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).
Causes of cylinder bore wear and the need for further testing on a new cylinder material.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 132\4\ scan0149 | |
| Date | 6th July 1938 | |
| -2- Rm{William Robotham - Chief Engineer}2/R.6.7.38. We have recently changed the characteristic of our cylinder iron to facilitate Foundry work. We should keep a careful check to see whether this has increased our bore wear. Kingsbury should be asked to give us figures on chassis produced with a new type of cylinder material as soon as possible. Reviewing the position of cylinder bore wear generally, we believe there is little doubt there is a combination of a large number of factors which include, abrasive wear, both from impurities from the mixture drawn into the engine, and foreign matter in the lubricant. The particular wear which troubles us most, however, and which is aggravated by traffic conditions seems inevitably to be corrosion. The fact that we can run a high speed test in France with a wear of 3 thou. on the bore for 30,000 miles indicates that abrasion cannot be the root of the trouble. If we can show that we can obtain a figure of merit on the test rig, we are prepared to build another to expedite results; furthermore, we are prepared to allot a test bed for continuous work on cylinder bore wear if it can be shown that running under load is necessary to get results. Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer} | ||