FENDER WHEEL ARCH CALCULATION
1 INTRODUCTION
Fender is the American English term for the part of an automobile, motorcycle or
other vehicle body that frames a wheel well (the fender underside). Its primary
purpose is to prevent sand, mud, rocks, liquids, and other road spray from being
thrown into the air by the rotating tire. Fenders are typically rigid and can be damaged
by contact with the road surface.
Sticky materials, such as mud, may adhere to the smooth outer tire surface, while
smooth loose objects, such as stones, can become temporarily embedded in the tread
grooves as the tire rolls over the ground. These materials can be ejected from the
surface of the tire at high velocity as the tire imparts kinetic energy to the attached
objects. For a vehicle moving forward, the top of the tire is rotating upward and
forward, and can throw objects into the air at other vehicles or pedestrians in front of
the vehicle.
1.1 TYPES OF FENDER PANELS
There are two types of fenders based on location: front quarter panels and rear quarter
panels.
1.1.1 Front fenders or front quarter panels
Front fender panels are located on the sides of each front wheel. These panels
typically cover the sides of the headlights to the hinge of the driver and passenger
doors on the A-pillar. A car front fender runs vertically from the hood to the wheel
well.
1.1.2 Rear fenders or rear quarter panels
Rear fender panels are located on the sides of each rear wheel. They extend from the
edge of the rear doors on the C-pillar all the way towards the edge of the tail lights.
Rear fenders also usually feature a fuel hole with a gas cap. These features can be
found on either the driver or passenger rear panels, depending on the year and model
of the vehicle.
1.2 MOUNTING OF FENDER
They are five mounting points of a fender
1. Body mounting
2. A pillar mounting
3. Sill mounting
4. Cowl mounting
5. Drip mounting
2 FENDER WHEEL ARCH CALCULATION
There are certain standards to design the wheel arch of the fender based on the global
location.
2.1 JAPAN REQUIREMENTS
1. Measure clearance L of the tire, hub, cap and fender in three different
positions within area K and produce clearance part to validate.
2. Clearance must be greater than 5 mm in all three positions.
3. Wheel guard requirement: The value of ‘A’ must be more than 5 mm at a line
30 forward and 50 rearward from the central vertical axis o fthe wheel.
2.2 EUROPEAN REGULATIONS
1. Measure clearance L at sections SA-SA SB-SB, SC-SC, SD-SD, SE-SE and
produce clearance check chart to validate
2. At all five sections the clearance L value should be greater than 10 mm to
satisfy the European regulations.
3. Wheel guard requirements: The value of ‘a’ shall be more than 5 mm at a line
30 forward and 50 rearward from the central vertical axis of wheel.
2.3 US REGULATIONS
1. Make clearance check details on all positions from -100 to 100 and make the
clearance check table.
2. All values should be greater than 5 mm to satisfy the regulations.
3. The value of ‘a’ shall be more than 5 mm at a line 30 forward and 50 rearward
from the central vertical axis of wheel.
2.4 PROCEDURE TO KNOW THE WHEEL ARCH
CLEARANCE
1. The wheel and fender part is given.
2. SKETCH the lines by selecting the select plane option as wheel flat surface.
3. Draw lines from centre of wheel with 90º and name it as SA. From 90º line
draw lines with 50º (SC) and 30º (SB).
4. Draw a line with a distance of 150 mm from the 0º line.
5. Connect centre of wheel to that point and name it as SE.
6. By diving the SC and SE lines draw a line from the centre of wheel to the
outer portion of the fender
7. Using the analysis tool measure all the distances.
8. From the observations SA = 9.9489 mm, SB = 10 mm, SC = 0.113670 mm,
SD = 2.8787 mm, SE = 5.9755 mm.
9. It is observed that except SB all other clearance value are less than 10 mm
which is not suitable for European regulations. The fendor wont be acceptable.
3 CONCLUSION
From the observations it is observed that the givne fender model is not according to
the European standard regulations. It should be re designed.
