Prediction of the Fatigue Life of the SAE 5160 Carbon Steel Coil Spring Based on Strain-Life Approach

Abstract

This study aims to identify the effect of road surface to coil spring fatigue life using the strain-life approach. Strain signals were measured by attaching a strain gauge at the critical point of the component. The car was driven on a flat road, as well as uphill, and downhill paths. The results show that the downhill road provided the lowest fatigue life, of 1.5E+4 cycles to failure, which was 53 % lower than that of the uphill and 2,233 % lower than the flat road owing to the braking factor which resulted in a higher stress to the coil spring.