International Journal of Modern Engineering Research (IJMER) www.ijmer.com Vol.2, Issue.4, Jul!"ug. 2#$2 %%!$&'(!

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M. Ragha0edra$, *ed "ltaf 1ussain2, V. /andurangadu2, 3. /alani3umar4 *(PG student, School of
Mechanical Engineering RGM College of Engg. & Technology, Nandyal!"#!$", %ndia.& ** (School of Mechanical Engineering,
RGM College of Engineering & Technology, Nandyal!"#!$", %ndia& *** ('e(art)ent of Mechanical Engineering, *NT+ College of
Engineering, ,nanta(ur, ,nanta(ur!"-$$-, %ndia&
Modeling and Analysis of Laminated Composite Leaf Spring under the Static
Load Condition by using FEA
**** ('e(art)ent of Mechanical Engineering, Sri Sai Ra) %nstitute of Technology, Chennai.., Ta)ilnadu, %ndia& ABSTRACT:
This (a(er descri/es design and analysis of la)inated co)(osite )ono leaf s(ring. 0eight reduction is no1 the )ain issue in
auto)o/ile industries. %n the (resent 1or2, the di)ensions of an e3isting )ono steel leaf s(ring of a Maruti #$$ (assenger 4ehicle is
ta2en for )odeling and analysis of a la)inated co)(osite )ono leaf s(ring 1ith three different co)(osite )aterials na)ely, E
glass5E(o3y, Sglass5E(o3y and Car/on5E(o3y su/6ected to the sa)e load as that of a steel s(ring. The design constraints 1ere
stresses and deflections. The three different co)(osite )ono leaf s(rings ha4e /een )odeled /y considering unifor) crosssection,
1ith unidirectional fi/er orientation angle for each la)ina of a la)inate. Static analysis of a 7' )odel has /een (erfor)ed using
,NS8S "$.$. Co)(ared to )ono steel leaf s(ring the la)inated co)(osite )ono leaf s(ring is found to ha4e .9: lesser stresses,
-!:;<!: higher stiffness, -9:;<9: higher fre=uency and 1eight reduction of 97:;#$: is achie4ed. Keywords: >a)inated
Co)(osite leaf s(ring (>C>S&, Static analysis, E Glass5E(o3y, Sglass5E(o3y, Car/on5E(o3y,
I. INT!"#CTI!N
In order to conser0e natural resources and economi4e energ, weight reduction has 5een the main focus of
automo5ile manufacturers in the %resent scenario. 6eight reduction can 5e achie0ed %rimaril 5 the introduction of
5etter material, design o%timi4ation and 5etter manufacturing %rocesses. 7he sus%ension leaf s%ring is one of the
%otential items for weight reduction in automo5iles as it accounts for $#8 ! 2#8 of the unstrung weight. 7his
achie0es the 0ehicle with more fuel efficienc and im%ro0ed riding 9ualities. 7he introduction of com%osite
materials was made it %ossi5le to reduce the weight of the leaf s%ring without an reduction on load carring
ca%acit and stiffness. *ince, the com%osite materials ha0e more elastic strain energ storage ca%acit and high
strength to weight ratio as com%ared with those of steel, multi! leaf steel s%rings are 5eing re%laced 5 mono! leaf
com%osite laminated s%rings. 7he com%osite material offer o%%ortunities for su5stantial weight sa0ing 5ut not
alwas are cost!effecti0e o0er their steel counter %arts. 7he leaf s%ring should a5sor5 the 0ertical 0i5rations and
im%acts due to road irregularities 5 means of 0i5rations in the s%ring deflection so that the %otential energ is stored
in s%ring as strain energ and then released slowl. *o,
increasing the energ storage ca%a5ilit of a leaf s%ring ensures a more com%liant sus%ension sstem. "ccording to
the studies made a material with ma:imum strength and minimum modulus of elasticit in the longitudinal direction
is the most suita5le material for a leaf s%ring. ;ortunatel, com%osites ha0e these characteristics. In the %resent
wor<, an attem%t is made to re%lace the e:isting mono steel leaf s%ring used in maruti &## %assenger car with a
laminated com%osite mono steel leaf s%ring made of three different com%osite materials 0i4., E!glass=e%o:, *!
glass=e%o: and >ar5on=e%o: com%osites. ?imensions and the num5er of lea0es for 5oth steel leaf s%ring and
laminated com%osite leaf s%rings are considered to 5e the same. ;ig. +o.$ *chematic diagram of a laminate.
II. LITEAT#E E$IE%
7he re0iew mainl focuses on re%lacement of steel leaf s%ring with the com%osite leaf s%ring made of glass fi5re
reinforced %olmer (@;R/) and majorit of the %u5lished wor< a%%lies to them. Mouleeswaran et al. A$B descri5es
sataic and fatigue analsis of steel leaf s%ring and com%osite multi leaf s%ring made u% of glass fi5re reinforced
%olmer using life datanalsis. 7he dimensions of an e:isting con0entional steel leaf s%ring of a light commercial
0ehicle are ta<en and are 0erified 5 deisgn calculations. *tatic analsis of 2!? model of con0entional leaf s%ring is
also %erformed using "+*C* '.$ and com%ared with e:%erimental results. "l!Dureshi et al. A2B has descri5ed a
single leaf, 0aria5le thic<ness s%ring of glass fi5er reinforced %lastic (@;R/) with similar mechanical and
geometrical %ro%erties to the multi leaf s%ring, was designed, fa5ricated and tested.
Rajendran I, et al.[3] investigated the formulation and solution technique using genetic algorithms (GA) for