US674291A - Explosive and method of making same. - Google Patents

Description

'ni't -ated with cellulose or lignose, shit-asking Nl'TED TATES ATENT @ssinri.

JONAS n. nLoMEN AND HENRY c. ASPINWALL, on POMPTON TOWNSHIP,-

NEW JERSEY.

EXPLOSIVE AND stereos or MAE/{ENG SAME.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 674,291, dated May 14, 1901.

Application filed June 27, F900. serial D10. 21,70'9. (No specimens.)

To all whom it may concern:

lBe it known that we, JONAS EMILE BLo-, MEN and HENRY O. ASPINWALL, citizens of fui Base for High Explosives and Method of Making Same,of which the following is a speci- Gui-invention relates to a high explosive and method of making same, which high ex plosive may form a base for other high explosives or for celluloid compounds.

Our object is to produce an explosive which we can regulate in such a manner as to obtaina greater or lesser degree of force, as may be desired or may be most suitable for the purpose for which it may be intended, and to produce hn explosive that can be safely manufactured and'haudled and at a relatively low cost.

The nitration of organic substances by means of suitable acids is well known. Heretofore such substances have been nitrated singly and definite results 'have been obtained, such as nitroglycerin, nitrocellulose, nitrobenaene, and. others. Ourinvention contemplates, broadly speaking, the nitration of two or more substances together or, in other words, the co-nitration bforganio substances.

As the result of many experiments we have discovered that it is practicable to co-nitrate two or more organic substances.

The co-nitration of any two or more of the without raising the question as to whether it is-technically included in the term cellulose or not. v

As examples of the aromatic hydrocarbons we mention benzene, toluene, and naphthalene and of the hydroxyl derivatives of the hydrocarbons phenoland cresol. When one orinore of the aromatic hydrocarbons or. the hydroxyl derivatives, are cofollowing substances-cellulose, an aromatic vent effect of the co-nitrated substaucesupon each other which we have already mentioned results in an intimate mixture partially or wholly dissolved together, forming a colloidal mass. This colloiding will be more or less complete, depending upon the proportions of the cellu lose and thearomatic hydrocarbons or the hydroxyl derivatives of the hydrocarbons. The product obtained by these means has been found to be comparatively insensitive to shock or friction and is the explosive base soughtand which forms the subject-matter of this application. The explosive thus The explosive eifect of nitrocellulose" up, rending, or tearing of the fibers is formed may be made to fulfil other requirements of an explosive substance, as follows: We may add one or more of theoxygen-bearing salts-such, for example, as. the nitrates,

: the chlorates, or the perchlorates of barium, .sodiu m, potassium, and ammonium. We may also add an inert organicsubstance--such as eamphor,vaseline, petrolatum, or castor-oilshould we desire to'produce a celluloid'or.

should we desire to slow down the combustion and ohtaiii a less-violent explosive. The

addition of the oxygen-bearing salts or inert organic substances may readily be elfec'ted by' means of any of the well-known apparatuses for mixing or incorporating substances. The addition'may be effected in a dry state orthe substances may be wet or the co-nitrated product may be wholly or partially dissolved in a solvent and the substances then added.

As an example of the solvents that can be,

used may be mentioned acetona-amylaoetate,

"methyl alcohol, or acetic other.

10m present application is limited to a high explosive-or base for higbexplosives formed by the era-nitration. of cells and. a bydrocarbon and may be practically carried into now in a state in which it may be used as a '55 effect as followsz'Take one of the aromatic base for explosives or in the manufacture of hydrocarbons-such, for example, as na-phcelluloid. thalen-and bring it to a liquid state by Claims to the high explosive or base for heat, or, on account of the ease with which high explosives and nethod of making such naphthalene resublimes when heatedwe may, explosive or base, formed by the co-nitration y if desired,'brin'git toaliquid state by first par of'ce'llul0se;"a hydrocarbon, and a hydroxyl tially nitratingitand then melting-it. To the derivative of a hydrocarbon and also by the melted naphthalene we add cellulose, which o e-nitration of cellulose and a bydroxyl de- 10 is mixed in and macerated with the melted rivative of a hydrocarbon, are made in our naphthalene. The following proportions will copending application, Serial No. 36,051, filed produce satisfactory results: Two parts, November 10,1900; by weight, of naphthalene and one part, by If we desire to use this base inproducing weighnof cellulose, and these are macerated another variety of high explosive, we may r 5 togetherat about centigrade. During the take any number of parts of the co-nitrated maceration the cellulose fibers will be someproduct above described audadd any num 70 what broken up. Afterthe mixture is cooled ber of, parts of one or more oxygen-bearing it will be found to be, friable and less bulky salts. For example, forty parts of the cothan the cellulose alone before it was put in. nitrated product above described and sixty 20 A smaller amount of acid, therefore, can be parts of an oxygen-bearing salt, such as soused than is required in the nitration of celdiuin nitrate, will produee'au efficient high lulose alone.- The mixture thus formed may explosive. For use in firearms and as smokethen be nitrated by any of the well-known less powder we'inay add to -the'co-nitrated methods that areemployed in the nitration product one or more of the oxygen-bearing I 25 of cellulose, the strength of the acid varying salts,.an'd we may also add -'a neutral snbaccording to the nitration desired. stance-such, for example, as paraffin, vase- We have found that an acidmixtureconline, or east-t-r-oil-and to act as a deterrent taining from sixteen to thirty per cent. nitric to prevent' too ,rapid combustion, we have acidaud twenty-five to fifty per cent. sulfuric found that a mixture of seventy parts of 30 acid will produce satisfactory results. such a 'eo-nitration product as above de- The hereinabove-described mixture of celscribed, twenty -sev"en parts of barium nilulose and naphthalene is dipped in the acid' trate, and three parts of potassium uiti ate mixture in the proportion of about one part, gives satisfactory rbsults'. Such a mixture" by weight, of the cellulose-and-haphthalene may be formed intfig grains of-suitable sizes 35 mixture tothree and one-half parts, by weight, and shapes by'any 5f the well-known means 0f the acid mixture andaliowed to remain usually employed. 9e

for a period of about twenty-four hours, the What we claim is-- temperature at time of dipping 30 .centi- 1. All explosive consistingbfa colloided,-

grade and gradually raised up to-about 80 comminuted, friable mass containing the fol- 4.0 centigrade; The temperature and the time of lowing eo-nitrated substances, viztccllulosc immersion willvary with the nitration de- ,and a-hydrocarbon,substantiallyusspecified. sired, the strength of the acid, and the rela- 2. The method of formin'ganexplosive-con tive propo 'tion of tlieingreilieuts. The nitrasisting in nitration together cclluloseand a tion may a so be increased by renitration or hydrocarbon, substantially as specified. 45 by adding a stronger acid mixture after the In-testimonythat we claim the foregoing m firstreaetion has taken place and the teink as our vinvention we have signcd'tmr names,, we

peratnre begins to go down. After the nitrainpresence of two witnesses, thie -5th day of tiond is congpletlel, as above described, the June, 1900.

pro net is recc rom excess of acid byany k 5-0 of thewell knownmoans such-as are em-' ALL ploye'd in the manufacture of nitrocellulose.

It, is thenihoroughly washed in cold and hot Witnesses: v ,waterin older to completely free it from acid FREDK. HAYNES, and thoroughly pnrify it. 'The: product is EDWARD .VJESER.