Improvements in the Manufacture of Forgings.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 28th June, 1899
Improvements in the Manufacture of Forgings.
I, DONALD BARNS MORISON, of Hartlepool Engine Works, Hartlepool, in the
County of Durham, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to
be as follows:-
In the Specification of my previous application for Letters Patent No. 4025
dated February 23, 1899 there is described an improved manufacture of forgings
in which the pieces of metal of which the piles are built up are of sections such
as will, when laid in a pile, form practically regular channels for the free
circulation of the gases without the employment of loose separating pieces, the
sections being adapted for uniform heating, and of such formation that, in
the process of welding together into a bloom, portions of the sections of each:
piece in each layer will penetrate and imbed themselves in the pieces of the
adjoining layer and so form an interlocked welded surface as differentiated
from a plane or more regular welded surface and as differentiated from the
imbedding of loose distance pieces which might imperfectly weld to either of
the layers above or below them.
Now according to the present invention the pieces are of such sections and
are so piled that those of one layer will be parallel to and will break joint with
those of adjacent layers and will of themselves form channels for the free circula-
tion of the furnace gases, the portion or portions of the section which rests or
rest on or comes or come in contact with the next lower layer and which cause a
vertical separation of the layers, coming under or over or not under or over
those of the adjacent layers. In the case of a forging for a propeller shaft, it
is highly important, in order to minimise the tendency to dangerous local
corrosion or grooving, that the fibre of the iron should be maintained in a
direction approximately parallel to the axis of the shaft; this necessitates the
joints of the pieces composing the pile being all in one direction and, unless
special sections are used, there is a danger of imperfect welding together of
'the pieces on account of their tendency to spread or becon.e further apart when
the pile is being hammered. According to my invention however ridges or
projections are so formed upon the pieces, and the pieces are so arranged that,
when the pieces are being welded together under a hammer, the ridges or pro-
jctions will penetrate or imbed themselves in the juxtaposed portions of the
pieces of the next layer in such a manner as not only to hold or lock the pieces
together and prevent them spreading but to cause lateral displacement of the
metal of the layer in which they become imbedded in such a manner that the
longitudinal joints between the pieces forming each layer are forcibly closed and
effectively welded.
In order that the pieces of each layer may break joint with those of adjacent
layers I prefer the pieces of each layer to be of a different width to those of the
adjacent layers and each layer to comprise a different number of pieces to the
layers adjacent to it. For instance, the pile may consist of a lower layer com-

page_text: prising say two wide pieces of rectangular section each integrally formed on its
underside with two longitudinal ridges or projections of triangular section, the
next layer comprising three pieces of similar section but of less width so that
say three pieces arranged side by side will form a layer approximately equal
in breadth to the layer beneath it, the middle piece covering the longitudinal
joint between the two pieces of the lower layer. Layers consisting of wide
pieces and narrow pieces are arranged alternately throughout the pile. The
uppermost layer may consist of a less number of pieces than the other layers,
for instance, it may consist of one wide piece covering the joint between the
pieces of the next layer which may also consist of wide pieces.
In order to further increase the stability of the pile and reduce the dangers
arising from a careless construction of the pile, I may form a groove or grooves
on one surface of the pieces of iron in which the projecting ridges or portions of
the next layer rest thus causing each piece to readily assume its correct position
and so maintain the desired spaces between the pieces in each layer.
The formation of laminations in forgings produced from such piles will be
minimised owing to the metal of one layer becoming imbedded in the next and
thus preventing continuous horizontal joints or welds, whilst the arrangement
of the pieces so as to break joint prevents continuous vertical joints or welds
throughout the forging.
I, DONALD BARNS MORISON, of Hartlepool Engine Works, Hartlepool, in the
County of Durham, Engineer, 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 the Specification of my previous application for Letters Patent No. 4025
dated February 23, 1899 there is described an improved manufacture of forgings
in which the pieces or bars of metal of which the piles are built up are of
sections such as will, when laid in a pile, form practically regular channels for
the free circulation of the gases without the employment of loose separating
pieces, the sections being adapted for uniform heating, and of such formation
that, in the process of welding together into a bloom, integral portions of the
sections of each piece or bar in each layer will penetrate and imbed themselves
in the pieces or bars of the adjoining layer and so form an interlocked welded
surface as differentiated from a plane or more regular welded surface and as
differentiated from the imbedding of loose distance pieces which might im-
perfectly weld to either of the layers above or below them.
It has been found in practice that when iron bars are subjected to compound
stresses those in which the fibre of the iron is in a direction parallel to their
axes give the most satisfactory results. In the manufacture from iron of a
forged shaft (such, for example, as a steam ship propeller shaft which is sub-
jected to very severe torsional and transverse stresses), the forging is produced
from strips or bars of iron built up into a pile, which is heated and subsequently

page_text: welded so as to form part of the forging and, notwithstanding that it is
advantageous that the fibre of the iron should be parallel to the axis of the
forging produced, it has been usual, in building the pile, to place the bars
of each layer at right angles to the bars in the adjoining layers in order to give
stability to the pile, the bars of which are found to spread or move apart during
manipulation and welding if arranged parallel with each other.
Now, according to the present invention the pieces or bars (hereinafter referred
to as bars) are of such sections and are so piled that those of one layer will be
parallel to and will break joint with those of adjacent layers and will of them-
selves form channels for the free circulation of the furnace gases, the portions of
the section which rest on or come in contact with the next layer and which
cause a vertical separation of the layers, coming under or over or not under
or over those of the adjacent layers. The channels so formed are also well
adapted for the free outflow of slag during heating and welding, which is so
necessary for the production of sound forgings.
The ridges or projections are so formed upon the bars, and the bars are so
arranged that, when they are being welded together under a hammer, the ridges
or projections will penetrate or imbed themselves in the juxtaposed portions of
the bars of the next layer in such a manner as not only to hold or lock them
together and prevent them spreading, but to cause lateral displacement of the
metal of the layer in which they become imbedded in such a manner that the
longitudinal joints between the bars forming each layer are forcibly closed and
effectively welded.
The effect of this is that the forging produced by the heating and welding
of such a pile will not only be comparatively free from lamination and have the
joints between the bars forming each of its layers effectively welded, but the
fibres of the iron will be approximately parallel throughout the forging, which
will therefore be better able to withstand compound stresses such as obtain in
propeller shafts and the like and will in the case of propeller shafts be less
liable to the well known dangerous local grooving than forgings of ordinary
manufacture.
In order to further increase the stabiity of the pile and reduce the dangers
arising from a careless construction of the pile, I may form a groove or grooves
on one surface of the bars of iron in which the projecting ridges or portions of the
next layer rest thus causing each bar to readily assume its correct position and
so maintain the desired spaces between the bars in each layer.
In the accompanying illustrative drawings,
Fig. 1 shows in perspective a pile ready to be heated and welded for the manu-
facture of a forging according to this invention; and Fig. 2 is an end elevation
to an enlarged scale of three layers of the pile shown in Fig. 1.
The pile is built up of bars of iron rolled to an approximately rectangular
section with integral triangular ridges or projections a on one side; grooves or
recesses b may be formed on the other side extending longitudinally of the bars,
and adapted for the reception of portions of the ridges or projections a of the
bars of the adjacent layer as shown clearly in Fig. 2. The bars in each layer
are of the same width but of a different width to the bars in the adjoining layers
so that the joints in one layer are not in the same vertical planes as the joints
in the adjoining layers. The bars also of themselves form regular channels
for the free circulation of the heating gases and the free outflow of slag the
object being to ensure a practically uniform distribution of heat throughout the
pile and the effective welding of the bars. For example, the pile may, as illus-
trated, consist of a lower layer comprising two bars of rectangular section, each
integrally formed on one side with three longitudinal projecting ridges a and on
its other side with grooves suitable for the reception of portions of similar
ridges a of the superposed layer which comprises three narrower bars with two
ridges a, these narrower bars being of such width that, when arranged side by
side with suitable spaces between them, they will form a layer equal in breadth

page_text: to the adjoining layers. The uppermost layer may consist of a single bar of
the kind described arranged so as to cover the joint between the two wide bars
of the layer below it. The stability of the structure is ensured by reason of each
bar readily assuming the correct position with the desired spaces between the
bars in each layer and with the projections a resting in the grooves b notwith-
standing careless building up of the pile" When the bars are being welded
under a hammer the ridges a will penetrate or imbed themselves in portions
of the bars of the next layer in such a manner as not only to hold or lock the
bars together and prevent them spreading by becoming separated from each
other but to also cause lateral displacement of the iron of the layer in which
they become imbedded, whereby the longitudinal joints between the bars forming
each layer are forcibly closed and effectively welded. The formation of lamina-
tion in forgings produced from such piles will be minimised owing to the metal
of one layer becoming imbedded in the next and thus preventing continuous
horizontal joints or welds, whilst the arrangement of the bars prevents con-
tinuous vertical joints or welds throughout the forging.
Although I prefer to form the piles in the manner illustrated they may be
built up with other suitable sections, and the pieces may be of any number size
or weight as may be desired.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is
1. The herein before described improved method of manufacturing forgings
wherein the piles are formed by building up in layers bars or pieces of metal
each formed with integral ridges or projections, the arrangement of the said bars
or pieces being such that the bars or pieces and their fibres will be parallel, that
the bars or pieces will of themselves form channels for the free circulation of
the furnace gases through the pile, and that the bars or pieces of the several
layers will break joint with those of adjacent layers, so that (during welding)
the ridges or projections will penetrate the juxtaposed portions of the bars or
pieces of the next layer so as to hold or lock them together and displace laterally
the metal of the said locked bars or pieces, substantially as described.
2. In the improved method of manufacturing forgings specified in Claim 1,
and in which the fibre is maintained substantially in one direction building up
a pile of alternate layers of bars or pieces formed with integral ridges or pro-
jections and of different widths so arranged that the joints between the bars or
pieces of each layer break joint with those of the adjoining layer, substantially
as described.
3. A forging produced by heating and welding together a number of bars or
pieces rolled with longitudinal projections on one side and longitudinal grooves
on the opposite side, the bars or pieces being arranged with the edges of the
projections of one bar or piece resting in the grooves of the juxtaposed bars or
pieces, substantially as described.
4. The hereinabove described improved manufacture of iron forgings.
pated this 22nd day of November 1899.
For the Applicant,
W. LLOYD WISE,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Chartered Patent Agent.
For the Applicant,
W. LLOYD WISE,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Chartered Patent Agent.