A Novel Methodology with Testing and Simulation for the Durability of Leaf Springs Based on Measured Load Collectives

In this study, the aim is to present the newly developed testing and simulation method for the durability of leaf springs in order to direct designers in the product development phase. The load spectra, which contain the variable amplitude loading to determine the fatigue life, were measured from different vehicles on rough road testing track. Afterwards, accelerated spectra were generated for testing and used in newly built fatigue test bench. Also, Finite Element Method (FEM) and Multi Body Simulation (MBS) calculations were performed and load spectra were processed with multi-channel fatigue life calculation to generate a virtual test rig.