Assessment of the Performance of Laminated Composite Leaf Springs Subjected to Cyclic Loading
Sudhakar Rajesha, Govindasamy Bhavani Bhaskara a Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tagore Engineering College, Chennai-600127, India
Assessment of the performance of laminated composite leaf springs subjected to cyclic loading
This paper deals with replacement of conventional leaf spring with composite leaf spring in automobiles. The dimensions of an existing conventional steel leaf spring of a light commercial vehicle were taken to fabricate the special die, which is further used to manufacture the composite leaf spring. A single leaf with constant cross sectional area similar to that of conventional leaf spring in each case such as bidirectional glass fiber reinforced plastic, bidirectional carbon fiber reinforced plastic, bidirectional carbon-glass reinforced plastic and bidirectional glass-carbon reinforced plastic were fabricated by hand layup technique and tested by universal testing machine. The cyclic loading with specific duration was given to the above mentioned composite leaf springs, by using a laboratory designed loading set up through milling machine. From the experimental results, it was observed that if a conventional leaf spring is replaced by a composite leaf spring, an appropriate amount of weight reduction and there-by improved vehicle performance with considerable increased load bearing capacity can be achieved.
Key words: Composite leaf spring; Composite materials; GFRP; CFRP; C-GRP; G-CRP; Weight reduction.
1. Introduction
The automobile industries have shown increased interest in the replacement of steel springs with the composite leaf spring. This is because of general characteristics possessed by the composite materials, such as high strength to weight ratio, corrosion resistance, damping quality etc. In order to conserve the natural resources and economize energy, weight reduction has been the main focus in the automobile industry. Suspension leaf spring is a potential item for weight reduction in automobiles, as it
Assessment of the performance of laminated composite leaf springs subjected to cyclic loading
This paper deals with replacement of conventional leaf spring with composite leaf spring in automobiles. The dimensions of an existing conventional steel leaf spring of a light commercial vehicle were taken to fabricate the special die, which is further used to manufacture the composite leaf spring. A single leaf with constant cross sectional area similar to that of conventional leaf spring in each case such as bidirectional glass fiber reinforced plastic, bidirectional carbon fiber reinforced plastic, bidirectional carbon-glass reinforced plastic and bidirectional glass-carbon reinforced plastic were fabricated by hand layup technique and tested by universal testing machine. The cyclic loading with specific duration was given to the above mentioned composite leaf springs, by using a laboratory designed loading set up through milling machine. From the experimental results, it was observed that if a conventional leaf spring is replaced by a composite leaf spring, an appropriate amount of weight reduction and there-by improved vehicle performance with considerable increased load bearing capacity can be achieved.
Key words: Composite leaf spring; Composite materials; GFRP; CFRP; C-GRP; G-CRP; Weight reduction.
1. Introduction
The automobile industries have shown increased interest in the replacement of steel springs with the composite leaf spring. This is because of general characteristics possessed by the composite materials, such as high strength to weight ratio, corrosion resistance, damping quality etc. In order to conserve the natural resources and economize energy, weight reduction has been the main focus in the automobile industry. Suspension leaf spring is a potential item for weight reduction in automobiles, as it
References: [1] Senthilkumar.M , Vijayarangan.S : Static analysis and fatigue life prediction of steel and composite leaf spring for light passenger vehicles. Journal of scientific and industrial research. (2006) pp. 128-134. [2] Siva Shankar.G, Vijayarangan.S : Mono composite leaf spring light weight vehicle –Design, end joint analysis and testing Material science, Vol 12 (2006). [3] Rajendra.L, Vijayarangan.S : Optimal design of a composite leaf spring using genetic algorithms. International journal of composite and struuctures. (2001) pp.1121-1129. [4] J. P. Hou, J.Y.Cherruault, I.Nairne, G. Jeronimidis, R. M. Mayer : Evaluation of eye end design of composite leaf spring for heavy axle loads. . International journal of composite and struuctures. (2007) pp.351-358. [5] Hawang.W, Han.K.S : Fatigue of Composites – Fatigue modulus Concept and Life Prediction. Journal of Composite Materials. (1986) pp. 154-165. [6] Jadhao.K.K, Dalu, D.S : Experimental investigation & Numerical Analysis of composite leaf spring. International journal of engineering science and technology, Vol. 3 (2011). [7] Mahdi.E, Alkoles, O.M.S, Hamouda, A.M.S, Sahari, B.B, Yonus.R, Goudah, G: Light composite elliptic springs for vehicle suspension. International journal of composite structures. (2006) pp. 24-28. [8] Patunkar.M.M, Dolas.D.R : Modelling and analysis of Composite leaf spring under the static load condition by using FEA. International Journal of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Vol 1, (2011) pp. 1-4. [9] Senthilkumar.M, Vijayarangan.S : Analytical and experiment studies on fatigue life prediction of steel and composite multi-leaf spring for light passenger vehicles using life data analysis. International Journal of material science, Vol 13 (2007). [10] Senthilkumar.M, Vijayarangan.S : Analytical and experiment studies on fatigue life prediction of steel and composite multi-leaf spring for light passenger vehicles using life data analysis. International Journal of material science, Vol 13 (2007). [11] Shokreih.M, Davood Rezzaei : Analysis and optimization of a composite leaf spring. International journal of Composite structures, (2003) pp. 317-325. [12] Subramanian.C, Senthilvelan.S : Effect of reinforced fiber length on the joint performance of thermoplastic leaf spring. International Journal of Materials and Design. (2010) pp. 3733-3741.