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).
Compression ignition engine development, outlining proposals and comparing different cylinder head designs and experimental units.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 178\3\ img202 | |
| Date | 6th June 1932 guessed | |
| (2) weight effect is obtained to relieve the bearings and crankchamber of the rapidly increasing loads. In this respect RG.{Mr Rowledge} and I hardly agree, he fearing the extra weight, but the percentage of extra weight on the gross weight of the aeroplane would be extremely small. COMPRESSION IGNITION WORK. You will remember that I wrote that from a design point of view I feared both ourselves at WW., and Derby, were not progressing with the design of a really good gas-cycle cylinder head construction. A few general remarks may be useful: (1) In any compression ignition engine that we have in view we do not, and cannot, expect to beat with our present knowledge, the performance of our petrol engines. (2) As all concerned know, we are not prepared at the moment to build a complete engine, although we are studying the shape of a complete engine in connection with the system we are likely to try in the experimental unit. Also we are asking for a special experimental unit for 2 stroke work. The lower half of this has been drawn for some time and meets the approval of RG.{Mr Rowledge}, and is intended for 5" bore cyl. with either 5.5 or 6.6 stroke, and since it is a 2 cycle engine we are proposing to make it so that it can be run with 2 cyls., when it should give a fairly even turning moment suitable for long endurance test. (3) Now the cyl. construction to be put on this unit is as follows: the poppet valve system with port intake, and bulb combustion chamber, designs for which have been developed at Derby. My faith in this for the work in view is only moderate, and I am pressing hard that we make in parallel a single sleeve cyl. unit, not of the proposed ultra high speed light weight Ricardo type, but of a more substantial and moderate speed design which we hope will make a reliable engine, though less ambitious in its weight per HP. performance. These two types of head will give us endless opportunity of bulb, pot, open type, swirl, turbulence, systems, and should provide a really rich field for experimental work, which we think absolutely necessary at the moment. (4) I do not think it wise to risk losing much time for the sake of a few thousand pounds in providing the Expl./Dept. with some alternative schemes to compare on our [unclear], and it is for this reason that I am recommending and pr[unclear] | ||