Design and Optimization of the steering system of a formula SAE car using

SOLIDWORKS and LOTUS SHARK

Sadjyot Biswal
Aravind Prasanth
Aman Gupta
Dept. Of Mech.Engineering
BITS Pilani Dubai
Dubai, UAE
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]

Abstract—The main aim of this paper is to design the steering

system for a formula sae vehicle. The main focus is to design a Now since the geometry has been decided the percent
steering system such as to counter bump and roll steer and Ackermann has to be decided. 100% Ackermann was
ensure proper response to high speed and low speed turns. The considered to be the best solution for low speed maneuvers
design process consists of first determining the steering but due to compliance effects an Ackermann percent of
parameters and geometry and then analyzing it in lotus shark around 60 to 80 percent was considered to be the best
suspension analyzer. After analysis and optimization of the solution. The exact percent would be later decided on
geometry the entire system is designed in solidworks. keeping in mind packaging constraints and tie rod length.
Keywords-Steering,FSAE,Ackermann,LOTUS Shark,
SOLIDWORKS III. STEERING ABILITY REQUIRED

I. INTRODUCTION To calculate the rack travel the steer angle required and
The steering system of a Formula SAE car is of the utmost steering ratio need to be calculated.
importance as it has to have a good reaction to all turns and corners
at the event.The steering system is also one of the most key A simple model is used to determine approximate
designs for overall handling and stability of the car. steering angle required considering maximum radius of
turn in FSAE events. The wheelbase of the car is 1550
The steering system should be such that the driver can actually
mm and tire radius of turn to be used is 4.5m.
sense what is happening at the front tires. The entire system must
be designed in such a way that the components must be able to
take all the load. The steering system should be responsive enough
to high speed as well as low speed turns and also possess some self
returning action.
The steering parameters like castor angle, kingpin angle, scrub
radius, mechanical trail etc. have to be kept in mind while
designing and the best compromise for these values has to be
found.

II. DESIGN
While designing, the major factor is the type of geometry
to be used for the steering system. The three possible
geometries that can be used are Ackermann, anti-Ackermann
and parallel steer geometry.
Figure 1. Calculating steer angle through a simple model
As the Formula SAE event consists of more low speed
corners it was decided to use Ackermann steering geometry The approximate steer angle is θ=R/l
as in this geometry the inner tire turns more as compared to
the outer tire thus giving an added advantage for tracks with Where θ= steer angle
low speed turns. R=wheelbase
 L=radius of turn
θ=1.55/4.5
=0.344 rad
=19.71 degrees
IV. STEERING RATIO
Now considering both the tires the steering angle has
now to be calculated taking into account that both tires turn The steering ratio is the ratio of how much the steering
by a different amount. wheel turns in degrees to how much the wheel turns in
degrees.

Approximating maximum turn to be of 25 degrees and

steering wheel movement to be 180 degrees the steering
ratio can be calculated as
S.R =180/25
=7.2

V. SELECTION OF STEERING SYSTEM

A rack and pinion steering system was selected because

 It is readily available or can be manufactured
 It is cost efficient.
 Has high efficiency

VI. RACK TRAVEL

Once the steering ratio has been calculated the rack travel
needs to be decided.

Figure 2. Calculating steer angle for wheels in Ackermann Principle The steering wheel decided is AIM Formula steering wheel 2
Where: which has a radius of 130 mm.
θo = turn angle of the wheel on the outside of the turn The steering wheel travel for one complete rotation =2π x r
θi = turn angle of the wheel on the inside of the turn =0.816m
B= track width Considering maximum steer angle and max rack travel is
L = wheel base reached at complete rotation of the steering wheel
b = distance from rear axle to center of mass The steering ratio can be equated to steering wheel
travel/rack travel
R=√ (R12+B2)
R12=R2+B2 7.2=0.816/Rack travel
R1=√ (R2+B^2) Rack travel=113.33 mm
R=4.5
B=1.55 Therefore, required rack travel is around 114 mm.
R1=4.43m

R1=B/tanθl +L/2 VII. STEERING PARAMETERS

R1=1.55/tanθl +1.195/2
Ɵ1 = 22.02 Some important parameters have to be considered in
designing the steering geometry. The steering geometry
should be responsive enough both in bumps and roll and
should also possess some self-returning capability. The
Through the calculations we can find out that for a turn of steering force required should also be apt.
maximum radius 4.5 m the steer angle for the inner tire is
22.02 degrees and the outer tire is 17.13 degrees. The option of having a kingpin angle of 0 degrees was
not possible as the resultant scrub radius was too high. To
keep the scrub radius to a minimum some amount of kingpin
has to be added.
 Positive Castor angle was added into the system because
it has a good impact on steer camber characteristics. Some
mechanical trail should be there to help steer return
characteristics but too much mechanical trail can wipe out
the effects of pneumatic trail. Pneumatic trail is important for
the driver to sense tire wear characteristics. Therefore, a
proper value of mechanical trail must be chosen.

To avoid unfavorable bump steer characteristics, the tie rod

should point at the front view instantaneous center.
VIII. ACKERMAN PERCENT
After the text edit has been completed, the paper is ready Figure 4. Co-ordinate points for Suspension and steering geometry in
for the template. Duplicate the template file by using the LOTUS SHARK
Save As command, and use the naming convention
prescribed by your conference for the name of your paper. In
this newly

The exact Ackermann percent can be calculated

according to the position of the steering arm or knuckles.

The percent can be calculated but based on the fact that

parallel steer is 0%, and 100% is when the steering arms can
be projected back to the rear axle at the vehicle centerline,
then the range from 0-100% is between this geometry.
Distance for 100 percent=1496.38mm
Current distance (where the lines projected meet)
=961.19 mm

Figure 5. Values for steering parameters in LOTUS SDF

After analysis in LOTUS the best solution for roll, bump

and steer the values of the parameters have been finalized as

Kingpin Angle=8 degrees

Figure 3. LOTUS SHARK model for suspension and steering geometry Caster Angle=1.41 degrees
Mechanical trail=5.25 mm
a) Ackermann percent=current distance/distance for
100 percent x 100 percent
=961.19/1496.38 x 100 C. Final Design
=64.23 % After all the parameters have been finalized the final
procedure is to design the entire system in Solidworks.
B. Analysis In Lotus Shark
Once all the suspension points and steering points of the
geometry have been finalized they were input in LOTUS
SHARK analyzer to see the results.
 Next, I would like to thank the Department of
Mechanical engineering, BITS Pilani Dubai campus for their
motivation, support, guidance and encouragement
throughout the course of this project
REFERENCES
[1] William F. Milliken and Douglas L. Milliken, 1995, “Race Car
Vehicle Dynamics”, Society of Automotive Engineers, Inc.
[2] Gaffney, Edmund F., and Anthony R. Salinas. Introduction to
Formula SAE® Suspension and Frame Design. No. 971584. SAE
Figure 6. Final Solidworks Design Technical Paper, 1997.
[3] Robertson, Dennis, and George J. Delagrammatikas. The suspension
CONCLUSION system of the 2009 cooper union fsae vehicle: A comprehensive
design review. No. 2010-01-0311. SAE Technical Paper, 2010.
After all the calculations were completed and analysis in
[4] Gillespie, Thomas D., Fundamentals of Vehicle Dynamics. Society of
LOTUS was conducted the final steering assembly was Automotive Engineers, Inc., Pennsylvania, 1992.
designed in Solidworks.The above picture shows the final [5] Smith, Carroll, Engineer to Win. MBI Publishing Company,
design incorporated into the chassis of the FSAE car. Minnesota, 1984.
[6] Norton, R. Machine design. Pearson Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle
This steering system designed for the turns generally River, NJ, 2006.
encountered in the FSAE events was optimal to counter [7] Heisler, H.(1989), Advanced Vehicle Technology, Arnold, 338 Euston
Road, London NW1 3BH
negative impacts of bump and roll steer and also possessed
[8] Fenton, J. (1980), Vehicle Body Layout and Analysis, Mechanical
self returning capability. Engineering Publications Ltd. London
[9] Smith, C. (1978), Tune to Win: The Art and Science of Race Car
Development and Tuning, Aero Publishers, Inc. 329 West Aviation
Road, Fallbrook, CA 29028
[10] Vehicle Dynamics Terminology- SAEJ670, Revise 07-1976
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Firstly, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the
Director of BITS Pilani, Dubai Campus, Dr. Prof. R.N.
Saha, who has ushered a new light on our college.

AUTHORS’ BACKGROUND

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Sadjyot Biswal Undergraduate Mechanical
student
Aravind prasanth Undergraduate Mechanical
student
Aman Gupta Undergraduate Mechanical
student

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