From the Rolls-Royce experimental archive: a quarter of a million communications from Rolls-Royce, 1906 to 1960's. Documents from the Sir Henry Royce Memorial Foundation (SHRMF).
Goshawk car's severe overheating test and an investigation into cylinder head material failures.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 77\4\ scan0234 | |
| Date | 13th June 1922 | |
| To R.{Sir Henry Royce} From HS.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} c. to CJ. c. to E.{Mr Elliott - Chief Engineer} c. to Da.{Bernard Day - Chassis Design} c. to Ry. c. to EP.{G. Eric Platford - Chief Quality Engineer} c. to Hy.{Tom Haldenby - Plant Engineer} X4240 Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}5/T13.6.22. RE. GOSHAWK COOLING. X4240 K706 X1751 We have run a Goshawk car on the road under severe conditions of boiling. We arranged the muff on the radiator so that water was boiling under normal conditions of running. We then ran on until the engine showed obvious signs of over-heating, signs by which the least experienced driver would realise something was wrong. In order to arrive at this condition, the car was run for 52 miles with the water boiling. At the end of that time, the power had fallen off, the engine detonated badly, and there was a strong smell of burnt oil and paint. We found on examination that the amount of water left in the system was only 3 pints. We had to add 30 pints in order to fill up. There were no signs of cracks in the head after this run. We find on investigation that a number of Goshawk cylinder heads were made with semi-steel instead of cast iron. The semi-steel has been abandoned now because of the difficulty of getting sound cylinder heads or cylinder blocks in this material. The analyses so far show that two cylinder heads which have cracked were made of semi-steel. The cylinder head on the test bed engine which has been punished most severely is cast iron. We anticipate receiving the head which cracked in France in a day or so. We can then have analyses taken of this. Contd. | ||