IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF IRON AND STEEL AND INGOTS THEREFROM.
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Jacob Geoghegan Willans, of 9, Saint Stephen's
Crescent, Bayswater, in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF IRON AND STEEL AND INGOTS
THEREFROM.
"
Scaled the 19th May 1874, and dated the 25th March 1874.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Jacob Geoghegan
Willans at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 25th March 1874.
I, JACOB GEOGHEGAN WILLANS, of 9, Saint Stephen's Terrace,
Bayswater, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF IRON
AND STEEL AND INGOTS THEREFROM," to be as follows :-
1
My Invention relates to improvements when using anthracite, anthra-
citic or non-bituminous fuel in iron and steel reverberatory furnaces,
and in steel melting pot holes, and further to improvements in the
making of ingots from fluid steel or iron..

page_text: When using such fuel in iron and steel reverberatory furnaces I
increase its useful effect by applying above the surface of the fuel some
very finely divided carbonaceous matter, this meeting the hot gas
ascending through the fuel will be carried along therewith into the
chamber where the heat is utilized, and the fine carbon particles will
there become incandescent and thus increase the heat radiated.
I use anthracite or anthracitic coal in steel melting pot holes as a
substitute entirely or in part for coke by mixing with the air required
for its combustion some finc carbonaceous dust, such as coal dust, or
some combustible gas, such as gas from coal, or some vapour from a
compound of hydrogen and carbon, such as creosote; I add these to the
air on its passage to the fuel for the purpose of distributing the intense
heat afforded by anthracite, and thus rendering it less local. The vapour
of water may be applied to the air current instead of or in conjunction
with the foregoing, but if used alone the melting pot is to be kept
higher above the fire-bars than customary.
-
My Invention further relates to the making of ingots from fluid steel
or iron. In the casting of steel ingots it is customary to pour the steel
into upright metal moulds, and some steels contract so much in the
setting that the ingot becomes too deeply piped. My improvement in
this respect is to prolong the period before it sets in the upper part of
the mould by having that part of the mould lined or fitted with sufficient
thickness of a less heat conducting substance than cast iron, such as
clay and carbon mixture, in order that the steel in that part of the
mould may be longer fluid, and thus afford a reservoir from which the 2
contraction of the centre of the ingot will be fed. Or instead of lining
or fitting the moulds as above I have tubular or other forms of clay or
other heat resisting and little conducting material which I insert prefer.
ably highly heated into the mould before casting. The steel that is
enclosed by these will remain longer fluid than if it was in immediate :
contact with the metal mould, and thus will feed the contraction in other
parts of the ingot. I also in some cases, immediately after casting, and
whilst the steel in the mould is still fluid, apply to its upper surface a
quantity of some highly heated granular or fluid substance such as sand,
slag, or metal (got up to the required heat in a separate vessel or place
from the steel) to retard the setting of the steel, and thus keep it longer
fluid. If the ingot moulds be filled from beneath or otherwise than

page_text: from the top, the application of the less heat conducting substances
should be at the place the steel enters the mould.
Hollow, annular, or tubular steel ingots have been cast with a wrought
iron core, but difficulties have been experienced in its removal. My
improvement in making these ingots is to have the core made of a tube,
in which I place a heat conducting substance that will admit of com-
pression during the contraction of the ingot, such as a thin tube filled.
with granules of cast-iron; the tube may be of clay or any suitable
metal.
The foregoing details as to the treatment of cast steel are also
applicable to iron when in a fluid state,
5
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Jacob Geoghegan Willans in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 25th September 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JACOB
GEOGHEGAN WILLANS, of Number 9, Saint Stephen's Crescent, Bays-
water, in the County of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of March, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the thirty-seventh
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said Jacob Geoghegan Willans, Her special licence
that I, the said Jacob Geoghegan Willans, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Jacob Geoghegan Willans, my.
executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with
and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during
the term therein expressed should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ircland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "Iм-
PROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF IRON AND STEEL AND INGOTS THEREFROM,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Jacob Geoghegan
Willans, my exccutors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my, or their, or one of their hands and scals, should particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what

page_text: manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same
in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Jacob Geoghegan Willans, do hereby
declare the nature of my said 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 firstly relates to a means for improving the useful effect
of anthracitic or non-bituminous fuel, such as anthracite charcoal, gas
coke, or wood, also coals of an anthracitic character, as some Welsh
steam coal when used in the fire-places of reverberatory furnaces in
which iron or steel is being treated. I accomplish this by admitting
above the surface of the fuel some finely divided carbonaceous matter in
such manner that it will be carried forward along with the hot gases
from the fuel into the chamber wherein the heat is utilized. I prefer to
carry out the process as follows:-I use bituminous coal dust or the dust
from semi-charred peat so finely ground that the particles will float in
an air current of equal force to the current passing through the furnace
chamber; I have a horizontal opening in the end wall of the fire-place
opposite to the bridge and above the surface of the fuel. This opening
to be about two inches in depth and about six inches less in length than
the width of the fire-place; into this opening I insert the narrow end
(about one and a half inches across of a funnel shaped sheet iron curved
channel through which the dust is conveyed. The wider end (about four
inches across) opening under a sieve that is kept in motion by any con-
venient means, and upon which the dust is placed in measured quantities
by any suitable apparatus, such as archimedian screw, sliding grates, or
jigging hoppers. I admit as much air along with the dust as will carry
it forward in an easily separated state, which I prefer to do by means of
a fan blast, so that on its entry into the fire-place the dust may not fall
in masses on the fuel, but may be floated onwards into the chamber
wherein the iron or steel is heated. The air may be let into the dust
channel through numerous openings set in a downward direction enter-
ing below the sieve, and the proportions of air and dust may be so
regulated as to produce either a clear or a cloudy flame. The quantity
of coal or other carbonaceous dust may be varied as well as the
consumption of fuel in the fire-place, but a quantity of coal dust about
one-third to one-fourth the weight of the non-bituminous fuel used

page_text: during the same period will be found benchcial in increasing the heat
radiated.
I would have it understood that I apply the carbonaceous dust in
insufficient quantity for heating or melting the iron or steel, but as an
adjunct to the other fuel in order to render it more effective than if it
were applied alone.
1
I claim in respect of this part of my Invention the application of
carbonaceous dust above the surface of anthracitic or non-bituminous.
fuel used in iron or steel reverberatory furnaces, substantially as
described.
}
My Invention secondly relates to a means of lessening the piping of
cast steel ingots. I effect this by having a recess in that part of the
mould where the steel is admitted. This recess I fill up with one or
more pieces of a refractory material of a less heat conducting nature
than the mould in order that the steel in that part may remain longer
fluid, and thus supply the contraction of the steel in the adjoining
portion of the mould. The recess should be on all sides of the mould,
and may be about cight inches in length and one inch in depth or
thickness, I prefer to use a carbonaceous substance, and to make it
by mixing up finely ground coal dust with a little water containing
mucilage (or some coal tar may be added). I form the mixture by
pressure into brick-like shapes, and I dry this thoroughly at 212° F., and.
I then char them in a close vessel at a high heat until all the volatile
matter be expelled, and afterwards cool them with as little access of air
as possible. I cut or saw out from these the proper dimensions for
inserting into the recess in the ingot mould, preferring that the surfaco
shall be kept even with the interior surface of the mould, I prefer to
have them tightly fitted and fastened or weighted so that their position
may not be disturbed by the fluid steel.
I claim in respect of this part of my Invention the casting steel
ingots in metallic moulds constructed with a recess, in which is placed a
less heat conducting material than the substance of the mould, sub-
stantially as described.
My Invention further relates to a means for casting hollow, tubular;
or annular ingots of a dense character, cast steel being much less liable
to be porous if cast in metallic moulds than if cast in sand or other

page_text: T
moulding material, and the use of solid metallic cores being attended
with difficulty, my improvement is to have a tubular or annular core for
the mould in which I place a heat conducting substance which will
admit of compression, during the contraction of the steel. I prefer to
use a tube of sheet iron (about No. 18 guage for castings not exceeding
1½ inches in substance and proportionately stronger guage for thicker
castings) and before casting to fill it with cast iron granules of about
one-eigth of an inch diameter or less; this core will act more or less as
a chill and yield to the contraction of the steel.
I claim with respect to this part of my Invention in the manufacture
of hollow, tubular, or annular ingots, the use of cores in which is placed
a metallic substance that will admit of compression from the circum-
ference, substantially as described.
;
In witness whereof, I, the said Jacob Geoghegan Willans, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of
September, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred
and seventy-four.