STEERING SYSTEM
Made By:
NIPUN ARORA (2K7/ME/273)
RAM MALHOTRA (2K7/ME/290)
INTRODUCTION
It is the system which provides directional change in
the performance of an automobile. This system
converts rotary movement of the steering wheel into
angular movement of the front wheels.
It multiplies driver’s effort by mechanical advantage,
enabling him to turn the wheels easily.
REQUIREMENTS AND FUNCTIONS
Control of front wheel (sometimes rear wheel) direction.
Should multiply the turning effort applied on the steering
wheel by the driver in order to make it fairly easy to turn
the wheels.
Should be capable of keeping the wheels in true rolling
motion at all times without rubbing or scuffing of tyres on
road.
Maintain the straight ahead motion of the vehicle while it
encounters potholes and road bumps.
Should not transmit the road shocks to the steering wheel.
• Should have self rightening effect i.e., when the driver
releases the steering wheel after negotiating the turn,
the wheel should try to achieve straight ahead
position.
STEERING GEOMETRY
The term "steering geometry" (also known as "front-end geometry") refers
to the angular relationship between suspension and steering parts, front
wheels, and the road surface. Because alignment deals with angles and
affects steering, the method of describing alignment measurements is
called steering geometry.
Traditionally, there are four steering geometry angles
• Camber ( θCAM )
• Caster ( θCAS )
• Toe ( θTOE )
• Steering axis inclination (SAI)
The 4 traditional alignment angles can be classified as tire wear angles or
directional control angles. A tire wear angle helps prevent tire wear when
correct and accelerates tire wear when incorrect. Of the 4 traditional
alignment angles, the ones affecting tire wear are : θCAM , θTOE .A
directional control angle affect steering and handling. All 4 of the
traditional alignment angles are directional control angles.
Camber
Camber is the angle between the
centerline of the tire and a line
perpendicular to a level surface.
More simply, camber is the tilt of
a wheel and tire assembly, viewed
from the front of the vehicle.
If the top leans outward, away
from the auto body, the wheel
has positive camber. If the top
leans inward, the wheel has
negative camber.
Effects of Camber Tire wear - Camber is a tire wear angle.
Correct camber keeps the tire tread in
good contact with the road. Zero camber
while driving is the ideal position for this
purpose, but wheels and tires seldom
maintain zero camber under actual
driving conditions. Too much positive
camber makes the tire wear out faster on
the outside, and too much negative
camber makes it wear out on the inside.
Steering stability - Camber is also a
directional control angle. If camber is
unequal side-to-side, the auto pulls
toward the side with more camber.
The reason both for the tire wear and the
steering pull is that a cambered tire rolls
like a cone - as if one side of the tire had
a larger diameter than the other .The
tread on the smaller side gets pushed
under the tire and makes that side of the
tire wear faster, while the larger side tries
to roll around the smaller side and pulls
Caster is the angle between the
Caster steering axis and a vertical line
running through the center of the
wheel and tire, viewed from the side.
More simply, caster is the forward or
backward tilt of the steering axis. If
the steering axis leans toward the back
of the vehicle, the wheel has positive
caster. If the steering axis tilts toward
the front of the vehicle, the wheel has
negative caster. If the caster line is
vertical, the wheel has zero caster.
Steering axis - On an SLA or strut/SLA
suspension, the steering axis is an
imaginary line running through the
center of the upper and lower ball
joints. On a strut suspension, the line
runs through the top of the strut, at
the pivot, and the lower ball joint. On
a kingpin suspension, the line runs
through the kingpin axis .
Caster angle has effects on :
Effects of caster Straight-ahead stability
Steering wheel returnability
Steering stiffness
Wheels with positive caster "want" to go straight,
resist turning, and return to their straight-ahead
position as soon as possible. Generally, the
straight-ahead stability and steering wheel
returnability associated with high caster are
considered good qualities, while the increased
steering stiffness is considered a problem. Also,
increased caster often increases the amount of
road shock that the driver and passengers feel
because it in effect "aims" the bumps at the
passenger compartment. Decreasing θ CAS
decreases steering stability when the vehicle is
travelling straight ahead and decreases the
tendency of the steering wheel to re-center after
a turn. There is little resistance to changing
direction, however, so steering is easy. Caster
trail - is the distance between where the
caster line intersects the ground and the
center of the tire contact patch.
TOE
Toe is the angle between the direction a wheel
is aimed and a line parallel to the centerline of
the auto. When measured linearly, toe is the
Zero toe distance between the leading edges of the tires
Zero toe subtracted from the distance between the
trailing edges. If the toes point straight ahead,
the wheels have zero toe. If the toes point
toward each other, the wheels have toe-in , or
positive toe. If the toes point away from each
other, the wheels have toe-out , or negative
toe.
Toe - in
Changes in camber always cause changes in
toe. This means that all the factors that affect
camber, such as vehicle load and suspension
wear, can also affect toe. Caster changes affect
toe as well. This is why alignment technicians
correct camber and caster before making toe
Toe - out adjustments.
Effectsof Toe
Toe is the most important tire wear angle, and zero toe is the ideal
for preventing wear during driving. When a wheel is not pointed
straight ahead, the tire scuffs sideways along the road surface as it
rolls forward. Toe is also a directional control angle. Incorrect toe,
whether toe-in or toe-out, makes the auto wander and the wheels
shimmy.
S
CF
S
CR
SCF - Distance between toes, SCR - Distance between
heels
Steering Axis Inclination
Steering axis inclination (SAI) is the angle
between the steering axis and a vertical line,
viewed from the front of the vehicle.
Sometimes service literature refers to SAI as
"kingpin inclination - KPI" for kingpin
suspension, or as "ball joint inclination - BJI".
Caster and SAI, both measuring steering axis
tilt, but caster is seen from the side of the
vehicle and SAI from the front. These angles
are generally measured only on the front
wheels because, except in vehicle with 4WS,
rear wheels do not have a steering axis
Correct Steering Angle
The perfect steering is achieved when all the four wheels are rolling
perfectly under all conditions of running. While taking turns, the
condition of perfect rolling is satisfied if the axes of the front wheels
when produced meet the rear wheel axis at one point. Then this point
is the instantaneous centre of the vehicle. It is seen that the inside
wheel is required to turn though a greater angle than the outer wheel.
The larger the steering angle, the smaller is the turning circle. There
is, however, a maximum to which we can go as regards the steering
angle. It has been found that steering angle (of the inner wheel) can
have a maximum value of about 440. The extreme positions on either
side are called ‘lock’ positions. The diameter of the smallest circle
which the outer front wheel of the car can traverse and obtained
when the wheels arc at their extreme positions is known as the
turning circle.
This is known
as the
fundamental
equation of
correct
gearing.
Mechanisms
that fulfill this
fundamental
equation are
known as
steering gears.
Ackermann Steering Gear
This steering gear consists
of a four link mechanism
ABKL having 4 turning
pairs. As shown in fig, 2
equal arms AK and BL are
fixed to the stub axles AC
and BD to form 2 similar
bell crank levers CAK and
DBL pivoted at A and B
respectively. A cross link KL
is pin jointed at the ends to
the 2 bell crank levers.
When the vehicle is
running straight, the cross
link KL is parallel to AB, the
short arm AK and BL both
make angle α to the
horizontal axis of chassis.
In order to satisfy the
fundamental equation for
correct steering, the links
AK and KL are suitably
proportioned and angle α is
suitably selected.
This gear does not fulfill the fundamental
equation of correct gearing in all
positions as the instantaneous centre I
does not lie on the rear axis but on a line
parallel to the rear axis.
If the values AK,BL and α are known the
angle φ can be noted for different values
of θ. This angle may be termed as
φa(actual).
Correct or theoretical values of φ
corresponding to different values of θ ,for
the given values of b and l can be
calculated from cot φ – cot θ =b/l. The
angle so obtained may be termed φt
(theoretical).
Comparing φa and φt following
observations are made:
For small values of θ , φa is marginally
higher than φt .
For larger values of θ, φa is lower than φt
and the difference is substantial
Thus for larger values of θ or when the vehicle is
taking a sharp turn, the wear of the tires can be
more due to slipping.
Three positions for correct gearing are
1. When the vehicle moves straight.
2. When the vehicle moves at correct angle to the right
3. When the vehicle moves at correct angle to the left.
In all other positions, pure rolling is not possible
due to slipping of wheel.
Component of steering system
Steering wheel Steering is effected by the steering wheel. The
steering wheels of commercial vehicles have a
metal armature comprised of a screw
machined hub with metal spokes and rim. The
hub, spokes and rim are all fabricated into one
piece by welding. The armature serves as the
load bearing structure of the wheel. The
armature is surrounded by a moulded rubber
or plastic material. Rubber wheels are painted,
and plastic wheels utilize impregnated
colours.
The steering wheel is of large diameter. This
helps to convert the available driver rim pull
into maximum input torque.
The rim of the steering wheel is elliptical in
cross section with the finger indentations on
the undersurface. The section of the rim is so
designed and dimensioned to provide the
driver a good grip both with and without
heavy gloves.
Steering column: Steering column positions the
steering wheel in the driver’s cabin
in relation to the driver’s seat and
pedal controls. The steering column
is made either as fixed or adjustable.
In the fixed type, the location of the
steering wheel cannot be changed.
The steering wheel position is then
decided taking into account the
range of seat position and driver
size. On the other hand, if the
steering column is made adjustable,
then the steering wheel movement
can take care of the optimum wheel
to driver relationship in all seat
positions.
A bearing in the upper part of the
steering column serves for centering
the steering shaft. The type of
bearing, bush or ball bearing or
roller bearing provided for the shaft
affects the steering effort
Steering shaft
The steering shaft assembly performs two important functions:
1. It transmits the driver’s turning effort or torque from the steering
wheel to the steering gear.
2. It absorbs the angular and/or length changes in the relationship
between the steering wheel (chassis mounted) and steering gear (cab
mounted) for the following operating conditions: cab to chassis
movement during driving, length change for adjustable columns and
cab on tilt cab models.
On the non-adjustable column installations, the axial length
displacement of the steering shaft is usually achieved through the use
of displacement characteristics of a flexible coupling
Steering gear
The heart of the steering system is the steering gear. This unit is also
called steering mechanism. This unit is ordinarily fixed to the bottom
of the steering column. This unit is located between the steering shaft
and the steerable stub axles which carry the road wheels. The input
shaft of the steering gear is operated by the steering shaft. The steering
gear performs two functions:
1. It converts the rotary motion of the steering wheel into linear motion
of the steering linkage which moves the front wheels.
2. It introduces a leverage between the steering wheel and the stub
axles. This leverage reduces the effort that has to be applied by the
driver to the steering wheel in order to overcome the frictional forces
opposing the turning of the stub axles and the road wheels.
The steering gear incorporates another important feature called back
locking.
Steering linkage
The steering linkage consist of pitman
arm, ball joints, drag link, steering
arm, spindle, tie rod and king pin
assembly.
Pitman arm – It is also called the drop
arm. It converts the output torque
from the steering gear into a force to
the drag link. It is attached to the
sector shaft of the steering gear by a
split joint. In this construction either
full serrations or partial spline is used
to transmit the torque from the sector
shaft to the pitman arm. The split arm
is tightened around the sector shaft by
the clamping bolt to mate the male
and female serrations or splines. The
end of the pitman arm which connects
with the drag link has a taper hole in
it. The ball stud on the drag link is
fitted into this hole.
Ball joints - are used on both ends of the drag link and the tie rod.
These take care of the angular displacement and rotational movement
of the drag link and the tie rod, which are caused by the front wheel
rotation and suspension articulation.
Drag link - connects the pitman arm and the steering arm. In some
cases, it is a one piece forging with a ball joint socket formed in the
end.
Steering arm - is usually a forged component and is attached to the
steering knuckle. It converts the drag link force into a turning moment
about the left king pin. The steering arm is attached to the spindle by a
keyway, a locking taper and a nut. The arm extends either to the front
or rear of the spindle, depending upon the package constraints and
then bends to locate the steering arm ball joint at the correct geometric
location. The end of the steering arm which connects with the drag
link has a tapered hole in it to accept the ball stud on the drag link.
Left spindle and king pin - The torque from the
steering arm rotates the left spindle, wheel and
tyre about the king pin.
Left tie rod arm - The left tie rod arm is attached
to the spindle in the same manner as the steering
arm, that is, key, taper and clamping nut. This
converts the torque available to turn the right
wheel into a force in the tie rod. The tie rod of this
link has a tapered hole to accept the tie rod ball
stud.
Tie rod - The tie rod is a tubular member which connects the left and
right tie rod arms. As such it transmits the force between these two
components. The tie rod ends have female threads. The ball joint shafts
have mating male threads. The threaded connections can be held
together firmly by the locking clamps after the proper length has been
set. The length of the tie rod has to be adjusted so that the front axle
toe in will be to the specified amount.
Right tie rod arm, spindle and kingpin - The right tie rod arm is a
mirror image of the left. This converts the force from the tie rod into a
moment to turn through the knuckle arm, the right spindle wheel and
the tyre about the king pin. The right spindle and the king pin
assembly is similar to the assembly on the left side except that it has no
steering arm attached to it.
Steering stops - In order to limit the angular deflections of the front
wheels, stops must be provided. The purpose of these stops is to avoid
rubbing of tyres against the frame or against the fenders which would
cause undue wear and tear of the tyres. These steering stops can be
provided at two different places. First, they may be placed in the path
of motion of the steering arm or drop arm. Secondly, they may be
placed in the path of motion of the steering knuckle.
Steering ratio
Steering ratio is the amount of degrees you have to turn the steering wheel, for the
wheels to turn an amount of degrees.
In motorcycles and bicycles, the steering ratio is always 1:1, because the steering
wheel will always follow the wheel. In most passenger cars, the ratio is between 12:1
and 20:1. Example: If one complete turn of the steering wheel, 360 degrees, causes
the wheels to turn 24 degrees, the ratio is then 360:24 = 15:1 (360/24=15).
A higher steering ratio means that you have to turn the steering wheel more, to get
the wheels turning, but it will be easier to turn the steering wheel.
A lower steering ratio means that you have to turn the steering wheel less, to get
the wheels turning, but it will be harder to turn the steering wheel.
Larger and heavier vehicles will often have a higher steering ratio, which will make
the steering wheel easier to turn. If a truck had a low steering ratio, it would be very
hard to turn the steering wheel.
In race cars the ratio becomes really low, because you want the vehicle to respond a
lot quicker than in normal cars.
Types of steering system
Front wheel steering
Manual steering
Rack-and-pinion steering is quickly becoming the
most common type of steering on cars, small trucks
and SUVs. It is actually a pretty simple mechanism. A
rack-and-pinion gearset is enclosed in a metal tube,
with each end of the rack protruding from the tube. A
rod, called a tie rod, connects to each end of the rack.
The pinion gear is attached to the steering shaft.
When you turn the steering wheel, the gear spins,
moving the rack. The tie rod at each end of the rack
connects to the steering arm on the spindle (see
diagram above).
The rack-and-pinion gearset does two things:
It converts the rotational motion of the steering wheel
into the linear motion needed to turn the wheels.
It provides a gear reduction, making it easier to turn
the wheels.
On most cars, it takes three to four complete
revolutions of the steering wheel to make the wheels
turn from lock to lock (from far left to far right).
The recirculating-ball steering
gear contains a worm gear. You
can image the gear in two parts.
The first part is a block of metal
with a threaded hole in it. This
block has gear teeth cut into the
outside of it, which engage a gear
that moves the pitman arm (see
diagram above). The steering
wheel connects to a threaded
rod, similar to a bolt, that sticks
into the hole in the block. When
the steering wheel turns, it turns
the bolt. Instead of twisting
further into the block the way a
regular bolt would, this bolt is
held fixed so that when it spins,
it moves the block, which moves
the gear that turns the wheels.
Worm and wheel steering gear system consists
of worm wheel which is carried in bearings in a
cast iron case. The case is made in halves. The
outer end of the worm wheel is fixed to a drop
arm which is having ball end to connect the
side rod. The side rod is connected to the
steering arm which is fixed to the stub axles.
The worm which is keyed on to a steering shaft
have a mesh with the worm wheel. The steering
wheel is mounted at the upper end of the
steering shaft. When driver rotates the steering
wheel then drop arm moves either backward or
forward direction. This motion results in
motion of the stub axles.
POWER STEERING
Principles of the Power steering
Power steering has two types of device for steering effort
one type is a hydraulic device utilizing engine power. The
other type utilizes an electric motor. For the former, the
engine is used to drive a pump. For the latter, an
independent electric motor in the front luggage
compartment is used the pump. Both develop fluid
pressure, and this pressure acts on a piston within the
power cylinder so that the pinion assists the rack effort. The
amount of this assistance depends on the extent of pressure
acting on the piston. Therefore, if more steering force is
required, the pressure must be raised. The variation in the
fluid pressure is accomplished by a control valve which is
linked to the steering main shaft.
Neutral (Straight-ahead) position:
Fluid from the pump is sent to the control
valve. If the control valve is in the neutral
position, all the fluid will flow pass through
the control valve into the relief port and
back to the pump. At this time, hardly any
pressure is created and because the pressure
on the cylinder piston is equal on both
sides, the piston will not move in either
direction.
While turning:
When the steering main shaft is turned in
either direction, the control valve also
moves, closing one of the fluid passages.
The other passage then opens wider, causing
a change in fluid flow volume and, at the
same time, pressure is created.
Consequently, a pressure difference occurs
between both sides of the piston and the
piston moves in the direction of the lower
pressure so that the fluid in that cylinder is
forced back to the pump through the
control valve.
There are two kinds of power steering currently in use
a) Integral power steering and
b) Linkage booster power steering
Integral power steering
Integral power steering
The figure shows the arrangement of integral power steering when the
vehicle moves straight ahead on the road. In this system the oil pump
is driven by a belt from the engine crank shaft pulley. The system
consists of solid cylinder on which two grooves have been cut, known
as “valve spool”, which slides closely within the hole in the valve
housing. The housing has three internal grooves the central groove is
connected to the pump and two at ends are connected to the reservoir.
The two additional openings from the internal collars are connected to
the two sides of the cylinder as shown in the Figure. When the valve
spool is in the position shown in the Figure, then the pump delivers the
oil in the central part of the housing and then delivers back to the
reservoir by the passages shown by the arrows. In this position there
will be no oil pressure in the cylinder and there is no tendency for the
piston to slide in any direction. Thus there is no steering action and
vehicle moves straight ahead.
Linkage-booster power steering
In this type power assistance is applied directly to the steering linkage. The
power cylinder consists of piston and the piston rod is extended out on the
right and is fixed to the frame member. The relay rod is linked with the cylinder
housing.
In the neutral position the spool valve is held in the centre position by the
centering springs. In this position oil from pump flows to both sides of the
piston in the power cylinder at equal pressure and then there will not be
displacement in the power cylinder thus there will no steering action. In this
position the vehicle moves straight ahead on the road.
Again when the steering wheel is turned anticlockwise as shown, then the ball
of the pitman arm shifts the valve spool towards right side. Due to this shifting,
the oil from pump flows in the valve section of the unit, through the ports.
Then the oil through feed line flows into the right hand side of the power
cylinder. The high pressure oil inside the cylinder, forces it to move to the right
which results to turn the stub axles to the left side. For the right side of the
vehicle this operation of the system is reversed to it.
Four wheel steering
Four wheel steering is a relatively new technology that improves
maneuverability in cars, trucks and trailers. It should not be confused
with four wheel drive in which all four wheels of a vehicle are
powered.In standard two wheel steering vehicles, the rear set of wheels
are always directed forward therefore and do not play an active role in
controlling the steering. In four wheel steering systems, the rear wheels
can turn left and right. To keep the driving controls as simple as
possible, a computer is used to control the rear wheels.
At slow speeds, the rear wheels are turned in the opposite direction of
the front wheels. This can lessen the turning radius by approximately
20%.
all four wheels
rear wheels are turned are turned in
in opposite direction
of front wheels at slow speed same direction at high speed
Four wheel steering
At faster speeds on the highway, the rear wheels are
turned in the same direction as the front wheels. This
improves lane changing maneuverability and is
particularly beneficial for vehicles towing a trailer.
Four wheel steering is growing in popularity and you are
likely to see it in more and more new vehicles. As the
systems become more commonplace you can expect the
cost of four wheel steering to drop.A simple tube runs
from a secondary pinion on the front steering rack,
transferring 1:1 steering wheel motion to the rear rack.
That rear rack eccentrically transferred that rotational
motion to a lateral motion.
Types of steering system
Collapsible Steering Column
How Does a Collapsible Steering Column
Work?
Collapsible steering columns still consist of a
long shaft that connects the steering wheel to
the steering gear box. However, the collapsible
design is composed of an inner and an outer
sleeve, pressed tightly together with a number of
steel bearings in between. These steel bearings
are pressed into the metal sleeves, and are held
in place with a strong safety resin, which is
designed to harden and then shatter when a
specific level of pressure is applied.
In the event of a frontal impact, the steel
bearings between the sleeves break free, allowing
the inner sleeve to be moved further into the
outer sleeve in telescopic fashion before enough
pressure is achieved to ram the whole steering
column into the driver. In this manner, the
energy received through a frontal impact is
completely absorbed by the steering column's
collapsing parts, allowing most modern drivers
to remain completely unaware of the danger they
have avoided.
Tilt Steering Wheels
Tilt steering wheels, first introduced
by General Motors in 1963, are used
most often in luxury vehicles. They
allow different people to operate the
vehicle comfortably by making the
position of the steering wheel
adjustable. Basically, tilt steering
wheels connect to an arc that allows
them to change positions by turning
up and down. The wheels' design
allows the steering column to remain
unaffected by the changes in the
wheel's position. This occurs
through the use of a ratchet
mechanism located in the steering
column just below the wheel.
Telescope Steering Wheels
Telescope steering wheels are also an adjustable model
of steering wheel, but in this case the height is
adjustable. You can adjust these wheels to an infinite
number of positions within a 3-inch range.
