NUST School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering

ME-218 Machine Design

Lecture 5

Instructor: Dr. Jawad Aslam

Mechanical Springs
Stresses & Deflection of Helical Springs
Extension & Compression springs
Design of Helical Springs
Critical Frequency of Spring Loading & Fatigue
and Helical Torsion Springs.

Page 2
• Stresses and Deflection of Helical Springs
Figure shows a round-wire helical compression spring with
axial load F
D is mean coil diameter and d is wire diameter
Spring is cut in (b), and we get direct shear force F and torsion
T = FD/2

Page 3
Maximum shear stress is obtained by the superposition of torsional and direct shear stress

Tr F
 max  
J A
At the inside fiber of the spring
By substitution τmax = τ, T = FD/2, r = d/2, J = πd4/32 and A = πd2/4, we get

8 FD 4 F
 3
 2
d d
Spring index is defined as C = D/d
Equation modified to give
8 FD
  Ks
d 3
With Ks as a shear-stress correction factor defined by the equation

2C  1
Ks 
2C
C varies from 6 to 12 for most springs Page 4
• Curvature effect
Equation for shear stress is based on the wire being straight
Curvature of spring causes increase in stress at the inside of
the spring, but decreases only slightly at the outside
This curvature along with the shear effect may be taken into
account with the help of the following two K factors
4C  1 0.615
KW  
4C  4 C
4C  2
KB 
4C  3
The first is called the Wahl factor
The second is known as the Bergsträsser factor
Since both vary by less than 1 percent form each other, the
second equation is preferred Page 5
The curvature correction factor is obtained by canceling effect
of direct shear
K 2C 4C  2 
Kc  B 
K S 2C  14C  3

KS, KB or KW and KC are now stress correction factors applied to

Tr/J at the critical locations to estimate a particular stress
There is no stress concentration factor
The following equation is used to predict largest shear stress
8 FD
  Ks
d 3

Page 6
• Deflection of Helical Springs
Deflection-force relations are quite easily obtained using
Castigliano’s theorem
Strain or potential energy is given by
F F2 F 2l
U  y 
2 2k 2 AE
For compression
2
and tension
F l
U
2 AE
For torsion
T 2l
U
2GJ
In case of direct shear, the work done is
F
U 
2
Page 7
Since shear strain is
  F
  
l G AG
Direct2strain energy is then
F l
U
2 AG
Total strain energy for a helical spring is composed of a
torsional component and a shear component
T 2l F 2l
U 
2GJ 2GA
Subsituting T = FD/2, l = πDN, J= πd4/32 and A = πd2/4
4 F 2 D 3 N 2 F 2 DN
U 4

d G d 2G
Where N = Na = number of active coils

Page 8
Using Castigliano’s theorem we can find total deflection as
U 8 FD 3 N 4 FDN
y  4
 2
F d G d G

Since C = D/d, we can rearrange earlier equation to give us

8 FD 3 N  1 
y 4  1  2 
d G  2C 

The spring rate, also called the scale of the spring is k = F/y
d 4G
k
8D 3 N

Page 9
• Compression springs
Four types of spring ends are shown in figure below
Plain end is as-cut
Squared or closed is obtained by twisting coil to zero-degree
helix angle
Springs should be squared and ground for better load transfer

Page 10
Table below shows the effect of type of end on no. of coils
Numbers 1,2 and 3 need to be scrutinised according to
construction of the spring
Squared and ground ends give Ls = (Nt – a)d
where a varies (ave. of 0.75) thus Ls in table may be
overstated
Solid length may be measures for spring to be used

Page 11
Set removal or presetting involves making a spring longer
than needed for application then compressed to final service
length – 10 to 30% longer than needed
Induces residual stresses opposite to what will be seen in
service
Increases strength of spring hence useful for energy storage,
should not be used when spring is used for fatigue

Page 12
• Stability
Calculation similar to that of column buckling – spring may
buckle if load too big
  C2
12
 
  
ycr  L0C1 1  1  2  
  eff 
 
 
where ycr is critical deflection
λeff is the effective slenderness ratio and is given by the
equation
L0
eff 
D

Page 13
C1’ and C2’ are elastic constants defined by the equations
E
C1 
2E  G 
2 2 E  G 
C2 
2G  E

Equation on previous page has the end-condition constant α

which depends on how the ends of the spring are supported

Page 14
Absolute stability occurs when the term C2 2eff is greater than
unity
The condition for absolute stability then becomes
D  2E  G 
12

L0 
  2G  E 
For steels, this then turns out to be
D
L0  2.63

For squared and ground ends α = 0.5 and L0 < 5.26D

Page 15
• Helical compression spring design for static service
Preferred spring index is 4 ≤ C ≤ 12
Lower indexes difficult to form
Higher indexes tangle when boxed together, hence need
independent packaging
Recommended range of active turns 3 ≤ Na ≤ 15
To maintain linearity, coil pitch must be perfect
Near the end of closure, spring becomes nonlinear since coils
start to touch – designers define loading between F = 0 and F =
0.75 Fs
Thus, the max. operating force should be limited to Fmax ≤ 7/8 Fs

Page 16
Defining fractional overrun to closure as ξ where
Fs = (1 + ξ)Fmax or ξ = (ys - y1)/y1
It then follows that
Fs = (1 + ξ)(7/8)Fs
or
ξ = 1/7 = 0.143 = 0.15
Thus it is recommended that ξ ≥ 0.15
We thus get the following design recommendations for spring
design
4 ≤ C ≤ 12
3 ≤ Na ≤ 15
ξ ≥ 0.15
ns ≥ 12 – factor of safety at solid height
Page 17