Material Substitution by Unknown

Author:Unknown
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Group
Published: 1983-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

Solder Usage Before and During World War II

In the prewar automobile, the dip-soldered cellular radiator was far more common than the sweat-soldered tube and fin type. During the decade preceding America’s entry into World War II, it appears that some manufacturers reduced the tin content of core dipping solder from 40–50 percent tin (Hiers, 1931, p. 250) to as low as 25–30 percent (Houssner and Johnson, 1946, p. 250). For all other tasks in the manufacture of both cellular and tubular radiators, the all-purpose 40–50 percent tin solder continued to be used.

Considerable differences exist in the published estimates of the amount of solder and tin in solder used in the prewar radiators. The National Academy of Sciences (1941) Advisory Committee on Metals and Minerals estimated that dip soldering then required about 2 pounds of tin per radiator. Given that the lowest tin content of dipping soldering then in use was 25 percent, at most 8 pounds of solder were used per radiator. However, according to Houssner and Johnson (1946, p. 249), who were both with Chrysler, prewar automotive radiator manufacture required only 1.2 pounds of tin per unit. This implies that, at most, 4.8 pounds of solder could have been used per cellular radiator, with actual solder usage presumably less as higher tin content solders were required for attachment of the tanks and fittings.

For the purpose of calculating prewar material consumption in radiator fabrication, the more precise estimates of Houssner and Johnson were favored. Specifically, it was surmised that an average automobile radiator contained 1.5 pounds of tin and 4.25 pounds of solder, implying an average tin content of about 35 percent.

With the pending entry of the United States into the world war and mounting concern over tin availability, the National Academy of Sciences Advisory Committee on Metals and Minerals suggested a measure to limit tin consumption in radiator fabrication. Noting that glycol-cooled aircraft engine radiators utilized dipping solder composed of 94–95 percent lead and 5–6 percent silver to make joints of superior strength, the committee recommended that automotive radiators adopt similar solders. To moderate silver usage, it suggested that tin-free solders with somewhat lower silver content could be utilized.11

Indeed, silver-lead solders were adopted for motor vehicle radiator dip-soldering, but apparently only by the Canadian Army for truck radiators (Houssner and Johnson, 1946, p. 249). The U.S. manufacturers of wartime motor vehicle radiators instead chose to comply with restrictions on tin availability by incrementally reducing the tin content of their solders. Manufacturers of tube and fin radiators reduced tin content from the traditional 40–50 percent to the amount permitted by the War Production Board, 32 percent. For the dip-soldering of cellular radiators, 15 percent tin was found to suffice. The attachment of the tanks to the core was performed by semiautomated procedures requiring 30 percent tin solder, but hand-soldering operations, such as the attachment of fittings, continued to require 40 percent tin solder.

Houssner and Johnson estimate that as a result of these changes, the amount of tin in both tubular and cellular radiators was reduced to about .

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