AIM

Automobile Steering system

OBJECTIVE
To experimentally determine the steering gear ratio of a rack and pinion gear
system.

APPARATUS
(1)Turning radius gauge
(2)Steering wheel angle gauge

PROCEDURE
(1)The vehicle was driven onto the locked turning radius gauges and the
steering wheel was straightened.
(2)The turning radius gauges were unlocked and the steering wheel was turned
clockwise at small angles and the wheel angles were measured.
(3)The steering wheel was then straightened after it had reached maximum
lock and it was turned anticlockwise and the wheel angles were measured.

CALCULATIONS
The steering ratio ( i s ) is defined as,
i s=
Where,

s
m=

s
m

= steering wheel angle

i + o
2

= mean steering angle

Steering angle of the inner wheel

Steering angle of the outer wheel

RESULTS
Right Hand Steering
m

is

is

0
0.50
1.00
1.50
2.50
3.50
4.50
5.25
5.75
6.25
7.00
7.50
8.50
9.00
9.50
10.50
11.00
12.00
12.50
13.25
14.75
16.50
17.25
18.00
18.50
19.25
21.00
22.25
23.00
24.00
25.25
26.25
27.50
27.50
28.25
29.00
30.00

0.00
30.00
30.00
30.00
24.00
21.43
20.00
20.00
20.87
21.60
21.43
22.00
21.18
21.67
22.11
21.43
21.82
21.25
21.60
21.51
20.34
19.09
19.13
19.17
19.46
19.48
18.57
18.20
18.26
18.13
17.82
17.71
17.45
18.00
18.05
18.10
18.00

0
1.00
1.75
2.75
4.25
5.00
5.50
6.25
7.25
8.25
9.00
9.50
10.25
11.00
11.50
12.50
13.25
13.75
14.25
15.25
15.75
16.50
17.50
18.25
19.00
19.75
20.75
21.75
23.00
23.75
25.25
26.25
27.00
27.75
28.25
28.50
29.25

0.00
15.00
17.14
16.36
14.12
15.00
16.36
16.80
16.55
16.36
16.67
17.37
17.56
17.73
18.26
18.00
18.11
18.55
18.95
18.69
19.05
19.09
18.86
18.90
18.95
18.99
18.80
18.62
18.26
18.32
17.82
17.71
17.78
17.84
18.05
18.42
18.46

Left Hand Steering

DISCUSSION
Study of steering gear systems available in automobiles
The steering system enables the driver to turn the front wheels left or right, to
change the direction of travel. The steering starts at the steering wheel in front of
the driver. As it is turned, shafts and gears act as linkage which connects it to the
front wheels and the rear wheels, in the case of four wheel steering. The wheels
swing to the right or left, and the vehicle the follows the direction in which the
front wheels point.
Two types of steering gears are widely used in automotive vehicles, recirculatingball steering gear and the rack-and-pinion steering gear.
Recirculating-ball steering gear is usually found in trucks and large cars. It is
similar to the worm-and-roller steering gear. They have a sector gear on the inner
end of the output shaft. A sector gear is a section of gear teeth from a gear wheel.
The output shaft is known as the sector shaft or pitman-arm shaft. The teeth on
the sector mesh with the teeth of a ball nut. It rides on the worm or the worm
gear that connects to the end of the steering shaft. Balls roll in grooves inside the
ball nut and in the worm. The balls are the only contact between the worm and
the nut. They reduce friction and recirculate from one end of the ball nut to the
other end during steering, by means of a return guide.

Figure 2: Recirculating-ball steering gear (left: overview, right: inner view of the
steering gear)

As the steering shaft is rotated, the worm forces the balls to roll in the grooves. As
the balls roll, they force the ball nut to move up or down the worm. The pitman
arm moves as a result of the ball nut movement. The movement of the pitman
arm forces the steering linkage to pivot the wheels for steering.

Figure 3: Overview of rack and pinion steering system

The rack-and-pinion steering gear system is used in most light vehicles. It has a
pinion gear at the end of the steering shaft that meshes with a flat rack of gear
teeth. Tie rods connect the ends of the rack to the steering arms. As the steering
wheel turns, the pinion gear moves the rack to the right or left. This moves the tie
rods and the steering arms which turn the steering knuckles and wheels inward or
outward.

Figure 4: Components of a rack and pinion steering gear system