Analysis of optimum wire rope configuration for equal unidirectional torsional stiffness for flexible steering shaft

摘要

The design and modeling of Low Stiffness Resilience Shaft (LSRS) for the Semi-Active Steering (SAS) system using wire ropes is discussed in this paper, along with the static structural torsion test simulation of the wire ropes in order to determine the best possible configuration which serves the purpose of an LSRS. The importance of this study arises due to the unidirectional torsional properties of a wire rope. For an effective operational LSRS, the wire ropes need to have similar angular deflection in both the clockwise and anti-clockwise direction. LSRS, an integral component of the SAS is a flexible shaft that can replace the conventional rigid shaft of the steering system and allows active control to be performed. 3D solid models of the simple strand and the 4 strand wire ropes used in finite element analysis were generated in CAD software SolidWorksTM. The single strand and the different configuration of wire ropes required to function the LSRS effectively were then analyzed using Finite element simulation in ANSYSTM. A single wire rope could not be used because its construction has inconsistency in the torsional stiffness in clockwise and anti-clockwise direction. The single-strand right-direction lay wire rope is found to have 16.05% angular deflection percentage difference in the clockwise and anticlockwise directions which indicates that using a single strand wire rope for the LSRS will cause the vehicle to have a variable response in the clockwise and anti clockwise direction upon turning the steering wheel. Due to this inconsistency, two variations namely Variation 1 and Variation 2 with arrangement of 4 strand wire rope were devised so that the angular deflection percentage difference would be negligible. Simulation results indicated that Variation 1 of the two variations with an angular deflection percentage difference of 0.34% in the clockwise and anti-clockwise direction respectively is best suited for the use in LSRS as it has almost negligible angular deflection percentage difference and will allow the vehicle to have similar steering response in the clockwise and anti-clockwise direction.