Development of a lightweight and modular steering system for a highly efficient competition prototype vehicle

The aim of this Master's Thesis was to design and develop a steering system to be integrated into the Muc022 prototype vehicle, which was designed and built within the TUfast Eco Team, the energy-efficient urban concept vehicle section of the racing team at Technische Universität München. This project, as one of the primary systems of the new TUfast Eco Team prototype, aimed not only to achieve high standards of functionality and efficiency, but also to blend in perfectly with the constituent design choices made beforehand and to reduce the weight component as much as possible in order to increase the competitiveness of the vehicle, which will be called upon to take part in the prestigious Shell Eco Marathon competition. When sizing each component, the right compromise between efficiency, safety and weight impact was sought, always within the geometric and constructional constraints imposed by the preliminary design choices of the entire car and the primary and secondary systems linked to the steering system. In this context, particular attention was paid to identifying the geometries and distances between the constituent elements and the points of connection and communication with the suspension system, the wheel hubs and the structural elements of the monocoque, in order to achieve and outline a kinematic system that would guarantee a steering profile as close as possible to that of Ackermann steering. The steering system, which is particularly innovative in its design as it is based on a core of pulleys communicating by means of a wire, also required an evaluation of the forces involved based on the tension of the wire itself in relation to the torques necessary to allow the wheels to rotate around their kingpin axle. Other aspects of the steering system involved reducing the driver's efforts to steer the vehicle, influencing the design of components such as the steering column and its associated bearings. The structural aspects and layout issues always went hand in hand with the rest of the design, but at each step increasing the know-how and knowledge of the system, both personally and for the whole team.