Reusable Steering Column
Date
2025-12
Files
Abstract
The University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) uses sled tests to simulate realistic vehicle crashes. During these tests, the energy absorbing component of the steering column is crushed and permanently deforms, rendering it unusable for future tests. Although the material, an aluminum core called ‘Hexcel', has its uses, UMTRI believes that they are spending too much time and money on replacing the material after each test. Our team has been tasked with designing an apparatus that can both mimic the qualities of Hexcel and be reused over multiple tests, while also shortening the installation time for an individual sled test. Our approach to this problem began with our team identifying any and all stakeholders that may be involved with or affected by our project. This included stakeholders that are working closely with us, such as our sponsors and UMTRI, but it also included those that may not be as involved with our project, such as the automotive companies that fund UMTRI or automotive safety bodies. Once we listed all relevant stakeholders and analysed their influence over us and our impact on them, we used these analyses to help formulate our engineering requirements and specifications for the design. More on the details of these can be found in the following report, but in essence, the requirements can be thought of as broad qualities that our design must exhibit, whereas the specifications are meant to help quantify how these requirements can be met through more specific and quantifiable parameters. With these requirements and specifications in mind, our team conducted concept generation, analysis, and verification planning to identify a final design that meets our project goals. These challenges include the physical, financial, and time constraints that we must consider to ensure our design satisfies all requirements while remaining feasible to build. The final design includes the use of a friction brake mechanism to help the design reach the peak forces and a pressurized cylinder to create a constant force displacement curve after the initial impact. We have also made a project schedule organized by assigning dates throughout the semester to parts of the project that we think we should be working on by that time. To do this, we created a Gantt chart containing deliverables that are both specific to our project and general throughout the entire ME 450 class. The dates and tasks listed in the chart have been updated throughout the semester to reflect the progression of the project.
Handle
https://demo.deepblue-documents.lib.umich.edu/handle/123456789/1769Other Titles
Citation
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ISBN
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PMID
Government Doc no.
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Series/Report no.
Subjects
ME450
Sled testing
vehicle testing
crash testing
temporary deformation
Sled testing
vehicle testing
crash testing
temporary deformation
Description
Types
project