Mathematical Modeling and Computer Simulation of a Passenger Vehicle Steering System

Standard analysis of vehicle dynamics often treats the steering system as a rigid system. This paper examines the response of a compliant steering system via a mathematical model and computer simulation using MATLAB. This model represents a valuable tool for examination of steering system component stiffness effects on vehicle response. The vehicle chosen for analysis is a typical passenger sedan. The input represents a situation experienced during standard vehicle operation as well as emergency avoidance maneuvers. The findings of this paper will benefit those engineers interested in the steering performance of typical passenger vehicles. Any problems in vehicle performance relating to the steering system, such as steering precision, response, and gain, to name a few, can be made apparent through equation derivation and simulation such as was done in this paper.