Manufacture or Production of Granulated Aluminium and Magnesium.
Year: 1895

page_text: TRUVIDIONAL STREITIGATION.
Manufacture or Production of Granulated Aluminium and
Magnesium.
A communication from THE ALUMINIUM-INDUSTRIE-ACTIEN-GESELLSCHAFT,
of Neuhausen, Switzerland.
I, WILLIAM LLOYD WISE, of 46 Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
London, Consulting Engineer and Chartered Patent Agent, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention to be as follows:-
:-
For many purposes where aluminium and magnesium, are used, and in particular
for chemical and metallurgical purposes, it is very often of advantage to be able to
use these metals in the form of small sand-like particles, coarse powder or grains.
But sharp or broken grains have not been practically available hitherto, because the
manufacture thereof by hand was not possible, or much too tedious. Consequently
it has heretofore been usual to employ scrap or waste cuttings produced in the
sheet metal and gun-metal trades, also metal particles produced by filing and
sawing but these are not pure and are difficult to obtain in large quantities, and by
reason of their laminated structure, in the case of cuttings, are unsuitable for many
purposes.
The granulating process usually adopted in the case of other metals, namely, by
pouring the molten metal into water is not suitable, because the grains produced by
this means very often enclose water, which, when the grains are added to molten
metals, gives rise to explosions, and also because the several grains or granular
particles are practically hollow spheres and it is therefore very difficult to
incorporate them with a metal of higher specific gravity. Now, whereas aluminium,
and also magnesium, have a high tensile strength at ordinary temperatures, and, in
consequence of this, oppose a considerable resistance to mechanical disintegration,
they possess, the property when heated of acquiring immediately before their
melting points are reached, a peculiar state of aggregation in which the metal
loses all its cohesion and it is this property which is utilized in producing
granulated aluminium and magnesium according to this invention. In order to
illustrate the manner of carrying out the invention I shall now proceed to describe
by way of example the manufacture or production of the new granulated aluminium.
For this purpose, the metal is brought in a suitable heating furnace to a temperature
that is about 100° C. below its melting point. Then, the greatest care been
taken to avoid all cooling of the heated metal, the said heated metal is subjected to
a stamping or to a grinding operation, or to both operations. This may be effected
on a small scale in a mortar by means of a pestle which is first caused to act by
striking or stamping; and then by rotating. The aluminium is reduced by the
concussion to pieces which can be still further reduced by the following grinding
operation into small grains of any desired size.
By means of this process, metallic grains are produced of decidedly jagged form
throughout and having a greater surface than has so far as I am aware been
produced by any process hitherto known.
The process herein before described is of great advantage, not only for aluminium,

page_text: but also for magnesium, which, as is well known, plays an important part in
industry when in a finely divided condition.
Dated this 24th day of August 1895.
W. LLOYD WISE,
46 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Chartered Patent Agent.
Manufacture or Production of Granulated Aluminium and
Magnesium.
A communication from THE ALUMINIUM-INDUSTRIE-ACTIEN-GESELLSCHAFT,
of Neuhausen, Switzerland.
I, WILLIAM LLOYD WISE, of 46 Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
London, Consulting Engineer and Chartered Patent Agent, 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 :-
For many purposes for which aluminium and magnesium are used, and in
particular for chemical and metallurgical purposes, it is very often of advantage to
be able to use these metals in the form of small sand-like particles, coarse powder,
or grains. But sharp or broken grains have not been practically available hitherto,
because the manufacture thereof by hand was either not possible, or much too
tedious. Consequently it bas heretofore been usual to employ scrap or waste
cuttings produced in the sheet-metal and gun-metal trades, also metal particles
produced by filing and sawing, but these are not pure and are difficult to obtain in
large quantities, and on account of their laminated structure, in the case of cuttings,
are unsuitable for many purposes.
The granulating process usually adopted in the case of other metals namely,
pouring the molten metal into water-is not suitable, because the grains produced
by this means very often enclose water, which, when the grains are added to
molten metals, gives rise to explosions, and also because the several grains or
granular particles are practically hollow spheres and it is therefore very difficult to
incorporate them with a metal of higher specific gravity.
Now, whereas aluminium, and also magnesium, have a high tensile strength at
ordinary temperatures, and, in consequence of this, offer a considerable resistance to
mechanical disintegration, they possess the property, when heated, of acquiring,
immediately before their melting points are reached, a peculiar state of aggregation
in which the metal loses all its cohesion, and it is this property which is utilized in
producing granulated aluminium and magnesium according to this invention.
In order to illustrate the manner of carrying out the invention I shall now
proceed to describe by way of example the manufacture or production of the new
granulated aluminium. For this purpose, the metal is brought in a suitable heating
furnace to a temperature that is about 100° C. below its melting point. Then, the
greatest care being taken to avoid all cooling of the heated metal, the said heated
metal is subjected to a stamping operation, and, it may be, a grinding operation.
This may be effected on a small scale in a mortar by means of a pestle, which is
first caused to act by striking or stamping, and then by rotation.
The aluminium is reduced by the concussion to pieces which can be still further
reduced by the following grinding operation into small grains of any desired size.
By means of this process, metallic grains are produced of decidedly jagged form
throughout and having a greater surface than has been produced, so far as I am
aware, by any process hitherto known.
The process hereinbefore described is of great advantage, not only for aluminium,

page_text: but also for magnesium, which, as is well known, plays an important part in
industry when in a finely divided condition.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
The manufacture or production of granulated aluminium and magnesium by
heating the metal to a temperature (below its melting point) at which it loses its
cohesion, and then subjecting it, whilst at the said temperature, to stamping and,.
it may be to grinding, substantially as herein before described.
of A muil 1906
W. LLOYD WISE,
46 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Chartered Patent Agent.