Fender Design - Wheel Arch Challenge
FENDER WHEEL ARC CHALLENGE
AIM:
THE AIM OF THE CHALLENGE IS TO EXAMINE THE GIVEN FENDER WHEEL ARC DESIGN WHEATHER IT PASSES THE EUROPEAN STANDARDS.
FENDER WHEEL ARC:
Wheel arc is a semi circular part of the fender positioned above the wheel of the vehicle. The design of the wheel arc of the fender should be such that it should shield wheels and protect both passengers and pedestrians from water, mud and stones. The wheel arc of the fender is usually designed as cover or shield over the tyre along the perimeter to stop any debris or stones, water, mud, snow, etc from getting into contact or getting thrown into the BIW areas as well as outside the vehicle and onto other vehicles or pedestrians on the road. For the vehicle to has its permits in different countries, the wheel arc must pass through certaain measurements and standards set by respective countries.
The European regulation requires a pre-determined clearence or a minimum distance of 10mm to be maintainned between the fender and the respective tyre at particular points at the tyre profile shown below:
TYPES OF FENDERS:
1. FULL BUMPER TYPE:
Full bumper type is a type of fender in which the wheel area is almost covered. It added extra weight to the vehicle. And so it is now discontinued.
2. HALF BUMPER TYPE:
Half bumper type fender helps in wight reduction and also allows safety to pedestrians as well as car passengers. It also reduces the manufacturing cost in caomparisoin to full bumper type bumpers.
FENDER DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS:
1. DRIP AREA
2. WHEEL ARC
3. BAFFLE AREA
4. FRONTAL CRASH REGULATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS
EUROPEAN STANADRD FOR WHEEL ARC:
According to the European standard clearence length for the wheel arc will be 10mm. SA, SB, SC, SD, SE are the points on the wheel from where it is projected to the wheel arc to measure the distance.
MEASUREMETNS ARE BASED ON THE SKETCH PROVIDED BELOW:
SKETCH:
DETERMINING TH CLEARENCE VALUES:
Clearence value for SA = 9.9490mm
clearence for SB = 10.00mm
Clearence for SC = 0.1139mm
Clearnce for SD = 2.8875mm
Clearence for SE = 5.9973mm
OBSERVATION IN A TABULAR FORM:
| POSITION | REQUIRED CLEARENCE VALUE(MM) | OBSERVED CLEARENCE VALUE(MM) | REQUIREMENT TEST RESULT |
| SA | 10 | 9.9490 | FAILED |
| SB | 10 | 10 | PASSED |
| SC | 10 | 0.1139 | FAILED |
| SD | 10 | 2.8875 | FAILED |
| SE | 10 | 5.9973 | FAILED |
CONCLUSION:
So from the above results we can see that this particular fender wheel arc design is ineligible for manufacturing as it does not passes the European Standards.