Static stress and fatigue life analysis of rocket trolley leaf spring using numerical simulation

Abstract

A rocket trolley is an equipment used to transport or move rockets from one place to another. A leaf spring is one of the essentials of a rocket trolley. The research seeks to assess how different loads impact static stress and forecast the fatigue lifespan of the leaf spring component in the rocket trolley. The material used for the leaf spring components is Aluminium 6061 alloy, which possesses low density, moderate strength, and corrosion resistance. Leaf spring analysis was conducted utilizing the finite element method facilitated by Ansys Workbench software. Leaf spring is subjected to 6 variations of loading. The simulation results show that the leaf spring design can withstand various loading variations with a maximum von Mises stress of 171.87 MPa and a safety factor of 1.61 for a simulation of static stress at a load of 14700 N. The simulation of the fatigue life of the leaf spring can reach 1.44 x 105 cycles with a safety factor of 1.05 at the highest loading.