Fender Design - Wheel Arch Challenge

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Wheel Arch:

It is a curved part of the Fender positioned right above the Wheel. The Wheel Arch is designed such that it protects both the pedestrian and car cabin from mud, water rocks and other road spray. Different countries have different wheel arch regulations in place, and the wheel arch design has to comply with them to be deemed usable in that country. For avoiding design alterations of the same vehicle to meet the different regulations in different countries, the maximum values of the concerned regulation parameters are taken into consideration for design purpose.

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

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 the 5 points on the wheel arch shown here should be 10mm, the points being SB, SA, SC, SD, SE.

OBJECTIVES

The objective of the wheel arch challenge is to calculate the wheel arch area using Siemens NX-CAD and to prove whether the given fender of car will pass the European standards or not.

CHAPTER 2

PROCEDURE

Applying European standards to given Fender & wheel data:

The sketch is drawn on the wheel face as per the European standards provided and projected on the wheel arch at section SA, SB, SC, SD, and SE to measure "L. "a" and wheel arch area.

Calculations for the value of clearance "L":

The clearance "L" as shown in the above fig at all the five sections SA, SB, SC, SD, and SE should be greater than 10mm.

• Measuring "L" for the given Wheel and Fender at SA

  The value of "L" at SA - 9.948mm

  • Measuring "L" for the given wheel and fender at SB

The value of "L" at SB = 10mm

• Measuring "L" for the given wheel and fender at SC

  The value of "L" at SC = 0.113mm

  • Measuring "L" for the given wheel and fender at SD

    The Value of "L" at SD = 2.875mm

    5) Measuring "L" for the given wheel and fender at SE

    The value of "L" at SE= 5.975mm

    CHAPTER 3

    RESULTS

    REGION	REQUIRED CLEARENCE	ACTUAL CLEARENCE	RESULTS
    SA	10mm	9.948mm	fail
    SB	10mm	10mm	pass
    SC	10mm	0.113mm	fail
    SD	10mm	2.875mm	fail
    SE	10mm	5.975mm	fail

    CHAPTER 5

    CONCLUSSION

    From the above results we can conclude that the Fender does not pass the European Regulations, as the minimum clearance L between the Fender Wheel Arch and Wheel for vehicle and pedestrian safety is 10mm and this design does not meet the requirement.