BRUSH-LESS DC MOTOR DRIVE FOR STEER-BY-WIREAND ELECTRIC

POWER STEERING APPLICATIONS

F. Rodriguez, E. Uy and A. Emadi

Illinois Institute of Technology

Abstract: Due to the growing demand of cars, and as a desired outcome, it causes the wheels to
trucks, and sport utility vehicles (SUVs) in turn in the specified direction.
today’s society, there becomes the need to
create automobiles that are optimized in The rack and pinion gearing system actually only
different aspects. In current cars, many accomplishes two goals. It converts the rotational
mechanical systems are robbing the motion that the driver applies to the steering
conventional internal combustion engine from wheel into a linear motion, which is needed to
valuable horsepower. For instance, the steering turn the wheels. In addition, due to the large size
systems of the most later model vehicles could of the steering wheel in comparison to the small
be observed to be one of these resource- pinion in the rack and pinion system, a gear size
robbing systems because of their inefficient use reduction is created, which makes it much easier
of either the rack and pinion system or the re- to turn the wheels. Although rack and pinion
circulating ball system. In either case, they are steering system could be considered to be the
both mechanical systems that incorporate the most commonly found steering system, it is not
use of hydraulics (power steering), which prove the only system used.
to be very inefficient systems. The implement-
ation of the electric power steering and steer-
by-wire systems brings hope in creating
steering systems for most vehicles, which will
still be equipped with power steering. T h s is a
much safer and more efficient choice for the
future production of cars. This paper gives a
state-of-the-art review of automotive steering
systems, which present numerous application
opportunities for advanced electric motor
drives, specially brush-less DC (BLDC) motor
drives.

I. CONVENTIONAL STEERING SYSTEMS

The rack and pinion steering systems could be
observed to be the most common type of steering
found on most cars, small trucks, and S W s . This
system in actuality is a very simple system that
could be broken down into its individual parts, as
shown in Figure 1. The rack and pinion gear-set is
enclosed in a metal tube with both of the ends
sticking out. A tie rod is then attached to these
overhanging ends on the rack. The tie rod is then
connected to the steering arm that is attached to
the automobile’s wheel, which allows it to turn in
the desired direction. The pinions gear is directly
attached to the steering shaft, which is connected
to the steering wheel. As a result, when the
steering wheel is turned, the pinion is turned,
which cause the rack to move either left or right
Figure 1. Rack and pinion steering system
(Courtesy of How Stuff Works).
The re-circulating ball system, as shown in Figure
2, is also a very popular system, which could be
found on many trucks and S W s . It is
significantly different than the rack and pinion
system; however, it could still be broken down
into its base components, which are steering
wheel, re-circulating ball gearbox, and pitman
arm. The steering wheel, directly connected to the
re-circulating ball gearbox, turns the pitman arm.
The pitman arm is connected to the track rod,
which connects to the tie rods directly controlling
the wheels they are connected to. They are located
at both of the ends on the track. The box could be

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 observed as two parts. The fust piece is a block of
metal with a threaded hole drilled on the inside
and gear teeth cut on the outside. The teeth
located on the outside of the block are what
engage the gear that moves the pitman arm. The
steering wheel connects to a threaded rod that
sticks inside the hole of the block of metal. When
the steering wheel is turned, it turns the bolt,
which is held in a fixed position, therefore,
causing the block to move up and down the rod
that results in the gear turning the wheels to move.
line and force it out at an outlet as a much higher
pressure. This amount of flow that is created by
the vanes is determined by the car's engine speed.
As a safety precaution, a relief-valve is part of the
pump system to make sure that the pressure does
not get too high, specifically when the engine is
revving hard causing a large amount of fluid to he
pumped out.

The re-circulating ball steering gearbox contains

a worm gear. Instead of having the shaft make
direct contact with the threads in the block, all the
threads are filled with ball bearings. These ball
bearings circulate through the gear as it turns in
the box. The result of using these ball bearings is
that they reduce friction and wear in the gear
system. They also help to reduce slop, which is a
free movement feeling that is experienced when
changing the direction of the steering wheel.

Figure 3. Conventional power steering system

(Courtesy of How Stuff Works).

Steering

Rotary V e k hJCOIUmn
fluld Unes
h

Figure 2. Re-circulating ball steering system

(Courtesy of How StuffWorks).

11. CONVENTIONAL POWER STEERING

SYSTEMS
Power steering is very similar for both the
rack and pinion and re-circulating ball steering
systems. The power steering system, as shown in
Figures 3 and 4, primarily consists of a rotary
valve, a steering gear, and a pump that is powered
by a belt driven pulley. In order to obtain the
hydraulic power necessary for steering assistance,
a rotary-valve pump is used. This pump is driven
by a belt and pulley system driven by the car's
engine. Inside the pump is a set of retractable
vanes similar to propeller blades on a fan that spin
inside an oval casing. As these vanes spin, they
pull low-pressure hydraulic fluid from the return
Figure 4. Typical hydraulic assisted steering
layout (Courtesy of How Stuff Works).
In these power steering systems, a cylinder with a
piston in the middle is attached to the rack (rack
and pinion) or track rod (re-circulating ball). On
the piston are two fluid ports, located on the
opposite sides of the piston. These ports are
connected to the lines that provide the flow of
hydraulic fluid needed to the specified side of the
piston forcing the piston to move, as a result,
creating assistance to the steering. As a safety
precaution, it should be noted that in the case of a

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 power steering malfunction or failure, manual
(non-assisted) steering would always be available.
111. ADVANCEMENTS IN POWER STEERING
SYSTEMS
With the increase in size and weight of
automobiles, power steering has been developed
to assist motorists with slow speed maneuvering
such as parking. A power steering system
provides most of the torque necessary to
overcome the friction between the wheels and the
road. As was explained, the most common power
steering system in use today is hydraulic power
steering. A simplified diagram for such a system
is illustrated in Figure 5.
Figure 5. Hydraulic power steering system.
The major components in Figure 5 include the
hydraulic pump and reservoir, rotary valve,
steering wheel, torsion bar, rack and pinion,
hydraulic piston, and the hydraulic lines that
connect the system together. The hydraulic pump
and reservoir, powered by the engines drive-belt,
provide pressurized hydraulic fluid to the system
through Line 1. The rotary valve directs fluid flow
from Line 1 to Line 2, Line 3, or Line 4
depending on the desired steering operation.
Steering commands are inputted through the
steering wheel to the torsion bar. The torsion bar
has two functions; one is to convert torque to
lateral force via the rack and pinion, the other is to
signal the rotary valve to assist the steering
maneuver.
For a right-hand turn, the driver turns the steering
wheel clockwise (directions are referenced to the
driver in the driver seat). That spins the torsion
bar in the same direction causing the rack to move
laterally towards the driver side. At the same time,
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the torsion bar signals the rotary valve to allow
fluid flow from Line 1 to Line 3 and from Line 4
to Line 2. That forces the hydraulic piston towards
the driver side providing most of the force needed
-
to make a rieht-hand turn. Similarlv, to make a
left-hand turn, the rotary valve allows fluid flow
from Line 1 to Line 4 and from Line 3 to Line 2
causing the hydraulic piston to move towards the
"nQCPnnPI &,io
p..,"'..i"L I L V 1 .
Whenever the wheels are in the centered position,
no power steering assistance is needed. The
hydraulic fluid simply circulates through Line 1
and Line 2 resulting in a major inefficiency for the
hydraulic power steering system. In fact, the
hydraulic pump is always working, even when it
is not needed for steering assistance.
In an aim to improve the efficiency of a hydraulic
power steering system, the engine drive-belt can
be replaced with an electric motor. The electric
motor provides power to the hydraulic pump only
when turning of the wheels is desired. This
greatly improves the efficiency of the power
steering system; hut, it adds cost and time to the
manufacturing process along with weight to the
system. Therefore, a step further has been taken to
develop a new type of power steering system,
namely electric power steering.
IV. ELECTRIC POWER STEERING SYSTEMS
It has been made aware that, in all the current
conventional steering systems, the steering wheel
and the column count as a major source for injury
to the driver in automobile front-end collisions.
As a result, numerous amount of energy-
absorbing and non-intrusion designs have been
developed. Energy-absorbing columns were
developed in order to serve two purposes. First,
they must stop the wheel and column from being
pushed to the rear or the car in the event that car is
crushed from a frontal impact. Secondly, the
energy-absorbing column must be able to provide
the driver with a tolerable amount of resistance as
hdshe thrusts forward and strikes the wheel with
hisher chest. Although the idea does not seem to
pose any alarm or concern, one major problem
that has risen is that the collapse of the column
due to a kontal impact should not obstruct its
ability to provide a proper "ride down" for the
driver's chest.
The problem with the power steering system is
that the rotary-valve pump must provide a
sufficient flow of hydraulic fluid when the engine
 IS at an idling state. As a direct result of this, the motor to tum off when no steering maneuvers are
pump moves a much larger amount of fluid than is undertaken, therefore, causing a reduction in the
needed when the engine runs at faster speeds. It is amount of power that is being consumed.
noted that, when a vehicle is being driven and the
steering wheel is not being turned, it is necessary
for both the hydraulic lines to provide the same
amount of pressure to the steering gear. When the
steering wheel is turned, a spool valve is turned in
one direction or the other and ports open to allow
the flow of the high-pressure fluid needed in the
appropriate line.

Electric type of power steering system completely

does away with all hydraulic components. It
provides steering assistance with an electric motor
that directly assists steering maneuvers only when
turning is desired. The electric motor may be
mounted to assist lateral motion, as shown in
Figure 6 (a), or to assist circular motion, as shown
in Figure 6 (b). The control system for the electric Passengi Si& Driver side
motor consists of the typical components for an FmnlTi FmoN'Ti
electric motor drive. The controller uses torque
commands and currentlvoltage feedback to
(a)
control the power electronic converter. The
converter then outputs the voltage necessary to
carry out the desired steering operation.

V. STEER-BY-WIRE

Steering systems in today's modern vehicles have

adapted many new ideas and technologies, which
has ultimately directed them to experiment with
the idea of steering by wire. The following is the
chronological order of the essential steps and
breakthroughs that were taken that created the
path for the discovery of the steer-by-wire steering
system.

Due to the constant pumping of ffuid in the Passenger Sldc

power-steering pump on most cars today, much
valuable horsepower is wasted. This wasted
horsepower translates into wasted fuel that
everyone could do without. The variable-
displacement power-steering pump is a device that
is already utilized in a few of the cars in
production today. This pump reduces the amount
of fluid that is being pumped at higher speeds,
when it is not necessary to have the assistance of
power steering, thereby, causing a reduction in the
amount of power that is consumed from the
engine.
Taking the next step forward, the
development of electro-hydraulic systems came
about. In this system, an electric motor with
variable speeds would be used to power the
hydraulic steering pump. This would allow the
Fmnl T i
I -
(h)
Figure 6. Electrically-assisted power steering
Once again, if we were to take the technology of
steering one step further, the development of
electric power steering would be explored. In this
system, all the hydraulic equipment would be
eliminated completely. Instead of having
hydraulics assist in power steering, an electric
motor would be directly mounted on the rack to
assist in steering. Electronic sensors would be
strategically places to the steering wheel sending
signals down to a control system that controls the
electric motor on the rack. This would allow the

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 electric motor to provide the proper amount of
assistance.
The gradual evolution and breakthrough
discoveries in automotive steering finally lead to
the discussion of the steer-by-wire system. In this
system, the mechanical connection that is placed
between the steering wheel and the steering would
be eliminated completely. As a replacement, there
would be a purely electronic control system. This
form of steering would contain sensors that would
send signals to tell the car what the driver wants
the wheels to do. It is even possible for motors in
the steering system to provide the driver feedback
on what the car is experiencing.
VI. COMPARISON OF CONVENTIONAL
STEERING VERSUS STEER-BY-WIRE
The major benefit with the current manual
steering systems (rack and pinion, re-circulating
ball) is that we are using technology that has been
well developed and known; however, the major
disadvantage to this is the high steering effort that
is due to the increasing from-axle loads and tire
widths. To resolve this problem, hydraulic power
steering was developed. Although hydraulic
power steering reduces steering effort and allows
for manual steering in case of a hydraulic pressure
decrease, there is the issue that it requires the use
of hydraulics and the large amount of energy that
is consumed because of the directly driven boost
pump. Generally, traditional steering systems are
no longer acceptable due to numerous reasons. To
begin with, the steering column is a major
inconvenience when pertaining to crash smcture
development. The steering assembly also heavily
influences the engine compartment package. It is
important to note that the disposal of hydraulics
becomes an important issue. The driver support
system also only allows for longitudinal
interventions (brakes-ABS, engine moment-ASC,
brakes and engine movement-DSC). Lateral
interventions through steering would greatly
improve active safety.
With the development of electric power steering,
there becomes the ability for variable steering
assistance, which results in less energy being
consumed. As a major added bonus, there is no
longer the need for hydraulics. The problem with
this system, however, is that there is no driver
independent steering assistance and there is still
the presence of the inconvenient steering column.
This system would not be considered as a steer-
by-wire system due to the mechanical connection.
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A steer-by-wire system with mechanical or
hydraulic backup is also a steering system that
could be observed. The benefit to this system is
that there is driver independent steering
assistance, however, there is the disadvantage of
needing a safety case for switchover and there is
no guarantee in the function of the backup. When
having a mechanical backup system, the
hydraulics are eliminated; however,. the steering
column as well as the clutch assembly will still be
present; this would then result in package
difficulties.
If we were to choose to have a hydraulic backup,
this would allow for the elimination of the
steering column, however, would now require
hydraulics and a boost pump. This would
ultimately lead to the electric redundant steer-by-
wire system. In this system, there would be no
steering column and hydraulics, which therefore
would eliminate the need for a hydraulic or
mechanical switchover mechanism. This system
would take advantage of all the steer-by-wire
technology. As a result, there would only be the
need for one system technology instead of three
(standard, backup, and switchover mechanism).
The only problem with this option would be the
requirement of a safety case for the redundant
electric system.
VII. COMPONENTS FOR THE STEER-BY-
WIRE SYSTEM
Steering systems have always had physical
mechanical connections, which will in the future
be replaced by those in which an electronic signal
communicated the driver’s intention to turn also
known as the steer-by-wire system. The most
obvious benefit to switching to the steer-by-wire
system is the reduction of parts and the
elimination of a hydraulic system. In the steer-by-
wire system, as shown in Figure 7, electric
actuators are placed at each wheel which do the
work of the current hydraulically assisted steering,
therefore, eliminating the need for the vacuum
booster, master power, hoses, clamps, and
hydraulic fluid.
In the steer-by-wire system, there are a few
primary components. Directly connected to the
steering wheel is a steering sensor. The sensor is
very similar to the type that would be found on a
driving simulation game. The steering sensor is
designed to interpret what the driver is choosing
to do to the vehicle and pass the message down to
the controller. Similarly, the steering sensor also
reads feedback information that is sent to it from
 the controller. For instance, the controller will
determine how much resistance is felt on the
steering wheel or what kind of responses should
be experienced to the driver. In short, the
controller will sort out the information that is not
desired from the information that is desired for the
driver to experience. For example, road vibrations
and engine vibrations are undesired road and
manners which will be eliminated to create a
much more effective drive. From there, a signal is
transferred down a wire to a controller box.
The purpose of this controller box is to send the
message to the electrical components on what they
should do. The controller box acts as the brain for
the systems telling each specific component of the
steer-by-wire system to perform their specific
duty at a specified time. From there, a steering
gear, which is placed at each of the steering
wheels then receives the message from the
controller to determine whether the wheels should
be, turned left or right. The steering gear system
contains a motor, which performs the actual work
necessary in turning the vehicle. It is an
independent motor that can be almost compared to
the conventional hydraulic power steering. The
motors are there to take what the driver has
inputted and amplify the effort a numerous
amount in order to turn the wheels in the correct
direction.
I degree turn in either direction. Conversely, as the
Figure 7. Typical components needed for a steer-
by-wire system (Courtesy of Koyo-Seiko).
In the current mechanical system, it is believed
that the driver either experiences positive feed-
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back in which the driver feels everything or
negative feedback. The m t h to this matter,
however, is that mechanical steering lies
somewhere in the middle. For an example, when a
tire nears its handling limit, the torque felt through
the steering wheel decreases by an amount so
miniscule that most drivers will not even be able
to detect this point. It is only when the tires begin
to squeal and the amount of steering lock
increases, when the drivers notice that the tires
have reached their handling'limit. In the steer-by-
wire system, if a driver were to add or subtract too
much steering lock for the situation, the steering
system would independently of the driver's input
change the angle of the front wheels based on the
information from the vehicles stability system.
This would result in a steering system that is
much more precise and eliminate any unnecessary
wear on the vehicle.
There are many ideas that could be experimented
andor tested in the steer-by-sire system. An
example would be a speed-independent variable
steering ratio. Using this idea, when a vehicle is
traveling at low speeds the steering wheel would
be turned with minimal effort: small turning
efforts inputted to the wheel sensors from the
driver could create large changes in the angle of
the front wheels. As a direct result of this, parallel
parking will become a much simpler task due to
the fact that the wheel may only require a 20-30
velocity of the vehicle increases on the road, the
relationship between the input and response would
be modified toward the more conventional v;alues.
As a result, at high speeds, all vehicles will have
handling and steering capabilities similar to those
of a high performance sports car.
The primary goal of the steer-by-wire system is to
enhance safety by separating drivers from routine
tasks and assisting the driver when responding to
a critical situation. This technology also creates a
great potential to make cars much more
environmentally friendly and cheaper to produce.
By removing many of the mechanical parts, the
direct result would be that there is a better use of
the materials and that there becomes more
freedom in choosing how the interior of the
vehicle should be laid out. Since intelligent
electronic systems are used, there is a guarantee
that the systems will become much more precise
and accurate causing less wear on the engine,
better fuel economy, and much less required
maintenance.
 VIII. BENEFITS OF STEER-BY-WIRE
When a steer-by-wire system is used, there is no
longer a need for the steering column. This means
that there is an increase in passive safety/crash
performance (no intrusion, airbag position). It
creates production benefits due to the ability to
easily convert left and right hand vehicle steering.
In addition, the system would only use “dry”
actuators and only local hydraulics (less oil,
environmental benefits). As a direct result of this,
there will be a drastic reduction in the amount of
energy that is consumed. Finally, by having this
mechanically decoupled steering wheel, there is
no longer any unintended feedbackkoad
disturbance to the driver.
Overall, the steer-by-wire system not only creates
free space in the engine compartment by
eliminating the steering shaft, but it would also
reduce the amount of vibration of felt in the car
and create a much safer environment for the
driver. The technology also possesses a potential
to make the production of cars much more
environmentally friendly with a significant cut in
the vehicle’s price. Due to the removal of many
mechanical parts in the steer-by-wire system,
results include better use of materials, more
freedom in the interior of the vehicle while, at the
same time, there becomes greater precision and
accuracy from the intelligent systems which will
result in less engine wear, better fuel economy,
and less maintenance. Despite all these listed
benefits, there is still a potential for other
advantages in the future.
REFERENCES
Karim Nice, “How Car Steering Works,”
[ 1)
httD://auro.howstuffworks.codsteering,htm
: “Rack-and-pinion Steering,”
htto://auto.howstuffworks.com/steerine2.ht
m; “Recirculating-ball Steering,”
-
htt~://auto.howst~ffworks.com/steerine3.ht
-
m; “Power Steering,”
htt~://auto.howstuffworks.com/steering4.ht
m; “The Future of Power Steering,”
-
httD://auto.howstuffworks.codsteerine5.ht
m, (accessed Dec 2002).
-
[21 Tom Wong, “Hydraulic Power Steering
System Design and Optimization
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[31 Simulation,” Sociery of Auromorive
Engineers (SAE) Joumal, SP-1597, Paper
Number 2001-01-0479, pp. 3-6, 2001; and,
in Proc. SAE 2001 World Congress,
Detroit, MI, Mar. 5-8,2001.
Fernando Rodriguez was born in East Chicago,
IN, USA in 1979 and currently resides in
Hammond, IN. He is a Graduate Research
Assistant for the Grainger Power Electronics and
Motor Drives Laboratory at the Illinois Institute of
Technology (IIT) in Chicago, USA. He received
his B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from IIT
in December of 2002. His research interests
include Brush-Less DC (BLDC) Motor Drives for
automotive applications, such as, Electric Power
Steering. Upon completion of a M.S. degree in
Electrical Engineering, in May 2004, Fernando
plans to pursue a PhD in Electrical Engineering
under the supervision of Dr. Ali Emadi at UT.
There, he will continue to conduct research for the
Grainger Power Electronics and Motor Drives
Laboratory.
Dr. Ali Emadi is the director of Grainger Power
Electronics and Motor Drives Laboratories at IIT
where he has established research and teaching
laboratories as well as courses in power
electronics, motor drives, and vehicular power
systems. He is also the co-founder and co-director
of IIT Consortium on Advanced Automotive
Systems (ICAAS). Dr. Emadi is an Associate
Editor of IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics
and a member of the editorial board of the Joumal
of Electric Power Components and Systems. Dr.
Emadi is the author of over 70 journal and
conference papers as well as two books including
Vehicular Electric Power Systems: Land, Sea, Air,
and Space Vehicles, Marcel Dekker, 2003, and
Energy Efficient Electric Motors: Selection and
Applications, Marcel Dekker, 2004. Dr.,Emadi is
also the editor of the Handbook of Automotive
Power Electronics and Motor Drives, Marcel
Dekker, 2004. He is a senior member of IEEE and
a member of SAE. He is also listed in the
International ,Who’s Who of Professionals and
Who’s Who in Engineering Academia.
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