IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO THE CASTING OF IRON OR STEEL INGOTS
Year: 1885

page_text: Ingots.
I, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON, Fel. Inst. P.A. of the Agency for Foreign
Patent Solicitors, 6 Lord Street, Liverpool in the county of Lancaster, and
323. High Holborn in the county of Middlesex, Civil Engineer do hereby declare
the nature of the said invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO THE
CASTING OF IRON OR STEEL INGOTS, (a communication from abroad by Adalbert
Kurzwernhart and Ernst Bertrand, of Zuckmantel near Teplitz in the Empire of
Austria Inventors) to be as follows:-
Since the introduction of the basic process or Thomas process it has been possible
to produce a quality of ingot-iron softer than has yet been attained by the
ordinary Bessemer process. Although articles made of this soft Thomas-ingot-iron,
in consequence of its excellent quality have hitherto successfully rivalled many
articles made of the welded iron, it has not given so favourable a result as the
welded iron in the production of the smaller and smallest sections of the ordinary
commercial sorts of iron.
The reason is, that the forged lump of welded iron resulting from the puddling
process is so small in cross section, that a further rolling will cause but small
expense, whilst the rolling of the large sizes of the ingot-iron to the required
section of the small ordinary commercial sort will be very expensive. For this
reason metallurgists for some time past have attempted to obtain very small ingots
of soft iron by casting into ingot moulds of a very small cross section.
But the difficulties met in this operation have not yet entirely been removed.
For when these ingots are cast out of a shank into chills of relatively small cross
sections, more or less large openings and dead heads will be caused on the upper
end in consequence of the property of the soft Thomas ingot-iron "to settle." The
dead heads will represent a considerable percentage of useless debris.
It has been attempted to prevent as much as possible the formation of these
heads by first introducing the metal into a sort of plate for the purpose of facili-
tating the escape of the gases; from the plate the metal was then conducted
through many small openings into the several chills. But here likewise as in many
other methods, in really soft ingot iron the useless heads have not been done away
with.
1

page_text: A somewhat better result was attained by the so-called communicating casting
wherein the metal flows out of a middle central mould through channels arranged
on the under side of the central mould into chills, which are a little lower than the
said central mould and surround the same.
The metal raises afresh in these chills, the cross section whereof is a little
smaller than that of the central mould. Although the heads caused by this method
are generally in a better condition, cavities in the heads of these ingots and
consequently dead heads will be here also produced by the gases escaping upwards
in the chills. This method has the advantage however that pretty clean heads are
obtained, when it is not absolutely necessary to work the metal in an entirely soft
condition when the ingot-iron may be somewhat harder and when extremely small
cross sections are not required.
But the question of producing soft ingot-iron without any dead head is not yet
solved and will be so much the less by the so-called communicating casting, the
softer the ingot-iron is and the smaller the required cross section of the ingot.
By the use of the following invention ingots of the smallest cross sections and
even of the softest iron can be cast without faults on their upper surfaces. From
the results of other methods it appears that ingots can only be clean on their upper
surface, which have no head at all, that is to say the upper surface of which is,
properly speaking not yet the end of the ingot. For this purpose the ingots are
arranged in such a way, that they are not independent ingots, but form only the
lower part of a larger ingot, so that the head of the larger and upper ingot serves
also for the heads of the smaller and lower ingots.
The principle of this arrangement is as follows:-
Upon a certain number of chills of a small cross section is placed a casting mould
of any suitable shape and made of iron or of refractory material into which the
liquid metal is poured.
The ingot forming in this casting-mould may be called the "gas collector” because
its principal purpose consists in collecting the gases coming out of the secondary
ingots and in letting them escape through its mass.
It will of course be advantageous to give such a shape and size to the gas collector
that it may be used for further working off for corresponding purposes. It is not
necessary to arrange the lower small chills in a vertical way; they may also be
horizontally arranged when there is a larger number, or preferably in a somewhat
inclined position, radially round the gas collector at different heights. In these
cases the gases escaping out of the small ingots can escape into the gas collector
and here rise upwards; the gases will not therefore cause waste heads at the ends
of the small ingots, since they do not remain here and since the hollow space formed
by the escape of the gases is immediately filled up by the liquid contents from the
gas collector without any air being admitted.
To facilitate and to accelerate the escape of the gases into the gas collector it is
advisable not to arrange the secondary ingots horizontally but in a somewhat inclined
position. The gases are caused to escape easily and rapidly by a vertical arrange-
ment of the secondary ingots; the separation of the secondary ingots from the
principal ingot is also less laborious by this arrangement, so that for that reason
this arrangement is preferably employed when it is not especially required to cast
the largest number of secondary ingots from a principal ingot.
When very small ingots are not required but those somewhat larger in diameter,
that is to say, when it is not intended to cast them of very small cross-sections but
rather of somewhat larger cross section and with clean heads it is advisable to
intercalate between the casting mould and the lower chills an intermediate plate,
which is preferably made of refractory material and not of iron. Otherwise the
steel may not enter in a uniform manner, and these would form in the several chills
scales and crusts which would not properly unite with the metal afterwards run in,
and thus would form scaly ingots, whilst also in somewhat larger cross-sections,
castings are obtained by the intercalation of the intermediate plate, which are free
from scales. The holes in the plate are made so large that they do not become

page_text: clogged as long as gases are flowing out of the lower ingots, so that on one side
these gases cannot remain in the small ingots but are obliged to escape into the
gas-collector, and on the other side the liquid metal in the gas collector can fill up
the hollow space produced by the escape of the gases out of the secondary ingots.
In this way the gases do not produce a pernicious effect in the secondary ingots.
The separation of the secondary ingots from the principal ingot is also facilitated
by the intermediate plate.
Ingots can be cast in this manner of liquid iron as well as of liquid steel in very
small cross-sections and also larger ingots without any head, whether the gas-
collector be made of iron or of refractory material and whether the gas-collector
be smaller or larger than the secondary ingots.
When it is desired to have the gas-collector smaller than the secondary ingots,
the plate may be made thicker so that it will have the appearance of a system of
sloping inclined channels, or a plate may be used, above which the passage is formed
by a funnel-shaped space.
In all these arrangements the gases ejected by the secondary ingots escape into
the gas-collector and through the same whereby the formation of heads in the
secondary ingots is prevented. Care must be taken that the openings in the plate,
are of a sufficient size to suit circumstances.
W P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Agents for the Applicants.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
:
Improvements in or relating to the Casting of Iron or Steel
Ingots.
I, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON, Fel. Inst. P.A. of the Agency for Foreign
Patent Solicitors 6 Lord Street, Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, and
823 High Holborn, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention (a communication from abroad by Adalbert
Kurzwernhart and Ernst Bertrand of Zuckmantl near Teplitz, Austria) and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:-
This invention comprises an apparatus and method for casting small ingots or
billets of steel or malleable iron, essentially consisting in an arrangement of moulds
in such a manner, that a number of small ingots are cast through a central or main'
mould, subsequently acting as a gas collector, below or about which the moulds'
for said billets or ingots are grouped, so that each and every one of them is in
direct connection with and practically forming an elongation or parts of the ingot
..

page_text: cast in the main mould mentioned above, and that further said moulds for the
small ingots or billets are grouped in such position, with reference to the position
of the main mould, that all the gases evolved by the ingot metal in the secondary
moulds after casting may rise and pass directly into the mould enclosing the main
ingot, and escape through this into the atmosphere.
For the explanation of the invention it is necessary to state, that its object was
originally to cast small ingots or billets of the softest grades of malleable iron
produced by the Basic or Thomas process, which metal contains dissolved in its
fluid state, immense quantities of gases, which it evolves as it cools after casting,
Experience has however shown, that the same arrangement, as described hereafter,
may be also applied to great advantage in casting small ingots of all kinds of steel
or malleable iron.
The property of evolving gases after casting, is so great in the softest grades of
basic steel or malleable iron, that the metal is caused to spurt and boil up in the
moulds excessively, frequently, overflowing, and then settling down and leaving
the upper half hollow in the shape of a pipe, if fresh hot metal be not repeatedly
filled into the mould and even then the head of the ingot will be hollow and
spongy and that the more so, the narrower was the section of the mould, causing
in proportion a very high percentage of loss in the shape of cross ends.
The method of casting small ingots or billets free of hollow or spongy heads,
thereby avoiding said loss by crop-ends, consists in principle in casting them
without any head at all that is, as parts of a larger ingot. To this end the moulds
are arranged as shown in Figures Nos 1, 2, 5, 6 and 8, care being taken at the
same time, that the position of the secondary moulds m, m, m, with reference to
the main mould M be in all cases such, that all gases from the former may rise
into the latter, and through this escape into the atmosphere. Without this pre-
caution the gases would remain and accumulate in some spot of the secondary ingot
and there form a spongy part.
For the purpose of protecting the upper rim of the secondary moulds from the
action of the falling stream of hot metal, and further with a view of separating
the secondary ingots from the main ingot with greater facility, a plate P (as shown
in Figure 3) consisting of refractory material of some kind is interposed between
the main mould M and the secondary moulds m, m, m.
Said intermediate plate P is held within an iron frame, in order to protect it
from cracking or breaking. It is further provided with as many holes as there are
small secondary moulds grouped below the main mould, the position of the holes
naturally corresponding with the position of the secondary moulds m, m, m.
The diameter of the holes must correspond in a certain proportion to the section
of the secondary ingots cast so that the metal after casting will not chill and get
stiff within the holes, but remain perfectly fluid for as long a period of time as the
process of evolving gases from the metal in the secondary moulds lasts, so that
not only all gases evolved within the latter may rise and pass freely from each
secondary directly into the main mould, but that also such a quantity of still fluid
metal from the main mould M as is necessary to fill up the volume originally
occupied by the gases, may freely find its way directly into each one of the
secondary moulds m, m, m.
The connection between the metal in the main mould M and that in each one of
the secondary moulds m, m, m, is consequently also in the arrangement, as shown
in Figure 3, so close and of such a nature, that, with reference to the behaviour of
the metal during and after the process of casting, the secondary ingots m, m, m,
actually form nothing else than elongations or lower parts of the main ingot M.
This immediate and close connection between the main ingot and each and every
one of the secondary ingots is a characteristic feature of the arrangement, and not
existing in any other method of casting ingots.
+
In the same measure as the level of the metal settles down in the main mould M
in consequence of the escape of the gases, fresh hot metal is added from the ladle
and this action repeated as often as is necessary to form an ingot, the same as

page_text: would result when casting ingots as usual, and the secondary moulds were not at
all existing.
Various patents are in existence for the simultaneous casting of a number of
ingots or castings through a receiver or through a shaft or pipe, but it is obvious
with reference to the above explanation that the mould, enclosing the main ingot,
is by no means a receiver or a shaft or pipe since the ingot formed by it, is actually
an ingot the same as if it were cast in the ordinary manner.
The practical result of this difference is, that in casting through a receiver or a
shaft or pipe a certain part of the metal used will result in the shape of skull or
scrap of some kind, while the present arrangement produces, barring the insignificant
quantity of metal in the holes of the plate P only sound and useful ingots and no
skull or scrap.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is
The arrangement for casting ingots or billets of malleable iron or steel as set
forth and described and further shown in the drawing, through a central or main
mould, with which main mould one or more secondary moulds stand each in so
direct and immediate communication, and in such position to said main mould,
that all gases evolved by the metal in the secondary moulds after casting may
freely rise and pass into the main gas collecting mould and escape through it into
the atmosphere. Further that the connection or communication between the main
mould and each and every one of the secondary moulds be so direct and of such
a nature, that the volume originally occupied by the gases evolved is filled by metal
freely passing from the main mould into all the secondary moulds.