A Comparative Study of Steel and Composite Helical Springs Using Finite Element Analysis

Helical or coiled springs are elastic bodies used in suspension systems of automobiles to absorb shocks caused due to irregularities on the road surface and to provide a comfortable ride to passengers. Composite material springs may improve the performance of suspension springs by adding to weight reduction and improvements in corrosion resistance, durability and life of the suspension springs.In this study, three materials, namely Structural steel, S-Glass Epoxy composite and Epoxy-Carbon prepreg composite were chosen to study their applicability as automobile suspension springs. ANSYS analysis were carried out on these springs to measure the deformation at different loads and the stiffness of the springs. Even though composites exhibited lesser load carrying capacity compared to steel spring, their strength to weight ratio was noticeably higher. The weight of composite springs was found to be at least 75-80% lower than steel. The finite element technique, which was adopted, is validated with the theoretical models and the variation in deformation and stress results was well within the allowable limit of 5%.