Energy consumption of an EPS system is less than seven percent of a conventional hydraulic power steering system.
TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. (NYSE:TRW) today announced that it is debuting a larger version of its Electrically Assisted Steering (EAS) system in Europe for the first time with Ford Motor Company later this year.
Ford has been using the fuel-saving steering gear in North America for the past two years on Taurus, Fusion, Flex and Mercury Milan models, as well as Lincoln MKS and some MKTs.
TRW also confirmed that a second major global automotive manufacturer would use this Belt Drive – also called Rack Drive – Electrically Powered Steering (EPS) on mid-size passenger cars beginning in 2012. The Belt Drive system only consumes power when steering assist is needed.
The energy consumption of an EPS system is typically less than seven percent of a conventional hydraulic rack and pinion power steering system. This equates to a fuel savings of 0.3 to 0.4 L/100 km, with a corresponding reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of approximately 7-8g/km (up to 3.5%).
The Belt Drive EPS system supports rack loads of up to 15 kN or higher depending on vehicle kinematics and dynamic requirements. Column Drive systems are typically used on systems with output levels up to 85-100 Nm.
In addition to the fuel consumption and environmental benefits, electric steering can be integrated with a variety of other electronically controlled systems to enhance safety and comfort. Examples include integration with electronic stability control to help reduce stopping distances on slick surfaces, and with driver assist systems to offer features such as “lane keeping” that actively help drivers stay in their intended lane. Comfort functions such as semi-automated parallel parking are also supported.
“We’re continuously improving and expanding the application of electrically powered steering – whether that’s by making it more affordable for emerging markets with a lower cost Column Drive variant (Ford Fiesta uses it), or working on future generations of Belt Drive for larger vehicles that can include the Light Commercial Vehicles (LCVs) segment, drawing on experience gained over many years with electro-hydraulic solutions,” said Peter Lake, EVP of sales and business development at TRW.