The Mechanics of Spiral Springs and Its Application in Timekeeping

Spiral spring is widely used in mechanisms, such as mechanical watch movements and clocks where the spiral spring is used for timekeeping. According to literature, there are only a few studies on spiral springs. In this paper, the mechanics of spiral springs is analyzed in details, and its dynamic performance in mechanical watch movements is further studied to find out its natural frequency, which is the most critical parameter for mechanical watch movements. Based on Castigliano's theorem, the mathematical model of dynamic deformation and natural frequency of the spiral spring under external axial torque is developed, and computer simulation with Matlab^® is also conducted. Experimental validations are carried out, which confirm the simulation results. Experiments show that the analytical method in this paper can be used to guide and facilitate the design of spiral spring.