Date of Award
2003
Publication Type
Master Thesis
Degree Name
M.A.Sc.
Department
Mechanical, Automotive, and Materials Engineering
Keywords
Engineering, Mechanical.
Supervisor
Altenhof, W.
Rights
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Abstract
This thesis investigates the effect of geometric variations on the crashworthiness performance of new steering wheels. Experimental tests were carried out on steering wheel armatures from popular 1996--2001 compact vehicles. The armatures were subjected to impact loading using a drop tower testing device in which a 57 kg rigid plate impacted a steering wheel with a velocity of 3.2 m/s. The purpose of the experimental tests was to investigate the crashworthiness characteristics of steering wheel armatures from a similar vehicle line in terms of peak loads, Crush Force Efficiency, elastic response, energy efficiency, specific energy absorption and the Energy Absorption Factor. In order to obtain comparable results a rigid plate was used to impact the steering wheel armatures. Based on the findings, a parametric study investigating the effects of dish depth and 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock spoke angle was conducted. A safety rating system for steering wheel armatures was developed and the armatures were ranked in descending order. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)Dept. of Mechanical, Automotive, and Materials Engineering. Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses & Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis2003 .N33. Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 42-03, page: 1041. Adviser: W. Altenhof. Thesis (M.A.Sc.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 2003.
Recommended Citation
Nabeta, Ophelia., "A parametric investigation into the effect of the dish depth and spoke angle on the crashworthiness characteristic of a four-spoke steering wheel armature." (2003). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 694.
https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd/694