In order to have an idea of working principle of a leaf spring, let us think of the diving board in a swimming pool. The diving board is a cantilever with a load, the diver, at its free end. The diver initiates a to and fro swing of the board at the free end and utilizes the spring action of the board for jumping. The diving board basically is a leaf spring. | Module 7 Design of Springs Version 2 ME IIT Kharagpur Lesson 3 Design of Leaf Springs Version 2 ME IIT Kharagpur Instructional Objectives At the end of this lesson the students should be able to understand Working of leaf spring Types of leaf springs Design theme of leaf springs Laminated spring and its modifications Leaf Springs In order to have an idea of working principle of a leaf spring let us think of the diving board in a swimming pool. The diving board is a cantilever with a load the diver at its free end. The diver initiates a to and fro swing of the board at the free end and utilizes the spring action of the board for jumping. The diving board basically is a leaf spring. The leaf springs are widely used in suspension system of railway carriages and automobiles. But the form in which it is normally seen is laminated leaf spring. A simple cantilever type leaf spring is shown in the Fig. . In the cantilever beam type leaf spring for the same leaf thickness h leaf of uniform width b case 1 and leaf of width which is uniformly reducing from b case 2 is considered. From the basic equations of bending stress and deflection the maximum stress omax and tip deflection 5 can be derived. max For case 1 uniform width 6FL bh2 4FL3 Ebh 3 o max max Where E is the Elastic modulus of the spring material. Version 2 ME IIT .
