The Iron Age 1921-10-20: Vol 108 Iss 16

THE IRON AGE New York, October 20, 1921 t we 2 ; i Steel Foundry Has Special Operating Features i National Steel Foundries Add Two Tilting Open-Hearth Furnaces with Removable Ports —QOven for Drying Molds Opens at Both Ends Y kW devices included in the new addition to and are designed for operation on either oil or pro- \ e plant of the National Steel Foundries, ducer gas. Levers for operating the tilting mech- \lilwaukee, Wis., include removable ports for anism are located both in front and back of the 25-ton tilting open-hearth steel furnaces, furnaces, permitting operation from either side. ladle and stopper drying devices, a new type The charging doors and ports are likewise hydraulic- e drying oven, new method of handling shake- ally operated, Critchlow hydraulic valves being em- nd and a novel arrangement for handling the ployed. All door frames and port castings are ports. The plant is located in the north- water cooled, the end ports being water sealed by part of Milwaukee, between the Milwaukee the overflow water from the ports and door frames. River and the Ashland division of the Chicago & These furnaces are provided with removable end ii ij Northwestern Railway, occupies a tract of 15 acres, ports, which can be quickly removed for relining 4 and now has a total floor space of 219,885 sq. ft., and replaced with spare ports, two of which are bt with a capacity of 200 tons per day. always kept ready for immediate use. The end . [he buildings, which are all of brick and steel ports are mounted on wheels and travel on a track. i ruction, have the pond, saw-tooth and monitor They are raised from the water-sealed pan, on the i of roofs, and are exceptionally well lighted uptake, by means of hydraulic cylinders located ; tj i ventilated. The two new open-hearth furnaces, on the sides of the ports, and operated by levers ' ; which have also just been completed, are of the tilt- on the charging floor. iy es, and were designed by James H. Swindell. The two “outside” end ports, which extend be- ee hese furnaces are tilted by hydraulic pressure, yond the span of the cranes, travel on rails to the be t at ry P t. & 4 ap ma? | wae a Lt tek. pov apron een Oe ee ee H i a 2 A: aby a) + ee eres ee ~ “ arenes Furnace Is Tilted It Automatically Raises a Section of the Flooring. Beyond, at the right, stands the charging machine, with its trolley frame extending back to the conductor shown near extreme edge of cut 991 992 THE IRON AGE October 20, 1921 AND CHIPPING DEPT ANNEALING OVEN SAND BLAST GREEN SAND MOLDING DEPT MOLD OVEN 4 = TT | TS es O.H.FURNACES This Layout Shows How Compact the Plant Is, How Molten Metal Is Transferred from the Open-Hearth Furnaces in the Dry Sand Molding Department to the Green Sand Molding Department, How the Mold Drying and Core Drying Ovens Are Conveniently Located Between the Two Molding Areas ends of the charging floor onto a transfer con- veyor, which carries them out of line of the fur- naces and in line with another track, over which they are moved “in” to a point underneath the crane, for removal and replacement. The furnace proper tilts on roller bearings of large dimensions, and can be rolled over for dis- charging a heat, or when making a new bottom or back wall, while the oil or gas is on, as the ports Interior of One of the Open-Hearth Furnaces, Showing Port Construction. Three expansion joints are plainly to be seen, one under the port, the other two running across the furnace remain in the center line or axis, irrespective of the position of the furnace. The extreme angle to which this type of furnace can be tilted brings the tap hole to the very bottom, and permits complete draining of the slag. Each furnace has four slag pockets, two under- neath each end port. Four regenerators for each furnace (two air and two gas) are located under the charging floor, and are connected to the slag pockets by flues. Tate Jones Company’s circulating oil system, and Kirkwood types of burners, are used. The butterfly valves are located under the charg- ing floor and are of the Siemens type, manufactured by the Velte Foundry & Machine Co. They are operated by compressed air from the charging floor. The spacious charging floor is of brick and steel construction, very cool, and has excellent light and ventilation. Standard 25-ton bottom pour ladles are used, the oil-fired ladle drier being of a new and special design. Ladle trucks, which run on a track, are used to convey the ladles from the dry sand to the green sand molding floors. The stopper drier, which is also of a special design, has a capacity of eight stoppers, the heat being so controlled that no direct flame comes in contact with the stopper heads. The furnaces are charged by a 5-ton Wellman- Seaver-Morgan electrically operated charging ma chine, the charging boxes and cars being of stand- ard design. The loaded charging cars are hauled up a curved incline trestle, from the scrap yard to the charging floor, by means of a steel cable and electric winch. ‘ Two 40-ton ladle cranes travel the full length o this building and over the tops of the furnaces, for the removing and replacing of the end ports, ete., which arrangement also permits the pouring of two heats in quick succession (one from each fur- nace) or the use of the farther crane in case = near one is laid up for repairs. A Lew 3-trac October 20, err ee ote ’ — beh . \F Pn _<tGnS="ana=eae qT\ nv LLL) Lee bd rr a Pe 2 ay ‘_f@ SAL. oe ee oe ee) ae RTT hes i tl deers . Se “Th ha) esaaes Lh ee Chit. FE Pek iL | | Been > ge a :mrue ee 4 £ ral View of the Two Tilting Furnaces, Showing Ladles on Buggies; Used on Either Side of the Furnaces. mold drying oven of special design has also been installed, and is so located as to receive the dry sand molds at either end. The green sand molding department has a re- nforced concrete and brick floor, with a basement and a sub-basement underneath. The first base- is used for pattern storage; the sub-base- 1 he Spares When Repairs Are Needed, the Two at Showing Also How the Same Cranes May Be The ends of the hydraulic tilting cylinders appear beneath the furnaces ment contains the sand storage bins and sand mills. Shake-out sand is handled in a unique manner. It is conveyed by clam shell buckets to chutes in the molding floors, passes through revolving screens into hoppers above the sand mills in the sub-base- ment, and is returned to hoppers on the molding floors by means of a bucket conveyor. Port Ends Between the Two Furnaces May Be Lifted from Their Water Seals by the Crane, and Thus the Outer Ends Are Beyond the Crane Runway. Hence these two are handled on special tracks, by which they are brought within reach of the crane 994 THE IRON AGE October 20, 192) PsP 4 WNL WEE HEE SE Two Types of Annealing Furnaces Are in Use in the Plant. chipping ¢ Molding machines installed consist of two 30 x 28 in. and two 30 x 36 in. International turn-over draw machines with conveying racks, and three 60 x 72 in. plain jolt machines. The chipping and cleaning department has both dirt and creosote block floors, and is equipped with one shot-blast and two sand-blast machines of the Pangborn type, and two sand-blast machines of the Hoevel type. The welding department, in which both electric and acetylene welding are done, is equipped with In This Special Type of Stopper Drier Space Is Provided for Eight Stoppers, Hung as Shown This is -_partment the car-type furnace, located in the cleanin; nd one 1000-ampere Westinghouse electric generator, and two 300-lb. Davis-Bournonville acetylene erators. The cleaning department is fitted through- out with improved types of automatic chippers, cut- off saws, portable and stationary grinders, etc. Two annealing furnaces are located in this de partment, one being of the “car” type for the smaller castings, and the other of the “pit” typ for the larger castings. Fourteen electric traveling cranes are used this plant. This equipment consists of two 4 Niles ; two 20-ton, four 10-ton and two 5-ton Pa & Harnischfeger; one 20-ton and one 15-ton Shaw; one 10-ton Waukesha and one 5-ton Cleveland makes an aggregate nominal lifting capacity of 220 tons. The pattern shop, which in normal tim ploys a force of about thirty men, and in whi wood and metal patterns are made, occupies space of 12,669. sq. ft. A modern laboratory is n conveniently located directly back of the charging floor of the furnaces. Fuel oil storage is provided back of the foundry buildings. The tanks consist of a battery 10,000-gal. steel tanks and one 260,000-gal. concrete tank, giving a total storage capacity of 310,000 ga:., or approximately thirty-eight carloads. The |0ca- tion and elevation of the unloading track, in re'a' to the storage tanks, are such that the oil fron tank cars is discharged by gravity directly into tanks. The air-compressor equipment consists National Brake & Electric Co. type 3-VD 550 2 and one 3VS-23-300 cu. ft. automatically controiec compressors. The relief department, of which about cent of the employees are members, is opera a plan which not only provides sick and Geath fits for its members at nominal cost, but also pe! sions the widows and dependent children of me™ gen- 5 ner Jv pY* ted on } hene- October 20, 1921 THE IR nh oa Butterfly Valves for Handling Air and Gas Flow who have been in the employ of the company inuously for a period of two years or more. A completely outfitted modern dispensary, in ge of a registered nurse, is also maintained, first aid is administered to accident cases. is well equipped with safety appliances, safety work being in charge of a committee com- of employees of the various departments. mmittee makes monthly inspections of all ON AGE ee 4.8 ee) ose Ei « Are Located, as Usual, Beneath the Charging Floor departments, and recommends the installation of safety devices where necessary. The National Steel Foundries also operate a brass foundry and a large modern gray iron foun- dry, located directly south of the steel foundry buildings. When operating under normal conditions (before the completion of the new addition) about 500 men were employed. This number will now be considerably augmented. > Core Ovens Lie Between the Green Sand Molding Area, Behind the Scenes at the Right, and the Dry Sand ng Area, Located Similarly at the Left. Cores are made in this room and passed directly into the ovens natllinpeerntitiathiatt eet ~ Be ee RO OER Hn Pe OO gy I — ems fe oe a8 aes cn perenne ve - ee engage uate an: ee Ate aaa et : an ee mer TB tatey wee nee Investigation of Defects in Extruded Metals Origin and Remedy Discussed by British Institute of Metals—Testing Light Specimens with the Scleroscope—Age-hardening of Aluminum Alloys (Special Correspondence.) LONDON, Sept. 26.—The opening session of the autumn meeting of the British Institute of Metals at Birmingham has already been reported in THE IRON AGE. The present report deals with the second day’s session on Sept. 22. At a lunch given the members by the Metal Trades Associations, Sir George Goodwin, in responding to a toast, observed that there had been a good deal of standardization in the metal industries in recent years, especially in the United States. There was no doubt that this did cheapen manufacture, but it also intro- duced a tendency to stagnation. On his various visits to Birmingham he had found a good deal of standard- ization, but he had also found that the works were adaptable to meet all the exacting requirements of the Royal Navy. He then referred to the necessity for continued research work and for adequate remunera- tion for those who undertook it. The recently-formed Non-Ferrous Metals Research Association would pro- vide a useful link between the institute and the non- ferrous metal trades. The question of industrial research was also raised later in the day when Principal C. Grant Robertson welcomed the institute on a visit of inspection to Birmingham University. Principal Robertson said the university meant business, and in two senses. It provided professional training for industrial careers and it provided for research. It had recently set up a standing joint committee on research (and he believed this was the first of its kind) to co-ordinate the re- search work of the university in relation to the local industries, which would have representatives on the committee. At the second business session on Sept. 22, the fol- lowing papers were taken: The Extrusion Defect Under this title, R. Geuders presented a com- munication from the Research Department, Wool- wich. He observed: Although the possibility of extruding soft metals such as lead and tin had been established as early as about 1800, the process was not successfully applied to copper alloy until it was shown by Alexander Dick, during the ‘eighties, that delta metal could be extruded in a heated state. The hot extrusion process, as is well known, con- sists in the pressing of metal heated to a plastic state, through a die, so that a continuous bar of the cross-section of the die is produced. In the process, as generally carried out, a cast billet, reheated, in the case of 60:40 brass, to a temperature of about 800 deg. C., is placed in a receiver having a fixed die at one end. A plunger actuated by a hydraulic press is inserted. As the plunger moves forward the brass is extruded through the die. The advantages of the process are well recognized. The available literature on the subject is scarty and mainly devoted to the design of the apparatus rather than to the behavior of the metal during the process. It is found that when solid rod is extruded from a central die, the last 25 or 30 per cent of rod to leave the die contains a characteristic defect peculiar to extruded rod. Transverse sections show a more or less complete circle, varying in diameter at different positions along the rod, consisting of oxide and foreign matter inclosed in partially dezincified brass. The core inside the circle has generally the same structure as the sound metal outside. When a defective rod is broken across, the core frequently breaks at a different point from the outer ring and projects, and is sometimes quite loose. The defect may not be completely continuous either longitudinally or circumferentially, and it is possible for a badly defective rod to show an end frac- ture which is not visibly unsound. The defect is commonly known by the misleading term “piping,” and has often been ascribed to ingot defects. The sole fact that it occu lariy in the same torm in each rod produced by cent trusion is sufficient, however, to discount this assy The mode of formation of the defect was inv: by the examination of billets extruded to various The specimens were sectioned axially and pickled per cent nitric acid. It is found in such specime: the foreign matter and dezincified metal similar dividing the core from the outer ring in the bar is in the partially extruded billet in the form of a fu mouth of the funnel is the edge of the rear e: billet, and the neck of the funnel is continuous tubular defect in the extruded rod, while the meta the funnel is sound. The occurrence of the def: form can be explained as follows: When the heated placed in the relatively cool receiver and expand: close contact by the first pressure of the ram, surface is chilled and becomes less plastic than the The plastic interior flows easily through the die stiffer outer shell cannot flow so readily, and th: between the bore of the receiver and the surfac: billet also tends to prevent the skin of the billet f: ing. Consequently the cylindrical skin of the billet must shorten as the billet becomes smaller, is inward to be carried forward by the flow of th toward the die. The actual defect, thus appears to of the dirty. oxidized skin of the original billet, a formed in the manner suggested above, would be ex) to take a path identical with the outline of the defect found in the sectioned billets. The formation of the defect in this manner ex its occurrence in the rear-most portion of the extruded rod, It is clear that the skin of the billet at its extreme rear end could not enter the die before the reduction in length of the billet well exceeded 50 per cent. It would appear - »11 rod that the defect is present in the rear portion of centrally extruded by the usual methods, but in smaller diameter the foreign matter may be dist over such a great length as to render it discontinu invisible in the fracture. In many cases the sectior partially extruded billet shows much more foreign ma one side of the funnel formation than on the other nd in many sections of bar the circle of defective mater complete. This can be accounted for by assuming tha ram has not been concentric with the receiver, moving ng nearer to one side than the other and thus largely 4 the billet skin for a portion of the circumference T author's explanation of the formation of the defect agrees with the conclusion arrived at by A. E. and P. A. Tu o,° in a paper read before the Birmingham Metallurgical 5 y on March 138, 1919, that the defect was a mechanical of extrusion, but gives no support to their suggestion segregation and the crystalline structure of the billet factors affecting the occurrence of the defect. The author then considered various possible remedial methods. Regarding the suggestion to avoid relative movement of the receiver and billet, he 0- served that this is based on the theory that the skin of the billet refuses to flow along the bore of the receiver, and is bent inward by the forward motion of the ram. It could only be put into operation by sub- stantial modification of the usual type of plant. By inverting the process so that the die is pushed into the metal on the end of the ram, the flow of metal would take place near the die and the skin of the billet at the end farthest away would not be affected, the relative movement being solely between the die and the receiver. It might be possible to extrude both ends at once. This method was patented several years ago, but was devised with the object of obtaining more regular properties in the rod by extruding the middle portion of the billet (which-is away from the cooling influence of the die and ram) last. A somewhat more practicable method, however, is to carry the die 0” o end of a hollow ram or to allow the receiver to mov *Iron and Coal Trades Review, March 21, 1919. 996 tober 20, 1921 ard with the ram, the die being held on a fixed vy shaft. might be objected, however, that the effect of oe the die into the container, which with the remains stationary, would be to turn over the ¢ the billet at the die end and allow it to flow ‘he extruded rod from another point. The turn- ward of the skin at the external edge of the ild undoubtedly occur, but the defective material accumulate in a region from which smooth flow +h the die would be difficult. The author’s ex- ts confirm this view. eriments were carried out in small scale ap- (1) with solid ram and relative movement billet and container, as in present practice, , with hollow ram, and no relative movement be- ‘llet and container. The results obtained on a scale with the first apparatus appeared com- n every respect with those obtained in manu- » practice, while with the second apparatus the ne structure of the billet shows the effects of in the region just forward of the die, and ty skin of the billet is gathered on the under- ‘the die, where the metal appears to remain y “dead” until the rest of the billet has been ’ In complete extrusions the rod produced was mm end to end. In some cases a little of the natter was extruded on the outer surface of i or 5 per cent of rod. method has not so far, to the author’s knowl- n used for the hot extrusion of copper alloys, suggested that its undoubted advantages me consideration in this respect. The power | is less than with the method at present in use, the process would require a lighter receiver | be less likely to bulge those of the present e necessary modifications of the plant would e fully justified by the saving of the very sunt of metal, which by the present method is | only to be ultimately scrapped. Discussion |. Redding, Birmingham, speaking as a user of | bars, said the subject was most important. the war the amount of the defects increased, due to using larger billets, working at higher | using more of the bar. He had conducted experiments with wax models dyed red on the which had given practically the same results ecorded in the paper. Rosenhain said they had found at the National Laboratory that some alloys could only be | after extrusion. They had soon come across defect, and had experimented with model E ts of plasticine made up of alternate layers dif- ferent lored, as a result of which they had to a great t over the difficulties. He did not agree that | defect was due to the external skin, and the author had too lightly ignored the question ts in the ingot. Harold Moore, Woolwich, agreed entirely with the paper and disagreed with Dr. Rosenhain’s suggestion gr ingot defects. Earlier researches at Wool- 1914-15 had shown that this was out of the It was very difficult to extract information makers of extruded rod. The defect did ir to anything like the same extent when the die was used. ‘eorge Goodwin asked representatives of the turers to give their views, but there was no se, and the author then observed that it was regre ‘ that no manufacturers had come forward. q le the meetings seem one-sided. Research 7 “sers carried out experiments and published in- tor n, but could get neither criticism nor opinions manufacturers.to whom the work was pre- of value. He thought Dr. Rosenhain’s experi- ‘ not illustrate the effect-of flow as it actually in brass. Sir George Goodwin then added tne case of a paper like the present, the ; ‘urers owed a duty to the institute to take part ween iSsion, S. Tritton, of the National Physical Labora- . ( Liha | THE IRON AGE 997 tory, introduced a paper entitled “The Use of the Sclero- scope on Light Specimens of Metals.” The author referred to the doubt as to whether the real hardness values of small samples were obtained, although the usual precautions were taken to support the specimens in an apparently rigid manner. Vari- ous tests confirmed these doubts, and new means of support for the specimen were tried. Success was obtained by using pitch between the specimen and support but the usual clamp was found unsatisfactory. A new clamp designed by Dr. Rosenhain overcame the disadvantages and is described in the paper. A later improvement was the use of glucose in place of pitch, the ordinary liquid commercial variety being used, with a specific gravity of 1.425. Discussion Sir T. K. Rose commended the method, and referred to his own experiences with light samples at the Royal Mint. Capt. John Cartland, Ashton-on-Mersey, asked why a higher value was obtained with copper grips than with steel grips. Dr. W. H. Hatfield, Shef- field, said he regarded the Brinell test as the most reliable where it was applicable, but in other cases the scleroscope was very useful. In some of his own experiments he had found that with a support one inch thick he got a scleroscope hardness of 96, whereas with a support only 0.1 in. thick he got 76. He supported the author’s results and statements, espe- cially as regards unreliable scleroscope results given in some scientific papers. H. L. Heathcote, Birmingham, related some ex- periments on steel balls at the Rudge-Whitworth. Re- search Laboratory, as a result of which he obtained a curve of every irregular shape, something like a Greek letter, the name of which he had forgotten. Dr. A. G. C. Gwyer said that in testing thin sheet the value for the same temper was greatly dependent on the thick- ness of the sheet. He had several scleroscopes, and none of them read the same on the same material. He had recently bought two new hammers, which differed in weight by 10 per cent, and in readings by 100. Mr. Tritton, in the course of his reply, said that the higher values obtained with the copper grips were due to their giving a higher rebound. Age-Hardening An exhaustive research, of considerable value, by Dr. D. Hanson and Miss Marie L. V. Gayler, M.Sc., of the National Physical Laboratory, bears the title “The Constitution and Age-Hardening of the Alloys of Aluminum With Magnesium and Silicon.” It was in- troduced and very clearly summarized by Miss Gayler and, in the discussion, Professor Desch said it was quite a pleasure to see photo-micrographs which do really represent what they are intended to represent and do not require the exercise of faith. H. B. Weeks said the work was of more than academic interest, and important developments should follow the correlation of age-hardening properties and constitution. Other papers presented to the meeting were: “The Relation Between the Mechanical Properties and Micro- structure in Pure Rolled Zinc,” by D. H. Ingall, Bir- mingham; “The Electrolytic Etching of Metals,” by Frank Adcock, Ipswich, and “The Magnesium Alloy Electron,” by S. Beckinsale, Woolwich. On page 793 of THe Iron AceE, Sept. 29, in the de- scription of the new Ford foundry at River Rouge, Mich., the 3-ton electric furnace is stated to have been of the single-phase type, with two electrodes. We are now informed by the Electric Furnace Construction Co., Philadelphia, which supplied the furnace, that it is a 3-phase 4-electrode Greaves-Etchells furnace. The Youngstown Steel Car Co., Niles, Ohio, has booked an additional order from the New York Central Railroad for the repair of 500 freight cars, and now has 1900 cars on its books. An official states that business definitely in hand insures capacity operations until April 1 next. In addition, other important busi- ness is being negotiated. en MR tremens OP = — — ws ee reninvicips Mig AR ot mR ge en ea won ‘ ’ ee eae ed er era se eon RS = EE ne pee ae jm or Phertedbeir es msi anmes ne ° el APIO Sr gee i al } sete ese omen Aa —s + “ : ane ets wee) at ee ponent aman es war nae a: aE ag OIE ET ORT LEELA, OPE eae ae attrac sah hm : cee ; ; if nae is ae - oh Cost of Rolling Steel in Blooming Mills’ Discussion of Electric Drive Compared with Steam-Driven Units—Cost Comparisons on Basis of Tonnage Rolled Favor Electric Operation economy to be obtained by replacing the existing steam units of rolling mills by electric drive. The field of motor application has been divided into two parts; the auxiliaries and the main drive, and the advantages which apply to either of these fields apply to the other, but not in the same degree. Experience has shown that a greater saving is to be obtained by replacing the steam units on the aux- iliaries than on the main rolls. The economy of small engines is relatively poor when compared with that obtained on the large engines. In addition to this, the losses incidental to a network of small steam lines contributed to the replacement of engine drives in this field. | y economy ti to-day are vitally interested in the Development of Mill Type Motors Electric drive was adopted, even before motors were developed which might be considered entirely suitable for such applications. The advantages were so greatly in favor of electric drive that motors which had been designed for railroad work were adopted, but the de- mand soon became large enough to warrant the manu- facture of the mill type motor, which is just as special _ for steel mill work as the railroad motor is for railroad work. The elimination of engine drive on auxiliaries might be considered as the completion of the first step in steel mill electrification, and the fact that this move- ment has been so rapid and universal must signify there were other important results gained in addition to economy. Power for the auxiliary motors was generated by engine-driven units in sizes comparable to the engines driving the main rolls. These engines were usually located near a boiler room, so that the losses in the steam line were considerably less than would be obtained in a network of lines to small engines, and the engines driving the generators were naturally larger than those which would be used for the auxiliaries, so that much better economies were obtained. In addition to this, the engine driving the electric generator took advantage of the diversity of demand on the individual units, so that its load varied over the small range in capacity where its best economy is obtained. The engines on the main rolls were quite often placed near the boiler plant, and being of the same general capacity as the prime movers then used to generate electric power, no great difference in economy existed. Improvements were made on the main roll drives by installing compound condensing engines, and later in some cases low pressure turbines were installed, to utilize the exhaust steam and obtain a greater vacuum than is possible with an engine. New Power Units Favor Motor Drive In the decade of 1900 to 1910 two new methods of generating electric power in steel plants came into prominence; the gas engine and the high pressure steam turbine. This greatly changed the situation, as an im- provement in economy could now be obtained by elec- trifying the main rolls, just as was formerly obtained by placing motors on the auxiliaries. Some very ex- tensive main roll electrifications were made on the basis of producing power, in some cases with gas en- gine driven generators, and in others with high pres- sure turbo-generators. —_—_—_—_—— BY G. E. STOLTZ+ —————______ p first units, the growth of electrification would, | eve have been substantial, but would by no means rapid as it has been during the intervening years. However, both gas engines and steam turbines are now being built in increasing sizes and better economies are being obtained. The steam turbine has led in th: race, and the economies now obtained have contributed more to electrification in steel plants than any other one item. Operating engineers to-day are interested in the question of replacing the steam units now in operation. Much interest has been aroused by the fact that a re ady a number of important electric installations have been made to replace the steam engine. While in some cases the engine has been replaced, due to the fact that it was worn out, there are several cases where the change was made to obtain better economy, and to be able to produce the steel cheaper than was possible with the steam unit. Effect of Motor Drive on Cost While there are a number of factors to be consid- ered, the cost of rolling steel must first be disposed of. It is therefore necessary to determine first the cost of rolling steel on the steam unit in operation, and then estimate the cost of rolling steel if a motor were in- stalled. Mr. Jefferies* has published costs of rolling steel on his 34-in. reversing blooming mill, first in an article in the 1916 volume of the Proceedings of this association, and later in the February, 1920, monthly proceedings of the association, with the discussion of “Steam vs. Electric Drive.” At the same time, Mr. Siebert presented some valuable data on this same subject. In his discussion, Mr. Siebert compares the effective work of the various types of engines, and shows that what the compound engines gain in engine economy is partially lost in greater acceleration and friction losses. In Fig. 9 of his discussion he plots a curve, giving the kw.hr. consumption per ton of steel rolled for various elongations. The curve here appended has been taken from this data, the points establishing the upper curve being taken from Fig. 11, and the lower curve from Fig. 9, of Mr. Siebert’s paper. Mr. Siebert plotted the latter curve in kw.hr. per ton, but we have expressed the same values in |b of steam per ton, assuming that 16 lb. of steam ar required to generate a kw.hr. At this same meeting Mr. Eppelsheimer} presented a discussion giving tes! results on a 40-in. mill engine. This test lasted 17 and certain boilers were set aside to serve the engin’ alone. The upper point taken from Mr. Eppelsheimer> data represents the total steam per ton rolled and lower point the net steam charged to the engine after it is given credit for exhaust steam to a low pressur turbine. The data submitted by Mr. Siebert indicates that the steam-driven mill requires 2% times the steam that would be required for electric drive, ana te P° steam from Mr. Eppelsheimer’s test is 3% times required by electric drive. Practical Operation the Only Criterion These values, of course, represent results obtain from tests of relative short periods, while the requite ments for electric drive are taken over monthly periods, which include incidental losses that become particl: ne Even if the gas engine and the high pressure tur- h small ton- : : tune the tm ; f the arly prominent on steam engine drive when smé bine had not been improved since the installation of t nages are rolled. When these mills operate at 4‘ *Abstract of paper read before Association of Iron and — mil to! Steel Electrical Engineers, Philadelphia and Youngstown *Electrical superintendent, Steel Co, of Canada, Mam meetings. Can. riddletown, +General engineer, Westinghouse Electric & Mfg. Co., East ¢Chief engineer, American Rolling Mill Co., Mice Fittsburgh, Pa. Ohio. 998 tober 20, 1921 THE IRON AGE 999 ed tonnage, the ratio of steam consumption would 000. This would easily pay for electrifying mill No. V, till larger, as the standby losses of the electric including the necessary boiler and generating capacity, are not so great as those obtained with steam in 4% years. e data referred to above as given by Mr. Jefferies Discussion by R. B. Gebhardt* r seven years’ record on his mill, and naturally are At Sparrow’s Point we have a 40-in. electric-driven re value than results obtained over short periods blooming mill, which, I understand, is about second on the mill is operating at a fair tonnage. His tonnage record to any electric-driven mill in this coun- es include those incidental losses and costs which try. Its record is 57,616 tons for a single month’s t be figured from test values, and for this reason operation, rolling partly slabs and partly 8 x 8-in. ¢ great value to engineers making a study of this blooms. The following table gives figures, similar to ; those submitted by Mr. Stoltz, for this mill: elieve if data of this character were submitted arious mills it would be easier to determine the Months in opstation wage IUTTTITTTTTIITTT TS ag.opo when an engine should be replaced by an electric Average cost of operation and for this reason we are submitting figures me oe eee nesses <i. from several reversing blooming mills, both steam Miscellaneous supplies ... ie er eny 0.1¢. and electric driven. Naturally, the costs will eee aoe - oo mewhat with the product rolled and with the iid tees ae otal cos o* ° eee eee . Cc. output, but an approximate indication of the — In the figures presented by Mr. Stoltz there is no me is pe er ae egner gern ; | x Points from 4 doubt left in our minds that, of the mills from which ) —+——_;—_+—_ + * Mr. Eppelsheimer s ~— these were obtained, the electric drive shows an appre- | | | : Discussion | vr ciable economy over the steam drive. However, some- one might argue that these figures do not tell the whole Srve Plotted: story, as no fixed charges against the original invest- from Values ment are included, and it is the purpose of this dis- £ —— Given in Fig. 1, > cussion to approximate such charges for the benefit of it ° 0.) Mr. Sieber any skeptical ones who need further convincing. 0 - a Referring back then to our proposed mill, the first = 1c DRIVE- costs with either method of drive would be about as c FLECT —F follows: f 200} urve Transcribed from Lower Curve — Steam Electric .9 of Mr. Sieberts Paper, Using /6/o.0f | ; ; Drive Drive ) Kw. | Boiler plant including connections up ; ae OO GD nicdeene dhs rhand seeuees 500,000 . 2% 6 8 0 Fk \4 le 18 20 22 % Electric power plant including boilers, ” Elongation turbo units, wiring, etc., complete. $660,000 Engine drive, twin tandem compound, / F e . WIth COMGORSOP ..cccccccccccecese 200,000 steel rolled is being given with the cost figures, so as Motor drive complete ............+-. 450,000 to Ss possible to compare the results with that on oa a RY, wine "$700,000 «$1,110,000 otner mulls. The mills represented by items III and V in the The fixed items chargeable against the above in- table roll approximately the same product and are vestment in either case may be taken as follows: subject to the same method of accounting. The two -y : ° PS Ge STNG Sec hdc cncdedecodeesdaueaen 6 per cent mills have rolled the same maximum tonnage, although Depreciation ........................+-..-..-.. 6 cer cont the demand for the product rolled on the electric Insurance, taxes and miscellaneous.............. 3 per cent driven mill has not been so regular as that of the steam UE ns succinct xawesacoteaaeeis eeee 15 per cent ence OTNVSETUNEDLDNDOLOTAOEDONDADONISGGONOEEDOVENGLOGSEDIVVEL*OOUELEEDEDORENDHNNC/ATIORN OO cRETOASATYNOROOUED: PORE FORENSOrBOOERHOND Den DPNNDOCOEDE NERD HORNER DE nrtepeene Sense EONRRARBN EH DENPHOTOHE HET) PHTL/IL) DORN) FH ROER wes woven srneervanerse COO Me o Y — . Electric Drive— --— —_——-Steam Drive————_, Reversing Blooming Mills I II Ii! IV Vv VI Oe OE MND k's ext ah cee k a era ee eae 34-in. 35-in. 40-in 35-in. 36-in. 40-in. mize Of ingots rolled. ..cccccccccocs ; 15x17 in. 20x20 in. 22x24 in. 18x20 in. 22x24 in 18x20 in. Weight of (RNB) -65 ia eee sd. oxcrees 4200 Ib. 6800 Ib. 9600 Ib.* 5500 Ib. 9600 Ib. 5000 Ib. Gite Of Dinos COIS isso ik dace etee ew ds &x8 in. 8x8 in. 6x6 in 4x4 in. 8x8 in 7x4 in. 6x6 in. 4x4 in. 8x1l0in 4x4 in. 51% x22 in. Sine Gf CRUR WEEN 55 cc Ae weksee '-aieeai- 1 ake adieu 42x60 in. 50x66 in 55x60 in. © geared tears covered by figures........... 7 2 2 3 2 2 Months in cperation ...............+.-. 73 21 12 35 24 24 Average monthly tonnage§.......... ‘ 18,600 26.700 27,000 23,900 32,930 18,075 Average cost of operation : EW NG. WP Wlhicidssuaesincvassdeeicns 21.2 21.3 6 - Leader Oo Bae Lb steam PE i bdo nate ae eS eo eee eee 1040 1690 2870 TOG £OF POWEF. «60. seeeeeesecsecceess 14.45¢. 23.206. 20.20¢. 53.50. 63.50¢. 107.00c. ‘epairs and maintenance ....... 0.58¢ 0.07¢. } f 5.47¢ : ; (worms e 5 . . 0.35 27c J nt Miscellaneous supplies ............... 0.30c. 0.14¢ aoe — ror { 0.72¢. POPOUNG IAMOH Sighs Pes, clk va Ce Sew es bs 1.32c. 1.86c. 1.88c. 3.97. 3.39¢. 4.62c. SOR CONE ce isescsibavcur deers neds 16.65¢. 25.27¢. 22.43c. 61.41¢. 71.16¢. 117.81e. Weirhted aw ~_ ed averages: Electric : Steam et Oe POUT be psitecsntiake paneer at 19.83c. 70.81¢. ~ - ep and supplies ...... ; ; 0.43¢. 4.63c. RG WNP oss sin cence uledeeny es 1.73¢. 3.87¢. we ee 21.99¢. 79.81¢. Uy ean 25 im, 11,500 Ib, and 25 x 30 in., 13,500 Ib. _‘win simple engines, exhausting into low-pressure turbines. ages and costs based on 2240-lb. per ton of finished product. Pee Me OPP OENN Dee D ATOOTESEROPTROS -nepenAney veTH iNT. 4NENd TEMOMUPETEEDUNE TOON IEDY OOOH LITA eEELLERERFTOOTTLLSE/CRURPERDYN PRAT ORD cOUREITDA. PhepENLapeL IED . ae rote butane reaenne . Se a er) re ie n mill. The difference in cost on these two mills and for electric drive, $13,875 per month, or a differ- ni — ton, which, on the basis of 30,000 tons ence of $5,125 per month, in favor of the steam drive. ms nth, would result in an annual saving of $180, Assuming a monthly tonnage of 25,000 on either type 'S would be, for steam drive, $8,750 per month, *Bethlehem Steel Co., Sparrow's Point, Md. ¢» * 1000 THE IRON AGE of mill, then fixed costs per ton would be $0.35 on the steam driven mill and $0.555 per ton on the electric driven mill. Adding these fixed charges, then, to the highest average electric costs given by Mr. Stoltz, and the lowest average steam costs, in order to be sure we are on the safe side, we have $0.808 per ton for electric operation as against $0.964 per ton for steam operation. Discussion by B. A. Cornwell* A few of the more important advantages of the large motor when compared with the steam engine for driving the main rolls are as follows: 1. More constant and regular torque. 2. Greater flexibility—meaning less breakage of pin- ions, couplings, ete. 3. Reduced space—due to the absence of boilers, steam piping, etc. 4. Reduced labor costs. 5. A lower fuel cost—due to the use of large blast furnace gas engines and to the good economies obtained by high pressure steam turbines. Discussion by G. S. Warreny The Sharon Steel Hoop Company has a 35-in. elec- tric-driven blooming mill at its Lowellville plant, which has been in operation about two years. The operation has been very irregular, due to several causes, but we have found that, without any special tests, our kw.hr. will run from 20 to 22 per ton of steel rolled. We have been rolling 20 x 22-in. ingots to a maximum section of 15 x 4 in. and a minimum of 4x 4in. Our costs run somewhat higher than Mr. Stoltz shows in his tables, and are about 30c. per ton. This mill has made 675 tons in a single 8-hr. turn. The mill has operated only 16 hr. any day, and this would tend to make our costs higher. We are limited by our heating capacity, having only four soaking pits to take care of this mill. *Engineer, Electrical Department, Carnegie Steel Co., Ohio Works, Youngstown. 7Sharon Steel Hoop Co., Sharon, Pa Chicago Foundry Conditions CHICAGO, Oct. 17.—In view of the varying opinions on the melt of foundries, it is refreshing to secure ac- curate statistics. In the month of August, 29 repre- sentative foundries in the Chicago district consumed 5956 tons of pig iron as against a normal monthly con- sumption of 14,630 tons. This would indicate an oper- ating rate of about 41 per cent during the month. On Sept. 1, these melters had 22,372 tons of pig iron on hand, as compared with 23,996 tons on Aug. 1, or a re- duction of 7 per cent. On the other hand, they still had 9924 tons due on contracts, as of Sept. 1, and this tonnage plus that in their yards on that date was equal to 220 per cent of their normal monthly consumption and 544 per cent of their August consumption. Iron purchased in August amounted to 5708 tons, or 96 per cent of the consumption during that month. Iron re- ceived totaled 3013 tons, or slightly more than one-half the melt in August. Mahoning Valley Operations YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO, Oct. 18.—There is as yet no perceptible decline in steel mill operations in the Mahoning Valley. Sheet production is well sustained, 77 units being under power this week, as compared with 76 last week. Nine pipe furnaces are fired as against eight the previous week. The Brier Hill Steel Co. is operating 18 sheet mills, Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. 15 and Trumbull Steel Co. 13. Forty-one of the Valley’s 66 open hearth furnaces are charged, in- cluding 31 independent furnaces. The A. M. Byers Co., Pittsburgh, is operating its blast furnace, 72 puddle furnaces and skelp and bar mills at its Girard works. At New Castle, Pa., the Carnegie Steel Co. has two furnaces in blast, and is operating its bessemer depart- ment and blooming and bar mills. October 20, 1921 MORE ACTIVE STACKS Jones & Laughlin Steel Co. Now Has Five Fur- naces in Operation—Gains Elsewhere The Jones & Laughlin Steel Co. recently turned on the blast at two furnaces, one at its Pittsburgh plant and one at its Woodlawn, Pa., works. Th n- pany now has 5 of its 12 furnaces making iron (f the 140 blast furnaces, steel works and merch in the territory bounded by Johnstown, Pa., Wheelin. W. Va., and Warren, Ohio, 42 now are in blast, 0 per cent numerically figured. This is a gain of 16 furnaces from the low point reached around July 1, when only 25 stacks were blowing. Only four merchant stacks of a total of 21 are in blast. These are one furnace, American Manganese Mfg. Co., Dunbar, Pa.: the Mattie furnace, A. M. Byers Co., Girard, Ohio: Cherry Valley furnace, Hanna Furnace Co., Leetonia, Ohio, and No. 3 furnace, Shenango Furnace (o., Sharpsville, Pa. Active steel works stacks include one each at the Schoenberger Works, Pittsburgh, and the Donora Works, Donora, Pa., of the American Stee! & Wire Co.; 1 furnace, Brier Hill Steel Co., Youngs- town, Ohio; 17 furnaces, Carnegie Steel Co., Pitt burgh; 3 furnaces, Midvale Steel & ,Ordnanc Johnstown, Pa.; 5 furnaces, Jones & Laughlin Ste Co., Pittsburgh; 1 furnace, LaBelle Iron Works, Steu- benville, Ohio; 1 furnace, Pittsburgh Steel Co., Mone sen, Pa.; 2 furnaces, National Tube Co., Pitts- burgh, one furnace, Republic Iron & Steel Co., Youngs- town, Ohio; 1 furnace, Sharon Steel Hoop Co., Lowell- ville, Ohio; 1 furnace, Weirton Steel Co., Weirton, W. Va.; 1 furnace, Wheeling Steel & Iron Co., Wheeling, W. Va., and 2 furnaces, Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co., Youngstown, Ohio, a total of 37. It is reported that the Trumbull Cliffs Furnace Co., stack at War- ren, Ohio, which will provide hot metal for the Trum- bull Steel Co., will be blown in either Nov. 1 or Nov. 15. This is a new furnace and is jointly owned by the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Co., Cleveland, and the Trumbull Steel Co., Warren, Ohio. Inland Looks for 1922 Rail Demand The decision of the Inland Steel Co. to install rail finishing equipment, as announced in THE IRON AGE of Oct. 13, was prompted by the belief that the demand for rails next year will be of large proportions. The company expects to be able to offer rails for delivery beginning in March, 1922. The 28-in. structural mill on which the rails will be rolled, has heretofore been used chiefly in the manufacture of heavy structural material, the demand for which in Chicago territory does not under present conditions engage the full ca- pacity of the mill. The mill is three-high and has three stands of rolls and is served by a 32-in. roughing mill, which in turn is served by a 49-in. blooming mill, all motor driven. These mills were fully described in these columns on July 10 and 17, 1919. The rail finishing equipment will be housed in a large addition, referred to a week ago, which will be served by two 15-ton over- head traveling cranes. The werk undertaken also !n- volves the construction of fcur large heating furnaces in which the blooms will be reheated before rolling the rails, it being believed that a much better rail will thereby be produced than by the methods heretofore employed. W'th an e:timated capacity of 2000 tons of finished rails per day, the Inland mill will stand second in output in the United States. The Inland company has bee» cquipped for some time to furnish the fasten- iugs tha: go with the rails, such as angle bars, we plates, track spikes and track bolts. Preduction and sales activities of the Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Co., Buffalo, which have been accelerating gradually during the last three months, have reached a schedule which is rapidly approaching normal. As a result, the factory is running full time with a force of 4230 werkers. There is every prospect, according company officials, that this force will be maintained, ! not increased, during the next six months. to Gear Standardization at Rochester Substantial Progress Featured Meeting Last Week of American Gear Manufacturers’ Association— Several Design and Material Standards Approved marked the semi-annual meeting last week of the American Gear Manufacturers’ Association. Specialized investigations had been carried on in the val since the annual meeting in the spring in ( nnati by numerous committees, and most of the reports of these committees bore evidence of the ial formulation of standards which will have | acceptance. Some standards were adopted as mended practice. Outstanding in the meeting were the definite steps n by committees to work as the cases warrant | corresponding bodies of such organizations as the \merican Society for Testing Materials, the American S ty of Mechanical Engineers, the Society of Auto- motive Engineers and the American Engineering ards Committee. Also noteworthy was the de- if concentration given by the average participant » questions under discussion, indicated in part by ied attendance; and though an association of facturers, the discussions were almost exclusively cal. Engineering topics necessarily were involved nsidering the standards but, as it was emphasized, sociation while working from a theoretical basis it lose sight of the commercial, A departure , printed program for each committee offered for ation or extension by the meeting and calculated erely to get definite action from each committee correlate their work where there is overlapping classification or division under more than one The spirit of camaraderie among men who are r less business competitors was as characteristic meeting as it has been of those from the begin- of the organization. meeting was held at the Powers Hotel, Rochester, N. Y. The deliberations were chiefly over t mmittee reports, requiring sessions on the after- and evening of Oct. 13, and the mornings of i4 and Oct. 15. Each session, however, was | with the reading of a paper. One of these, by . White, chief engineer Warner Gear Co., Muncie, described experiments on “Gear Tooth Wear.” ther, by R. W. Daniels, Baush Machine Tool Co., ngtield, Mass., dealt with “Duralumin, as a Ma- tor Worm and Other Gearing” and a third was W. Miller, chief engineer Fellows Gear Shaper , Springfield, Vt., on “Tooth Forms.” E. S. Saw- » assistant general manager Tool Steel Gear & n Co., Cincinnati, on the evening session of Oct. { of his experiences and observations in a recent through England, France, Switzerland, Holland ‘ermany. The meeting might in part be called a meeting, Rochester being the home of the on Works and of the Gleason gear generators ni James E, and Andrew C. Gleason acting as hosts ‘ number of occasions as told later in this account. Business and Government Matters I’ ASURABLE progfess in standardizatio