Buckling and vibration analysis of compressively loaded coil springs by finite element method

Abstract

In numerous mechanical applications, compression coil springs are widely used. An example would be the automotive suspension systems. In such applications, the springs are subjected to compressive loads, as well as vibrations and shocks. It is thus important to investigate the performance characteristics of compression coil springs such as the critical buckling load and natural frequencies.

In this final year project (FYP), the behaviours of the compression coil springs are studied using Finite Element Analysis (FEA). Static analysis, free vibration analysis, and buckling analysis are carried out to understand how a compression coil spring performs under compressive loads. ANSYS Workbench is selected for the FEA.

A comparison between conventional compression coil springs (solid cross-section helical coil springs) and unconventional compression coil springs (hollow cross-section helical coil springs) is done in order to explore the use of unconventional springs in the automotive industry, specifically in the coil spring suspension system. Two main boundary conditions, viz. fixed-fixed and fixed-free ends are considered.