IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF IRON AND STEEL
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Taylor, of How Wood, in the County of
Renfrew, North Britain, Merchant, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE MANUFACTURE OF IRON AND STEEL."
Sealed the 3rd September 1857, and dated the 3rd March 1857..
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Taylor at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 3rd
March 1857.
I, WILLIAM TAYLOR, of How Wood, in the County of Renfrew, North
Britain, Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF IRON AND STEEL," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to the manufacture and refining of iron and steel by
subjecting the molten metal to the action of compressed air whilst the metal
is contained in a rotatory chamber constructed like a centrifugal separating
apparatus, or hydro-extractor. The revolving chamber or bowl of this appa-
ratus is made of or lined with fire clay, or other suitable material capable
of resisting the heat. It is placed within a strong circular building, covered
over at the top, leaving a hole for the admission of the fluid iron or steel from
the blast furnace, and another hole for the admission of the air. There is also
a third hole in the side of the building to allow the sparks and flame to get
away. The rotating bowl or chamber being set in motion at a very high
velocity, the liquid metal supplied to it is spread out in a very thin film over

page_text: the internal surface of the bowl, which is solid and impermeable, and thus an
immense surface of the metal is fully exposed to the action of the compressed
air, which may be either hot or cold. This treatment assists most effectually
in purifying and refining the iron and preventing crystallisation. The same
arrangement is available for granulating the metal in the process of making
stecl.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Taylor in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 3rd
September 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM 1
TAYLOR, of How Wood, in the County of Renfrew, North Britain, Merchant,
.send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Third day of March, in the year of our Lord Onc
thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twentieth year of Her reign, did, 1
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said William
Taylor, Her special license that I, the said William Taylor, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Taylor, my
executors, administrators, or 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
IRON AND STEEL," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
William Taylor, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
anil 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 William Taylor, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement in writing, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings,
and to the letters and figures.marked thereon, that is to say:-
My said Invention relates to the manufacture and refining of iron and steel
by subjecting the molten metal to the action of compressed air whilst the

page_text: metal is contained in a rotatory chamber constructed like a centrifugal sepa-
rating apparatus, or hydro-extractor: The revolving chamber or bowl of this
apparatus is made of or lined with fire clay, or other suitable material capable
of resisting the heat. It is placed within a strong circular building, covered
over at the top, leaving a hole for the admission of the fluid iron or steel from
the blast furnace; and, another hole for the admission of the air.. There is
also a third hole in the side of the building to allow the sparks and flame to
get away. The rotating bowl or chamber being set in motion at a very high
velocity, the liquid metal supplied to it is spread out in a very thin film over
the internal surface of the bowl, which is solid and impermeable, and thus an
immense surface of the metal is fully exposed to the action of the compressed
air, which may be either hot or cold. This treatment assits most effectually
in purifying and refining the iron, and preventing and refining the iron, and
preventing crystallisation. The same arrangement is available for granulating
the metal in the progress of making steel.
And in order that my said Invention. may be properly understood, I shall
now proceed to describe the several illustrative figures on the explanatory
Sheet of Drawings, which I have hereunto appended for the purpose of show-
ing certain modifications under which my improvements may be judiciously
carried out in practice.
Figure 1 on my Sheet of Drawings is a partially sectional elevation of one
modification of my improved apparatus or machinery, as arranged for the
manufacture or refining of iron and steel. Figure 2 is a partially sectional
elevation of the upper portion of another modification of the apparatus or
machinery. The building in which the refining of the iron or steel is carried
out consists of a cylindrical brick or stone chamber or cupola A, terminating
at the upper part in an elliptically or hemispherically-shaped roof. There are
three openings or apertures made in the cupola A; the first of these openings
B serves for the admission of the molten metal from an ordinary smelting
furnace to the interior of the cupola; the second aperture C is a passage for
the ingress of air into the cupola, and the third opening D allows of the escape
of the flame and gaseous or incandescent matters evolved or thrown off from
the molten metal, when brought into contact with the oxygen of the air drawn
or blown through the passage C. At the upper part of the cupola A is fitted
a rotatory chamber or receiver E, which forms the receptacle for the molten
metal to be operated upon. This receiver E is a basin-shaped vessel, made of
fire clay, or of iron lined with fire clay, or other refractory material capable
of resisting the intense heat of the fluid iron or steel. In the present instance
the receiver is assumed to be made wholly of moulded fire clay, and it is fitted

page_text: into a cast-iron frame F, by preference of an octagonal form, the two being
firmly secured together by bolts or set screws. The supporting frame F is fast
to the upper extremity of a vertical shaft G, which is supported at the lower
end in a footstep bearing H, whilst its upper end rotates in the collar bearing
I. The brickwork of the cupola A is built up in the. interior, so as to form
an inclined channel or gutter J, which diverges from the top at K, forming a
double spiral channel, having an angle of about 45 degrees, terminating at the
discharging mouth K'. A vertical cylindrical space is made in the centre of the
brickwork of the cupola A, in which the shaft G rotates, and there is a corre-
sponding hollow space or tunnel in a horizontal direction in which the driving
shaft is fitted. The inner extremity of the driving shaft L is carried in a pedestal
bearing, which is supported on the base plate of the footstep bearing. The collar
bearing I of the main vertical shaft is carried upon a strong metal plate M
which is imbedded in the brickwork of the cupola, and this plate is further
secured by means of cotters N driven through it where it extends beyond the
brickwork. The cupola itself is strengthened and bound together externally
by bands of iron O, so that it may withstand the heat of the molten metal
and the vibration produced by the moving parts of the machinery. Rotatory
motion is communicated to the vertical shaft G, from the driving shaft L, by
means of a pair of bevil wheels P. In order to keep the shaft G cool, and at
the same time lubricate the collar bearing, the brasses are hollowed into a
cup-shaped form, and a stream of water is allowed to flow therein. The water
for this purpose is conveyed by means of a pipe which is carried through the
brickwork of the cupola, and it flows into the cup round the journal bearing I
of the shaft G. The metal to be treated according to these improvements is
poured in a molten state through the aperture B into the receiver E, to
which rotatory motion is communicated from a suitable prime mover. Tho
motion of the receiver E, by its centrifugal action, causes the molten metal to
spread out in a film or sheet over the surface of the receiver. At the samo
time a strong current of air is drawn into the cupola by the rapid motion of
the receivers; the air is drawn through the aperture C, and is brought directly
in. contact with the extended surface of molten metal spread over the interior
of the refining chamber A. The effect of the rapid rotation of the film or
sheet of molten metal, in contact with the atmospheric air, is that the oxygen
of the atmosphere is brought into intimate contact with the highly heated
metal with which it combines. The presence of the oxygen tends to greatly
increase the temperature of the metal, the heat of which becomes sufficiently
intense to burn out the impurities contained in it. As the molten metal is
poured in a continuous stream into the refining chamber E, the centrifugal

page_text: force due to the rotatory action spreads the metal over the surface of the
receiver E, until it reaches the upper edge of the receiver whence it falls over.
into the gutter beneath. The refined metal flows down the inclined surfaces
of the gutter K, and out at the mouth K', of the cupola. Instead of using
the current of air at the ordinary atmospheric pressure, it may be compressed
and urged in a powerful stream into the cupola by means of a suitable blow-
ing engine. A modification of the herein-before described arrangement of
machinery or apparatus for the manufacture or refining of iron and steel is
shown in Figure 2 of my.illustrative Drawing, which is a vertical section of
the upper part of the cupola. In this modification the cupola Q is of a
form similar to that shown in Figure 1 of my Drawings; the apertures R
serve for the egress of the flames and incandescent matters thrown off by the
metal whilst it is in a state of intense ignition. The metal to be refined is
admitted to the interior of the cupola through the funnel-shaped mouthpiece S,
disposed vertically in the centre of the top of the cupola Q. This mouth-
picce S is by preference made of iron lined with fire clay, and surrounding it
is an annular aperture T, formed by fitting into the central opening of the
cupola an iron pipe of a shape corresponding to the funnel-shaped mouth-
piece S. The piece T serves to support the central mouth S by means of
suitable cross arm piece. The annular aperture T serves for the admission
of the air, by means of which the impurities of the metal are burnt out. In
this arrangement the refining chamber or receiver U is made of iron lined
with fire clay, and its interior is moulded or otherwise formed into a series of
steps or circular corrugations, in order to obtain a greater amount of surface
for the molten iron or steel to flow over. The corrugations V, made in the
fire clay lining of the refining chamber or receiver U, may be made either
with bevilled or slightly inclined sides, as shown in Figure 2 of my Drawing.
Or, the corrugations made be inade with horizontal and perpendicular sides, the
outline of each corrugation forming a right-angled figure. Preference how-
ever is given to the modification in which the corrugations form an obtuse
angle, as being less liable to retard the progressive ascent of the metal during
tho rotatory motion of the refining chamber or receiver. With a view of
promoting the fusion and purification of the metal to be refined, the refining
chamber or receiver may have holes or apertures made therein, so that the air
may have access to both sides of the film of molten metal, and thus effect the
refining process in a more expeditious manner.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or inay be used or carried
into effect, may observe, in conclusion, that I do not confine or restrict

page_text: myself to the precise details or arrangements which I have had occasion, to
describe or refer to, as many variations may be made therefrom without
leviating from the principles or main features of my. Invention; but what
I consider to be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention
secured to me by tho herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is,--
First, the general arrangement and construction of machinery or apparatus
for manufacturing iron and steel, as herein-before described.
Second, the system or mode of manufacturing, or refining: iron and steel, by
means of machinery or apparatus to which a rotatory or centrifugal motion is
given, as herein-before described.
Third, the system or mode of manufacturing or refining iron and steel, in
which the molten metal is spread out in the form of a sheet or film by the
centrifugal action of the machinery or apparatus, and the process of refining
carried on continuously, as herein-before described.
Fourth, the system or mode of effecting the manufacture, or refining and
purification of iron and steel, by means of a current or stream of air cir-
culating over or impinging upon the surface or surfaces of a sheet or film of
the molten metal, as hercin-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Taylor, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Thirty-first day of August, One thousand eight
hundred and fifty-seven.
WILLIAM TAYLOR. (L.S.)