Challenge

Fender Design - Wheel Arch Challenge

AIM - Scrutinization of Wheel Arch area of given fender design as per European standards

OBJECTIVES

To find out clearances of the fender with respect to the wheel arch area as per European standards

THEORY

Wheel Arch

The wheel arch is the semicircular part positioned above the wheel of a vehicle.
The wheel arch is designed considering all possible motions the tire undergoes while the vehicle is in motion. The wheel arch also ensures stopping any debris that could possibly fly outside the wheel well and hit pedestrians.

Wheel Arch Standards

A lot of stone particles come in contact with the wheel when the vehicle is in motion. If the wheel is outside of the fender when seen it from the front then it does more chipping of stones and throws them inside the engine compartment as well as onto the pedestrians.
Considering the safety of pedestrians is it mandatory to have the wheel inside the fender with some clearance.
As per road conditions of different regions, some standards are defined to calculate the clearance between the fender and wheel. The below table shows different standards used in the market.

JAPAN Standard

EUROPEAN Standard

USA Standard

European standards have been used to check clearance for the given fender design

Wheel Guard Requirements

The value of 'a' as shown in the figure below should be more than 5 mm between the point of intersection at lines drawn at 30 degrees and 50 degrees from the wheel center with the outer edge of the fender and wheel.

MAIN CONTENT

Software Used - Siemens NX 11

A) Obtaining Value of Clearance

The sketch is drawn on the outermost face of the wheel by following European standards. Five sections are drawn which are SA, SB, SC, SD, SE.

Clearance Obtained at Section SA

Clearance Obtained at Section SB

Clearance Obtained at Section SC

Clearance Obtained at Section SD

Clearance Obtained at Section SE

B) Obtaining Value of Clearance "a" for the wheel guard requirement

Value of a at the line 30 degrees forward from the centreline

Value of a at the line 50 degrees backward from the centreline

CONCLUSION

As per the above results, it can be seen that the fender is not satisfying the 10 mm clearance rule at sections SA, SC, SD, and SE
Hence from the above results, we can conclude that the given fender design is not satisfying the European standards.
The styling team needs to modify the class A surface of the fender design in such a way that the clearance at sections SA, SC, SD, and SE will be more than or equal to 10 mm.

Ship work like this
in your own course.