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).
Potential weight saving and stiffness improvements for a vehicle frame by using the petrol tank as a cross-member and adopting welding.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 113\5\ scan0092 | |
| Date | 12th May 1939 | |
| -2- Rm{William Robotham - Chief Engineer}/AFM.{Anthony F. Martindale}9/MH.{M. Huckerby}12.5.39. It may be necessary to add a cross member to the final frame between the rear spring front anchorages, adding 8 lbs. of weight; this can only be determined by experiment. It will be seen from the figures that the biggest advantage is obtained by using the tank as a cross-member, as this saves the weight of 21 lbs. of petrol tank. This being revolutionary, we removed the tank and obtained the same stiffness by other means, although in this case we do not save the weight of the petrol tank. It would seem that we ought to make an effort to increase the torsional stiffness of the front pan as this should enable much of the front part of the cruciform and gussets to be deleted. In conclusion, we would say that there is no difficulty in doing without the rear portion of the cruciform, especially if we adopt the General Motors and Humber practice of welding the frame. Any previous failures we have had with welded frames may have been due to the design just as much as to the use of welding. RM{William Robotham - Chief Engineer}/AFM.{Anthony F. Martindale} | ||