- Presented By

Karthik.s
(1ac08me025)
Dept. of mechanical engineering
Alpha college of engineering


Power steering in automobiles

The fundamental purpose of steering is to achieve
angular motion of the front wheels to negotiate a
turn.
This can be achieved manually, where only the force
exerted by the driver is used to turn the wheels.
Manual steering is enough for smaller vehicles,
however large amount of torque is required to be
applied by the driver for steering of medium and
heavy vehicles. This cannot be done manually and
requires external assistance.
Power steering system provides automatic assistance
to the turning effort applied to the manual steering
system, and makes driving easier for the driver.

ABSTRACTt
Steering action: When a driver turns the steering wheel, the mechanical
action rotates a steering shaft inside the steering column. Depending on the
steering mechanism, gears or other devices convert the rotating motion of
the steering wheel into a horizontal force that turns the wheels. Most
steering systems link the front wheels together by means of a tie-rod. The
tie-rod insures that the turning of one wheel is matched by a corresponding
turn in the other.









INTRODUCTION

When you turn your car, your front wheels are not pointing in the
same direction. For a car to turn smoothly, each wheel must follow a
different circle. Since the inside wheel is following a circle with a smaller
radius, it is actually making a tighter turn than the outside wheel. If you
draw a line perpendicular to each wheel, the lines will intersect at the
center point of the turn. The geometry of the steering linkage makes the
inside wheel turn more than the outside wheel.
Effective steering of any automobile depends various factors :
1. Steering geometry
2. Steering linkages
3. Wheel alignment
4. Suspension system.
Good steering system is characterized by:
1. The accuracy of steering mechanism.
2. The ease with which it can be handled.
3. The directional stability it provides.


The amount of torque to be applied by the driver for steering of varies with the size of the
vehicle. This value is very large for medium and heavy vehicles. To cope with this the
power steering was introduced.
Power steering is a system for reducing the steering effort on cars by using an external
power source to assist in turning the wheels. Power steering was invented in the 1920s,
and the first commercially available power steering system on the 1951 Chrysler Imperial
under the name Hydraguide.




ELECTRIC SYSTEMS:
More modern systems, use completely electric components. Sensors detect the
motion and torque of the steering column and a computer applies assistive power
via electric motors.
1. Column-assist type- The power assist unit, controller and torque sensor are
attached to the steering column.
-This system is compact and easy to mount on the vehicle.
2. Pinion-assist type- The power assist unit is attached to the steering gear's
pinion shaft.
3. Direct-drive type- The steering gear rack and power assist unit form a single
unit.
-The steering system is compact and fits easily in the engine compartment layout.
-The direct provision of assistance to the rack enables low friction and inertia,
and in turn ideal steering feeling.
4. Rack-assist type- The power assist unit is attached to the steering gear rack.
The power assist unit can be located freely on the rack, allowing great flexibility
in layout design.

TYPES OF POWER STEERING
HYDRAULIC SYSTEMS:
-This system offers both high power and a smooth steering feeling.
-Application on a wide range of vehicles from compact cars to trucks is possible.
-Electronic control by computer enables performance corresponding to vehicle
speed and an ideal steering feeling.

ELECTRO-HYDRAULIC SYSTEMS:
-Microcomputer control of the electric motor driving the pump allows this
hydraulic power steering system to achieve great energy savings
-The motor, pump, reservoir and controller compose a single unit, making
installation easy and nearly eliminating the need for tubing adjustments after
attachment.
-The hydraulic pump is driven by a high-performance brushless motor, enabling
both energy savings and a quick response




COMPONENTS OF POWER STEERING
Pump
Rotary valve
Steering gears
Linkages
PUMP:
The hydraulic power for the steering is provided by a rotary-vane pump. This
pump is driven by the car's engine via a belt and pulley. It contains a set of retractable
vanes that spin inside an oval chamber.
ROTARY VALVE :
The input from the steering shaft forms the inner part of a spool-valve assembly. It
also connects to the top end of the torsion bar. The bottom of the torsion bar connects
to the outer part of the spool valve. The torsion bar also turns the output of the
steering gear, connecting to either the pinion gear or the worm gear depending on
which type of steering the car has.
The steering gear converts the turning motion of the steering wheel into the to-
and-fro motion of the link rod of the steering linkage. Moreover, it also provides
the necessary leverage so that the driver is able to steer the vehicle without
fatigue.
There are many types and of steering gears in use for automobiles. However, only
a few important ones out of them are discussed here. The working of other types
is also similar.
1. Worm and wheel steering gear
2. Cam and double roller steering gear
3. Worm and nut steering gear
4. Re-circulating ball type steering gear
5. Rack and pinion steering gear

STEERING GEARS
STEERING LINKAGES
Steering linkages depends upon the type of the vehicle, whether it is a car which
has independent front suspension or a commercial vehicle having generally a rigid
axle type front suspension.
Steering linkage for vehicle with rigid axle front
suspension
Steering linkage for vehicle with independent front
suspension

MANUAL RACK AND PINION STEERING SYSTEM:






MANUAL RE-CIRCULATING BALL STEERING SYSTEM:




MANUAL STEERING SYSTEMS
HYDRAULIC POWER STEERING SYSTEM:
Power Rack-and-pinion :
When the rack-and-pinion is in a power-steering system, the rack has a
slightly different design. Part of the rack contains a cylinder with a piston in the
middle. The piston is connected to the rack. There are two fluid ports, one on
either side of the piston. Supplying higher-pressure fluid to one side of the piston
forces the piston to move, which in turn moves the rack, providing the power
assist.

POWER ASSISTED STEERING SYSTEMS

Recirculating ball power steering:
Power steering for the recirculating ball type steering system consists of a
pump, fluid reservoir, pressure and return hoses and steering gear. The pump, which
is driven by an accessory drive belt, consists of an impeller, pressure valve, and fluid
reservoir. Pump pressure builds only when the engine is running. The pump impeller
turns, picking up hydraulic fluid from the reservoir and feeding it to the steering
gear under pressure through the pressure line. The fluid is then returned to the fluid
reservoir through the non-pressurized return line.
ELECTRIC POWER STEERING:
Automotive manufacturers are now-a-days moving to Electric Power Steering
(EPS) to provide the convenience of steering assist without the cost in engine size
and fuel consumption.
EPS is also a cheaper and more flexible solution than a hydraulic pump. Besides
providing a five percent improvement in fuel efficiency, EPS is lighter (4 Kg to 6
Kg or 8 lbs to 13 lbs), and mechanically simpler (no pump, fan belt, fluid reservoir).
The same EPS system can provide high-performance driving for a sports car and
smooth, safety-assisted steering for the family sedan simply by changing the
controller's software.


ELECTRO-HYDRAULIC POWER STEERING :
So called "hybrid" systems use the same hydraulic assist technology as standard
systems, with the hydraulic pressure being provided by an electric motor instead of a
belt driven one.
ADVANCED STEERING SYSTEMS
Variable ratio rack and pinion steering system
Electric power steering
Speed sensitive steering
Four wheel steering

A sub-species of four wheel steering is the Articulated
steering. Articulated steering is a system by which a four wheel
drive vehicle is split into front and rear halves which are
connected by a vertical hinge. The front and rear halves are
connected with one or more hydraulic cylinders that change the
angle between the halves, including the front and rear axles
and wheels, thus steering the vehicle. This system does not use
steering arms, king pins, tie rods, etc. as does four wheel
steering. If the vertical hinge is placed equidistant between the
two axles, it also eliminates the need for a central differential,
as both front and rear axles will follow the same path, and
thus rotate at the same speed.




A front loader with articulated steering.
There are controls to switch off the rear steer and options to steer only the
rear wheel independent of the front wheels. At slow speeds (e.g. parking)
the rear wheels turn opposite to that of the front wheels, reducing the
turning radius by up to twenty-five percent, while at higher speeds both
front and rear wheels turn alike (electronically controlled), so that the
vehicle may change position with less yaw, enhancing straight-line stability.
Some vehicles now offer a form of "passive" four wheel steering, where the
bushings by which the rear suspension attaches to the automobile are
designed to compress in a precise direction under the forces of steering, thus
slightly altering the rear suspension geometry in such a manner as to
enhance stability.
One of the coolest innovations in recent times is the Steer-by-wire. These
systems would completely eliminate the mechanical connection between the
steering wheel and the steering, replacing it with a purely electronic control
system.



RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
Over the years, power steering has become a standard equipment item on many automobiles.
The demand for this system has caused power steering to be installed on over 90% of all
domestic new car production.
Not only in domestic cars but EPS has found a widespread application in F-1 races and in
sport cars. Due to a hunger for more speed and power it was but necessary to bring this
change in the design or be willing to sacrifice the stability factor. This variation in design
helped in achieving a better stability and maneuverability in sport cars.
Though there is a continuous quest to achieve better steering system designs, an engineers
work is only half done since there are still concerns such as flow and pressure regulation,
reduction of pump flow ripples, sizing of your system, optimization of your network
architecture, noise and vibrations in the supply line, losses in lines, electric parts dynamics
and performance, development of new control strategies for electrical or electro-hydraulic
steering systems, off-line tests of the control strategies, reduction of energy consumption,
increase of efficiency, peak torque prediction at the wheel due to electrical stop strategies,
velocity dependant assistance law optimization, coupling between the front suspension and
the hydraulic or electrical steering systems.
Therefore optimization of steering systems is a continual improvement process.



CONCLUSIONS
Automobile engineering by Kirpal Singh
www.howstuffworks.com
www.wikipedia.com
www.Autozone.com/suspension and steering.htm
www.cartrackers.com/auto_glossary/s
www.madsci.org
www.showa1.com/en/products/4rs/pdf/power_s.pdf

REFERENCES