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).
Experimental bench investigation of a Westinghouse vibrator regulator with a combined cut-out.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 31\1\ Scan102 | |
| Date | 2nd February 1921 | |
| X. 1402 EFC1/T2.2.21 X1402. WESTINGHOUSE VIBRATOR REGULATOR X4031 (WITH COMBINED CUT-OUT) Further to our EFC4/T25.10.20 we have now made an experimental bench investigation of the operation of the Westinghouse combined cut-out and vibrator regulator sent to us from U.S.A. for test. Our tests have been carefully carried out with due consideration to all the points involved, and would indicate that this piece of apparatus is not suitable for doing such work as it is felt is required to make the characteristics of the chassis electrical system as nearly ideal as possible. Together with our EFC4/T25.10.20, already referred to, we issued a diagram and description of connections of this instrument. Most of our work on the instrument was carried out with the cut-out put out of operation, by wedging the contacts together, as it was latterly more particularly our intention to investigate the operation of the regulator. We had commenced, however, by investigating the cut-out operation. We do not propose giving figures for this operation as we do not think the cut-out portion is well designed. The chief objection we have to this is the large inertia of the moving arm so that when the cut-out is correctly adjusted for 12 volts, a sudden shock delivered upwards to the apparatus will cause the contacts momentarily to close. The regulator portion of the apparatus would appear at first sight to be capable of working quite well and except for the fact that some small irregularity at the contact surfaces developed during our tests, mechanically this is largely borne out by experiment. We are more particularly referring to the fact that with this apparatus, except when fairly hot, when some unsteadiness was experienced, the open circuit voltage and closed circuit current are fairly steady as compared with other vibrator regulators. Any want of steadiness that developed seemed to be due to slight contact surface irregularity. So long as the contact surfaces were clean and flat, the steadiness was quite remarkable, so much so that one felt that in order to convince oneself that the regulator was working, one had to gently touch the movable arm of the regulator and notice the immediate difference produced in the voltage or current reading. Our reasons for stating, as at first, that the apparatus as arranged is not suitable, lie mainly in the electrical arrangement of the windings. Reference to the diagram of connections will show that the compound windings on | ||