12th IFToMM World Congress, Besanon (France), June18-21, 2007

MD-255

Modeling of a Rack and Pinion Steering Linkage Using Multi-Body Dynamics

A. Rahmani Hanzaki *
Shahid Rajaee university
Tehran, Iran

S. K. Saha
IIT Delhi
New Delhi, India

AbstractIn this paper, a recursive algorithm for a general

closed-loop system is applied for the dynamic model of a rack
and pinion steering (RPS) linkage. It is useful to find the
actuating torques at the pinion as desired in the steer-by-wire
(SBW) systems, and to compute the constraint forces which can
be used for the design of the links of the mechanism. The
dynamic modeling is based on the use of the Decoupled Natural
Orthogonal Complement (DeNOC) matrices proposed originally
for open-chain robotic systems. Since a steering linkage is a
closed-loop system, it is cut at some appropriate joints to make it
open. To satisfy the constraints of closed-loop systems, Lagrange
multipliers are introduced at the cut joints. The Lagrange
multipliers and the actuating force can then be computed from
the constrained dynamic equations of motion obtained from the
Newton-Euler uncoupled equations of motion for all the links of
the system. To find the constraint forces at the uncut joints that
are useful for the mechanical design, another set of recursive
calculations are performed.

P. V. M. Rao
IIT Delhi
New Delhi, India

Feedback motor

Hand wheel angle sensor

Steering arm

Tie rod
Pinion angle sensor

Steering actuator
Power assist
unit

Kingpin

Pinion Rack

a) Manual RPS system

Pinion

b) Steer-By-Wire and its elements

Fig. 1 Two configurations of an RPS linkage

its influence on the Ackermann error, kinematic steering

ratio, etc.[2-4]. Less attention is paid to its dynamics
apparently due to the fact that the pinion rotates at low
speed, typically 10-15 rpm. However, when the
suspension system and the road wheels that are connected
to the steering linkage are considered, it is important that
their dynamic effect on the steering system to be studied
for better design, simulation, and control. Hence, the
dynamic model for an RPS linkage is proposed which will
allow one to perform the following: 1) Calculation of the
constraint forces for the mechanical design of the steering
linkage, i.e., part dimensions and the strength of the
supports can be calculated. 2) Optimization of the steering
linkage to minimize the constraint forces so that the joint
lives, etc. are enhanced. 3) Simulation and control
applications, e.g., in the case of SBW systems.
In this paper, the dynamics of an RPS linkage is
proposed using the concept of the Decoupled Natural
Orthogonal Complement (DeNOC) matrices meant for a
4-bar linkage in [5]. Its kinematics is solved using
nonlinear loop-closure equations and their derivatives, as
proposed in [6, 7]. The dynamic model derived can be
used for the simulation, control, and finding the constraint
forces. Hence, a generalized dynamic model is proposed,
which is illustrated with a planar RPS linkage. However,
the methodology can be applied to spatial RPS system too.
Here the planar version is taken to explain the dynamic
modeling aspects.

Keywords: dynamics recursive algorithm, rack and

pinion steering linkage

I. Introduction
Steering linkages play a very important role in
maneuvering of cars. Amongst the steering linkages, the
rack and pinion steering (RPS) linkage is the most popular
one and widely used in passenger cars. Thus, it is chosen
in this study. Such linkage which consists of two steering
arms, two tie rods, and a rack, as depicted in Fig. 1(a), is
found in manual, power, and steer-by-wire (SBW)
versions. The concept of SBW is new and has received a
lot of attention in recent times due to its controllability
[1]. The SBW systems have been developed in several
versions, namely, steering arm actuation type; tie rod
actuating type; and rack actuation type. The last one is
usually consists of the elements shown in Fig. 1 (b). It
needs only one actuator on the rack to steer the front
wheels, in contrast to the others where two actuators are
used at the ends of steering arms or at the ends of the tie
rods [1]. The rack actuating SBW requires a useful
dynamic model of the RPS linkage to calculate the
required torque to steer the front wheels.
On the other hand, steering linkages have received a lot
of attention from the kinematics point of view because of
_______________________________
Email: *rahmaniali47@yahoo.com
saha@mech.iitd.ac.in (On-lien leave to IIT Madras)

pvmrao@mech.iitd.ac.in

II. Kinematic Modeling

To formulate the kinematic constraint equations for the
RPS linkage shown in Fig. 1(a), it is modeled as a six-bar
planar linkage, as given in Fig. 2.The links are denoted by
#1,..., #6, and the joints by 1,..., 7. Note that all the joints
are revolute except joint 4, which is prismatic. The
Grublers criterion shows that the degree of freedom
(DOF) of this linkage is one. Moreover, the vectors, l1 and
l5, l2 and l4, and l3 in Fig. 2 denote the steering arms of
length l, tie rods of length lt, and rack of length lr,

12th IFToMM World Congress, Besanon (France), June18-21, 2007

MD-255

(q ) = 0

respectively. Furthermore, at the end of every link, a twodimensional coordinate system is considered that is fixed
to its previous link.
Direction of motion

2 X2
Y1

l1 #1

1
O1

l2
2 #2

l3
3

X3

+b4

#3

3
4
wt

6
l4 #4
5
5 X4

where q [u , b4 ] is

X1

7
7

Fig. 2 The six-bar planar steering linage

Referring to Fig. 2,

wt l r
+ b4
(1)
2
wt is the wheel track, b4 is the rack travel, h is the distance
from the front wheels axis located between O1 and O7 to
the rack axis. Moreover, i and j are the unit vectors along
X1 and Y1, respectively, whereas l1 and l2 denote the 2dimensional planar vectors. Equation (1) can be written in
terms of its scalar components as
lc1 + lt c12 = b and ls1 + lt s12 = h
(2, 3)
where c and s stand for cosine and sine functions,
respectively, and 12 1 + 2 . Equations (2) and (3) can
be solved for 1 using the methodology given in [6],
which is expressed as
1 = atan2(s1 , c1 )
l 1 + l 2 = bi + hj , where b =

where, s 1

2 z1

, c 1

1 z12

z12

, and z1 tan

h + h 2 k1 + b 2

of

where (Uu& ) u (Uu& ) / u ; (bb&4 ) b4 (bb&4 ) b4 are the

44 matrix and the 4-dimensional vector, respectively,
which are nothing but the Jacobians associated with the
generalized coordinates. Since the right side of eq. (10) is
completely known from the input motions of the
independent coordinate, its time rates, the dependent
coordinates, and their time rates, the dependent
&& , can be easily solved because the matrix,
accelerations, u
U , is non-singular.

III. Equations of Motion

In this section, the dynamic formulation of an openchain serial system using the Decoupled Natural
Orthogonal Complement (DeNOC) matrices [5, 8] is
outlined, which forms the basis of the modeling for the
closed-loop RPS linkage.
1) The twist and wrench of the ith body moving in the 3dimensional Cartesian space are defined as the 6dimensional vectors of Cartesian velocities and the
corresponding forces and moments, applied at the origin
of the body, Oi, as depicted in Fig. 3, i.e.,

n
t i i and w i i
(11)
vi
fi

h 2 + b 2 + l 2 l t2
(4)
k1 + b
2l
Accordingly, 2 is obtained from one of the eqs. (2) and
(3) by substituting 1. To calculate 6, an expression
similar to eq. (1) is written from the right side links of the
steering linkage shown in Fig. 2, namely, links #4 and #5
connected to #3, i.e.,
w l
l 4 + l 5 = b i hj , where b = t r b4
(5)
2
Now, the scalar components of eq. (5) are written as
follows:
l t c 56 + lc 6 = b and lt s 56 ls 6 = h
(6, 7)
where 56 5 + 6 . Equations (6) and (7) provide the
values for 6, followed by 5, similar to the solutions of 1
and 2, respectively. It is seen that if b, 1, and 2 in eqs.
(2) and (3) are replaced with b, 6, and 5, respectively,
eqs. (6) and (7) will result. Hence, the solution
expressions of eqs. (2) and (3) are valid for eqs. (6) and
(7) also, when b is replaced with b and 1 with 6. Now,
the constraint equations, i.e., eqs. (2), (3), (6), and (7), are
arranged in vector equation of the following form:
z1 =

vector

the time derivatives of u and b4, respectively. In eq. (9), U

is the 44 nonsingular matrix, and b is the 4-dimensional
vector. The acceleration expressions are similarly
obtained by differentiating the velocity expressions, eq.
(9), which are written in a compact form as
&& = (Uu& ) u u& (bb&4 ) b4 b&4 bb&&4
Uu
(10)

.
2
1+
1+
The value of z1 is obtained as the solution of a quadratic
equation resulting from the kinematic constraint equations
namely, eqs. (2) and (3), i.e.,

z12

5-dimensional

generalized coordinates, and u [1 , 2 , 6 , 7 ] is the 4dimensional vector of dependent coordinates. The term,
b4, is the rack travel, which is treated as the independent
coordinate for the one-DOF RPS system. Hence, all the
dependent coordinates used in eq. (8) are known from the
solution of the set of kinematic constraint equations, eqs.
(1-7). Differentiating eq. (8) with respect to time, the
linear velocity relation is obtained as
Uu& = bb&4
(9)
&
where, U [ / u] ; b [ / b ] ; and u& and b are

#5

X6

the

(8)
T

X5
6
l5
O7

, k1

where i and v i are the 3-dimensional vectors of the

angular velocity and the linear velocity of the point, Oi of
the ith body, respectively, whereas ni and fi are the 3dimensional vectors of the moment about Oi, and the force
at Oi, respectively.
2) The twist, t i , is expressed in terms of its previous
body, namely, the (i-1)st one [8], as
t i = A i,i 1 t i -1 + p i&i
(12)
where A i,i1 is the 66 twist propagation matrix, and pi is

12th IFToMM World Congress, Besanon (France), June18-21, 2007

MD-255

the 6-dimensional vector of joint-motion-propagation,

which are defined by

1
e i
0
A i,i 1 ~
(13)
; p i , R; p i , P
0
e i
a i,i 1 1
In eq. (13), a i,i1 is the

yi+1

Z Y

vector from Oi to Oi-1 , R

and P denote revolute
and prismatic joints,
respectively. For a link
with two revolute joints
at its two ends,
a i,i 1 a i 1 = d i 1 ri 1

xi+1
Oi+1

ri
Ci

X
vi

di

ai
#i

Oi
fi

ni
th

T
In eq. (14), & &1 K &n is the n-dimensional vector
of independent generalized speeds.
4) For the ith moving body, the Newton-Euler (NE)
equations of motion are expressed as
M i t& i + Wi M i E i t i = w i
(16)
where the 66 matrices, Mi, Wi and Ei are given by
~
~
I

1
mi di
i
; Ei
(17)
Mi i ~
; Wi

~
mi di mi 1

i

as w e + w to distinguish the true external wrenches,

w e , from those due to the Lagrange multipliers, w . For

the closed-loop systems, eq. (20) is then yields
N T (Mt& + WMEt) = N T (w e + w )

in which Ii is the 33 inertia tensor for the ith body about

~
~ are the 33
Oi, and mi is its mass. Moreover, d i and
i
skew-symmetric matrices associated with the 3dimensional vectors, di and i, respectively, which are
~
~ x x , for any 3defined as, d i x d i x and
i
i
dimensional Cartesian vector, x.
5) For a multi-body system with n rigid links, the
uncoupled NE equations of motion are written in a
compact form as
Mt& + WMEt = w
(18)
where the 6n6n matrices, M, W, E, and the 6ndimensional vectors, t and w, are defined by
M diag[M 1 , M 2 ,..., M n ] ; W diag[ W1 , W2 ,..., Wn ] ;

E diag[E1 , E 2 ,....,E n ]

in which the 6n-dimensional wrench w e is due to the

external forces and moments, and those due to gravity,
dissipation, etc. Note that eq. (20) is obtained for an openloop serial type system where the joint coordinates are
independent. For a closed-loop system like the RPS
linkage shown in Fig. 2, all joint coordinates are not
independent as evident from eq. (8). Hence, in order to
apply the dynamic modeling methodology presented
above in steps 1-6, the closed-loop system under study is
first made open by cutting the appropriate joints and
substituting the constraint forces in terms of Lagrange
multiplies so that the actual system under study is first
made open by cutting the appropriate joints and
substituting the joints with suitable Lagrange multipliers
so that the actual system constraints are maintained. For
example, the RPS linkage is cut at two places to obtain
serial subsystems shown in Fig. 4. Since, the Lagrange
multipliers representing the constraint forces and moments
at the cut joint act as external forces and moments to the
serial subsystems, vector w e of eq. (20) should now
contain the wrenches due to the Lagrange multipliers, as
indicated in Fig. (4) by s. Let us redefine w e of eq. (20)

Fig. 3 The i rigid body

. Moreover, O and 1 are
the zero and identity matrices, respectively, whereas, 0 is
the zero vector. Henceforth, these are compatible sizes
based on where they appear. Furthermore, e i is the 3dimensional unit vector parallel to the ith joint axis.
3) The generalized twist of the entire system, t, for an n
rigid body system is then expressed as
t = N& , where N N l N d
(14)
Nl and Nd being the 6n6n lower block triangular matrix,
and the 6nn block diagonal matrix, respectively, which
are defined by
O L O
p1 0 L 0
1
0 p L 0
A

1 L O
2

(15)
Nd =
N l = 21
M
M
M O M
M
O M

0 0 L pn
A n1 A n2 L 1

t t 1T , t T2 , K , t Tn ; w w 1T , w T2 , K , w Tn
(19b)
6) On the right side of eq. (18), the wrench, w, includes all
the forces and moments applied on the system, i.e., the
external forces and moments, the reaction forces and
moments, and those due to gravity, dissipation, etc. As
shown in [5], if both side of eq. (18) is pre-multiplied by
the transpose of matrix N, eq. (14), the wrench associated
with the reaction forces are vanished, and eq. (18) is
modified as
N T (Mt& + WMEt ) = N T w e
(20)

(21)

where all the matrices and vectors are associated with the
closed-loop system with appropriate dimensions. The
derivations are explained in section IV with respect to the
RPS system under study.
IV. Dynamics of the RPS Linkage

A planar rack and pinion steering (RPS) linkage is

undertaken here to illustrate the proposed dynamic
modeling and to find the necessary forces at different
joints, which are useful for the design of RPS linkages and
control of SBW systems. An actual RPS linkage is an
RSSPSSR linkage, where R, S, and P denote revolute,
spherical, and prismatic joints, respectively. This is a
spatial linkage to correlate with strut travel of the
suspension. In dynamics, spherical joint is usually

(19a)

12th IFToMM World Congress, Besanon (France), June18-21, 2007

MD-255

modeled as three revolute joints whose axes of rotation

are intersecting at a point, namely, the center of spherical
joint. As suggested in the literature [2, 4], the caster angle
and the kingpin inclination provided to correlate
suspension and steering systems can be neglected.
Accordingly, the actual RPS linkage can be modeled as a
planar linkage. The presented methodology, however, is
not restricted to planar RPS linkage. It is capable of
modeling the spatial RPS linkage as well. Here, only the
planar modeling is demonstrated for better understanding
of the modeling approach.
In order to obtain the dynamic equations of motion of
the steering linkage shown in Fig. 2, the two ends of the
rack, i.e., joints C and E, are cut to make it open, as shown
in Fig. 4.
fty
C

23y
C 32y
32x 23x
D

ftx t A

43y
f

to the tire, as shown in Fig. 4, the corresponding external

wrench acting on the left system is given as follows:

w eL = w 1e

T
w e2

(22)

in which w1e and w e2 are the 6-dimensional vector of

external wrenches at joints 1 and 2, i.e., A and B,
respectively. Note, the tire forces are expressed with
respect to the origin of link 1, namely, point A, and no
external force is applied on link 2. Hence, they are
expressed as
w 1e = A 1 C w eC and w e2 = 0 where
w eC [0 0 t 0 0 0]T . Thus, one can write eq. (22)
in a generalized form for the left subsystem as
w eL = A L w eC
(23)
where the 126 matrix, AL, and the 66 matrix, A1C, are
a1C
A
1 ~
defined as A L 1C , A1 C
, in which
O
O 1

34y
E
43x 34x

fty
C
H t ftx

a 1C is the vector from point A to the contact point

between the left tire and the road, C, as shown in Fig. 4.
The subscript L is used above to relate the vector and
matrices associated with the left serial system of the RPS
linkage at hand.
The next term in the right side of eq. (21) is the
wrench associated with the Lagrange multipliers due to
cutting of joint C, which is defined as

Fig. 4 Top view of the rack and pinion steering linkage

By cutting the joints, the planar RPS linkage under study

is converted into, two three-link and one two-link serial
systems, namely, ABC, HGE, and CDE, respectively. Due
to the cuts, four scalar Lagrange multipliers are to be
considered at the cut joints, as depicted in Fig. 4 to
maintain the closed-loop constraints. The external forces
are those applied due to the road and tire interactions that
have widely discussed in the literature [9, 10]. These
forces change depending on the conditions like the type of
tire, road conditions, lateral forces, vehicle speed, slip
angle, etc. Some realistic values for such forces are taken
here for analysis purposes, whereas further discussion on
them is avoided as they are not the focus of this paper. For
the purpose of illustration, a common situation of
cornering at parking speed is considered here. In this
situation, equal torque about Z axis is exerted on both the
front tires by the road. The approximate torque can be
calculated from the formula given in [9],

w L = w 1

T
w 2

(24a)

in which w 1 and w 2 are the 6-dimensional wrench

associated with the Lagrange multipliers at joints 1 and 2,
respectively. Now, the Lagrange multipliers acting on link
#2 should be transferred to its origin, i.e., point B, and no
Lagrange multiplier on link 1. Hence, they are expressed
as
w 1 = 0
and
w 2 = A 23 w 3 ,
in
which

w 3 0 0 0 32 x

32 y

0 T . Thus, eq. (24a) is

written in a compact form as

w L = A L E 32
(24b)
where the 126 matrix AL, the 66 matrix A23, the 62
matrix E, and the 2-dimensional vector 32 are given by
a23
O
1 ~
A L
, A23

A
O
1

23

1.5

2 w
, where t , , w, and P are the torque
3 P
applied to each tire, the coefficient of friction between tire
and road, the load on each tire, and tire inflation pressure,
respectively. Other external force acting on the RPS
linkage under study is the horizontal force f on the rack
due to pinion rotation by the driver. Note that the Z
component of the tire force due to the suspension system
is assumed to act along the normal to the plane of motion,
and, hence, it has no effect on the steering linkage
dynamics. Also, due to slow cornering, X and Y
components of the force applied to the tires are negligible.
Considering the left serial system, ABC, which has two
moving links, namely, AB and BC with revolute joints
located at A and B. If C' is the contact point between the
left tires and the road, and ft is the associated force applied

i.e., t =

32 x
0 0 0 1 0 0
E
(25)
, 32
0 0 0 0 1 0
32 y
32x and 32y being the Lagrange multipliers due to the cut
joint C. If the left side of eq. (18) is now denoted with
w*L, i.e., w L* M L t& L + WL M L Et L , which represents the
inertia wrench and is known from the motion of the left
system, as obtained from kinematic analyses given in
section 2, the vector 32 can be calculated using eq. (21).

12th IFToMM World Congress, Besanon (France), June18-21, 2007

MD-255

For that, eq. (21) is rewritten for the left serial system,
namely,
N TL w L = N TL w eL N TL w L
(26)
On the other hand, substituting eq. (24b) into eq. (26)
yields
N TL w L = J TL 32 , where J L E T A L T N L
(27)

parameters are shown in Table 1. The input, the rack

travel, is defined by a Sine function whose amplitude and
frequency are taken as bmax and /9, respectively, i.e.
b4=bmaxsin(/9t)
(31)
where from Section 2, i.e., the kinematic model, bmax can
be calculated for the maximum inner front wheel angle of
40. The value of bmax is obtained as
bmax = l cos( 10 40) ( wt lr ) / 2 +

Finally, eqs. (26), (27), provide the expression for 32 as

32 = (J TL ) 1 (N TL w eL N TL w L )
(28)
where the 22 Jacobin matrix, JL, and the Natural
Orthogonal Complement matrix, NL, corresponding to the
left system are as follows:
a13y
JL
a23y

a13x
a23x

p1
A 21p1

and N L

l 2 cos( 10 40) 2 k1 + 2lh sin( 10 40)

in which k1 lt 2 + l 2 + h 2 and 10 is the initial value

for 1. Using eq. (31), the front wheels rotation from the
straight driving to the lock takes about 4.5 sec., which is
quite practical [9]. The kinematic and dynamic analyses
are done using the methodologies presented in Sections 24. A MATLAB program is written to obtain the results
shown in Figs. 5 and 6.

0
p 2

in which p 1 [0 0 1 0 0 0]T , p 1 = p 2 , and a13 is

the vector from joint 1 to joint 3, i.e., point A to point C,
that can be evaluated as a13 = a12 + a 23 . Similar steps for
the right hand serial system, namely, HGE of Fig. 4, can
be followed to obtain the Lagrange multipliers 34x and
34y due to the cut joint at E. It is now a simple matter to
find the horizontal force that is to be exerted by the rack
through pinion rotation of the driver. This is given by
m r b&&4 = f + 23x + 43x , where 23x = 32 x

Inertia-Kgm2

L
i
n
k
s

Dim. (mm)

1
2
3
4

and 43x = 34 x
(29)
in which mr is the mass of the rack, and 32x and 34x are
already introduced. The value of f is useful for SBW
systems, whereas if one is interested with the constraint
forces at the uncut joints for the purposes of mechanical
design and others, they are obtained recursively using the
following relation:
w i 1,i = A i,i +1 w i,i +1 + w *i w ie
(30)

Dia.

15
6
10

110
256
678

145/70 R12

(mass cen.)

Mass
Kg

I x, I y

0.6
0.22
1.66
11

Iz

6e-4
0
1.2e-3
0
0.064
0
0.197 0.355

External Forces
z

fx

fy

fz

Nm

0
0
0
42.8

0
0
fp
0

0 0
0
0
0
0
0 1800

The distance CA or HC" is 100 mm. The coef. of friction

and tire inflation pressure are 0.666 and 2.1 bar, respectively
TABLE I. Link parameters of an RPS linkage. Parts 1, 2, 3, and 4 are
steering arm; tie rod, rack, and wheel, respectively.

where w i 1,i is the 6-dimensional constraint wrench,

Figure 5 shows the relative coordinates of the linkage,
whereas Fig. 6(c) shows the Lagrange multipliers due to
the cut joint at C, i.e., the reaction forces on link 2 at C.
Similarly, the reaction forces at A, B and E are depicted in
Figs. 6(a), 6(b) and 6(d), respectively. Finally, the force
required to move rack is shown in Fig. 6(e). To avoid
repetition, the reaction forces at joints G and H are not
given here.

defined similar to eq. (11), whereas ni-1,i and fi-1,i are the
moment and force exerted by the (i-1)st link on the ith link.
Moreover, Ai,i+1 is the wrench propagation matrix defined
similar to A23 of eq. (25). For the left subsystem, ABC,
the constraint wrenches at joints B, A can be evaluated as
w12 + w1* w1e
w12 = A23 w 23 + w *2 w e2 ,and w 01 = A12
where the 6-dimensional vector, w 23 w 2 , is given after
eq. (24a), the 6-dimensional inertia wrenches, w1e and

100

, are known from wL , the 12-dimensional generalized

angle (deg)

w e2

110

wrench is given after eq. (22), and w *L , for the left

system, is obtained after eq. (25). Similar calculations can
be carried out for the right side subsystem, EGH also.
V. Numerical Example

340

90

330

80

320

70

310

60

300

50

290

40

280

30
0

The result of dynamic analysis of a planar RPS linkage

based on the concepts outlined above is discussed here.
The example chosen here is an approximate RPS linkage
of a hatchback commercial passenger car whose link

350

2
3
time (sec)

270
0

2
3
time (sec)

Fig. 5 Joint angles at A, B, G, and H denoted as 1, 2, 3, and 7,

respectively

Force (N)

12th IFToMM World Congress, Besanon (France), June18-21, 2007

1600

-200

1400

-400

1200

-600

1000

-800

800

-1000
-1200
-1400
-1600
0

VI. Conclusions
along X-proposed
along X-ADAMS
along Y-proposed
along Y-ADAMS

400
200
4

0
0

a) Reaction force at A

Force (N)

b) Reaction force at B
500

along X-proposed
along X-ADAMS
along Y-proposed
along Y-ADAMS

400
300

1000

along X-proposed
along X-ADAMS
along Y-proposed
along Y-ADAMS

200

800
100

600

400

-100

200
0
0

t (sec)

1600

1200

In this work, a dynamic model of a planar rack and

pinion steering linkage is proposed, which can be used for
control, simulation, and constraint forces calculations used
in mechanical design or optimization purposes. Although,
one can solve the same problem using any software or any
other methodology, the proposed modeling provides
unified approach in a way that any of the analyses,
namely, control, simulation, and constraints force
calculations, can be done without modifying the equations
of motion. For example, only eq. (29) needs to be
evaluated for the calculation of control force, whereas for
the constraint force calculation, one can skip eq. (29),
instead uses eq. (30) without any modification. In general,
the RPS linkage is a spatial one but for this special
situation, slow cornering it can be modeled as a planar
linkage.

600
along X-proposed
along X-ADAMS
along Y-proposed
along Y-ADAMS

t (sec)

1400

MD-255

-200
0

t (sec)

VII. Acknowledgement

t (sec)

c) Reaction force at C

The authors sincerely acknowledge the scholarship to

the first author by Shahid Rajaee University, Tehran, and
the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology of Iran.

d) Reaction force at E

2000

Force (N)

1800

f-prposed
f-ADAMS

1600

References

1400

[1] Park, T. J., Han, C. S., and Lee, S. H. Development of the

electronic control unit for the rack-actuating steer-by-wire using
the hardware-in-the loop simulation system. Mechatronics, 15(8):
899-918, 2005.
[2] Zarak, C. E. and Townsend, M. A. Optimal design of rack-andpinion steering linkages. ASME J. of Mechanisms, Transmission
and Automation in Design, 105: 220 226, 1983.
[3] Felzien, M. L. and Cronin, D. L. Steering error optimization of the
McPherson strut automotive front suspension. Mechanism and
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six-bar rack and pinion steering linkage. In SAEINDIA
International Mobility Engineering Congress, pages 103-108,
Chennai, October 23-25, 2005.
[7] Nikravesh, P. E. Computer-aided analysis of mechanical systems.
Printice-Hall, 1988.
[8] Saha, S.K., and Schiehlen, W.O. Recursive kinematics and
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1200
1000
800
0

0.5

1.5

2.5

3.5

4.5

t (sec)

e) Rack force
Fig. 6 Forces of the RPS linkage

In order to verify the

results, the RPS linkage
is also modeled in
ADAMS software, as
depicted in Fig. 7.
Results of the ADAMS
model closely match
with those given in Fig.
6, as evident from Figs.
6(a)-6(e). It is, however,
pointed out that such
generalized
software
should not be used for a
specific problem, e.g.,
the control of the SBW
Fig. 7 ADAMS model of the
system, as it would take
RPS linkage
very long time to compute the rack force, etc. For
example, for the problem at hand, the computer CPU time
taken using ADAMS was 2.05 sec, whereas the same
using the customized MATLAB program was only 0.31
sec.