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3.7 Wheel Control 311 Fig. 3-325: L-ring sealing system [66] There are three different types of sealing boots:onion-shaped boots, barrel-shaped boots, and double-fold boots ( Figure 3-326 ). Fig. 3-326: Sealing boot outer surface geometries(onion-shaped, barrel-shaped and double-fold boots) [66] Double-fold boots are the most expensive and shouldonly be used on joints with large articulation angles.A triple labyrinth lip should be used at the dynamic-seal end of the boot.A variety of different factors can influence the func-tion of the sealing boot: material (type of rubber, shore hardness, etc.) maximum required articulation angle package space (maximum diameter and height) outer shape (single-fold or double-fold) material thickness pre-stress and expansion of the sealing rings duringassembly

opening diameters (ball stud side, housing side) range of operating temperatures geometry of the folds removability from the mold.The consideration and optimization of all these fac-tors can be quite complex. As a result, sealing bootdesigners use software tools which limit the input parameters to those which are absolutely required.Sealing system designs are analyzed and optimizedusing 2D and 3D FEM calculations ( Figures 3-327 and 3-328 ) as part of an iterative design process. This process allows designers to determine the dimensionsand properties of the sealing boot, retaining rings, andvarious assembly parameters. This analysis systemmakes it possible to design sealing boots that arehighly unlikely to fail during prototype manufactureand testing. Fig. 3-327: 3D FEM simulation of a sealing system Fig. 3-328: Validation of the FEM model [66] Retaining Rings A retaining ring is used to provide a clamping forceover the circumference of the sealing surface that willlast for the life of the joint. These retaining rings areused at the boots contact surfaces with the ball studand the joint housing.Flat retaining rings are generally used on the housingside of the sealing boot. These rings provide adequatetension when they are stretched beyond a certainmaximum diameter during assembly. Rubber sealingrings can also be used that are vulcanized into thesealing boot itself. This type of sealing ring, however,restricts the design of the sealing boot shape. Theserestrictions can prevent the use of a narrow ball studor require that a barrel-shaped sealing boot be used,which restricts the design of the folds in the boot. Theadvantage of a vulcanized sealing ring on the housingside of the boot is increased robustness during theassembly process, which leads to fewer problemsthan flat retaining rings.On the stud side of the boot, different types of retain-ing rings are used depending on the application.Rings made from round wire can be used to providereliable tension for standard applications. For studswith a larger diameter, only flat metal rings or ringsmade from PUR or elastomers can be used. Flat metalrings are less susceptible to weakening due to tem- perature effects and aging, and can therefore providea more uniform tension over a longer period of time.

312 3 Chassis Components Fig. 3-329: Comparison chart showingdifferent types of sealing bootretaining rings [66] O-rings made from rubber or PUR can be used on lesscritical ball joints such as those on low cost stabilizer links. Assembling the retaining rings to the sealing boot is often the source of quality problems. To avoidthese problems, it is often helpful to vulcanize a retain-ing ring made from spring steel or plastic into therubber of the sealing boot ( Figure 3-329 ). This alsoallows the groove on the housing to be eliminated,which means that the housing can be manufacturedwithout additional machining. This enables the use of cold pressed or sheet metal housings. 3.7.3.6 Suspension Ball Joints When ball joints are used for wheel control, they aremainly subjected to loads in the radial direction. Thetask of a wheel control joint is to control the motionof the wheel carrier while allowing it to rotate aboutthe wheels steering axis.About 70 years ago, the old style of wheel carrier (astub axle with two pivot joints) was first replaced bya version with two ball joints. Ball joints were chosenover pivot joints because they were cheaper, more precise, and required less maintenance than pivot joints. Every steerable wheel carrier must feature atleast two ball joints. One of these ball joints must bemounted below the wheel center, and one must bemounted above the wheel center. The steering axis iscoincident with a line that connects the centers of thetwo joints ( Figure 3-330 ). A third ball joint, at theouter end of the steering tie rod, is required to rotatethe wheel carrier about the steering axis.At the rear wheels, the toe link is connected directlyto the suspension subframe and allows the toe to beadjusted. For a McPherson-type suspension, the upper ball joint is replaced by the struts top mount. Thistop mount usually takes the form of a large rubber bushing instead of a ball joint, which is permissible because two of the three rotations are very small. Thisrubber damper mount also helps absorb the verticalvibrations transferred from the wheel to the damper. Fig. 3-330: Control and support joints on the steeringaxis of a double wishbone front suspension system The radial forces applied to control joints (4 to 8 kN)are considerably smaller than the axial forces appliedto preloaded joints. As a result, smaller ball diame-ters are sufficient for control joints (standardizedsizes of 22, 25, and 27 mm suffice for all classes of passenger vehicles). Figure 3-331 shows an example of a control joint.Control joints consist of a ball stud, a ball race, asealing boot, retaining rings, a housing, and a sealingcap. Mounting the sealing cap to the side of the hous-ing opposite the stud allows the stud and the ball raceto be inserted into the housing. Fig. 3-331: Cutaway view of a control joint [66]

3.7 Wheel Control 313The ball race features a thin rim which is clamped between the housing and the sealing cap. This pre-vents the ball race from rotating within the housingand also provides an additional sealing lip to keepmoisture from penetrating into the joint.After the joint is assembled, the sealing cap isclamped into place by a rolling process which de-forms the edge of the housing.The various types of control joints are classifiedaccording to the shape of the ball stud (conical, cylin-drical, or collared, see Figure 3-317

) and the housingtype (flanged, press-in, bolted, welded, or built intothe link, Figure 3-332 ). The standard properties of control joints are listed in Table 3-3 . Fig. 3-332: Various control joint housings [66] Table 3-3: Suspension ball joint specifications Ball Diameter mm 22 25 27 Angular articulation 25Outer diameter mm 37 41 43Housing height mm 20 21.5 23Package radius mm 21 23 24.5Mating surface length mm 14 14 16Static radial force kN 6.5 8.5 10Dynamic radial force kN 3.3 4.5 6Breakaway torque Nm 6 9 10Resistance torque Nm 3.5 max.Radial elasticity mm 0.3 max.Axial elasticity mm 0.15 max.Temperature range C 40 to 80 Weight g depends on stud The lower control joint is often in close proximity tothe brake disc. This joint should therefore be compactand able to withstand high temperatures. If the ex- pected operating temperature exceeds 100 C, a heatshield made from sheet metal can be integrated intothe housing to eliminate the exposure of the sealing boot to direct heat radiation ( Figure 3-333 ). Fig. 3-333: Control joints with sheet metal heat shields 3.7.3.7 Preloaded Ball Joints In addition to radial wheel control forces, preloaded joints are also subjected to axial forces from thesprings and dampers. These axial forces are consider-ably larger than the radial forces. In order to with-stand these additional forces, preloaded joints aregenerally larger than control joints ( Figure 3-334 ). Fig. 3-334: Cutaway view of a preloaded ball joint [66] Due to the opening in the housing required for jointarticulation, the metallic surface which supports the ball stud under tension is smaller than the contactsurface which supports the stud under compression.As a result, preloaded joints should be positioned andinstalled such that their largest loads are applied inthe compression direction.The ball studs used in preloaded joints feature a smallflat surface at the top end of the ball and a conicalcontact surface. The bottom of the housing features aconical surface in order to maintain a constant fric-tional torque over the life of the joint. The ball racecan either feature no slit and be pressed into the joint by the closing ring during assembly, or it can have asingle slit in order to avoid reducing the size of thesupporting area. It is important that the supportingarea be kept as large as possible in order to preventthe plastic ball race from creeping under high loadsand during high temperature operation.The closing ring is a turned ring and includes agroove for mounting the sealing boot. After jointassembly, the closing ring is clamped firmly in place by deforming the housing using a rolling process.

314 3 Chassis Components Table 3-4: Preloaded ball joint specifications Ball Diameter mm 30 32 35Joint Type L S L S L S Angular articulation 21 18 23 20 21 19Outer diameter mm 49 51 53Housing height mm 30 31 32Package radius mm 20 30 30Mating surface length mm 22 25 25 29 25 29Static axial force kN 25 30 39Dynamic axial force kN 6.5 7 8.5 11Breakaway (initial)torqueNm 13 12 14 13 16 14Resistance torque Nm 5 3,5 6 4 6 4Radial elasticity mm 0.35 0.25 0.35 0.25 0.4 0.3Axial elasticity mm 0.2 0.15 0.2 0.15 0.2 0.2Temperature range C 40 to 80 Weight g depends on flange geometry The two types of preloaded joints are classified ac-cording to the type of ball race and closing operationused ( Figure 3-335 ). S-type ball joints are used for heavy-duty applications and L-type joints are better suited to lowcost applications. The ball race used inL-type joints features a single slit and is clamped in place between the closing ring and the housing, simi-lar to the ball races used in control joints. On L-

type joints, the mounting groove for the sealing boot isintegrated into the housing. This allows the use of aninexpensive stamped closing ring. Fig. 3-335: Preloaded ball joints: L-type joint (left), S-type joint (middle and right) For preloaded joints, the endurance and fatiguestrength of the ball race takes on special importance.The plastic used should not creep or allow any free play within the joint, even when subjected to impacts,large forces, and high temperatures. If the ball racefails, this enables the relative movement of the ballwith respect to the housing, which can cause impactsresulting in the failure of the closing ring and the jointitself (in addition to the unpleasant noises leading upto failure). Standard specifications for the differenttypes of preloaded joints can be seen in Table 3-4 .In order to withstand large forces and high tempera-tures, the ball races used in preloaded joints should bemade from PEEK plastic. PEEK features a higher yieldtemperature (200 C) than POM. Joints with PEEK ballraces are between 20 and 30 % more expensive. This isnot only due to the fact that PEEK costs about 20 timesas much as POM, but also because the tolerance rangefor the interior contour of the housing must be reduced by half. 3.7.3.8 Cross Axis Ball Joints Cross axis ball joints feature a ball with built-in cy-lindrical studs on both sides and a hole through thecenter of both the studs and the ball ( Figure 3-336 ). Fig. 3-336: Cutaway view of a cross axis ball joint [66] Although the function and construction of these jointsare similar to those of a ball joint, they are connectedto adjacent components in the same way as a rubber bushing joint. Cross axis ball joints are pressed into

3.7 Wheel Control 315an appropriate-sized hole in the link or wheel carrier.To facilitate this, the outer diameter of the housing isspecified with an n7 tolerance.Unlike cantilever ball joints, cross axis ball joints areheld in place by a through-bolt (double shear). Therotation around the longitudinal axis is unlimited (it isless than 25 for a rubber bushing joint), but the tiltangles are limited to

10 in both directions. Despitethese limitations, the articulation of a cross axis ball joint is considerably larger than a rubber bushing joint, but still smaller than a standard ball joint.Although cross axis ball joints can transfer larger dynamic radial forces (between 10 and 20 kN) than a ball joint with the same ball diameter, they cannotwithstand large axial forces. Similar to ball joints,cross axis ball joints feature very small elasticitiesunder load and have a low frictional tilt torque.A cross axis ball joint consists of a hollow ball, asingle-slit ball race, and a cylindrical housing withtwo sealing boots. L-type cross axis ball joints featurea tubular housing that is rolled shut at both ends tohold the ball race and the sheet metal closing rings in place after the joint is assembled. The sheet metalclosing rings also feature a groove for mounting thesealing boot. S-type cross axis ball joints featuresuperpositioned geometry (ball and housing) on oneside of the housing, similar to a ball joint. Unlike a ball joint, however, this metallic overlap is rolledshut, similar to the housing of an L-type joint. Thissuperposition allows the joint to withstand large axialloads. The outer surface of the housing can include acollar ( Figure 3-337 ) to help transfer these axialloads to neighboring components.Cross axis ball joints are mainly used on multi-link suspension systems as a connection to the wheel carrier in cases where a rubber bushing joint cannot fulfill therequirements (forces, stiffness, temperature, aligningtorques, etc.). Unlike rubber bushing joints, Cross axis ball joints do not set, even when subjected to a largestatic radial force over a long period of time. Due to thefact that the internal radial forces in cross axis ball joints are greater than those in control joints, cross axis ball joints feature larger diameter balls (standard sizesare 30, 35, and 40 mm). Table 3-5 shows standardcross axis ball joint specifications.A more inexpensive design can be seen in Figure 3-338 . In this type of joint, the ball race and the sealing boot are made from a single piece of twocomponent(hard/soft) injection-molded plastic. The housing is asimple tubular shape that is rolled closed against the ball race at both ends. This design eliminates theclosing rings and the retaining rings on the housingside of the sealing boots. Fig. 3-337: Cross axis ball joints: L-type joint (left), S-type joint (right) Fig. 3-338: Inexpensive cross axis ball joint design [66] Table 3-5: Cross axis ball joint specifications Ball Diameter mm 30 35 40Joint Type L S L S L S Angular articulation 10Outer diameter mm 40 47 52Housing height mm 24 25 26Package radius mm 27 33 35Static radial force kN 4.5 5 5.5 6 8 9Dynamic radial force kN 9 10 11 12 16 18Breakaway torque Nm 9 max. 12 max. 14 max.Resistance torque Nm 5 max. 7 max. 9 max.Radial elasticity mm 0.15 max.Axial elasticity mm 0.2 max. 0.2 max. 0.3 max.Temperature range C 40 to 80 Weight g

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