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).
Secret memorandum investigating the cause of a bursting radiator on a 40/50 car.
| Identifier | WestWitteringFiles\L\2July1924-September1924\ Scan114 | |
| Date | 1st August 1924 | |
| TO BJ. FROM R.{Sir Henry Royce} Copy to - BY.{R.W. Bailey - Chief Engineer} " HS.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} " PH. " H.{Arthur M. Hanbury - Head Complaints} S E C R E T. ORIGINAL R3/MB.8.24. X32456 X9200 re. E.{Mr Elliott - Chief Engineer} A.{Mr Adams} C. & 40/50 RADIATORS. With regard to the incident of the radiator bursting recently on a 40/50 car, as given in your memo. BJ2/H4724., I do not think that there is any deposit that can get in to effectively block up the two .437" relief pipes. If it were so my impression is that the tiny spaces between the tubes of the matrix would become quickly filled up. The two .437" tubes fitted should be big enough to carry off all the pressure that could possibly be generated under the worst conditions of boiling, and we therefore think that the radiator must have split through mechanical weakness, or else the relief tubes were definitely blocked up with solder. These tubes should be tested for being clear on every radiator before use, and the tank tested to bear some slight internal pressure. The 40/50 radiators if made to the latest instructions should have an angle in the corner joint between the bottoms and sides of the top tank, which should make quite a strong job. In the EAC. radiator design sent through we shew two ¼" pipes for the relief. Our radiators have been of the same pattern and proportions more or less for the last 15 years, and one can scarcely therefore believe that the bursting of the radiator in question is due to the design being faulty. Overfilling, and a desire to keep the radiator full with the engine standing and cold, instead of full at full speed and full load, is I believe the chief cause of trouble. R.{Sir Henry Royce} | ||