Mechanical Behavior of Helical Spring Made of Composite with and without Material Property Grading under Stable Load

Springs are one of the most popular means of mechanically storing and issuing energy, and they can be found in a wide variety of machines and products. Most springs are made of metal, and nowadays, there are many new alloys to choose from, but nonmetallic materials, such as the reinforced plastics and ceramics, have been appearing worldwide. The research problem is the performance for circular cross-sectional springs with the same geometry and manufactured with three different materials: steel, composite, and functionally graded material (FGM) under stable loading using finite element analysis. This paper intends to guide mechanical designers in considering different material options for a spring design as well as to provide a methodology through finite element analysis for selecting the most favorable material option for the application required. The findings of this research show that some feature performances of compression springs made of carbon steel are improved by using FGM and composite materials. Enhanced capabilities include higher load to failure: 1.48 times in an FGM spring and 1.1 times in a composite spring, as well as increased energy storage: 1.53 times in an FGM spring and 6.84 times in a composite spring and less weight representing only 61% in an FGM spring and 24% in a composite spring.