Investigating The Failure of Leaf Springs in Automobile Suspension on Ghana Road
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37385/jaets.v4i1.508Keywords:
Suspension System, Leaf springs, Heavy-duty vehicles, Fatigue loadingAbstract
This study investigates the failure of leaf springs used in the suspension system of heavy-duty vehicles in Ghana. Primary and secondary data were collected using both open and closed-ended questionnaires. Welders and fabricators of Sarkyoyo enterprise at the Suame Spare parts dealership area in Kumasi were engaged in the survey. The elastic strain and stress mathematical models were used to determine the stress points in a loaded leaf spring with the aid of ANSYS. The factors considered in the analysis were the leaf spring SAE design specification, the recommended Ghana Highway Authority load limit for heavy-duty vehicles, and the terrain. Analysis was done for both the standard and variable curvature leaf springs. The mode of failure was found to be fatigue loading. The causes of failure were determined to be loaded beyond the recommended 43 tons per wheel limit, bad roads, and reckless driving. It was also observed that loading causes the edges of the leaf spring to bend outwardly from the top, making the edges more prone to failure. Results further showed that the leaf spring with variable curvature recorded strain energy 2.5 times higher than the standards leaf spring.
Downloads
References
Aher, M. V., & Sonawane, M. P. (2012). Static and fatigue analysis of multi leaf spring used in the suspension system of LCV. International Journal of Engineering Research and Applications, 2(4), 1786-1791.
Amrute, A.V., Karlus, E.N. and Rathore, R.K. (2013). Design and assessment of multi leaf spring. International Journal of Research in Aeronautical and Mechanical Engineering, 1(7), 115–124.
Arora, V. K., Bhushan, G., & Aggarwal, M. L. (2014). Fatigue life assessment of 65Si7 leaf springs: a comparative study. International scholarly research notices, 2014.
Baviskar, A. C., Bhamre, V. G., & Sarode, S. S. (2013). Design and Analysis of a Leaf Spring for automobile suspension system: a review. International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering, 3(6), 407-410.
Charde, R. B., & Bhope, D. V. (2012). Investigation of stresses in master leaf of leaf spring by FEM and its experimental verification. International Journal Engineering Science and Technology, 4(2), 633-640.
Clarke, C. K., & Borowski, G. E. (2005). Evaluation of a leaf spring failure. Journal of failure Analysis and Prevention, 5(6), 54-63.
D’Silva, S., & Jain, S. (2014). Design of a modified leaf spring with an integrated damping system for added comfort and longer life. International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology, 3(1), 30-34.
Frey, A. (1996). Modern suspensions in European trailers and semi–trailers. International Journal of Heavy Vehicle Systems, 3(1-4), 140-148.
Gowd, G.H. and Goud, E.V. (2012). Static analysis of leaf spring. International Journal of Engineering Science and Technology, 4(8), 3794–3803.
Guan, H., Kim, K., & Wang, B. (2017). Comprehensive path and attitude control of articulated vehicles for varying vehicle conditions. International journal of heavy vehicle systems, 24(1), 65-95.
Hou, J. P., Cherruault, J. Y., Nairne, I., Jeronimidis, G., & Mayer, R. M. (2007). Evolution of the eye-end design of a composite leaf spring for heavy axle loads. Composite structures, 78(3), 351-358.
Kong, Y. S., Abdullah, S., Omar, M. Z., & Haris, S. M. (2016). Failure assessment of a leaf spring eye design under various load cases. Engineering Failure Analysis, 63, 146-159.
Kong, Y. S., Omar, M. Z., Chua, L. B., & Abdullah, S. (2014). Fatigue life prediction of parabolic leaf spring under various road conditions. Engineering Failure Analysis, 46, 92-103.
Loganathan, T. G., Kumar, K. V., & Madhu, S. (2020). Flexural and fatigue of a composite leaf spring using finite element analysis. Materials Today: Proceedings, 22, 1014-1019.
Mouleeswaran, S. & Vijayarangan, S. (2007). Static analysis and fatigue life prediction of steel and composite leaf spring for. Journal of Scientific and Industrial Research, 66, 128-134.
Mukhopadhyay, N. K., Das, S. K., Ravikumar, B., Ranganath, V. R., & Chowdhury, S. G. (1997). Premature failure of a leaf spring due to improper materials processing. Engineering Failure Analysis, 4(3), 161-170.
Naik, N., Gosangi, D., Borkhade, R., Bhat, R., Shetty, D. K., & Schumann, S. (2019). Static analysis and fatigue life prediction of composite leaf springs of automotive suspension system. International Journal of Recent Technology and Engineering, 8(4), 5147-5150.
Nataraj, M., & Thillikkani, S. (2020). Failure analysis of leaf spring suspension system for heavy load truck vehicle. International journal of heavy vehicle systems, 27(1-2), 1-17.
Prawoto, Y., Ikeda, M., Manville, S. K., & Nishikawa, A. (2008). Design and failure modes of automotive suspension springs. Engineering failure analysis, 15(8), 1155-1174.
Rajesh, N. H., & Sreekumar, M. (2016). Design and simulation of a novel hybrid leaf spring with embedded cylindrical structures. International Journal of Heavy Vehicle Systems, 23(2), 131-154.
Riantoni, R., Ali, N., & Putra, T. E. (2019, August). Failure Analysis of the Leaf Spring of Truck Colt Diesel Using Finite Element Method. In IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering (Vol. 547, No. 1, p. 012017). IOP Publishing.
Shamim, S., & Anwer, J. (2014). Design and optimization of automotive multi-leaf spring by finite element method. IJRAME, 2, 46-54.
Zadeh, A.G., Fahim, A. and El-Gindy, M. (2000). Neuro-leaf spring’, Heavy Vehicle Systems, A Series of the International Journal of Vehicle Design, 7(4), 317–335.
Zamanzadeh, M. and Larkin, E., Mirshams, R. (2015). Fatigue failure analysis case studies. Journal of Failure Analysis and Prevention, 15, doi: 10.1007/s11668-015-0044-3.
CITEDNESS IN SCOPUS
CITEDNESS IN WOS
