Experimental Investigation of Mono Leaf Spring to Be Used As a Replacement for Light Weight Automobile Spring

1.                The present work focused on the design and analysis of a composite leaf spring as an alternative to the conventional steel leaf spring used in automotive suspension systems. The study was carried out to reduce the overall weight of the vehicle while maintaining the required strength, stiffness, and fatigue life. Composite materials such as E-Glass/Epoxy and Carbon/Epoxy were considered due to their high strength-to-weight ratio and excellent corrosion resistance.   2.                A detailed literature survey revealed that composite leaf springs offer significant advantages over conventional steel springs in terms of weight reduction, energy absorption, and durability. Based on the design requirements, a composite mono leaf spring model was developed and analyzed using Finite Element Analysis (FEA). The stress distribution, deformation, and structural behavior under loading conditions were evaluated and compared with conventional steel leaf springs.   3.                The analysis results demonstrated that the composite leaf spring can effectively withstand the applied loads while exhibiting lower weight and acceptable stress levels. The weight reduction achieved contributes directly to improved fuel efficiency, reduced emissions, and enhanced vehicle performance. Furthermore, the composite material showed better resistance to corrosion and fatigue, making it a suitable alternative for modern automotive applications.   4.                The major contributions of this project are: a.                Design and modeling of a composite mono leaf spring. b.                Structural analysis using Finite Element Analysis (FEA). c.                Comparison of composite and conventional steel leaf springs. d.                Evaluation of stress, deformation, and weight reduction characteristics. e.                Demonstration of the feasibility of composite materials for automotive suspension systems.     The outcomes of this work indicate that composite leaf springs can successfully replace conventional steel springs in light and medium-duty vehicles, leading to improved efficiency, performance, and sustainability.

1.                Design, Analysis, Manufacturing and Testing of Mono Composite Leaf Spring Using UD E-Glass Fiber/Epoxy by Mr. Akshay Kumar, Mr. V. J. Shinde, Mr. S. S. Chavan. 2.                Design, Simulation, and Prototyping of Single Composite Leaf Spring for Light Weight Vehicle by Shishay Amare Gebremeskel. 3.                Weight Optimization of Mono Leaf Spring Used for Light Passenger Vehicle by Atul J. Pawar and Prof. S. N. Bansode. 4.                Automobile Leaf Spring from Composite Materials by Rajagopal D, Varun S, Manikanth M, Bysani Somasai Sriram Kumar. 5.                Static Analysis of Mono Leaf Spring with Different Composite Materials by B. Raghu Kumar, R. Vijaya Prakash and N. Ramesh. 6.                Modeling and Analysis of Carbon Fiber Epoxy Based Leaf Spring under Static Load Condition Using FEA by Parkhe Ravindra, Mhaske Raman, Belkar Sanjay. 7.                Design Optimization of Leaf Spring by Malaga Anil Kumar, T. N. Charyulu and Ch. Ramesh. 8.                Modeling and Analysis of Laminated Composite Leaf Spring under Static Load Condition Using FEA by M. Raghavedra, Syed Altaf Hussain, V. Pandurangadu and K. Palani Kumar. 9.                Al-Qureshi, H. A. (2001). Automobile leaf spring from composite materials. Journal of Materials Processing Technology, 118, 58–61. 10.             Kumar, S. and Vijayarangan, S. (2007). Analytical and experimental studies on fatigue life prediction of steel and composite multi-leaf springs for light passenger vehicles. Journal of Materials Processing Technology, 13, 141–146.