ABSTRACT

Reducing weight while increasing or maintaining strength

of products is getting to be highly important research
issue in this modern world. Composite materials are one
of the material families which are attracting researchers
and being solutions of such issue. In this paper we
describe design and analysis of composite leaf spring. For
this purpose, a rear leaf spring for MAHINDRA MODELCOMMANDER 650 DI is considered.
The objective is to compare the stresses, deformations
and weight saving of composite leaf spring with that of
steel leaf spring. The design constraint is stiffness. The
Automobile Industry has great interest for replacement of
steel leaf spring with that of composite leaf spring, since
the composite materials has high strength to weight ratio,
good corrosion resistance.
The material selected was glass fiber reinforced polymer
(E-glass/epoxy) is used against conventional steel. The
design parameters were selected and analyzed with the
objective of minimizing weight of the composite leaf
spring as compared to the steel leaf spring.
Result shows that, the weight of composite leaf spring
was nearly reduced up to 85% compared with steel
material. The leaf spring was modeled in Pro/ENGINEER
and the analysis was done using ANSYS 12.0 software.
The fatigue life of both steel and composite leaf is
compared using ANSYS software.

1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. Leaf Springs
Originally called laminated or carriage spring, a leaf
spring is a simple form of spring, commonly used for the
suspension in wheeled vehicles. It is also one of the
oldest forms of springing, dating back to medieval times.
The advantage of leaf spring over helical spring is that
the end of the springs may be guided along a definite
path.
Sometimes referred to as a semi-elliptical spring or cart
spring, it takes the form of a slender arc-shaped length of
spring steel of rectangular cross-section. 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 stiction in the motion of the suspension. For this
reason manufacturers have experimented with 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 swivelling member.
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 be needed for this design, but not for "semielliptical" 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 nonelliptic leaf springs, the Ford Model T had multiple leaf
springs over its differential that was 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.
Leaf springs were very common on automobiles, right up
to the 1970s in Europe and Japan and late 70's in America
when the move to front wheel drive, and more
sophisticated suspension designs 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, they have the advantage of spreading the load
more widely over the vehicle's chassis, whereas coil
springs transfer it to a single point. Unlike coil springs,
leaf springs 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 more modern implementation is the parabolic leaf
spring. This design is characterised 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.
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 which use leaf springs do not use the
leaf to locate the axle and do not have this drawback. The
Fiat 128's rear suspension is an example.

A leaf spring is a long, flat, thin, and flexible piece of

spring steel or composite material that resists bending.
The basic principles of leaf spring design and assembly
are relatively simple, and leafs have been used in various
capacities since medieval times. Most heavy duty
vehicles today use two sets of leaf springs per solid axle,
mounted perpendicularly to support the weight of the
vehicle. This Hotchkiss system requires that each leaf set
act as both a spring and a horizontally stable link.
Because leaf sets lack rigidity, such a dual-role is only
suited for applications where load-bearing capability is
more important than precision in suspension response
1.2. How Leaf Springs Work

Before you start your towing trip, it's a good idea to go

over a brief checklist -- for safety's sake. You take a good
look in your mirrors, adjusting them correctly in order to
see passing traffic on the road. You've chosen the correct
hitch and connected the towing vehicle to the trailer
properly. The brake lights and braking systems are
working synchronously, assuring you of the ride's legality.
With everything loaded up, you're pretty confident the
truck is ready for the job, so you head out on the road
toward your destination. Once you reach a steady speed,
however, the trailer behind your truck starts to bounce
and sway a little more than it should. Pulling over to the
side of the road, you rack your brains to figure out what
you missed. You start to wonder if your cargo weight is
maybe too high -- but what can you do about it?
In this situation, if there's too much cargo weighing down
a towed vehicle, causing everything to rock and sway, the
issue may be with the suspension. If a truck's suspension
is too rigid, its wheels will often leave the pavement after
hitting bumps; a good suspension, on the other hand,
keeps the wheels on the ground as much as possible.
Many towers use leaf springs to stabilize their towed load
and to keep their cargo grounded.
Although you may not ever have heard about or even
noticed leaf springs on larger tow vehicles, the
technology has been around for centuries and is one of
the earliest forms of suspension. Even Leonardo da Vinci
used leaf springs in his diagram for a self-propelled car.

But how do they work? Are there different types of leaf

springs? And how do you install them onto a vehicle?
1.3. Overview of Leaf Spring
1.3.1. Introduction
Semi-elliptic leaf springs are almost universally used for
suspension in light and heavy commercial vehicles. For
cars also, these are widely used in rear suspension
The spring consists of a number of leaves called blades.
The blades are varying in length. The blades are us
usually given an initial curvature or cambered so that
they will tend to straighten under the load. The leaf
spring is based upon the theory of a beam of uniform
strength. The lengthiest blade has eyes on its ends. This
blade is called main or master leaf, the remaining blades
are called graduated leaves. All the blades are bound
together by means of steel straps.
The spring is mounted on the axle of the vehicle. The
entire vehicle load is rests on the leaf spring. The front
end of the spring is connected to the frame with a simple
pin joint, while the rear end of the spring is connected
with a shackle. Shackle is the flexible link which connects
between leaf spring rear eye and frame. When the vehicle
comes across a projection on the road surface, the wheel
moves up, this leads to deflecting the spring. This
changes the length between the spring eyes.
1.3.2. Suspension System

The automobile chassis is mounted on the axles, not

direct but some form of springs. This is done to isolate
the vehicle body from the road shocks, which may be in
the form of bounce, pitch, roll or sway. These tendencies
give rise to an uncomfortable ride and also cause
additional stress in the automobile frame anybody. All the
part, which performs the function of isolating the
automobile from the road shocks, is collectively called a
suspension system. It includes the springing device used
and various mountings for the same.
Broadly speaking, suspension system consists of a spring
and a damper. The energy of road shock causes the
spring to oscillate. These oscillations are restricted to a
reasonable level by the damper which is more commonly
called a shock absorber.
1.3.2.1. Objective of Suspension
1. To prevent the road shocks from being transmitted to
the vehicle components.
2. To safeguard the occupants from road shocks
3. To preserve the stability of the vehicle in pitting or
rolling, while in motion

1.3.2.2. Basic Considerations for vertical loading

When the rear wheel comes across a bump or pit on the
road, it is subjected to vertical forces, tensile or
compressive depending upon the nature of the road

irregularity. These are absorbed by the elastic

compression, shear, bending or twisting of the spring. The
mode of spring resistance depends upon the type and
material of the spring used.
Further when the front wheel strikes a bump it starts
vibrating. These vibrations die down exponentially due to
damping present in the system. The rear wheel however,
reaches the same bump after certain time depending on
the wheel base and the speed of the vehicle. Of course,
when the tear wheel reaches the bump, it experiences
similar vibrations as experienced by the front wheel some
time ago. It is seen that to reduce pitching tendency of
the vehicle, the frequency of the front springing system
be less than that of the rear springing system.
From human comfort point also it is seen that it is
desirable to have low vibration frequencies. The results of
the studies of human beings have shown that the
maximum amplitude which may be allowed for a certain
level of discomfort decreases with the increase of
vibration frequency.
1.3.2.3. Rolling
The center of gravity of the vehicle is considerably above
the ground. Due to this reason, while taking a turn, the
centrifugal force acts outwards on the C.G of the vehicle,
while the road resistance acts inward at the wheels. This
gives rise to a couple turning the vehicle about a
longitudinal axis. This is called rolling. The manner in
which the vehicle is sprung determines the axis about

which the vehicle will roll. The tendency to roll is checked

by means of a stabilizer.
1.3.2.4. Brake-dip
On braking, the noise of the vehicle has a tendency to be
lowered or to dip. This depends upon the position of
center of gravity relative to the ground, the wheelbase,
and other suspension. In the characteristics the same
way, torque loads during acceleration end the front of the
vehicle to be lifted. These forces on account of braking
and driving are carried directly by deflecting the springs,
by wishbone arms or by radius rods.
1.3.2.1. Side Thrust
Centrifugal
force
during
cornering,
cross-winds,
cambering of the road etc, cause a side-thrust to be
applied to the vehicle, such forces are usually absorbed
by the rigidity of the leaf springs or by fitting pan hard
rods.
1.3.2.1. Unsprung Weight:
Un-sprung weight is the weight of vehicle components
between the suspension and then road surface. This
includes rear axle assembly, steering knuckle, and front
axle in case of rear drive rigid suspension, wheels, tires
and brakes. The sprung weight i.e. the weight supported
by the vehicle suspension system, includes the frame,
body, engine, and the entire transmission system.
When the wheels strike against a bump, they vibrate
along with other unsprung parts which store the energy

of the vibrations and then further transmit it

sprung parts via the springs. Thus it is seen that
the weight of the unsprung parts, greater will
energy stored due to vibrations and consequently
shocks.

to the
greater
be the
greater

When a small shock results in the large movements of the

wheel, the suspension is said to be soft, such a soft
suspension is more comfortable to the occupants.
However, excessively soft suspension will result in the
loss of braking efforts are decreased
Thus a good suspension system should be an optimum
compromise between softness and hardness.
1.3.2.5. Function of suspension springs
Springs are placed between the road wheels and the
body. When the wheel comes across a bump on the road,
it rises and deflects the spring, there by storing energy
there in. on releasing due to the elasticity of the spring
materials, it rebounds there by expending the stored
energy. In this way the spring starts vibrating, with
amplitude decreasing gradually on account of internal
friction of the spring material and friction of the
suspension joints, till vibrations die down.

Compo
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1.3.2.6. Types of Suspension systems

Plastic Suspension
Viberitis. P.A of TURINE has developed a new type of
suspension based upon the use of resilient plastic rings in
compression. The suspension consists of a cylindrical
container secured to the chassis, a shaft attached to the
axle and free to slide within the plastic rings contained in
the cylinder, there are two centering rings, the bottom
one fixed to the lower end of the cylinder and the upper
one is arranged as high as possible keeping in
consideration that in the rebound position shaft must
remain supported by it by the plastic rings and absorb the
vertical dynamic load.
Independent Suspension
When a vehicle with rigid axle suspension encounters
road irregularities the axle tilts and the wheels no longer
remain vertical. This causes the whole of the vehicle to
tilt on one side. Such a state of affairs is not desirable.

Apart from causing rough ride, it causes wheel wobble.

The road adhesion is also decreased. To avoid this, the
wheels are sprung independent of each other, so that
tilting of one does not affect the other. Besides the
independent suspension also have the following
advantages over rigid able type suspension.
1. The elastic strain energy per unit spring weight stored
in a coil or torsion bar is greater than in case of a semielliptical leaf spring, which means lighter springs can be
used in case of independent suspension.
2. In case of independent suspension, unsprung weight is
reduced, which ultimately reduced the tyre scrub and
hence increase tyre lift
3. Compared to the rigid axle, type, softer springs can be
used without increasing rolling effect. Soft springs
improve ride comfort.
4. When anti-roll bar is used in independent suspension,
springs employed may be even softer, in the event of
vertical cornering, the anti-roll bar will provide the forces
necessary to resist body roll.
5. In case of independent suspension it is possible to
locate the springs apart enough obtain under-seer
condition.
6. With independent suspension, steering geometry is not
altered with spring deflection as in case of conventional
rigid axle suspension where effect is especially noticeable
during breaking or acceleration.

7. In this case the engine and the chassis frame can be

placed relatively lower which means engine position can
be moved forward resulting in more space for passengers
Front Wheel Independent Suspension
Independent suspension has become almost universal in
the case of front axle, due to the simplicity of such a
suspension system.
Rear Wheel Independent Suspension:
Though the rear wheels are not to be steered, yet there is
a considerable difficulty in the rear wheel springing if the
power has to be transmitted to the rear wheel. But even
the rear wheel independent springing is coming into
prominence because of its distinct advantages over the
rigid axle type.
Universal couplings keep the wheel vertical, while the
sliding coupling is required to maintain the wheel track
constant, thereby avoiding scrubbing of the tyres: this
method has been used in the DEDION type of axle.
Another method of rear wheel independent suspension is
the trailing link type. In this the trailing links are pivoted
at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the car and
carry the rear wheels at their ends. The trailing links hold
the wheels firmly and also sustain accelerating the
braking force.
It is claimed that the combined metal rubber mountings
respond softly on straight roads, increasing ride comfort.

When cornering, they resist lateral force with a reliable

stabilizing effect, even when the car is fully loaded.
Apart from the distinct advantages, which the
independent suspension possesses, it has its own
drawbacks also:
1. The initial cost is high
2. Greater maintenance required because of larger
number of bearings.
3. Misalignment of steering geometry with the wear of
components. Thus requires more attention.
4. In the event of body roll, the wheels camber (tilt
outwards in case of wishbone type), due to which
cornering power is reduced.
5. More rigid sub-frame or chassis frame required.
6. Forces due to unbalanced wheels are more pronounced
and transmitted easily to the steering wheel.
Wishbone type suspension:
The use of coil springs in the front axle suspension of car
is now almost universal. It consists of upper and the lower
wishbone arms pivoted to the frame member. The spring
is placed in between the lower wishbone and the
underside of the cross member. The vehicle weight is
transmitted from the body and the cross member to the
coil spring through which it goes to the lower wishbone
member. A shock absorber is placed inside the coil spring
and is attached to the cross member and the lower

wishbone member. The wishbone type is the most

popular independent suspension system
Mac Pherson Strut Type of Suspension:
In this layout only lower wishbone are used. A strut
containing shock absorbing and the spring carriers also
the stub axle on which the wheel is mounted. The
wishbone is hinged to the cross member and positions
the wheel as well as resists accelerating, braking and side
forces. This system is simpler than double wishbone type
described above and is also lighter, keeping the unsprung
weight lower. This type of suspension gives the maximum
room in the engine compartment and is, therefore
commonly used on front wheel drive cars. In India this
system has been used in Maruti (Suzuki) 800 cars. This
type of suspension with anti-roll bar as employed in
Volkswagen Jetta and Passat cars. This is claimed to
provide increased road safety, improve ride comfort and
light and self-stabilizing steering which means that car
continues along its chosen line of travel when the brakes
are applied even though the road surface may vary.
Vertical guide suspension
The king pin is attached directly to the cross member of
the frame. It can slide up and down, corresponding to the
up and down motions of the wheel, thus compressing or
elongating the springs. In this the track, wheel base and
wheel attitude remain unchanged, but the system is
having disadvantages of decreased stability.
Trailing Link Suspension

In this type of suspension, a coil spring is attached to the

trailing link which itself is attached to the carrying the
wheel hub. When the wheel moves up and down, it winds
and unwinds the spring. A torsion bar has also been used
in certain designs in place of the coil spring. The system
does maintain the camber and the wheel track constant.
However, the distance between the front and the rear
wheels does change. Difficulty to remedy this defect is
the main reason for its very limited use in actual practice.
Winging Half Axle Suspension
In this wheels are mounted rigidly on the half axles, which
are pivoted on their ends to the chassis member at the
middle of car. The main disadvantage of this system is
that up and down movement of the wheel causes the
camber angle to vary.
Interconnected Suspension Systems:
In these systems, the front and rear suspension units or
else the units on the two sides of the automobile are
connected together. These are also called linked system.
Te major advantage of such a system is that tendency of
the vehicle to bounce, pitch or roll is reduced and a
constant desirable attitude of suspension. The other
systems in current use are the Hydro elastic suspension,
the Daimler Benz suspension and the Hydra gas
suspension system.
Air Suspension

Air suspension systems are coming into prominence

because of certain advantages they possess over the
conventional metal springs. The advantages are:
1. A vehicle space for wheel deflection is put to optimum
use by virtue if the automatic control devices.
2. Because of the vehicle is also constant, changes in
headlamp alignment due to varying loads are avoided.
3. The spring rare varies much less between the laden
and unladen conditions, as compared with that of
conventional steel springs. This reduces the dynamic
loading.
4. The improved standard for ride comfort and noise
reduction with air springs reduces both driver and
passenger fatigue.
The four air springs, which may be either the bellows type
or the piston type, are mounted in the same position
where generally the coil springs are mounted. An air
compressor takes the atmospheric air through a filter and
compresses it to a pressure of 240 MPa, at which pressure
of air in the accumulator tank is maintained, which is also
provided with a safety relief. The high pressure air goes
through lift control valve and the levelling valves, to the
air springs. The control valve is operated manually by
means of a handle on the control panel, through a cable
running from the valve to the handle.
Hydro elastic Suspension

In this system a displacer unit is fitted at each of the four

wheels. The displacer units are all interconnected by
means of fluid. In the displacer unit, rubber (under
compression and shear) is used as a spring where as fluid
rubber pressure acts as damping medium. The stem is
connected to the wheel through suitable linkage so that
its movement is proportional to the up and down
movement of the wheel. A two way valve assembly
controls the up and down flow of the fluid. The upper
valve opens when the fluid pressure below rises
sufficiently.
2. CONCEPT OF FATIGUE
2.1. Fatigue
In narrow sense, the term fatigue of materials and
structural components means damage and damage due
to cyclic, repeatedly applied stresses. In a wide sense, it
includes a large number of phenomena of delayed
damage and fracture under loads and environmental
conditions. It is expedient to distinguish between highcycle (classic) and low-cycle fatigue.
Plastic deformations are small and localized in the vicinity
of the crack tip while the main part of the body is
deformed elastically, then one has high-cycle fatigue. If
the cyclic loading is accompanied by plastic deformation
in the bulk of the body, then one has a low-cycle fatigue.
Usually we say low-cycle fatigue if the cycle number up to
the initiation of a visible crack or until final fracture is
below 104 or 5.104 cycles.

In material science, fatigue is the progressive, localized,

and permanent structural damage that occurs when a
material is subjected to cyclic or fluctuating strains at
nominal stresses that have maximum values less than
(often much less than) the static yield strength of the
material. The resulting stress may be below the ultimate
tensile stress, or even the yield stress of the material, yet
still cause catastrophic failure. A practical example of lowcycle fatigue would be the bending of a paperclip. A
metal paperclip can be bent past its yield point without
breaking, but repeated bending in the same section of
wire will cause material to fail.
2.2. Fatigue Strength
Fatigue strength is defined as the maximum stress that
can be endured for a specified number of cycles without
failure. Low cycle fatigue strength approaches the static
strength. When the cycle number exceeds to one limit,
the fatigue strength falls to fraction of the static strength.
The fatigue strength is the value of the alternating stress
that results in failure by fracture a specific number of
cycles of load application. It can also be the ordinate of
the -n (stress versus number of cycles to failure) curve.
The fatigue behaviour of a specific material, heat treated
to a specific strength level is determined by a series of
laboratory tests on a large number of apparently identical
samples of those specific materials.
The specimens are machined with shape characteristics
which maximize the fatigue life of a metal, and are highly

polished to provide the surface characteristics which

enable the best fatigue life. A single test consist of
applying a known, constant bending stress to a round
sample of the material, and rotating the sample around
the bending stress axis until it fails. As the sample
rotates, the stress applied to any fiber on the outside
surface of the sample varies from maximum-tensile to
zero to maximum compressive and back. The test
mechanism counts the number of rotations (cycles) until
the specimen fails. A large number of tests is run at each
stress level of interest, and the results are statistically
massaged to determine the expected number of cycles to
failure at that stress level.
The cyclic stress level of the first set of tests is some
large percentage of the Ultimate Tensile stress (UTS),
which produces failure in a relatively small number of
cycles. Subsequent tests are run at lower cyclic stress
values until a level is found at which the sample will
survive 10 million cycles without failure. The cyclic stress
level that the material can sustain for 10 million cycles is
called the Endurance (EL).
2.3. Fatigue Failure
Failure is one of most important aspects of material
behavior because it is directly influent the selection of
material for certain application, the method of
manufacturing and service life of component. The
majority of engineering failures are caused by fatigue.
Fatigue failure is defined as the tendency of a material to
fracture by means of progressive brittle cracking under

repeated alternating or cyclic stresses of intensity

considerably below the normal strength. Although the
fracture is of a brittle type, it may take some time to
propagate, depending on both the intensity and
frequency of the stress cycles. Nevertheless, there is very
little, if any, warning below failure if the crack is not
noticed. The number of cycles required to cause fatigue
failure at a particular peak stress is generally quiet large,
but it decreases as the stress is increased. For some mild
steels, cyclical stresses can be continued indefinitely
provided the peak stress (sometimes called fatigue
strength) is below the endurance limit value.
A good example of fatigue failure is breaking a thin steel
rod or wire with your hands after bending it back and
forth several times in the same place. Another example is
an unbalanced pump impeller resulting in vibrations that
can cause fatigue failure.
The type of fatigue of most concern in circuit cards,
gasoline, diesel, gas turbine engines and many industrial
applications is thermal fatigue. Thermal fatigue can arise
from thermal stresses produced by cyclic changes in
temperature. Fundamental requirements during design
and manufacturing for avoiding fatigue failure are
different for different cases and should be considered
during design phase.
Fatigue failures almost always begin at the surface of a
material. The reasons are:

1. The most highly-stresses fibers are located at the

surface (bending fatigue)
2. The inter granular flaws which precipitate tension
failure are most frequently found at the surface.
Suppose that a particular specimen is being fatigue
tested. Now suppose the fatigue test is halted after 20%
to 25% of the expected life of the specimen, and the
surface condition is restored to its original state. Now the
fatigue test is resumed at the same stress level as before.
The life of the part will be considerably longer than
expected. If that process is repeated several times, the
life of the part may be extended by several hundred
percent, limited only by the available cross section of the
specimen. That proves fatigue failures originate at the
surface of a component.
Fatigue failure is also due to crack formation and
propagation. A fatigue crack will typically initiate at a
discontinuity in the material where the cyclic stress is a
maximum. Discontinuities can arise because of:
1. Design of rapid changes in cross-section, keyways,
holes, etc. where the cyclic stress concentrations occur.
2. Element that roll and/or slide each other (bearings,
gears, cams ) under high contact pressure, developing
concentrated subsurface contact surfaces that can cause
pitting from after many cycles of the load.

3. Carelessness in locations of stamp marks, tool marks,

scratches, and burrs; poor joint design; improper
assembly; and other fabrications faults.
4. Compositions of the material itself as processed by
rolling, forging, casting, extrusion, drawing and heat
treatment. Microscopic and sub-microscopic surface and
subsurface discontinuities arise. Fatigue fracture typically
occurs in material of basically brittle nature. External or
internal cracks develop at pre-existing flaws or fault of
defects in the material; these cracks then propagate and
eventually they lead to total failure of part. The fracture
surface in fatigue is generally characterized by the term
beach marks
2.4. Materials for Leaf Spring
The material used for leaf springs 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 products has greater strength
and therefore greater load capacity, greater range of
deflection and better fatigue properties [14].
2.4.1. Carbon/Graphite fibers
Their advantages include high specific strength and
modulus, low coefficient of thermal expansion and high
fatigue strength. Graphite, when used alone has low
impact resistance. Its drawbacks include high cost, low
impact resistance and high electrical conductivity [14].
2.4.2 Glass fibers

The main advantage of Glass fiber over others is its low

cost. It has high strength, high chemical resistance and
good insulating properties. The disadvantages are low
elastic modulus poor adhesion to polymers, low fatigue
strength and high density, which increase leaf spring
weight and size. Also crack detection becomes difficult
[14].
2.4.3 Composite materials
A composite material is made by combining two or more
materials often ones that have very different properties.
The two materials work together to give the composite
unique properties. However, within the composite you
can easily tell the different materials apart as they do not
dissolve or blend into each other.
2.4.4 Natural composites
Natural composites exist in both animals and plants.
Wood is a composite it is made from long cellulose
fibres (a polymer) held together by a much weaker
substance called lignin. Cellulose is also found in cotton,
but without the lignin to bind it together it is much
weaker. The two weak substances lignin and cellulose
together form a much stronger one. The bone in your
body is also a composite. It is made from
a hard but brittle material called hydroxyapatite (which is
mainly calcium phosphate) and a soft and flexible
material called collagen (which is a protein). Collagen is
also found in hair and finger nails. On its own it would not
be much use in the skeleton but it can combine with

hydroxyapatite to give bone the properties that are

needed to support the body.
2.4.5 Early composites
People have been making composites for many
thousands of years. One early example is mud bricks.
Mud can be dried out into a brick shape to give a building
material. It is strong if you try to squash it (it has good
compressive strength) but it breaks quite easily if you try
to bend it (it has poor tensile strength). Straw seems very
strong if you try to stretch it, but you can crumple it up
easily. By mixing mud and straw together it is possible to
make bricks that are resistant to both squeezing and
tearing and make excellent building blocks. Another
ancient composite is concrete. Concrete is a mix of
aggregate (small stones or gravel), cement and sand. It
has good compressive strength (it resists squashing). In
more recent times it has been found that adding metal
rods or wires to the concrete can increase its tensile
(bending) strength. Concrete containing such rods or
wires is called reinforced concrete.
Making composites
Most composites are made of just two materials. One is
the matrix or binder. It surrounds and binds together
fibres or fragments of the other material, which is called
the reinforcement.
Modern examples

The first modern composite material was E-glass. It is still

widely used today for boat hulls, sports equipment,
building panels and many car bodies. The matrix is a
plastic and the reinforcement is glass that has been made
into fine threads and often woven into a sort of cloth. On
its own the glass is very strong but brittle and it will break
if bent sharply. The plastic matrix holds the glass fibres
together and also protects them from damage by sharing
out the forces acting on them. Some advanced
composites are now made using carbon fibres instead of
glass. These materials are lighter and stronger than Eglass but more expensive to produce. They are used in
aircraft structures and expensive sports equipment such
as golf clubs.
Composite Leaf Springs
Composites are well suited for leaf-spring applications
due to their high strength-to-weight ratio, fatigue
resistance and natural frequency. Internal damping in the
composite material leads to better vibration energy
absorption within the material, resulting in reduced
transmission of vibration noise to neighboring structures.
The biggest benefit, however, is mass reduction:
Composite leaf springs are up to five times more durable
than a steel spring, so when General Motors (GM, Detroit,
Mich.) switched to a glass-reinforced epoxy composite
transverse leaf spring (supplied byLiteflex LLC,
Englewood, Colo.) on the 1981 Chevrolet Corvette C4, a
mono-leaf composite spring, weighing 8 lb/3.7 kg,
replaced a ten-leaf steel system that weighed 41 lb/18.6

kg. This reportedly enabled GM to shave 15 kg/33 lb of

unsprung weight from the Corvette, yet maintain the
same spring rates. The leaf spring was transversemounted; that is, it ran across the cars width at each
axle. This eliminated the coil springs that sit up high in a
spring pocket on the frame. Thus, the car can sit lower to
the ground, which improves car handling.
Today, GM continues to employ transverse GFRP
composite leaf springs on the front and back of its
Corvette models. The 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Coupe
includes a double-wishbone suspension, which, at GM,
goes by the name short/long arm (SLA). SLA refers to the
fact that the upper control arm is shorter than the lower
one. A transverse composite leaf spring presses against
the lower arm and spans the width of the car. In fact, the
spring is always loaded against the sub frame. This
design directs shock loads into the frame side,
eliminating the standalone rear antiroll bar that must be
incorporated into models with standard suspension
packages. The springs camber curve also is said to
improve tire contact with the road during cornering.
Composites also have the potential to replace steel and
save weight in longitudinal leaf springs (see Building a
stronger longitudinal leaf spring, under "Editor's Picks,"
at top right). These run parallel to the length of the
vehicle, providing suspension as an integrated part of the
wheel guidance system. Longitudinal leaf springs have a
higher safety factor, claims Frank Fetscher, head of
business development, Benteler-SGL (Ried, Austria), a

joint venture of Benteler Automotive and the SGL Group

The Carbon Company (Wiesbaden, Germany, see SGL
Automotive Carbon Fibers opens new plant in
Washington, under "Editor's Picks"). They can have a
linear spring rate or a progressive spring rate
multistage springs and must perform better with
respect to torsion and side stiffness than transversal
springs.
Higher speed, greater volume
To date, commercial glass- and carbon-reinforced
composite leaf springs have been limited to low-volume
production models. When resins were first being used in
the automotive industry, epoxy systems already proven
in the aerospace industry were the first to be selected,
explains Scott Simmons, business development specialist
for chassis, Henkel Corp. (Madison Heights, Mich.). While
these epoxy systems provide a very high-performing part,
the prepreg manufacturing process primarily employed
with these resin systems is better suited for the lowvolume production associated with aerospace.
Epoxy prepreg systems werent fast reacting because
they didnt need to be for autoclave processing, which,
for purposes of quality assurance to high aerospace
standards, necessarily involved slow and carefully
controlled applications of temperature and pressure.
However, much research has gone into expediting the
production process through the use of faster melding
processes and the development and use of suitably fastreacting resin systems. These emerging systems show

promise for economical mass production of composite

leaf springs.
2.5. Literature Review
Leaf springs are mainly used in suspension systems to
absorb shock loads in automobiles like light motor
vehicles, heavy duty trucks and in rail systems. It carries
lateral loads, brake torque, driving torque in addition to
shock absorbing [1].
The advantage of leaf spring over helical spring is that
the ends of the spring may be guided along a definite
path as it deflects to act as a structural member in
addition to energy absorbing device [2].
According to the studies made a material with maximum
strength and minimum modulus of elasticity in the
longitudinal direction is the most suitable material for a
leaf spring [3].
To meet the need of natural resources conservation,
automobile manufacturers are attempting to reduce the
weight of vehicles in recent years [4].
Weight reduction can be achieved primarily by the
introduction of better material, design optimization and
better manufacturing processes. The suspension leaf
spring is one of the potential items for weight reduction in
automobiles unsprung weight. This achieves the vehicle
with more fuel efficiency and improved riding qualities.
The introduction of composite materials was made it

possible to reduce the weight of leaf spring without any

reduction on load carrying capacity and stiffness[5].
For weight reduction in automobiles as it leads to the
reduction of un-sprung weight of automobile. The
elements whose weight is not transmitted to the
suspension spring are called the un-sprung elements of
the automobile. This includes wheel assembly, axles, and
part of the weight of suspension spring and shock
absorbers. The leaf spring accounts for 10-20% 0f the unsprung weight [6].
The composite materials made it possible to reduce the
weight of machine element without any reduction of the
load carrying capacity. Because of composite materials
high elastic strain energy storage capacity and high
strength-to-weight ratio compared with those of steel [7],
[8].
FRP springs also have excellent fatigue resistance and
durability. But the weight reduction of the leaf spring is
achieved not only by material replacement but also by
design optimization. Weight reduction has been the main
focus of automobile manufacturers in the present
scenario. The replacement of steel with optimally
designed composite leaf spring can provide 85% weight
reduction. Moreover the composite leaf spring has lower
stresses compared to steel spring. All these will result in
fuel saving which will make countries energy independent
because fuel saved is fuel produced.
2.6. Problem Definition

The suspension leaf spring is one of the potential items

for weight reduction in automobile as it accounts for ten
to twenty percent of the un-sprung weight. The
introduction of composites helps in designing a better
suspension system with better ride quality if it can be
achieved without much increase in cost and decrease in
quality and reliability. The relationship of the specific
strain energy can be expressed as it is well known that
springs, are designed to absorb and store energy and
then release it slowly. Ability to store and absorb more
amount of strain energy ensures the comfortable
suspension system.
It can be easily observed that material having lower
modulus and density will have a greater specific strain
energy capacity. The introduction of composite materials
made it possible to reduce the weight of the leaf spring
without reduction of load carrying capacity and stiffness
due to more elastic strain energy storage capacity and
High strength to weight ratio.

Objective
In the present work, steel leaf spring used in passenger
cars is replaced with a composite leaf spring made of a
glass/epoxy composite. The primary objective is to
compare fatigue characteristics of SAE1045-450-QT steel
and E Glass/ Epoxy Composite material.
Factors like fatigue life, fatigue damage, biaxiality
indication etc. are plotted for steel and composite

materials and predict the fatigue performance using

ANSYS Workbench software.
Therefore the objective of this paper is to present a
design and simulation study on the fatigue performance
of a glass fibre/epoxy composite leaf spring through
design and finite element method and prove the
reliability of the validation methods based only on
simulation, thereby saving time, material and production
costs for a complete product realization.
Demerits of Conventional Leaf Spring:
They have less specific modulus and strength
Increased weight.
Conventional leaf springs are usually manufactured
and assembled by using number of leafs made of
steel and hence the weight is more.
Its corrosion resistance
composite materials

is

less

compared

to

Steel leaf springs have less damping capacity

Advantages of Composite leaf spring suspension:

Minimum wear and tear of body parts and tyre due to
delicate tendency of absorbing road shocks, jerks
and vibrations.

 Softer ride, Lower noise level, excellent stability due

to better damping characteristics.
Excellent corrosion resistance against atmospheric
pollutants.
Five times stronger than conventional metal leaf
springs.
Fully interchangeable with the conventional spring
without any modifications.
Increase
in
fuel
efficiency
due
to
better
aerodynamics and around 60% weight reduction.
No cracking sound since mono leaf and hence no
inter-leaf friction and no greasing required.
Fatigue life 1 million cycles as compared to only 2
lacks for the metal leaf springs.