Disclaimer: The information on this page has not been checked by an independent person.

Use this information at your ow n risk. ROYMECH Clic k arrows to page adv erts

Home Machine_Parts_Index Spring Index Helical Spring Design Introduction.... Nomenclature.... Spring Index .... Spring Rate.... Spring Stress Values.... Compression Spring Formula.... Compression Spring End Designs .... Extension Springs.... Rectangular Section Springs.... Conical Helical Springs....

INT RODUCT ION A helical spring is a spiral wound wire with a constant coil diameter and uniform pitch. The most common form of helical spring is the compression spring but tension springs are also widely used. . Helical springs are generally made from round wire... it is comparatively rare for springs to be made from square or rectangular sections. The strength of the steel used is one of the most important criteria to consider in designing springs. Most helical springs are mass produced by specialists organisations. It is not recommended that springs are made specifically for applications if off-the-shelf springs can be obtained to the job. Note: Excelcals has produced a set of excel based calculations which contain much of the content found on this page. Excelcalcs - Helical springs

T ension Springs Compression Springs

Nomenc lature C = Spring Index D/d d = w ire diameter (m) D = Spring diameter = (Di+Do)/2 (m) Di = Spring inside diameter (m) Do = Spring outside diameter (m) Dil = Spring inside diameter (loaded ) (m) E = Young's Modulus (N/m2) F = Axial Force (N) Fi = Initial Axial Force (N) (close coiled tension spring) G = Modulus of Rigidity (N/m2) K d = Traverse Shear Factor = (C + 0,5)/C K W = Wahl Factor = (4C-1)/(4C-4)+ (0,615/C) L = length (m)

L 0 = Free Length (m) L s = Solid Length (m) n t = Total number of coils n = Number of active coils p = pitch (m) y = distance from neutral axis to outer fibre of w ire (m)

= shear stress (N/m2) i = initial spring stress (N/m2) max = Max shear stress (N/m2) = Deflection (radians) = linear deflection (mm)

Note: metres (m) have been shown as the units of length in all of the variables above for consistency. In most practical calculations milli-metres will be more convenient.

Spring Index The spring index (C) for helical springs in a measure of coil curvature ..

For most helical springs C is between 3 and 12

Spring Rate Generally springs are designed to have a deflection proportional to the applied load (or torque -for torsion springs). The "Spring Rate" is the Load per unit deflection.... Rate (N/ mm) = F(N) / e(deflection=mm)

Spring Stress Values For General purpose springs a maximum stress value of 40% of the steel tensile stress may be used. However the stress levels are related to the duty and material condition (ref to relevant Code/ standard). Reference Webpage Spring Materials

Compression Springs- Formulae a) Stress A typical compression spring is shown below

Consider a compression spring under an axial force F. If a section through a single wire is taken it can be seen that, to maintain equilibrium of forces, the wire is transmits a pure shear load F and also to a torque of Fr.

The stress in the wire due to the applied load =

This equation is simplified by using a traverse shear distribution factor K d = (C+0,5)/ C.... The above equation now becomes.

The curvature of the helical spring actually results in higher shear stresses on the inner surfaces of the spring than indicated by the formula above. A curvature correction factor has been determined ( attributed to A.M.Wahl). This (Wahl) factor K w is shown as follows.

This factor includes the traverse shear distribution factor K d.. The formula for maximum shear stress now becomes.

A table relating KW to C is provided below C Kw 3 1,58 4 1,4 5 1,31 6 1,25 7 1,21 8 1,18 9 1,16 10 1,14 11 1,13 12 1,12 13 1,11 14 1,1 15 1,1 16 1,09

b) Deflection The spring axial deflection is obtained as follows. The force deflection relationship is most conventiently obtained using Castigliano's theorem. Which is stated as ... W hen forc es ac t on elastic systems subjec t to small displac ements, the displac ement c orresponding to any forc e c ollinear with the forc e is equal to the partial deriv ativ e to the total strain energy with respec t to that forc e. For the helical spring the strain energy includes that due to shear and that due to torsion. Referring to notes on strain energy Strain Energy

Replacing T= FD/ 2, l = Dn, A = d2 / 4 The formula becomes.

Using Castiglianos theorem to find the total strain energy....

Substituting the spring index C for D/ d The formula becomes....

In practice the term (1 + 0,5/ C2) which approximates to 1 can be ignored c) Spring Rate The spring rate = Axial Force / Axial deflection

In practice the term (C2 / (C2 + 0,5)) which approximates to 1 can be ignored

Compression Spring End Designs The figure below shows various end designs with different handing. Each end design can be associated with any end design. The plain ends are not desirable for springs which are highly loaded or for precise duties.

The table below shows some equations affected by the end designs... Note: The results from these equations is not necessarily integers and the equations are not accurate. The springmaking process involves a degree of variation... Term End Coils (n e ) Total Coils (n t ) Free Length (L 0 ) Solid Length (L s ) Pitch(p ) 0 n pn+d d(n t +1) (L 0-d)/n Plain 1 n+1 p(n+1) dn t L 0/(n +1) Plain and Ground 2 n+2 pn +3d d(n t +1 (L 0-3d)/n Closed Closed and Ground 2 n+2 pn +2d dn t (L 0-2d)/n

Helic al Extension Springs The formulae provided for the compression springs generally also apply to extension springs. An important design consideration for helical extensions springs is the shape of the ends which transfers the load to the the spring body. These must be designed to transfer the load with minimum local stress concentration values caused by sharp bends. The figures below show some end designs.. The third design C) design has relatively low stress concentration factors.

Extension Spring Initial T ension An Extension spring is sometimes tightly wound such that it is prestressed with an initial stress i . This results in the spring having a property of an initial tension which must be exceeded before any deflection can take place. When the load exceeds the initial tension the spring behaves according the the formulae above. This relationship is illustrated in the figure below

> The initial tension load can be calculated from the formula.... T i = i d 3/ ( 8 D) Best range of of Initial Stress ( i) for a spring related to the Spring Index C = (D/ d) Best Initial Tension Stress range = i (N/mm 2 ) 140 120 110 95 90 80 70 60 55 45 40 35 30 25 205 185 165 150 140 125 110 100 90 85 75 65 60 55

C = D/d 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

If the coils in a tension spring are not tightly wound, there is no initial tension and the relevant equations are identical to those for the spring under compression as identified above. The equations for tension springs with initial tension are provided below

Helic al Compression Springs (Rec tangular W ire)

Spring Rate and Stress

Rate (N/mm) = K 2 G b t 3/ (n D 3)
D = Mean Diameter of spring(mm) b = Largest section dimension(mm) t = Smallest Section dimension(mm) n = Number of Active turns F = Axial Force on Spring K 1 = Shape Factor (see table) K 2 = Shape Factor (see table) K W = Wahl Factor (see table) C = Spring Index = D/ (radial dimension = b or t) b/t K1 K2 1.0 2.41 0.18 1.5 2.16 0.25 1.75 2.09 0.272 2.0 2.04 0.292 2.5 1.94 0.317

Stress (N/mm 2) = K W .K 1 F D /( b t 2 )

3.0 1.87 0.335

4.0 1.77 0.385

6.0 1.67 0.381

8.0 1.63 0.391

10.0 1.60 0.399

Conic al Helic al Compression Springs These are helical springs with coils progressively change in diameter to give increasing stiffness with increasing load. This type of spring has the advantage that its compressed height can be relatively small. A major user of conical springs is the upholstery industry for beds and settees. D1 = Smaller Diameter D2 = Larger Diameter

Allowable Force on Spring... Fa = allowable force (N).. = allowable shear stress (N/ m2)

Stiffness of Spring...

Links to Spring Design 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Excelcalcs - Helical springs ...A excel based Spreadsheet Calculation tool tpcdayton ...Anti-Vibration Mountings Acxess Springs ...Information on Design, Materials etc (Imperial) Harris Springs ...Information on Design, Materials etc (Imperial) and a catalog Earthlink- How to Make Springs ...Good simple comprehensive information Lee Springs ...Spring Supplier + useful technical Information Springmasters ...Spring Supplier + comprehensive range of springs with sizes and ratings

T his P a g e is b e ing d e v e lo p e d
Home Machine_Parts_Index Spring Index Send Comments to Roy Beardmore Last Updated 23/ 02/ 2011