ME 371 Chapter Notes - Chapter 9: Creative Commons License, Longitudinal Wave, Fatigue Limit

• School: University of Illinois
• Department: Mechanical Engineering
• Course: ME 371
• Professor: A Dunn

Document Summary

Springs are defined as elastic members that can serve functions of exerting loads (forces or torques) or storing and releasing energy. A simple example of a spring that exerts a load is the small spring inside a retractable ball-point pen which provides resistance when pressing the button at the end (figure. A simple example of a spring that stores and releases energy is a diving board. You can recall your prior study of cylindrical bars and cantilevered beams to begin considering the equations that describe the relationship between the loads on these springs and their stiffness. The geometry of springs features prominently in their analysis. It is easy to consider, for example, how the deflection and stiffness of a steel coil spring will change if the wire diameter increases. A thicker wire will have increased stiffness based on its increased cross-sectional moment of inertia, and the axial deflection you can achieve with the application of a load will decrease.