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).
Performance of a new single valve shock damper and potential redesigns for its automatic control pump.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 179b\1\ img094 | |
| Date | 1st October 1932 | |
| HS.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} FROM R.{Sir Henry Royce} Cp. to SG.{Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD} WOR.{Arthur Wormald - General Works Manager} RG.{Mr Rowledge} BY.{R.W. Bailey - Chief Engineer} E.{Mr Elliott - Chief Engineer} PN.{Mr Northey} SHOCK DAMPERS. I am pleased to hear from HS{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} that the new single valve type shock damper is proving the best we have so far had, both for silence and effectiveness. I fear our older designs may have been creeping about on the square, which I think is the way it has been losing motion rather than by the deflection of the lever or shaft. It will be noted that we have always been handicapped by having a very long lever and range of motion on those for the back axle, and that the shock dampers have been asked to do a great deal more than they were originally intended to do, owing to the increased speeds of cars generally, and the fact that our springs are so thoroughly well lubricated by the central oil distribution. We think that when we have tested out the system of automatic control, it would be as well to redesign the pump, as we should prefer to make this more reliable by fitting it with a mechanical valve instead of the spring loaded automatic ball valve. This pump would be somewhat after the style - in principle - of the Mercedes general engine lubricating pump. We are not quite sure that the rubber capsule (Lockheed material) will be suitable for the shock dampers because they may be unsuitable for oil, and the other fluids which the Lockheed people use may not be suitable for the damper. R.{Sir Henry Royce} | ||