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Prestressing of Compression Springs Part 2: experimental study

Article · January 2009

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 Prestressing of Compression Springs
Part 2: experimental study
Alexander Jones 1, Manuel Paredes 2

(2) : Master Student (2) : Associate professor

University of Nottingham
School of Mechanical, Materials and
Manufacturing Engineering
E-mail : eayzagj@nottingham.ac.uk
Université de Toulouse; INSA, UPS; LGMT
(Laboratoire de Génie Mécanique de Toulouse);
135, avenue de Rangueil, F-31077 Toulouse, France
Phone +33 561 55 99 56
Fax +33 561 55 97 00
E-mail : manuel.paredes@insa-toulouse.fr

Key words: prestressing, compression spring, experiments.

1. Summary
There are few theoretical models related to prestressing of compression springs. Three models
of increasing complexity were proposed in a study by Wahl, although only one of them
accurately predicted experimental data using a spreadsheet package. This model used an
assumption of linear strain hardening after the yield point. Experimental data was obtained
from previous engineering reports and from a spring manufacturing company, CGR. To
improve the accuracy of the model three constants were calculated for each material, which
are used to model the rate at which linear strain hardening occurs.

2. Introduction
After being coiled, springs are often compressed several times to solid before being exploited.
This is known as prestressing, when the spring is compressed to a point beyond its elastic
limit so that plastic deformation occurs. During the prestressing operation it is not just the
overall length of the spring that changes, but also the external diameter and the end-coil
position. The change in end coil position during prestressing is known as wind up. A study by
Bayliss [1] into the dimensional changes during heat treatment and prestressing showed that
the dimensional changes during heat treatment are negligible compared to those in
prestressing. It also showed that whilst wind up does occur and the external diameter of the
springs does increase during prestressing, the changes are negligible and the most important
effect is the change in overall length.

Other studies such as the one undertaken by Bird [2] have looked at the number of scrags
necessary until the change in length of the spring due to further scrags is negligible. This is
known as the number of scrags to stability. This number can vary depending upon the stress
required to compress the spring to solid from 1 scrag to more than 10. Another study by
Kreuzer [3] looked into the effects of elevated temperature on springs and detailed how the
resistance of springs to load losses due to creep could be increased by performing warm
prestressing. If the prestressing process is performed at a temperature of the operating
temperature or above then creep is reduced. However the benefits are only minor unless the

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spring is to be used in very high temperature conditions such as jet engines and rocket motors,
where highly heat resistant materials such as Nimonic and Inconel are used. As such only
prestressing at room temperature will be detailed in this report.

There are numerous ways to study and predict spring behaviour during prestressing, although
they are all linked. The mathematical theory is extended to include results of elastic-plastic
torsion theory when the elastic limit is passed. The elastic plastic theory often requires finite
element models to provide numerical solutions to the problems it produces. Also the finite
element models themselves have inaccuracies and so experimental data is needed to check
their reliability.

As a result of the research undertaken, it was decided to use mathematical models to predict
the changes in the dimensions of the springs during prestressing and to compare these
predictions to experimental data. A theoretical survey has been performed by Jones and
Paredes [4]. It shows that two models proposed by Wahl [5] can be used as a basis for the
mathematical predictions. These two models can be reversed so that a spring designer can use
the final length needed after prestressing to calculate the length required for manufacture.
The aim of this project is to exploit these models, using a spreadsheet package to see how
well they can predict experimental data and what limitations they may have.

3. Exploitation of theoretical models

3.1. Validation exploiting previous work
Three models describing prestressing have been presented by Wahl [5]. All the related
formulae are detailed by Jones and Paredes [4].
For the first two models the above technique was set up in a spreadsheet so that it could be
applied to a large number of springs easily and the results could be compared. For the third,
complex model, we got problems in implementing techniques via the spreadsheet package as
for certain spring geometries the value given was the root of a negative number and therefore
the summation was impossible.

One of the most useful tools of the spreadsheet package used was the automatic equation
solver. As data was inputted into the spreadsheet so that predictions could be made of the
length after prestressing, it was compared to predicted results from experimental data. The
sum of the squares of all the differences between predicted and experimental results was taken
and the automatic solver was used to minimise this value by selecting the best values of α to
fit the model to each material.

Once a spreadsheet was set up for the first two models some experimental data was required
to check their accuracy and appropriateness for use. The most useful publication was that by
and Bird [2]. In this publication prestressing was carried out on springs of two different
materials with four geometries per material. The main difficulty in utilising the published
results was that the initial lengths of the springs were not given. In order to use this data it was
necessary to estimate the initial lengths.

10
 Figure 1. Solid Stress Before and After Prestressing

Fortunately, the publication included graphs of the stress required to compress a spring to
solid, known as the solid stress, for before and after prestressing (see figure 1). The ratio of
the solid stresses was then multiplied by the change in length of the spring during initial
compression and added to the length of the spring at solid. This gave an estimate of the initial
length the spring would have had when it had the stated initial solid stress before prestressing.

Once the initial length, the other required initial dimensions and the properties of the material
were known; the data was inputted into the spreadsheet so that predictions for the final lengths
could be made using the above theories. This data was compared to the experimental final
lengths. An example of the required input characteristics and the outputs of the spreadsheet,
using the second model, is given in table 1:

D (mm) d (mm) L0 (mm) n G (GPa) SUT (MPa) α Lo,exp’ Lo,cal’ % error

24.4 3.96 74.09 9 78.6 1289 4.35 73.70 74.09 0.53
24.4 3.96 90.33 9 78.6 1289 4.35 82.30 84.79 3.03
24.4 3.96 106.90 9 78.6 1289 4.35 90.90 90.04 0.95
24.4 3.96 145.29 9 78.6 1289 4.35 99.60 99.54 0.06
Table 1 – Prestressing of BS1408C Range 1 Springs

It was seen here that the model was an appropriate fit for the data and so further experimental
data was used. Unfortunately for the BS1408C Range 3 wire springs only two of the four
springs used were compressed beyond the elastic limit and as such there was not sufficient
information for that material. This can be seen on figure 3 as two of the points for range 3
wire are in the linear section of the graph.

3.2. Exploiting industrial data

After using the experimental data available from engineering publications, it was necessary to
obtain some more extensive data from spring manufacturers. We were able to exploit data
from CGR (Comptoir Général du Ressort), a spring manufacturing company in Toulouse.
Here the experimental data about the springs which are prestressed was obtained, including
initial geometries and final lengths after prestressing. This data was inputted into a
spreadsheet containing the first two models to see how well the results were predicted.

11
The data obtained from CGR was mainly for two stainless steel wire materials AISI 302 (32
springs) and AISI 631 (11 springs) with wire diameter from 1mm to 6 mm.
The equations for the shear yield points of the metals depending on the wire diameter were:
τ y = 852 − 165 ln d for AISI 631
and τ y = 652 − 113.6 ln d for AISI 302
It was decided at this stage to test out the hypothesis that α may depend upon the wire
diameter, d, and the spring index, c. To do this the automatic equation solver was used. It
became apparent that the accuracy of the model was at its greatest when a relationship for α
was used in the form:
α = A+ B×d +C ×c where A, B and C are material constants

The best results have been obtained by using the corrected stress in Eq 5.
The values for the constants A, B and C were:

Material A B C
AISI 631 1.45 -0.46 0.24
AISI 302 1.32 0 0
Table 2 – Material Constants for AISI 631 and 302

To illustrate how the theory fits the experimental results, the loss of length during prestressing
as a percentage of the initial compressible length (initial length minus solid length) is plot.
L0 − L0 '
i.e.
L0 − Lc

AISI 631
25
Loss of Length as Percentage of
Initial Compressible Length

20

15
Experimental
10 Calculated

0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Spring Number

Figure 2. Experimental and Calculated Loss of Length for AISI 631

12
 AISI 302
16
Loss of Length as Percentage of

14
Initial Compresible Length

12

10

8 Experimental
Calculated
6

0
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31
Spring Number

Figure 3. Experimental and Calculated Loss of Length for AISI 302

Figures 2 and 3 show the differences between the two sets of results clearly and allow for
comparison.

The reverse algorithm presented by Jones and Paredes [4] enables initial lengths to be found
within a boundary of 0.1mm for most tested springs. It is not common to prestress springs to a
loss of length of more than 20% of the initial length so this method would be applicable for
most spring manufacturing processes.

The same level of accuracy could not be obtained using the first model, where the material
yields at constant yield stress in torsion. This is illustrated in figure 4, where the results for the
loss of length during prestressing as a percentage of initial compressible length for the first
model are shown alongside those for the second model and the experimental data.

AISI 302
60

50
Loss of Length as Percentage of
Initial Compresible Length

40

30

20
Experimental
10 Model 2
Model 1
0
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31
-10

-20

-30
Spring Number

Figure 4. Experimental and Calculated Loss of Length for AISI 302 Using Models 1 and 2

13
It is clear that the predictions from the first model are generally not accurate.

4. Conclusion
The first, most simple model proposed by Wahl [5] did not provide good predictions for the
change in free length brought about by prestressing. This model neglects any form of strain
hardening, which is observed in most spring materials. With no hardening effects it would be
expected that the compressive stress in the spring is less than it actually is and therefore the
predicted final length of the spring will be an underestimate.

The data obtained from the publication by Bird [2] formed a good basis to show the accuracy
of the second model. In the second model, α is used to predict the rate at which strain
hardening occurs. It is obtained by using the following equation:
α = A+ B×d +C ×c
Where A, B and C are material constants that can be obtained from experimental data, d is the
wire diameter and c the spring index.

Data from CGR company have been exploit to study springs made of AISI 302 and AISI 631.
The accuracy of the model for the AISI 302 springs was high when compared to that for the
AISI 631 springs. For AISI 302 springs the α value is a material constant of 1.32 as the B and
C values are 0. For the AISI 631 springs this is clearly not the case as the model is most
accurate where A is 1.45, B is -0.46 and C is 0.24 and in this case α is not a constant as it
varies with the wire diameter and the spring index.

The differences between the experimental and calculated data could be explained in a number
of ways. Firstly, the very first part of the model is to make the assumption that the spring
index is large so that the spring may be considered a straight bar in torsion. This immediately
ignores the effects of curvature and direct shear. This could be improved by using the third,
complex model if a suitable software package was found. The second assumption of linear
strain hardening is another area where errors could have arisen as this may not be how the
material behaves after the yield point. A further source of error is likely to be the method
used to predict the shear yield point of the materials. This was based on experimental data
from which an equation was derived and as such any of the errors present in the previous
experiment will have been carried over. To attempt to minimise these errors however the data
for τy was cross checked with data from other sources and a correction factor was applied.
Finally there could also have been inaccuracies in the experimental data obtained as it cannot
be said that the springs at CGR were completely free of imperfections which may have altered
the properties of the springs and subsequently the experimental results obtained.

Consequently if this model were to be implemented into industry further study would be
required to obtain the values for the material constants A, B and C corresponding to each
material used. It also appears that for small losses of length during prestressing the second
model is less accurate. This could be improved with more accurate data for the mechanical
properties for the spring materials.

5. References

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 [1] BAYLISS M. Dimensional Changes of Springs Made from Hard-Drawn Carbon Steel
Wire During Low Temperature Heat Treatment and Prestressing. Springs (1990)

[2] BIRD G. The Effect of Solid Stress on the Prestressing of Compression Springs. Wire
Industry (1973)

[3] KREUZER A. Warm Prestressing Helical Compression Springs. WIRE (1985)

[4] JONES A, PAREDES M. Prestressing of Compression Springs, Part 1: theoretical

study, previous issue of springs magazine.

[5] WAHL A. Mechanical Springs. McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York, Subsequent
printings, Spring Manufacturers Institute, Oak Brook, IL. (1963)

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