Manufacture of Explosives.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 16th Sept., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 12th May, 1893-Accepted, 17th June, 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by CHEMISCHE Fabrik Griesheim, in
Sriesheim a Main, Germany.]
Manufacture of Explosives.
I, OLIVER IMRAY of No. 28 Southampton Buildings in the County of London,
Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Patent Agents, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention to be as follows:-
In manufacturing picric acid explosives the acid is usually poured in a molten
condition into shells, grenades, torpedoes or the like, or is pressed into them in a
solid condition. Both operations are attended with danger. It is therefore desir-
able to give the charge the desired form independently and outside of the shell or
casing in which it is to be enclosed. Among the binding materials that can be
selected for this purpose those are to be preferred which have a lower melting
point than picric acid. Farther they should be such as will not prejudicially affect
the firmness of the charge nor act chemically on it; they should not be of hygro-
scopic character, nor should they become softened by heat in warm apartments or
in warm weather, they should be easily produced in pure condition, or if possible
they should have explosive qualities, in order that the explosive power of the picric
acid may not be too much lessened. These conditions are best satisfied by
trinitrotoluol, a quite safe and neutral body easily put in the required state, with a
melting point of 82° C.
The explosives are prepared as follows:-A mixture of picric acid with
5 to 10 per cent. of trinitrotoluol is charged into moulds of the desired forms and
heated therein with or without application of pressure for a short time to a
temperature somewhat above 82° C. The trinitrotoluol melts and cements together
the crystals of picric acid so that the mixture on cooling forms a hard mass.
As the preparation of such explosives is quite free from danger, so also is their
use quite safe.
The trinitrotoluol is itself an explosive of somewhat less force than picric acid;
a small addition does not materially affect the force of the picric acid. It is
moreover often desirable to moderate the explosive force of the picric acid in its
applications for blasting or military purposes. By a greater or less addition of
trinitrotoluol this can be readily done. For mining and technical purposes the
mixture is produced in cartridge forni. In order to prevent the dusting of picric
acid off the surface of these cartridges they are coated with paraffin or like
material. For the trinitrotoluol can be substituted similar nitro compounds which
have melting points between 30° and 120° C., as for example, dinitrotoluol, dinitro-
phenol, di- and tri-nitrokresol, di- and tri-nitrobenzol, nitrited xyloles or.
naphthalines.
Dated this 16th day of Sentember 1892
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Manufacture of Explosives.
I, OLIVER IMRAY, of No. 28, Southampton Buildings, in the County of London,
Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Patent Agents, 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 :-
In manufacturing picric acid explosives the acid is usually poured in a molten
TDQ27

page_text: condition into shells, grenades, torpedoes or the like, or is pressed into them in a
solid condition. Both operations are attended with danger. It is therefore
desirable to give the charge the desired form independently and outside of the
shell or casing in which it is to be enclosed.
Among the binding materials that can be selected for this purpose those are to be
preferred which have a lower melting point than picric acid. Farther, they should
be such as will not prejudicially affect the durability of the charge nor act
chemically on it; they should not be of hygroscopic character, nor should they
become softened by heat in warm apartments or in warm weather; they should be
easily produced in pure condition, or if possible they should have explosive
qualities, in order that the explosive power of the picric acid may not be too much
lessened. These conditions are best satisfied by trinitrotoluol a quite safe and
neutral body, easily prepared in the required pure state, with a melting point
of 82° C.
The explosives are prepared as follows:
―
A mixture of picric acid with 5 to 10 per cent. of trinitrotoluol is charged into
moulds of the desired forms and heated therein with or without application of
pressure for a short time to a temperature somewhat above 82° C. The trinitro-
toluol melts and cements together the crystals of picric acid so that the mixture on
cooling forms a hard mass.
As the preparation of such explosives is quite free from danger, so also is their
use quite safe.
The trinitrotoluol is itself an explosive of somewhat less force than picric acid;
a small addition does not materially affect the explosive force of the picric acid. It
is moreover often desirable to moderate the explosive force of the picric acid in its
applications for blasting or military purposes. By a greater or less addition of
trinitrotoluol this can be readily done.
For mining and technical purposes the mixture is produced in cartridge form.
In order to prevent the dusting of picric acid off the surface of these cartridges,
they are coated with paraffin or like material. For the trinitrotoluol can be
substituted similar nitro compounds which have melting points between 30°
and 120° C., as for example, dinitrotoluol, dinitrophenol, di- and tri-nitrokresol,
di- and tri-nitrobenzol, nitrited xyloles or naphthalines.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
The manufacture of picric acid explosives in solid form for filling shells and the
like, by mixing the picric acid with trinitrotoluol or similar nitro bodies whose
melting point lies between 30° and 120° C., such mixture being heated in suitable
moulds to somewhat above the said temperature, so that the picric acid crystals are
cemented together by the melted cementing material and thus produce an explosive
having the required solid configuration on cooling, whose explosive force is not too
greatly reduced by the proportion of cementing material employed, substantially as
described.
Dated this 19th dow of M 1902
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.