Design of Gears Using Aluminium 6061-T6 Alloy for Formula SAE Steering System

Aluminium alloys have become major replacements of steel alloys for many applications due to its high strength to weight ratio and resistance to corrosion. Steering mechanism is one of the most important subsystems in an automobile that helps to control its direction of movement. In a Standard OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) Rack and Pinion system, generally steel alloys such as AISI 4340 and grey cast iron are used, due to higher dynamic loads and higher value of basic stress. For an efficient steering system, it is very important to take materials and properties of the gear system into consideration. This paper focuses on efficiently designing a lightweight rack and pinion steering system for an FSAE car by replacing conventional materials using aluminium 6061-T6 alloy due to its low cost and weight, taking contact stresses and bending stresses into consideration followed by verification with FEA (Finite Element Analysis) in ANSYS. In conclusion, the use of aluminium alloys in the steering system of FSAE vehicle will make it lighter and more efficient compared with standard OEM materials. The outcome of this research was use of aluminium alloys instead of conventional materials in gears based on their application.