STEERING GEOMETRY

• Only for front wheels

• Positive caster angle improve the straight line
stability at speed
• Improve handling and cornering performance
• K.P.I and caster are used to improve directional
stability in cars
• This is also used to reduce steering effort when
steering a stationary
• It reduce tire wear
• KPI angle is between- 4degree -8degree
The main functions of Kingpin inclination are as
follows,

• It helps in self-centring of wheels after taking a turn.

• To provide directional stability.
• It reduces steering effort.
 TOE IN TOE OUT

+ VE TOE - VE TOE

FRONT WHEEL POINTING TOWARDS CENTRE FRONT WHEEL POINTING AWAY FROM
AXIS LINE CENTRE AXIS LINE
 CONDITION FOR TRUE ROLLING
• True rolling occurs only when the direction of
motion of the vehicle is perpendicular to the
wheel axis.
• i.e. the wheel is subjected to forward force.
• When wheel is subjected to side force that acts
parallel to the wheel axis, a true scrub action is
produced
• When the wheel is subjected to both forward
and side forces, the movement is compounded
of true rolling and lateral distortion
• This equation gives the fundamental condition to
be satisfied by all types of steering mechanism if
true rolling for all the wheels is to be obtained
avoiding any lateral slip.
• The steering linkage used in the vehicles must
maintain the proper angles with the wheels when
taking a turn.
• But practically it is not possible to maintain
absolutely correct angles for the wheels for all
turning angles.
 Turning Circle Radius.
• When a vehicle takes a turn without experiencing
any lateral slip, all the wheels rotate about a
common Centre along different turning circles
• Thus the turning circle radius can be defined in different
ways. In order to avoid confusion, the Society of
Automotive Engineers (SAE) adopted the following
definition.
• “The turning radius of an automotive vehicle is the radius
of the arc described by the centre of the track made by the
outside front wheel of the vehicle when making its
shortest turn”.
• The turning radius depends upon a, b, c and the maximum
angle θ through which the inside front wheel can be
deflected from the straight-ahead position.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzGM8Uc2HB0
ACKERMANN STEERING
MECHANISM
• The whole mechanism of the Ackerman steering gear is
on back of the front wheels where as in Davis steering
gear, it is in front of the wheels.
• The Ackerman steering gear consists of turning pairs,
whereas Davis steering gear consists of sliding members.
• Though the gear is theoretically correct, but due to the
presence of more sliding members, the wear will be
increased which produces slackness between the sliding
surfaces, thus eliminating the original accuracy. Hence
Davis steering gear is not in common use.
• AE &BF are stub axle
• ABCD is a four bar mechanism
• AB ll DC
• DAE & CBF are the bell crank lowers they are pivoted at A & B
• CD is called as cross link
• AD & BC are equal length and inclined to α
• If we extend AD & BC ,it will meet at I (instantaneous Centre)
• If I meet rear axle it is called idle steering mechanism
DEVELOPMENT OF LATERAL FORCES
Slip angle
Cornering force

Opposing force
• When the wheels are in motion tires are subjected to vertical as
well as side (lateral) forces due to road camber, side winds, weight
transfer and centrifugal force caused while negotiating a curved
path and steering the vehicle on turns.
• When a lateral force acts on n road wheel and tire, a reaction that is
a resisting force acts between the tires tread contact patch and road
surface and opposes any sideway motion.
• This opposing resisting force is known as the cornering force
whose magnitude is equal to that of lateral force
Cornering Stiffness
• Cornering stiffness of a tire is its ability to resist
deformation in the shape of a tire while the
vehicle corners.
Pneumatic trail
• Pneumatic trail or trail of the tire is a trail-
like effect generated by compliant tires
rolling on a hard surface and subject to side
loads, as in a turn.
• More technically, it is the distance that the
resultant force of side-slip occurs behind the
geometric center of the contact patch.
• Pneumatic trail is caused by the progressive
build-up of lateral force along the length of
the contact patch, such that lateral forces are
greater towards the rear of the contact patch
What is Self-Aligning Torque
• Self-aligning torque is also referred to as aligning
torque as well as SAT and Mz
• self-aligning torque is the torque (a force that produces
rotation) developed by the tire when you're cornering
(which means turning)
• It aids in steering the vehicle
• This tire dynamic is directly affected by centrifugal
force, lateral force, cornering force, the slip angle
• The direct result of these forces is torque, and they
ultimately help a vehicle complete a turn
• Drivers experience this phenomenon on a daily
basis.
• Let's consider self-aligning torque in a daily
driving Scenario. You rotate your steering wheel
to make a simple turn. As you come out of the
turn, your vehicle straightens itself out. There's
no need for you to undo the turn or re-steer the
vehicle in order to drive straight ahead. You just
experienced self-aligning torque.
Tire stiffness
• Cornering stiffness of a tire is its ability to resist
deformation in the shape of a tire while the
vehicle corners.
• The more flexible the tire is the less stiffer it is.
When a vehicle is moving at high speed, lateral
force acting on tires increases the possibility for
vehicle to get into a critical situation.
Hysteresis Effect In Tires
• A tire's rolling resistance rating is relative to the amount of energy
lost when the tire flexes (squishes) when it meets the road surface.
This energy loss process is known as hysteresis.
• Hysteresis is a characteristic of a deformable material such that
the energy of deformation is greater than the energy of recovery.
Hysteresis Effect In Tires

• Any wheeled vehicle that is cruising will slow down

gradually due to rolling resistance.
• A steel-wheeled vehicle such as a locomotive will roll
further than a rubber-tired vehicle of the same mass on
pavement.
• Modern, energy-efficient tires reduce the problem of
hysteresis by using a rigid rubber for the tire walls and a
more flexible rubber for the tread.
• Most tires use the same rubber to do two different jobs;
provide rigidity for the tire wall and elasticity for the
tread.
 • Hysteresis in regards to the physics of tires is the
source of energy lost as the tire deforms under
load as it rolls across the road under deformation.
• Hard rubber compounds in tire bounce back to its
original round form when hitting the road and
thereby have low rolling resistance.
• A tire’s rolling resistance rating is relative to the
amount of energy lost when the tire flexes
(squishes) when it meets the road surface.
• This energy loss process is known as hysteresis.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_S2lyaMgBQ8
Inflation pressure effect on whole tire hysteresis

• Low tire pressure has hysteresis loss more than

high tire pressure because the tire has high
deformation.
• The relationship of hysteresis proved that the
loss gradually reduced when the tire pressure
increased.
• Moreover, low tire pressure had low tire
stiffness because the molecule of rubber vibrates
more than high tire pressure
Yaw velocity
• A yaw rotation is a movement around the yaw axis of a
rigid body that changes the direction it is pointing, to
the left or right of its direction of motion.
• The yaw rate or yaw velocity of a car, aircraft,
projectile or other rigid body is the angular velocity of
this rotation, or rate of change of the heading angle
when the aircraft is horizontal.
• It is commonly measured in degrees per second or
radians per second.
• It is important in electronic stabilized vehicles. The
yaw rate is directly related to the lateral acceleration
of the vehicle turning at constant speed around a
constant radius, by the relationship

• tangential speed*yaw velocity = lateral acceleration =

tangential speed2/radius of turn, in appropriate units
Cαf = Front Tire Cornering Stiffness
Cαr = Rear tire cornering stiffness
α = Slip angle
R= Turning radius
L= WHEEL BASE
W= weight
δ = steering angle Fyf = front lateral force
Fyr= rear lateral force.
Yaw velocity

At a particular time the denominator of the eq: will zero

At this speed yaw velocity gain approaches infinity

Increase first then reaches its maximum

Lateral acceleration proportional to square of speed

Increases with speed

• The curvature responses approaches to infinity.
• ie,turning radius approaches to zero and the
vehicle become out of control.

for more details : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJY3eZU4US4

Vibration -VERTICAL DYNAMICS
Vibration

• It is defined as any motion that repeats itself after an

interval of time.
• It involves transfer of potential energy to kinetic energy
and vice versa.
• Vibration is the motion of a particle or a body or system of
connected bodies displaced from a position of equilibrium
CLASSIFICATION OF VIBRATIONS:
• Free vibration:
• When no external force acts on the body, after giving it
an initial displacement, then the body is said to be
under free or natural vibrations.
• The frequency of the free vibration is called free or
natural frequency.
Three types of free vibrations are :
• 1. Longitudinal vibrations,
• 2. Transverse vibrations, and
• 3. Torsional vibration
Forced vibration:
• When the body vibrates under the influence of
external force, then the body is said to be under forced
vibrations.
• The external force applied to the body is a periodic
disturbing force created by unbalance.
• The vibrations have the same frequency as the applied
force.
• When the frequency of the external force is same as
that of the natural vibrations, resonance takes place.
• Resonance occurs when the frequency of the external
force coincides with one of the natural frequencies of
the system
Damped vibration:
• When there is a reduction in amplitude over every
cycle vibration, the motion is said to be damped
vibration.
• This is due to the fact that a certain amount of energy
possessed by the vibration system is always dissipated
in overcome friction resistances to the motion.
Linear Vibration:
• When all basic components of a vibratory system
(displacement, velocity, acceleration, and frequencies.),
i.e. the spring, the mass and the damper behave linearly
Nonlinear Vibration:
• If any of the components behave nonlinearly

BASIC TERMS:
1. Oscillatory motion: repeats itself regularly.
2. Cycle: It is the motion completed during one
time period.
3. Periodic motion: This motion repeats at equal
interval of time T
4. Period : the time taken for one repetition. Period of
vibration or time period. It is the time interval after
which the motion is repeated itself. The period of
vibration is usually expressed in seconds
Damped vibration.
• When there is reduction in amplitude over every
cycle of vibration, the motion is said to be
damped vibration.
Damping.
• Damping is the dissipation of energy with time
or distance
Viscous damping
• The damping provided by fluid friction is known
as viscous.
Degree of freedom:
• The minimum number of independent co-ordinates required to
define completely the position of all parts of the system at any
instance of time.
• How many mass or masses will be there in a system.
Single degree-of-freedom systems:
The number of degree of freedom of a mechanical system is equal to
the minimum number of independent co-ordinates required to define
completely the positions of all parts of the system at any instance of
time.
Two degree-of-freedom systems:

Three degree of freedom systems

Magnification factor
Magnification factor is
defined as the ratio of
amplitude of vibration due to
Harmonic force to the
amplitude of vibration due to
static force.

=harmonic force
= static force
It is the factor by which when it is multiplied with
amplitude of vibration due to static force in order to get
amplitude of vibration due to harmonic force
Transmissibility
• when an unbalanced machine is installed on the foundation, it
produces vibration in the foundation.
• In order to prevent these vibrations or to minimise the
transmission of forces to the foundation, the machines are
mounted on springs and dampers or on some vibration isolating
material, as shown in Fig.
• The arrangement is assumed to have one degree of freedom, i.e. it
can move up and down only.
• It may be noted that when a periodic (i.e. simple harmonic)
disturbing force Fcosωt is applied to a machine of mass m
• supported by a spring of stiffness s, then the force
is transmitted by means of the spring and the
damper to the fixed support or foundation.
• The ratio of the force transmitted (FT) to the force applied (F) is
known as the isolation factor or transmissibility ratio of the spring
support
• We have discussed above that the force transmitted to the
foundation consists of the following two forces :
• 1. Spring force or elastic force which is equal to s. xmax, and
• 2. Damping force which is equal to c.xmax.
• Since these two forces are perpendicular to one another, as shown
in Fig., therefore the force transmitted,

Transmissibility ratio,
 ε

Transmissibility:
• It is the ratio between the force transmitted to the body and force
acting on the road.

Vibration absorber:
• It is an additional spring mass system used to make the amplitude
values of vibration equal to zero.
Functions of suspension system
• To prevent the road shocks from being transmitted to the vehicle
frame.
• To preserve the stability of the vehicle in pitching or rolling.
• To safeguard the occupants from road shocks.
• To provide good road holding while driving, cornering and
braking.
• Maintain correct vehicle ride height.
• Reduce the effect of shock forces.
• Maintain correct wheel alignment.
• Support vehicle weight.
• Keep the tyres in contact with the road.
• Control the vehicle's direction of travel.
Body Rolling
Body Rolling

• Body roll is the axial rotation of a vehicle’s body towards the

outside of a turn.
• Body roll occurs because the compliance in vehicle suspension
allows the vehicle body, which sits upon the suspension, to lean
in the direction of the centrifugal force acting upon the vehicle.
Cause
• Vehicle suspension allows a vehicle’s wheels to move independently
of its body.
• This smooth's the ride for occupants and cargo while allowing the
wheels to stay in contact with the ground over bumps.
• In a corner, the range of motion in the suspension allows the vehicle
body to lean over toward the outside of the turn as the body tries to
continue in a line tangential to the corner.
• Softer suspension with more travel will allow more body roll than
harder suspension with less travel.
Adverse effects
• Body roll allows a vehicle’s center of mass to move towards the
outside of the turn, increasing the load transfer to the outside
wheels.
• This can cause understeer or oversteer to occur more easily than if
body roll was not a factor.
• Body roll can also be uncomfortable for passengers and cause
damage to cargo.
Roll Centre
• Consider the entire front or rear suspension system,. The
suspension can be simplified into two beams, one on each side.
• Each beam resides between the instant center, which acts as the
pivot point, and the tire contact patch where the resulting force is
applied.
• The virtual intersection of these two beams establishes the roll
centre, as seen in figure