Authors: A. Deepthi, S.Dakhita Sri, B. Vamsi, P.Prabhakar Reddy
Abstract: The continuous demand for lightweight, fuel-efficient, and environmentally sustainable automobiles has encouraged researchers and manufacturers to replace conventional metallic components with advanced composite materials. Automotive suspension springs, which are essential components responsible for supporting vehicle loads, absorbing road shocks, and maintaining ride comfort, have attracted significant attention for weight reduction. Conventional steel springs offer excellent strength and durability; however, their high density contributes substantially to the unsprung mass of vehicles, negatively influencing fuel economy, acceleration, and dynamic response. Hybrid automotive composite springs, fabricated using combinations of carbon, glass, aramid, and natural fibers reinforced with polymer matrices, provide an effective solution due to their superior specific strength, high fatigue resistance, excellent corrosion resistance, and improved vibration damping characteristics. The development of finite element analysis (FEA) techniques has further facilitated accurate prediction of the structural behavior of hybrid composite springs under static, dynamic, impact, and cyclic loading conditions. This review presents a detailed discussion on the evolution of hybrid composite springs, material selection, design methodologies, finite element modeling techniques, failure mechanisms, manufacturing methods, optimization approaches, and future research directions. The study highlights the potential of hybrid composite spring systems to replace conventional steel springs in next-generation automotive suspension systems.
DOI: http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20672857
