RESEARCH ARTICLE | MAY 06 2020

Review of electric power steering type column steering with

booster motor and future research for EV-Bus 
Nazaruddin; Mohammad Adhitya; Danardono A. Sumarsono  ; Rolan Siregar; Ghany Heryana

AIP Conf. Proc. 2227, 020016 (2020)

https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0000945

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27 November 2023 06:13:01

 Review of Electric Power Steering Type Column Steering
with Booster Motor and Future Research for EV-Bus
Nazaruddin 1), Mohammad Adhitya 1), Danardono A Sumarsono 1, a),
Rolan Siregar 1), Ghany Heryana 1)
1
Research Center for Advanced Vehicle (RCAVe), Universitas Indonesia, 16424, Indonesia
a)
Corresponding author: danardon@eng.ui.ac.id

Abstract. Universitas Indonesia has developed an electric bus (EV-BUS) with an energy source from the main 384 VDC
300 AH battery and a 25.8 VDC 100 AH secondary battery. The energy is continued for a prime mover of 200 kW with a
BLDC motor, 15 kW air conditioning, 7.5 kW hydraulic power steering, 4 kW compressor for braking systems, each with
an induction motor, and 2.4 kW for other accessories. Analysis of power consumption for this electric bus, power
efficiency in intervals of 65% to 80%, torque efficiency in 75% to 82.5% intervals, and relatively constant and small
steering power load on the main motor. In this paper, several types of steering, manual steering, hydraulic power steering,
and electric power steering will be presented. This model will explain what components are involved in a steering

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system. Data collection on the steering system on large-scale buses is also carried out, to ensure that electric power
steering is not available on this type of bus. The bus that will collect the data from the kind of chassis used includes the
type of bus with an internal combustion engine and also the electric bus currently available. In EV-Bus Molina UI uses a
type of hydraulic power steering that will be converted to electric power steering. The components are directly involved
in electric power steering including wheel drive, steering column, rack and pinion gear, motor booster, drag link, tie rod,
knuckle, kingpin, tire, and so on. The real difference between the city car and the large bus is the long distance from the
steering column and front axle, which is as far as 2380 mm, which is about twice that of the city car. Then the link drag
structure must be made in such a way as to produce a kinematic mechanism. The first, it is necessary to do kinematic
analysis and make the equivalent stiffness matrix, and then to be easy to create equations of motion in the steering system
as in the electric power steering in city cars.

INTRODUCTION
Universitas Indonesia, UI, launched an electric-based car [1] vehicle at the moment of the 52nd anniversary of
the Faculty of Engineering UI on Monday (07/18/2017) at the Faculty of Engineering, UI Depok Campus. The types
of electric cars displayed at this event were the Electric Vehicle (EV), Makara Electric Vehicle (MEV) 01, City Car
MEV 02, and City Car MEV 03. The cars were the results of research by incorporated FTUI lecturers and students
in the UI Molina Team research group. The EV bus has a capacity of 60 passengers with 120 kW and 300 Ah motor
power. In the future, the bus is expected to gradually be able to replace the overall function of the UI yellow bus as
an internal transportation tool for the UI campus [2].
Analysis of power consumption for this electric bus, have power efficiency in intervals of 65% to 80%, torque
efficiency in 75% to 82.5% intervals, and relatively constant and small steering power load on the main motor [3].
Another study that developed in UI Mechanical Engineering is a power transfer system, including coupling.
Strategies for New Clutch Double Clutch (DCT) Clutch and Synchronizer for Preselect Seamless Gear [4] where a
comparison between the conventional sport mode gear setting strategy and the proposed gear preselect strategy is
performed. The results obtained from the proposed approach show a 0.8% fuel reduction in the New European
Driving Cycle (NEDC), within the permissible time limit shift [5].
While the steering system used today is hydraulic power steering which in the study will be developed into
electric power steering for buses. Other studies that are developing about this UI electric bus, including the cooling

Recent Progress on: Mechanical, Infrastructure and Industrial Engineering

AIP Conf. Proc. 2227, 020016-1–020016-9; https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0000945
Published by AIP Publishing. 978-0-7354-1986-5/$30.00

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system, brakes, transmission systems, electricity needs, batteries, collision dampers, and others. The current steering
system is hydraulic power steering, where power from an electric motor is forwarded to the hydraulic pump and
forwarded to valves and actuators. Then this steering system will be replaced with Electric Power Steering (EPS).
This EPS is very profitable because it is the stage where steer by wire [6].
On large buses, the distance between the steering column and front axle, or in other terms front overhang, is quite
long, almost 2-3 times the type of city car. The steering structure must be made as well as so that the movement of
tire rotation due to the rotation of the steering wheel can be guaranteed with certainty. Then in this paper, the types
of steering will be presented first from manual steering to electric power steering. After that, reverse engineering of
the EV-Bus Molina UI was carried out which is expected to produce a drag link structure. With this mechanism, it
will open the way for further research such as kinematic and dynamic analysis as well as constructing the structural
stiffness matrix.

Modeling Of Electric Power Steering Review

The vehicle steering system is generally assumed, as shown in Fig. 1a. The steering wheel rotation is passed
through the steering shaft and the gearbox to the tie rod, and then through the knuckle arm, which allows rotation of
the front wheel around the kingpin [7].

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(a) (b)
FIGURE 1. (a) Vehicle Steering System (b) Steering System Model
The manual steering system consists of wheel drive components, column steering, and tire. Variable parameters
of these components are mass inertia and stiffness. Torque to rotate the tire and its connection with the torque
applied to the wheel drive.
The next development of the steering system is the hydraulic power steering. A simple mathematical model will
be developed that illustrates the relationship of wheel drive through the relationship of rack and pinion, as shown in
Fig. 2. Hydraulic power assists the pinion input shaft, through a P pressure difference, which is concentrically
mounted on the rack bar [8].

FIGURE 2. Hydraulic Power Steering Model 8

Force F on the rack bar is used to move the left and right wheels with the amount of torque T on the drive wheel.
The angle of the ϴ depends on the stiffness of the torsion bar and the stiffness of the rack and pinion gear Kr.

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 After the hydraulic power steering period is continued with Electric Power Steering, the following are presented
several models of the electric power steering with their parameters, see Table 1.

TABLE 1. Literatur review of Electric Power Steering

Ref. Model Parameter
𝐽𝑣 : drive wheel inertia
𝐽𝑚 : shaft motor inertia
𝑘 : torsion stiffness of the hub
𝜃𝑚 : shaft motor angle
𝜃𝑣 : drive wheel angle
[9] 𝜃𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝜃
: gear angle, 𝜃𝑟𝑒𝑑 = 𝑚
𝑁
𝐶𝑣 : torque generated by the driver
𝐶𝑟𝑒𝑠 : coupling torque
𝑁 : gear ratio
Model 1
𝑢 : control input
𝐽𝑣 : drive wheel inertia
𝐽𝑚 : shaft motor inertia
𝑘 : torsion stiffness of the hub
𝜃𝑚 : shaft motor angle
𝜃𝑣 : drive wheel angle
𝜃
𝜃𝑟𝑒𝑑 : gear angle, 𝜃𝑟𝑒𝑑 = 𝑚
𝑁
𝜏𝑣 : torque generated by the driver
𝐶𝑟𝑒𝑠 : coupling torque
[10] 𝑁1 : vehicle steering angle to steering
column ratio
𝑁2 : motor and steering column gear ratio
𝑢 : control input

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Model 2 𝐵𝑣 : damping coeff. associated with the
steering wheel
𝐵𝑚 : damping coeff. associated to the motor
axis
𝜏𝑣 : torque on steering wheel
𝜏𝑚 : torque of motor
𝜏 : torque of steering column
𝜃𝑣 𝜃𝑚 : angle of steering wheel
𝜃 : angle of motor
𝐽𝑣 : angle of steering column
𝐽𝑚 𝐽 : inertia of steering wheel
𝐵 𝐵𝑟 : inertia of motor
𝐵𝑚 : inertia of steering column
𝑘 𝑘𝑟 : damping coefficient of steering column
[11] 𝑘𝑚 : damping coefficient of rack (+wheel)
𝑁1 𝑁2 : damping coefficient of motor shaft
𝐹𝑟 𝑥𝑟 : spring constant of steering column
𝑣𝑠 : spring constant of rack (+wheel)
: spring constant of motor shaft
: gear ratio (rack to steering column)
: gear ratio (motor to steering column)
: force at rack
: rack displacement
: speed of vehicle
Model 3

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 TABLE 1. Literatur review of Electric Power Steering (Continued)
Ref. Model Parameter
𝐽𝑐 : moment of inertia column steering
𝐵𝑐 𝐾𝑐 𝐹𝑐 : viscous damping column steering
𝑀𝑟 𝐵𝑟 𝑅𝑝 : stiffness column steering
𝐾𝑟 : friction column steering
𝐽𝑚 : mass of the rack
𝐵𝑚 : viscous damping of the rack
𝐹𝑚 : steering column pinion radius
𝐾𝑡 L : tire spring rate
[12]
R : moment of inertia motor
N : viscous shaft damping of motor
: friction motor of motor
: torque-voltage constant of motor
: inductance of motor
: resistance of motor
: gear ratio
Model 4

h : subscripts of steering wheel

mT : subscripts of assist motor
: subscripts of tire
I
𝜃 : inertia
T : angle
[13] 𝐾ℎ 𝐾𝑇 : torque
𝑁𝑡 𝑁𝑚 : spring constant of torsion bar
𝐶𝑇 : spring constant of tire

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: reduction ratio of steering wheel
: reduction ratio of assist motor
: damper coefficient for tire

Model 5

Kt : torque constant of motor

Imtr Tfric : current of motor
Ktsen Ctsen : friction torque of motor
θs : spring constant of torque sensor
θhdl : damping coefficient of torque sensor
Ggear : angle of steering-column shaft
(14) J : steering-wheel angle
: motor-gear ratio
: motor moment of inertia

Model 6

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 TABLE 1. Literatur review of Electric Power Steering (Continued)
Ref. Model Parameter

Thdl : steering torque at steering shaft

Td : steering torque at steering wheel
Ttran : reaction torque at steering shaft
Talign : sum of alignment torque from road
wheels
Tdist : disturbance torque from road wheels
Tfric : frictional loss torque of the rack & pinion
[15]

Model 7

A summary of the seven models reviewed can be seen in Table 3 in the results and discussion section. The table
shows what components are involved in modelling from model 1 to model 7. But it can be seen that all of these
models have two degrees of freedom, namely on wheel drive and wheels, while another degree of freedom lies in the
motor assist. The relationship between the components of the degrees of freedom is stiffness, attenuation and inertia
as well as their respective rotational angles.

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METHODOLOGY AND DATA COLLECTION
The use of electric power steering on vehicles is still on small cars, such as city cars. While for large-sized
vehicles such as buses, it still uses a power steering hydraulic system. The following is the data on the steering on
the bus for the type of internal combustion engine and electric vehicle.
From table 2 can be seen almost all buses (ICE), using hydraulic power steering. While the bus (EV) is the same,
only the type of Volvo 7900 Bus-EV has used Electrically powered hydraulic steering, but not yet electric power
steering. So there is still a big opportunity to research electric power steering on this large vehicle.
TABLE 2. Steering Type Data for large buses
Type Of
Bus Brand Chassis Type Steering
Vehicle
Power Steering with 4 spoke safety
Internal Combustion Engine

Scania K3601B4X2 hydraulic, tilt angle 25-45o Right-hand

steering
Telescopic and tilt column with locking
Hino RK8J device, Recirculating ball with Integral
(ICE)

Power Steering
Mercedes-Benz OC 500 RF 2542 Power Steering ZF - Servocom 8098
Power Steering Re-Circulating Ball Type
Isuze 6 HK1-TC EURO-III
with Hydraulic Booster
Volvo Volvo B7R Power Steering ZF - Servocom 8098
King Long XMQ6127 Power Steering ZF - Servocom 8098
Green Power Bus EV250 Imported ZF power steering gear
Vehicle (EV)

Green Power Bus SYNAPSE SHUTTLE ZF8098

Electric

Green Power Bus EV550 ZF8098

Green Power Bus EV350 ZF8098
Volvo Volvo 7900 Electrically powered hydraulic steering

In this study, the Hydraulic Power Steering (HPS) in Fig. 3 (a) will be replaced with Electric Power Steering
(EPS), as shown in Fig. 3 (b). It is expected that this system can reduce energy use with no energy losses due to the

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many valves in the hydraulic system. Where energy from the battery it can be used for torsion motors which directly
help to steer rod movements, as will be reviewed in literature studies. Besides that, the electrical system
maintenance is cheaper than the 25% hydraulic system [16].

(a) (b)
FIGURE 3. Energy layout EV-BUS with a) HPS b) EPS

Reverse Engineering
Reverse engineering is carried out to obtain the dimensions of each steering component. A reverse engineering
step must be carried out on the parts of the Molina EV-Bus hydraulic power steering (Fig. 4a) [17]. This bus uses the
Hino chassis (Fig. 4b). The fundamental difference in this chassis is the distance of the front overhang, which is on
average twice that of an ordinary car, which is around 2380 mm, as shown in Fig. 4c.

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(a) (b)

(c)
FIGURE 4. (a) EV-Bus Molina UI, (b) Bus Chassis, (c) Distance of the front overhang
Reverse engineering is done by looking at and directly measuring the steering mechanism in the EV-Bus car. In
Fig. 5, the photo results from the bottom view of the steering mechanism are shown below.

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 (a)

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(c)
(b)

(d)
. FIGURE 5. Reverse Engineering Results on EV-Bus Steering Components; (a). After that, (b) cad modeling, (c) kinematic
mechanism (d) and stiffness equivalent for drag link mechanism

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

From the seven models reviewed in this paper, the results can be seen in Table 2. Where the main components
involved are the steering wheel, steering column, rack and pinion, motor assist shaft, motor, and tire. The magnitude
of parameters reviewed is inertia, stiffness, damping, and angle of each of these components as long as the system
performs a movement. A reasonably good model is model 3. Therefore model 3 is used as a reference for developing
models in the new model (EV-Bus), see Table 4. This model is added with model 5 and model 7, where it has
involved the tire as a parameter. What is quite distinguishing is the drag link mechanism because, on this bus, it will
be specifically reviewed later to form the stiffness with matrix methods in structural analysis.

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 TABLE 3. Results of Model Review
Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 4
EPS Components
A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D
Steering Wheel        
Steering Column         
Rack and Pinion        
Motor Assist Shaft             
Motor  
Tire
Model 5 Model 6 Model 7 New Model
EPS Components (EV-Bus)
A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D
Steering Wheel       
Steering Column        
Rack and Pinion      
Motor Assist Shaft      
Motor          
Tire        
Drag link
  
Mechanism
A=Inertia, B=Stiffness, C=Damping, D=Angle

TABLE 4. Proposed Model of EV-Bus Electric Power Steering

Ref. Model Parameter
𝑇𝑣 : torque on steering wheel

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𝑇𝑚 : torque of motor
𝑇 : torque of steering column
𝜃𝑣 𝜃𝑚 𝜃 : angle of steering wheel
𝜃𝑑 : angle of motor
𝜃𝑡 : angle of steering column
𝐽𝑣 : angle of drop link
𝐽𝑚 : angle of tire
𝐽𝑐𝑢 : inertia of steering wheel
𝐽𝑐𝑙 : inertia of motor
𝑑𝑐𝑢 : inertia of steering column (upper)
𝑑𝑐𝑙 : inertia of steering column (lower)
𝑑𝑚 : damping coeff. of steering column
𝑑𝑒𝑣 (upper)
𝑑𝑟 : damping coeff. of steering column
𝑘𝑐𝑢 𝑘𝑐𝑙 (lower)
𝑘𝑚 : damping coefficient of motor shaft
𝑘𝑒𝑣 : damping coefficient of drag link mech.
𝑘𝑟 : damping coefficient of tie rod
𝑁1 𝑁2 : spring constant of steering column
(upper)
: spring constant of steering column
(lower)
: spring constant of motor shaft
: spring constant of drag link mech
: spring constant of tie rod
: gear ratio (rack to steering column)
: gear ratio (motor to steering column)

From the seven models reviewed, none of them is in accordance with the steering construct on the Molina EV-
Bus UI. This is because electric power steering is currently still for small vehicles. For large vehicles like this bus,
the power of the steering rack is quite large18, it requires an AC motor as its motor assist. Besides that, the control
system on electric power steering with an AC motor will certainly have its own challenges. Therefore it is necessary

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to further model this EPS so that it can precisely how much torque is needed by the motor booster to help the
steering column movement. From the kinematic model that has been made, an analysis needs to be done to ensure
the movement of the wheel drive and tire movements. For the dynamic equation, it is also necessary to make the
equivalent rigidity of the kinematic structure. This certainly requires other quantities, including the dimensions of
each stem and its elasticity. So further research is kinematic analysis and determines the stiffness matrix of the
steering structure.

CONCLUSION
From the data collection of the types of large vehicles obtained, almost no one uses electric power steering, both
for ICE-Bus and EV-Bus. Kinematic models from EV-Bus Molina UI have been produced. The real difference
between the mechanism of the city car is large vehicles; the distance between the steering column and front axle is
around 2-3 times.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors would like to thank DRPM Universitas Indonesia through “TADOK 2019” scheme with contract
number NKB-0172/UN2.R3.1/HKP.05.00/2019 for funding this research.

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27 November 2023 06:13:01

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