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9/6/13 Spring (device) - Wikipedia, the free encclopedia

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Helical or coil springs designed
for tension.
A heavy-duty helical spring
designed for compression and
tension.
The English longbow a simple
but very powerful spring made of
yew, measuring 2 m (6 ft 6 in)
long, with a 470 N (105 lbf) draw
force
Spring (device)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A spring is an elastic object used to store mechanical energy. Springs are
usually made out of spring steel. Small springs can be wound from pre-
hardened stock, while larger ones are made from annealed steel and
hardened after fabrication. Some non-ferrous metals are also used including
phosphor bronze and titanium for parts requiring corrosion resistance and
beryllium copper for springs carrying electrical current (because of its low
electrical resistance).
When a spring is compressed or stretched, the force it exerts is proportional
to its change in length. The ae or ping conan of a spring is the change
in the force it exerts, divided by the change in deflection of the spring. That
is, it is the gradient of the force versus deflection curve. An extension or
compression spring has units of force divided by distance, for example lbf/in
or N/m. Torsion springs have units of force multiplied by distance divided by
angle, such as Nm/rad or ftlbf/degree. The inverse of spring rate is
compliance, that is: if a spring has a rate of 10 N/mm, it has a compliance of
0.1 mm/N. The stiffness (or rate) of springs in parallel is additive, as is the
compliance of springs in series.
Depending on the design and required operating environment, any material
can be used to construct a spring, so long as the material has the required
combination of rigidity and elasticity: technically, a wooden bow is a form of
spring.
Contents
1 History
2 Types
3 Physics
3.1 Hooke's law
3.2 Simple harmonic motion
4 Theory
5 Zero-length springs
6 Uses
7 References
8 Further reading
9 External links
Histor
Simple non-coiled springs were used throughout human history e.g., the bow
9/6/13 Spring (device) - Wikipedia, the free encclopedia
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Spring characteristics: (1)
progressive, (2) linear, (3)
degressive, (4) almost constant,
(5) progressive with knee
A machined spring incorporates
several features into one piece of bar
stock
Military boobytrap firing device
from USSR (normally connected
to a tripwire) showing spring-
loaded firing pin
A spiral torsion spring, or
hairspring, in an alarm clock.
(and arrow). In the Bronze Age more sophisticated spring devices were
used, as shown by the spread of tweezers in many cultures. Ctesibius of
Alexandria developed a method for making bronze with spring-like
characteristics by producing an alloy of bronze with an increased proportion
of tin, and then hardening it by hammering after it is cast.
Coiled springs appeared early in the 15th century,
[1]
in door locks.
[2]
The
first spring powered-clocks appeared in that century
[2][3][4]
and evolved
into the first large watches by the 16th century.
In 1676 British physicist Robert Hooke discovered the principle behind
springs' action, that the force it exerts is proportional to its extension, now
called Hooke's law.
Tpes
Springs can be classified depending on how the load force is applied to
them:
Tension/Extension spring the spring is designed to operate with a
tension load, so the spring stretches as the load is applied to it.
Compression spring is designed to operate with a compression
load, so the spring gets shorter as the load is applied to it.
Torsion spring unlike the above types in which the load is an axial
force, the load applied to a torsion spring is a torque or twisting force,
and the end of the spring rotates through an angle as the load is
applied.
Constant spring - supported load will remain the same throughout
deflection cycle
[5]
Variable spring - resistance of the coil to load varies during
compression
[6]
They can also be classified based on their shape:
Coil spring this type is made of a coil or helix of wire
Flat spring this type is made of a flat or conical shaped piece of metal.
Machined spring - this type of spring is manufactured by machining bar
stock with a lathe and/or milling operation rather than coiling wire. Since
it is machined, the spring may incorporate features in addition to the
elastic element. Machined springs can be made in the typical load cases
of compression/extension, torsion, etc.
The most common types of spring are:
Cantilever spring a spring which is fixed only at one end.
Coil spring or helical spring a spring (made by winding a wire around a
cylinder) and the conical spring these are types of torsion spring, because the wire itself is twisted when the
9/6/13 Spring (device) - Wikipedia, the free encclopedia
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A volute spring. Under
compression the coils slide
over each other, so affording
longer travel.
Vertical volute springs of
Stuart tank
Tension springs in a folded line
reverberation device.
A torsion bar twisted under
load
Leaf spring on a truck
spring is compressed or stretched. These are in turn of two types:
Compression springs are designed to become shorter when
loaded. Their turns (loops) are not touching in the unloaded
position, and they need no attachment points.
A volute spring is a compression spring in the form of a
cone, designed so that under compression the coils are not
forced against each other, thus permitting longer travel.
Tension or etension springs are designed to become longer
under load. Their turns (loops) are normally touching in the
unloaded position, and they have a hook, eye or some other
means of attachment at each end.
Hairspring or balance spring a delicate spiral torsion spring used in
watches, galvanometers, and places where electricity must be carried to
partially rotating devices such as steering wheels without hindering the
rotation.
Leaf spring a flat spring used in vehicle suspensions, electrical switches,
and bows.
V-spring used in antique firearm mechanisms such as the wheellock,
flintlock and percussion cap locks.
Other types include:
Belleville washer or Belleville spring a disc shaped spring commonly
used to apply tension to a bolt (and also in the initiation mechanism of
pressure-activated landmines).
Constant-force spring a tightly rolled ribbon that exerts a nearly
constant force as it is unrolled.
Gas spring a volume of gas which is compressed.
Ideal Spring the notional spring used in physics: it has no weight, mass,
or damping losses.
Mainspring a spiral ribbon shaped spring used as a power source in
watches, clocks, music boxes, windup toys, and mechanically powered
flashlights
Negator spring a thin metal band slightly concave in cross-section.
When coiled it adopts a flat cross-section but when unrolled it returns to
its former curve, thus producing a constant force throughout the
displacement and negating any tendency to re-wind. The commonest
application is the retracting steel tape rule.
[7]
Progressive rate coil springs A coil spring with a variable rate, usually
achieved by having unequal pitch so that as the spring is compressed one
or more coils rests against its neighbour.
Rubber band a tension spring where energy is stored by stretching the
material.
Spring washer used to apply a constant tensile force along the axis of a
fastener.
Torsion spring any spring designed to be twisted rather than
9/6/13 Spring (device) - Wikipedia, the free encclopedia
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The displacement, , as a function of time. The
amount of time that passes between peaks is
compressed or extended. Used in torsion bar vehicle suspension systems.
Wave spring a thin spring-washer into which waves have been pressed.
[8]
Phsics
Hooke's law
Main article: Hooke's la
As long as they are not stretched or compressed beyond their elastic limit, most springs obey Hooke's law, which
states that the force with which the spring pushes back is linearly proportional to the distance from its equilibrium
length:
where
is the displacement vector the distance and direction the spring is deformed from its equilibrium length.
F is the resulting force vector the magnitude and direction of the restoring force the spring exerts
k is the rate, spring constant or force constant of the spring, a constant that depends on the spring's
material and construction. The negative sign indicates that the force the spring exerts is in the opposite
direction from its displacement
Coil springs and other common springs typically obey Hooke's law. There are useful springs that don't: springs
based on beam bending can for example produce forces that vary nonlinearly with displacement.
Simple harmonic motion
Main article: Harmonic oscillator
Since force is equal to mass, m, times acceleration, a, the force equation for a spring obeying Hooke's law looks
like:
The mass of the spring is assumed small in comparison to the
mass of the attached mass and is ignored. Since acceleration is
simply the second derivative of x with respect to time,
This is a second order linear differential equation for the
displacement as a function of time. Rearranging:
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called the period. the solution of which is the sum of a sine and cosine:
and are arbitrary constants that may be found by considering the initial displacement and velocity of the mass.
The graph of this function with (zero initial position with some positive initial velocity) is displayed in the
image on the right.
Theor
In classical physics, a spring can be seen as a device that stores potential energy, specifically elastic potential
energy, by straining the bonds between the atoms of an elastic material.
Hooke's law of elasticity states that the extension of an elastic rod (its distended length minus its relaxed length) is
linearly proportional to its tension, the force used to stretch it. Similarly, the contraction (negative extension) is
proportional to the compression (negative tension).
This law actually holds only approximately, and only when the deformation (extension or contraction) is small
compared to the rod's overall length. For deformations beyond the elastic limit, atomic bonds get broken or
rearranged, and a spring may snap, buckle, or permanently deform. Many materials have no clearly defined elastic
limit, and Hooke's law can not be meaningfully applied to these materials. Moreover, for the superelastic materials,
the linear relationship between force and displacement is appropriate only in the low-strain region.
Hooke's law is a mathematical consequence of the fact that the potential energy of the rod is a minimum when it has
its relaxed length. Any smooth function of one variable approximates a quadratic function when examined near
enough to its minimum point as a result of the Taylor series. Therefore, the forcewhich is the derivative of energy
with respect to displacementwill approximate a linear function.
Force of fully compressed spring
where
E Young's modulus
d spring wire diameter
L free length of spring
n number of active windings
Poisson ratio
D spring outer diameter
Zero-length springs
"Zero-length spring" is a term for a specially designed coil spring that would exert zero force if it had zero length.
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That is, in a line graph oI the spring's Iorce versus its length, the line passes through the origin. Obviously a coil
spring cannot contract to zero length because at some point the coils will touch each other and the spring will not be
able to shorten any more. Zero length springs are made by manuIacturing a coil spring with built-in tension, so iI it
could contract Iurther, the equilibrium point oI the spring, the point at which its restoring Iorce is zero, occurs at a
length oI zero. In practice, zero length springs are made by combining a "negative length" spring, made with even
more tension so its equilibrium point would be at a "negative" length, with a piece oI inelastic material oI the proper
length so the zero Iorce point would occur at zero length.
A zero length spring can be attached to a mass on a hinged boom in such a way that the Iorce on the mass is almost
exactly balanced by the vertical component oI the Iorce Irom the spring, whatever the position oI the boom. This
creates a horizontal "pendulum" with very long oscillation period. Long-period pendulums enable seismometers to
sense the slowest waves Irom earthquakes. The LaCoste suspension with zero-length springs is also used in
gravimeters because it is very sensitive to changes in gravity. Springs Ior closing doors are oIten made to have
roughly zero length so that they will exert Iorce even when the door is almost closed, so it will close Iirmly.
Ue
Vehicles: Vehicle suspension
Watches: Balance springs in mechanical timepieces and spring-loaded bars Ior attaching the bands and the
clasps.
Jewelry: Clasp mechanisms.
Lock mechanisms: Key-recognition and Ior coordinating the movements oI various parts oI the lock.
Pop-open devices: CD players, Tape recorders etc.
Pens
Spring mattresses
Slinky
Trampoline
Pogo Stick
Whammy bar
Spring reverb
Buckling spring keyboards
Upholstery: Upholstery coil springs
Toy
Educational
Refeence
1. ^ Springs (http://www.madehow.com/Volume-6/Springs.html) How Products Are Made, 14 July 2007.
2. `

White, Lynn Jr. (1966). Medieval Technolog and Social Change. New York: OxIord Univ. Press. ISBN 0-
19-500266-0., p.126-127
3. ^ Usher, Abbot Payson (1988). A Histor of Mechanical Inventions (http://books.google.com/books?
idxuDDqqa8FlwC&pgPA305&sigSRpwIz0YBAjt2aGxXhmRkZ16GQ). Courier Dover. ISBN 0-486-25593-
X., p.305
4. ^ Dohrn-van Rossum, Gerhard (1997). Histor of the Hour: Clocks and Modern Temporal Orders
(http://books.google.com/books?id53K32RiEigMC&pgPA121&sig5huN81ukYRbSlxq4MsToTDIXYDY). Univ.
oI Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-15510-2., p.121
9/6/13 Spring (device) - Wikipedia, the free encclopedia
7/7 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spring_(device)
5. ^ Constant Springs (http://www.pipingtech.com/products/constant-springs.htm?utm_source=Main-Nav) Piping
Technology and Products, (retrieved March 2012)
6. ^ Variable Spring Supports (http://www.pipingtech.com/products/variable-springs.htm?utm_source=Main-Nav)
Piping Technology and Products, (retrieved March 2012)
7. ^ Samuel, Andrew; Weir, John (1999). Introduction to engineering design: modelling, snthesis and problem
solving strategies (2 ed.). Oxford, England: Butterworth. p. 134. ISBN 0-7506-4282-3.
8. ^ Davis, Thomas Beiber; Nelson, Carl A. Senior. Audel Mechanical Trades Pocket Manual (4 ed.). Hoboken, NJ:
Wiley. p. 275. ISBN 978-0-7645-4170-4.
Further reading
Sclater, Neil. (2011). "Spring and screw devices and mechanisms." Mechanisms and Mechanical Devices
Sourcebook. 5th ed. New York: McGraw Hill. pp. 279-299. ISBN 9780071704427. Drawings and
designs of various spring and screw mechanisms.
Parmley, Robert. (2000). "Section 16: Springs." Illustrated Sourcebook of Mechanical Components.
New York: McGraw Hill. ISBN 0070486174 Drawings, designs and discussion of various springs and
spring mechanisms.
Eternal links
Wright, Douglas. "Introduction to Springs" (http://www.mech.uwa.edu.au/DANotes/springs/intro/intro.html).
Springs (http://www.mech.uwa.edu.au/DANotes/springs/home.html), Notes on Design and Analsis of
Machine Elements (http://www.mech.uwa.edu.au/DANotes/). Department of Mechanical & Material
Engineering, University of Western Australia. Retrieved 3 February 2008.
Silberstein, Dave (2002). "How to make springs" (http://home.earthlink.net/~bazillion/intro.html). Bazillion.
Retrieved 3 February 2008.
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Categories: Springs (mechanical)
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