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Besides the innovative work in the commercial vehicles sector, where there is an ever growing competition, lighter, more comfortable, safer, and more robust products are also being developed through optimization of design parameters of currently available systems. This study explains the possible effects of changing the design parameters of leaf springs on a vehicle's driving dynamics, which has a significant effect on the total weight of the vehicle. These effects include the vehicle's suspension specifications and the suspension system's interaction with the steering system. A virtual vehicle model is analyzed under the loads gathered in road tests, to measure the stress levels on the spring layers and the movement of the leaf spring depending on the limits determined by the vehicle manufacturer. Furthermore, the conformity of the movement of the front axles in connection with the leaf spring with the steering system is also analyzed.

The leaf spring manufacturer must supply high quality raw material at required strength for ensuring endurance rig tests. It's very important to maintain both inside and surface cleanliness of raw material. This study presents micro crack effects on material surface by evaluating residual stress values. Residual stress values on leaf springs are measured with X-ray diffractometer and different residual stress values are classified on the same raw material batch which have also the same material failures. Finally, micro cracks are measured in metrics. Micro crack standardization is performed considering the residual stress values and rig tests. The outputs in metrics which correlated with endurance rig tests can be taken as reference by the manufacturers of leaf spring and original equipment manufacturers.