Improvements in Methods of Casting Solid Ingots of Steel.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 5th Dec., 1893-Accepted, 10th Feb., 1594
Improvements in Methods of Casting Solid Ingots of Steel.
1, WILLIAM PETER BISHOP URICK, of 244 La Fayette Street, in the City of
Newark, County of Essex and State of New Jersey, one of the United States of
America, School Principal, 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 :-
The invention relates to improvements in methods of casting solid ingots of
steel, and its object is to provide a method whereby the casting of solid steel ingots
of a high grade may be successfully, quickly and conveniently carried on.
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It is well known that very great loss constantly ensues in the art to which the
invention pertains by reason of the upper end of the steel ingots becoming hollow
or "piped" in the mold while the metal is in process of forming and cooling, and
that great labor and expense have been incurred in attempts which proved ineffectual
to devise means and methods whereby to avoid the piping of the ingot and
secure the casting of steel ingots of high grade which should be solid throughout.
Among the efforts which have heretofore heen made to ensure the casting of solid
ingots have been those which involved molds of special construction and the use
of hydraulic compressors.
1
In accordance with my invention I am able to secure the casting of solid ingots
of steel of high grade without the use of expensive appliances and without varying
the construction of the ordinary molds already in extensive use.
The formation of the hollow in the upper end of the ingot is caused by the gas
in the metal evolved during the cooling process being imprisoned by the hardened
shell which forms on the head of the mass of metal before the main body thereof
cools. The gas being thus prevented from escaping forms the cavity or "pipe" in
the upper end of the ingot.
In carrying my invention into effect I effectually secure the escape of the gas
from the metal and the casting of ingots which will be perfectly solid throughout,
and to this end, after the molten metal has been poured into the mold and allowed
to remain a certain length of time, I thrust a rod or bar a definite distance down-
ward into the upper end of the metal, and then withdraw the same, thus forming a
cavity in the metal which allows the free egress of the gas, and thereafter, a short
interval being permitted to elapse after the withdrawal of the rod or bar, I pour
into the said cavity enough of the molten steel to fill the same and leave the ingot
perfectly solid. I do not thrust the rod or bar into the molten metal as soon as it
reaches the mold, because the metal would be in so fluid a condition at that time
that no cavity would remain after the withdrawal of the rod or bar and hence the
escape of all the gas would not be accomplished. The exact moment at which the
rod or bar should be thrust into the molten metal will be determined by the heat.
of the metal, and care should be taken that this step of the operation be performed
at the time the metal is in that consistency which will enable it to barely maintain
the cavity formed by the rod or bar. The cavity formed by the rod or bar permits.
the free escape of the gas, this requiring but a few moments, and upon the escape
of the gas
I fill the cavity with molten steel and allow the whole to cool and
harden. This molten steel poured into the cavity will become a homogeneous part
of the ingot, since the main body of metal should not be permitted to stand until
the walls of the cavity have so hardened as not to unite with the additional molten
steel.

page_text: The steps of the method sought to be protected hereby are illustrated in the
accompanying drawing, in which
Figure 1 is a central vertical section of a mold containing the molten metal, and
showing the rod or bar thrust into the metal to form a cavity therein; Figure 2 is
a like view of same showing the cavity formed by the withdrawal of the rod or
bar, and Figure 3 is a like view of same, showing the ingot after the cavity has
been filled and the metal allowed to cool and harden.
In the drawings A designates the mold, B the metal therein and C the rod or
bar by which the cavity D is formed.
By means of my invention, I ensure the formation of solid ingots by effecting
the removal of the gas evolved from the metal, and this is accomplished in a simple
and inexpensive manner. I do not confine the invention to any special appliances
for forming the cavity in the upper end of the molten mass, nor to any special form
of mold for the metal, nor to the depth of the cavity D, since these are matters
which may vary without departing from the spirit of the invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :--
The method of forming solid ingots of steel which consists (1) in pouring the
molten metal into the mold and allowing the same to stand a given length of time
as described, (2) thrusting a rod into the upper end of the metal and then-with-
.drawing the same to form a cavity and permit the gas to escape, and (3) filling
said cavity with an additional quantity of the molten steel and allowing the whole
to cool and harden; substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
Dated this Ninth day of November One thousand eight hundred and ninety-
WILLIAM PETER BISHOP URICK.
Haseltine, Lake & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.