Failure Analysis of Composite Mono Leaf Spring Using Modal Flexibility and Curvature Method

A theoretical model used for determining the stiffness of composite leaf springs with a main spring and an auxiliary spring

“…Therefore, the design method and performance investigation of composite leaf springs are the research hotspots in the application field of composite structures. Joint reliability [5,6], structure design [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15], ply design [16], stiffness calculation [17], optimization [18][19][20][21], performance investigation [22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33] and structural health monitoring [34][35][36][37][38] of composite mono leaf springs have been studied comprehensively and systematically. However, there are great differences in the requirements of suspension stiffness in some working conditions of automobile such as only the driver on the automobile, all the passengers plus the driver and the luggage on the automobile.…”

Structure Design of GFRP Composite Leaf Spring: An Experimental and Finite Element Analysis

“…The automobile emission is the major contributor to environmental pollution, and hence the reduction of vehicle weight is one of the most effective ways of reducing overall fuel consumption and the pollutant emission [5]. Specifically, the leaf spring is one of the potential items for weight reduction in automobiles, as its weight accounts for 10-20% of the un-sprung weight (the weight which is not supported by the suspension system) of the automobile [1,3,6]. It is noted that the leaf spring is a reliable elastic component in the automobile suspension, as shown in Figure 1a, which not only suffers rigorous working conditions, but also affects the performance of the vehicle [6,7].…”

“…Specifically, the leaf spring is one of the potential items for weight reduction in automobiles, as its weight accounts for 10-20% of the un-sprung weight (the weight which is not supported by the suspension system) of the automobile [1,3,6]. It is noted that the leaf spring is a reliable elastic component in the automobile suspension, as shown in Figure 1a, which not only suffers rigorous working conditions, but also affects the performance of the vehicle [6,7]. The reduction of un-sprung weight could significantly decrease the fatigue stress induced in the leaf spring.…”

“…Therefore, the introduction of composite materials enables the weight reduction in the leaf spring, which leads to a better riding performance of the vehicle as well as the reduction in vehicle cost [22]. In practice, the structure of the leaf spring's main body used in automobiles is mainly categorized into four types, including that with constant width and thickness [23], constant width and variable thickness [24], constant thickness and variable width [6], and variable width and variable thickness [6,25]. Specifically, the leaf spring with constant width and thickness is easy to fabricate but it is weak in the thin middle part.…”

Evaluation of modal parameters and static characteristics for composite mono leaf spring

“…Many researchers have investigated the composite leaf spring. 5–10 Design, fabrication, weight analysis and testing of a composite integrated rear suspension in a Ford Escort vehicle were reported by. 11 Carello et al 12 designed and modeled a novel transverse Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic (CFRP) leaf spring prototype for a multilink suspension in order to reduce un-sprung masses for city car suspension.…”