1、The Ricardo Story Sir Harry Ricardo (1885-1974) was one ofthe true pioneers ofthe internal com ustion en!ine. #escri in! hisown life and the technical developments he witnessed and influenced% Ricardos story reflects the zest and passionate interest that led him to the top of his profession. The Ric
2、ardo Story is a first-hand ac- count of the authors many technicalreakthrou!hs. Ricardo discusses his early% pre-World War * work on the internal com ustion en!ine. He de- si!ned the en!ines forthefirsttanks in 191+. He was pro a ly the first en!i- neerto investi!ate the pro lem ofknock in en!ines.
3、He was responsi le for many developments in the desi!n of en!ines for World War * aircraft. The Ricardo Story also covers the post-war transformation ofthe internal com ustion en!ine% how his work as- sisted the first non-stop Atlantic fli!ht% and the 1919 formation of his own company offerin! resea
4、rchto industry% which still prospers as RicardoConsult- in! En!ineers Ltd. His le!acy? TheRicardotur ulenthead% the Ricardo research en!ine% the RicardoCometcom ustion system that heralded the diesel as an automotive power unit% and much more all reco!nized as the product of this pio- neer andthe ra
5、dical developments dur- in! the formative years of the internal com ustion en!ine. Told with the mans characteristic warmth and modesty% The Ricardo Story is a fascinatin! account ofthose historic days and achievements.Harry R. RicardoTHE R*CAR#O STORY The Auto io!raphy of Sir Harry Ricardo% Pioneer
6、 of En!ine Research Second Edition SAE Historical Series Pu lishedy: Society ofAutomotive En!ineers% *nc. 400 Commonwealth #rive Warrendale% PA 1509+-0001First pu lished as Memories and Machines: The Pattern ofMy Life y Consta le Rolls- Royce pic; Cam rid!e University; RAE Farn orou!h; British Aeros
7、pace; and to #rs Kate Bertram and Camilla Bosanquet% dau!hters ofthe late Sir Harry Ricardo. #on GoodsellForeword When Harry Ricardo was first asked to write a ook on the internal com ustion en!ine more than fifty years a!o% he relates that theinvitation came as a surprise to him% for althou!h almos
8、t since irth he had immersed himselfin en!ines ofall kinds% he was youn! and little known. He took up the invitation and a faintly derisive family complained that instead of retirin! like a proper author to a study% he would write amid the hu u of family life%ut the ook that resulted ecame a much lo
9、ved classic and successive editions were to remain in print until the present day. One ofthe ori!inal instructions was that the ook was to e written in reada le En!lish and it is interestin! that T.R. Henn% writin! in i9+0 in his ook Sciencein Writin!quoted a passa!e from it in support of his inclus
10、ion of the author as a master ofclear exposition and style amon! such others as ew- ton% Gil ert White and #arwin. *t was not until 1930 that * was old enou!h to ecome aware ofthe author% y which time he was% * suppose% a distin!uished thou!h not yet a famous man. Ofthat* was unaware%ut* knew that h
11、e was an ideal uncle. He had always a !enius for children% an endless supply of stories% tall and very tall% and his incessant passion for makin! thin!s meant that some project was always on hand whether it was the question of a model car or oat to amuse the very youn!% or the construction of a floa
12、tin! !reen- house to test a theory ofmarket !ardenin!. The Ricardo house- hold was characterisedy a tremendous capacity for enjoyment% and my cousins !rew up amidst a ran!e of excitin! activities punctuated at intervalsy extensive travel to distant parts. This ook recounts the episodes that the auth
13、or considers most si!nificantoth as re!ards hisownfulllifeandthetechnical developments which he has seen and influenced. *t isofinterest that the year ofhis irth (1885) was also the irthofthe first real motor cars% forin that yearoth #aimler and Benz in Germany firstmaderoadvehiclesfittedwithinterna
14、lcom ustion en!ines.The episodes are recounted very modestly% andin descri in! his career at Cam rid!e the author attri utes a !reat deal to the then Professor ofMechanical Sciences Bertram Hopkinson% for his teachin!and% a ove all% for his encoura!ement andinvitation to assist in hisresearch pro!ra
15、mme. Hopkinsons ideas were well ahead ofhis time%ut he made an apt choice ofassistant in the under!raduate who%efore the a!e of twenty% seemed to have a sor ed most of the current knowled!e of the internal com-ustion en!ine% and who was at thattime desi!nin! a two-stroke en!ine to em ody an o scure
16、theory put forwardy #u!ald Clerk. The en!ine% known as the #olphin% is coveredy a patent specification dated 190+(in which theauthor is descri ed as a student) and proved so successful that it was made under licensey a num er of firms until the out reak of war extin- !uished the market for it. Befor
17、e Cam rid!e cameschool%andtheaccountof schooldays !iven here% while resem lin! those of others writin! from a similarack!round% is particularly interestin! in the picture it paints ofthe prospects for anyone wantin! to learn anythin! of science or technolo!y. *n one of the est schools in a country !
18、rown rich lar!elyecause of its lead in technical development% the official timeta le scarcely trou led a out such thin!s. For- tunately it was a tolerant esta lishment that allowed the author to develop his favourite pastime of findin! out for himself%ut clearly a !ood deal ofdetermination was neede
19、d to do so. *n the First World War the author implies that it was only y chance that he was a le to make any worthwhile contri ution after two misera le years of inactivity. *n fact it was a case of opportunity offered to a well-prepared mind. The authorities were slow to reco!nise the si!nificance
20、ofthe internal com us- tion en!ine in warfare% ut when the need for en!ines suddenlyecame insistent oth for new developments such as the Tanks% and for the disre!arded aeroplane% it was essential to mo ilise all the talent that this country afforded. Amon! the small and of people who knewwhat they w
21、ere doin!% Ricardos knowled!e and experience commanded respect% and it was for this reason thatthechancewas !iven tohim. TheTankswereto play a lar!e part inrin!in! the war to an end% ut at their irth there wasno en!ine of adequatepower availa lefor them% andtheirwhole future depended upon the rapid
22、development of an en!ine to meet their peculiar requirements. This challen!e the author was a le to meet%ut it wasy !oodjud!ment rather thany luck. The start and early days of the company that is now known allaroundtheworld as Ricardos isrecounted modestlyenou!h toward the end of the ook. *t must ha
23、ve seemed an unlikely venture to succeed and must rank as one ofthe very few enter- prises that have een a le to make research and development pay without enefitof !rants orsu sidies.There were% of course% hard times in the early days%ut many who joined thefirm then were to remain forthe whole ofthe
24、ir workin! lives; the founder was a le to provide not only the necessary technical leadershiput a certainuoyancy of spirit that is so apparent in the pa!es ofthis ook. He madeit fun. By the timeofthe Second World War reco!nition was widespread% and honours% medals% doctor- ates and acclaim were to c
25、ome freely from this country and a road. A !reat deal ofwork has een carried out in the la oratories at Shoreham- y-Sea in the fifty years existence ofthe firm%ut pro a ly no sin!le project has een of !reater si!nificance than the initial pro!ramme to investi!ate knock in the petrol en!ine% supporte
26、d y the Shell Petroleum Company in 1919. *n whatnow seems a remarka ly short time the pro!ramme had more than fulfilled its o jects% and provided the means for !reat advances in fuel quality to e made. That the pro!ramme was so quickly fulfilled was a!ain due to the fact that the author had already
27、formed a clear picture of the pro a le mechanisms of knock from his own early work. By the end of the First World War others had tum led to the si!nificance of knock and had alsoe!un to research into it%ut when in 1913 Ricardo persuaded a consultin! chemist to supply him with samples of different fuelsin orderto assessthem on hisown test en!ine inthe !arden at Walton-on-Thames he was pro a ly the first person ever to attack the pro lem methodically. The successofthe pro!ramme !ave the new company a flyin! start% and the importance and inte!rity ofthe work carried out
