An Improved Process for the Manufacture of Compound Armour Plates and Armour Plated Turrets.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 1st Sept., 1891
Complete Specification Left, 16th Sept., 1891-Accepted, 24th Oct., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Process for the Manufacture of Compound Armour
Plates and Armour Plated Turrets.
A communication to me from abroad by L. PszcZOLKA, of Graz, in the Empire of
Germany, Metallurgical Engineer.
I, EDMUND EDWARDS, of the firm of Edwards and Co., Patent Agents and
Engineers, of 35 Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of
Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows :—
The processes hitherto used for the manufacture of compound armour plates,
consist either in welding a soft iron plate upon a steel plate, or in casting soft steel
or iron upon a previously heated steel plate or vice versa, or in casting hard steel or
iron upon the free sides of a plate fixed in a suitable mould.
These processes of manufacture do not however insure the required safe and
thorough combination of the two parts, which can only be obtained with certainty
if all the parts (hard steel and soft steel or iron) are combined in a liquid state
without any solid intermediate means.
To obtain this result it is proposed by the present invention to prepare a mould
upon that side which is required to be covered by the soft iron or steel plate, and
to cast therein as much liquid soft iron or steel as will make up the thickness
required of such material. Upon this layer of still liquid iron or steel is carefully
cast, through one or more openings formed in any suitable part of the mould, liquid
hard steel with which the said mould is filled.
To ensure the strength required for the various layers of steel and iron, open
channels are formed in the mould for the purpose of gauging accurately the thickness
of the several layers.
If required, instead of one, several layers of iron and steel may be formed in
order to attain the required thickness, this being effected in the manner above
described.
The layer of hard steel may be formed first and covered subsequently with the
liquid layer of soft iron, the mould being in the same position as described, but the
process above described, which is the reverse of this, is preferable.
The combination of the various iron and steel layers is not effected by sharply
defined surfaces, as in consequence of the molecular movement taking place when
casting and of the tendency of the soft iron or steel to take up certain elements
from the hard steel, a more or less thick combined layer is formed, which con-
stitutes an advantage of this new mode of manufacture, and which can be still
further thickened by allowing, in the course of the operation and before ceasing to
cast one of the iron layers, the two iron portions to be cast for a few minutes in the
mould simultaneously. A layer of hard steel could also be cast to fill the
remaining part of the mould with a mixture of hard and soft steel, or of hard steel
and liquid iron.
Armour plates cast in either one way or the other may be subsequently subjected
to the action of a rolling mill or press. In armour plates which have highly curved
surfaces, or in undivided armour plate cupolas, turrets, or the like, the above process
of manufacture cannot be easily used.
In such cases it is proposed in order to combine the resistance to penetration
with the required elasticity, to cast the armour plates or cupolas of a mixture of
hard and soft steel, or of liquid iron, in such a manner as to cause the two kinds of
metal to meet together immediately before entering the mould. In order however
to prevent as far as possible too intimate a mixture being effected between the
different kinds of metal, it is necessary to repeatedly and alternately interrupt the
D

page_text: flow of the iron, which can be easily effected by casting it from pans provided with
suitable plugs or stoppers.
To sum up, the novel feature of the improved process is the simpler, cheaper, as
well as 'safer, manufacture, of compound armour plates and cupolas as hitherto
used, by immediately combining in a mould the metals used whilst still in a 5
liquid state.
31
11001
EDWARDS & Co.,
35, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Process for the Manufacture of Compound Armour
Plates and Armour Plated Turrets.
A communication to me from L. PSZCZOLKA, Metallurgical Engineer, of Graz,
in the Empire of Germany.
I, EDMUND EDWARDS, of the firm of Edwards and Co., Patent Agents and
Engineers, of 35, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of
Middlesex, 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, that is to say :-
The processes hitherto used for the manufacture of compound armour plates
consist either in welding a soft iron plate upon a steel plate or in casting soft steel
or iron upon a previously heated steel plate, or vice versa, or in casting hard steel or
iron upon the free sides of a plate fixed in a suitable mould.
These processes of manufacture do not however ensure the required safe and
thorough combination of the two parts, which can only be obtained with certainty
if all the parts (hard steel and soft steel or iron) are combined in a liquid state
without any solid intermediate means.
To obtain this result it is proposed by the present invention to prepare a mould
upon that side which is required to be covered by the soft iron or steel plate and to
cast therein as much liquid soft iron or steel as will make up the thickness required
of such material. Upon this layer of still liquid iron or steel is carefully cast,
through one or more openings formed in any suitable part of the mould, liquid hard
steel with which the said mould is filled.
To ensure the strength required for the various layers of steel and iron, open
channels are formed in the mould for the purpose of gauging accurately the thickness
of the various layers.
If required, instead of one several layers of iron and steel may be formed in
order to attain the thickness in view, this being effected in the manner above
described.
The layer of hard steel may be formed first and covered subsequently with the
layer of soft iron, the mould being in the same position as described, but the process
above described which is the reverse of this is preferable. The combination of the
various iron and steel layers is not effected by sharply defined surfaces, as in con-
sequence of the molecular movement taking place when casting, and of the tendency
of the soft iron or steel to take up certain elements from the hard steel, a more or
less thick combined layer is formed, which constitutes an advantage of this new
mode of manufacture, and which can be still further thickened by allowing in the
course of the operation and before ceasing to cast one of the iron layers, the two
iron portions to be cast for a few minutes in the mould simultaneously. A layer of
hard steel could also be cast, and the remaining part of the mould filled with a
mixture of hard and soft steel, or of hard steel and liquid iron.
Armour plates cast in either one way or the other may be subsequently subjected
to the action of a rolling mill or press,

page_text: In armour plates which have highly curved surfaces or in armour plate cupolas,
turrets or the like, the above process of manufacture cannot be easily used. In
such cases it is proposed in order to combine the resistance to the penetrability of a
shell with the elasticity required, to cast the armour plates or cupolas of a mixture
of hard and soft steel or of liquid iron in such a manner as to cause the two kinds
of metal to meet together immediately before entering the mould. In order to
prevent however, as far as possible too intimate a mixture being effected between
the mass of the different kinds of iron, it is necessary to repeatedly and alternately
interrupt the flow of the layers of iron, which can be easily effected by casting it
from pans provided with suitable plugs or stoppers.
To sum up, the novel feature of the improved process is the simpler, cheaper, as
well as safer manufacture of compound armour plates and cupolas as hitherto
used, by directly combining in a mould the iron masses used, whilst still in a
liquid state.
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 :-
An improved process for the manufacture of compound armour plates and
armoured cupolas or turrets, consisting of casting the metals employed in a fluid
form in a proper mould either one immediately after the other, or at the same time
but with alternate interruptions, substantially as described.
Dated this 15th day of September 1891.
EDWARDS & Co.,
35, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicant.