Abstract Functionally graded materials (FGMs) offer a promising approach to enhancing the performance of monoleaf springs by enabling tailored material properties across the component, leading to improved stress distribution, increased strain energy capacity, and optimized strength-to-weight ratios, particularly in vehicle suspension systems where weight reduction is crucial for fuel efficiency and overall performance. The traditional materials like steel are being replaced with composites to achieve significant weight savings, FGMs provide an added advantage by tailoring material properties across the spring’s geometry. This study presents the design and finite element analysis (FEA) of a monoleaf spring composed of an FGM composite that combines carbon epoxy woven prepreg and 50R steel. The analysis evaluates the spatial distribution of von Mises stress and strain energy across the spring thickness using three grading functions: power-law (P-FGM), symmetric power-law (S-P-FGM), and sigmoid (S-FGM). The effect of the power-law exponent k (ranging from 0 to 10) on stress distribution and energy storage was investigated. Results show that increasing k enhances strain energy capacity, with k = 10 yielding the highest energy absorption and acceptance of margin of safety (MOS). Among the models, P-FGM and S-P-FGM outperform S-FGM in terms of structural efficiency and safety. The optimal configuration is an FGM spring with a power-law exponent of k = 10, offering superior strain energy capacity, strength, and reliability, making it well-suited for high-performance applications.
Hedia et al. (2026) studied this question.