AUTOMOBILE ENGINERING

UNIT:- FRONT AXLE AND STEERING

TOPIC TO BE COVER:-

1. STEERING RATIO
2. REVERSIBILITY
3. SPECIAL STEERING COLUMN

Steering Ratio:-
DEF:- It is the ratio of the angle turned by the steering wheel to the
corresponding turning angles of the stub axle.

For car and lighter vehicles its value lies around 12:1
For heavy vehicles its value is 35:1


Reversibility:-
DEF:-A steering gear is said to be reversible if by turning of stub axle, it
is possible to turn the steering wheel. This can be made irreversibility
by making the pitch angle of the screw used very less.


Irreversibility has both its advantages and disadvantages.
Advantage:-
The road shocks are not transmitted to the steering wheel and for that
reason the driver does not have to experience the kicks at the
steering wheel.

Disadvantage:-
Due to large amount of friction present in the irreversible system, the
forward efficiency is also very low and consequently steering
operation become quite heavy.
But presently designs are almost semi-reversible.
Special Steering Columns:-

Special steering column have been employed in many car which
provide safety and ease of operation to the driver.
Various type which shall be discussed here are:
1. Energy absorbing steering column
2. Tilt wheel steering column
3. Tilt and telescope steering column
4. Steering column with anti-theft lock.
1) Energy absorbing steering column:-
Energy absorbing or collapsing steering column provides safety by
collapsing during impact in a front-end crash.
Two type of collapsing steering column are used now a days:
Mesh type column
Ball type column
2) Tilt wheel steering column :-
This type of steering column allows the driver to tilt the steering wheel
for ease during entry or exit. Even while driving, the driver can
adjust it at convenient angle. This can be done easily by releasing
a lever on the side of the steering column and moving the wheel
into the desired position, where it locks itself in place.
3) Tilt and telescopic steering column:-
This type of steering has all the feature of the tilt wheel steering
explained earlier in addition to the convenience of telescope
steering which adds to drivers comfort. The telescopic motion is
under the steering wheel. Both telescopic and tilting adjustment
can be made with no loss of steering control.

4) Steering column with anti-theft lock:-
This type o arrangement provides additional safety against theft. By
simply turning the ignition to the lock position and removing the
key, the ignition and steering wheel and on some models, the
gear shift lever of the transmission, are locked simultaneously.
When the ignition key is removed and the steering wheel is turned
to one extreme, the steering gets locked. When the ignition key is
inserted in its slot and turned, the lock is off.