Rack and Pinion Steering System for an FSAE Competition Car
Location
CSU 204
Start Date
16-4-2013 1:15 PM
End Date
16-4-2013 2:15 PM
Student's Major
Automotive and Manufacturing Engineering Technology
Student's College
Science, Engineering and Technology
Mentor's Name
Gary Mead
Mentor's Department
Automotive and Manufacturing Engineering Technology
Mentor's College
Science, Engineering and Technology
Description
The Automotive Engineering Technology department at MSU, Mankato has been participating in the national Formula SAE competition for over two decades. The event not only implements research, fabrication and testing skills, but is a great lesson of leadership and teamwork. FSAE provides a strict set of rules that must be followed by the entire team. The steering system will need to allow the driver to comfortably navigate the car through all types of driving terrains and withstand handling at high speeds and velocities with minimal resistance at the steering wheel. Previous teams on this project had binding in the steering system which affected the driver’s ability to “feel the road.” This major flaw was eliminated by removing friction on contact points and joints, and correcting the geometry of the steering and suspension systems on the front wheel line. The tie-rods were aligned to a front steer design to keep forces on the front outer wheel through cornering, and to allow for tight and quick handling. The steering wheel was aligned away from the driver for comfort while eliminating binding in angles for the universal joints in the steering shaft. The best testing for this system was driving the vehicle while collecting data via data acquisition system and getting feedback from the driver. The data acquisition gave finite data that was used to make final adjustments on the physical mockup of the system. The research from this year will assist future teams in optimizing a successful car for FSAE competition.
Rack and Pinion Steering System for an FSAE Competition Car
CSU 204
The Automotive Engineering Technology department at MSU, Mankato has been participating in the national Formula SAE competition for over two decades. The event not only implements research, fabrication and testing skills, but is a great lesson of leadership and teamwork. FSAE provides a strict set of rules that must be followed by the entire team. The steering system will need to allow the driver to comfortably navigate the car through all types of driving terrains and withstand handling at high speeds and velocities with minimal resistance at the steering wheel. Previous teams on this project had binding in the steering system which affected the driver’s ability to “feel the road.” This major flaw was eliminated by removing friction on contact points and joints, and correcting the geometry of the steering and suspension systems on the front wheel line. The tie-rods were aligned to a front steer design to keep forces on the front outer wheel through cornering, and to allow for tight and quick handling. The steering wheel was aligned away from the driver for comfort while eliminating binding in angles for the universal joints in the steering shaft. The best testing for this system was driving the vehicle while collecting data via data acquisition system and getting feedback from the driver. The data acquisition gave finite data that was used to make final adjustments on the physical mockup of the system. The research from this year will assist future teams in optimizing a successful car for FSAE competition.
Recommended Citation
Mann, Chelsea. "Rack and Pinion Steering System for an FSAE Competition Car." Undergraduate Research Symposium, Mankato, MN, April 16, 2013.
https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/urs/2013/oral-session-10/3
