Strain Measurement in the Tie Rod of a Motor Vehicle

The tie rod of a car connects the steering wheel to the steering gear and the steering gear to the wheels of the vehicle. It mainly ensures that the wheels are aligned by providing the adjustment for the wheel to align and keeping the tires free from wearing out on the inner as well as outer edges. Now, as the suspensions components in an automotive are constantly under varying loads, the tie rod end can be worn due to rubbing and wearing. This can result in wandering, erratic steering and excessive tire wear. Therefore, it is clearly important for the tie rod to function well for the steering and suspension performance of the vehicle. The performance evaluation of the tie rod in terms of displacement, stress, and strain analysis should be done.

For such measurements, Frictional Axial Strain Transducers can be employed. They are mainly used to measure the axial strain of steering tie-rod of a car. These transducers utilise frictional strain gauges that pick up strain through friction by pressing down the strain sensing element on the structure with the magnet.  The strain checker can be easily fixed on the position of interest and immediately get ready for strain measurement. These transducers are easily installed by just clamping-on without detaching the existing tie-rod. For this application, FGAH-1B-R and FGAH-1B-H frictional axial strain transducers by TML are available that can be installed on a rod having a round-shaped or hexagonal cross-section.