Steering gear

A hydraulic steering gear consists of a bridge control which applies helm, an engine
control which is operated jointly by the helm and hunting gear (when fitted) and a power
pump and rudder actuator which constitutes the steering engine.
Telemotor systems
The telemotor system consists of a transmitter on the bridge and a receiver fitted on the
steering gear forming a part of the hunting gear. The system may be electrical or
hydraulic or a combination of the two.
Most modern vessels are fitted with electric or electro-hydraulic systems. ue to the
increasing si!e of vessels pipe runs have lengthen causing lags in the operation of the
receiver in hydraulic systems. "n addition hydraulic only systems generally re#uire more
maintenance.
Hydraulic transmitter
$hown above is a typical hydraulic transmitter unit. The pinion driving the pistons is
turned by the bridge wheel.
The casing is usually gun metal, with bron!e rams, and copper pipes are led in by frilled
leads on the casting.
To test the system, with the steering gear actuating pumps stopped, the wheel may be
lashed at hard over and the pressure recorded. "t should maintain this pressure for some
time
To allow for e%pansion in the system and to allow topping up a &by-pass valve& is fitted. "t
will also act as a safety valve.
Author note'
The main problem appears to be the effect of air entrained within it. Thus regular venting
of the system is re#uired.
By-pass valve
The operating rod is pushed down ma(ing both line common whenever the wheel is at
midships, generally by a cam fitted to the pinion. This ensures they system is always
balanced.
The charging valves are opened only when filling or flushing.
The moving cylinder is attached to the hunting gear. )hen the bridge wheel is turned
hydraulic pressure acts on the cylinder causing it to move. This in turn moves the hunting
gear. The steering gear is then moved to compensate until the hunting gear is moved bac(
to the neutral position. The total movement of the receiver is limited by stops.
Electro-hydraulic type telemotor system
$hown is a very simple system capable of operating a steering hunting gear. A pressure
relief valve would normally be fitted after the valve and across the pump to prevent over
pressurisation of the system.
The signal is derived from the action on the steering wheel, created by the autopilot or
directly from the non-follow up control levers.
Telemotor fluid
should be a good #uality mineral oil with the following properties*
+. low pour point
,. non sludge forming
-. non corrosive
.. good lubricating properties
/. high flash point
0. low viscosity
Hunting Gear
The steering gear system above consists of the telemotor which receives a signal from the
bridge wheel. This acts on the hunting gear.
The hunting gear moves displacing a control rod, this rod acts on the pump displacement
control gear to alter the delivery from the pump. The delivery from the pump causes the
ram to move rotating the rudder stoc( and hence the rudder. The other end of the hunting
gear is mounted on the rudder stoc(.
The rotation of the rudder stoc( moves the hunting gear returning the operating rod for
the pump to the neutral position once the rudder has reached the correct angle.
Rudder Actuators
There are many different mechanisms by means of which hydraulic power can be
converted into tor#ue at the rudder stoc( some of which are as follows*
Rapson Slide Actuators - Ram type
$teering gear incorporating the rapson slide principle are the most common in use on
heavy duty applications.
The rapson slide acting on either a for( tiller or the more common round arm. The tiller
drives the rudder stoc( by means of a (ey or (eys. The crosshead is free to slide along the
circular arm of the tiller so that the straight line effort of the rams is applied to the angular
moving tiller. 1ach set of two cylinders in line are connected by a strong steel girder
usually called a 23oist2 which stiffens the system and forms a 2guide bar2 for the
crosshead guide slippers to slide along. The joist is often designed to incorporate the
steering engine stops.
An important consideration in all steering gears is the 2wear down2 of the rudder carrying
bearing, this bearing ta(es all the weight of the rudder. Therefore there must be ade#uate
clearance between the bottom of the tiller and the crosshead bearing, so as the rudder
bearing wears down in service the tiller and crosshead bearing do not touch, clearance
when new can be ,, mm at bottom and +, mm at top* the top clearance is a precaution to
stop the tiller bumping up the steering rams in the unli(ely event of the rudder lifting in
heavy weather. $hould the bottom of the tiller and the crosshead bearing touch, then the
weight of the rudder will be transferred from the rudder bearing to the steering rams with
disastrous results such as lea(ing of wor(ing fluid from the cylinders and shearing of the
rams.
"n the case of for(ed tiller design, the thrust from the rams is transmitted to the tiller
through swivel bloc(s. 4ne advantage of this arrangement is that the overall length of
pairs of rams is reduced compared to the round arm tiller design and this can be an
important consideration in some cases. A disadvantage is that where as any slight
misalignment in the case of the round arm tiller is not vitally important, it could lead to
uneven loading of the swivel bloc(s in the for(ed tiller design and it is essential that the
line of the rams be e%actly at right angles to the rudder stoc( centre line if this is to be
avoided.
)ith the 5apson $lide the tor#ue reaction from the rudder is ta(en on the tiller by a force
which is balanced by an e#ual and opposite force having two components one of which is
produced by the ram and acts in the line of the ram, whilst the other is at right angles to
the line of the ram and is produced by the guide reaction.
)here guides are not fitted as is sometimes the case with smaller steering gears then the
guide reaction force must be carried by bearings or the glands of the cylinders.
a 6 actuator area
p 6 )or(ing fluid pressure
n 6 7umber of effective rams ( + for , ram, , for . ram)
# 6 rudder angle
r 6 tiller radius at amidships
r& 6 tiller radius at #
o
of tiller helm
s 6 guide reaction force
f 6 force on ram with tiller amidships ( 6 p % a)
f& 6 effective force acting at 89
o
to tiller
r& 6 r : cos.# also f& 6 f : cos.# 6 p % a : cos.#
t 6 tor#ue available 6 f& % r& % n
6 ((p % a) : cos#). (r : cos.#) . n
t 6 (p % a % n % r) . (+ : cos.,#)
$howing that the rapson slide effect which gives increase of available tor#ue with
increases of rudder angle
The tor#ue demanded from the steering gear increases and is at a ma%imum at ma%imum
rudder angle when the mechanical advantage of the 5apson $lide gear is at a ma%imum.
5am type gears are also well adapted to ta(e advantage of the high pressures which are
currently available, since ram diameters and casing are relatively small and lea(age paths
are small or non-e%istent.
Oscillating Cylinder Actuators
The use of oscillating cylinders or pinned actuators is a recent development. They can be
used as single cylinder units for hand only steering or two cylinder units for hand and
power steering. )hile four double acting cylinders can cope with larger tor#ue demands.
These units are double acting because pistons wor( in the cylinders and pressure can be
applied to either side as compared with ram gears which are single acting.
"n these cases, the tor#ue T applied to the rudder stoc( varies with the rudder deflection
angle and on the location of the actuator. "n general the tor#ue developed will be less at
the ma%imum rudder angle than the ma%imum possible from the actuator.
Ma%imum tor#ue from actuator 6 p.a.n.r.
Tor#ue at -/
o
6 p.a.n.r. cos (-/ 6 o)
where o 6 angle traced out by the actuator
between o 6 9
o
and o 6 -/
o
Mechanical advantage at -/
o
6 ;os -/
o
6 9.<,
since the actuators are pivoting about their pin centre, they usually have their wor(ing
fluid tan( and pump mounted on the actuator cylinder, or they are connected to tan( and
pump by a fle%ible pipeline.
Rams Connected To Crossheads By in!s
This type of gear is used if the athwartships space is limited, or the head room at the
rudder head is restricted, as for e%ample, in the case of a vehicle ferry having a slip way
aft. The design enables the steering gear to be moved forward where there is reasonable
head room for access.
As in the case of the oscillating cylinder design the Mechanical Advantage of the 5apson
$lide gear is lost in the lin(s and the tor#ue output of the gear is at a minimum at hard
over when the tor#ue demand created by the rudder hydrodynamic forces is at a
ma%imum.
Rotary "ane Gear
These consist of two elements'
+. a cylindrical static casing (stator) with usually three internal vanes which
project radially inwards
,. a rotor (eyed to and concentric with the rudder stoc(, the rotor has rotor
vanes which project radially outwards into the spaces formed by the stator
vanes.
The spaces formed between the stator and rotor vanes are used as high and low
pressure chambers. The main advantage of the system is that it is compact,
occupying about + : +9 the space of a ram system. The disadvantages are *
+. it has a long oil sealing path
,. it is a constant tor#ue machine at all angles of helm compared to the ram
system where due to the 5apson slide effect, the tor#ue available increases
with increasing helm.
)here +99= redundancy is re#uired two rotary vanes in piggy bac( are used.
All vanes are spheroidal graphite cast iron secured to the cast iron rotor and stator by high
tensile steel dowel pins and cap screws. 5otor strength is maintained by (eys fitted full
length of the rotary vane. $teel sealing strips are fitted along the wor(ing faces, bac(ed
by synthetic rubber in grooves along the wor(ing faces which are elastically loaded, so as
to ensure that contact with the mating surfaces is maintained in order to hold the
hydraulic pressures.
The chambers are alternately connected to the suction and delivery from the hydraulic
pump so that they can be used to produce the rudder actuating tor#ue. >ecause the
distribution of the pressure chambers is balanced around the rudder stoc(, only pure
tor#ue is transmitted to the stoc( and no side loading are imposed by the gear.
There are two main types of rotary vane steering gear in use today. 4ne has its stator
firmly fi%ed to the steering flat dec( and the stator housing and cover are provided with
suitable bearings to enable the unit to act as a combined rudder carrier and rudder stoc(
bearing support. The other type of vane gear is supported where the stator is only
anchored to the ships structure to resist tor#ue but is free to move vertically within the
constraints of the separate rudder head bearing and carrier which is similar to the bearing
provided for ram type steering gears.
The rudder carrier ring bearing (?allister >earing) is ta(ing the weight of the rotary vane
steering gear and the rudder and stoc(.
5otation of the stator is prevented by means of two anchor brac(ets and two anchor
bolts . The anchor brac(ets are securely bolted to the stool and vertical clearance is
arranged between the inside of the $tator flanges and the top and bottom of the anchor
brac(ets to allow for vertical movement of the rudder stoc(. This clearance varies with
each si!e of rotary unit but could be about .9 mm total . "t is essential that the rudder
carrier should be capable of restricting the vertical movements of the rudder stoc( to less
than this amount.
The anchor bolts are fitted with special bushes in halves, shaped e%ternally in order to
pre-load the synthetic rubber shoc( absorbers , which are fitted between them and the
anchor brac(ets. The ma%imum deflection of the shoc( absorbers under full load is
appro%imately + mm.
The wor(ing angle of the gear is governed by the number of vanes and their thic(ness.
@anes act as rudder stops when a moving vane contacts a fi%ed vane. @alves at inlet to
the chambers may be shut causing a hydraulic loc(. "n the rotary vane units the
Mechanical Advantage is unity at all angles and hence tor#ue is constant
Tor#ue 6 p.a.n.r.
where n 6 number of rotating vanes
Tendf#ord Rotary $iston Gear Actuator
This gear consists of a casing around the rudder stoc( which contains pistons of
rectangular section sliding in angular compartments concentric with the rudder stoc(. The
tiller projects into a gap between the cylinder, the piston ends abutting onto the tiller but
not being attached to it so that a%ial movements of the rudder cannot be transmitted to the
pistons. $teering gears of this type operate at hydraulic pressures up to .+ bar (099
lbf:in,) and are in general restricted to low power application.
As with the rotary vane steering gears the Mechanical Advantage is unity at all angles
and hence the tor#ue is constant.
Tor#ue 6 p.a.n.r.
where n in this case is unity.
Components
Relief %solating And Bypass "alves
Aydraulic actuators are provided with relief and bypass valves between complementary
pairs of cylinders or chambers of vane gears. The relief valves are set to lift at pressures
above the normal ma%imum.
The bypass valves are normally closed but can be opened on a two cylinder gear to
enable emergency steering to be used. 4n a four cylinder gear one pair of cylinders can
be bypassed while the other pair provide emergency steering at a reduced tor#ue, an
instruction plate is fitted over the controls valve bloc( giving a combination of failures
and which valves have to be open or shut to cope with the emergency etc. "t should be
noted that if one ram or cylinder in a four ram system brea(s down, then never isolate the
cylinder diagonally opposite the damaged unit, since the steering gear will not operate
due to the fact that the remaining two cylinders will be either on all pressure or on all
suction at the same time.
"solating valves are provided at each cylinder or rotary vane chamber which when closed
will hold the rudder by trapping the oil in the chambers. "solating valves are also fitted to
pumps so that a pump can be completely shut off from the circuit and removed for
servicing while steering is continued with the other pump.
"n the case of gears with duplicated variable stro(e pumps, in order to be able to bring a
standby unit #uic(ly into operation, the pump stro(e mechanisms are permanently
coupled together and both pumps are left open to the hydraulic circuit. Thus it is only
necessary to start up a motor for the stand by pump to be operative. "t is usual to run both
pumps in restricted navigation waters. As a variable stro(e pump can operate as a motor
if pressure oil is applied to one side while it is on stro(e, it is necessary to prevent wind
milling or rotation of the pump which is on stand by duty.
4therwise, the output of the operation pump, instead of moving the steering gear would
be used up in rotating the stand by pump.
4ne method to prevent this,is using a fi%ed ratchet is provided concentric with the pump
driving shaft. ?awls that can engage this ratchet are carried in the drive coupling. )hen
the pump is on stand-by the pawls engage with the ratchet and prevent rotation when oil
on the delivery side of the operating pump is on pressure. "n this condition the tendency
to motor the stand by pump will always be against its normal direction of rotation. As
soon as the pump is started, rotation being in the opposite direction, the pawls disengage
and by centrifugal action fling out against the inner flange of the coupling completely
clear of the ratchet. )hen a pump is on stand-by and the rudder is being driven by water
pressure in the direction in which it is being moved so as to generate pressure on what is
normally the suction side of the operating pump, this will cause the stand by pump to
rotate in its normal running direction. This means that the pawls will disengage and the
pump will be motored round, allowing the rudder to move more #uic(ly to a new steering
position than the single operating pump will allow.
Another method of protection against rotation of the stand by pump is to fit $ervo
pressure operated automatic change over valves in the pipelines* these ensure that the
pump can only be started in the unloaded condition (neutral) and in addition prevents the
stand by pump from being motored by the pump in service.
4n some ships it has been discovered that the ball bearing races on the stand-by pump
have been failing due to brinelling of the ball bearings, caused by ship vibrations, and in
these cases it is usual to fit devices which allows the stand by pump to be motored
slowly.
)hen fi%ed delivery pumps are duplicated in supplying oil to a common hydraulically
operated control valve, an automatic change over valve can be fitted which will isolate
the stand by pump when it is at rest, but will connect it to the actuator when the pump is
started up.
Stops And imit S&itches
1%ternal or stern posts stops are set at the absolute limit to hard over movement of the
rudder , protects propeller and ship stern in the event of metal or other failure which
allows rudder to swing in an uncontrolled manner. Mechanical stops on the rudder
actuator operate before the e%ternal stop are reached .these ta(e the form of travel limits.
$tops on the bridge control operate before mechanical stops. local controls are set
midway. auto pilot controls are set first. "t should be noted that the vanes act as stops on
rotary vane gears.
'rive Bac! 'ue To Heavy Sea(s
Aeavy seas acting on the rudder can force the actuator against the hydraulics sufficient to
lift the relief v:v, in which case the rudder will move. Aunting gear will tend to return the
gear to its correct position.
Hand And $o&er Hydraulic Steering Gears
Bor small ships during navigational course (eeping hand steering can be used, whist
during manoeuvring power steering can be used. These may ta(e the form of chains or
simple hydraulics operated by a fi%ed delivery pump attached to the steering gears.
)*ollo& +p) Steering
This is the normal method of steering and involves the feedbac( of steering angle to the
helm. This is suited to both manual and automatic operation.
The ships heading may be set into the autopilot which can then compare the actual to
desired heading and adjust the rudder angle to suit
),on-follo& +p) Steering
7ormally used for bac( up purposes only. ;onsists of a single lever per steering gear
unit, by moving the lever in on direction the rudder will begin to turn, the rudder will
continue to turn until the lever is released or it reaches the limit of its operation
Charging A System -ith *luid
. "n all cases high #uality hydraulic oil should be used , containing inhibitors against
o%idation , foaming, rust and wear and emulsification.
"n order to (eep the transmission load as low as possible when hand steering , hand
power systems must have oil of low viscosity.
The condition of the oil should be monitored and ensured at least clean and free of
moisture.
Steering gear failure
A study of steering gear defects demonstrates that the most common are related to
vibration and the wor(ing loose of components.
The most common source of failure are the pump and the hydraulic system associated
with it.