The Iron Age 1916-09-28: Vol 98 Iss 13

fi i, wey é & 4 % “yn yyy Cigy lier 2, CeO. z a . > weds « ESTABLISHED 1855 ' GE ‘ Z VOL. 98: No. 13 The Place of the Basic Bessemer Process It Had Only a Temporary Foothold in the United States—Its Extra Costs and the Reasons for Germany’s BY H.H. < N 1877 Thomas took out patents for the basic converter and immediately there were iron- masters all over the world dreaming dreams soon to be dispelled. It had been known for 20 vears that silicon and carbon could be burned out f pig iron by forcing a blast of air through liquid metal, and now it was shown that by using lime additions with a basic lining, the phosphorus could be eliminated by a short overblow after the carbon had been burned. Within a few years basic Besse mer converters sprang up in every iron district of Europe, and for long years many plants struggled existence where natural conditions were un- favorable. The younger generation may not know that two basic Bessemer plants were started in the United States, the first at Steelton, Pa., in and the other at Pottstown, Pa., a few years later. At both plants good steel was made, but the oper ating costs were high; and in every place and in every country they are higher than in acid prac ti n account of the following conditions: Lice ior L883, EXTRA COSTS Dolomite bricks are used for the lining of the converter and these are expensive, while their ile is short, complete renewal being aiter making 4000 or 5000 tons of steel. 2. Burnt lime must be added before beginning the blow, in sufficient quantity to neutralize all the ica produced and to absorb all the phosphori acid 3 The necessar\ S loss is greater. At Middlesbrough in England it-runs 16 per cent; but in the best prac lice with direct iron it has been brought down to 10 per cent, although this may have been for onl a Short period. More labor and more careful attention to de 4s are required than in an acid plant, and thes« things cost money in the United States. . Considering the greater conversion cost, it is plain that if the basic Bessemer is to compete with the d vessel, the market price of the pig iron used ist be considerably lower than that of stand ard Bessemer iron. This was hardly the case even curing the eighties, while after the development of transportation facilities on our Great Lakes, say - 1890, the regular Bessemer pig iron became ne arly as cheap as any iron in the market. It must derstood also that the basic converter calls iron of a certain special composition in re 691 Preeminence as Producer a AMPBELI to phosphorus, ilicon phur; and very fe To the subject ] elements spect manganest ores will give this special take ul} Ww we must understand separately PHOSPHOR! Che basic converter requires an iron with about 2 per cent of phosphorus, bec: practically all the heat produced during the blow mes from the ox dation of this element In the eat days a still higher percentage was necessar ‘ rregular operation; and even to-day there are slow-running plants which need as much as 3 per cent ph phorus, but it po ble to get along under good practice and fast working with 1.8 per t. There are comparatively few ores that will give iron carrying aS mucn as Ut! it there was littl trouble on this score when the sic converter wa started, for on every side there were great heap puddle cinder, while large quantities of ft terial were being turned out evel dav trom the ron works. It remained to be d ered that product ceases to be a bi product ist there is a demand for it In the principal iror strict Europe, it wa many years petore tne p! nhoru oblem bheca serious; but trouble had to come sooner or lat Nearly 20 years ago, the manage. vyrougnt-irol plant in England said that the sale of puddle cinde1 : was an important source of profit, while a neignhbo1 . ing basic Bessemer plant complained that nae ost more than good ors It emem bere ; also that basic Bessemer plant ed the same or ‘ as the iron works and that tl t steel produc supplanted wrought iron; so tne teel plant ! one hand drove the puddle es out of ness, and then expected t ed wit! mited amount of cinder Thus the last 30 eal rougnt omplete change in the posit hosphoru 4 the metallurgical world What were once heaps « " worthless slag soon became re, and to-da 3 Sweden exports large quantiti« f high phosphorus 2 ores, which are valuable just because the ntalr i the very element that not long ago v regarded a 'e the béte noire of the steel industr a MANGANESI , It has been found necessar to nave i rta 3 proportion of manganese in the pig ir ised it the basic onverter, to avoid eroxidation after the : Se say tee ok a ate — 692 overblow and consequent waste of the recarburizer. This oxidation is an ever present danger and it has been decided that the phosphorus should not be car- ried below 0.06 per cent, which hardly jibes with American specifications that insist the phosphorus shall be under 0.04 per cent. In fact, most basic Bessemer steel works would refuse to consider a specification calling for below 0.08 per cent of phos- phorus and would strenuously object to any limit at-all. So it is almost always necessary to add mangan- iferous ore in the blast furnace in order to get a pig iron with over 1 per cent of manganese, and preferably 2 per cent or more; and of course these additions increase the cost of the pig iron. One plant near Hannover in Germany has ore that gives a pig iron with about 3 per cent of phosphorus and 3 per cent of manganese, and this is the only works in the world which does not have to go to heavy expense in buying either phosphorus or manganese or both. SILICON It is almost necessary that basic Bessemer pig iron should be low in silicon, and it is desirable that this element should be above 0.50 per cent. If the silicon is high, the following difficulties will appear: 1. It-is the universal rule in basic Bessemer practice that burnt lime shall be put into the vessel before the pig iron is run in, and the proportion must be such that the final slag will contain about 50 per cent of CaO and not over 10 per cent of silica, and preferably as little as 6 per cent. It is plain that doubling the silicon in the iron neces- sarily doubles the amount of burnt lime required; and this is by no means a small item of expense. 2. During the first few minutes of the blow the silicon in the iron rapidly oxidizes and the result- ing silica attacks right and left indiscriminately both the lumps of lime and the lining of the con- verter. When the silicon is low the temperature is also low; but when there is 1 per cent of silicon or more, the newly formed slag is hot and fluid and it makes inroads into the lining. 3. A normal slag carries nearly 10 per cent of chemically combined iron, to say nothing of mechan- ically held shot, and doubling the volume of slag doubles the waste of metal in the cinder. 4. Doubling the amount of slag increases the loss due to slopping. In the best practice the basic converter ejects little more than the acid vessel; but when the pig iron carries over 1 per cent of silicon, the loss from this cause is serious. 5. Doubling the volume of slag means that the final slag contains only half the proportion of phos- phorus. Under good conditions the phosphoric acid should run from 16 to 20 per cent and then the slag commands a high price as a fertilizer; but if it contains only 8 or 10 per cent it is hardly market- able, for the lower the percentage of phosphoric acid the greater the proportion that is “insoluble,” and therefore not available for plant food. SULPHUR It has been stated that iron for the basic con- verter should not carry over 0.50 per cent of silicon, but this specification often produces high sulphur, and even in the best European practice the sulphur is much higher than in our basic pig iron. Some sulphur is eliminated in the mixture, through liqua- tion of sulphide of manganese, which oxidizes on exposure to the air; so that the atmosphere for quite a distance around the mixer is pungent with sulphurous acid; but this action cannot be relied on to accomplish any radical elimination of sulphur. THE IRON AGE September 28, 191¢ The blast furnace is the proper place to dea! with this element. NORTHWESTERN EUROPE These metallurgical limitations rendered jm. practicable, or at least unprofitable, the use of the basic Bessemer converter in many places whe operations were started more than 30 years ago. The United States has no suitable ore and, as already explained, the basic process has never made a place for itself in our country. Sweden has enormous deposits of high phosphorus ore, but there is no coal and the output of basic Bessemer steel is only 50,000 tons per year. Russia has only a limited amount of good ore, the rest being high in silica, while the coal is high in sulphur, and this country makes only 150,000 tons of basic Bessemer stee! per year. Austria produces 300,000 tons, but half of the ore is brought from Sweden. Great Britain turns out less than 500,000 tons per year and pro- duction is steadily declining. In accordance with the inexorable law of the survival of the fittest, the production of basic Besse- mer steel has centered in northwestern Europe, where the basic converter forms the basis of the whole steel industry. Before the war the output in Belgium from the basic converter was about 2,000,000 tons per year; northeastern France pro- duced nearly 3,000,000 tons and western Germany 10,000,000 tons. The basic Bessemer steel made in this little territory amounted to about 15,000,000 tons, or one-fifth of all the steel of every kind pro- duced in the world. MINETTE ORE The foundation stone of all this activity is the Minette deposit in German and French Lorraine. This ore contains only from 30 to 35 per cent of iron in the natural state; but it is not so bad as it appears at first glance. If we imagine this ore to be subjected to a red heat, or “after ignition,” as we would say, it will have the following composi- tion: Iron, 45.7 per cent; silica, 7.9 per cent; lime, 13.5 per cent; alumina, 6.6 per cent; manganese, 0.4 per cent; sulphur, 0.05 per cent; phosphorus, 0.82 per cent, giving a pig iron with 1.68 per cent of phosphorus. The ore varies widely, but the fore- going figures are calculated from the laboratory results on over 1,000,000 tons shipped to Belgium from French Lorraine. The poverty of this ore is not without its com- pensations, for the large amount of slag produced in the blast furnaces takes care of the sulphur; and some furnaces have run for weeks, or even months, with the silicon in the pig iron always between 0.30 per cent and 0.50 per cent; while at the same time the sulphur was kept below 0.10 per cent. Consid- erable manganiferous ore must be added to the fur- nace mixture, but such ore is quite abundant in western Germany, while additional phosphorus is obtained from Swedish ore. It was stated early in this article that the deposit near Hannover in Ger- many furnishes the only ore in the world which alone by itself will give a pig iron suitable for making basic Bessemer steel; but this Minette ore just described can be used by the addition of a mod- erate amount of phosphorus and manganese to the blast-furnace mixture, and this is why the great iron district reaching from Metz to the North Sea has come into being. POSITION OF GERMANY From a merely geographical point of view, either Belgium or France might have developed this Minette field; but it was Germany that imme- diately adopted the basic converter just as soon as September 28, 1916 + had been tried in England, and even before it was we under way. England has the honor of starting hoth the acid and the basic Bessemer, but it was left to the United States to show the world what . acid vessel could do, while Westphalia was to develop the possibilities of the basic converter. It is rather hard to explain just how this all came about, but the facts are clear. Looking for a moment at the acid Bessemer in our own country, we know that from the beginning almost every works made from two to five times as much steel as the best plants across the water. For many years Europeans refused to believe that we told the truth about our output, and even a personal visit by some of their metallurgists would not convince them that operations could be carried on every day continuously under whip and spur. In the late nineties, however, the facts were too well known to be disputed, and an English plant that desired to increase its output installed American equipment in its Bessemer department. Any of our foremen, with a nucleus of American workman, could have doubled the tonnage in two months, but the British steelworkers refused to wake up, and it was necessary to build a second plant and run both of them at what we would call half speed. The Germans have done for the basic Bessemer just what we did for the acid converter; but they have not reached and never can reach the rate of production that is so common in this country, be- cause in a basic plant there are so many little things to watch all the time and so many extra operations. The adding of the lime, the decantation of the slag and the delay that seems to be necessary after the addition of the recarburizer, all make for slower work, while, as already stated, the converter lining has a shorter life. Under these conditions it is a notable achievement when a plant of three 20-ton converters turns out 35,000 tons of steel in a month. There are also technical problems at every step, for a variation in the proportion of silicon in the pig iron will mean a change in the weight of lime added; again, any variation in the speed of the blowing engine makes a difference in the length of the overblow, while there is no sharp warning corresponding to the drop of the carbon flame, to danger of excessive rephosphorization when the re- carburizer is added; for rephosphorization always takes place to some extent, say as much as 0.02 per ent, and it may be three times as much if condi- tions are not just right. Finally, the composition of the slag must be kept constant so that it can be sold as a fertilizer. All these technical and practical problems were worked out in Germany long ago, and all suecessful basic Bessemer practice is a copy of what has been done on the banks of the Rhine. IMPORTANCE OF THE BASIC CONVERTER Here in the United States we are apt to forget iow important a part the basic converter plays in the steel industry. In 1913 it made nearly one- iarter of all the steel of the world, and almost much as the acid Bessemer and the acid open- hearth put together. During the ten years from 1903 to 1913 the world’s output from the acid con- verter increased only 8 per cent, but the produc- from the basic vessel nearly doubled. A great ' of this basic Bessemer steel comes from Bel- n and from that portion of France which is in * war zone; so all figures for the last two years worthless. But there is every reason to sup- e that production will be resumed and will in- se soon after the declaration of peace. ere THE IRON AGE 693 A New Blast-Furnace Top A novel construction for a blast-furnace top has been invented (U. S. 1,193,750—Aug. 8, 1916) by William H. Bailey of Gary, Ind., chief engineer Indiana Steel Company. The inventor set out to devise a top to be supported independently of the masonry shaft of the furnace. The reason, as he states it, was that the masonry shaft of a blast furnace is subject to considerable longitudinal movement under expansion and contraction, and if the masonry lining for the top is directly connected to the masonry shaft and the masonry top is an- chored in any manner by structural work, as is usually necessary, the top will be distorted shortly after blowing in. A vertical sectional view through the upper por- tion of a blast furnace to which the new top has been applied is given in the illustration. The shell a of the furnace has a masonry lining, both shell and lining terminating at b. A plate c, in the form of an annular, laterally projecting shelf, is secured to the shell a by an angle, the outer edge Details of a Top for a Blast Furnace of the shelf being braced by members secured to the shell at a lower point. The shell d for the top is secured to the outer edge of the shelf c, and lined with masonry as usual. The masonry rests on the shelf c, and both the covering d and the lining are supported by the shell of the blast-furnace shaft, and are located entirely outside of it. This permits of an increase in the size of the top and provides for efficient distribution of the burden through the hopper and the bell. While the top is not connected to the blast-fur- nace shaft, it is rigidly secured to the shell so as not to be blown off. Another advantage is that the construction permits of the use of a masonry lin- ing for the top without lessening the space within which distribution may be made and providing a:n- ple space for the location of down-comers in the top if desired. Iron-Ore Exports from Newfoundland Iron-ore exports from Newfoundland for the fiscal year 1914-15 were 511,990 tons, of which 17,500 tons went to the United States, 382,260 tons to Canada, 41,300 tons to Holland, and 69,930 tons to the United Kingdom. For the fiscal year 1913-14 the total exports were twice as much, or 1,245,797 tons. The United States received 170,590 tons of this total; Canada, 785,- 245 tons; Holland, 122,332 tons; Germany, 51,790 tons, and the United Kingdom, 115,840 tons. The employees of the Remy Electric Company, An- derson, Ind., manufacturer of magnetos, have resumed night studies in electric work. The course will cover a period of 32 weeks. It will be the second year of the scheme. Graduates this year will receive a certificate of training for the automobile accessory field. me “Cat EE ae as wath Ak a a ek a are bee ~~ 084, 694 THE IRON AGE THE AUTOMATIC LAND CRUISER Part Played by American Company in Develop- ing the “Tanks” of French Battlefields BY W. E. FREELAND “It is now generally admitted that -the armored tractor car which met with such wonderful success in the great battles on the Somme front is orig- inally an American invention. It is true, as Mr. David Lloyd George says, that the big machines were built by the Munitions Department and that Col. Winston Spencer Churchill urged their adop- tion at an early stage of the war, but the idea came from the United States. “Designs of the death dealing machine were sub- mitted to the War Office more than a year ago, but Great Britain declined to finance their manufacture unless the tractors were made in England. This was finally agreed to. The man who brought the designs to Great Britain declines to permit the use of his name, declaring that for business reasons he does not desire to dim the glory of those credited with their introduction. He says he has designs for a tractor which probably will be even more effective.’—The New York Herald, Sept. 20, 1916. To understand how America furnished the inspi- AS) HABER 1GBD) N J J CA.£\ mS, J v7 - ra “TI. a™ rT FPF SI Te) } Sr TS) ae TT Nee a September 28. 191 ration for the building of these effective of weapons for the modern trench warfare, it ; sary to go back to the early summer of 1915 to ¢; offices of the Automatic Machine Company, B port, Conn. This company has for years many of the heavy duty gasoline engines used large tractors built in this country and was f: with the conditions under which tractors were ing in the Oregon forests, the Louisiana loy and the streets of our large cities. Norman |, treasurer of the company, realizing that the tr fighting of the present day had made a pr: deadlock of offensive and defensive, conceived the idea that an armored tractor of the “alligator” type would make it possible to cross trenches, e filading them, and that with sufficient power neither wire entanglements nor shell-pitted ground , ruined walls nor any of the debris of the battlefield would offer any serious obstacle to this ley armadillo. Tractors of the alligator type 24 ft. between dri ing wheel centers were already in use in Oregon. With the huge power and stability of these ma- chines, it would be easily possible to cover them with armor to withstand the fire of 3-in. guns and a comparatively small crew would be as effective as many hundreds of unprotected men. Mr. Leeds proposed that at least a thousand sie} Cf\ PHY? IV WTIVIAV ANVIIN GANT Mh 7) ty hi Hi ity aoa IRS $ oe hy A Fith Sh AS TORO OR RORR GRA al The land cruiser, so called, was suggested as a means for selling engines The idea was to put the offensive warfare in the ascendency, that is, it was a means of overcoming the trench defense. The design was purel) principle and not of detail Any machine of this type, the thought was, would accomplish the object, as long as it was capable of traveling over the trenches and rough ground The details of gun equipment or armor and the shape o! machine were matters to be decided upon by the British Government. Sep -mber 28, 1916 ; should be built for use in a mass forma- The front line “cruisers” would be used to r the territory over which they traveled; the nes, meantime, would be producing a curtain beyond them to protect the front line while ngaved in their work of reducing the fortified f the enemy. as but the work of a few days to make a pre- lin sketch of the “automatic land cruiser” as he ed the creation which appeared in consider- .ble detail upon his drafting board July 9, 1915. At this point Mr. Leeds called in Alec McNab, of the McNab Company, Bridgeport, manufacturer of appliances and an inventor of note, much ose work has been connected with various nhases of warfare. Mr. McNab is a retired engi- eer-commander of the Royal Navy and at once be- ime greatly interested in the development of the project. After a few days of joint effort, the re- vised sketch here shown was produced on July 14, 1915. It is this last plan which was submitted to the British War Office. From this point let us carry along the story in the terse language of Mr. McNab who, in a signed tatement, gives these facts: | sailed from New York on steamer St. Paul on y 17, 1915, arriving at Liverpoo! on July 25. On Tuesday, July 27, 1915, I went to the War Office aw Colonel Holden, Chief of the Army Service Corps, in which I went thoroughly into the matter and ed the apparatus to him. He, however, told me this was not pertaining to his department. On Sunday, Aug. 15, 1915, I left for Paris, arriving e same evening. On Aug. 17, I formally presented blueprints of the caterpillar tractor to the officers the French war office. Much more interest was shown had been accorded through Colonel Holden, at the British war office. On Friday, Aug. 20, I left Paris for London. How er, previously I cabled Mr. Leeds of the Automatic Machine Company, stating that if he cared to cable necessary expenses, I had every reason to believe good order would be forthcoming through the ch war office for automatic engines to be installed these tractors. On Monday, Aug. 23, I saw Gen. E. W. Moir, comp- er of munitions inventions at Whitehall, London, orming him that I had left a blueprint of the cater- r tractor with full particulars with Colonel Holden ' the A. S. C. British War Office, prior to my de- parture for Paris. General Moir was so interested by my verbal explanation that he immediately sent me to lone! Holden with a letter stating that he was to n these blueprints at once. On returning the blueprints, as per General Moir’s structions, and on thoroughly going over the matter th him, he stated that I should hear further regarding elopments in the course of a few days. On Wednesday, Aug. 25. I received a letter from the Naval Armored Car Division at Pall Mall, asking me ‘to attend a meeting of officers who were going to con- regard to the caterpillar tractor. I attended meeting as requested, which extended for several , and was advised that the matter would be taken further with me in “due course.” At that time I idvised them that should I not be in the country mmunicate with Norman Leeds, at the Automatic Company, Bridgeport, Conn. Nothing further ne; therefore this report is at end; however, I mly of the opinion that the recent advance on the has been entirely due to this very caterpillar my second return to Paris, on Tuesday, Jan. 11, | was fortunate to meet my personal friend, eur Corcas, secretary to M. Albert Thomas, Min- ' War. M. Corcas was very much perturbed that d have left Paris in August of last year very y, as it seems that the Minister of War and other “igh officials were so very interested in the caterpillar wa as submitted that they desired a further con- THE IRON AGE 695 ference with me, but were unable to accomplish this, owing to my departure. In the sketch as carried over the seas by Mr. Mc- Nab, Mr. Leeds had no thought of presenting a fin- ished product. The question of proper armament and its disposition was one to be settled by men expert in modern ordnance, not by an American engine builder. What the American wanted was to sell engines and at one time in the negotiations, according to Mr. McNab’s statement, and more par- ticularly found in correspondence and cablegrams which are in the file containing the full record of the negotiations, the prospects for an engine con tract were bright. The land cruiser as submitted to the war office was sketched in about the smallest dimensions which would be effective; there were no mechanical obstacles to be overcome in the building of much larger machines. The length over all is 23 ft. 6 in.; the width, 10 ft.; the height, 11 ft. The dis- tance between centers of drive wheels is 16 ft. The alligator type of drive was selected in place of the more common caterpillar type because of the greater bearing surface which would enable it to cross trenches of about 8 ft. in width and would give it more stability and tractive surface on badly broken ground and because it would have no ex posed front wheels to become caught or shot away. The weights are equalized throughout the apparatus as far as possible. The engine is placed a little aft of the center to compensate for the front or fighting end with its heavier weight of armament and am munition. Time will tell how much has been borrowed from these sketches in the building of the “tanks,” as Tommy Atkins terms them. New Standards of Testing Materials Society All of the revised standards, amended standards and proposed new standards of the American Society for Testing Materials have been approved by a mail ballot which has recently been canvassed. The list of standards covering specifications, tests and methods of testing and of making analyses includes 103 titles as compared with 88 in the 1915 Year-Book. The stand ards are effective from Sept. 1, 1916, except the revised standard specifications and tests for Portland cement, which by action at the last annual meeting will not hecome effective until Jan. 1, 1917. The amendments to the by-laws also carried and this means that the publication of the Year-Book has been discontinued as an annual and instead will appear as a biennial publication beginning with the 1916 book of “A. S. T. M. Standards.” This volume will contain about 800 pages and is expected to be issued toward the end of October. The membership of the society has now risen to 2104 members, a net gain of 33 since the annual meeting. The Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad, which has general offices at Dallas for its Texas lines, has set aside a tract of land adjacent to its new terminals in San Antonio as sites for manufacturing plants. It is stated by T. L. Peeler, industrial commissioner of the railroad, that more than 30 concerns have already obtained locations in the new industrial center, and that they will build plants as soon as the railroad terminals are finished. The workmen’s compensation board of Pennsylvania announces that it will provide counsel to appear in the courts in behalf of persons without funds who have been awarded compensation and whose employers have appealed cases to courts. This policy, it is stated, will also apply to dependents of those killed and whose com- pensation claims may be contested. ni) a a ose 1 maroon. - RE Sho STS eh: “SAREE a 6 nna Use of Titanium in Making Steel Castings’ How Best to Add It—Its Efficiency as a Deoxidizer Compared with Other Agents—As a Substitute for Manganese BY W. A. JANSSEN concerning the harmful effects of phosphorus and sulphur in steel, the occluded oxides and gases, such as iron oxide, Fe,O,, and an undefinable oxide, probably FeO, free oxygen, nitrogen and oc- cluded slags are the real causes of many of the troubles of the steel-maker. It is with the occur- rence of these elements and their elimination that he is especially concerned. It has been definitely demonstrated that the presence of oxygen, and possi- bly nitrogen, in steel reduces its static strength, dynamic properties and abrasive values and in- creases its tendency to corrode. To-day the pres- ence of oxygen and oxides in steel is considered PA secacaiae the haces all that has been said Fig. 1—Cracks Extending Through Small Groups of Alumina Inclusions in Titanium-Treated Steel to Which Aluminum Also Was Added more harmful than even relatively large amounts of phosphorus and sulphur. In a measure the same is true of nitrogen, although the investigations in this direction have not been sufficiently complete and the results are variable and uncertain. With the advent of ferroalloys of silicon and manganese containing high percentages of the active elements came the hope of an assured uniform qual- ity of steel. As deoxidizers, modern ferroalloys are efficient in a measure, but have certain limitations. It is the function of these deoxodizers to combine with the occluded oxides; the resulting products rise and become a part of the slag. Unfortunately the temperature of the metal and its resultant fluidity do not always permit these to complete their cycle and rise to the slag; they are entrapped as inclu- sions and the occluded gases are not entirely deoxi- dized. The known presence of oxides in excess of the amount which can be deoxidized by the usual additions of ferrosilicon and ferromanganese is not permitted because of specification tolerances for manganese and silicon content. SILICON NOT A STRONG DEOXIDIZER Silicon, comparatively speaking, is not a strong deoxidizer, and when it is added to steel a portion of *From a paper presented Sept. 15, 1916, at the American Foundrymen’s Convention in Cleveland, Ohio. The author is superintendent of the Bettendorf Company, Davenport, Iowa. it remains in the steel either as an alloyed consti. tuent, or the products of its oxidation may remai as inclusions. The usual analyses for silicon do no disclose whether or not the silicon is present iy ¢) steel as an alloyed silicide, as silica or as the si] Even if the silicon manifest itself as a silicide. show. ing a high silicide percentage, a wild heat is ant +, result, requiring the use of a further deoxid er (aluminum) when pouring the molds. In conjupe- tion with manganese, double silicates of iron and manganese frequently are formed. Such a cop- alr though singularly, a dirty steel often discloses ver; little segregation. Fig. 2 Typical Small Groups of Silicates and Sulphides Titanium-Treated Steel Titanium, until a comparatively few years ago looked upon as one of the rare metals, undoubtedly is one of the most powerful deoxidizers and denitro- genizers known. At the present time it may be ob- tained as one of the ferroalloys. Its chief value lies in its positive action’in the removal of the occluded oxides, nitrogen and entrapped slags, due to the fusibility of titanic oxide as formed and its greater stability as compared with iron oxide. Its function is further augmented by the increased fluidity due to the increased temperature because of the exother- mic reaction, thereby permitting freer movements of the oxidized products to slag. HOW TO USE TITANIUM The present-day method of using ferrotitanium is to augment the incompleted cycle with ferro- titanium after the other deoxidizers have been added. These may be added in the ladle, or in the furnace before tapping. After the titanium has been added, it is imperative and essential that the ladle be held from 5 to 10 minutes before pouring in order to allow time for the completion of the reactions. No fear need be had of the chilling © the metal inasmuch as the temperature is raise¢ appreciably, due to the exothermic reaction. It is essential that the titanium be not added until after the additions of ferrosilicon and ferromanganes¢ have been made. On account of the greater affinity 696 September 28, 1916 tanium for oxygen, the ferrosilicon and ferro- vanese must be given an opportunity to com- niete their primary deoxidation, thereby eliminating <olective oxidation. It is also essential that the ferrotitanium be added as soon thereafter as pos- s 30 that the alloy does not become a part of the slag and there perform its deoxidation. itanium at about 800 deg. C., combines with ven to form the stable titanium-nitride which lly finds its way to the slag. Microscopic ex- nation, however, sometimes reveals the existence cluded tiny, hard, pink crystals of titanium- nitride, which, however, are less harmful in effect than the occluded nitrogen. With all these bene- ficient effects, its use beyond a certain amount is of no avail and in a measure harmful. fitanium, singularly, does not form alloy steels as do the other deoxidizers, such as silicon, man- nese and vanadium. Many analyses of titanium treated steels do not reveal a titanium content higher than 0.025 per cent. With the use of alloys ntaining more than 10 to 15 per cent titanium, he results are not as effective, owing to the slower rate of solution. [he amount of ferrotitanium used depends in a measure on the kind of steel to be treated. In rail steel, an addition of 13.2 lb. of the 15 per cent alloy per net ton, representing a metallic titanium addi- tion of 0.10 per cent is satisfactory. In the use of titanium for steel castings the addition of 1% to b. per 1000 Ib. of metal.charged, in addition to the usual ferrosilicon and ferromanganese additions is usually sufficient to deoxidize the steel. The amount of ferrotitanium added, however, should be dependent on the quantity of impurities which are to be removed and the process of manufacture. VANADIUM AND TITANIUM COMPARED During the past few years specifications for steel castings for specific designs and service have de- manded the use of vanadium. Although the pres- ence of vanadium in steel undoubtedly has improved ts physical properties, it is questionable whether vanadium manifests its maximum efficiency in plain arbon steels, especially within the carbon range of steel castings. The vanadium addition is calculated as an alloying constituent, the amount present in the final product being within three or four points ' the desired calculated content. Vanadium has fested its greatest value when used in conjunc- with chromium and nickel as a deoxidizer. Vanadium is only 70 per cent as efficient as titanium nd has but little effect on nitrogen. WHEN STEEL BECOMES STRONGER With the elimination of the occluded oxides and slags, steel, because of its increased density and mogeneity, has improved static and dynamic prop- erties. A comparative test of 20 untreated and treated heats showed an increase in the ultimate trength of approximately 15 per cent with no re- n in elasticity and contraction. A remark- ‘ble endurance test was conducted by Enrique Tou- on untreated and titanium-treated steels of ‘ally the same chemical composition. The test nducted in a Wright-Souther machine at a tress of 38,872 lb. The untreated steel with- | 2,676,000 revolutions at this pressure, whereas © titanium-treated steel withstood 18,274,900 revo- at pressures varying from 38,872 up to ‘9 Ib. fibre stress. Many tests made on rails and machine parts in- the ability of titanium-treated rails to with- shocks and abrasion, the life of gears and eing about 50 per cent greater than those THE IRON AGE 697 made of untreated steels. In a comparative test on gears it was found that titanium-treated gears, al- though made of 0.20 per cent carbon steel, too soft to be ordinarily considered acceptable for machine parts, outlasted untreated steel gears of the same composition three to one. TITANIUM AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR MANGANESE With the present high cost of ferromanganese and the attendant shortage of supply, the writer has carried on some extensive experiments to con- serve his ferromanganese without affecting the quality of the product. Realizing that the manga- nese present in steel castings contributes only indi- rectly in increasing the strength, the purpose of these experiments was to reduce the manganese from 0.75 to 0.50 per cent. To be assured of the same strength, the usual ferromanganese addition was reduced from 320 lb. for a 20-ton heat to 200 lb. and the ferrotitanium addition increased from 60 to 120 lb. Tensile tests for these heats showed an average ultimate strength of 68,000 lb. for a 0.20 per cent carbon steel, with an average elonga tion of 30 per cent and a reduction of area of 47 per cent. It can be well appreciated that the use of ferro- titanium in making steel castings is no longer an innovation, but rather a necessity to offset the vagaries and shortcomings of present-day practice. Brass Manufacturers Hold Quarterly Meeting The National Association of Brass Manufacturers concluded its autumn meeting at the Traymore Hotel, Atlantic City, Friday evening, Sept. 15. The meeting was successful in every respect. Numerous important matters were disposed of, among them being the fol- lowing: The question of equalization of freight rates and establishing a proper scale or chart covering them; reaffirmation of an order passed at Cleveland March 17, 1910, adopting as a standard uniform center 7% in. for all bath cocks with ball offset couplings; adoption of a uniform distance from rear of flange of bath cock to the center line of couplings of 2% in. minimum to a maximum of 3 in., which will facilitate matters very materially with both jobbers and plumbers; adoption of a standard hose nozzle and swivel nut for bath cocks, which makes the taper on the nozzle of the bath cock, the swivel and the hose connection of a standard size, so that they will be interchangeable; appointment of a committee to present a uniform standard thread and taper of all basin cock shanks so that they will be like wise interchangeable. The matter of guarantee on goods, which is con sidered more or less of a useless and meaningless form and a relic of the darker ages, was discussed at some length and a committee was appointed to give it fur ther consideration. The meeting having been polled as to the labor situa- tion, trade conditions and future prospects, the result showed that the majority had been compelled to raise wages since the meeting held in Chicago in June, and several had been visited with strike troubles. The out look was reported as being very good. The next meeting will be held in New York City Dec. 13 and 14, at which time a banquet is to be pro vided, along with suitable entertainment, the arrange ments for which were placed in charge of a com mittee. A number of new members were taken in. The scale of operations in the motor-truck field is indicated in the recent purchase by Stedman Bent, haul- ing contractor of Philadelphia, Pa., of fifty 5-ton trucks from the White Company, Cleveland. The Commercial Club, Richmond, Ind., is raising $100,000 for a factory fund. In the first three hours of canvassing $30,000 was subscribed. or ae Tate: 7 on ‘ 698 THE IRON AGE FIRE RISK IN THE FOUNDRY Causes of Foundry Fires and the Precautions Which Will Prevent Them Since 1906 there have been 475 fires in foundries, according to reports received by the National Fire Pro- tection Association. in a paper presented at, the Cleve- land meeting, Sept. 11-16, of the American Foundry- men’s Association by Franklin H. Wentworth, secretary of the National Fire Protection Association, the causes of these fires are tabulated and methods of preventing similar fires are outlined. Most of the fires were pre- ventable, and many of them were due to hazards not usually associated with foundry. For instance, five fires were due to the dipping of hot cast-iron pipes, made in the foundry, into asphaltum or tar to rust- proof them. The cupola is the most prolific cause of foundry fires. Over 40 per cent of the fires from known causes origi- nated here, and nearly all of these could have been prevented by such simple precautions as removing com- bustible material from the vicinity of the cupola, using only non-combustible roof coverings, and equipping the cupola with a hood or other device to prevent sparks from being showered over the neighborhood. Next to the cupola the core oven is the most frequent cause of fire. This hazard, also, could be almost entirely elim- inated by giving careful attention to the construction of core ovens and their surroundings. Among the most frequent common causes are locomotive sparks and heat- ing. The former is in part explained by the fact that many large plants have their own locomotives which enter various buildings, while the latter is no doubt largely due to the habit of constructing in the foundry proper for the use of the foreman or superintendent a rough office with a carelessly installed stove. The record shows that 62.7 per cent of all foundry fires occurred at night, and for this reason they may smolder for several hours unless a watchman is present to detect the fire. However, 32.9 per cent of all foundry fires were discovered by the watchman, which is a very good record. It is doubtful if there is any industry in which a watchman has better opportunities to prevent loss by fire than in a foundry, and consequently great care should be used to select a suitable man for this position. An examination of the record of automatic sprink- lers in this class of property indicates that they have been very successful, for there were only 2.5 per cent of the fires classed as unsatisfactory and only 3.8 per cent of fires in buildings equipped with automatic sprinklers resulted in large losses. FOUNDRY FIRE HAZARDS Foundries have special fire hazards which are not present in other industries. Some of these are as follows: 1. Preparing the Mold.—Drying out the moisture from the mold by means of temporary stoves or fur- naces placed directly in the mold, by means of heating flues conducting heated air to the surface of the mold, or by means of portable torches, forms a hazard which has caused some, although a small number, of fires. 2. Core Ovens.—Over 15 per cent of the reported foundry fires are traceable to the core oven. Nearly all could have been prevented. Special effort should be made to remove all woodwork from the vicinity of the core ovens and their flues. If this is impossible, the woodwork should be covered with sheet metal, with lath and plaster or Portland cement, or an asbestos covering. A flue or oven too hot to be touched by the hand is dan- gerous. Stacks or flues passing through the roof should be protected by metal thimbles. Lumber and flasks should be kept from the top of core ovens. The ovens should be kept in good repair, and all cracks should im- mediately be filled with cement. Where possible, the core ovens should be outside the building, only the door opening into the foundry. 3. Melting Metal_—The cupola has been the cause of 42.7 per cent of all foundry fires, the larger portion of these resulting from sparks from the cupola. Fires September 28, (s1¢ from ihe cupola may be prevented by the obser, of the following ruies: (1) All roofs within | range ot sparks trom the cupola should be cover non-inliammable materiai; ,\Z) the cupola shou equipped witn a hood or other device to prevent trom being showered over tne neighboring root all unp.otected inflammable material shouid be 1 from proximity to the cupola walls. Wunere fireproot roofs are not used they shoud | covered with metal with no exposed wood vent frames or skylights. Special precaution should by er to prevent the roof igniting at the point where ¢| cupola stack passes thiough it. Charging floo 7 cupolas should be of non-combustible materia!, sy} as iron, brick or concrete. ‘l'nere is considerable dange; of fire when the cupola is dumped, and a hand hos: should always be placed nearby for such emerg: the brass furnace does not present as serious a hazard as the iron furnace. lt should not, however, be in pr imity to woodwork, and should never be used in r: which do not have fireproof floors. 4. Pouring.—Fires may be caused by the ignition of wooden flasks when the molds are poured. Such fires usually can be extinguished by throwing sand upon them. Hot metal, also may be spilled upon the floor or on combustible material nearby. If all combustibie sub- stances are kept out of the foundry, there is little likeli- hood of fires starting from the handling of hot metal. A few fires have been caused by the explosion of molds, due probably to excessive moisture. This cause is com- paratively rare. Many fires have resulted from hot smoldering wooden flasks, and as soon as the castings and sand have been shaken out, the flasks should be removed from the foundry. They should not be put into storage until several hours have elapsed, in order to insure that there are no live sparks in them. The only damage from iron flasks is that they may be placed, while hot, against a combustible wall. 5. Cleaning and Finishing.—lIn general there is but little fire danger in the cleaning of castings. Where the castings are pickled, care should be used in the storage of the acids used. In grinding castings there is a slight hazard from accumulations of emery wheel dust, which if wet may heat and ignite spontaneously. The rag wheels used for burnishing, buffing and polish- ing present a little danger from overheated bearings, spontaneous combustion or sparks from the dust. A good dust collecting system, with metal blower pipes dis- charging into a fireproof receptacle is advisable. Lint should not be allowed to collect in the room, and the receptacle frequently should be cleaned. 6. Special Hazards.—Many establishments which are primarily foundries carry on some other process in con- junction with the foundry work, and it is necessary to consider this feature in the proper study of the fire hazards of such a plant. Dipping of piping and pipe fittings in asphaltum or tar, to protect them from corro- sion, should be carried on in a detached building. Paint- ing, lacquering and japanning are other special proc- esses which also should be carried on in a separate building particularly constructed for the purpose. The increasing use of fuel oil for heating core ovens and small portable torches for numerous other purposes has introduced an appreciable hazard into foundries. This material should be stored in an approved manner, and special precautions should be taken to see that all piping, tanks, etc., are maintained in good condition and free from leaks. It is advisable to have piping so ar- ranged that in case of emerrencev the supply can be readily shut off at the source, and the piping drained. AUTOMATIC SPRINKLER PROTECTION It was at one time thought that automatic sprinklers were not suitable for use in foundries on account of the supposed danger of water being discharged on molten metal. Experience has shown, however, that this does not present any danger whatever and that automatic sprinklers can be used just as advantageously | foundries as in other properties. The fire record of foundries indicates that sprinklers have been very efficient when installed in such properties, and that if the svstem is properly laid out there is small chance of a fire reaching serious proportions. Sprinklers are . september 28, 1916 rly effective in foundries because of the fact reat many of the fires occur in the night after ng for several hours. These fires might not ered until they had made considerable head- . n automatic sprinkler system will promptly such fires and at the same time announce -overy if an alarm system is included in the Bolles Iron & Wire Works Expanding 1. E. Bolles Iron & Wire Works, Fourth and treets, Detroit, Mich., manufacturer of plain mental iron, wire work, etc., has increased its tock from $150,000 to $500,000 to provide for It has purchased the Fox Brothers’ fac nn Hastings Street and East Milwaukee Ave ring three acres, with frontage on the Michi tral, Grand Trunk and Wabash railroads, where ect a new plant in sections. The first section Planing Machine Rigged to Guide the Cross-R: modern steel construction, 135 x 460 ft., with ne floor. The heavy forging and press depart- be 60 x 460 ft., with an overhead 10-ton trav- ne The company is placing contracts fo heavy machines for forming stair tread furniture, including a _ stair-tread pres be the largest so far known, capable of steel tread % in. thick by 10 ft. long. It e department will turn out light forgings and impings. The eight present departments will ed to twelve. The plant will be entirely ele lipped. The present plant, which is only nd contains 51,000 sq. ft., has been out the building will be turned into a loft The new plant is to be ready for occupancy and will include a bronze and malleab| on which work will not commence unt ng. The company has seven months of con d at the present time. The directors are J \dam Kolb, J. B. Mansfield, Alfred J. Jones Newton, the last named having been added the board. deral Export Corporation, 111 Broadway, has under negotiation the purchase of several tons of steel billets for shipment to foreign has received additional orders for rail