A Study on the Performance of the Shock Absorption Friction Spring using Finite Element Analysis

The characteristics of friction springs are different before and after the spring is contacted with the inner and outer rings; their applications vary from defense to aerospace industries. Recently, the frequency of using friction springs to replace hydraulic shock absorbers used in high-load areas has been increasing according to the weight reduction and miniaturization of the system. In this research, the performance of friction springs often used to alleviate impact force, such as vertical shock absorbers, was analyzed through computational analysis. Changes in the major performance factors of the friction spring were investigated according to the elastic modulus of the material constituting the friction spring and the friction coefficient between the rings. Through theoretical analysis, it was confirmed that the results of previous studies and simulations showing the tensile and return stiffness of friction springs as a function of friction coefficient, elastic modulus, taper angle, and spring dimensions showed similar trends.