Fender Design - Wheel Arch Challenge

Fender Design- Wheel Arch Challenge :

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 and other road sprays.

Fender

a metal or plastic enclosure over the wheels of an automobile or other vehicle to protect against splashing mud, etc.

A fender is a body panel covering the space over the wheels. It’s attached to the side of the vehicle, and its primary purpose is to protect your wheel assemblies and suspension components from damage. They “fend” off the danger.

Historically, fenders stuck out from the car in a flare-like fashion. This gave rise to cars with very distinctive looks. Today, however, the vast majority of passenger vehicles’ fenders are subtly blended in with the rest of the body.

Types of Fender :

The Fender types are based upon the area covered i.e., "Full fender" and "half fender".

Full fender type :

The full fender type is the traditional type of fender where more material consumption is observed. This type is used in old designs of automobiles where it increases the overall weight and thus reduces performance. The maintenance is more due to more surface

Half fender type :

The half fender type is a modern design where less material consumption is observed, so productivity increases by reducing the size of the blank and thus providing more performance. The maintenance is also relatively low compared to the full bumper type

Currently, we have to Follow the different country Region wheel arch regulations to comply With our Fender and Wheel arch design to pass the country Regulations. as given below the Details about three Different Country Regulations.

Japan Requirements for fender wheel arch:

• measure clearance L of tire, hub, cap & fender in three different positions within area K and produce a clearance check chart to validate.
• clearance must be greater than 5mm in all three positions.
• wheel guard requirement: the value shall be more than 5 mm at line 30° forward and 50° Reverse from the central vertical axis of the wheel.

US Standards regulation for fender wheel arch:

• Make clearance check details on all positions from -100° to 100° & make the clearance check table.
• all values should be greater than 5mm to satisfy the regulation.
• the value of a shall be more than 5mm at line 30° forward and 50° Reverse from the central vertical axis of the wheel.

European regulation:

Measure CL L at section SA-SA SB-SB SC-SC SD-SD SE-SE and produce a CL check chart to validate.

• at all five, sections the CL L value should be greater than 10mm to satisfy European regulations.
• wheel guard requirement: the value of 'a' shall be more than 5mm at line 30° forward and 50° Reverse from the central vertical axis of the wheel.

Procedure:

• According to European standards, the design fender and wheel arc should pass the wheel guard requirement procedures.
• To start the test, first, create a plane with the origin as the center of the wheel plane.
• Then sketch using lines along with given dimensions as SA, SB, SC, SD, and SE

European standard as we Follow the Designed & calculated as of giving the skin data From Skill Lync.

Measure CL L in section

After sketching the lines, use measurement or simple measurement options to calculate the clearance between sketch lines and wheel arc.

Measure CL L in section "SB-SB"

The clearance between the SB line and wheel arc is "+10 mm" also the line SB lies inside the fender so it is a positive value.

Measure CL L in section "SA-SA"

The clearance between the SA line and wheel arc is "+9.9490 mm" also the line SA lies inside the fender so it is a positive value.

Measure CL L in section "SC-SC"

The clearance between the SC line and wheel arc is "-0.113949 mm" also the line SC lies outside the fender so it is a negative value

Measure CL L in section "SD-SD"

The clearance between the SD line and wheel arc is "-2.8875 mm" also the line SD lies outside the fender so it is a negative value.

Measure CL L in section "SE-SE"

The clearance between the SE line and wheel arc is "-5.9973 mm" also the line SE lies outside the fender so it is a negative value.

To calculate the wheel arc area, use the measure function to calculate the wheel arc length by changing the length option and clicking the wheel arc which is "1034.0582 mm"

Tabulation:
Section	European Standards (in mm)	Given Angle in ° from vertical	Measured clearance (in mm)	Pass/Fail
SB-SB	+10 mm	30	+10 mm	Pass
SA-SA	+10 mm	90	+9.9490 mm	Fail
SC-SC	+10 mm	50	-0.113949 mm	Fail
SD-SD	+10 mm	56.6	-2.8875 mm	Fail
SE-SE	+10 mm	63.2	-5.9973 mm	Fail

Conclusion:

The negative sign indicates that the wheel arc is behind the wheel

All the section don't have a clearance value of at least 10mm, only SA and SB is seen to have a value of 10mm.

Therefore the wheel arch does not comply with the requirements of European standards. So the styling team needs to work on the section of SC, SD, and SE. For safety purposes, the wheel arc should be outside the wheel and the value greater than 10mm, and the SD and SE parts should come outside the wheel.

Thanks & Regards

Sathish. gnanamani ( please Find the attached NX-CAD sketching Data Design file for your review )