Abstract:
This thesis deals with the design, simulation and experimental testing of the properties of EGlass/epoxy composite materials for leaf spring of a Toyota land cruiser vehicle. The main aim
being to replace the conventional steel multi leaf to a single leaf composite spring so as to achieve
a reduction in vehicle weight, environmentally friendly, ergonomic design and to achieve a better
fuel efficient vehicle.
The conventional multi leaf steel spring specifications and dimensions of the Toyota land cruiser
vehicle has been investigated and consequently the leaf spring were designed for single leaf
composite as well as the multi leaf conventional steel springs. The designs were simulated using
ANSYS computational simulation package and the results were compared for different strength
and material properties. The static structural analysis predicts a 22% in stress reduction and the
analysis results of fatigue loading shows an increase in the fatigue life by 59% of the composite
spring over the conventional steel spring. An overall significant weight reduction of 61.35% over
the conventional steel has been achieved by replacing with a composite leaf spring. The
experimental set up has been performed for the impact and creep properties of E-Glass/epoxy
composite materials by considering the composite materials in three fiber volume ratio parameters;
such as 60%/40%, 50%/50%, and 40%/60% respectively. It has been concluded from the
experimental analysis that the composition parameters with fiber volume ratio of 60%/ 40% shows
a much higher impact energy absorption capability and a much longer creep life. The detail results
has been instigated and presented, however more in-depth results can be ascertain by incorporating
temperature gradient in the analysis, which was beyond the scope of the thesis.
