Four-Wheel Steering System 1 FOUR WHEEL STEERING SYSTEM ABSTRACT This paper deals with the details of four

wh eel steering (4WS) system. With the help of this system all the four wheels can be turned to any direction using the steering. Thus the vehicle can be controlle d more effectively especially during cornering and parking. Also the speed of th e vehicle can be increased or decreased. `There are three types of production of four-wheel steering systems: 1. Mechanical 4WS 2. Hydraulic 4WS 3. Electro/hydraulic 4WS The mechanical 4WS uses two separate steering gears to control the front and rea r wheels. The hydraulic 4WS uses a two-way hydraulic cylinder to turn both the w heels in the same direction. It is not possible to turn them in the opposite dir ection. The electro/hydraulic 4WS combine computer electronic controls with hydr aulics to make the system sensitive to both steering angle and road speeds. This system finds application in off-highway vehicles such as fork lifts, agricultur al and construction equipment and mining machinery. It is also useful in passeng er cars, mainly SUVs. 1. INTRODUCTION Four-wheel steering, 4WS, also called rear-wheel steering or all-wheel steering, provides a means to actively steer the rear wheels during Four-Wheel Steering System 2 turning maneuvers. It should not be confused with four-wheel drive in which all four wheels of a vehicle are powered. It improves handling and help the vehicle make tighter turns. Production-built cars tend to understeer or, in few instance s, oversteer. If a car could automatically compensate for an understeer/overstee r problem, the driver would enjoy nearly neutral steering under varying conditio ns. 4WS is a serious effort on the part of automotive design engineers to provid e near-neutral steering. The front wheels do most of the steering. Rear wheel tu rning is generally limited to 50-60 during an opposite direction turn. During a same direction turn, rear wheel steering is limited to about 10-1.50. When both the front and rear wheels steer toward the same direction, they are said to be i n-phase and this produces a kind of sideways movement of the car at low speeds. When the front and rear wheels are steered in opposite direction, this is called anti-phase, counter-phase or opposite-phase and it produces a sharper, tighter turn. 2. WHY FOUR-WHEEL STEERING SYSTEM? To understand the advantages of four-wheel steering, it is wise to review the dy namics of typical steering maneuvers with a Four-Wheel Steering System 3 conventional front -steered vehicle. The tires are subject to the forces of grip , momentum, and steering input when making a movement other than straight-ahead driving. These forces compete with each other during steering maneuvers. With a front-steered vehicle, the rear end is always trying to catch up to the directio nal changes of the front wheels. This causes the vehicle to sway. As a normal pa rt of operating a vehicle, the driver learns to adjust to these forces without t hinking about them. When turning, the driver is putting into motion a complex se ries of forces. Each of these must be balanced against the others. The tires are subjected to road grip and slip angle. Grip holds the car's wheels to the road, and momentum moves the car straight ahead. Steering input causes the front whee ls to turn. The car momentarily resists the turning motion, causing a tire slip angle to form. Once the vehicle begins to respond to the steering input, corneri ng forces are generated. The vehicle sways as the rear wheels attempt to keep up with the cornering forces already generated by the front tires. This is referre d to as rear-end lag, because there is a time delay between steering input and v ehicle reaction. When the front wheels are turned back to a straight -ahead posi tion, the vehicle must again try to adjust by reversing the same forces develope d by the turn. As the steering is turned, the vehicle body sways as the rear whe els again try to keep up with the cornering forces generated by the front wheels

. The idea behind four-wheel steering is that a vehicle requires less driver input for any steering maneuver if all four wheels are steering the vehicle. As with two-wheel steer vehicles, tire grip holds the four wheels on the road. However, when the driver turns the wheel slightly, all four wheels Four-Wheel Steering System 4 react to the steering input, causing slip angles to form at all four wheels. The entire vehicle moves in one direction rather than the rear half attempting to c atch up to the front. There is also less sway when the wheels are turned back to a straight-ahead position. The vehicle responds more quickly to steering input because rear wheel lag is eliminated. 3. TYPES OF 4WS There are three types of p roduction of four-wheel steering systems: Four-Wheel Steering System 5 3.1 Mechanical 4WS 3.2 Hydraulic 4WS 3.3 Electro-hydraulic 4WS 3.1 Mechanical 4WS Figure 1. Mechanical 4WS In a straight-mechanical type of 4WS, two steering gear s are used-one for the front and the other for the rear wheels. A steel shaft co nnects the two steering gearboxes and terminates at an eccentric shaft that is f itted with an offset pin. This pin engages a second offset pin that fits into a planetary gear. The planetary gear meshes with the matching teeth of an Four-Wheel Steering System 6 internal gear that is secured in a fixed position to the gearbox housing. This m eans that the planetary gear can rotate but the internal gear cannot. The eccent ric pin of the planetary gear fits into a hole in a slider for the steering gear . A 120-degree turn of the steering wheel rotates the planetary gear to move the slider in the same direction that the front wheels are headed. Proportionately, the rear wheels turn the steering wheel about 1.5 to 10 degrees. Further rotati on of the steering wheel, past the 120degree point, causes the rear wheels to st art straightening out due to the double-crank action (two eccentric pins) and ro tation of the planetary gear. Turning the steering wheel to a greater angle, abo ut 230 degrees, finds the rear wheels in a neutral position regarding the front wheels. Further rotation of the steering wheel results in the rear wheels going counter phase with regard to the front wheels. About 5.3 degrees maximum counter phase rear steering is possible. Mechanical 4WS is steering angle sensitive. It is not sensitive to vehicle road speed. 3.2 Hydraulic 4WS Four-Wheel Steering System 7 Figure 2. Hydraulic 4WS The hydraulically operated four-wheel-steering system is a simple design, both in components and operation. The rear wheels turn only in the same direction as the front wheels. They also turn no more than 11/2 degree s. The system only activates at speeds above 30 mph (50 km/h) and does not opera te when the vehicle moves in reverse. A two-way hydraulic cylinder mounted on the rear stub frame turn the wheels. Flu id for this cylinder is supplied by a rear steering pump that is driven by the d ifferential. The pump only operates when the front wheels are turning. A tank in the engine compartment supplies the rear Four-Wheel Steering System 8 steering pump with fluid. When the steering wheel is turned, the front steering pump sends fluid under pressure to the rotary valve in the front rack and pinion unit. This forces fluid into the front power cylinder, and the front wheels tur n in the direction steered. The fluid pressure varies with the turning of the st eering wheel. The faster and farther the steering wheel is turned, the greater t

he fluid pressure. The fluid is also fed under the same pressure to the control valve where it opens a spool valve in the control valve housing. As the spool va lve moves, it allows fluid from the rear steering pump to move through and opera te the rear power cylinder. The higher the pressure on the spool, the farther it moves. The farther it moves, the more fluid it allows through to move the rear wheels. As mentioned earlier, this system limits rear wheel movement to 11/2 deg rees in either the left or right direction. 3.3 Electro-hydraulic 4WS Four-Wheel Steering System 9 Figure 3. Electro-hydraulic 4WS Several 4WS systems combine computer electronic controls with hydraulics to make the system sensitive to both steering angle and road speeds. In this design, a speed sensor and steering wheel angle sensor fee d information to the electronic control unit (ECU). By processing the informatio n received, the ECU commands the hydraulic system steer the rear wheels. At low road speed, the rear wheels of this system are not considered a dynamic factor i n the steering process. At moderate road speeds, the rear wheels are steered momentarily counter phase, through neutral, then in phase with the front wheels. At high road speeds, the r ear wheels turns only in phase with the Four-Wheel Steering System 10 front wheels. The ECU must know not only road speed, but also how much and quick ly the steering wheel is turned. These three factors - road speed, amount of ste ering wheel turn, and the quickness of the steering wheel turn - are interpreted by the ECU to maintain continuous and desired steer angle of the rear wheels. T he basic working elements of the design of an electro-hydraulic 4WS are control unit, a stepper motor, a swing arm, a set of beveled gears, a control rod, and a control valve with an output rod. Two electronic sensors tell the ECU how fast the car is going. The yoke is a major mechanical component of this electro-hydra ulic design. The position of the control yoke varies with vehicle road speed. Fo r example, at speeds below 33 mph (53 km/h), the yoke is in its downward positio n, which results in the rear wheels steering in the counter phase (opposite fron t wheels) direction. As road speeds approach and exceed 33 mph (53 km/h), the co ntrol yoke swings up through a neutral (horizontal) position to an up position. In the neutral position, the rear wheels steer in phase with the front wheels. T he stepper motor moves the control yoke. A swing arm is attached to the control yoke. The position of the yoke determines the arc of the swing rod. The arc of t he swing arm is transmitted through a control arm that passes through a large be vel gear. Stepper motor action eventually causes a push-or-pull movement of its output shaft to steer the rear wheels up to a maximum of 5 degrees in either dir ection. Four-Wheel Steering System 11 The electronically controlled, 4WS system regulates the angle and direction of t he rear wheels in response to speed and driver's steering. This speed-sensing sy stem optimizes the vehicle's dynamic characteristics at any speed, thereby produ cing enhanced stability and, within certain parameters, agility. 4. ACTUAL 4WS Four-Wheel Steering System 12 The actual 4WS system consists of a rack and pinion front steering that is hydra ulically powered by a main twin-tandem pump. The system also has a rear-steering mechanism, hydraulically powered by the main pump. The rear-steering shaft exte nds from the rack bar of the front-steering assembly to the rear-steering-phase control unit. The rear steering is comprised of the input end of the rear-steeri ng shaft, vehicle speed sensors, and steering-phase control unit (deciding direc tion and degree), a power cylinder, and an output rod. A cen-tering lock spring is incorporated that locks the rear system in a neutral (straight-ahead) positio n in the event of hydraulic failure. Additionally, a solenoid valve that disenga ges the hydraulic boost (thereby activating the centering lock spring in case of

an electrical failure) is included. 5. FAIL-SAFE MEASURES Four-Wheel Steering System 13 All 4WS systems have fail-safe measures. For example, with the electro-hydraulic setup, the system automatically counteracts possible causes of failure: both el ectronic and hydraulic, and converts the entire steering system to a conventiona l two-wheel steering type. Specifically, if a hydraulic defect should reduce pre ssure level (by a movement malfunction or a broken driving belt), the rear-wheel -steering mechanism is automatically locked in a neutral position, activating a low-level warning light. In the event of an electrical failure, it would be dete cted by a self-diagnostic circuit integrated in the four wheel-steering control unit. The control unit stimulates a solenoid valve, which neutralizes hydraulic pressure, thereby alternating the system to two-wheel steering. The failure woul d be indicated by the system's warning light in the main instrument display. On any 4WS system, there must be near-perfect compliance between the position of th e steering wheel, the position of the front wheels, and the position of the rear wheels. It is usually recommended that the car be driven about 20 feet (6 meter s) in a dead-straight line. Then, the position of the front/rear wheels is check ed with respect to steering wheel position. The base reference point is a strip of masking tape on the steering wheel hub and the steering column. When the whee l is positioned dead center, draw a line down the tape. Run the car a short dist ance straight ahead to see if the reference line holds. If not, corrections are needed, such as repositioning the steering wheel. Four-Wheel Steering System 14 Even severe imbalance of a rear wheel on a speed sensitive 4WS system can cause problems and make basic troubleshooting a bit frustrating. 6. ADVANTAGES OF 4WS Four-Wheel Steering System 15 The vehicle's cornering behavior becomes more stable and controllable at high sp eeds as well as on wet or slippery road surfaces. The vehicle's response to stee ring input becomes quicker and more precise throughout the vehicle's entire spee d range. The vehicle's straight-line stability at high speeds is improved. Negat ive effects of road irregularities and crosswinds on the vehicle's stability are minimized. Stability in lane changing at high speeds is improved. The vehicle i s less likely to go into a spin even in situations in which the driver must make a sudden and relatively large change of direction. By steering the rear wheels in the direction opposite the front wheels at low speeds, the vehicle's turning circle is greatly reduced. Therefore, vehicle maneuvering on narrow roads and du ring parking becomes easier. 7. APPLICATIONS OF 4WS Four-Wheel Steering System 16 Some of the vehicles in which the 4WS is applied are: 7.1 Chevrolet Suburban 2500: The purely electronic system works so that, at low speed, the rear wheels turn t he opposite direction of the front wheels, thus shortening the turning circle. A t higher speeds all four wheels turn in the same direction for better stability in lane change maneuvers. The system works spectacularly well with the Suburban and the turning circle diameter drops down from 44.5 feet to 35.2 feet. There is a switch to turn the system off and the Suburban drives like a regular two-whee l steering machine and, in contrast, it feels quite ponderous. Unfortunately the four-wheel steering system also pushes the width of the Sub out past 80 inches. But the very worst thing about the four-wheel steering system is its $4495 opti on cost. Hopefully as the four-wheel steering system becomes more ubiquitous acr oss the GM range of products the cost of the system will drop. 7.2 GM Concept Truck: QUADRASTEERTM (four-wheel steering system) by Delphi is featured on General Moto r Corp.'s GMC Terradyne concept vehicle. QUADRASTEERTM by Delphi is an electroni c four-wheel steering system that enables vehicles to significantly improve hand ling and maneuverability in full-size vehicles. Based on tests with full-size SU

Vs and pickup trucks, QUADRASTEER by Delphi reduces the minimum turning circle d iameter by an average of 19 percent. In fact, one full-size pickup's turning rad ius Four-Wheel Steering System 17 was reduced from 46.2 feet to 37.4 feet, making it comparable to a Nissan Ultima at 37.4 feet and a Saturn Coupe at 37.1 feet. QUADRASTEERTM by Delphi combines conventional front-wheel steering with an electrically powered rear-wheel steeri ng system. The system has four main components - a front-wheel position sensor, steerable solid hypoid rear axle, electric motor-driven actuator, and control un it. Hand wheel position and vehicle speed sensors continuously report data to th e control unit, which in turn determines the appropriate angle of the rear wheel s. Algorithms are then used to determine the correct phase of operation. The QUA DRASTEERTM by Delphi Systems also provides a controlled return to regular two-wh eel steering if the four-wheel steering system is damaged. 7.3 Jeep Hurricane: The Jeep Hurricane, a radical off-road machine with two 5.7 litre V8 engines fea tures a turn radius of absolutely zero, using skid steer capability and toe stee r: the ability to turn both front and rear tires inward. In addition, the vehicl e features two modes of automated four-wheel steering. The first is traditional with the rear tires turning in the opposite direction o f the front to reduce the turning circle. The second mode is an innovation targe ted to off-road drivers: the vehicle can turn all four wheels in the same direct ion for nimble crab steering. This allows the vehicle to move sideways without c hanging the direction the vehicle is pointing. The Four-Wheel Steering System 18 multi-mode four-wheel steering system offers killer performance and maneuverabil ity. Figure 4. Jeep Hurricane Figure 5. Ford Suburban 2500 8. CONCLUSION Four-Wheel Steering System 19 Thus the four-wheel steering system has got cornering capability, steering respo nse, straight-line stability, lane changing and low-speed maneuverability. Even though it is advantageous over the conventional two-wheel steering system, 4WS i s complex and expensive. Currently the cost of a vehicle with four wheel steerin g is more than that for a vehicle with the conventional two wheel steering. Four wheel steering is growing in popularity and it is likely to come in more and mo re new vehicles. As the systems become more commonplace the cost of four wheel s teering will drop. REFERENCES Four-Wheel Steering System