The Iron Age 1916-12-07: Vol 98 Iss 23

New York, December 7, 1916 ESTABLISHED 1855 VOL. 98: No. 2 an a = * 2 : Youngstown’s New Coke Oven Plant Coal Unloading Scheme and New Type of Oven Door Extractor Among Features of Youngstown Sheet & Tube Installation N Aug. 19 the first coke was pushed from the Youngstown Sheet & Tube Company’s new coke plant at Youngstown, Ohio. The plant consists of four batteries of H. Koppers Company’s ovens. Each battery is made up of fifty-one 124,- ton ovens, and is intended to supply the coke re- quired for the operation of one blast furnace. The surplus gas from these batteries is piped to the company’s adjoining steel plant, and used as fuel in the heating furnaces, soaking pits, etc. In con nection with the coke plant, there is installed a Semet-Solvay benzol plant, which recovers benzol, toluol and solvent naphtha from the gas after it leaves the H. Koppers’ direct process tar and am monia recovery apparatus. COAL HANDLING The coal is delivered to the plant car storage tracks by rail. On these tracks is room for the a 24-hr The cars are moved on the storage tracks té a high-lift car dumper by means of an electric number of carloads of coal required for run ' 10co motive running on a narrow gage tra K, located be tween two standard gage tracks. A special type of electric locomotive which has a movable arm on both sides was designed by the Westinghouse-Bald win Mfg. Company for Upon reaching the car dumper, which was fur nished by this service the Wellman-Seaver-Morgan Company, the cars are lifted to either of two dumping posi tions. The lower position is for dumping coal to an electric side dump transfer car of 110 tons capac ity, which will dump it opposite a storage pile within reach of a proposed bridge grab bucket which will store and reclaim the coal as required The coal coming from storage will be loaded by the or } dumper ceiving hopper at the top of the coal ing, and deli idge into railroad « are taken to the car 1 ¢ s and dumped at high positions into a re 1ild feeder with breaker b i flight 500 tons per hour to the vered by means a capacity breakers receiving hopper with them to prevent la oal from getting t b Bes. ote aea in tne Beams 18 in are pro het ween clear sp: lumps or roe rye frozen chunks of the the Ovens in This View of the Pusher Side May of Coal Are Lifted and Dumped Be Seen the Upper Part of th ad Into the Top of the Crusher Building 1269 The High Lift Car Dumper bottom of hopper and stopping the passage of coal. The arrangement by which coal is dumped from high positions on the car dumper directly into hop- pers at the top of the breaker building is unique, and one of the most interesting features of the in- stallation. By this method, a large amount of ele- vating and conveying machinery is eliminated since the coal is raised by the dumper high enough to per- THE IRON AGE Decembe) 1916 mit it to move by gravity through the br hammer mills, making unnecessary belts equipment generally used to convey coa points. After leaving the flight feeder under | ‘ ing hopper, the coal passes over a scree) , a} lows the fine coal to go directly to ham is and the coarse to either or both of tw: ray each 12 ft. diameter by 17 ft. long, and ea a capacity of 250 tons per hour. The brea 2. charge refuse, such as pieces of iron, slate, ind pieces of coal not broken up sufficiently, u, elt known as a refuse belt. The belt travels at eed of 60 ft. per minute between platforms, w! men remove the refuse, and the over-size coal | ito- matically returned to the breakers by mean an auxiliary coal handling system. Under each breaker are located two hammer mills, each having a capacity of the breaker, » that there are two hammer mills to be used as snare units. Over the hammer mill is a retarding | in the chute between the breakers and h mills; this is belt driven directly from the hammer mill shaft. The breaker and hammer mills are the Pennsylvania Crusher Company’s design, driven re- spectively, by 50-hp. and 400-hp. alternating-cur- rent motors. The hammer mill motors and electric equipment are separated from the hammer mills with a dust-tight plaster partition. Each hammer mill weighs 38,000 Ib. and is rig- idly anchored to a concrete foundation, the top of which is 10 ft. 9 in. above yard level, permitting the belt conveyor under the hammer mills to be above yard level. This conveyor is 42 in. wide and runs through a specially designed dust shield which completely encloses the conveyor, and keeps fine coal from scattering all over the place. The next con- Gli eder, er (A) FURNACE (B) FURNACE © EX/STING ORE STORAGE 210'x 1644 CAPACITY 1200,000 TONS BENZOL ORE STORAGE YARD suRP (; er 7, 1916 veyor is a 36-in. wide belt conveyor, which when running at a speed of 500 ft. per minute, will de- iver 000 tons of coal per hour to the top of a four- tment coal mixing bin, each compartment . capacity of 550 net tons of coal. At the this bin is a pivoted belt conveyor. This onveyor, together with its driving machinery and s; mounted on a steel frame pivoted at the nd, with the outer end supported on a tee ra k, so that it can be swung around by the ha ius enabling the operator to discharge the ‘ifferent coals in any compartment desired. The of each compartment is glass lined, and pro- vided with hand operated rack and pinion gate, also ‘ ed graduated gate, with screw adjustment, where the flow of each kind of coal to the mixing n be regulated. mixing 48-in. belts lie flat and run from the of the mixer bins to two coal mixers which the coal to a reversing 42-in. belt conveyor, t to either one of two 36-in. belts, running the top of two larry bins. Each larry bin is between two batteries of ovens, and has a apacity of 1800 tons, one being arranged with a 500-ton compartment for use in experimental work. the larry bins are provided platform scales which enable the larry operator to fill his larry with the exact amount of coal to charge an oven. For an auxiliary coal handling system, to be ised in case the high lift car dumper is out of com- sion, there is provided a concrete track hopper 78 ft. long into which run-of-mine coal may be lropped from hopper cars. There are hand operated gates provided for this hopper and arranged to op- erate independently, so that coal may be discharged through any one of them to a flight apron feeder 36 wide, which takes the coal from the track hop- \ \ <4 ss COME WHARF | QUENCH AR. -- BATTERY NO? Installation, and the Benzol Plant, All Across the I a on 1 ( ( ((@€D)concreré Dan => = : : Stree *) ) SEE AWD TRACK - = pancoomgente a a ‘ \ ——— » SCREENING que BATTERY 240 THE IRON AGE 1271 \ Trestle Extends from the Screening Station to the Blast Furnaces on the Upposite side of the River and an Electrk Transfer Car Carries the Coke per to a bucket elevator. The bucket elevator is made up of 30 x 36 in. steel buckets, and when run ning at a speed of 110 ft. per minute will deliver 250 tons of run-of-mine coal per hour to the receiv ing hopper at the top of the coal breaker building The breaker building, coal receiving hopper and tiver from the Blast Furnaces eee: te 1272 THE IRON AGE Decemb« 916 The General Proportions of the By-Product Plant Are all conveyor galleries and conveyors were furnished and installed by Fairbanks, Morse & Co., Chicago. THE OVENS The four batteries of ovens are built on a straight line and cover a space 40 ft. wide by 1070 ft. long, between pusher machine tracks on one side and quenching car tracks on the other. The oven chambers taper from 17 in. wide at the pusher end to 19'% in. wide at the coke end, and are 9 ft. 10°%% in. high by 39 ft. 6 in. long. The type of oven is known as the Koppers horizontal cross regenera- tive by-product oven, detailed descriptions of which have appeared from time to time in these columns. The new type of door extractor for removing doors on the coke side was designed by H. Koppers for this plant and built by the Wellman-Seaver- Morgan Company. The door lifting levers are oper- ated by hand. The carriage for pulling the door clear of buckstays is mounted on a truck, together with a 6%-hp. motor and travels the full length of the four batteries, propelled by a 10-hp. motor. Three of these machines are provided, one to be held in reserve as a spare machine. The door extractors for the pusher side of batteries are a part of the pusher machine. An electric signal system has been installed so that when the door machine operator on | oe ls +4 Pty Indicated in This View with the Oven Plant Beyon the coke-side of the batteries sees that the coke guide is in position and the quenching car is ready to receive the coke, he signals the man in the pusher machine cab to push. Under each coal storage bin there is installed a self-discharge 6 ft. wet grinding pan and mixing pan furnished by Thomas Carlin’s Sons Company for grinding the luting clay for sealing the oven doors. The necessary clay storage bins are located at the yard level, and a Link-Belt oe — elevator, driven by a 3'-hp. a.c., with a D. O. James reduction gearing is installed to elevate an clay to the wet pan at bench level. The gas and air re- versing machinery, a standard equipment adopted by the Koppers Company, is also located under the storage bins at bench level. The waste heat flue of each battery is connected to a separate stack 8 ft. in diameter inside of brick lining, and 200 ft. high. The fuel gas main run- ning along both sides of the battery is 20 in. in diameter, large enough to give uniform pressure of gas at every gun brick. The gas from the coal leaves the pusher end of the ovens through cast iron ascension pipes which are connected to a collecting main with butterfly valves. Two collecting mains are provided for each battery with one suction main from each. There Are Three Rows of Apparatus in the By-Product Building Any One of Which Will Take Care of the Gas fror Two Batteries of Ovens, Leaving One Complete Row as a Spare Unit December 7, 1916 THE IRON AGE 1273 BY-PRODUCTS tual operating conditions. Three ovens directl s tion mains take the gas from the collecting north of the pump house are connected by a 10-in. . primary coolers. At the primary coolers suction main leading from the ovens to the experi- “ ted positive steam-driven Connellsville blow- mental station. The experimental ovens have gas sa ch pump the gas through the tar extrac- off-take arranged so that the gas can be either taken ae heaters, saturators, final coolers, benzol through the suction main to the experimental sta orybbers and to the fuel gas holder. tion or the battery collecting main at will. There are three rows of apparatus in the by- ll . _ nrod building, any one of which will take care of COKE HANDLING the from two batteries, leaving one complete The coke is pushed from the ovens by means of row of apparatus as a spare unit. In front of each a coke pusher furnished by the Wellman-Seaver- draining table there are provided three steam-driven Morgan Company. There are three quenching cars, entrifugal dryers which drop the salt after it is one to be held in reserve. The quenching cars were dried through the floor into sulphate buggies. The buggies are used to convey the salt to the sulphate storage room where the salt is handled with an elec- rane and grab bucket. [The water required for the coke plant is pumped he Mahoning River, the temperature of which vets as high as 130 deg. Fahr. in summer months. tric « frory furnished by the Atlas Car & Mfg. Company. They are lined with cast-iron plates and have doors oper- ated by means of air cylinders controlled from the cabs of the 20-ton General Electric locomotives, which are used to take the quenching cars to the coke quenching station. There are two quenching stations, one being at 4 ’ F = oS i a b 09 ee Tg tric Locomotive Running on a Narrow Gage Track Between Rails of a Standard Gage Track is Used for Shifting Particularly to the High Lift Car Dumper. In the background may be seen the blast furnaces and ore storage ccross the river | this water economically to a temperature of the east end of the quenching car track and the 85 deg. Fahr., a suitable temperature for cool- other at the west end. Each station consists of a » gas in the primary and final coolers, consti- ‘'4-in. steel plate hood or stack 49 ft. high above ted one of the problems encountered by the ingstown Sheet & Tube Company’s engineers. careful investigation, it was decided to erect i water cooling tower. A Wheeler-Condenser & En- gineering Company’s combination natural and forced draft tower was provided and is proving sat- factory. An up-to-date boiler house containing four 768- p. units of Babcock & Wilcox boilers supply steam tor the coke plant. Fuel fine coke, known as breeze, hauled from the coke screening station and pped into a steel plate track hopper. Undercut rates are provided in connection with track hopper deliver the breeze to a 120 cu. ft. skip bucket t and they are operated automatically by the st. This skip hoist, driven by a 25-hp. electric tor, deposits the breeze into a storage bin above lers so that the breeze may be fed by gravity stokers at the boilers. A 50-cu. ft. skip t, operated by a 744-hp. electric motor, is pro- ‘or delivering the ashes from under the boil- railroad car on the track outside of the ise. Coke oven gas is also connected to rners at each boiler and can be used when- sired. nnection with the by-product plant, there is on the second floor of the pump house an ntal station for the purpose of testing the iality of different kinds of coal under ac- Alter are Pers the quenching car track. 16 ft. wide, The stack is rectangular in shape, 48 ft. long, large enough to completely cover the quenching car. Hot water fiows by gravity from the primary gas coolers to a sump on the side of this tower and is pumped by a motor driven centrifugal pump to a 20,000-gal. at the top of the quenching hood. A 12-in. nects the tank to two spray pipes 40 ft. long located in the center of the hood just over the quenching ear. The flow of water is controlled by a Dravo Doyle electric solenoid operated valve which is lo cated in the pump house in an accessible position. The water leaving the quenching car flows to the sump under the baffle plates which serve to collect the coke which is washed into the sump. The coke collected in the sump is removed with a locomotive crane and grab bucket. The back to the river. The quenched coke is discharged from the cars to an inclined wharf 169 ft. 10 in. long and 19 ft. wide. measured on a slope of 26 deg. with the horizontal The wharf is located in the center of the plant be tween the two quenching stations and is covered with cast-iron plates laid like roofing shingles. The motion of the coke on the wharf is controlled by twenty-eight finger gates, each about 6 ft. These gates have extension levers so that they may be raised and lowered by the operator from the plat- form running the full length of the wharf. At the tank pipe con surplus water flows wide. 1274 bottom of the wharf, there are twenty-eight rotary feeders mounted on two shafts, each shaft carrying fourteen feeders driven by a 5-hp. motor. The op- erator starts the feeder and raises one gate, then when all the coke that will flow under this gate is handled, the second gate is raised and so on until the entire charge has been fed to No. 1 conveyor. In this way, the operator clears the wharf and closes the gates for the next charge. He can also quench with a small hose any hot spots without over quenching the rest of the charge. Conveyer No. 1, a belt conveyor 42 in. wide and 303 ft. long, takes the coke from the wharf and dis- charges it to a revolving grizzly screen in the coke crusher house. The revolving grizzly removes over size pieces and feeds them to an adjustable crusher. The crushed coke, together with the pieces passing through the rotary grizzly, are fed to conveyor No. 2, which elevates them to the top of the screening station. The coke from conveyor No. 2 is discharged to an adjustable bar grizzly, at the end of the con- veyor, being pivoted to discharge coke to the grizzly with a minimum of fall. The bar grizzly is in du- plicate; the frames are pivoted at the lower end, the upper end being suspended by adjustable bolts A Part of the Laboratory of the By-Product Coke Ovens which enable the angle of the frame to be altered at will from 16 deg. to 30 deg. The two frames are carried by a structure mounted on wheels so that either of the bar grizzlies may be under the con- veyor as desired. The blast-furnace coke from the end of the bar grizzly is received by one of double curved chutes mounted on a truck so that the coke can be delivered to the right or left with a minimum of breakage. These movable curved chutes discharge the coke to fixed chutes which carry it to three inclined bins from which it is loaded by means of an electrically operated under-cut gates into the transfer car. The small coke passing through the bar grizzly is received by a hopper beneath and carried by a chute to either one of two revolving screens 5 ft. diameter by 12 ft. long, which separates the breeze and domestic coke, feeding the two products into their respective bins, so that they may be drawn by gravity into cars. At the head of conveyor No. 1, in the crusher house, is conveyor No. 3, which receives coke from conveyor No. 1 through a by-pass chute and carries it to open top cars on the track alongside of the crusher house. The end of this conveyor is hinged so that it may be swung up out of the way when not in use. A trestle extending from the screening station THE IRON AGE , December 7, | to the blast furnaces on the opposite river is provided for the electric tran carry screened coke directly from the sec; tion to blast furnace bins. To insure continuous operation of the in case the wharf or screening station commission, a depressed track allows fo; ing coke directly from the quenching road cars for delivery to the blast furna screened. ELECTRIC POWER Electric current for the coke plant is in the blast-furnace power house and tr at 6600 volts to a substation located at +3 eq ke plant, in which are motor-generator sets and trans. formers for converting the 6600-volt current to 249. volt d.c. and a.c. current. The distribution of this current around the plant is entirely by means of overhead cables. In the same building with the syb. station and served by the same 10-ton electric over. head traveling crane is a machine shop, boiler shop and pipe shop, each separated by substantial brick partitions. Adjoining this building will be pro- vided a liberal size store house of fireproof con- struction. The sanitary equipment for the whole plant has been carefully planned and large, clean and comfortable wash and locker rooms have been provided. The Oxidation of Nickel-Steel A note contributed by Dr. J. E. Stead at the recent meeting of the British Association discussed the peculiar properties of the scale which forms on nickel-steel. Ac. cording to Dr. Stead, the scale is completely removed from ordinary iron or steel when it is rolled after heat- ing. With nickel-steel, however, the scale remains hard on the surface, particularly if the metal has been heated for a long time, in which case the scale is very thick. With a short period of heating the scale is less adherent. In searching for an explanation of these phenomena, Dr. Stead found, on making a section through the metal, that the scale and steel were locked together, points of the steel penetrating into the scale. An ex- amination of a 25 per cent nickel-stee]l ignition tube of a gas engine disclosed the metal on the outside to be completely oxidized, while an intermediate portion between the oxidized metal and the metal proper con- sisted of scale and unoxidized metal suspended through the scale. The unoxidized portions were wedge-shaped. The metallic part completely separated from the scale consisted of an alloy containing 75 per cent nickel in- stead of 25 per cent, the original composition of the metal. Virginia Iron, Coal & Coke Earnings The Virginia Iron, Coal & Coke Company has issued its report for the year ended June 30, 1916. The in- come account compares as follows: 1916 1915 1914 Gross earnings ........... $4,308,598 $2,844,165 $4,262.08 Expenses .............++. 3,871,582 2,437,591 3,774,097 Wh ts ss nigeeestandaceann 437.016 406,574 4 Ce GONE Gs ccc sacecae 53,964 27,442 " eee 490,980 434,016 CONE SOR. cc cvccepeevan 739,074 678,738 629,718 DOE. vn ndedss cabs anon $248,094 244,722 $117,606 Announcement of a new steamship line to run from Baltimore to South American ports was made Dee. ° at Baltimore by Arthur W. Thompson, vice-preside" of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, at a luncheon ™ business men. He said the new line proposed to & pend $15,000,000 for steamers. The sales office of the Boss Nut Company, ™@"* facturer of lock nuts, is now located at room 29', *#* way Exchange Building, Chicago. A New Iron and Steel Roll Foundry The Recent Addition to the Plant of the Birdsboro Steel Foundry & Machine Company—Large Iron and Steel Alloy Rolls—Improvements to Other Units rovide for an expansion in its iron and steel | operations the Birdsboro Steel Foundry & ichine Company, Birdsboro, Pa., recently d a new foundry containing some interest- The company operates a large iron where miscellaneous castings of all sizes es are produced for the jobbing trade and own use as parts of large machinery which s. Connected with this unit is an extensive e shop to which an addition has recently been About 14 years ago the company started up T tures. open-hearth steel casting plant of large which has been running continuously. vious to the construction of the new roll , chilled iron rolls were produced in the gen- n foundry and steel rolls in the steel foun- With the growth of the business and in con- m of the fact that the metallurgical and problems involve different practice, espe- iron rolls, the new unit became a necessity. new foundry building is 60 ft. by 240 ft. located just east of the steel foundry, as n the accompanying general plan. The type truction adopted by the company will be the for future improvements and alterations. ls are of brick running up 15 ft., the re- mainder being expanded metal on steel framework with a 2'4-in. cement wall on the expanded metal. The recent addition to the machine shop and a new erecting shop are of this construction. The light- ing of the new foundry is amply provided for as is indicated in one of the illustrations. The floor is commanded by cranes, one of 25 tons and one of 10 tons capacity. THE MELTING EQUIPMENT The melting equipment for making chilled iron Furnace Showing the Removable Portion of the Roof and the Method of Charging, Using the Crane on the Runway >» Building. The Furnace Is Tapped at the Middle of the Bath and the Metal Is Received in the Ladle in the Small Pit rolls consists of one 7-ton per hour cupola of stand- ard design, equipped with the Stoughton oil-burn- ing process. Besides this there is a 20-ton air fur- nace possessing some striking features. This is used for the pouring of the large iron rolls, its melt- ing capacity running to 25 tons. An unusual fea- ture of the air furnace is the removable portion of the roof. As shown in the illustration, a crane from one of the new stock yard runways lifts the roof to one side, and then a complete charge can be put in the furnace in 20 minutes. The removable portion is a single steel casting. This is considered a decided advantage over the older method of charg ing through a small door at the end of the furnace The melting bath of the air furnace is 16 ft 1275 1916 Decembe AGE Zz oO % _ a] eo sa U* ++ : eer ened ee 00! 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The company states that a 17- an be made in 7 to 8 hr. To insure quick oroduct.on and the necessary hot metal, oil fuel is ysed to finish the heat, the burner being like those emp! in open-hearth practice. The temperature le, it is stated, is sufficient to make steel. ing hole is located at the center of one side ith, rather than at the end near the bridge e air furnace stack is 100 ft. high. THE LARGE CASTING PIT ,nother feature is the large casting pit. It is ed crosswise of the foundry instead of length- wise as is Often the case. The advantage claimed is the ability of the crane runner to watch more easily the ladle, as well as the molds and the pour- ng. The annexed drawing of the roll foundry shows the location of this pit with reference to both the cupola and air furnace. The pit, which is 15 . 40 ft., is of concrete throughout and water tight. The main portion \2 ft. deep. At one end , circular hole with a lepth of 22 ft. This is for casting very large rolls, either of iron or steel, for it is planned to irrange to bring hot steel ladles from the steel foundry nearby for pour- ng large steel rolls im- mediately in the main roll foundry. The more shal- w portion of the pit will sccommodate two rows of lds for iron rolls. One f the illustrations shows the two portions of the The roll turning equipment includes four athes of the heavy duty There are also three Landis’ grinders, e largest of which is 24 120 in. for finishing lled rolls. he molding of both Decemver 7, 1916 THE IRON AGE 1277 roll foundries. The operation of a roll foundry, in which steel, iron, chilled iron and alloy rolls in both iron and steel are made, presents some interesting metallurgical problems. A mechanical and physical laboratory is maintained in conjunction with the foundries and particular attention is paid to inves tigations with the scleroscope. Carbon steel and alloy steel rolls are made and a new annealing fur nace has been installed for annealing steel rolls. A special alloy iron roll has been developed to which the name Durite has been given. These rolls when heat treated have been put in mills in place of chilled iron rolls and have been giving gratifying re sults. The alloy has been protected by patents and some interesting achievements are forecasted. THE STEEL FOUNDRY The output of the steel foundry is about 1000 tons of finished castings per month. A new oil an nealer for small castings has just been started, furnished by the Metals Production Equipment Company of Springfield, Mass. It is of the con tinuous type, 8 ft. by 12 ft. inside, and uses a car as the bottom. A new feature is burning the oil with two burners on each side in a chamber at the top of the annealer, from which the heat is radiated through checkers down into and on the castings. The oil is atomized with 2-lb. pressure. Even and well-regulated tempera tures are secured. This annealer will also be used for heat-treating steel rolls. An addition of 60 ft. was recently made to the steel foundry to house the new annealing furnace and a new hydraulic straightening press. The foundry contains two ron and steel rolls is The Special Concrete Casting Pit for Rolls. The 22-ft. Deep Portion Is in the Foreground n the new foundry, Molds and Other Equipment Are Show: both using oil for + present the steel : are transferred to the steel foundry for pour- ng. The foundry practice is not essentially differ- ‘rom the standard. Jar rammers prepare the pes and drags of the chill iron molds and silica | tempered with gravel is used. [he drying ovens, located on one side of the are end-fired and have proved unusually A 3-ft. x 70-ft. stack creates such an ex- ent draft that the first moisture is quickly it. capacity of the new foundry is 500 to 600 per month of chilled iron rolls and 500 tons nth of steel rolls. Iron rolls up to 35 tons d steel rolls up to 30 tons each are capable ng turned out. At present steel and alloy to 12 to 15 tons are being produced and ils of all sizes and types. SPECIAL ALLOY ROLLS roll foundry is in charge of F. D. Taggart, superintendent of the roll foundry of the Steel Company, Joliet, Ill, and for many nnected with the United Engineering & Company as metallurgist in charge of its The Various Types of Chil) @cid open-hearth furnaces, fuel. Four Herrick gas pro ducers are part of the original equipment. Re cently also a new sand grinder has been put in which does the work of two of an older type. The new one was built by the company. It is the same as that described in THE IRON AGE, April 6, 1916, de signed and patented by Walter H. Bickley, vice- president Penn Seaboard Steel Corporation of Phil adelphia. The locations of the annealer, sand grinder, etc., are shown on the plan. An oxy-acety lene plant for cutting off heads is also a recent improvement. ELECTRIC POWER FOR STEAM A new electric power house was completed about 18 months ago. High tension current of 13.200 voltage is obtained from the Metropolitan Electric Company of Reading, Pa., nine miles away. This is transformed to 2300 volts for the use of the two electric welders and a large motor-driven direct- connected air compressor and to 230 volts for use in lighting and for motors. The entire plant is motor-driven throughout by independent motors ex- cept some of the small tools which are belt driven from motor-driven line shafts. The company has lately built six large storage bins for molding sand. They are of steel and con- crete with a shed roof. The sand falls by gravity from the cars into the bins. In the stock yard between the steel and roll foundries two crane runways, 50 ft. x 228 ft. and 50 ft. x 360 ft., have been installed. Both carry 15-ton cranes, each equipped with magnets for han- dling raw material. The railroad connections are with the Pennsyl- vania and the Reading. The entire track system THE IRON AGE Decem 7. 101 Weathering of Coal The weathering of coal has been invest J. B. Porter, McGill University, and th gr published in supplementary report No. & T. vestigation of the Coals of Canada,” issu a partment of Mines of Canada, Ottawa. sions reached by Dr. Porter as to the effect ing on coal are seven in number: 1.—The coal of complex and unstable carbonaceou such as resins, humus, etc., promote oxid Pyrite and marcosite in coal are effective The Roll Foundry as It Appears on the Inside, Showing Also a Series of Chilled Iron Roll Molds Ready To Be Poured has been rearranged and heavier tracks have been put down. In the machine shop where large machinery of all kinds is under construction, an order for 80 large ingot cars 20 ft. long and weighing 32,000 lb. each all of steel, has about been completed for the Bethlehem Steel Company. There is an electric re- pair shop, centrally located. About 1000 men are now steadily employed in the entire plant. The Berger Mfg. Company, Canton, Ohio, has called a meeting of its stockholders for Dec. 23 to consider a proposed increase in its capital stock from $5,000,000 to $10,000,000, announcing that the extensive additions in the course of erection and the growing business make this necessary. The proceeds will be used for further enlargement of the business and possibly in the de- velopment of new lines of products of a nature similar to those which the company is now making. The Terry Steam Turbine Company, Hartford, Conn., has appointed Stephenson & Nichols, Monadnock Build- ing, San Francisco, as its representatives in northern and central California and the northern part of Nevada. integrating agents and as sources of heat. 3.—The presence of moisture hastens the decomposition of pyrite. 4.—Fine coal or coal dust presents an immense surface to the air in comparison with lumps. 5.—An excess of air, while facilitating oxidation, also carries off the heat generated. When a limited supply of ait reaches the coal the destructive action is rapid. 6.— A low pile insures less pressure. 7.—The individuality of coal is a prime factor. Dr. Porter emphasizes that dry coal is so poor a con- ductor that the surface may show no indication of a hot spot until, after a rain, the water which has soaked in works its way back to the surface as steam and re veals the fire within. A really important feature is the initial temperature of the coal at the time of storage. Coal should be handled during the coolest part of the day. Even the temperate zone the heat of the summer day makes it dangerous for coal to be stored while the sun 3s bright. This factor influences the storing of coa! dur ing the summer for winter use. After the storage ' once effected it is not so necessary that the sun’s rays be deflected since the heat absorbed during the day w! be liberated at night. The loss of coal from fire in the second year of storage is approximately only one-hall that of the first year because of the old surface pro tection. Properties and Defects of Steel Ingots Large Savings in Cropping in Recent Brit- ish Practice —Stearine Cast Ingots and the Value of Models—Advantages of the Tun-Dish important papers on the production of sound | ingots were features of the autumn meeting the British Iron and Steel Institute in London, Sept, 22, 1916. They were “Some Properties of Ingots” by A. W. and H. Brearley, Sheffield, and “Steel Ingot fects: Principles Affecting Acid and Basic Open- earth and Bessemer Steel,” by J. N. Kilby, also of Sheffield. An abstract of the former paper was printed in THE IRON AGE Oct. 26 and Nov. 2, 1916, and the latter was dealt with in the issue of Oct. 12, 1916. Both papers attracted considerable interest and discussion. Important points in the discussions were as follows: Lith} Properties of Ingots Dr. W. H. Hatfield, in opening the discussion of the paper by the Messrs. Brearley, welcomed the contribu- tion as the result not merely of a few months’ investiga- tion, but as the outcome of the experience of many years. There were one or two points, however, on which he said he was unable to agree with the authors. One was their belief that it was possible to have an equaliza- tion of temperature throughout a large ingot mass. His own view was that there was a steady falling curve temperature from the interior to the outside of the ingot, and this fact would seem to preclude the possi- bility of simultaneous freezing of the steel over large areas. He felt that there were apparent discrepancies in the facts recorded which made it difficult to accept the author’s theory as to the formation of ghosts without certain reservations. The authors’ theories however he regarded as the most rational he had seen. The illustra- tion showing the effect of a sloped opening in a runner brick in a bottom-cast ingot was most interesting. It indicated how the metal washed the side of the ingot mold and how it formed a stream which upset the regu- lar formation of crystals. He thought the trouble re- sulting therefrom might be of a more serious nature STEARINE CAST INGOTS Dr. J. O. Arnold looked with disfavor on the method udopted by the authors of using a compound of stearic acid and glycerine with which to teach students the freezing phenomena of steel. The question of ghosts ; a little obscure, but it was necessary to accept ts and it had been demonstrated that ghosts were segregations high in carbon, sulphur, phosphorus and l, if present. Dr. Arnold stated that he himself sught some remarkable facts in this connection the attention of the Institute of Mechanical Engi- eers. They had to do with a 60-ton ingot on the face ‘ which the ghosts, though higher in carbon, sulphur and phosphorus, had frozen first, whereas according to ld theories they should be the last portion to re- 1 liquid. It was necessary to find an explanation ese facts; he had explained them in this way but ‘ibly they could be explained in another. 'r. Arnold also thought the authors had not given ient credit to the pyrometer. He had found re- able agreement in all pyrometrical readings and ' give the strongest testimony as to their value. so asked, in justice to steelmakers, that slag in- should be separated from sulphide of man- occlusions. W. Rosenhain did not fully believe that the ‘s had sufficiently taken into account the effect heat liberated by the freezing of the molten |. The consequence was that the mass of liquid was contained in a shell of constant temperature whatever might be happening outside could not the rate of loss of heat from the core. To ex- Ss point he drew an ingot on a blackboard. He 1279 pointed out how the heat evolved by freezing was met with a loss of heat on the outside and showed the effect upon the ingot. THE VALUE OF MODELS Dr. Rosenhain regarded the paper as interesting in that it afforded another example of the value of models. These had already proved their usefulness in naval construction and in various branches of engineering and were now to show the behavior of steel ingots. One point, however, should be duly remembered, he con- tended, that model experiments were liable to be mis- taken if there were no law of proportionality observed— in the present instance, the ratio of the ingot to the model. It was further necessary that all the physical factors be duly proportioned and he feared it would not be possible to obtain that. Steel Ingot Defects In opening the discussion on Mr. Kilby’s paper on “Steel Ingot Defects” and referring to the advantage of casting with the wide end up Sir Robert Hadfield stated that all methods of producing sound steel had two ends in view: First, to make steel of better quality and second to save raw material. The latter at the present time is of vital importance to the nation, he said, for it was well known that the steel manufactur- ing capacity of Great Britain is not large enough for present requirements.. He stated that the country had made the great mistake for years of allowing the im- portation of German bounty-fed steel, but he hoped they had seen the last of that. “I am a free trader,” he said, “but free trader or not, I hope we are going to put an end to that kind of thing. Any method of making sound steel and of saving wastage would tend in that direction.” LARGE SAVINGS IN INGOT CASTING Mr. Hadfield stated that he had been experiment- ing at his own works where they were making billets and blanks for high explosive shells and were saving equivalent to the output of a 30-ton furnace each week. They were also freely placing at the disposal of other steelmakers for the benefit of the country the process they employed, but he wished that any one desiring to use their process would communicate with him or his firm. Their desire was to help such persons in every way. He testified that they had found that the method was of considerable assistance in producing shell blanks. Many works cast blanks singly, but that made the proportion of waste heavy. The best method of producing ingots for this work in his opinion was to have a parallel ingot of the double type and to get two blanks. It was not a simple matter to make a parallel ingot without wasting a large percentage of material, By the new method employed it was possible to get from 100 lb. of fluid steel 80 lb. of useful material ready to go into the press. That loss included all the wastage in manufacture from first to last. Another important point which Mr. Hadfield cited was that the billets did not require rolling or forging. The total waste on blanks produced in this manner was not more than 1.5 per cent and the saving effected was considerable. THE WIDE TOP INGOT AND THE TUN-DISH F. W. Harbord believed that it had been clearly demonstrated that the wide top ingot which was first introduced by Mr. Saniter had come to stay. It gave a much better result and on shell steel this practice had greatly increased the tonnage. Referring to the use of the tun-dish E. H. Saniter 128@ said that one of the advantages in teeming with these was partly to cool the steel and partly to reduce the speed of teeming. He had thought if the operation were correctly proportioned teeming could be effected without cracks in the ingots and that it was possible to cast ingots 18 x 19 in. or 16 in. square without cracks in them and to roll them without cracks de- veloping. He pointed out that the illustrations in the paper of the tun-dishes (THE IRON AGE, Oct. 12, 1916, page 825) were representative of the practice in the works of Steel, Peech & Tozer and that they had been sent freely over the country to firms undertaking the manufacture of shell steel. Greville Jones referred to the practice at the Clar- ence works and said that when billets, teemed as described, were examined the difference in comparison with the ordinary process was extraordinary. On the subject of the wide top ingot he would only say that they had used that method for many years at the Clar- ence works and that there was no doubt that it was a proper method of casting. Dr. Hatfield said that one effect of the tun-dish which had not been mentioned was that it helped to keep dirt out of the steel that is being trapped owing to its low specific gravity. Giving his experience as a cast-iron manufacturer H. B. Toy said that he found that when casting heavy rolls it was not necessary to provide for an enormous sink head to feed the rolls with very hot metal. They were not cast from the top, but from the bottom at an angle with a spiral movement. It was absolutely nec- essary to have a proper thickness of chill. In response to a question of Sir Robert Hadfield as to whether the French Government permitted the use of tun-dishes, Mr. Saniter and Mr. Jones both said that that government insisted upon their use. High-Speed Type of Friction Clutch A friction clutch of the metal-to-metal type has been placed on the market by the Moore & White Com- pany, Philadelphia, Pa. It is made in a number of sizes from 5 to 25 in. in diameter for speeds from 3000 to 750 r.p.m., and is designed for use with alternating- current motors that are required to start under load, as well as for group drives to high-speed machinery and individual drives to woodworking and other heavy machines operating at high speeds. The maximum horsepower intended to be transmitted by the clutch is 630. In the clutch bronze and copper disks alternate, and, while they are lubricated, they do not run in an oil bath. The disks are fully inclosed, and it is emphasized that all the important parts are machined all over to provide balance. Accurate adjustment is claimed for the clutch and the engaging mechanism is said to elim- inate any tendency to grab or drag when the clutch is released. Both loose pulley and cut-off coupling types are built. In the former type the hub is keyed to the shaft and is driven by or drives the cast-iron disks A through a series of pins B which connect the hub and the follower (. The last member is bored to pass over lugs cast on the pulley sleeve and a threaded adjusting ring is located between the hub and the follower. The operating levers D are attached to the hub and act against the adjusting ring when the spool FE is moved. The adjusting ring F is thus forced to the left and car- ries the follower with it, while the hub is forced in the The Friction Disks and the Center Plates Have Been Slipped Off the Splines of the Sleeve of This High-Speed Friction Clutch and Show the Driving Pins THE IRON AGE December 7, opposite direction and is relied upon t disks. The bronze disks G are slotted an lugs of the sleeve H and are relied upon . cate power to the latter. cm When the clutch is released, the disks the action of springs. The sleeve H, whic} loose pulley, runs on a divided bronze by to the shaft and grooved to distribute oil, cant is placed in the central space, the actio: being relied upon to feed it to the running long as any remains. The oil-retaining eo tached to the sleeve and not to the shaft, +), pointed out, making it independent of centrif,, This arrangement, too, retains the oil wher: and protects the running surfaces and surrow: jects from flying lubricant. In the cut-off type of coupling, the extend: is omitted and a small bushing is employed to hold the two shaft ends in alignment. In the smaller sizes, fro, 5 to 13 in. in diameter, the clutches can be fittes i directly sleeve Conveyor System with Magnetic Contro| A motor-driven conveyor system equipped with mag. netic lock-out switch speed setting controllers made by the Cutler-Hammer Mfg. Company, Milwaukee, Wis. has been installed in the mail building adjoining a a large railroad terminal. A feature of the installation is the use of push-button stations placed at various points 806 36°Be + ~ K “Oo o o o eS ee / 4 d . } ¥ y STATION PLATFORM aa a aaa on ne a ae A ( 800ft. 30"Belt {o ) JZ \_ iatenitis teiis diahanin = <aitlal ah ’ re LC RO ) Mote i, oo) Motorf A ) ~ oa j oa! LOWER LEVEL F Push-Button Stations Setting Controllers Employed to Stop and Magnetic Lock-Out Switch Spe Mounted at Convenient Intervals Ar and Start the Driving Motors of This Conveyor System along the platform so that the driving motors can be started and stopped from any one of these remote cations. The installation, which is said to be particular!) flexible and efficient, consists of two 800-ft. conveyo! belts and a vertical conveyor or bucket lift having a capacity of 200 tons per hour. The arrangement of th conveyors is brought out in the accompanying diagram Two motors supply the power for the system, one of 15-hp. capacity being used with the 30-in. conveyor, while a 35-hp. motor drives the bucket lift and the 36-in. horizontal conveyor. The Youmans Machine Company, Cleveland, recently incorporated with a capital stock of $50,000, has taken over the machine shop of the F. A. Maxwell Company, 1011 Power Avenue, and will manufacture automobile parts, tools, jigs and fixtures. W. H. Staring, secretary and general manager of the Peerless Motor Car Com- pany, is president. C. H. Youmans has resigned as as sistant superintendent of the Peerless plant to become general manager of the new company. The Ohio Iron & Metal Company, First Nationa! Bank Building, Chicago, dealer in iron and steel scrap, has opened a branch office in suite 505, Transportat) ion Building, Montreal, Canada. John M. Zehner, foemeriy with the Canadian Fairbanks-Morse Company, Ltd., in charge of the office. r 7, 1916 Decem TO STABILIZE EMPLOYMENT Employer and Employee Participate in Insurance with Death, Old Age and Other Benefits fo insure to the employer a stable working force and to secure the employee against unemployment, sickness, injury, old age and death, Herbert N. Fell, Fell & Co., Ltd., New York, has devised a pension plan. While the merit of a dividend system for em- in an endeavor to improve relations be- tween employer and workman, is recognized, it is held that good feeling dependent upon uncertain )f the future is precarious. According to available statistics, he emphasizes, every new work- man costs the employer $45 during the period of his training. In addition almost every business has ] 1 pio} et ‘+ nrorics pivise THE IRON AGE 1281 The pension plan as applied is briefly as follows: An association of employees is organized. It di- rects the premium payment on a special policy writ- ten by some selected insurance company. This as- sociation consists of a board of directors selected by representatives from the various departments of the factory, one representative being elected, say, by each department and serving as the local chair- man. Standing committees are appointed by the board of directors. Each employee pays an annual premium of 5 per cent of his wages for the year, as stated, and the company pays something for each employee, according to the foregoing table. So long as the employee remains with the firm he is provided with a savings scheme, because he has a loan privi- lege, a benefit fund, and an old age pension, as a life insurance. well as eae SS es — EMPLOYES TOTAL DEPOSITS » ——.———. ——. | rs t-| PAID TO EMPLOYE ON LEAVING Py ae TOOO +-- EMPLOYERS TOTAL DEPOSITS + CHART 4 | +1 REFUND TO ASSOCIATION OR 6500 i EMPLOYER /F EMPLOYE LEAVES Ge Gate ccaccacecasesuoeoencss .ANS ‘ ? - ’ lta 7 . 6000 oS oe 5500 | $5370, ” a nee 5000 ‘ CHART 2 a g ; 2 »{) ) q q 1400 — J A a 0 0 0 Oo > 4k PENSION VALUES AND PREMIUMS i—Age of entrance into association, 20 yr., permanent wage, $18 per week; Chart 2—Age 30 yr., wage $21 Chart 3—Age 30, 10 yr. prior service under employer, wage $21; Chart 4 ige 50, 30 yr. prior service, wage $30 hire the equivalent of its entire working force annually. In a concern employing 3000 people the yearly loss for training would be, according to this estimate, $135,000, or for one of, say, 300 employees, less than $138,500. [he average workman changes his employment three times a year, according to Mr. Fell, and loses a week’s time with each change. At a wage of $15 a week, his losses are $45, an equivalent of his em- ployer’s. The opportunity to retain a permanent 0, doubtless with an increasing wage, and at the same time to have on small payments an insurance may be made to appeal to all workmen—at this is the Fell contention. der the plan devised each employee con- es 5 per cent of his wage and the employer na scale ri