IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WROUGHT-IRON BEAMS AND GIRDERS."
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Gay Newton Alleyne, of Butterley Iron Works,
Alfreton, in the County of Derby, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WROUGHT-IRON BEAMS AND GIRDERS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Gay Newton
Alleyne at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 18th September 1858.
I, JOHN GAY NEWTON ALLEYNE, of Butterley Iron Works, Alfreton, in the
County of Derby, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WROUGHT-IRON BEAMS AND GIRDERS,"
to be as follows:-
Great difficulty is experienced in rolling wrought-iron beams or girders of
great depth when furnished with flanges or enlargements at both edges. By.
the present Invention I make wrought-iron beams and girders, in two or more
pieces united by scarfed or notched or lapped or diagonal joints; thus I roll
two pieces of wrought iron, each of which has a flange or enlargement at one
edge, and has its other edge bent or formed in such a manner as to fit to the
corresponding edge of the other piece of iron. The aforesaid flanges or
enlargements may be on one or both sides of the edge; I place the two pieces.
together and connect them by one or more rows of rivets or bolts and nuts, or

page_text: by other suitable means. I prefer to make the forms of the adjoining parts
such that when united the vertical part of one piece is exactly over the vertical
part of the other piece, or nearly so. In some cases I make one or both
pieces with a flange or bent portion at one side of the edge which is to be
united to the other piece, which flange or bent portion may be used for
supporting joists or, for other similar purposes, and also adds to the lateral
stiffness of the beam or girder. In some cases when very deep girders or
beams are required I introduce one or more, intermediate bars or plates
having their. edges rolled to correspond with the top and bottom pieces to
which they are rivetted.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Gay Newton Alleyne in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 15th March 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
GAY NEWTON ALLEYNE, of Butterley Iron Works, Alfreton, in the County of
Derby, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth-day-of-September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-second year of
Hér. reign, did, for. Herself, Her heirs, and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said John Gay. Newton Alleyne, Her special licence that-I, the said
John Gay Newton Alleyne, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said John Gay Newton Alleyne, my executors, adminis-
trators, 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 WROUGHT-IRON BEAMS
AND GIRDERS," upon, the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John
Gay Newton Alleyne, my executors or administrators; by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly
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.
"
"

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Jolin Gay Newton Alleyne, 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:
Great difficulty is expérienced in rolling wrought-iron beains or girders of
great depth when furnished with flanges or enlargements at both edges. By
the present Invention I make wrought-iron beams and girders in two or more
pieces united by scarfed or notched or lapped or diagonal joints; thus I roli
two pieces of wrought iron, each of which has a flange or enlargement at one
edge, and has its other edge bent or formed in such a manner as to fit to the
corresponding edge of the other piece of iron; the aforesaid flanges or enlarge-
ments may be on one or both sides of the edge: I place the two picces
together, and connect them by one or more rows of rivets or bolts and nuts; or
by other suitable means; I prefer to make the forms of the adjoining parts
such that when united the vertical part of one piece is exactly over the vertical
part of the other piece, or nearly so. In some cases I make one or both
pieces with a flange or bent portion at one side of the edge; which is to be
united to the other piece, which flange or bent portion may be used for
supporting joists or for other similar purposes, and also adds to the lateral
stiffness of the beam of girder. In some cases when very deep girders or
beams are required I introduce one or more intermediate bars or plates having
their edges rolled to correspond with the top and bottom pieces to which they
are rivetted.
In the accompanying Drawing, Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and
12 represent sections of various girders or beams constructed according to
my Invention; Figures 13, 14, and 15 are side elevations on a smaller scale
of the girders or beams shown in section in Figures 1, 4, and 7 respectively;'
Figures 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, and 21 represent sections of wrought-iron bars of
suitable forms for manufacturing girders according to my Invention: These
bars are rolled in a rolling mill with grooved rollers of suitable forms: The
beam or girder shown in Figures 1 and 13 consists of two similar wrought-
iron bars rolled of the sectional form shown in Figure 16, and rivetted
together. The rivets may be placed farther apart in the centre of the girder
than at the ends, as shown in Figure 13, the main point being to connect the'
ends firmly together. Each bar is rölled with a flange projecting on each
side of one of its edges, while the other edge is rolled with a recess or step
or half lap a at one side, and a projection b at the other side. The recess a
amounts to half the thickness of the vertical web c, so that. when the two bars"

page_text: are rivetted together, as shown in Figure 1, the vertical webs of both 'bars
are in the same plane. I prefer to make the bars of such form that the
vertical web of one bar may be exactly over that of the other, but this is not
absolutely necessary; as, for example, the recess a might be made only one
quarter or three quarters of the thickness of the web; in either of which cases
one half of the thickness of the one web would be over the other. Such
arrangements, however, are inferior in both strength and symmetry to that
first described. The edge of one bar rests against the end of the recess of
the other bar, so as to afford a direct support to it, or to receive a direct
support from it.
I prefer to divide the lap equally between the bars, but this
is not absolutely essential, as, for example, the recess in one bar may be one
quarter of the thickness of the bar, while that in the other is three quarters
of the thickness of the bar.
Figure 2 is a section of another girder, very similar to that shewn in
Figure 1, but with top and bottom flanges of unequal size; Figure 17 is a
section of the upper bar of this girder..
Figure 3 is a section of another girder, with a bead or thickened edge
instead of a bottom flange; Figure 18 is a section of the lower bar of this
girder or beam; Figure 8 is a section of a very similar beam, with a half
bead or projection on one side only of the bottom edge.
Figure 4 is a section of another girder, with a bead or thickened lower
edge, and a single flange at the upper edge; Figure 19 is a section of the
upper bar of this girder; Figure 14 is an elevation of this girder. I have
shewn this girder with a double row of rivets, and with a diagonal lap or
scarf at the junction of the two bars. Each bar is thickened a little at d,
so that it may be flush with the edge of the other bar. These variations are
applicable to all the other forms of girders shewn in the Drawing, and the
joint of the girder shewn in Figure 4 may also be constructed like those shewn
in Figures 1, 2, and 3,
Figure 5 is a section of another beam or girder, having a single flange at
top, and a double flange at bottom. The two bars are united with a diagonal
lap or scarf, as shewn in the Drawing. I prefer to make the lap joint at or
near the middle, or at or near the "neutral axis" of the beam or girder, so
that the part above the joint may be exposed to compression, and that below
the joint to extension, when the beam carries a load and is supported at the
ends in the ordinary manner.
When beams are required of greater depth than can be conveniently made
of two bars, I employ three or more bars rivetted together in a similar

page_text: manner; thus, Figure-6 is a section of a girder or beam constructed of three
bars rivetted together. The top and bottom bars are of similar form to some
of those herein-before described. The central or intermediate bar is of the
form shewn in. section in Figure 20, being made with a half lap at each
edge to fit the corresponding half-laps on the top and bottom bars. The
intermediate bar may be rolled with the half laps on the same side as in
Figure 20, or on opposite sides as in Figure 21, the upper and lower bars
being rolled with corresponding half laps, as shewn in section in Figure 7.
Figure 15 is an elevation of the girder shown in section in Figure 7. Two
or more of these intermediate bars may be introduced between the top and
bottom bars, if required, to obtain a beam or girder of sufficient depth.
In some cases one of the bars may have its edge turned over or rolled, so as
to form a flange at its junction with the other bar, as shown in section in
Figures 9 and 10, or both bars may be so formed, as shown in Figure 11.
These flanges may be used for supporting joists or for other purposes, and
also serve to increase the lateral stiffness of the beam or girder. The same
result may be obtained by rivetting angle irons on one or both sides of the
beam or girder, and the angle irons may be secured by the same rivets which
connect the bars together, as shown in section in Figure 12. These angle
irons may extend the whole length of the beam, or may be merely short
pieces rivetted to the beam at the places at which they are required for
supporting joists or for other purposes.
I have described the various forms of beams or girders as though placed
in a suitable position for carrying a floor, but they may, of course, be
placed in inclined or other positions, or made into frames for the ribs and
deck beams of ships, in a similar manner to that in which ordinary deck-beam
bars rolled in one piece are now employed. In lieu of rivetting the bars
together, they may be connected by bolts and nuts, or by screws passing
through one bar and screwed into the other, and placed in one or more
rows.
.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that what I
claim is,―
First, constructing wrought-iron beams and girders by rivetting, bolting, or
connecting together with a lap joint, two wrought-iron bars, each of which is
rolled with a flange, or bead, or projection on one or both sides of one of its
edges, and with a recess or lap at the other edge, as herein-before described.
Second, constructing wrought-iron beams and girders of two wrought-iron

page_text: bars, each of which is rolled with a flange, or bead; or projection on one.or
both sides of one of its edges, and with a recess or lap at the other edge,
rivetted; or bolted, or connected by lap joints to one or more intermediate
wrought-iron bars, which are also rolled with recesses or laps at both of its
or their edges, as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Gay Newton Alleyne, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Ninth day of March, in the
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
year of
Witness,
WILLIAM ARTHUR,
of the Butterley Ironworks.
J. G. N. ALLEYNE. (L.S.)