Vehicle suspension systems that adopt Hotchkiss layout are commonly based on leaf springs. For better comfort for passengers, some features such as rubber pads are used on the springs to reduce noise from metallic contact between leaves, but those pads can compromise the durability of the spring if not well designed or located in the spring assembly, as we will demonstrate on this paper. To do so, it will be presented comparisons using CAE methodology and physical parts test results from vehicle and bench testing which were loaded in different conditions to demonstrate how the rubber pad position can influence the durability of the spring, especially near the eyelet region for some specific load conditions. The case studies presented here are focused on the impact of the rubber pads on durability life of springs, but not defined as root cause of failures.
The Effects of Misplaced Rubber Pads on Leaf Spring Durability
Sae Technical Papers
12th SAE BRASIL Colloquium on Suspensions and Road Implements & Engineering Exhibition ; 2023
2023-07-25
Conference paper
English
The Effects of Misplaced Rubber Pads on Leaf Spring Durability
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