AN IMPROVED NON-CONDUCTING COMPOSITION FOR PROTECTION AGAINST HEAT A
Year: 1884

page_text: [Communicated from abroad by the firm of Wirth and Co., Agents for Grunzweig
and Hartmann, of Ludwigshafen on the Rhine, in the Empire of Germany.]
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
I SAMUEL PEARCE WILDING, of the firm of Fell and Wilding, of 23 Rood
Lane, in the City of London, Patent Agents, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "AN IMPROVED NON-CONDUCTING COMPOSITION FOR PROTECTION
AGAINST HEAT A communication to me from abroad by the firm of Wirth & Co
Agents for Grunzweig and Hartmann of Ludwigshafen on the Rhine, in the
Empire of Germany, to be as follows:-
"
We have tried for some time past to supply disintegrated cork, obtained as wasto
from Cork factories, and which is a very suitable material for a protecting compo-
sition, it being light, elastic, constant and cheap, and a very poor conductor of bent,
in a form in which it could be easily painted or coated on to the objects to bo
protected, and which should retain in a high degree the properties of cork.
Now small specific gravity may be taken as indicating small power of heat
conductivity. Hitherto we have not succeeded in producing a paintable and
durable article of less than 0-45 specific gravity with cork fossil meal and hair.
The other protecting compositions in the market, and which consist mostly of fossil
meal and hairs, have a specific gravity of 0-0, and form an earthy mass interwoven
with hairs Some compositions are even heavier, and consist chiefly of lime or
cement. All these compositions have the additional disadvantages of having too
little elasticity in the sacks, when not sent as a paste and giving off dust when the
covering is taken off, and when in the form of a paste the decomposition of the
animal fibre is apt to develop a bad smell. In consequence of the heat radiated
from the covered object the fibrous materials break and the coating when taken off
cannot be used again by mixing with water in consequence of the fibrous materials
being broken, and in compositions having hydraulic properties a chomical change
takes place.
We avoid all these disadvantages in our new composition, which is constituted
as follows:
Asbestos fibre after having been well loosened is mixed with finely ground fossil
meal, to which has been added a small proportion of clay and soluble glass. These

page_text: materials have great affinity for one another and the asbestos fibre entirely absorbs
the fossil meal, and thus obtains more body without losing its felting or binding
properties. This composition can be mixed with water and coated over as a paste.
The fossil meal loses its original dusty properties and does not appear as a distinct
ingredient in the dried composition.
The fossil meal in our present composition does not constitute the binding
material for the Cork, as has been the case in our former compositions, but we bind
the cork with the asbestos fibre prepared as described. It is preferable to use the
Cork in grains of about two millimetres and entirely free from dust, because this
size requires proportionately the least asbestos to bind.
Smaller grains or particles require more binding material. The cork is easily
mixed by wet process with the asbestos fibre combined with the fossil meal, which
uniformly and firmly intimately binds and felts it. Other fibres such as cowhair,
silk, cotton-wool and wool cannot be so uniformly distributed, nor do they possess
the property of felting or binding such coarse grained material. The cork will be so
intimately bound by the asbestos fibre that the composition can be mixed to a thin
paste without the cork being washed out.
We use the following proportions by volume
150 parts disintegrated Cork.
40
"
150
3
2
"
33
"
loosened asbestos fibre.
ground fossil meal.
clay.
solution of soluble glass.-
This mixture is quickly dried at a temperature of above 100° in order that it
may not be too strongly felted when in the form of a paste, which would render its
solution in water for reduction to a paste to coat the objects to be protected, a
matter of difficulty.
The dried cakes are then disintegrated for convenient transport and filled into
sacks. When the composition is to be applied it is mixed with water and painted
or coated on to the hot objects to be covered when it dries and becoines a light and
elastic covering, with a hard crust. This crust is chiefly obtained by the solution
of soluble glass and clay. The specific gravity is 0.36. A's the composition
contains a large amount of cork in proportion to the other materials it is, apart
from the advantages of small specific gravity, very cheap as regards surface and
thickness of the covering, and disintegrated cork from the waste of cork stopper
manufactories is by far the cheapest (as regards volume) of all the constituents.
It is an improvement in this respect on our former compositions.
Dated this 16th dow of Tuns 1001
FELL & WILDING,
Agents for the Applicant. 4

page_text: CODIELNIE DIECIFICATION.
I, SAMUEL PEARCE WILDING, of the firm of Fell & Wilding, formerly of 23 Rood
Lane, but now of 1 Queen Victoria Street, both in the City of London, Patent
Agents, do hereby declare the nature of the said invention for "AN IMPROVED
NON-CONDUCTING COMPOSITION FOR PROTECTION AGAINST HEAT." A communication
to me from abroad by the firm of Wirth & Co, Agents for Grünzweig and
Hartmann, of Ludwigshafen on the Rhine, in the Empire of Germany, and in
what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
We have tried for some time past to supply disintegrated cork obtained as waste
from cork factories, and which is a very suitable material for a protecting com-
position, it being light, elastic, constant and cheap, and a very poor conductor of
heat, in a form in which it could be easily painted or coated on to the objects to be
protected and which should retain in a high degree the properties of cork. A small
specific gravity may be taken as indicating small power of heat conductivity.
Hitherto we had not succeeded in producing a paintable and durable article of
less than 0.45 specific gravity with cork, fossil meal, and hair.
The other protecting compositions in the market, which consist mostly of fossil
meal and hair, have a specific gravity of about 0-G and form an earthy mass
interwoven with hair. Some compositions are even heavier and consist chiefly of
lime or cement. All these compositions have the additional disadvantages of
having too little elasticity and of giving off dust in the sacks when not sent ns a
paste, or when the covering is taken off, and on the other hand when in the form of
a paste, the decomposition of the animal fibro is apt to develope a bad smell. In
consequence of the heat radiated from the covered object, the fibrous materials
break and the covering is no longer firmly attached to the object. Also the coating
when taken off cannot be used again by mixing with water, in consequence of the
fibrous materials being broken, and in compositions having hydraulic properties a
chemical change takes place.
We avoid all these disadvantages in our new composition, which is constituted as
follows:-
Asbestos fibre after having been well loosened is mixed by use of any suitable
liquid with finely ground fossil meal to which has been added a small proportion of
clay and soluble glass. These materials have great affinity for one another and the
asbestos fibre entirely absorbs the fossil meal and thus obtains more body without
losing its felting or binding properties and the composition receives the property
of being able to be mixed with water, to be coated over as a paste. The fossil meal
loses its original dusty properties and does not appear as a distinct ingredient in
the dried composition.
The fossil meal in our present composition does not constitute the binding
material for the cork as has been the case in our former compositions, but we
bind the cork with the asbestos fibre prepared as described. It is preferable to
use the cork in grains of about two millimetres and entirely free from dust, because

page_text: particles require more binding material. The cork is easily mixed by wet process
with the asbestos fibre combined with the fossil meal which uniformly, firmly, and
intimately binds and felts it.
Other fibres such as cowhair, silk, cotton wool, and wool, cannot be so uniformly
distributed, nor do they possess the property of felting or binding such coarse
grained material. The cork will be so intimately bound by the asbestos fibre that
the composition can be mixed to a thin paste without the cork being washed out.
We use the following proportions by volume
150 parts disintegrated cork.
40
»
150
"
3
2
"
"
loosened asbestos fibre.
ground fossil meal.
clay.
solution of soluble glass.
This mixture is quickly dried at a temperature of above 100° in order that it
may not be too strongly felted when in the form of a paste, which would render its
solution in water for reduction to a pasto to coat the objects to be protected a
matter of difficulty.
The dried cakes are then disintegrated for convenient transport and filled into
sacks When the composition is to be applied it is mixed with water and painted
or coated on to the hot objects to be covered, where it dries and becomes a light
and clastic covering with a hard crust.
This crust is chiefly obtained by the solution of soluble glass and clay. The
specific gravity is 0.36.
As the composition contains a large amount of cork in proportion to the other
materials, it is, apart from the advantages of small specific gravity, very cheap as
regards surface covering and thickness of material, because disintegrated cork from
the waste of cork stopper manufactories is by far the cheapest (as regards volume)
of all the constituents.
It is an improvement also in this respect on our former compositions.
If pipes or parts of machines, which have a very smooth surface, are to be
covered with the mass, it is to bo recommended first of all to rough the surface in
order that the mass can hold better. This is best effected by first covering the
smooth surface with a thin coating of asbestos mixed with fossil earth and water.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature and objects of
the invention as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent and the
manner in which it is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is
The production and use of a non-conducting composition, which is a very poor
conductor of heat and is produced by mixing asbestos with fossil meal to a paste,
with water, adding disintegrated cork and quickly drying the whole, substantially
in the manner and for the purpose as described.
Dated this 5th day of March 1885.
n
FELL & WILDING,
Agents for the Applicant.