Lecture 2

Chapter 14
Springs
Source: Machine Design-An integrated Approach By Robert L. Norton
(2010)
 Stresses in Helical Compression Spring
Coils
• There are two components of stress on any cross section of a coil: a
torsional shear stress from the torque T and a direct shear stress due
to the force F. These two shear stresses have the distributions across
the section shown in Figure.
• They add directly, and the maximum shear
stress τmax occurs at the inner fiber of the wire’s cross section

We can substitute the expression for spring index C

(Eq I)
• Curved beams have a stress concentration on the inner surface of
curvature. While our spring is not loaded as a beam, the same
principle applies, and there is higher stress at the inner surface of the
coil.
• Wahl determined the stress-concentration factor for round wire and
defined a factor Kw, which includes both the direct shear effects and
the stress concentration due to curvature, which is valid for round
wire with C ≥ 1.2

(eq II)
Since Wahl’s factor Kw includes both effects, we can separate them into a curvature
factor Kc and the direct shear factor Ks using
• If a spring is statically loaded, then yielding is the failure criterion. If
the material yields locally, it will relieve the local stress concentration
that is due to the curvature factor Kc, and (equation I) can be used to
account just for the direct shear. But, if the spring is dynamically
loaded, then failure will be by fatigue at stresses well below
the yield point, and (equation II) should be used to incorporate both
the direct shear and curvature effects. In a fatigue-loading case with
both mean and alternating loads, (equation I) can be used to compute
the mean stress component and equation II
used for the alternating stress component.
 Helical Coil Springs of Nonround Wire
Square or rectangular wire is sometimes used when more
load capacity is needed than can be obtained with round wire
in a limited space. This is because, for a given cross section
dimension, a square cross-section has larger area moment of
inertia, which for the same material strength can sustain a
higher load at the same stress level. One disadvantage is that
square or rectangular wire will have higher stress
concentration from the coil curvature than round wire and
Wahl’s equation does not apply .

 If the spring is made by noncircular wire, it is possible to be stronger

than round wire spring at same size.
 If the spring is made by noncircular wire, it is possible to be smaller
than round wire spring as same strength.
 If the spring is made by noncircular wire, it is possible to take larger
stroke than round wire spring.
• Springs made from rectangular wire, with the width of the rectangle
perpendicular to the spring axis, store more energy in a smaller space
than equivalent round wire springs. Even though stress distribution
around the rectangular cross section is not as uniform as the round
wire section, the energy storage capacity is higher because more
material can be incorporated into the allocated space.
The stress concentration in a circular section is always
greatest at the inside edge of the coil, this is not always
true for rectangular cross sections. If they are wound
“on the flat” the largest stress concentration will be at
the inside edge, but if “wound on edge,” it can occur
within the section depth. This is also true for sections
with reentrant corners such as tees.
• The stress in a rectangular wire helical compression spring can be
found from

The deflection is

and the spring rate is:

Residual Stresses
• When a wire is coiled into a helix, tensile residual stresses are
developed at the inner surface and compressive residual stresses occur
at the outer surface. Neither of these residual stresses is beneficial.
They can be removed by stress relieving (annealing) the spring.
• SETTING
Beneficial residual stresses can be introduced by a process confusingly
called both “set removal” and “setting the spring” by the
manufacturers. Setting can increase the static load capacity by 45–65%
and double the spring’s energy-storage capacity per lb of material.
• Setting is done by compressing the spring to its shut height
and yielding the material to introduce beneficial residual stresses.
• The rule for introducing beneficial residual stresses is to overstress
(yield) the material in the same direction as the stresses applied in service will. The “set” spring loses
some free length but gains the benefits described above. In order to achieve the advantages of setting,
the initial free length must be made longer than the desired (postset) length and should be designed to
give a stress at shut height about 10 to 30% greater than the yield strength of the material. Less than
that amount of overload will not create sufficient residual stress. More than 30% overstress adds little
benefit and increases distortion.
• The allowable stress (i.e., the strength) of a spring that has been “set” is significantly higher than that of
an as-wound spring.
• In addition,( equation I) with its smaller Ks factor can be used rather than (equation II) to calculate the
stress in a “set” spring, since, for static loading, the yielding during setting relieves the curvature stress
concentration. Setting is of greatest value for statically loaded springs but also has value in cyclic loading.
• Not all commercial springs are set, as this increases their cost. The designer should
specify setting if it is desired. Do not assume it will be done as a matter of course.
Sometimes a setting operation is specified as part of the assembly process rather than
as part of the spring-manufacturing process. If convenient, a spring can be deliberately
cycled once to its shut height prior to, or when assembled into, its final location in a
machine.
LOAD REVERSAL

• Whether set or not, coil springs typically will have some residual
stresses in them. For this reason it is not acceptable to apply reversed
loads to them. Assuming that the residual stresses have been
arranged to be beneficial against the expected direction of loading,
reversed loading will obviously exacerbate the residual
stresses and cause early failure. A compression spring should never be
loaded in tension nor a tension spring in compression. Even torsion
springs, as we shall see, need to have a unidirectional torque applied
to avoid premature failure.
 SHOT PEENING
• It is another way to obtain beneficial residual stresses in springs and
is most effective against cyclic loading in fatigue. It has little benefit
for statically loaded springs.
• For wire springs, shot diameters of 0.008 in (0.2 mm) to 0.055 in (1.4
mm) are typically used. Springs of very small wire diameter will not
benefit from shot peening as much as will ones of larger-diameter
wire. Also, if the coil pitch is small (i.e., a tightly wound spring),
the shot cannot effectively impact the inner surfaces of the coils.
 Buckling of Compression Springs
• A compression spring is loaded as a column and can buckle if it is
too slender.
• A slenderness factor is created as the aspect ratio of free length to
mean coil diameter Lf / D. If this factor is > 4 the spring may buckle.
Gross buckling can be prevented by placing the spring in a hole or
over a rod. However, rubbing of the coils on these guides will take
some of the spring force to ground through friction and reduce the
load delivered at the spring end.
• Just as with solid columns, the end constraints of the spring affect
its tendency to buckle. If one end is free to tip as shown in Figure
14-13a, the spring will buckle with a smaller aspect ratio than if it is
held against parallel plates at each end as shown in Figure 14-13b.
• The ratio of the spring’s deflection to its free length also affects its
tendency to buckle. Figure 14-14 shows a plot of two lines that depict
the stability of the two end constraint cases of Figure 14-13. Springs
with aspect ratio-deflection ratio combinations to the left of these
lines are stable against buckling
Compression-Spring Surge
• Spring can vibrate both laterally and longitudinally when dynamically
exited near their natural frequencies. If allowed to go into resonance,
the waves of longitudinal vibrations, called surging, cause the coils to
impact one another. The large forces from both the excessive coil
deflections and impacts will fail the spring. To avoid this condition, the
spring should not be cycled at a frequency close to its natural
frequency. Ideally, the natural frequency of the spring should be
greater than about 13 times that of any applied forcing frequency.
• The natural frequency ωn or fn of a helical compression spring
depends on its boundary conditions. Fixing both ends is the more
common and desirable arrangement, as its fn will be twice that of a
spring with one end fixed and the other free. For the fixedfixed case:
• where k is the spring rate, Wa is the weight of the spring’s active coils,
and g is the gravitational constant. It can be expressed either as angular
frequency ωn or linear frequency fn. The weight of the active coils can be
found from

where γ is the material’s weight density. For total spring weight substitute Nt for Na.

If one end of the spring is fixed and the other free, it acts like a fixed-fixed spring of twice
its length. Its natural frequency can be found by using a number for Na in above equation
that is twice
the actual number of active coils present in the fixed-free spring
DESIGNING HELICAL COMPRESSION
SPRINGS
FOR
•
STATIC LOADING
The functional requirements for a spring design can be quite varied. There may be a
requirement for a particular force at some deflection, or the spring rate may be defined
for a range of deflection.
• In some cases there are limitations on the outside diameter,
inside diameter, or working length. The approach to design will vary depending on these
requirements. In any case, spring design is inherently an iterative problem. Some assumptions
must be made to establish the values of enough variables to calculate the
stresses, deflections, and spring rate. Because wire size appears to the third or fourth
power in the stress and deflection equations, and because material strength is dependent on
wire size, the safety of the design is very sensitive to this parameter.
• The stress state is compared to the yield strength for static loading. The safety factor
for static loading is
• If the calculated stress is too high compared to the material strength,
the wire diameter, spring index, or material can be changed to
improve the result. When the calculated stress at the required
operating force seems reasonable compared to the material
strength, a trial number of coils and a clash allowance can be assumed
and further calculations for spring rate, deflection, and free length
done .
• After several iterations, a reasonable combination of parameters can
usually be found. Some of the things that need to be checked before
the design is complete will be the stress at shut height, and the Di, Do,
and free length of the coil with respect to packaging considerations. In
addition, the possibility of buckling needs to be checked.
E XAM PLE 1 4 - 3
Design of a Helical Compression Spring for Static Loading
END