The figure is a drawing of a 3- by 18-mm latching spring. A preload is obtained during assembly by shimming under the bolts to obtain an estimated initial deflection of 2 mm. The latching operation itself requires an additional deflection of exactly 4 mm. The material is ground high-carbon steel, bent then hardened and tempered to a minimum hardness of 490 Bhn. The radius of the bend is 3 mm. Estimate the yield strength to be 90 percent of the ultimate strength.
(a) Find the maximum and minimum latching forces.
(b) Is it likely the spring will fail in fatigue? Use the Gerber criterion.