Leaf Springs Durability Analysis and Weight Reduction through Double Peening

The improvement of fatigue life in parts subjected to cyclic stresses by application of mechanical surface treatment processes is already well known, both in the industry and in the academy. Speaking of automotive springs, the shot peening process becomes an essential step in manufacturing these parts. In the case of leaf springs, however, a systematic investigation of the effect of shot peening on fatigue life is still required. The aim of this work is to improve the knowledge of shot peening on leaf springs for vehicles through fatigue tests on a series of samples that were subject to different peening processes. A second shot-peening after a first peening under stress (stress peening) led to a higher durability comparing to the conventional process, opening an opportunity of vehicle weight reduction.