IM- PROVED PROCESSES AND APPARATUS FOR REDUCING, MELTING, PURIFYING, AND OTHERWISE WORKING ORES, METALS, METALLOIDS, AND SIMILAR SUBSTANCES, CHIEFLY DESIGNED FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF ORDNANCE, BUT ALSO APPLICABLE FOR OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Clay Bull, of the Westminster Palace Hotel,
Victoria Street, Lieutenant Colonel William Hope, V.C., of the Army and
Navy Club, Pall Mall, and Roswell Sabine Ripley, of the Westminster Palace
Hotel aforesaid, all in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "IM-
PROVED PROCESSES AND APPARATUS FOR REDUCING, MELTING, PURIFYING, AND
OTHERWISE WORKING ORES, METALS, METALLOIDS, AND SIMILAR SUBSTANCES,
CHIEFLY DESIGNED FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF ORDNANCE, BUT ALSO
APPLICABLE FOR OTHER PURPOSES."
Sealed the 30th September 1879, and dated the 9th April 1879.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Clay Bull, William
Hope, and Roswell Sabine Ripley at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents
on the 9th April 1879.
"
HENRY CLAY BULL, of the Westminster Palace Hotel, Victoria Street, Lieutenant
Colonel WILLIAM HOPE, V.C., of the Army and Navy Club, Pall Mall, and RosWELL
SABINE RIPLEY, of the Westminster Palace Hotel aforesaid, all in the County of
Middlesex. IMPROVED PROCESSES AND APPARATUS FOR REDUCING, MELTING,
PURIFYING, AND OTHERWISE WORKING ORES, METALS, METALLOIDS, AND SIMILAR
SUBSTANCES, CHIEFLY DESIGNED FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF ORDNANCE, BUT ALSO
APPLICABLE FOR OTHER PURPOSES."
Our said Invention relates to improved processes and apparatus for reducing,
melting, and purifying ores or substances containing ores, metals, alloys, and
metalloids, or similar substances by means of heated gaseous blasts of defined
chemical action passed through them, and which may be assisted by pulverized
solid matter or vaporized liquids blown in with them; and for casting, pressing
out flaws and blow holes, and condensing or separating metals, alloys, and
metalloids, or similar substances, by the agencies of gravity, of centrifugal force, and
of abstraction of caloric.

page_text: These improvements have for their main object the production of an ideally
perfect quality of iron or steel for the manufacture of cannon of a power hitherto
unattained, but the said processes and appliances are equally applicable to the
reduction, melting, purification, casting, and condensation or separation of all other
kinds of ores, substances containing ores, metals, alloys, metalloids, or similar
substances for all purposes.
The first part of our improved processes consists in passing through the ore,
metal, or other substance raised to a high temperature a heated blast with a fluid
which has an ascertained and defined chemical action, such as atmospheric air,
oxygen, hydrogen, carbonic oxide, cominon coal gas, or the like with the object of
their producing, and in such a manner that they must produce their known
chemical action or actions on the substance to be operated on instead of upon the
fuel of the furnace; or in addition to a blast either similar or dissimilar simul-
taneously applied to the fuel; the result of this first process or part of our processes
whether carried into effect in one or two stages, that is to say, whether applied for
. reducing and refining, or refining only, is to produce a pure metal or alloy, which
therefore developes in the "cast" metal all the qualities known to be characteristic
of the metal when chemically pure, unless it is intentionally rendered crystalline and
brittle as in the case of hard steel. Or the action of a blast of air or other gas or
gaseous compound may be assisted by the addition of any solid substance, which
has a known chemical action and reduced to a pulverulent condition, or by the
addition of any liquid vaporized.
The second part of our improved processes comprises the rotation of the liquid
mass in a slightly heated mould at a high velocity, which in the case of metals or
alloys powerfully compresses them while liquid by centrifugal force, and by cooling
the whole mass down to the solidifying point from the circumference as rapidly as
possible after rotation has commenced, and in some cases after the solidifying point
from the centre (if cast with a core), the atoms of the metal are first solidified
successively inwards under that pressure, in which condition they are imprisoned
and either prevented from forming crystals or forced to form very small ones, and
are then still farther drawn in and condensed by cooling down to the atmospheric
temperature from the centre; or in the case of mixed ores or substances containing
ores when the matters in combination with the metals have been expelled, if the
residual metals do not form chemical alloys or amalgams, the heaviest metal will be
driven by centrifugal force to the circumference, the next heaviest against it, and
so on, so that by cooling from either the centre or the circumference, the portions
of different specific gravity can be easily separated when cold. Or this separation
may be more cheaply effected when there is a marked difference in the specific
gravities of the various portions by the molten mass being simply run into a tall
stationary vessel or mould, and left therein to settle and cool.
For instance, for the reduction of an oxide a heated blast of hydrogen or other
de-oxidising agent alone or in combination is passed through the heated or melted
ore, or substance containing ore, and fluxes may be used to assist in melting the
ore or substance containing the ore, while through an impure metal in a molten
condition already extracted from the ore, but still containing say sulphur or
phosphorus, a heated blast of air, oxygen, or other supporter of combustion alone or
in combination is passed; or in some comparatively rare cases advantage may be
found in passing different kinds of blasts in succession through either the melting
or purifying pot, or both.
For reducing ores or substances containing ores, or for melting, decarbonizing, or
otherwise purifying metals before casting an ordinary air furnace, such as is
ordinarily used in the United States for casting Rodman guns may be used, but for
greater economy and continuous work the furnace should be lined with plumbago,
and there should be two or more receptacles for metal between the fire and the
chimney. The lowest of these receptacles, that is to say, the one next the fire is
the purifying pot, and the other or others for melting the pig iron should deliver

page_text: into this receptacle by a passage around the outside of the furnace. The melting
pot should be recharged rapidly, for instance, by means of a cage or basket, which
may itself be made in pieces in pigs moulded forthe purpose and roughly fastened
together. In this cage which thus itself forms part of the charge is built up the
remainder of the charge, and the whole is let gently down into the furnace through
an opening, and thus time, heat, and labor are saved. Or in the case of ores
(which may be previously "roasted") a cage is recommended, the bottom of which
should open and let out the charge. In the chimney we fix a pipe or pipes of
suitable size with the object of heating the blast or blasts and the gas when gas is
used as fuel. A continuous blast is maintained through the fire, and depending
from a swinging joint of the chemical blast pipe is a vertical tube of the same
diameter as the blast pipe balanced by a counterweight, and formed of plumbago or
other suitable material; this pipe is arranged with a capability of movement
sufficient to allow it to plunge into the liquid metal in the purifying pot, so that a
heated blast either of air or any required gas or combination of gases can be turned
into the metal for any required length of time. The chemical effect of this.
operation is necessarily to take out the impurities and to produce a cast metal
(in castings of large size) of exceeding purity, and which is in the case for
instance of iron a true homogeneous malleable iron of amorphous character, while
in the case of steel, "chrome-steel," or other metal or alloy the casting will be
either amorphous or "homomorphous" and can be turned out with great ease and
with scientific precision of any required "mildness" or brittleness.
Instead of the "air furnace" heated by coal we may employ a gas furnace of
novel construction, and which is a modification of the air furnace adapted to
burning gas. In this modified furnace the division representing the furnace proper,
that is to say, the actual fire, is dispensed with, the gas burners being arranged
around the top of the purifying pot. For some kinds of work gas of special
quality would also be a manifest advantage.
The metal can after purification instead of being cast in the ordinary way be
worked up to a very high point of density and strength by being rotated, and thus
so to say wrought while liquid, and until it solidifies and sinks to a dull red heat.
In all cases when a casting is to be rotated, it should either be made with a core
or with a considerable shrinking head to allow of the escape of any slag or other
lighter impurity that may have entered the mould.
In some instances we employ for the second or rotating part of our processes a
mould similar to that used by Lord Rosse for casting the mirror of his well known
great telescope. This mould consists of circular, hexagonal, octagonal, or similarly
shaped plates or sheets of metal placed on the top of one another with the mould
cut out of then in the centre. A strong top and bottom plate are provided, and
the whole is bolted together. Two such sets of plates form the two halves of the
complete mould, the bottom plate of the top half and the top plate of the bottom
half project sufficiently to permit of their being strongly attached to each other
by cleats or bolts. These moulds will be porous and will permit the ready escape
of any gas, but not of molten metal from the mould, while their great radial
strength will permit of a very high speed being imparted to them when rotated.
They should be warmed before the metal is run into them to ensure the whole
mass remaining liquid. When rotated they will rest upon an inverted anti-
friction cone of the usual form, working in a receptacle into which lubricating oil
will be injected at high pressure, and they may be rotated by any suitable means.
When the object of the rotation is to separate different metals, metalloids, or
other substances of different specific gravities, the internal shape of the mould
should be that of two truncated cones, one inverted, and the other resting on it.
By this construction the action of the centrifugal force would be assisted, and the
substances in the mould could be very easily separated and their lines of
demarcation detected.
In the case of very large castings, or when the very highest or best quality of

page_text: metal is desired, it may be convenient first to collect the metal from one or more of
the purifying pots into a tall refining reservoir, raised to and maintained at the
same temperature as the purifying pots. In this reservoir the foreign matter, such
as slag, dust, and the like, if any, will be driven to the top and so will not be run
out into the mould, and the entire mass of metal will be run into the mould at
identically the same temperature. Of course the rotative motion is not imparted
to the moulds until after the metal has been run in.
Our Invention is applicable for the manufacture of ordnance of all kinds, and
other articles or objects which have heretofore been usually forged or rolled, and
for castings in which great density and strength are required.
All ores or substances containing ores can be reduced in the above described
furnaces by our improved process, if sufficient care is given to the fluxes where any
are required to the temperature and to the quality of the blast.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Henry Clay Bull, William Hope, and Roswell Sabine Ripley in
the Great Seal Patent Office on the 9th October 1879.
HENRY CLAY BULL, of the Westminster Palace Hotel, Victoria Street, Lieutenant
Colonel WILLIAM HOPE, V.C., of the Army and Navy Club, Pall Mall, and ROSWELL
SABINE RIPLEY, of the Westminster Palace Hotel aforesaid, all in the County of
Middlesex. "IMPROVED PROCESSES AND APPARATUS FOR REDUCING, MELTING,
PURIFYING, AND OTHERWISE WORKING ORES, METALS, METALLOIDS, AND SIMILAR
SUBSTANCES, CHIEFLY DESIGNED FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF ORDNANCE, BUT ALSO
APPLICABLE FOR OTHER PURPOSES."
Our said Invention relates to improved processes and apparatus for reducing,
melting, and purifying ores, or substances containing ores, metals, alloys, and
metalloids, or similar substances by means of gaseous blasts having a known
chemical action, suitable for producing required results which are made to pass
through the molten or melting substances, and which may be assisted by pulverized
solid matter or vaporized liquids blown in with them, and for casting, pressing out
flaws and blow holes, and condensing or separating metals, alloys, and metalloids,
or similar substances by the agencies of gravity, of centrifugal force, and of
abstraction of caloric.
These improvements have for one important object the production of an ideally
perfect quality of iron or steel for the manufacture of cannon of a power hitherto
unattained, but the said processes and appliances are equally applicable to the
reduction, melting, purification, casting, and condensation or separation of all other
kinds of ores, substances containing ores, metals, alloys, metalloids, or similar
substances for all purposes.
The first part of our improved processes consists in passing through the ore
metal or other substance, melted or raised to a high temperature as the case may
be, and while it is in the furnace and maintained at the required high temperature
fluids or gases having the known requisite chemical action, such as atmospheric air,
oxygen, hydrogen, carbonic oxide, common coal gas or the like, with the object of
their producing and in such a manner that they must produce their known
chemical action or actions on the substance to be operated on instead of upon the
fuel of the furnace, or in addition to a blast either similar or dissimilar simul-
taneously applied to the fuel, the result of this first process or part of our processes,
whether carried into effect in one or more stages, that is to say, whether applied
for reducing or refining only, or also forming an alloy, is to produce a pure metal
or alloy, which therefore developes in the "cast" metal the required qualities
known to be characteristic of the metal when chemically pure, unless it is desired
to produce an alloy, and it is intentionally rendered crystalline and brittle as in the
case of hard steel. In some cases the action of a blast of air, or other gas or
gaseous compound may be assisted by the addition of any pulverized solid
substance which has a known chemical action, or by the addition of any liquid
vaporized. These may be either blown in by or with the gaseous blast, or the
vapour may be blown in by its own pressure, or the solid substances may be
thrown on to the top of the molten metal to form a slag. The chemical blast is
passed through or into the molten substances by means of any of the usual
appliances employed for such purposes. It would however be found most advan-
tageous in the case of molten metal to use a straight plunger pipe so hung as to
plunge easily in and out whenever required. This pipe may be either open at the
end, or closed at the end with lateral holes, which again may be drilled either
radially or tangentially to the inside or bore of the pipe.
The second part of our improved processes consists of the rotation of the liquid
molten metal in a heated mould at a high velocity, the higher the better, which in

page_text: the case of metals or alloys powerfully compresses them while in a liquid state by
centrifugal force, and by cooling the whole mass down to the solidifying point from
the circumference as rapidly as possible after rotation has commenced. In some
cases where the metal operated upon is cast with a core, the atoms of the metal are
first solidified successively inwards under that pressure, the result being that they
are imprisoned by solidification, and either prevented from forming crystals or
forced to form very small ones, and are then still farther drawn in, compressed, and
condensed by cooling down to the atmospheric temperature from the centre. In
the case of mixed ores or substances containing ores, when the matters in com-
bination with the metals have been expelled, if the residual metals do not form
alloys, amalgams, or chemical union, the heaviest metal will be driven by
centrifugal force to the circumference, the next heaviest against it, and so on, so
that by cooling from either the centre or the circumference, the metals of different
specific gravity may be separated when cold.
We will now by way of illustrating one application of our improved process
describe as an instance the reduction of an oxide. A heated blast of hydrogen or
other deoxidizing agent, alone or in combination, or in succession to some other
is passed through the heated or melted ore or substance containing ore, and flues
may be used to assist in melting the ore or substance containing the ore, while
through an impure metal in a molten condition already extracted from the ore, but
still containing, say, carbon, sulphur, or phosphorus, a heated blast of air, oxygen,
or other supporter of combustion, alone or in combination is passed, or in some
cases advantage may be found in passing different kinds of blasts in succession
through either the melting or purifying pot, or both.
For reducing ores or substances containing ores, or for melting, decarbonizing, or
otherwise purifying metals before casting an ordinary air furnace such as is herein-
after described, and such as is used in the United States for casting "Rodman"
guns may be used, but for greater economy and continuous work the furnace
should be lined with gannister, "bull dog," plumbago, or other refractory
substance, and there should be two or more receptacles for metal between the
fire and the chimney. The lowest of these receptacles, that is to say, the one
next the fire is the purifying pot, and the other or others for melting the pig
iron or ore, or substance containing the metal, should deliver into this receptacle
by a passage around the outside of the furnace. The melting pot or shelf should
be recharged rapidly, for instance, by means of a cage or basket, which may itself
be made in pieces in pigs moulded for the purpose and roughly fastened together.
In this cage, which thus itself is made to form part of the charge, the remainder of
the charge is placed, and the whole is let gently down into the furnace through an
opening, and thus time, heat, and labour are saved; or in the case of ores which
may be previously "roasted" a cage is recommended, the bottom of which should
open and let out the charge. In the chimney we fix a pipe or pipes of suitable size
with the object of heating the blast or blasts and the gas, when gas is used as fuel.
A continuous blast is maintained through the fire, or through the gas tuyeres, if gas
is used as fuel, and depending from a swinging joint of the chemical blast pipe a
vertical tube balanced by a counter weight or suspended in any convenient way and
formed of plumbago or other suitable material. This pipe is arranged with a capa-
bility of movement sufficient to allow it to plunge into the liquid metal in the
purifying pot so that a heated blast either of air or any required gas or combination
of gases can be turned into the metal for any required length of time. The chemical
effect of this operation properly is to take out the impurities and to produce a cast
metal (in castings of any size) of exceeding purity, and which in the case for
instance of iron is, although a
" cast metal, a true homogeneous malleable iron of
amorphous character. In the case of steel, "chrome" steel, or other alloy the casting
will be either amorphous if rotated, or homomorphous if allowed to remain
stationary, and can be turned out with great ease and precision of any required
mildness or brittleness.
Instead of the air furnace heated by coal we sometimes employ a gas furnace of

page_text: novel construction, and which is a modification of the air furnace adapted to burning
gas. In the improved furnace constructed with our improvements the division
representing the furnace proper, that is to say, the actual fire, is dispensed with, the
gas burners being arranged around the top of the purifying pot.
Bay
For some kinds of work we use gas of a special quality.
"
The metal after purification instead of being cast in the ordinary way is worked
up to a very high point of density and strength by being rotated, and is thus so to
wrought" while liquid and until it solidifies and sinks to a dull red heat. In
all cases where a casting is to be rotated it should either be made with a core or
with a considerable shrinking head, or both, to allow of the escape of slag or other
lighter impurity that may have entered the mould.
In some instances that is to produce metal and castings as perfect as possible we
employ for the second or rotating part of our processes a mould similar to that used
by Lord Rosse for casting the mirror of his well known great telescope. This mould
consists of circular, hexagonal, octagonal, or similarly shaped plates or sheets of
metal placed on the top of one another with the mould cut out of them in the centre.
A strong top and bottom plate are provided, and the whole is bolted together.
Two such sets of plates form the two halves of the complete mould, the bottom
plate of the top half and the top plate of the bottom half will project sufficiently to
permit of their being strongly attached to each other by cleats or bolts. These
moulds will be porous and will permit the ready escape of any gas but not of
molten metal from the mould, while their great radial strength will permit of a very
high speed being imparted to them when rotated, say, many thousand revolutions a
minute. They should be warmed before the metal is run into them to ensure the
whole mass remaining liquid when the rotation commences.
When rotated they
will spin on an inverted anti-friction cone of the usual form working in a receptacle
of identical shape into which lubricating oil will be injected at very high pressure
so as in fact to float them in oil and to prevent the surfaces of the two anti-friction
cones from touching, and they may be rotated by any suitable means. The metal
is thus wrought or forged while liquid.
When the object of the rotation is to separate different metals, metalloids, or other
substances of different specific gravities the internal shape of the mould should be
that of two truncated cones, one inverted and the other resting on it. By this
construction the action of the centrifugal force would be assisted and the substances
in the mould could be very easily separated and their lines of demarcation detected.
Of course the rotating motion is not imparted to the moulds until after the metal
has been run in.
"
Our Inventions are specially applicable for the manufacture of ordnance of all
kinds, and of other articles or objects of certain shapes in one piece, and from the
liquid stage, which have heretofore been usually forged or rolled in the solid stage,
and for castings in which great density and strength are required, as, for instance,
for armour plates, which may be cast in great cylinders of any thickness rotated,
split down one side, opened and flattened out, and placed with the dense outside
towards the enemy. In the case of ordnance, rotating a gun while in one liquid mass
of chemically pure iron or steel will make the "cast metal, "wrought" metal, of
which the "bre" will run in a "coil" or "twist" barrel, and the atoms or mole-
cules of the metal will have been forced into their places under a steady continuous
circular pressure unattainable by any other means so as to be in complete chemical
union. The pressure and the resultant strength will also be differential, and pro-
portioned to the differential strains that the different portions of the barrel will be
called on to bear, according to their distance from the axis, while in the whole gun
there will be no weld or join, therefore the maximum possible strength both longi-
tudinal and transverse will be attained. The same advantage of differential density
and strength will be obtained in the case of armour plates, railway tyres, or wheels,
or rails cast in a ring and opened out as described for armour plates, and the
outside turned upwards, and in many other cases.

page_text: All ores or substances containing ores can be reduced in the above described
furnaces by our improved process if sufficient care is given to the fluxes, where any
As above stated it
are required, to the temperature and to the quality of the blast.
دو
will be found very advantageous to introduce the blast employed through a straight
plunger pipe, which can be applied to any kind of furnace having a roof, or the
Bessemer converter may be very easily and cheaply altered for the reception of one
of our blast pipes in combination with gas burners placed in the top and pointing
downwards. But where a new furnace is to be erected we employ one of the general
character described as used for the "Rodman guns with our improvements; the
furnace should be made of good sound fire bricks lined and protected with
gannister," "bull dog," or plumbago, or a mixture of gannister and asbestos. We
have found it advantageous to use for heating water gas generated in the manner
invented and patented by Mr. William Harkness, of Providence, Rhode Island,
United States of America. This gaseous fuel is very cheap, and extremely useful
for every metallurgical operation, for it does not mix up a quantity of foreign
matter with the metal or ore.
«
In witness whereof, I, the said William Hope, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Seventh day of October, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-nine.