3/25/2019 Tractor Systems and Controls: Lesson 23. Steering system : Necessity.
Steering Geometry
You are currently using guest access (Log in)
Tractor Systems and Controls
Home ► Courses ► Courses Under Refinement (Version 2.0) ► UG Courses - Agricultural Engineering (Version 2.0) ► Tractor Systems and
Controls ► Module 8. Steering system ► Lesson 23. Steering system : Necessity. Steering ...
Navigation
Lesson 23. Steering system : Necessity. Steering Geometry
Home
Site pages
Steering System
Current course
Tractor Systems and The steering system is required to control the direction of motion of the vehicle
Controls
(tractor in our case). This is done through a series of links used to convert the
Participants
rotation of the steering wheel into change of angle of the axis of the steering wheels.
General
Another function of the steering system is to provide directional stability. The
Module 1. Tractor
Mechanics
motion of the vehicle being steered needs to become straight ahead when the force
Module 2. Traction
on the steering wheel is removed. The design of the steering system should be such
Module 3.
that it should cause minimum wear of the tyres of the wheels.
Introduction to
Transmission
System
Module 4. Clutch
The steering system can be classified into from wheel steering, rear wheel steering or
System all wheel steering.
Module 5. Gear Box
The system, governing the angular movement of front wheels of a tractor is called
Module 6.
Differential and steering system. This system steering wheel minimizes the efforts of the operator in
Final drive turning the front wheel with the application of leverages. The different components of
Module 7. Brakes the system are:
Module 8. Steering
system
Lesson 23.
Steering system
: Necessity.
Steering ...
Lesson 24.
Analysis of
steering-Turning
radius. Ac...
Lesson 25.
Steering linkage.
Types of steering
gea...
Lesson 26.
Hydraulic
steering
Module 9.
Hydraulics
Module 10. Power
Transmission
Courses
steering wheel
steering shaft
steering gear
pitman arm (drop arm)
drag link
steering arm
tie rod and
[Link] 1/5
3/25/2019 Tractor Systems and Controls: Lesson 23. Steering system : Necessity. Steering Geometry
king pin.
When the operator turns the steering wheel, the motion is transmitted through the
steering shaft to tire angular motion of the pitman arm, through a set of gears. The
angular movement of the pitman arm is further transmitted to the steering arm through
the drag link and tie rods. Steering arms are keyed to the respective king pins which
are integral part of the stub axle on which wheels are mounted. The movement of the
steering arm affects the angular movement of the front wheel. In another design,
instead of one pitman arm and drag link, two pitman arms and drag links are used and
the use of tie rod is avoided to connect both steering arms.
TRACTOR TYRE AND FRONT AXLE
The tyres are available in many sizes with the ply ratings as 4, 6 or 8. The ply rating of
tyres indicates the comparative strength of tyres. The higher the rating, the stronger are
the tyres. The tyres size 12—38 means, that the sectional diameter of tyres is 12" and
it is mounted on a rim of 38" diameter. The inflation pressure in the rear wheels of the
tractor varies between 0.8 to 1.5 kg/cm2. The inflation pressure of the front wheel
varies from 1.5 to 2.5 kg/cm2. Useful life of the pneumatic tyres under normal
operating condition may be about 6000 working hours for drawbar work.
FRONT AXLE AND STEERING MECHANISM
Front Axle
The front axles are generally dead axles. The front wheel hubs rotate on anti friction
bearing of tapered - roller type on the steering spindle which are an integral part of
steering knuckle. To permit the wheels to be turned by the steering gear, the steering
spindle and steering knuckle assemblies are hinged at the end of the axle. The pin that
forms the pivot of this hinge is known as Kingpin or steering knuckle pin.
FRONT WHEEL ALIGNMENT
The front wheels must be in correct alignment in order to ensure easy steering, to give
directional stability of the vehicle and to minimize tyre wear. Front wheel alignment is
obtained through accurately setting of the following factors:
Caster
Camber
Kingpin inclination
Toe-in
Toe-out
CASTER
Caster angle is the tilt of the kingpin or ball joint centre line from the vertical towards
either the front (negative caster) or rear (positive caster) of the vehicle.
The caster angle produces a trailing effect and hence gives the directional stability. In
correct caster can produce difficulties like hard steering, pulling to one side when
brakes are applied. The caster angle ranges from 2-8° negative.
[Link] 2/5
3/25/2019 Tractor Systems and Controls: Lesson 23. Steering system : Necessity. Steering Geometry
CAMBER
Camber angle is the inclination between the centre line of the tire and the vertical line.
The outward inclination is called positive camber and the inward inclination is the
negative camber. The purpose of the camber is to prevent the top of wheels from
tilting inward much due to excessive load or play in the king-pin and wheel bearing.
Unequal camber in the wheels causes the vehicles to roll in the direction of wheel
having the greater camber which upsets directional stability and tends to scuff the tread
on the opposite tire, excessive camber prevents the tire from having correct contact
with the road which causes it to wear only on the side directly beneath the load.
Camber angle is less than 1 degree.
KING-PIN INCLINATION
King-pin inclination is the inward tilt of the king-pin or ball joint centre line from the
vertical. King-pin inclination in combination with camber provides directional
stability. whereas the king-pin inclination and camber combine to give centre-point
steering of the tire on the road and to bring upward thrust on the stub axle more nearly
through the centre of the king-pin. The combined camber angle and king-pin
inclination is called the included angle.
King-pin inclination ranges from 4-8°.
TOE-IN
[Link] 3/5
3/25/2019 Tractor Systems and Controls: Lesson 23. Steering system : Necessity. Steering Geometry
Front wheels are usually drawn in slightly in front so that the distance between the
back-ends (y) in slightly more than the distance between front-ends (x). The different
between these distances is called toe in. Wheels are toed-in to offset the tendency for
them to roll outward due to camber and to play in the steering linkage.
Toe-in is usually 2-4 mm.
TOE-OUT
When a vehicle takes a turn, the inside wheel moves faster than the outer wheel
because the former has to negotiate an are with shorter radius than the latter. This
action causes the wheels to out-out on turns because of difference in their turning
angles.
STEERING SYSTEM
The function of a steering system is to convert the rotary movement of the steering
wheel in driver's hand into the angular turn of the front wheels on road. Further, the
steering system should provide mechanical advantage over front wheel steering
knuckles, offering driver easy turning of front wheels with minimum effort in any
desired direction.
There are two types of steering:
- Mechanical Steering
- Hydraulic Steering
MECHANICAL STEERING (ACKERMAN-TYPE)
When driver turns the steering wheel, motion is transmitted down through the steering
tube to the steering gear. The steering tube revolves inside the steering column. The
steering gear changes the direction of motion and increase the turning force applied by
driver of the steering wheel in accordance with gear ratio. The gear rotates the
steering arm (pitman arm) which transfers the motion to the steering knuckles through
the steering gear connecting rod, tie-rod and knuckle arms. This type of linkage is
called the relay steering linkage.
The king-pin torque (T) required to turn the wheel under a vertical load (W) can be
calculated by the following equation:
Where,
f = effective friction coefficient
I0 = polar moment of inertia of tire print, m4
e = Kingpin-offse,t m
A = tire print area, m2
This equation assumes a uniform tire print pressure. If the exact shape of the tire print
is unknown, an approximation can be made by assuming it to be circular with diameter
equal to the nominal tire width, b, then
The change in steering torque as a function of king-pin offset is shown by the curve
given below:
[Link] 4/5
3/25/2019 Tractor Systems and Controls: Lesson 23. Steering system : Necessity. Steering Geometry
The curve shows that an optimum king-pin offset e, exists for a minimum value of
torque, T. Also the optimum offset varies with the different surface conditions. A
small king-pin offset or even centre point steering in which the offset e approaches
zero is better suited for heavily loaded tires in loose soil where rolling resistance is
high. If the steered wheel is also powered or is equipped with brakes, a small or zero
offset is also advisable to reduce feedback of forces into the steering system.
The curve below shows that generally accepted typical effective coefficient of friction
for rubber tires on dry concrete as a function of the king-pin offset to tire width ratio.
Importance of wheel alignment
1. Improve Handling: - This helps in controlling the vehicle. Improper handling can be
due to vehicle pulling on one side, vibration of the steering wheel.
2. Improves tyre life and performance: - Proper rolling tyre contact on road and
prevention of slipping of the tyres due to improper alignment results in better tyre life.
3. Helps in identifying problems: - Improper alignment could be a symptom of
something wrong in the vehicle. A check on this can lead to correction in the fault in the
vehicle.
4. Ensures Safety: - By keeping the system in order by removing the defective parts,
enhances the vehicle systems, especially the suspension system, leading to better safety.
5. Improves fuel efficiency: - By enhancing theperformanceof various systems, leads to
better fuel efficiency from the vehicle.
Last modified: Monday, 3 March 2014, 6:15 AM
You are currently using guest access (Log in)
Tractor Systems and Controls
[Link] 5/5