Manufacture of Composition for the Construction of Roadways, Pavements, Building-blocks, Telegraph Poles, Railway Sleepers, and similar Articles and for the Manufacture of Fire Proof and
Year: 1888

page_text: Manufacture of Composition for the Construction of Roadways,
Pavements, Building-blocks, Telegraph Poles, Railway Sleepers,
and similar Articles, and for the Manufacture of Fire Proof and
I, OLIVER IMRAY, of No. 28 Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Fellow of the Institute of Patent Agents 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 :-
My invention relates to a material or composition for the construction of roadways,
pavements and building blocks and for the manufacture of fire proof and preservativo
paint to protect metallic objects exposed to the weather such as roofs, or bridges or
timber exposed to the ravages of insects or to dampness and decay, and for water
proofing walls, roofs, and the like.
I will first describe the manufacture of paint according to my invention.
I use for the solid base of the paint the refuse slag from gold and silver reduction
works known as "iron slag" from its containing a large percentage of iron [rotoxide
along with silica, lime, and other substances.

page_text: In this material the proportions of the constituents often varies as shown by the
following analyses taken from a number of samples.
No 1
No
The greater portion is composed of iron and silica combined so as to form a kind
of iron glass which possesses qualities rendering it especially suitable as the base of a
waterproof and preservativo composition.
This iron slag or glass is reduced to a fine powder and thoroughly mixed with
other ingredients in about the following proportions.

page_text: thoroughly mixed together, and the asphalt and petroleum are then added, the
materials being thoroughly mixed while in a heated state. The proportions given
above may
be varied within certain limits according as the constitution of the slag
may require.
I
In laying the roadway or pavement the ground is first levelled and the bed is
brought to the desired curve or radius. If the bed be hard or clay soil, the com-.
position may be laid directly on it. If the bed be on sandy or soft soil it is preferable
to spread on it a layer, a few inches in thickness of crushed slag well tamped and;
compacted.
The first layer or course spread on the-hed consists of about 75 parts of the slag.
crushed so as to pass readily through a twenty mesh screen, about 5 per cent. of talc,
5 per cent. fire clay and 2 per cent. of lime, and when these ingredients are thoroughly?
mixed about 10 per cent. of crude or commercial asphaltum and 2 to 3 per cent..of
crude petroleum are thoroughly mixed with the previous ingredients..
This first layer being well compacted, a second or surface layer is laid thereon
consisting of the same ingredients, prepared in the same manner, except that the slag
is broken or crushed much coarser, say of such size as would pass through an inch
ring or even larger, the heavier and better wearing composition thus forming the
surface.
In order to unite the two layers thoroughly and to render the pavement more firm
and to avoid the "creeping" of the compound from the crown to the edges, especially
when the road is curved, timbers may be embedded in the layers braced if necessary
by cross timbers.
I
Practically the longitudinal timbers may be 2×4 or 2×6 inches in cross section
placed 4 to 6 feet apart, and similar cross timbers may be laid on them both sets of
timbers being thoroughly imbedded in the composition.
In forming the composition for the manufacture of building blocks and similar
articles the slag is finely pulverised and fire clay and talc together with red oxido of
iron, or the brick clay of commerce also finely pulverised are intimately mingled with
the pulverised slag in the proportions of about fifty parts of the slag, twenty fivo
parts of fire clay and tale and fifteen parts of red oxido of iron or brick clay.
To this mixture are added 5 to 8 parts of asphaltum dissolved in benzine or spirits
of turpentine and 2 to 5 parts of crudo petroleum.
These ingredients are thoroughly mingled and the plastic mass is placed in a mould
of the desired form where it is subjected to powerful hydraulic pressure varying from
one to five tons per square inch. When taken from the mould the block is heated to
burn out the crude petroleum and asphalt and to bring the basic slag to a pasty or
plastic condition. It is then cooled and is ready for use.
The colour of the block may be varied from cream colour to brick red by melting
the slag and by altering the percentage of the red oxide of iron and fire clay.
Designs may be moulds on the block by using suitable moulds or by applying a
die with hydraulic pressure after moulding but before firing to burn out the petroleum
and asphalt.
The bricks or building blocks thus formed are practically non inflammable and even
fire proof.
The same composition may be used for telegraph poles; the composition may bo
moulded in pieces of tubular form and these may be filled with a coro of wood or of
plastic material. The composition may also be used for railway sleepers in which
case it is preferred to employ a wooden or other core or two cores one near each end
connected by a metal rod.
This core gives an elastic support to the rails and allows for attachment of the
rails by spikes.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
:-
1. The manufacture of a composition for paint, paving, and building blocks and

page_text: similar purposes, consisting essentially of the slag from gold and silver reduction
works mingled with asphalt and other ingredients substantially as described.
2. The construction of a road way or pavement consisting of the composition
referred to in the preceding claim laid in two layers, the lower layer being composed
of the finer and the upper layer of the coarser composition with or without timbering
substantially as described.
3. The manufacturo of building blocks and similar articles, by moulding under
pressure the composition above referred to, intimately mingled with dissolved
asphaltum and crude petroleum and afterwards burning these out of the moulded
articles, substantially as described.
4. The manufacture of paint by mingling the composition above referred to, having
its solid ingredients finely pulverised with asphaltum and a liquid paint vehicle such
as oil or turpentine, substantially as described.