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).
Radiator boiling issue on a Phantom car and the challenges in diagnosing it.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 27a\3\ Scan073 | |
| Date | 26th October 1929 | |
| To Sg.{Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD} from Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} c. Wor.{Arthur Wormald - General Works Manager} X.4516- Hsl/AD26.10.29. PHANTOM RADIATOR ON MR. SHORT'S CAR. Replying to SG{Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD}1c/E25.10.29. We should expect that on a car with the radiator partially stopped that the boiling would be overcome if the flow to the radiator was reduced. It is necessary for the flow to be reduced by fixing a baffle between the pump and the radiator for this result to be obtained. When the restriction is in the radiator the pump cannot obtain its full capacity of water. A depression or air locks are formed and the pump does not work at all. Restricting the flow between the pump and the radiator cannot be looked upon as a cure for the trouble. When we reduce the flow through the radiator we reduce the efficiency of the radiator. With a rapid circulation it is possible for the water to enter at 95° and come out of the radiator at 85° so that the mean temperature is 90°. With a slower circulation the water that enters at 95° will leave the radiator at 75°, the mean temperature of the radiator then being 80° is less efficient for cooling. We do not think we should let Mr. Short run his car about with the flow restricted. If, as you state, this car is consistently giving trouble with the radiator becoming stopped up, the experimental department would be glad of an opportunity of investigating it. Our difficulty in connection with this trouble is that we cannot reproduce it, so that it makes it very difficult for us to estimate the value of the improvements which are being made. We should like to get hold of the car for a few days even if it meant us lending Mr. Short a car in the meanwhile. Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} | ||