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).
Steering gear and front spring fractures during chassis rig testing.
| Identifier | WestWitteringFiles\C\August1919\ Scan36 | |
| Date | 11th August 1919 | |
| R.R. 235A (500 T) (S.D. 408. 26-4-17.) Bm. 2/156/13. To BY.{R.W. Bailey - Chief Engineer} from EH. c. to RH.{R. Hollingworth} c. to R.{Sir Henry Royce} ORIGINAL EH2/LC11.8.19. 11th. Aug. 1919. 5 X.2565 X.3465 X.2628 RH{R. Hollingworth} 40/50 HP. CHASSIS. X.344Y We are running a chassis on the bumping rig. The chassis was fitted up with all new parts including new steering gear. After we had run for 1 hour 39 minutes, the rocking lever in the steering box fractured. Both arms which carry the cheeses broke off. We obtained this lever from the Works and we believe it was old stock, part machined. Mr. Hall's report on this rocking lever is as follows:- Analysis. Carbon .29 Manganese .52 Nickel 3.35 This is soft nickel steel and appears never to have been heat treated. Brinell is 197. We consider this a very serious fracture because although we have run chassis' for hundreds of hours on the bumping rig, we only ever remember one of these levers failing previously. It might be thought advisable that on the steering parts we might take a final brinell test after the parts are machined so as to be an extra check on these vital parts. The brinell mark could be taken on a place so that the part would carry its own test record for ever. We also fractured the top leaf of a front road spring after 4 hours running. The fracture shews the material to be in a very crystalline condition. Below is Mr. Hall's report:- Contd. | ||