Article’s

Coil springs are important components of vehicle suspension systems because they absorb shocks and vibrations, support vehicle loads, and help maintain adequate tire–road contact. The present study investigates the structural behaviour of an automotive helical coil spring using finite element analysis (FEA). A three-dimensional spring model was developed in CATIA V5R20 and analyzed in ANSYS Workbench 2022 R1 under progressively increasing static loads of 1500 N, 2000 N, 2500 N, and 3000 N. Three materials—Structural Steel, Chrome Vanadium Steel, and Carbon Composite—were considered for comparative evaluation. Total deformation, equivalent (von Mises) stress, equivalent elastic strain, and safety factor were obtained for each material and loading condition. The numerical results show that deformation, stress, and elastic strain generally increase as the applied load increases. Carbon Composite produced the lowest deformation at all four loads and the lowest strain at 1500, 2000, and 2500 N. At 2500 N it also showed the lowest equivalent stress, while at 3000 N Chrome Vanadium produced the lowest stress. The safety factor remained 15 for all materials and loading cases reported in the study. The results demonstrate the influence of material properties on the structural response of the coil spring and provide a computational basis for material comparison under the investigated static loading conditions.