Improvements in the Manufacture of Alloys or Metal Compounds.
Year: 1898

page_text: *
Improvements in the Manufacture of Alloys or Metal Compounds.
I, LOUIS BONNEVILLE, of 194, Rue Lafayette, Paris, in the Republic of France,
Chemist, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to a process whereby zinc or its alloys can be employed
for retaining a certain proportion of a magnetic metal, such as iron, nickel or
chromium, in the form of oxide and for reducing and incorporating it in a state
of fine division in the presence of furnace gases. I thus obtain alloys or metallic
combinations with new properties and particularly a new metal which I call
'coppersteel" of higli' resistance and capable of being forged similarly to iron.
The typical matte employed will be composed in general of 88 parts of zinc and
12 parts of iron; it will be obtained in the manner hereinafter described.
To practically obtain combinations of zinc or of its alloys with magnetic metals,
I advantageously first oxidize the surface of the metal, iron or nickel, increase
the oxidized surface thereof as much as possible and maintain it at a white heat
in a crucible. Zinc or an alloy thereof in the cold is then introduced from above
into the crucible; it immediately fuses and before reaching the bottom of the
crucible becomes charged, by the prolonged contact with the lumps of iron or
nickel, with the larger part of the superficial oxide and also with a part of the
underlying metal. The apparatus is preferably in the form of a furnace provided
with several rows of movable bars kept at a white heat, receiving the cold zinc or
its alloys at its upper part and allowing the matte or alloy to flow away at its
lower part.
The bars employed are of iron, nickel, etc., and can be reoxidized until completely
used; they can also be of a refractory substance upon which there is applied by
means of an agglutinant a layer of the oxyhydrate of the metal, namely, iron,
nickel, tungsten or other rare metal, with which the zinc of the alloy flowing over
the said bars will form the desired combination.
The applications of the generating matte which I have just described are
numerous and diverse.
In the case of molten cast iron and steel this matte eliminates all its zinc
either by distillation or by slagging.
The reducing action of the zinc as well as the organo-metallic combinations
sensibly modifying the final product, although there is only a small addition of
iron.
Moreover, the matte, zinc and nickel, zinc and chromium, etc., introduce into
the molten iron, all the nickel, chromium or other magnetic elements which they
contain and the zinc, disappears. In the case of lead and tin, there is scorification
and elimination of nearly all the constituents of the matte. The hardening of

page_text: tin and the resistance of lead, which is increased with respect to acids, will, then,
result especially from the organic combinations derived from the various fusing
operations.
The ferro-zinc generating matte obtained as above described can on the other
hand, be alloyed with copper so as to produce an alloy which is highly resistant
and can be forged after the nearly total extraction of the zinc.
The extraction by distillation, of the zinc is effected by prolonging the fusion
of the alloy in a reducing medium and at a high temperature; a mass of copper
is ultimately obtained which contains some hundredth parts of iron and some
thousandth parts of zinc and of carbon.
This new alloy, which I designate "coppersteel," can be forged like iron and
steel and then acquires the properties of elasticity and of resistance of the latter
metal with the differences caused by the presence of the carbon.
It is preferable from the point of view of economy and of regularity of the
admixtures, to extract the zine before alloying by treating the metal in a reducing
medium, as a mineral of zinc, to extract the latter.
The Belgian or the Silesian method is quite suitable if the operation be pro-
longed for distilling at the lowest possible temperature. The best reducing agent
is wood charcoal pulverized with the ferro-zinc matte.
The residue from the tubes or gas retorts and composed of carburetted iron and
zinc (the latter should always be in less quantity than the iron) is then alloyed
with copper in the crucible in such a manner as to obtain a metal containing 95%
of iron and some ten thousandth parts of carbon and of zinc.
By increasing the proportion of the residue in the alloy, the resistance is
increased but to the detriment of the elasticity. By diminishing the said pro-
portion, the elasticity increases at the expense of the resistance.
By these means I can obtain soft or hard coppersteel as desired in a regular
series according to the quantity of the residue employed and it is only necessary to
regulate the quantity of the residue added without taking into consideration the
composition and the analysis of the original ferro-zinc matte.
I may also, in preparing different alloys by this method, first extract the zinc
as in the case of the coppersteel.
mprovements in the manufacture of Alloys or metal Compounds.
I, LOUIS BONNEVILLE, of 194, Rue Lafayette, Paris,, in the Republic of France,
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:-
This invention relates to a process whereby copper can be alloyed with three
to five per cent. of carburetted iron so as to obtain a metal capable of being
forged and which, after forging, resembles steel as regards resistance and
elasticity.
This alloying cannot be effected directly, and my invention consists in an indirect
metallurgical process whereby it is accomplished in three stages as hereinafter
described.

page_text: with metallic zinc.
I commence by oxidising the surface of soft iron by means of an ammoniacal
bath (liquid ammonia or ammoniacal solution).
This bath may consist of-
Water
-
Ammonia at 22° Beaumé
-
100 parts and
15 parts.
The iron is immersed in the bath for 48 hours and should be in the form of
bars or plates in order to present large oxidizing surfaces.
When the oxidation is considered to be sufficient the iron bars or plates are
arranged in a crucible with spaces between them. The crucible is brought to a
white heat and is then charged with zinc from above. The zinc rapidly fuses and
falls from one bar on to a second, then on to a third and so on; when it reaches
the bottom of the crucible, the number of the surfaces with which it has come into
contact will have enriched it to the fullest extent with particles of oxide of iron
which it carries away as it flows down and which it commences to reduce.
The fire is kept up until all the zinc has descended; the zinc is afterwards drawn
off; the bars remain in the crucible and can serve for several subsequent operations
without being again oxidized by the ammoniacal bath.
Instead of arranging iron bars in the crucible I may employ movable bars of
refractory substance on which I deposit a layer of hydrated oxide of iron.
2. Elimination and reduction of the zinc:
CARBURATION OF THE IRON.
It is not necessary to treat of the composition of the ferro-zinc or zinc-iron mass
obtained as above described, nor of its proportions, as I proceed in the same manner
as when dealing with a zinc ore and extracting from the said ore all the zinc
which it contains.
To effect this extraction I can obviously employ either the Belgian method in
tubes, or the Silesian method in retorts in which the ore is ground with carbon
for reducing the oxide of zinc previously formed and is distilled.
I proceed in the same manner with regard to the zinc-iron mass and as a reducing
agent I employ pulverized wood charcoal in the proportion of one quarter of the
weight of zinc-iron.
I distil at the lowest possible temperature and therefore for a considerable
time.
When all the zinc has almost left the mass the latter forms a residue, a com-
pound or simple mixture, composed of iron, carbon and a small quantity of zine;
care should be taken that the latter does not contain more oxide, and that its
weight is less then 40% of the weight of the total residue.
3. Casting the copper steel.
The residue obtained as above described is gradually mixed with the copper
in the required proportions by weight and whilst stirring, the proportions being
such that the alloy shall contain about 3% of iron. With these proportions I
obtain a "coppersteel" possessing an elasticity and a resistance superior to all
previously known copper compounds.
By increasing the proportion of the fused residue I increase the resistance but
at the expense of the elasticity.
This process as described in the case of iron, is applicable in the same manner
to all similar metals of the magnetic series capable of being carburetted, such as
nickel, chromium and the like, the indirect method employed for the formation of
the alloys always comprising the three different stages set forth.
It will be obvious that in lieu of zinc I may employ suitable alloys thereof.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:-
1. A new alloy of copper and 3 to 5% of carburetted iron called "coppersteel"

page_text: which, when forged, resembles steel as regards its resistance and elasticity,
substantially as set forth.
2. The indirect method of obtaining this alloy comprising three distinct stages,
namely:
(a) The preparation of iron in the form of oxide by means of an ammoniacal
bath and the combination of the said oxide with metallic zinc, the said
combination being accompanied with reduction of the said oxide.
(b) The elimination and the reduction of the zinc and the carburetting of the
iron.
(c) The casting of the "coppersteel," all substantially as herein before des- 1
cribed.
3. The application of the said method to nickel, chromium and other magnetic
metals capable of being carburetted, substantially as herein before described.
4. The substitution of an alloy of zinc for the zinc in the herein described method
of forming "coppersteel."
Dated 1011. 1
1
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.