Fatigue Analysis And Optimization Of A Multi-Leaf Spring: A Review

The suspension system in a vehicle significantly affects the behavior of vehicle, i.e. vibration characteristics including ride comfort, stability etc. Leaf springs are commonly used in the vehicle suspension system and are subjected to millions of varying stress cycles leading to fatigue failure. The advantage of leaf spring over helical spring is that the ends of the spring may be guided along a definite path as it deflects to act as a structural member in addition to energy absorbing device. A lot of research has been done for improving the performance of leaf spring. Now the automobile industry has shown interest in the replacement of steel spring with composite leaf spring, since the composite material has high strength to weight ratio and good corrosion resistance. The aim of this paper is to analyze how failure occurs on a leaf spring and to provide preventive measures for the same. There is a review of some papers on the design and analysis of leaf spring performance and fatigue life prediction of leaf spring. There is also the analysis of failure in leaf spring.