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).
The destruction testing of a steering pivot on a reversal test rig.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 2\B002_X168\ 00000001-page117 | |
| Date | 9th June 1913 | |
| From Exp. Dept. Copies for: Mr Johnson. Mr Royce. Mr Holmsley. Mr Nadin. Report on a Further test of Steering Pivot F.3253. - A.168 This is the second pivot of the latest strong type which I have run to destruction on the reversal test rig. This pivot was .03" under thickness limit in the base of the U section below the root of the stub axle. The forging is by Hughes Johnson and is heat treated by ourselves. The crankshaft which oscillates the pivot was run at a speed of 375 revs per minute, thus giving 750 reversals per min. This speed was maintained and the pivot showed a slight crack after 56 hours running and broke off after running 60 hours 10 minutes. A noticeable feature is that we break a large number of cross steering levers on this test now. On this pivot alone no less than 10 levers were broken, the life of them being as follows. 12 hours. 3 " 45 mins. 6 " 45 " 3 " 33 " 12 " 25 " 8 " 3 " 1 " 15 " 2 " 15 " 2 " 15 " The length of life varies so much and is so inconsistent that it looks as if the material of the levers themselves | ||