Fender Design - Wheel Arch Challenge

FENDER DESIGN - WHEEL ARC CALCULATION

Objective

Study the Wheel Arch area and prove whether the car will pass the standards or not using European regulations.

Software Used

CATIA V5

Introduction

Wheel arch comes with some standard specifications. When viewed from the front or top side of the vehicle, if the tire is protruding outside the fender, that would lead to more chipping while driving and compromises pedestrian as well as vehicle safety. Taking these factors into consideration, the wheel/tire has to be positioned inside the tire.

There are different regulations in this regard based on different regions. This case study has been done according to European regulations.

As explained in the diagram below, the minimum clearance ‘L’ recommended at all 5 points on the wheel arch shown here should be 10mm, the points being SB, SA, SC, SD, and SE.

If the curvature clearance is not matching the standards then the model needs to be modified accordingly.

Analysis

The part file was opened using CATIA V5 and the aforementioned points were plotted on the wheel arch after taking the required measurements from the Wheel center.

Top view showing the clearance values with the tire profile outlined in orange

The clearance value \' L'\ was measured and found to be as follows-

Section	Required Clearance (mm)	Measured Clearance 'L' (mm)	Remarks
SB	10	10	Pass
SA	10	9.949	Fail
SC	10	0.114	Fail
SD	10	5.562	Fail. Tyre protruding outside the wheel arch
SE	10	12.038	Fail. Because it exceeds the required clearance value (i.e 10mm)

Inference

Barring one section (SB), all others fail to achieve the minimum gap requirement of 10mm according to European regulations. In addition to this, there is also protrusion of the wheel outside the wheel arch, which is not recommended. Therefore the model needs to be modified accordingly.