Fatigue analysis of leaf springs with finite element method

In this study, the main goal is to develop a new method to minimize the number of prototypes and the testing period required to start mass production. The parameters affecting the fatigue life and the criteria for parabolic leaf spring design have been investigated before the determination of fatigue life of leaf springs. Stress and fatigue life analysis of the finite element model of the parabolic leaf spring have been performed using Ansys Workbench 14.5 and Ansys nCode Design Life 14.5 codes. The results of the finite element analysis are compared with the experimental results and verified with a maximum 9.8% difference. The present study proved that it is possible to determine the fatigue life of leaf springs used in heavy and light commercial vehicles by the finite element analysis without long test periods after the production of prototypes. This study is supported by The Ministry of Industry and Technology under 0369.STZ.2013-2 numbered SANTEZ project.