Improvements in the Production of Alloys of Aluminium.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 5th June, 1889
Complete Specification Left, 4th Mar., 1890-Accepted, 5th Apr., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Production of Alloys of Aluminium.
I, ROBERT ELLIS GREEN, of 41 Sandringham Road, Hackney, in the County
of Middlesex, Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to he as
follows:-
When desiring to form an alloy of aluminium & iron I put into a crucible, or
suitable furnace, common pig iron with fluoride of aluminium, or the double fluoride
of aluminium & potash or soda (cryolite) and sand, silica, or silicate of potash or soda,
ground & mixed; I then raise the whole to a white heat or to such a temperature as
will cause the contents of the crucible or furnace to become fused. Or I melt the
iron alone, and the fluoride of aluminium & the silica or silicious compound together
in a separate crucible, I then empty the contents of one crucible or furnace into the
other, and I maintain the whole at a white heat for a period long enough to effect
decomposition & drive off the fluoride of silicon that is formed.
The alloyed
aluminium & iron is then ready to be run into moulds.
I follow a similar procedure when forming alloys of aluminium with other metals,
substituting in place of the iron as above described the other metal with which ĺ
wish to form the alloy.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Production of Alloys of Aluminium.
I ROBERT ELLIS GREEN, late of No. 41 Sandringham Road, Hackney, in the
County of Middlesex, now of No. 5 St. John's Terrace, Southall in the said County
of Middlesex, Merchant do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to the production of alloys of aluminium with any other
alloy-forming metal; its object is to produce such alloys, not by combining metallic
aluminium, which has already been produced, with a metal, but directly by decom-
posing the fluorides of aluminium or the double fluorides of aluminium and
potassium or sodium in the presence of the metal with which it is desired to form an
alloy.
To illustrate the manner of carrying out the invention I proceed to describe the
details of the process when the object is to form an alloy of aluminium and iron.
I use a crucible or retort or any suitable furnace which will bear the heat at which
iron becomes fused, at the lower part of the crucible or furnace I fix a tuyère or inlet
pipe, connected to a supply of carburetted hydrogen or hydrogen gas. I place in
the crucible or furnace iron and fluoride of aluminium or the double fluoride of
aluminium & sodium or potassium and sometimes white sand (silica) or silicate of soda
or potash, or other compound of silicon if it be necessary; that is to say that
inasmuch as many qualities of iron contain silicon I am guided by the amount of it
that is contained in the iron which I am about to use. Thus, if the iron be free from
silicon & when desiring to produce an alloy of aluminium & iron which shall contain
one per centum of the former, to every 100 lbs. of such iron which I put into the
crucible or furnace I add 8 lbs. cryolite (double fluoride of aluminium & sodium) and
35 ounces silicate of soda, or 40 ounces silicate of potash, or 32 ounces silicon
disulphide, or 26 ounces of white sand, and I lessen the quantity of silicon compound
which must be placed in the crucible or furnace in proportion to the amount of
silicon contained in the iron in accordance with the chemical combining proportion.

page_text: Having made these calculations & put the necessary quantities of each material
into the crucible or furnace & turned on the supply of gas through the tuyère I
gradually raise the temperature of the crucible or furnace till the whole contents have
become fused. I keep up this heat for about 30 minutes when the fluoride having
decomposed, its aluminium is absorbed by the iron & the alloy formed and is ready
to be drawn off into moulds.
When using other fluorides of aluminium than the double salt I take the pro-
portionate chemical combining equivalent, thus if it be desirable to substitute the
anhydrous fluoride of aluminium (Al, Fl,) in place of cryolite I take 2 lbs. in place of
the 8 lbs. of the latter, and silicate of soda 8 ounces, & I add 6 ounces dry caustic
soda (anhydrous oxide of sodium); and in a similar manner the calculations can be
made for any of the other fluorides of aluminium or double fluorides, & the com-
pounds of silicon, it being unnecessary to give such elementary details.
Having thus described the manner in which I carry out this process when forming
alloys of aluminium & iron I have only to add that when forming alloys of aluminium
with other metals I. proceed in the same manner & use the same materials except that
I substitute the other metal with which I wish to alloy the aluminium in place of the
iron as above.
Having now particularly described & ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion & in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is
1st. The production of alloys of aluminium in the manner described.
2nd. The production of alloys of aluminium direct from the fluorides of aluminium,
or the double fluorides of aluminium & sodium or potassium, and silica, or compounds
of silicon reacting upon each other in the presence of a metal.
Dated this Fourth day of March 1890.