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).
The failure of a Morse chain during an endurance test on a B.60 chain-driven camshaft unit.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 124\1\ scan0245 | |
| Date | 21th August 1939 | |
| 1044 To Rm{William Robotham - Chief Engineer}, from HPS{Horace Percy Smith - Experimental Factory Mgr}/RH.{R. Hollingworth} c.c. [redacted] c.c. [redacted] c.c. [redacted] HPS{Horace Percy Smith - Experimental Factory Mgr}/RH.{R. Hollingworth}1/PC.21.8.39. B.60 No. 1 UNIT (ENDURANCE) CHAIN DRIVEN CAMSHAFT. Failure of Morse Chain 48 Link x .500 Pitch x 1.00 wide. After 14 hours 30 minutes running, of which 7 hours 30 minutes were endurance, 15 links were found fractured, 9 being shown on the attached photograph. Conditions of endurance were: - First 5 hours, full load, each hour consisting of 15 mins. at 3000 r.p.m., 15 minutes at 3500 r.p.m., 15 mins. at 4000 r.p.m., 10 mins. at 4250 rpm and 5 mins. at 4500 r.p.m. For 2 hours at full load each hour consisting of 15 mins. at 3000 r.p.m. 15 mins. at 3500 r.p.m., 15 minutes at 4000 r.p.m., and 15 minutes at 4250 r.p.m. Remaining 30 minutes were at half load, consisting of 15 mins at 3000 r.p.m., and 15 mins. at 3500 r.p.m. The Damper was found solid on two occasions; this would cause undue oscillations on the chain. Rm{William Robotham - Chief Engineer}/Swdl.{Len H. Swindell} suggests this may be the cause of failure. The stretch in the chain was approximately 0.040. HPS{Horace Percy Smith - Experimental Factory Mgr}/RH.{R. Hollingworth} R Hollingsworth | ||