 Design for finite life.
For calculating & H J Elmedorf gave a relationship:
For Patented and cold-dreawn steel wire (Grade-1 to 4),

= 0.21
= 0.42
For oil-hardened and tempered steel wires (SW and VW grade),
= 0.22
= 0.45
The fatigue diagram for the spring is shown in fig. The mean stress () is plotted on the abscissa,
while the stress amplitude () on the ordinate. Point with coordinates ( , ) indicates the failure
point of the spring wire in fatigue test with pulsating stress cycle. Point B on the abscissa
indicates the failure under static condition, when the mean stress () reaches the torsional yield
strength (). Therefore, line AB is called the line of failure.
Thanks