Steering

The steering mechanism has two main purposes.It must enable the driver to: easily maintain the straight ahead direction of the vehicle even when bumps are encountered at high speeds; and to change the direction of the vehicle with the minimum amount of effort at the steering wheel. One of the simplest layouts is the beam axle arrangement as used on large commercial vehicles. This is where the hub pivots or swivels on a king pin (in the case of a car a top and bottom ball-joint) to give the steering action.

To provide means of turning the front wheels of a vehicle left or right would not be too difficult were it not also necessary to make provision for their movement up and down with the suspension. Most modern cars now have a fully independent front suspension. This creates serious problems when one wheel moves upwards or downwards independent of the opposite wheel. If a single track rod were used the tracking would alter every time the wheels moved causing the vehicle to wander from the straight ahead position. This problem has been overcome by the use of two or three part track rods. On a vehicle fitted with a rack and pinion type steering the centre track rod has been replaced by the rack.

Ackermann principle
Rudolph Ackermann took out a patent in 1818 in England which is now widely used and is known as the Ackermann layout. The angles of the front wheels about the turning point depend upon the wheel base (W) and the width of the track (T). In this arrangement the inner wheel (A) turns through a larger angle than the outer wheel (B) to give true rolling motion. The Ackermann layout does not fully achieve these conditions in all wheel positions; normally it is only accurate when the wheels are straight ahead and in one position on each left and right turn wheel setting. This system gives as near true rolling motion as possible together with simplicity.

Steering Angles:
1. Camber:

2.

King Pin or Swivel Axle Inclination:

3.

Caster Angle:

Castor angle steering geometry (a) positive castor, (b) zero castor, (c) negative castor

4.

Toe In/Out:

Steering Mechanisms: 1.

Worm and roller:

2.

Worm-and-peg steering gear:

3.

Recirculating ball:

4.

Rack and pinion:

Ball-joints:
Ball-joints that are used on modern cars do not need lubricating as they are sealed for life, although on some medium to heavy vehicles they may require greasing at regular service intervals.

Hydraulic power steering systems:

The method of using oil under pressure to boost the servo is sophisticated and advantageous in terms of cost, space and weight. Sensitivity to movements caused by the road surface and hence the effect of torsional impacts and torsional vibrations passing into the steering wheel is also noticeably reduced, particularly with rack and pinion steering.

Hydraulic power steering system of the Opel Vectra (1997). The individual components are: 1 vane pump, driven by V-belts 2 high-pressure line 3 cooling circuit 4 return line, from the steering valve to the pump 5 steering gear with external drive, attached to the auxiliary frame 6 steering valve 7/8 pressure lines to the working cylinder 9 steering column with intermediate shaft 10 steering wheel with integrated airbag

Electro-hydraulic power steering systems:

With electro-hydraulic power steering systems, the power-steering pump driven by the engine of the vehicle via V-belts is replaced by an electrically operated pump.

Electro-hydraulic power steering system of the Opel Astra (1997). The individual components are: 1 electrically operated power-steering pump with integrated reserve tank (power pack) 2 pumpsteering valve hydraulic lines 3 rack and pinion steering gear with external drive, attached to auxiliary frame 4 steering valve.

Electrical power steering systems:

The bypass of the hydraulic circuit and direct steering boost with the aid of an electric motor has additional advantages in terms of weight and engine bay space compared with electro-hydraulic steering, because of the omission of all the hydraulic components. Other advantages are obtained through more variations of the steering boost because of the purely electrical signal processing.

Steering column with power-steering assembly of the Opel Corsa (1997). The individual components are: 1 column tube 2 steering tube 3 sliding sleeve with groove 4 rotary potentiometer with tap 5 servomotor 6 drive worm 7 worm gear

References:

Light and Heavy Vehicle Technology (Fourth edition) (M.J. Nunney)

HEISLER, H. (2002). Advanced Vehicle Technology (2nd ed.) Motor Vehicle Engineering & Maintenance - D. Newbold & A. Bonnick