Fatigue behaviour of a spring: a case study

Abstract

A durability design case study concerning a U spring is presented. For a given geometry of the component, the question was to predict the maximum permissible displacement per cycle whilst ensuring a service life of at least 260 kcycles. The stiffness of the spring was evaluated using the finite elements software SolidWorks. As an approximation a linear model was used in the finite elements analysis, which was also compared with an analytical treatment based on Castigliano’s theorem. Using a given safety factor, a high cycle fatigue analysis was performed assuming the use of a steel with 650 MPa ultimate tensile strength. The spring is either loaded by an imposed displacement, or it is load free, i.e. load ratio (minimum load / maximum load per cycle), is R = -1. An algorithm based on finite fatigue life prediction techniques, the Basquin and Goodman diagrams, and the relationship between ultimate tensile strength and fatigue limit was used and will be briefly presented and discussed. Also, the stress analysis helped to highlight the need for some minor geometry changes. The outcome of the study was the evaluation of the maximum permissible displacement per cycle, as required in the real life case addressed.