Static and Dynamic Analysis of Parabolic Leaf Spring with Design Optimization for Light Commercial Vehicle

The amount of vehicle damage and ride comfort of the passengers is mainly determined by suspension system which plays a major role in automotive vehicle dynamics. Leaf springs are found to be durable and inexpensive. They are good at isolating road incited vibrations and support vertically acting loads. This is the reason that the static and dynamic examination of the leaf spring is exceptionally fundamental to anticipate the quality and vibration properties. Stacking sheets of metal having extensive thickness of various lengths are arranged in a manner by which the more extended leaves are on the top of the shorter leaves banding them together with the assistance of a centre bolt, two U braces and four rebound clips which frames a leaf spring. The behavior of leaf spring is complicated because of its effects caused by the clamps and contact between the leaves. It is inferred from literature that, for the suspension arrangement of the passenger vehicles the excitation frequencies range from 1Hz to 800 Hz because of road irregularities which have to be damped to prevent passenger discomfort. This research work predominantly focuses on the static and modal examination to discover the mode shapes and their individual natural frequencies and validated by the experimental results with the assistance of LMS Test Lab. The modal analysis is done with the same three-dimensional model leaf spring of Maruti Suzuki Omni passenger vehicle using FEA. The design optimization is performed based on finite element analysis which helps in weight reduction by maintaining similar modal behavior and strength. Consequently, the natural behavior of leaf spring is investigated up to 10 mode shapes. The actual behavior of the leaf spring under road irregularities is recreated by road testing. The results obtained are analyzed and compared with standards and suitable damping is suggested to control vibrations.