IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF STEEL
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Richard Archibald Brooman, of 166, Fleet Street,
in the City of London, Patent Agent, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE MANUFACTURE OF STEEL."-A communication.
Sealed the 6th June 1854, and dated the 31st January 1854.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Richard Archibald
Brooman at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 31st January 1854.
I, RICHARD ARCHIBALD BROOMAN, of 166, Fleet Street, in the City of
London, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF STEEL," (communicated to me by a
foreigner residing abroad,) to be as follows:-
Steel manufactured in reverberatory furnaces has been found not to answer
all the purposes to which it might be applied; for steel so manufactured is
neither sufficiently pure nor strong to be fit for universal uses, and is in some
cases useless. These defects arise from the steel being manufactured at a
cherry red heat, at which the silex does not separate sufficiently from the
metal. To effect this separation a certain fluidity or softness is required, which
is only attainable at a much higher heat. Moreover the scoria which is mixed
with the steel in reverberatory furnaces does not possess the fluidity necessary
for its separation under bammers or rolls.
Now the present Invention is intended to remedy these defects, and consists
in manufacturing steel in reverberatory furnaces by the following process:-

page_text: Puddling is commenced at the highest attainable heat; the temperature should
be raised to a white heat, or as near that point as possible, and cannot be too
high towards the end of the operation. It is not, however, always possible for
the workman to obtain a white heat on account of the state of the atmosphere,
or of defects in the furnace. Yellow heat would yield a satisfactory result, and
must be considered as forming part of this process in contradistinction to those
processes above alluded to where cherry red heat is adopted.
In treating refined metal, as soon as fusion is complete the workman should
begin to move about the mass, and continue till the end of the process. The
workman then throws into the furnace and into the mass in fusion a powder
tending to soften and purify the metal, which powder consists of about 3 parts
of a mixture composed of ds salt and rd manganese to from 380 to 400
parts of the metal in fusion. If the furnace works well, and all the operations
have been properly conducted, the fused metal will rise up; this rising or swell-
ing results from the mixture or contact of the carbon of the metal with the
oxygen of the manganese. The mass in fusion, in which the scoria in a state
of fermentation produces this swelling up, should remain in this state until the
end of the puddling process. As soon as the swelling or inflation subsides, and
the metal ceases to sparkle on the bed of the furnace while it is being stirred
up, the heat is to be increased in order to produce or maintain the necessary
rising or swelling up, but when the metal glitters or sparkles it is a proof
of crudity and of too great a degree of fluidity, and then the chimney must
be closed until the metal has granulated. The metal will not melt again
during the increase of heat, but will soften more and more. The heat is
then raised to the highest extent. After the carbon mechanically combined
with the metal (carbone mécanique) has completely separated from it, the
carbon chemically combined therewith (carbone chimique) begins to become
decomposed, and to separate from it in its turn. When the fermentation
of the metal has reached this point the grains of metal resulting from the
decomposition of the carbon rise towards the top, the decomposition of the
carbon combined with the metal is carried to such a degree that the metal in
fusion commences to become malleable, which appears from the uniting of the
small grains together. As soon as this uniting takes place the workman should
desist from stirring the mass with a puddling iron, and should stir it from
the side with a straight rod, so that the mixture of metal may be complete and
homogenous. As soon as all the grains of metal have become cohesive it is a
sign that the whole metal is malleable, and that the steel is produced. The
reduction of the carbon united with the metal should not be continued further,
but the process should be stopped by closing the chimney. The balls of steel

page_text: are then formed by a process similar to that for the formation of iron balls in
similar cases. Towards the conclusion of the process the furnace is again
heated to a white heat, or to the highest attainable degree. As soon as the
balls are formed they should be placed under the hammer or rolls as quickly
as possible.
In treating forge pig iron, as soon as fusion is complete cold scoria is thrown
into the furnace, the chimney is closed, and the stirring process commenced
in order that the metal may be speedily and regularly granulated. When
granulated the workman throws into the furnace about 1½ parts of a mixture
composed of about d salt to about rds of manganese to about 380 to
400 parts of metal. The chimney is opened gradually, and as long as the
grain of the metal does not melt during the increase of heat, the heat may be
raised to the highest point possible. When at this stage, and the furnace is
heated to the highest temperature practicable, 1 parts of the compound of
salt and manganese aforesaid is thrown in, and the stirring continued without
intermission. As soon as the grains of metal rise towards the top, the process
is concluded in the same manner as that before described with reference to
refined metal.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Richard Archibald Brooman in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 31st July 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, RICHARD
ARCHIBALD BROOMAN, of 166, Fleet Street, in the City of London, Patent
Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirty-first day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the seventeenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Richard Archibald Brooman, Her special licence that I, the said Richard
Archibald Brooman, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others

page_text: as I, the said Richard Archibald Brooman, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time
and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF STEEL," (a communica-
tion,) upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Richard Archibald
Brooman, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should par-
ticularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in
the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately
after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Richard Archibald Brooman, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof, that is to say: -
Steel manufactured in reverberatory furnaces has been found not to answer
all the purposes to which it might be applied; for steel so manufactured is
neither sufficiently pure nor strong for universal uses, and is in some cases
useless. These defects arise from the steel being manufactured at a cherry red
heat, at which the silex does not separate sufficiently from the metal. To
effect this separation a certain fluidity or softness is required, which is only
attainable at a much higher heat. Moreover the scoria which is mixed with
the steel in reverberatory furnaces does not possess the fluidity necessary for
its separation under hammers or rolls.
Now the present Invention is intended to remedy these defects, and consists
in manufacturing steel in reverberatory furnaces by the following process:-
Puddling is commenced at the highest attainable heat, the temperature should
be raised to a white heat, or as near that point as possible, and cannot be too
high towards the end of the operation. It is not, however, always possible for
the workman to obtain a white heat on account of the state of the atmosphere,
or of defects in the furnace. Yellow heat would yield a satisfactory result,
and must be considered as forming part of this process in contradistinction
to those processes above alluded to where cherry red beat is adopted.
In treating refined metal, as soon as fusion is complete the workman should
begin to move the mass about, and continue till the end of the process. The
workman then throws into the furnace, and into the mass in fusion a powder
tending to soften and purify the metal, which powder consists of about 3
parts of a mixture composed of salt, and manganese to from 380

page_text: to 400 parts of the metal in fusion. If the furnace works well, and all the
operations have been properly conducted, the fused metal will rise up; this
rising or swelling results from the mixture or contact of the carbon of the metal
with the oxygen of the manganese. The mass in fusion in which the scoria in
state of fermentation produces this swelling up should remain in this state until
the end of the puddling process. As soon as the swelling or inflation subsides,
and the metal ceases to sparkle on the bed of the furnace while it is being
stirred up, the heat is to be increased in order to produce or maintain the
necessary rising or swelling up. But when the metal glitters or sparkles it is a
proof of crudity and of too great a degree of fluidity, and then the chimney
must be closed until the metal has granulated. The metal will not melt
again during the increase of heat, but will soften more and more. The heat
is then raised to the highest extent. After the carbon mechanically combined
with the metal has completely separated from it, the carbon chemically
combined therewith begins to become decomposed, and to separate from
it in its turn. When the fermentation of the metal has reached this point
the grains of metal resulting from the decomposition of the carbon rise towards
the top. The decomposition of the carbon combined with the metal is carried
to such a degree that the metal in fusion commences to become fagotable
(corroyable), which appears from the uniting of the small grains together.
As soon as the uniting takes place, the workman should desist from stirring
the mass with a puddling iron, and should stir it from the side with a
straight rod, so that the mixture of the metal may be complete and homo-
genous. As soon as all the grains of metal have become cohesive it is a sign
that the whole metal is fagotable (corroyable), and that the steel is produced.
The reduction of the carbon united with the metal should not be continued
further, but the process should be stopped by closing the chimney. The balls
of steel are then formed by a process similar to that for the formation of iron
balls in similar cases. Towards the conclusion of the process the furnace is
again heated to a white heat or to the highest attainable degree.
As soon as
the balls are formed they should be placed under the hammer or rolls as quickly
as possible.
In treating forge pig iron, as soon as fusion is complete cold scoria is
thrown into the furnace, the chimney is closed, and the stirring process
commenced in order that the metal may be speedily and regularly granu-
lated. When granulated the workman throws into the furnace about 1
parts of a mixture composed of about salt to about 3rd manganese to
about 380 to 400 parts of metal. The chimney is opened gradually, and as
long as the grain of the metal does not melt during the increase of heat, the

page_text: heat may be raised to the highest point possible. When at this stage, and the
furnace is heated to the highest temperature practicable, 14 parts of the com-
pound of salt and manganese aforesaid is thrown in, and the stirring continued
without intermission. As soon as the grains of metal rise towards the top, the
process is concluded in the same manner as that before described with reference 5
to refined metal.
And having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim as the said
Invention is,
First, the employment of yellow and white heat instead of cherry red heat 1
in the manufacture of steel in reverberatory furnaces.
And, second, the addition to the metal in fusion of a powder for softening
and purifying the metal, as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Richard Archibald Brooman, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Thirty-first day of July, One thousand 1
eight hundred and fifty-four.
R. A. BROOMAN. (L.S.)