Shigley’s Mechanical Engineering Design

9th Edition in SI units

Richard G. Budynas and J. Keith Nisbett

Chapter 10
Mechanical Springs

Prepared by
Kuei-Yuan Chan
Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering
National Cheng Kung University

Copyright © 2011 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.
10 Mechanical Springs

Chapter 10-1 Stresses in Helical Springs

Outline 10-2 The Curvature Effect
10-3 Deflection of Helical Springs
10-4 Compression Springs
10-5 Stability
10-6 Spring Materials
10-7 Helical Compression Spring Design for Static Service
10-8 Critical Frequency of Helical Springs
10-9 Fatigue Loading of Helical Compression Springs
10-10 Helical Compression Spring Design for Fatigue Loading
10-11 Extension Springs
10-12 Helical Coil Torsion Springs
10-13 Belleville Springs
10-14 Miscellaneous Springs
10-15 Summary
Springs Types (Helical compression)
Springs Types (Helical tension and torsion)
Springs Types (Spring washer)
Springs Types (Others)
Helical Compression Springs

•Lengths •Deflection
•Free Lo • Working yworking

•Assembled La •Clash allowance

yclash
•Solid or shut height
Ls
Stresses in Helical Springs
• The maximum stress in a round-wire helical compression spring loaded by the
axial force F can be computed by superposition of the direct shear stress and
the torsional shear stress as

• Define the spring index

as a measure of coil curvature. The preferred value of C ranges from 4 to 12.

• The maximum stress then can be rearranged to
give

where Ks is a shear-stress correction factor and is defined

by the equation

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 The Curvature Effect
• The curvature of the wire increases the stress on the inside of the spring but
decreases it only slightly on the outside.
• This curvature stress is primarily important in fatigue because the loads are
lower and there is no opportunity for localized yielding.
• Replace Ks to correct for curvature and direct shear with Bergstrasser factor K B

• The largest shear stress then becomes

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Deflection of Helical Spring
• The deflection-force relations are quite easily obtained by using Castigliano’s
theorem.
• The total strain energy for a helical spring is composed of a torsional
component and a shear component.

• Then using Castigliano’s theorem to find total deflection y gives

• The spring constant or spring rate, also called the scale of the spring, is k =
F /y, and so, (N is active coil number)

• U= U torsion + U direct shear = T2l/2GJ+F2l/2AG

• l=πDN. J=πd4/32 T=FD/2, A=πd2/4
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End Treatment

•End details affect active coils

•Plain
•Ground
•Squared
•Ground
Compression Spring
• The four types of ends are generally used for compression springs.
• The type of end used affects the number of coils and the spring length as

• The table show how the type of ends used affects the number of coil and
spring length

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Stability
• Compression coil springs may buckle when the deflection becomes too
large.
• The critical deflection is given by the equation

where ycr is the deflection corresponding to the onset of instability.

• The quantity λeff is the effective slenderness ratio and is given by the
equation
and α is end-condition constant. Table 10-2
• C′1 and C′2 are elastic constants defined by the equations
E 2 2  E  G 
C1'  C2' 
2 E  G 2G  E

• Absolute stability occurs when the term

C′2 /λ2eff is greater than unity

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Spring Materials
• Springs are manufactured either by hot- or cold-working processes.
• Winding of the spring induces residual stresses through bending, but, Quite
frequently, they are relieved by a mild thermal treatment.
• The graph of tensile strength versus wire diameter is almost a straight line
for some materials when plotted on log-log paper with

• The distortion-energy theory

can be employed to obtain
the torsional yield strength
(Ssy= 0.577Sy) results in the
range

for steels.

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• Table A-28 give
the equivalent
wire diameter
for standard
number

17
Mechanical Properties of Some Spring Wire

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Mechanical Properties of Some Spring Wire

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EXAMPLE 10-1

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 PROBLEM 10-3

A helical compression spring is made with 2.5 mm diameter music

wire. The spring has an outside diameter of 31 mm with plain ground
ends, and 14 total coils.
a)Calculate the spring rate
b)Find the force necessary to deflect the spring to its solid length
c)What should be the free length of the spring?
d)Is there a possibility that the spring might buckle during
compression?

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 PROBLEM 10-3

A helical compression spring is made with 2.5 mm diameter music

wire. The spring has an outside diameter of 31 mm with plain ground
ends, and 14 total coils.
a)Calculate the spring rate
b)Find the force necessary to deflect the spring to its solid length
c)What should be the free length of the spring?
d)Is there a possibility that the spring might buckle during
compression?

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 PROBLEM 10-6

A helical compression spring is made with oil tempered wire, with

wire diameter of 4 mm, spring index C = 10. The spring operate
inside a hole, so buckling will never occur. The spring has plain ends.
The free length of the spring is 80 mm. A force of 50 N deflects the
rping by 15 mm.
a)Determine the spring rate
b)Determine the minimum hole diameter for the spring to operate in
c)Determine the total number of coils
d)Determine the solid length

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