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 failure of an aluminium front expansion box on an exhaust system and a request for a steel replacement.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 14\6\ Scan164 | |
| Date | 11th July 1930 | |
| To BY.{R.W. Bailey - Chief Engineer} From Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}/Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer} To E.{Mr Elliott - Chief Engineer} To Da.{Bernard Day - Chassis Design} X7230 Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}/Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer}1/WJ.11.7.30. We have received the following report from G.W.Hancock, dated 8.7.30. :- "We have today sent you the following telegram - FRONT EXPANSION BOX COLLAPSED BEYOND REPAIR. The flange where the downtake pipe is joined to the front expansion chamber completely collapsed during the early part of this morning's run. Also a large hole was burnt through the aluminium box by the escape of the exhaust gas. The pipe finally dropped completely away. The cause of the failure in the first place is the weak flanges; these cracked, then opened outwards, and the exhaust gas then was sufficiently hot to melt the aluminium. This front expansion chamber cannot be as strong as the one previously run on 23-EX., as there was no failure of this kind took place. We are endeavouring to rig up a straight through pipe for the time being, but it certainly means that the cast aluminium box is a failure. Can you send the steel front expansion box with an intermediate pipe made to suit the sliding joint?. Otherwise, we cannot carry on." GWH.{George W. Hancock - Head Chateauroux} You will therefore observe that the aluminium in the exhaust pipe has failed completely on this car. | ||