PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF COMPOSITE LEAF SPRING

Abstract: Increasing competition and innovation in automobile sector tends to modify the existing products by new and advanced material products. A suspension system of vehicle is also an area where these innovations are carried out regularly. Leaf springs are one of the oldest suspension components that are being still used widely in automobiles. Weight reduction is also given due to importance by automobile manufacturers. The automobile industry has shown increased interest in the use of composite leaf spring in the place of conventional steel leaf spring due to its high strength to weight ratio. This work deals with replacement of conventional steel leaf spring of a light commercial vehicle with composite leaf spring using Carbon/Epoxy. Dimensions of the composite leaf spring are to be taken as same dimensions of the conventional leaf spring. The objective is to compare the load carrying capacity, stresses, deflection and weight savings of composite leaf spring with that of steel leaf spring.

Keywords: Laminated Composite leaf spring (LCLS); Static analysis; Carbon/epoxy.