Improvements relating to the Manufacture of Explosives and to Apparatus therefor.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 7th Jan., 1891
Complete Specification Left, 6th Oct., 1891-Accepted, 7th Nov., 1841
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements relating to the Manufacture of Explosives and to
Apparatus therefor.
I, EDMUND JAMES RYVES of Crayford Works, Crayford in the County of
Kent, Electrician do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
:-
This invention relates to the treatment of explosives and may be applied to
existing forms of explosives such for instance as the nitro-explosives.
In smokeless powders of which gun-cotton is the chief ingredient, it has been
found that the products of explosion being entirely gaseous, the interior of the gun
or rifle is left so clean after cach discharge that bullets of succeeding cartridges
meet with very high and varying degrees of friction when passing through the
barrel resulting in very irregular velocities and also in very irregular and high
pressures in the chamber and barrel.
My invention relates to the manufacture of explosives in which the action of the
guncotton is toned down by the admixture of certain substances which have the
desired effect both in moderating the violence, of the explosion, and in leaving
the barrel of the fire-arm in such a condition after each discharge that the
coefficient of friction between the walls of the barrel and the bullets in any series
of discharges is always practically the same. I claim that by using e cellulose
in conjunction with tri-nitro-cellulose, tri-nitro-glycerine, and some alkaline com-
pound preferably carbonate of magnesia with or without the addition of castor oil
or similar substance, I obtain an explosive, which is suitable for use in fire-arms
not only as regards general ballistics but also in keeping qualities and chemical
stability. According to one method or process I take tri-nitro-cellulose (generally
known under the name of "insoluble" guncotton) and reduce it to a pulp in a
paper pulping machine; while still mixed with a large quantity of water or other
suitable liquid, which I prefer to be more or less heated, I add the cellulose which
I prefer to be in the form of the purest cotton or rag pulp used in the manufacture
of paper, and allow the mixture to become thoroughly incorporated in the machine,
or obtain the same result by some other convenient means.
The water or other liquid being separated as far as possible by any suitable
means, I drive off the last traces in a hot air chamber. The remainder, which
consists of a very intimate mixture of tri-nitro-cellulose and practically pure
cellulose are both of them definite and stable chemical compounds and may be
intin.ately mixed together by this method in any proportions with the greatest
facility and certainty.
or
The presence of the cellulose or similar substance in a very fine state of
division is an important feature in my invention and has a very great effect on the
burning or explosion of the guncotton; it is also important that no di-nitro-cellulose
"soluble" guncotton should be present. When perfectly dry the mixture can
be tumbled with carbonate of magnesia (or other chemical compound having
similar chemical properties) nitro-glycerine, castor oil, or other similar substance
in the presence of alcohol, ether, or other solvent, which however preferably
should have no dissolving action upon the tri-nitro-cellulose.
When all the ingredients are thus intimately mixed, the ether, alcohol, or other
solvent or solvents may be recovered by distillation or other means. The mixed
ingredients may then be pressed in a hydraulic or other press into convenient
blocks or cakes, treated with acetone, acetic ether or other convenient solvent in a
state of vapour, then spun by pressure through dies into rods, threads, or tubes,

page_text: or rolled into sheets. These rods, threads, tubes or sheets may be cut into suitable
grains or pieces for use in any size of rifle or gun.
Dated this 6th day of January 1891.
EDMUND JAMES RYVES.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements relating to the Manufacture of Explosives and to
Apparatus therefor.
I, EDMUND JAMES RYVES of Crayford Works, Crayford in the County of
Kent, Electrician do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in
and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to the treatment of explosives and may be applied to
existing well known forms of explosives, such for instance as nitro-explosives. In
smokeless powders of which guncotton is the chief ingredient, it has been found
that the products of explosion being entirely gaseous, the interior of the gun or
rifle is left so clean after each discharge that bullets of succeeding cartridges meet
with very high and varying degrees of friction when passing through the barrel
resulting in very irregular velocities and also in very irregular and high pressures
in the chamber and barrel. My invention relates to the manufacture of explosives
in which the action of the guncotton is toned down by the admixture of certain
substances which have the desired effect both in moderating the violence of explo-
sion and in leaving the interior of the barrel of the fire-arm in such a condition
after each discharge that the coefficient of friction between the wall of the barrel
and the bullets or projectiles in any series of discharges is always practically
the same.
I claim that by adding pure cellulose in the form of the purest cotton pulp to
the other ingredients usually employed in the manufacture of smokeless gun-
powders, I obtain an explosive which is suitable for use in firearms not only on
account of the reduction of pressure in the chamber of the gun or rifle during the
explosion but because of the great regularity in the velocities that its use promotes.
According to one method or process I take tri-nitro-cellulose (generally known as
insoluble guncotton) and reduce it to a pulp in a paper pulping machine or rag
engine; while still mixed with a large quantity of water or other suitable liquid
which I prefer to be more or less heated, I add the cellulose or cotton pulp and
allow the mixture to become thoroughly incorporated in the machine or obtain the
same result by some other convenient means.
The water or other liquid being separated as far as possible in any suitable
manner, 1 drive off the last traces in a hot air chamber. The remainder consists
of a very intimate mixture of tri-nitro-cellulose and practically pure cellulose
which are both definite and perfectly stable chemical compounds. They may be
intimately mixed together by this process or method in any proportions with the
greatest facility and certainty.
The presence of the cellulose or cotton pulp in a very fine state of division is an
important feature in my invention and has a very great effect on the burning or
explosion of the guncotton; it is desirable that no di-nitro-cellulose or other low
grade nitro-compounds of cellulose should be present as they are much more
unstable and lower the keeping qualities and stability of the resulting gunpowder
in a very marked degree.
When perfectly dry the mixture of cellulose and nitro-cellulose may be made up
with the other usual ingredients of smokeless powders; acetone, ethyllic acetate,
ether, alcohol or other suitable solvents being employed either in a state of vapour
or in the liquid state.
According to one method or process I take the mixture of nitro-cellulose and

page_text: cellulose and place it in an air-tight rumbler with nitro-glycerine, castor oil, car-
bonate of magnesia and a little ether or other similar solvent to facilitate the
taking up of the nitro-glycerine and castor oil; the solvent however should have
no dissolving effect upon the nitro-cellulose. When all these ingredients are
thoroughly and intimately mixed I place the rumbler in a hot water bath and
distil off and recover with a suitable condenser all traces of ether or other solvent.
I now take the mixture which is generally in the form of a fine dust and after
compressing it into blocks or cakes the better to handle the material I impregnate
it with vapour of acetone, ethyllic acetate, or other suitable solvent of the tri-
nitro-cellulose in a closed vessel which I prefer to keep heated to near the boiling
point of the solvent. I find that by exhausting the air from the vessel which
contains the blocks or cakes before turning on the vapour of acetone, ethyllic
acetate, or other solvent, the impregnation of the blocks or cakes is much hastened.
By superheating the vapour of the solvent and bringing it into contact with the
blocks or material under pressure the same hastening effect is obtained. I some-
times impregnate the material by placing it in the form of dust into a beater or
churn where the dust is well tossed up in the presence of vapour of acetone,
ethyllic acetate or other suitable solvent. When the material has taken up the
proper amount of the solvent I press it through dies by hydraulic or other pressure
into long threads, strips, sheets, tubes or other convenient forms.
With the compounds produced as above described may be incorporated various
proportions of oxidising agents such as nitrates of potassium, sodium, ammonium,
and barium, and oxidisable substances such as lamp-black, graphite, hydro-carbons
such as paraffin, vaseline and naphthaline.
I cut these threads, strips, sheets or tubes into convenient lengths or grains for
use in guns or rifles as gunpowder.
As the result of my experiments I find that the following proportions give very
good powders:
Tri-nitro-cellulose
Nitro-glycerine
Castor oil
Carbonate of magnesia
Cotton paper pulp
50
50 75
48
48 24
2
2
1
-
2
2
1
5
8
5
I mention them merely as examples and do not confine myself to these pro-
portions.
The proportion of paper pulp added for the purposes of my invention may be
varied I have found that when adding to a mixture of nitro-cellulose and nitro-
glycerine, the proportion of pulp to the whole may vary between 4 to 10 per cent.
with very good results.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is:
1
TL
L
illula
and
:
The proportion of paper pulp added for the purposes of my invention may be
varied I have found that when adding to a mixture of nitro-cellulose and nitro-
glycerine, the proportion of pulp to the whole may vary between 4 to 10 per cent.
with very good results.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is:
1. The manufacture of explosives consisting of nitre cellulose and nitro
glycerine with the addition of paper pulp substantially as and for the purposes
herein set forth.
2. The process for mixing or incorporating together cellulose with trinitro-
cellulose nitro-glycerine, castor oil, carbonate of magnesia substantially as herein-
before described.
ديم
.
EDMUND JAMES RYVES.