Design of Machine Elements

Springs
 Springs
• A spring is defined as an elastic machine element,
which deflects under the action of the load and returns
to its original shape when the load is removed.
• It can take any shape and form depending upon the
application.

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 Relation between Force and
Deformation
applied force
F=0N

F=1N
F=2N

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 Functions of Springs
1. To absorb shocks and vibrations,
i. vehicle suspension springs,
ii. railway buffer springs, buffer springs
iii. in elevators and
iv. vibration mounts for machinery
2. To store energy
i. Springs used in clocks,
ii. toys,
iii. movie-cameras,
iv. Circuit breakers and starters
3. To measure force
i. Springs used in weighing balances and Scales

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 Functions of Springs..
4. To apply force and control motion
i. In the cam and follower mechanism, spring is used
to maintain contact between the two elements.
ii. In engine valve mechanism, spring is used to
return the rocker arm to its normal position when
the disturbing force is removed.
iii. The spring used in clutch provides the required
force to engage the clutch.

In all these applications, the spring is used either to

apply the force or to control the motion.

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 Types of Springs

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 Types of Springs..

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 Terminology of Helical Springs..
The main dimensions of a helical
spring subjected to compressive
force are shown in Fig

d = wire diameter of spring (mm)

Di = inside diameter of spring coil (mm)
Do = outside diameter of spring coil (mm)
D = mean coil diameter (mm)
Therefore,

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 Terminology of Helical Springs..
• The spring index is defined as the ratio of mean coil diameter to
wire diameter.

• In the design of helical springs, the designer should use good

judgment in assuming the value of the spring index C.
• The spring index indicates the relative sharpness of the curvature
of the coil.
• A low spring index means high sharpness of curvature.
• When the spring index is low (C < 3), the actual stresses in the
wire are excessive due to curvature effect.
• Such a spring is difficult to manufacture and special care in
coiling is required to avoid cracking in some wires.
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 Terminology of Helical Springs..
• When the spring index is high (C > 15), it results in large variation
in the coil diameter.
• Such a spring is prone to buckling and also tangles easily during
handling.
• A spring index from 4 to 12 is considered best from
manufacturing considerations.
• Therefore, in practical applications, the spring index usually
varies from 4 to 12.
• However, a spring index in the range of 6 to 9 is still preferred
particularly for close tolerance springs and those subjected to
cyclic loading.

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 Terminology of Helical Springs..
• Solid length is defined as the axial length of the spring which is so compressed
that the adjacent coils touch each other.
• In this case, the spring is completely compressed and no further compression is
possible.
• The solid length is given by, Solid length = Nt d where, Nt = total number of coils

• Compressed length is defined as the axial length of the spring, which is subjected
to maximum compressive force.
• In this case, the spring is subjected to maximum deflection δ.
• When the spring is subjected to maximum force, there should be some gap or
clearance between the adjacent coils.
• The gap is essential to prevent clashing of the coils.
• The clashing allowance or the total axial gap is usually taken as 15% of the
maximum deflection.
• Sometimes, an arbitrary decision is taken and it is assumed that there is a gap of 1
or 2 mm between adjacent coils under maximum load condition.
• In this case, the total axial gap is given by,
• Total gap = (Nt – 1) * Gap between adjacent coils 15
 Terminology of Helical Springs..

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 Terminology of Helical Springs..
• Free length is defined as the axial length of an unloaded helical compression
spring.
• In this case, no external force acts on the spring.
• Free length is an important dimension in spring design and manufacture.
• It is the length of the spring in free condition prior to assembly.
• Free length is given by,
• free length = compressed length + δ
= solid length + total axial gap + δ
• The pitch of the coil is defined as the axial distance between adjacent coils
in uncompressed state of spring.
• It is denoted by p.
• It is given by,

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 Terminology of Helical Springs..
• The stiffness of the spring (k) is defined as the force required to produce
unit deflection.
• Therefore, Free length
• where,
k = stiffness of the spring (N/mm)
P = axial spring force (N)
d = axial deflection of the spring corresponding to the force P (mm)
• There are various names for stiffness of spring such as rate of spring,
gradient of spring, scale of spring or simply spring constant.
• Active coils are the coils in the spring which contribute to spring action,
support the external force and deflect under the action of force.
• A portion of the end coils, which is in contact with the seat, does not
contribute to spring action and are called inactive coils.
• These coils do not support the load and do not deflect under the action of
an external force.
• The number of inactive coils is given by, inactive coils = Nt – N
where, N = number of active coils.
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 Styles of End
• The turns at the two ends do not affect
the deflection calculated by the load-
deflection equation.
• Therefore, while calculating the number
of active turns, the end turns should be
subtracted from the total number of
turns.
• The number of active turns for different
styles of end is as follows:

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 Stress and Deflection Equations
When the wire of the helical spring is uncolied and straightened, it takes the
shape of a bar.
In deriving stress equation, this bar is considered to be equivalent to the
actual helical spring.
The dimensions of equivalent bar:
1. dia of bar = wire dia of spring =d
2. length of one coil of the spring = piD
3. There are ‘N’ such active coils
length of eui. bar = piDN
4. The bar is fitted with bracket at each end
The length of this bracket = mean coil rad of spring= D/2
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 Load - Stress Equation

The force P acting at the end of the bracket induces torsional shear stress in the
bar. The torsional moment is given by,
PD
Mt 
2

The torsional shear stress in the bar

is given by,
16M t
1 
d3
Substituting, Mt we get

8PD
1 
d3

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 Load - Stress Equation..
When the equivalent bar is bent in the form of
helical coil two additional stresses arises
-There is direct or transverse shear stress in
the spring wire
- Bend in wire due to forming coil produces
stress concentration at inside fiber of the
coil
To account for these effect,
Ks= factor to account for direct shear
stress
Kc=Factor to account for stress
concentration due to
curvature effect
Combined effect of these two factors
K=Ks.Kc
Where K is the factor to account for the combined
effect of two factors
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• The direct shear stress in the bar due to load P is
given by 4 P 8PD  0.5d 
2  P  
  d
4
2
 d 2  
d  D 
3

• Superimposing the two stresses, the resultant shear

stress in the spring wire is given by,

8PD  0.5d   8PD 

  1   2  3 
1     Ks  3 
d  D    d 
In this factor only direct shear stress is considered
 0.5d 
K s  1  
 D 
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 Load - Stress Equation..
A.M.Wahl derived the equation for resultant stress considering torsional
shear stress, direct shear stress and stress concentration for curvature effect
given as follows:
 8PD 
 K 3 
 d 
We can call above equation as a Load-Stress equation
Where K is called stress factor or Wahl factor
4C  1 0.615
K 
4C  4 C
Where C is spring index
Wahl factor provides a simple method to find resultant stresses in the spring.

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 Load - Stress Equation..
The angle of twist (θ)for the equivalent bar,
M tl

JG

Where, θ = Angle of twist(Rad)

Mt =Torsional moment(PD/2)
l = Length of bar(πDN)
J =Polar moment of inertia of bar
G = Modulus of rigidity
Substituting above terms, we get
( PD / 2)( DN ) 16PD 2
N
 or 
( d 4 / 32)G Gd 4

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 Load - Deflection Equation..

The axial deflection δ of the spring, for small value of θ,

Is given by

δ = θ × (Length of Bracket)
= θ × (D/2)
Substituting value of θ
8PD3 N

Gd 4

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 P
• Stiffness of spring(k), k


Gd 4
k 3
8D N
• It is observed that from previous equation,
 P or P

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 Springs Materials
The selection of material for the spring wire depends upon the
following factors:
1. The load acting on the spring
2. The range of stress through which the spring operates
3. The limitations on mass and volume of spring
4. The expected fatigue life
5. The environmental conditions in which the spring will operate such as
temperature and corrosive atmosphere
6. The severity of deformation encountered while making the spring.
7. There are four basic varieties of steel wire

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 Springs Materials..
There are four basic varieties of steel wire which are used in springs in the
majority of applications:
(i) patented and cold-drawn steel wires (unalloyed);
(ii) oil-hardened and tempered spring steel wires and valve spring wires;
(iii) oil-hardened and tempered steel wires (alloyed); and
(iv) stainless steel spring wires.
In order to compare the relative cost of spring wires, the following cost
indices are useful.

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 Design of Helical Spring
• There are three objectives for the design of the helical spring:
(i) It should possess sufficient strength to withstand the external load.
(ii) It should have the required load-deflection characteristic.
(iii) It should not buckle under the external load.
• It is possible to design a number of springs for a given application by
changing the three basic parameters, viz., wire diameter, mean coil
diameter and the number of active turns.
• However, there are practical limitations on these parameters.
• In certain applications, there are space limitations, e.g., the spring is to fit
in a hole of certain diameter, where the outside coil diameter (Do) is
restricted.
• In some applications, the spring is to fit over a rod, where the minimum
inside diameter (Di) of the coil is specified.
• Before proceeding to design calculations, the designer should specify the
limits on these diameters.
• The factor of safety in the design of springs is usually 1.5 or less.
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 Design of Helical Spring
STEP I:
For the given application, estimate the maximum spring force (P) and the
corresponding required deflection (d) of the spring.
In some cases, maximum spring force (P) and stiffness k, which is (P/d), are
specified.
STEP II:
Select a suitable spring material and find out ultimate tensile strength (Sut)
from the data.
Calculate the permissible shear stress for the spring wire by following
relationship:
t = 0.30 Sut or 0.50 Sut
STEP III:
Assume a suitable value for the spring index (C).
For industrial applications, the spring index varies from 8 to 10.
A spring index of 8 is considered as a good value.
The spring index for springs in valves and clutches is 5.
The spring index should never be less than 3.
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 Design of Helical Spring
STEP IV:
Calculate the Wahl factor by the following equation:

STEP V:
Determine wire diameter (d) the following equation:

STEP VI:
Determine mean coil diameter (D) by the following
relationship:
D = Cd

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 Design of Helical Spring
STEP VII:
Determine the number of active coils (N) by the following equation: :

The modulus of rigidity (G) for steel wires is 81 370 N/mm2.

STEP VIII:
• Decide the style of ends for the spring depending upon the
configuration of the application.
• Determine the number of inactive coils.
• Adding active and inactive coils, find out the total number of coils
(Nt).
STEP IX:
Determine the solid length of the spring by the following relationship:
Solid length = Ntd
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 Design of Helical Spring
STEP X:
Determine the actual deflection of the spring by the following equation:

STEP XI:
• Assume a gap of 0.5 to 2 mm between adjacent coils, when the spring is
under the action of maximum load.
• The total axial gap between coils is given by,
total gap = (Nt – 1) * gap between two adjacent coils
• In some cases, the total axial gap is taken as 15% of the maximum
deflection.

STEP XII:
Determine the free length of the spring by the following relationship:
free length = solid length + total gap + d
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 Design of Helical Spring
STEP XIII:
Determine the pitch of the coil by the following relationship:

STEP XIV:
Determine the rate of spring by the following equation:

STEP XV:
Prepare a list of spring specifications.

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 Design of Helical Spring

Case Study Problem Statement:

A railway wagon moving at a velocity of 1.5 m/s is brought to
rest by a bumper consisting of two helical springs arranged in
parallel. The mass of the wagon is 1500 kg. The springs are
compressed by 150 mm in bringing the wagon to rest. Design
the spring.

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