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).
Methods to reduce engine heat in the passenger cabin.
| Identifier | WestWitteringFiles\K\September1923\ Scan102 | |
| Date | 12th September 1923 | |
| CJ. BJ. PN.{Mr Northey} LHS.{Lord Herbert Scott}) LORD WARGRAVE. ) FROM R.{Sir Henry Royce} MR.A.CLAREMONT. ) c. to HS.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} EP.{G. Eric Platford - Chief Quality Engineer} RG.{Mr Rowledge} HY.{Tom Haldenby - Plant Engineer} BY.{R.W. Bailey - Chief Engineer} re. HEAT FROM ENGINE. I notice that CJ. mentions the desirability (if necessary) of spending money to reduce the above. I would like to point out the possibilities as I view them. They are put down here in their order of importance and their probable order of effectiveness. (1) The most effective way to reduce the heat under the scuttle is by the addition of more air to that which is under the scuttle. This has been done in various ways with side and top ventilating doors. (2) At the same time it will be remembered that we have just standardised a system of keeping the dashboard and scuttle separated by about 5/16". The prime object of this is to reduce the risk of vibration by communicating from the dashboard to the scuttle, but it should however give quite a quantity of fresh air fairly uniformly all round the scuttle andcontribute quite materially to making the heat of the engine felt less by those occupying the front seats of the car. (3) In addition to doing all we can in ventilation our next object should be to reduce the flow of heated air through the floorboards and dashboard. Todo this it is advisable to have the most perfect floorboards we know how to make, and these should be made of such timber as to warp the least, and fitted with carefully made joints, probably with rubber, so as to be quite airtight. The timber they are made from should be light and not liable to warp. This I suggest might be American bay-wood (sometimes called mahogany) such as we use for foundry pattern making. They should have all the metal joints possible that will add to their air-tightness, and be arranged like the present Goshawk so as to demand only a small hole for the passage of the pedal stem. In addition to doing all we possibly can to prevent any heated air passing through the floorboards or dashboard we ought to do all that is possible to prevent the heat passage by conductivity. We believe this has been attempted in many ways and that we are now fitting an agglomerate cork to the upper surface of the floorboard, and I suggest a similar insulating layer on the driver's side of the dashboard. (1) | ||