Materials Today: Proceedings 45 (2021) 556–561

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Materials Today: Proceedings

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/matpr

Development of mono leaf spring with composite material and

investigating its mechanical properties
Rama Krishna Reddy Guduru a,⇑, Saddam Hussain Shaik b, Himanshu Patel Tuniki c, Aurelijus Domeika a
a
Institute of Mechatronics, Kaunas University of Technology, Kaunas, Lithuania
b
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, PB, India
c
Department of Civil Engineering, Kaunas University of Technology, Kaunas, Lithuania

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: At present, the automobile industry is focusing on composite and light-weight materials for a substitute
Received 2 November 2019 to the conventional steel material, because of their excessive strength, lesser weight. The main objective
Received in revised form 5 February 2020 of this work is to develop a mono composite leaf spring to replace the conventional multi-leaf spring in
Accepted 12 February 2020
automobiles. The composite material has a variety of advantages like excessive energy to weight ratio,
Available online 13 March 2020
convenient availability, ease and hassles free fabrication methods and improvised thermal and
Mechanical properties. The mechanical residences of a leaf spring depend on the type of material,
Keywords:
Fabrication methods, and fiber orientation used. Some unique composite materials have higher stiffness
Mono leaf spring
Composite materials
and greater pressure rate as associated with metals, the strength of composite material additionally
Leaf spring depends on the geometry and shape. In this paper, the mechanical properties of different composite
UTM testing materials are examined to find out the greatest suitable composite fabric for the fabrication of a mono
Composite fabrication composite leaf spring. Overall weight, stiffness, and load-carrying capability of the fabricated leaf spring
were determined using distinctive experimental tests. The experimental results show a weight reduction
of 69.4% and 75% respectively for the aid of the usage of glass fiber epoxy and Carbon fiber.
Ó 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the International Confer-
ence on Advances in Materials Research - 2019.

1. Introduction small cars, motorcycles. Bicycles and railway suspension systems

etc [3].
1.1. Introduction to springs
1.2. Leaf spring
A spring is an elastic body, which is used to soak up and launch
energy when the load is applied or acted upon it [1]. In any vehicle,
A leaf spring is a simple structure of spring which is in Semi-
the suspension device connects the axle and wheels to the frame or
elliptical shape. Leaf spring is described as a flat bar or a strip of
chassis. The main function of the suspension gadget is to guide the
steel which act as a structural thing or member as well as a device
common weight of the vehicle and to lift the load acted upon it.
which absorbs energy, usually used for the suspension machine in
This also minimizes the have an effect on forces, vibrations and
car vehicles. Leaf springs are considered as the oldest automobile
shocks produced for the duration of automobile use and offers a
suspension elements which will be used in heavy car motors like
satisfied ride [2]. The Load-carrying capability and performance
Trucks, Jeeps, Buses and light car passenger vehicles [4].
of suspension machine depend on the kind of material, geometry
The load will act on the grasp leaf and the graduated leaf affords
and mechanical properties of leaf spring. Springs in suspension
extra support to the master leaf. Additional leaves furnish more
gadget are commonly divided into leaf spring and helical spring.
load carrying capacity, strength, and stiffness to a car vehicle [5].
Leaf spring is used in heavy automobile vehicles like trucks. Buses
The rebound clip is used to maintain all the leaves together [6].
etc. while helical springs are used in light automotive motors like
To make bigger the load carrying capability and stiffness of the sus-
pension system, the variety of leaves need to be multiplied which
⇑ Corresponding author. will increase the average weight of the vehicle [7]. So, Mono-leaf
E-mail address: [email protected] (R.K.R. Guduru). springs are used in mild motor automobiles and Multi-leaf springs

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2020.02.289
2214-7853/Ó 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the International Conference on Advances in Materials Research - 2019.
 R.K.R. Guduru et al. / Materials Today: Proceedings 45 (2021) 556–561 557

3. Tensile test for composite materials

The composite materials are tested with different standards,

dimensions, and procedures which are being used worldwide.

3.1. ASTM standards and die preparation

Universal Testing Machine (UTM) is used for the tensile test of

composite materials. The specimen is prepared using ASTM D638
Fig. 1. Leaf spring Introduction to Composite Materials. Type-I Tensile Bar.

 Standard specimen dimensions: the specimen dimensions are

are used for heavy loading purposes. A composite material is summarized in the below table (Table 1).
defined as the aggregate of two or many materials. Generally, on  Epoxy Material: We have used Araldite Epoxy AW106 & Har-
a microscopic scale, to structure a new fabric which can provide dener HV 953-IN as Matrix material, epoxy provides the
better performance when in contrast to the character aspects like strength and binds the reinforcement while with epoxy some
metals and nonmetals [8]. The composite fabric retains its personal amount of hardener is used to harden and cure the matrix
mechanical, bodily and chemical properties. These materials are material [2].
chosen for their benefits over metals due to its lightweight,
strength, lifetime and better mechanical properties [9]. 3.2. Specimen preparation
Composite substances consist of two materials. They are called
matrix and reinforcement. Generally, reinforcement is usually  Fiber glass-epoxy: specimen was prepared using die and matrix
stronger, more difficult and highly stiffer than the matrix. Where material was chosen as Epoxy. Reinforcement was chosen as
matrix carries the load and distributes to the reinforcement and random glass fiber, unidirectional glass fiber, bi-directional
to the total part [10] (Fig. 1). glass fiber, unidirectional carbon fiber [13,14]. The first epoxy
was uniformly distributed in the die, then layer-wise fiber glass
2. Materials and equipment reinforcement was placed with the matrix (epoxy) material, in
the figure shown below (Fig. 3).
2.1. Materials required  Carbon-glass fiber epoxy specimen: ASTM-D 638 Type-l, both
Carbon fiber as well fiberglass used to prepare the specimen
The Raw materials used for the fabrication of composite springs along with epoxy as Matrix material. figure showed below. A
are divided into various categories. layer of carbon fiber along with a layer of fiber glass is used
for layering, then epoxy is applied to the die cavity along with
 Reinforcement Material: Carbon fiber fabric, Glass fiber fabric
and Random glass fiber fabric Shown below (Fig. 2).
Table 1
 Matrix Material: Epoxy Resin was used as matrix material; we Dimensions of ASTM D638 TYPE-
have used epoxy by ARALDITER Epoxy (AW-106) and Hardener I tensile bar.
(HV953-IN). This is also known as two-component epoxy
Length 165 mm
adhesives. Gauge Length 57 mm
Thickness 3 mm
The epoxy compound has two parts, the resin is transparent in
color and the hardener is pale yellow in color. Both the compounds
are mixed in a specific ratio so as to get maximum strength having
optimal curing time [11]. Other materials that were used are roller
brushes, a pair of scissors, gloves, goggles, acetone or white spirit,
ice-cream sticks. Trace or oil paper, Adhesive tapes, etc.

2.2. Equipment required

Fabrication and testing of composite springs required various

equipment. Universal Testing Machine (UTM) is used for Tensile Fig. 3. Unidirectional Fiber Glass Epoxy Specimen (ASTM D638 TYPE—I Tensile Bar).
and Flexural testing of composite leaf spring [10,12].

Fig. 2. Carbon Fiber Fabric (Unidirectional), Fiber Glass Fabric (Bidirectional) and Epoxy (Resin & Hardener).
558 R.K.R. Guduru et al. / Materials Today: Proceedings 45 (2021) 556–561

Fig. 4. Unidirectional carbon-glass fiber epoxy specimen (ASTM D638 TYPE-I

Tensile Bar).

Fig. 6. Peak Load achieved during tensile test.

reinforcement. It is allowed to cure, then it is pulled out from
die and edges and sharp corners were eliminated using sandpa-
per [15] (Fig. 4).
 Random fiberglass specimen: A Tensile bar of Type-I ASTM-D Bending strength, deflection. We have performed a tensile test
638 for random glass fiber (fiber mat) is used in preparing spec- for ASTM D638 Type-I Tensile Bar [9,17] (Figs. 5 and 6, Table 2).
imens, fiber sheet is cut according to standard dimensions [4].
3.5. Flexural test for composite material
3.3. Assumptions considered
Flexural test, also called bending test, we have followed 3-point
i. The specimen prepared has a uniform composition of fabric flexural test having support at 2 ends and load (P) is applied from
(carbon fiber/ glass fiber) as well as the matrix material top to the midsection of the test specimen. Generally, the specimen
(epoxy resin). is loaded at Universal Testing Machine (UTM) for composite mate-
ii. The matrix materials were distributed in the specimen. rials [18,19]. For testing, the specimen is loaded into the support
iii. Dimensions of the specimen were considered accurate and spun and the load is applied according to the specified procedure.
according to the ASTM Standards. The specimen is prepared using ASTM D7264 standard for testing
iv. Curing process was constant for all specimens. flexural properties having a rectangular cross-section [11,20].

During testing, the experimental errors were maintained at  Specimen Dimensions: Specimen is prepared using ASTM
minimum levels. For all specimens, the fabric to epoxy ratio was D7264 standard. The dimension details listed below (Table 3,
kept constant [7,16]. Fig. 7).

3.4. Tensile test results The specimen is prepared according to ASTM D7264, in which
specimen is a flat section having width 13 mm, standard specimen
From the Tensile test, various parameters and properties can be thickness is 4 mm, and support span length 64 mm, though the
achieved. We have performed Tensile Test, Flexural test in order to specimen length is set to 120 mm. Results and values obtained
find various mechanical properties, in terms of tensile strength. shown below (Table 4, Fig. 8).

Fig. 5. Loads achieved by composites at Elongation, Elastic region, Yield Strength and Break Load during Tensile test.
 R.K.R. Guduru et al. / Materials Today: Proceedings 45 (2021) 556–561 559

Table 2
Results obtained from tensile test.

MATERIAL MAX LOAD AT ELASTIC REGION PEAK LOAD YIELD STRENGTH ELONGATION (PEAK LOAD) BREAK LOAD
C.F EPOXY 8431 8819 195 8.32 8819
G.F EPOXY 8194 8194 109 9.57 2029
C. F.G EPOXY 6926 6926 135 8.6 6916
RANDOM F.G EPOXY 2138 2140 55 5.06 2138

Table 3 Table 5
ASTM D7264 specimen standards. Comparison of mono leaf spring test results.
PARAMETERS DIMENSIONS DEFLECTION OF MONO LEAF SPRING (mm)
WIDTH 13 mm LOAD CARBON FIBRE FIBRE GLASS METALLIC
THICKNESS 4 mm APPLIED COMPOSITE LEAF COMPOSITE LEAF LEAF SPRING
LENGTH 20% OR MORE THAN THE SUPPORT SPAN (Kg) SPRING SPRING
50 10 11 9
100 14.1 19.3 12.7
150 15 27 15.5
200 21 34.3 20.3
250 26.3 45 25.1
300 33.1 59 35

Thickness of spring (t) = 7 mm mm

To fabricate a composite leaf spring, a wooden plywood box

Fig. 7. Fiber Glass Epoxy (Unidirectional) and Carbon Fiber Epoxy (Unidirectional) mould is made with an identical radius of curvature of a conven-
Flexural Test Specimen ASTM D-7264.
tional leaf spring (Fig. 9).

4. Development of composite leaf spring 5. Testing of mono-composite leaf spring

From the above tensile and flexural tests, we can see that car- The Leaf spring is tested for deflection by applying compression
bon fiber epoxy and glass fiber epoxy has higher tensile and flexu- load at the middle of the leaf spring in UTM. Testing was performed
ral strength. So, in this present study, a mono composite leaf spring for both carbon fiber as well as glass fiber epoxy mono leaf spring
is fabricated using carbon fiber epoxy compound, having unidirec- [22]. The fabricated leaf spring is mounted in a channel beam for
tional fiber orientation [19,21]. A standard leaf spring of light auto- support while the load is acting on it. The images shown below
motive vehicle is considered for this study and the dimensions are are the test performed under UTM for finding various properties
listed below. (Table 5).
After successful testing of Mono-Leaf Spring, the below results
Length of the Leaf Spring (2L) = 1000 mm, where L = 500 mm have been obtained and deflection, load and weight were com-
Width of the Leaf Spring (W) = 50 mm pared (Fig. 10).

Table 4
Results obtained from flexural test.

MATERIAL MAX LOAD AT ELASTIC REGION (N) DEFLECTION (mm) FLEXURAL STRENGTH (MPa) CROSS-S AREA (mm2)
CARBON FIBRE EPOXY 892 4.2 1646.7 55
GLASS FIBRE EPOXY 441.4 5.6 814.8 55
CARBON F.G EPOXY 372.78 3.3 688 55
RANDOM F.G EPOXY 147.15 5.4 271.6 55

Fig. 8. Flexural Strength and Deflection of Composite Materials.

560 R.K.R. Guduru et al. / Materials Today: Proceedings 45 (2021) 556–561

Fig. 9. Mould and curing of composite leaf spring.

Fig. 10. Deflection vs. Load and weight comparison for different material.

Table 6 mechanical properties and it also it has the similar traits of a con-
Weight comparison of different mono leaf springs. ventional steel leaf spring [23,24]. From the existing research, we
TYPE OF LEAF SPRING WEIGHT OF MONO LEAF SPRING (Kg) can say that composite substances can be best geared up for the
CONVENTIONAL LEAF SPRING 3.3
manufacturing of leaf springs due to their mechanical houses and
CARBON FIBRE LEAF SPRING 0.9 weight reduction, which helps to reduce the average weight and
GLASS FIBRE LEAF SPRING 1.1 increase the fuel efficiency.

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Weight was compared to fabricating mono-leaf spring with
conventional steel material (Table 6).
Rama Krishna Reddy Guduru: Conceptualization, Data cura-
tion, Writing - original draft. Saddam Hussain Shaik: Methodol-
6. Conclusion ogy, Investigation. Himanshu Patel Tuniki: Writing - review &
editing. Aurelijus Domeika: Supervision.
Various composite material specimens have been prepared and
examined for flexural and tensile strength according to the ASTM
Declaration of Competing Interest
standards. From the experimental results we have identified that
carbon fiber epoxy and glass fiber epoxy has a greater tensile and
The authors declare that they have no known competing finan-
flexural strength. So, based on the acquired results, a mono com-
cial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared
posite leaf spring has been fabricated with carbon fiber epoxy com-
to influence the work reported in this paper.
pound, having a unidirectional fiber orientation [3,1,9]. After
performing experiments, it was identified that deflection for car-
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