Fender Design - Wheel Arch Challenge

FENDER DESIGN -WHEEL ARC CHALLENGE

INTRODUCTION:

• What is fender?
• Types of fender
• What is wheel arch?
• Wheel arch regulations
• Calculation of wheel arch area

FENDER

A fender is the part of a car, truck, motorcycle, or other vehicles that frames or covers a wheel well. Its main purpose is to prevent debris, rocks, mud, liquids, sand, and other road debris from getting thrown in the air while the tires rotate.

TYPES OF FENDER

The type of fender is based upon the area covered i.e. full fender type and half fender type.

1. Full bumper fender
2. Half bumper fender

WHEEL ARCH

Wheel arch is also known as Wheel well. The wheel arch is the semi-circular part positioned above the wheel of a vehicle. Wheel arch is a part of fender and Curvature in shape. While designing Wheel arch it should be in mind that the wheel should be inside the fender.

As we see car from front if wheel is outside the fender, then it causes lot of damage to pedestrian and also to the car so wheel should be under the fender.

REGULATION OF WHEEL ARCH

There are different regulation requirements for different country as follow. The regulation is fixed with respective the road of specific region (Country) by government.

• The wheel should be placed inside the fender or in other words, there should be a minimum distance between the outer surface of the fender and outer surface of the wheel.
• This helps to reduce the chance of chipping of the wheel with outer particles.
• It helps in increasing pedestrian safety.
• The distance ‘L’ as mentioned in the above figure should be a minimum value, which varies as per standards followed by different countries

Some of the different standards followed are:

1. Japanese standards
2. European standards
3. US standards

1. Japanese standard

• Measure clearance L of the tire, hub, cap, and fender in three different positions within area K and produce a clearance check chart to validate.
• Clearance must be greater than 5 mm in all the three positions (i.e., at A, B, C from fender curvature)
• The clearance value will be more than the 5mm at 30 degree at forward and 50 degree at backward from the central vertical line.

2. European standards

• According to European requirements the distance is measured at 5 different points.
• Measure CL L at sections SA-SA SB-SB SC-SC SD-SD SE-SE and produce CL check chart to validate.
• At all five sections the CL L value should be greater than 10 mm to satisfy the European regulations.
• Wheel guard requirement: The value of 'a' shall be more than 5 mm at a line 30 degree forward and 50 degree rearward from the central vertical axis of axis of wheel.

3. US standards

The clearance ‘L’ at all positions (every 10 degree) from -20 degree to 180 degree should be greater than 5 mm to satisfy US regulations.

CALCULATION OF FRONT FENDER WHEEL ARCH

AIM:

To Calculate the Wheel Arch gap at required points and to check whether the car passes the European standard.

GIVEN DATA:

EUROPEAN STANDARD:

CALCULATION:

First, we define wheel centre and create perpendicular line and project vertical line to top view this Point will be ‘A’. Then to find point B we make 30 degree angle to forward and 50 degree reward, at 150mm offset of horizontal line then mark SD and SE points.

The value of clearance at ‘SA’ at centre & ‘SB’, ‘SC’ should be more than 10mm at the line 30 degree forward and 50 degree reward from the central vertical axis of wheel. Here we have made another 2 points to be measure that will be SD & SE is also more 10mm.

ANALYSIS:

RESULT:

Hence, the Wheel Arch gap at required points has been calculated and checked whether the car passes the European standard.

CONCLUSION:

AS per European regulation requirements the clearance at give point should be minimum 10mm, more than 10mm can be accepted but at only one point there is 10mm clearance and other point clearance value is less than 10mm so the car will not pass the standards. The design of fender needs to modify.