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).
Cooler defects, proposed modifications by Messrs. Marstons, and testing procedures for matrices.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 150\3\ scan0247 | |
| Date | 19th October 1937 | |
| -2- Rm{William Robotham - Chief Engineer}/Std.8/JH.19.10.37. many cases. (The tube defect was present on new coolers also and the casing defect to a varying degree on a proportion of new coolers). See attached sketch. This of course results in bad metallic contact at the inside edge of the joint between the tubes and the case. Since it is obvious that any cooler made in the future must be as nearly 100% perfect as it is possible to make them, it was decided not to proceed any further with either manufacture of new coolers or conversion of old ones until these defects had been rectified. As a further precaution it was decided to increase the length of the tube bulges by 0.125" in order to take full advantage of the surface available for metallic contact on the top and bottom plates. Messrs. Marstons communicated with the tube makers at Witton who confirmed that they could modify existing tubes in this manner, and they are therefore altering enough tubes for about 5 coolers. They will also restrike enough cooler casing plates for 5 coolers in order to make the slopes of the edges as shown in Fig. (2) of sketch, i.e. very nearly parallel, but with a slight slope in the opposite direction to that at which they are at present, this will be checked by means of a gauge plate. When these modified sets are ready (approx. 7 - 10 days time) Messrs. Marstons would like Rm{William Robotham - Chief Engineer}/Std. to go over to Wolverhampton in order to check up on the job and see the construction of the coolers. If tests and sectioning show these coolers to be thoroughly satisfactory, all new coolers and all converted hand soldered coolers will be made in this manner. In the case of the latter the old tubes will either be completely stripped and modified, or scrapped. (2) Corrosion of hand soldered coolers. This is of course suspended pending the results of the modifications and tests described in (2). (3) The three Mk.VI. matrices returned as defective have been flow tested under Marstons standard 7' head test, without our top and bottom tanks fitted, and the results are shown on sheet (2) attached. Two of the matrices (designated A & B respectively) have been tested for heat dissipation on Messrs. | ||