US3060498A

US3060498A - Apparatus for producing fibers from mineral materials

Info

Publication number: US3060498A
Application number: US59610A
Authority: US
Inventors: George A Rubissow
Original assignee: Ind Dev Co Establishment
Current assignee: Industrial Development Co SAL
Priority date: 1959-10-02
Filing date: 1960-09-30
Publication date: 1962-10-30
Anticipated expiration: 1979-10-30
Also published as: GB911471A; FR1246892A

Description

Oct, 30, 1962 G. A. RUBISSOW APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING FIBERS FROM MINERAL MATERIALS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 50, 1960 FIG.2

George A.Rubissow INVENTOR.

AGENT.

Oct. 30, 1962 G. A. RUBISSOW APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING FIBERS FROM MINERAL MATERIALS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 30, 1960 George A .Rubissow INVENTOR AGENT.

United States Patent Ofiice A 3,060,498 Patented Oct. 30, 1962 3,060,498 APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING FIBERS FROM MWERAL MATERIALS George A. Rubissow, New York, N.Y., assignor to Industrial Development Co. Establishment, a corporation of Vaduz, Liechtenstein Filed Sept. 30, 1960, Ser. No. 59,610 Claims priority, application France Oct. 2, 1959 2 Claims. (Cl. 182.6)

The present invention relates to the production of fibers from molten mineral materials such as rocks, slags, glass, etc.

In order to form fibers of this kind, the most effective method consists in operating by centrifuging. The molten material is led onto wheels rotating at high speed, is projected by the wheels and is thus drawn into very fine filaments which solidify on cooling. While this method is simple in its principle, its practical application involves a great many difficulties. In order to obtain a satisfactory production, it is the usual practice to utilize simultaneously a number of fiberizing wheels, yet the simultaneous supply of these wheel with molten material from the same distributor necessitates great precautions if it is to be stable and homogeneous. In order to combine the stabilization of the fibers by cooling with a satisfactory hot drawing of the molten material, special arrangements must be made for heating the fiberizing wheels. The active surface of these wheels is frequently provided with grooves or formations intended to facilitate the flow of the liquid material.

These various necessities result in a complex installation which is diflicult to operate.

The present invention has for its object a device of simple construction which ensures reliable and eflfective operation.

This device comprises essentially, disposed in a plane inclined at 45, a distributor constituting by a rotating concave bowl, the interior of which is directed upwards to receive the molten material, and a plurality of rotating discs uniformly distributed around the distributor and driven by shafts placed under the said discs, a blown current of upwardly moving air or stream ensuring the carrying away of the fibers formed on the peripheries of the discs.

Experience has shown that, with this arrangement, the distribution bowl produces a sheet of streams of molten material in the plane of its edge and that these streams are transformed into long, fine and uniform fibers when they meet the edges of the discs.

The discs are fairly thin, stamped from a single sheet of steel, and are of very simple shape. Their active surfaces are formed by the peripheries of the discs, roughly turned, without special machining and without grooves. The precision of the sheet of liquid threads permits the thickness of the discs to be made very small. By reason of the natural cooling effect, the heating of the discs is small and no cooling means are required.

The discs which constitute the fiberizing wheels are designed in such manner that their active edges have a large peripheral development, which implies that they must be given a large diameter as compared with the usual types of fiberizing wheels. By reason of the small heating effect to which they are subjected, these discs can be carried by ball bearings mounted very close to their surface, which facilitates the construction and gives greater strength to the device.

The accompanying drawing shows one embodiment of the device according to the invention. Therein:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view of the device in vertical cross-section;

FIG. 2 is a view taken along the line II-II of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows the device in side elevation; and

FIG. 4 is a view taken along the line IVIV of FIG. 3.

The fiberizing device comprises essentially a distributor constituted by a concave dish or bowl 10 having its concave side turned upwards. This bowl 10 is carried by a shaft 11. This shaft is driven in rotation at a speed of about 1,000 r.p.m.

In the plane of the edge of the bowl 10 there are arranged the fiberizing wheels 12 mounted on the shafts 13. These wheels, which may be of any desired number, are uniformly spaced around and enclose the distributor 10.

The bowl 10 and the wheels 12 are inclined at an angle in the vicinity of 45.

-Each wheel 12 is a flat disc of small thickness. It is constituted for example by a member of sheet steel of small thickness of the order of 1" to 2", simply cut out and turned, the edge of the disc being left as it is finished by the turning operation.

In FIGS. 1 and 2 there is shown a device comprising four fiberizing wheels 12. It will of course be understood that the device could comprise only three wheels or conversely six or eight wheels, or even more.

The wheels 12 are preferably provided with a diameter greater than 300 mm., one foot. They may have a diameter of 500 mm. or more. The shafts 13 drive the wheels 12 in rotation at a speed of 3,500 to 10,000 rpm. This speed is variable in dependence on the diameter of the wheels, the nature of the material treated and the diameter of the fibers which it is desired to produce.

The shafts 13 are carried by ball bearings, of which one is located in the vicinity of the disc at 14.

A conduit 15 channels the flow of the molten mineral material. The flow is arranged so as to fall vertically substantially onto the center of the bowl '10. The unit constituted by the distributor 10 and the wheels 12 is mounted in a casing 16, in the interior of which then is produced a rising current of air, indicated by the arrows 17.

The molten material falls into the bowl 10 and is projected by centrifugal force in the form of a sheet 18 into the plane of the edge of the bowl. This sheet encounters the edges of the wheels 12 and is transformed, by virtue of the high speed of rotation of the said wheels, into fibers 19, which are detached from the wheels 12 and carried away into the casing 16 by the flow of air 17. This entrainment is facilitated by the inclination of the wheels 12 at 45.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show the construction of the device. The distributor 10 and the wheels 12 are mounted on a frame 20 carried by wheels 21. The frame 20 carries a plate 22, inclined at 45, on which are fixed the

sleeves

23 and 24 which carry the ball bearings of the shafts 11 and 13.

These shafts are driven by the

motors

25, 26 and 26. The motor 25 drives the shaft 1 1 of the concave distributor by means of a belt 27. The motors 26 and 26' drive the four wheels 12 in pairs through a suitable arrangement of belts 28. The furnace which supplies the conduit 15 with molten material is shown at 29.

Around the wheels 12 and below the latter there is arranged a tubular ring 30 with blowing nozzles 31. The ring 30 is coupled to a. source of compressed air or steam, not shown, which supplies jets of fluid 32 spaced apart around the wheels 12 for carrying away the fibers as they are formed.

The device shown may be provided with wheels 12 having a diameter of 500 mm. which enables a production of 4 tons of mineral fibers per hour to be obtained.

I claim:

1. A device for producing fibers from molten mineral material, comprising a cup-shaped distributor rotatable about an inclined axis, said distributor having an upwardly concave face freely accessible from above, a plurality of flat disks angularly spaced about the periphery of said distributor and rotatable substantially in a common plane with said periphery perpendicular to said axis, supply means disposed above said distributor for cascading a stream of molten mineral onto the center of said concave face, drive means beneath said plane for rotating said distributor and said disks, said distributor being positioned to deliver said molten material to the upper flat fiberizing surfaces of said disks, and circulating means for creating around said distributor and said disks a gaseous flow moving upwardly along said axis for entraining filamentary fragments of said mineral material.

2. A device for producing fibers from molten mineral material, comprising an inclined duct of circular crosssection, a cup-shaped distributor rotatable about the center line of said duct and positioned therein, said distributor having an upwardly concave face freely accessible from above, a plurality of flat disks in said duct References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,156,982 Harford et al May 2, 1939 2,318,244 McClure May 4, 1943 2,678,466 Tillotsou et a1. May 18, 1954 2,774,103 Graybeal Dec. 18, 1956 2,784,451 Bowen Mar. 12, 1957