Archive of Applied Mechanics (2022) 92:1789–1821

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00419-022-02147-9

O R I G I NA L

Yingpeng Zhuo · Zhaohui Qi · Jian Zhang · Gang Wang

A geometrically nonlinear spring element for structural

analysis of helical springs

Received: 13 November 2021 / Accepted: 17 March 2022 / Published online: 20 April 2022
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2022

Abstract Helical springs belong to structures with spiral shapes and large curvatures, especially, traditional
views that elemental shape functions are applied to interpolate shapes of structures, will result in plenty
of elements and enormous computational cost. It is proved by this paper that selecting some characteristic
parameters describing their shape regulations as variables can model the helical springs with almost no errors
of model. Based on this thought, a geometrically nonlinear spring element for structural analysis of helical
springs is proposed. First, strains irrelevant to rigid motions of cross sections and virtual deformation power
of the curved beam with geometrical nonlinearity are derived. Next, parameters that generalized strains of
spring elements depend on, namely helical radius, azimuth angles, height coordinates and torsion angles at
one node of each coil are chosen as variables. A special shape function is built, in contrast of traditional shape
functions, they can approximate the structure of helical springs accurately using less parameters. Then, nodal
forces and generalized external forces as well as equilibrium equations are given, and in order to improve the
computational efficiency, the Jacobian matrices are derived. Finally, two examples are considered to evaluate
the accuracy of modeling and simulation against to ANSYS. Stiffness properties of cylindrical and conical
springs are analyzed by the spring element. The proposed elements can give high-precision numerical results
using less parameters from the comparison and be used an effective auxiliary tool for design of springs.

Keywords Helical springs · Curved beams · Geometrical nonlinearity · Stiffness of springs · Structural
analysis

List of symbols

g1, g2, g3 Base vectors of the global coordinate system

es , et , eb Base vectors of the cross sections’ coordinate system
κ The curvature vector
ω The vector of angular velocity
α, β, γ Cardan angles describing the rotations of cross sections
κs , κt , κb Components of curvature vectors with respect to the cross sections’ coordinate system
ωs , ωt , ωb Components of angular velocity with respect to the cross sections’ coordinate system
εs Stretch ratio of are-lengths
σs Normal stresses of cross sections
τ Shear stresses of cross sections
Y. Zhuo · Z. Qi (B) · J. Zhang
State Key Laboratory of Structural Analysis for Industrial Equipment, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China
e-mail: zhaohuiq@dlut.edu.cn
G. Wang
School of Ocean Science and Technology, Dalian University of Technology, Panjin 124221, China
1790 Y. Zhuo et al.

s Initial arc-length coordinates at nodes

s Current arc-length coordinates at nodes
θ Initial azimuth angles at nodes
ρ Initial helical radius of coils at nodes
z Initial height coordinates at nodes
θ Current azimuth angles at nodes
ρ Current helical radius of coils at nodes
z Current height coordinates at nodes
γ Current torsion angles of cross sections at nodes
fe Nodal forces of spring elements
fa Generalized external forces of spring elements
G Jacobian matrix of equilibrium equations of spring elements
q Nodal parameters’ vector of spring elements
fa The value of external forces applied to the top center of spring structures
d Spring wire’s diameters of spring structures
n The number of spring wire coils of spring structures
D Helical diameters of spring structures
E A, G J, E It , E Ib Constitutive modulus of spring structures

1 Introduction

The helical spring is one of the fundamental mechanical elements with an extensive practical field, which
plays an important role in the mechanical system, such as vehicles suspensions, automotive engines, and so on
[1–3]. In this application, the stiffness of springs is the most crucial parameter, which derives from response
of the spring as a structure under external forces. Therefore, the structural modeling of springs is essential for
obtaining their properties of stiffness.
The study of helical springs starts with the classical work of Thomson and Love who analytically derived
the geometrical relationships among spring parameters, such as pitch angle, helical diameter, coil curvature
and static load of springs [4, 5]. Ancker and Goodier proposed an analytical model correcting pitch and
curvature of the spring [6]. Wahl considered the spring wire as a round bar subjected to a shear and torque,
and a correction factor was used to take account of the curvature, in which, the coupling between axial and
torsional deformations was neglected [7]. Wittrick modeled the spring as a Timoshenko beam incorporating
shear deformation and rotary inertia [8]. Pearson established complicated equations describing spring vibration
using Bernoulli–Euler beam models [9]. It is easily found that the above work focused on the research of the
cylindrical spring with small variation in pitch angle and helical diameter. Until 1988, the concept of general
helical spring was introduced by Lin and Pisano, and in their work, the new formula with torsion, curvature
and static load which allow the pitch angle and helical diameter to vary largely was just put forward [10, 11].
In some practical applications of parametric designs and optimization studies, some simple approximate
methods, such as regarding each coil spring wire as a concentrated mass and linking these mass by some
massless force elements, were usually adopted for reducing the computational cost [12]. Frendo et al. considered
the helical spring as a vibration model with one degree of freedom [13]. Pisano et al. divided concentrated
mass in accordance with the number of active coils [14]. Guo et al. decided to use how many concentrated mass
in virtue of the order of longitudinal vibration modes required [15]. These approximate methods reflect the
influence of distribution of spring mass to some extent, and they are widely used in some engineering [16–19].
However, they are only suitable for the simplifications of cylindrical springs, and it is difficult to describe the
distribution of mass of complex springs with variable pitch and helical diameters. In addition, the above spring
formulas showed poor predictions to the nonlinear features of helical springs.
Compared with analytical model, the finite element model is an effective and common method for general
helical springs. In fact, the known helical spring is a cylindrical structure composed of three dimensional
curved beams, characterized by its spiral shape and its initial large curvatures. Some straight elements are
usually employed to approximate the curved structures of springs in early literatures [20, 21], but replacing
curve with straight will result in unavoidable errors of model. For curved structures, it has been verified by
scholars that the accuracy and efficiency of computation using curved beams are better than approximate
results using straight beams [22, 23]. Meanwhile, shape complexities of helical springs makes the well-known
difficulties of curved beam, such as coupling behaviour of strains, presence of bending stretching coupling,
A geometrically nonlinear spring element for structural analysis of helical springs 1791

effects of shear deformation, shear and membrane locking, more prominent. Subsequently, many finite models
describing the springs were proposed. Stander implemented the cubic, isoparametric curved beam element to
achieve the analysis of coil springs [24]. Taktak et al. developed a two-node finite element model for three-
dimensional isotropic helical beams, taking account of transverse shearing [25], on this basis, Fakhreddine
extend the work of stress analysis of isotropic cylindrical helical springs [26]. Renno and Mace adopted wave
and finite element (WFE) method to model the spring with constant helical angle, although straightforward in
applications of commercial FE packages [27], the WFE method is prone to numerical difficulties [28]. Yang
modeled helical springs by Euler–Bernoulli curved beam elements based on an absolute nodal coordinate
formulation to analyze the interaction between the spring coils [29]. Gu and Hou treated the helical spring
as a curved beam which is formed by infinitesimal beam elements to calculate spring stiffness and natural
frequency of variable coil diameter and spring pitch [30]. It is need to be noted that the initial configurations
of helical springs present the strong geometric nonlinearity; therefore, curved beams with large deformations
should be considered as a better model for helical springs.
Based on comprehensive analysis, employing elements of curved beam and its numerical approaches to
build and solve the finite element model of helical spring structures would be an important thought of study.
Unfortunately, these methods are all confronted with the same problem: Limited to the traditional views
that shape functions of elements are applied to interpolate shapes of the structure, dividing into plenty of
elements is required to control errors of models within a reasonable range, which will undoubtedly increase
the computational cost greatly. Actually, it is generally accepted that helical springs belong to structures
maintaining a regular shape in the process of deformations. In terms of these structures, some characteristic
parameters describing their shape regulations can be selected as system variables, namely the interpolated and
discrete objects. With the help of the specific mathematical relationships between these variables and shapes
of structures, shape functions that can describe strongly geometrically nonlinear structures with almost no
errors of models can be obtained under the conditions of less degrees of freedom. Inspired from this thought,
a geometrically nonlinear spring element for structural analysis of helical springs is presented in this paper.

2 Kinematic descriptions of beams’ cross sections

In beam theories, cross sections of a slender beam are usually regarded as rigid. In order to represent their
motions, a coordinate system located at each centroid is introduced. The normal vector of the cross section
es and two principal axes of the cross section et and eb are selected as base vectors and any point’s position
vector on the centroid curve is described by original arc-length coordinate s and time t. As shown by Fig. 1,
the position vector of a point in a beam at the original configuration can be expressed as

r  r c + yet + zeb (1)

After the beam deforms, it would change as

r  r c + yet + zeb (2)

where (y, z) is the coordinates of the point with respect to the cross sections’ coordinate system.
Since base vectors of the cross sections’ coordinate system keep being unit and orthogonal to each other
when they vary with time or arc-length coordinates, the relationship between them and base vectors {g 1 , g 2 , g 3 }
of the global coordinate system can be described as an orthogonal matrix obtained by Cardan angles.
⎧ ⎫ ⎡ ⎤⎧ ⎫
⎨ et ⎬ cos β cos γ cos α sin γ + sin α sin β cos γ sin α sin γ − cos α sin β cos γ ⎨ g 1 ⎬
eb  ⎣ − cos β sin γ cos α cos γ − sin α sin β sin γ sin α cos γ + cos α sin β sin γ ⎦ g 2 (3)
⎩e ⎭ sin β − sin α cos β cos α cos β ⎩g ⎭
s 3

where α, β, γ are the rotation angles of three fixed-axis rotation with the first axis g 1 and the third axis es .
The global coordinate system should be chosen by the principle of avoiding coincidence of the base vector g 1
and cross sections’ normal vector es .
1792 Y. Zhuo et al.

Fig. 1 Global coordinate system and cross sections’ coordinate system of a beam

3 Curvature of beams’ cross sections

Base vectors of cross sections’ coordinate system es , et , eb are the functions of arc-length coordinate s, and
their arc-length derivatives can be expressed as
e s  c11 es + c12 et + c13 eb
e t  c21 es + c22 et + c23 eb (4)

e b  c31 es + c32 et + c33 eb
By virtue of the unit orthogonality, it can be easily obtained:
es · es  et · et  eb · eb  1
(5)
es · et  et · eb  eb · es  0
and
e s · es  e t · et  e b · eb  0
(6)
e s · et + es · e t  e t · eb + et · e b  e b · es + eb · e s  0
By substituting Eqs. (4) into (6), it can be verified that component coefficients satisfy the equalities
c11  c22  c33  0
(7)
c12 + c21  c23 + c32  c31 + c13  0
It can be seen, only three coefficients are independent, and they can be selected as
κs  c23  e t · eb
κt  c31  e b · es (8)

κb  c12  e s · et
By application of Eqs. (7) and (8), (4) can be rewritten as
e  s  κb e t − κt e b
e  t  κs e b − κb e s (9)

e b  κt e s − κs e t
A geometrically nonlinear spring element for structural analysis of helical springs 1793

A curvature vector is defined to describe the variation of base vectors with arc-length coordinates, and its
components in the cross sections’ coordinate system can be expressed as
κ  κs e s + κt e t + κb e b (10)
Hence, Eq. (9) can be further written as
e s  κ × es
e t  κ × et (11)

e b  κ × eb
When using Cardan angles to describe the orientation of cross sections’ coordinate system, by virtue of
Eqs. (3) and (8), components of the curvature vector can be obtained as
κs  α  sin β + γ 
κt  α  cos β cos γ + β  sin γ (12)
 
κb  β cos γ − α cos β sin γ
and the curvature vector can also be expressed as
κ (α  +γ  sinβ)g 1 + (β  cos α − γ  cos β sin α)g 2 + (β  sinα+γ  cosαcosβ)g 3 (13)

4 Angular velocity of beams’ cross sections

It is exactly similar to the definition of curvature vectors that an angular velocity vector is defined to describe
the variation of base vectors with time, and its components in the cross sections’ coordinate system can be
expressed as
ωωs es + ωt et + ωb eb (14)
where
ωs  ėt · eb
ωt  ėb · es (15)
ωb  ės · et
and the time derivatives of base vectors can be expressed as
ės  ω × es
ėt  ω × et (16)
ėb  ω × eb
By virtue of Eqs. (3) and (15), components of the angular velocity vector can be obtained as
ωs  α̇ sin β + γ̇
ωt  α̇ cos β cos γ + β̇ sin γ (17)
ωb  β̇ cos γ − α̇ cos β sin γ
and the angular velocity vector can also be expressed as
ω (α̇+γ̇ sinβ)g 1 + (β̇ cos α − γ̇ cos β sin α)g 2 + (β̇sinα+γ̇ cosαcosβ)g 3 (18)
In accordance with above equalities, the time derivatives of curvature vector and the arc-length derivatives
of angular velocity vector can be expressed as
κ̇  κ̇s es + κ̇t et + κ̇b eb + ω × κ
(19)
ω  ωs es + ωt et + ωb eb + κ × ω
1794 Y. Zhuo et al.

Considering the commutativity of mixed partial derivative operators:

∂2 ∂2
 (20)
∂s∂t ∂t∂s
it can be obtained as
∂ ∂ es
ė s  ( )  κ̇ × es + κ × ės
∂t ∂s
∂ ∂ et
ė t  ( )  κ̇ × et + ˇ × ėt (21)
∂t ∂s
∂ ∂ eb
ė b  ( )  κ̇ × eb + ˇ × ėb
∂t ∂s
By application of Eqs. (8) and (15), it can be verified that
κ̇s  ω × et + ω × e t · eb + e t · (ω × eb )  ω · es
κ̇t  ω × eb + ω × e b · es + e b · (ω × es )  ω · et (22)
κ̇b  ω × es + ω × e s · et + e s · (ω × et )  ω · eb
and
ωs  κ̇ × et + κ × ėt · eb + ėt · (κ × eb )  κ̇ · es
ωt  κ̇ × eb + κ × ėb · es + ėb · (κ × es )  κ̇ · et (23)
ωb  κ̇ × es + κ × ės · et + ės · (κ × et )  κ̇ · eb
Therefore, the arc-length derivative of angular velocity ω can be obtained by the time derivatives of
curvature, i.e.
ω  κ̇s es + κ̇t et + κ̇b eb (24)
and the time derivatives of curvature κ can be obtained by arc-length derivative of angular velocity, i.e.
κ̇  ωs es + ωt et + ωb eb (25)
In fact, Eqs. (24) and (25) reveal the internal relationship between curvature and angular velocity of cross
sections.

5 Virtual deformation power of beams

An infinitesimal element with original arc-length ds is separated from a deformed beam, as shown by Fig. 2,
where resultant internal force − f and internal torque −m are acting on the left end of cross section.
When the beam element is in equilibrium, the equilibrium equations satisfied by resultant internal forces
and torques at two end can be written as
f  0
(26)
m + r  × f  0
where r is the position vector of cross section’s centroid with arc-length coordinate s, and the virtual power
of external forces can be expressed as
δw f = f + f  d s̄ · δ ṙ + δ ṙ  d s̄ + m + m d s̄ · δω + δω d s̄ − f · δ ṙ − m · δω (27)

In the case of ignoring the dimensionless ds 2 , Eq. (27) can be simplified as

δw f  (δ ṙ · f ) d s̄ + (δω · m) d s̄ (28)
According to the principle of virtual power, in state of equilibrium, the virtual deformation power equals
to the virtual power of external forces, namely
δwe  δw f (29)
A geometrically nonlinear spring element for structural analysis of helical springs 1795

An infinitesimal element

Fig. 2 Internal forces and moments of a cross section in a beam

With the equilibrium Eq. (26) of the beam element, (29) can be simplified to
δwe  δ r˙ − ω × r  · f d s̄ + δω · md s̄ (30)
When a beam can be regarded as an Euler–Bernoulli beam, in terms of the arc-length derivative of position
vector r  , normal vector es can be expressed as
es  (1 + εs )−1 r  (31)
where the stretch ratio of arc-length
 
εs   r   − 1 (32)
The time derivative of Eq. (31) leads to
ṙ   (1 + εs )ω × es + ε̇s es  ω × r  + ε̇s es (33)
By virtue of Eqs. (24) and (33), the virtual deformation power can be further simplified as
δwe  (δ ε̇s f s + δ κ̇s m s + δ κ̇t m t + δ κ̇b m b )ds0 (34)
where forces and moments are defined by
f  f s es + f t et + f b eb
(35)
mm s es + m t et + m b eb
It implies that when cross sections of a beam are assumed to be rigid and their normal vectors are coincident
with the vectors tangent to centroid curve, the strains ε and stresses σ in the expression of the virtual deformation
power for a beam should be
⎡ ⎤ ⎡ ⎤
εs fs
⎢ κ − κs ⎥ ⎢m ⎥
ε ⎣ s , σ⎣ s⎦
κt − κ t ⎦
(36)
mt
κb − κ b mb
Constitutive relation of a beam is usually given by the equations:
⎡ ⎤ ⎡ ⎤⎡ ⎤
fs EA εs
⎢ ms ⎥ ⎢ G Js ⎥⎢ κs − κ s ⎥
⎣m ⎦  ⎣ E It ⎦⎣ κ − κ ⎦ (37)
t t t
mb E Ib κb − κ b
Its standard form is usually written as
σ  Dε (38)
Since influences of original curvatures are considered and stretch ratios of arc-length and curvatures are
irrelevant to rigid motions of cross sections, beam elements based on strains such defined are applicable in the
geometrically nonlinear analysis of curved beams.
1796 Y. Zhuo et al.

6 Correction of shear stresses in circular cross sections

Due to the hypothesis of rigid cross sections, shear stress can not satisfy the equilibrium equation at each node
∂σs ∂τst ∂τsb
+ + 0 (39)
∂s ∂y ∂z
where
σs  Eεs + E(κt − κ t )z − E(κb − κ b )y (40)
Compared with shear stress, normal stress σs is less affected by the hypothesis. With the approximation of
ignoring the effect of εs , Eq. (39) can be rewritten as
∂τst ∂τsb
+  E(κb − κ b )y − E(κt − κ t )z (41)
∂y ∂z
Positions of a point in a circular cross section can be expressed by polar coordinates
y  r cos ϑ, z  r sin ϑ (42)
Shear stress can also be expressed by its modulus τ as
τst  −τ sin ϑ, τsb  τ cos ϑ (43)
Partial derivative operators are related each other by
∂ ∂ sin ϑ ∂ ∂ ∂τ cos ϑ ∂
 cos ϑ − ,  sin ϑ + (44)
∂y ∂r r ∂ϑ ∂z ∂r r ∂ϑ
Therefore, following equalities can be obtained
∂τst ∂τ sin2 ϑ ∂τ sin ϑ cos ϑ
 − sin ϑ cos ϑ + + τ
∂y ∂r r ∂ϑ r
(45)
∂τsb ∂τ cos2 ϑ ∂τ sin ϑ cos ϑ
 sin ϑ cos ϑ + − τ
∂z ∂r r ∂ϑ r
By substituting Eqs. (45) into (39), it can be written as
∂τ
 Er 2 (κb − κ b ) cos ϑ − Er 2 (κt − κ t ) sin ϑ (46)
∂ϑ
Its analytical solutions can be expressed as
τ  Er 2 (κb − κ b ) sin ϑ + Er 2 (κt − κ t ) cos ϑ+τ0 (47)
In virtue of Eqs. (43) and (47), shearing forces and torque in the cross section can be obtained
r0 2π
ft  − (τ sin ϑ)r dϑdr  −E Jb (κb − κ b )
0 0
(48)
 2π
r 0

fb  (τ cos ϑ)r dϑdr  E Jt (κt − κ t )

0 0
d/22π r 2π
ms  (yτsb − zτst )r dϑdr  τr 2 dϑdr  12 πd τ0
1 3
(49)
0 0 0 0

By Eq. (49), constant coefficient τ0 can be solved and the modulus of shear stress in the circular cross
section can be expressed as
τ  Er 2 (κb − κ b ) sin ϑ + Er 2 (κt − κ t ) cos ϑ + 38 dG(κs − κ s ) (50)
A geometrically nonlinear spring element for structural analysis of helical springs 1797

Fig. 3 Global coordinate system and cross sections’ coordinate system of a spring structure

Fig. 4 Position vector of any point on the centroid curve of the spring

7 Generalized strains of spring elements

Several coordinate systems are defined to describe the motion of the 3D spring element. Firstly, the global
coordinate system with three orthonormal vectors g i (i  1, 2, 3) is established at the bottom of spring. Then,
the cross sections’ coordinate system rotates and translates with cross sections of spring wire and is defined. Its
base vectors et , eb are located in the cross section, and the base vector es along the normal direction coincides
the tangent direction of centroid curve of spring wire, as shown by Fig. 3. The rotation of cross sections’
coordinate system with respect to the global coordinate system can be expressed by Cardan angles α, β, γ , as
shown by Eq. (3). Based on the fact that the normal direction of cross sections of spring wire cannot coincide
with the vertical direction, base vector g 1 in global coordinate system is set along the vertical direction for
avoiding singular value of Cardan description.
As shown by Fig. 4, the position vector of a point on centroid curve of spring wire can be expressed by
helical radius ρ, azimuth angle θ , and height coordinate z.
r c  ρ(cos θ g 2 + sin θ g 3 ) + z g 1 (51)
where the value of azimuth angles is continuous from the bottom to the top of the spring. Such as, for a spring
composed of 5 coil spring wire, the azimuth angle θ at top point is taken as 10π. Azimuth angles at initial state
can be selected as material coordinates and are applied for marking the points on the centroid curve of spring
wire. Derivatives of instant arc-length coordinate on centroid curve with respect to θ can be expressed as

s   (ρ  )2 + (z  )2 + (ρθ  )2 (52)
For simplifying description of the symbol, superscript  in the following statement represents the derivatives
with respect to θ .
1798 Y. Zhuo et al.

The derivatives of initial arc-length coordinate on centroid curve with respect to θ can be expressed as

s  (ρ  )2 + (z  )2 + ρ 2
 (53)
Normal vector of spring wire’s cross section can be expressed as

es  ∂ r c ∂s  (s  )−1 (ρ  bθ + ρθ  cθ + z  g 1 ) (54)
where
bθ  cos θ g 2 + sin θ g 3
(55)
cθ  cos θ g 3 − sin θ g 2
In accordance with Eq. (3), vector es and Cardan angles α, β, γ are related each other by
es  sin β g 1 + cos β(cos α g 3 − sin α g 2 ) (56)
Hence, the first two Cardan angles can be obtained as
α  atan2(ρθ  sin θ − ρ  cos θ, ρθ  cos θ + ρ  sin θ )
(57)
β  asin((s  )−1 z  )

The derivatives of Eq. (56) with respect to θ can be written as

e s  β  bβ + α  bα (58)
where
bβ  cos β g 1 − sin β(cos α g 3 − sin α g 2 )
(59)
bα  − cos β(sin α g 3 + cos α g 2 )
These two vectors together with es are orthogonal to each other. With the help of this fact, it can be easily
obtained:
α   (cos2 β)−1 e s · bα
(60)
β   e s · bβ

The derivatives of Eq. (54) with respect to θ can be written as

e s  (s  )−1 (z  g 1 − s  es ) + (s  )−1 (λb bθ + λc cθ ) (61)
where
λb  ρ  − ρθ  θ  , λc  ρθ  + 2ρ  θ  (62)
Similarly, the time derivatives of Eq. (54) can be solved from the equation
ės  β̇ bβ + α̇bα (63)
where
ės  (s  )−1 (z˙ g 1 − s˙ es ) + (s  )−1 ((ρ̇  − ρθ  θ̇)bθ + (ρ θ˙ + ρ  θ̇ + ρ̇θ  )cθ ) (64)
And the solution is found to be
α̇  (cos2 β)−1 ės · bα
(65)
β̇  ės · bβ
The time derivatives of Eq. (60) can be written as
α̇   (cos2 β)−1 (ės · bα + e s · ḃα − 2α  β̇ cos β sin β)
(66)
β̇   ės · bβ + e s · ḃβ
A geometrically nonlinear spring element for structural analysis of helical springs 1799

where ės can be obtained by calculating the time derivatives of Eq. (61), namely

ės  (s  )−1 (z˙ g 1 − s˙ es − s  ės − s˙ e s ) + (s  )−1 (λ̇b − λc θ̇)bθ + (s  )−1 (λ̇c + λb θ̇)cθ (67)

By application of Eqs. (52), (53) and (12), the axial strain of spring wire can be written as

εs  (s  )−1 s  − 1 (68)

and the curvatures of cross sections can be written as

κs  (s  )−1 (α  sin β + γ  )
κt  (s  )−1 (α  cos β cos γ + β  sin γ ) (69)
 −1  
κb  (s ) (β cos γ − α cos β sin γ )

Their time derivatives can be obtained as

ε̇s  −(s  s  )−1 (ρ  ρ̇  + z  z˙ + ρ θ˙ + ρ̇θ  )

κ̇s  (s  )−1 (α̇  sin β + β̇α  cos β + γ˙  )
(70)
κ̇t  (s  )−1 (α̇  cos β cos γ − β̇α  sin β cos γ + β̇  sin γ + γ̇ (β  cos γ − α  cos β sin γ ))
κ̇b  (s  )−1 (β̇α  sin β sin γ + β̇  cos γ − α̇  cos β sin γ − γ̇ (β  sin γ + α  cos β cos γ ))

With Eqs. (57), (60), (65), (66), and the following vectors defined by

λρ  [ρ; ρ  ; ρ  ] (71)

λθ  [θ ; θ  ; θ  ] (72)

λz  [z  ; z  ] (73)

 
λγ  γ ; γ  (74)

the time derivatives of generalized strains defined by Eq. (36) can be rewritten as

ε̇  T ερ λ̇ρ + T εθ λ̇θ + T εz λ̇z + T εγ λ̇γ (75)

where
    
T ερ  ∂ε ∂ρ ∂ε ∂ρ  ∂ε ∂ρ 
    
T εθ  ∂ε ∂θ ∂ε ∂θ  ∂ε ∂θ 
    (76)
T εz  ∂ε ∂z  ∂ε ∂z 
   
T εγ  ∂ε ∂γ ∂ε ∂γ 

It can be seen from above analysis that the generalized strains of spring element depend on following param-
eters: 1) helical radius and their derivatives ρ, ρ  , ρ  ; 2) height coordinates and their derivatives z, z  , z  ;3)
azimuth angles and their derivatives θ, θ  , θ  ; 4) torsion angles and their derivatives γ , γ  , γ  .
1800 Y. Zhuo et al.

Fig. 5 Nodes of a spring element

8 Nodes and shape functions of spring elements

A spring composed of n coil spring wire is taken as the research object and regarded as one spring element,
which is different from traditional finite element models. In the spring element, n + 1 points corresponding to
initial azimuth angles θ ∈ {0, 2π, · · · , 2(n − 1)π, 2nπ} on the centroid curve are selected as nodes of elements,
as shown by Fig. 5, and the nodal parameters of i th node are defined as following:
• Middle nodes(1 < i < n + 1)
Nodal parameters: helical radius ρi , height coordinates z i , azimuth angles θi , torsion angles γi .
• End nodes (i  1, n + 1)
Nodal parameters: helical radius and their derivatives ρi , ρi , height coordinates and their derivatives z i , z i ,
azimuth angles and their derivatives θi , θi , torsion angles and their derivatives γi , γi .
Shapes between two nodes are described in accordance with spiral curve Eq. (51), in which the parameters
ρ, z, θ can be determined by the interpolation functions of nodal parameters. It can be seen by Eqs. (71–76),
second-order derivatives of helical radius, height coordinates, azimuth angles with respect to θ are required
when generalized strains are calculated, which implies that interpolation functions need to have at least second-
order continuity of the parameters inner elements.
Taking the helical radius as an example, the helical radius ρ on the centroid curve between two adjacent
nodes can be approximated by cubic Hermite interpolation as

ρ  N1 ρi + N2 ρi+1 + N3 ρi + N4 ρi+1


(77)

In terms of the step of interpolations

h  θ i+1 − θ i  2π (78)

and the normalized parameter

ξ  h −1 (θ − θ i ) (79)

the shape functions are defined by

N1  (1 − ξi )2 (1 + 2ξi ), N2  ξi2 (3 − 2ξi )

(80)
N3  h(1 − ξi )2 ξi , N4  hξi2 (ξi − 1)

However, the derivatives of helical radius ρi at middle nodes are not nodal parameters. They can be
expressed as the functions of nodal parameters by the requirement that second-order derivatives of helical
radius, height coordinates, azimuth angles with respect to θ should be continuous at each middle node. In
A geometrically nonlinear spring element for structural analysis of helical springs 1801

accordance with Eqs. (77–80), it is can be obtained: the second derivatives of helical radius ρ  at right end
node
ρ i+1  6h −2 (ρi − ρi+1 ) + 2h −1 ρi +2ρi+1

(81)
and the second derivatives of helical radius ρ  at left end node
←
ρ  i+1  6h −2 (ρi+2 − ρi+1 ) − 2h −1 2ρi+1
 
+ρi+2 (82)
Therefore, the requirement can be mathematically expressed as
h −1 (2ρi + 8ρi+1
 
+ 2ρi+2 )  h −2 (6ρi+2 − 6ρi ), i  1, 2, · · · , n − 1 (83)
These n − 1 equalities and two auxiliary equalities ρ1  ρ1 , ρn+1
 
 ρn+1 commonly constitute the matrix
equation
AT ρ̂   B T ρ (84)
where column vectors are written as
ρ̂   [ρ1 ; . . . ; ρn+1
 ]
(85)
ρ  [ρ1 ; . . . ; ρn+1 ; ρ1 ; ρn+1
  ]

and A and B are, respectively, (n + 1) × (n + 1) and (n + 3) × (n + 1) invertible tridiagonal matrices as

follows
⎡ ⎤
1 2h −1 ··· 0
⎢ 8h −1 2h −1 ⎥
⎢ ⎥
⎢ ⎥
⎢ 2h −1 8h −1 . . . ⎥
⎢ ⎥
⎢ .. . . ⎥
A  ⎢. 2h −1 . . 2h −1 . ⎥
. (86)
⎢ ⎥
⎢ .. ⎥
⎢ . 8h −1 2h −1 ⎥
⎢ ⎥
⎣ 2h −1 8h −1 ⎦
0 ··· 2h −1 1
⎡ −2 ⎤
0 −6h ··· 0
⎢ 0 −6h −2 ⎥
⎢ ⎥
⎢ . .. ⎥
⎢ 6h −2 0 ⎥
⎢ ⎥
⎢ .. . .. .. ⎥
.
⎢. 6h −2 ⎥
B⎢ ⎢ ..
⎥
⎥ (87)
⎢ . −6h −2 ⎥
⎢ ⎥
⎢ 0 ⎥
⎢ ⎥
⎢ 6h −2 0 ⎥
⎣1 ··· 0⎦
0 ··· 1
By application of (84), it can be easily solved as
ρ   Hρ
 (88)
where
H  A−T B T (89)
Hence, Eq. (77) can be rewritten as
ρ  Si ρ (90)
and the coefficient matrix is
Si  N1 piT + N2 pi+1
T
+ (N3 piT + N4 pi+1
T
)H (91)
1802 Y. Zhuo et al.

where index vector pi is a n + 1 dimensional column vector of the i th element being 1 and the rest elements
being all zeros, namely
0 ··· 1 ··· 0 T
pi  [    ] (92)
i−1

Since the matrix H is constant, the coefficient matrix Si is only related to shape functions and irrelevant
to nodal parameters and time, the vector defined by Eq. (71) can be expressed as

λρ  T 0 ρ (93)

where
 
T 0  Si ; S i ; S i (94)

Similarly, on the centroid curve between node i and node i + 1, vectors defined by Eqs. (72–74) can be
written as

λθ  T 0 θ, λz  T 1 z, λγ  T 2 γ (95)

where column vectors θ, z, γ are assembled with azimuth angles, height coordinates and torsion angles by the
same manner as ρ, and the coefficient matrix is denoted by
   
T 1  S i ; S i , T 2  Si ; S i (96)

It can be seen from above analysis that helical radius ρ, azimuth angles θ , height coordinates z and torsion
angles γ applied for determining the centroid curve can be obtained by nodal parameters of the element in
accordance with Eqs. (93) and (95).

9 Nodal forces of spring elements

By application of Eqs. (75), (93) and (95), the time derivatives of generalized strains can be rewritten as

ε̇  T ρ T 0 ρ̇ + T εθ T 0 θ̇ + T εz T 1 ż + T εγ T 2 γ̇ (97)

In terms of the spring with n coil spring wire, the nodal parameters vector composed of 4(n + 2) elements
is defined by
 
q ρ;θ;z;γ (98)

and Eq. (97) can be expressed in the form as

ε̇  T ε q̇ (99)

where
 
T ε  T ερ T 0 T εθ T 0 T εz T 1 T εγ T 2 (100)

with Eq. (34), the virtual deformation power of spring wire between ith node and (i + 1)th node can be
expressed as
2iπ
δwi  δ ε̇ T f s s̄  d θ̄ (101)
2(i−1)π

In virtue of constitutive relation (38) and time derivatives of generalized strains (99), above equation can
be rewritten as

δwi  δ q̇ T f ie (102)
A geometrically nonlinear spring element for structural analysis of helical springs 1803

Fig. 6 External force acting on the spring

where nodal forces contributed by the deformation of this spring wire is

2iπ
f ie  T εT Dεs̄  d θ̄ (103)
2(i−1)π

The accumulation of virtual powers element by element would result in the spring’s virtual deformation
power equation in the form as

δw f  δwi  δ q̇ T f e (104)
i
e
where f is the elastic nodal forces of the spring element.

10 Generalized external forces of spring elements

A spring composed of n coil spring wire is shown by Fig. 6 and the position vector of its top node can be
expressed as
r n+1  ρn+1 (cos θn+1 g 2 + sin θn+1 g 3 ) + z n+1 g 1 (105)
When an external force is applied for the top center
f  − fa g1 (106)
the top node would simultaneously bear the force f and moment
m  −(r n+1 − r c ) × f  f a ρn+1 (sin θn+1 g 2 − cos θn+1 g 3 ) (107)
where r c  z n+1 g 1 is the position vector of top center.
By the time derivatives of Eq. (105), virtual velocities of top node can be written as
δ ṙ n+1  δ ż n+1 g 1
+(δ ρ̇n+1 cos θn+1 − ρn+1 δ θ̇n+1 sin θn+1 )g 2 (108)
+(δ ρ̇n+1 sin θn+1 + ρn+1 δ θ̇n+1 cos θn+1 )g 3
With Eq. (18), virtual angular velocities of corresponding cross section can be expressed as
δωn+1  pα δ α̇n+1 + pβ δ β̇n+1 + pγ δ γ̇n+1 (109)
1804 Y. Zhuo et al.

where three rotation axis are expressed as

pα  g 1
pβ  cos αn+1 g 2 + sinαn+1 g 3 (110)
pγ  sinβn+1 g 1 − cos βn+1 sin αn+1 g 2 + cosαn+1 cosβn+1 g 3
In virtue of the virtual power of external forces
δwa  δ ṙ n+1 · f + δωn+1 · m
 δ β̇n+1 ( f a ρn+1 sin(θn+1 − αn+1 )) (111)
−δ γ̇n+1 ( f a ρn+1 cos(θn+1 − αn+1 )) − δ ż n+1 f a
and virtual velocities of Cardan angles, it can be obtained as
δwa  δ q̇ T f a (112)
where f a is the generalized external forces of the spring element.

11 Equilibrium equation and its Jacobian matrix of spring elements

According to the principles of virtual power, the virtual deformation power is equal to the virtual power of
external forces in the equilibrium state, namely
δwe  δwa (113)
Substituting Eqs. (104) and (112) into (113), the static equilibrium equation of spring structure can be
denoted as
fe − fa  0 (114)
This a group of highly nonlinear equations, the derivation of its Jacobian matrix can improve the compu-
tational efficiency. By the time derivatives of Eq. (103), it can be obtained as

 2iπ
e
( Ṫ ε Dε + T εT DT ε q̇)s̄  d θ̄
T
ḟ  (115)
i 2(i−1)π

where
 
T
Ṫ ε  (∂ T εT ∂qi )q̇i (116)
i

The derivatives of transformation matrix with respect to ith component of q can be written as
∂Tε  
∂ T εγ
 ∂ ∂q
T ερ
T 0
∂ T εθ
∂qi T 0
∂ T εz
∂qi T 1 ∂qi T 2 (117)
∂qi i

Based on this equation

!
T T T
T ∂Tε ∂Tε ∂Tε
Ṫ ε Dε  ∂q1 Dε ∂q2 Dε · · · ∂qn q Dε q̇  q̇ (118)

Eq. (115) can be rewritten in the form as

e 
f˙  (∂ f e ∂q)q̇ (119)
It can be seen that Jacobian matrix of elastic nodal forces can be written as

 2iπ
∂ fe
 ( + T εT DT ε )s̄  d θ̄ (120)
∂q
i 2(i−1)π
A geometrically nonlinear spring element for structural analysis of helical springs 1805

Fig. 7 Static analysis process of the spring structure

and Jacobian matrix of generalized external forces can be written as

∂ fa  a a a 
 ∂∂qf ∂f
∂q2 ···
∂f
∂q4(n+3)
(121)
∂q 1

Finally, the Jacobian matrix of equilibrium equation can be expressed as

∂ fe ∂ fa
G − (122)
∂q ∂q

12 Static analysis process of spring structures

Based on above analysis, the main static analysis process of a spring structure composed of n coil spring wire
is shown by Fig. 7.
1806 Y. Zhuo et al.

Fig. 8 ANSYS model of the spring structure (39 elements)

Fig. 9 Position coordinates’ errors on centroid curve of ANSYS model (39 elements)

13 Approximation of spring elements to spring structures

As a structure composed of slender beams, static properties of springs can be analyzed by beam elements.
Unfortunately, limited to the shape functions of elements, some approximation errors of model would inevitably
be introduced when establishing the finite element model of springs with traditional beam elements. Taking a
cylindrical spring with helical diameter 30.4 mm, spring wire’s diameter 4.1 mm, pitch 11.94 mm composed
of 4 coil spring wire as an example, its model is established by 39 Beam189 elements of ANSYS, as shown
by Fig. 8. In the model, position coordinates’ errors on centroid curve of the spring is shown by Fig. 9.
The model established by 193 Beam189 elements of ANSYS and its position coordinates’ errors on centroid
curve of the spring are shown by Figs. 10 and 11, respectively.
It can be seen from Fig. 11 that in order to control errors of the finite element model within a reasonable
range, lots of elements are usually required. While, there are only 22 nodal parameters for spring elements
presented in this paper. The model and its position coordinates’ errors on centroid curve of the spring are shown
by Figs. 12 and 13, respectively. (In general, the top and bottom of springs would be grinded smoothly, which
are not categorized as active coils and are not taken count into coils of the spring element. In the following
diagrams, the part grinded smoothly is represented by white).
A geometrically nonlinear spring element for structural analysis of helical springs 1807

Fig. 10 ANSYS model of the spring structure (193 elements)

Fig. 11 Position coordinates’ errors on centroid curve of ANSYS model (193 elements)

Figures 12, 13 indicate that there is almost no errors of model adopting spring elements presented in this
paper to approximate the spring structure, moreover, this spring element can also approximate any spring
structure with variable radius and pitch by adjusting helical radius and height coordinates, as shown by Fig. 14.

14 Deformation analysis to spring structures

A cylindrical spring with helical diameter 157 mm, spring wire’s diameter 13 mm, pitch 40 mm is composed of
6 coil spring wire made by material of elastic modulus E  210GPa and Poisson ratio ν  0.3. Its bottom node
is fixed and a vertical pressure is applied to the top center. This spring model is established by 297 Beam189
elements of ANSYS and spring elements presented in this paper, respectively, as shown by Figs.15, 16. In the
ANSYS model, degree of freedom of bottom node of active coils is all constrained, and the force and moment
being equivalent to pressure on the top center (refer to Sect. 10) are applied on the top node, as well as the
mesh size is 10 mm. In the model of spring elements presented, active coils part has the same constraint modes
and force boundary conditions in the process of simulation.
In order to ensure the appropriate size selection of ANSYS model, the stress convergence analysis is carried
out. Under the action of 1000 N forces, Von Mises stress of a point in the spring model of different mesh sizes
are shown by Fig. 17. It can be seen the stress has converged in case of the mesh size being 10 mm and
1808 Y. Zhuo et al.

Fig. 12 Spring element of the spring structure

Fig. 13 Position coordinates’ errors on centroid curve of the spring element

the size selection is suitable for this model. As shown by Table 1, positions of top node after deformation
can be obtained by spring elements, and compared with the results simulated by ANSYS, where X, Y, Z
represent horizontal, transverse and vertical coordinates along base vectors g 2 , g 3 , g 1 , of global reference
frame, respectively.
It can be seen from Table 1, results calculated by spring elements are in good agreement with those given by
Beam189 of ANSYS, and the maximum deviation value of vertical coordinates obtained by them is 0.672 mm.
Under the action of 1000 N forces, coordinates of each point on the centroid curve of deformed spring obtained
by Beam189 of ANSYS and spring elements are shown by Fig. 18.
From Fig. 18, it can be seen that the good agreement of results obtained by spring elements and ANSYS
model validated the effectiveness of spring elements presented in this paper. In the ANSYS model, 1788
parameters are required, and nodal coordinates of 297 beam elements must be consistent with coordinates on
the centroid curve of springs when modeling. While, for spring elements, Input parameters of the model only
include 36 descriptive variables, and in this process, just position coordinates of 7 nodes are must identified.
Moreover, by application of spring elements, details of variation for helical radius, height coordinates, azimuth
A geometrically nonlinear spring element for structural analysis of helical springs 1809

Fig. 14 Model of the spring with variable pitch and radius

Fig. 15 ANSYS model (297 elements)

Fig. 16 The model of Spring elements

1810 Y. Zhuo et al.

Fig. 17 The stress of a point in the spring ANSYS model of different mesh sizes

Table 1 Comparison of position coordinates of top node after deformation under different forces

Top pressure/N X/mm Y/mm Z/mm

Beam189 The paper Beam189 The paper Beam189 The paper

100 78.500 78.496 − 0.606 − 0.000 231.884 232.042

200 78.500 78.493 − 1.312 − 0.000 223.869 224.064
300 78.500 78.490 − 2.018 − 0.000 216.565 216.065
400 78.500 78.487 − 2.724 − 0.000 208.593 208.047
500 78.500 78.484 − 3.530 − 0.000 199.563 200.011
600 78.500 78.482 − 4.036 − 0.000 191.971 191.956
700 78.500 78.480 − 4.643 − 0.000 183.539 183.883
800 78.500 78.478 − 5.458 − 0.000 175.577 175.794
900 78.500 78.477 − 5.823 − 0.000 167.018 167.690
1000 78.500 78.476 − 6.026 − 0.000 159.064 159.571

angles, torsion angles at each node of the deformed spring can be obtained conveniently, as shown by Figs.19,
20, 21, 22.
It can be found that variations of helical radius, azimuth angles and torsion angles are within 0.3 mm, 1.5
degrees, and 2 degrees, respectively, and the height coordinate is reduced by 80 mm. This trend has generality:
in case of external forces acting on the top center of spring, its variations mainly reflect change of height
coordinates of each coil spring wire, as well as helical radius, azimuth angles and torsion angles would present
tiny changes.
In virtue of Eq. (3), except for torsion angles γ , the first two Cardan angles α, β are also used to describe
rotations of cross sections, their variations are shown by Figs. 23, 24.
The first two Cardan angles shown by Figs. 23, 24 are not small quantities, this is why that rotation
matrix describing orientations of cross sections cannot be linearized. Therefore, considering the geometrically
nonlinear effect caused by large rotations of cross sections relative to the global reference frame is necessary
when analyzing the deformation of springs,
In accordance with Eqs. (40) and (50), normal and shear stresses of any point in the spring can be obtained
and their distributions inner cross sections are shown by Figs. 25, 26.
Moreover, the maximum normal and shear stresses inner any cross section can be also solved, and their
distributions along the spring wire are shown by Figs. 27, 28.
A geometrically nonlinear spring element for structural analysis of helical springs 1811

(a)

(b) (c)
Fig. 18 a X coordinates of each point on the centroid curve of deformed spring. b X coordinates of each point on the centroid
curve of deformed spring. Z coordinates of each point on the centroid curve of deformed spring

Fig. 19 Variations of helical radius at each point on centroid curve of the deformed spring
1812 Y. Zhuo et al.

Fig. 20 Variations of height coordinates at each point on centroid curve of the deformed spring

Fig. 21 Variations of azimuth angles at each point on centroid curve of the deformed spring

Fig. 22 Variations of torsion angles at each point on centroid curve of the deformed spring
A geometrically nonlinear spring element for structural analysis of helical springs 1813

Fig. 23 α angle of each cross section on centroid curve of the deformed spring

Fig. 24 β angle of each cross section on centroid curve of the deformed spring

15 Stiffness of cylindrical springs

Stiffness’ analytical formula of cylindrical springs with the number of active coils being n is given by spring
manual [31],
Gd 4
k (123)
8D 3 n
where G is shear modulus of material, and D, d are the helical diameter and spring wire’ diameter, respectively.
Its validity need satisfy some conditions: (1) initial helix lifted angles are less than 9 degrees; (2) rotation angles
of cross sections are small.

15.1 Stiffness at compressive state of cylindrical springs

A cylindrical spring with helical diameter 30.4 mm, spring wire’s diameter 4.1 mm, pitch 11.94 mm is composed
of 4 coil spring wire made by material of elastic modulus E  210GPa and Poisson ratio ν  0.3. Its bottom
node is fixed and a vertical pressure is applied to the top center, as shown by Fig. 29. The initial helix lifted
angle is 7.13 degrees, and by application of Eq. (123), the stiffness of this spring is 25.39 N/mm.
1814 Y. Zhuo et al.

Fig. 25 Normal stress nephogram of the cross section at the azimuth angle 18° of the 1st coil (MPa)

Fig. 26 Shear stress nephogram of the cross section at the azimuth angle 18° of the 1st coil (MPa)

The stiffness of spring under actions of different forces obtained by spring elements presented in this paper
are shown by Fig. 30, their comparisons with analytical solutions are shown by Fig. 31.
In fact, some secondary factors are ignored in stiffness’ analytical formula of cylindrical springs given by
Eq. (123), which is not absolutely accurate. Particularly, it is pointed out that the stiffness of spring would
decreases slightly as the pressure increases in the spring manual. In Fig. 30, the stiffness obtained by spring
elements decreases from 26 N/mm to 25.14 N/mm when pressures vary from 0 to 550 N, and its amplitude of
reduction is only 0.86 N/mm, which is in good agreement with the phenomenon stated in the spring manual.
In Fig. 31, relative errors of stiffness obtained by spring elements and analytical solutions are within 2.5% and
the validity of spring elements presented can be verified.
A geometrically nonlinear spring element for structural analysis of helical springs 1815

Fig. 27 Normal stress nephogram of the spring (MPa)

Fig. 28 Shear stress nephogram of a spring (MPa)

15.2 Stiffness at tensile state of cylindrical springs

In terms of cylindrical springs shown by Fig. 29 whose parameters are same as the example in Sect. 15.1, but a
tensional force is applied to the top center. Spring elements presented are adopted to analyze the stiffness and
the results obtained are shown by Fig. 32, their comparisons with analytical solutions are shown by Fig. 33.
It is predicated from Fig. 32 that the stiffness obtained by spring elements increases from 26 N/mm to
26.99 N/mm when tensional forces vary from 0 to 550 N, and its increasing amplitude is 1 N/mm. Figure 33
shows that relative errors of stiffness obtained by spring elements and analytical solutions are within 6.5%.
But as stated in the spring manual, there exist some simplification in the derivation of analytical solutions, in
fact, the stiffness would increase slightly when the spring being tensile state.
It can be seen form above analysis of two sections that the stiffness of cylindrical springs decreases with
the pressure increasing and increases with the tensional force increasing, but the amplitude of variations is
very small. Therefore, the stiffness of spring can be regarded as constant in the case of mechanical analysis
with low accuracy requirements.
1816 Y. Zhuo et al.

Fig. 29 Shape of a cylindrical spring

Fig. 30 Stiffness of a cylindrical spring under different pressures

Fig. 31 Relative errors of stiffness obtained by spring element and analytical solution
A geometrically nonlinear spring element for structural analysis of helical springs 1817

Fig. 32 Stiffness of the cylindrical spring with tensile forces

Fig. 33 Relative errors of stiffness obtained byspring element and analytical solution

16 Stiffness of conical springs

In terms of conical springs, analytical derivations are very complex and its properties of stiffness are usually
analyzed by finite element methods.

16.1 Stiffness at compressive state of conical springs

A conical spring with equal pitch 11.94 mm, spring wire’s diameter 4.1 mm, is composed of 4 coil spring wire
made by material of elastic modulus E  210GPa and Poisson ratio ν  0.3, its helical diameters of each coil
are 30.4 mm, 26.93 mm, 23.47 mm, 20 mm. Similarly, its bottom node is fixed and a vertical pressure is applied
to the top center, as shown by Fig. 34. And the diameter of bottom coil and total height of this spring are same
as that in Sects. 15.1–15.2, differently, its helical diameters decrease gradually with the height increasing. The
stiffness of spring under actions of different forces obtained by spring elements presented in this paper are
shown by Fig. 35.
It can be seen that the stiffness obtained by spring elements decreases from 46.3 N/mm to 45.1 N/mm
when pressures vary from 0 to 550 N, and its amplitude of reduction is within 1 N/mm, which results in the
1818 Y. Zhuo et al.

Fig. 34 Shape of the conical spring

Fig. 35 Stiffness of the conical spring under different pressures

conclusion by comparing with Fig. 30 that in conditions of the same diameter of bottom coil and total height,
the stiffness of conical springs are significantly higher than that of cylindrical springs.

16.2 Stiffness at tensile state of conical springs

Taking the conical springs in Sect. 16.1 as the research object, Spring elements presented are adopted to analyze
the stiffness and the results obtained are shown by Fig. 36. It can be observed that the stiffness obtained by
spring elements increases from 46.0 N/mm to 47.2 N/mm when tensional forces vary from 0 to 550 N, and its
increasing amplitude is 1.2 N/mm.
Therefore, the properties of helical springs can be revealed that the stiffness of helical springs decreases
gradually with the load of pressure increasing and increases with the tensional forces increasing, and their
variations are little compared with the value of stiffness. Moreover, in the conditions of the same diameter of
bottom coil and total height, the stiffness of conical springs are significantly higher than that of cylindrical
springs, but the stiffness of conical springs cannot be estimated by simple analytical formula.
A geometrically nonlinear spring element for structural analysis of helical springs 1819

Fig. 36 Stiffness of the conical spring under different tensile forces

17 Conclusion

Helical springs can be regarded as the structures composed of slender curved beams, and adopting traditional
finite methods to analyze the static deformation of this kind of structures will result in two problems: (1) lots
of elements are required for approximate its initial configuration; (2) the geometric nonlinear effects cannot
be ignored, in addition, the relationships of strains and displacements are very complex. In order to overcome
these difficulties, the basic theory of beams is deeply studied. Virtual deformation power of slender curved
beams with unrestricted rotation is derived. Then, the calculating methods of generalized strains are given, In
accordance with the principle of virtual power, a spring element for helical springs is presented in this paper,
which has the following advantages compared with traditional finite methods.
(1) Shapes between two nodes are approximated by polynomial functions in general beams, which makes
the helical structure separated into plenty of elements. Adopting the helical line to describe the shapes in
the spring elements presented has no errors of model.
(2) Strains of traditional beam elements are related to rigid motions of cross sections partly, in the spring
elements presented, generalized strains are stretch rate of arc-length, components of curvature vectors of
cross sections, which is irrelevant to rigid motions of cross sections and can be used to solve the problem
of geometrical nonlinearity.
(3) Strains of traditional beam elements are related to rigid motions of cross sections partly, in the spring
elements presented, generalized strains are stretch rate of arc-length, components of curvature vectors of
cross sections, which is irrelevant to rigid motions of cross sections and can be used to solve the problem
of geometrical nonlinearity.
(4) Only one node is needed on each coil spring wire for the spring element, and 4 parameters are selected as
descriptive variables at each node. Thus, input parameters are reduced obviously compared with traditional
methods.
On the above foundations, the stiffness of cylindrical springs and its trend of variation with external forces
were analyzed by the spring elements presented. Comparison with the results obtained by analytical formula
verified its validity. The stiffness analysis of conical springs shows the universality of spring element to general
helical springs, in the process of which, regular properties of helical springs were obtained. The above analysis
indicates that the spring elements presented in this paper can be used an effective auxiliary tool for design of
springs.

18 Statistics analysis

In this paper, ANSYS models were established by Beam181 elements in ANSYS 15.0. Computational programs
of models of spring elements involved in above numerical examples were written by MATLAB®2019a and
1820 Y. Zhuo et al.

the nonlinear equilibrium equation was calculated using the fsolve solver in MATLAB®2019a. Figures 8, 10,
15 were prepared by ANSYS 15.0 and other Figures were prepared by MATLAB®2019a. All examples were
performed on the same PC with an Intel Core 3.2 GHz processor and 32 GB RAM.

Acknowledgements This work has been supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No. 11802048,
No. 11872137 and No. 91748203).

Declarations

Conflict of interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that
could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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