Challenge

Fender Design - Wheel Arch Challenge

SSwaroop Thakur21 Feb 2022

SKILL LYNE

WHEEL ARCH DESIGN

Swaroop T

2/21/2022

Fender is the American English term for the part of an automobile, motorcycle or other vehicle body that frames a wheel well (the fender underside). Its primary purpose is to prevent sand, mud, rocks, liquids, and other road spray from being thrown into the air by the rotating tire. Fenders are typically rigid. Sticky materials, such as mud, may adhere to the smooth outer tire surface, while smooth loose objects, such as stones, can become temporarily embedded in the tread grooves as the tire rolls over the ground. These materials can be ejected from the surface of the tire at high velocity as the tire imparts kinetic energy to the attached objects. For a vehicle moving forward, the top of the tire is rotating upward and forward, and can throw objects into the air, at other vehicles or pedestrians. In British English, the fender is called the wing (this may refer to either the front or rear fenders. However, in modern anybody vehicles, rear fenders may also be called quarter panels.) The equivalent component of a bicycle or motorcycle, or the "cycle wing" style of wing fitted to vintage cars, or over tires on lorries which is not integral with the bodywork, is called a mudguard in Britain, as it guards other road users – and in the case of a bicycle or motorcycle, the rider as well – from mud, and spray, thrown up by the wheels. In modern Indian and Sri Lankan English usage, the wing is called a mudguard.

Wheel Arch design criteria according to European Standards

While designing the fenders of a vehicle, engineers and designers must follow the specified design criteria of the respective country, which protects both car and pedestrians from unwanted particles such as mud, water stones etc. It also protects the car body itself from mud and other particles thrown away by the tire while running. Design rules have been proposed by vehicle and road safety community. Below image briefly mentions the European standard for designing fenders.