General axial response of stranded wire helical springs

The large static deflection of an axially loaded helical spring formed of a twisted strand of smooth circular wires is considered. Contact between the wires in the strand may or may not be maintained upon loading, depending upon the type of construction and the type of loading. It is found that the making or breaking of wire contact within the strand has a drastic ettect upon the extension and twist of a wire and upon the extension of the strand, but has practically no effect upon the twist of the strand, and only a moderate effect upon the overall response of the spring. Limited experimental data tend to verify the theory. It is found that a good engineering approximation for the axial stiffness of a twisted m-wire spring in which contact is maintained can be made by treating the spring as m untwisted helical wires acting independently, provided the strand twist is not too severe.