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Manual steering
Published in M.J. Nunney, Light and Heavy Vehicle Technology, 2007
Not to be confused with king-pin inclination, this is the angle of the road wheel swivel axis relative to the vertical, as viewed from the side of the vehicle (Figures 24.9b and 24.10c). It is considered to be positive if its intersection point with the ground lies ahead of the vertical centreline through the wheel and to be negative if it lies behind. The effect of a positive castor angle is to create at ground level a moment arm distance or mechanical trail, such that the centre of the tyre contact area always tends to trail behind the swivel axis where it meets the ground (Figure 24.13). Exactly the same principle is involved in the design of the inclined steering head and forks of pedal and motor cycles. A familiar household application of this principle is, of course, found in the construction of furniture castors.
Chassis systems
Published in Tom Denton, Automobile Mechanical and Electrical Systems, 2018
Castor angle is the angle in the vehicle’s longitudinal direction between the steering axis and the perpendicular through the wheel centre. The castor trail is the distance between the point of intersection of the steering axis with the road surface plane and the perpendicular through the wheel centre. If the wheel contact point is situated between the point of intersection of the steering axis with the road surface in the direction of travel, the castor angle and castor trail is positive. Positive castor causes the wheels to return to the straight-ahead position. It influences the steering torque when cornering and the straight-ahead stability (Fig. 4.73).
Running gear
Published in Andrew Livesey, Practical Motorsport Engineering, 2019
Castor angle – is the amount of trail between the wheel contact patch and the point where the steering axis intersects the road; this gives the steering wheels their self-aligning torque, so that the wheels return to centre after a corner and maintain stability at high speed on straight roads.
Self-steering performance of a new bogie with four independently rotating wheels using caster angle
Published in International Journal of Rail Transportation, 2023
Chao Yang, Ning Xu, Wenjing Wang, Wen Li, Zunsong Ren
According to the abovementioned principle, an original idea is proposed to obtain the self-steering capability for the running gear comprised of independent wheels. The essential measure of the idea is to introduce a caster angle in the steering mechanism. The caster angle is the angular displacement between the vertical axis and the steering axis of a wheel in the side view. It is positive if the direction from the top of vertical axis to that of the steering axis is opposite to the travelling direction. On the contrary, the caster angle is negative with forward tops.