Simulation of Leaf Spring for Suspension using FEM

유한요소법을 이용한 현가장치용 겹판스프림의 시뮬레이션

The leaf spring is generally used effectively in load supporting because it has tension-diffused function in comparison with other springs. Nowadays the leaf spring is used widely in the suspensions of automobile and trains. The stiffness and the damping characteristics of the leaf spring being essential for the performance of vehicles, the exact evaluation is required. Various approximate formula are normally used for the leaf spring design. however, accuracy and trust are decreased because the contact and frictional characteristics between leaf plates are generally neglected. In this paper, nonlinear stiffness matrix of the leaf spring is solved by contact-element applying FEM for considering the contact and frictional characteristics between leaf plates. The results of proposed FE model are compared with test data.