2 Selection of a practical application
The EN 45 steel Leaf spring used in automobile utility vehicles has been selected as a practical application for this investigation. The gross weight of the vehicle is 1550 kg and the Kerb weight of the vehicle is 885 kg. The dimension of steel leaf spring of EN45 is 915 mm in length, 57 mm in width and 7 mm thick as shown in Fig.2.1. and The mechanical properties of EN45 material are given in Table 2.1.