The intermediate shaft assembly of a vehicle steering system is an intermediate member that transmits steering torque to the gearbox. It is a critical member that affects the collision absorption, safety, and other vibration/noise absorption. In this ...
The intermediate shaft assembly of a vehicle steering system is an intermediate member that transmits steering torque to the gearbox. It is a critical member that affects the collision absorption, safety, and other vibration/noise absorption. In this study, a finite-element analysis model is developed to evaluate the torsional stiffness performance of an intermediate shaft assembly for vehicle steering. All components are omitted except for the main components that affect torsional stiffness. Contact conditions are applied between the components, including the yokes, shafts, needles, and spiders. The torsional stiffness calculated via finite element analysis is compared with experimental results. The finite-element model presented in this study can predict the torsional stiffness of an intermediate shaft assembly. Furthermore, it can be used to reduce the cost and time required for the design and fabrication of experimental prototypes. In the future, we will develop a finite element model that can predict various performance parameters, such as strength and fatigue.