09/05/2023

SPRINGS

DEFINITIONS:

Free Length – overall length of compression coil spring with no load applied.

Solid length – length of compression spring completely compressed.

Deflection – lengthening or shortening of coil spring due to load.

Spring constant – ratio of load to deflection

Outside diameter – maximum diameter of coil spring

Inside diameter – minimum diameter of coil springs (important when spring must fit over a pin)

Mean diameter – average diameter of coil ( important in calculation)

Active number of coils – number of coils that are used in supporting the loads. This does not include the extra three-
quarters of a coil at each end of the compression spring that is ground flat.

Winding – the direction of the helix in a coil spring, such as left hand or right hand.

Spring index – ratio of the mean diameter to the wire diameter in a coil spring.

Stress correction factor – a factor used to correct for high stresses due to curvature on the inside of the coil.

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Four types of ends that can be used on the compressive spring:

Uses of springs:
1. To absorb energy or shock loads, as in automotive shock chassis springs and railroad
bumper springs.

2. To act as source of energy, as in clocks.

3. To produce a pressure or force, as in maintaining pressure between the friction surfaces

of clutches as in keeping a cam follower in contact with the cam.

4. To absorb vibrations.

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Types of Springs

a. Helical Compression Springs. Push-wide load and deflection range – round or rectangular wire.
Standard has constant coil diameter, pitch, and rate. Barrel, hourglass, and variable-pitch springs are
used to minimize resonant surging and vibration. Conical springs can be made with minimum solid height
and with constant or increasing rate.

Types of Springs
2. Leaf springs are a crucial part of the suspension system of a car. They consist of a number of layers of leaves
with a gradation in their size, the bigger layer being on the top with each layer joined to the other. Leaf springs
are directly attached to the frame, either at both ends or at one end. For the latter, the front end is attached to
the frame while the other end is attached to a short swinging arm through a shackle. The main function of leaf
springs is to provide comfort to the passengers by minimizing the vertical vibration caused by the nonuniformity
of road geometry. Studies show that the desired leaf spring material should have high strength and low modulus
of elasticity in the longitudinal direction.

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Types of Springs
3. Belleville springs are made from tapered washers stacked in series, parallel, or a combination of parallel–series.

Types of Springs
4. Disc spring is a spring washer with a conical shape. This shape gives the spring washer its flexible
effect.
- Disc springs are also called Belleville spring washers and conical spring washers.

- The properties of the disc spring make it unique in applications where space is limited - but
where high force is wanted. By using disc springs you can achieve high force and
very little travel (deflection).

Disc Springs and Belleville Washers are both conically shaped spring washers typically made from spring
steels and designed to be loaded axially. Both can provide a higher degree of force in a relatively compact
area as compared to coil springs or wave springs. While the terms “Disc Springs” and “Belleville Washers” are
often used interchangeably, there are some technical, design, and application differences between the two
products:

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Types of Springs
5. The spiral spring is made from flat strip or wire coiled up in the manner of the groove on a
phonograph record. As a mainspring or hairspring, it provides a compact source of energy in clocks and
watches; it is also used on typewriters and parking meters.

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Types of Springs
6. Ring spring, a kind of friction spring, is composed of multiple pairs of outer rings with inner cones and
inner rings with outer cones. When axial load F acts on the ring and the normal component force acts on
the conical surface of the inner rings and the outer rings, the outer ring will stretch and its diameter will
expand, while the inner ring will compress, with its diameter shrinking. The relative movements of the
rings along the conical surface cause them to press against each other and the spring produces axial
deformation f.

Types of Springs
7. Volute springs (bamboo springs) are springs shaped like bamboo shoots that have a
rectangular cross-section wound in a conical shape. They are capable of producing a large load and
absorbing energy relative to the space and volume they occupy, making them a suitable spring for
shock absorbers. Plate thickness varies from 1 mm or less to thick ones of up to about 32 mm.
Large volute springs can support loads up to 500 kN.

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Loops for
Extension
Springs

See the book of Faires

and Spotts for the
Tables.

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See the book of Faires

and Spotts for the
Tables.

See the book of Faires

and Spotts for the
Tables.

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1. A steel helical spring must sustain a static load of 100 lb at a deflection of 2.3 in. The spring index is equal
to 6. Find the value of the maximum stress if the spring is made of no. 8 wire. Find the required number of
active coils.

2. A helical spring is made of no.10 steel wire and has 20 active coils. The spring index is equal to 4.67. The loading is
static. Use SI units and find the stress when the deflection is equal to 25 mm.

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3. A helical spring of rate 10 N/mm is mounted on top of another spring of rate 7 N/mm. Find the force required to give a
total deflection of 50 mm.

Problem Sets: (Springs)

1. The outer of two concentric helical springs has a rate of 2400 lb/in. The inner has a rate of
1750 lb/in. The outer spring is ½ in longer than the inner. If the total load is 8000 lb, Find
the weight carried by each spring.
2. The larger of two concentric compression helical springs is made of 38 mm diameter round
bar stock, is 225 mm OD of helix, and has 6 active coils. The inner spring is of 25mm bar, is
140 mm helix, and has 9 active coils. The free height of the outer spring is 19 mm more
than the inner. Find the deflection of each spring for a load of 90,000 N. Take G=77,000
MPa. Find the load carried by each spring.
3. The helical spring must be capable of exerting a force of 600 N after being released 10mm
from its most highly compressed position. Wire of 6mm diameter is used; the spring index
is 6; the loading is static; the maximum stress is 400 Mpa. Find the required number of
active coils.
4. A helical compression spring is made from no.4 wire and carries a static load of 200 lb. The
maximum shearing stress is to be 60,000 psi. Find the radius of the helix and the number of
active coils for a deflection of ¾ in.
5. A helical coil spring of music wire is subjected to a continuously varying load. The length
varies between 63.5 mm and 70 mm with corresponding loads of 510 N and 350 N. The
spring is made of no.7 wire and has a mean helix diameter of 25 mm. Find the value of the
factor of safety and the number of active coils.

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Problem Set (Shaft and keys)

1. Suppose it is specified that the deflection at the center of a simply supported shaft under its own
weight should not exceed 0.010 in per foot of span. (a) Find the maximum permissible span for a 3-
in diameter steel shaft. (b) Find the stress caused by its own weight when the span length is
determined as in part (a). Use the book for the density and E of steel.
2. A 3-in diameter of material with yield point value of 50,000 psi has a 0.75 x 0.75 x 5 in key. What
must be the minimum yield point value for the material in the key in order to transmit the torque of
the shaft? The factor of safety is 2. Use Sys=0.5Sy
3. A square key has a breadth equal to one-fourth of the shaft diameter. The shaft and the key are
materials that are equally strong with a yield point value in shear equal to one-half the yield point
value in tension. Find the required length of the key in terms of shaft diameter necessary to transmit
the shaft torque.
4. A 2 ½ diameter shaft is made of steel. Sult= 120,000 psi, Syp=90,000 psi, machine surface. The shaft
rotates and carries a steady 2500 lb load at center of a 40 in simply supported span. Average torque
is 20,000 in-lb. Assume Tr=0.1 Tav. Let k=ks =1.7 on the basis of (a) The maximum shear theory and (b)
the Mises-Hencky Theory, Find the factor of safety for this shaft.
5. What diameter hollow shaft is required to carry a bending moment of 1,800 kN.mm together with a
torque of 4,500 kN.mm if the diameter of the hole is equal to 0.6 of the outside diameter of the
shaft? Loads are steady and the shaft rotates maximum shearing stress equals to 70 MPa. Use
Cm=1.5 and Ct=1.0.

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