STEERING SYSTEM

OBJECTIVE
The main objectives of the steering system is to handle stress for safely directing the
vehicle through any type of terrain and to provide the driver with an accurate, predictable, and
reliable method of driving along with good ergonomics.

TARGETED DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS

In order to meet the objective we decided to attain
100% Ackermann geometry for directional control and easy cornering of the wheels.
Minimum turning radius to increase the chance of winning the maneuverability and
endurance race.
Minimum steering ratio to decrease drivers effort for maneuvering the vehicle.
Over steer gradient (K<0)

DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS ACHIEVED:

In order to meet the targeted design specifications 14 centralized rack and pinion was
chosen from desert karts. This rack and pinion setup has a rack travel of 4.25 (107.95mm) and
steering wheel turn equal to 1.5 turns.
This setup is used to achieve the Ackermann geometry using iterative methods resulting
in achievement of 85% Ackermann geometry which was verified using LOTUS software.

Outer Steering angle ( o) = 24.261 deg = 0.4234 rad

Inner Steering angle ( i) = 34.177 deg = 0.5965 rad
= ( o + i) / 2 = (24.261 + 34.177) / 2 = 29.219 deg = 0.5099 rad
= 29.219 deg
=L/R
Radius of turn (R) = L / = 1625.6 / 0.5099 = 3187.668 mm
R = 3.187 m.
Thus targeted minimum turning radius was attained.
In order to provide a better ergonomics to drive and minimize drivers effort for
maneuvering, the steering turn was reduced to 1.2 turn and this was achieved by providing
external steering lock-to-lock turn. Thus rack travel of 107.95mm was restricted to 86mm.
1.5 turns (540 deg) of steering wheel = 4.25 inch (107.95 mm) of rack travel.
Hence for 86 mm of rack travel = 1.2 turns (432 deg) of steering wheel.
Steering Ratio = degrees of steering wheel angle : Front wheel angle = 432 : 58.438
Steering Ratio = 7.39 : 1
In order to reduce the slip of the rear wheels of a rear wheel drive vehicle which posses
C.G nearer to the rear of the vehicle, it should possess over steer gradient (K <0)
We know that during steady-state cornering of the car it over steers due to the reason that load in
rear axle is more than load in front axle (Wr >Wf) and possess only over steer gradient (K) which
has negative value. Hence the front slip angle (f) and rear slip angle (r) are given by

Mass of the Vehicle (M) = 330 Kg

Lateral Force (Fy) = 0.49*g*M = 1586.27 N = 355.825 lb
Vertical Load (Fz) = 0.4*g*M = 3237.3 N = 290.471 lb
Weight on front axle (Wf) = 0.4*M*g = 1294.92 N = 290.47 lb
Weight on rear axle (Wr) = 0.6*M*g = 1942.38 N = 435.71 lb
f = 2 / 3 = (2*4.5) / 3 = 3 deg
r = 4 / 3 = (4*4.5) / 3 = 6 deg
Fyf = 250 lb ; Fyr = 500 lb
Fy = C*
Cf = Fyf / f = 83.33 lb/deg
Cr = Fyr / r = 83.33 lb/deg
K = {(Wf / Cf) (Wr / Cr)} = {(290.47 / 83.33) (435.71 / 83.33)} = - 1.74 deg/g
K = - 1.74 deg/g.
To prove the over steer gradient theoretically, the condition to be satisfied is f >
f = (57.3 L / R) + {((Wr / Cr) (Wf / Cf))*V2 / (g*R)} = 29.2271 + 1.7209 = 30.948 deg
f (30.948 deg) > (29.219 deg)