The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1883-05-24
The Basic Process Introduced in
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To the Secretary of the American Iron and Steel
Association.
SIR The PENNSYLVANIA Steel Company,
having found it unnecessary to work their
original plant on account of the large pro-
duct OF their new hree-converter plant,
determined to make u test OF the basic pro-
cess, and accordingly commenced two OF
three months ago to make such alterations
in the old plant as would suffice to give the
new process Il practical test. The altera-
tions consist principally of the change of a
cupola into calcining kiln for calcining the
dolomite, arrangements for preparing the
dolomite for use, and the moulds requisite
for putting the dolomite into place in
the cupolas and converters. The prepare
lions having been completed, u start was
made on Monday, May 18th, 1888, and the
first heat of basic steel ever made in this
country was q decided success, the steel
showing excellent physical tests and was
suitable for boiler plate, although not so
low in phosphorus as other heats made la
ter with longer soverblow."
The dolomite was obtained from the ex-
tenSiye deposits at ChickieS, Lancaster
county, Pa, and the lime for the ''addi-
tiOns'' was from the immediate vicinity of
the works. The pig iron used was made
at the Lochiel Furnace, under the super
vision of the Pennsylvania Steel Company,
of pudding furnace cinder and South
Mountain ores. and contained of manga
nese and phosphorus each about q per
cent, and of silicon, about l per cent,
being principally notified in grade.
The process has continued regularly
every day and with very encouraging re-
suits. 1t may be expected that various
difficulties and drawbacks will appear in
time, as is usually the case in such expert
ments, but so far the results have been
very good. The steel has been subjected
to very severe Hanging and punching tests,
and shows great fitness for many purposes,
according to the carboniZation obtained, in
some respects excelling any former pro-
duct at the works.
The Pennsylvania Steel Company is to be
congratulated on this successful introduce
tion of a process so important in its rela-
ton to our future history.
Yours truly, BASIC STEEL.
Several specimens of the steel described
above, have been sent to the Philadelphia
office of the Pennsylvania Steel Company,
No. POS South Fourth Street, where we
have had the pleasure Of examining them.
There are several bars which have been
broken to exhibit in the fracture the char
acteristics OF the steel. 1t presents hand
some appearance, fully equal to that of any
other method The label on one of the
bars, which was taken from heat No. l,
states that the pig iron from which this
steel was made was smelted from one-half
pudding furnace cinder and one-half iron
ore from South Mountain, Cumberland
county, Pa. the pig iron contained q per
cent. of phosphorus, p per cent, of man
ganese, and per cent. silicon; the steel
contained 0.04 per cent. of phosphorus,
OPS per cent. of manganese, and 0.29 per
cent of carbon. Some flat bars shown had
been plunged in water when hot and then
bent cold and hammered down fiat with
out showing any fracture But perhaps
the finest sample on exhibition is plate
Hanged hot, on which the fiange is as per-
feet as if the material had been the best
charcoal hammered plate iron. In other
parts of the plate, holes were cold punched
without cracking the plate in the least,
and in one case two holes were punched
within one. sixteenth of an inch of each
other without cracking the intervening
steel. These tests show very clearly the
excellent quality of the basic steel made by
the Pennsylvania Steel Company, and de-
monstrate that so far us chemical and me-
chanical results are concerned the basic
process is Il complete success Editor
R,1Iofi,,