Fender Design - Wheel Arch Challenge
FENDER WHEEL ARCH CHALLENGE
FENDER WHEEL ARCH
Wheel arch is the semi-circular of the fender positioned above the wheel of the vehicle. The design of the wheel arch of the fender should be such that it must shield wheels and protect both passengers’ compartment and pedestrians from the projection of wart, mud and stones. The wheel arch area of the fender is usually designed cover or shield over the getting thrown into vehicle or the BIW area as well as outside the vehicle and onto other vehicles or pedestrians on the road. For the vehicle to has its permit in different countries, the wheel arch of fenders must be compliant with the standards and regulations set by respective countries.
The European regulations required a pre-determined clearance or a minimum distance of 10mm to be maintained the fender and respective type at particular points, along the type profile as shown below:
STEPS FOLLOWED IN CREATING THE SKETCH REQUIREMENT FOR EUROPEAN STANDARDS
- A horizontal and vertical axis is drawn from the centre of the wheel.
- The vertical axis intersection point is labelled as A.
- Similar reference is drawn at 30 degrees to left and 50 degrees to the right and named it as B and C respectively.
- A line of 150mm is drawn perpendicular to the horizontal axis and normal from the normal point on fender which gives point E.
- The midpoint of the arc cut by the sections C and E result in a new section D.
- The value of ‘L’ at each section and the value of ‘a’ are found out to determine whether the fender satisfies the European standards as shown below.
VALUE OF L AT B SECTION
VALUE OF L AT A SECTION
VALUE OF L AT C SECTION
VALUE OF L AT E SECTION
VALUE OF L AT D SECTION
TABLE
| SECTION | REQUIRED DISTANCE | CALCULATED DISTANCE | RESULT |
| A | 10 mm | 9.9489 mm | PASS |
| B | 10 mm | 10.00 mm | PASS |
| C | 10 mm | 0.1137 mm | FAIL |
| D | 10 mm | 5.9751 mm | FAIL |
| E | 10 mm | 2.7831 mm | FAIL |
CONCLUSION
- The values at C, D and E sections are negative values.
- The fender fails as the values does not lie in between the values of the European standard.