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).
Analysis of the performance and design flaws of an electrical regulator and cut-out apparatus.
| Identifier | WestWitteringFiles\F\February1921\ Scan69 | |
| Date | 2nd February 1921 | |
| Contd. -2- EFCL/T2.2.21. propose giving figures for this operation as we do not think the cut-out portion is well designed. The chief objection we have to this is the large inertia of the moving arm so that when the cut-out is correctly adjusted for 12 volts, a sudden shock delivered upwards to the apparatus will cause the contacts momentarily to close. The regulator portion of the apparatus would appear at first sight to be capable of working quite well and except for the fact that some small irregularity at the contact surfaces developed during our tests, mechanically this is borne largely borne out by experiment. We are more particularly referring to the fact that with this apparatus, except when fairly hot, when some unsteadiness was experienced, the open circuit voltage and closed circuit current are fairly steady as compared with other vibrator regulators. Any want of steadiness that developed seemed to be due to slight contact surface irregularity. So long as the contact surfaces were clean and flat, the steadiness was quite remarkable, so much so that one felt that in order to convince oneself that the regulator was working, one had to gently touch the movable arm of the regulator and notice the immediate difference produced in the voltage or current reading. Our reasons for stating, as at first, that the apparatus as arranged is not suitable, lie mainly in the electrical arrangement of the windings. Reference to the Contd. | ||