Hydropower-optimized wheel housing shell
View Patent ↗A wheel housing shell for a vehicle having an underbody that faces a roadway, on which the motor vehicle travels during operation. During operation of the vehicle on a wet roadway, in particular when driving through shallow water, for example when aquaplaning, splash water is displaced from the wheels of the motor vehicle, which forms fountains that in turn generate at least one splash water force. To improve the wheel housing shell for the motor vehicle with respect to driving through shallow water, for example when aquaplaning, the wheel housing shell has a splash water drainage geometry in a rear region in relation to a forward driving direction, which is configured and arranged, such that the splash water in the rear region of the hydropower-optimized wheel housing shell is tangentially discharged downwards in the direction of the roadway by the splash water drainage geometry during operation of the motor vehicle.
1 . A wheel housing shell for a motor vehicle having an underbody facing a roadway on which the motor vehicle travels, wherein during operation of the motor vehicle on a wet roadway, splash water is displaced from wheels of the motor vehicle, wherein the wheel housing shell comprises:
a splash water drainage geometry in a rear region in relation to a forward travel direction of the motor vehicle, which is configured and arranged, such that the splash water in the rear region of the wheel housing shell is discharged downwards in a direction of the roadway by the splash water drainage geometry during operation of the motor vehicle,
wherein the splash water drainage geometry has at least one splash water drainage surface,
wherein the splash water drainage surface is arranged in a recess disposed at the rear region of the wheel housing shell and at a lower end of the wheel housing shell,
wherein the wheel housing shell has a lower edge facing the roadway that extends across an entirety of an overall width dimension of the wheel housing shell including the recess, and
wherein an entirety of the lower edge extends along a single common plane.
2 . The wheel housing shell according to claim 1 , wherein the splash water drainage surface is inclined at a drainage angle, such that the splash water is discharged downwards in the direction of the roadway at the splash water drainage surface.
3 . The wheel housing shell according to claim 2 , wherein the splash water drainage surface, when viewed in a vehicle longitudinal direction, is inclined at an angle of forty-five degrees with respect to the roadway.
4 . The wheel housing shell according to claim 2 , wherein the splash water drainage surface is arranged in a recess disposed at the rear region of the wheel housing shell and at a lower end of the wheel housing shell.
5 . The wheel housing shell according to claim 4 , wherein the recess has an overall height dimension in a vehicle height direction that is less than one quarter of an overall height dimension of the wheel housing shell in the vehicle height direction.
6 . The wheel housing shell according to claim 4 , wherein the recess has an overall width dimension in a vehicle transverse direction that is one half to two thirds of the overall width dimension of the wheel housing shell in the vehicle transverse direction.
7 . The wheel housing shell according to claim 4 , wherein the recess is disposed in the vehicle transverse direction at an inside of the wheel housing shell located closest to a longitudinal centerline of the motor vehicle.
8 . The wheel housing shell according to claim 4 , wherein the recess has a trapezoidal shape having side walls arranged diagonally to one another.
9 . A motor vehicle comprising the wheel housing shell according to claim 1 .
10 . The wheel housing shell according to claim 1 , wherein the recess is bounded by the lower edge.
11 . The wheel housing shell according to claim 1 , wherein the recess has a curvature as viewed across the overall width dimension of the wheel housing shell.
12 . The wheel housing shell according to claim 1 , wherein the wheel housing shell has a semi-circular shape extending between the lower edge and an upper edge.
13 . The wheel housing shell according to claim 12 , wherein the upper and lower edges sit flush with an underbody of the vehicle.
14 . The wheel housing shell according to claim 1 , wherein the lower edge sits flush with an underbody of the vehicle.
15 . The wheel housing shell according to claim 1 , wherein the lower edge intersects an underbody of the vehicle.