Spring Stiffness Test

AM 2540: Strength of Materials Laboratory

GROUP 11

BATCH 1

ME16B032

ME16B033

ME16B034

Objective:
The objective of this experiment is to find the spring constants for some
sample springs
and to compare the estimated spring constant with those obtained from
theoretical calculations.

Apparatus:
The apparatus setup consists of a suspension system for the spring to be
loaded in compression. A platform is attached to the spring on which the loads
are placed. The springs used in the experiment are helical linear springs. A rod
is attached to the top of the spring to the platform to ensure that the weights
impart axial load to the top of spring. A Vernier caliper is attached to the
spring system so that the deflections can be measured accurately.

Fig 1:Setup diagram

Theory:
As we know springs are used in various kinds of our day to day life objects for
number of purposes like damping (just like in our vehicle shock absorbers),
for storing potential energy.

We also model some other objects as a spring if they are showing a behavior
in which they are changing their original configuration in response to a some
force but regaining their original configuration after the removal of that force.

On the application of force if the deformations in a spring are such that the
stresses generated within it are less than the yield stress of the material, the
system regains its original configuration when the force is removed. This
usually implies a linear behavior and the spring can be modeled as a linear
spring. In such situations, the force-deformation relationship is linearly
proportional and is expressed by the equation
F = kL; (1)
where,

F is the force,
is the deformation, and kL is the constant or proportionality and is
termed as the linear spring
stiffness.
The units of stiffness is defined in terms of the units of F and . For axial
springs, where F is applied in the axial direction resulting in axial
deformations, the units of kL is usually expressed in N=m. An estimate of the
spring stiffness KL can be calculated from Eq. (1)
if a set of data of the measurement of the deflection under the application of
measured loads F is available. In the absence of any experimental
measurements, a theoretical estimate of the spring stiffness can be calculated
analytically from the knowledge of the geometrical dimensions and the
material elastic constants. For linear helical springs as shown in Figure 2, the
spring as a whole undergoes elongation or compression depending on the
direction of the
application of the loads. However, it is to be noted that this overall
deformation comes about due to torsional/bending deformation of the spring
wire. When the diameter of

Fig 2.
the wire is small in comparison to the radius of the coil (see Figure 2) and
when the load is applied in the direction shown, an element of the spring
between two closely adjoining sections through the wire can be considered as
a straight circular bar, subjected to torsion. It can be shown that the spring
stiffness is given by

kL =Gr4/4nR3 : (2)
Here,
G is the shear modulus of the spring material, n is the
number of active coils in the helical linear spring,
r is the spring wire radius, and
R is the mean radius of the helical spring. Details of the derivation of Eq. (2)
are available in any standard text book on strength of materials.

Procedure:1. Three different samples of the helical springs are provided.

Measure the dimensions R and r using the vernier calipers at 5 different
locations for each sample. Calculate the corresponding mean values for R and
r and the standard deviations.

2. Place a sample spring in the loading setup and then clamp it by tightening
the clamping screw.

3. Note down the vernier scale reading for lo load condition.

4. Load the spring in steps of 0:5 kg of weight up to 2:5 kg, and note down the
readings from the vernier scale.

5. Remove the loads one by one when the loading is over. Note down the
deflections when each increment of the load is removed.

6. Take the spring out of the setup and repeat the experiment on the two other
spring samples.

7. Perform the necessary calculations to determine the spring stiffnesses.

Observation:
LINEAR SPRING
Diameter of wire=d= 3.72 mm

Radius of wire=r= 1.86 mm

Diameter of circular ring=D= 26.44 mm

Radius of Ring=R=(D-d)/2= 11.36 mm

Number of active coils in the helical linear spring=n=40

G= 80 Gpa
S.N LOAD LOAD LOADING LOADING UNLOADING UNLOADING MEAN
O (Kg) (N) (VERNIER (DEFLECTION) (VERNIER) (DEFLECTION) (DEFLECTION)
) (cm) (cm) (cm)
1 0 0 8.67 0 8.67 0 0
2 1 9.81 8.61 0.06 8.63 0.04 0.05
3 1.5 14.71 8.59 0.08 8.57 0.1 0.09
4 2 19.62 8.45 0.22 8.39 0.28 0.25
5 2.5 24.52 8.24 0.43 8.18 0.49 0.46
6 3 29.43 7.99 0.68 7.99 0.68 0.68
 X Axis=Deflection(cm) Y

Axis=Load(newton) kL

=Gr4/4nR3; kL=4.081

KN/m(theoretical value)

kL=2.231 KN/m(experimental)

%ERROR= (kL- kL)100/(kL)=45.33%

Steps for Experimental value calculation:

1.) From the tabulated data by taking readings of deflections for different
loadings, we plotted a graph of LOAD vs DEFLECTIONS.

2.) From that graph we calculated slope which is nothing but a SPRING
CONSTANT from a region of graph where it shows consisitently linear
behaviour

NON-LINEAR SPRING

S.N LOAD LOAD LOADING LOADING UNLOADING UNLOADING MEAN KL %ERROR

O (Kg) (N) (VERNIER (DEFLECTION) (VERNIER) (DEFLECTION) (DEFLECTION) (KN/ (KLm-
) (cm) (cm) (cm) m) KL)100/K
Lm

1 0 0 9.23 0 9.23 0 0 0 100

2 0.2 1.962 9.21 0.02 9.20 0.03 0.025 7.84 23
3 0.4 3.924 9.19 0.04 9.18 0.05 0.045 8.72 37.7
4 0.6 5.886 9.17 0.06 9.15 0.08 0.070 8.40 32.7
5 0.8 7.848 9.15 0.08 9.10 0.13 0.105 7.47 18
6 1 9.81 9.09 0.14 9.05 0.18 0.160 6.1 3.6
7 1.2 11.772 9.03 0.20 9.03 0.20 0.20 5.8 8.3
Mean Stiffness constant=KLm=6.33 KN/m

Error: In this experiment error mainly can be due to parallax while

taking reading from venier scale ,also if we are not putting weights
properly .
 MEASUREMENT OF BENDING STRESS
Objective :
The objective of this experiment is to measure the tensile bending stress at the
root of a cantilever beam subjected to tip transverse loading using a strain
gauge.

Apparatus :

The apparatus consists of a strain gauge, a strain gauge indicator (model

P 3500), an aluminium specimen bar, a bar holder with a provision for loading
and a multimeter.

Theory:

A strain gauge is a device used to measure the strain developed in any

component. The gauge is attached to the component in which strain is
observed using a suitable adhesive. So when the component is under some
stress, the gauge too is under the exact elongation or compression as that of
the component.
 A strain gauge takes advantage of the physical property of electrical
conductance and its dependence on not only on the electrical conductivity
which is a property of the material, but also on the conductors geometry.
When an electrical conductor is stretched within the limits of its elasticity
such that it does not break or permanently deform, it will become narrower
and longer. This causes a change in its electrical resistance end-toend.
Conversely, on compression, the conductor becomes broader and shorter, and
once again brings about a change in its electrical resistance properties. This
can be explained by the fact that the electrical resistance in a piece of wire is
directly proportional to the length and inversely proportional to the area of
the cross section. A schematic diagram of this phenomenon is shown in the
figure.
So, on a component, the strain gauge is attached where elongation takes
place as its where failure starts. So we get to know the extreme stresses
withstand able.

Formulae :
To analytically estimate the strain , we use
Where,
Mb ,is the bending moment developed at the location of the strain gauge due
to the
induced deformation,
Izz, is the moment of inertia of the beam cross-section due to flexure, xx
,is the normal bending stress acting on the plane x and in the direction x, y
,is the distance of the fibre from the centroidal axis, and is the radius of
curvature of the beam under flexure.

Youngs modulus of elasticity of aluminum (E) =69GPa

Observation:

E=Stress/Strain %diff= (practical-theoretical)100/theoretical

Sl. Deflecti Displ Strain Strain Stress Stress %
N on ay (experime (theoreti (experime (theoreti differe
o. mm value ntal) cal) ntal) cal) nce
MPa
1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2 0.5 62 62 53.6 4.278 3.7 15.6
3 1 123 123 107.2 8.487 7.4 12.8
4 1.5 183 183 160.8 12.627 11.1 12.1
5 2 242 242 214.4 16.698 14.8 12.8
6 2.5 301 301 268.1 20.769 18.5 12.2
7 3 362 362 321.7 24.978 22.2 12.5
8 3.5 424 424 375.3 29.256 25.9 12.9

The gauge factor of strain gauge used in above experiment was

2.05.
Maximum stress would be at the hooking point for a given
aluminium cantilever beam.
Breadth of the given aluminium bar was 25.01mm.
Length between two marked points was24.5 cm and between a
hook point and a far away black mark point was 25.02 cm.
Thickness of given sample was 6.19mm
Values on the strain gauge machine are in micro strain.
There could be fluctuation in value of zero rotation in strain gauge
machine, so be careful while taking readings to subtract this zero
correction.

Strain Rosettes:
Definition:
An arrangement of two or more closely
positioned gauge grids, separately oriented to
measure the normal strains along different
 directions in the underlying surface of the test
part.
In common with single-element strain gauges, rosettes are
manufactured from different combinations of grid alloy and
backing material to meet varying application requirements.
They are also offered in a number of gauge lengths, noting that
the gauge length specified for a rosette refers to the active
length of each individual grid within the rosette.

Types of Rosettes:
Tee(0-90degree)

Two mutually perpendicular grids.

Rectangular(0-45-90 degrees)

Three grids, with the second and third grids

 angularly displaced from the first grid by 45
degrees and 90 degrees, respectively.

Delta (0-60-120 degree)

Three grids, with the second and third grids 60 degrees and 120
degrees away, respectively, from the first grid.

Stacked
Co-location of the gauges requires mounting each individual gauge
on top of the others in what is called a stacked rosette, but this
leads to a complicated and often inaccurate type of gauge.