Manufacture of an Alloy of Copper and Iron.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 16th Feb., 1897-Accepted, 15th May, 1897
Manufacture of an Alloy of Copper and Iron.
I, AIMÉ FELIX MARIE VICTOR BARON, of 45 Broadway, New York of The
Baron Manufacturing Company, of New York, United States of America Chemist
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 :-
Many attempts have heretofore been made to produce alloys of copper and iron, or
copper and one of the alloys of iron.
Such alloys have been produced in isolated laboratory experiments, and the few
physical tests that have been made bave proved that they are both hard and
tenacious. The difficulty encountered by all experimenters however is, that when
the two metals are melted together or melted separate and mixed in a melted
condition, or when an attempt is made to dissolve iron in a bath of copper, they do
not produce a homogeneous alloy, and the resulting ingots exhibit segregation to such
a degree as to render the product unreliable and unfit for general use in the arts.
Further, it has been also found impossible to obtain a homogeneous alloy of copper
and iron containing a predetermined amount of each metal, for the reason that the
metals when heated are subjected to oxidation to such an indefinite extent that
the alloy produced will upon assay shew that the relative proportion of the two metals
has been materially altered.
For the above reasons, copper-iron alloys have never been made use of in mechanical
constructions.
The object of my invention is to produce a homogeneous alloy of the two metals,
copper and iron, and indefinite predetermined proportions, and thus to realize the
practical manufacture of a product which, while it has the general characteristics
of copper, is, by the addition of the iron, given other characteristics, among which
are hardness and tenacity.
To carry my invention into effect, I use crucibles, preferably graphite, or any
suitable melting furnace. The copper is placed in the crucible or furnace, and when
it has reached a heat which may vary between cherry and very bright red, I add to it
a certain quantity of a mixture consisting of oxalic acid and resin.
use about two thirds oxalic acid to about one third resin, but this proportion need not
I preferably
be strictly adhered to, as a considerable deviation from it does not prevent useful
action. When the copper is melted, I introduce the iron in the required proportion,
either hot or cold, but preferably hot. By the term iron I wish to be understood as
referring to the iron of trade, or the alloys of iron and carbon such as are commonly
known as steel or cast iron. I have obtained useful results by the use of fifty
grammes of the above described mixture of oxalic acid and resin for one hundred
Kilogrammes of alloy; but this proportion may be considerably departed from, even
to doubling the quantity of the described mixture, without injury to the result, the
action, in my opinion, being simply by presence and not by chemical combination;
or, in other words, the function of the mixture, at least its partial function-is to
produce an atmosphere which prevents oxidation of the iron and copper and thereby
permits the iron to be dissolved in the copper, forming what may be termed a
solidified solution of iron in copper, or otherwise, a homogeneous copper-iron alloy.
Instead of using the described mixture of oxalic acid and resin, I may add to the
copper, or to the mixture of iron and copper, any oxalate or similar organic salt of the
Price 8d.1

page_text: character which on decomposition by heat will envolve carbon-monoxide, carbon-
dioxide and water; or, I may first produce the gases mentioned and then bring about
the solution of iron in the copper in the presence of such gases. Among the
materials which I have found by experiment may be used are acids of the dibasic
group, such as oxalic, malonic, succinic, pyrotartric, and adipic acids, also a tribasic
acid, such as citric acid, also any of the following salts,-neutral potassium salt, acid
potassium salt, potassium quadroxalate, neutral ammonium oxalate, acid ammonium
oxalate, calcium oxalate and silver oxalate, and generally such other acids and silts as
when subjected to heat are decomposed to form carbon-dioxide, carbon-monoxide,
water, and with some of these materials a residuum.
All of these various salts and acids mentioned may be considered as chemical
equivalents for oxalic acid, and may take the place of the oxalic acid in the mixture,
or any of them may be used alone.
The alloy may contain small proportions of various metals, in addition to the iron,
without affecting the action of the mixture, or that of any of the substances
mentioned, or other metals may be added, when the special qualities which they
impart are desired. I however wish it to be understood that my invention
contemplates the direct solution of iron in copper, and that any indirect method,―
such, for instance, as the solution of iron in zinc and the subsequent inixture of such
alloy with copper, is not within the scope of my invention.
In this manner I produce an alloy containing copper and iron in certain definite
fixed proportions, these proportions varying according to the required physical
qualities of the finished product. Thus, if a soft metal is wanted, the proportions
would be about as follows: Copper ninety-five per cent., iron five per cent.
The
resultant metal or alloy becomes tougher and harder as the proportion of iron is
increased, until, when it reaches fifty per cent., an alloy is produced of exceeding
hardness. The alloy thus obtained may be rolled or drawn into wire with greater or
less facility according to the proportion of iron. It may also be cast into shapes.
I am aware that it has heretofore been suggested to alloy iron with copper for the
purpose of adding a new characteristic to the iron and for the purpose of improving
the quality of the iron.
Such attempts, however, have not proved successful and have not, so far as I am
aware, gone into general use, and further, such is not the purpose of my invention,
which, as previously stated, is to produce a new product which shall be a solidified
solution of iron in copper, have the general characteristics of copper, and which is
capable of being treated in the manner of copper, and is useful as a substitute for
copper, but which shall also have other characteristics not possessed by copper but
approaching nearer to those of iron.
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 herein described manufacture of a homogeneous alloy of copper and iron,
by adding to the metals, when subjected to heat, a mixture composed of a resin and an
oxalate or other similar organic salt, which on decomposition by heat, evolves carbon-
monoxide, carbon-dioxide, and water.
2. A homogeneous copper-iron alloy, suitable as a substitute for copper, possessing
malleability and practically containing no oxides of either of the metals, manufactured
substantially as herein described.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.