An optimum design for composite helical springs

Abstract

An optimization study on helical compression springs has been performed in this paper. Two objectives are considered: the first objective is to minimize the spring weight, and the second is to maximize the spring stiffness. These two objectives are affected by many engineering design parameters, which can be categorized in three main groups: functional, composite material, and geometrical groups. The objective functions and constraints are mathematically formulated and written in a multi-criteria optimization problem with a non-linear non-equality constraints form. Optimum design parameters, minimum spring weight, and maximum stiffness pertinent to each type of composite material under investigation can then be selected from the results obtained.