Fender Design - Wheel Arch Challenge
Aim: To calculate the wheel arch distance from fender and to compare it with European standards.
Wheel Arch
Wheel Arch is the semi-circular part 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 water, mud and stones.The wheel arch area of the fender is usually designed as a cover or shield over the tyre along its perimeter to stop any debris or stones ,dirt,sand,snow,etc,from getting thrown into the 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 fenders must be compliant with the standards and regulations set by respective countries.
Provided data:
From the provided sketch 5 distanced measurements need to be measured.
Sketching procedure:
- A Horizontal and vertical axis is drawn from the center of the wheel.
- Avertical line is drawn from the centre labelled as A. Lines are 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 the fender which gives point E.
- The midpoint of the arc cut by the sections C and E results in a new section D.
- The value of 'L' at each section and the value of 'a 'are found to determine whether the fender satisfies the european standards as shown below.
SA-SA measurement
9.49mm<10mm
SB-SB measurement
10mm=10mm
SC-SC measurement
0.113mm<10mm
SD-SD measurement
2.887mm<10mm
SE-SE measurement
5.997mm<10mm
Measured L from the sketch
| Sketch | Clearance L (mm) | Report |
| SA-SA | 9.49 | Fail |
| SB-SB | 10 | Pass |
| SC-SC | 0.113 | Fail |
| SD-SD | 2.887 | Fail |
| SE-SE | 5.997 | Fail |
Conclusion
From the above results it's clear 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