Investigation of the Static and Dynamic Performance of Leaf Springs under Different Shapes, Leaf Numbers, and Beam Widths

This study is related to a new geometrical design of automotive leaf springs that involves substituting the common trapezoidal base and circular shape with a circular base plate and parabolic shape. The main aim is to explore how the shape of the base and the profile of curvature affect the performance of the leaf springs, both at rest and in dynamic conditions under realistic loading conditions. There were four geometrical combinations that were experimented with: trapezoidal base with circular curvature, circular base with circular curvature, trapezoidal base with parabolic curvature, and circular base with parabolic curvature. The influence of the leaf number and width distribution on the mechanical performance of each arrangement under the constant-width and variable-width scenarios was examined. ANSYS Workbench 20 and Mechanical APDL were used to conduct a finite element analysis to approximate the maximum primary stress, overall deformation, and natural frequency. Comparing the trapezoidal base with the circular foundation, it has been found that the circular foundation is better in terms of load distribution as well as minimization of stress concentration. Specifically, the circular base configuration reduced the maximum static bending stress by more than 36% when compared to the conventional design. A parabolic shape was used to further enhance dynamic performance, boosting natural frequency by up to 300% in certain combinations. The use of a parabolic curve improved dynamic performance significantly, increasing natural frequency by more than 300% in some combinations.