9/25/2016 FormulaStudentGermany:StevesBox(oftricks)

10July201012:57

StevesBox(oftricks)
Category:PatsCorner

AguestarticlebySteveFox,ChiefDesignJudge,FSG.Patsoverheatedkeyboardneededalittlecoolingdowntime.Sountilhisnewliquidcooled
keyboardcomesin,Iagreedtocontributealittlesomethingtokeepyouallaheadofthecurve

CockpitControlForcesor
HowRobustDoDriverControlsReallyNeedToBe?
IlookforwardtoFSAE/FScompetitions,notonlyfortheobviousreasons(yougettoseealotofneat,
differentcars,andtalktoalotofincrediblybrightengineeringstudents),butalsobecauseitistheone
timeofyearwhenalltheDesignJudges,Techvolunteers,RulesCommitteemembers,andtheother
visionaryindividualswhomakeFSAE/FSwhatitis,aregatheredtogether.Weusethisopportunitytotalk
overideasfacetofaceandgainabetterviewoftheBigPicturesotospeak.Oneofthetopicsthatcame
upoverdinneroneevening,thispastMay,wassubsystemrobustness,orhowstrongdoesa
steering/brake/accelerator/gearshift(youpickone)systemreallyneedtobe?

ThisisatopicwhichallFSAE/FSvolunteers(DesignJudges&Scrutineersinparticular)aresensitiveto
becausewe,onoccasion,haveactuallybrokenstudentbuiltcars.Makenomistakeaboutit,whenthis
happens,wefeelverybadlythatwehavebrokensomethingwhichstudentshaveputlonghardhoursofdesign/build/testtimeinto.However,weare
alsoquicktopointoutthatwewouldmuchratherseethesuspectpartbreakstandingstill,ratherthanoutonthetrackwheresomeone(beita
studentdriver,orworseyet,aninnocentspectator)couldbeinjuredorworse.Unfortunately,somestudentsgetupset,andfeelthattheyarebeing
unfairlysingledout,because:Wetestedthat____(insertone:brakepedal,steeringshaft,acceleratorpedal,gearshift,etc)beyondreasonable
limits,anditdidntbreakforus.

Thisarticlewilllookateachofthedifferentsubsystemsthatadriverexertsforcetooperateandhelpyoudeterminewhatthereasonableforcesfor
normaloperationare.Itisnotmyintentiontotellyouhowtodesignyourcar.Thisisjustoneexampleofhowtogoaboutdesigningareasonably
robustcar.Thisarticlewill(hopefully)helpyouidentifywhatlevelofforcesyourcarshouldbeabletowithstandwithoutdriverinduceddamage.When
determininghowstronganysubsystemreallyneedstobe,acommonsayingweuseinmotorsportsis:Neverunderestimatethestrengthofascared
driver!

SteeringSystem
Therearetwotypesofsteeringforceswewilldiscuss.Thefirstwillbesteeringwheeltorque,orhowmuchforcecanadriverputintothesteering
systemthroughnormalactuationofthesteeringwheel.Thesecondsteeringsystemforcewewilltalkaboutislateral(radial)force,orhowmuchcan
adriverpullup,down,orsidewaysonthesteeringwheelcolumn.Wewillnotdiscussaxialforceimpartedduringthedynamicsofacollision.Axial
analysisisbeyondthescopeofthisarticle.

First,letslookatthemostcommontypesofsteeringsystemfailuresinFSAE/FScars.A
recurringproblemweseeisalackofpropersteeringcolumnsupport.Whenasteeringwheelcan
befirmlypulledup,downorsideways,andtheDesignJudgeorScrutineercandetectnoticeable
compliance,youdefinitelyhaveaproblem.
Thisisusuallyduetothefactthatthesteeringcolumnonlyhasonesupport,andthesupport
(usuallyametalsleeve)doesnotsupporttheshaftoverasufficientlength.Abetterdesignwould
havetwosupportspershaft.Thefartherapartthesupportsare,thelesscompliancetherewillbe
inthefinishedassembly.Wealsoseealltypesofbearings/sleevessupportingtheshaft,ranging
fromverywellengineeredradialballbearings,toalltypesofbushings,madefromalltypesof
materials,tonothingmorethanametalsleevesubstantiallybiggerthanthesteeringshaft(withall
oftheexcesscompliancethatcomeswiththatsloppydesign!).

Wealsoseealltypesofsteeringshaftcouplersandujointswhichareunderdesigned,wornout,
improperlyinstalledorsimplyshouldneverbeusedinasteeringsysteminthefirstplace.Themost
commontypeofcouplerfailureweseeisthenotoriousshaftinametalsleevewithacrossdrilledhole
withapin/boltthroughit.Typicallytheshaftisnothardened,theholeistoobig,ortheholesdontline
upproperly.Thisresultsinasacrificeofadequatecrosssectionalarea,whichcausesashearing
failure,orattheveryleast,lotsofextracompliance.

Anothercommonfailureweseeisadhesivefailureofashaftandcouplerwhichhasbeenbonded
togetherwithsomesortofsuperdooperepoxy.Yoursteeringsystemisnoplaceforbondedjoints.
Thebetterwaytocoupleanyofyoursteeringcomponentstogetheriswithsplinedjoints.

Iamnotrecommendingthis,butthiswasPatskartingsolution(backwhenheraced).Ifthekarthadatubularcolumn(mostdo)Patturnedupa5cm
(2)longaluminumplugforthetopoftheshaft.

https://www.formulastudent.de/academy/patscorner/advicedetails/article/stevesboxoftricks/ 1/2
9/25/2016 FormulaStudentGermany:StevesBox(oftricks)

SteeringSystemTorque/Force
So,howmuchtorque/forcedoesyoursteeringsystemnormallysee,andhowmuchtorque/forceshoulditreasonablybeabletowithstand?

Normalsteeringoperatingtorque/forcesdependonanumberofvariables.Youcanbuilda136kg(300lb)carwithverynarrow,highpressuretires,at
zeroscrubradius,withzeroKPI,andzerocaster,lotsofsteeringratio,andthesteeringinputforcewillbeverysmallindeed,maybeassmallas1.3
2.7Nm(12ft.lb.).Thiscarwouldbeworthlesstotryanddrivecompetitivelyasitwouldhaveadeadfeel,andgivethedrivernofeedbacktohis
steeringinputs.Theoppositeextremewouldbeaveryheavycarwithwide,lowpressuretires,lotsofscrubradius,lotsofKPI,caster,andalow
steeringratio.Youbetterstartworkingoutnowifyouaregoingtodrivethatcarforanydistance

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