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In an effort to understand steering systems performance and properties at the microscopic level, we developed Multibody simulations that include multiple three-dimensional gear surfaces that are in a dynamic state of contact and separation. These validated simulations capture the dynamics of high-speed impact of gears traveling small distances of 50 microns in less than 10 milliseconds. We exploited newly developed analytic, numeric, and computer tools to gain insight into steering gear forces, specifically, the mechanism behind the inception of mechanical knock in steering gear. The results provided a three dimensional geometric view of the sequence of events, in terms of gear surfaces in motion, their sudden contact, and subsequent force generation that lead to steering gear mechanical knock. First we briefly present results that show the sequence of events that lead to knock.

Simulation of mutlibody systems (MBS) that are suitable for the design of their controls require fast processing and access to advanced computational analysis tools. The approach that some MBS simulation programs take is to supply FORTRAN subroutines that represent simple transfer functions. The approach of other programs is to derive the state space description of the MBS and write it in a disc file that can be used by specialized control systems design programs. Both approaches limit the interactive process necessary for the efficient design of control systems. This paper describes a structured and modular multiport approach to the computer-aided simulation of multibody systems. The approach presented in this paper produces models of multibody systems that are not only suitable for the interactive design and evaluation of control strategies, but also suitable for processing on parallel computers.