US1180994A - Manufacture of wrought-iron. - Google Patents

Description

EDWARD L. FORD, OF YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO.

MANUFACT'URE OF WROUGHT-IBON.

Speeicaton of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 25, 191W.

Application led .Tul'y 23, 1914. Serial No. 852,627.

To all whom z't may concern Be it known that I, EDWARD L. FORD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Youngstown, in the county of Mahoning and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Manufacture of Wrought-Iron, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, inV which- Figure 1 is a View, partly in sideelevation and partly in vertical section, and largely diagrammatic, of one form of apparatus which may be employed in the practice of my invention, and Fig. 2 is a plan view showing a portion of a press which may be employed in the squeezing operation.

My invention has relation to improvements in the manufacture of wrought iron; and is designed to provide an efficient and economical process in which the puddling operations may be carried out mechanically.

In accordance with my invention,the iron to be puddled is placed in a suitable furnace together with definitely predetermined quantities of the reagents (oxid of iron, etc.) necessary for the conversion of the iron, and in order that just suflicient of these reagents should be added to do the work properly, and no more, the charged materials are preferably carefully weighed before mixing. That is to say, I prefer to add to the charge substantially the theoretical quantities of slag-making and oxidizing material necessary to perfect the operation. In order that this may be done, it is necessary that the furnace shall be provided with a lining which is practically neutral to both the pig iron and the added reagents at the temperature of puddling. To this end I provide the furnace with a liningof magnesia brick.

My improved method also includes the heating `of either the pig iron or the reagents, or both, before theyare brought together. This may be carried out in either one of two ways. Either the pig iron or reagents, or both, may be preheated to a temperature sufficient to make them react vigorously when brought together, but which would still require some extraneous heat to complete the oxidation; or, and this is preferred, one or both of the materials may be preheated to a temperature so high that the oxidation may be completed without the use of outside heat. In such cases, the oxygen is largely. furnished by the oxids present, and not from the air used to burn the fuel. This greatly increases the yield since the oxygen taken from the voxids reduces them to the metallic state and increases the weight of wrought iron made. The oxidation from the pig iron of the charge o f itscontained phosphorus, silicon, manganese and carbon by oxids of iron gives up some heat; but the reduction of the oxids to metal takes about the same amount of heat. Furthermore, since the slag must be liquefied, some additional heat is required for this purpose.

.A The whole method is, therefore,'apparently a refrigerating one, which makes it necessary that the materials must be very hot before coming together if the reaction is to be completed without the use of outside heat during the operation.

Oxids of iron containing the least oxygen will give up the most metallic iron and therefore are best suited for the purposes of my improved inethod. I therefore prefer to employ a lower oxid (FeO), rather than a higher oxid (Fe203), not withstanding the fact that the lower oxid re uires more heat per pound of iron reduced t an does the higher oxid. The yield attained by using the lower oxid is suiiciently greater to make its use decidedly economical.

A further feature of the invention relates to the construction of the furnace employed with the means for keeping the fuel supply away from the furnace at will, so that the fuel may be shut off during the boiling, rising and dropping of the metal. This enables, when desired, the complete non-use of air for the combustion of the fuel during this part of the operation, so that substantially all of the oxygen necessary for the removal of the metalloids shall come from the iron oxids in the reagents added.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown a suitable apparatus for carrying out my invention. In these drawings the numeral 2 designates a furnace havin a lining 8 of magnesia brick, and capable 0% rotation about a central longitudinal axis when balling the charge. The furnace is also mounted to be swung vertically on the trunnions 4. These operations may be efected in any suitable manner, as by the gearing 5 and hydraulic cylinders 6.

7 designates the fuel supply pipe which extends loosely through one of the trunnions 4 and thence up to the charging end of the furnace and through the cover 8 which closes the charging'opening 9.

10 designates a suitable overhead traveling crane having a receptacle 11 into which the balled iron may be discharged from the furnace.

12 designates a squeezing pit having the press heads 13 and 1-1, which may be operatedby the hydraulic cylinders 15 and 16, and by means of Which the slag may be squeezed from the ball.

17 designates a turning device arranged to be operated by a hydraulic cylinder 18.

This device provides means for turning theY ball intermediate the squeezing operations.

In order to permit the fuel supply to be kept away from` the furnace 2 at Will, the fuel supply pipe 7 is loosely mounted in the trunnion 4 so as to move in said trunnion independently of the movement of the furnace; and is arranged to be so moved'by any suitable operating device, such as the hydraulic cylinder 19. The rod 20 of the plunger of this cylinder is shown as having a roller support 21 for the pipe 7. In this manner the fuel supply pipe can be either kept in operative relation to the furnace, or the furnace may be moved independently thereof in tipping it.

The iron to be puddles is placed in the furnace Qeither in a cold condition and preheated before the addition of the reagents, or the-furnace may be charged with molten metal from a blast furnace or cupola. The predetermined amount of slag-making and oxidizin material, which is determined by previous y Weighing, isv added, this material being also preheated if necessary, so that When the mixture is made the reactions Will take place either Without any extraneous heat, or With a relatively small addition of said heat, as above described.

As the molten iron and added oxidizing' and slag-making materials react immediate to cause a more or less violent boiling, the furnace should be tipped up into the position shown in Fig; 1 to prevent boiling over. AAfter the metal quiets down, the furnace is brought to a horizontal position and is rotated about its longitudinal axis, so that the metal, ifnot already come to nature, Will be uniformly acted upon by theA reducing agent. The metal soon comes to nature; and the continued rotation `of the furnace about its longitudinal axis effects the balling of the metal. The furnace is rotated downwardly on its trunnions to discharge the charge upon the receptacle 11 which conveys it to the squeezing pit.

The advantages of my invention result from the. provision of a highly eiiicient and /economical method which can be carried out rapidly; in which a minimum amount of reducing and slag-making materials is employed, this being rendered possible by the use of predetermined definite quantities thereof, and by the use of the magnesia lining which is neutral to both the pig iron and to such materials at the puddling temperature. Also from the use of the lower iron oxids which largely increase the yield. The preheating of one or both of the charged materials is also a necessary feature in increasing the yield, together with the ability to controlv the fuel supply at will.

I claim:

1. In the manufacture of Wrought iron, the method which consists in mixing oxidizing and `slag-making materials with pig iron in substantially the theoretical quantities required to oxidize the metalloids, remove the carbon and make the slag, carrying out the reaction in a vessel having a lining which is neutral to the charged materials at the puddling temperature, and excluding oxygen either combined or free, except that present in the combined oxids of the charge, from the vessel during the reactions, substantially as described.

2. In the manufacture of Wrought iron, the method which consists in mixing oxidizing and slag-making materials with pig iron in substantially the theoretical quantities required to oxidize the metalloids, remove the carbon and make the slag, carrying out the reaction in a vessel having a lining Which is neutral to the charge, and preheating aportion of the charged material before mixing to a temperature such that the reactions necessary to produce Wrought I iron will occur without the use of external heat, substantially as described. 4

3. In the manufacture of Wrought iron, the method which consists in mixing oxidizing and slag-making materials with pig iron in substantially the theoretical quantities required to oxidize the metalloids, rcmove the carbon and make the slag, either the pig iron or the oxidizing materials or both being preheated to such an extent that the reactions necessary to produce Wrought iron can take place Without the use of external heat, carrying out the reaction in a vessel having ,a lining which is neutral to the charge, and excluding oxygen from saidvessel either combined or free, except that present in the combined oxids of the charge, substantially as described.

4;. In the manufacture of the improvement -Which consists in mixing oxidizing and slag-making materials with pig iron in substantially 'the theoretical quantities required to oxidize the metalloids,'remove the carbon and make the slag,-

carrymg out the reactions in a tipping puddling furnace, inclining the furnace during the reaction period, and preventing the enwrought iron,

niedeee gen from the exterior of the vessel to the interior thereof while the metal is boiling, rising and dropping, the charged materials being preheated to such an extent that the reactions necessary to produce Wrought iron will occur Without the use of external heat, substantially as described.

ln testimony Whereof,lhave hereunto set my hand.

EDWARD L. FORD.

Witnesses:

Jnssin D. Diener, F D. WILKERSON..

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