01-05-2013, 02:45 PM
Description and design of the steering system for a Formula Student car
Description and design.pdf (Size: 2.8 MB / Downloads: 639)
Project aim.
In this project we are going to carry out the study and the design of the steering
system for a car used on competition races in circuits.
Along the project we will focus in the steering system but also we will watch the
steering in a car that we can find travelling in one street in order to understand better the
performance of the steering elements in order to after focus in a formula S.A.E. which is
a car that requires a steering system more exigent due to is used on races.
By other hand we must know that we are manufacturing a steering system for a
car so we will bear in mind different elements of the car which have influence at the
time to manufacture the steering system. In this project we will do reference to the
characteristics to these parts of the car and the measures, the weight or the design.
The project will be carry out bearing in mind a lot of very different aspects as
the total cost of the project, the analysis stress and the materials to manufacture the
steering components and the design of the car carefully since there are some technical
rules which must be taken in consideration
With regards to the budget, the Formula Student stipulates that there is no a
maximum cost so I will make my project and finally I will calculate the total cost.
Once finished the single-seater will have as objective compete in the race of the
Formula S.A.E competition that/which it will celebrate in Silverstone circuit the dates
from 15th until 18th de Julio 2010.
Importance of the steering system on a
common car.
The steering system is one of the most important parts of any car. Whether this
element is vital to the safety driver of the vehicle in question concern.
While the steering, as we have said, is important in a common car which we can
drive daily in our life, obviously is even more significant in a formula S.A.E. car since
this kind of vehicles are designed to compete in races and the objective of the team and
the pilot is always to bring the car to the limit to try to win. A failure of this mechanism
during operation of the vehicle could lead to fatal circumstances to the driver who is at
the expense of a car without control and with high velocity. As we have seen along the
history, a lot of the most serious accidents have been caused due to a failure on the
steering system with different fates for the drivers.
The steering system on a common car
The steering system is the mechanism which has the purpose to turn the
guidelines wheels making that the pilot can guide his car along the desirable trajectory.
In order to carry out this task the pilot receive a lot of information by their eyes
and the brain send a stimulus to their hands which are the elements in contact with the
first part of the steering system, the steering wheel. Now the human work has finished it
is the time to the mechanism work. The steering system work is to transmit the angle
made by the pilot on the steering wheel across the different elements until the steering
wheels.
Steering system elements:
- Steering wheel
- Quick disconnect mechanism
- Steering column
- Universal joint
- Steering box (rack-pinion)
- Tie rods
- Ball-and-socket
- Steering arms
- Upright
- Pivot
Differences between a common car, formula S.A.E. car
and a formula one.
In order to know how is the system which we are going to design, we must to
know the characteristics of the car. We know that the car will be a vehicle to compete in
close circuits so the features must be high quality. However this car is made for
students, young engineers which manufacture the car themselves so it is not a
competition for professionals so the aim of the Formula S.A.E. is that the engineers
learn about this world.
So we can conclude that the car, will be a vehicle for a competition but with a
not very advanced features due to it is not a professional competition and with a reduce
budget.
Drift effect
When a car is in a curve, the vehicle does not continue exactly by the trajectory
that guide the guidelines wheels since due to the effect of the transversal forces which
appear on the tyres the car is displaced guiding a trajectory that form an angle with the
rim. This angle is denominated as drift angle. So the tyre drift is the change of the
trajectory produced by the out of shape of the tyre. It cannot confuse the drift with alost
of grip or with a skid. The lost of grip can produce the skid but it has not influence on
the drift. The drift depends on the velocity, the weight of the car, the pressure and the
width of the tyre and the width of the rim.