How Thick Should Carbon Fiber Springs Be to Withstand a 200-Pound Impact?

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Hello this is me first post on here i don't know if this would be the right section but I'm trying to design and build this spring to only deflect 2-2.5 inches the force on it will be 200 pounds falling from 6 feet and coming down on the the two circles. my problem is i need to learn how to calculate what thickness it should be because i have to build a few that will range from 120 to 220 pounds falling from the same height

Any help would be appreciated



Thank you

Tim Russo
 
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This is a difficult problem to answer, you'll have to take both the dynamic and static response factors of the beam into account. The analysis will involve looking at the kinetic energy of the falling body, as well as the static position of the body on the spring.

What you haven't mentioned though is how you plan to damp this system, since if the body falls onto the spring and the spring absorbs all of the energy, then in turn it will bounce the body back up. It's a classic undamped spring/mass problem from physics.