Design of Springs

By
Dr. S. S. Gawade
Professor,
RIT, Islampur
 Question

What are the applications of springs?

(Where you see the springs)
Applications

Fig.- Coil spring in clock

Fig.- Truck suspension

Fig.- Shock absorber

Fig.- Pen

Fig.- Springs in toys

 A spring is defined as an elastic machine element, which deflects under the
action of the load and returns to its original shape when the load is
removed.
 Functions of spring
1. To absorb shocks and vibrations e.g., 2. To store energy
vehicle suspension springs e.g., springs used inclocks

3. To measure force 4. To apply force and control motion

e.g.- weighing balances and scales. e.g.- engine valve mechanism
Types of spring
Helical Compression Spring
 The external force tends to shorten the spring.
 The spring is compressed.
 External force acts along the axis of the spring
 external force induces torsional shear stress

Fig.- Helical Compression Spring

Fig.- Vehicle suspension
Helical Extension Spring
 The external force tends to lengthen the spring.
 The spring is elongated.
 External force acts along the axis of the spring
 External force induces torsional shear stress

Fig.- Helical Extension Spring

Fig.- weighing balances and scales
Helical Torsion Spring
 Used to transmit torque to a particular component in the machine or the
mechanism.
 The bending moment induces bending stresses in the spring wire
 Applications - door-hinges, brush holders, automobile starters and door locks.

Fig.- Helical Torsion Spring

Fig.- Clips
multi-leaf or laminated Spring
 The flat plates, called leaves
 The longest leaf, called the master leaf
 The leaves of multi-leaf spring are subjected to bending stresses.
 Applications - automobile and railroad suspensions. .

Fig.- multi-leaf or laminated spring

Fig.- Truck suspension
Conical Spring
 Conical springs are compression springs
 Derive their name from their distinctive cone shape
 Reduced solid height in comparison
 Can provide a near-constant spring rate

Fig.- Conical spring

Fig.- Remote control
TERMINOLOGY OF HELICAL SPRINGS
d = wire diameter of spring (mm)
Di = inside diameter of spring coil (mm)
Do = outside diameter of spring coil (mm)
D = mean coil diameter (mm)
P = Pitch (mm)

 Pitch –
The pitch of the coil is defined as the axial
distance between adjacent coils in uncompressed
state of spring.
 Free Length
Fig.- HELICAL SPRINGS Free length is defined as the axial length of an
unloaded helical compression spring.
 spring index-
The spring index is defined as the ratio of mean
coil diameter to wire diameter.
TERMINOLOGY OF HELICAL SPRINGS
Solid Length
 Solid length is defined as the axial length of the spring which is so compressed that
the adjacent coils touch each other.
 The spring is completely compressed and no further compression is possible.
 The solid length is given by,

Solid length = Nt d
where,
Nt = total number of coils

Fig.- a. free length b. compressed length c.

TERMINOLOGY OF HELICAL SPRINGS
Compressed Length
• Compressed length is defined as the axial length of the spring, which is subjected to
maximum compressive force.
• The spring is subjected to maximum deflection δ.
• When the spring is subjected to maximum force, there should be some gap or
clearance between the adjacent coils.
• the total axial gap is given by,

Fig.- a. free length b. compressed length c. solid length,

TERMINOLOGY OF HELICAL SPRINGS
Free Length
• Free length is defined as the axial length of an unloaded helical compression spring.
• No external force acts on the spring at free length.
• Free length is an important dimension in spring design and manufacture.
• Free length is given by,

Fig.- a. free length b. compressed length c. solid length,

TERMINOLOGY OF HELICAL SPRINGS
Stiffness of the spring (k)
• It is defined as the force required to produce unit deflection.
• There are various names for stiffness of spring such as rate of spring, gradient of
spring, scale of spring or simply spring constant.
• The stiffness of spring represents the slope of the load-deflection line.
• Stiffness is given by,
TERMINOLOGY OF HELICAL SPRINGS
Active coils
• Active coils are the coils in the spring which contribute to spring action
• These coils support the external force and deflect under the action of force.

Inactive coils
• A portion of the end coils, which is in contact with the seat, does not contribute to
spring action and are called inactive coils.
• These coils do not support the load and do not deflect under the action of an external
force.

The number of inactive coils is given by,

Fig.- Helical Compression Springs

Styles of Ends
• There are four common methods which are used in forming the ends of the helical
compression spring - plain ends, plain and ground ends, square ends and square and
ground ends.
• Turns at the two ends do not affect the deflection calculated by the load-deflection
equation.
• while calculating the number of active turns, the end turns should be subtracted from
the total number of turns.

Fig.- End Styles of Helical Compression Springs

Stress and Deflection equation
• There are two basic equations for the design of helical springs, viz., load-stress
equation and load-deflection equation.
• When the wire of the helical spring is uncoiled and straightened, it takes the shape of
a bar
• The dimensions of equivalent bar are as follows:
a) The diameter of the bar is equal to the wire diameter of the spring (d).
b) The length of one coil in the spring is (pD). There are N such active coils.
Therefore, the length of equivalent bar is
c) The bar is fitted with a bracket at each end. The length of this bracket is equal to
mean coil radius of the spring (D/2).

Fig.- a. Helical Spring b. Helical Spring - Unbent

The force P acting at the end of the bracket
induces torsional shear stress in the bar.
The torsional moment Mt is given by,

The torsional shear stress in the bar is

given by,

Fig. (a) Pure Torsional Stress (b) Direct

Shear Stress (c) Combined Torsional,
When the equivalent bar is bent in the form Direct and Curvature Shear Stresses
of helical coil, there are additional stresses
on account of following two factors: Equation derived does not take into
a. There is direct or transverse shear stress consideration the effect of direct shear
in the spring wire. stress and stress concentration due to
b. When the bar is bent in the form of curvature effect. It requires modification.
coil, This results in stress concentration
at the inside fibre of the coil.
We will assume the following two factors Superimposing the two stresses of
to account for these effects: expressions,
KS = factor to account for direct shear the resultant shear stress in the spring wire
stress is given by,
Kc = factor to account for stress
concentration due to curvature effect

The combined effect of these two factors is

The shear stress correction factor (Ks) is
given by,
K = KS K C defined as
where K is the factor to account for the Sinc
combined effect of two factors e,

The direct shear stress in the bar is given

by, Substituting the above equation in the
expression

Equation derived only take into

consideration the effect of direct shear
stress and not the stress concentration due
to curvature effect.
AM Wahl derived the equation for resultant  The Wahl factor provides a simple
stress, which includes torsional shear method to findout resultant stresses in
stress, direct shear stress and stress the spring.
concentration due to curvature. This  As shown in Fig., the resultant shear
equation is given by, stress is maximum at the inside radius of
the coil.
 In normal applications, the spring is
designed by using the Wahl factor.
 When the spring is subjected to
where K is called the stress factor or Wahl fluctuating stresses, two factors Ks and
factor.
Kc are separately used.
The Wahl factor is given by,

where C is the spring index

Fig. Combined Torsional, Direct and

Curvature Shear Stresses
 Load - Deflection Equation
The angle of twist ( ) for the equivalent
bar is given by,

Fig.- Deflection of Spring

The axial deflection ‘ ’ of the spring, for

small values of , is given by,

Substituting values

Substituting value

The above equation is called the load-

deflection equation.
The rate of spring (k) is given by, Strain energy stored in the spring

Substituting value

It is observed that for a given spring, Fig.- Load-deflection Diagram

The area below the load-deflection line gives

the strain energy stored in the spring.
Assuming that the load is gradually applied,
The load is linearly proportional to the the energy stored in the spring is given by,
deflection of the spring.

where,
E = strain energy stored in spring (N-mm)
 Series and Parallel connection of springs
Series connection
 The force acting on each spring is same and equal to the external force
 The total deflection of the spring combination is equal to the sum of the deflections
of individual springs

Where and are the deflections of the two springs.

Deflection of spring is given by,

Using equation,

where k = combined stiffness of all springs in the

connection.

Fig.- Series Springs connection

Series and Parallel connection of springs
Parallel connection
• The force acting on the spring combination is equal to the sum of forces acting on
individual springs
• The deflection of individual springs is same and equal to the deflection of the
combination
P = P1 + P2
Force acting on the spring is given by,

Using equation, P = P1 + P2

where k = combined stiffness of all springs in the

connection.
Fig.- Parallel Springs
Spring Materials
The selection of material for the spring wire depends upon the following factors:
• The load acting on the spring
• The range of stress through which the spring operates
• The limitations on mass and volume of spring
• The expected fatigue life
• The environmental conditions in which the spring will operate such as temperature
and corrosive atmosphere
• The severity of deformation encountered while making the spring.

four basic varieties of steel wire which are used in springs in the majority of
applications
• Patented and cold-drawn steel wires (unalloyed);
• oil-hardened and tempered spring steel wires and valve spring wires;
• oil-hardened and tempered steel wires (alloyed); and
• stainless steel spring wires.
 Design of Helical springs
There are three objectives for the design • The spring is to fit in a hole of certain
of the helical spring. They are as follows: diameter, where the outside coil diameter
1. It should possess sufficient strength to (Do) is restricted.
withstand the external load.
2. It should have the required load-
deflection characteristic.
3. It should not buckle under the external
load.

Before proceeding to design calculations,

the designer should specify the limits on
diameters like. The main dimensions to be calculated in
• The spring is to fit over a rod, where the the spring design are
minimum inside diameter (Di) of the wire diameter,
coil will be fixed mean coil diameter
the number of active coils.
 Procedure for Design of Helical springs
The basic procedure for the design of
4. Calculate the Wahl factor
helical spring consists of the following
steps:
1. For the given application,
estimate the maximum spring force
5. Determine wire diameter (d) by
corresponding required deflection of
following eqn.
the spring and stiffness using Stiffness
equation

6. Determine mean coil diameter (D) by

the following relationship:
2. Select a suitable spring material
Find out ultimate tensile strength (Sut)
from the data.
7. Determine the number of active coils
Calculate the permissible shear stress
(N) by Eq.
for the spring wire by following
relationship:

The modulus of rigidity (G) for steel wires

3. Assume a suitable value for the spring
is 81370 N/mm2.
index (C).
8. Find out the total number of coils (Nt) 12. Determine the free length of the spring
Decide the style of ends for the spring
depending upon the configuration of
the application. 13. Determine the pitch of the coil
Determine the number of inactive coils.
Adding active and inactive coils, find
out the total number of coils (Nt).
14. Determine the rate of spring
9. Determine the solid length of the spring

10. Determine the actual deflection of the 15. Prepare a list of spring specifications.
spring

11. Determine total axial gap

 Example
It is required to design a helical compression spring subjected to a maximum force of 1250
N. The deflection of the spring corresponding to the maximum force should be
approximately 30 mm. The spring index can be taken as 6. The spring is made of patented
and cold-drawn steel wire. The ultimate tensile strength and modulus of rigidity of the
spring material are 1090 and 81370 N/mm2 respectively. The permissible shear stress for
the spring wire should be taken as 50% of the ultimate tensile strength. Design the spring
and calculate:
1. wire diameter;
2. mean coil diameter;
3. number of active coils;
4. total number of coils;
5. free length of the spring; and
6. pitch of the coil.
Draw a neat sketch of the spring showing various dimensions.
Solution Step III Number of active coils
Given
P = 1250 N d = 30 mm C = 6
Sut = 1090 N/mm2 G = 81 370 N/mm2

Step I Wire diameter Step IV Total number of coils

The permissible shear stress is given by, It is assumed that the spring has square and
ground ends. The number of inactive coils
is 2. Therefore,
Wahl factor is given by, Nt = N + 2 = 8 + 2 = 10 coils

Step V Free length of spring

Diameter can be calculated using eqn. The actual deflection of the spring is given
by,

It is assumed that there will be a gap of 1

mm between consecutive coils when the
Step II Mean coil diameter spring is subjected to the maximum force.
The total number of coils is 10.
The total axial gap between the coils will
be

Step VI Pitch of the coil

The dimensions of the spring are shown

in Fig.
 Example
A helical tension spring is used in the spring balance to measure the weights. One end of
the spring is attached to the rigid support while the other end, which is free, carries the
weights to be measured. The maximum weight attached to the spring balance is 1500 N and
the length of the scale should be approximately 100 mm. The spring index can be taken as
6. The spring is made of oil-hardened and tempered steel wire with ultimate tensile
strength of 1360 N/mm2 and modulus of rigidity of 81370 N/mm2. The permissible shear
stress in the spring wire should be taken as 50% of the ultimate tensile strength. Design the
spring and calculate
1. wire diameter;
2. mean coil diameter;
3. number of active coils;
4. required spring rate; and
5. actual spring rate.

The above situation can be illustrated

as
 Step III Number of active coils
Solution

Step I Wire Diameter

The working principle of the spring
balance is illustrated in Fig.
Step IV Required spring rate
The permissible shear stress for spring
wire is given by,

Step V Actual spring rate

Wahl factor is given by,

Diameter can be calculated using eqn.

Step II Mean coil diameter

T hank y ou