What Is Disc Spring?

Disc spring is named for its shape like a bowl or dish. It is composed of four parameters, which include outer diameter (D), inner diameter (d), thickness (t) and height (H). It is a washer type spring with truncated conical section made of metal sheet or forging blank.

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Principle Of Disc Spring

The disc spring is a conical annular disc bearing axial load. Generally, the disc thickness is constant, and the load is evenly distributed on the inner edge of the upper surface and the outer edge of the lower surface. It is made of spring steel, which can withstand static load, impact load or dynamic alternating load and can meet the strict requirements of fatigue life.

Types Of The Disc Spring

Disc spring can be divided into anti-loose disc spring, high-temperature preloaded disc spring, high-torque preloaded disc spring and buffered tension disc spring, according to its applications.

Anti-loose disc spring

It can be applied to bolts with not too large load but severe vibration. Anti-loose disc spring can effectively prevent bolts from loosening and reversing. It can play the locking function, compensating the preload, and ensure the lasting and reliable sealing. It has good versatility for bolts and equipment.

High temperature preloading disc spring

It is applicable to bolt preloading of various flanges under high temperature environment, various pipe flanges, valves and heat exchangers. It is used for pre-tightening of flange bolts of reaction kettle, agitator, pump, centrifuge, etc. High-temperature preloaded disc spring is especially used at bolted joints with temperature difference of more than 100°C.

High torque preloading disc spring

The high torque preloading disc spring is applied to the occasions of large load and high torque. It is used for pre-tightening of valve and pipe flange bolts. It is used for the pre-tightening of  anchor bolts and flanges of fans, pumps and centrifuges, heat exchanger, reactor and agitator, generator, pipe support and hanger device,various other engineering applications of buffer device, brake device, high-voltage cable compensation device and other equipment.

Buffer tension disc spring

The buffer tension disc spring is widely used in large equipment of various industries, such as brakes, safety overload devices, mechanical starters, industrial furnaces, clutches, molds, etc.

Advantages Of Disc Spring Compared With Other Springs

1. Disc spring bears great load in a small space. 

Compared with other types of springs, the deformation energy per unit volume of disc springs is larger. It has good cushioning and shock absorption capacity, especially when the composite combination is used, the effect of absorbing impact and dissipating energy is more significant due to the effect of surface friction resistance.

2. Disc spring has variable stiffness characteristics.

By changing the ratio of the height of the inner cone in the disc to the thickness of the disc, different spring characteristic curves can be obtained, which can be linear, incremental, decreasing or their combination. In addition, the variable stiffness characteristics can also be obtained by different combinations of discs with different thickness or different number of discs.

3. Disc spring can obtain different bearing capacity

Different bearing capacity can be obtained by changing the number of discs or the combination form of discs, so each size of disc can adapt to a wide range of applications, which makes the preparation and management of spare parts easier.

4. Disc spring has a long service life

The disc spring correctly designed and manufactured, has a long service life.

Because of these advantages, disc springs are often used as strong cushioning and shock absorption devices in heavy machinery, aircraft, artillery and other machinery or weapons. It is also a pressing device in clutch, safety valve, pressure reducing valve, etc.

How To Select Disc spring

The main design parameters of the disc spring in use include load size, load characteristics, corrosivity of the medium, working temperature, pressure pulse increment during preload failure, preload deformation allowed by the equipment to resist damage.

Dimension

The specific dimension elements of each product are specified in international standards. Main dimensions include outer diameter D, inner diameter d, thickness t, free height H, etc.

Temperature

According to the working characteristics and material characteristics, the disc spring is mainly divided into four temperature ranges: normal temperature, 150°C, 300°C and 600°C.

State

The working state of the equipment, such as pre-tightening, stroke, vibration, pulse pressure frequency, frequency spectrum, pre-tightening force and other factors.

Medium

The working environment often has clear requirements for the selection of disc springs. The main factors include the corrosivity of the medium, PH value, etc.

Pressure

Different working pressure of pipes will produce different pulse pressure and thermal expansion and contraction, so it is necessary to judge the selection scheme of disc spring.

Summary

Disc spring is used more and more widely, with its high permanence. It has the advantages of , small deformation, large loading capacity, high spatial utilization rate, low maintenance and long service life.

Related Products

Applications of disc springs and belleville springs

Disc spring to quick-action stop valves

The disc spring have an important function on the quick-action stop valves. During the valve goes correctly, the spring stack is compressed. This occurs because of the hydraulic pressure of the system, which acts compressing the stack.

If a failure occurs, such as liquid or gas leakage in the valve, the hydraulic pressure drops releasing the spring. This produces that the disc spring stack moves (decompression) closing the valve, to prevent further complications.

This security system is especially effective. It doesn’t depend of electricity supply or any other type of energy. It is only based on the strength provided by the spring compressed. In this way, it allows to prevent system failures in conditions of electricity supply cut.

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At the same time, the spring stack performs a dual function into the valve. These springs keep a constant pressure; therefore they absorb and adjust for the set-loss of gaskets with time. So, they extend the useful valve life reducing required maintenance.

The springs most used in these applications range in external diameters between 100, 00 and 500, 00 mm and with inside diameters from 40, 00 to 125 mm.

This security system for the valves based on the disc springs is commonly used in the chemical industry, power stations, and production facilities. 

Disc springs to tool clamping components

In the machine tool sector the use of disc springs to different aspects is very common. One of the main applications of these springs is acting within the stack securing the tool (bit, drill, milling cutter,…) to the machine top.

This stack has to exert a mooring pressure enough to avoid the accidental tool release, with the risks that it could have. However, It also has to allow the release of the piece in a simple way to the interchange between the different tools required by the task to do.

In this application the springs stack will maintain the mooring pressure on the tool, to lock it in a clamped position during the work. To make a change, the tool is released by a hydraulically operated piston, which slides forward over a bolt and clamping tube. As the spring stack is compressed, the collet opens simultaneously. Reduction of hydraulic pressure causes stack unloading and the tool moves into the spindle. The stack of disc springs, with their pressure, locks the tool in a clamped position.

The disc spring dimensions commonly used for this application are externals diameters between 28,0 and 63,0 mm. However, these dimensions depend on the machine tool manufactures and it can be used other higher dimensions.

Disc spring to cableway grip

In the guidance system of cableway the disc springs help both in a correct subjection of the hanger to the cable, as in the hooked and unhooked of the station to facilitate boarding and disembarking of passengers.

The disc springs stack generates constant clamping force between the cable grip and wire cable to keep them in contact. Moreover, the stack flexibility allows to compensate for deformations of the wire cable, ensuring a safe grip.

There are two possibilities of clamping:

 a)    A fixed connection: In this case the disc spring stack is assembled with a fixed length to provide a constant and appropriate load, necessary for the grip of the cableway. The spring application is static. Its key role is to keep strength grip stable and compensate for deformations of the wire cable with the time.

b)    A coupling connection: In this case the disc spring stack provides a constant load. But you have to keep in mind that the spring stack must be possible to compress with the object to release or loosen the grip of the hanger to the cable. This allows the cabin to reduce its velocity to the boarding and alighting of passengers during decoupling of the cable on the station.  The load is dynamic.

 The springs dimensions commonly used are external diameters between 70,00 and 150,00 mm.

Belleville spring to load adjustment in bolted joints

Bolted joints between studs or bolts and nuts can be weakened with the time by vibrations or thermal expansion effect.

Equally, when these bolted joints are part of a fluids or gas channeling system at determinate pressure, the differences of tension that the system has to bear tend to loosen the joint between nuts and bolts with the time.

The belleville springs inserted in the middle of a bolted joint are totally compressed and the spring exerts a constant force on the bolt head to maintain a continuous tension between pieces preventing the bolt from loosening. Equally, their flexibility compensates thermal or pressure expansions or contractions.

This solution prolongs life of the joint, avoiding preventive maintenance. This is really important in those applications sensitive to suffer these mismatches, as well as in those which their maintenance is difficult to access. An example of this problematic is the manufacturing of rail systems, where the vibrations have an important effect on the joints. Also in petrochemical plants and in general in chemical industry the use of this application is common. The channeling and the liquid and gas storage at a high pressure makes the bolted joints protection especially necessary.

The disc springs DIN are one of the most common products in this application. This is because, although it's possible to use disc springs, the fact that this application is static, it doesn't make it obligatory. Nevertheless, the product specially designed for these applications are the flange washers. This spring has some geometric characteristics more adequate because it has been designed especially to do this function. On the one hand, their proportion between external and internal diameter (lower difference than belleville spring) allows to use it in locations where the separation between bolted joints is minimum. Equally, they are pieces capable of providing higher loads than belleville springs. Finally, flange washers are manufactured as standard in steel. They are especially prepared to bear temperature and/or corrosion such as it is commonly necessary in this applications.

Disc Springs for continuous flow boiler

The high temperatures supported by the structures of the continuous flow boilers provoke thermal expansions in the materials. These deflections affect its structure and above this to the supports system of the system. Disc spring stacks are a practical solution for this problematic.

These springs used in the boiler suspension systems, makes the stack necessary flexed to absorb deflections of the bearing surfaces. In this way, this guarantees even movement of the boiler resulting from thermal expansion. Then, we would achieve the system life extension and, we would also reduce the maintenance interventions drastically and the cost which in other case would be inevitable.

In this application disc springs with external diameter between 150,00 and 400,00 mm are commonly used. The use of steels with resistance properties at high temperatures in disc springs will extend the suspension system life even more.

This application is used in incinerating plants and boiler manufacturers for different uses.