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 an experiment observing water and sediment pick-up from an oil sump using motion pictures.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 135\3\ scan0085 | |
| Date | 25th October 1934 guessed | |
| Motion pictures were taken of this operation and the results of the draw-off. It is very interesting to note the high percentage of water which is in the neighbourhood of 20 per cent which can be seen in the glass syringe which was used in this operation. The height of the mouth of the syringe from the bottom of the sump was controlled by a depth gauge attached to the body of the instrument, all of which can be very plainly seen in the pictures. Various still pictures have been enlarged from the motion pictures above referred to. Photographs Number 4-5-6 etc, are illustrative of the conditions encountered and also illustrate the point above discussed namely the water content in the oil in the syringe. It should be apparent after witnessing the motion pictures and observing the still enlargements in conjunction with the laboratory test for water content that the B.W.P. device does not, even in cases of the most violent surging, pick up water from the bottom of the sump, even though that quantity be to the extreme, and since the water has not been disturbed it follows that the sediment would likewise be left undisturbed inasmuch as sediment lies below the protecting coat of the water. It should not be construed that the lack of sediment pick-up was due to the protective coat of water, and statement is merely made to illustrate the reason why sediment was not added to the oil quantity on this particular test. The test illustrates that the violence of the upward currents of oil flow in the region of the water and sediment in the bottom of the sump is sufficiently mild that water is not disturbed. In the absence of water it must be logical to assume that the dirt and sediment would be less likely to be disturbed because of the difference in their relative weight as compared to water. In other words, if the upward current of the oil will not disturb water, it is hardly plausible to expect sediment to be | ||