Introduction to Leaf Spring
Invention of Leaf Spring
• Leaf spring was invented by
Obadiah Elliot of London in 18th
century. He simply piled one steel
plate on top of another, pinned
them together and shackled each
end to a carriage, it was the first
ever leaf spring used on a vehicle.
Leaf Spring
• It is originally called as a laminated or
carriage spring, and sometimes referred
to as a semi-elliptical spring or cart
spring.
Principle of Leaf Spring
• A leaf spring is a simple type of
suspension spring which is commonly
used in heavy duty vehicles.
Use of leaf spring
in suspension of vehicles
Layout
Types of Leaf Spring
• Elliptic
• Semi-Elliptic
• Three-quarter elliptic
• Quarter elliptic
• Transverse
Another Types of Leaf Spring
Different LF used in different vehicles
Construction of Leaf Spring
• Leaf springs used in automobiles is of
semi-elliptical type.
• It is built up of number of plates (known as
leaf),which are reducing in lengths.
• The longest leaf is called as main leaf or
master leaf & other leaves are called as
graduated leaves.
• The spring is clamped to the axle by
means of U-bolts.
• Rebound clips are used to hold the leaves
together.
• Central clamp is used to fix the position of
leaf spring to the wheel axle.
Characteristics of Leaf Spring
• Leaf spring acts as a linkage for holding the axle in
position and thus separate linkage are not necessary. It
makes the construction of the suspension simple and
strong.
• As the positioning of the axle is carried out by the leaf
springs so it makes it disadvantageous to use soft
springs i.e. a spring with low spring constant.
• Therefore, this type of suspension does not provide good
riding comfort. The inter-leaf friction between the leaf
springs affects the riding comfort.
• Acceleration and braking torque cause wind-up and
vibration. Also wind-up causes rear-end squat and nose-
diving.
Manufacturing Process
1. Shearing of flat bar
2. Center hole punching / Drilling
3. End heating process forming
- Eye Forming / Wrapper Forming
- Diamond cutting / end trimming / width cutting / end
tapering
- End punching / end grooving / end bending / end
forging / eye grinding
- Center hole punching / Drilling / nibbing
4. Heat Treatment
- Heating
- Chamber forming
- Hardening
- Quenching
- Tempering
5. Surface preparation
- Shot peening / Stress peening
- Primary painting
6. Eye bush preparation process
- Eye reaming / eye boring
- Bush insertion
- Bush reaming
7. Assemble
- Presetting & load testing
- Finish painting
- Marking & packing
Standard size of Leaf Spring
• Width (mm) : 25-80 mm in steps of 5 mm.
• Thickness (mm) : 2-8 mm in steps of 1
mm, 10-16 mm in steps of 2 mm.
Material used for Leaf Spring
• The material used for leaf springs is
usually a plain carbon steel having 0.90 to
1.0 % carbon.
• According to indian standards the
recommended materials are :
- For automobiles : 50 Cr1 , 50 Cr1 V23 ,
55 Si2 Mn90 used in hardened &
tempered state.
- For rail road springs : C55 (Water
hardened) , C75 (Oil hardened) , 40Si
2Mn 90 (Water hardened) & 55Si Mn90
(Oil hardened)
