ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Mech. Eng.
Sec. Vibration Systems
Analysis of elastic characteristics of a transverse leaf spring with high-1 static-low-dynamic stiffness
Zhi Li
Zhouquan Li
Huawei Wu
Zhen Liu
Hubei University of Arts and Science, Xiangyang, China
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Abstract
A variable-stiffness transverse leaf spring offers clear advantages in lightweight design, load-bearing 11 capability, and vibration mitigation, indicating strong potential for broad application. However, the 12 shock-vibration attenuation of conventional leaf springs is typically below 80%, which limits the ride 13 comfort of leaf-spring suspensions under impact excitation. In this study, a high-static–low-dynamic 14 stiffness (HSLDS) transverse leaf spring is proposed, and its elastic characteristics are investigated 15 through numerical simulations and experimental validation. The results show that the static stiffness 16 increases with load, reaching a maximum improvement of 35%. In contrast, the dynamic stiffness 17 decreases with increasing excitation intensity, with a maximum reduction of 20.4%. Moreover, the 18 vibration isolation ratio of the proposed leaf-spring suspension exceeds 90%. These findings provide 19 a theoretical basis and practical reference for the design, analysis, and performance evaluation of 20 transverse leaf springs with strongly nonlinear stiffness characteristics.
Summary
Keywords
Dynamic stiffness, elastic characteristics, Leaf spring, Static stiffness, Suspension
Received
28 October 2025
Accepted
20 February 2026
Copyright
© 2026 Li, Li, Wu and Liu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Zhi Li
Disclaimer
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