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PRESENTED BY<br />
PUBLISHER
TkeBlasl FurnaccSSteel PI anr<br />
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YEARLY INDEX TO THE BLAST FURNACE AND STEEL PLANT<br />
January to December, 1924<br />
Accidents in Handling Materials, Elimination of April 191<br />
Achievements, Engineering, by H. \V. Copes Tan. 29<br />
Air in Pipes, Flow of Gas or, by Franklin H. Smith Oct. 448<br />
Alloys, Chromium, Its Uses and Its, by Walter M. Mitchell. . . .Aug 372<br />
Alloys, Chromium, Its Uses and Its, by Walter M. Mitchell.... Oct. 452<br />
Alloys, Chromium, Its Uses and Its, by Walter M. Mitchell. ... Nov 504<br />
Alloy Steel, Rolling, by Jens Clausen Feb. 113<br />
American Gas Association, Atlantic City, Optimism Pervades 490<br />
Convention, by F. J. Crolius<br />
America Safe for Americans by Machines, Keeping, by R. B.<br />
Nov<br />
Williams April 1<br />
A. S. T. M. Twenty-Seventh Annual Convention June 288<br />
Annual Banquet Engineers Society, Address by Elisha Lee Feb. 94<br />
Atlantic Steel Co., A Southern Rolling Mill, by M. P. Lawton. . .June 291<br />
Attitude of Mind Jan. 1<br />
Benson Super-Pressure Steam Generator, Theory of the Oct. 548 476<br />
Bethlehem Trophy Aug. 519 360<br />
Bibliography of Manganese Steel, by E. H. McClelland Dec.<br />
Birmingham Meeting of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers Nov.<br />
Blast turnace Boiler Plant, Unusual, by Ge<strong>org</strong>e G. Crawford. ... Jan.<br />
Blast Furnace Gas, Dry Cleaning, by Ge<strong>org</strong>e H. Cramp Feb.<br />
Blast Furnace, Heat Balance of Bureau of Mines Experimental,<br />
by P. H. Royster, T. L. Joseph and S. P. Kinney April<br />
Blast Furnace, Production of Iron in the, by P H. Royster, T. L.<br />
Joseph and S. P. Kinney Jan.<br />
Blast Furnace Progress, by J. A. Mohr Jan.<br />
Blast Furnace Slags, Color Classification of, by W. G. Imhoff. . . July<br />
Blast Furnace Slags, Color Classification of, by W. G. Imhoff.. .Aug.<br />
Blast Furnace, Reduction of Iron Ore in the, by P. H. Royster,<br />
77<br />
101<br />
200<br />
35 '<br />
8<br />
310<br />
362<br />
Drawn Parts, Selestis^ Mater^ls for May 239<br />
Dry Cleaning Blast _,Kui n:ne Gas by Gu<strong>org</strong>e B. Cramp Feb. 101<br />
Earth's Center, Steam^ from<br />
Economical Operation and Maintenance of Boiler Furnaces, by<br />
April 213<br />
Robert June ? t ;• " : May 251<br />
Economical Operation., and Maintenance of Boiler Furnaces, by<br />
Robert June * .«, .» W?? June 300<br />
Educational Methods* 1 Prevention of Accidents by, by Arthur Williams<br />
3 . ,•" ....-.-,.-.; June 269<br />
Efficiency, The Boiler, -by CharJ-s E. Colburn Jan. 75<br />
Electrical Cleaning" 8? "Blast j^ji^ce Gases, by N. H. Gellert. . .Sept. 423<br />
Electrical Industry During 1R2 3,. Developments in the, by John<br />
Liston J.,.j \ f.? Jan. 25<br />
Electrically Operated--Inland JSteel, by F. J. Crolius Feb. 90<br />
Electric Furnace D^el-opment, by Frank Hodson July 314<br />
Electric Heating of. Sheet ana" Tin Mill Rolls, by Gordon Fox..Nov. 493<br />
Electric Scrap Baling,' 1 >'•'•'• Oct. 450<br />
Electro-Metallurgical 3 Applications,, -by J. L. McK. Yardley<br />
Element, The Hun/aij, by Ge<strong>org</strong>e M. Verity<br />
Elimination of Accents in Handling Materials<br />
Enameled Ware Ut^twrslls, Manufacturing, by P. G. White<br />
Dec. 532<br />
Jan.<br />
124<br />
3<br />
April 191<br />
94<br />
Feb. 124<br />
29<br />
Engineers Society, Anrrual Banquet, Address by Elisha Lee Feb. 462<br />
Engineering Achievements, by II., W. Cope Jan<br />
Engineers' Society xji' Western Pennsylvania Moves into Larger<br />
Quarters .. . . v,.-: .... Oct,<br />
Engine Starting Made Safe, Gils Oct. 460<br />
Equipment Manufacturers, With the AH issues<br />
Equipments Shown at the Iron and Steel Exposition Oct. 479<br />
European Producer * Practice, by C. H. S. Tupholme Sept. 236 401<br />
Examination of Steel by X-Ray, by L. 0. Breed<br />
Executives Convene at White Sulphur Springs, Sheet Steel<br />
Nov. 517<br />
June 474 285<br />
Experience with Multiple-Feed, High Pressure Lubrication, by<br />
154<br />
L. R. Humpton May<br />
Fireless Locomotive, A, by C. E. Colburn April 16<br />
T. L. Josephs and S. P. Kinney Feb.<br />
474<br />
75 97<br />
Boehler Steel, by Henry Obermeyer and Arthur L. Greene June 281<br />
Boilers Behind Open Hearth Furnaces, Experiences with Waste<br />
251<br />
Boiler<br />
Heat,<br />
Furnaces,<br />
by W.<br />
Operation<br />
Schuster<br />
and<br />
Donawitz<br />
Maintenance of, by Robert June. .June<br />
Oct.<br />
300<br />
Boiler Furnace Walls, Reconstructing Nov.<br />
Boiler Efficiency, by Charles E. Colburn Jan.<br />
520<br />
Boiler, The Mercury, by W. L. R. Emmet July<br />
Experiences with Waste Heat Boilers Behind Open Hearth Fur<br />
Boiler Furnaces, Economical Operation and Maintenance of, by<br />
343<br />
Boiler Operations at High Ratings, by H. A. Reichenbach Aug.<br />
naces, by Schuster Donawitz Oct.<br />
Robert June May<br />
354<br />
Boiler Plant, Unusual Blast Furnace—By Ge<strong>org</strong>e G. Crawford.. Jan.<br />
Experimental Furnace Investigation; Significance of the Hearth,<br />
77<br />
Boiler, The World's Largest Steam, by A. C. Blackall Sept. 420<br />
by Royster, Joseph and Kinney Mar<br />
Bonus, The Safety, by F. C. Gregory Nov. 498<br />
Bolt Manufacture Simplified Mar. 181<br />
Boston Trading Center of New England Sept. 429<br />
Bulletins Obsolete?, Are Your Oct. 460<br />
Bureau of Mines Experimental Blast Furnace, Heat Balance of,<br />
by P. H. Royster, T. L. Joseph and S. P. Kinney April 200<br />
Bureau of Mines," Safety Crusade, by H. Foster Bain Mar. 148<br />
Business, Politics and Aug. 353<br />
By-Product Coke and Gas Oven Industry in 1923, by 0. J.<br />
Ramsburg Jan. 72~-- ><br />
Flow of Gas or Air in Pipes, by Franklin H. Smith Oct. 448<br />
Fluorspar, Its Occurrence and Its'Production, by A. M. Michell. . Jan. 54<br />
Flying Shears, Rotary May 238<br />
Foundry, Checking Up Losses in the, by L. C. Breed Aug. 376<br />
Furnace Developments, Electric, by Frank Hodson July 314<br />
Furnace Progress, Blast, by J. A. Mohr Jan.<br />
Furnace Investigation, Significance of the Hearth, Experimental, 154<br />
by Royster, Joseph and Kinney Mar. 520<br />
Furnace Walls, Reconstructing Boiler Nov. 448<br />
Gas or Air in Pipes, Flow of, by Franklin H. Smith Oct. 101<br />
Gas, Dry Cleaning Blast Furnace, by Ge<strong>org</strong>e H. Cramp Feb. 460<br />
Gas Engine Starting Made Safe Oct.<br />
Gas Oven Industry in 1923, By-Product Coke and, by C. J. 72<br />
Ramsburg Jan. 58<br />
By-Product Coke Oven Operations, Some Pointers on All issues,,, »ry<br />
><br />
Gas Producer Practice, by Waldemar Dyrs: ssen Feb.<br />
By-Product Coke Plant, Weirton's New, by C. J. Hunt April 193 Gas Producer Practice, by Waldemar Dyrssen Jan. 117<br />
Bv-Product Coke Plant, Weirton's New, by C. J. Hunt Mar. 166 - "W . Gas 'xas Producer jrrouueer rracuce, Practice, by uy Waldemar vv aiueuiar .L/yrsseil Dyrs<br />
Mar.<br />
Cahokia, a Masterpiece, by F. J. Crolius April<br />
161<br />
Carbonization, Coal, by Horace C. Porter Oct. 466<br />
271<br />
Gas Producer Practice, by Waldemar Dyrssen June<br />
Car Dumper, Union Electric Light Company, Gondola, by E. H.<br />
542<br />
Gas Producer Theory and Practice, by A. B. Huyck Dec.<br />
Kidder<br />
Car Upkeep, Reducing Open Hearth, by C. L. Newby<br />
Checking Up Losses in the Foundry, by L. C. Breed<br />
Feb.<br />
July<br />
Aug.<br />
127<br />
331<br />
376<br />
Gases, Electrical Cleaning of Blast Furnace, by N. H. Gellert,. Sept. 423<br />
345<br />
Generator, Theory of the Benson Super-Pressure Steam Oct. 476<br />
104<br />
Germany, High Pressure Steam in, by Fr. Heller July<br />
Chicago Points with Pride, by F. J. Crolius Jan. 18<br />
China's Second Rolling Mill, by H. C. Fleming April 187<br />
Christmas at Colorado Fuel & Iron Dec. 531<br />
Chromium, Its Uses and Its Alloys, by Walter M. Mitchell. ... Aug. 372<br />
Chromium, Its Uses and Its Alloys, by Walter M. Mitchell. ... Oct. 452<br />
Germany, The Present Situation in, by Hubert Hermanns Feb.<br />
Gondola Car Dumper, Union Electric Light Company, by E. H.<br />
Kidder Feb.<br />
Great Clearing House of New Information Oct.<br />
Guard, Highway Safety Feb.<br />
127<br />
476<br />
107<br />
329<br />
Chromium, Its Uses and Its Alloys, by Walter M. Mitchell.... Nov. 504 Guards, Their Use and Abuse, by S. J. Williams July<br />
Classification of Blast Furnace Slags, Color, by W. G. Imhoff. .July 310 Handling Materials, Elimination of Accidents in April 191<br />
Classification of Blast Furnace Slags, Color, by W. G. Imhoff..Aug. 362 Hangers, Spacing of Pipe Supports and, by Franklin H. Smith.. Jan. 51<br />
Cleaning of Blast Furnace Gases, Electrical, by N. H. Gellert. . Sept. 423 Health Work Pay the Employer, Does Industrial? by H. L. Wil<br />
Clearing House of New Information, Great Oct. 476<br />
liams Dec. 546<br />
Coal Carbonization, by Horace C. Porter Oct. 466 Heat Balance of Bureau of Mines Experimental Blast Furnace,<br />
Coal Storage, Scientific Sept. 418<br />
Coke and Gas Oven Industry in 1923, By-Product, by C. J.<br />
Colorado Fuel & Iron, Christmas at Dec 531<br />
Ramsburg Jan. 72<br />
Colorado Fuel, Joint Representation at Mar 141<br />
Completely Coke Plant, Modern Weirton's Indian New By-Product, Furnaces by C. J. Hunt April Sept. 193 398<br />
Complete Modern Ore Bin System Jan. 43<br />
Conneaut Harbor, Mighty Machines at Oct. 444<br />
Construction vs. Destruction Nov. 489<br />
Conventions Jnne 263<br />
Convention, A, S. T. M., Twenty-Seventh Annual June 288<br />
by P. H. Royster, T. L. Joseph and S. P. Kinney April 200<br />
103<br />
Heating Pair, by W. C. Buell, Jr Feb. 122<br />
Heating Pair, by W. C. Buell, Jr Mar. 236 159<br />
Heating Pair, by W. C. Buell, Jr April 1 345<br />
High Ash in Coal, Wastefulness of, by R. H. Sweetser Feb. 107<br />
High Pressure Lubrication, Experience with Multiple-Feed, by L. 38<br />
R. Humpton May 3<br />
High Pressure Steam in Germany, by Fr. Heller July<br />
Highway Safety Guard Feb.<br />
35<br />
Convention, Steel Treaters'<br />
\ Correspondence, Unfinished<br />
Sept. 427<br />
Oct. 443<br />
Homestead, Motorizing Structural Mill at, by S. S. Wales<br />
Human Element, The, by Ge<strong>org</strong>e M. Verity<br />
Jan.<br />
Jan.<br />
97<br />
J Crusade, Safety All issues Iron in the Blast Furnace, Production of, by P. H. Royster, T. L.<br />
\ Current Technical Digest All issues<br />
Joseph and S. P. Kinney Jan. 469<br />
.''Cutting Corners in Material Handling, by A. J. P. Rapp April 12 Iron Ore in the Blast Furnace. Reduction of, by P. H. Royster,<br />
4 7'.J<br />
"--Decision, An Important<br />
Destruction, Construction vs<br />
July 309<br />
Nov. 489<br />
T. L. Joseph and S. P. Kinney Feb.<br />
Iron Ore Reduction, Time Element in, by P. H, Royster, T. L.<br />
446<br />
Developments in the Electrical Industry During 1923, by John<br />
Liston Jan.<br />
- Developments in Metallurgy, by S. B. Goodale Feb.<br />
25<br />
109<br />
Joseph and S. P. Kinney<br />
Iron and Steel Engineers, Pittsburgh Welcomes<br />
Iron and Steel Exposition, Equipments Shown at the<br />
May<br />
Oct.<br />
Oct.<br />
246<br />
13<br />
236<br />
Device for Recording CO.. and CO Based on Physical Properties,<br />
Iron and Steel Industry, Present Day Developments in, by A. C.<br />
Measuring, by R. Duenckel Sept. 422<br />
Blackall Oct,<br />
_ Digest, Current Technical<br />
j Does Industrial Health Work Pay the Employer? by H. L. Wil-<br />
. _ liams<br />
All issues<br />
Dec. 546<br />
Iron and Steel Literature for 1923, Review of, bv E. H. Mc<br />
Indian Clelland Furnaces, Completely Modern. ". .Sept. Jan. 398<br />
Iron<br />
Industrial<br />
and Steel,<br />
Transportation,<br />
Pickling of,<br />
by<br />
by<br />
Russell<br />
V. S.<br />
B.<br />
Polansky<br />
Williams<br />
July<br />
Oct. 456<br />
8 Dollar in Industry, The Pay-Roll, by S. P. Fannon Nov. 500 Iron and Steel, Pickling of, bv V. S. Polanskv ....Aug. 368<br />
p" Don't Neglect the Practical Man Sept. 397 Iron and Steel, Pickling of, by V. S. Polansky Sept. 431<br />
Iron and Steel Review of 1923, by B. E. V. Luty<br />
Important Decision, An<br />
Jan.<br />
July<br />
5<br />
309
Tlie Bias J hi mace r^y<br />
jieel rlani<br />
Influence of Ore Size on Reduction, by P. H. Royster, T. L.<br />
Joseph and S. P. Kinney June 274<br />
Inland Steel Electrically Operated, by F. J. Crolius Feb. 90<br />
Inland Steel Co., Plant Two Power House, by F. J. Crolius.... Mar. 140<br />
Joint Representation at Colorado Fuel Mar. 141<br />
Joilet, Illinois, The Safety Crusade at<br />
Keeping America Safe for Americans, by Machines, by R. B.<br />
May 233<br />
Williams April 1<br />
Lehigh University, Metallography at, by H. B. Pulsifer July 334<br />
Locomotive Fire Bixes, One Piece Plate for Dec. 557<br />
Locomotive, A Fireless, by C. E. Colburn »**•"* April 16<br />
Losses in the Foundry, Checking Up, by L. C. BreecTr* Aug. 376<br />
Lubrcation of the Automatic Stoker '*/•** Dec. 553<br />
Lubrication, Experience with Multiple Fe>ed,, High SnefiBure, by<br />
L. R. Humpton **5^* ••• •"•••••.- Ma >' 236<br />
Machines at Conneaut Harbor, Mighty. . . .. *»>" Oct. 444<br />
Machines, Keeping America Safe for Americans^by, b^* R. B. Williams<br />
r t *. * ,*r* r April 1<br />
Machines for Men, Substituting T»/.*... . •*•*/.*/ May 219<br />
Maintenance of Boiler Furnaces, EconomfcKM* Operafiot) Vind, by<br />
Robert June y.*rrr... .••.••.• May 251<br />
Maintenance of Boiler Furnaces, EconomkyiJ, pperafroh* "ami, by<br />
Robert June »•#••• *• June 300<br />
Management, Power Plant, by Robert June?. .•. . . . .*.'.'."* Feb. 134<br />
Management, Power Plant, by Robert June*"!, April 210<br />
Manganese Steel, Bibliography of, by E.- H. *McClflHand Dec. 548<br />
Manufacturing Enameled Ware Utensile, by 1', G. \frli$be»> Feb. 124<br />
Masterpiece, Cahokia a, by F. J. Crolius.-. .-.-.-.r t.r.*sr April 7<br />
Material Handling, Cutting Corners in, by A/J. G. ,Haj3p April 12<br />
Materials for Drawn Parts, Selecting ...... ....-./.../ May 239<br />
Material Handling Section ' ,' • ' v Mar. issue<br />
Material Handling at Woodward, Alabama.'.''. - ... .« May 225<br />
Measuring Device for Recording C0o and CO Based oh r Physical<br />
Properties, by R. Duenckel .'.'..' Sept. 422<br />
Mechanical Stokeis, by Robert June -. .v. Aug. 385<br />
Mercury Boiler, The, by W. L. R. Emmet . July 343<br />
Metallographic Specimens, Preparation of, by John D Gat Dec. 536<br />
Metallography at Lehigh University, by H. B Pulsifer. July 334<br />
Metalloids in Basic Pig Iron in Basic Open-Hearth Practice, by<br />
C. L. Kinney, Jr<br />
Metalloids in Basic Pig Iron in Basic Open-Hearth Practice, by<br />
Jan. 45<br />
C. L. Kinney, Jr -. .' Mar. 150<br />
Metalloids in Basic Pig Iron in Basic Open-Hearth Practice, by<br />
C. L. Kinney, Jr May 220<br />
Metallurgical Applications, Electro, by J. L. McK. Vardley. . . .Dec. 532<br />
Metallurgy, Developments in, by S. B. Goodale Feb. 109<br />
Metals, The Science of, by Zay Jeffries and Robert Archer Oct. 468<br />
Midwest Coal, Underfeed Stokers and, by Joseph G. Worker... Mar. 176<br />
Mighy Machines at Conneaut Harbor Oct. 444<br />
Mind, Attitude of Jan. 1<br />
Mining and Metallurgical Engineers, The Birmingham Meeting of. Nov. 519<br />
Motorizing Structural Mill at Homestead, by S. S. Wales Jan. 38<br />
Multiple Feed, High Pressure Lubrication, Experience with, by<br />
L. R. Humpton . May 239<br />
National Safety Meeting, Louisville, Kentucky<br />
New Measuring Device for the Recording of CO., and CO Based<br />
Nov. 497<br />
on Physical Properties, by R. Duenckel Sept. 422<br />
News of the Plants All issues<br />
Occurrence and Production of Fluorspar, by A. M. Michell. . . .Jan. 54<br />
One Piece Plate for Locomotive Fire Boxes Dec. 557<br />
Open-Hearth, The All issues<br />
Open-Hearth Car Upkeep, Reducing, by C. L. Newby July 331<br />
Open-Hearth Furnaces, Operation of, by Ulrich Peters June 273<br />
Open-Hearth Practice, Metalloids in Basic Pig Iron in Basic, by<br />
C. L. Kinney, Jr Jan. 45<br />
Open-Hearth Practice, Metalloids in Basic Pig Iron in Basic, bv<br />
C. L. Kinney, Jr<br />
Open-Hearth Practice, Metalloids in Basic Pig Iron in Basic, by<br />
Mar. 150<br />
C. L. Kinney, Jr May 220<br />
Operations at High Ratings, Boiler, by H. A. Reichenbach Aug. 354<br />
Operation and Maintenance of Boiler Furnaces, Economical, by<br />
Robert June May 251<br />
Operation and Maintenance of Boiler Furnaces, Economical, by<br />
Robert June June 300<br />
Operation of Open-Hearth Furnaces, by Ulrich Peters<br />
Optimism Pervades Convention American Gas Association, Atlan<br />
June 273<br />
tic City, by F. J. Crolius Nov. 490<br />
Ore Bin System, Complete Modern<br />
Ore Size on Reduction, Influence of, by P. R. Royster, T. L.<br />
Jan. 43<br />
Joseph and S. P. Kinnev June 274<br />
Pair Heating, by W. C. Buell, Jr Feb. 122<br />
Pair Heating, by W. C. Buell, Jr Mar. 159<br />
Pair Heating, by W. C. Buell, Jr April 188<br />
Pay-Roll Dollar in Industry, The, by S. F. Fannon Nov. 500<br />
Personals, Publications, Trade Notes All issues<br />
Pickling of Iron and Steel, by V. S. Polansky July 326<br />
Pickling of Iron and Steel, by V. S. Polansky Aug. 368<br />
Pickling of Iron and Steel, by V. S. Polansky<br />
Pig Iron in Basic Open-Hearth Practice, Metalloids in Basic, by<br />
Sept. 431<br />
C. L. Kinney, Jr<br />
Pig Iron in Basic Open-Hearth Practice, Metalloids in Basic, by<br />
Jan. 45<br />
C. L. Kinney, Jr<br />
Pig Iron in Basic Open-Hearth Practice, Metalloids in Basic, by<br />
Mar. 150<br />
C. L. Kinney, Jr May 220<br />
Pipe Supports and Hangers, Spacing of, by Franklin II. Smith.. Jan. 51<br />
Pittsburgh Welcomes Iron and Steel Engineers >Oct. 469<br />
Planning Modern Stoker Installations, by Joseph G. Worker. . . .Dec. 55!)<br />
'Plant News All issues<br />
Plant Two Power House: Inland Steel Co., by F. J. Crolius. .. Mar. 142<br />
Plate for Locomotive Fire Boxes, One Piece Dec. 557<br />
Plate, Sheet and Tin Feb. 122<br />
Politics and Business Aug. 353<br />
Power Plant, The All issues<br />
Power Plant Management, by Robert June Feb. 134<br />
Power Precision Practical Field, Plant Show, WMan, Progress Management, Salient Don't Features Neglect in the, by by the Robert of Barton the June R. Shover Feb. April Dec. Sept. 210 129 563 397<br />
T Present Preparation Blackall Dav Situation elding, of De\elopments Metallographic in by Germany, S. W. in Mann Tron Specimens, by Hubert and Steel by Hermanns Industry, John D. '. . Gat bv .' A. C. Feb. Jan. Oct. Dec. 536 446 104 81<br />
President's Thrift Message, The Feb. 89<br />
Prevention of Accidents bv Educational Methods, by A. Williams .June 269<br />
Producer Practice, European, by C. H. S. Tupholme Sept. 401<br />
Producer Practice, Gas, by Waldemar Dyrssen Jan. 58<br />
Producer Practice, Gas, by Waldemar Dyrssen < Feb. 117<br />
Producer Practice, Gas, by Waldemar Dyrssen Mar. 161<br />
Producer Practice, Gas, bv Waldemar Dyrssen June 271<br />
Producer Theorv and Practice, Gas, by A. B. Huyck Dec. 542<br />
Production of Fluorspar, Its Occurrence and, by A. M. Michell.. Jan.<br />
Production of Iron in the Blast Furnace, by P. R. Royster, T. L.<br />
54<br />
Joseph and S. P. Kinney Jan. 35<br />
Production, Straight Line, by F. J. Crolius May 226<br />
Production, Woodward Iron Co. Straight Line, by F. J. Crolius.. June 264<br />
Progress, Blast Furnace, by J. A. Mohr Jan. 8<br />
Progress in the Power Field, by Barton R. Shover Feb. 129<br />
Ratings, Boiler Operations at High, by H. A. Reichenbach Aug. 354<br />
Real Safety Record, A Jan. 63<br />
Reconstructing Boiler Furnace Walls Nov. 520<br />
Reduction, Influence of Ore Size on, by P. H. Royster, T. L.<br />
Joseph and S. P. Kinney Feb. 97<br />
Reducing Open Hearth Car Upkeep, by C. L. Newby July 331<br />
Reduction, Time Element in Iron Ore, by P. H. Royster, T. L.<br />
Joseph and S. P. Kinney May 246<br />
Representation at Colorado Fuel, Joint Mar. 141<br />
Review of 1923, Iron and Steel, bv B. E. V. Luty<br />
Review of Iron and Steel Literature for 1923, by E. H. Mc-<br />
Jan. 5<br />
Clelland Jan. 13<br />
Rolling Alloy Steel, by Jens Clausen Feb. 113<br />
Rolling Mill, Atlantic Steel Co., A Southern, by M. P. Lawton..June 291<br />
Knlling Mill, China's Second, by H. C. Fleming April 187<br />
Rotary Flying Shears May 238<br />
Safety Bonus, The, by F. C. Gregory Nov. 498<br />
Safety Congress, Thirteenth Annual Oct. 461<br />
Safety Crusade, The All issues<br />
Safety Crusade at Joliet, Illinois, The May 233<br />
Safety Crusade of the Bureau of Mines, The, by H. Foster Bain. .Mar. 148<br />
Safety Guard, Highway Feb. 107<br />
Safety Meeting, Louisville, Kentucky, National Nov. 497<br />
SaiVtv Record, A Real Jan. 63<br />
Salient Features of the Power Show Dec. 563<br />
Science of Metals, The, by Zay Jeffries and Robert Archer Oct. 468<br />
Scientific Coal Storage Sept. 418<br />
Scrap Baling, Electric Oct. 450<br />
Selecting Material for Draw Parts May 239<br />
Semi-Steel, by G. W. Gilderman Nov. 526<br />
Shears, Rotary Flying May 238<br />
Sheet and Tin Mill Rolls, Electric Heating of, bv Gordon Fox..Nov. 493<br />
Sheet and Tin Plate Feb. 122<br />
Sheet Steel Executives Convene at White Sulphur Springs June 285<br />
'Sheet Steel Industry, by W. S. Horner July 319<br />
Sheet Steel Simplifications Ratified at Atlantic City..'<br />
Significance of the Hearth Experimental Furnace Investigation, by<br />
Nov. 508<br />
Rovster, Joseph and Kinney Mar. 154<br />
Simplified, Bolt Manufacture Mar. 181<br />
Slags, Color Classification of Blast Furnace, bv W. G. Imhoff.. July 310<br />
Slags, Color Classification of Blast Furnace, by W. G. Imhoff..Aug. 362<br />
Southern Rolling Mill, Atlantic Steel Co., A, by M. P. Lawton..June 291<br />
Spacing of Pipe Supports and Hangers, by Franklin H. Smith. . .Jan. 51<br />
Steam Boiler, The World's Largest, by A. C. Blackall Sept. 420<br />
Steam from the Earth's Center April 213<br />
Steam in Germany, High Pressure, by Fr. Heller July 345<br />
Steel, Boehler, by Henry Obermeyer and Arthur L. Greene June 281<br />
Steel Exposition, Equipments Shown at the Iron and<br />
Steel Industi'v, Present Dav Developments in the Iron and, bv<br />
Oct. 479<br />
A. C. Blackall '. . Oct. 446<br />
Steel Literature for 192 3, Review of Iron and, bv E. H. Mc<br />
Clelland Jan. 13<br />
Steel, Pickling of Iron and, bv V. S. Polanskv July 326<br />
Steel, Pickling of Iron and, by V. S. Polansky Aug. 368<br />
Steel, Pickling of Iron and, by V. S. Polansky Sept. 431<br />
Steel Review of 1923, Iron and, bv B. E. A'. Luty Jan. 5<br />
Steel, Rolling Alloy, by Jens Clausen Feb. 113<br />
Steel Treaters' Convention Sept. 427<br />
Steel by X-Ray, Examination of, by L. C. Breed Nov. 517<br />
Stoker Installations, Planning Modern, by Joseph G. WorKer. . . . Dec. 559<br />
Stoker, Lubrication of the Automatic Dec. 553<br />
Stokers, Mechanical, by Robert June Aug. 385<br />
Stokers and Midwest Coal, Underfeed, by Joseph G. Worker. ... Mar. 176<br />
Straight Line Production, by F. J. Crolius May 226<br />
Straight Line Production, W r ood\vard Iron Co., by F. J. Crolius. . June 264<br />
Structural Mill at Homestead, Motorizing, by S. S. Wales Jan. 38<br />
Substituting Machines for Men. May 219<br />
Technical Digest, Current All issues<br />
Theory of the Benson Super-Pressure Steam Generator Oct. 476<br />
Thirteenth Annual Safety Congress Oct. 461<br />
Thrift Message, The President's Feb. 89<br />
Time Element in Iron Ore Reduction, by P. H. Royster, T. L.<br />
Joseph and S. P. Kinnev May 246<br />
Tin Plate, Sheet and " Feb. 122<br />
Trade Notes, Personals, Publications 11 issues<br />
Trading Center of New England, Boston Sept. 427<br />
Transportation, Industrial, bv Russell B. Williams Oct. 456<br />
Trophy, Bethlehem Aug. 360<br />
Twenty-Seventh Annual Convention, A. S. T. M June 288<br />
Underfeed Stokers and Midwest Coal, by Joseph G. Worker.... Mar. 176<br />
Unfinished Correspondence Oct. 443<br />
Union Electric Light Company Gondola Car Dumper, bv E. H.<br />
Kidder ' Feb. 127<br />
Unusual Blast Furnace Boiler Plant, bv Ge<strong>org</strong>e H. Crawford, . . Jan. 77<br />
Use and Abuse, Guards, Their, by S. J. Williams July 329<br />
I'se and Its Alloys, Chromium, Its, by Walter M. Mitchell Aug. 372<br />
Uses and Its Alloys, Chromium, Its, by Walter M. Mitchell Oct. 452<br />
Uses and Its Alloys, Chromium, Its, by Walter M. Micthell Nov. 504<br />
Utensils, Manufacturing Enameled Ware, by F. G. White F'eb. 124<br />
Weirton's Wastefulness Weirton's Welding, With Woodward, Woodward World's X-Ray, the Examination Largest Precision, Equipment New Iron Alabama, of By-Product High Co., Steam by of Straight Manufacturers Ash Material Steel S. Boiler, in \V. Coke by, Coal, Line Mann by Handling by Plant, A. Production, by L, C. U. C. by Blackall at H. Breed C. Sweetser by J. F. Hunt J. Crolius. . May Feb. Jan. Mar. April Nov. Sept. June All issues 225 166 103 193 420 517<br />
264 81
Tke Bias} PurnaceSSieel P W<br />
Vol. XII PITTSBURGH, PA., JANUARY, 1924 No. 1<br />
Attitude of Mind<br />
NOTHING is more significant than the changes which occur in our way<br />
of looking at things. What seemed impossible yesterday becomes<br />
accepted practice tomorrow; almost imperceptibly we adapt ourselves<br />
to the changed necessity.<br />
Some three years ago a body of ultimately experienced steel executives<br />
discussed the possibility of the shorter day in the steel industry; opinions<br />
were widely divergent; the clearest thinker summed the situation up by saying,<br />
"The short day will come when it is economically possible." 1923 saw<br />
the broad adoption of this form of labor throughout the steel industry and<br />
results to date indicate that it is economically possible; certain benefits outweigh<br />
the apparent difficulties.<br />
A year ago we heard great clamor against restricted immigration. Much<br />
of it has already subsided; forced efficiencies have produced record outputs<br />
and have paved the way for further records; labor shortage is now accepted<br />
as a blessing in disguise.<br />
January, 1923, was ushered in with much enthusiasm as to business possibilities,<br />
but after the mid year many minds clouded with the remnant apprehension<br />
of 1921 and 1922, failed to read the sequences of published reports<br />
which emphasized true conditions.<br />
The new year begins with most of this f<strong>org</strong>otten—we have accustomed<br />
ourselves to European cataclysm, to presidential year presentiments, and all<br />
the other bugaboos. Some 40,000,000 tons of steel must be made, and we<br />
might as well make it and enjoy the satisfaction of seeing everybody busy at<br />
reasonable hours and worth while wages, earned under livable conditions.<br />
That seems to be the prevailing conclusion.<br />
Mental flexibility is surely the best American asset with which to start<br />
the New Year.
MR. GEORGE M. VERITY
January, 1924<br />
HioDlasi hirnaceSjfeel rli<br />
The Human Element<br />
Tremendous Changes Influenced by Corporate Expansions Have<br />
Revolutionized the Personal Equation in Industry<br />
W H I L E the making and paying of dividends<br />
might be considered the one great crucial test<br />
of industry, there are many serious problems<br />
that must be successfully solved before that result is<br />
secured. Of all the factors to be reckoned with, there<br />
is none more important than industry's contact with<br />
and influence over human life, because the very source<br />
of all achievement is found in life and not in machinery<br />
and equipment.<br />
By GEORGE M. VERITY*<br />
Properties may be acquired and plants may be constructed,<br />
but in a final analysis the human element and<br />
everything that influences it for good or ill, represents<br />
the greatest single factor that makes for success<br />
or failure in business.<br />
Many industrial and commercial leaders are now<br />
creating a new tie between management and men,<br />
by providing a way for joint ownership of all those<br />
who are in any way contributing to the success of the<br />
business. In other words, the doors have been<br />
opened for the commonest laborer to become a part<br />
owner of the capital invested and to occupy the dual<br />
capacity of employer and employe. Many situations<br />
can be found where this policy has unquestionably<br />
proved to be a substantial factor in the creation of<br />
industrial and commercial stability.<br />
This new move is fundamentally sound, for such<br />
amalgamation of the human factors in business serves<br />
to underwrite an industry with loyalty insurance.<br />
Through common ownership there is a greater understanding<br />
of the serious problems of business and of<br />
the interdependence of men, of the real relationship<br />
that exists, and of the basic laws which operate unerringly<br />
in both the restraint and in the fulfillment of<br />
the desires and ambitions of men.<br />
It seems strange that in this day and age intelligent<br />
men have not learned that no one group can<br />
dominate another for more than a comparatively<br />
short time—too short to be profitable even to the one<br />
who dominates—and that successful domination of<br />
one group over another because of temporary advantage,<br />
prevents such accomplishment as will bring the<br />
increased reward that both sides are seeking.<br />
No plan or scheme that is not reasonably fair to<br />
all parties concerned can possibly live long enough to<br />
be really profitable to any one, for the simple reason<br />
that enterprise cannot succeed in any degree worth<br />
while without the efficient co-operation of all groups<br />
engaged in it. No group of either so-called employers<br />
or employes will willingly submit to what they<br />
feel is an injustice longer than it takes them to find<br />
ways and means to upset or tear down the scheme<br />
imposed upon them.<br />
As the days go by the world is learning that the<br />
strong cannot impose their selfish will upon the weak<br />
and get away with it for long enough to do them any<br />
real or lasting good.<br />
So, if management wants to enjoy satisfactory<br />
working conditions, it must first secure the confidence<br />
and good-will of its working forces. These are things<br />
to be enjoyed only after they are deserved through<br />
giving men that measure of understanding of their<br />
mutual interests and responsibilities and that sort of<br />
a fair deal which sells them a company's policies.<br />
Moreover, any <strong>org</strong>anization that does not in some<br />
reasonable degree secure the confidence and goodwill<br />
of its workers is suffering a tremendous loss, for<br />
it has become an industrial axiom that a man's best<br />
work is done only when his heart beats in rhythm<br />
with his head and hands.<br />
Many of the misunderstandings of the probelms of<br />
industry can be traced to the fact that some fair- Looking back over a short period of only 30 years,<br />
minded men secure their information from those one can recall that a majority of the steel works and<br />
whose minds are warped by prejudice or controlled rolling mills of the country were each owned and<br />
by ignorance, while those who do or should under operated by two or three men, often by only one<br />
stand, and who have the responsibility of leadership, man, who conducted the business, including the em<br />
make no effort to counteract that lack of underployment of and the negotiation with labor, as best<br />
standing.<br />
suited his individual judgment. An employe in the<br />
On the other hand, misunderstandings can never<br />
be entirely eliminated while human nature, generally<br />
speaking, is as it is. They can, however, be largely<br />
reduced through the united effort of all those who,<br />
with unselfish purpose, are striving to fairly and<br />
equitably serve all interests concerned and to constantly<br />
acquire for themselves greater depths of<br />
human understanding.<br />
iron and steel industry of those days—manager, clerk<br />
or mill worker—had no possible opportunity to acquire<br />
an interest in the business, and thus share proportionately<br />
in its success. Those were the day when the<br />
real boss who owned the mill employed a man big<br />
enough, strong enough, and fearless enough to BOSS<br />
every man in the employ of the company. Those<br />
were the days when might and not right held full<br />
sway. Labor troubles once started meant war, and<br />
It is my conviction, born of long contact with men, the chance for each side to attempt to get even, for<br />
that the average man who works with his hands is either actual or supposed grievances.<br />
honest, sound of heart, and wants to be fair in all<br />
things, and that he will be fair when he undertsands.<br />
The change that has taken place in these 30 years<br />
is very marked—much more so than is appreciated by<br />
•President, American Rolling Mill Company, Middletown, any one who has not faced the problem or studied<br />
Ohio.<br />
the facts. I doubt that today there is a single rolling<br />
3
mill owned by the old type mill operator; he has become<br />
a figure in history. Today a large proportion<br />
of the mills of the country arc controlled by corporations<br />
and managed by sound, industrial and humane<br />
policies, conceived and applied by men chosen by the<br />
stockholders. And this plan of selecting managers<br />
has brought about a marked change of attitude between<br />
management and men. It has given birth to<br />
the newer conception of the responsibilities of industry,<br />
and in place of the old dingy, stuffy, dirty, tumbledown<br />
mills usually located where fresh air could not<br />
be had, there has conic the newer mill—light, wellventilated,<br />
clean, orderly, and equipped with modern<br />
appliances for the protection of life and limb, and<br />
for the production of larger tonnages at a minimum<br />
cost.<br />
And all this is a tribute to a growing recognition<br />
of the human element in industry, and that intangible<br />
"something" which is best described by the word<br />
spirit—that invisible part of human life which corresponds<br />
to the electrical current in a storage battery.<br />
As far as the mechanical side is concerned, the<br />
battery is completed before a wire is attached and<br />
the electric fluid injected, but in that condition it is<br />
absolutely worthless. However, just attach the contact<br />
wire, turn on the current, and, in due course, the<br />
battery has become a thing of life. The human body<br />
without spirit is like unto the uncharged battery;<br />
but give it spirit, which might be described as life in<br />
action, and you have turned a latent power into a constructive<br />
force.<br />
Spirit is a force possessed by only such forms of<br />
life as have brains of such quality and in such quantity<br />
as to make energetic initiative possible. Company<br />
spirit, industrially speaking, is group spirit. It<br />
stands for loyalty to company, to fellow workers and<br />
for aggressive action and co-operation. It makes for<br />
human and industrial development in every direction<br />
—a happy condition that brings its own reward to the<br />
worker.<br />
We must not f<strong>org</strong>et that labor furnishes the constructive<br />
effort, the motive power, the ability to use<br />
skillfully the tools required. In fact, it must contribute<br />
all the human characteristics that make for<br />
efficient, continuous production and when such effort<br />
is properly directed and co-ordinated.<br />
Co-operation is a word or phrase commonly used<br />
but often little understood. Too many have the idea<br />
that it is something coming to them instead of something<br />
going from them ; that it is TO GET and not<br />
TO GIVE. Co-operation is not a man-made law.<br />
Everything in nature goes to prove that it is one of<br />
the strongest laws in life; and it seems strange that<br />
there should be so much selfishness in the human<br />
make-up when unselfishness and co-operation are so<br />
necessary to our very existence and success.<br />
TheuWFurnaceSSUR.<br />
Nor do we need to wander far afield for proof of<br />
the efficacy of co-operation. There is no better illustration<br />
of perfect co-operation than that found in our<br />
own human system: The brain, the eyes, the ears,<br />
the heart, the lungs, the arms, the limbs—all work with<br />
rhythmical precision, each assisting and supporting<br />
the other automatically. You do not have to beg your<br />
lungs to breathe, your heart to beat, nor your limbs<br />
to run—you have only to wish it and you move.<br />
Again, if your good right arm is injured in any way,<br />
you do not find fault with it or think less of it because<br />
of that misfortune. No! You nurse it tenderly<br />
January, 1924<br />
and save it from every possible strain or shock until<br />
it is fully recovered.<br />
Co-operation, as visualized in human relations, is<br />
not merely a virtue. It should not be thought of as<br />
a virtue at all, but as something absolutely essential<br />
in all human accomplishment.<br />
The average worker is not radical. He is fair and<br />
honest at heart, and will always respond to a square<br />
deal and a chance for development and promotion.<br />
He, however, wants policies announced, visualized in<br />
actual every day experiences and not merely in words.<br />
With proper understanding between management<br />
and men, with all things affecting human life and<br />
progress, treated and handled as they can and should<br />
be in this enlightened age, every leader in industry<br />
and commerce can face the future in this great land<br />
of ever-increasing opportunity with optimism and<br />
confidence.<br />
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tkem tke power or extraordinary accompliskmeat,<br />
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Wortk<br />
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January, 1924<br />
lo Blast LrnaceSSfeolPk<br />
Iron and Steel Review of 1923<br />
Forecasts Based on "Decade Doubling" Rule Must Be Revised<br />
IF there were such a thing as "normal" in steel, as to<br />
tonnage and prices, the review of a calendar year<br />
would naturally begin by stating how closely the<br />
year approached, or how far diverged from, the normal.<br />
But there is no normal in steel. Normal means<br />
something more than an average, but failing to have<br />
a normal, steel does not even have an average that can<br />
be taken to mean anything. Strike the arithmetical<br />
average of tonnage production or prices in steel for<br />
a period of years, and then add or drop a year at either<br />
end, and the average of the new group will probably<br />
be quite different.<br />
It used to be thought that there was a normal rate<br />
of increase in the production of pig iron. Long range<br />
comparisons cannot deal with steel, because steel<br />
is too recent, having supplanted wrought iron as the<br />
chief rolled product only in the eighteen-nineties. The<br />
author has definite recollections on the subject, as<br />
the first editorial he ever wrote was on the decline in<br />
puddling. The editorial appeared in January, 1893,<br />
in the "American Manufacturer and Iron World," subsequently<br />
merged into the present Blast Furnace and<br />
Steel Plant, and showed as a result of a questionnaire<br />
that during 1892 the number of puddling furnaces in<br />
the Pittsburgh district had first decreased. There are<br />
no production statistics for that period separating<br />
rolled iron and rolled steel.<br />
By B. E. V. LUTY<br />
Pig iron production is more or less natural as<br />
showing the activity of the iron and steel industry as<br />
a whole. The much quoted rule of years ago was that<br />
pig iron production doubled every ten years. The<br />
rule was discovered, or at least given publicity, by the<br />
late Abram S. Hewitt, once Mayor of New York City,<br />
and himself an "ironmaster." The progression is not<br />
easily picked out by scrutiny of a table of production<br />
by calendar years, on account of wide fluctuations<br />
from year to year. The rule could be brought out<br />
nicely and plainly by taking decennial totals, but even<br />
then there are differences according to where the<br />
dividing line between the periods is placed.<br />
Just now we are much disposed to divide history<br />
into three parts, before the war, during the war and<br />
after the war, and so the doubling rule may be considered<br />
by making the decades such that the last will<br />
end with 1913. Production of pig iron in the United<br />
States in gross tons has been as follows, in ten-year<br />
periods:<br />
1824-33 - - - - 1,400,000<br />
1834-43 - - - - 2,550,000<br />
1844-53 - - - - 5,750,000<br />
1854-63 - - - - 7,263,491<br />
1864-73 - - - - 15,980,823<br />
1874-83 - - - - 30,601,896<br />
1884-93 - - - - 68,100,326<br />
1894-03 - - - - 125,272,295<br />
1904-13 - - - - 243,955,657<br />
This is probably the grouping of years that will<br />
make the closest showing for the rule. At a glance<br />
these appear to be only two break-downs, but there is<br />
a third, which is of the great importance. Apparently<br />
1834-43 showed a failure, but as the decade following<br />
more than quadrupled the decade preceding, showing<br />
5,750,000 tons instead of 5,600,000 tons this does not<br />
count against the rule. There was a break-down, not<br />
repaired, due to the very hard times that began with<br />
the panic of 1857. One may say that two or three<br />
years were lost forever, and then the doubling was<br />
resumed very plainly. The decade 1864-73 makes a<br />
basis by which the smallest departures are seen.<br />
Doubling its 16,000,000 tons slightly oversteps the<br />
next decade, but the following decade runs ahead<br />
of the quadrupling. Then the decade 1894 to 1903<br />
makes the second breakdown but this has the important<br />
consequence that the decade 1904 to 1913 appears<br />
to show a doubling, by the immediate comparison, but<br />
it does not carry out the long range comparison.<br />
In other words, at the outbreak of the World War<br />
the production of pig iron in the United States had<br />
gotten to the point where it could no longer carry out<br />
the geometrical progression. That is inevitable in any<br />
such case, whether coal mining or automobile production<br />
or what-not.<br />
Geometric progressions have to stop or eventually<br />
everybody would have to be mining coal or making<br />
automobiles or producing pig iron. In the long run<br />
an industry can do no more than grow as the population<br />
grows and as methods are improved whereby a<br />
given amount of work produces more.<br />
In such a geometrical progression, one decade must<br />
equal the total of all preceding time. This only fell<br />
five per cent short of working out in pig iron, thus:<br />
1824 to 1903 - - 256,918,931<br />
1904 to 1913 - - 243,955,657<br />
Even with the great stimulus of the war demand,<br />
the following decade, just ended, has failed signally<br />
to approach the tonnage the rule would dictate. By<br />
the basis just used. 16,000.000 tons for 1864 to 1873,<br />
there should be 512,000,000 tons for 1914 to 1923, while<br />
doubling the decade 1904 to 1913 would make 488,000,-<br />
000 tons. The actual production has been 322,000,000<br />
tons, 37 per cent short of the one and 34 per cent short<br />
of the other.<br />
Post War Conditions.<br />
The opportunist may try to blame this on the war,<br />
but during the war most men thought otherwise. They<br />
believed the war was creating a great extra demand<br />
for iron and steel, that normal demand was piling up<br />
and that after the war this normal demand would be<br />
released, whereby all told there would be greater production<br />
in the combined war and post-war periods<br />
than would have occurred had there been no war.<br />
The more practical view is to take it that the rule<br />
of doubling broke down some time ago and that we<br />
must judge things afresh, relating one year to its<br />
neighbors rather than to the distant past.<br />
We are simply in a post-war period, but what does<br />
a post-war period mean? Some people thought it<br />
meant a period of great prosperity, in which everyone<br />
would get along unprecedently well. That is, because
6 IkeBlasfFurWSSfeelPW'.<br />
a great many workers had been killed or disabled<br />
and much wealth had been destroyed we should then<br />
all have more goods—obviously absurd. Others said<br />
there would be a great industrial depression, in which<br />
we should "pay" for the war—equally absurd for you<br />
can't pay by being idle.<br />
One thing a post-war period does mean is a search<br />
by a cut and dry method for a substantial basis. Price<br />
standards, for comparison, had been lost. Naturally<br />
there would be swings, wide at first and tapering off.<br />
Iron and steel prices declined slightly after the war<br />
and then in 1920 advanced tremendously. The following<br />
year they dropped to a lower level relative to<br />
actual cost of production than had ever been seen before.<br />
The big vibration caused by the war is dying<br />
out. The pendulum swings less and less.<br />
Tonnage in 1923.<br />
For comparisons with recent years steel rather<br />
than pig iron may be used. According to the basis<br />
selected the steel production of 1923 was good, bad or<br />
indifferent. The production of ingots was between<br />
43,000,000 and 43,500.000 tons, and may be taken at<br />
43.000.000 tons.<br />
The year was a bad one in that at least as often as<br />
not in the past the production of steel in a year has<br />
made a new record, whereas 1923 did not altogether<br />
equal the record made six vears earlier, with 43,619,-<br />
200 tons in 1917.<br />
It was an indifferent year on the basis that production<br />
was only about 82 per cent of rated capacity,<br />
which may be taken at 52,500,000 tons, while before<br />
the war it was the common view that steel demand<br />
had to engage at least 85 per cent of the capacity for<br />
prices to be at all satisfactory.<br />
It was a very good year on the basis that the production<br />
was 35 per cent above the average of the four<br />
preceding years. If the first four years after the war<br />
do not furnish any basis for comparison, what is the<br />
use in trying to make comparisons?<br />
The productive capacity is merely an accident of<br />
the war. Much of the war-time construction was predicated<br />
upon its paying for itself before the war should<br />
end. Afterwards, with a practical cessation of new<br />
construction, the country could grow up to the higher<br />
level. It may be well to insert here a table showing<br />
the actual production of steel ingots, in gross tons:<br />
1912 - -<br />
1913 - -<br />
1914 - -<br />
1915 - -<br />
1916 - -<br />
1917 - -<br />
1918 - -<br />
1919 - -<br />
1920 - -<br />
1921 - -<br />
1922 - -<br />
1923 - -<br />
- - 30,284,682<br />
- - 30,280,130<br />
- - 22,819,784<br />
- - 31,284,212<br />
- - 41,401,917<br />
- - 43,619,200<br />
- - 43,051,022<br />
33,694,795<br />
- - 40,881,392<br />
- - 19,224,084<br />
- - 34,568,418<br />
- - 43,000,000<br />
In passing, it may be noted that while steel ingots<br />
did not make a new record in 1923, pig iron did, the<br />
40,000,000 tons produced passing the record of 39,-<br />
434,797 tons produced in 1916. The point is merely<br />
of statistical interest.<br />
The Question of Normal.<br />
As has been said, there is no normal in steel, that<br />
is, no normal derived by the usual process of making<br />
January, 1924<br />
a graph or striking an arithmetical average. The<br />
question can be approached from another and more<br />
practical side. Instead of using the word "normal,<br />
take the concept of "natural". The consumption of<br />
some small and unusual article may fluctuate very<br />
widely, but steel is so great a part of our industrial<br />
life that it cannot vary a great deal relatively. Nearly<br />
all our industrial activity involves steel.<br />
The natural viewpoint as to steel is simply this,<br />
that the country is a great industrial machine and according<br />
as it functions, so steel is produced and consumed.<br />
There are so many persons gainfully employed,<br />
the number increasing at the rate of something<br />
like 10 per cent per decade. The proportion of<br />
workers engaged more or less directly with steel may<br />
vary somewhat. The proportion engaged in operating<br />
railroad trains may decrease and the proportion wearing<br />
out automobiles may increase. Men may cease<br />
making wooden furniture and make steel furniture instead.<br />
Then there may be improvements in practice<br />
instead. Then there may be improvements in practice<br />
whereby an agricultural implement factory employing<br />
a certain number of men may turn out more<br />
implements and thus use more steel. Finally there is<br />
the matter of how busy the country is. All the workers<br />
may be at work or some may be idle.<br />
The consumption of steel in any given year may<br />
therefore be regarded as represented by the continued<br />
product of the following factors:<br />
Total number of workers (growing population).<br />
Proportion engaged in working up steel (new<br />
uses).<br />
Efficiency of methods in consuming steel.<br />
Proportion of general business activity.<br />
The writer believes that if precise and correct<br />
values could be assigned to each of these four factors<br />
the product would stand in substantially exact relation<br />
to the consumption of steel at one time or another.<br />
Production would not do for short range comparisons.<br />
For instance, in 1920 the country stocked up with<br />
steel, machinery, implements, etc., and had to liquidate<br />
in 1921, getting the manufacturers of steel into<br />
final hands.<br />
Let us compare 1912 and 1913 with 1923. Each<br />
year had five or ten per cent of idleness or slack times,<br />
while 1923 had no idleness. With similar business activity<br />
those two pre-war vears would have shown<br />
about 32,000,000 tons of ingots, and the 43.000,000 tons<br />
in 1923 would be 35 per cent increase. Of this, 12<br />
or 13 per cent is assignable to increase in population,<br />
which would make 36.000.000 tons, leaving 20 per cent<br />
to be accounted for by other factors. Harder work<br />
will not account for anything, since men are not working<br />
harder. New uses can hardly be counted. We<br />
have the automobile and other things, but on the other<br />
hand there is some diversion of workers. A large proportion<br />
of the workers have been engaged in road<br />
building and dwelling house construction, which use<br />
relatively little steel, and a smaller proportion in building<br />
factories, skyscraper hotel and office buildings and<br />
bridges, which use much steel relative to man-power<br />
employed. The 20 per cent increase in steel, beyond<br />
the 12 or 13 per cent assignable to increase in population,<br />
would probably be found chiefly in improvements<br />
in methods whereby the same amount of effort will<br />
consume or put into use more steel.
January, 1924<br />
IhoblasfrurnacoSSUPU-'<br />
Applied to the Future.<br />
We may use these factors in looking into the future.<br />
Population will probably increase something<br />
like 10 per cent per decade. Employment will probably<br />
shift somewhat from the alignment of 1923, less<br />
road building and dwelling house construction, more<br />
factory, power plant, electric transmission and railroad<br />
development. Efficiency will increase. These<br />
three factors will each make for more steel consumption.<br />
The fourth, general activity, can only move<br />
downward. There was full employment in 1923.<br />
There cannot be more than that and there can be less.<br />
For 1924 as compared with 1923 the first three factors<br />
can effect little increase, in so short a time. The<br />
fourth could effect considerable decrease but there is<br />
no definite indication at this time that it will. Any<br />
variation, however, will necessarily be downward.<br />
Finally for the close range comparison a correction<br />
must be made. The year 1923 was entered with<br />
consumers and distributers practically bare of stocks,<br />
which were certainly below normal. The year ends<br />
with stocks presumably about normal, though not<br />
excessive. It is impossible to make even an intelligent<br />
guess, but to put the matter into figures this can be<br />
said, that the four post-war years, 1919 to 1922, showed<br />
an average ingot production of 32,000,000 tons a year,<br />
while with 43,000,000 tons in 1923 the five post-war<br />
years make an average of 34,200,000 tons a year,<br />
whereby 1924 can be 10 per cent under 1923 and yet<br />
13 per cent above the average of its five predecessors.<br />
Prices and Profits.<br />
ness was below normal in past presidential years this<br />
condition was due to some underlying economic cause<br />
and not to the fact that a president was to be elected.<br />
Since 1880, according to Congressman Davey, there<br />
have been five lean presidential years and five fat<br />
years. The last presidential year, 1920, had six months<br />
of good and six months of poor business.<br />
"The most serious recent depression," he writes,<br />
"was early in 1921. It was estimated that there were<br />
5,000.000 people out of work. There are probably not<br />
less than 25,000,000 people in this country who have<br />
regular employment of one kind or another; so this<br />
worst period of business depression saw not more than<br />
20 per cent of the people out of work, thus largely<br />
stripped of their buying power. It might be argued,<br />
then, that the difference between peak prosperity and<br />
this more serious depression was not more than 20<br />
per cent.<br />
"By the same process of reasoning, it would seem<br />
that the difference between ordinary prosperity and<br />
ordinary depression is not over 10 or 15 per cent.<br />
"The demands of the American people, even in<br />
periods of depression, are so enormous that they stagger<br />
the imagination. What we call prosperity would<br />
appear to be the extra 10 or 16 per cent demand above<br />
that of a period of depression.<br />
In reviewing the business history of presidential<br />
years during the last half century, Congressman<br />
Davey writes : "Business was bad in the last half of<br />
1920—yes, that was a presidential year — but business<br />
became worse and worse after the election and<br />
reached its lowest level about the middle of 1921.<br />
The surprising thing about the steel market in the There was a very slow recovery from that time until<br />
second half of 1923 was its failure to bear out predic the spring of 1922. Doesn't this seem, then, that is<br />
tions of price declines. When the peak prices of 1920 was not the election of 1920 that caused bad business,<br />
began to yield there was a continuous decline until because conditions became worse after the election?<br />
early in March, 1922, covering say 18 months. Then That depression was due to underlying economic<br />
prices advanced until late in 1922, when the advance<br />
halted, to be resumed in January, 1923. The last advances<br />
occurred late in April. Then predictions began<br />
to appear that prices would soon begin to fall.<br />
As the months passed the predictions became more<br />
numerous, but prices did not decline. Demand did<br />
not keep up in full, but it held out better than had<br />
been expected. It was not a matter of relation between<br />
demand and productive capacity, for throughout<br />
the price advancing period the mills were operating<br />
at under capacity. Production costs had increased<br />
by wage advances and other factors, and believing that<br />
prices were only fair, mills were resolved to hold them,<br />
particularly as they had had the experience of the<br />
previous 18-month decline, to a level below cost, and<br />
did not want a market disturbance to start. The<br />
year 1924 may see some occasional yielding in prices,<br />
here or there, but with the fair demand that seems now<br />
to be fully promised there is not likely to be much<br />
change.<br />
causes.<br />
"The year 1916 was also a presidential one. The<br />
chart shows that in that year business was between<br />
10 and 20 per cent above normal. Why did we have<br />
prosperity in 1916? Simply because the demands of<br />
the war were so insistent and widespread that even a<br />
blind man could see it. Everybody f<strong>org</strong>ot about the<br />
effect on business of a presidential year, and we prospered<br />
during that year because the economic conditions<br />
were right.<br />
"We had an election in 1912. In the preceding<br />
year business was a little below normal, but in 1912<br />
business ran from 5 to 10 per cent above normal.<br />
"Go back then to 1908, which was also a presidential<br />
year. In the fall of 1907 we had, as most of us<br />
recall, bad times which continued until about the middle<br />
of 1908, when business started on the upgrade.<br />
"There had been depression in the latter half of<br />
1903, and then followed the election year of 1904, during<br />
which business was generally on the up-grade,<br />
although there was a slight reaction about the middle<br />
Why Fear 1924?<br />
of 1904.<br />
"Then we came to the presidential year of 1900.<br />
The general accepted conviction that a presidential The trend of business in 1900 apparently proceeded<br />
year means poor business is characterized as "false without the slightest regard for the election.<br />
and foolish" by Congressman Martin L. Davey of "In 1896 the business interests of the country were<br />
Ohio, in an article on "Why Fear a Presidential more or less alarmed by the free silver campaign and<br />
Year"? in the current number of The Nation's Busi this probably had some direct bearing upon the volness.ume<br />
of business, because there was a slight upward<br />
Mr. Davey. who writes as a business man rather tendency which followed immediately after the elec<br />
than a member of Congress, declares that when busition of that year.<br />
7
Mas* FumaceSSfcel PL-<br />
Blast Furnace Progress<br />
1923 Saw a Return Toward Normal Operating Conditions<br />
—Much Research Undertaken<br />
T H E year 1923 saw developments of much interest<br />
in blast furnace operation and practice. In output<br />
of pig iron it exceeded the high level reached during<br />
the war period. The low ebb of production in<br />
the middle of 1921 was followed by a sharp increase in<br />
1922, which continued in 1923, reaching its highest<br />
point in May, since which time there has been a steady<br />
decline in production, a forerunner perhaps of another<br />
wave of depression, with its consequent keen competition<br />
and stringent economies.<br />
Furnace operation has been on a more normal<br />
plane than at any time since the war; coke and car<br />
*Superintendent Carrie Furnaces, Carnegie Steel Company,<br />
Rankin, Pa.<br />
By J. A. MOHR*<br />
January, 1924<br />
shortages of past years were dominant; labor, while<br />
scarce, was not acute as in 1922. The effect of more<br />
settled conditions was reflected also in the generally<br />
better quality of raw materials, and altogether much<br />
has been done to smooth out the irregularities that<br />
have confronted the operator for several years.<br />
Economies of fuel and labor have held the front<br />
to a very marked degree. The increasing demand for<br />
power from the blast furnace plant caused by electrification<br />
of its adjacent steel plant, or the realization<br />
of the economy of the sale of electric power as a byproduct<br />
has been the means of remodeling, and in<br />
many cases replacing old and wasteful equipment with<br />
modern economical machinery, to increase the by-pro-<br />
FIG. 1—A remarkable view of world record furnace of Trumbull Cliffs Iron Company at Warren, Ohio. This furnace produced<br />
1,011 tons of iron in a single day {March, 1923), and averaged over 800 tons per day for tlie month of November, during<br />
which period straight ore was charged.
January, 1924 Mas! LmaceSSfeel PLV<br />
duct power output. With the increase in cost of fuel<br />
that has obtained in past few years, this development<br />
of fuel economy will be of ever increasing intensity,<br />
and demands the attention of every operator more and<br />
more.<br />
Mr. H. C. Siebert, combustion engineer of Bethlehem<br />
Steel Company, in a recent paper before the Iron<br />
& Steel Electrical Engineers clearly points out the<br />
possibilities of power production at the blast furnace.<br />
quoting from his paper:<br />
Relation of the Blast Furnace to Fuel<br />
Economy in a Steel Plant.<br />
In a modern steel plant the blast furnace is the<br />
most important link in the chain of three primary<br />
units. It is the largest consumer of fuel, but also the<br />
largest producer of a valuable by-product — blast furnace<br />
gas — in which is present 50 per cent and more<br />
of the heat value of the coke entering the furnace. The<br />
bearing which the blast furnace has on fuel economy<br />
in general may be realized from the fact that in a good<br />
business year the production of pig iron in this country<br />
amounts to 37 million gross tons. With a fuel rate of<br />
2100 lbs. per gross ton iron the coke required is 35<br />
million gross tons, and the coal necessary to produce<br />
this coke is about 50 million gross tons.<br />
Taking a net heat value of 12800 Btu. per lb. coke<br />
and 50 per cent of this heat as available in the form<br />
of blast furnace gas we get on the basis of 13,000<br />
Btu. per lb. coal, the fuel equivalent of 17.3 million<br />
tons coal per year. Assuming a high figure for the<br />
fuel required for heating the blast (one third the remainder<br />
or 11.5 million tons is available for general<br />
power purposes. This coal will generate nearly onehalf<br />
of the electric power produced in this country, on<br />
the basis of present steam power plant requirement of<br />
coal.<br />
From the preceding and from the following data it<br />
will be seen that the blast furnace is a huge gas producer<br />
of high efficiency. The economy which may<br />
be derived from the use of blast furnace gas depends<br />
upon the type of equipment in the plant. The factor<br />
of primary influence in this connection is the hot blast<br />
stove, which may require 15 per cent or 50 per cent of<br />
the total gas, depending upon the amount of its heating<br />
surface, the type of burner equipment, the means<br />
of control, the fineness of gas cleaning, and on other<br />
details. Another factor of importance is the type of<br />
blowing and other power equipment. Thus more<br />
power and more surplus gas will be available for the<br />
steel plant if gas engines be used for power and for<br />
blowing purposes.<br />
As in the operation of the by-product coke oven,<br />
so in the operation of the blast furnace, the process<br />
of combustion must be carefully supervised and controlled.<br />
Every phase of the operation is checked qualitatively<br />
and quantitatively. Thus chemical analyses<br />
is made of the materials entering and leaving the furnace.<br />
Record is kept of the air blown of the blast<br />
temperature and pressure, of the weight of material<br />
charged, etc., and especial attention is given to the<br />
quality and quantity of the fuel charged.<br />
The chief requirement of the blast furnace is that<br />
it produce iron of good quality and quantity with<br />
economy in coke. In its operation fuel (coke) plays a<br />
very important part as the entire process of iron and<br />
steel manufacture is influenced perhaps more by the<br />
character of the fuel used than by any other factor<br />
connected with the furnace burden.<br />
Quality of the materials entering into the furnace<br />
burned as well as the distribution of those materials<br />
influence the operation of the steel plant as a whole.<br />
Thus poor coal may cause poor coke which may cause<br />
an irregular working of the furnace. Thus the quality<br />
and quantity of product will be influenced unfavorably<br />
and fuel economy of the furnace and of the other departments<br />
will be decreased. Other materials of the<br />
burden or a poor distribution of the materials may<br />
under certain conditions lead to similar consequences.<br />
The detail of blast furnace construction is so well<br />
known that it need not be considered here. It will<br />
suffice to state that present tendency in construction<br />
is in the direction of large hearths, the claim for which<br />
is greater output in iron and a greater fuel economy.<br />
So far as the writer is aware the largest hearth in use<br />
at present on a furnace smelting Mesaba ores is 20<br />
ft. 6 in. diameter. The output in iron consistently<br />
amounts to 600 tons and more per day.<br />
The average daily production of a modern blast<br />
furnace is less than the figure given above, a good<br />
daily average being 450 to 500 tons.<br />
Mr. K. Huessner, of the American Heat Economy<br />
Bureau, Pittsburgh, follows with an interesting discussion.<br />
The part of Mr. Siebert's extremely valuable paper<br />
which interests me most is the amount of power calculated<br />
by Mr. Siebert as obtainable from a 500-ton<br />
blast furnace using up-to-date steam equipment and<br />
maintaining a stove efficiency of 80 per cent. This<br />
amount is given in Table No. XVII as 8,800 k.w. per<br />
hour. This amount is vastly in excess of what is at<br />
present obtainable even at the best regulated plants.<br />
At the same time, I quite agree with Mr. Siebert's calculations,<br />
with the only exception that I think Mr.<br />
Siebert ought to have made some allowance for gas<br />
leakage. Even in the best plants, a certain amount of<br />
leakage cannot be avoided, quite apart from losses<br />
through slips, etc.<br />
I believe that, if the gas orifices supplying stoves<br />
and boilers are properly apportioned, the top pressure<br />
can be kept comparatively low, in any case lower<br />
than the top pressures which are now generally being<br />
held at most of the up-to-date plants which operate on<br />
high blast pressures. But, even assuming the top<br />
pressure never exceeds 8-in., except in the case of<br />
slips, I think an allowance of 5 per cent of the total<br />
gas for leakage should be made. By doing so, the<br />
available heat for power production given in Scheme 2,<br />
Table XVII, at 171,000,000 Btu. would be reduced to<br />
157,000,000 Btu. and the hourly rate of current production<br />
from 8800 to approximately 8,100 k.w. Deducting<br />
from this amount the auxiliary load of approximately<br />
1,800 k.w., would leave a surplus current production,<br />
for which the furnace would receive credit, of 6,300<br />
k.w. per hour. At a value of only y2c per k.w., this<br />
would mean an hourly credit of $31.50, or $1.50 per<br />
ton of iron.<br />
That such results can eventually be obtained, can<br />
hardly be disputed, but it might be worth while to<br />
investigate the difficulties which are in the way. The<br />
main difficulty of keeping perfect combustion at all<br />
times by means of automatic control, irrespective of<br />
pressure conditions, has been solved. I am giving<br />
hereafter two tables of combustion analyses made un-<br />
9
10 "LBlasfFumacoSSU Pi-<br />
Date<br />
1923<br />
Feb.<br />
1<br />
10 25.2<br />
14<br />
15<br />
16<br />
17<br />
20<br />
No. 1 Stove<br />
CO, O, CO<br />
25.7 .3 .0<br />
24.3 1.5<br />
24.0 2.0<br />
26.7<br />
24.0<br />
25.3<br />
24.8<br />
24.0<br />
24.0<br />
23.7<br />
24.0<br />
24.0<br />
25.8<br />
.5<br />
1.3<br />
1.0<br />
1.0<br />
2.0<br />
1.0<br />
1.5<br />
1.3<br />
1.4<br />
.0<br />
.0<br />
.0<br />
.0<br />
.0<br />
.0<br />
.0<br />
.0<br />
.0<br />
.0<br />
.0<br />
.0<br />
Average of 45 analyses.<br />
No. 2 Stove<br />
CO, o, CO<br />
24.7 .5 .0<br />
24.4 .7 .0<br />
23.9 1.9 .0<br />
24.6 1.2 .0<br />
23.0 2.2 .0<br />
25.1 1.0 .0<br />
25.5 1.0 .0<br />
24.8 .7 .0<br />
No. 3 Stove<br />
CO, O, CO<br />
21.0 2.0 .0<br />
24.0<br />
26.0<br />
25.0 1.0<br />
24.0 1.6<br />
25.2<br />
26.3<br />
25.8<br />
25.0<br />
.9 .0<br />
.2 .0<br />
.9<br />
.6<br />
1.0<br />
1.0<br />
23.8 1.8 .0<br />
24.8 1.0 .0<br />
CO,<br />
24.71<br />
No. 4<br />
CO,<br />
24.5<br />
24.5<br />
23.0<br />
25.6<br />
25.8<br />
24.5<br />
24.0<br />
26.5<br />
23.0<br />
Stove<br />
O, CO<br />
.7<br />
.5<br />
1.8<br />
.2<br />
.2<br />
1.0<br />
1.0<br />
.0<br />
2.5<br />
25.3 1.4 .0<br />
26.8<br />
26.0<br />
O,<br />
1.05<br />
der ordinary operating conditions and not with any<br />
view to running a test."<br />
Economy of labor is of as much importance, and<br />
much has been done in the past year to reduce labor<br />
requirements to the lowest degree. The acute labor<br />
shortage of the past two years might be termed a<br />
blessing in disguise to the operator. It served well<br />
in showing where men could be eliminated who were<br />
before thought necessary, and where marked economies<br />
could be gained in labor by slight improvements<br />
or modifications of existing equipment and methods.<br />
The most important development in labor conditions<br />
during the year was the successful institution of<br />
the eight-hour day in the blast furnace and steel plants.<br />
Starting in August, the change was made with startling<br />
speed and smoothness in all of the large blast<br />
furnace and steel plants. Most smaller plants have<br />
followed suit, and in a few more months the 12-hour<br />
turn will have been practically eliminated from the<br />
industry. It is not possible as yet to get a full understanding<br />
of the effect this development will have<br />
on the labor conditions of the industry, but, based on<br />
the short time it has been in effect, the following conclusions<br />
seem assured: First: It will result in a better<br />
quality of men, attracted by shorter hours and better<br />
pay. Secondly: It will be the means of raising the<br />
standard of labor in the industry relative to that of<br />
other industries. Third : Men will lose less time from<br />
work, due to a turn requiring less endurance than<br />
formerly, and also due to their having more time per<br />
turn to themselves to take care of other interests.<br />
Fourth: Increased efficiency of the men—they can be<br />
expected to do more work per hour for eight hours<br />
than was possible for twelve hours. Most operators,<br />
at the institution of the eight hour day, took advantage<br />
of this obvious possibility to reduce the number<br />
of men per eight hour turn as compared with the<br />
number required per twelve hour turn. Fifth : Economizing<br />
of labor will be made still more intensive, due<br />
to the demand the eight hour day has placed upon an<br />
already scant labor supply.<br />
Much progress has keen made during the year in<br />
.2<br />
.6<br />
.0<br />
.0<br />
CO<br />
.007<br />
January, 1924<br />
scientific research of the factors affecting the<br />
furnace operation.<br />
In this connection the work of P. H. Royster,<br />
assistant metallurgist. Bureau of Mines; T. L.<br />
Joseph, assistant metallurgist, Bureau of Mines;<br />
S. P. Kinney, assistant metallurgist chemist, Bureau<br />
of Mines, issued in Report of Investigations,<br />
Series No. 2524, is worthy of comment.*<br />
An investigation of the production of iron in<br />
the blast furnace is obviously not an easy subject<br />
for research. Enough is known of the mechanical,<br />
thermal and chemical conditions existing<br />
inside the furnace to say certainly that they<br />
are complicated. Furnace operators have found<br />
that the process is sensitive to a number of<br />
known and to many unknown operating conditions.<br />
In order to form any conclusions of value.<br />
it seems necessary to collect a large amount of<br />
data taken with considerable care and accuracy.<br />
These facts make a blast furnace research difficult<br />
but not impossible. The most serious obstacle<br />
in attacking the problem and operation of<br />
the blast furnace to use the method of "trial and<br />
error," which has proved valuable in so many<br />
other industrial problems. The variables are so<br />
interrelated and are so dependent one on the<br />
other that the number of experimental combinations<br />
to be tried is enormous. There are certainly<br />
not less than 20 factors in furnace operation and design<br />
that are known to influence the results. This is<br />
apparent if it is remembered that a phrase like "size<br />
and shape of the furnace" includes height of the furnace,<br />
height, diameter and angle of the bosh, inwall<br />
batter stockline diameter, and furnace volume; and<br />
that a phrase like "chemical and physical properties<br />
of the fuels charged" includes size and shape of the<br />
lumps, density, porosity and strength of the coke, in<br />
addition to its chemical analysis. Let us suppose that<br />
we need choose for each of 20 factors one of two values,<br />
for example, suppose we must say only that the<br />
furnace shall be "tall" or "short," that the bosh angle<br />
shall be "flat" or "steep," that the ore shall be "coarse"<br />
or "fine," or that the blast has to be "hot" or "cold,"<br />
the number of resulting combinations is more than<br />
1,000,000. In putting 20 pennies on the table, either<br />
heads up or tails up, the number of permutations possible<br />
is the twentieth power of two, slightly more than<br />
one million. It is obvious, therefore, that some sort<br />
of mathematical relationship, a set of rules of thumb,<br />
laws, curves or the like are needed. Whether the relationships,<br />
curves or formulas are derived from experiment,<br />
from theory, or from mere guess-work,<br />
makes no difference provided they agree with the<br />
known facts. If they do not agree with known facts,<br />
they are worthless no matter what their origin or<br />
how weighty the "authority" vouching for them. Few<br />
such relationships have appeared in blast-furnace literature,<br />
and it may be doubted whether such formulas<br />
can be discovered.<br />
The Department of the Interior has been investigating<br />
the blast furnace process since 1916. The conduct<br />
of this research, carried out by the metallurgical<br />
division of the Bureau of Mines, has not been simple.<br />
None of the possible methods of investigation has appeared<br />
promising. Three kinds of study have been<br />
tried. It has been found convenient to label these;<br />
*The report of this investigation begins in this issue of<br />
Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.
January, 1924 "LNasfF, «CI 1<br />
urnacG_yjre
12<br />
lurgical. The modern American blast furnace with its<br />
stoves costs less than one-fifth of the total cost of the<br />
furnace plant.* It is as cheap to tear down and rebuild<br />
five furnaces as it is to modernize the equipment<br />
of one. Today many furnaces are rather inefficient in<br />
their blowing, preheating, gas and material handling<br />
equipment. Blast furnace engineers, however, are<br />
available with the knowledge, skill and experience necessary<br />
to bring the equipment of these plants to such<br />
a degree of efficiency that the fundamental metallurgy<br />
of the process will again become the weakest link in<br />
the chain. The more recent results of the bureau's<br />
research, therefore, are of particular interest at this<br />
time."<br />
Extensive efforts are being made by investigators<br />
to find the factors affecting furnace production, coke<br />
consumption, life of lining and other phases of operation.<br />
The properties of coke as affecting the blast furnace<br />
have been extensively investigated. Koppers, the<br />
U,. S. Bureau of Mines (as noted previously), and others<br />
have been actively interested in this work. Analvses of<br />
the different properties of coke, such as hardness, porosity,<br />
cell structure, specific gravity, composition, etc., are<br />
being made in an effort to determine what effect these<br />
factors have upon the combustibility of coke and its<br />
use in the furnace. Nothing definite has yet been accomplished,<br />
but this development is of wide interest<br />
and large value to the furnace operators, who have contended<br />
for years that much coke being made for blast<br />
furnace use does not fulfill the requirements of modern<br />
practice. Possibilities of reducing the coke ash<br />
and sulphur have been brought out during the past<br />
year, having as their object the reduction of fuel consumption,<br />
sulphur elimination, and the use of leaner<br />
and more silicious ores in the burden. Rut such efforts<br />
have not yet been introduced into actual practice,<br />
at least not to any great extent.<br />
TWBlasfUacpSSUPl"<br />
The resumption of ore production at the famous<br />
Iron Mountain mines in Missouri, and the reduction<br />
of this ore by coke produced in by-product ovens from<br />
100 per cent Illinois coal at the plants of the National<br />
Enameling & Stamping Company, Granite City. 111.,<br />
was described in the October Blast Furnace & Steel<br />
Plant.<br />
Development of furnace lines for increased production<br />
seems to be closely approaching its upper limits<br />
for the present materials used in the furnace. No attempt<br />
has been made during the present year to exceed<br />
the 20 ft. 9 in. hearth furnace first built in 1918. However,<br />
the large hearth furnace to its present limits<br />
has been a marked success and stands out as the greatest<br />
step in modern practice. Present attempts to increase<br />
production are being made in remodeling old<br />
furnaces to larger sizes, in enriching the burden with<br />
additions of scrap, and in remodeling the blowing,<br />
stove and over auxiliary equipment of the furnace so<br />
that the full demand of the larger furnaces in wind,<br />
blast temperature, filling, and otherwise, can be met.<br />
Investigation of the qualities of fire brick and<br />
causes of failure of furnace linings has been made<br />
prominent by the results obtained by Nesbitt and Bell<br />
in the past year in their efforts to solve this problem.<br />
These investigators have succeeded in disintegrating<br />
fire clay brick by exposing it to the action of both pure<br />
CO gas and blast furnace gas at temperatures of<br />
*Iron-making Economies Developed in 1922, F. H. Wilcox.<br />
Iron Age,, Jan. 4, 1923, p. 84.<br />
January, 1924<br />
about 450 deg. C. Disintegration of the brick was<br />
found to have been caused by carbon deposition<br />
around iron oxided deposits, the swelling resulting from<br />
this action disintegrating the brick. The authors point<br />
out that either the use of a pure clay or of a properly<br />
weathered and selected clay is necessary for the production<br />
of a brick capable of withstanding this action.<br />
This work has been of large value to the blast furnace,<br />
and, while much work is yet to be done, a large step<br />
has been made in the development of better quality in<br />
furnace linings.<br />
The proper cleaning of blast furnace gas has long<br />
held the attention of the furnace operator, and the<br />
present year has marked the installation of at least<br />
one type of cleaner which had not heretofore been<br />
used in this country for cleaning blast furnace gas.<br />
The arguments pro and con regarding wet washing<br />
and dry cleaning have been many, but actual development<br />
of either type has not advanced during the<br />
year.<br />
One factor, whose effect on furnace operation, production,<br />
size; and auxiliaries could readily be of the<br />
most far reaching development that ever occurred in<br />
the blast furnace plant, the oxygen enrichment of air<br />
in the blast, has been the subject of serious investigation.<br />
While no method has yet been devised of producing<br />
sufficient quantities of oxygen cheap enough<br />
to allow of its economical use in the blast furnace,<br />
still even the possibilities of this being accomplished<br />
have aroused wide interest.<br />
The ninth edition of the Shape Book, published by Carnegie<br />
Steel Company, is now off the press and available to users of<br />
steel. The new edition is the result of a thorough check and<br />
revision of all the sections rolled by Carnegie Steel Company<br />
on its shape, rail, bar and plate mills, and while no important<br />
changes have been made in the regular sizes of structural and<br />
bar mill sizes of beams, channels, angles, tees and zees, a num<br />
ber of changes have been made in the large number of special<br />
sections rolled by that company, such as concrete reinforcement<br />
bars, window and casement sections, automobile rim sections<br />
and other miscellaneous bar mill sections; certain rails and splice<br />
bar sections, which have become obsolete since the issue of the<br />
preceding eighth edition, have been eliminated in the present issue.<br />
A pamphlet entitled "Trade Standards Adopted by the Compressed<br />
Air Society" has just been published, embodying the<br />
result of extended study and research on the part of the executives<br />
and engineers associated with the members of that <strong>org</strong>anization.<br />
It embraces the nomenclature and terminology relating<br />
to air compressors and their operations; a history of the<br />
development of speeds of air compressors an explanation of<br />
capacities and pressures ; instructions for the installation and care<br />
of air compressors with illustrations of devices suggested for<br />
cleaning the intake air; recommendation for the lubrication of air<br />
compressing machines and the cleaning of air receiver piping;<br />
a description of the low pressure nozzle test recommended by<br />
the Society, and a partial list of applications of compressed air.<br />
The Compressed Air Society publishes this pamphlet with the<br />
belief that there is a need for such an authoritative work of ref<br />
erence and that compressed air engineers and users as well as<br />
manufacturers of air compressors will appreciate this step toward<br />
the establishment of definite trade standards in the industry.<br />
Copies may be had from the members or by addressing the secretary<br />
of the society, C. H. Rohrbach, 50 Church Street New<br />
York.
January, 1924<br />
lho Dlasf kirnace3jfeel rlf<br />
Review of Iron and Steel Literature for 1923<br />
A Classified List of the More Important Books, Serials and Trade<br />
Publications During the Year; with a Few of Earlier<br />
Date, Not Previously Announced<br />
N O W H E R E have we seen recent progress in ferrous<br />
metallurgy more concisely outlined than in<br />
the preface to the third edition of Bradley<br />
Stoughton's "Metallurgy of Iron and Steel." In explaining<br />
the necessity for entirely rewriting certain<br />
parts of this well known text-book, the author enumerates<br />
some of the more important developments<br />
during recent years: The blast-furnace has become<br />
mainly a producer of molten metal instead of cast pigiron;<br />
improved design has increased production;<br />
scientific control is relied upon, and satisfactory results<br />
are produced even with poorer ores and fuels.<br />
The automotive industries have been one factor in<br />
stimulating the large-tonnage production of highquality<br />
steel. The technique of open-hearth operation<br />
has been improved; the Bessemer converter now<br />
functions mainly as an accessory to the basic openhearth<br />
furnace, and it is pretty generally recognized<br />
that acid open-hearth steel is superior to basic. Electrometallurgy<br />
has made rapid advances; metallography<br />
is widely recognized as essential in supplementing<br />
chemical and mechanical testing; more attention is<br />
given to hardness testing and dynamic testing; examination<br />
by means of X-rays or magnetic analysis<br />
is establishing itself; and the development of alloy<br />
steels has been rapid.<br />
This rapid progress is a continuous challenge to<br />
the technical man. Since practice is always somewhat<br />
in advance of published information, the specialist<br />
may profit little from the literature concerned with<br />
his own special field of endeavor; but very few men<br />
have the time or the facilities for obtaining adequate<br />
first-hand knowledge regarding the entire range of<br />
steel technology, and thus, for most students of the<br />
subject, the printed word constitutes the best available<br />
medium for keeping in touch with new developments.<br />
The following review (which forms the seventh<br />
annual review prepared for the January issue of The<br />
Blast Furnace and Steel Plant) is confined to separately<br />
published works appearing in 1923, or too late<br />
in 1922 to be included in last year's review.<br />
Where possible, the books have been personally<br />
examined by the compiler of this review. Certain publications,<br />
however, were not available and the only<br />
information regarding them was in reviews in technical<br />
journals, which in many cases failed to give adequate<br />
information. Some of the entries are therefore<br />
incomplete, and some are perhaps inaccurate.<br />
GENERAL<br />
Geology, Ores.<br />
Crowell & Murray. Iron Ores of Lake Superior.<br />
Ed. 5, revised. 332 pp. 1923. Penton Publishing Co.,<br />
Cleveland, O. $5.<br />
Valuable information, including history, geology, mineralogy,<br />
exploration and mining, classification and sampling, methods of<br />
•Technology Librarian, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh.<br />
By E. H. MCCLELLAND*<br />
analysis, valuation, dock equipment, and description of individual<br />
mines and ores.<br />
England—Imperial Mineral Resources Bureau. Iron<br />
Ore; Summary of Information as to Present and Prospective<br />
Iron-Ore Supplies of the World. H. M. Stationery<br />
Office, London.<br />
Pt. 7. Foreign America. 136 pp. 1922. 4 sh.<br />
Pt. 8. Foreign Asia. 79 pp. 1922. 2 sh. 6 d.<br />
Accompanied by maps showing deposits.<br />
Jack, Robert Lockhart. Iron Ore Resources of South<br />
Australia. 71 pp. 1922. Government Printer, Adelaide.<br />
(Geological Survey of South Australia. Bulletin 9.)<br />
Louis, Henry. Mineral Valuation. 281 pp. 1923.<br />
Charles Griffin & Co., Ltd., London. 15 sh.<br />
Rather elementary work on general principles. Includes examples<br />
from coal and iron properties.<br />
Murakami, Hanzo. Geology of the An-Shan Iron<br />
Mine District, South Manchuria. 53 pp. 1922. South<br />
Manchurian Railway.<br />
"Will be welcomed by all who wish to know more of the<br />
geology of Asia."—Economic Geology, Dec. 1922.<br />
Oglcbay, Norton & Company. Lake Superior Iron<br />
Ores. 31 pp. 1923. The Company, Cleveland, O.<br />
Analyses, 1923.<br />
Pickands, Mather & Company. Cargo Analyses,<br />
Lake Superior Iron Ores. 19 pp. 1923. Cleveland, O.<br />
Shedd, Solon, and others. Iron Ores, Fuels and<br />
Fluxes of Washington. 160 pp. 1922. (State of<br />
Washington—Department of Conservation and Development.<br />
Bulletin 27, Geological Series.)<br />
Manufacture, Testing.<br />
Barberot, A. Fabrication de l'acier au four Martin.<br />
543 pp. 1923. J. B. Bailliere et Fils, Paris. 40 fr.<br />
Deals quite fully with design, construction, heating and operation<br />
of open-hearth furnaces. "Index bibliographique" comprises<br />
five (unnumbered) pages.<br />
Belaiew, N. T. Crystallisation of Metals. 143 pp.<br />
1922. University of London Press, Ltd., London. 7 sh<br />
6d.<br />
Lectures in advanced metallurgy, with considerable attention<br />
to ferrous metals.<br />
Bethlehem Steel Company. Bethlehem Mayari Pig<br />
Iron; a Natural Nickel-Chromium Alloy Iron for Making<br />
High-Grade Castings. 103 pp. 1923. Bethlehem,<br />
Pa. $1. (Publication 26.)<br />
Discusses applications, outlines proper foundry practice, and<br />
presents tests. Part of the book is prepared by Richard Moldenke.<br />
Brayshaw, Shipley N. Verhinderung von Haerterissen<br />
in Werkzeugstahl. Translated by Hans von Juept- "<br />
ner. 129 pp. 1922. Arthur Felix, Leipsic. $1.<br />
Translation of paper before Iron and Steel Institute.<br />
Burnham, Thomas H. Special Steels; a Concise<br />
Treatise on the Constitution, Manufacture, Working,<br />
Heat Treatment, and Applications of Alloy Steels,<br />
Chiefly Founded on the Researches Regarding Alloy<br />
Steels of Sir Robert Hadfield, and with a Foreword by<br />
Him. 193 pp. 1923. Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons, London.<br />
5 sh. (Pitman's Technical Primers.)<br />
13
14<br />
Brief and non-technical. For students and users of steel.<br />
Central Steel Company. Agathon Alloy Steels. 43<br />
pp. 1922. Massillon, O.<br />
Trade literature, giving properties and applications of special<br />
steels.<br />
Dalby. W. E. Strength and Structure of Steel and<br />
Other Metals. 176 pp. 1923. Longmans, Green & Co.,<br />
London. 18 sh.<br />
Author has designed photographic attachments for testing<br />
machines, a beam of light tracing a record on a sensitized plate.<br />
The book is largely a consideration of his tests and a comparison<br />
with the results of other investigators. Metallography receives<br />
attention, also.<br />
England—Research Department. Woolwich. German<br />
Gun Steels. 16 pp. and plates. 1923. H. M. Stationery<br />
Office, London. 3 sh.<br />
Chemical composition, microstructure and mechanical properties<br />
of captured German guns.<br />
Fremont, C. Essais de reception des rails. 48 pp.<br />
Dunod, Paris. 10 fr.<br />
Fremont, C. Le marteau, le choc, le marteau pneumatique.<br />
194 pp. 1923. Paris.<br />
Fricscn, Lennart von. Om syre i jaern. 50 pp. 1922.<br />
A. B. Gunnar Tisells, Stockholm.<br />
Occurrence and determination of oxygen in iron and steel.<br />
Geuze, Leon. F<strong>org</strong>eage et laminage. 362 pp. 1922.<br />
J. B. Bailliere et Fils, Paris. 30 fr.<br />
Well illustrated work. The first 150 pages deal with f<strong>org</strong>ing<br />
and furnaces and the remainder discusses rolling, considering<br />
mills of various types.<br />
Goodti'in, W. M. A method of Smelting Titaniferous<br />
Iron Ore. 25 pp. 1922. Government Printer,<br />
Ottawa, Canada. (Honorary Advisory Council for Scientific<br />
and Industrial Research. Report No. 8.)<br />
Grigorovitch. [Metallurgy of Iron (in Russian)].<br />
Gosizdat, Moscow.<br />
ThoBlaslFumaceSSUPk.'.<br />
Guillet. Leon. Les methodes d'etude des alliages<br />
metalliques. 503 pp. 1923. Dunod, Paris. 65 fr.<br />
A thorough study of properties of both ferrous and non-ferrous<br />
alloys. Physical testing is treated quite fully, under thermal<br />
analysis, variation of volume, electrical resistance, thermo-electricity',<br />
magnetism, and various minor tests such as X-ray examination.<br />
Includes also metallography and chemical and mechanical<br />
tests.<br />
Hayes, Henry. Drop F<strong>org</strong>ing and Drop Stamping.<br />
108 pp. 1923. Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons, Ltd., London.<br />
2 sh. 6 d.<br />
A brief introduction to equipment and methods of the dropf<strong>org</strong>e<br />
shop, and the thermal and mechanical treatment and metallurgy<br />
of drop f<strong>org</strong>ings.<br />
Hendel, J. M. New Type of Reductor and Its Application<br />
to the Determination of Iron and of Vanadium.<br />
1922. The Author, Park Ave. and 68th St., New York.<br />
$1.<br />
Holverscheid, A. Die Walzwerke; Einrichtung und<br />
Betrieb. Ed. 2. 144 pp. 1923. Walter de Gruyter,<br />
Berlin.<br />
Houghton, (E. F.) & Company. Practical Metallurgy<br />
for Engineers. 431 pp. 1923. Philadelphia. $3.<br />
Concerned mainly with ferrous metals, dealing briefly with<br />
raw materials and manufacturing processes, and in greater detail<br />
with heat treatment, testing and specifications. Non-technical.<br />
Iron and Steel Institute. Carnegie Scholarship<br />
Memoirs. Vol. 12, 295 pp. 1923. The Institute,<br />
London.<br />
Contains contributions on corrosion, pyrometry, mechanical<br />
properties and history.<br />
Iron and Steel Institute. Journal. Vol. 106, 458 pp.<br />
1922. Vol. 107, 807 pp. 1923. The Institute, London.<br />
Iron and Steel Institute. Subject and Name Index to<br />
Vols. LXXXIII-CIV, 1911-1921; and to Vols. III-X of<br />
January, 1924<br />
the Carnegie Scholarship Memoirs. 335 pp. 1923. The<br />
Institute, London. 20 sh.<br />
Jacquct. Alexis. Aciers, fers, fontes. Ed. 2, revised.<br />
Vol. 1,231pp. 1923. Dunod, Paris. 10 fr.<br />
Concerned with properties, tests and treatment, more than<br />
half the book being taken up with heat treatment and cementation.<br />
Lcdcbur. A. Das Roheisen. Ed. 5, revised by F.<br />
Zeyringer. 99 pp. 1924 (sic). Arthur Felix, Leipsic.<br />
Mackliu. E. L.. and Middleton, E. L. Report on the<br />
Grinding of Metals and Cleaning of Castings, with Special<br />
Reference to the Effects of Dust Inhalation upon<br />
the Workers. 100 pp. 1923. H. M. Stationery Office,<br />
London. 4 sh.<br />
Discusses abrasives and grinding machinery used, outlines<br />
processes for grinding various products, presents results of<br />
physical examination of workmen, and suggests measures for improving<br />
hygienic conditions.<br />
Mars, G. Die Spezialstaehle; ihre Geschichte, Eigenschaften,<br />
Behandlung, und Herstellung. Ed. 2, revised.<br />
675 pp. 1923. F. Enke, Stuttgart.<br />
Moore, H. F., and Jasper, T. M. An Investigation<br />
of the Fatigue of Metals. Series of 1922. 100 pp.<br />
1922. University of Illinois, Urbana, 111. (Engineering<br />
Experiment Station. Bulletin 136.)<br />
Perrott, G. St. J., and Kinney, S. P. Combustion of<br />
Coke in Blast Furnace Hearth. 43 pp. 1923. American<br />
Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers,<br />
New York.<br />
Advance paper, Transactions of the American Institute of<br />
Mining and Metallurgical Engineers. An investigation of furnace<br />
conditions by means of water-cooled gas-sampling tubes<br />
driven into the hearth through the tuyeres.<br />
Piron, Emile. Traite pratique de trace des cannelures<br />
pour cylindres de laminoirs. 244 pp. -|- 128 platen<br />
1922. A. De Bceck, Brussels. 50 fr.<br />
Includes a large number of designs representing a Belgian<br />
designer's experience of 35 years.<br />
Schomburg, W. Das Eisenhuettenwesen. 125 pp.<br />
1922. Uhlands Technische Bibliothek, Leipsic.<br />
Schoppmann. Rudolph. Eisen und Stahl. Ed. 4,<br />
revised by Carl Otto. 100 pp. 1922. B. F. Voigt,<br />
Leipsic. 75 cents.<br />
Practical work dealing briefly with manufacture of iron, steel,<br />
and alloy steels, and with foundry work.<br />
Schweissguth, P. H. Freiformschmiede. 2 vols. 1922-<br />
2c\. Julius Springer, Berlin.<br />
Tools, methods and materials for f<strong>org</strong>ing.<br />
Sisco, Frank T. Technical Analysis of Steel and<br />
Steel Works Materials. 543 pp. 1923. McGraw-Hill<br />
Book Co., New York. $5.<br />
In addition to analytical methods, nearly one-third of the<br />
book is devoted to laboratory design and equipment.<br />
Snodgrass, J. M., and Guldner, F. H. An Investigation<br />
of the Properties of Chilled Iron Car Wheels.<br />
University of Illinois, Urbana, 111.<br />
Pt. 1: Wheel Fit and Static Load Strains. 103 pp.<br />
1922. 55 cents. (University Experiment Station, Bulletin<br />
129.)<br />
Pt. 2: Wheel Fit, Static Load, and Flange Pressure<br />
Strains. Ultimate Strength of Flange. 72 pp.<br />
1922. 40 cents. (University Experiment Station Bulletin<br />
134.)<br />
Pt. 3: Strains Due to Brake Application, Coefficient<br />
of Friction and Brake-Shoe Wear. 100 pp. 1923. 50<br />
cents. (University Experiment Station. Bulletin 135.)<br />
Stahlwerks-Vcrband A.-G. Abteilung Eisenbahn-<br />
Oberbaustoife, Duesseldorf. Abschnitt 1-10, 1922.<br />
Duesseldorf.
k<br />
J anuar y< 1924 The Bias, FurnaceSSU Pin- '-.<br />
A series of pamphlets giving dimensions and properties of<br />
rails, plates and other railway materials in rolled steel.<br />
Stillman, Albert Leeds. Briquetting. 466 pp. 1923.<br />
Chemical Publishing Co., Easton, Pa. $6.<br />
Practical methods. Concerned largely with fuel, but including<br />
metal wastes.<br />
Stoughton, Bradley. Metallurgy of Iron and Steel.<br />
Ed. 3. 519 pp. 1923. McGraw-Hill Book Co., New<br />
York. $4.<br />
A thorough revision of this well known text-book. Many<br />
parts have been rewritten to bring them thoroughly up to date<br />
and the material added has been so extensive that the chapter on<br />
"Physics and Chemistry Introductory to Metallurgy" has been<br />
omitted from this edition.<br />
Tafel, Wilhelm. Walzen und Walzenkalibrieren.<br />
Ed. 2 and 3, enlarged. 303 pp. 1923. Fr. Wilhelm<br />
Ruhfus, Dortmund. $1.60.<br />
United States—Interstate Commerce Commission.<br />
Report on the Transverse Fissures in Steel Rails and<br />
Their Prevalence on Certain Railroads. 169 pp. 1923.<br />
Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C.<br />
Remedy is through proper grade of steel and regulation of<br />
loads. Requires co-operation between railroads and steel mills.<br />
Verein deutscher Eisenhuettenleute. Waermestrom-<br />
Bilder (Sankey-Diagramme) aus dem Eisenhuettenwesen.<br />
n, p. 1922. Verlag Stahleisen, Duesseldorf.<br />
45 cents.<br />
Brief text and numerous diagrams illustrating heat flow in<br />
various kinds of metallurgical equipment.<br />
Vernon, Thomas H. Special Steels. 153 pp. 1923.<br />
Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons, New York.<br />
A rapid survey of alloy steels now in use.<br />
Vosmaer, A. Ijzer en Staal; hun Bereiding, Verwerking,<br />
Eigenschappen en Toepassingen.<br />
Pt. 3 : Eigenschappen, Onderzoek, en Toepassingen.<br />
204 pp. 1922. A. W. Sijthoff's Uitgeversmaatschappij,<br />
Leyden. $1.45.<br />
Wuest, Fritz, ed. Mitteilungen aus dem Kaiser-<br />
Wilhelm-Institut fuer Eisenforschung zu Duesseldorf,<br />
Vol. 4. 163 pp. + 16 plates. 1922. Verlag Stahleisen,<br />
Duesseldorf.<br />
Contains numbers 21-31 continuing the series of theoretical<br />
papers on iron and steel published in earlier volumes.<br />
Economics, Statistics, Directories.<br />
American Iron and Steel Institute. Annual Statistical<br />
Report for 1922. 98 pp. 1923. The Institute,<br />
New York. $3.50.<br />
Statistics of production, consumption and prices of raw and<br />
finished products of the steel industry.<br />
Andrcsen Company, Inc. Directory Giving List of<br />
Companies Operating Blast Furnaces, Steel Plants, Rolling<br />
Mills and Allied Industries; F<strong>org</strong>ing and Stamping<br />
Plants in the United States and Canada, together with<br />
List of Executives and Operating Officials. 174 pp.<br />
1923. Pittsburgh. $5.<br />
Association des Maitres de F<strong>org</strong>es de Lorraine. L'lndustrie<br />
siderurgique en Lorraine en 1921 et 1922. The<br />
Association, Metz.<br />
Bensinger Iron and Steel Code. 120 pp. 1923. C.<br />
Bensinger Co., New York. $7.50.<br />
"First complete cable and telegraph code covering the Iron<br />
and Steel Trade in general. * * * Contains over Nineteen Thousand<br />
five-letter words with at least a two-letter variation."—<br />
Preface.<br />
Burchard, Ernest F., and Davis, H. W. Iron Ore,<br />
Pig Iron and Steel in 1921. Published April 23, 1923.<br />
Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C.<br />
Advance publication comprising pp. 565-597 of the United<br />
States Geological Survey's "Mineral Resources of the United<br />
States, 1921," Part I.<br />
Butler, J. G., Jr. Fifty Years of Iron and Steel.<br />
Ed. 7.<br />
"Contains the addition of a chapter which recites the beginning<br />
and development of the open-hearth process of steel manufacture<br />
in the United States. Several illustrations also have<br />
been added to the book. . . It has become an authoritative<br />
treatise of the rise of American iron and steel manufacture for<br />
two-thirds of a century up to the present day, rich in historical<br />
facts and marked by color and personal reminiscences."—Iron<br />
Trade Review, Nov. 15, 1923.<br />
Colliery Year Book and Coal Trades Directory, 1923.<br />
844 pp. 1923. Louis Cassier Co., Ltd., London. 12 sh.<br />
Lists of officials, owners, producers, merchants, etc., also of<br />
gas works, electric plants and blast-furnaces.<br />
Cotter, Arundel. La corporation de l'acier aux Etats-<br />
Unis. Translated by Andre Aude. 238 pp. 1923. Vuibert,<br />
Paris. 10 fr.<br />
Jensen, Carl. Cost Problems in the Wrought Iron<br />
Industry. National Association of Cost Accountants,<br />
New York.<br />
Deals particularly with cost accounting in the manufacturing<br />
of muck bar, skelp, and pipe.<br />
Metal Statistics. Ed. 16. 512 pp. 1923. American<br />
Metal Market Co., New York. $1.<br />
Statistical information on both ferrous and non-ferrous<br />
metals.<br />
National Federation of Iron and Steel Manufacturers.<br />
Statistics of the Iron and Steel Industries. 83 pp.<br />
The Federation, London. 5 sh. 4 d.<br />
Detailed figures and records of iron and steel production of<br />
the world, over an extended period.<br />
Olds, M. Analysis of the Inter-Church World Move- '<br />
ment Report on the Steel Strike. 1922. G. P. Putnam's<br />
Sons, New York. $2.50.<br />
Rodalc, J. I. War-Time Depreciation in Open Hearth<br />
Steel Plants and Rolling Mills. 1923. National Association<br />
of Cost Accountants, New York. 75 cents.<br />
Skinner, Walter R. Mining Manual and Mining<br />
Year Book for 1923. 824 pp. 1923. Author, London.<br />
21 sh. 6 d.<br />
Primarily an investors' manual, giving brief information on<br />
many mining and metallurgical companies, mainly British. Includes<br />
some coal and iron companies.<br />
Tross, Arnold. Der Aufbau der Eisen- und Eisenverarbeitenden<br />
Industrie-Konzerne Deutschlands. 1923.<br />
Wagner, Joseph. La siderurgie luxembourgeoise avant<br />
la decouverte du gisement des minettes; histoire technique<br />
du bon viex temps. 209 pp. Paul Schroell, Diekirch,<br />
Luxemburg.<br />
Electrometallurgy and Other Applications<br />
of Electricity.<br />
Association of Iron and Steel Electrical Engineers.<br />
Proceedings. 1922. 968 pp. 1923. The Association,<br />
Pittsburgh. $5.<br />
Coussergues, C. Clausel de. L'electrosiderurgie, fabrication<br />
de l'acier au creuset. 416 pp. J. B. Bailliere et<br />
Fils, Paris. 50 fr.<br />
Rademacher, W. H., comp. Lighting of Steel Mills<br />
and Foundries. 32 pp. 1923. Edison Lamp Works of<br />
General Electric Company, Harrison, N. J. (Lighting<br />
Data. Index 66, Bulletin L. D. 150.)<br />
"Bibliography," p. 32.<br />
Russ, E. F. Die Elektro-metallschmelzofen. 161 pp.<br />
1922. R. Oldenbourg, Munich.<br />
Stansfield, Alfred. Electric Furnace for Iron and<br />
Steel. 453 pp. 1923. McGraw-Hill Book Co., New<br />
York. $5.<br />
Supersedes author's "Electric Furnace" published in 1907 and<br />
again in 1913. Includes smelting and steel making and is valuable<br />
for description of types and for operating data. A later<br />
volume will deal with general principles and non-ferrous applications.
16<br />
Foundry Practice.<br />
Dwyer, Pat. Tales from the Gangway. 450 pp.<br />
1923. Penton Publishing Co., Cleveland, O. $3.<br />
"Each article is introduced in anecdotal and somewhat humorous<br />
fashion and concludes with a good deal of practical instruction<br />
on foundry method. * * * Makes interesting reading for<br />
the average foundry worker who does not want his technical<br />
reading to be too technical."—Iron Age, April 5, 1923.<br />
Everitt, Frank, and Heyzvood, Johnson. Cost Control<br />
for Foundries. Edited by William R. Basset. 226<br />
pp. 1923. McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York. $3.<br />
Includes a large number of forms, and indicates those adapted<br />
to the small foundry.<br />
Foundrymen's Handbook. Revised ed. 309 pp.<br />
1922. Penton Publishing Co., Cleveland, O. $5.<br />
Not a manual of foundry practice but a collection of tables<br />
and data for reference.<br />
Hanley, Edmund C. Wood Pattern Making. 191 pp.<br />
1922. Bruce Publishing Co., Milwaukee.<br />
Well illustrated text, primarily for manual training schools.<br />
Mast hirnaceSSU Pin-<br />
Homer, Joseph G. The Modern Ironfoundry. 255<br />
pp. 1923. Henry Frowde and Hodder & Stoughton,<br />
London. 15 sh.<br />
A general work on materials and methods. Partly reprinted<br />
from British trade journals.<br />
Irresberger, Carl. Der Kupenlofenbetrieb. 54 pp.<br />
1922. Julius Springer, Berlin.<br />
Kirk, E. Dr. Edward Kirk's System of Foundry<br />
Practice; Dry Sand Cores. 1922. The Author, 938 N.<br />
10th St., New York. $12.50.<br />
McCracken, Edward M., and Sampson, Charles H.<br />
Pattern-Making. Ill pp. 1923. D. Van Nostrand Co.,<br />
New York. 10 sh. 6 d.<br />
Includes some discussion of foundry methods.<br />
Parsons, S. J. Practical Moulding. 136 pp. Ge<strong>org</strong>e<br />
Routledge and Sons, London. 5 sh.<br />
A straightforward introduction to foundry practice.<br />
Stadtmuellcr, Hugo. Die Schmelzoefen der Eisen-<br />
Stahl- und Metallgiesserei. Ed. 2, enlarged. 325 pp.<br />
1922. Gutsch, Karlsruhe.<br />
United States—Bureau of Labor Statistics. Safety<br />
Code for the Protection of Industrial Workers in Foundries.<br />
12 pp. 1923. Government Printing Office,<br />
Washington, D. C.<br />
Tentative American Standard, Approved by American Engineering<br />
Standards Committee. Sponsored by National Founders'<br />
Association, and American Foundrymen's Association.<br />
Wendt, R. E. Foundry Work; a Text on Molding,<br />
Dry-Sand, Core-Making, and the Melting and Mixing of<br />
Metals. 206 pp. 1923. McGraw-Hill Book Co., New<br />
York. $2.<br />
Text-book for students and apprentices.<br />
Furnaces, Heat Treatment.<br />
American Society for Steel Treating. Handbook of<br />
the American Society for Steel Treating. Loose leaf.<br />
Preface dated Dec, 1923.<br />
Object is "to present, in a concise form, charts, data and other<br />
information pertaining to the manufacture or treatment of metals."<br />
Material is unindexed. Classification provides for 25 subjects,<br />
either special steels or processes.<br />
Brearley, Harry. Die Werkzeugstahle und ihre<br />
Waermebehandlungen. Translated by Rudolf Schaefer.<br />
Ed. 3, 324 pp. 1923? Julius Springer, Berlin.<br />
Fuels and Furnaces. Monthly. F. C. Andresen &<br />
Associates, Inc., Pittsburgh.<br />
A journal devoted to fuels, furnaces, ovens, kilns, and industrial<br />
heating in all its phases. Contains original papers and<br />
numerous abstracts from other technical and trade journals. First<br />
issued in May, 1923, the eight numbers issued during the year<br />
form a total of 862 pages.<br />
January, 1924<br />
Groume-Grjimailo, W. E. Flow of Gases in Furnaces.<br />
Translated from Russian into French by Leon<br />
Dlougatch and A. Rothstein, with a Preface by Henry<br />
Le Chatelier; translated from the French by A. D. Williams,<br />
with an Appendix upon the Design of Open-<br />
Hearth Furnaces. 399 pp. 1923. John Wiley & Sons,<br />
New York. $5.50.<br />
Contains bibliographical foot-notes.<br />
"This book is built up about a helpful analogy which regards<br />
the flow of hot gases in furnaces as resembling inverted streams<br />
of fluid, flowing along the tops of furnaces and flues, over inverted<br />
weirs, and exerting quite appreciable pressures as their<br />
height increases. . . The development of the analogy, the presentation<br />
and use of the formulas, for the flow of hot gases over<br />
inverted weirs, and the application of these principles to the design<br />
of reverberatory furnaces and kilns of various types, are the<br />
most valuable portions of the book."—Industrial and Engineering<br />
Chemistry, 1923.<br />
Simon, Eugcn. Haerten und Vergueten. Ed. 2.<br />
2 vol. 1923. Julius<br />
buecher, pt. 7-8.)<br />
Springer, Berlin. (Werkstatt-<br />
Trinks, Willibald. Industrial Furnaces. Vol. 1, 319<br />
pp. 1923. John Wiley & Sons, New York. $4.50.<br />
The first work to deal at all adequately with the theory of industrial-furnace<br />
design. Volume one is confined to fundamental<br />
principles and will be of special value in connection with reheating<br />
furnaces for steel. The analysis of specific applications is<br />
reserved for volume two.<br />
Refractories.<br />
Bischoff, Carl. Die feuerfesten Tone und Rohstoffe.<br />
Ed. 4, revised by K. Jacobs and E. Weber. 266 pp.<br />
1923. J. A. Earth, Leipsic.<br />
Schwartz, Robert. Feuerfeste und hochfeuerfeste<br />
Stoffe. Ed. 2, enlarged. 1922. F. Vieweg, Brunswick.<br />
Searle, Alfred B. Chemistry and Physics of Clays<br />
and Other Ceramic Materials. 634 pp. 1923. Ernest<br />
Benn, Ltd., London. 55 sh.<br />
Gives some attention to the requirements of steel manufacturers.<br />
Searle, Alfred B. Refractories for Furnaces, Crucibles,<br />
etc. 170 pp. 1923. Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons,<br />
Ltd., London. 5 sh.<br />
Deals briefly with materials, shaping, drying, and burning.<br />
Searle, Alfred B. Refractory Materials; Their Manufacture<br />
and Use. Ed. 2. 2 vols. Charles Griffin & Co.,<br />
London. 42 sh.<br />
Stainless Steel, Corrosion.<br />
Firth-Sterling Steel Company. Firth-Sterling Stainless<br />
Steel. 61 pp. 1923. McKeesport, Pa. $1.<br />
A valuable work, dealing with history, applications, treatment<br />
and properties.<br />
Hamlin, Marston Lovell, and Turner, F. M. Jr.<br />
The Chemical Resistance of Engineering Materials.' 267<br />
pp. 1923. Chemical Catalog Co., New York. $5.<br />
Compilation of data on the action of industrial chemicals on<br />
metallic and non-metallic structural materials. Devotes considerable<br />
attention to corrosion of iron and steel.<br />
Polansky, Victor S., com p. Stainless Steel and Stainless<br />
Iron; a List of References to Material in the Carnegie<br />
Library of Pittsburgh. 21 pp. 1923. Free.<br />
(Postpaid, 5 cents.) Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh,<br />
Pittsburgh.<br />
Annotated list of more than 200 references.<br />
Pollitt, Alan A. The Causes and Prevention of Cor-<br />
\? S T- Jl°n PP ' 1923 ' D " Van Nostrand Co., New<br />
York. $6.50.<br />
A reasonably thorough survey of corrosion and its prevention.<br />
Structural Steel.<br />
American Institute of Steel Construction. Standard<br />
Specification for the Design, Fabrication, and Erection<br />
5
January, 1924<br />
Tlio Blast furnaceSSleel Pin-<br />
of Structural Steel for Buildings. 23 pp. 1923. The<br />
Institute, Cleveland, O.<br />
Association of American Steel Manufacturers. Manufacturers<br />
Standard Specifications for Structural and<br />
Boiler Steel. Revised Nov. 24, 1922. 12 pp. 1923.<br />
The Association, Pittsburgh.<br />
Bethlehem Steel Company. Lackawanna Steel Sheet<br />
Piling. 25 pp. 1923. Bethlehem, Pa. (Bulletin 10.)<br />
Gives dimensions, weights, properties, connections and splices.<br />
Bland, M. C. Handbook of Steel Erection. 241 pp.<br />
1923. McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York.<br />
For the civil engineer and contractor, and not concerned with<br />
metallurgy.<br />
Carnegie Steel Company. Extracts from Carnegie<br />
Pocket Companion, for Engineers, Architects and Builders.<br />
156 pp. 1923. Pittsburgh.<br />
Condensed information and tables pertaining to structural<br />
steel.<br />
Carnegie Steel Company. Shape Book. Ed. 9, 346<br />
pp. 1923. Pittsburgh.<br />
Lloyd's Register of Shipping. Jordan's Tabulated<br />
Weights of Iron and Steel Sections and Other Information,<br />
for the Use of Naval Architects, Shipbuilders and<br />
Manufacturers. Ed. 8. 317 pp. 1923. E. & F. N.<br />
Spon, Ltd., London. 15 sh.<br />
Skelton (R. A.) & Company. Broad-Flange Beams,<br />
Grey Process. London. 5 sh. (Handbook No. 18.)<br />
The first of a new series of Skelton's structural steel handbooks.<br />
Supersedes numbers 10 to 14 dealing with pre-war sections<br />
which are obsolete and are no longer rolled by the firm.<br />
UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT<br />
PUBLICATIONS<br />
Certain publications listed below may be obtained<br />
from the Superintendent of Documents, Government<br />
Printing Office, Washington, D. C.<br />
UNITED STATES BUREAU OF STANDARDS<br />
Circulars.<br />
No. 58. Invar and Related Nickel Steels. Ed. 2.<br />
93 pp. 1923. 30 cents.<br />
Scientific Papers.<br />
No. 448. Decarburization of Ferrochromium by<br />
Hydrogen, by Louis Jordan and F. E. Swindells. 327-<br />
334 pp. 1922. 5 cents.<br />
No. 452. Structure of Martensitic Carbon Steels and<br />
Changes in Microstructure Which Occur upon Tempering,<br />
by Henry S. Rawdon and Samuel Epstein. 373-409<br />
pp. 1922. 15 cents.<br />
No. 453. Preparation and Properties of Pure Iron<br />
Alloys. Pt. 1 : Effects of Carbon and Manganese on<br />
the Mechanical Properties of Pure Iron, by Robert P.<br />
Neville and John R. Cain. 411-443 pp. 1922. 10 cents.<br />
No. 457. Gases in Metals. Pt. 1: The Determination<br />
of Combined Nitrogen in Iron and Steel and the<br />
Change in Form of Nitrogen by Heat Treatment, by<br />
Louis Jordan and F. E. Swindells. 499-511 pp. 1922.<br />
5 cents.<br />
No. 458. Apparatus for the Determination of the<br />
Magnetic Properties of Short Bars, by M. F. Fischer.<br />
513-526 pp. 1922. 5 cents.<br />
No. 463. Preparation and Properties of Pure Iron<br />
Alloys. Pt. 2: Magnetic Properties of Iron-Carbon<br />
Alloys as Affected by Heat Treatment and Carbon Content,<br />
by W. L. Cheney. 609-635 pp. 1922. 15 cents.<br />
No. 464. Preparation and Properties of Pure Iron<br />
Alloys. Pt. 3: Effect of Manganese on the Structure<br />
of Alloys of the Iron-Carbon System, by Henry S. Raw<br />
don and Frederick Sillers, Jr. 637-653 pp. 1922. 10<br />
cents.<br />
Technologic Papers.<br />
No. 228. Lathe Breakdown Tests of Some Modern<br />
High-Speed Tool Steels, by H. J. French and Jerome<br />
Strauss. 183-225 pp. 1923. 15 cents.<br />
No. 229. Some Tests of Steel-Wire Rope on Sheaves,<br />
by Edward Skillman. 227-243 pp. 1923. 10 cents.<br />
No. 235. Thermal Stresses in Steel Car Wheels, by<br />
Ge<strong>org</strong>e K. Burgess and G. Willard Quick. 367-403 pp.<br />
1923. 15 cents.<br />
No. 241. A Comparison of the Deoxidation Effects<br />
of Titanium and Silicon on the Properties of Rail Steel,<br />
by Ge<strong>org</strong>e K. Burgess and G. Willard Quick. 581-635<br />
pp. 1923. 10 cents.<br />
UNITED STATES BUREAU OF FOREIGN AND<br />
DOMESTIC COMMERCE<br />
Trade Information Bulletins.<br />
No. 6. The Brazilian Iron and Steel Industry, by<br />
W. L. Schurz. 11 pp. 1922.<br />
No. 11. The Steel-Making Facilities of Great Britain,<br />
by H. B. Allin Smith. 9 pp. 1922.<br />
No. 35. Iron and Steel Industry and Trade of<br />
Poland, by H. B. Smith. 12 pp. 1922.<br />
No. 66. Statistical Record of the British Iron and<br />
Steel Industry, by H. B. Allin Smith. 13 pp. 1922.<br />
No. 96. German Iron and Steel Industry, by C. E.<br />
Herring. 13 pp. 1923.<br />
No. 133. The British Steel Industry, by H. B. Allin<br />
Smith. 22 pp. 1923.<br />
Zinc Production in Norway<br />
The Hen Smeltevaerk, in Trondhjen, Norway, has<br />
now resumed its operations for the manufacture of zinc,<br />
and it is expected that the production will increase in<br />
the course of the year, according to the N<strong>org</strong>es<br />
Handels-og Sjofartstidende. The works has received<br />
a cargo of 2,000 tons of zinc ore from Mexico.<br />
Hen Smeltevaerk is owned by Mr. Tharaldsen, the<br />
inventor of a new process for the manufacture of zinc,<br />
who also owns the Jossingfjord Fabrikker, which is<br />
now working at full capacity. The Belgium Zinc Syndicate<br />
has acquired rights to utilize the Tharaldsen<br />
methods for zinc manufacture, and the syndicate will<br />
soon commence operations, as it has rented 20,000 horsepower<br />
electric energy from the Tyssefaldende in Hardanger.<br />
The zinc ore used in Norway for the manufacture of<br />
zinc is taken from Spain and Mexico, the bulk coming<br />
from the latter country. Some zinc ore is also found<br />
in Norway, and Mr. Tharaldsen has experimented with<br />
Norwegian ore for the manufacture of zinc. These experiments<br />
are said to have been very satisfactory.<br />
An important by-product, sulphur, is obtained from<br />
the manufacture of zinc, and can be produced in such<br />
quantities that it might seriously threaten the Norwegian<br />
pyrite industry.<br />
Straits Trading Report<br />
The report of the Straits Trading Company, Ltd., for<br />
the half year ended March 31 shows that during that<br />
period a net profit of $604,765.44 was made. With the<br />
balance of $438,342.60 brought forward from the last<br />
account, this made a total of $1,043,108.04 available at<br />
the end of the half year.<br />
17
18<br />
The Blast FurnaceS Steel PI ar<br />
Chicago Points With Pride<br />
Historical Sequences in the Development of a Truly Remarkable<br />
Steel Unit.<br />
T H E Inland Steel Company have built and are expanding<br />
one of the finest concentrations of modern<br />
steel producing facilities that can be found<br />
anywhere in the world.<br />
If we were to take a map of the United States, and<br />
carefully search for the ideal location, weighing all<br />
the advantages against the limitations, this section<br />
of splendid lake front would probably mark the end of<br />
our quest.<br />
Then if we were to call into consultation the best<br />
minds in steel engineering and give them carte blanche<br />
to design an ideal economic unit, the result of their<br />
labors would closely resemble the Indiana Harbor<br />
plant as it will look when the expansions now under<br />
construction are in full operation.<br />
Lake ore in company vessels, coal and limestone<br />
are assembled directly at the blast-furnaces. Coke<br />
from this coal is made in modern by-product ovens located<br />
in the heart of the plan. Scrap is abundantly<br />
available over a veritable network of communicating<br />
railroads, both trunk line and belt-line, and shipments<br />
of finished material enjoy the same facilities for distribution.<br />
Being the center of a great steel producing area,<br />
labor is familiar with the activities involved, and a<br />
floating supply is always available to draw upon.<br />
Gas and tar from coke-ovens is conveniently carried<br />
to nearby furnaces, and power generated from<br />
blast-furnace gas finds ready application in the motor<br />
driven mills.<br />
r < *w\\j<br />
yy*s<br />
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MPSI^'- : ' t . " J<br />
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i<br />
! H<br />
By F. J. CROLIUS<br />
4-<br />
By<br />
January, 1924<br />
Water, which is so vital to all great blast furnaces,<br />
coking operations, and mill practices, is forever abundant,<br />
directly from the Great Lakes, a source which<br />
guarantees an unfailing supply of clear, alkaline water<br />
requiring the very minimum of conditioning, not subject<br />
to the variations of seasonal floods, famines, contaminations<br />
or variations in level.<br />
From every angle, Inland Steel presents the picture<br />
of an engineered layout—not just a hetrogeneous collection<br />
of mills of various sizes and for various purposes,<br />
which have grown from some vague historical<br />
source into a great tangle, whose only apparent points<br />
of contact are the lines of railroad track, the inter-connected<br />
steam lines, gas and water lines, or powerlines<br />
; the first impression is one of magnitudes finely<br />
balanced for a definite purpose, and the ultimate impression<br />
is a clear consciousness that what was in<br />
the minds of the original builders has been projected<br />
forward into an assembled whole.<br />
In the detailed description of a great steel plant it<br />
is customary to secure authentic information from<br />
those officials and operating executives qualified to<br />
produce it. W r e are indebted in this case to Mr. William<br />
A. Maxwell, Jr., General Superintendent; Mr.<br />
Carl Smith, Steam Engineer, and Mr. H. R. de Holl,<br />
Superintendent of By-Product Coke Plant; their articles<br />
are incorporated without revision.<br />
The Inland Steel Company was incorporated October<br />
30, 1893, for the purpose of building and operating<br />
a rolling mill for the rolling of old rails into mer-<br />
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A remarkable picture of the group of blast furnaces at Inland Steel Company, showing the new No. 3 furnace in the di<br />
J
January, 1924<br />
IheDlasfhirnaceSS.eelPW'<br />
This view of the lake front gives a clear idea of the transportation facilities. One of the company steamships alongside her pier,<br />
zvith gantry unloader in position, aand ore bridge extension at the left.<br />
chant bars, small angles, etc. This plant was located<br />
at Chicago Heights, 111., and at the present time has<br />
an annual capacity of 50,000 tons of bars and occupies<br />
about five acres of ground.<br />
Early in 1900 it was decided to build an open<br />
hearth plant for the manufacture of open hearth steel.<br />
In 1901 the company acquired property at Indiana<br />
Harbor, Ind., and began the erection of a modern<br />
open hearth steel plant.<br />
The plant as now constituted consists of 130 byproduct<br />
coke ovens with complete equipment for recovery<br />
of all by-products, three modern blast furnaces,<br />
26 open hearth furnaces, blooming mills, sheet bar<br />
mill, rail mill, bar mills, sheet mills, plate and structural<br />
mills, splice bar and tie plate departments and<br />
bolt and spike mill, together with all the necessary<br />
equipment for complete operations, such as steam,<br />
electrical and motive power and machine shops.<br />
The company owns an interest in the Inland<br />
Steamship Company which operates two ore boats of<br />
10,000 tons capacity each for transportation of ore,<br />
coal and limestone.<br />
The company owns directly or indirectly leases or<br />
interests in leases on seven iron ore properties in<br />
Mesaba and Cuyuna Ranges; and also owns directly<br />
or indirectly interest in four coal properties located in<br />
Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Illinois.<br />
The estimated annual capacity of the plants at Indiana<br />
Harbor, Ind., and Chicago Heights, 111., is as<br />
follows:<br />
By-products coke, net tons 550,000<br />
Coal tar, gallons 7,000,000<br />
Sulphate of ammonia, lbs 17,000,000<br />
Light oil products, gallons 2,000,000<br />
Pig iron, gross tons 600,000<br />
Open hearth steel ingots, gross tons 1,200,000<br />
Blooms and slabs, gross tons 1,200,000<br />
Sheet bar and billets, gross tons 350,000<br />
Structural shapes, gross tons 210,000<br />
Rails, gross tons 240,000<br />
Bars, gross tons 170,000<br />
Sheared plates, gross tons 200,000<br />
Sheets, net tons 120,000<br />
Tie plates, gross tons 30,000<br />
Splice bars, gross tons 30,000<br />
Rivets, track spikes and bolts 30,000<br />
The additional finishing capacity now under construction<br />
will increase the annual capacity of finished<br />
steel products by approximately 185,000 tons.<br />
The company owns over 600 acres of land at Indiana<br />
Harbor, Ind., with frontages on the southern<br />
shore of Lake Michigan and the government ship<br />
canal, where its main plant is located.<br />
19
20<br />
The company also owns more than 800 acres of<br />
land fronting on Lake Michigan in Porter County,<br />
Ind., about seven miles east of Gary, Ind.<br />
With the harbor and docks alongside its property<br />
and connection with the main lines of the Xew York<br />
Central, Pennsylvania, and Baltimore & Ohio systems,<br />
the company's transportation facilities are<br />
favorable for both water and rail shipments.<br />
Thoblasffurnace3S,eel %•<br />
January, 1924<br />
The plant was started in 1902, the equipment consisting<br />
of four 50-ton open hearth furnaces fired with<br />
producer gas; one 32-in. reversing blooming mill<br />
driven by a 30x48-in. twin simple non-condensing<br />
engine through reduction gears ; one 24-in. two high<br />
four stand bar and structural mill driven by a 36x48in.<br />
twin simple non-condensing engine built by Wm.<br />
T«.dd & Company; one sheet mill unit consisting of<br />
1—Against the sky-line, the high structure involved in skull-cracker operation stands out in bold relief. Note the magnet and<br />
ball suspended. 2—It would be difficult to secure a better picture of this modern pumping station. All pumps are motor<br />
driven, and the general arrangement is ideal for easy inspection and careful maintenance. 3—Shozt's a typical blast-furnace<br />
top in detail. 4—Main entrance to the by-product coke plant, showing the new general office building. 5—Shows a street in<br />
the recently developed real estate sub-division. Comfortable houses with little of the aspect usually associated with steel<br />
works' dwellings.
J anua ^ 1924 Die DU UaceSSfoel W-<br />
eight hot mills and one jobbing mill, also three stands<br />
of cold rolls. This line of sheet mills was driven<br />
through reduction gears by a 30x60-in. twin simple<br />
non-condensing engine built by Filer & Stowell Company.<br />
The 24-in. bar mill was built by Garrett-<br />
Cromwell Company and consisted of pinions, a universal<br />
roughing stand and three stands of finishing<br />
rolls. About two years after the mill was started, this<br />
universal stand was replaced by a similar universal<br />
mill built by the Garrison Foundry Company. The<br />
mill rolls I-beams from 3 in. to 12 in,, channels from 3<br />
in. to 13 in., angles from 3x2 in. to 6x6 in., rounds from<br />
2 in. to 4J/2 in., and flats from 3x}4 in. to 22x34 in. The<br />
mill is arranged so that flats can be rolled on the universal<br />
mill, while roll changes are being made on the<br />
finishing stands.<br />
When the mill started the steam boiler equipment<br />
consisted of eight 464-hp. Stirling boilers fired with<br />
Jones underfeed stokers and two 250-hp. Van Dyke<br />
boilers hand fired. As the Van Dyke boilers were only<br />
constructed for 100 lbs. steam pressure, that was the<br />
pressure carried on all the boilers.<br />
All mill auxiliaries such as tables, shears, etc.,<br />
were driven by small steam engines.<br />
The electric power for lights and cranes was furnished<br />
by two 125-kw. and one 75-kw., 250-volt, d.c.<br />
generators driven by high speed Ideal engines.<br />
The general service water was furnished by two<br />
20x12x18 duplex steam pumps getting their water<br />
from a small stream which emptied into Lake Michigan<br />
on the present site of the Indiana Harbor ship<br />
canal.<br />
In 1905 four more 464-hp. Stirling boilers with<br />
Jones stokers were added and the two Van Dyke boilers<br />
discarded. This allowed the steam pressure to<br />
be raised to 150 lbs. gauge.<br />
During the next five-year period from 1906 to 1910<br />
the plant expanded very rapidly, the equipment added<br />
being the first 400-ton blast furnace located at Plant 2,<br />
together with the ore docks and two ore bridges, eight<br />
464-hp. Stirling blast furnace gas fired boilers, four<br />
The main open-hearth mill in operation, showing ladles located in position for tapping.<br />
vertical steam driven blowing engines and a d.c.<br />
power station containing three 550-kw., 250-volt, d.c.<br />
engine-driven generators. This power station was<br />
connected to Plant 1 by underground cables, allowing<br />
the removal of the small generating units at Plant 1 ;<br />
the 32-in. blooming mill was replaced by a 36-in. reversing<br />
blooming mill built by the United Engineering<br />
& Foundry Company. The old engine was replaced<br />
by a 50x66-in. twin simple reversing engine<br />
built by the Mesta Machine Company. The engine<br />
was connected to the mill without gear reduction ; at<br />
the same time the above changes were made on the<br />
blooming mill a 24-in. three stand three high mill was<br />
installed in line with the blooming mill to roll blooms<br />
from the blooming mill into sheet bar, slabs and billets<br />
without reheating. This mill was built by the
22<br />
TneUlasfFurnaceSSfeelPl<br />
United Engineering & Foundry Company and was<br />
driven by a 38-in. and 72x60-in. tandem compound<br />
engine built by the Mesta Machine Company. A<br />
continuous merchant mill was added consisting of<br />
six stands of 14-in. roughing rolls, two stands of 14-in.<br />
intermediate rolls and four stands of 11-in. and two<br />
stands of 8-in. rolls in the finishing train. This mill<br />
was built by the M<strong>org</strong>an Construction Company and<br />
is driven by a 32-in. and 56x60-in. tandem compound<br />
engine exhausting into a barometric condenser. The<br />
mill is served by two 12 ft. by 36 ft. 8 in. M<strong>org</strong>an continuous<br />
heating furnaces fired with producer gas furnished<br />
by four 8-ft. M<strong>org</strong>an stationary producers.<br />
No. 2 sheet mill unit was added in line with No. 1<br />
unit. The new unit consisted of eight hot mills and<br />
one jobbing mill and is driven through reduction<br />
gears by a 34 in. and 60x60-in. cross compound engine<br />
built by the Mesta Machine Company. The mills<br />
were built by the United Engineering & Foundry<br />
Company.<br />
A galvanizing and roofing department was installed<br />
equipped with eight galvanizing pots.<br />
Four additional 50-ton open hearth furnaces were<br />
installed.<br />
To furnish the general service water for the above<br />
mills a 6,000,000-gallon Heisler cross compound<br />
pumping engine was installed at the boiler house<br />
pumping station, getting its water from a well fed by<br />
a 30-in, gravity line from the Indiana ship canal.<br />
Also a new pumping station was built at the northwest<br />
end of the Plant 1 yard, which borders on the<br />
Indiana Harbor ship canal. In this station were installed<br />
two 8,000,000-gallon Nordberg cross compound<br />
pumping engines. To furnish steam for the<br />
added engines and pumps, 12 464-hp. Stirling boilers<br />
equipped with Green chain grates were installed in<br />
Plant 1 boiler house, making 22 boilers in all.<br />
In 1911 the second blast furnace was installed.<br />
Three additional blowing engines were added and" two<br />
550-kw., 250-volt, d.c. engine-driven generators, duplicates<br />
of the first three. Eight additional 464-hp. Stirling<br />
gas-fired boilers were added in the boiler house.<br />
In 1911 the bolt and rivet department was installed<br />
with four nut machines, six rivet machines and three<br />
spike machines. These machines were first equipped<br />
with oil fired furnaces, but since 1914 have used coke<br />
oven gas.<br />
In 1912 and 1913 four 50-ton open hearth furnaces<br />
were added to Plant 1, making 12 furnaces in the battery<br />
; the first battery of Koppers by-product coke<br />
ovens were installed and the 24-in. bar mill furnaces,<br />
the sheet mill annealing pits and jobbing mill furnaces,<br />
and the bolt and rivet furnaces were switched<br />
over from oil firing to coke oven gas; a new double<br />
track tunnel was constructed under the New York<br />
Central, Baltimore & Ohio and E., J. & E. rights of<br />
way, connecting Plants 1 and 2. A 90-in. three high<br />
sheared plate mill built by the United Engineering &<br />
Foundry Company was installed at Plant 1. The mill<br />
was served by three 9x35-ft. Laughlin continuous reheating<br />
furnaces fired with producer gas furnished by<br />
M<strong>org</strong>an stationary producers. It was decided to use<br />
an electric drive on this mill and to replace the old<br />
Filer & Stowell engine on No. 1 sheet mill unit with<br />
a motor. A 2,000-hp. Westinghouse 2,200-volt, 3phase,<br />
25-cycle motor was installed lo drive the plate<br />
mill, while a 1,600-hp. Westinghouse 2,200-volt, 3phase,<br />
25-cycle motor was installed to drive the sheet<br />
January, 1924<br />
mill. To furnish a.c. power for these two mill motors,<br />
Plant 1 a.c. station was installed consisting of two<br />
2,500-kva., 2,200-volt, 3-phase, 25-cycle . generators<br />
driven by Westinghouse low pressure turbines operating<br />
on the exhaust steam from the 24-in. bar mill and<br />
36-in. blooming mill engines through two Rateau regenerators.<br />
The turbines exhaust into surface condensers,<br />
which get their cooling water from two<br />
10,000 G. P. M. motor driven centrifugal pumps located<br />
in the canal pumping station.<br />
In 1914 Nos. 1 and 2 open hearth furnaces were<br />
equipped with waste heat boilers. A 400-hp. Garbe<br />
boiler was put on No. 1 furnace and a 402-hp. Heine<br />
boiler put on No. 2 furnace. During 1915 and 1916 the<br />
remaining 10 furnace were equipped with 422-hp. Babcock<br />
& Wilcox cross drum waste heat boilers. Each<br />
A glimpse through one of the boiler houses.<br />
boiler is equipped with a Foster superheater located<br />
in the waste gas flue in front of the boiler, and a<br />
Green radial flow induced draft fan driven by a Terry<br />
steam turbine through a Westinghouse reduction<br />
gear.<br />
From 1915 to 1917 extensive additions were made<br />
to the works at Plant 2. The third blast furnace was<br />
installed of 550 tons capacity. The ore dock and ore<br />
field was extended and three 6-ton Hoover & Mason<br />
ore bridges were added to the unloading equipment,<br />
making a total of five 6-ton ore bridges and two Robbins<br />
coal unloaders on the dock. The five bridges can<br />
move 1,000 tons of ore per hour from the ore boats to<br />
the stock pile, while the two Robbins coal unloaders<br />
can handle 600 tons of coal per hour from the coal<br />
belts to the belt conveyor which transports the coal<br />
to the coal field. Three additional blowing engines<br />
were installed, making a total r ^ Five of these are<br />
high pressure engines 44 in. and in., and five low<br />
pressure engines 84 in. and 84 They are piped<br />
up so that they can be operat ir as cross com-
January, 1924<br />
pound engines. All these engines exhaust into one<br />
barometric condenser. The blowing engines were<br />
built by the Allis Chalmers Company. Two enginedriven<br />
d.c. generators were installed in the d.c. station,<br />
making a total of seven 550-kw., 250-volt, d.c.<br />
generators driven by 20-in. and 42x42-in. Allis Chalmers<br />
cross compound Corliss engines. All engines<br />
exhaust into one common barometric condenser. No<br />
additional boilers were installed in the blast furnace<br />
boiler house at the time No. 3 furnace was installed,<br />
but due to the heavy load on these boilers four additional<br />
boilers were added in 1920, making a total of<br />
20 464-hp. Stirling boilers in this house. The boilers<br />
are equipped with Foster superheaters located back<br />
of the last pass, and steam is delivered at 150 lbs. pressure<br />
and 125 deg. superheat.<br />
In 1919 No. 1 blast furnace was reconstructed,<br />
making it a 500-ton furnace.<br />
In 1922 No. 2 blast furnace was relined after having<br />
made a world's record for blast furnaces on a<br />
single lining. This furnace was in operation from<br />
September 24, 1913, to March 2, 1922, and produced<br />
1,537,934 gross tons of iron.<br />
In 1915 construction was started on Plant 2 steel<br />
mills. Ten 100-ton open hearth furnaces were installed,<br />
each equipped with a 488-hp. Babcock & Wilcox<br />
cross drum waste heat boiler. Each boiler has a<br />
Foster superheater and the boilers and superheaters<br />
are designed to deliver steam at 225 lbs. pressure and<br />
200 deg. superheat. The induced draft fans are Green<br />
radial flow, driven by Terry steam turbines through<br />
Westinghouse reduction gears. In 1919 a 600-ton<br />
mixer was added to this shop. The mills consisted of<br />
a 40-in. reversing blooming mill and a 32-in. reversing<br />
break down mill and a 28-in. three stand three<br />
high structural mill.<br />
The 40-in. blooming mill was built by Mcintosh-<br />
Hemphill Company and is equipped with electric<br />
screw down and electric manipulators. The mill is<br />
served by five batteries of soaking pits, each battery<br />
with four 7 ft. 6 in. by 13 ft. pits. The pits are<br />
equipped with electric driven valve reversing and door<br />
pulling mechanisms and are fired by producer gas furnished<br />
by eight 10-ft. Hughes mechanical poked gas<br />
producers.<br />
The 32-in. reversing break down mill was built by<br />
the Mesta Machine Company. It has electrically<br />
operated screw down and manipulators. The mill is<br />
served by four 19x50-ft. Laughlin continuous reheating<br />
furnaces equipped with cast iron recuperators.<br />
The furnaces are fired with coke oven gas. The furnaces<br />
and mills are so arranged that steel coming<br />
from the 40-in. mill can be passed through the furnaces<br />
or it can be transferred by the furnaces for direct rolling<br />
without reheating.<br />
The 28-in. finishing mill was built by the M<strong>org</strong>an<br />
Engineering Company. It is equipped with traveling<br />
tilting tables.<br />
All three mills are electrically driven. The mills<br />
are so arranged that the three main drive motors are<br />
in one common motor room. The 40-in. blooming<br />
mill is driven by a 15,000-hp. reversing d.c. motor taking<br />
its power from a flywheel motor generator set,<br />
which is driven by a 3,000-hp., 2,200-volt, 25-cycle, 3phase<br />
motor. The 32-in. mill and the 28-milI are each<br />
driven by a 7,500-hp., d.c. motor, taking their power<br />
from a common flywheel motor generator set which<br />
Ihe Dlasf rrirnace^l/jfeel rlar •<br />
Inland Blast Furnace No. 2<br />
World's Record<br />
Production On Lining<br />
Blown in September 24, 1913<br />
Blown Out March 2, 1922<br />
Total Days Operated 2,925<br />
Total Iron Produced 1,537,934 Tons<br />
Average Daily Production 528.8 Tons<br />
Coke Consumed per Ton Pig 1918 Lbs.<br />
Grades of Iron Produced<br />
Basic 1,345,154 Tons<br />
Foundry 159,965 Tons<br />
Malleable 32,815 Tons<br />
Total 1,537,934 Tons<br />
Total Ore, Cinder and Scale Smelted<br />
3,037,917 Tons<br />
is driven by a 5,000-hp., 2,200-volt, 25-cycle, 3-phase,<br />
a.c. motor.<br />
To drive the mill motors and auxiliaries two 5,000kva.<br />
turbo-generators were installed equipped with<br />
surface condensers. To furnish d.c. power for lights<br />
and auxiliary motors, two 1,000-kw. motor generator<br />
sets were put in. All this power equipment was built<br />
by the Westinghouse Electric Company and it all was<br />
installed in the one motor room.<br />
The steam for this power station was furnished<br />
by the open hearth waste heat boilers and a coal fired<br />
boiler plant located in line with the motor room. In<br />
the coal fired boiler house were installed three 1,076hp.<br />
Springfield boilers, each equipped with 12-retort<br />
Taylor underfeed stokers and Foster superheaters.<br />
Like the waste heat boilers, these boilers deliver<br />
steam at 225 lbs. and 200 deg. superheat. The boilers<br />
receive 75 per cent condensate return, leaving 25 per<br />
cent raw water make up. This power station was connected<br />
up electrically on the a.c. system with Plant 1<br />
a.c. station and on the d.c. system with the d.c. station<br />
at the blast furnaces.<br />
23
24<br />
In 1921 a rail finishing mill was installed in connection<br />
with the 28-in, structural mill, also a splice<br />
bar and hot tie plate department. At Plant 1 the 90in.<br />
sheared plate mill was changed to a 100-in. sheared<br />
plate mill and an additional stand of rolls with tilting<br />
tables was added, making it a tandem mill. The added<br />
stand, which handles the finishing passes, is driven<br />
through a rope drive by a 3,000-hp., 2,200-volt motor.<br />
To reheat the slabs for the tandem mill two Laughlin<br />
continuous reheating furnaces were added, making a<br />
total of five furnaces for the tandem mill. These furnaces<br />
are fired with pulverized coal.<br />
To furnish the additional a.c. power needed, a<br />
12,500-kva. Westinghouse turbo-generator was added<br />
to Plant 2 power station. For additional a.c. power,<br />
one 1,000-kw. mg. set was installed at Plant 2 motor<br />
room and two 1,000-kw. mg. sets at Plant 1 d.c.<br />
substation.<br />
At the Plant 2 steel mill boiler house, three 1,076hp.<br />
Springfield boilers were added, making six 1,076hp.<br />
boilers in this house. One of the new boilers was<br />
equipped with a 12-retort Taylor stoker the same as<br />
the original three, while the other two boilers were<br />
equipped with Coxe forced blast chain grates for burning<br />
braize.<br />
The pulverized coal preparation plant for the tandem<br />
plate mill furnaces is located in an extension to<br />
the Plant 1 boiler house building. The raw coal is<br />
dumped from the cars into a 500-ton storage bin under<br />
an extension to the boiler house high line. From the<br />
raw coal storage bin the coal is drawn into a 30-in.<br />
belt conveyor, located in a tunnel under the preparation<br />
plant floor, which delivers the raw coal to a 50ton<br />
bucket elevator which elevates the coal to the<br />
overhead crusher room. From the discharge of the<br />
elevator the coal passes through a 30-in. Jeffrey single<br />
roll crusher which crushes it to %-in. size. From the<br />
crusher the coal is carried by a short belt conveyor<br />
Die Blast FurnaceSSfeel Jf-<br />
January, 1924<br />
over a magnetic pulley for removing tramp iron and<br />
falls into two 65-ton crushed coal storage bins located<br />
over the inlet ends of two 15-ton Ruggles Coles hand<br />
fired rotary dryers. The coal is fed from the storage<br />
bins into the dryers by adjustable speed screw feeders.<br />
From the dryers the coal is dropped into a bucket<br />
elevator which delivers it to an overhead screw conveyor<br />
which in turn delivers it to four 3-ton dried<br />
coal feeder bins, located over four 5-roller Raymond<br />
pulverizers. From the pulverizers the coal is delivered<br />
by the air separators to two 5-ton pulverized<br />
coal storage bins located above the two 5-ton blow<br />
tanks which rest on platform scales, enabling the<br />
operators to weigh all coal pulverized and delivered<br />
to the furnaces. The Quigley transport system is<br />
used by which the pulverized coal is delivered with<br />
compressed air from the blow tanks to five 25-ton<br />
storage tanks located in front of the five continuous<br />
reheating furnaces at the plate mill. The coal is<br />
transported for a distance of approximately 600 ft.<br />
through a 4-in. pipe.<br />
When the Plant 2 steel mills were installed, a new<br />
central pumping station was erected at the southeast<br />
corner of Plant 2. This station takes its water direct<br />
from Lake Michigan through an open sheeted flume<br />
15 ft. wide. The water flows into this flume from the<br />
lake through 191 ft. 8 in. of loose stone filled pier<br />
with removable screens on the flume side of the pier.<br />
This method of construction was used to eliminate<br />
trouble from fish and needle ice, and so far it has<br />
been entirely successful. The flume leads from the<br />
intake into the pumping station and through the center<br />
of the building. The pumps are all motor driven<br />
centrifugal and are set in a line on both sides of the<br />
building, taking their suction direct from the flume.<br />
In this station are general service pumps having a<br />
total pumping capacity of 92,600.000 gallons of water.<br />
(To be continued)<br />
A view of one of the eight II. K. Porter industrial locomotives in service tit Indiana Harbor. This is a four-wheel connected<br />
saddle tank machine, weighing 98,000 lbs, cylinders 16 in. x 24 in., built S6 1 -; in. gauge on 46 in. drivers; operating boiler pressure<br />
175 lbs., 19,900 lbs. tractive force; designed for special low head room 11 ft. 0 in. Transportation assumes railroad<br />
operating properties in a steel plant moving a million tons of coke and coal, over a half million tons of iron and over a million<br />
tons of ingots and finished steel per year. Twenty-eight locomotives arc constantly employed, and are maintained in<br />
good condition at the adequate shop repair and machine shops of the plant.
January, 1924<br />
Hie Blast FurnaceSS.eel Pk<br />
GIRRENTTECHNICAL DIGEST<br />
Developments in the Electrical Industr<br />
During 1923<br />
A Digest of General Electric Company Accomplishments<br />
Important to the Steel Industry<br />
T H R O U G H O U T the electrical industry the year<br />
1923 was characterized by a record volume of<br />
production in practically all classes of apparatus,<br />
exceeding in many cases the maxima of war time<br />
output. The demand for electrical apparatus showed<br />
seasonal irregularities, but manufacture proceeded<br />
almost uniformly at a high rate.<br />
High pressure production is not unusually conducive<br />
to radical changes in design and a considerable<br />
proportion of the improvements made were along<br />
conventional lines. There were, however, a number<br />
of distinctly new developments which represented advances<br />
in the art, some of which were fully commercialized,<br />
while others were still being subjected to experimental<br />
test at the close of the year.<br />
The recent tendency toward increased unit capacity<br />
continued in evidence. The 62,500-kva. turbinegenerator,<br />
the first of the two 65,000-kva. waterwheel<br />
generators, and a synchronous converter of record<br />
size were completed, while various types of transformers<br />
exceeded the record unit ratings of previous<br />
years.<br />
In transportation, electric propulsion was for the<br />
first time applied to large cargo craft for canal service<br />
and improvements were made in auxiliary ship<br />
equipment. The more important railway developments<br />
occurred in foreign countries as in the preceding<br />
year, and the high voltage d.c. system was utilized<br />
to a large extent for main line steam railway<br />
electrification. In street railway service there was a<br />
further adoption of the economical light weight<br />
double truck car.<br />
The use of automatic stations was extended to new<br />
industrial fields and initial foreign installations were<br />
made. Few radical changes occurred in either the<br />
design or construction of the equipments, but the<br />
number installed and their unit capacity were greatly<br />
increased.<br />
Higher efficiencies were achieved in the design of<br />
several types of industrial motors as compared with<br />
previous practice and corresponding advances were<br />
made in the control apparatus to be used with them.<br />
The vast number of motor applications in modern in-<br />
*Gcneral Electric Company.<br />
By JOHN LISTON*<br />
dustrial plants renders every detail improvement secured<br />
in the operation of individual motors of great<br />
potential economic value when considered in the<br />
aggregate.<br />
As in previous reviews, the electrical apparatus<br />
referred to are products of the General Electric Company,<br />
but reference to their development serves as indication<br />
of the tendencies in design and construction<br />
as well as the general trend of progress in the electrical<br />
manufacturing industry as a whole.<br />
Turbines.<br />
Developments during the year on large turbines<br />
consisted of refinement in mechanical details without<br />
radical changes in construction. The outstanding<br />
features were the production of turbines for high<br />
steam conditions and the production of turbines in<br />
unprecedented volume.<br />
Shipments for 1923, exclusive of turbines for mechanical<br />
drive and ship propulsion, had a total capacity<br />
of approximately 1,660,000 kw. This was an increase<br />
of 85 per cent over the average for the preceding<br />
five years and an increase of 32 per cent over the<br />
maximum war time production in 1917.<br />
The first of the 35,000-kw. turbines designed for<br />
550-lb. pressure and 750 deg. F. total steam temperature<br />
was completed and shipped, while four of the<br />
same capacity and one 60,000-kw. compound unit to<br />
operate under similar steam conditions were under<br />
construction. It is confidently expected that the installation<br />
of these units will result in a substantial reduction<br />
in operating costs as compared with previous<br />
practice.<br />
The solution of the problem of lower operating<br />
costs is being approached in two other ways. The<br />
first commercial equipment, which includes a mercury<br />
boiler and turbine exhausting into a condenser boiler<br />
which in turn generates steam for an existing steam<br />
turbine station, was put in service in the fall of 1923.<br />
The results which have been obtained confirm experimental<br />
tests and there is every reason to believe<br />
that this development will be of great value in reconstructing<br />
many existing stations.<br />
In addition to this there were under construction<br />
one 2,600-kw. and one 4,000-kw. turbine designed for a<br />
25
26<br />
steam pressure of 1,000 to 1,200 pounds and to exhaust<br />
into headers supplying other turbines at from 250 to<br />
350 pounds. These machines are an entirely new departure<br />
and involve special boiler equipment. The turbines,<br />
however, are simple in design and present no<br />
obstacles to the ultimate success of the system<br />
adopted.<br />
Electric Propulsion.<br />
Diesel-electric propelling equipments were adopted<br />
for two ships of a new type, built for refrigerating<br />
cargo service on the Great Lakes and New York State<br />
canal system and for coastwise trade to the West<br />
Indies during the winter. The first of these ships, the<br />
"Twin Ports." 258 ft. overall and 42 ft. beam with a<br />
full load draft of 13 ft. and a cargo capacity of 2,600<br />
tons, started commercial operation in September.<br />
The electrical equipment comprises two 250-kw.,<br />
230-volt, 260-rpm. d.c. generators direct driven by two<br />
Diesel engines and two 250-hp. motors direct connected<br />
to twin propeller shafts which give a speed of<br />
13 miles per hour at full motor load.<br />
Electric Railways.<br />
As in the preceding year the more important additions<br />
to main line electrification occurred in foreign<br />
countries and it is noteworthy that in a majority of<br />
cases the 3,000-volt d.c. system was adopted.<br />
Progress included the initial operation of 3,000volt<br />
equipment on the Spanish Northern Railway in<br />
Spain, six locomotives having been made ready for<br />
service during the latter part of the year. Two substations<br />
were also completed for supplying 3,000 volts<br />
direct current for operation of this line.<br />
Ten 150-ton, 3,000-volt locomotives for the Mexican<br />
Railway Company, Ltd., were completed and<br />
tested together with substation equipment which will<br />
be ready for operation by the time the first locomotives<br />
are placed in service.<br />
In connection with the extensive electrification<br />
program being put through by the Japanese Imperial<br />
Government Railways, two locomotives weighing 66<br />
tons each were placed in service.<br />
Rapid progress was made on the manufacture of<br />
equipment for the Paris-Orleans Railways in France.<br />
The 120-ton, 1,500-volt high speed passenger locomotive<br />
was completed and tested and gave every indication<br />
of exceeding without difficulty all of the requirements<br />
for which it was designed. Speeds of more<br />
than 81 miles an hour, for which this locomotive was<br />
guaranteed, were made, and its riding qualities at<br />
high speeds surpass those of any electric locomotive<br />
ever built.<br />
Automatic Railway Substations.<br />
The automatic railway substation continued to be<br />
popular with electric railways both in this country and<br />
abroad, as was evidenced by a growing tendency to<br />
make electric railway systems completely automatic<br />
by installing automatic control for all substation units.<br />
At the close of the year there were 70 railroad companies<br />
using G-E automatic substations with 225<br />
equipments aggregating more than 170,000 kw. in<br />
capacity either in service or under construction. There<br />
were 13 stations of 4,000-kw. capacity and above.<br />
The development of water power sources received<br />
more attention than ever before because of the high<br />
cost of fuel and labor and the need of additional<br />
sources of power to meet the needs of electrical ex<br />
HioDlasfFurnaceSS.eolPlar-'<br />
January, 1924<br />
pansion. Before the advent of the automatic station<br />
it was usually uneconomical to develop the water<br />
power sites of small capacity because of operating<br />
costs, but these small sites are coming rapidly into<br />
prominence, and automatic hydro-electric stations<br />
are now operating or being installed in nearly every<br />
state in the Union.<br />
The largest single unit automatic hydro-electric<br />
station in the world is being installed by the Adirondack<br />
Power & Light Corporation for their Sprite<br />
Creek development near Little Falls, N. Y. It is rated<br />
7,500 kva., 6,000 volt, 3 phase, 60 cycle, the largest<br />
previous equipment of this kind being of 5,000 kva.<br />
capacity.<br />
The use of automatic substations in mining service<br />
was very decidedly increased and has fulfilled a real<br />
need in this particular field, where trained operators<br />
are scarce and many comparatively small installations<br />
are required to meet operating conditions, and where<br />
the power output must be reliable.<br />
Waterwheel Generators.<br />
The first of the two 65,000-kva., 12,000-volt, 25cycle,<br />
107-rpm. whaterwheel generators for the Niagara<br />
Falls Power Company was completed and shipped<br />
in sections to the power site for assembly. It is<br />
the largest machine of its type, both in capacity and<br />
physical dimensions, so far constructed.<br />
Frequency Converters.<br />
A frequency converter of exceptional capacity and<br />
unusual characteristics was constructed for tying together<br />
the 25 and 60-cycle systems of the United Electric<br />
Light & Power and the New York Edison Companies.<br />
The induction type unit will supply 150,000 kva.<br />
to the 60-cycle system with a short circuit on the 60cycle<br />
bus and with 25-cycle bus voltage maintained.<br />
In the reverse direction, it will supply 191,000 kva. to<br />
the 25-cycle system with 60-cycle bus voltage maintained.<br />
The induction unit will be excited from the<br />
25-cycle synchronous generator and the set is designed<br />
for unity power factor, input and output in<br />
either direction at full load.<br />
The kw. capacity of the set is nearly three times<br />
that of the largest frequency converter previously<br />
built, and marks a new epoch in the construction of<br />
horizontal shaft a.c. machines.<br />
Industrial Motors.<br />
The single-phase motor is an important factor in<br />
many industrial applications, but early designs had<br />
certain electrical and mechanical characteristics which<br />
tended to limit the field of its practical utility. A new<br />
type single phase motor which operates on the squirrel<br />
cage induction principle was developed which eliminates<br />
entirely the short circuiting switches heretofore<br />
considered essential and permits the simplest possible<br />
construction.<br />
A complete new line of 40-deg. continuous duty<br />
riveted frame polyphase motors, in sizes up to 15 hp.,<br />
was designed with numerous improved electrical and<br />
mechanical characteristics as compared with previous<br />
construction for this class of motor.<br />
During the year considerable work was done<br />
towards standardizing the bores of small high speed<br />
motors used generally by the wood working trade.<br />
Through the efforts of several of the electrical companies,<br />
most of the tool manufacturers are now using
January, 1924<br />
a definite bore for these shaftless motors. Before this<br />
standardization, there were a great many different<br />
bore dimensions for the same frame, which was decidedly<br />
objectionable from a manufacturing standpoint.<br />
Mast FurnaceSSU PI<br />
Industrial Motor Control.<br />
A number of improvements were made in the apparatus<br />
designed for the control of industrial motors<br />
which, despite the relatively small size of the individual<br />
controller, are of great economic value due<br />
to the vast extent of the field of present day industrial<br />
motor application.<br />
Among the more important of the new designs is<br />
a starting switch for 3-phase motors, size up to 7y2<br />
hp., 440 and 550 volts, which is of the positive quickmake<br />
and quick-break tumbler type, totally enclosed<br />
with the operating handle on the front and a locking<br />
plate on the side so that it may be locked to prevent<br />
either the opening of the box, the enclosing of the<br />
switch, or both.<br />
An ingenious design of a magnetic switch provided<br />
with a thermal overload relay, was developed to meet<br />
the demand for starters of compact construction and<br />
for mounting in the frames of machines. It is suitable<br />
for motors up to 10 hp., 550 volts, 25 to 120 cycles,<br />
and the units can easily be arranged on panels so as to<br />
insure complete control at any point desired of machines<br />
driven by two or more motors of either the<br />
same or different ratings.<br />
Motor Applications.<br />
To meet the requirements of the Russian government<br />
in regard to electrical equipment for oil well<br />
drilling, two totally enclosed induction motors were<br />
developed, rated 75 hp. and 50 hp., 750 rpm., with a<br />
temperature rise of 45 deg. C. These motors are<br />
unique in that they are the largest totally enclosed,<br />
self ventilated motors yet manufactured, previous designs<br />
in these sizes having employed water as a cooling<br />
agent.<br />
The H. C. Frick Coke Company is installing a belt<br />
conveyor approximately five miles long for transporting<br />
coal from the mine workings to the shipping station.<br />
It consists of 20 sections, each driven by an<br />
induction motor. The motors vary in size from 50 to<br />
175 hp. and are all of the wound rotor type. Solenoid<br />
brakes are provided for stopping and holding the conveyor<br />
belts when power is cut off from the motors<br />
and the control is so arranged that the motors start<br />
in sequence beginning at the delivery end. As each<br />
motor reaches full speed, it energizes the starting circuit<br />
of the next succeeding motor. If any motor stops,<br />
it automatically stops all the motors preceding it in<br />
the conveyor system, but allows those following it to<br />
run and clear the belts of coal.<br />
Electrical equipment was provided in 1923 for two<br />
d.c. coal tower hoists for the new Hudson Avenue Station<br />
of the Brooklyn Edison Company to give a hoisting<br />
rope speed of 1,460 ft. per minute, and a lowering<br />
rope speed of 1,680 ft. per minute, on the 200-ft. lift<br />
and to give a guaranteed delivery of 250 tons per hour,<br />
using a 2.5-ton grab. The hoist motor is rated 625<br />
hp., is direct connected to the hoisting drums, and<br />
takes its power from a 575-kw. motor generator set<br />
mounted on the tower and driven by a 700-hp., 2,300volt,<br />
3-phase, 60-cycle induction motor.<br />
Steel Mills.<br />
There was added to the existing main roll drives,<br />
300 hp. and over, 44,100 hp. (normal continuous rating),<br />
bringing the total to 612,110 hp. The tendency^<br />
towards the use of high speed motors with reduction'<br />
gears, which has been quite marked for the last few<br />
years, continued to gain headway, and over 90 per<br />
cent of the new motors were for geared drive.<br />
One of the most important developments of the<br />
year was the building of a.c. brush-shifting motors<br />
with shunt characteristics. Two machines of this<br />
type, which gives adjustable-speed without auxiliary<br />
apparatus, were under construction for the Halcomb<br />
Steel Company, Syracuse, N. Y., for driving merchant<br />
mills, and are rated 600-400-200 hp., 321-214-107 rpm.,<br />
440-volt, 25-cycle and 500-385-250 hp., 130-100-65<br />
rpm., for the same power supply. There has long existed<br />
a need for an adjustable speed a.c. motor that<br />
was simple and did not require a large amount of auxiliary<br />
equipment, and whose speed would be practically<br />
independent of its load. This machine is the first<br />
practical piece of apparatus to meet these requirements.<br />
Induction Furnaces.<br />
The new type of induction furnace, which utilizes<br />
the force of electro-magnetic repulsion existing between<br />
transformer primary and secondary windings,<br />
to cause a circulation of molten metal between the<br />
heating circuit and the melting pot, was operated only<br />
experimentally during 1922.<br />
Fifteen 75-kw., 1,200-lb. induction furnaces were<br />
placed in commercial operation for melting non-ferrous<br />
metals in 1923, and a number of additional units<br />
were under construction.<br />
A notable accomplishment of the repulsion-induction<br />
furnace was the successful melting of pure copper<br />
on a commercial basis.<br />
Industrial Heating.<br />
The electric furnace was for the first time successfully<br />
used for the bright annealing of copper wire.<br />
Another special furnace was developed for annealing<br />
steel punchings used for field and armature laminations.<br />
It is built 6 ft. above the floor on a structural<br />
steel support and the laminations are placed on<br />
a car which is rolled under the furnace and raised into<br />
the heating chamber on a hydraulic platform. Around<br />
the edge of the car is a sand seal which makes the furnace<br />
air tight when the car is in place.<br />
Transformers.<br />
The recent tendency to concentrate the transformation<br />
of electrical energy in units of increasing capacity<br />
was evidenced by the construction of a large number<br />
of transformers of record size. A notable event of the<br />
year was the placing in service of the 220,000-volt<br />
units at Power House No. 8 of the Southern California<br />
Edison Company's system, from which approximately<br />
20,000 kw. was initially transmitted to Eagle<br />
Rock substation near Los Angeles.<br />
There were under construction two self-cooled,<br />
three-phase, 60-cycle units which will transform<br />
15,000 kva. as auto-transformers from 72,000 volt Y<br />
to 132,000 volt Y with solidly grounded neutral. Both<br />
of these windings will have taps. They will also<br />
transform 15,000 kva. from either of the high voltage<br />
windings to 12,470 volts and simultaneous operation<br />
on all three windings is possible. These transformers<br />
are larger in physical dimensions and in kva. rating<br />
than any self-cooled transformers heretofore built,<br />
the largest previous rating being 12,000 kva.<br />
27
28<br />
Seven 60-cycle, 10,417-kva., single-phase, selfcooled<br />
auto-transformers of unusual construction were<br />
built for the Brooklyn Edison Company. They step<br />
up the generator voltage from 13,800 volts to 27,600<br />
volts and have a normal rating of 10,417 kva., but<br />
since they are auto-transformers of a 1 to 2 ratio, each<br />
will transform a total of 20,834 kva., so that the total<br />
output of a bank of three units will be 62,502 kva. This<br />
is probably the largest amount of energy transformed<br />
by a single bank of self-cooled transformers.<br />
The maximum capacity for single-phase, watercooled<br />
transformers was increased by the construction<br />
of 10 units, rated 22,000 kva., 39,500-68,500-2,300<br />
volts, 25 cycles for the Niagara Falls Power Company.<br />
A three-phase air blast transformer exceeding all<br />
previous units in both capacity and physical dimensions<br />
was built for the New York Edison Company.<br />
It is rated at 17,100 kva., 11,800-2,950 volts, 25 cycles.<br />
There was further demonstration of the value of<br />
concentric circular windings for extra high-voltage<br />
transformation. The marked advantages of this type<br />
over the oil interleaved (sandwich) type had been<br />
brought out in studies of impressed high-voltage<br />
transients on commercial transformers, this work<br />
being carried on in the high-voltage laboratory. The<br />
unique equipment of this laboratory has placed highvoltage<br />
transformer design on a scientific basis heretofore<br />
unattainable and has made possible the absolute<br />
checking of calculated phenomena. The same<br />
studies also advanced the use of the "built in" protective<br />
devices.<br />
An unusual arrangement of instrument transformers<br />
was provided for metering energy on the high<br />
potential side of substations on the Paris-Orleans<br />
Railway. Four 60,000-volt transformers each have<br />
three current and two potential transformers, while<br />
two 90,000-volt units have three each of current and<br />
potential transformers mounted in a single tank with<br />
three high-voltage leads.<br />
The 90,000-volt arrangement is unique in that the<br />
three current transformers are located inside the<br />
porcelain bushings, whose headers also serve as oil<br />
conservators.<br />
The average unit size of self-cooled transformers<br />
continued to increase, but due to specific conditions<br />
the average for all types was somewhat reduced as<br />
compared with 1922. Table A shows the average rating<br />
for the past five years:<br />
TABLE A<br />
AVERAGE UNIT SIZE OF POWER TRANSFORMERS<br />
IN KVA.<br />
Year Self-Cooled Water Cooled All Types<br />
1919 1175 4325 2150<br />
1920 1325 3175 2175<br />
1921 1575 4150 2750<br />
1922 1700 6000 3750<br />
1923 2350 5125 3220<br />
At the close of the year there had been completed<br />
or were under construction a total of more than 180<br />
units of 10,000 kva. or above.<br />
Induction Voltage Regulators.<br />
A new design single-phase induction voltage regulator<br />
was developed, which embodies a number of improvements<br />
as compared with previous types. In addition<br />
to improving the voltage regulation by a more<br />
rapid correction of voltage changes, it utilizes a tank<br />
which is highly resistant to rupture as a result of ex<br />
Die Blast Fii<br />
lrnace O Steel W-<br />
January, 1924<br />
plosions, and a rigid internal mechanical structure to<br />
minimize noise during operation. An improved<br />
method of bracing the coils prevents insulation<br />
troubles due to line short circuits.<br />
Lightning Generator.<br />
The lightning generator installed in the High Voltage<br />
Laboratory of the Pittsfield Works will produce<br />
voltages of approximately 2,000,000 above ground.<br />
This is perhaps higher than lightning voltages that<br />
are usually produced on transmission lines. These<br />
voltages are of a known wave shape and duration.<br />
The wave front is under control and may be made<br />
so steep that the voltage starting at line voltage may<br />
be made to increase at the rate of 50 million million<br />
volts per second. The rate that energy is dissipated in<br />
the arc is generally of the order of millions of horsepower.<br />
The duration of such discharges is conveniently<br />
measured in micro-seconds (millionths of<br />
seconds).<br />
Conductor Cable.<br />
As the result of exhaustive research work, the<br />
manufacture of 66,000-volt single conductor cable was<br />
for the first time placed on a commercial basis.<br />
The cable produced was for the Cleveland Electric<br />
Illuminating Company and can transmit upwards of<br />
33,000 kw. "at 66,000 volts. It is slightly over three<br />
inches in diameter and requires 125,000 volts to<br />
puncture.<br />
The previous maximum potential for conductor<br />
cable in the United States was 44,000 volts; cable of<br />
this rating being utilized for the underground circuits<br />
of the New York Edison Company.<br />
High Voltage D.C. Current Cable Testing Sets.<br />
The purpose of d.c. testing sets is to permit power<br />
companies to make satisfactory periodic test of underground<br />
cables, to determine the condition of insulation<br />
between conductor and ground and to locate cable<br />
faults and measurements of insulation resistance.<br />
Three types of equipment were developed and standardized<br />
for this service.<br />
For station use, to be considered as a stationary<br />
outfit, a four Kenotron 200,000-volt set was designed.<br />
each Kenotron being capable of rectifying 250 amperes<br />
d.c.<br />
For cable testing this set is used in the following<br />
manner: During one-half cycle the current flows<br />
through two Kenotrons in series and charges one conductor,<br />
during the other one-half cycle current flows<br />
through the other two Kenotrons and charges the<br />
other conductor with the reversed polarity, so that the<br />
voltage between the conductors will be twice the<br />
crest value of the transformer voltage. The voltage<br />
across the two Kenotrons in series on the reverse wave<br />
will be the transformer voltage plus the voltage from<br />
the conductor to ground, which will be a maximum of<br />
200,000 volts.<br />
The d.c. voltage is measured by special meters<br />
which measure the crest value of the voltage wave<br />
obtained from the voltmeter coil. Two meters are<br />
used, each meter reading the voltage from conductor<br />
to ground and the voltage between conductors is the<br />
sum of the two readings of the voltmeters. The current<br />
supplied to the cable is measured by two ammeters<br />
connected between the ground and the transformer<br />
winding. In series with each meter is a tungar<br />
rectifier which divides the current so that one-half<br />
(Continued on page 57)
J"-""* 1924 It Blast Furnocc-SSloo! PL- '.<br />
Engineering Achievements<br />
Westinghouse Developments of Interest to the Steel Industry<br />
During the Year 1923<br />
T H E R E have been presented to the world in the<br />
past year, by the Engineering Staff of the Westinghouse<br />
Electric & Manufacturing Company, developments<br />
and achievements in the electrical art,<br />
which not only compare favorably with those of former<br />
years, but are of a character that will wield a lasting<br />
influence on the world's progress.<br />
The need for better transportation facilities<br />
throughout the world, and especially in the United<br />
States, has been provided for in part by development<br />
and construction work which has been in progress<br />
throughout the year, the completion of one important<br />
foreign steam railroad electrification, and extensive<br />
additions to electrifications in the United States.<br />
The year 1923 has witnessed the beginning of the<br />
engineering and construction on one of the world's<br />
most gigantic steam railroad electrifications, namely,<br />
that of the Virginian Railway, from Mullens, W. Va.,<br />
to Roanoke, Virginia.<br />
Each year witnesses the extension of the useful<br />
field of electricity, not only to new kinds of work<br />
which it can better perform, but to its more general<br />
use in proven fields. The growing demand for electrical<br />
equipment for transportation, industry, agriculture<br />
and the home necessarily increases the requirements<br />
in the field of generation, transmission and distribution<br />
to meet the increasing power demands.<br />
The construction of new generating stations employing<br />
units of tremendous capacity and the extension<br />
of other stations to provide greater output have<br />
taken place during the year. The consolidation of<br />
systems, forming great networks, insuring even<br />
greater reliability in energy supply by interchange of<br />
power has continued.<br />
The marvelous broadening of the useful field of<br />
radio in intellegience transmission continues with<br />
rapid strides. This new system of disseminating information<br />
by broadcasting concerts, lectures, sporting<br />
news, market quotations, etc.. has come to be one<br />
of the nation's established activities.<br />
Generation, Transmission and Distribution<br />
of Power.<br />
The art of design and construction of electrical<br />
equipment for the generation, transmission and distribution<br />
of power in the great systems of today has<br />
kept abreast of the growth in size of these systems.<br />
Each year brings with it the phenomenal growth of<br />
these power systems and attendant problems to be<br />
solved.<br />
Turbine-Generators.<br />
The size of generating units continues to increase<br />
year by year. It is worthy of note that a 62,500 kva.<br />
steam turbine generator, the largest single unit of<br />
this type in all the world, is being installed. A 43,750<br />
kva., 1800 rpm. machine under construction is the<br />
•Assistant Director of Engineering, Westinghouse Electric<br />
& Mfg. Company.<br />
By H. W. COPE*<br />
largest steam turbine generator of this speed ever<br />
built. There is also under construction a 62,500 kva.<br />
cross compound unit, consisting of one 25,000 kva.<br />
generator and one 37,500 kva. generator.<br />
At this time a 62,500 kva. cross compound unit<br />
consisting of two 31,250 kva. generators is being built.<br />
In connection with both of these cross compound units<br />
and other large single generator units there has been<br />
developed direct-connected 1800 rpm. a.c. generators<br />
for direct connection to the main turbine, constituting<br />
an independent source of power for electrically driven<br />
auxiliaries. This is a new development in power station<br />
design, these direct-connected a.c. generators replacing<br />
separate turbine generator units.<br />
During 1922 there were placed in service 32 turbine<br />
generator units varying in size from 3,750 kva. to<br />
43,750 kva., totalling 427,150 kva. For the first 10<br />
months of 1923 contracts have been received and the<br />
company now has in process of construction and installation<br />
82 units (3,750 kva. and larger) totalling<br />
1,644,235 kva. The number of large units that will<br />
be placed in service in 1923 and 1924 will exceed all<br />
previous records of the company.<br />
The first multipath ventilated 30,000 kva. single<br />
cylinder turbine generator unit was put into operation<br />
during the year.<br />
Water Wheel Generators.<br />
The hydro-electric generating station occupies a<br />
very advantageous position in the production of electric<br />
energy at low cost. This year has witnessed<br />
the beginning of operation of Big Creek No. 3 Station<br />
of the Southern California Edison Company, containing<br />
three (3) 28,000 kva. 428 rpm., 50 cycle vertical<br />
generators. This installation is notable in that these<br />
are the largest generators built for such a high speed<br />
and are now operating with gratifying success. These<br />
machines are also designed for 60 cycle operation at<br />
514 rpm. which is exceptionally high speed for a machine<br />
of this capacity. At the guaranteed 85 per cent<br />
over speed the peripheral speed of the rotor is five<br />
miles per minute. This is the largest hydraulic generating<br />
station west of the Mississippi River. Other<br />
orders of special interest are:<br />
Two 15,000 kva. 95 rpm. generators.<br />
Two 12,000 kva. 133 rpm. generators.<br />
Four 4,500 kva. 100 rpm. generators.<br />
Three 6,660 kva. 500 rpm. generators.<br />
Two 6,250 kva. 300 rpm. generators.<br />
Two 10,000 kva. 200 rpm. generators.<br />
Frequency Changers.<br />
There has recently been installed the world's largest<br />
frequency changer. Its rating is 35,000 kw., generator<br />
output, at 100 per cent factor. The set is driven<br />
by a 47,800 hp. motor which receives its power from<br />
a 13,800-volt, 3-phase, 60-cycle supply. The length of<br />
the set is 47 l /2 feet, the width 20j^ feet and the frame<br />
diameter of the largest unit is 18 1-3 feet. The set
30<br />
weighs 440 tons and both units are totally enclosed.<br />
Other orders of interest are:<br />
Three 7,500 kva. 600 rpm. set.<br />
Two 5,000 kva. 750 rpm. sets.<br />
One 15,000 kva. 300 rpm. set.<br />
One 7,500 kva. single phase set.<br />
During the year the company has completed the<br />
development and installation of a number of devices<br />
for shifting the stators of machines used as parts of<br />
frequency changer sets. Its use makes it possible to<br />
shift the phase angle in such a manner that an unloaded<br />
set may be synchronized exactly with the line and<br />
also to control the load division between sets operating<br />
in parallel.<br />
Synchronous Condensers.<br />
Synchronous condensers for voltage control at the<br />
receiving end of long high voltage transmission lines<br />
and for power factor correction are in demand by the<br />
power companies as evidenced from the following recent<br />
installations or construction in progress:<br />
Three 30,000 kva. 600 rpm. synchronous condensers.<br />
One 10,000 kva. 600 rpm. synchronous condenser.<br />
Three 5,000 kva. 750 rpm. sychronous condensers.<br />
Two 5,000 kva. 720 rpm. synchronous condensers.<br />
One 15,000 kva. 450 rpm. synchronous condenser.<br />
One 10,000 kva. 720 rpm. synchronous condenser.<br />
One 10,000 kva. 720 rpm. synchronous condenser.<br />
Two 5,000 kva. 720 rpm. synchronous condensers.<br />
One 12,500 kva. 720 rpm. synchronous condenser.<br />
Two 10,000 kva. 720 rpm. synchronous condensers.<br />
One 15,000 kva. 600 rpm. synchronous condenser.<br />
One 10,000 kva. 720 rpm. synchronous condenser.<br />
One 15,000 kva. 600 rpm. synchronous condenser.<br />
One 7,500 kva. 720 rpm. synchronous condenser.<br />
One 12,500 kva. 720 rpm. synchronous condenser.<br />
Two 7,500 kva. 720 rpm. synchronous condensers.<br />
Synchronous Converters.<br />
An important improvement has been made in the<br />
design of large 60-cycle booster synchronous converter<br />
used in lighting service by introducing the use of<br />
high reluctant poles. These were first used on high<br />
voltage converters for railway service. During abnormal<br />
conditions involving reverse current, commutation<br />
is improved.<br />
Synchronous Motors.<br />
A new type of damper winding for high speed<br />
synchronous motors, condensers and generators has<br />
been developed which, in addition to simplifying the<br />
construction makes the machine capable of success<br />
ThoBlasihirnaeeSSfeolP',"<br />
January, 1924<br />
fully withstanding much higher over-speeds than<br />
formerly.<br />
Three high speed 650 hp. 3600 rpm. synchronous<br />
motors for driving multiple stage steam turbine type<br />
air compressors have been built. A 1700 hp. 1500 rpm.<br />
synchronous motor has also been built.<br />
The use of motor driven gas compressors has been<br />
extended through the development of an enclosed<br />
type of collector to prevent the possibility of sparking<br />
at the brushes igniting the gas. This has been accomplished<br />
by totally enclosing the rings in a sheet steel<br />
drum through which air is forced by means of a separate<br />
motor driven blower.<br />
Motor Generator Sets.<br />
A large number of motor generator sets of various<br />
types have been constructed during the year.<br />
One of the unusual designs executed is that of a<br />
very high frequency single phase motor driven generator<br />
for supplying power to an induction furnace<br />
producing special steel alloy. This generator has a<br />
rating of 100 kw. 5000 to 7000 cycles and 125 to 250<br />
volts. It is driven by a d.c. motor connected through<br />
high speed gearing. The design of this generator was<br />
difficult due to very high frequency and high speed.<br />
As an indication of the nature of the problems met in<br />
this design, it was necessary to take into account in<br />
the magnetic calculations the decrease in the size of<br />
the air gap caused by the increase in diameter of the<br />
rotating parts resulting from rotational forces.<br />
Automatic Control of Generating and<br />
Substations.<br />
The extension of automatic control of generating<br />
and substations is continuing at a rapid rate. New<br />
features have been added to this equipment which<br />
broaden its field of application and make for even<br />
greater reliability.<br />
There is under construction now the largest single<br />
automatically controlled converting unit built to date<br />
consisting of a 3,750 kw. three-machine, automatically<br />
controlled, motor generator set.<br />
Complete automatic and supervisory control equipment<br />
for two 4000 kva. water wheel driven generators<br />
is under construction. This will be the largest automatically<br />
controlled generating station in existence.<br />
There are in operation in St. Louis two 1800 kw.<br />
automatically controlled synchronous motor generators.<br />
The application of automatic substation control<br />
to large areas of large cities is continuing with<br />
remarkable success.<br />
Automatic substations for coal mines and industrial<br />
plants have been installed in great numbers.<br />
One of the largest installations of automatic control<br />
is now being executed in Japan. A 4000 kw. 1500<br />
d.c. automatic substation consisting of the automatic<br />
control of two 2000 kw. synchronous converter sets<br />
and transformers for the Imperial Government Railways<br />
of Japan is being installed.<br />
One of the outstanding achievements of the year<br />
is thr»t of developing electro-pneumatic switching<br />
equipment for automatic switching service in railway<br />
substations. The electro-pneumatic type of switch<br />
has contributed to the great success of Westinghouse<br />
multiple unit railway control. Simplified control circuits,<br />
greater interchangeability of parts and reduced<br />
space requirements result from the use of this type of<br />
equipment.
J anuar ^' 1924 The Bias! FurnacoSStee! VW'<br />
Supervisory Control.<br />
By taking advantage of the wonderful development<br />
in machine telephone switching, the Westinghouse<br />
Company has perfected application of the principles<br />
and devices of that art to the distant control of<br />
all types of power and switching devices. A single<br />
operator in a central location may have complete control<br />
of the generation of power and its distribution<br />
over a large system. By means of simple, small, colored<br />
lamp indicators, he has at all times, complete information<br />
concerning the operating status of the entire<br />
system. Through the medium of small control<br />
keys he performs in a distant station all of the operations<br />
usually performed by an attendant. A simple<br />
two or three wire telephone circuit is the only physical<br />
connection between the dispatcher and the unattended<br />
station. Many equipments of supervisory control have<br />
been installed during the past year and the limit of<br />
its possibilities is not yet in sight.<br />
The advance of automatic and distant controlled<br />
unattended stations, while wonderfully successful in<br />
operation, left something to be desired. The dispatcher<br />
could not determine the load at such stations.<br />
To make thi^ possible, several very simple and efficient<br />
means of remote metering have been perfected.<br />
Making use of the same metallic circuit as used for the<br />
supervisory control, the dispatcher receives a continuous<br />
indicating, graphic recording, integrating and<br />
graphic demand record of the load at any point. Regardless<br />
of the source or whether the load record received<br />
is of a.c. at 25 to 60 cycles or d.c, all indications<br />
may be totalized through one instrument to read<br />
the total simultaneous load and demand on an entire<br />
power system. These systems, several of which are<br />
now in operation, are free from resistance errors common<br />
to earlier schemes of remote metering.<br />
The successful development of automatic and supervisory<br />
control has greatly extended the range of<br />
natural power sites that may be profitably developed.<br />
This is especially true of small power sites which, if<br />
developed and manually operated, would produce<br />
power only at a loss. Automatic control by making<br />
attendance unnecessary turns the loss into profit. At<br />
natural power locations on streams and rivers remote<br />
from inhabited areas and difficult to reach or surrounded<br />
by conditions unsatisfactory to continued<br />
habitation, automatically controlled stations solve the<br />
problem. Means of performing all operations ordinarily<br />
entrusted to an operator are performed with greater<br />
precision, even to actual synchronizing by automatic<br />
means.<br />
All Westinghouse automatic substations at both<br />
Cleveland and Baltimore are provided with supervisory<br />
control and systems of remote load indication.<br />
Transformers.<br />
The phenomenal growth of the great power systems<br />
of this as well as other countries requires the<br />
raising of transmission voltages to values which are<br />
unprecedented and demands the design and construction<br />
of transforming equipment of greater voltage<br />
ratios. Factory and field testing of equipment for<br />
these extremely high voltages requires the construction<br />
of testing equipment of much greater voltage<br />
range.<br />
The first 220,000 volt transmission lines for commercial<br />
service were put into operation in May of<br />
this year by the Southern California Edison Company.<br />
There are in successful operation seven 18,750 kva.<br />
transformers and six 37,700 kva. auto transformers all<br />
of the shell form of construction.<br />
The Southern California Edison Company and the<br />
California Institute of Technology are installing a<br />
1,000,000 volt transformer outfit consisting of four<br />
250,000 volt testing transformers for cascade connection.<br />
All of the units except the first are insulated<br />
from ground respectively at 250,000, 500,000 and 750,-<br />
000 volts. Two complete 500 kva. regulating equipments<br />
are provided so that the units may be operated<br />
in open delta connection for 500,000 volts, 3 phase, or<br />
two independent single phase testing equipments can<br />
be obtained for operation up to 500,000 volts. This is<br />
the first equipment to be built for obtaining high<br />
voltage by a cascade arrangement. During the factory<br />
test of this equipment, the longest controlled electric<br />
arc ever witnessed in a testing laboratory was<br />
drawn.<br />
The company has built and delivered a bank of<br />
transformers of the self-coolig type which have a<br />
maximum guaranteed continuous output of 56,000<br />
kva. at 118,000 volts. Tests indicated that they would<br />
carry a load of 60,000 kva. within their guarantees.<br />
These are probably the largest transformers ever built<br />
which cool themselves without recourse to artificial<br />
means of cooling.<br />
Seven 18,500 kva. transformers for raising the generating<br />
voltage of the Big Creek Station of the Southern<br />
California Edison Company to 220,000 volts were<br />
placed in operation in October. This is an important<br />
link in the Southern California Edison's projected<br />
power system which operates at the highest voltage<br />
yet attempted.<br />
This year has seen the development of the "inertaire<br />
transformer," a unit in which an inert gas is introduced<br />
above the oil level to protect the oil against<br />
oxidation and to eliminate whatever fire risk or danger<br />
of explosion exists in a transformer. The inert gas is<br />
introduced automatically into the transformer case<br />
through the natural breathing of the unit, due to temperature<br />
changes. The air breathed into the case<br />
whenever the temperature falls, passes through a deoxidizing<br />
compound which abstracts the oxygen, leaving<br />
pure nitrogen to enter the space above the oil<br />
level. With no oxygen in contact with the oil, oxidation<br />
or sludging is prevented and not only is deterioration<br />
of the oil eliminated but also its quality actually<br />
improves with service due to the withdrawal and elimination<br />
of the oxygen dissolved in the oil. An explosion<br />
as nitrogen, and fire can not be started as the<br />
presence of oxygen is needed to support combustion.<br />
Eight oil insulated forced-cooled locomotive type<br />
transformers rated at 2,350 kva. at 10,500 volts, 25<br />
cycles and a 4,000 kva., 11,000 volt, 25 cycle unit of the<br />
same type have been constructed. These are probably<br />
the largest transformers yet built for this type of motive<br />
power.<br />
Lightning Arresters.<br />
A study of the phenomenon of glow discharge has<br />
resulted in the development of the aurovalve arrester<br />
and the number of units sold and installed during the<br />
past year has been limited by production conditions<br />
solely. This arrester is rapidly displacing other types.<br />
All sizes, from those for secondary distribution circuits<br />
at 110 volts to those for the protection of the<br />
largest stations at 73,000 volts were manufactured. A
few for voltages up to 132,000 volts have been constructed.<br />
Switching.<br />
The growth in size of generating units, power<br />
houses and the inter-connection of systems is rapidly<br />
increasing the duty requirements on switching apparatus.<br />
Not only is the amount of power that must be<br />
controlled increasing, but there is a demand for heavier<br />
duty cycles, and the requirement that apparatus<br />
must handle this large power much more effectively<br />
than heretofore. The hazards to an operating system<br />
involved by heavy short circuits are such that the utmost<br />
precautions must be taken to render phase to<br />
phase short circuits impossible and thus through new<br />
standard apparatus to limit phase to ground short circuits<br />
to small values by the use of neutral resistors.<br />
The outstanding development in this respect is the<br />
isolation of phases in the switch houses so that it is<br />
impossible to have phase to phase shorts at any point<br />
from the generator terminals through to the cable pot<br />
heads. The first large stations using isolated phases<br />
adopted the horizontal arrangement, but in the past<br />
year, practically all new layouts have been of the<br />
vertical arrangement. The Westinghouse Company<br />
has developed apparatus to meet short circuit requirements<br />
up to one and one-half million kva. for both<br />
types of arrangement.<br />
Transmission.<br />
In recent years increasing consideration has been<br />
given to projects involving the transmission of large<br />
blocks of power. To design such systems it is necessary<br />
to know the maximum power which can be transmitted<br />
taking into account the characteristics of the<br />
load and synchronous apparatus in combination with<br />
those of the line. Analytical methods for determining<br />
the power limits were developed and checked by tests<br />
on an artificial transmission system having a generating<br />
capacity of 650 kva. and operated at 2300 volts.<br />
The transmission line was built in two sections so that<br />
increase in the power limit of a line when an entermediate<br />
synchronous condenser station was added<br />
could be determined experimentally. The results of<br />
the investigation will be presented in a series of papers<br />
at the A.I.E.E. mid-winter convention.<br />
Semi-tension construction for aluminum steel core<br />
cable is now being used. The new semi-tension and<br />
suspension clamps are designed for this type of construction<br />
and were used on the Skagit River development<br />
of the City of Seattle, Washington.<br />
A new high strength suspension insulator has been<br />
developed which, for mechanical strength, surpasses<br />
anything yet produced.<br />
Feeder Regulators.<br />
The company built and installed this year the<br />
largest step type induction regulator ever constructed.<br />
This 250 kva. regulator together with a special 15,000<br />
volt transformer ties together the 57,000 volt star bus<br />
of the City of Seattle with the 50,000 volt delta bus<br />
of the City of Tacoma system and permits the interchange<br />
of power between the two systems.<br />
Some large regulators designed during the year<br />
were:<br />
Three 1000 kva. 4160 volts, 3 phase, 60 cycle.<br />
Three 750 kva. 5000 volts, 3 phase, 60 cycle.<br />
Five 260 kva., 7500 volts, 30 cycle.<br />
TlieBUFurnaceSSioelPl--' J anUary '<br />
The most noteworthy feature in connection with<br />
the feeder regulator work is that of the increasing demand<br />
for this type of equipment.<br />
Steam Turbines and Condensers—<br />
Large Turbines.<br />
The company's engineers at its South Philadelphia<br />
Works have finished the engineering development of<br />
the new 20,000 kw. and 30,000 kw. Turbines in which<br />
there are embodied a number of novel features. These<br />
frames are designed for the above ratings with the<br />
higher steam pressures, superheat and vacuum prevailing<br />
in most modern stations today. Under certain<br />
conditions, an overload of 25.000 and 35,000 kw.<br />
respectively, can be obtained on the tertiary valve.<br />
Considerable time has been spent on the study of<br />
a turbine for 1,200 pounds steam pressure and final<br />
designs are now in progress. This will be a reducing<br />
turbine having an exhaust pressure of 300 pounds<br />
gauge, which condition led to the development of a<br />
special high pressure gland, known as the boiler feed<br />
pump type of gland, wherein condensate from the<br />
main condenser is used as sealing water. The gland<br />
acts as a stage heater and retains in the system most<br />
of the heat which would otherwise lie'lost through<br />
friction and condensation in the gland.<br />
After complete studies and the preparation of many<br />
designs for a single cylinder type of 50,000 kw. turbine<br />
for standard operating conditions of 325 pounds, 200<br />
deg. superheat, and 29-in. vacuum, it became obvious<br />
that machines of this size should be built as cross compound<br />
units with elements running at 1800 rpm.<br />
rather than a single 1200 rpm. unit.<br />
A single cylinder unit involved a rotor weight of<br />
120 tons and precluded the possibility of shipment<br />
without taking the rotor to pieces.<br />
A 50,000 kw. unit has been designed as a threecylinder<br />
machine, the high pressure and intermediate<br />
pressure elements being connected tandem to one<br />
generator and the low pressure element being a double<br />
flow machine driving a generator, all elements running<br />
at 1800 rpm. One novel feature of this unit is the<br />
use of twin vertical surface condensers, one on each<br />
side of the machine, with their upper water boxes<br />
above the engine room floor. The steam leaving the<br />
high pressure turbine is conducted to the boiler room<br />
and reheated to 700 deg. F. before entering the intermediate<br />
pressure element and many special problems<br />
were introduced by reason of the high temperatures<br />
resulting from this arrangement. After careful study<br />
the high pressure and intermediate pressure element's<br />
were separated so that they might expand freely. On<br />
account of the comparatively large volume in the reheater<br />
and its connected piping containing steam no<br />
longer under control of the regular turbine governor,<br />
special arrangements for governing are required to<br />
prevent the turbine overspeeding in case of a sudden<br />
large reduction in load. As this machine is designed<br />
for 600 pounds initial steam pressure, special pipe<br />
flange standards are necessary.<br />
The designs are well under way for a new 1 5 000<br />
kw. 1800 rpm. turbine. This frame will also have<br />
modifications to take care of 1500 rpm. installations.<br />
As a further result of the balancing machine development<br />
earned on at the South Philadelphia<br />
Works, a 125-ton balancing machine has been built<br />
and installed at the East Pittsburgh Works, This balancing<br />
machine is a substantial duplicate of the large
January, 1924<br />
machine designed, built and installed at the South<br />
Philadelphia Works.<br />
Condensers.<br />
An improved line of unit type condenser of up to<br />
4000 sq. ft. was manufactured wherein the pumps are<br />
more efficient and accessibility for inspection or repair<br />
has been increased.<br />
Feed water heaters were also developed for use in<br />
feed heating systems wherein steam is extracted from<br />
the main turbine for heating the feed water.<br />
Among numerous other condensers there have been<br />
built two 70,000 sq. ft., single shell, a size which we<br />
believe has not been exceeded anywhere.<br />
A new design of centrifugal circulating pump having<br />
large capacities was developed. This pump has<br />
specially designed suction passages and shows a remarkable<br />
efficiency.<br />
Hotwells for use on surface condensers have been<br />
developed wherein the excess oxygen contained in the<br />
condensate is reduced to practical elimination.<br />
As a result of studies and experimental investigation<br />
the economy of air ejectors has been improved.<br />
Small Turbines.<br />
The design and development has been completed<br />
for a lyi kw. generator set for industrial purposes.<br />
Railways—Heavy Traction.<br />
This has been a banner year for the company in<br />
the heavy traction field. Forty-one locomotives have<br />
been shipped during this period. There are also under<br />
construction equipment for 62 large motive power<br />
units which constitute all of the steam railroad electrification<br />
locomotive business placed during 1923 by<br />
the railroads of the United States. This indicates that<br />
the open minded policy of furnishing the type of equipment<br />
best suited for the conditions is correct as reflected<br />
in the company's business during the past year.<br />
Our engineering recommendations have always<br />
favored the use of the a.c. system for heavy tonnage<br />
railroad electrification. Fifty-seven of the units under<br />
construction are to operate from a sigle-phase<br />
trolley. Among these are the Norfolk and Western<br />
and Virginian units for the most powerful electric locomotives<br />
ever designed or built.<br />
Industry—Steel.<br />
1. Among distinctive installations of electrical<br />
equipment for rolling mill drives made during the past<br />
year is the apparatus supplied for operating a 16-in.<br />
hot strip mill. The roughing stands of this mill are<br />
driven through herringbone gear units by two 1500hp.,<br />
705-rpm. induction motors with liquid slip regulator<br />
control. The four finishing stands are arranged<br />
to form a continuous train, each stand being driven<br />
by a separate compound-wound 240-volt d.c. motor.<br />
Two of the motors are rated 1500 hp. at 125 to 250<br />
rpm. and two are rated 1800 hp. at 165 to 350 rpm.<br />
These motors are designed with such close inherent<br />
speed regulation that they operate throughout their<br />
range without any automatic speed regulating control.<br />
This is the first installation of a drive for a continuous<br />
hot strip mill train which has been operated without<br />
special control for maintaining correct speed. Power<br />
for the d.c. motors is supplied by two synchronous<br />
motor generator sets each consisting of two 1000 kw.<br />
600-volt generators and a synchronous motor.<br />
Hie Dlasf kiniace !^Nfeel rln-<br />
2. Two 5000-hp., 370-rpm., induction motors were<br />
placed in operation. One motor drives a 90-inch threehigh<br />
plate mill and the other a 132-inch three-high<br />
plate mill. Both motors replaced steam engines.<br />
3. Notable among foreign orders is one covering<br />
complete electrical equipment for a blooming mill, a<br />
structural mill and a three-high plate mill. For the<br />
blooming mill a 5,000-hp., 700-volt d.c. single unit reversing<br />
motor operating from zero to 120 rpm. will be<br />
supplied. This will be the largest single unit reversing<br />
motor in operation. For the structural mill there will<br />
be a 3750-hp., 700-volt reversing motor having a speed<br />
range of zero to 150 rpm. These two motors will be<br />
supplied with power from a fly wheel motor generator<br />
set consisting of one 3500-kw. d.c. generator, one 3000kw.<br />
d.c. generator, one 180,000-pound fly wheel and a<br />
5000-hp. induction motor. A 3000-hp., 735-rpm. induction<br />
motor with herringbone gear unit will be supplied<br />
for the plate mill. Complete switchboard and<br />
control is included with the order together with motors<br />
and control for the mill auxiliaries.<br />
4. Orders have been received for equipment to<br />
drive a 40-inch reversing blooming mill and a 48-inch<br />
universal plate mill. The equipment for the 40-inch<br />
blooming mill consists of a 7000-hp., 700-volt, 0-120rpm.<br />
double unit reversing motor; a fly wheel motor<br />
generator set having two 3000-kw. generators, one<br />
100,000-pound fly wheel and one 3750-hp. induction<br />
motor with complete switchboard and control. Both<br />
equipments will replace steam engine drives.<br />
5. An order has been placed for equipment to replace<br />
engine drives on a 24-inch structural mill and a<br />
22-in. bar mill. The 24-in. structural mill drive consists<br />
of a 3000-hp., 600-volt, 325-485 rpm., d.c. motor<br />
connected to the mill through a herringbone gear .unit;<br />
a fly wheel motor generator set consisting of a 2500kw.<br />
generator, 60,000-pound fly wheel, 2500-hp. induction<br />
motor, together with switchboard and control. A<br />
2500-hp., 500-rpm. induction motor with liquid slip<br />
regulator control will be supplied for the bar mill<br />
drive.<br />
6. The Company has on order a 1500-hp., 230volt,<br />
470-510-rpm., d.c. motor; a 1000-kw. synchronous<br />
motor generator set, a 75-hp. reel drive, and complete<br />
control to replace engine drive on the finishing stands<br />
of a rod mill. The control for this equipment has a<br />
number of special features. The roughing and intermediate<br />
stands of the mill are to be driven by the<br />
present engines the speed of which are subject to<br />
considerable fluctuation. To insure successful operation<br />
of the motor with the engines, automatic control<br />
will be supplied which will cause the 1500-hp. motor<br />
to follow the variations in the speed of the engines,<br />
thus preventing breakage of the hot steel rod or damage<br />
due to excessive looping. Automatic control is<br />
also included for the rod reel drive which allows the<br />
reels to take up the finished rod uniformly regardless<br />
of the speed of the mill.<br />
Fans.<br />
A new 36-inch ceiling fan has been developed.<br />
Instruments.<br />
The outstanding feature in instrument engineering<br />
was the announcement of an entirely new line of a.c.<br />
switchboard instruments working on the dynamometer<br />
principle and replacing the former well-known Westinghouse<br />
induction type. These new instruments contain<br />
many novel and interesting features which place<br />
33
34<br />
them in advance of all other meters. In addition to<br />
the usual 7-inch type these are made as a complete line<br />
in a smaller case 4H inches in diameter, in agreement<br />
with our engineering tendency to recommend smaller<br />
instruments than formerly, with more compact switchboard<br />
and control board designs. With these new<br />
lines we will hasten the time when the switchboards<br />
for the largest power plants will be miniatures of the<br />
types heretofore used. These new a.c. instruments<br />
are on the same basis of "ideal" design and "universal"<br />
application as the recently announced d.c. instruments<br />
which they match in appearance thus forming a complete<br />
and harmonious line of instruments of both a.c.<br />
and d.c. types.<br />
Following are some of the principal articles and<br />
market reviews appearing in Iron Trade Review Dec.<br />
6 to Dec. 27, inclusive:<br />
DEC. 6<br />
Pig iron production in November fell below 100,000<br />
tons daily for the first time in a year, the output of<br />
96,373 tons comparing with 101,375 tons in October.<br />
Total production in November was 2,891,191 gross<br />
tons against 3,142,642 tons in October. Production<br />
has declined 22.8 per cent from the high point last<br />
May.<br />
Iron Trade Review's composite of 14 leading iron<br />
and steel products this week stands at $43.02, compared<br />
with $42.SO last week and $42.63 two weeks ago.<br />
Structural steel demand has improved and railroad<br />
buying is on a larger scale. The scrap market has advanced.<br />
Recent bookings of pig iron tonnages for the<br />
first quarter by some furnaces have been the largest<br />
in their history. Prices show more stability at higher<br />
level.<br />
The layout and methods of handling of material at<br />
the new plant of a large iron and steel jobber in Philadelphia<br />
are described by E. C. Kreutzberg, of Iron<br />
Trade Review's New York staff. The making and<br />
testing of steel balls is the subject of an article by<br />
K. H. Lansing.<br />
DEC. 13<br />
Steel ingot production in November declined 434,-<br />
162 tons, or 8.8 per cent from October. November<br />
was the seventh consecutive month to show a loss,<br />
and production was 24.1 per cent under the high markin<br />
April. The output was at the annual rate of 37,126,-<br />
000 tons, against a similar rate of 40,735,000 tons in<br />
October.<br />
Final figures on Lake Superior iron ore shipments<br />
for the year 1913 show a total of 59,036,704 for the<br />
vessel route. A total of 2,000,000 all-rail ore is estimated<br />
at this time. The year was very favorable in<br />
the ore trade.<br />
Iron Trade Review's composite of 14 iron and steel<br />
products this week is $43.05, as compared with $43.02<br />
last week. More forward buying of steel is the feature<br />
of the market. The Ford Motor Company has<br />
placed about 30,000 tons of steel products with mills<br />
and is negotiating for 30,000 tons of sheets. Some<br />
comment has been caused by the action of a Chicago<br />
producer of cold-rolled steel in adopting a Chicago<br />
base of 3.00c instead of quoting on a Pittsburgh basis.<br />
The British proposal for a protective tariff has been<br />
made a dead issue for some time by the defeat of the<br />
Conservative party, a London staff cablegram states.<br />
British business is undisturbed. English consumers<br />
purchase 100,000 tons of Belgian billets.<br />
UoBlastFurnaceeSreolPl- 1<br />
January, 1924<br />
This issue contains a comprehensive write-up of<br />
the annual meeting of the American Society of Mechanical<br />
Engineers, New York.<br />
DEC. 20<br />
More contracting for steel products for the first<br />
quarter is the outstanding feature of the market this<br />
week. Automotive companies are taking the lead in<br />
the movement. The Ford Motor Co. has distributed<br />
among several mills the 30,000 tons of sheets for which<br />
it recently inquired. A northern Ohio manufacturer<br />
of automotive parts has closed with several mills for<br />
15,000 to 20,000 tons of spring steel for the first half.<br />
The United States Steel Corporation reaffirms for<br />
first quarter the price of $42.50, Pittsburgh on semifinished<br />
steel. Rail orders are heavy. Among recent<br />
orders is one for 102,500 tons for the Santa Fe system<br />
for 1924 delivery.<br />
Iron Trade Review's composite of 14 iron and steel<br />
products this week is $43 against $43.05 a week ago.<br />
Certain grades of pig iron are failing to hold up to<br />
recently announced levels; particularly true of basic<br />
iron, on which $20, valley has been done.<br />
The beginning of heavy buying in Great Britain<br />
is reported by Iron Trade Review's European manager.<br />
Pig iron purchases of the week aggregate 100,-<br />
000 tons, 70 per cent of which comes from- Belgium.<br />
At an export trade conference held in Cleveland under<br />
the auspices of the Cleveland chamber of commerce,<br />
James A. Farrell, president, United States Steel<br />
Corporation, emphasizes the need of American exporters<br />
cultivating "secondary markets" while Europe "remains<br />
in a chaos of political conflict."<br />
Selective immigration is favored at the national<br />
immigration conference held in New York under the<br />
auspices of the National Industrial Conference board.<br />
DEC. 27<br />
Buying is on the upgrade in the iron and steel<br />
markets as the year closes. Consumption is large<br />
and the outlook is highly favorable for a good volume<br />
of business in the first half of 1924. Steel production<br />
is 70 to 71 per cent of capacity, for the whole country,<br />
compared with 80 per cent a year ago. The steel corporation's<br />
plants are operating at 84^ per cent. The<br />
steel market is fairly active as users continue to cover<br />
for future requirements.<br />
The General Motors Corporation has closed for its<br />
first quarter tonnage with a number of mills; its norma<br />
requirements for a quarter are around 100,000 tons.<br />
The Willys-Overland Company has closed for 25.000<br />
to 30,000 tons for first quarter. An automotive contract<br />
placed in the Chicago territory calls for 12,000<br />
tons. The pig iron market is quiet, makers entering<br />
the new year with good order books. Iron Trade Review's<br />
composite of 14 iron and steel products this<br />
week is $43.02, a slight advance in the week. This<br />
figure compared with $40.65 a year ago.<br />
British railroads buy more equipment. The London<br />
& Northeastern announces an expenditure of<br />
£5,000,000. British sheetmakers <strong>org</strong>anize an export<br />
combination. Ruhr operations are expanding under<br />
the recent Franco-German operating agreement A<br />
dozen blast furnace stacks are active and more are to<br />
be blown in. German offerings are increasing.<br />
An article by the Japanese correspondent of Iron<br />
Trade Review describes Japanese reconstruction plans.
January, 1924<br />
Hie Bias! FurnaceSS.eel Pla<br />
Production of Iron in the Blast Furnace<br />
A Most Systematic Investigation of Furnace Phenomena<br />
By P. H. ROYSTERt, T. L. JOSEPH* and S. P. KINNEY§<br />
IN the blast-furnace process solid lumps or particles<br />
of iron ore at ordinary temperatures are charged<br />
into the top of the furnace and pig iron is discharged<br />
molten at the bottom. Inside the furnace<br />
therefore two changes of primary importance obviously<br />
take place. First, the iron oxide of the ore is converted<br />
to metal, and, second, the cold solids—ore, lime<br />
stone, and coke—charged, are heated to a high temperature.<br />
One of these reactions is chemical; the<br />
other is physical. Both of them, however, are accomplished<br />
through the agency of the gas which is forced<br />
by the blowing engines upward through the voids in<br />
the charge. This gas, which the writers some years<br />
ago had occasion to term "bosh gas," is formed in the<br />
immediate neighborhood of the blast entrance, and<br />
has essentially the same composition in every furnace,<br />
regardless of the materials used, the design of the<br />
furnace, or the manner, of its operation.|f With dry<br />
blast and no volatile matter in the coke its composition<br />
would be 34.34 per cent CO, 65.66 per cent N2.<br />
Moisture in the blast and traces of volatile matter in<br />
the fuel may introduce a per cent or so of hydrogen.<br />
The heat generated when bosh gas is formed is sufficient<br />
to raise it to a high temperature, 1800 deg. C.<br />
or more. This temperature is sufficient to melt all<br />
forms of iron, coke-ash, ore-gangue, or fire-brick. As<br />
the gas passes upward through the furnace it meets<br />
the descending solids and an exchange of heat takes<br />
place, cooling the gas and heating the solids. The conditions<br />
under which bosh gas transfers heat, and carries<br />
out the chemical process of converting iron oxide<br />
into a metal is not known with any great accuracy.<br />
Since, however, the economy of the smelting process<br />
is governed by the extent to which bosh gas performs<br />
these two functions, it is possible that better knowledge<br />
of the phenomena will be of value to the industry.<br />
The U. S. Bureau of Mines has been studying the<br />
blast-furnace process for a number of years and has<br />
published a number of papers therefrom. 0 During this<br />
study an experimental furnace has been developed by<br />
the Bureau in co-operation with the University of<br />
Minnesota, and data have been collected which seem<br />
worth recording. The writers propose to discuss here<br />
the bearing of these results on the problem of ironore<br />
reduction. The exchange of heat, of course, is<br />
equally important and it may be convenient to deal<br />
with that problem in physics elsewhere. Both functions<br />
of the gas are important, but since one is a<br />
chemical problem, and the other physical, it is per-<br />
*Published by permission of the Director, U. S. Bureau<br />
of Mines.<br />
"(Assistant Metallurgist, Minneapolis Experiment Station.<br />
JAssistant Metallurgist, Minneapolis Experiment Station.<br />
§Assistant Metallurgical Chemist, Minneapolis Experiment<br />
Station.<br />
U"Combustion of Coke in the Blast Furnace Hearth," by<br />
G. St. J. Perrott and S. P. Kinney; paper read before February,<br />
1923, meeting of A. I. M. & M. E. Abstrated in Mining<br />
and Metallurgy, vol. iv, 1923, p. 145. Those writers found no<br />
appreciable difference in composition of the gas near the<br />
tuyeres at 11 American blast furnaces. Their paper contains<br />
references to similar investigations.<br />
haps wiser to consider them separately. A failure, however,<br />
on the part of the bosh gas to act satisfactorily,<br />
either as a reducing agent, or as a source of heat, will<br />
seriously interfere with, if not completely, interrupt<br />
the process.<br />
°(a) A method for measuring the viscosity of blast-furnace<br />
slag at high temperatures, by A. L. Feild. Tech. Paper 157,<br />
1916, 29 pp.<br />
(b) Slag viscosity tables for blast-furnace works, by A. L.<br />
Feild and P. H. Royster. Tech. Paper 187, 1917, 38 pp.<br />
(c) Temperature-viscosity relations in the ternary system CaO<br />
_Al,0:r— SiO~. by A. L. Feild and P. H. Royster. Tech. Paper,<br />
189, 1918, 36 pp.<br />
(d) War Minerals Series No. 5, 6, and 7, 1918.<br />
(e) Uses, preparation, mining costs, manufacture of ferroalloys,<br />
by C. M. Weld and others. Bull. 173, 1920, 209 pp.<br />
(f) Pyrometry in blast-furnace practice, by P. H. Royster<br />
and T. L. Joseph. A. I. M. & M. E. volume on Pyrometry, 1920,<br />
pp. 544-558. Discussion pp. 558-567.<br />
(g) Combustion of coke in blast-furnace hearth, by G. St. J.<br />
Perrott and S. P. Kinney. Paper before Feb., 1923, meeting<br />
cr. A. I. M. & M. E. Abstd. in Min. & Met. vol. 4, 1923, p. 145.<br />
(h) Combustibility of blast—furnace coke, by Ralph Sherman<br />
and S. P. Kinney: Iron Age, vol. Ill, 1923, pp 1839-1844.<br />
(i) Progress in blast-furnace research, by P. H. Royster, T. L.<br />
Joseph, and S. P. Kinney. Reports of Investigation Serial No.<br />
2524, Bureau of Mines,, Sept. 1923, 6 pp.<br />
Reducing Power of Bosh Gas.<br />
If it were possible to remove all of the oxygen in<br />
iron ore by carbon monoxide, that is, if the equation<br />
Fe203 + 3CO =2Fe + 3CO, (1)<br />
could be carried to completion, it would be chemically<br />
permissible to burden a furnace with a charge carry-<br />
2.5<br />
o<br />
91.5<br />
200<br />
\<br />
Magnetic oxide<br />
Fe304<br />
K 7<br />
/-<br />
/<br />
/<br />
Ferrous oxide<br />
600 800 1000<br />
TEMPERATURE, *C.<br />
1200 1600<br />
FIG. 1—The CO2/CO ratio, which is in equilibrium with metallic<br />
iron and its two lower oxides at various temperature.<br />
ing 10,000 lb. of coke, 46,400 lb. of average Lake<br />
ore, and 13,300 lb. of limestone.<br />
The furnace would make, at 18.400 cubic feet of<br />
wind per minute, 500 tons of pig iron a day with 860<br />
lb. of coke per ton, provided no secondary reactions<br />
between carbon, its oxides and iron oxide took place.<br />
With this practice the furnace gas would analyze as<br />
follows:<br />
35<br />
•X-
36<br />
Constituent<br />
CO..<br />
CO<br />
H2<br />
X.,<br />
P ;r Cent<br />
37.5<br />
0.0<br />
2.0<br />
60.5<br />
No such burden or gas analysis has been approached,<br />
expected, or even hoped for in practice.<br />
Nevertheless, if carbon monoxide is to be called a "reducing<br />
agent," its reducing power cannot very well<br />
be said to be used up as long as the discharged gas<br />
carries CO with it. It happens that about 22 per cent<br />
is as low as is usually found. Apparently then no<br />
more than one-third of the reducing power of CO is<br />
used, because the gas carries only 34 per cent CO<br />
when it leaves the combustion zone.<br />
Bell* gave the problem serious attention as early<br />
as 1860. As the result of many laboratory and plant<br />
experiments he came to two conclusions; "First, that<br />
something like the last third of the original oxygen<br />
in iron oxide could not be removed by CO; and second,<br />
that whenever the ratio of CO. to CO exceeded a certain<br />
value! which for the ore he was using he placed<br />
at 0.4 to 0.5), the gas was oxidizing, instead of reducing.<br />
These conclusions or theories are independent.<br />
The first theory states that there is some chemical<br />
peculiarity of iron oxide which prevents CO from<br />
separating the last portionf of the oxygen. The second<br />
takes no account of the iron oxide at all, but says<br />
that after the bosh gas has picked up enough oxygen<br />
to lower its CO content to some 20 to 24 per cent, the<br />
gas is "spent" and is no longer reducing at all. The<br />
writers have felt impelled to style these two conclusions<br />
"theories." because from the evidence at hand<br />
today it does not seem that they are sound either<br />
in theory or in practice.<br />
Two Theories of Limited Reduction.<br />
The theory that the last fraction of oxygen in iron<br />
ore cannot be removed by CO, immediately found<br />
wide popular favor. It was incorporated in textbooks!<br />
and is accepted as a fact by a large number of furnace<br />
men. There is, nevertheless, little scientific basis for<br />
the theory. Experimental work in point is fragmentary.<br />
In defense of the theory it might be possible to<br />
imagine such a compound as FeXJ (containing 12.5<br />
per cent 02) which can be supposed to be unaffected<br />
by CO. This would be rather poor chemistry but it<br />
would help the theory. Another way would be to imagine<br />
that FeO forms a solid solution with Fe (it is<br />
known not to), and to build from this a hypothetical<br />
chemical system with properly assumed pressures<br />
and free energies.<br />
There is more information available on the second<br />
theory. Eastman§ has recently assembled all the experimental<br />
work on the equilibrium conditions for the<br />
system Fe-C-O, which included the results of 14 investigators.<br />
The COL./CO ratio, which is in equilibri-<br />
*Bell, I. Lowthian, Chemical Phenomena of Iron Smelting,<br />
1872.<br />
-j-This last portion has often been called the "last traces," but,<br />
since it amount from 20 to 30 per cent, "traces" is misleading.<br />
JCampbell, H. H., Manufacture of iron and steel, 1907, pp. 60-<br />
61, (McGraw-Hill, .New York). Forsythe, Robert, The Blast<br />
Furnace, 1913, p. 191 (David Williams Co., Cleveland). Johnson,<br />
J. E.. Principles, operation, and products of the blast furnace.<br />
1918, pp. 143-147 (McGraw-Hill, New York).<br />
SEastman, E. D., Equilibria in the system Fe:C:0: Jour.<br />
Araer, Chem. Soc, vol. 44, 1922, pp. 975-998.<br />
Tho Blast Fu rnace .rS) SfeolPlar'<br />
January, 1924<br />
urn with metallic iron and its two lower oxides at various<br />
temperatures, is shown in Figure 1. This curve is<br />
taken from Eastman's paper. It is conceivable that<br />
Center line 7<br />
of tuyeres<br />
Center line 3<br />
of iron notch<br />
5K-3<br />
5<br />
FIG. 2—Outline drawing showing the exact dimensions<br />
of the experimental blast furnace now in operation.. .
January, 1924<br />
ASH<br />
Fe<br />
Si02<br />
ALO,<br />
CaO+Mg<<br />
%<br />
18.4<br />
40.4<br />
22.7<br />
5.6<br />
S<br />
H2<br />
c<br />
N<br />
0=<br />
Ine Dlasf hirnace^Lofeel "'*"• •<br />
TABLE I — ANALYSIS OF MATERIALS AS CHARGED<br />
COKE<br />
ULTIMATE<br />
%<br />
0.83<br />
0.54<br />
80.02<br />
0.84<br />
0.75<br />
TABLE II<br />
S<br />
V.M.<br />
Ash<br />
F.C.<br />
Moist.<br />
PROXIMATE<br />
0.83<br />
2.33<br />
12.17<br />
80.65<br />
4.85<br />
CaO<br />
MgO<br />
SiO=<br />
AbO,<br />
Fe=0,<br />
Moist.<br />
- OPERATING CONDITIONS<br />
LIMESTONE<br />
%<br />
51.62<br />
0.61<br />
1.05<br />
0.35<br />
1.14<br />
3.20<br />
Fe<br />
SiO=<br />
ALO,<br />
ORE<br />
CaO+MgO<br />
IL.<br />
Moist.<br />
Blast Temperature—750 deg. F.<br />
Blast Pressure—1.32 lb. per sq. in. gage.<br />
Top Temperature—660 deg. F.<br />
Wind—336 cu. ft. per min, actual air. 2 97 cu. ft. per min. air at 32 deg. F, 29.9 in. sea level barometer, dry. 3.52<br />
grains of moisture per cubic foot of dry air.<br />
Tuyeres—One 3-inch; one 2 l /2 inch; 180 deg. apart.<br />
Steel Jacketed Bosh—Water-sprayed; 12.6 gallons of coolingw ater per minute, inlet temp, 61.7 deg. F., outlet temperature<br />
77.2 deg. F.; cooling-water loss 1.630 Btu. per minute.<br />
Coke—Per day. 8,050 lb. Rouds—Per day, 67.0.<br />
many will take exception to this diagram. The curve<br />
ABC indicates that no matter what the C02/CO<br />
ratio, a sufficient increase in temperature will convert<br />
metallic iron into an oxide. It is more usual to think<br />
that an increase in temperature will reduce the oxide.<br />
Although this work is well known, little attention has<br />
been paid to it by furnace men. In the blast-furnace it<br />
is not known at what temperature reduction by CO<br />
takes place. Imagine it to take place at a high temperature,<br />
and the diagram agrees with the theorem<br />
that C02/CO cannot exceed a given value. Figures,<br />
recently quoted by Sperr and Jacobsen* show that<br />
C02/CO in the blast-furnace gas may run above 0.6,<br />
although 0.7 does not seem to have been reached. In<br />
Table III of their paper the amount of the original<br />
oxygen in the iron oxide removed by CO is 71.4 per<br />
cent maximum and 42.4 per cent minimum.<br />
Bureau of Mines' Furnace.<br />
Data from the experimental furnace operated by<br />
the Bureau at Minneapolis now tend to show that<br />
neither of these two theories can mean anything except<br />
that, as furnaces are usually built and operated,<br />
some 20 per cent of the oxygen in the ore will be left<br />
for removal by other means than CO, and that the<br />
ratio of CO=/CO will not exceed say 0.7 per cent. If<br />
the last third of the oxygen is removed by the expensive<br />
"direct reduction" method, the fault lies in the<br />
blast furnace process, or in any natural difficulties<br />
presented by the physical or chemical nature of the<br />
ore. And if a ratio of CO,/CO cannot be attained in<br />
practice higher than 0.7, the fault still lies with the<br />
design and operation of the furnace and not with any<br />
failure of the gas as a reducing agent. The question<br />
is one of some commercial importance and for this<br />
reason it is perhaps worth while to describe the Bureau's<br />
furnace and its operation somewhat in detail.<br />
Fig. 2 is a drawing of the furnace lines.<br />
The furnace was burdened with the following<br />
charge: 120 lb. of coke. 145 lb. of ore. and 50 lb. of<br />
limestone.<br />
The fuel was of the size known
38 MasfFumaceSSfeelPIi-<br />
January, 1924<br />
Motorizing Structural Mill at Homestead<br />
An Interesting Study Derived from Comparisons Between<br />
Antiquated and Modern Equipment<br />
ALTHOLTGH electric motor-driven rolling mills<br />
are now becoming quite common and attract little<br />
attention, an account of the "motorization"<br />
of the 33-inch structural mill at the Homestead Steel<br />
Works will be of interest on account of the unique<br />
feature that the installation of the motor was the only<br />
change made in the equipment.<br />
It has been almost universally the case that the<br />
engineering department of a plant has in mind a num<br />
ber of changes, more or less drastic, to be made in the<br />
mill itself to improve its performance, which changes<br />
are made at the same time the motor is installed so<br />
that it is necessary to adjust the resulting benefits<br />
among several applicants each justly claiming a certain<br />
credit. With the 33-inch structural mill no<br />
change in the roll train, shoes, housings, bearings, or<br />
methods of lining up and down was made, nor were<br />
the roll sections changed in any way until after the<br />
motor had been installed and run.<br />
Mill.<br />
This mill was installed in 1892 and is of the threehigh,<br />
continuous running type, similar to that shown<br />
*General Electric Review.<br />
fChief Electrical Engineer, Carnegie Steel Company,<br />
Pittsburgh, Pa.<br />
By S. S. WALES!<br />
in Fig. 1, rolling up to 12-inch beams and 15-inch channels<br />
with such other standard and special structural<br />
shapes as fall within its capacity.<br />
It consists of one roughing and one finishing stand<br />
normally carrying six passes in the roughing and<br />
four in the finishing rolls. The rolls are of 33-inch<br />
theoretical centers, have 20-inch diameter necks, and<br />
are 74 inches between bearings. They are made of<br />
standard material such as gray cast iron or steel.<br />
The mill was designed to take reheated blooms or<br />
cogged shapes up to 9]/2 inches by 11 inches. The<br />
bloom is received from the heating furnace and is<br />
handled on each side of the mill by electrically-driven<br />
travelling pass tables, which move parallel to the mill,<br />
receiving the out-coming piece and returning it to the<br />
This very valuable article shows the results<br />
obtained by just substituting an electric motor<br />
for a steam engine on a 33-inch structural<br />
steel mill at the Homestead Steel Works. A<br />
study of the summary of these results is very<br />
instructive.<br />
proper pass until it finally is delivered to the cooling<br />
beds. The cooling beds were of ample capacity for<br />
the mill when run by the steam engine.<br />
Engine.<br />
The engine was built by the Southwork Foundry<br />
& Machine Company and was of the well-known Porter-Allen<br />
type, horizontal simple engine, with 54-inch<br />
cylinder and 66-inch stroke, and with a 24-foot, 180.-<br />
000-pound flywheel. It was designed to work under a<br />
steam pressure of 125 pounds and atmospheric exhaust<br />
with a speed of 65 rpm.<br />
Motor.<br />
The motor selected to replace this engine was a<br />
4000-h.p., 25-cycle, 3-phase. 6600-volt machine with a<br />
synchronous speed of 83.3. illustrated in Fig. 2. The<br />
efficiency is calculated to be 94.5 per cent with a<br />
power- factor of 81 per cent and a speed of 82 rpm.<br />
at full load. It will deliver 4000 h.p. continuously with<br />
a rise of 35 deg. C. above the surrounding air, and<br />
6000 h.p. with a 50 deg. rise, and is capable of exerting<br />
a maximum running torque of approximately<br />
700,000 lb.ft. corresponding to 10,500 h.p. It is provided<br />
with a cast steel flywheel 19 feet in.diameter,<br />
with 16-inch face, weighing 170,000 pounds and the<br />
combined stored energy of the rotor and flywheel is<br />
approximately 18,400-h.p.-sec. An extra section of<br />
resistance sufficient to give 5 per cent additional slip<br />
is installed which is cut into the rotor circuit by means<br />
of a notch-back relay and contactor, if the load on the<br />
motor exceeds approximately 150 per cent normal<br />
torque. The motor can be started, stopped or reversed<br />
by means of push buttons mounted near the<br />
mill or by a master switch inside the motor room.
January, 1924<br />
While it would have been desirable to direct connect<br />
the motor and raise the speed of the mill to 83.3 it<br />
was thought best not to experiment along this line at<br />
the start so a reduction gear with a ratio of 20 to 16<br />
was introduced between the motor and the mill<br />
pinions.<br />
The motor was started on its regular working pro-<br />
Results. " *h
40 Hie Dlasf Kimace^jieel rlf) r •<br />
*•*-. . /<br />
•N<br />
45 se<br />
I\<br />
2.<br />
|<br />
J \.<br />
|\ v"<br />
1<br />
bth i.OUO HI NO PAS<br />
/I<br />
\J<br />
f\ J '<br />
f<br />
•<br />
J<br />
\<br />
Hh VOUCH INC. PASS.<br />
Length, 723 ins. Length, 420 ins.<br />
Area,10.93 sq.ins. /.roe,18.97 sq.ins.<br />
Reduution,--42.4?2. Reduction,—30.6?J.<br />
In Pass 8^- sue. In Ppr.s 5^ sec.<br />
Max.K.W. 2500. llax.K.v. 1950.<br />
/<br />
/<br />
10 SU< 35 3e<br />
L -*»<br />
yj<br />
4th FIHISHIMO PASS.<br />
Length, 1780 ins.<br />
Area,--4.46 sq.ins.<br />
Reduction, 10.13.<br />
In Pass 15!, sec.<br />
ttex.K.i". 850.<br />
Po^or.<br />
2500 K.W.<br />
2000<br />
1500<br />
1000<br />
500<br />
Spend.<br />
J<br />
r<br />
\<br />
•*s:<br />
\<br />
\l 30 soc<br />
SZ* ^<<br />
f\<br />
r<br />
I<br />
25<br />
•<br />
•<br />
v»<br />
sec<br />
,<br />
FIG. 5—Showing the final roughing passes.<br />
FIG. 6-B — Showing the final finishing passes.<br />
A<br />
i<br />
LJ^J<br />
3rd FINISHING PASS.<br />
Length, 1600 ins.<br />
Area,--4.96 sq.ins.<br />
Reduction, 10.555.<br />
In Pass 15^- soc.<br />
Max.K.r. 600.<br />
\<br />
\J u<br />
4th ROUGHIUG PASS.<br />
January, 1924<br />
Length, 290 ins.<br />
Area,27.33 sq.ins.<br />
Reduction,—34.9??.<br />
In Pass 4^ sec.<br />
Max.K.P. 2900.<br />
r<br />
j<br />
y<br />
A ft<br />
\*<br />
20 sea<br />
90 sec.<br />
V w<br />
L j
January, 1924 "LBUF urnace.<br />
/O flee! PI- '-<br />
mi<br />
3rd ROUGHING PASS.<br />
Length, 189 ins.<br />
Area ,41,99 sq.ins.<br />
Keduction,--32.1/&.<br />
In Pass '-3£ sec.<br />
Uax.K.W. 2850.<br />
BS<br />
/ \J se c.<br />
f<br />
) 1<br />
LAJ<br />
2nd BOUGHIHO PASS.<br />
Length, 128 ins.<br />
Area ,01.88 sq.ins.<br />
Reduction, 13.0$<br />
In Pass -2^ soc.<br />
Max.K.vr. 2700.<br />
1st.ROUGHING PASS.<br />
Length, 104 ins.<br />
Area,76.41 sq.ins.<br />
Reduction,--18.055.<br />
In PRSS----24; sec.<br />
Unx.K.'". 2300.<br />
FIG. 3—Shozving the bloom and the first roughing passes.<br />
'<br />
- -- 1<br />
n<br />
L J<br />
\<br />
2nd FINISHIMO PASS.<br />
| n<br />
^ 1 )\<br />
J<br />
1st FINISHING PASS.<br />
Length, 1435 ins.<br />
Length, 1030 ins.<br />
Aroa,--5.54 sq.ins. Area,--7.70 sq.ins.<br />
Reduction, 28.1#. Reduction, 29.65J.<br />
In Pass 14^- sec. In Pass ll| sec.<br />
Max.K.l". 1300. Uax.K.W. 1150.<br />
so 80 c. 7'; so a.<br />
y=-\^<br />
70 se c.<br />
Power.<br />
1000 K.F.<br />
500<br />
V<br />
r<br />
/<br />
i 65 sec<br />
FIG. 6-A—Showing the first finishing passes.<br />
. t<br />
50 36(<br />
K/* H 1<br />
BL0011<br />
Size, 8j"Xll"X85i".<br />
Feight, —2270 lbs.<br />
Area,93.16 sq. ins.<br />
Volume,7942 cu.ins,<br />
55 se c. 50 se c.<br />
41
42<br />
taken at 18 inches per minute with a swing of 1 inch<br />
per 1000 kw. The speed curves at the bottom are of<br />
interest only as showing the drop in speed under load,<br />
which allows the fly-wheel to function. The speed<br />
curve is omitted for the finishing passes as there is<br />
Id<br />
o<br />
-«—i<br />
o<br />
o<br />
oo<br />
o<br />
£<br />
o<br />
o<br />
o f<br />
-CtV<br />
3<br />
a<br />
Jd<br />
1<br />
ESU JTU ML<br />
£<br />
1<br />
1<br />
rlr<br />
rvJl<br />
Ji<br />
I<br />
JUff<br />
1<br />
~/-ir~J<br />
1,<br />
d\<br />
ri fll<br />
1rJ |ij Lru m<br />
inji ,nn II<br />
Mas, FurnaceSSfeel PI,-'.<br />
M<br />
,4 A<br />
~j7"<br />
-jvillLIII<br />
FIG. 4—Curve drawing instrument chart shozving the fluctuating<br />
character of the load.<br />
hardly any noticeable decrease of speed under the<br />
power demands at this point. The curve has been<br />
spread to allow better opportunity for study and a<br />
picture of the section resulting and the data for the<br />
pass are shown above the curve. In these chart curves<br />
FIG. 7—Reproduction of chart taken at 18-in. per min, zvith a<br />
swing of 1 in. per 1,000 kw.<br />
the time is shown in five second blocks evenly divided<br />
into single seconds which is near enough for all practical<br />
purposes. These chart curves form a basis for<br />
some very interesting study and need no discussion<br />
in this article.<br />
January, 1924<br />
Summary.<br />
As no change was made other than the installation<br />
of the motor in place of the steam engine, the<br />
electrification of this mill may be credited with the<br />
following:<br />
1. More convenient operation due to push button<br />
control for starting, stopping and reversing.<br />
2. Cheaper operation due to less attendance, and<br />
practically no repairs.<br />
3. Greater tonnage and fewer pieces to handle due<br />
to the reserve power inherent in the electric motor.<br />
4. Fewer cobbles and reduced roll breakage.<br />
5. More uniform sections with less difference in<br />
weight of finished piece, due to cjuicker finishing.<br />
6. Assistance to roll designer derived from recording<br />
chart.<br />
To Make Power Survey of Pennsylvania<br />
As a commission from Governor Gifford Pinchot,<br />
a power survey of the State of Pennsylvania has just<br />
been instituted by the Commercial Engineering Department<br />
of Carnegie Institute of Technology. Dr.<br />
W. F. Rittman, head of the department, and Prof.<br />
Sumner B. Ely are making the survey under the<br />
directorship of Morris L. Cooke of Philadelphia.<br />
As the purpose of the study is to determine the<br />
approximate consumption of horsepower necessary to<br />
operate Pennsylvania industries over a given period<br />
of future years, the survey is considered to be one of<br />
the most important in the state's history. In order<br />
to make such an estimate possible, the Carnegie Tech<br />
engineers have been asked to survey the total consumption<br />
of power used in the state industries in the<br />
past 20 years.<br />
Because of the relative importance of the state<br />
survey. Dr. Rittman and Prof. Ely have been assured<br />
of the utmost co-operation by engineers and heads of<br />
industries throughout the commonwealth. The Carnegie<br />
Tech investigators, who have just completed a<br />
power survey of the Pittsburgh District upon their<br />
own initiative, will have a wealth of information derived<br />
from this study upon which to construct their<br />
state-wide research.<br />
Governor Pinchot's faith in the possibilities of a<br />
power survey of the state was expressed in a statement<br />
issued last summer when he said: "In an advancing<br />
social order, power must be both cheap and<br />
plentiful. Therefore every possible economy must be<br />
practiced. This implies the conception of a state-wide<br />
(and ultimately a nation-wide) reservoir or pool of<br />
power into which we may pour energy from whatever<br />
source, and from which storage we may take out energy<br />
to meet widely diversified scattered needs.<br />
"Giant power means cutting out waste. The burning<br />
of raw coal in power plants and on our railroads<br />
has come to be recognized as waste, involving, as it<br />
does, the loss of by-products such as ammonia, needed<br />
for fertilizer on the farm; tar for road-building, and<br />
other hydrocarbons useful as dyestuffs and otherwise<br />
in the industries. If these economies can be realized<br />
through building large scale by-product distillation<br />
and power plants at the mines, it will mean cheaper<br />
power because of the reduction in the cost of fuel,<br />
which today constitutes upward of three-quarters of<br />
the whole cost of steam developed electric current.<br />
The Carnegie Tech engineers plan to complete<br />
their survey by the end of summer of 1924.
January, 1924<br />
Tlie Blast FurnaceSSfeel PI ar<br />
Complete Modern Ore Bin System<br />
Great Labor Reduction Effected by New Mechanical<br />
Handling Equipment<br />
IN anticipation of the labor difficulties which many<br />
iron and steel producing plants are at present experiencing,<br />
the Adrian Furnace Company of Du<br />
Bois, Pa., decided during the summer of 1922 to install<br />
a modern and permanent storage bin and trestle<br />
system, together with scale cars, and transfer car, and<br />
other necessary auxiliary equipment.<br />
The blast furnace at Du Bois was placed in operation<br />
on April 6th, 1923, and with the new mechanical<br />
handling equipment it has been possible to reduce the<br />
number of men employed in the stock house from 19<br />
to 3 men per shift.<br />
When the furnace was last blown out, in August,<br />
1922, it was decided to begin the improvement program<br />
at once, and Arthur G. McKee & Company of<br />
Cleveland were selected as engineers and contractors<br />
and were awarded a lump sum contract for the entire<br />
work.<br />
In selecting a location for ore storage, it was decided<br />
to utilize a site adjoining the property of the<br />
Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal & Iron Company, which<br />
company also controls the Adrian Furnace Company<br />
property. This procedure made it possible to bring<br />
into service a traveling bridge which was originally<br />
installed by the Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal & Iron<br />
Company for handling and storing coal. By provid<br />
ing a slight curve and extending the crane runway,<br />
the bridge now can traverse the ore storage and serve<br />
the transfer car operated in connection with the new<br />
trestle and bin system. It was also necessary to<br />
change the center line of the new concrete trestle to<br />
a point 3 ft. 6 in. distant from the center line of the<br />
old wooden trestle, which was practically completely<br />
dismantled.<br />
As shown in the accompanying illustrations, the<br />
new bin and trestle structure, comprising a total of<br />
33 bents, is 480 ft. in length and is of steel and reinforced<br />
concrete construction. The height of the<br />
trestle at the skip pit is 27 ft. to top of rail, and is<br />
provided with walkways on each side of the trestle<br />
tracks with steel handrailing 3 ft. 6 in. high.<br />
Suspended from the reinforced concrete supporting<br />
structure are six ore and stone bins, each 15 ft. in<br />
length, center to center of bents. The bins are of the<br />
Baker suspension type and of steel plate construction,<br />
Ys in. thick, braced and reinforced with angles and<br />
beams. For direct discharge into scale car, the bins<br />
are equipped with a continuous row of segmental type<br />
gates, which are easily operated from the scale car<br />
platform. The scale car for carrying ore and stone<br />
from the bins to the skip pit is electrically operated<br />
and is of heavv steel construction. The car is of the<br />
FIG. 1—Shows the track level of bin and trestle structure 480 /(. long, built of steel and concrete.<br />
43
center discharge type, with side platform, the control<br />
and scale equipment, car discharge and bin discharge<br />
mechanism being so arranged that they are all easily<br />
accessible to the scale car operator.<br />
In order to accommodate the new arrangement it<br />
was necessary to deepen and enlarge the existing skip<br />
pit, and to extend the travel of the skip cars.<br />
The coke bin is of the central discharge type, and<br />
is 45 ft. in length, center to center of bents, occupying<br />
three bays in the trestle structure. The bin sides and<br />
bottom are of J^-in. steel plate, braced with structural<br />
steel members, all suspended from the concrete bents,<br />
wearing plates being provided in the lower portion of<br />
the bin. The coke bin is designed for a capacity of<br />
135 tons of coke, level full.<br />
For screening the coke, two McKee patented cascade<br />
coke screens were provided, over which the coke<br />
is discharged from the storage bin direct into the skip<br />
cars. Beneath the coke screens are two chutes which<br />
deliver the breeze to the boot of a bucket elevator.<br />
The breeze is then elevated approximately 30 ft. and<br />
emptied on to a 14-in. belt conveyor, which carries the<br />
material approximately 52 ft. and discharges direct<br />
into railroad cars. The belt conveyor is of standard<br />
As previously mentioned, it was decided to convert<br />
the traveling coal bridge into an ore bridge and<br />
owing to the existing construction and clearance of<br />
the bridge and bucket, a special transfer car was required<br />
for distributing materials from the ore bridge<br />
TliebUFurnaceSSfoelPt.' January, 1924<br />
to the respective storage bins. The maximum clearance<br />
obtainable was approximately 8 ft. above top of<br />
rail, necessitating the provision of a cab which would<br />
afford a full view of all operations and still meet the<br />
clearance requirements. For these reasons the car<br />
was designed with the cab located in a lowered position<br />
and supported by extending the car frame, as<br />
shown in the adjacent photograph.<br />
The car has an overall length of 40 ft. 8 in., the<br />
hopper being 20 ft. 6 in. by 12 ft. 8 in. at the top, giving<br />
a capacity of 50 net tons. For discharging its contents<br />
the car hopper is equipped with two pairs of<br />
counterweighted discharge gates, so arranged as to<br />
dump the material symmetrically from the hopper.<br />
Opening and closing of the gates is effected by a<br />
mechanism of levers, cams and shafts, operated by<br />
means of air cylinders. An auxiliary hand operating<br />
mechanism was also provided, for use in case of failure<br />
of air supply.<br />
The car is equipped with two four-wheel standard<br />
50-ton M.C.B. arch bar trucks, Westinghouse air<br />
brake equipment, and is driven by two 51-hp., 250-volt,<br />
d.c. motors, one mounted on the axle of each truck.<br />
All auxiliaries, such as fenders, headlights, warning<br />
gongs, etc., are included in the car equipment.<br />
In summarizing the foregoing, the new construction<br />
and equipment gives the Adrian Furnace Company<br />
a complete mechanical handling and storage<br />
system, which, by utilizing certain existing equipment,<br />
was provided at a minimum expenditure.<br />
Reconstruction work was completed February 9,<br />
1923. The interests of the Adrian Furnace Company.<br />
in connection with the improvement program, were<br />
handled by Mr. F. G. St. Clair, general manager. All<br />
designs, equipment and erection were furnished bv<br />
Arthur G. McKee & Company.<br />
Concrete Ties Used in Indian Railways<br />
The Northwestern Railway of India has made exhaustive<br />
tests of a new type of concrete railway tie patented by a Delhi<br />
consulting engineer. Experiments have been made on SO<br />
FIG. 2—Another view of trestle shozving bottom of bins from miles of main line track near Delhi and the results have been<br />
the yard level.<br />
so satisfactory that a further 70 miles of track will be similarly<br />
equipped as soon as the necessary ties are manufac<br />
construction, provided with 4-ply rubber covered belt, tured, says a report to the Department of Commerce from<br />
troughing idlers and return idlers. Power for driving Vice Consul Robert F. Kelley at Calcutta. The tie consists<br />
is supplied by a 5-hp., 220-volt, d.c. motor.<br />
of two concrete blocks joined together by a tie bar, the rails<br />
being fastened by means of a screw or dog spike driven into<br />
Prior to the installation of the new handling equip wood plugs, specially treated and compressed, set in the bed<br />
ment, operation of the skip hoist, furnace bells, etc., of the concrete block. The other Indian railways are inter<br />
was accomplished from several remote points, and in ested in concrete dies. The East Indian Railway has been<br />
order to overcome this disadvantage, a new opera using a large number of Green-Moore patent reinforced contor's<br />
house was constructed. This house is located at crete ties for seven years and has now nearly completed a<br />
the skip pit, on the furnace side of the coke bin, and factory for manufacturing 500,000 railway ties per annum.<br />
with the new arrangement the operator has under his The Green-Moore tie is the invention of the deputy chief<br />
direct control the operation of the skip cars, coke bin engineer of the East Indian Railway and is similar in con<br />
gates, coke breeze disposal equipment, furnace bells struction to the type in use on the Northwestern Railway.<br />
and furnace gauging mechanism.<br />
They have been favorably reported on by the senior govern<br />
ment inspector of railways since 1915-1916, who states that<br />
they are still in perfect condition and show no signs of<br />
weakness. The Bengal Nagpur Railway has decided to adopt<br />
the Green-Moore tie and has acquired a license to manufacture<br />
300,000.
J'")'- 1924 ri,o5leSiruncoeSloc.|Pbr' 43<br />
Metalloids in Basic Pig Iron in Basic Open<br />
hearth Practice*<br />
By C. L. KINNEY, JR.f<br />
T H E rapid increase in the amount of steel produced<br />
by the basic open-hearth process is an index<br />
of its ability to produce high-grade steel from rawmaterials<br />
of the most varied physical character and<br />
chemical analysis. This inherent adaptability of the<br />
process has resulted in a lack of care in the selection<br />
of raw materials, so that in far too many cases charges<br />
are used of a chemical and physical character not justified<br />
by local economic conditions.<br />
A practice, or series of practices, should be used<br />
that will result in the greatest economy for the plant<br />
as a whole; therefore, the operations of blast furnace<br />
and open hearth must be considered together. In this<br />
paper, an effort has been made to show those variations<br />
in both openhearth practice and cost that follow<br />
changes in the analysis of the pig iron and, it may be<br />
said that, the theoretical costs shown are worthy of<br />
careful study and consideration.<br />
Carbon, manganese, silicon, phosphorus, and sulphur<br />
constitute the principal metalloids in basic pig<br />
able steel by the acid process. So the problem is how,<br />
and to what degree, the changes in hot metal constitution<br />
affect burdening practice, for the open-hearth<br />
process is a metallurgical operation that takes various<br />
materials and produces steel to meet trade specifications;<br />
and the management must meet these chemical<br />
and physical specifications in the most economical<br />
manner possible.<br />
In this paper, eight representative heats have been<br />
chosen and worked out on a chemical, or material, and<br />
thermal balance and then combined on a cost basis,<br />
in an effort to determine what grouping of materials<br />
will yield the lowest cost to them all as a unit.<br />
The conversion of pig iron into steel requires the<br />
elimination, as far as possible, of the silicon, phosphorus,<br />
and sulphur and the reduction of carbon. The<br />
oxidizing action of the flame with high iron charges<br />
must be increased by the introduction of iron oxide<br />
in the form of ore, for these metalloids (except carbon)<br />
must be oxidized before they can be taken up<br />
An endeavor to emphasize the effect of<br />
varying percentages of silicon, manganese,<br />
and phosphorus in the basic pig iron, used in<br />
the basic open-hearth process, on the cost of<br />
steel; supplemented by calculations that exhibit<br />
the momentary losses sustained, when<br />
unnecessary quantities of silica or bases are<br />
used.<br />
and held by the slag. The principal slag-forming constituent<br />
is lime, and enough must be introduced with<br />
the charge to absorb and carry away the impurities.<br />
Any excess lime or ore charged is a distinct loss both<br />
in heat and material. An excessively thick slag offers<br />
an increased existence to heat transfer from gas to<br />
bath, and excess ore produces an overoxidized and soft<br />
melting heat, as well as heavy iron losses in the slag.<br />
In our practice, a charge of 35 per cent metal (car<br />
iron and play the leading role in the production of<br />
steel by the basic open-hearth process. The percentages<br />
of each of these metalloids, with the exception of<br />
carbon, is a variable that has its genesis in the economic<br />
relation of the blast-furnace plant to its ore and<br />
fuel supplies. As the amount of carbon in the iron is<br />
a saturation function of the temperature at which it is<br />
produced, the variation in the amount carried is, for<br />
any given locality and grade of iron, practically negligible<br />
and is so considered in the eight heats discussed<br />
in this paper.<br />
rying 0.75 per cent silicon, 1.00 per cent manganese,<br />
0.20 per cent phosphorus, 4.30 per cent carbon, and 0.04<br />
per cent sulphur) together with 65 per cent scrap will,<br />
under average conditions, melt at approximately 0.50<br />
per cent carbon, which is sufficient when making soft<br />
steel to give the active carbon boil so essential for the<br />
proper refinement of the charge. As is the case in all<br />
large steel-producing districts, the scarcity and price<br />
of heavy melting steel scrap make it more economical<br />
to substitute the high-percentage iron charge for the<br />
scrap; this substitution necessitates an enhancement<br />
of the oxidizing power of the furnace. This is accom<br />
The melting and refining reactions in an openplished by charging in the furnace, with the limestone<br />
hearth furnace, either acid or basic, are essentially and scrap, a predetermined amount of oxygen in the<br />
oxidizing and vary greatly with the type and age of form of iron ore. The action of the oxygen, thus in<br />
the furnace, as well as the character of the fuel emtroduced, on the metalloids in the excess iron charged<br />
ployed. The outstanding characteristic of the basic is a preferential one, at the temperatures prevailing<br />
process, and the one that explains its predominance in the furnace at the time the hot iron is poured on<br />
over the acid, is its ability to form out of the lime the limestone, scrap, and ore previously charged. The<br />
charged and the phosphorus oxidized from the charge silicon, manganese, and phosphorus are first oxidized<br />
a stable calcium phosphate, which is held in solution and, as the temperature rises, the carbon-oxygen reac<br />
by the basic slag. The necessity for such a process tion begins to predominate, and on further tempera<br />
had its origin in the gradually diminishing quantities ture rise it becomes the only one. It is at this period<br />
and increasing cost of iron ores having a phosphorus of the melt, because of the enormous volumes of car<br />
content sufficiently low to permit the production of bon monoxide and carbon dioxide generated, that the<br />
iron, which contained an amount of this element small gas-saturated slag occupies two or three times its<br />
enough to make possible its conversion into merchant- normal volume; to prevent destructive erosion of the<br />
furnace structure, it is customary to run off from 30<br />
*Copyright, 1923, by the American Institute of Mining and<br />
to 40 per cent of this total slag. In spite of the fact<br />
Metallurgical Engineers, Inc.<br />
that this run-off slag contains relatively high percent<br />
tSuperintendent of Open-Hearth, Illinois Steel Company, So.<br />
ages of iron and manganese, in the form of silicates,<br />
Chicago, 111.
46<br />
which if held in the furnace could be more thoroughly<br />
reduced and their additional oxygen made available<br />
and the metal returned to the bath; the general practice<br />
is to waste this slag, and with cheap iron and ores,<br />
it is probably more economical to do so than to reduce<br />
the size of the charges and to use the additional<br />
fuel that the greater finishing slag volume would necessitate.<br />
To illustrate the preceding principles, one scrap<br />
and seven ore heats have been calculated on a material<br />
and heat-balance basis. The analyses of the various<br />
pig irons and the names by which the heats will be<br />
hereinafter referred to are :<br />
Pig Iron Analysis<br />
Phos- Manga-<br />
Carbon Silicon phorus nese Sulphur<br />
Heat Pet. Pet. Pet. Pet. Pet.<br />
Scrap 4.30 075 0.20 1.00 0.04<br />
Standard iron 4.30 0.75 0.20 1.00 0.04<br />
Standard iron, low-silica<br />
ore 4.30 0.75 0.20 1.00 0.04<br />
High manganese iron.. 4.30 0.75 0.20 2.00 0.04<br />
High manganese iron,<br />
low silica ore 4.30 0.75 0.20 2.00 0.04<br />
Excess limestone 4.30 0.75 0.20 1.00 0.04<br />
High silicon iron 4.30 1.75 0.20 1.00 0.04<br />
High phosphorus iron. 4.30 0.75 0.70 1.00 0.04<br />
The scrap charge was 35,000 lb. hot metal and 65,000<br />
lb. heavy scrap; all others were made up of 65,000 lb.<br />
hot metal, 35,000 lb. of scrap, and varying amounts of<br />
ore. "Low-silica ore" means that the ore carried 4.62<br />
per cent, silica instead of 9.29 per cent as in the other<br />
cases.<br />
It may be properly asked what advantage may be<br />
gained or reliance placed on results of heats calculated<br />
in this manner; all were calculated using the same factors<br />
and, in the cases that correspond to operating conditions<br />
in the Chicago district, the theoretical results<br />
obtained corresponded very satisfactorily with our ac<br />
HieNasf FurnaceSSfeel P|P-<br />
january, 1924<br />
tual operation. These typical heats, on a cost basis,<br />
showed the following results :<br />
Scrap $29.11<br />
Standard iron ^"-'"<br />
Standard iron, low-silica ore 30.27<br />
High-manganese iron 0077<br />
High-manganese iron, low-silica ore 'Vn<br />
Excess limestone V->i<br />
High-silicon iron ^.21<br />
High-phosphorus iron 31.12<br />
While the scrap heat does not represent regular practice<br />
in the South Chicago district, it is included to<br />
show what economies might be realized by this simple<br />
melting process, when the relative cost of heavy<br />
melting scrap and iron permit. The heats with the<br />
low-silica ore have been included to show the savings<br />
possible from this source. The excess-limestone heat<br />
was included to show that this customary method of<br />
reducing sulphur is expensive.<br />
As already mentioned, the open-hearth reactions<br />
are highly oxidizing, and the oxidizing capacity of the<br />
furnace when high percentages of iron are charged<br />
must be enhanced by the introduction of an amount<br />
of oxygen in the form of iron ore. The demand for<br />
ore will depend on the type and age of the furnace<br />
and the weight of metalloids charged. The method<br />
of determining the amount of ore needed will be explained<br />
later.<br />
While the exact constitution of a basic open-hearth<br />
slag is not thoroughly understood and analyses vary<br />
over wide limits, a good slag will always possess certain<br />
outstanding characteristics. Such a slag may be<br />
considered to consist of a phosphate and a silicate portion,<br />
the former being held in solution by the silicate<br />
slag. Moreover the basic and acid constituents must<br />
be so proportioned as to permit the slag to hold the<br />
impurities, and also to be of the proper consistency at<br />
TABLE 1.—Comparative Costs of the Different Heats. Based on the Calculated Chemical and Thermal<br />
Balance Sheets and Market Prices of April, 1923<br />
Materials Used<br />
Basic hot metal<br />
Iron in ferromanganese<br />
Heavy melting steel scrap<br />
Metal from ore<br />
Pure manganese from 80 per cent<br />
ferro<br />
Gross metallio mixture<br />
Heavy scrap recovered<br />
Pit scrap recovered<br />
Net metallic mixture.<br />
Limestone<br />
Fluorspar<br />
Calcined dolomite<br />
Coal<br />
Slag disposal<br />
Total<br />
Total cost • • • •<br />
Cost per too of ingots<br />
Price<br />
per<br />
Gross<br />
Too<br />
I 28.00 15.63<br />
28.00 0.035<br />
24.00 29.02<br />
12.00<br />
162.50 0.142<br />
$24.00<br />
20.00<br />
$ 2.00<br />
23.00<br />
9.00<br />
7.00<br />
0.50<br />
Scrap<br />
Tons Amount<br />
0.446<br />
1.339<br />
1.05<br />
0.134<br />
0.446<br />
8.53<br />
1.79<br />
$ 437.64<br />
0.98<br />
696.48<br />
23.08<br />
$1,158.18<br />
$ 10.70<br />
2C.78<br />
$1,120.70<br />
$ 2.10<br />
3.08<br />
4.01<br />
59.71<br />
0.90<br />
$ 69.80<br />
$1,190.50<br />
Cost<br />
per<br />
Ton<br />
$28.32<br />
$27.40<br />
.71<br />
$29.11<br />
Standard Iron<br />
High-silica Ore<br />
Tons Amount<br />
!9.02<br />
0.047<br />
.5.63<br />
2.12<br />
0.1S9 30.71<br />
0.467<br />
1.403<br />
2.94<br />
0.134<br />
1.12<br />
10.43<br />
5.10<br />
$ 812.56<br />
1.32<br />
375.12<br />
25.44<br />
$1,245.15<br />
$ 11.21<br />
28.06<br />
$1,205.88<br />
$ 5.88<br />
3.08<br />
10.08<br />
73.01<br />
$ 2.55<br />
$ 04.60<br />
$1,300.48<br />
Cost<br />
per<br />
Ton<br />
$29.39<br />
$28.47<br />
$ 2.23<br />
$30.70<br />
Standard Iron<br />
Low-silica Ore<br />
Tons Amount<br />
29.02<br />
0.040<br />
15.63<br />
2.12<br />
0.162<br />
0.467<br />
1.403<br />
2.00<br />
0.134<br />
1.12<br />
9.75<br />
4.01<br />
$ 812<br />
1<br />
375<br />
26.33<br />
$1,240.57<br />
$ 11.<br />
28<br />
$1,201.30<br />
4.<br />
3<br />
10,<br />
68<br />
2<br />
$ 87<br />
$1,288<br />
Cost<br />
per<br />
Ton<br />
$29.14<br />
$2S.22<br />
$ 2,05<br />
$30.27<br />
High-manganese Iron<br />
High-silica Ore<br />
Tons Amount<br />
29.02<br />
0.014<br />
15.63<br />
2.32<br />
0.055<br />
0.469<br />
1.409<br />
3.09<br />
0.134<br />
1.12<br />
11.04<br />
5.34<br />
$ S12.56<br />
0.39<br />
375.12<br />
27.84<br />
S.94<br />
$1,224.85<br />
11.26<br />
28.18<br />
»1,1S5.41<br />
$ 6.18<br />
3.08<br />
10.08<br />
77.28<br />
2.67<br />
$ 99.29<br />
$1,284.70<br />
Cost<br />
per<br />
Ton<br />
$28.86<br />
$27.93<br />
$ 2.34<br />
$30.27
January, 1924<br />
Materials Used<br />
Basic hot metal<br />
Iron in ferromanganese<br />
Heavy melting steel scrap<br />
Metal from ore<br />
Pure manganese from SO per cent.<br />
f erro<br />
Gross metallic mixture<br />
Heavy scrap recovered.<br />
Pit scrap recovered<br />
Net metallic mixture.<br />
Limestone<br />
Fluorspar<br />
Calcined dolomite.<br />
Coal<br />
Slag disposal<br />
Total.<br />
Total cost<br />
Cost per ton of ingots.<br />
Pounds limestone per ton of ingots<br />
Pounds pure manganese in ladle per ton<br />
Price<br />
per<br />
Gross<br />
Ton<br />
; 28.00<br />
28.00<br />
24.00<br />
12.00<br />
162.50 0.019<br />
$ 24.00<br />
20.00<br />
$ 2.00 2.06<br />
23.00 0.134<br />
9.00 1.12<br />
7.00 10.33<br />
0.50 4.13<br />
UieBIasf FurnaceSSfeel PI,<br />
High-manganese Iron<br />
Low-silica Ore<br />
Tons Amount<br />
29.02<br />
o.oo;<br />
15.63<br />
2.32<br />
0.469<br />
1.409<br />
812.56<br />
0.14<br />
375.12<br />
27.84<br />
3.09<br />
$1,218.75<br />
$ 11.26<br />
28.18<br />
$1,179.31<br />
$ 4.12<br />
3.08<br />
10.08<br />
72.31<br />
2.07<br />
$ 91.66<br />
$1,270.97<br />
TABLE 1.—(Continued)<br />
Cost<br />
per<br />
Ton<br />
$28.54<br />
$27.62<br />
$ 2.15<br />
$29.77<br />
Excess Limestone<br />
Tons Amount<br />
29.02<br />
0.056<br />
15.63<br />
2.12<br />
0.467<br />
1.403<br />
5.21<br />
0.268<br />
1.12<br />
11.86<br />
6.90<br />
$ 812.56<br />
1.57<br />
375.12<br />
25.44<br />
36.56<br />
$1,251.25<br />
11.21<br />
28.06<br />
$1,211.98<br />
$ 10.42<br />
6.16<br />
10.08<br />
83.02<br />
3.45<br />
$ 113.13<br />
$1,325.11<br />
Cost<br />
per<br />
Ton<br />
$29.81<br />
$28.88<br />
$ 2.09<br />
$31.57<br />
Tons<br />
29.02<br />
0.066<br />
15.03<br />
3.00<br />
0.2G3<br />
0.470<br />
1.429<br />
6.73<br />
0.134<br />
1.12<br />
13.51<br />
9.38<br />
High-silicon Iron<br />
Amount<br />
S 812.56<br />
1.85<br />
375.12<br />
30.00<br />
42.74<br />
$1,208.27<br />
$ 11.42<br />
28,58<br />
$1,228.27<br />
$ 13.40<br />
3.08<br />
10.08<br />
94.57<br />
4.09<br />
$ 125.88<br />
$1,354.15<br />
TABLE 2.—Practice Data of the Different Heats<br />
Scrap<br />
91.62<br />
1.00<br />
3.00<br />
4.38<br />
40.90<br />
C, 4.30; Si, 0.75; P, 0.2;<br />
Mn, 1.00; S, 0.04<br />
35.00<br />
65.00<br />
467.0<br />
57.0<br />
7.8<br />
0.24<br />
4,003.0<br />
536.0<br />
High-manganese Iron<br />
Low-silica Ore<br />
90.92<br />
l.QO<br />
3.00<br />
5.08<br />
42.70<br />
C, 4.30; Si, 0.75; P, 0.2;<br />
Mn, 2.00; S, 0.04<br />
61.79<br />
33.27<br />
4.93<br />
4.62<br />
542.0<br />
108.0<br />
1.0<br />
0.40<br />
9,254.0<br />
940.0<br />
the temperature of the furnace. This physical property<br />
might be termed fluidity.<br />
So with a set of factors for determining the amount<br />
of ore and lime and the quantity of slag that the<br />
charge would yield, the chemical balance sheets for<br />
the eight heats were worked out, as well as the thermal<br />
balance sheets. Data on how much coal would be<br />
Standard Iron<br />
High-silica Ore<br />
90.58<br />
1.00<br />
3.00<br />
5.42<br />
42.36<br />
C, 4.30; Si, 0.75; P. 0.2;<br />
Mn, 1.00; S, 0.04<br />
62.05<br />
33.41<br />
4.54<br />
9.29<br />
551.0,<br />
155.00<br />
10.0<br />
0.20<br />
11,423.0<br />
1,728.0<br />
Excess Limestone<br />
89.76<br />
1.00<br />
3.00<br />
6.24<br />
41.97<br />
C, 4.30; Si. 0.75; P, 0.2;<br />
Mn, 1.00; S, 0.04<br />
62.05<br />
33.41<br />
4.54<br />
9.29<br />
633.0<br />
278.0<br />
12.0<br />
0.16<br />
15,465.0<br />
2,536.0<br />
Standard Iron<br />
Low-silica Ore<br />
91.04<br />
1.00<br />
3.00<br />
4.96<br />
42.57<br />
Cost<br />
per<br />
Ton<br />
$30.17<br />
$29.22<br />
$2.99<br />
$32.21<br />
C, 4.30; Si, 0.75; P, 0.20;<br />
Mn, 1.00; S, 0,04<br />
62.05<br />
33.41<br />
4.54<br />
4.62<br />
511.0<br />
105.0<br />
8.5<br />
0.23<br />
8,975.0<br />
1,274.0<br />
High-silicon Iron<br />
88.23<br />
1.00<br />
3.00<br />
7.77<br />
42.04<br />
C, 4.30; Si, 1.75; P, 0.2;<br />
Mn, 1.00; S, 0.04<br />
60.91<br />
32.80<br />
6.29<br />
9.29<br />
720.0<br />
359.0<br />
14.0<br />
0.12<br />
20,897.0<br />
3,624.0<br />
High-phosphorus Iron<br />
Tons<br />
29.02<br />
0.057<br />
15.63<br />
2.56<br />
0.228<br />
0.472<br />
1,410<br />
4.23<br />
0.134<br />
1.12<br />
11.60<br />
6.39<br />
812.56<br />
1.60<br />
375.12<br />
30.72<br />
37.05<br />
$1,275.05<br />
11.33<br />
28.32<br />
$1,217.40<br />
$ 8.46<br />
3.08<br />
10.08<br />
81.20<br />
3.20<br />
100.02<br />
323.42<br />
Cost<br />
per<br />
Ton<br />
$29.56<br />
$28.63<br />
$ 2.49<br />
$31.12<br />
High-manganese Iron<br />
High-silica Ore<br />
90 39<br />
1 00<br />
3.00<br />
5 61<br />
42 44<br />
C, 4.30; Si, 0.75; P, 0.2;<br />
Mn, 2.00; S, 0.04<br />
61 79<br />
33.27<br />
4.93<br />
9.29<br />
583 0<br />
163.0<br />
2.9<br />
0.34<br />
11,965.0<br />
1,432.0<br />
High-phosphorus Iron<br />
90 11<br />
1.00<br />
3.00<br />
5.88<br />
42 53<br />
C, 4.30; Si. 0.75; P, 0 7-<br />
Mn, 1.00; S, 0.04<br />
33.10<br />
5 41<br />
9.29<br />
612 0<br />
224.0<br />
12.0<br />
14,318.0<br />
1,918.0<br />
required to supply the heat needed to balance the<br />
heat generated and heat absorbed were taken from<br />
a paper by G. R. McDermott and myself,* as well as<br />
the general method of calculating the thermal balance<br />
sheets.<br />
47<br />
*The Thermal Efficiency and Heat Balance of an Open<br />
Hearth Furnace. Year Book, Am. Iron & Steel Inst. (1922)<br />
464.
48<br />
Type of Charge<br />
Standard iron, high-<br />
Standard iron, lowsilica<br />
ore<br />
High-manganese iron,<br />
high-silica ore<br />
High-manganese iron,<br />
low-silica ore.<br />
Excess limestone<br />
High-silicon iron<br />
High-phosphorua iron<br />
Type of Charge<br />
TABLE 3.—Combined Practice and Cost Sheet<br />
s<br />
o<br />
K3<br />
DC 51<br />
i* £o<br />
0 100,000<br />
5,188<br />
5,188<br />
4,746<br />
6,718<br />
5,725<br />
Scrap<br />
Standard iron, high-silica<br />
ore<br />
Standard iron, low-silica<br />
ore<br />
High manganese iron,<br />
high-silica ore<br />
High-manga nese iron,<br />
low-silica ore<br />
Excess limestone<br />
High-silicon iron<br />
High-phosphorus iron .<br />
•8<br />
"3 g<br />
go.<br />
104,746<br />
3<br />
o<br />
3<br />
H<br />
105,188 42 44 90.39 0 34<br />
2<br />
GO<br />
a<br />
O<br />
a.<br />
a<br />
S.I<br />
— a<br />
K*<br />
0.24<br />
4,746 104.746 42.57 91.04 0.23<br />
105,188 42.70 90,92 0.40<br />
104,746 41.97 89.76 0.16<br />
106,718 42.04,88.23 0.12<br />
105,725 42.53 90.11 0.16<br />
•a<br />
£
January, 1924<br />
ore for each method are shown in the following table,*<br />
and are applicable to actual operating conditions. For<br />
the sake of simplicity, the costs and thermal and<br />
chemical balance sheets shown are based on the firstnamed<br />
practice.<br />
Per Cent of FE=Os<br />
No Run-Off With Run-Off<br />
1 per cent silicon requires 4.32 7.62<br />
1 per cent phosphorus requires 4.30 7.80<br />
1 per cent manganese requires 0.97 0.97<br />
1 per cent carbon requires 3.60 4.44<br />
The metalloids in part of the pig iron may be considered<br />
to be eliminated by the oxidizing capacity of<br />
the furnace, while those belonging to the remaining<br />
quantity of pig iron charged determine the ore requirement.<br />
In practice, it is found that a scrap heat composed<br />
of 65 per cent light scrap and 35 per cent pig<br />
iron melts at about 0.50 per cent carbon. This socalled<br />
oxidizing power of a furnace is largely measured<br />
by the amount of iron oxide, or scale, formed<br />
during the melting down of the scrap. With ore heats,<br />
this oxidizing action is somewhat less; and for the<br />
cases under consideration was considered to be 10 per<br />
cent less than in the scrap heat. So the ferric oxide<br />
charged for the standard ore heat will be that required<br />
to eliminate the metalloids from 33,000 lb. of pig iron.<br />
The requirements for the high-silicon, phosphorus,<br />
and manganese iron heats will be the standard ore<br />
figure plus the iron oxide needed to eliminate the<br />
increased quantity of metalloids charged.<br />
One of the most vital factors in the economical<br />
operation of a basic open-hearth furnace is the slag;<br />
and on account of improper composition and excessive<br />
volumes, the process as a whole suffers very<br />
grave losses. While such losses cannot be entirely<br />
eliminated, because of lack of ability to forecast accurately<br />
the variation in the quantities of acids to be<br />
charged, the tendency at all times is to charge an excess<br />
of earthy bases to care for the occasional peak of<br />
acids. The determination of the quantities of earthy<br />
bases to be charged for any given amounts of silica<br />
and phosphorus<br />
TABLE 5—Continued<br />
THERMAL BALANCE SHEET<br />
Heat Absorbed<br />
THERMOCHEMICAL CHANGES<br />
Reduction of oxides of iron:<br />
Heat of formation of Fe2Os = 3240<br />
Heat of formation of FeO = 2430<br />
Input:<br />
Fe203 =<br />
FeO =<br />
Heat of formation :<br />
Fe=03 =<br />
FeO =<br />
Total —<br />
Output:<br />
Tapping slag = FeO = 691 X 2430 = 1.68 X 10.<br />
Moisture in ore:<br />
Total weight of ore =<br />
Per cent moisture<br />
Total water<br />
Total heat to make steam at 212°<br />
Specific heat of steam = 0.42 + 0.00013 (2800 + 212) = 0.81<br />
Heat in superheat = (2800 — 212)0.81 =<br />
Total =<br />
*Carl Dichmann: "The Basic Open Hearth Steel Process."<br />
Tr. by Alleyne Reynolds. D. Van Nostrand Co., New York,<br />
1911.<br />
TnoftlasfFurnacoSSUPW'<br />
Decomposition of limestone:<br />
Heat of formation CaCOi per lb. 772 Btu.<br />
Total limestone = 2343 lb.<br />
Total heat required = 2343 X 772 = 1.81 X 10.<br />
Moisture 1.5 per cent = 351 lb.<br />
Total heat to make steam =<br />
Heat in superheat = 351 X<br />
351 X 1092 =<br />
(2800 — 212) . 081<br />
Total =<br />
0.38 X<br />
0.74 X<br />
Decomposition of improperly burned dolomite :<br />
Total weight of dolomite = 1000<br />
Volatile = 15.54 per cent = 155<br />
Assumed 98 per cent = 152 exists as CO=<br />
To drive off CO= = 1756 Btu. per lb.<br />
Total heat to drive off CO, = 1756 X 152 = 0.27 X 10.<br />
49<br />
10.<br />
10,;<br />
1.12 X 10.<br />
THERMOPHYSICAL CHANGE<br />
Hot metal 35,000 lb. Temperature = 2474° F. Tapping temperature<br />
— 3080° F. includes emissivity factor<br />
Temperature rise (3080° — 2474°) = 606° F.<br />
Specific heat = 0.2<br />
Heat absorbed = 35,000 X 606 X 0.2 = 4.24 X 10,<br />
Scrap = 65.000 lb. Temperature = 62° F.<br />
Melting temperature scrap = 2795° F.<br />
Heat required to bring to melting temperature = 65,000 X 2733<br />
X 0.16 = 28.42 X 10.<br />
Latent heat of fusion = 72 Btu.<br />
Total heat of fusion = 65,000 X 72 = 4.68 X 10.<br />
Heat to raise to temperature of bath = (3080 — 2795) 65,000 X<br />
0.2 = 3.71 X 10.<br />
Total heat = 36.81 X 10.<br />
Total heat in molten slag:<br />
Heat in tapping slag = 4003 X 1066 = 4.27 X 10, Btu.<br />
Total heat absorbed = 46.84 X 10,, Btu.<br />
Heat Generated<br />
Oxidation of carbon, weight = 1442<br />
Heat of formation of CO from C per lb. = 4374 Btu.<br />
Heat generated = 4374 X 1442 = 6.31 X 10.<br />
Oxidation of manganese, weight = 378 lb.<br />
Heat of formation of MnO = 2984 Btu.<br />
Heat generated = 2984 X 378 = 1.13 X 10,<br />
Oxidation of silicon, weight = 263 lb.<br />
Heat of formation of Si02 = 11,693 Btu.<br />
Heat generated = 11,693 X 263 = 3.08 X 10,<br />
Oxidation of phosphorus, weight = 67 lb.<br />
Heat of formation of P=Os = 10.825 Btu.<br />
Heat generated = 10,825 X 67 = 0.73 X 10,<br />
Heat of formation of slag weight = 4003 lb.<br />
Heat of formation of slag = 115 Btu.<br />
Heat generated = 4003 X 115 = 0.46 X 10,<br />
Total heat generated = 11.71 X 10. Btu.<br />
Authorities for Constants Used<br />
THERMOCHEMICAL CHANGES<br />
Iron oxide reduction—Richards.<br />
Decomposition of limestone—U. S. Bureau of Standards.<br />
Oxidation of C, Mn, Si, P—Richards, LeChatelier, Berthelot,<br />
Thomson.<br />
Formation of slag, calculated using Richards' values.<br />
THERMOPHYSICAL CHANGES<br />
Specific heat, pig iron—0.1665—Oberhoffer,<br />
Specific heat, soft steel—0.16—Meuther.<br />
Latent heat of fusion, pig iron—Hutter.<br />
Latent heat of fusion, steel—average value—Jetner, Richards,<br />
Brisker.<br />
Heat in molten slag—Springorum.<br />
Thermal Balance Sheet<br />
HEAT ABSORBED<br />
Red. of oxides of Fe = —1.68<br />
Absorp. moisture of ore<br />
Decomp. of limestone = 1.81<br />
Absorp. moist, of limestone = 1.12<br />
Decomposition of dolomite = 0.27<br />
Heat in molten slag = 4.27<br />
Heat added to mixer metal = 4.24<br />
Heat added to scrap = 36.81<br />
HEAT GENERATED<br />
Oxidation of C = 6.31 X 10,<br />
Oxidation of Mn — 1.13 X 10,<br />
Oxidation of Si = 3.08 X 10,
50 j£> 1UWF, urnacp. SU w-<br />
Oxidation of P = 0.73 X 10.<br />
Heat form, slag<br />
Balance heat to be supplied<br />
by combustion<br />
= 0.46 X 10.<br />
of gases in furnace = 35.13 X 10„<br />
Total Btu.<br />
THERMAL EFFICIENCY OF BATH<br />
46.84 X 10.<br />
Thermal efficiency of furnace = 17.3 per cent.<br />
Btu. in gas per pound of coal = 10,625<br />
Total Btu. to be supplied in producer gas =<br />
203.06 X 10, Btu.<br />
Total coal burned<br />
35.13 X 10,<br />
0.173<br />
1 2<br />
Material<br />
Weight,<br />
in<br />
Pounds<br />
Basic hot metal OS, 000<br />
Structural steel scrap 35,000<br />
Chapin ore (natural) 9,170<br />
Michigan limestone. 6,584<br />
Calcined dolomite... 2,500<br />
Fluorspar<br />
300<br />
S1O2 from furnace<br />
structure<br />
Total entering fur-<br />
Total steel in bath. . 99,069<br />
Tapping slag, 100.61<br />
per cent<br />
11,423<br />
Total output<br />
Unaccounted for... .<br />
Metalloids oxidized.<br />
Materia]<br />
Basic hot metal<br />
Structural ateel scrap.<br />
Chapin ore (natural).<br />
Michigan limestone..<br />
Calcined dolomite....<br />
SiOa from furnace<br />
structure<br />
Total entering furnace<br />
Total s'teel in bath....<br />
Tapping slag, 100.61<br />
Total output<br />
Unaccounted for<br />
Metalloids oxidized..<br />
18<br />
Pounds<br />
S<br />
26<br />
14<br />
2<br />
5.<br />
47<br />
40<br />
29<br />
69<br />
+22<br />
THERMAL BALANCE SHEET<br />
January, 1924<br />
Heat in superheat = 734 X (2800 - 212) X 0.81 = 1.54 X<br />
10,<br />
Total = 2.34 X 10.<br />
Decomposition of limestone:<br />
Heat of formation CaCO= per lb. = 772 Btu.<br />
Total limestone = 6584<br />
Total heat required = 772 X 6584 = 5.08 X 10,<br />
Moisture 1.5 per cent = 99<br />
Total heat to make steam = 99 X 1092 = 0.11 X 10,<br />
Heat in superheat = 2096 X 99 = 0.21 X 10,<br />
19,111 lb. Total = 0.32 X 10,<br />
3 4<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
C<br />
4.30<br />
0.20<br />
0.20<br />
19<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
CaO<br />
1.60<br />
54.60<br />
48.58<br />
2.50<br />
43.46<br />
TABLE 6.—Standard Iron, High-silica Ore Furnace Charge<br />
CHEMICAL BALANCE SHEET<br />
Pounds<br />
C<br />
2,795<br />
70<br />
2,865<br />
198<br />
198<br />
2,667<br />
20<br />
Pounds<br />
CaO<br />
147<br />
3,595<br />
1,215<br />
8<br />
4,965<br />
4,965<br />
4,965<br />
TABLE 6—Continued<br />
Heat Absorbed<br />
THERMOCHEMICAL CHANGES<br />
Reduction of oxides of iron:<br />
Heat of formation of Fe=0. — 3240 Btu.<br />
Heat of formation of FeO = 2430<br />
Input:<br />
Fe203 = 6,661<br />
FeO = 108<br />
Heat of formation :<br />
Fe=Oa = 6661 X 3240 =<br />
FeO = 108 X 2430 =<br />
21.58 X 10,<br />
0,26 X 10,<br />
5<br />
Pounds<br />
CO<br />
21<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
MgO<br />
2.64<br />
0.88<br />
32.58<br />
0.38<br />
8.77<br />
6<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
Si<br />
0.75<br />
22<br />
Pounds<br />
MgO<br />
242<br />
58<br />
815<br />
1<br />
1,116<br />
1,116<br />
1,116<br />
7 8<br />
Pounds<br />
Si<br />
488<br />
488<br />
488<br />
23<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
Fe<br />
51.76<br />
0.20<br />
0.38<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
SiOi<br />
9.29<br />
0.34<br />
1.32<br />
1.12<br />
17.94<br />
24<br />
Pounds<br />
Fe<br />
60,911<br />
34,772<br />
4,746<br />
13<br />
10<br />
9<br />
Pounds<br />
SiOi<br />
1,039<br />
852<br />
22<br />
"33<br />
3<br />
100<br />
2,049<br />
2,049<br />
2,049<br />
25<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
FeO<br />
1.18<br />
100.452<br />
98.624<br />
1,728 19.51<br />
100.352<br />
-100<br />
100<br />
10 j 11<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
P<br />
0.20<br />
0 01<br />
0.05<br />
0.006<br />
0.004<br />
0.004<br />
0.01<br />
26<br />
Pounds<br />
FeO<br />
108<br />
2,229<br />
Pounds<br />
P<br />
130<br />
4<br />
5<br />
10<br />
129<br />
139<br />
129<br />
27<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
FejOj<br />
72.64<br />
12<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
P1O5<br />
2.58<br />
28<br />
Pounds<br />
Fe203<br />
6,661<br />
13 14<br />
Pounds<br />
P*05<br />
295<br />
29<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
Ah03<br />
1.10<br />
0.30<br />
1.49<br />
1.15<br />
1.41<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
Mn<br />
1.00<br />
0.40<br />
0.13<br />
0.20<br />
30<br />
Pounds<br />
A1:03<br />
101<br />
20<br />
37<br />
3<br />
161<br />
161<br />
161<br />
15<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
MnO<br />
5.69<br />
Decomposition of improperly burned dolomite :<br />
Total weight of dolomite = 2500 lb.<br />
Volatile = 15.54 per cent = 389 lb.<br />
Assumed 98 per cent = 381 exists as CO-<br />
To drive off CO= = 1756 Btu. per lb.<br />
Total heat to drive off CO; = 1756 X 381<br />
31<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
CaF:<br />
16<br />
Pounds<br />
Ma<br />
650<br />
140<br />
12<br />
802<br />
198<br />
504<br />
702<br />
-100<br />
604<br />
17<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
S<br />
0.04<br />
0.04<br />
Tr.<br />
0.042<br />
0.126<br />
0.04<br />
0.25<br />
32 | 33<br />
Per 1 Per<br />
Cent. Cent.<br />
Vol- jMoistume<br />
ure<br />
3.15<br />
15.54<br />
92.53<br />
8.00<br />
1.50<br />
0.67 X 10,<br />
TIIERMOPHYSICAL CHANGES<br />
Hot metal = 65,000 lb. Temperature = 2474° F. Tapping temperature<br />
= 3080° F. includes emissivity factor<br />
Temperature rise (3080° — 2474°) = 606° F.<br />
Specific heat = 0.2<br />
Heat absorbed = 65,000 X 606 X 0.2 = 7.88 X 10,<br />
Scrap = 35,000 lb. Temperature = 62° F.<br />
Melting temperature scrap = 2795° F.<br />
Total 21.84 X 10,<br />
Heat required to bring to melting temperature =<br />
2,733 X 0.16 = 15.30 X 10,<br />
35 000 =<br />
Output:<br />
Tapping slag = FeO = 2229 X 2430 = 5.42 X 10,<br />
Moisture in ore<br />
Total weight of ore = 9170<br />
Per cent moisture = 8<br />
Latent heat of fusion = 72 Btu.<br />
Total heat of fusion = 35,000 X 72 = 2.52 X 10,<br />
Heat to raise to temperature of bath = (3080 — 2795) 35,000 X<br />
~.uu x if.<br />
Total heat in molten slag:<br />
Total water = 734<br />
10<br />
Total heat to make steam at 212° = 734 X 1092 = 0.80 X<br />
Specific heat of steam = 0.42 + 0.00013 X (2800 -f 212)<br />
0.81<br />
He ^' '"tapping slag = 11,423 X 1066 = 12.18 X 10, Btu.<br />
. Total heat absorbed = 64.71 X 10. Btu.<br />
(Continued on Page 71)
January, 1924 "LLMasfFu mace -o SU Pin<br />
Spacing of Pipe Supports and Hangers<br />
IN designing piping the problem of supporting the<br />
piping always arises. The problem is to determine<br />
the proper spacing of the supports or hangers<br />
for any particular size and thickness of pipe under<br />
the conditions of the installation, as to internal pressure,<br />
weight of contents, etc. None of the handbooks,<br />
textbooks, catalogs, etc., treat of this important subject<br />
so far as the writer is aware. The criterion for<br />
spacing of hangers or supports is the permissible tensile<br />
stress in the pipe caused by the beam action or the<br />
vertical reflection of the piping as a measure of stiffness<br />
as a beam.<br />
(1) From the "Curves showing the tensile stress<br />
in wall of pipe " (Fig. 1) it is evident<br />
that a tensile stress as great as 4,000 lbs. per sq.<br />
in. is permissible in lap welded steel pipe when used<br />
FIG. 1<br />
CURVES SHOWING THE TENSILE STRESS IN WALL<br />
OF PIPE FOR VARIOUS USES FOR MAXIMUM<br />
ALLOWABLE INTERNAL PRESSURE PER<br />
SPECIFICATIONS IN STEAM BOILER EKSIHEtRIH<br />
1920 ED.-P259-HEIHE SAFETY BOILER Co.<br />
(THESE SPECIFICATIONS IN HElNE ARE PROBABLY .<br />
BASED Crl STO SPECIFICATIONS FOR PoWER<br />
PlPlHfi" BY THE POWER PlPlNS SOCIETY)<br />
+ 6 8<br />
DIA. OF PIPE IN INCHES<br />
By FRANKLIN H. SMITH*<br />
-^ FOR P-" n *" ££££<br />
^ZJ HUES f BOM 200 Ta4flQ<br />
fOS SATURATED QR<br />
C^\ SUPERHEATED STEAM<br />
HOT OVER 350*i.TOO°F<br />
FOR SATURATED OR<br />
SUPERHEATED STEAM<br />
FROM 15flTo2SO Aflp<br />
HOT ov£S7£0. o fi<br />
FOB BOILER FECD<br />
LINES HOT OYER 200<br />
~ FOR SATURATED STEAM<br />
UJ NOT OVER ISO*|l. 366*F.<br />
THE STRESS INTHE WAU.<br />
OFTM6PIPE OR THE<br />
THICKNESS SPECIFIED<br />
FOR THE PARTICULAR USE,<br />
OETERMiHEO AS FOLLOWS -<br />
P= TEHSILE STRESS, LBS<br />
PER 50, IN. DUE To<br />
IHTERHAL PRESSURE<br />
for high pressure steam (see curves 2 and 3 for 12-in.<br />
dia.), from which it seems reasonable to conclude that<br />
4,000 lbs. per sq. in. is permissible for less hazardous<br />
„,, . . 50000<br />
uses such as water, oil, air, etc. This gives • =<br />
12J/J as a factor of safety for a maximum fiber stress<br />
of 50,000 lbs. for use in Barlow's formula, p. 224, 1913<br />
ed., National Tube Company's Hand Book.<br />
(2) For butt welded steel pipe the maximum fiber<br />
•National Tube Company.<br />
stress is given in National Tube Company's Hand<br />
40000<br />
Book, 1913 ed., p. 224, as 40,000 lbs.; 4,000 X ^-^<br />
= 3200 lbs. per sq. in. as the permissible stress f<br />
butt welded steel pipe proportional to 4,000 lbs. per<br />
sq. in. for lap welded steel pipe, giving also a factor<br />
of safety of = 12y2 for butt welded steel pipe.<br />
(3) In spacing pipe supports and hangers the total<br />
stress due to the internal pressure and bending moment<br />
should not exceed the permissible stress which<br />
has been concluded to be 4,000 lbs. per sq. in for lap<br />
welded steel pipe and 3,200 lbs. per sq. in for butt<br />
welded steel pipe.<br />
(4) The total stress due to internal pressure and<br />
bending moment is the "resultant" of the stress due<br />
to the internal pressure and the stress due to the<br />
bending moment, and is determined as follows:<br />
R = VF + S J<br />
== resultant of "P" and "S".<br />
P ;= stress due to internal pressure.<br />
S = stress due to bending moment.<br />
= VR ! — P 2<br />
(5) P = tensile stress, lbs. per sq. in., due to<br />
internal pressure<br />
GD<br />
2T<br />
G = internal pressure, lbs. per sq. in., gauge.<br />
D = inside dia. of pipe, inches.<br />
T = thickness of pipe, inches.<br />
51<br />
(6) L = distance, inches, between pipe supports<br />
or pipe hangers.<br />
= V /96SQ<br />
W<br />
(See note "b," this item.<br />
Note—Calculate "L" and check for "d." If "d" is too<br />
great, decrease "L" to make "d" equal to or less than<br />
L -=- 360.<br />
Q = section modulus of the pipe section between<br />
bottom of perfect thread and inside of pipe.<br />
(See Note "a," this item.)<br />
= — in which "C" is the distance from the<br />
C<br />
neutral axis to the extreme fiber; therefore<br />
"Q" may be determined from "I" (see note<br />
at "I") by dividing by the radius of the outside<br />
of the section, using the table on p. 424,<br />
etc., of National Tube Company Hand Book,<br />
1913 ed., to find "I."<br />
S = tensile stress, lbs. per sq. in., due to bending<br />
movement.<br />
WL 2<br />
= (See Note "b," this item.)<br />
96Q<br />
v ;<br />
W = total dead and live load of pipe and contents<br />
per lin. ft.<br />
d = deflection in inches (which should not exceed<br />
1/360 of the span).
52 1WBUF, _^5<br />
urnacp; SU Hp-<br />
W..L :;<br />
(See Note "b," this item.)<br />
id, pounds.<br />
E = modulus of elasticity, lbs. per sq. in.<br />
= 29,000,000 for steel" tubing. (See National<br />
Tube Company Hand Book, 1913 ed., p. 257.)<br />
I = moment of inertia of pipe section between<br />
bottom of perfect thread and inside of pipe.<br />
(See Note "a." this item.)<br />
NOTES—"a"—The section modulus and deflection is taken<br />
of the moments of inertia ol" two solid bars whose outside<br />
diameters correspond to the o.d. and i.d. of the hollow cylin-<br />
January, 1924<br />
If the installation has also a concentrated load between the<br />
pipe hangers or supports, such as a valve or a connecting line,<br />
then the additional equivalent uniform load will have to be determined<br />
and added to the actual uniform load for the value<br />
of "\V"; also the deflection caused by the concentrated load<br />
will have to be determined for at the concentrated load and<br />
at the center of the span and added to the deflection caused<br />
by the uniform load at these points. The sum of these two<br />
deflections at the center of the span or at the point of concentrated<br />
load, whichever is the greater, is the one to be<br />
used as "d."<br />
(7) Example applying the preceding:<br />
(a) Assume an 8-in. dia. low pressure water line<br />
(water not over 50 lbs. pressure). The specifications<br />
(Heine, p. 260) call for pipe weighing 28.55 lbs. per<br />
lin.' ft., of which the wall thickness is 0.322 in., the<br />
TABLE OF TENSILE STRESS & DEFLECTION FOR STANDARD STEEL PIPE<br />
FOR VARIOUS SPACINGS OF HANGERS OR SUPPORTS -PIPE FILLED WITH WATER<br />
SPACING OF SUPPORTS OR HANGURS<br />
8-o" I0-O" l2'-o" l4-'-o" l6'-o" 18-O" 2o-o 22-o" 24--0" 26-0 28-o" 30-0<br />
sfesSf*H= .266 .333 .400 .-+66 .533 .Goo 666 .733 .800 .866 .933"<br />
THICK<br />
SIZE S d<br />
NESS s d S d S d S d S d S d S d S a S d S d<br />
\ .113 3807 .261 5950 .636 8S65 1-32<br />
1 .133 3281 .179 5125 .+36 7360 •90+ 10050 1.67<br />
IJ4 .J4-0 2S55 .107 3990 .261 5745 • 542 7820 1.00 I022O 1.71<br />
life .145 2167 .079 3385 .192 4875 .39(1 663S .737 8665 1-26 I097O 2.01<br />
z .15+ 1641 .047 25651.115 3690 .239 5025 .442 6560 .754 8305 1.21 10250 1.84<br />
2fc .203 1+38 .03+ 22+5 .084 3235 .17+ +405 .323 5750 .550 7280 .882 8985 1.3+ 10875 1.97<br />
3 .216 117+ .023 1835 .056 2640 .115 3595 .214 4695 .364 5945 .583 7340 .889 8880 1-30 10565 1.84<br />
^y^ .226 I0O8 .017 1575 .041 2270 .086 3090 .159 +035 .272 5105 .435 6300 .66+ 7625 .972 9075 1.38 10650 1.90<br />
4 .237 884 .013 1380 .032 1990 .067 2710 .123 3540 .211 +480 .337 5530 .51 + 6690 .753 7960 1.07 9345 I.+7 108+0 1-98<br />
4* .247 782^.010 1220 .026_ 1760 .053 7395 .098 3130 .167 39«0 .268_ 4890 .408 5915 .597 70+0 •846 8265 1.17 9585 1.57<br />
6 .280 566 .006 885 .014 1275 .028 1735 .053 2265 .090 2865 .1+4 3535 .220 4280 .321 5095 .+54 5975 .625 6930 .8+1<br />
8 .277 480 .00+ 750 .009 1080 .018 1+70 .034 1920 .058 2430 .094 3000 .1+3 3630 .209 4320 .296 5070 .+07 5880 .5+8<br />
10 .27? +33 .003 675 .006 975 .013 I32S .024^ 1730 .041 2190 .065 2700 .100 3270 .146 3890 .206 45*5 .284 5295 .382<br />
12 .330 338 .002 530 .004 760 .009 1035 .016 1355 .027 1710 .044 2115 .066 2560 .097 30+5 .138 357S .190 4145 .255<br />
-<br />
I.OO"<br />
s d<br />
11000 2.07<br />
7955 1.11<br />
6750 .722<br />
6080 .50+<br />
+755 .336<br />
WL'<br />
S = 520 = FIBER STRESS IM LBS. PER S
January, 1924<br />
I<br />
Q = .098 [(8.625 —2 X l)4 — 7.981 4 J<br />
(8.625 —2 X l;<br />
(8.425<br />
= .098<br />
4 — 7.981*)<br />
8.425<br />
981<br />
= - 098 ^53 = H.4 (See "6".)<br />
.049 [(8.625 — 2 X -l) 4 — 7.981 4<br />
= .049 (S.425 4 — 7.981 4 ).<br />
= .049 X 981 = 48 (See "6".)<br />
Mas.FurWSSWlPJ<br />
(c) 8-in. dia. pipe with coupling's weighs 25 lbs.<br />
per lin. ft. and contains 0.35 cu. ft. per lin. ft. (See<br />
National Tube Company Hand Book, 1913 ed., p. 22<br />
and 301.)<br />
Water weighs 62.5 lbs. per cu ft.<br />
62.5 X -35 = 22 lbs. per lin. ft. weight of water.<br />
25 -f 22 = 47 lbs. per lin. ft. total weight of pipe<br />
and water.<br />
DESIGN OF SUSPENSION MEMBCR FOR PIPE HANGERS<br />
CASE I NO SUSPENSION MEMBER<br />
CASE-3 SUSPENSION MEMBER 3 PANELS<br />
D = r6( TME RECOMMENDED VALUE)<br />
W « LOAD ON ONE HANGER<br />
T • TENSION IN SUSPENSION MEMBER AT SUPPORTS (FOR 2 oR3 PANELS)<br />
- VU\/ 12 t D l ^~* WoTC; - "»U"»°' w,t^»s.ci^HHE t^oocn<br />
C FOOMD neeuRHitEkir Q«PPNICAU.Y.<br />
t • TENSION IH SUSPENSION MEMBER AT CENTER (FOR 3 PANELS)<br />
- ti±<br />
D<br />
/ 96SQ _ 7 96 X 3950 X 11.4<br />
L = V W<br />
47<br />
= 303 in. = 25 ft. 3 in., say 25 ft. 0 in max.<br />
spacing of supports or hangers. (See "6".)<br />
303<br />
—- = .95 allowable deflection. (See "6".)<br />
W,L 3 47 X 24 X 303 3<br />
d = — — =<br />
77EI 77 X 29,000,000 X 48<br />
_ 47 X 24 X 27,820,000<br />
" 77 X 29,000.000 X 48<br />
= .29 in. This is less than the allowable deflec<br />
tion so that pipe supports or hangers spaced 25 ft.<br />
c.c. are satisfactory for this installation.<br />
(d) If this pipe were under 100 lbs. pressure<br />
P = 1240<br />
S = 3800<br />
96SQ 96 X 3800 X 11-4<br />
L =<br />
W v 47<br />
= 297 in. = 24 ft. 9 in., say 25 ft. 0 in., same as<br />
for 50 lbs. water pressure.<br />
DESIGN OF CATENARY SUPPORTS FOR PIPING ETC.<br />
THE FOLLOWING IS BASED UPON THE. ASSUMPTION THAT THE CURVE MADE BY THE 3OSPEHSI0H<br />
MEMBER 15 A PARABOLA, THIS I5NOT STRICTLY CORRECT AS THE ACTUAL CURVE OFTHE<br />
SUSPEHSiOM MEMBER LIES BETWEEN A PARABOLA AND A CATENARY; FOR MAKiHS THE DKA*^<br />
AND FOR ESTIMATING PURPOSES,THE SUSPENSION MEMREP MAYBE DRAWN WD CONSIDERED<br />
A3 THE ARC OF A GRCLE, SiriCE THE ACTUAL CURVE OF THE SUSPEM5|ON MEMBER COINCIDES<br />
VERY NEARLY WlTH AH ARC OF A CIRCLE WHEN D IS « OP LESS(AND THE MORE So A3<br />
D BECOMES LESS THflH £V<br />
NOTE:- IF E-F IS NOT HORHOHTAL THE ANGLE A i3 TO BE MEASURED FROM A NORILOrtTAL<br />
LINE DRAWN FOR THE PURPOSE AT EACH PoiHT OF SUSPENSION , AS THE TWO ANGLES >N<br />
THAT CASE WILL BE UNEQUAL.<br />
"C lifO« E>TREHe fcrJO PflHtLOWL*! IN<br />
RLL coses- IT • I O oeTEKr^n-jto FRon S Fo*?E,*-<br />
L^ '*-i •' 1 -~i^-\<br />
CHSE4-- MULTIPLEFRHELSC4OKMORE') -(<br />
= ^2- (TKE^ECOMMEKDEDVFH.UE)<br />
= TOTAL LGH&TH OF SUSPEHJICN MEMBER ALONG CURVE<br />
= 2V «%(§.]* (SEEK)<br />
T = TENSION IN SUSPENSION MEMBER AT SUPPORTS<br />
= w.x-yui-c2_ _ wT^-t-c?.. ^<br />
Z C "" 20 N<br />
t = TENSION IN SUSPENSION MEMBER AT CENTER<br />
A *— ZC -. ^_ ir WUWP w^c^gflTQ-T^gapNicnL<br />
W = TOTAL DEAD 8. LIVE LOAD CARRIED BY SUSPENSION MCMSER^lPCtcaSTtrtTS,<br />
£U5H£«0£R ROOS-r£.U5PEr^.ioWoleMe£R)<br />
B = LENGTH OF SUSPENDER ROD AT ANY POINT LOCATED AT A DISTANCE,<br />
"NL FROM THE CENTER<br />
= G + H<br />
H= 4-D(NLf<br />
TO 0 ROTRCEKT<br />
LET K = LEHGTHOF SUSPENSION MEMBER BETWEEN^SuSPENDeR RODS<br />
• VT*7j* (SEE P )<br />
J" = D\FFE.ieENCE ir4 l_Er4C,TH (OF'B'J EiCTWEEW Two RDj-flCENT<br />
SU6PEN0EtR0O6.<br />
END SUPPORTS<br />
Irt ADDITION TO THE LOAO N ON END SUPPORT, THERE IS TME END PANEL REACTION<br />
FROM PIPIN6, ALSO IN CASE OF MORE THAH ONE CATENARY BENT, TME VERTICAL LOAD<br />
WILL BE INCREASED AND THE FORCE F NEUTRALIZED.|N CASE OF CHANGE OF<br />
DIRECTION OF THE CONSTRUCTION, THE TURNING END SUPPORT AT CHANGE OF<br />
DIRECTION WILL REQUIRE AOESI6N To MEET THE CONDITIO*.<br />
(8) A short practical method of determining the<br />
spacing of pipe supports or hangers, for piping 12 in.<br />
dia. or less, is to<br />
(a) Calculate "P" (item "5"). .<br />
(b) Calculate "S" (item "4").<br />
(c) Refer to "Table of Tensile Stress and Deflections<br />
for Standard Pipe" (other than X Heavy and<br />
XX Heavy pipe installations), then to size of pipe<br />
under consideration and find span corresponding to<br />
(Concluded on Page 85)<br />
53
54 HioBlasfFurnacoSSfeelPl^<br />
January, 1924<br />
Fluorspar: Its Occurrence and Production<br />
History and Geology of This Element Essential to<br />
Open Hearth Practice<br />
FLUORSPAR, a comparatively unknown nonmetallic<br />
mineral, is an essential in the manufacture<br />
of open hearth steel, and hence of considerable interest<br />
to the steel industry. This mineral is also used<br />
to a smaller extent in other industries.<br />
Fluorite, to use its chemical name, has the composition<br />
denoted by the formula CaF2. It is a crystalline,<br />
glassy mineral, having a specific gravity of 3.2 and a<br />
melting point of 1650 deg. F. While usually colorless,<br />
it may at times be found in several different hues; the<br />
color has a little significance chemically.<br />
In the United States, fluorspar has been found in<br />
Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky, New Hampshire,<br />
New Mexico, Tennessee and Utah. However,<br />
the states of Illinois and Kentucky produce practically<br />
all of the domestic fluorspar, the production being<br />
about two-thirds in the former state and one-third in<br />
the latter. This production is obtained from a region<br />
less than 20 miles square, lying along the Ohio River.<br />
Recently reported discoveries of fluorspar in the Rocky<br />
Mountain States have proven to be of little value, as<br />
they are of low grade and the freight rates to any consuming<br />
center prohibitive.<br />
In England fluorspar is found rather widely distributed<br />
throughout Durham and Derbyshire. It<br />
usually occurs as a gangue with lead and zinc ores.<br />
For many years the fluorspar was discarded, but the<br />
active demand which started about 1890 caused these<br />
dumps to be reclaimed. Most of this material was<br />
shipped to the United States, and in 1910 the imports<br />
of English fluorspar almost equalled domestic production.<br />
At present English fluorspar is being mined and<br />
*Marion, Ky.<br />
Photos by courtesy of E. C. Clark, Superintendent, Rosiclare<br />
Lead & Fluorspar Company.<br />
By A. M. MICHELL*<br />
sold in the Atlantic seaboard steel producing centers<br />
at a price to compete with the home product in spite<br />
of a duty of $5.60 per ton.<br />
A few deposits are known in Canada, notably near<br />
Trail, British Columbia. This deposit supplies most<br />
of the demand on the Pacific Coast.<br />
Germany has supplied high grade fluorspar for a<br />
long period, and also mines a considerable quantity of<br />
gravel fluorspar for steel making. Mexico has several<br />
known deposits of fluorspar, but only one commercial<br />
operation, this being in San Louis Potosi. During<br />
a scarcity several years ago some imports were made<br />
from Africa, but the price was high and quality not<br />
very good.<br />
At first the fluorspar was all shipped as lump or<br />
gravel without washing; in 1894 the first washed spar<br />
was produced. Since that time production has increased<br />
with more or less regularity, depending largely<br />
on the production of open hearth steel ingots and foreign<br />
competition.<br />
In steel making, the specifications call for a material<br />
which will pass through a ^-inch ring, contain 85<br />
per cent and over of calcium fluorite, 5 per cent or less<br />
of silica, and be free from objectionable sulphides, lead<br />
and zinc. These limits are pretty closely adhered to,<br />
especially during the last several years.<br />
The action of fluorspar in the basic open hearth<br />
process is fairly well understood. It renders the slag<br />
more fluid, thus making its action more effective in reducing<br />
the phosphorous. Recent German investigations<br />
also tend to show that fluorite causes a marked<br />
decrease in the sulphur content.<br />
Mining in the Kentucky-Illinois fluorspar field was<br />
first started in 1835, when a company headed by Andrew<br />
Jackson sunk a shaft near Marion. Ky., in search<br />
Surface plant of the Rosiclare Lead and Fluorspar Mining Company, the largest producer in the district. The head f<br />
power plant and storage bin may be seen.
January, 1924<br />
tBUFurnacpSSUI"'<br />
-Hand tramming the fluorspar on one of the levels. These cars are hoisted to the surface in cages, and there dumped. 2—<br />
Scenetin top of stopc. The men stand on broken fluorspar and drill holes in the vertical vein,, which is then shot dozvn. Just<br />
enough fluorshap is withdrawn from time to time to give the men room to zvork. By this' method the fluorspar between<br />
levels, often one hundred feet apart, is sloped out. Chutes zvith gates are provided at the bottom for withdrawing the broken<br />
ore. 3—Head frame and hoist house for the men and material shaft. A'o men or mine supplies may be carried down the<br />
main shaft. 4—Large steam hoist used for hoisting the ore. Conical drums arc used, as may be seen in the illustration.<br />
5—Motor driven pump, used to keep the mine free from water. This pump is installed in a room cut from the rock near the<br />
foot of the shaft.<br />
of lead. About 1850 the impression prevailed that the<br />
lead ores of the district contained considerable silver,<br />
and this occasioned activity. The first flourspar was<br />
shipped early in 1870, the mineral being hauled to the<br />
Ohio River and loaded in boats. Production continued<br />
intermittently for a long period, being about equally divided<br />
between Illinois and Kentucky.<br />
In addition to steel making, fluorspar is used in the<br />
glass, ceramic and enameling industries. It is essential<br />
to the present method of producing aluminum, and is<br />
also used in the electrolytic production of lead and<br />
antimony. In foundries it is used to produce a more<br />
liquid metal and greater freedom from slag, hence<br />
cleaner castings. It is also used in the manufacture of<br />
carbide, in the manufacture of Portland cement, and in<br />
the production of hydrofluoric acid and sodium fluor-<br />
55
56<br />
ide. For the latter use, an almost pure fluorspar is<br />
required ; this is known as acid spar and commands a<br />
considerable premium over the commercial grade.<br />
Sodium fluoride has lately been recognized as a very<br />
efficient wood preserver, and its use for this purpose is<br />
MasfUaceSSfeoIPln.'<br />
A section of the mill, shozving several sets of Harz type jigs in<br />
operation. Fluorspar, having a higher specific gravity than<br />
the rock which accompanies it. sinks to the bottom of the<br />
jig and is drawn off as a hutch product, together zvith a small<br />
amount of lead ore which accompanies the fluorspar in the<br />
vein. The lead is later separated from the fluorspar on<br />
tables.<br />
expected to increase rapidly. It is said to be superior<br />
to either coal tar, creosote or zinc chloride.<br />
Geological Features.<br />
The accompanying map shows the location of the<br />
Kentucky-Illinois fluorspar district. A detailed study<br />
of the region has been made by the LTnited States and<br />
State Geological Surveys. The rock formation consists<br />
An underground blacksmith shop. Here the large amount of<br />
drill steel required for drilling the ore and rock is sharpened,<br />
and minor repairs to underground equipment made.<br />
mainly of massive limestone arid sandstone beds of<br />
Mississippian age. To the north, east and west these<br />
beds dip under coal formations of the Pennsylvanian<br />
age, while underneath the field, at a depth of about<br />
1,000 feet, are found shales of the Devonian age.<br />
January, 1924<br />
The geology of the region is quite interesting. The<br />
occurrence of these mineral deposits in a region largely<br />
surrounded by coal deposits is explained by the fact<br />
that the rock beds have here been bowed up to form<br />
an immense dome. This movement was followed by<br />
the intrusion of igneous dikes and further rock movement,<br />
causing much faulting and differential setting of<br />
large blocks. The resulting fissures which were<br />
formed furnished convenient channels for ore bearing<br />
solutions from below and these openings were filled<br />
with vein forming material. Where conditions were<br />
favorable, fluorspar is deposited along with minor<br />
ami units of lead and zinc sulphides and a considerable<br />
amount of calcite gangue. Some fissures were entirely<br />
filled with barite, "others with calcite. The theory of<br />
the formation is that calcite was first deposited in the<br />
fissues. in many cases to be later dissolved and replaced<br />
by fluorite.<br />
The accepted extent of this area is about 20 miles<br />
north and south and about 15 miles east and west. As<br />
might be expected, there is a considerable number of<br />
veins, many of which are of minor importance, little<br />
Picking belt and crusher. The large pieces of rock are removed<br />
before the ore caters the mill. From the picking belt the<br />
ore goes to the gyratory breaker, which reduces it to uniform<br />
size.<br />
or no fluorspar having been found in them. The largest<br />
vein, which was also the first one worked, is known<br />
as the Rosiclare, and lies in Illinois. This vein, nearly<br />
vertical, is 6 to 20 feet in width, with an average width<br />
of about 7 feet, and has been traced underground for<br />
nearly three miles. It is now being worked at a depth<br />
of 630 feet. Several subsidiary veins are also worked.<br />
The Rosiclare vein has been the principal producer<br />
since the field was opened, and furnishes the entire<br />
Illinois output.<br />
Another deposit is also worked in Illinois, which is<br />
chiefly interesting in that the ore lies in a horizontal<br />
position, mineral bearing solutions having replaced a<br />
bed of limestone.<br />
In the Kentucky field in me of the veins have been<br />
developed on the scale found on the Rosiclare vein.<br />
Some six main veins are being worked at present. Before<br />
the war the low price of fluorspar discouraged any<br />
attempt to work the deposits at depth, and at most of<br />
the workings the limit of depth was 200 feet. In the<br />
last few months, however, diamond drilling on several
January, 1924 ^ fl^ J^^S^j ^<br />
properties indicates that the veins on the Kentucky<br />
side contain good spar at greater depths.<br />
Mining Methods.<br />
The equipment used at most of the fluorspar operations<br />
is simple, and in most cases crude. Three large<br />
mines in Illinois have complete plants, and several well<br />
equipped mining plants are under construction or<br />
completed in Kentucky. The usual method of winning<br />
the ore consists of driving vertical shafts, usually<br />
in the country rock near the vein, running cross cuts<br />
and levels in the vein at intervals of 50 to 75 feet. The<br />
The pozver house, shozving uniflozv engine driving generators. A<br />
considerable amount of electric pozver is required for the<br />
varied operations at the mine.<br />
intervening ore is then stoped out, either by a filled<br />
stope system, or where the rock walls are not good, by<br />
the use of square sets.<br />
The milling equipment is also fairly simple, and<br />
consists of crushers, jigs, lead tables and screening<br />
equipment. Jigs of the Harz type are usually used.<br />
Production and Imports.<br />
The earliest record of production of fluorspar in<br />
the United States is in 1883. Since that time the production<br />
has been as follows :<br />
1883 4,000 tons<br />
1892 12,250 "<br />
1900 18,450 "<br />
1905 57,385 "<br />
1910 69,247 "<br />
1915 136,391 "<br />
1918 263,817 "<br />
1920 186,770 "<br />
Shipments decreased largely in 1921, due to the depression<br />
in the steel business and large stocks on hand.<br />
English production is said to average about 50,000<br />
tons per year, of which a considerable portion is shipped<br />
to this country. German production is small.<br />
The curve of production corresponds closely to that<br />
of steel ingot production as shown in the accompanying<br />
figure.<br />
Present Situation.<br />
The low prices for fluorspar which prevailed before<br />
the war are undoubtedly a thing of the past. Imports<br />
from the waste dumps of England, low production<br />
costs and the robbing of shallow deposits, all combined<br />
to keep the price at a low level. The present tariff of<br />
$5.60 a ton, combined with increased freight rates and<br />
mining costs, have brought the price of English fluorspar<br />
to a higher level. It is hard to estimate the cost of<br />
producing domestic fluorspar, but a price below $16.00<br />
per ton would cause many producers to cease operations,<br />
and the price canot go much below this figure.<br />
The prospect for new supplies of fluorspar is remote.<br />
During the war period the insistent demand for fluorspar<br />
caused prices of $35.00 to $50.00 per ton, and justified<br />
extreme activity. Yet not a new deposit of any<br />
consequence was found, the increased supply coming<br />
from old dumps and the exhaustion of existing reserves.<br />
Limited reserves and increasing demand and<br />
price have caused a number of steel producers to enter<br />
the field. The largest steel company in the country recently<br />
took over practically all the prospects in one of<br />
the best Kentucky districts, and other companies have<br />
either secured property, or are negotiating for some.<br />
It is regarded as only a matter of time until the small<br />
producer will be eliminated, all the property being held<br />
by the consumers or large producing companies.<br />
DEVELOPMENTS IN ELECTRICAL INDUSTRY<br />
(Continued from Page 28)<br />
wave flows through one meter and the other one-half<br />
wave flows through the other meter. In this way the<br />
current supplied to each conductor is measured<br />
separately.<br />
Electrically Operated Flow Meters.<br />
A type of electrically operated flow meter with<br />
many new characteristics was developed for accurately<br />
measuring the total flow of steam, water, gas,<br />
oil, etc., through pipes and so furnishing information<br />
of great value in the economical management of any<br />
manufacturing industry or central station. It does<br />
not supersede the mechanically operated flow meter,<br />
but is simply an addition to existing types.<br />
Due to the electrical principle of operation, the<br />
indicating curve drawing and disintegrating instruments<br />
can be located at any distance away from the<br />
pipe where the flow is being metered and the instruments<br />
can be either separated, grouped or duplicated.<br />
Carrier Current.<br />
The carrier current system of telephony, which<br />
effects communication by means of high frequency<br />
currents superimposed on the power conductors of<br />
transmission lines, was applied over greater distances<br />
than heretofore by the prdouction of a 250-watt transmitter<br />
and receiving equipment. The luting of the<br />
previous outfit was 50 watts and its maximum range<br />
in an actual installation was 88 miles.<br />
With the larger equipment service is now being<br />
maintained over distances up to 116 miles, with apparatus<br />
under construction for communication over 138<br />
miles. The progress already made in this new method<br />
of telephoning is indicated by the fact that it has<br />
already been adopted for 70 transmission lines with<br />
an aggregate length of over 2,000 miles.<br />
Switching Apparatus.<br />
The developments in switching apparatus consisted<br />
largely in the improvement of existing designs<br />
rather than in bringing out strictly new types of apparatus.<br />
Both horizontal and vertical isolated phase<br />
arrangements were worked out in detail for several<br />
important installations and the application of breakers<br />
to removable trucks was extened to include motor<br />
operated breakers with separating chambers,
58<br />
HIP Blast hirnaceSS.eel Pier<br />
Gas Producer Practice*<br />
S O much has been written about gas producers, and<br />
so many investigations made in the principal steel<br />
manufacturing countries of the world, that it<br />
would seem that the gasification of coal would be fully<br />
understood and that it would be a difficult task to<br />
bring up any new points of scientific and practical importance.<br />
However, in studying gas producer literature<br />
published during the last 20 years, one cannot<br />
help discovering that the data given are unsatisfactory<br />
in many respects, especially in regard to theory.<br />
Laboratory Experiments.<br />
The now classic experiments by Boudouard, regarding<br />
the balance of the system C, CO and C02,<br />
and by Harris ond others, regarding the system C,<br />
H„0, H. CO and COL,, cannot be directly applied in<br />
gas producer practice. This has been pointed out<br />
many times, for instance by Clements, Adams and<br />
Haskinsi, who conducted a series of laboratory experiments<br />
with CO. and H„0 in contact with various<br />
kinds of C at various temperatures, velocities and<br />
times of contact. They found that, when time of contact<br />
was reduced to two or three seconds, only a very<br />
small portion of CO. or H,0 were decomposed at<br />
1700 deg. to 1900 deg. F. At these temperatures, practical!}'<br />
complete decomposition would have been obtained<br />
at equilibrium or at long time of contact. They<br />
found also that C as coke or anthracite reacted very<br />
much more slowly than C as charcoal.<br />
These investigators came to the result that a minimum<br />
temperature of 2372 deg. F. (1300 deg. C)<br />
would be required in gas producers for producing low<br />
CO., gas from air. and a temperature of 2557 deg. F.<br />
(1400 deg. C.) for decomposing H20 fairly completely<br />
at a gas velocity of one foot per second. We know<br />
that such high temperatures do not exist in ordinary<br />
gas producer practice, because practically all ashes<br />
from ordinary producer coal fuse at a considerable<br />
lower temperature. Actual measurements have shown<br />
that the maximum temperature anywhere in the fuel<br />
bed does not exceed 2200 deg. F. in ordinary producers<br />
blown by air and steam. Moreover, the velocities in<br />
ordinary producer practice are very much higher than<br />
the highest velocity employed in the laboratory tests.<br />
The gas produced per pound of C gasified by blast<br />
in a producer is about 90 to 95 cubic feet at standard<br />
condition, at a gasification temperature of 2000 deg.<br />
and 1800 deg. F. respectively (see Fig. 8), or about<br />
425 cubic feet at these temperatures. Assuming that,<br />
in the case of ordinary coal, 60 per cent is C gasified<br />
by blast, and that the gasification zone is one foot<br />
deep and that the voids in the bed constitute 25 per<br />
cent of the total volume, the following velocities and<br />
time of contact can be calculated. The time of contact<br />
is, therefore, only a fraction of a second in ordinary<br />
gas producers in practice.<br />
*Read before the American Iron and Steel Institute, at New<br />
York, May 25, 1923.<br />
fUnited States Steel Corporation, New York, N. Y.<br />
^Bulletin No. 7, Bureau of Mines, Essential Factors in the<br />
Formation of Producer Gas, 1911.<br />
By WALDEMAR DYRSSENf<br />
January, 1924<br />
TABLE I-GAS VELOCITIES AND TIME OF CONTACT<br />
BETWEEN GAS AND COAL IN THE GASIFICA<br />
TION ZONE FOR LOW AND HIGH RATE<br />
OF GASIFICATION.<br />
Coal gasified per hour per square foot<br />
in producer 20 -lbs. 50 lbs.<br />
Velocity of gas per second 5.7 ft. 14.2 ft.<br />
Time of contact between gas and coal.. .176 sec. .07 sec.<br />
It follows that such tests as these cannot be applied<br />
to gas producers any more than the classic equilibrium<br />
tests. A few considerations of the conditions<br />
in the laboratory experiments will readily explain this.<br />
The center of the tube, which was electrically heated<br />
from the outside, was filled with carbon and a thermocouple<br />
was imbedded in the carbon close to the tube.<br />
Pure CO, and H20 were employed. In decomposing<br />
these gases with C a great quantity of heat is required,<br />
even if the gas were heated up to the temperature<br />
of the fuel before coming in contact therewith.<br />
This heat must be supplied by conduction<br />
through the tube walls and through pieces of carbon<br />
to reach into the center of the tube. At a very low<br />
velocity this heat can be supplied without appreciably<br />
lowering the temperature, but when the velocity is<br />
increased, the temperature of the surface of the pieces<br />
of carbon or the reacting molecules of C is lowered<br />
an unknown amount below the recorded temperature.<br />
In a producer, the conditions are entirely different.<br />
There, each reacting molecule of C is automatically<br />
maintained at a constant temperature, because the<br />
heat required to decompose, a molecule of CO= or<br />
H,0 is supplied by a nearby molecule of 02 oxidizing<br />
C to CO= or CO. Laboratory experiments in order<br />
to be of any value must, therefore, be conducted on the<br />
same principle ; that is, CO„ and H„0 must be mixed<br />
with a certain amount of O, with or without N, and<br />
forced through a carbon bed at different velocities,<br />
and the resulting temperature and gas composition<br />
determined. For eich constant blast mixture, there<br />
will be a certain temperature and composition of gas.<br />
corresponding to a certain velocity. By a series of<br />
experiments with various blast mixtures, a complete<br />
balance diagram can be obtained for various velocities.<br />
Heat and Chemical Balance in Producers.<br />
In the absence of such experiments, the only method<br />
at present available to determine the balance in<br />
ordinary gas producers is to draw conclusions from<br />
actual tests on producers or from actual practice. The<br />
tests which show the best gasification results give, of<br />
course, the best information. It can be assumed that<br />
the fuel bed in these tests was more even in temperature,<br />
freer from blowholes and otherwise more uniform,<br />
that is, in regard to the size of the cake or the<br />
coked coal and the percentage of voids in the different<br />
parts of the fuel bed, with more uniform distribution<br />
of blast and more uniform velocities. However,<br />
by carefully sifting data from other tests, much<br />
valuable information can also be obtained. The balances<br />
that exist in a producer are represented in Figs.<br />
1 and 2. They have been derived by considering a<br />
great many gasification tests of various bituminous
January, 1924<br />
Masf UaceSSU R-<br />
coals and coke. The equilibrium balances are also<br />
shown in dotted lines. These represent the average<br />
results from the investigations mentioned above, and<br />
from others (Naumann and Ernst).<br />
The method of representing the balance is somewhat<br />
novel. Instead of the usual method of representing<br />
the gas in volumes or percentages of volume, the<br />
resulting gas is given in per cent by weight. This is<br />
more practical for the purposes served by these balances<br />
in this paper.<br />
In Fig. 1 is shown the composition of the gas obtained<br />
from CO, or O, in contact with C at various<br />
temperatures. At equilibrium the gas contains practically<br />
only CO at 1800 deg. F.; while in gas producers<br />
the temperature would have to be about 2400 deg.<br />
F. for the same result. At equilibrium the gas contains,<br />
for example, 20 per cent CO. at 1600 deg. F.,<br />
while in producers the temperature must be about<br />
1900 deg. F. for the same result. If air is used, the<br />
gas also contains N, but the relation CO, to CO remains<br />
the same.<br />
The gas from H,0 and C is shown in Fig. 2. The<br />
gas is more complex, as it consists of four items. At<br />
equilibrium the decomposition of H20 is complete at<br />
about 2100 deg. F.; in the gas producer the temperature<br />
would have to be about 2600 deg. F. At equilibrium<br />
the gas contains, for example, 40 per cent<br />
H,0 at 1600 deg. F., while in producers the temperature<br />
would have to be about 1860 deg. F. for the same<br />
result. The proportion of CO, to CO is the same as<br />
in Fig. 1. The CO, increases up to a certain temperature,<br />
but decreases at a further increase in temperature.<br />
The amount of H by weight in the gas is small<br />
and cannot accurately be read direct in the diagram,<br />
but can be easily calculated from the oxygen in CO,<br />
and CO, or per cent H =<br />
.727 X per cent CO, -f .571 X per cent CO<br />
8<br />
The gas producer balance, as shown, would theoretically<br />
shift somewhat with the rate of driving the<br />
producer. At the lower rate the balance would shift<br />
towards equilibrium and vice versa. However, the<br />
shift seems to be very small for rates from 20 to 50<br />
pounds of coal gasified per square foot per hour. At<br />
a very high rate or a very slow rate, other conditions<br />
set in, which influence the gasification more.<br />
It is evident from such balances as are shown<br />
in Figs. 1 and 2 that it is possible to establish heat<br />
and chemical balances for C gasified by any gas,<br />
whether air, waste gases, combustible gases, H20 or<br />
any combination of gases at whatever temperature<br />
these may enter the gasification zone. The total heat<br />
input should equal the total heat output at balanced<br />
temperature conditions in the gasification zone. If<br />
such a heat balance shows excess or deficiency of heat,<br />
the gasification temperature will adjust itself until<br />
balance is reached. The heat input consists of the<br />
following items: sensible heat in C and ash which arrive<br />
in the gasification zone preheated to the gasification<br />
temperature by the escaping gas; calorific heat in<br />
C gasified; and sensible (and calorific heat) in the gas<br />
used for ossification. The heat output consists of<br />
sensible heat in the g-ases escaping from the gasification<br />
zone at gasification temperature and calorific heat<br />
in these gases. With only dry air used for gasification<br />
it will be found that theoretically a great surplus of<br />
heat is created at low temperatures of gasification.<br />
The surplus heat decreases with higher temperature<br />
until a temperature above 3000 deg. F. is reached.<br />
With preheated air the surplus will be greater. With<br />
H,0 used for gasification there will be a large deficiency<br />
of heat, which also decreases with increasing<br />
temperatures of gasification. With preheated H,0<br />
the deficiency is less. With waste gases containing<br />
C02, N and often H,0, the deficiency of heat is also<br />
large.<br />
From the balance established one can derive practically<br />
everything in connection with the gasification<br />
of coal; and it will be established that ideal actual<br />
practice compares very closely to conclusions that can<br />
be drawn from this balance.<br />
A few of the consequences that follow from a certain<br />
gasification temperature are:<br />
In Gasification of C by Air:<br />
1. Proportion of CO: to CO in gas.<br />
2. Proportion of C oxidized to CO2 and C oxidized to CO.<br />
3. Oxygen and air required per pound of C gasified.<br />
4. Proportion of N in gas.<br />
5. Total gas obtained per pound of C gasified.<br />
6. Heat generated per pound of C by oxidation of C to<br />
CO2 and CO.<br />
7. Sensible heat in gas leaving gasification zone per pound<br />
of C gasified. .<br />
8. Complete heat balance of gasification, including heat<br />
per pound of C transferred into calorific heat in gas.<br />
9. Surplus heat generated per pound of C gasified with<br />
due consideration for sensible heat in C, ash and in air, if<br />
preheated.<br />
In Gasification of C by Steam:<br />
10. Composition of gas.<br />
11. Proportion of C oxidized to CO2 and C oxidized<br />
to CO.<br />
12. H20 decomposed and H2 obtained per pound of C<br />
gasified.<br />
13. Total H=0 used per pound of C gasified.<br />
14. Percentage of total H2O decomposed.<br />
15. Total gas obtained per pound of C gasified.<br />
16. Heat generated by oxidation of C to CO2 and CO,<br />
and heat consumed by decomposing H2O per pound of C gasified.<br />
17. Sensible heat in gas per pound of C gasified.<br />
18. Complete heat balance of gasification, including heat<br />
per pound of C transferred into calorific heat in gas.<br />
19. Deficiency of heat per pound of C gasified with due<br />
consideration for sensible heat in C, ash and H2O used.<br />
20. From the surplus heat available in gasification by air<br />
and from the heat required in gasification by H2O can be<br />
calculated the percentage of C gasified by air, and that gasified<br />
by steam for obtaining constant temperature in the gasification<br />
zone.<br />
From this follows further, when gasifying C by<br />
air and H20 at balanced temperatures in the fuel bed:<br />
21. Heat in C transferred into calorific heat in total<br />
gas from air and H2O.<br />
22. Composition of total gas.<br />
23. Analysis of dry gas by volume.<br />
24. Air and H2O used per pound of C gasified, H2O per<br />
pound of air in blast and corresponding saturation temperature<br />
of blast.<br />
25. Efficiency of combustion of gas per pound of C gasified-<br />
26. Temperature of gas after passing through distillation<br />
zone in gasifying various coals.<br />
This is an imposing list of conclusions that can<br />
be drawn from the curves in Figs. 1 and 2 by simply<br />
applying well-known recognized methods based on<br />
chemical reactions, heat of formations and sensible<br />
heat.<br />
Before entering upon the detailed calculations of<br />
the items as outlined above, a definition will be given<br />
below of the expression and terms used.<br />
Gasification zone is the zone where the pure C,<br />
59
60<br />
C to CO ...<br />
C to CO2 ..<br />
CO<br />
C2H4<br />
CH4<br />
H<br />
Air<br />
C02<br />
O,<br />
N<br />
H=0<br />
Btu.<br />
Cubic<br />
Gross<br />
323.2<br />
1591.3<br />
1012.5<br />
329.1<br />
HioblasfFurnaceSSleolW<br />
TABLE II—PROPERTIES OF COMBUSTIBLES AND GASES<br />
per<br />
Foot Net<br />
323.2<br />
1491.0*<br />
912.0*<br />
278.5<br />
Weight per Pounds<br />
Cu. Ft. at 62° of C per<br />
F., 30" Hg. 100 Cubic Feet<br />
.07375*<br />
.07386*<br />
.04228*<br />
.005302*<br />
.07626*<br />
.11660*<br />
.08430*<br />
.07377*<br />
.04745*<br />
.03161<br />
.06331<br />
.03171<br />
.03180<br />
Btu. per<br />
pound<br />
Gross Net<br />
4320<br />
14544*<br />
4382<br />
21545<br />
23948<br />
62028*<br />
1056.7*t<br />
4320<br />
14544*<br />
4382<br />
20186<br />
21571<br />
52518*<br />
January, 1924<br />
Specific heats per Pound<br />
between 62 Deg. F.<br />
and t deg. F.<br />
.24 +.0000119t<br />
.38 + .000137t<br />
.55 +.000176t<br />
3.40 +.00017t<br />
.233+.000015t<br />
.19 + .00006t<br />
.21 +.0000104t<br />
.24 +.0000119t<br />
.42 +.000103t<br />
Values marked (*) are United States Steel Corporation Standard. The gross and net values per cubic foot of H and gross values<br />
per cubic foot for C^H, and CH, follow from the (*) values and differ slightly from the standard values, which are for these gases<br />
328, 278, 1591 and 1012, respectively. The values for C and CO are closer to the latest accepted values than the United States Steel<br />
Corporation Standard of 324 Btu. per cubic foot of CO. fLatent heat.<br />
derived from the coal, is converted into gases by air,<br />
H,0 or other gases supplied from an outside source.<br />
Distillation zone is the zone where the moisture<br />
and volatile matters in the natural coal are distilled<br />
off as gases leaving C and ashes.<br />
Gasification efficiency is the heat that is transferred<br />
into calorific heat in the gas, obtained from the gasification<br />
of one pound of pure C, divided by the calorific<br />
heat in one pound of C (14,544 Btu.). The gasification<br />
efficiency is not the producer efficiency, nor<br />
is any account taken therein of the volatile matters in<br />
the coals.<br />
Combustion efficiency is the heat that is released<br />
by the combustion under certain assumed conditions<br />
of the gas obtained from the gasification of one pound<br />
of pure C, divided by the calorific heat in one pound<br />
of C. This efficiency is not based on the calorific<br />
heat in the gas itself, but is the ultimate expression of<br />
the efficiency of gasification, as the aim thereof is to<br />
release as much as possible of the heat in the C gasified<br />
at the place where the gas is burned. Distillation<br />
gases from the coal are not considered in this efficiency.<br />
These two efficiencies form a basis for estimating<br />
accurately the influence of (1) various temperatures<br />
of gasification (2) various gases that can be used for<br />
gasifying C; (3) various temperatures of the blast.<br />
In Table 2 are given the values used in the calculations.<br />
Gross heat values are also given for completeness.<br />
United States Steel Corporation Standards have<br />
been used in this table as extensively as possible. Specific<br />
heats of gases are from Richards and LeChatelier.<br />
In all calculations, net heat values for H, and<br />
gases containing H, have been used throughout. It is<br />
believed that a comparison between combustible gases<br />
on a gross basis is not possible, or at least extremely<br />
complicated. It is only the heat that the furnace can<br />
possibly utilize that can form a basis for a comparison<br />
between, for example, gas with a high CO and low H<br />
content and a gas with low CO and high H content.<br />
This is realized by authorities in all countries, for instance,<br />
by Bone and Wheeler in their valuable gas<br />
producer paper*, wherein they point out that both gas<br />
and coal should be calculated on the net basis.<br />
An Investigation on the Use of Steam in Gas Producer Practice,<br />
The Journal of the Iron and Steel Institute, Vol. LXXIII,<br />
1907.<br />
TABLE III—CHEMICAL BALANCE IN GASIFICATION<br />
OF C BY DRY AIR AT VARIOUS TEMPERATURES<br />
OF GASIFICATION, PROPORTION OF CO2<br />
AND CO IN GAS FROM FIG. I.<br />
Gasification temperature in Deg. F.<br />
1600° 1800° 2000° 2200°<br />
From Diagram, Fig. 1 :<br />
CO: in gas<br />
CO in gas<br />
Total (per cent)<br />
Pounds per lb. C gasified :<br />
C02<br />
CO<br />
N<br />
Total gas<br />
Oxygen<br />
Air<br />
C oxidized to CO2<br />
C oxidized to CO. .<br />
62.0<br />
38.0<br />
100.0<br />
1.866<br />
1.146<br />
6.698<br />
9.710<br />
2.012<br />
8,710<br />
.509<br />
.491<br />
34.0<br />
66.0<br />
100.0<br />
.905<br />
1.758<br />
5.537<br />
8.200<br />
1.663<br />
7.200<br />
.247<br />
15.0<br />
85.0<br />
100.0<br />
.370<br />
2.098<br />
7.350<br />
1.468<br />
6.350<br />
.101<br />
.899<br />
6.0<br />
94.0<br />
100.0<br />
.143<br />
2.242<br />
4.615<br />
7.000<br />
1.385<br />
6.000<br />
.039<br />
.961<br />
TABLE IV—CHEMICAL BALANCE IN GASIFICATION<br />
OF C BY FLO AT VARIOUS TEMPERATURES OF<br />
GASIFICATION, PROPORTION OF CO», CO,<br />
H AND H2O IN GAS FROM FIG. II.<br />
From Diagram, Fig. II :<br />
CO2 in gas<br />
CO in gas<br />
H in gas<br />
H2O in gas<br />
Total (per cent) . . .<br />
Pounds per lb. gasified :<br />
CO2<br />
CO<br />
H<br />
HaO<br />
Total gas<br />
O from H20 to CO=<br />
and CO<br />
H;0 decomposed<br />
Total H2O used<br />
Per cent of Total H2O<br />
decomposed<br />
Gasification temperature in Deg. F.<br />
1600° 1800° 2000° 2200°<br />
18.6<br />
11.4<br />
2.5<br />
67.5<br />
100.0<br />
1.866<br />
1.146<br />
.252<br />
6.793<br />
10.057<br />
2.012<br />
2.264<br />
9.057<br />
25.1<br />
17.0<br />
33.0<br />
3.9<br />
46.1<br />
100.0<br />
.905<br />
1.758<br />
.208<br />
2.460<br />
5.331<br />
1.663<br />
1.871<br />
4.331<br />
43.2<br />
10.5<br />
59.5<br />
5.2<br />
24.8<br />
100.0<br />
.370<br />
2.098<br />
.183<br />
.876<br />
3.527<br />
1.468<br />
1.651<br />
2.527<br />
65.3<br />
5.0<br />
78.3<br />
6.05<br />
10.65<br />
100.00<br />
.143<br />
2.242<br />
.173<br />
.305<br />
2.863<br />
1.385<br />
1.558<br />
1.863<br />
83.6
January, 1924<br />
For convenient use, a few points on the curves<br />
with the principal items calculated in the temperature<br />
range most common in gas producers are given in<br />
Tables III and IV.<br />
The detailed calculation of heat balances, etc.,<br />
will not be given here for all the temperatures given<br />
above. However, for the benefit of those especially<br />
interested one case is given in Table V. The gasification<br />
temperature selected is 2000 deg. F.<br />
TlioblasfhimaceSSUPL<br />
Items 17 and 19 (see Table VI) are heat deficiencies<br />
with H,0 vapor at 62 deg. and 562 deg. F. respectively.<br />
These items for the various temperatures<br />
of gasification are represented in Fig. 4. The efficiency<br />
of gasification is 129.3 per cent, that is, more<br />
heat has been stored up in the gas than contained in<br />
C, and part of the heat which must be obtained elsewhere<br />
is used for that purpose.<br />
A balanced condition in the fuel bed can be cal-<br />
TABLE V -HEAT BALANCE OF THE GASIFICATION OF C AT 2000° F. BY DRY AIR (POUNDS OF MATERIAL<br />
FROM TABLE No. III.<br />
Heat available per pound of C gasified :<br />
C oxidized to C02<br />
C oxidized to CO<br />
Total heat from oxidizing C<br />
Sensible heat in C<br />
Ash with this C, average<br />
Total sensible heat<br />
Total heat available<br />
Heat absorbed as sensible heat in gas :<br />
C02<br />
CO<br />
N Total<br />
Surplus heat, Item 3 minus Item 7<br />
Sensible heat in air if preheated to 562° F<br />
Surplus heat with air preheated to 562° F., Item 8 plus Item 9<br />
Calorific heat in gas, 14544 minus Item 1<br />
Per cent of heat in C transferred to calorific heat in gas, Item<br />
11 divided by 14544<br />
*Approximate.<br />
Item<br />
i<br />
-><br />
3<br />
4<br />
5<br />
6<br />
7<br />
8<br />
9<br />
10<br />
11<br />
Btu.<br />
Pounds per<br />
pound<br />
.101<br />
.899<br />
1.000<br />
.150<br />
.370<br />
2.098<br />
4.882<br />
7.350<br />
6.350<br />
TABLE VI—HEAT BALANCE OF THE GASIFICATION OF C AT 2000°<br />
FROM TABLE No. IV.<br />
Heat available, C oxidized to CO2 and CO same as Item 1, Table<br />
V<br />
Sensible heat in C and Ash, same as Item 2, Table V<br />
Total heat available<br />
Heat absorbed as sensible heat in gas:<br />
C02<br />
CO<br />
H<br />
H20<br />
Total<br />
Heat required for decomposing H2O<br />
Total heat absorbed, Item 14 plus Item 15<br />
Heat deficiency, Item 16 minus Item 13<br />
Sensible heat in H2O if preheated to 562° F<br />
Heat deficiency with H20 preheated to 562° F. Item 17 minus<br />
Item 18<br />
Calorific heat in gas, Item 11 plus Item 15<br />
Per cent of heat in C transferred to calorific heat in gas, Item<br />
20 divided by 14,544<br />
Item 8 in this table is the surplus heat per pound<br />
of C gasified by air at 62 deg. F. If the air is preheated<br />
or carries sensible heat, the surplus heat will<br />
be increased. Item 10 is the surplus heat with air at<br />
562 deg. F. The surplus heat for the various temperatures<br />
of gasification is shown by curves in Fig. 3. It<br />
falls off rapidly with increasing temperature. The<br />
efficiency of gasification or the calorific heat in the<br />
gas as compared to heat in C is given in Item 12.<br />
12<br />
Item Pounds<br />
13<br />
14<br />
15<br />
16<br />
17<br />
18<br />
19<br />
20<br />
21<br />
a<br />
2.098<br />
.183<br />
.876<br />
.183<br />
2.527<br />
14544<br />
4320<br />
Temperature<br />
above<br />
62° F.<br />
1938°<br />
1938°<br />
1938°<br />
1938°<br />
1938°<br />
1938°<br />
1938°<br />
'500°<br />
Specific<br />
heat<br />
35<br />
30*<br />
31<br />
264<br />
264<br />
239<br />
Total<br />
Btu.<br />
1468.9<br />
3883.7<br />
5352.6<br />
678.3<br />
87.2<br />
765.5<br />
6118.1<br />
222.3<br />
1073.4<br />
2497.4<br />
3793.1<br />
2325.0<br />
758.8<br />
3083.8<br />
9191.4<br />
63.2<br />
F. BY H20 (POUNDS OF MATERIALS<br />
Btu.<br />
per<br />
pound<br />
52518<br />
Temperature<br />
above<br />
62° F.<br />
1938°<br />
1938°<br />
1938°<br />
1938°<br />
1938°<br />
1938°<br />
t . . . .<br />
500°<br />
Specific<br />
heat<br />
.310<br />
.264<br />
3.740<br />
.626<br />
.478<br />
Total<br />
Btu.<br />
5352.6<br />
765.5<br />
6118.1<br />
222.3<br />
1073.4<br />
1326.4<br />
1062.7<br />
3684.8<br />
9610.8<br />
13295.6<br />
7177.5<br />
603.9<br />
6573.6<br />
18802.2<br />
129.3<br />
culated from the surplus and deficiencies of heat when<br />
gasifying C by air and H20 respectively and the proportion<br />
of C that is gasified by either. The surplus<br />
heat in gasifying by air must compensate the deficiency<br />
of heat in gasifying by H,0. These items are<br />
calculated in Table VII, also the weight of gases obtained,<br />
analysis of the dry gas by volume, efficiency<br />
of gasification, etc.<br />
For other temperatures the calculations are the<br />
61
62<br />
ThoblasfFumacpSSUPl-<br />
January, 1924<br />
TABLE VII—HEAT AND CHEMICAL BALANCE OF THE GASIFICATION OF C BY BLAST (AIR+H2O) AT 2000°<br />
F. AT BALANCED CONDITION OF FUEL BED.<br />
Blast at 62 Deg. Fahrenheit<br />
Reference and<br />
Item Equations<br />
Blast at 562 Deg. Fahrenheit<br />
Reference* and<br />
Item Equations<br />
Surplus heat per pound of C gasified by air, see Table V<br />
2325.0 Btu.<br />
110<br />
Heat deficiency per pound of C gasified by H=0, see<br />
Table VI<br />
C gasified by H=0 per pound total C gasified )<br />
) 22<br />
117<br />
18<br />
18+117<br />
7177.5 Btu.<br />
2325.0 Btu.<br />
.245 lbs. 23<br />
119<br />
110<br />
110+119<br />
C gasified by air per pound total C gasified<br />
Gas obtained per pound of C gasified, see Tables 3<br />
24 1 — 122 .755 lbs. 25 1 — 123<br />
and 4:<br />
C02 from H=0 and air<br />
CO from H20 and air<br />
H from H2O<br />
FLO from H=0<br />
N from air<br />
Total gas<br />
Analysis of dry gas by •olume:<br />
I22X.183<br />
I 22X-876<br />
124X4.882<br />
.370 lbs.<br />
2.098 lbs.<br />
.045 lbs.<br />
.215 lbs.<br />
3.686 lbs.<br />
6.414 lbs.<br />
I23X-183<br />
I 23 X-876<br />
125X4.882<br />
C02<br />
CO<br />
3.52%<br />
31.55%<br />
H .<br />
9.43%<br />
N .<br />
Total<br />
55.50%<br />
100.00%<br />
Cubic feet of dry air per pound of C.<br />
90.10<br />
Btu. per cubic foot<br />
Btu. per pound of C gasified<br />
26 111+122X115<br />
128.10<br />
11546.0 27 I 11 + 123X115<br />
Efficiency of gasification<br />
Air per pound of C gasified<br />
H2O used per pound of C gasified<br />
124X6.35<br />
122X2.527<br />
79.40%<br />
4.794 lbs.<br />
.619 lbs.<br />
125X6.35<br />
123X2.527<br />
HaO per pound of air in blast<br />
.130 lbs.<br />
*Reference to items in this and previous tables is indicated by I followed by number of the item.<br />
same. The principal results are plotted as curves. In<br />
Fig. 5 is shown the percentage of C gasified by air<br />
and H20 respectively, at 62 deg. and 562 deg. F. temperature<br />
of blast. Fig. 6 shows the gasification efficiencies<br />
at balanced condition with blast at 62 deg.<br />
and 562 deg. F. The highest efficiency lies between<br />
2000 deg. and 2200 deg. F. Below 1800 deg. F. it drops<br />
off rapidly.<br />
The composition of the dry gas by volume at various<br />
temperatures of gasification is. given in Fig. 7<br />
for blast at 62 deg. F. Moisture per pound of C gasified<br />
is shown in Fig. 9.<br />
The real efficiency of the gas and of the gasification<br />
can only be judged by considering the conditions<br />
under which the gas is used, as, for example, in the<br />
open-hearth furnace. It will be assumed that the gas<br />
is preheated to 1900 deg. F. before entering the melting<br />
chamber, the combustion air to 2200 deg. F., and<br />
that the waste gases leave the melting chamber at<br />
2900 deg. F. Theoretical amount of air and complete<br />
combustion will also be assumed. The calculations<br />
for 2000 deg. F. gasifying temperature are given in<br />
Table VIII.<br />
The last line in this table gives actual combustion<br />
efficiency. This has been calculated in the same manner<br />
for other temperatures of gasification and is shown<br />
in Fig. 10. As would be expected, there is a maximum<br />
efficiency between 2000 deg. and 2200 deg. F. gasification<br />
temperature, as in the case of the gasification efficiency,<br />
but there is a marked drop of combustion efficiency<br />
at low temperatures. Whereas the gasification<br />
efficiency drops from 79.4 per cent to approximately<br />
65.4 per cent, or about 14 per cent, when the gasification<br />
temperature is reduced from 200 deg. to 1600 deg.<br />
F., the combustion efficiency drops from 47.4 per cent<br />
to about 18.4 per cent or approximately 29 per cent.<br />
3083.8 Btu.<br />
6573.6 Btu.<br />
.320 lbs.<br />
.680 lbs.<br />
.370 lbs.<br />
2.098 lbs.<br />
.058 lbs.<br />
.280 lbs.<br />
3.320 lbs.<br />
6.1266 lbs.<br />
3.62%<br />
32.42%<br />
12.63%<br />
51.33%<br />
100.00%<br />
87.60<br />
140.00<br />
12266.8<br />
84.30%<br />
4.250 lbs.<br />
.809 lbs.<br />
.188 lbs.<br />
TABLE VIII — HEAT AND CHEMICAL BALANCE IN<br />
THE COMBUSTION IN THE OPEN-HEARTH FUR<br />
NACE OF GAS FROM C GASIFIED BY AIR AND<br />
H2O. BLAST TEMPERATURE 62°F„ GASI<br />
FICATION TEMPERATURE 2000° F. IN<br />
PRODUCER VALUES PER POUND<br />
OF C GASIFIED.<br />
Tempera-<br />
Pounds ture above Specific Total<br />
62° F. heat Btu.<br />
Gas obtained per pound<br />
of C gasified, see Table<br />
VII:<br />
C02<br />
CO<br />
H<br />
H20<br />
N<br />
Total gas<br />
Calorific heat in gas, Item<br />
26<br />
Total heat in gas<br />
Combustion air<br />
Total heat available<br />
Waste gases obtained per<br />
pound of C:<br />
C02<br />
N<br />
H2O<br />
.370<br />
2.098<br />
.045<br />
.215<br />
3.686<br />
6.414<br />
6.750<br />
3.667<br />
8.878<br />
.619<br />
Total 13.164<br />
Heat available in melting<br />
chamber<br />
Percentage of heat available<br />
in melting chamber<br />
of heat in C gasified =<br />
6889 -r- 14.544<br />
(To be Continued)<br />
1838<br />
1838<br />
1838<br />
1838<br />
1838<br />
1838<br />
2138<br />
2838<br />
2838<br />
2838<br />
2838<br />
.300<br />
.262<br />
3.710<br />
.610<br />
.262<br />
204<br />
1010<br />
307<br />
240<br />
1775<br />
11546<br />
15082<br />
.257 3709<br />
18791<br />
.360 3747<br />
.274 6904<br />
.712 1251<br />
11902<br />
6889<br />
47.4%
January, 1924 IhPuUFurnacoSSU^ 63<br />
SHEET-TIN PLATE<br />
Most Modern Sheet Mill<br />
Details of the National Enameling & Stamping Company's<br />
New 3' 0" Mill at Granite City<br />
By E. H. WERNER*<br />
T H E Granite City Steel Works of the National<br />
Enameling & Stamping Company have erected a<br />
new sheet and jobbing mill at Granite City, 111.,<br />
that represents the latest practice in the manufacture<br />
of sheets.<br />
There are installed six sheet mills with a range in<br />
widths up to 48 in. and gauge No. 30 to 10, and one 72<br />
in. jobbing mill which rolls sheets up to and including<br />
60 in. wide and a complete galvanizing department<br />
that handles up to and including 54 in. wide sheets.<br />
The United Engineering & Foundry Company, of<br />
Pittsburgh, Pa., were retained as engineers for the<br />
building of this plant. They maintained an office at<br />
the site, together with a complete engineering department.<br />
The actual construction of the plant began on the<br />
12th day of October, 1922, and the first sheets were<br />
rolled on September 24, 1923.<br />
*Chief Engineer, National Enameling & Stamping Company,<br />
Granite City, 111.<br />
The prevailing idea in the building of this plant<br />
was to provide ample working space, the best of lighting<br />
and ventilation, and to insure the product taking<br />
the path of least resistance in order that maximum<br />
production at lowest cost be attained.<br />
Buildings.<br />
The buildings, four in number, are designated as<br />
bar building, furnace building, mill building and warehouse.<br />
The buildings are adjacent to each other and<br />
are built on common building columns—i.e., there is<br />
not any space between them. Maximum lighting is effected<br />
by raising or lowering the roofs of the various<br />
buildings so that a row of continuous sliding sash encircles<br />
each building just below the eaves of the roof.<br />
Maximum ventilation is secured by placing ventilators<br />
along the entire roof of each the bar building, mill<br />
building and warehouse. Each of the buildings is<br />
made up of 35 bays at 22 ft. 6 in. giving a total length<br />
of 787 ft. 6 in.<br />
The bar building is 43 ft. 0 in. span and is equipped<br />
FIG. 1—An end view of the new sheet mills, showing the four buildings (bar mill, furnace building, mill building p<br />
ware house) assembled under one roof. Each building consists of 35 bays at 22 ft. 6 in. with a total length of 787 f
with a runway for a 10-ton 40 ft. 0 in. span electric<br />
traveling crane.<br />
The furnace building is 9 ft. 4 in. wide and forms<br />
a space between the bar building crane runway and<br />
the mill building crane runway for the furnace stacks.<br />
The mill building is 78 ft. 4 in. wide and provides<br />
for a 40-ton crane with a 10-ton auxiliary, 75 ft. 0 in.<br />
span.<br />
The warehouse building is 78 ft. 4 in. wide and the<br />
crane runway designed for a 10-ton 3-motor electrictraveling<br />
crane.<br />
The bar building is large enough to provide ample<br />
storage for cut bars; it will store enough cut bars to<br />
operate all of the mills from 30 to 35 days. This is<br />
very essential in order to provide against contingencies<br />
at the rolling mill and steel plant. All of the coal and<br />
ashes are also handled in the bar building. A standard<br />
gauge railroad track is provided in the South end of<br />
the bar building to facilitate the handling of ctrt bars,<br />
coal and ashes.<br />
The mill building is made exceptionally wide in<br />
order to give plenty of space on the catcher's side for<br />
taking care of the sheets as they are finished on the<br />
mills. The squaring shears are so located that the<br />
shearman will work in the mill building while scrap<br />
handler will be in the warehouse.<br />
The warehouse has been given much thought and<br />
attention. All finished product is so routed that it<br />
logically reaches the warehouse in the last operation<br />
just prior to shipment. The product of the jobbing<br />
mill is under the warehouse crane, ready for loading,<br />
after it has been sheared—all black sheets from the<br />
mills can be readily transferred with minimum effort<br />
to the warehouse crane—all galvanized sheets are de-<br />
1 1 I ! 1 . I , 1 ! , i 1<br />
The Blast FurnaceSSUPU<br />
Co<br />
posited under the warehouse crane, ready for bundling<br />
and shipping. A depressed shipping track, with a<br />
capacity of from nine to 10 cars is provided in the<br />
south end of the warehouse, this insuring ideal conditions<br />
for loading cars regardless of the weather conditions.<br />
The buildings were designed, fabricated and erect-<br />
FIG. 2—Shows the furnace side of the mills, zvith view of roll<br />
storage in back ground.<br />
ed by the Mississippi Valley Structural Steel Company<br />
of St. Louis, Missouri.<br />
Mill Equipment.<br />
The mills, together with the auxiliary equipment<br />
were furnished by the L T nited Engineering & Foundry<br />
Company, of Pittsburgh, Pa., and represent the latest<br />
design in sheet and jobbing mill equipment.<br />
Plan of new sheet mill—excellent straight line arrang
January, 1924<br />
The housings are steel castings of the heaviest<br />
type. On the south side of the drive are located one<br />
30-in. diameter by 38-in. long roll sheet mill, and three<br />
30-in. diameter by 44 in. long roll sheet mills. The<br />
roughing stands on this side of the mill are all spring<br />
balanced. Two stands of 26-in. diameter by 54 in. long<br />
cold rolls are placed on the end of the train as a drag.<br />
On the north side of the drive and adjacent to it<br />
are located two 30-in. diameter by 38 in. long roll sheet<br />
mills, one roughing stand of the spring balanced type,<br />
and the other of the jump type. Next are located the<br />
two high jobbing mills made up of 30 in. diameter by<br />
72 in. long rolls. The roughing rolls are spring balanced,<br />
and equipped with motor driven screw down.<br />
A lifting table is provided on the catcher's side of the<br />
roughing stand, while a tilting table is arranged on<br />
the catcher's side of the finishing stand. A conveyor<br />
is installed to convey the sheets from the finishing<br />
stand to the continuous annealing furnace. A 38 in. x<br />
38 in. drag is located on the end of this train of mills.<br />
Five standard 54 in. doublers, operated with either<br />
steam or air, are conveniently located to serve the' six<br />
sheet mills.<br />
Furnaces.<br />
The furnace equipment, which was furnished by<br />
the Tate-Jones Company of Pittsburgh, Pa., consists<br />
of five combined sheet and pair furnaces, one single<br />
pair furnace and one double sheet furnace for the<br />
sheet mills; one continuous slab heating furnace and<br />
one large single sheet furnace for the jobbing mills;<br />
one Costello continuous blue annealing furnace, and<br />
four double box annealing furnaces; one portable blue<br />
annealing furnace. All pair furnaces and the continuous<br />
slab heating furnace are of the Costello continu<br />
Tlio Blast Fu rnaco Meol "I-<br />
ous type, arranged with pushers electrically operated.<br />
All furnaces with the exception of the open annealing<br />
furnace and portable annealer, are designed for coal<br />
firing with Jones underfeed stokers. Each stoker is<br />
equipped with a coal hopper directly above it, which<br />
is filled with coal from a Williams Single Line bucket<br />
on the 10-ton crane, thus reduicng to a minimum the<br />
^d '§<br />
hown on left and furnaces shown on right simplifies internal transportation.<br />
:-MiMt\$M<br />
•,<br />
13mm-'" 1L ^W^MBM<br />
%.*&..<br />
• FIG. 3—A view of roughing mills during construction, s<br />
the method of designating each mill unit.<br />
labor for firing the furnaces. The continuous open<br />
annealer and portable annealer are fired with by-product<br />
coke oven gas.<br />
Drive.<br />
The mills are driven by a 2,000 h.p. Westinghouse<br />
Motor running at 240 r.p.m. A drive to secure the<br />
65
66<br />
necessary reduction in speed, was built by the United<br />
Engineering & Foundry Company. This drive consists<br />
of cut herringbone gears and give a speed reduction<br />
of eight to one. A complete Bowser Oiling System<br />
is installed to take care of the motor and drive.<br />
Floors.<br />
The floors or standings at the mills and furnaces<br />
are of the water cooled type, furnished by the National<br />
Roll & Foundry Company. Brick flooring is used to<br />
FIG. 4—The jobbing mills at end of train—sin<br />
floor.<br />
ThoBlastFunWSSfeolW<br />
eing water cooled<br />
floor the bar building, furnace building, balance of<br />
mill building and the northern part of the warehouse.<br />
Wood block flooring is used in the shipping<br />
end of the warehouse.<br />
Finishing.<br />
The product of the jobbing mill is passed through<br />
the continuous Costello blue annealing- furnace, then<br />
January, 1924<br />
through the United Engineering & Foundry Company's<br />
Roller Leveller onto a conveyor built by the<br />
C. O. Bartlett & Snow Company. This conveyor delivers<br />
the sheets to a bed of castors directly in front<br />
of the 156 in. squaring shear. After the sheets are<br />
sheared they are ready for loading directly into cars,<br />
or for storage. This is easily accomplished as they<br />
are under the 10-ton warehouse crane.<br />
The product of the sheet mills is handled with a<br />
minimum amount of effort. All sheets after being<br />
iiiiiiiHiiimt<br />
FIG. 6—Difficulties often encountered in cramped roll storage<br />
facilities are entirely absent here. Every roll is immediately<br />
available. The heavy roll lathe is located directly back of<br />
and convenient to storage.<br />
sheared, are carried by the crane to the cold rolls<br />
The cold rolls automatically deposit the sheets on the<br />
annealing furnace bottoms. After the sheets have<br />
been covered they are lifted by the crane, onto the annealing<br />
furnace charger. This charger was built by<br />
the United Engineering & Foundry Company, and is<br />
electrically operated. After being annealed, the sheets<br />
FIG. 5—An excellent view of the mill drive zvith 2,000 h.p. Wes inghouse motor. In the center background can be seen the control<br />
room wherein all electrical equipment is consolidated in a separate house. Ideal provisions have been made for ventilation<br />
and for quick repairs, through removable roof under the craneway.
January, 1924<br />
The Blast FumacoSSUPF<br />
FIG. 9—A feature of flexible operation. The portable blue annealing furnace. This furnace is fired zvith coke-o<br />
the by-product plant nearby, through the flexible hose connection shown in the center fore-ground.<br />
are either taken to the warehouse, or pickling department.<br />
The pickling machinery is of the oscillator<br />
type, motor driven, designed and built by the United<br />
Engineering & Foundry Company.<br />
There are three galvanizing machines, complete<br />
with roller levellers, cooling wheels, conveyors, etc.,<br />
furnished by the United Engineering & Foundry Company.<br />
By-product coke oven gas, piped direct from<br />
the St. Louis Coke & Iron Co's plant of 80 Roberts'<br />
j£r<br />
• r<br />
m<br />
1 '<br />
P JBMWC&,;<br />
1 • "<br />
J 1 -<br />
' " " ' '•'• ' ' '<br />
68<br />
Hie Dlast rur<br />
Steam.<br />
Two 205 hp. Heine Boilers are installed to furnish<br />
the steam for the pickling department and to operate<br />
the doublers—one boiler in use and one for a spare.<br />
The boilers are equipped with Illinois Chain Grate<br />
Stokers. A hopper over each stoker is filled from the<br />
coal bucket on the crane.<br />
Electric Current.<br />
The electric current for driving the mills and the<br />
a.c. auxiliary motors is purchased. The incoming<br />
rZZ) Stool PI<br />
January, 1924<br />
Electric Company. They also furnished the switchboard,<br />
a.c. motor controls and transformers. The<br />
Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company,<br />
furnished the drive and crane motors. All d.c. control<br />
was furnished by the E. C. & M. Co.<br />
Coal. .<br />
The coal is received on a track on the western side<br />
of the bar building and is dumped, through drop bottom<br />
hoppers into a reinforced coal pit of about 250<br />
tons capacity. A single line grab bucket on the bar<br />
mill crane picks up the coal from the pit and distributes<br />
it to the various furnaces.<br />
Comforts.<br />
Toilets and wash rooms are provided at convenient<br />
points.<br />
Roll Lathes.<br />
For turning the rolls, two 34-in. heavy duty type<br />
roll lathes with enclosed headstocks were furnished<br />
bv the United Engineering & Foundry Company. Roll<br />
racks for storing all rolls are provided. The roll lathes<br />
are located in the mill building under the 40-ton crane.<br />
in order that the rolls can be handled with the least<br />
amount of effort.<br />
FIG. 9—A glimpse of the annealing department zvith a single an MATERIALS AND PROCESSING RESEARCH<br />
nealing box withdrawn in place on its cast iron base.<br />
Probably no other branch of engineering work has<br />
added as much to engineering knowledge as that of<br />
line is 30,000 volts a.c. 60 cycle which is stepped down<br />
the art of properly utilizing and processing of mate<br />
to 2,300 volts for the mill drive.<br />
rials.<br />
This current, in turn, is stepped down to 440 volts A new piston packing has been brought out by the<br />
for the a.c. auxiliary motors. The lighting system is use of a new impregnating material on a new leather.<br />
110 volts a.c. The electric travelling crane and the Cadmium plating as a protective coating for nuts,<br />
variable speed motors in the mill operate on 220 volts bolts and threaded materials formerly sherardized and<br />
d.c. The d.c. is furnished from a 500 kw. motor gen galvanized has been developed.<br />
erator set.<br />
Considerable work has been done during the year<br />
Cranes.<br />
for the purpose of developing methods of testing raw<br />
The electric travelling cranes, four in number, one<br />
10-ton 40 ft. 0 in. span, three motors, one 40-ton, with<br />
10-ton auxiliary 75 ft. 0-in. span, four motors, one<br />
20-ton, 75 ft. 0-in. span; three motors, and one 10-ton,<br />
75 ft. 0 in. span three motors were furnished by the<br />
Alliance Machine Company. They are strictly mill<br />
type built cranes and represent the latest designs.<br />
material so that qualities which heretofore have not<br />
been measurable can now be evaluated. One example<br />
is that of measuring the pliability of fish paper and<br />
mica wrappers and assigning definite values. Another<br />
is that of the viscocity test for use on shellac gums.<br />
A new development has been completed, covering<br />
casting integrally, the end rings and bars of small motors.<br />
A new type of high rupturing capacity circuit<br />
Auxiliary Electric Equipment.<br />
breaker has been constructed and tested with success.<br />
All of the motors, with the exception of the drive The Westinghouse engineers have made a thorough<br />
and the crane motors, were furnished by the General study of methods of super-voltage measurement and<br />
have introduced several improvements in the crest<br />
voltmeter system which has enabled them to increase<br />
the accuracy of measurement in testing. An air condenser<br />
has been developed the principle of which can<br />
be applied to any high voltage transformer with or<br />
without the standard condenser bushing. This, in connection<br />
with a rectifying system, can be used for accurate<br />
voltage indication without limit and avoids the<br />
discrepancies and variations due to using a solid dielectric<br />
condenser.<br />
The research engineers have developed a new alloy<br />
steel for electrical work which represents a remarkable<br />
advance in the art of material for work requiring<br />
steel of high permeability which is relatively constant<br />
over a wide range. The core or iron losses with this<br />
new metal are remarkably low. Its first use was con<br />
pjQ jo—Tate-Jones continuous heating furnace, fired with byfined<br />
principally to radio equipment but its application<br />
product gas.<br />
may be extended to other lines of apparatus.
anuarv, 1924 T| 1M 1 C ^
70<br />
I will do everything in my power to help my department<br />
win the trophy.<br />
I will be a real, live, active Safety Committeeman.<br />
Check No<br />
We Can and Will Win the Trophy<br />
The story would not be complete if we did not give<br />
you an idea as to the amount of work performed by the<br />
employes of the department during this, our banner<br />
month. As the department is divided into three divisions.<br />
Transportation, General Labor and Tracks, I will give<br />
the records of each separately. The Transportation being<br />
the largest and employing the greatest number of<br />
men, I will begin with it. This end of the department<br />
worked throughout the month with'an average working<br />
force of 322 men. During the month 1240 eight-hour<br />
crews operated engines for a total of 14,720 engine hours,<br />
and in this period handled 2,303 empty in-bound cars,<br />
13,719 loaded in-bound cars, 3,309 loaded out-bound cars,<br />
and 12,761 empty out-bound cars, 4,813 cars with intramill<br />
moves, and they also handled a total of 131,616 tons<br />
of molten metal, or 3.761 ladles which were moved on<br />
an average of three times each, making a grand total of<br />
11,283 moves on metal ladles. 6,199 ladles of cinder<br />
were handled by these men. These ladles, too, were<br />
moved on an average of three each, making a total of<br />
18,597 moves. During this period they also handled<br />
152,888 tons of works product, going through the whole<br />
month of October without any demurrage charges.<br />
Operating under conditions of a very hazardous nature,<br />
these 322 men worked throughout the whole month of<br />
October without an accident of any kind being charged<br />
against the department. These figures represent a complete<br />
report of work transacted by the Transportation<br />
end of the department for October, 1923.<br />
DipBIastFurnaceSSfpelPl-'<br />
January, 1924<br />
The Track Department had an average daily working<br />
force of 95 men during the month. In addition to miscellaneous<br />
jobs on our tracks, narrow and broad gauge,<br />
throughout the plant, such as rearranging and relocating<br />
tracks east of the O. H. Department to suit the extension<br />
to the O. H. building, raising lining and surfacing bad<br />
sections in the several operating yards, grading, etc., the<br />
following material was handled and put into service in<br />
our tracks:<br />
Material<br />
Rails, 100 P. S<br />
249<br />
Splice bars, 100 P. S., pairs 292<br />
Splice bars, 80 A<br />
26<br />
Steel cross ties, 5 ft. 6 in 26<br />
Steel cross ties, 8 ft. 0 in 737<br />
Steel cross ties, 11 ft. 0 in 10<br />
Steel switch sets, No. 6 '<br />
Switch points 18<br />
Frogs °<br />
Rails 80 A 16<br />
Bridle Rods No. 1 18<br />
W. O. ties, 8 ft. 6 in. to 15 ft. long 83<br />
Economy switch stands 14<br />
Spring ground throw stands 2<br />
Parallel ground throw stands 2<br />
Steel tie plates 1342<br />
Gauge plates 7<br />
Cast iron guards 44<br />
Cast iron blocks 40<br />
Cast iron clips 97<br />
Triple breakable cranks 19<br />
Auto foot catches 43<br />
Turn buckles 20<br />
Nut locks 12744<br />
Bolts and nuts<br />
Kegs of railroad spikes<br />
12761<br />
Steel tie clips 6253<br />
101 switch plates and braces combined, and 4 100 P. S. 6 ft.<br />
switch points.<br />
First rozv, left to right—/•*. /•'. Slick, Chairman, General Safety Committee: W. J. Dixon. Superintnedent Transportation and<br />
Department, Russell Rose. Second rozv. left to right—Thomas Meehan. Stephen O'Mallcy, Peter Nee, R. I. Bair, Michael<br />
O'Toole, J. L. Corbett. A. J. Kramer, I'. T. McCarthey. Third rozv, left to right—/. A. Lazvler, Chairman, No. 3 Sa<br />
Committee, H. C. Roberts, E. A. Stonick, I. N. Yoder, J. K. Douglas, P. J. Holloran, J. J. Daly.<br />
Total
January, 1924<br />
In addition to the quantity of material put into use<br />
in our plant, the scrap removed from said tracks during<br />
the month amounted to 113 tons (estimated). We might<br />
add here, too, that the month of October has been the second<br />
consecutive month our Track Department has operated<br />
without even a minor injury, a record we-certainly<br />
are proud of, when the many, many minor hazards that<br />
confront these men daily are considered.<br />
DipBlastFurnacpSStpplPlr<br />
The next largest division of the department is the<br />
General Labor. The Track Division is the smallest.<br />
The men of the General Labor Department are engaged<br />
in general labor and construction, unloading and loading<br />
cars, cleaning, etc. Their work too is of dangerous character<br />
and requires constant attention to avoid injury,<br />
as the majority of their work is hand labor. There were<br />
constantly on duty an average of 196 men per day in the<br />
General Labor Division throughout the month. It would<br />
be a very difficult matter to give an account of every job<br />
performed, but will give a few of the larger ones to give<br />
you an idea of what they really accomplished. During<br />
the month these men skulled 189 ladles of various descriptions.<br />
They handled 110 yard heats from the Open<br />
Hearth Department, and loaded a total of 5,414 boxes<br />
of charging box scrap for the O. H. Department, which<br />
averaged 2000 pounds per box, making a grand total<br />
of 4,834 tons 1,840 pounds. During the month these<br />
men were engaged on four different construction jobs,<br />
and time spent on each job was as follows:—Excavating<br />
at No. 1 Mill under hot beds tunneling sewers for<br />
No. 1 Mill to main sewer, digging foundation back of<br />
No. 3 Engine Room for hot saws to main sewer at<br />
No. 1 Mill, for which 2,844 hours were charged. The<br />
second job was digging foundations for new pier foundations<br />
for new 0. H. furnaces, filling in around new<br />
O. H. work, excavating for new stock pit at O. H. Stock-<br />
House, excavating for new water line at Nos. 15 and 16<br />
O. H. Furnaces, for which 4,433 hours were charged.<br />
The third job was removing present building entrance<br />
to trainmen's building, excavating on east and west end<br />
of building, for new addition to this office, for which 838<br />
hours were charged. The fourth construction job was<br />
excavating for new oil pump at the Splice Bar Mill, and<br />
digging sewer for same, for which 579 hours were<br />
charged. In all four construction jobs a total of 8,694<br />
hours were recorded, and 24 cars of dirt were loaded and<br />
34 cars of dirt and ashes were unloaded. (These cars<br />
are included in the report of cars loaded and unloaded<br />
for the month).<br />
In addition to the foregoing, they performed the work<br />
shown in table on the succeeding page.<br />
RECAPITULATION<br />
Accidents during October None<br />
Average daily working force 613<br />
Empty inbound cars 2,303<br />
Loaded inbound cars '. 13,719<br />
Empty outbound cars 12,761<br />
Loaded outbound cars 3,309<br />
Intra-mill moves on cars 4,913<br />
Molten metal handled—ladles 3,761; tons 131,616<br />
Moves made on molten metal ladles 11,283<br />
Ladles of cinder handled 6,199<br />
Moves made on cinder ladles 18,597<br />
Works production handled, tons 132,888<br />
Construction jobs engaged in... 4<br />
Hours recorded on construction jobs 6,694<br />
Ladles skulled • 189<br />
Open hearth yard heats handled 110<br />
Charging box scrap loaded, boxes 5,415<br />
Tonnage of C. B. scrap loaded, tons 4,834<br />
Total miscellaneous items loaded, cars 1.248<br />
Total miscellaneous items unloaded, cars 905<br />
Scrap transferred from barges to cars, tons 5,750<br />
Scale transferred from barges to cars, tons 600<br />
New material handled by track men, pieces JS.uuu<br />
Demurrage charges for October<br />
w o n e<br />
Hoping, the balance of the year, to lead the department<br />
through the safest year in its history, and by so<br />
doing to help establish a similar record for the Edgar<br />
Thomson Plant, I remain,<br />
Respectfully yours,<br />
(Signed) W. J. Dixon, Superintendent<br />
Transportation and General Labor Dept.<br />
METALLOIDS IN OPEN-HEARTH<br />
(Continued from Page 50)<br />
Heat Generated<br />
Oxidation of carbon, weight = 2667 lb.<br />
Heat of formation of CO from C per lb. = 4374 Btu.<br />
Heat generated = 4374 X 2667 = 11.67 X 10.<br />
Oxidation of manganese, weight = 604 lb.<br />
Heat of formation of MnO = 2984 Btu.<br />
Heat generated = 2,984 X 604 = 1.80 X 10,<br />
Oxidation of silicon, weight = 488 lb.<br />
Heat of formation of Si03 = 11.683 Btu.<br />
Heat generated = 11.693 X 488 = 5.71 X 10,<br />
Oxidation of phosphorus, weight = 129 lb.<br />
Heat of formation of P=Os = 10,825 Btu.<br />
Heat generated = 10,825 X 129 = 1.40 X 10,<br />
Heat of formation of slag weight = 11,423 lb.<br />
Heat of formation of slag = 104 Btu.<br />
Heat generation 11,423 X 104 = 1.19 X 10,<br />
Total heat generated = 21.77 X 10. Btu.<br />
Authorities for Constants Used<br />
THERMOCHEMICAL. CHANCES<br />
Iron oxide reduction—Richards<br />
Decomposition of limestone—U. S. Bureau of Standards.<br />
Oxidation of C, Mn, Si, P—Richards, LeChateher, Berthelot,<br />
Thomson<br />
Formation of slag, calculated using Richards values<br />
THERMOPHYSICAL CHANGES<br />
Specific heat, pig iron—0.1665—Oberhoffer<br />
Specific heat, soft steel—0.16—Meuther<br />
Latent heat of fusion, pig iron—Hutter<br />
Latent heat of fusion, steel—average value—Jetner, Richards,<br />
Brisker<br />
Heat in molten slag—Springorum<br />
Thermal Balance Sheet<br />
HEAT GENERATED<br />
HEAT ABSORBED<br />
Red. of oxides of Fe = 16.42<br />
Absorp. moist, of ore = 2.34<br />
Decomp. of limestone = 5.08<br />
Absorp. moist, of limestone = 0.32<br />
Recomp. of dolomite = 0.67<br />
Heat in molten slag = 12.18<br />
Heat added to mixer metal = 7.88<br />
Heat added to scrap = 19.82<br />
Oxidation of C = 11.67 X 10,<br />
Oxidation of Mn = 1.80 X 10,<br />
Oxidation of Si = 5.71 X 10,<br />
Oxidation of Si = 5.71 X 10,<br />
Oxidation of P = 1.40 X 10,<br />
Heat form, slag = 1.19 X 10,<br />
Balance heat to be supplied<br />
by combustion<br />
of gases in furnace = 42.94 X 10,<br />
Total Btu. = 64.71 X 10,<br />
THERMAL EFFICIENCY OF BATH<br />
Thermal efficiency of furnace = 17.3 per cent.<br />
Btu. in gas per pound of coal = 10,625<br />
42.94 X 10,<br />
Total Btu..to be supplied in producer gas = =<br />
0.173<br />
248.21 X 10, Btu.<br />
Total coal burned = 23,361 lb.<br />
(To be continued)<br />
71
72 Maal FunWSSU PU', January,!^<br />
By-Product Coke and Gas Oven Industry<br />
in 1923<br />
By C. J. RAMSBURG*<br />
T H E outstanding event in the by-product coke<br />
oven industry in 1923 was undoubtedly the completion<br />
and successful operation of the plant of<br />
37 Becker type ovens at the Weirton Steel Company,<br />
Weirton, W. Va. This plant was put into operation<br />
in July and has borne out in practice all of the earlier<br />
predictions of the designers. It has operated continuously<br />
on a coking time of less than ll hours and 30<br />
minutes, carbonizing approximately 1,060 tons of coal<br />
per day or 29 tons per oven day, which is probably a<br />
world's record for coal carbonization per oven. The<br />
yields have been approximately as follows:<br />
Total coke 795 net tons<br />
Gas, debenzolized. 11.400 cu. ft. of 555 Btu. per net ton of coal<br />
Tar 13.0 gallons per net ton of coal<br />
Am. sulphate .... 24.0 pounds per net ton of coal<br />
Light oil 4.3 gallons per net ton of coal<br />
The plant has operated entirely on straight high<br />
volatile coals from the Pittsburgh District, no Pocahontas<br />
or other low volatile coals having been used.<br />
The coke produced has been used in the blast furnace<br />
of the Weirton Steel Company with very excellent<br />
results, the furnace having averaged as high as 610<br />
tons of iron per day on straight lake ores. This would<br />
seem to show very conclusively that when using<br />
straight high volatile coal from the Pittsburgh District<br />
there is no question but that a satisfactory blast<br />
furnace coke can be made in the Becker type oven.<br />
In view of the high freight rate on Pocahontas and<br />
other low volatile coals, this should result in a decided<br />
savings in the cost of coke, and, consequently,<br />
in the cost of producing iron. It is also pertinent to<br />
state here that the coke consumption per ton of iron<br />
produced has been lower when using coke made in<br />
these ovens than when using beehive coke.<br />
At the present time there are under construction<br />
in the United States and Canada a total of 701 ovens<br />
having a combined carbonizing capacity of 6,015,950<br />
net tons of coal per annum, all of which are of the<br />
Becker type designed and being built by the Koppers<br />
Company. These ovens are located as follows:<br />
BY-PRODUCT COKE OVEN PLANTS<br />
Carnegie Steel Company, Clairton, Pa 366<br />
Columbia Steel Company, Salt Lake City, Utah 33<br />
Republic Iron & Steel Company, Youngstown, Ohio.... 61<br />
Bethlehem Steel Company (Lackawanna Plant), Buffalo,<br />
N. Y • 114<br />
Trumbull Cliffs Furnace Company, Warren, Ohio 27<br />
Diamond Alkali Company, Alkali, Ohio 23<br />
BY-PRODUCT GAS OVEN PLANTS<br />
Consumers Power Company, Zilwaukee. Mich 19<br />
Winnipeg Electric Railways Company, Winnipeg, Can.. 17<br />
Utica Gas & Electric Company, Utica, N. Y 21<br />
In addition to the three gas plants named above,<br />
there was built, during 1913, a plant of 11 Becker type<br />
ga3 ovens for the Battle Creek Gas Company, Battle<br />
Creek, Mich., and this plant is about to go into operation<br />
as this is written. All of the gas oven plants<br />
above mentioned, including Battle Creek, are of the<br />
same general design as the coke ovens, but are ap-<br />
*Vice President, The Koppers Company.<br />
proximately only one-half the size of the standard<br />
coke ovens, having capacities of from 5.5 to 6.8 tons<br />
of coal per charge. The size of the oven is determined<br />
entirely by the local conditions existing where the<br />
plant is built and the gas-make desired, it being perfectly<br />
practicable to make the oven smaller or larger<br />
as desired. The above mentioned plants range in<br />
capacities from 150 tons of coal per day at Battle<br />
Creek to 285 tons of coal per day at Utica. All of<br />
these ovens will be underfired with producer gas and<br />
the capacities given are based on a coking time of<br />
MR. C. J. RAMSNURG<br />
12 hours, although it is, of course, possible to increase<br />
this coking time as desired and to reduce it to<br />
as low as 10 hours. The ovens can also be heated<br />
with blue water gas or oven gas. When oven gas is<br />
used, approximately 65 per cent of the total gas produced<br />
is available for domestic distribution, as compared<br />
with 100 per cent when using producer gas or<br />
blue water gas for underfiring. Provision is also<br />
made for steaming of the ovens to recover additional<br />
gas. All of these features combine to give to these<br />
plants the great flexibility so essential in domestic<br />
gas manufacture.<br />
It is very gratifying to see how quickly the gas<br />
industry has recognized the great advantages of car-
January, 1924<br />
bonization in bulk as exemplified in these plants as<br />
there is no question but that this method of carbonization<br />
is far more efficient and practicable than ordinary<br />
retort practice.<br />
It is also interesting to note that both in England<br />
and in France there has been widespread interest<br />
shown in American coke oven practice. It is a well<br />
known fact that both on the continent and in England<br />
there has been a tendency to adhere to old design<br />
and obsolete methods of operation which, no<br />
doubt, has been due to the fact that during the war<br />
there was no time for research or development work<br />
to be done. In the past few years a number of men<br />
prominent in coke oven design and operation on the<br />
other side have visited this country, all of whom were<br />
greatly impressed by the progress made here in byproduct<br />
coke oven design and operation, and under<br />
the stimulus of the information secured there is a<br />
rapidly growing conviction that steps must be taken<br />
to bring their design and operation to a more efficient<br />
basis. This movement has spread to such an extent<br />
in England and in France that the Woodall-Duckham-Jones<br />
Company of England and the Societe<br />
Anonyme de Carbonization et de Distillation des<br />
Combustibles in France, have arranged with the<br />
Koppers Company to handle the sale and building of<br />
TIIPDWF, urnacp:<br />
_^ Sfppl VI<br />
the Becker type oven in these countries. A battery<br />
of Becker ovens is now under construction in France.<br />
The silica brick shapes are being shipped from this<br />
country, but there is reason to believe that within a<br />
short time English and French refractory companies<br />
will be in position to furnish all the brick required in<br />
the building of these ovens. All indications point to<br />
the building of a number of American ovens in these<br />
two countries and the adoption of American methods<br />
of operation.<br />
As in previous years, the production of by-product<br />
coke as compared to beehive coke has continued to increase,<br />
approximately 85 per cent of the total coke<br />
produced in the United States having been made in<br />
by-product ovens. The indications are that it will<br />
be only a few years before all of the coke used in this<br />
country in normal times will be produced in by-product<br />
ovens and that the beehive oven will only be used<br />
in boom times when coke is scarce and prices are<br />
high. One factor which may retard this desired result,<br />
however, is the situation which has developed<br />
in connection with the cost of carrying coal to the<br />
by-product coke plant and shipment of the coke produced.<br />
It requires approximately' 1.4 tons of coal to<br />
produce a ton of coke and the freight on this coal<br />
from the mine to the by r -product plant, plus the<br />
FIG. 1—An excellent birdseye view of the new battery of 37 Becker type ovens at Weirton Steel Company.<br />
73
74<br />
freight on the resultant ton of coke from the byproduct<br />
coke plant to the point of consumption is in<br />
most cases more than the freight rate on beehive<br />
coke from the ovens to the point of consumption.<br />
This is due to the fact that beehive ovens are generally<br />
located at the mouth of the coal mine and this<br />
permits shipment of only the coke to the point of consumption.<br />
Present freight rates are such that beehive<br />
coke has the advantage in most cases. While it<br />
is true that most of the by-product ovens are located<br />
at the iron and steel plants where most of the coke is<br />
consumed, there is generally a certain percentage of<br />
smaller sized coke unsuitable for use in the blast fur-<br />
FIG. 2—Interior of benzol motor fuel plant, Weirton.<br />
nace which has to be disposed of as domestic fuel or<br />
otherwise, and this inequality in freight rates creates<br />
a situation which works a hardship on the by-product<br />
coke oven operator. This is especially true in the<br />
operation of by-product coke plants and not intended<br />
primarily to furnish coke for furnace operation, but<br />
built as merchant plants, depending on territories<br />
within reasonable limits for a coke market.<br />
This situation has been called to the attention of<br />
the Interstate Commerce Commission, however, and<br />
there is hope that a solution of this difficulty will be<br />
found, as it is almost generally recognized now that<br />
to produce coke in beehive ovens is a practice contrary<br />
to all of the dictates of present day knowledge<br />
and inimical to the best interests of the country.<br />
American coke oven operators have reason to congratulate<br />
themselves on the great strides which have<br />
been made in coke manufacture, but there is still a<br />
great deal of development and research work to be<br />
done. It is idle to think that we have reached the<br />
millennium in this industry despite the fact that it<br />
UipMasf fumaceSS.ppl ^ l<br />
January, 1924<br />
now takes us but 11 hours to accomplish what formerly<br />
required from 48 to 72 hours. One very gratifying<br />
feature of the construction work in the past<br />
year has been the fact that all of the ovens contracted<br />
for are of the combination type which can be operated<br />
either with producer gas, blast furnace gas, coke oven<br />
gas or blue water gas.<br />
The use of coke oven gas and tar in the open<br />
hearth plant is a matter which should be given more<br />
study. While considerable progress has been made<br />
in this connection it would be well for iron and steel<br />
companies operating by-product coke plants to consider<br />
the advisability of a partial distillation of their<br />
tar before burning it in the open hearth plant, recovering<br />
the light oils, tar acids and some of the<br />
heavier oils such as creosote oil and burning only<br />
the residual tar in the open hearth. There is a great<br />
demand for these tar oils and the revenue derived<br />
from their sale would help to reduce the cost of steel.<br />
The indications are, however, that all concerned<br />
are exerting every effort to solve the many problems<br />
confronting the by-product coke oven industry and<br />
that the research and the development work which<br />
has brought the industry to its present high state of<br />
efficiency will continue.<br />
A LIFTING MAGNET THAT WON OUT<br />
For many years the Ferro Machine & Foundry Company, of<br />
Cleveland, who melt at least a car of iron each day, have employed<br />
a locomotive crane with magnet to do the unloading and<br />
other material handling work but finally the magnet which was<br />
of an old design, no longer made, gave out completely and the<br />
maker advised them to buy a new standard magnet of modern<br />
design.<br />
The electrician, loath to give up an old friend, made plans to<br />
rewind the coil and rebuild the magnet but was prevailed upon<br />
to listen to the magnet salesman and his own estimate of the<br />
cost was $1,000.00 and of the time, which included the making<br />
of a pattern and buying a manganese steel casting ground to size<br />
also buying the copper and winding the coil, was two months.<br />
The yard boss was then called in and stated that it would<br />
cost them twenty dollars per day to do the magnet's regular<br />
work by manual labor which meant another $1,000.00 for the 50<br />
working days.<br />
Rebuilding the old magnet would thus cost them $2,000.00<br />
with no one to guarantee its useful life whereas a new one<br />
would cost less than $1,500.00 and be covered by an absolute<br />
guarantee for one year and be of moder ndesign with greater<br />
lifting capacity and a useful life expectation of 15 to 20 years.<br />
The next day they bought the magnet shown on their crane in<br />
cut herewith.<br />
This is the exact story of a typical case as related by F. W.<br />
Jessop of the Ohio Electric & Controller Company of Cleveland.<br />
Magnet appropriations are hard to get but once obtained the<br />
operating department wants the magnet the next day.<br />
The Cleveland-Cliff Iron Company announces the removal of<br />
its offices from the Kirby Building to the fourteenth floor of<br />
the Union Trust Building, Cleveland.<br />
E. Keller Company, Williamsport, Pa., announce the appointment<br />
of Mr. C. C. Loder as sales manager, Pittsburgh territory,<br />
with headquarters Room 609 Chamber of Commerce<br />
Building, Pittsburgh, Pa.
January, 1924<br />
Hie Bias. FurnacpSS.ppl PI-<br />
7% POWER PLANT<br />
Boiler Efficiency<br />
T H E R E are at the present time few large boiler<br />
plants in which the importance of maintaining<br />
low values of excess air is not appreciated. Although<br />
there are a vast number of plants operating<br />
with large amounts of excess air, there are on the<br />
other hand numbers of cases where the C02 is maintained<br />
higher than is required to make the sum of the<br />
boiler losses a minimum. This kind of operation<br />
usually results where bonuses based upon the CO,<br />
percentage are paid. With some of the most commonly<br />
used types of stokers it is usually very- easy<br />
*West Penn Power Company, Springdale, Pa.<br />
The Relation of CO, to Ash Pit Losses Must Be<br />
Carefully Observed<br />
By CHARLES E. COLBURN*<br />
to maintain high CO, values if no consideration is<br />
given to the other losses in the boiler. It has been<br />
found that even with good stoker fired furnaces in<br />
which the ash pit losses can be kept low when the<br />
CO, percentage is high, the firemen will secure high<br />
CO, by allowing the ash pit losses to become large.<br />
Several of the large power plants have tried out bonus<br />
systems based upon the CO, percentage and have<br />
abandoned them when it was found that increase in<br />
ash pit losses was greater than the decreased stack<br />
losses resulting from the higher CO,.<br />
Operators having this experience should not come<br />
75
76<br />
to the conclusion, as is done in some cases, that it does<br />
not pay to maintain the higher CO,. They should<br />
realize that the excess air should be reduced by keeping<br />
the fuel bed more even, especially at that part of<br />
the grate where the fuel is near the point where it is<br />
discharged from the furnace and not by discharging<br />
the ash with so high a percentage of combustible as<br />
to insure there being some combustible in the ash<br />
passing over those parts of the grate surface that<br />
would otherwise have been burned out. Although<br />
every stoker has its limitations, that is, even with the<br />
best of firing there will be a value of CO, which if exceeded<br />
will result in reduced efficiency, this limiting<br />
value is usually higher than the operators realize.<br />
For any given stoker or furnace the value of CO,<br />
that it will be desirable to carry will depend upon the<br />
ability of the stoker operators. With poor operators<br />
it will usually not be desirable to keep the excess air<br />
so low as with good firemen because the better firemen<br />
will obtain the higher CO, without greatly increasing<br />
the combustible in the refuse. To obtain<br />
maximum efficiency in a plant a great deal of study<br />
must be given the boiler losses. Of course, great improvements<br />
can be made by training the firemen to<br />
carry more even fires, but with any given degree of<br />
firing ability, the combination of conditons that give<br />
the best results should be determined by studying the<br />
ash pit and stack losses obtained with various loads<br />
and CO, percentages.<br />
Manufacturers of different types of stokers usually<br />
furnish curves showing the rate of operation that will<br />
give highest efficiency. Due to variation in the boilers<br />
and furnaces that the stokers are used with, the point<br />
of maximum efficiency is usually found to occur at<br />
some different rating than that shown on the manufacturers'<br />
curves. Sometimes great improvements can<br />
be made by doing nothing more than changing the<br />
number of boilers used to carry a given load so as to<br />
operate with a different average boiler rating.<br />
HIP Dlasi I'urnacp Nippl ^-<br />
Fig. 1 shows a chart that can be used to determine<br />
the boiler efficiency from the boiler losses. This chart<br />
should be very useful in studying the effect of the<br />
different operating methods on the losses. The boiler<br />
efficiency can be very actually determined by the use<br />
of this chart when the coal used is of the kind for<br />
which the curves were designed. With other kinds<br />
of coal, although this particular curve will not give<br />
absolutely correct results, they will be relatively correct.<br />
That is, the operating conditions which result<br />
in the highest efficiency as shown by this chart will be<br />
within the limits of experimental error, those that will<br />
give the highest efficiency. The slight inaccuracy that<br />
results from the assumptions that are made in making<br />
the chart shown in Fig. 1 are more than compensated<br />
for by the saving in time that will result from its use.<br />
New Sectional Accumulator Heater<br />
There has now been perfected by Messrs. Daniel<br />
Adamson and Company, Ltd., of Dukinfield, near<br />
Manchester, a new sectional modification of their wellknown<br />
"Adamson-Cruse" accumulator superheater.<br />
In designing a superheater, the best principle is to<br />
split up the steam into as large a number of thin layers<br />
or columns as possible, so as to increase the efficiency<br />
of the heat transmission. If, however, very<br />
January, 1924<br />
small-bore steel tubes were used in a superheater to<br />
attain this object, they would be liable to warp and<br />
burn out unless excessively thick tubes were used,<br />
which would mean, of course, an impossible first cost,<br />
whilst at the same time any grit and dirt would soon<br />
cause stoppages. Consequently, in most superheaters<br />
a rough compromise is effected, and, say, 1 in. to \ l /2<br />
in. tubes are employed—that is, moderate strength<br />
and medium heat transfer.<br />
In the Adamson superheaters, however, a different<br />
principle is adopted, especially large mild-steel seamless<br />
tubes being used, 4-in. diameter and ^-in. thick,<br />
in the form of the usual loops suspended in the hot<br />
exit boiler gases from the boiler, and attached to headers.<br />
Inside these 4-in. tubes, in the straight vertical<br />
portions, is placed an internal gilled cast-iron core<br />
with a hollow center. The steam, in passing down the<br />
steel tube, is split up into five layers—one in the center<br />
of the core and four between the middle of the core<br />
and the outside of the steel superheater tube, the core<br />
having four projecting gills or arms. As a consequence<br />
the heating of the steam is extremely effective,<br />
each of the four outer divisions of the steam being<br />
heated by the wall of the superheater tube suspended<br />
in the flames and hot gases, whilst the steam in the<br />
fifth and inner central division is heated from the castiron<br />
core, which is touching the outer steel tube at a<br />
number of points. The design is so arranged that the<br />
steam enters the first half of the top header of the<br />
superheater, passes down the vertical portion of the<br />
first loop, is split up into five portions, then reunites<br />
and mixes in the bottom bend, passes up the second<br />
vertical portion, is divided as before, then into the second<br />
portion of the header and down a second loop, and<br />
so on. That is to say, in its progress through the superheater<br />
the steam is four times in succession split<br />
up into five parts and reunited again, giving both a<br />
highly efficient heat transfer and a very even superheat,<br />
because of the thorough mixing of the different<br />
layers. Further, the central cast-iron core stores up<br />
a large amount of heat, acting as an accumulator in<br />
this respect, so as largely to equalize the temperature<br />
variations which are one of the inherent defects of superheating,<br />
due to the difficulty of maintaining an even<br />
temperature of superheat with a varying flow of steam.<br />
which does not correspond with the alteration in the<br />
amount of heat in the exit boiler gases.<br />
The new sectional modification that has now been<br />
put on the market retains these essential features, but<br />
the two top headers are made of 6-in. cold-drawn mildsteel<br />
piping, and contain underneath a series of 4-in.<br />
nipples, welded on. The superheater tubes, in the<br />
form of the usual loop, are attached to these nipples<br />
by means of a long, heavy external nut, engaging in a<br />
screw-thread on the outside of the superheater tubes<br />
and the nipples, whilst a joint is made by means of a<br />
small corrugated copper ring. On screwing up, the<br />
joint is perfectly steam-tight and protected from the<br />
flames and hot gases, since the threads are totally enclosed<br />
in the protecting nut.<br />
The design is such that any tube can be separately<br />
withdrawn, replaced, or blanked off, or additional<br />
tubes installed in a few minutes; and a further important<br />
advantage also of this sectional design is that the<br />
various parts are easily handled, shipped, and transported,<br />
whilst the superheater can be put together actually<br />
in the downtake,—Mechanical World.
January, 1924<br />
IWBlasfUwSSUPLv-'<br />
Unusual Blast Furnace Boiler Plant<br />
The Most Recent Adaptation of Blast Furnace Gas Firing in<br />
Combination with Pulverized Coal<br />
By GEORGE G. CRAWFORD*<br />
A N installation of steam boilers having a total rated<br />
capacity of 5,000 hp. has recently been placed in<br />
operation by the Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad<br />
Company at its Ensley Works, Birmingham, Ala., as an<br />
addition to its blast furnace boiler plant, primarily for<br />
the purpose of meeting the peak load requirements and<br />
maintaining a constant and uniform supply of steam to<br />
the various power plants and mills. These boilers form<br />
an additional unit to an existing boiler plant of 24,000<br />
bhp. rated capacity, using surplus gas from six blast<br />
furnaces.<br />
_ This installation consists of a battery of six 834 hp.<br />
boilers, built for 250 lb. steam pressure, and equipped<br />
with superheaters designed for 200 deg. superheat. Blast<br />
furnace gas is used as a fuel when available and powdered<br />
coal is used as an additional fuel when gas is not available<br />
in sufficient quantities to meet the steam demands.<br />
•President, Tennessee . Coal, Iron & Railroad Company,<br />
Birmingham, Ala.<br />
77<br />
The features of this installation are the methods<br />
employed of automatically controlling a relative mixture<br />
of gas and air for the gas burners, and for supplying<br />
powdered coal as a supplementary fuel as required<br />
for maintaining a uniform pressure in the main steam<br />
line. This method helps to overcome a problem usually<br />
experienced in blast furnace boiler plants resulting from<br />
a fluctuating, and frequently insufficient gas supply, aggravated<br />
by sudden and large steam demands. This<br />
condition was previously partially overcome by handfiring<br />
coal on a number of the gas fired boilers provided<br />
with plain grates for this purpose. This practice was<br />
not only inefficient but was very costly to' operate, reluiring<br />
a considerable force of laborers for firing'and<br />
handling coal and ashes.<br />
Coal Pulverizing Plant.<br />
The coal pulverizing plant is located about 300 ft.<br />
northwest of the boiler plant, and alongside the elevated<br />
approach tracks to the furnace stock bins. This loca-<br />
FIG. 1—Shows a plan view of the pulverizing plant.<br />
S=3
78 UP Blast fi J^o<br />
umacp. SU Pi-<br />
January, 1924<br />
FIG. 2—Side elevation showing relative position of coal storage bins, a telfcr runway, and the drying and pulverizing equipment.<br />
tion was decided upon on account of the ideal condition<br />
afforded for dumping and storing the coal supply and<br />
of the isolated position which reduces the fire hazard.<br />
The coal is either boiler coal, which is a middle product<br />
from coal washers preparing coal for by-product<br />
coke ovens and carrying from 20 per cent to 25 per cent<br />
ash and up to 10 per cent moisture, or high ash coal<br />
screenings, either of which will average between 11,000<br />
and 12,000 Btu. per pound on a dry basis. All of this<br />
coal is crushed to under one inch size before being washed.<br />
Coal is delivered to the pulverizing plant on a high level<br />
track over concrete trestle bins with a storage capacity<br />
of about 1,500 tons. The bottom of the bins lias a slope<br />
of 45 deg., causing the coal to shift to one side of tlie<br />
track and under a telpher runway equipped with a 3-ton<br />
hoist with a \ l /2 cu. yd. grab bucket. From here the<br />
coal is transferred to a 60-ton capacity steel bin located<br />
over the charging end of a rotary drier.<br />
This bin has a hopper bottom with a spout to a feeder<br />
box in which is operated' a drag chain to feed the coal<br />
to a chute discharging into the drier. The feeding device<br />
is driven by a 5 hp. motor through a variable speed<br />
friction drive which can be adjusted from the ground<br />
floor.<br />
The coal drier is a 5' 6" by 42' indirect fired drier<br />
with a rated capacity of 12 tons per hour, reducing moisture<br />
from 10 per cent to about \ l /2 per cent. The drier<br />
is fired with by-product coke oven gas and is equipped<br />
with grates for burning coal in emergency. Draft is<br />
furnished by a 60" exhaust fan direct connected to a<br />
15 hp. motor, and discharging into an 8 ft. cyclone collector<br />
suported overhead between the roof trusses.<br />
The collected coal dust recovered from the draft exhaust<br />
is discharged periodically by an automatic damper<br />
in a spout leading from the collector to the drier discharge<br />
chute. The dried coal is lifted by a vertical<br />
bucket elevator and discharge over a 24x18 in. magnetic<br />
separator for removing tramp iron and then passes<br />
through 12 in. screw conveyor into either of two 10-ton<br />
capacity bins located over the pulverizers. The coal is<br />
then spouted to two 46 in. screen type pulverizers, each<br />
with a rated capacity of 5 tons' per hour and driven by<br />
100 hp. motors through a bevel gear reduction. '<br />
A fire wall partition separates the drying equipment<br />
from the pulverizing equipment to reduce the possibility<br />
of a dust explosion. The plant is also equipped with<br />
a vacuum cleaning system, consisting of a 3 hp. motor<br />
driven turbine with a suction pipe system with 2 in. plug<br />
connections for detachable vacuum cleaners located in<br />
various places in the plant. Coal dust is collected into<br />
a 30 in. primary collector and an 18 in. secondary collector<br />
.located over the pulverizer bins to where the<br />
recovered dust is returned.<br />
Fig. 1 shows a plan of the coal pulverizing plant.<br />
Fig. 2 is a side elevation showing the relative position<br />
of the coal storage bins, a telpher runway, and drying and<br />
pulverizing equipment.
January, 1924 ThpUUFumacpSStPplPt<br />
Transport System.<br />
The powdered coal passes from the two pulverizers<br />
into a 6 in. screw type pulverized material pump directly<br />
driven by a 25 hp. motor. This pump delivers the material<br />
through a 4 in. transport pipe over a maximum distance<br />
of about 650 ft. to bins suspended over each boiler.<br />
To facilitate the flow of the powdered coal through<br />
the transport line, compressed air at about 30 lbs. pressure<br />
is injected into the coal through small nozzles in the<br />
pump in a sufficient quantity to cause the coal to remain<br />
in an "expanded" condition until it is delivered into the<br />
boiler coal bins where the air escapes through vent pipes<br />
as the coal assumes a settled condition.<br />
A small compressed air line is placed alongside the<br />
transport line with Y /2 in. connections about every 20<br />
or 30 ft. for the purpose only of blowing out the line<br />
in case of stoppage. During the period of several months<br />
that the transport line has been in operation there has<br />
been no occasion requiring the use of these connections.<br />
Powdered Coal Burning Equipment.<br />
Since powdered coal is provided as an auxiliary fuel,<br />
it is not contemplated that it be used continuously to the<br />
extent of the capacity of the burners which are designed<br />
to generate 200 per cent of the boiler rating.<br />
Each boiler is equipped with a storage bin of 20 tons<br />
capacity which is sufficient for approximately 24 hours<br />
supply at the average rate of operation, or about 5 hours<br />
supply at the burner maximum rating, so that the operation<br />
of the pulverizing plant can be continuous until all<br />
l " i—"—i<br />
si<br />
the bins are filled and then shut down. The pulverizing<br />
plant, with a capacity of 10 tons per hour operates on<br />
one turn per day to meet the average boiler requirements<br />
for 24 hours. The storage bins are equipped with automatic<br />
signal lights operated by small diaphragms inside<br />
the bins which cause the lights to signal when the bins<br />
are empty and full. Hand operated indicators are also<br />
provided for gauging the contents of each bin. A 1000<br />
lb. capacity hopper scale is used for weighing tests of<br />
powdered coal as it is delivered from the transport pipe<br />
into the boiler bins.<br />
Fig. 3 gives a cross section through the boiler plant<br />
which is located between the Rust boiler plant and the<br />
turbo blower station, and shows the relative position of<br />
boilers, gas main, gas burners, powdered coal bins,<br />
powdered coal burners, air main and blowers, and the<br />
ash handling cranes.<br />
Five boilers are each equipped with vertical powdered<br />
coal burners with individual screw feeders driven by<br />
1 hp. variable speed motors. Powdered coal is fed from<br />
the 20-ton bins into a mixing chamber, each supplied<br />
by a 6 in. air pipe, and then passes on to the burners.<br />
The burners enter the top of the combustion chamber<br />
through a flat suspended arch. The coal on entering the<br />
burners, carries with it about 40 per cent of the air required<br />
for its combustion as a carrying medium, the<br />
balance of the air being admitted through eleven 12 in.<br />
circular openings with dampers in the front wall and<br />
through air inlet doors on the burners. Exceptionally<br />
good results have been obtained from the special design<br />
FIG. 3—Shows a cross-section through the boiler plant; emphasizing the relative positions of the boilers, gas-mains,<br />
powdered coal bins, coal burners, air main and blowers, also ash handling crane.<br />
79
8C<br />
HIP Dlasr kirnacp!!yjfpp' ^'-<br />
«.—*• i *•«»-<br />
FIG. 4—Side and front elevations shozving gas and coal burner arrangements.<br />
of the combustion chamber which is unusually large,<br />
having a volume of 5.7 cu. ft. per boiler rated hp. The<br />
boilers are mounted higher than for customary practice<br />
giving a height of about 25 ft. in the combustion chamber,<br />
thus enabling a complete combustion of powdered .coal<br />
and reducing the amount of ash deposit.<br />
The powdered coal feed drives, air supply to the<br />
burners and the air inlet dampers for the entire five<br />
boilers are automatically controlled through a system<br />
of levers by a master control shaft located horizontally<br />
above the boilers. This shaft is operated by the movement<br />
of a 5 in. master regulator actuated by pressure<br />
of the main steam header. The automatic rigging for<br />
each boiler unit can be detached and operated by hand<br />
if necessary.<br />
Fig. 4 shows side and front elevation of the powdered<br />
coal burners and connections as supplied to five boilers.<br />
The sixth boiler is equipped with four low pressure<br />
powdered coal burners. The feeding device for these<br />
burners is similar to those installed on the other five<br />
boilers, excepting that all four feeders are driven by one<br />
7y2 hp. motor with a variable speed transmission set<br />
which is interlocked with the air supply valves. About<br />
50 per cent of the air required for combustion enters<br />
with the powdered coal, the balance being admitted<br />
through the eleven 12 in. circular openings with dampers<br />
in the front wall as previously described for the burners.<br />
The air inlet dampers are connected to a shaft<br />
and operated by a hand lever. No automatic control<br />
was installed in connection with this unit.<br />
January, 1924<br />
Gas Burning Equipment.<br />
Each of the six boilers is equipped with two pressure<br />
type blast furnace gas burners, with a capacity to generate<br />
200 per cent of the boiler rating. These burners,<br />
as will be seen in Fig. 3, enter the combustion chamber<br />
through the lower front wall.<br />
A proportional supply of gas and air to the burners<br />
is maintained, regardless of the gas pressure and amount<br />
of gas being consumed, by a relative operation of dampers<br />
located in the gas and air connections of the burner<br />
body. This relative operation, after the proper adjustment<br />
is made, is automatically controlled to suit the<br />
fluctuating gas pressure, by an operating rigging similar<br />
to that just described for controlling the powdered coal<br />
burners, and consists of a lever rigging connected to the<br />
dampers and operated by a master control shaft serving<br />
the entire six boilers. The master control shaft is rotated<br />
by the movement of a 5 in. special combustion regulator<br />
actuated by the pressure in the blast furnace gas<br />
supply main.<br />
An air pressure of 6 in. water column is maintained<br />
in the supply line to the gas burners and powdered coal<br />
burners by a 2 in. blowing engine regulator which governs<br />
the steam turbines driving the fans. Air supply<br />
to the powdered coal burners on boiler No. 6 is reduced<br />
to one inch water pressure by a pressure reducer.<br />
Boiler Accessories.<br />
In the auxiliary equipment for the boilers are incorporated<br />
several new features of modern development<br />
(Continued on Page 88)
January, 1924<br />
MasfFurnaceSSUPl-<br />
Precision Welding<br />
One More Step Important in the Evolution of Electric Welding<br />
ELECTRIC arc welding is just beginning to come<br />
into its own. There was a time not so long ago<br />
when manufacturers would ask, "Can we take<br />
a chance and weld it, the cost being so much lower<br />
than bolted or riveted construction?" Today the question<br />
is, "Shall we play safe and weld it?" Invariably<br />
the progressive and experienced man who really<br />
knows welding and knows the causes of failure, together<br />
with the principles of successful welding, never<br />
even asks himself the question but goes ahead and<br />
welds it, because he knows it is stronger, more rigid,<br />
more economical and has a better and neater appearance.<br />
The various methods that are not in use and<br />
the new methods that are yet to come, together with<br />
a steadily increasing application to industry at a tremendous<br />
saving and increase in safety, are forcing<br />
general recognition.<br />
The welding art has so many branches and is<br />
growing so rapidly, that the expert must be a specialist.<br />
The writer is, therefore, content to follow one<br />
method and to apply himself to the promotion of that<br />
one particular branch. The electric arc method has<br />
been selected primarily because of its flexibility and<br />
practically unlimited application and economy. The<br />
writer's particular purpose here is to call attention to<br />
what can honestly be called precision welding. When<br />
we say "precision," we mean precisely that—not almost<br />
correct, but within two thousandths of an inch.<br />
It was not so long ago that even the machining of a<br />
large crank shaft to two thousandths of an inch tolerance<br />
was not an easy problem, especially when its<br />
assembled or complete weight was between five and<br />
75 tons. Today however, this is the standard tolerance<br />
and is lived up to by reliable engine manufacturers.<br />
It is now possible, through the use of precision instruments,<br />
that are capable of measuring the alignment<br />
of a shaft that is assembled in an engine frame,<br />
and the electric arc process, to repair or straighten a<br />
broken or twisted shaft or a broken casting to the<br />
same degree of strength and accuracy as that required<br />
by the manufacturer. Not only is it possible to weld<br />
to such fine measurements, but we are limited to the<br />
tolerance of the shaft itself. It can readily be understood<br />
that we cannot line up a piece of machinery<br />
any closer than its machined surface, but the precision<br />
obtainable by the use of electric arc welding is practically<br />
infinite, there being no practical instrument<br />
capable of measuring the fineness of deflection obtainable<br />
through the use of the electric arc. We can,<br />
to a considerable degree, correct machining faults in<br />
large machined pieces, even after considerable use,<br />
and when age, with its normalizing influence has<br />
caused a warpage or springing of the crank shaft, due<br />
to original f<strong>org</strong>ing strains, we can straighten the shaft<br />
within its original tolerance at a very small cost of<br />
labor. When we say "equal to the original tolerance"<br />
we do not mean in one particular measurement, but in<br />
all of them, of which there are many on a multiple<br />
throw shaft. Its warped condition, after use and age,<br />
*Kleinhans Company, Pittsburgh, Pa.<br />
By S. W. MANN*<br />
is produced by the natural tendency of the original<br />
f<strong>org</strong>ing strains to neutralize or equal one another.<br />
As a result, a shaft that might have been machined to<br />
a tolerance of one thousandth of an inch may, in the<br />
course of time, even though it be kept in storage, incur<br />
a warpage of 10 to 15 thousandths.<br />
The classes of work coming under the head of<br />
precision jobs not only include crank shafts of steel<br />
but cast iron or cast steel as well and the term can<br />
be employed wherever a large mass of steel requires<br />
bending, straightening or twisting. The crank shaft<br />
may become twisted in various ways. It may be that<br />
the fly wheel of an engine is suddenly stopped. The<br />
inertia is liable to twist the section between the fly-<br />
FIG. 1—Completed weld on broken flange of 46-in. diameter<br />
blowing engine cylinder.<br />
wheel and the crank throw or counterbalance weights,<br />
or in another instance, the cylinder may, during the<br />
course of starting or stopping the engine, come up<br />
against a water head and in that case, the inertia of<br />
the fly wheel would produce a tendancy to twist the<br />
shaft. In multiple throw engines, we have on record<br />
cases of broken connecting rods or piston rods that<br />
caused sudden stopping of one particular throw and<br />
the momentum of the balance of the moving parts produced<br />
twisting in one or more places. This twisted<br />
81
82 Tlip5Uh,rnacp3S,Pp]Pl an •<br />
condition can also be overcome by the electric arc,<br />
within certain limits, of course.<br />
Suppose a high pressure cast iron cylinder should<br />
have its whole flange broken off completely around the<br />
cylinder, due to a broken or loosened piston rod or<br />
water head. Although a delicate problem, it is a<br />
practicable undertaking to replace this flange on all<br />
cylinders over two feet in diameter and also to have<br />
all of its gasket face tolerance equal to the original.<br />
In undertaking work of this nature a complete practical<br />
knowledge and understanding of expansion and<br />
contraction of metals is necessary. A technical knowledge<br />
is desirable but not a necessity. The operator or<br />
supervisor must thoroughly understand the use of<br />
precision instruments, some of which he must be<br />
capable of devising himself to suit the individual problem<br />
confronting him. The electric arc method is the<br />
only method that can be employed to a satisfactory<br />
degree and should be a direct current welding circuit.<br />
Low voltage is preferable due to its limiting the possibility<br />
of burned or porous metal caused by the long<br />
arc. The welding current should not exceed 150 amperes<br />
and should be well regulated so that it can be<br />
held constant at all times, regardless of the variations<br />
of the arc length due to the human element. Such<br />
control of the current means that regardless of the<br />
area of the weld or puddle of molten metal under the<br />
arc, the heat per unit area of this puddle will be constant.<br />
The process and method of repairing the crank<br />
shaft shown in the accompanying photographs is<br />
known as the Neutralized Precision Weld and this<br />
shaft in particular, when completed, was under a tolerance<br />
of 1% thousands of an inch. The process in<br />
this and similar work is briefly as follows:<br />
January, 1924<br />
The fracture, whether it lays directly in the crank<br />
pin, main shaft or web of a shaft, should be chipped<br />
off from the opposite sides, where possible. In a<br />
round section, it should be chipped to a point, leaving<br />
a "V" of approximately 90 deg. between the two<br />
pieces when they are assembled. The metal should<br />
be thoroughly clean and free from carbon pockets or<br />
shrinkage cracks before attempting to weld. The two<br />
parts are then placed together with the points of the<br />
"V" or chipped section in line with each other and<br />
with an opening between them of >
January, 1924<br />
zero point is obtained. When this has been accomplished,<br />
the difficult part of the job is past.<br />
The process from then on consists solely in the repeated<br />
application of single layers of metal on all sides<br />
of the weld. If desired each layer may extend over<br />
the whole fractured surface. Shrinkage strains, which<br />
will be set up in each layer, are removed by the use<br />
of a peening tool. Additional metal must not be applied<br />
at any time until all shrinkage of the metal already<br />
deposited has been relieved, so that all indicators<br />
reach zero. It is advisable, during the application<br />
of a layer, to occasionally watch the indicators to<br />
acquaint oneself with the location and the amount of<br />
the actual stresses. By continued observation of the<br />
micrometers along with the welding, a perfect understanding<br />
of contraction can be obtained. This same<br />
observation is advisable during the peening process<br />
so that the operator may familiarize himself with the<br />
actual amount of peening required to affect a neutral<br />
weld. The understanding of contraction and expansion,<br />
as above outlined, will, in the course of a short<br />
time, enable the operator to estimate very closely the<br />
amount of peening necessary on work where the use<br />
of precision instruments is not practicable and should<br />
prove a very valuable asset to any operator.<br />
The extent of contraction varies considerably and<br />
usually is in direct proportion to the variation in carbon<br />
in the electrode metal. As is readily understood,<br />
contraction stresses set up by a hard high carbon<br />
metal will produce more of a deflection or shrinkage<br />
than those of a soft metal, and the hard metal also<br />
requires an additional amount of peening to accomplish<br />
the neutralization. Any deflection sideways in<br />
the welding of the crank shaft may also be corrected<br />
by peening. It is absolutely essential that no more<br />
than one layer be applied over the entire surface of<br />
any precision weld before peening. It is definitely<br />
proven that the expansion produced by the miniature<br />
f<strong>org</strong>ing blows of a pneumatic hammer do not f<strong>org</strong>e<br />
the metal any deeper than 34 in -<br />
The expansion of a second layer on top of a layer<br />
that has been applied without peening, will merely<br />
create additional tensile stress severe enough to probably<br />
cause an invisible fracture in the underlying layer.<br />
There are also times when, due to the thickness of a<br />
layer, along with its hardness from the use of a particularly<br />
hard metal, the contraction stresses cannot<br />
be relieved until continued peening has flaked off a<br />
certain amount of this surface of the weld. It is a fact<br />
that when a thin layer of white hot metal is homogeneously<br />
applied to colder metal, it sets up tremendous<br />
strains, and, when applied with a thorough knowledge,<br />
can be used to accomplish desired distortions in<br />
large steel sections that cannot be obtained in any<br />
other manner. It is also acknowledged that this thin<br />
layer of metal which has tied up in itself thousands of<br />
pounds of pull created by contraction, can readily be<br />
normalized or expanded to a normal condition by the<br />
means of the f<strong>org</strong>ing effect of a peening hammer.<br />
Layer upon layer may be applied and treated with<br />
micrometers or indicators as gauges, with absolute<br />
confidence that, if carefully and accurately done, the<br />
finished mass of metal will be absolutely normal or<br />
neutral with neither expansion or contraction stresses,<br />
thus doing away with the necessity for annealing.<br />
There is also good reason to believe that the f<strong>org</strong>ing<br />
effect of a hammer increases the ductility and tensile<br />
strength of the metal in the same manner as the<br />
HioUlasfFurnacpSSfpolPlanf<br />
f<strong>org</strong>ing of steel. The full value of the peening process<br />
might be compared very favorably with steel f<strong>org</strong>ing,<br />
insomuch that it flattens out the individual grains<br />
of metal and produces an amalgamation between these<br />
grains, that is lacking in the original weld. It is definitely<br />
known that a grain of pure steel is surrounded<br />
by a shell of impurities. In the event of a fracture, it<br />
will follow the line of impurities between each gram<br />
and does not have to break through the center, which<br />
is the pure steel. By peening or f<strong>org</strong>ing, this grain<br />
is so flattened that it takes on an over-lapping layer<br />
effect and the fracture has to make its way through<br />
layer after layer of pure steel.<br />
Not only does the peening produce an increased<br />
strength, but it makes possible a neutral weld and also<br />
the process of obtaining precision welding.<br />
When it comes to cast iron welding, the welding<br />
world, as a whole, is more or less under the impression<br />
that studding of the welded areas is absolutely essential<br />
as a safety factor. In reality, where studs are applied<br />
without the peening process, they merely help<br />
to strengthen a faulty weld. We do not disapprove<br />
of studding as we have determined that it is an ad-<br />
FIG. 3—Part of broken crank shaft prepared for welding.<br />
vantage even when employed in a neutralized or<br />
peened weld, inasmuch as it anchors the contraction<br />
of the original bounding layer and permits a greater<br />
area of metal to be welded before peening, without<br />
danger of contraction becoming great enough to affect<br />
a fracture through the thin layer of chilled cast<br />
iron directly under the juncture line. We have, in a<br />
number of cases where we have had ample time to<br />
complete a job, welded cast iron entirely without<br />
studs, but when this process is followed, it is necessary<br />
to peen every square inch of the metal as it is applied.<br />
If this is not done, the strains set up parallel with<br />
the weld will be great enough to fracture at the puncture<br />
line. We have proven through numerous tests,<br />
that the section which usually cracks directly under<br />
the chilled area is of higher tensile strength than the<br />
actual cast iron itself, but the sheering strains set up<br />
at this point, due to the tremendous amount of contracting,<br />
is great enough to produce a fracture, even<br />
though it had a tensile strength of three or four times<br />
the original casting. In cases, where we have followed<br />
out the peening theory of one inch at a time, we have<br />
accomplished very successful welds without the use of<br />
studs, having a parting strength greater than the iron<br />
itself.<br />
8.3
84 DIP Bias. F, urnacp iQ Sfpol PI a nl-<br />
In making the above statements, it is naturally as<br />
sumed that the correct welding material is used and<br />
on cast iron, there is no one or two welding wires that<br />
will satisfactorily fuse with every piece of cast iron.<br />
We might also add that the welding rod is, without<br />
question, a very important item and should be given<br />
as much consideration as the operator or the machine.<br />
In fact, successful welding may be divided into<br />
three parts of very nearly equal importance—the<br />
operator, the machine and the wire. Very often it is<br />
found that with the very best of equipment welding<br />
results are not satisfactory due to the use of an inferior<br />
welding electrode. In another instance, the electrode<br />
and material may be of first class quality, and the<br />
operator is not of the interested and progressive type.<br />
In stock today are carried possibly six or seven<br />
different grades of wire for use on cast iron and it is<br />
usually possible to find one among this assortment<br />
that successfully gives a perfect fusion with cast iron<br />
Castings that are older than 20 years have been found<br />
in several cases, to contain a considerable excess of<br />
phosphorus or sulphur. At times, it requires considerable<br />
experimenting to produce a counteracting<br />
chemical to overcome the detrimental effects of an<br />
excess of sulphur or phosphorus.<br />
When one stops and really figures out the tremendous<br />
shrinkage strains set up in a cast iron weld<br />
having a cross section of five inches or more, and it is<br />
realized that most such welds have been made without<br />
provision for relieving the strains, one is not surprised<br />
that the welding of cast iron has not generally<br />
met with commercial success.<br />
It is very gratifying to know that in the last three<br />
years, during which time 1 have directed numerous<br />
cast iron welding repairs, not a single failure has developed<br />
and this unequalled success is layed directly<br />
to the neutralizing process. This work has been done<br />
on castings having a cross section as high as 10 inches<br />
and with weights running as high as 90 tons per unit.<br />
In all welding work undertaken by my company,<br />
whether it is cast iron, steel or copper, the work has<br />
been guaranteed for a period of one year to meet all of<br />
the conditions of the original casting or f<strong>org</strong>ing, both<br />
as to porosity, strength and precision of alignment.<br />
1 have attempted, in this article, to show one of the<br />
numerous welding repairs that have been accomplished<br />
at a very great saving of both time and money<br />
and I know of no company today who is employing<br />
in their welding department an electric arc welder<br />
that is not receiving service many times the value of<br />
the installation.<br />
No longer need haphazard methods nor imperfect<br />
welds be tolerated. It is now possible to surround<br />
any emergency with a co-operative effort, based<br />
on many years of actual welding and engineering experience.<br />
An enormous variety of undertakings have<br />
been encountered and mastered under every condition<br />
that could be conceived.<br />
A successful welding <strong>org</strong>anization must offer the<br />
following service:<br />
Competent engineers who are capable of assuming<br />
the responsibility of complete reconstruction of<br />
wrecked machinery or power plants; resources in<br />
welding equipment, with unlimited operators ready<br />
to meet its largest emergencies assurance that all<br />
work must be done on a year's guarantee.<br />
These basic factors combined raise electric welding<br />
to a successful art.<br />
January, 1924<br />
Flexible Coupling Described in Bulletin<br />
The DeLaval flexible coupling is described in a 12-page<br />
pamphlet issued by the DeLaval Steam Turbine Company of<br />
Trenton, N. J. This coupling, which has been developed for<br />
turbines and similar machinery, consists of two opposed<br />
flanges mounted on the driving and driven shafts respectively.<br />
One flange carries bolts or pins which enter holes<br />
bored in the opposing flange, but not coming into metallic<br />
contact with the latter, as the driving force is transmitted<br />
through steel lined molded rubber bushings slipped over the<br />
pins. The rubber supplies the flexibility required to take care<br />
of inevitable slight misalignment, does not require lubrication,<br />
absorbs shocks and is long lived and reliable. There is<br />
no constraint upon independent endwise motion of the shafts<br />
and one shaft can be removed without disturbing the other.<br />
The peripheries of the flanges are ground to true cylinders<br />
and the faces to true planes to facilitate lining up. All parts<br />
are made to limit gages and all similar parts are interchangeable.<br />
New Bulletin Describes Motorbloc<br />
Bulletin S-101 issued by the Motorbloc Corporation of Philadelphia,<br />
describes and illustrates the application of the Motorbloc<br />
in several capacities as developed by the results of 18 years' experience<br />
in the material handling field.<br />
A tabulation of capacities, speeds, weights and electric motor<br />
sizes is given on page three.<br />
The principle features of value to the user are lightness and<br />
portability and a motor operated chain block that can be furnished<br />
in all capacities and operated by a small electric motor<br />
built into a compact unit that can be used anywhere electric current<br />
is available in connection with a Pendant Controller furnished<br />
with it.<br />
Copies of this bulletin will be gladly sent to any manufacturers<br />
or dealers who may be interested to use or sell this new<br />
labor saving device.
January ' 1924 HipBlasf FumacpSSfppl Pl~ • 85<br />
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borne Pointers on By-Product Coke Oven Operations<br />
fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiniiiF 111 n i i-r i. i • 11 JII. rr :o i n iimiin w n mm n iiimiiiiiiimiiiiiiimiiiiiiiimniiimiiniiimi Mini "innni m mmiiiiiiiiniiiimn mimiiiiimin iimiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiniiiniiiiiimiiiiiniiiimiii iimmiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiinmiui mni..<br />
Installing Simple and Modern Ash Handling<br />
System at Homestead<br />
There is little money to be made from ashes in a modern<br />
boiler house. It appeals much more strongly to the average engineer<br />
to think along the lines of fuel saving. In consequence,<br />
there is a tendency in the building of new boiler houses to study<br />
and investigate in infinite detail questions of boilers—type, size<br />
and setting in its relations to furnace efficiency; the question of<br />
stokers and their combustion efficiency. The ashes are a necessary<br />
nuisance and it is perhaps too vaguely thought that they<br />
will be manhandled out of the plant in some way.<br />
A little consideration along the following lines, however, will<br />
indicate the importance of the proper ash handling facilities.<br />
Consider the boiler house such as Carnegie Steel Company at<br />
Homestead is now installing, eight approximately 1.000 h.p.<br />
boilers. It is reasonable to suppose that six of these boilers will<br />
normally be operated at an average rating of 200 per cent. The<br />
plant will therefore generate 12,000 boiler h.p. continuously, although<br />
capable, under peak conditions, to perhaps double that<br />
capacity for limited periods.<br />
On the basis of 3J-2 lbs. of coal per boiler h.p., this will mean<br />
42,000 lbs. of coal burned per hour. On the assumption of 15<br />
per cent ash or other refuse, by weight, this will mean 6,300 lbs.<br />
of ash per hour or, for even figures, say three tons. At 24<br />
hours per day, it means 72 tons. If this ash is inefficiently handled,<br />
it may cost as high as 50c per ton to get same into railroad<br />
cars for final disposal, whereas if it is efficiently handled, it can<br />
be done for 10c per ton. In other words, the difference between<br />
efficient and inefficient handling of ashes in such a boiler house<br />
will amount directly, in dollars and cents, to a saving, by an<br />
efficient method, of approximately $10,000.00 a year.<br />
This is only part of the story. Improper ash handling layouts<br />
and apparatus produce conditions for ash handlers under<br />
which it is almost impossible to work. The labor turn-over is<br />
often tremendous and the wages demanded, high.<br />
Improper working conditions because of improper apparatus<br />
in the ash tunnels resulted in many serious accidents; burning<br />
or asphyxiating by monoxide gas, of labor have been and still<br />
are all too frequent an occurrence.<br />
The following features of this arrangement are considered<br />
particularly good:<br />
The ash will dump by gravity into the hopper and again by<br />
gravity into an electrically operated lorry car. The gates controlling<br />
the flow of ashes into the lorry car are power controlled.<br />
In consequence, they can be opened and shut almost instantaneously<br />
at the will of the operator with no more manual labor<br />
than the turning of a four-way cock.<br />
The lorry car will unload into a skip hoist which in turn<br />
will unload into storage means over railroad cars. After one<br />
or more day's supply of ashes have been stored, hopper cars are<br />
spotted beneath, the material dropping by gravity. The approximate<br />
cost of handling the ashes with such a system as this will<br />
be 10c per ton. The entire system is extremely simple, requires<br />
only a single man for operation and all the ashes can be handled<br />
by part of this one man's time in a single shift.<br />
The hoppers used are of cast iron as cast iron will stand<br />
up almost indefinitely under the action of sulphurous water. It<br />
is therefore best suited for the service. Note that the walls of<br />
this hopper are nearly vertical. In consequence, it is impossible<br />
for the ashes to arch over the opening as there is no skewback<br />
upon which the ashes can rest. They therefore drop by gravity<br />
from the hopper into the car. There is no manual hoeing or<br />
poking. The hopper is tile lined. Notice that the tile lining in<br />
the vertical wall of the hopper is locked by gravity to the side of<br />
the hopper and cannot fall into same.<br />
Another interesting feature is that the quenching water leaders<br />
are run entirely outside the hopper and the water introduced<br />
by quenchers set into the hopper walls. It is claimed that this<br />
arrangement will more adequately cool and make dustless the<br />
hopper contents with a mere fraction of the water as compared<br />
to the old scheme of running a perforated pipe directly through<br />
the hopper. As none of the apparatus is within the hopper, the<br />
depreciation is virtually nothing. The quenchers are so arranged<br />
as to be accessible from the outside.<br />
Another interesting detail is, this quenching water is collected<br />
and discharged to drain, maintaining a clean, dry ash basement.<br />
Most boiler house operators are familiar with a deluge<br />
of water which comes down from the ash hoppers when the<br />
ashes are being quenched. It results, in cold weather, in an accumulation<br />
of ice and slush under foot, with a heavy fog continually<br />
hanging in the tunnel. At all times of the year, it means<br />
that the ash handler must take a good drenching every time the<br />
ashes are handled.<br />
Another feature of interest is that the ash gates themselves<br />
use the quenching water for a water seal. It is therefore impossible<br />
for monoxide gas to leak from the hopper into the tunnel<br />
and this menace to life is therefore eliminated. The arrangement<br />
also improves combustion efficiency as excess air cannot<br />
leak around the ash gates and enter the furnace through the<br />
stoker dumps.<br />
Considerable credit is due to the engineers of the Carnegie<br />
Steel Company for the thorough way which the details of this<br />
installation have been worked out. The Allen-Sherman-Hoff<br />
Company of Philadelphia furnished the cast iron hoppers and<br />
power operated gates, as well as the special ash quenching apparatus.<br />
Spacing of Pipe Supports<br />
fContinued from page 53)<br />
"S," if the deflection is not too great, then the span as given<br />
by the table is satisfactory; if the deflection is too great (as<br />
shown by the table) choose a span of satisfactory deflection, by<br />
the table, even though the "S" for this span is less than as<br />
calculated.<br />
For instance, "S" in "7-A" is 3800 lbs. for 8-in. dia., which<br />
falls between 22 ft. and 24 ft. span (this being for a thinner<br />
8-in. dia. pipe than for item "7") ; therefore we would choose a<br />
22-ft. spacing, with a deflection of only 0.209 (for a thinner pipe<br />
than for item "7"), which is less than the 25 ft. spacing per<br />
"7-c" and "7-A" and is on the safe side.<br />
Having determined the spacing of the pipe hangers or supports,<br />
the piping may be carried on existing structures, as in<br />
the following Case 1, or special structures may be required. In<br />
the case of long spans or runs of piping through work and<br />
mill yards the following Cases 2, 3 and 4 show very desirable<br />
construction and the formulae for the design.
86-A<br />
Hie Has* Furnace® SUTPI-<br />
The Birthplace<br />
of Prest-O-Lite Service<br />
Indianapolis, 1904<br />
Prest-O-Lite pioneered for you<br />
PREST-O-LITE was the first to conceive<br />
and put into operation the idea<br />
of a nation-wide chain of service stations.<br />
When the Oxy-Acetylene Process<br />
made its entry into American factories,<br />
Prest-O-Lite Service -was already a<br />
household expression.<br />
Today, 28 plants and 44 warehouses<br />
supply this one universally used gas for<br />
both welding and cutting in convenient<br />
portable form. And 1924 will see further<br />
additions to Prest-O-Lite facilities.<br />
Prest-O-Lite Dissolved Acetylene meets<br />
every demand for an economical, safe, portable<br />
fuel gas for welding and cutting. Prest-O-Lite<br />
Service meets every demand for a dependable<br />
supply anywhere, any time.<br />
THE PRESTO-LITE COMPANY, INC.<br />
Qeneral Offices: Carbide &. Carbon Building, 30 East 42d Street, New York<br />
In Canada: Prest-O-Lite Co. of Canada, Toronto<br />
District Sales Offices<br />
ATLANTA 'BALTIMORE • BOSTON 'BUFFALO<br />
CHICAGO • CLEVELAND • DALLAS ' DETROIT<br />
KANSAS CITY ' LOS ANGELES ' MILWAUKEE<br />
DISSOLVED ACETYLENE<br />
TWENTY YEARS AFTER<br />
Co-operate:—Refer to The Blast Furnace and Steel Plant<br />
District Sales Offices<br />
NEW ORLEANS • NEW YORK • PHILADELPHIA<br />
PITTSBURGH • SALT LAKE CITY<br />
ST. LOUIS ' SAN FRANCISCO ' SEATTLE
January, 1924<br />
Fred C. T. Daniels, metallurgist for<br />
the Wheeling Mold & Foundry Company,<br />
Wheeling, W. Va., has recently<br />
severed his affiliation with the Wheeling<br />
<strong>org</strong>anization to become superintend<br />
ent of the roll department of the Bethlehem<br />
Steel Company, Bethlehem, Pa.<br />
Associates of Mr. Daniels looked upon<br />
his leaving Wheeling Mold & Foundry<br />
with a sense of keen regret, as he had<br />
been with the company since 1914 and<br />
had the responsibility of a most important<br />
unit of the <strong>org</strong>anization. Mr. Daniels<br />
is, however, eminently fitted for the<br />
larger responsibilities which he will be<br />
called upon to assume in his new field,<br />
and there can be no doubt as to the success<br />
he will merit. He is a graduate of<br />
Worcester Institute of Technology,<br />
Worcester, Mass., and has had much experience<br />
in roll manufacture and rolling<br />
mill practice, in and about the Pittsburgh<br />
District. He holds patents on several<br />
alloy mixes which have proven their<br />
worth in roll manufacture as well as in<br />
other lines of the alloy casting trade.<br />
The vacancy in the metallurgical and<br />
roll department of the Wheeling Mold &<br />
Foundry Company, caused by Mr. Daniels<br />
leaving, has been filled by R. C. Heaslett,<br />
who has been chief chemist for this<br />
<strong>org</strong>anization since 1916.<br />
Announcement has been made by Director<br />
Edward R. Weidlein of the appointment<br />
of Dr. Warren Fred Faragher<br />
as an assistant director of Mellon Institute<br />
of Industrial Research of the University<br />
of Pittsburgh. Dr. Faragher,<br />
who has been a senior industrial fellow<br />
of the Institute since 1918, is a specialist<br />
in the chemistry and technology of petroleum<br />
and has made a number of im<br />
portant contributions to the chemical<br />
knowledge of hydrocarbons. He assumed<br />
DieBlasfFurnaceSSUPIo<br />
his new office on December 1 and his<br />
successor on the research staff of the Institute's<br />
petroleum investigation will be<br />
Dr. William A. Gruse. Of special interest<br />
is the fact that Dr. Faragher, who<br />
received his professional training at the<br />
University of Kansas, was selected by<br />
the late Dr. Robert Kennedy Duncan as<br />
the incumbent of the first industrial fellowship<br />
established in that institution in<br />
1907. Later, in 1911, Dr. Duncan came<br />
to the University of Pittsburgh, and his<br />
industrial fellowship system is now the<br />
basis of the work of Mellon Institute.<br />
Following the completion of his researches<br />
at the University of Kansas,<br />
Dr. Faragher spent nine years in the industrial<br />
field as a specialist in oils, and<br />
in 1918 he was appointed a senior fellow<br />
of Mellon Institute. In addition to his<br />
research accomplishments, he has been<br />
constantly active in furthering the interests<br />
of the American Chemical Society<br />
and the American Society for Testing<br />
Materials.<br />
Clinton G. Armstrong, formerly consulting<br />
metallurgist for the Chicago<br />
Flexible Company, and research metallurgist<br />
of the Western Electric Company,<br />
has joined the Calorizing Company.<br />
He will serve in the capacity of<br />
sales engineer and will be connected with<br />
the Chicago office of the Calorizing Com<br />
pany.<br />
R. T. Haslam has been promoted to a<br />
full professorship at the School of Chemical<br />
Engineering Practice, Massachusetts<br />
Institute of Technology, Cambridge,<br />
Mass.<br />
Professor Haslam's translation of the<br />
article, "The Production and Utilization<br />
of Producer Gas for Heating Open<br />
Hearth Furnaces," appeared in May and<br />
June issues of this magazine.<br />
86<br />
A. H. C. Heitman has resigned as general<br />
manager of Chemical Products, Ltd.,<br />
Trenton, Ontario, manufacturers of sulphuric<br />
acid and heavy chemicals. He was<br />
for some years a member of the research<br />
staff of Parke, Davis & Company. Before<br />
coming to Trenton, he was manager<br />
of Chemical Products of Canada,<br />
Ltd., Toronto, producing a variety of<br />
products, heavy chemicals, as well as<br />
pharmaceutical synthetics. Mr. Heitman<br />
was recently appointed a member<br />
of the Chemical Committee of the Honorary<br />
Advisory Council for Scientific and<br />
Industrial Research, Canada.<br />
F. W. Miller, superintendent Sloss Byproduct<br />
Plant. Birmingham, Ala., addressed<br />
the Nashville Section, December<br />
21, on the "Modern By-Product Coke<br />
Oven."<br />
The Electric Furnace Construction<br />
Company, Philadelphia, advise the following<br />
recent installations of their equipment:<br />
Henry Disston & Sons, Tacony,<br />
Pa., electric heated furnace for continuous<br />
hardening and tempering of band<br />
saws; Dodge Steel Company, Philadel<br />
phia, Pa., rapid melting acid lined elec<br />
tric furnace for steel castings; Armstrong<br />
Company, Huntington, W. Va., continu<br />
ous electric vitreous enameling furnace;<br />
Panama Canal, Cristobal, C. Z., electric<br />
steam boilers (Kaelin system); Ford<br />
Motor Company, Green Island, N. Y.,<br />
two electric steam boilers (Kaelin sys<br />
tem); Aviation Department, McCook<br />
Field, Dayton, Ohio, electric heat treat<br />
ing furnace. Work under construction<br />
includes electric steam boilers for Chile,<br />
Guatemala, and rapid electric melting<br />
furnace for cast iron for the Owens Bot<br />
tle Company, Toledo, Ohio.
87 IkeBlasfUiaceSSUPl-<br />
January, 1924<br />
SiniiiiiNiiiiiNiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiinniiiiiillliiilluiluillllllllii^ Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiim'iNiiiiiniiiaiiiiiiiiiiii'iiiiiiiiiiiiii'liiiiiiiiiNiiiniiiiiiiniig<br />
| WITH THE EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURERS I<br />
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New Line of Small Vertical Vacuum Pumps<br />
The Ingersoll-Rand Company, 11 Broadway, New York,<br />
announces a new line of small vertical belt driven vacuum<br />
pumps, known as Type Fifteen. This should be of particular<br />
interest to those users who require high grade, standard,<br />
reciprocating, dry vacuum pumps of small capacities. The<br />
wide range of sizes and the different methods of drive offer<br />
a vacuum pump to suit any need where a high vacuum is<br />
necessary. Type Fifteen vacuum pumps will pull and maintain<br />
vacuums between 28.6 in. and 29.25 in., depending on<br />
their size. In addition to the standard belt design each<br />
size is built as a self-contained electric motor outfit, using<br />
the short belt drive arrangement or driven through pinion<br />
and internal gear. The vacuum pump and electric motor of<br />
both the short belt and gear driven units are mounted on a<br />
metal sub-base, so that they are not dependent on the<br />
foundation for correct alignment.<br />
The "constant-level" system of lubrication used on the<br />
Type Fifteen vacuum pumps maintains a constant-level of oil,<br />
which insures the right amount being distributed to all parts.<br />
Like in the ordinary splash system, the bottom of the pump<br />
base forms an oil reservoir of sufficient capacity for the "constant-level"<br />
system. The amount of oil in this reservoir is<br />
determined by high and low level pet cocks. Above the reservoir<br />
and directly underneath the connecting rod is a constant<br />
level pan (lubrication holder), into which the connecting<br />
rod dips and distributes just a sufficient quantity of oil for<br />
proper lubrication. The constant level pan is replenished<br />
with oil from the supply in the crank case by a valveless oil<br />
pump operated by an eccentric on the main shaft. Regardless<br />
of the amount of oil in the reservoir, so long as it is<br />
somewhere between the high and low level petcocks, this system<br />
will function properly. The lubrication of small vertical<br />
vacuum pumps employing the enclosed crank case and<br />
splash system has often been a source of great concern. The<br />
tendency of oil systems has been to feed either too much oil,<br />
which will be carried out with the air, or too little, causing<br />
scored cylinders, overloads and burned out bearings.<br />
There are six sizes—the 2x4 in., 3x5 in., 4x6 in. and 5x8 in.<br />
single acting pumps; the 5x10 in. and 6x12 in. double acting<br />
pumps. The 2 in., 3 in., 4 in. and 5 in. stroke single acting<br />
pumps are air cooled by means of an annular ring which<br />
encircles the cylinder, while the 5 in. and 6 in. stroke double<br />
acting pumps are cooled by means of circulating water.<br />
An illustrated descriptive bulletin has been issued on these<br />
vacuum pumps which describes in detail all their new and<br />
improved features. The manufacturer will be glad to send a<br />
copy to anyone who is interested.<br />
Riley Underfeed Stokers<br />
Riley Underfeed Stokers are described and illustrated in de<br />
tail in a new bulletin No. 92.<br />
These are mechanical stokers of the multiple retort, under<br />
feed type for high duty service. Particularly adapted for ex<br />
treme, sustained overloads and fluctuating steam demands. Save<br />
10 to 25 per cent of coal over hand firing, also make possible<br />
use of inferior grades of coal. Eliminate drudgery from boiler<br />
room and make a clean boiler room possible. These two factors<br />
attract high grade and intelligent operators. Reduce boiler room<br />
labor to a minimum. High capacity obtainable together with<br />
quick response to overloads reduces the number of boilers re<br />
quired, with corresponding decrease in investment, maintenance<br />
and operating expense.<br />
This catalogue describes in detail the engineering features of<br />
Riley Stokers (many of them exclusive), that enable them to<br />
attain these results in an efficient, economical and reliable man<br />
ner, and give satisfactory service that has led to the use of<br />
Riley Stokers in all parts of the world.<br />
Riley Stokers are multiple retort, inclined, underfeed stokers—<br />
that is, the fuel is forced up from beneath the point where the<br />
air is admitted, and is then burned on a series of inclined retorts.<br />
Distillation of the volatile gases takes place in the retorts, after<br />
which these gases, mixed with air, pass through an active bed<br />
of burning coke and then through the incandescent fire zone.<br />
The Riley Stoker, however, differs from all other underfeed<br />
stokers. Instead of stationary tuyeres it has moving, air sup<br />
plying grate blocks, carried by the reciprocating sides of the re<br />
torts. These retort sides also move the overfeed grates which<br />
extend across the entire width of the stoker below the retorts.<br />
Beyond these are the rocker dump plates, which continuously<br />
agitate, crush, and discharge the ash. The travel of these recip<br />
rocating parts is adjustable so as to control completely the movement<br />
of the fuel bed and dumping of refuse.
J anuar ^ 1924 Hie BU Ua«©SU VI- ' 88<br />
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I NEWS OF THE PLANTS<br />
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The Republic Iron & Steel Company,<br />
Youngstown, Ohio, has plans in progress<br />
for the construction of two new tube mills<br />
at its local plant on Poland Avenue, and<br />
proposes to commence work at an early<br />
date. Extensions and improvements in<br />
other departments have been commenced<br />
and will be pushed to completion. These<br />
include the rebuilding of a portion of the<br />
Bessemer works, replacing present equipment<br />
with more modern and improved<br />
machinery; the installation will provide<br />
for considerable increase in capacity at the<br />
unit. Similar changes are being made in<br />
the billet and bar mills, where electric<br />
operation will be substituted for the former<br />
hydraulic-driven equipment. The reconstruction<br />
of a blast furnace at the<br />
Haselton division is also under way, and<br />
it is expected to complete this work in<br />
the near future, to include the installation<br />
of an additional battery of coke ovens, as<br />
well as other minor work for greater<br />
efficiency in service. The expansion and<br />
improvement program is estimated to involve<br />
in excess of $350,000.<br />
The Pacific Coast Steel Company, San<br />
Francisco, Cal., has exercised its option<br />
to purchase a tract of property near Long<br />
Beach, vicinity of Los Angeles, Cal., totaling<br />
about 200 acres of land, heretofore<br />
held by the Los Angeles Dock & Terminal<br />
Company, giving a consideration of<br />
about $2,000,000 for the property. It will<br />
be used as a site for a new steel mill and<br />
blast furnace, on which work will be inaugurated<br />
at an early date. The furnace<br />
will be the first unit to be built, and will<br />
be of thoroughly modern type, with capacity<br />
of approximately 600 tons. The structure<br />
is estimated to cost about $5,000,000,<br />
including auxiliary departments. Other<br />
structures will be erected closely following,<br />
to include rolling mills, tube mills,<br />
machine departments, power plant and<br />
miscellaneous mechanical buildings. The<br />
entire works will represent an investment<br />
of close to $15,000,000, complete. The<br />
company is represented by T. T. C. Gregory,<br />
Insurance Exchange Bldg., San<br />
Francisco, attorney.<br />
The Waterbury Rolling Mill Company,<br />
Waterbury, Conn., will commence the<br />
erection of a new addition to cost close to<br />
$75,000, including equipment. It will provide<br />
for extensive increase in capacity. A<br />
general contract for the building has been<br />
awarded to the Tracy Brothers Company,<br />
Waterbury.<br />
The Marting Iron & Steel Company,<br />
Ironton, Ohio, has tentative plans under<br />
advisement for improvements in its local<br />
blast furnace, to provide for large increase<br />
in capacity, as well as greater efficiency in<br />
operation. Details and estimates of cost<br />
will be perfected at an early date.<br />
The Truscon Steel Company, Youngstown.<br />
Ohio, has arranged an appropriation<br />
of $400,000, for extensions in its local<br />
plant. A new series of buildings will be<br />
constructed on Albert Street, totaling<br />
about 100,000 sq. ft. of operating space, to<br />
be provided with modern machinery for<br />
extensive increase in production of standardized<br />
steel shapes and products for construction<br />
purposes, approximating from 15<br />
to 20 per cent over the present rating. The<br />
working force will also be enlarged. It is<br />
expected to have the new structures ready<br />
for service early in the coming spring.<br />
Julius Kahn is president of the company.<br />
The Hull Steel Foundries Company,<br />
Ltd., Hull, Quebec, has acquired property<br />
at Ogdensburg, N. Y., and has plans in<br />
preparation for the erection of a new steel<br />
works at this location. It will consist of<br />
a number of one-story plant units, with<br />
power house and auxiliary structures, estimated<br />
to cost close to $500,000, including<br />
equipment. A. H. Coplan is president.<br />
The Blair Strip Steel Company, New<br />
Castle, Pa., recently <strong>org</strong>anized, has selected<br />
a local site and has plans under<br />
way for the construction of a new plant<br />
for the manufacture of steel products, including<br />
cold rolled specialties. It will consist<br />
of a main building, with a number of<br />
auxiliary structures, and is estimated to<br />
cost in excess of $75,000. It is expected<br />
to commence operations at an early date,<br />
having the plant ready for service during<br />
1924. The new company is headed by<br />
Ge<strong>org</strong>e D. Blair, Sr. and Jr., and J. Nor<br />
man Martin, all of New Castle, who will<br />
be active in the management n( tt,o n e w<br />
company.<br />
The United Alloy Steel Corporation,<br />
Canton, Ohio, has arranged an appropria<br />
tion of more than $1,200,000 for extensions<br />
and improvements in its plant, including<br />
the installation of considerable additional<br />
equipment. The work will comprise the<br />
rebuilding of two continuous furnaces<br />
used for the 12-inch mill, additional soaking<br />
pits, new stripper and new gas producer.<br />
It is also proposed to build a new<br />
power house and boiler plant. Initial<br />
operations have been commenced and the<br />
entire improvement program will be<br />
pushed through to completion.<br />
The American Rolling Mill Company,<br />
Ashland, Ohio, is pushing construction on<br />
its new bar mill and expects to have the<br />
unit ready, for service at an early date.<br />
Other expansion is also in progress for<br />
considerable increase in production and<br />
the installation of equipment will soon be<br />
commenced. This latter work will be<br />
completed during the first quarter of the<br />
new year.<br />
The Acme Steel Construction Company,<br />
Homestead, Pa., has purchased<br />
property in the Wickliffe industrial section,<br />
Youngstown, Ohio, and will have<br />
plans prepared in the near future for a<br />
new plant at this location. It will consist<br />
of a main building, power house and subsidiary<br />
buildings, with reported cost<br />
placed in excess of $100,000, including<br />
equipment.<br />
The Brown-Hutchinson Iron Works,<br />
1831 Clay Street, Detroit, Mich., has completed<br />
plans and will commence the immediate<br />
erection of a new addition to its<br />
plant for considerable increase in capacity.<br />
It will be one-story, located on Morrow<br />
Street, and is estimated to cost close to<br />
$45,000, including equipment. The general<br />
building contract has been awarded.<br />
Unusual Blast Furnace Boiler Plant<br />
(Continued from Page 77)<br />
in addition to certain makes of standard<br />
accessories that have been adopted for general<br />
use. Included in this equipment are<br />
feed water regulators, furnace efficiency<br />
regulators for operating the stock dampers,<br />
steam purifiers, soot cleaners, blowoff<br />
valves and thermo-couples, pyrometer<br />
and recording instruments for furnace and<br />
stack temperatures.<br />
CO2 recorders, indicating steam flow me<br />
ters and draft gauges are installed on each<br />
boiler and an integrating steam flow meter<br />
is installed on the main steam line leading<br />
from the boilers. A gas flow meter is located<br />
in the blast furnace gas supply main<br />
and coal meters are provided in the dried<br />
coal chutes leading to the pulverizers, so<br />
that it is possible to make an approximate<br />
check of the efficiency of the plant daily.<br />
Ashes and blast furnace gas flue dust<br />
are removed when boiler ii down and are<br />
disposed of by a traveling telpher equipped<br />
for handling a 65 cu. ft. capacity ash pan,<br />
and runs on an overhead I-beam track lo<br />
cated directly in front of the boiiers and<br />
extending through the Poiler house to the<br />
original coal and ash handling station of<br />
he main boiler plant.<br />
The operation of this plant has met all<br />
xpectations and has demonstrated that<br />
this method of supplementing blast furnace<br />
gas is entirely satisfactory.
80 TliobWi; irnace « SUVl<br />
CONTINUOUS AUTOMATIC<br />
BAR STRAIGHTENERS<br />
Prosperity during 1924 is the prediction of the economists. The<br />
plant with the most efficient and economical machinery will share<br />
largest in this prosperity. The MEDART will straighten, polish<br />
and cold roll in one operation. One bar follows another as closely<br />
as possible. There is no chucking to be done and the machines<br />
straighten from<br />
Ys" to 7" bars<br />
from 40 to 80 feet<br />
per minute.<br />
The entire bar<br />
passes through<br />
the rolls which<br />
apply full pressure<br />
on the bar to<br />
the extreme end.<br />
Write for a copy<br />
of our new edition<br />
Machinery Catalog.<br />
THE MEDART COMPANY<br />
(Formerly Medart Patent Pulley Co.)<br />
General Office and Works, St. Louis, U. S. A.<br />
Office and Warehouse in Cincinnati.<br />
Offices in Chicago, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and New York<br />
To get the right start—Equip with •MEDART* "<br />
"WHEELING QUALITY"<br />
Steel Rolls Super-Steel Rolls<br />
Chill Rolls Sand Rolls<br />
Mo-Lyh-dervurn Steel Rolls<br />
Rolling Mill Machinery Special Machinery<br />
Steel and Iron Castings<br />
Wheeling Mold & Foundry Co.<br />
WHEELING, W. VA.<br />
Co-operate:—Refer to The Blast Furnace and Steel Plant
lhe Dlasr rum aceSSree 1 Planr<br />
Vol. XII PITTSBURGH, PA.. FEHRUARV, 1924 No. 2<br />
The President's Thrift Message<br />
PRESIDENT COOLIDGE'S thrift<br />
week message to the people of the<br />
country is contained in a letter addressed<br />
to Lew Wallace, Jr., Director<br />
of the United States Government Savings<br />
System:<br />
"The growth of thrift and saving<br />
in this country promises well for our<br />
future. Only through sacrifice and<br />
hard work can we attain the cherished<br />
things in life. This means we<br />
must work and save.<br />
The program of the United States<br />
Government Savings System, in giving<br />
to all our people an opportunity<br />
to invest in safe securities, is most<br />
worthy. By placing Treasury Savings<br />
Certificates on sale in post offices,<br />
banks and trust companies, the<br />
Government has made available to<br />
everyone a security of unquestioned<br />
soundness. Their widespread sale<br />
makes for better citizenship, as each<br />
purchaser holds a stake in his Gov<br />
89<br />
ernment. I beileve, also, that the enlargement<br />
of a national Thrift movement<br />
will eventually stamp out the<br />
false and unsound practices of the<br />
swindler.<br />
For the men and women who want<br />
to get ahead, and for the boy or girl<br />
who can save only a little at a time,<br />
Treasury Savings Certificates are a<br />
security which can be compared in<br />
safety and interest return with the<br />
securities which are available only to<br />
those of larger means.. The growth<br />
of the United States Government<br />
Savings System will result in increased<br />
happiness for the individual,<br />
and increased prosperity in general,<br />
for prosperity and happiness go hand<br />
in hand and are dependent upon the<br />
financial soundness of both the individual<br />
and community."<br />
(Signed)<br />
CALVIN COOLIDGE
90 The Bias, FumaceSS.eel Plan,<br />
February, 1924<br />
Inland Steel Electrically Operated<br />
A S this article was primarily written to give a<br />
description of the power generation and distribution<br />
system, it might be well to go back some<br />
14 years to show the reasons for the additions to<br />
equipment due to the rapid growth of the plant. The<br />
original power house was located at the blast furnaces<br />
in plant two. and consisted of three 550 k.w.,<br />
250 v., d.c, direct connected, engine driven generators,<br />
operating at 100 r.p.m. The engines are cross compound,<br />
and operate from gas fired boilers, using excess<br />
gas from the blast furnaces for the generation of<br />
steam. The switchboards consisted of the necessary<br />
generator panels, blast furnace feeder panels and a<br />
6.000 ampere feeder panel, which was the supply circuit<br />
for plant one. These feeders consisted of 10<br />
1,000,000 cm. cables per side, which, in turn, were<br />
connected to a distributing switchboard located in<br />
plant one. This switchboard was located in the electrical<br />
repair shop for convenience, and consisted of<br />
four 3,000 ampere. 14 2.000 ampere and eight 1,000<br />
ampere circuit breakers.<br />
With the addition of the bolt and rivet department<br />
and eight additional sheet mills, two units of the same<br />
Steam Driven Units Rapidly Being Replaced by<br />
Electrical Equipment<br />
By F. J. CROLIUS<br />
PART II<br />
operating characteristics were added to the original<br />
power house, making a total of five.<br />
First Motor Driven Mills.<br />
In 1912 it was decided to build a plate mill, and,<br />
after survey was made of the different conditions, it<br />
was decided to drive this mill with a motor, and to,<br />
also, change No. 1 sheet mill from engine to motor<br />
In the January issue, the general features<br />
af the Indiana Harbor plant were outlined<br />
historically. This second section incorporates<br />
a description of the By-product Coke Plant by<br />
Mr. de Holl, and many interesting features of<br />
the electrical development by Mr. R. L. Mcintosh,<br />
Electrical Engineer.<br />
drive. The exhaust steam from the 36-in. blooming<br />
mill and 24-in. bar mill was utilized; by use of proper<br />
regenerators, enough power was recovered to warrant<br />
the installation of two low pressure steam turbines,<br />
2500 k.v.a., 2300 v., 3-phase, 25 cycles.<br />
The complete by-product coke plant consists of 130 Koppers ovens, with direct ammonium sulphate recovery system, and the<br />
first benzol plant erected in America by the company.
February, 1924<br />
During this year a by-product coke plant, with 66<br />
ovens, was installed at plant two, adjacent to the blast<br />
furnaces, two additional generators were added, of<br />
the same capacity and characteristics, making a total<br />
of seven units. These seven units completed the generating<br />
equipment of this station, and supplied all the<br />
d.c. power for the mills up to the year 1917.<br />
As there was excess low pressure steam for the<br />
operation of the turbo-generators, additional equipment,<br />
such as hydraulic pumps, condenser pumps and<br />
fans, were supplied with power from this station at<br />
2200 v.a.c. As low pressure steam is not always available,<br />
due to mills being down waiting for steel, and<br />
other delays, the turbines are supplied with live steam,<br />
through a large reducing valve, into a low pressure<br />
header, and also are equipped with valves operating<br />
from the governor, which admit live steam on the occasion<br />
of an overload, to maintain the speed of the<br />
turbine during this period.<br />
Description of the Coke Plant.<br />
During the navigation season the coal used for<br />
coking purposes is shipped from lake ports in boats<br />
and unloaded at the Inland Steel Company's dock at<br />
Indiana Harbor. Two unloading towers transfer the<br />
coal from the boats to a series of bunkers. There are<br />
also five ore bridges which may be used to supplement<br />
the work of the coal unloading towers in rush periods.<br />
The coal is discharged from the bunkers by means of<br />
a shaker feeder onto a conveyor belt and thence over<br />
a series of conveyors to one of two traveling coal<br />
bridges spanning a coal storage yard of 200,000 tons<br />
capacity. Each bridge is equipped with a grab bucket,<br />
a conveyor belt, and a tripper which can be set to<br />
dump the coal at any point along the belt.<br />
The work of unloading coal from boats is expedited<br />
by the use of a double track hopper located at the<br />
dock, and two electrically operated transfer cars<br />
which carry the coal from the towers and bridges to<br />
the hopper. Shipments of coal received in cars are<br />
also unloaded here and conveyed to the storage yard.<br />
Coal is taken from the storage yard by the bridge<br />
crane grab buckets, loaded into a track hopper located<br />
near the coal handling equipment of the coke plant.<br />
A system of conveyors carries the coal from this point<br />
to one of two roughing tanks, one for low volatile<br />
and one for high volatile coal. Beneath each roughing<br />
tank there is a system consisting of a Bradford<br />
breaker, a bone coal crusher, and two hammer mills.<br />
Having the two systems permits of crushing two<br />
kinds of coal at the same time. Twin conveyor belts<br />
carry the crushed coal to the mixing bins, of which<br />
there are three. Adjustable gates at the bottom of<br />
the mixing bins permit as many as three kinds of<br />
coal to be fed on the mixing conveyor belts in any<br />
proportion desired.<br />
After passing through the mixer, the coal is conveyed<br />
by belt to two storage bins of 1,300 tons capacity<br />
each, located over the ovens. Two charging cars<br />
take the coal from the storage bins over the top of<br />
the batteries to the ovens about to be charged.<br />
There are three batteries, consisting of a total of<br />
130 of the well known Koppers cross-regenerative<br />
ovens, having a capacity of 13J^ tons of coal per oven.<br />
Three pushers and five door extractors and coke<br />
guides comprise the equipment available for pushing<br />
the coke from the oven. The quenching car, drawn<br />
by a steam locomotive, carries the coke to one of two<br />
M a s . Fumace3S.ee! Plan.<br />
quencher stations, where the coke is quenched. After<br />
draining a short time, it is dumped on an inclined coke<br />
wharf, where excess moisture is driven off. Hand<br />
operated gates allow the coke to slide onto a mechanical<br />
feeder and thence to a conveyor belt which carries<br />
the coke to a crusher. From the crusher the coke is<br />
conveyed to one of two screening stations equipped<br />
to make the separation of blast furnace coke, domestic<br />
and braize. The braize and domestic coke drop<br />
through chutes directly into cars, while the blast furnace<br />
coke is run into the cars from a boom conveyor<br />
which can be lowered into the car, thus preventing<br />
excess breakage.<br />
One of the screening stations is equipped with two<br />
elevator buckets into which coke can be emptied directly<br />
from tlie quenching car. These are used in emergencies<br />
when the belt conveyors or coke wharf are<br />
under repairs. This arrangement prevents delays,<br />
which, in causing an enforced change in coking time,<br />
would tend to give a non-uniform quality of coke.<br />
The gas leaves the batteries by means of five crossover<br />
mains, joining a common foul gas main. This<br />
main is so arranged that the gas from 66 ovens can be<br />
sent through one set of by-product apparatus and the<br />
remainder through another set, or the entire output<br />
of gas can be put through one set of recovery<br />
apparatus.<br />
The by-products plant (Koppers direct ammonium<br />
sulphate recovery system) consists of two series of<br />
tubular primary gas coolers, three in each series (two<br />
coolers in each series are always in use, leaving one<br />
for a spare) ; three trains, each comprising one steam<br />
driven turbo-exhauster, one tar extractor, one reheater,<br />
one saturator and two salt dryers. Under<br />
present operating conditions two trains are constantly<br />
in use, leaving the third for a spare. The apparatus<br />
in one train is interchangeable with that of another.<br />
The ammonia liquor condensed from the gas is<br />
distilled in one or two ammonia stills, the vapor entering<br />
the gas main immediately before the saturators.<br />
The salt is handled in the storage room by an electric<br />
crane.<br />
The benzol plant, the first erected in America by<br />
the Koppers Company, was completed in record time.<br />
Ground was first broken on March 17, 1915, and the<br />
plant was in operation on May 19, 1915, a period of<br />
two months and two days. To accomplish this feat<br />
and to secure immediate delivery on castings and<br />
other material, it was necessary to place orders with<br />
different concerns located in practically every part of<br />
the country.<br />
As first constructed, the benzol plant consisted of<br />
two final gas coolers (designed to cool the gas flowing<br />
counter current in direct contact with water), three<br />
gas scrubbers, two continuous light oil stills, one agitator,<br />
one crude benzol still and three pure benzol<br />
stills. In 1917 the size of the plant was increased 50<br />
per cent by the addition of a series of two final coolers,<br />
one continuous light oil still, one agitator, one crude<br />
benzol still and one pure benzol still.<br />
The present storage capacity consists of five<br />
20,000-gallon tanks and one 100,000-gallon tank for<br />
pure products, and eight tanks having a total capacity<br />
of 135,000 gallons for crude and intermediate products.<br />
During 1916-1917, Inland Steel Company installed,<br />
and put into operation, a complete steel plant, with all<br />
necessary furnaces, rolling mills and other equipment<br />
for the manufacture of blooms, billets, slabs and struc-<br />
r >l
92<br />
inTteefS'H^ 686 m ', lls 3re the latest developments<br />
ateSrin' nfe^re nro e fX ire,y ^^
February, 1924<br />
v., 25 cycle, 3 phase, and are connected to a bus structure<br />
located in the basement. This structure is built<br />
of special brick, the barriers between the buses being<br />
Transite board, two inches thick. Bus bars are supported<br />
by heavy type pedestal insulators, held in place<br />
by means of bolts set in special concrete blocks. This<br />
structure carries a single bus circuit and contains<br />
necessary switching apparatus for the different main<br />
drives, transformer stations, main pumping stations,<br />
and main breakers for the synchronous m'otor-generator<br />
sets for the conversion of power from a.c. into<br />
d.c. There were two synchronous motor-generator<br />
sets originally installed, but one more has been added<br />
lately. These three units are 1,000 k.w., 250 v., d.c,<br />
and are of the same make and operating characteristics.<br />
Due to other departments being added at this plant,<br />
such as rail finishing equipment, splice bar and tie<br />
plate units, it was necessary to increase the capacity<br />
of this station. There has been added, one 12,500 k.v.a.<br />
turbo-generator unit, 2300 v., 3 phase, 25 cycles, connected<br />
to a separate bus structure, parallel with the<br />
original structure, and located in a dust proof leanto<br />
outside of the main building.<br />
The two structures are electrically tied together by<br />
means of an oil switch with instantaneous trip and<br />
set for the full load capacity of the large unit. In case<br />
of a disturbance on any of the feeder circuits, the tie<br />
switch will open and cut the large unit off the original,<br />
lighter, bus structure. This was thought necessary,<br />
as the interrupting capacity of the original feeder<br />
switches was not sufficient to take care of the increased<br />
generator capacity under short-circuit conditions.<br />
Also, duplicate feeder switches were installed<br />
in the new structure for all important circuits, and<br />
with the necessary connections and disconnecting<br />
switches duplicate bus conditions were obtained.<br />
The switchboard at this station is located over the<br />
original bus structure on the same floor as the generator<br />
units. This switchboard contains controlling<br />
and metering equipment for the generators and feeder<br />
circuits, voltage regulators, exciter buses and exciter<br />
starting equipment. Provision is also made for excitation<br />
of the generators from the d.c. bus, in case<br />
of trouble with the exciters. Also controlled from this<br />
board, are the tie line switches. These switches are<br />
in duplicate on the different structures and are 2300<br />
v., 2500 amp. capacity, and tie plant two motor room<br />
buses to the original a.c. low pressure station buses<br />
located in plant one. Distance between the stations<br />
is about 3,000 feet and the' feeders are 1,000,000 cm.<br />
cable per phase. It is possible, with this connection,<br />
for either station to help out the other when conditions<br />
warrant it. It is also possible, by means of suitable<br />
disconnecting switches, to isolate each structure<br />
for inspection and repair, when required. Integrating<br />
watt hour meters on this tie circuit are equipped with<br />
ratchet devices, which allow the meter to register<br />
power delivered, but do not show power received.<br />
There are also installed, graphic watt meters, with<br />
zero center, which enable the operators at all times<br />
to check the exchange of power between the stations.<br />
The tie line is in three sections, due to having part<br />
of this line installed in a tunnel. At the junction of<br />
these sections are mounted special disconnecting<br />
switches, located in concrete houses at the foot of<br />
the towers. Also at this point are installed two sets<br />
of transfer switches which can be thrown to either<br />
Ihe Dlasf kirnace^yjieel Flan,<br />
side of the main disconnecting switch. This means<br />
that feeders on these switches can be connected to<br />
plant one or plant two a.c. stations at will. One set of<br />
feeders supplies power for two 1,000 k.w. synchronous<br />
motor-generator sets, located at plant one, adjacent to<br />
mill distribution board. These machines were added<br />
to take care of the new shops and other installations<br />
made at plant one, and also to take care of the voltage<br />
drop on the original d.c. lines from the blast furnace<br />
station. The second set of feeders on transfer switches<br />
supply current to a 600-h.p. gas booster station,<br />
which is operated only over the shut down period at<br />
the end of the week when there is an excess of coke<br />
plant gas available.<br />
The second section of the switchboard consists of<br />
starting and metering equipment for the three synchronous<br />
motor-generator sets. Each set has its own<br />
feeder switch in the main structure, the starting<br />
switches being located back of their respective panels.<br />
The feeder switch of each machine is electricallv interlocked<br />
with the holding of the starting switch operating<br />
gear, so that, on the occasion of any disturbance<br />
on any unit, the opening of the feeder switch automatically<br />
releases the latch on the starting gear. This<br />
method of operation was employed due to the fact that<br />
the interrupting capacity of the starting switches is<br />
not adequate to take care of disturbances that might<br />
happen on a machine of this size. By the manipulation<br />
of the field current of these motors, power factor from<br />
90 per cent to 95 per cent is obtained on the main bus.<br />
The third section of the switchboard consists of<br />
three d.c. generator panels, one d.c. tie line panel, four<br />
4,000 ampere feeder circuits, six 2,000 ampere feeder<br />
circuits. Two of the generator panels are equipped<br />
with the necessary switches and resistance for reversing<br />
the operation of these machines, in case of emergency.<br />
The d.c. generator is operated as a d.c. shunt<br />
motor, the synchronous motor running as an alternator.<br />
Pedestal type switches are located at these machines<br />
for shunting out the series fields, as reversal<br />
of current in the armature running as a motor would<br />
cause the series fields to buck the shunt fields. A<br />
scheme of this kind might be all right from an emergency<br />
standpoint, but would not be very satisfactory<br />
from an operating point of view, as the variation of<br />
the d.c. voltage would effect the frequency considerably.<br />
The d.c. tie line circuit consists of 4,000 ampere<br />
circuit breaker, necessary line switches, volt<br />
meter, ammeter and integrating watthour meter with<br />
ratchet attachment. This panel connects plant two<br />
d.c. bus with the original d.c. power house bus located<br />
at the blast furnaces, and it is possible to exchange<br />
3,000 amperes by adjusting the bus voltage at the different<br />
stations. This tie line is also used as an emergency<br />
circuit for the open hearth mixer and the rail<br />
mill magnets. In case of failure of the voltage on<br />
either of these circuits, they are instantly connected<br />
to the tie line by means of standard spring closing<br />
magnetic switches. The coils of these switches being<br />
energized from the department feeders and thereby<br />
holding the switch open. Immediately on the failure<br />
of voltage, the spring attachment connects the department<br />
to the tie line circuit and this scheme of switching<br />
operates so rapidly that it is possible to pull the<br />
main switch on the rail mill crane magnets handling<br />
the rails without dropping the rails.<br />
(To be concluded in March)<br />
93
94 Mas. FurnaceSS.ee! PU<br />
February, 1924<br />
Annual Banquet Memorable Occasion<br />
Address of Elisha Lee, Vice President, Central Region, Pennsylvania<br />
Railroad, Before Engineers' Society of Western<br />
Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, Pa., Jan. 28, 1924<br />
IT is an unusual pleasure and privilege to be with you<br />
tonight, partly because I am myself a member of<br />
the engineering profession, and partly because engineers<br />
are peculiarly fitted to grasp railroad facts and<br />
problems with ready and sympathetic understanding.<br />
American railroads, regarded as a national transportation<br />
system, constitute probably the finest monument<br />
in the world to engineering genius and knowledge,<br />
as well as to the foresight and courage of business<br />
men, financiers and investors. Indeed, the physical<br />
form which our railroad plant takes today is<br />
almost wholly the work of engineering brains, chiefly<br />
in the civil and mechanical branches, although our<br />
specialists in electricity and chemistry may also .claim<br />
important shares.<br />
The era in which we are living is chiefly distinguished<br />
by the marvelous advancements which have<br />
The forty-third annual banquet of the<br />
Western Pennsylvania Society will long be<br />
remembered by the thousand or more members<br />
present at the William Penn Hotel,<br />
Monday, January 28. The speakers were<br />
brilliant in their eloquence, and their speeches<br />
seemed to be the thoughts of an enthusiastic<br />
audience.<br />
Not every incoming president can boast of<br />
such a welcome as was accorded Prof. Crabtree;<br />
not every toastmaster can subordinate<br />
his personality to the obvious needs of the<br />
occasion as did Mr. Thompson; not every<br />
railroad executive will discuss his problem in<br />
unequivocal paragraphs as did Mr. Lee, and<br />
seldom does a banker assemble the political,<br />
economic and social phases of present world<br />
conditions in straight from the shoulder<br />
discussion, as did Mr. Kent.<br />
President Crabtree in his introduction paid<br />
tribute to the retiring president, Morris<br />
Knowles, and to Ge<strong>org</strong>e T. Ladd, chairman<br />
of the banquet committee, and J. C. Hobbs<br />
of the entertainment committee. He emphasized<br />
the splendid condition the Society finds<br />
itself in, and congratulated the members on<br />
the facilities now accessible to them, holding<br />
out evident promise of extension to those<br />
facilities.<br />
been made, especially during the last 50 years, in the<br />
practical applications of science to economic ends.<br />
As such, it may be differentiated from all other periods<br />
in history as the "Age of Engineering," for engineering<br />
may be defined as the utilization of progress in<br />
theoretical science to the material improvement of the<br />
standards and conditions of human life.<br />
I am exceedingly proud of my membership in this<br />
great profession, whose contributions to the betterment<br />
of our race have certainly not been excelled, and<br />
perhaps have not been equalled, by those of any other<br />
secular calling. And I am especially proud of the fact<br />
that ever since my graduation as a civil engineer, 31<br />
years ago, I have had opportunity to apply my technical<br />
training to the indispensable public service of railroad<br />
transportation.<br />
Never before have I felt that pride so keenly as at<br />
present. Since the earliest days the railroads have<br />
always been splendidly efficient servants of our country.<br />
They were the principal physical means by<br />
which the interior of the continent was opened to settlement<br />
and civilization. Following their emergence<br />
from the experimental stage, some 90 years ago, their<br />
evolution has paved the way for the development of<br />
our immense agricultural wealth, our great cities, our<br />
countless factories and mines, and finally for the perfecting<br />
of our American system of industrial mass<br />
production, which is the real basis upon which our<br />
economic world leadership rests.<br />
After passing through a prolonged era of misunderstanding,<br />
misrepresentation and political abuse,<br />
which we may call the "Dark Ages" of transportation<br />
history, our railroads at the present time stand far<br />
higher and better in the public estimation than for<br />
more than a generation. They have won the public<br />
respect and won it fairly. They have been given the<br />
cleanest bill of health of any department of American<br />
business enterprise, following nearly 40 years of the<br />
most searching investigation and microscopic flawhunting<br />
to which any form of business has ever been<br />
subjected in any country.<br />
The American railroad systems, as they stand<br />
today, represent an investment in physical facilities<br />
of roundly 22 billions of dollars. It may be recalled<br />
that in 1920 the Interstate Commerce Commission<br />
allowed a tentative valuation for rate-making purposes<br />
of $18,900,000,000, as against a book figure, for property<br />
investment, of $20,040,000,000. at "the opening of<br />
that year. Since that time at least $2,300,000,000 more<br />
have been expended upon capital improvements. This<br />
would bring the present valuation, based on the commission's<br />
tentative figure of 1920, up to $21,200,000,-<br />
000, and based upon the book figures of the companies,<br />
as they stood at the opening of 1920, up to<br />
$22,340,000,000.<br />
Were they to be valued on the basis of present<br />
prices of materials, the actual market worth of real<br />
estate and the prevailing costs of labor and wages, a<br />
figure at least half as great again would inevitably be<br />
reached. It is indeed questionable whether our railroad<br />
systems could be duplicated today for 35 to 40<br />
billions of dollars.<br />
It may be of interest in connection with this subject<br />
of physical valuation and property investment to<br />
turn for a moment to the annual payroll of our American<br />
railroads, which we may perhaps find it useful to<br />
regard as a continuing investment in the loyalty, fidelity,<br />
devotion and enthusiasm of an immense working<br />
force. The $22,000,000,000 physical plant of American<br />
railroads has been nearly a century in the making,<br />
representing an investment of considerably less than
February, 1924<br />
A. W. THOMPSON<br />
F. I. KENT<br />
Tne&lasfFurnaceSS.eelPlanf<br />
ELISHA LEE<br />
K. F. TRESCHOW<br />
FREDERICK CRABTREE<br />
STRICKLAND GILULAN<br />
95
96<br />
$240,000,000 for each year of growth. But last year<br />
the employes of these railroads received $3,000,000,000<br />
in wages. ' In other words, in about the next six years,<br />
allowing for the probable increase in forces, the railroads<br />
of the United States will make an investment in<br />
payroll that will duplicate the investment in plant<br />
which has had 90-odd years to pile up. So we can<br />
see that it is really a matter of nationwide concern<br />
that this vast payroll investment in human services<br />
and loyalty, which is growing at the rate of $10,000,-<br />
000 or more a day, should be made with wisdom in<br />
order to produce the vastly beneficial results which<br />
are capable of realization under intelligent and sympathetic<br />
relationships between railroad managements<br />
and railroad working forces.<br />
This brings me to the point where 1 wish to say<br />
something in regard to the relation of the engineer to<br />
labor problems. The engineer in our present industrial<br />
system generally occupies a leading position in<br />
what we commonly refer to as "management." He is<br />
entrusted with the determination of policies for successfully<br />
guiding and directing the work of large<br />
numbers of men. He is in turn responsible for creating<br />
and maintaining an output satisfactory as to quantity,<br />
quality and cost per unit, and in the case of public<br />
utilities, for continuity and safety of operation.<br />
Necessarily, these responsibilities include the<br />
building up and holding together of a working force,<br />
adequate, but not excessive, in numbers, loyal and<br />
willing in spirit, and capable of maintaining a satisfactory<br />
rate of production. This means that the engineer<br />
must not only devise labor and operating policies<br />
which are sound on paper, but must convince his working<br />
forces of their reasonableness and fairness. From<br />
this viewpoint, part of the engineer's equipment is, or<br />
should be, an adequate understanding of human nature,<br />
and a real knowledge of the causes which contribute<br />
to labor unrest or contentment.<br />
At present, and for some time back, the engineer,<br />
confronted with the problems I have endeavored to<br />
sketch, has been obliged to cope with practically a<br />
universal demand for lower unit costs. The people<br />
want, and in some cases are insistently demanding,<br />
lower prices for manufactured articles and commodities<br />
and lower rates for service. It is hardly necessary<br />
for me to say that this expectation cannot be realized<br />
unless we can find some means of effecting lower labor<br />
costs, and I may say that as matter now stand, increased<br />
output per man, either by greater personal<br />
efficiency or by engineering aid, holds much brighter<br />
hope for increased efficiency than lies in an)' possible<br />
revision of wage scales. Such increased output means<br />
no impairment whatever of our American standards<br />
of living, which I am proud to say are the highest of<br />
all time and of any nation.<br />
This necessity for lessened labor costs arises from<br />
the fact that labor is the largest individual item entering<br />
into costs. In the case of the railroads, their own<br />
payrolls constitute about 50 per cent of the total costs<br />
of operation, and fuel and material costs, which make<br />
up nearly all the other expenses, are in themselves<br />
largely wages paid to other workers. The main problem<br />
in reducing costs, whether of products or service,<br />
lies, therefore, in obtaining the co-operation of labor.<br />
This problem lies chiefly in strengthening the<br />
sense of loyalty on the part of the individual worker<br />
to his job and to the enterprise by which he gains his<br />
livelihood. This problem with the railroad is largely<br />
an inheritance from the period of government opera<br />
Tne Blast Fu mace<br />
_0 Steel Plan.<br />
February, 1924<br />
tion. It is associated with the policy of adjusting<br />
wages and working conditions for war purposes and<br />
political ends which largely prevailed during that era<br />
It also reflects other policies of government contro<br />
which resulted in forcing large bodies of railroad<br />
workers under the sway of those labor <strong>org</strong>anizations<br />
which practice or countenance the uneconomical and<br />
indefensible principles of the sympathetic strike, limitation<br />
of output and the closed shop. In this connection<br />
I might sav that these principles are not countenanced<br />
by the four big transportation brotherhoods.<br />
While, according to historians, strikes and other<br />
concerted' labor movements to obtain more satisfactory<br />
working arrangements were not unusual, from<br />
about 2000 B.C. up to modern times in the old country,<br />
in our own country the condition of labor unrest<br />
did' not assume definite form until the early part of<br />
the nineteenth century, and was of no particular importance<br />
in our economic life until about the outbreak<br />
of the Civil War. Since that time the matter of unrest<br />
among laboring men has grown in a manner corresponding<br />
rather closely to the growth of the socalled<br />
factory system of industry, where capital, management<br />
and 'labor are rather distinct individual<br />
groups.<br />
It will be recalled that, up to about the beginning<br />
of the nineteenth century, industrial plants were small<br />
and the owner was not only the capitalist, but also<br />
manager and often one of the workmen. Therefore.<br />
these conditions of employment constituting an intimate<br />
relationship between management and men, deserve<br />
serious consideration in determining the policy<br />
for the handling of men under our present industr a!<br />
system.<br />
I feel that we are often very much misled by the<br />
expressed demands involved in concerted labor movements,<br />
rather than the underlying cause for these demands.<br />
It is, for instance, a rather popular idea that<br />
the predominating cause of strikes is a desire for increased<br />
wages. As a matter of fact, the element of<br />
wages is, certainly, in a very large percentage of<br />
strikes, only injected after the <strong>org</strong>anization has been<br />
completed and functioning for some time. Many<br />
strikes are called without an}- mention of wages at all.<br />
There is a deeper cause than either wages or hours of<br />
labor, or even many of the demands calculated to improve<br />
working conditions. I believe the chief underlying<br />
cause of labor unrest making itself felt in the<br />
form of labor unions or other concerted labor movements<br />
is the human desire to have an unoppressed<br />
voice in all deliberations where labor policies are<br />
involved.<br />
These human and proper desires of labor are generally<br />
nut by some form of collective bargaining. It<br />
probably represents the only practicable basis by<br />
which the labor relationships of large masses of workers<br />
can be dealt with and adjusted. The thing is to<br />
distinguish between collective bargaining and collective<br />
coercion. Unfortunately, we have a good deal<br />
of the latter; so much so that certain large and important<br />
groups of workers outside of the railroads<br />
have been able to retain, in practical entirety, the<br />
highest inflated wage scales which prevailed during<br />
the war. We must cure that condition by a process<br />
of education, and by directing the pressure of public<br />
opinion against the attitude of those groups of workers<br />
who persist in substituting coercion for bargaining<br />
in their collective relations with society. There<br />
have been many experiments evolved to meet this situ-
February, 1924<br />
ation in the form of working arrangements commonly<br />
referred to as "employe representation." We have<br />
one form on our railroad. Many of you have heard of<br />
it, and I will not attempt to explain its details. Essentially<br />
it is a system of collective bargaining within<br />
our own ranks—a plan by which our officers and men<br />
get together face to face to avoid or settle, in peaceful<br />
conference, difficulties which may arise respecting<br />
wages, discipline, working conditions and similar<br />
matters.<br />
It recognizes the right of the worker to a voice in<br />
determining questions affecting his own conditions of<br />
employment. It not only recognizes the general principles<br />
of collective bargaining, but is in itself a working<br />
system of collective bargaining, which simply<br />
means dealing through chosen representatives instead<br />
of individually with each employe. It seeks to avoid<br />
controversies and to assure employment, at a fair pay.<br />
It is in no sense anti-union, the truth of which statement<br />
is evident from the fact that in many cases the<br />
representatives elected under it continue to hold their<br />
union affiliations. No man on the Pennsylvania railroad<br />
holds or loses a job because of union affiliation<br />
or non-affiliation. The plan may not be perfect as<br />
yet, but has the support of an overwhelming majority<br />
of our employes expressed in the results of elections<br />
held under secret ballot.<br />
We have found that the elected representatives<br />
when placed on their responsibilities as judges with<br />
same individual voting power as the management<br />
have proved themselves honest, thoughtful and practical<br />
and are taking greater interest in and helping to<br />
solve some of the problems of management. It is<br />
working with greater success every day, because, as<br />
we believe, it is based upon fundamentally sound<br />
principles. Some time we hope to see the power and<br />
influence of the government exerted toward helping<br />
instead of hindering the functioning of this obviously<br />
American plan of settling differences peacefully and<br />
by mutual conference. A vast forward impetus would<br />
thereby be given to restoring and further strengthening<br />
the feeling of loyalty on the part of railroad workers,<br />
not only on the Pennsylvania, but 'on other lines<br />
as well. These are some of the problems that engineers<br />
must continue to study, for none is of more importance<br />
today than those of human relations in industry.<br />
That a proper solution will be worked out to<br />
fit the varying cases I have no doubt.<br />
To an audience of engineers it would be superfluous<br />
to demonstrate the indispensable character of<br />
the public services which our railroad systems render.<br />
The pursuit of almost any branch of our profession<br />
will bring fresh proofs of that truth daily. I may saythat<br />
the business men of the country are also alive to<br />
the necessity for good and progressive railroads, and<br />
I believe the vast majority of intelligent and progressive<br />
farmers also.<br />
Our railroads are more open to the scrutiny of the<br />
public today than any other form of business. They<br />
have no secrets any longer. I do admit that they have<br />
some grave problems which will require courage and<br />
intelligence to face and solve. But I am happy to<br />
count myself among those who view the outcome<br />
hopefully and with sober confidence. My reasons are<br />
very simple. The railroads are indispensable to the<br />
country. Continued national progress is impossible<br />
unless they are allowed to grow and prosper. These<br />
facts are better known than ever before and are gain<br />
Ine Blast FurnaceSStoel Plant<br />
ing a wider recognition every day. I have great respect<br />
for the common sense of my fellow citizens and<br />
refuse to believe that, in the light of their broader<br />
knowledge, they will indefinitely keep on permitting<br />
such invaluable national assets as our railroads to be<br />
misused for political ends or despoiled for narrow and<br />
selfish motives. Hence, I look for a better deal at the<br />
hands of politics and for continued improvement in<br />
the character and purposes of public regulation. It<br />
is possible for regulation to be a splendidly helpful<br />
and constructive force. I believe it is in process of so<br />
developing and will reach the goal.<br />
Just a brief reminder of the excellent performance<br />
of the American railroads in the past eight or nine<br />
months, during which time they placed their road and<br />
equipment in good condition, and carried a recordbreaking<br />
traffic practically without embargo or car<br />
shortage. This has been accomplished by the managements<br />
with the co-operation of the employes and<br />
the shippers. I heartily congratulate the railroad profession<br />
as a whole for the loyalty and improved efficiency<br />
of the employes during the year 1923, and<br />
for their steadfastness to the public service in avoiding<br />
strikes. These results should be convincing evidence<br />
that if railroad managements are allowed greater freedom<br />
to promptly deal with all problems, including<br />
those of rates and wages, and are freed from further<br />
restrictive laws and vexatious and useless inquiries,<br />
which waste time, money and effort that could be better<br />
spent on the problems of management, they can<br />
produce a transportation service equal to the demands<br />
of the American people.<br />
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiniiiiiiiniiiiimiiiiiiiniiN<br />
TRADE PUBLICATION<br />
UlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllillllllllllN<br />
The new 72-page catalog issued by the De Laval Steam Turbine<br />
Company, Trenton, N. J., exhibits the marked development<br />
which has occurred in the improvement of centrifugal pumps,<br />
as well as in the direction of larger size and wider use. The<br />
rapid extension of the field of the centrifugal pump has been<br />
in large part due to improved efficiency, simplicity and ease of<br />
maintenance. The casings are split horizontally so that internal<br />
parts are at once accessible upon lifting the cover. De Laval<br />
pumps are stated to be manufactured to limit gages, assuring<br />
interchangeability, so that renewals can be inserted by unskilled<br />
men, as they do not require to be fitted and no adjustments of<br />
any kind are required. Centrifugal pumps driven by steam turbine<br />
or electric motor are used almost exclusively for circulating<br />
condenser water and are also extensively applied for feeding<br />
boilers at the highest pressures. In water works service, cen<br />
trifugal pumps driven by geared steam turbines are built in sizes<br />
up to 5,000 water horsepower and over, and realize duties closely<br />
paralleling those of the best triple expansion crank and fly wheel<br />
pumps. The aggregate daily capacity of water works units built<br />
by the De Laval Company alone exceeds four billion gallons.<br />
Large electric motor driven pumping units show efficiencies from<br />
wire to water exceeding 80 per cent, the pumps themselves developing<br />
efficiencies as high as 87.2 per cent. Centrifugal pumps<br />
are widely used for fire protection and may be driven by electric<br />
motor, steam turbine or gasoline engine. Gasoline driven pumps<br />
are often provided as stand-bys to motor driven pumps. In the<br />
industries centrifugal pumps are used extensively not only for<br />
general water service, but also for handling water containing<br />
solids in suspension, such as paper pulp or rags, and for pumping<br />
chemicals.<br />
97
' 8 H» Nasi PamaceSSled Plaal ' """^ "<br />
Reduction of Iron Ore in the Blast Furnac<br />
Close Agreement Between Calculated and Observed Values<br />
Indicates the Validity of Conclusions Drawn<br />
By P. H. ROYSTER-', T. L. JOSEPH 3 and S. P. KINNEY 4<br />
PART I, SECTION 2<br />
Introduction.<br />
IN the first part of this paper 5 was shown the dimensions<br />
of the experimental furnace of the Bureau of<br />
.Mines at Minneapolis, while the charge and analysis<br />
thereof, and the general operating conditions were described.<br />
The accompanying half-tone is from a photograph<br />
of the furnace.<br />
The calculated yield of metal from each round was<br />
82.6 pounds of pig iron, and by analysis the metal was<br />
found to average 3.5 per cent carbon, 1.25 per cent<br />
silicon, and 0.04 to 0.1 per cent sulphur. The metal<br />
was sand cast and showed a gray fracture. Casts were<br />
generally made every two hours, but as the make of<br />
metal (230 pounds per hour) was rather small, and<br />
because each inch of hearth depth held 100 pounds<br />
of metal, accurate weighing of the product was not<br />
attained. Since, however, (1) the stockline moved<br />
with great regularity; (2) the flue dust was too small<br />
to be measured, because of the absence of fines; and<br />
(3), the slag analysis showed less than 1 per cent of<br />
iron, it was not necessary to obtain any special accuracy<br />
in cast-house weighing.<br />
The average analysis of the top gas when operating<br />
steadily under the above burden was as follows:<br />
Constituent Per Cent<br />
C02 10.17<br />
CO 24.93<br />
H2<br />
1.31<br />
N, 63.59<br />
The samples of gas were taken under mercury by the<br />
method described by Perrott and Kinney 6 analysis of blast-furnace gas except under certain definite<br />
conditions, and unfortunately these conditions appear<br />
never to obtain in industrial practice. It is of<br />
course possible to agree with Johnson<br />
. The analyses<br />
were made by L. B. Berger of the Bureau's Pittsburgh<br />
Experiment Station, and by one of the writers.<br />
There is a possibility that the above average analysis<br />
is in error due to the difficulty in getting representative<br />
samples, since the gas composition varied with<br />
time. Another difficulty arises from not knowing in<br />
just what manner to combine a number of analyses to<br />
give a representative figure. As far as purely analytical<br />
errors are concerned, it is unlikely that a systematic<br />
error greater than 0.2 per cent should exist.<br />
Calculations of Top Gas Analyses.<br />
If the weights and analysis of a charge are known<br />
even with accuracy, it is not possible to predict the<br />
7 that the calculation<br />
of gas composition is not a problem in chemistry<br />
at all, but only a rudimentary one in arithmetic; but<br />
we must immediately qualify this statement, as he<br />
did, by specifying, (1) that there shall be no "solution<br />
loss," "carbon absorption," or "premature combustion"<br />
taking place; (2) that no water shall be leaking into<br />
the furnace; (3) that no "direct reduction" of iron<br />
oxide shall occur; and (4) that there shall be no deposition<br />
of carbon. According to Sperr and Jacobsen 8 ,<br />
however, these so-called secondary reactions do take<br />
place in actual practice, and to the extent of some 20<br />
to 40 per cent; so it would seem then that the exceptions<br />
outweigh the rule.<br />
Fortunately, so far as the nitrogen is concerned,<br />
this is not true. The reduction of iron oxide by bosh<br />
gas effects merely an exchange, a certain volume of<br />
CO disappearing and the same volume of CO, taking<br />
its place. Neither the volume of the gas nor its nitrogen<br />
content is altered by the reaction. If, however,<br />
any of the above variously described secondary reactions<br />
take place, oxygen from some source other than<br />
air enters the gas stream unaccompanied by nitrogen,<br />
diluting the nitrogen and lowering its value. There<br />
are always present a number of smaller factors which<br />
hold the nitrogen content below theoretical boshgas<br />
composition, such as moisture in the blast, silicon<br />
reduction, hydrogen from the coke, CO- from the flux,<br />
and the formation of calcium sulphide. Simple arithmetic<br />
will usually predict about 62 or 63 per cent nitrogen.<br />
In regular blast-furnace operation the nitrogen is<br />
generally much lower than this, the values usually<br />
encountered in American furnace practice varying<br />
from 54 to 59 per cent. This relative deficiency of<br />
nitrogen proves a ready means of ascertaining the extent<br />
of the secondary reactions taking place in the<br />
furnace.<br />
Blast-Furnace Gas from the Experimental<br />
Furnace.<br />
The gas analysis recorded above indicates that "direct<br />
reduction" was apparently absent in the furnace<br />
operation described, so it may be of interest to compare<br />
this observed analysis with the analysis calculated<br />
by simple arithmetic.<br />
A round of coke contains 96.7 pounds of carbon<br />
(120 lb. x 80.6 per cent). The metal takes up 2.9<br />
pounds of this as carbide. The silicon and sulphur reactions<br />
in the hearth consume another 1.2 pounds and<br />
generate 2.9 pounds of CO. This leaves 92.6 pounds<br />
'Published by permission of the Director, U. S. Bureau of<br />
Mines. (In the January issue a typographical error changed "Reduction"<br />
to "Production".)<br />
"Assistant metallurgist, North Central Experiment Station,<br />
Minneapolis.<br />
"Associate metallurgist, North Central Experiment Station,<br />
Minnealopis.<br />
'Assistant metallurgical chemist, North Central Experiment<br />
Station, Minneapolis.<br />
"Blast Furnace and Steel Plant, vol. 12, Jan. 1924, pp. 35-37.<br />
*G. St. J. Perrott and S. P. Kinney, Combustion of coke in<br />
the blast-furnace hearth ; Trans. A. I. M. & M. E., vol. 69, 1923,<br />
p. 526; and abstracted in Mining and Metallurgy, vol. 4, 1923,<br />
p. 145.<br />
'Johnson, J. E., Principles, operation, and products of the blast<br />
furnace, 1918. p. 13; (McGraw-Hill, New York).<br />
"Sperr, F. W., and Jacobsen, D. L-, Physical properties of coke:<br />
Blast Furnace and Steel Plant, vol. 11, June, July, Aug., 1923.
February, 1924<br />
HieBlasfFumace3S.ee! Plant<br />
FIG. 3—View of experimental blast furnace from which pratical operating data was secured by the Bureau of Mines.<br />
of carbon to be burned by the blast. It requires 527.1<br />
pounds of moist air (under the conditions prevailing<br />
at the time) to burn the carbon, which corresponds to<br />
524.5 pounds of dry air and 2.56 pounds of water.<br />
The air contains 6.76 pounds of argon, 397.23 pounds<br />
of nitrogen, and 0.286 pound of hydrogen. The oxygen<br />
in the mixture (dry air plus moisture) combines<br />
with the carbon to produce 218.93 pounds of CO in<br />
the bosh.<br />
The ore in each round contains 75.6 pounds of iron<br />
(145 lb. x 52.1 per cent), and the limestone 0.4 pound,<br />
both as ferric oxide, and combined therefore with 32.61<br />
pounds of oxygen. The hydrogen in the gas stream<br />
is small, but it is a strong reducing agent, and undoubtedly<br />
reduces some ore. The observed value of<br />
hydrogen is used here to calculate the extent of hydrogen<br />
reduction, although its effect one way or the<br />
other is small. Of the total (0.93 pounds of hydrogen<br />
present in the gas stream 0.29 pound from the blast<br />
and 0.64 pound from the coke), it appears that 0.32<br />
pound is used for reduction. This takes care of 0.79<br />
pound of the oxygen in the ore, while another 0.11<br />
pound of oxygen is carried away as ferrous oxide in<br />
the slag. There is left 29.96 pounds of oxygen for CO<br />
reduction. The removal of this much oxygen from<br />
iron oxide causes 52.43 pounds of CO to be converted<br />
into 82.39 pounds of COa. The flux adds 20.58 pounds<br />
of C02 per round to the gas stream, and the coke<br />
gives off 1.01 pounds of nitrogen.<br />
The components of the top gas in pounds per round<br />
may therefore be summed as follows :<br />
Constituent<br />
CO-, 82.39<br />
CO 218.93<br />
H, 0.93<br />
N= 397.23<br />
A<br />
Total ...<br />
+ 20.58<br />
— 52.43<br />
— 0.22<br />
+ 1.01<br />
Weight of gas<br />
= 102.97<br />
= 166.56<br />
= 0.61<br />
= 398.24<br />
6.76<br />
... 675.14<br />
Using the densities of gas as given by Blanchard 9 the<br />
analysis of the gas by volume is readily calculated to<br />
be as follows:<br />
Constituent Calculated, % Observed, %<br />
COa 10.13 10.17<br />
CO 25.89 24.93<br />
Ha 1.31 1.31<br />
N2 62.67* 63.59<br />
* Argon is, of course, reported as nitrogen in analysis.<br />
The agreement here between calculated and observed<br />
values of the gas composition is probably as<br />
"Blanchard, M. S., Densities of important industrial gases—a<br />
review: Chem. & Met. Eng., vol. 29, 1923, pp. 399-400.<br />
99
100<br />
good as would be expected from the conditions under<br />
which the furnace was operated. The realization in<br />
the actual test of accurate weighing, of homogeneity<br />
of materials, and of regularity in operation is more<br />
difficult than might appear at a glance. The outstanding<br />
feature of the comparison is the fact that the observed<br />
nitrogen exceeds the predicted nitrogen, a result<br />
just the reverse of that found in all the previous<br />
records the writers have examined. As already pointed<br />
out, the existence of solution loss and direct reduction<br />
would give an observed nitrogen content lower<br />
than that calculated. There is therefore no experimental<br />
evidence pointing to the existence of any such<br />
reactions.<br />
Carbon Burned at the Tuyeres.<br />
The significance of these data may also be studied<br />
from the standpoint of the fraction of the total carbon<br />
charged that reaches the tuyeres and is available for<br />
combustion there. According to Howland 10 this<br />
amounts to an average of 78.2 per cent for the 26 furnaces<br />
he has examined. Perrott and Kinney 11 find a<br />
mean value of only 76.1 per cent, although five of the<br />
nine furnaces included were Southern furnaces carrying<br />
a low iron-oxide burden. Two of the writers collected<br />
data in 1919 from 20 furnaces, none of which<br />
was examined by Howland or by Perrott and Kinney,<br />
and the fraction of fixed carbon charged which<br />
was burned by the blast (moisture excluded) was<br />
found to average 78.0 per cent. The average of the 55<br />
furnaces from these three sources, which are representative<br />
of present-day American furnace practice,<br />
gives 77.8 per cent.<br />
In the operation of the Bureau's experimental furnace<br />
discussed above, the air of the blast oxidized 90.9<br />
pounds of carbon per round, and 96.7 pounds of carbon<br />
was charged per round—that is, 93.9 per cent of the<br />
fixed carbon of the coke reached the tuyeres and acted<br />
as furnace fuel, a loss of 6.1 per cent. This fuel loss,<br />
moreover, was largely due to carburizing the metal,<br />
reducing silicon, and removing sulphur from the metal<br />
—or keeping it out. Carbon consumed thus can not<br />
fairly be thought of as fuel loss, since a merchantable<br />
grade of pig iron was the primary object of the furnace<br />
operation. The corresponding figure for fuel loss in<br />
industrial practice (22.2 per cent) is nearly four times<br />
as great, and indicates a difference between the two<br />
practices.<br />
Nitrogen in the Gas.<br />
It is possible, in a most direct way, to prove this<br />
difference by considering the volume percentage of<br />
nitrogen in the furnace gases. The average nitrogen<br />
content of the top gas from 55 American furnaces<br />
quoted above is 57.66 per cent 12 . This is 5.93 per cent<br />
less nitrogen than the 63.59 per cent found in the<br />
operation of the Bureau's furnace. Six per cent difference<br />
in nitrogen cannot be easily explained except<br />
by the assumption already made in this paper, that<br />
the iron oxide in the Bureau's furnace was reduced by<br />
CO, and reduction by solid carbon did not take place.<br />
Ihe Dlast hirnace^jfool Plant<br />
'"Howland, H. P., Calculations with reference to the use of<br />
carbon in modern American blast furnaces; Trans. Amer. Inst.<br />
Min. Eng., vol. 56, 1917, p. 339.<br />
"G. St. J. Perrott and S. P. Kinney, work cited.<br />
"Howland's 26 furnaces give 57.78 per cent: Perrott and Kinney<br />
find 56.82 per cent for 9 furnaces; while Royster and Joseph<br />
find 57.91 per cent for 20 furnaces.<br />
"Bell, I. Lowthian, Chemical phenomena of iron smelting, 1872.<br />
February, 1924<br />
Conclusion.<br />
In view of the experimental data recorded here, the<br />
theory of Bell 13 that CO cannot completely reduce iron<br />
oxide seems untenable. It was pointed out that this<br />
theory has no scientific basis. It has also no experimental<br />
verification, unless one wishes to attribute the<br />
failure of CO in general practice to reduce all the iron<br />
oxide to its inherent limitation as a reducing agent.<br />
There are many reasons easily given why CO does not<br />
complete the reduction process in present-day furnace<br />
practice, and the most probable cause is this: The<br />
ascending gas stream does not come in contact with<br />
each individual particle of ore at a proper temperature<br />
at the correct velocity and composition, or for a<br />
suitable length of time. The wide acceptance of Bell's<br />
theorem among furnace designers and operators may<br />
be to some extent responsible for this condition, for if<br />
they assume from the start that 100 per cent reduction<br />
by CO is chemically impossible, they will neither design<br />
the furnace nor operate it to attain complete reduction.<br />
The fact that the Bureau of Mines, handicapped<br />
by a small furnace, has apparently been able<br />
to produce pig iron of merchantable quality from iron<br />
ore without causing any direct reduction or solution<br />
loss to take place, should make the problem of attaining<br />
the same results on the more easily worked<br />
industrial furnace seem more promising.<br />
Heads Nation's Engineers<br />
Former Governor James Hartness of Vermont,<br />
who has just been elected president of the American<br />
Engineering Council. As the successor of Herbert<br />
Hoover and Mortimer E. Cooley he will direct a<br />
nationwide movement for the establishment of a national<br />
Department of Public Works. The engineers<br />
will also co-operate with the U. S. Forest Service and<br />
other state and Federal agencies in a campaign to<br />
save the country's dwindling forest reserves.
February, 1924<br />
Ihe Dlast I'urnace L jteol Plant<br />
Dry Cleaning Blast Furnace Gas By<br />
Filtration Through Flue Dust<br />
Careful Tests and Investigation of Conditions at Each Individual<br />
Blast Furnace Necessary In Determining<br />
Area of Dry Cleaner<br />
T H E basic principle of this method of gas cleaning<br />
being the use of flue dust as the medium for cleaning<br />
the gas from which the dust is precipitated,<br />
and although the use of flue dust for this purpose has<br />
the advantages of being immediately available, costless,<br />
and readily renewable without mechanically handling;<br />
there is nevertheless entailed in the application<br />
of this principle of cleaning, the necessity of extreme<br />
care in determining the gas permeability of the available<br />
dust at each individual blast furnace before it is<br />
possible, intelligently, to arrive at the area of cleaning<br />
surface required for cleaning the gas from that furnace,<br />
as well as certain other important details of the<br />
dry cleaner.<br />
Determining Conditions.<br />
The various conditions prevailing at each furnace<br />
that will require investigation and influence the results<br />
of tests are:<br />
Dusfij &03 Mam<br />
By GEORGE B. CRAMP<br />
Cramp<br />
Drt/ 'GasC/earter:<br />
^reposed s4.rr&s7
102<br />
tain Grids shown in detail in Fig. 2. The hotter the<br />
gas from the blast furnace, the more fluid like in its<br />
action the dust seems to become and the less, or more<br />
nearly level, becomes its angle of repose. If the gas<br />
temperature is uniformily low, the dust may be taken<br />
at a maximum point and its angle of repose determined<br />
at this temperature by a simple gauge.<br />
The resultant angle of repose under these conditions<br />
will influence the design of the<br />
louvers forming the dust curtain<br />
grids, the upper edges of which must<br />
be kept, as nearly as possible, at the<br />
foot of each dust heap formed by<br />
each louver, but not so close to the<br />
critical angle or overflow point that<br />
dust will, under the hottest temperature,<br />
begin to spill or flow over the<br />
upper edges of the louvers. It is<br />
just important that the upper edges<br />
of these louvers are not raised too<br />
high above the foot of each dust<br />
heap as this will form a pocket into<br />
which a layer of very fine dust<br />
will settle, instead of shifting off the<br />
dust heaps as intended it should do.<br />
Such layers of fine dust on each dust<br />
heap will naturally compel the main<br />
tenance of a lower gas velocity and the passage of less<br />
gas through a given area of curtain per unit of time.<br />
Presence of large particles in the dust that will<br />
remain on a J^-inch mesh screen or larger is naturally<br />
to be avoided. If there is much stock of this size carried<br />
beyond the dust catcher special provision must be<br />
made in the design of the dry cleaner to prevent such<br />
particles from obstructing free course of filter dust<br />
through the dust curtain grids.<br />
Tendency of the dust to cable, pack or adhere to<br />
the grid surfaces must also be carefully observed.<br />
There will be no marked tendency of the flue dust to<br />
do this under ordinary conditions, but if under certain<br />
conditions this is observed to occur positive means<br />
for cleaning the grids must be provided in the design<br />
of the cleaner.<br />
Proposed location of a dry cleaner working under<br />
this principle cannot be intelligently advised until the<br />
nature and quantity of the dust deposited beyond the<br />
dust catcher of a blast furnace is first determined. If<br />
the existing dust catcher is of large size, much of the<br />
dust will be deposited therein. It may be necessary<br />
where this condition exists, to advise the installation<br />
of a smaller dust catcher so that gas velocity through<br />
it being increased, more and larger particles of the<br />
dust will be carried through and beyond it into the<br />
dry cleaner. This arrangement might, at some individual<br />
furnaces, accomplish a considerable reduction<br />
of the cleaning area requisite in the dry cleaner to be<br />
installed.<br />
Volume of gas produced at an individual furnace<br />
must be closely approximated, or actually measured<br />
before the area of the proposed dry cleaner may be<br />
calculated. After determining the volume of gas to be<br />
cleaned, with a sample of dust as produced at the proposed<br />
location of the dry cleaner filling the dust curtain<br />
grids of an experimental cleaner it is possible<br />
to determine the amount of gas, as produced at the<br />
blast furnace, that may, at a safe velocity, be passed<br />
through the one square foot of dust curtain within<br />
Ihe Dlast kirnace^yjteel riant<br />
February, 1924<br />
the experimental device ; the amount of gas thus passed<br />
may be approximated from size of outlet and existing<br />
pressure, or actually metered. With the amount<br />
of gas it is possible to clean per square foot of cleaning<br />
area being known, the total cleaning area of the dry<br />
cleaner may be arrived at.<br />
Though dust content of the gas that is cleaned<br />
by this method need not be ascertained beforehand, it<br />
AT FURNACE "A"—50 LB. SAMPLE OF DUST<br />
Number of screen meshes Through<br />
per inch 20 40 60 80 100 100<br />
Weight of dust remaining<br />
on screen—Lbs H 3 13-16 8 3-16 8 1-16 12^ 16 13-16<br />
Per cent of total weight.. \'/4 7% \6Yt \6V$ 25 33s/s<br />
Note—Not over 42 per cent of the aggregate remains on a No. 80 screen or coar<br />
AT FURNACE "B"—50 LB. SAMPLE OF DUST<br />
Number of screen meshes Through<br />
per inch 20 40 60 80 100 100<br />
Weight of dust remaining y2 4J4 19 1-16 6V4 45/$ 14 11-16<br />
on screen—Lbs<br />
Per cent of total weight.. 1 8]/2 38 13y2 9 2-3 29 1-3<br />
Note—60 per cent of the aggregate remaus on a No. 80 screen or coarser.<br />
will nevertheless be predetermined by the foregoing<br />
conditions, but mainly by the fineness of the dust that<br />
will be used as the filtering medium. Calculation of<br />
the dust content of gas after having passed through the<br />
dust curtain of the experimental cleaner may be made<br />
however, by passing the gas through the usual paper<br />
filter used in laboratory gas tests of this nature, the<br />
gas thus filtered being metered, the dust content per<br />
cubic foot of cleaned gas may in this manner be determined.<br />
Difference in Dust Conditions at Individual<br />
Furnaces.<br />
That there is a wide difference in dusts produced<br />
at different furnaces will appear in the following tables<br />
which show sieve tests of dust as precipitated in the<br />
dust catchers of two blast furnaces located at different<br />
plants.<br />
Comparative Gas Permeability.<br />
Dust from furnace A showed in a test with the experimental<br />
device to determine its permeability,<br />
that 15 cubic feet of gas per minute could be passed<br />
through one square foot of dust curtain of 72 square<br />
inches effective dust area, while dust from Furnace B<br />
will pass about 3 cubic feet more gas per minute per<br />
square foot of cleaning area.<br />
Contract of Cleaning Areas.<br />
If a dry gas cleaner was to be designed to clean<br />
the gas for each of these blast furnaces, roughly 20<br />
per cent less cleaning area would be required in the<br />
cleaner for Furnace B than for furnace A. This, however,<br />
is without any consideration being given the<br />
sizes of the furnaces or the gas produced by each.<br />
Blast furnace A being a 600 ton furnace, and B<br />
a 500 ton furnace, at the rate of 150,000 cu. ft. gas per<br />
ton of pig iron A produces roughly 63,000 and B 53,000<br />
cu. ft. of gas per minute. The rate of cleaning per<br />
sq. ft. of dust curtain per minute being 15 cu. ft. for<br />
furnace A and 18 cu. ft. for furnace B, the area within<br />
cleaner A would be 63,000 cu. ft. gas per min, = 4180
February, 1924<br />
The Blast Fu rnace r^><br />
Steel Plant<br />
cut. ft. 15 cut. ft. gas cleaned per min. cleaning area.<br />
and for cleaner B there would be 53,000 cu. ft. gas per<br />
min. = 2920 sq. ft. 18 cu. ft. gas cleaned per min. cleaning<br />
area.<br />
Probably the most serious question that may be<br />
raised as to the practicability of this principle of dry<br />
cleaning gas, is the liability of the dust curtain being<br />
blown when a heavy slip of the furnace occurs, but<br />
this may be readily explained when it is considered<br />
that rise in pressure within the dry cleaner does not<br />
result in increased velocity of gas through the dust<br />
curtain and while this velocity does not exceed a safe<br />
maximum for the grade of dust used as the filtering<br />
medium, the dust will never be blown from the grids.<br />
Wastefulness of High Ash in Coal<br />
By R. H. SWEETSER*<br />
From these figures it will be observed that at least<br />
two of the above named conditions existing at the individual<br />
blast furnace, namely texture of dust and<br />
volume of gas to the cleaned,—will decidedly influence<br />
calculation of requisite area of any dry cleaner.<br />
Comparative Cleanings Efficiency of the<br />
Cleaners.<br />
The cleanness of the gas passing through either of<br />
the cleaners above outlined will not vary materially,<br />
as the velocity through the coarser dust will be slightly<br />
higher than that through the finer aggregate, it<br />
will follow that the dust content of the gas being filtered<br />
through the coarser aggregate will be slightly<br />
Gr/c/s f///f?a><br />
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: In September, 1918, all the pig iron manufacturers<br />
of the United States were summoned to Washington<br />
to appear before the Director of Steel, Mr. J. Leonard<br />
Replogle, and make a report regarding the reasons<br />
why, if any, they had not produced the amount of pig<br />
iron which the Government had a right to expect from<br />
them according to their rated capacity, and under the<br />
stress of the great World War.<br />
On September 23, 1918, there were gathered together<br />
more representatives of the blast furnaces of<br />
the United States than were ever together in one room<br />
in the memory of those present. At the opening session,<br />
Steel Director Replogle, with his winning smile,<br />
called for reports from all the blast furnaces in alphabetical<br />
order. It was one of the most interesting meetings<br />
I ever attended in my life. It was a gathering of<br />
men who were straining every force available to produce<br />
the amount of iron necessary to furnish the steel<br />
and the casting and the sheets and all other iron<br />
and steel products necessary for "winning the war."<br />
As each man there responded to the roll call he<br />
was either asked why his furnace had not produced<br />
the full quota, or else (this was in very few cases)<br />
he was commended for producing as much as the Government<br />
rating called for. The two great causes of<br />
failure to produce the full rated capacity of the furnace<br />
was shortage of labor or coke troubles.<br />
In going over the notes I took on the two days of<br />
f" Louir&r^,<br />
DtssT f////ng Gs-/
L 6U PuraaccSSU Plan!<br />
Ft * nlilry<br />
The Present Situation in Germany<br />
Quantity Rather Than Quality Production Results from<br />
Ruhr Dislocation<br />
A S regards production, the iron and steel industry<br />
in Germany has shown a similar development<br />
to that in America, but, of course, without<br />
reaching the American figures by a long way. In<br />
1913 the German pig iron production amounted to<br />
roughly 19,000,000 tons, the steel production to<br />
18,900,000 tons, and was thus by far the largest of all<br />
iron producing countries in Europe. English and<br />
French production was left far behind. How fundamentally<br />
conditions in Germany have changed, if only<br />
production is considered, the following table will<br />
show :<br />
Pig Iron Production Steel Production<br />
Tons Tons<br />
1916 13,284,738 16,182,520<br />
1919 10.807,494 13,756,873<br />
1920 - 5,554,472 6,733,032<br />
1922 : 6,500,000 9,000,000<br />
This drop in production has been caused directly<br />
and indirectly by the after effects of the war. Directly<br />
by the loss of important iron works, indirectly<br />
bv the economical, political and social upheaval frequently<br />
called a "revolution," being, as a matter of<br />
fact, not a revolution in the sense of the previous<br />
great political changes known to history, but rather a<br />
kind of spiritual breakdown of a very efficient people<br />
grown weary through colossal deprivations during a<br />
long war but of an active spirit that has been proved<br />
by the working up of a leading iron industry in the<br />
course of a few decades.<br />
The root cause of the debacle is partly the old<br />
rivalry between France and Germany that has existed<br />
for centuries and that, owing to the outcome of<br />
the 1870-71 war, had to be paid for by the French by<br />
the loss of Alsace-Lorraine that once before had been<br />
German. However, this loss in 1871 was by no means<br />
equivalent with an important economical loss for the<br />
French because the industrial importance of Alsace-<br />
Lorraine at that time was still small. The deposits of<br />
iron ore in Lorraine, although known in 1871, could<br />
not be worked to advantage because, owing to the high<br />
phosphorous content, the ores could not be transformed<br />
into steel. It was not before 1878 when,<br />
through the invention of Thomas, the Bessemer process<br />
was extended to pig iron rich in phosphorus that<br />
Alsace-Lorraine at one sweep obtained an enormous<br />
importance, the more so because the Lorraine ore deposits<br />
extended far into the Luxemburg, which at that<br />
time belonged to the German custom union. Financed<br />
by German money, an extensive iron industry now<br />
originated in the course of 20 or 30 years in Alsace-<br />
Lorraine and Luxemburg which at first was restricted<br />
to the production of pig iron. The coke required by<br />
the blast furnaces was supplied by the Westfalian<br />
coking plant. It was not before the 90's that the<br />
Alsace-Lorraine iron industry started to embrace steel<br />
making as well by erecting steel works and rolling<br />
mills. This development reached its summit by the<br />
construction of two German mixed works fitted with<br />
•Consulting engineer, Berlin, Germany.<br />
By HUBERT HERMANNS*<br />
the most up-to-date equipment through two large German<br />
concerns, the Adolf-Emil mill in Esch, Luxemburg,<br />
through the Gelsenkirchner Bergwerks Gesellschaft,<br />
and the Thyssen mill at Hagendingen in Lorraine<br />
through the Rhenisch mill owner, August Thyssen.<br />
Both works were started in 1910 at about the<br />
same time and were finished in 1912. Together they<br />
comprised 16 blast furnaces with a daily production<br />
of about 5,000 tons of pig iron, 10 Bessemer converters<br />
with rolling mills annexed for transforming the<br />
entire pig iron produced into steel products. Not only<br />
these two works, but in addition every one of the<br />
other blast furnaces, steel and rolling mills in Lorraine<br />
and Luxemburg were taken away from Germany by<br />
the peace treaty of Versailles.<br />
The consequences are obvious from the above table.<br />
They become worse through the fact that the Rhenish-<br />
Westfalian works used to procure a part of the ore<br />
they required from the Lorraine iron ore mines while<br />
now they are compelled to buy all the necessary ore<br />
from abroad. To this must be added the other well<br />
known difficulties due to workmen's riots, strikes from<br />
political motives, the radicalizing of the men, the eighthour<br />
da) r and the decrease in output per head and hour.<br />
All these causes were accompanied by the difficulties<br />
arising from the fuel supply. As early as during the<br />
war the production of coke as well as its quality had<br />
gradually dropped. The bad quality of the coke mainly<br />
showed in its increasing percentage of sulphur and<br />
ashes. While before the war the Westfalian blast furnace<br />
coke on the average showed a sulphur content<br />
of 0.4 per cent and an ash content of 9 per cent, these<br />
figures had rised to 1.2 per cent and 15 per cent, respectively,<br />
in 1920, particularly through the fact that<br />
the dressing of the coal to be coked had become worse<br />
and worse. However, by improving the method of<br />
dressing and by gradually training the coke oven workers<br />
most of these difficulties have been eliminated<br />
again. There was not only the problem of the quality<br />
of the coke, but that of the quantity as well. Through<br />
the peace treaty of Versailles and the agreement of<br />
Spaa, Germany is compelled to supply 200,000 tons of<br />
coke per month to the countries of the "entente," more<br />
especially to France and Belgium. This coke' has to<br />
pass a rigid examination by inspectors appointed by<br />
these states, and only coke that is of high grade quality<br />
will be accepted, the remainder showing too high a<br />
sulphur and ash content being rejected. Owing to<br />
these coke deliveries, Germany was and is compelled<br />
to procure a part of the coke required for its blast furnaces<br />
from abroad, particularly from England. It is<br />
easily seen what economical antagonism is originating<br />
as a result. In spite of the fact that the Westfalian<br />
coke ovens are directly side by side with the blast furnaces,<br />
the coke they produce is sent to France and Belgium.<br />
The quantities lacking for the German blast<br />
furnaces are fetched a distance of 300 to 800 miles via<br />
the sea, the Rhine and its tributary waterways, with<br />
the result, of course, that they become very expensive.<br />
At the time of writing, i.e., the middle of September,
February, 1924<br />
owing to the invasion of French and Belgian troops<br />
into the Ruhr district, there is no telling how things<br />
will develop in future. At all events, a very annoying<br />
interruption has taken place in the large scale restoration<br />
scheme which had been started by the blast furnace<br />
works together with the coke oven plants.<br />
The outcome of the war and its political and economical<br />
after effects had no less effect on the steel<br />
works, more especially on the open hearth works.<br />
However, in this case it was not so much the question<br />
of quality, but of quantity, the solution of which was<br />
causing great difficulties. Before the war the producer<br />
open hearth furnaces used to be worked on gas almost<br />
exclusively in Germany because other suitable fuel<br />
such as natural gas and crude oil were not available.<br />
The Ruhr district and the Upper Silesian districts supplied<br />
a coal rich in gas in sufficient quantities and of<br />
satisfactory quality. The drop in the coal production<br />
as well as the supply of large quantities of gas coal to<br />
the countries of the "entente" in this case again were<br />
responsible for a serious lack of suitable fuel. It was<br />
impossible to replace this coal by brown coal for one<br />
thing, because of the great distance over which the<br />
brown coal has to be transported and, secondly, because<br />
by using brown coal the temperatures required<br />
in steel making cannot be produced at all. Certainly'<br />
some plants have adapted operation to the gasification<br />
of brown coal briquettes, and after furnaces and<br />
producers had been made suitable for this fuel satisfactory<br />
results were obtained. However, this solution<br />
was only feasible for plants that are situated close to<br />
brown coal mines. Furthermore, the production of<br />
The blast Fu rnace rS> Steel Pi-<br />
105<br />
briquettes, which itself is limited by the capacity of<br />
the briquetting plants, could not be increased to any<br />
appreciable extent. There is also the fact to be considered<br />
that the brown coal briquettes in the first place<br />
have to cover the demand for house coal.<br />
In many plants the coal requirements of the open<br />
hearth furnaces were satisfied by adopting other kinds<br />
of gases, such as blast furnace and coke oven gas. In<br />
this connection many fuel problems have sometimes<br />
been solved in an interesting manner. It is a w r ell<br />
known fact that coke ovens are heated by means of<br />
coke oven gas in many cases. Xow it was found that<br />
blast furnace gas, which is of much lower grade, will<br />
be quite sufficient for this purpose. In other coke<br />
oven plants where blast furnace gas was not available,<br />
the gas necessary for heating the coke ovens was<br />
gained by the gasification of waste coal. Large volumes<br />
of coke oven gas have been released in this manner<br />
to be utilized for the heating of steel furnaces.<br />
When operating open hearth furnaces with coke<br />
oven gas deprived of its tar contents some difficulties<br />
were met with in so far as the coke oven gas burns<br />
with non-luminant flame, while the furnace men are<br />
used to the luminant flame of the tar containing producer<br />
gas. However, by long and painstaking training<br />
the men have gradually been accustomed to the nonluminant<br />
flame, and the problems arising from this<br />
aspect of the matter can now be considered as settled.<br />
In some large steel works it has even been possible to<br />
obtain the temperatures required in the furnaces on a<br />
mixture of coke oven gas and blast furnace gas and to<br />
produce a good quality steel with certainty in this man-!<br />
FIG. 1—Great revolving drier used in the preparation of brown coal now found available in metallurgical opera
ner. Mixtures of coke oven gas and producer gas<br />
have also given satisfactory results. It has been found<br />
that by intelligent co-operation of science and practical<br />
engineering, solutions can be obtained that will be<br />
satisfactory in an economic direction as well.<br />
This favorable development is principally due to<br />
the heat economy offices that have been set up in the<br />
various works. Although the heat economy office of<br />
every individual plant is independent and will be managed<br />
independently and to the best advantage of the<br />
plant it belongs to, all heat economy offices are combined<br />
in an <strong>org</strong>anization called Warmestelle des<br />
Vereins deutscher Eisenhuttennute (Heat Saving<br />
Office of the Association of German Iron Metallurgists),<br />
the latter being the scientific institution of the<br />
German Iron Metallurgical Engineers. This centralized<br />
heat economy office is collecting the results of the<br />
FIG. 2 — Cross section of drier showing the<br />
cross-zt'ise sheet metal plates which diffuse<br />
the coal in its course through the drier.<br />
different heat offices, communicating them subseqently<br />
to the several plants. It is safe to say that owing to<br />
these arrangements the total coal consumption of the<br />
German iron works has been reduced by 10 per cent<br />
per ton of raw steel. There can be no doubt that this<br />
figure will be further improved.<br />
For heating furnaces, f<strong>org</strong>ing furnaces, etc., that<br />
do not require very high temperature, brown coal has<br />
been tried quite recently. However, in its crude form,<br />
with high water content, brown coal cannot be used<br />
for this purpose. By extensive experiments, on the<br />
other hand, it has been proved that dried brown coal<br />
may easily be reduced to powder and that with this<br />
powdered brown coal temperatures up to 2100 deg. F.<br />
may be readily obtained. The brown coal is dried in<br />
large drums, as shown in Fig. 1, which are heated<br />
either by waste heat or by burning coal. The whole<br />
cross section of the drum is filled with sheet metal<br />
plates arranged crosswise, as shown in Fig. 2, so that<br />
during rotation of the drum the coal will gradually<br />
dribble down finely distributed and at the end of the<br />
drum can be removed. According to the results obtained<br />
by several German rolling mills, it will be possible<br />
in future to cover an additional portion of the<br />
fuel requirements by using brown coal. So far the<br />
brown coal is still ground and dried in the individual<br />
plants. However, from an economical point of view,<br />
it would be preferable to carry out grinding at the<br />
brown coal mine and to convey the coal in dried condition<br />
to the various works. A number of engineering<br />
Ihe Blast FurnaceSSteel Plant<br />
problems referring to the transportation of the coal<br />
arise in this connection which have not been solved up<br />
to the present, but the solution of which is carefullystudied.<br />
WASTEFULNESS OF HIGH ASH IN COAL<br />
(Continued from Page 103)<br />
I said that we got the coke from The Portsmouth Sol<br />
vay Coke Company, Mr. Replogle said, "Then the<br />
remedy is in your own hands." I replied, "But the ash<br />
is in the coal and we control only a part of our coal<br />
mixture."<br />
Long before this meeting I realized that poor coke,<br />
either in analysis or structure, was responsible for<br />
many of the troubles at blast furnaces, but since that<br />
time I have been working harder than ever to bring<br />
about a condition where the high ash in coal could be<br />
so reduced that there would be very little slate or clay<br />
or sandstone or any other dirt shipped from the coal<br />
mines to the consumer of the coal. There have been<br />
many difficulties to overcome. Probably the greatest<br />
difficulty has been the ignorance of nearly everybody<br />
concerned regarding the wastefulness of high ash in<br />
coal.<br />
Many people have taken high ash coal as a matter<br />
of course, and all they have done has been to take<br />
out the ashes from their kitchen stove or from their<br />
furnace heaters and do a little kicking, and then f<strong>org</strong>et<br />
about it until next winter. It is only within comparatively<br />
few years that iron and steel men have<br />
fully realized the wastefulness and the expensiveness<br />
of shipping high ash coal to the coke ovens for making<br />
blast furnace coke. Even today there are many conditions<br />
existing which force iron and steel men to<br />
use high ash coal in their coke mixtures. Even if the<br />
steel company owns its own mines and even if it<br />
has capacity enough to supply its needs it often happens<br />
that special orders of the Interstate Commerce<br />
Commission will bring about a distribution of car supply<br />
so that the steel company will receive only half<br />
cars enough to get all its coal from its own coal mine,<br />
then it becomes necessary to purchase coal on the open<br />
market and in many cases these purchases of coal will<br />
be higher in ash than coal coming from the steel company's<br />
own mines.<br />
Not only does slate and clay and other dirt cut<br />
down the value of the coal but it actually takes part<br />
of the good coal to smelt the ash. In the blast furnace<br />
the coke and limestone and ore are filled into<br />
the top; the coke is burned to gas and the gas reduces<br />
the iron ore to iron and the limestone fluxes out the<br />
impurities of the coke and of the iron ore. It takes<br />
fuel to generate heat enough to smelt the ore and to<br />
bring about the chemical reaction for the making of<br />
the pig iron. If there should be only as little as one<br />
pound of slate extra in every 100 pounds of coal then<br />
the coke made from that coal would be worth 30c a<br />
ton less than if that one pound of extra slate had been<br />
thrown out.<br />
The slate that is shipped in the coal requires just<br />
as many railroad cars as if the coal were all clean, but<br />
the value of the coal when it arrives at its destination<br />
is cut down by each pound of slate or clay.<br />
The cleaning of the coal starts at the working place<br />
and every time that a miner throws out a piece of<br />
slate he is doing just that much more to bring about<br />
the shipment and the use of clean coal.
February, 1924<br />
Die Blast FumacoSSteel Plant<br />
E SAFETY CRUSADE<br />
Highway Safety Guard<br />
Forty Per Cent of Highway Accidents Result from Cars<br />
Going Over Cliffs or Bridges<br />
T H E perfection of a successfully tested highway<br />
safety guard applying the principle of the aerial<br />
life net to prevent embankment, bridge and curve<br />
accidents which cost the lives of hundreds of motorists<br />
annually was announced at the Chicago Good<br />
Roads Show the week of January 14.<br />
The appliance, a ribbon of woven wire so fabricated<br />
as to absorb impact, is designed to replace wooden<br />
rails, stone walls and cables along higbway "danger<br />
points." Placed on top of curves, cliffs and at bridge<br />
approaches and sides it stops skidding or speeding<br />
machines that hit it by the stretch of its fabric without<br />
destructive impact or the ordinarily serious damage to<br />
the car or injury to occupants.<br />
Tests of the guard demonstrated that it is impossible<br />
for a machine speeding as high as 45 miles an hour<br />
to break through it, according to W. T. Kyle, general<br />
manager of the Page Steel & Wire Company, who<br />
sponsored it. It was produced by the Page Company,<br />
as the result of two years' of highway engineering experiments<br />
"in the interest of public safety" and is comparatively<br />
inexpensive, according to Mr. Kyle.<br />
"Forty per cent of highway accidents and many<br />
of those in cities result from cars going over cliffs or<br />
bridge sides," said Kyle. "Highway engineers have<br />
for years been searching for a guard to replace wooden<br />
107<br />
rails, which serve merely as a warning, and stone walls<br />
and cables which, if hit with any violence, break<br />
through, or wreck the machine because of the impact.<br />
"The highway guard was built under a method of<br />
fabricating wire, that would give a maximum of<br />
strength, elasticity and recoil. It has been thoroughly<br />
tested under the Underwriters' Laboratory bumper<br />
impact test, and also was rammed, as a supplementary<br />
test, by automobiles.<br />
"In the Underwriters' Laboratories' bumper impact<br />
test the guard was stretched between two regulation<br />
posts and fastened to each post with ordinary \ x /iinch<br />
staples. A 650 pound weight, suspended at a<br />
point 68 feet above its center was drawn back 30 feet<br />
and allowed to strike, the force being equivalent to<br />
that of a 3,000 pound car traveling 20 miles an hour.<br />
At each of four severe blows the fabric narrowed<br />
and enlongated, acting in buffer fashion demonstrating<br />
it will stretch until the wires forming the meshes rest<br />
against one another. At each blow there was a recoil,<br />
diminishing as the guard was pounded, and the shocks<br />
were entirely taken up between the two posts.<br />
"In the subsequent automobile tests machines hitting<br />
it at moderate speed were brought to a stop, the<br />
recoil pulling them back from danger. With the cars<br />
going at high speed, the meshes, giving similarly,<br />
Photograph of an automobile striking highway guard at high speed.
108<br />
'wrapped' around the hood, allowing the blow to spend<br />
itself evenly on the wheels, bumper, etc. Even though<br />
a blow might displace a post, in such a case, the fastenings<br />
farther away hold and the car is held."<br />
Comparative tests were conducted before Connecticut<br />
State Highway officials with 4,000 pound machines<br />
going 20 miles an hour. The guard was only<br />
slightly affected. The cars were not damaged. Standard<br />
wooden railings hit at the same speed were totally<br />
vvrecked and the cars, smashing completely through<br />
them, were completely wrecked.<br />
The guard can be installed unbroken for any distance<br />
and if one section is caused to "sag" by a blow,<br />
that section can be replaced. Sections on either sides<br />
are not damaged. The guard is galvanized and painted<br />
white, making it easily visible at night. It is constructed<br />
of 24-inch wire link fabric. The mesh, formed<br />
by No. 9 wire, is square and is \f2 by \y2 inches.<br />
Highway officials of three states who witnessed<br />
tests and demonstrations announced that they are<br />
writing it into their specifications, making it standard<br />
for use in their states as a "practical method of preventing<br />
incline accidents." The Ohio State Commission<br />
has ordered it installed immediately at a famous<br />
"death curve" at Columbus, and representatives of<br />
other states, as well as representatives of the U. S.<br />
Bureau of Public Roads, are arranging tests.<br />
"The National Safety Council and other competent<br />
authorities estimate that the economic loss from traffic<br />
accidents for each 100,000 population in the United<br />
States totals $1,500,000." Kyle declared, "We believe<br />
that this problem is one that industries must solve<br />
practically for their own good, and this fact caused us<br />
to deviate from our usual activities and set aside a<br />
special fund that was used .in 'Highway Guard' research."<br />
Electricity Saves Tots' Lives<br />
Ever since electricity passed from the experimental<br />
stage to true usefulness, man has recognized the debt<br />
he owes to the discoverers and exploiters of this magic<br />
force. The yearly saving resulting from the use of<br />
electricity in the United States has been figured out<br />
by statisticians in dollars and cents. This, they say,<br />
is man's debt to electricity. But now. when electricity<br />
has been the direct cause of saving two tiny human<br />
lives, debt is increased beyond measure of finite values.<br />
About two years ago, twins were born to Mr. and<br />
Mrs. E. N. Horr, of Cleveland, Ohio. Unfortunately,<br />
this birth occurred prematurely and the twins weighed<br />
less than two pounds apiece. Prompt action on the<br />
part of physicians and the use of modern hospital<br />
equipment kept the tiny sparks of life burning, although<br />
no one expected the babies to live for more<br />
than a few days.<br />
Then Mr. Horr conceived a method of prolonging<br />
and possibly even saving the lives of the two little<br />
ones. He built a light wooden frame, rectangular in<br />
plan and about 18 inches high. On this was placed a<br />
rectangular basket made of square bars and covered<br />
on the sides and bottom with copper screen. The<br />
framework- with the basket tm top of it was placed inside<br />
a beaverboard enclosure built in one corner of a<br />
bedroom. Two 600 watt, 115-volt Westinghouse space<br />
Ine Blast F,<br />
urnace ^Steei PI an<br />
February, 1924<br />
heaters were mounted underneath the basket near the<br />
floor, supported on ordinary porcelain knobs and electrically<br />
connected to a plug which entered a socket<br />
on the beaver-board wall. The heat was so regulated<br />
that the temperature within the enclosure was kept<br />
evenly at 85 deg. F.<br />
In this ingenious incubator, the tiny twins made<br />
their home for many weeks, growing stronger and<br />
healthier in the warm basket. They are now nearly<br />
two years old and no longer need the protective<br />
warmth supplied by the heaters, which Mr. Horr is<br />
now using in the fruit room of his basement.<br />
—Westinghouse Bulletin.<br />
GIANT GYRATORY CRUSHER<br />
Bulletin No. 27. recently issued by the M<strong>org</strong>an Engineering<br />
Company, Alliance, Ohio, is devoted to a description of<br />
their Weston direct drive gyrating crusher. This remarkable<br />
piece of reduction equipment is-the outgrowth of 12 years of<br />
diligent and searching work in crushing plant operation. Its<br />
enormous size is shown in the accompanying illustration. The<br />
gyratory crusher for secondary work has been taken out of<br />
the class of machinery that requires constant repairs and<br />
placed in the class where lubrication is perfect and friction<br />
negligible. All wearing parts are inexpensive and easily<br />
replaceable.
February, 1924<br />
Die Blast FurnaceSSteel Plant<br />
Developments in Metallurgy<br />
By S. B. GOODALE*<br />
INVESTIGATIONS have been reported upon the Still another investigation of the Bureau of Mines<br />
most varied subjects. These include both studies dealt with the difficult sulphur problem. Coke con<br />
of fundamental matters for information to be used tains four characteristic sulphur forms, but it is prob<br />
in many applications, and studies of many of the inable that the bad effect in the blast furnace is the same<br />
dividual processes and appliances, raw materials and for all forms. No actual study of the iron, coke and<br />
products of the industry. It seems as if, more and slag at various levels in the furnace has been made<br />
more rapidly, the industry is turning to science in the with this question particularly in view. A good deal<br />
effort to improve operations, and more than ever be has been done recently, however, in regard to removfore<br />
turning to technically trained and experienced ing sulphur from iron in the ladle. The desulphuriza-<br />
men to solve its problems. Moreover the results of tion of pig iron for foundry use has been effected to a<br />
these studies are shozving in economy, increased pro notable extent by treatment of the clean metal surface<br />
duction with given equipment and personnel, and bet in a ladle with soda. The slag must first be skimmed<br />
ter quality of product. That is to say the industry is off, and a small quantity of soda is thrown on the<br />
now supporting research, and research is now con metal. In certain tests 40 per cent of the sulphur was<br />
tributing largely to support industry.<br />
Blast furnace practice may be on the eve of another<br />
revolution, by the introduction of the use of<br />
removed in 2f2 minutes, and if the metal is hot enough<br />
the treatment can be repeated and an additional<br />
amount of sulphur removed.<br />
oxygen on a large scale, either as the pure gas or as An interesting series of tests was run at Trum<br />
oxygenated air. Experiments now under way are<br />
being made with this as the object. With oxygen gas<br />
bull Cliffs early in the year to determine how much<br />
coke was needed to melt scrap turnings, etc., when<br />
available at a cost of $3 per ton, the possibilities are added to the blast furnace charge, or whether any coke<br />
very alluring. Much has already been done by the in addition to the regular amount for the ore used<br />
oxygen committee of the U. S. Bureau of Mines were necessary. The result of the tests showed that<br />
in studying the probable advantages of its use and in little if any additional coke had to be used for an<br />
indicating lines along which the use of oxygen may be addition of turnings or borings equal to 5 per cent of<br />
profitable.<br />
the product made. In these tests it was also found<br />
The study of coke has been carried on very extensively<br />
by different <strong>org</strong>anizations to determine both<br />
the effects of various factors in its production on its<br />
quality, and the effects of different qualities of the<br />
coke in furnace operation. The combustibility of the<br />
coke refers to its comparative rate of being converted<br />
into carbon monoxide under definite conditions. Opinions<br />
seem to vary widely on this matter. Bureau of<br />
Mines investigation seems to have shown that the<br />
principal factor to influence rate of combustion is the<br />
size of the individual pieces of the coke, and that<br />
coking time and temperature, porosity, volatile matter,<br />
and specific gravity differences made little difference.<br />
It seems that different samples of coke do vary in their<br />
relative combustibility in air and in CO,; and it is<br />
probable that the ordinary idea of combustibility as<br />
that term is used in blast furnace and cupola practice<br />
may really have more concern with the action of C02<br />
than with that of the free oxygen of air on coke.<br />
Experiments made recently by the Bureau of<br />
Mines at St. Paul in their experimental furnace, in<br />
which some three tons of pig iron per day were made<br />
for a considerable period, showed that the oxygen of<br />
the blast was all converted into CO within a very<br />
short distance, some 32 to 40 inches of the tuyeres.<br />
In these tests a number of runs were made under conditions<br />
permitting careful observation and the recording<br />
of unusually complete data in regard to reactions<br />
in the furnace. The results of this work are being published<br />
in this magazine. Other studies made by the<br />
same <strong>org</strong>anization showed that the great differences<br />
observed in blast furnace operation with different<br />
cokes are due to other factors than differences in the<br />
combustibilities of the cokes in the tuyere zone.<br />
that the use of non-magnetic hard ores crushed to<br />
pass 2y> in. ring assists materially in fast driving of<br />
the furnace.<br />
At the Monessen plant of the Pittsburgh Steel<br />
Company dry dust cleaning has been attempted by filtering<br />
the gases through a bed of deposited dust. The<br />
filtering bed is in a nearly vertical position, held between<br />
alternating grids so as to maintain a nearly constant<br />
filtering curtain, which permits the passage of<br />
about 14 cu. ft. of gas per minute per square foot of<br />
curtain area. The resulting gas contains only .083<br />
grains of dust per cu. ft. as against wet washed gas<br />
at Monessen .122 grains. An experimental Cottrell<br />
precipitator has been installed at the plant of the Colorado<br />
Fuel & Iron Company at Pueblo, Colo., for dry<br />
cleaning of blast furnace gas. These experiments with<br />
dry dust cleaning presumably acquire added importance<br />
in view of the work being clone with oxygen enriched<br />
air; as the most effective gas utilization when<br />
using oxygen will become much more important than<br />
with natural air.<br />
A very belated but important experiment has been<br />
made at Anyox, B. C, in the way of producing pig iron<br />
from the slag of a copper smelting furnace. This<br />
slag contained in the neighborhood of 52 per cent of<br />
iron; and pig iron has been produced from it on a<br />
laboratory scale. It would seem to be only a question<br />
of time and work until the iron in such slags would<br />
be practically utilized as regular practice. With this<br />
slag discharged molten from the copper furnace, an<br />
appreciable portion of the heat required for iron<br />
production is already present in the raw material;<br />
and instead of having to pay for iron ore, the producers<br />
are relieved of at least a part of the cost of handling<br />
a waste product.<br />
•Professor of Metallurgy, University of Pittsburgh, Pitts A new scheme of banking a blast furnace is reportburgh,<br />
Pa.<br />
ed from the Cockerill Works at Liege. Belgium. This<br />
109
110 Die Blast F. urnace<br />
_r£Z<br />
Steel Plant<br />
reminds one of quenching, but the quench was accomplished<br />
by preventing the infiltration of air about<br />
the lower part of the furnace by applying a backpressure<br />
at the top of the furnace. The furnace was<br />
thus allowed to cool in statu quo; and some 18 months<br />
later was restarted by simply applying hot blast. The<br />
first tap is reported to have been made some 6 hours<br />
later. A very reasonable, and apparently successful,<br />
experiment.<br />
The study by any and every means known of the<br />
structure and properties of finished metals, and of how<br />
these can be controlled and improved is now probably<br />
the branch of metallurgy into which more careful<br />
thought is put than into any other.- The literature of<br />
metallography has been enriched by several excellent<br />
books in recent months, of which reviews appear elsewhere<br />
and, more importantly, by the reports of much<br />
original study. It has been well suggested, however,<br />
that probably the most beneficial piece of work some<br />
genius might accomplish would be to bring together<br />
into a workable hypothesis the scattered masses of<br />
data that now exist. We need to have some general<br />
theory to connect accurately what we know of structure<br />
in both the atomic and molecular sizes, and in<br />
the larger crystalline entities, with variations in those<br />
properties that are of value and use to mankind.<br />
Along this line comes the important contribution made<br />
in Dr. Rosenhain's Institute of Metals lecture on solid<br />
solutions, and his lectures while on tour in this country.<br />
The study of various methods of testing is being<br />
carried on more and more extensively. The phases of<br />
testing that have been noticed by the writer as seeming<br />
to have particular present day prominence are the<br />
continued work on impact testing, and on fatigue testing,<br />
also on the testing of the properties of metals as<br />
they are affected by considerable changes in temperature.<br />
The present day tendency in boiler practice toward<br />
higher steam pressures and higher superheat<br />
makes the question of the properties of boiler steel<br />
at these higher temperatures one of very great interest.<br />
Rapid progress has also been made in the application<br />
of the X-ray to examination of metal, and the<br />
method seems to be approaching the state of development<br />
such that possibly it can be very generally used in<br />
the near future. Shadow pictures can be made through<br />
steel up to at least 3 in. in thickness, the penetration<br />
of the rays through the thicker metal seeming to be<br />
intimately connected with the voltage used in the Xray<br />
apparatus.<br />
The metallurgical department of the U. S. Bureau<br />
of Standards is doing much valuable work on fundamental<br />
investigations of the type not usually of sufficiently<br />
immediate application to the work of any<br />
one industrial concern to force this work to be done<br />
by that concern. Among the investigations in progress<br />
are studies of the crystalline structure of ferrite,<br />
and of the effects of phosphorus and of sulphur in special<br />
kinds of steel.<br />
Notable advances have been made in magnetic<br />
testing by deForest of the American Chain Company<br />
who has developed a rapid method for determining<br />
the different effects of two different factors in the<br />
treatment of steel by measuring more than one of the<br />
principal magnetic qualities of the material. It is<br />
now recognized that materials may have several kinds<br />
of magnetic qualities which may be separately determined.<br />
Mr. deForest's work stands out as being<br />
February, 1924<br />
of pioneering character, as having already achieved<br />
important results and as opening up new fields tor<br />
further progress.<br />
Interesting results have been reported from Lehigh<br />
University of a development in a scientific and useful<br />
way of something that is doubtless first cousin to the<br />
old "tin cry". When a sensitive microphone is applied<br />
to metals being stressed under test, a sound is<br />
made audible which is emitted by the metal immediately<br />
after the elastic limit has been exceeded, no<br />
sound" having been observed before. (Perhaps, in<br />
time, we may be able to tell from the note that any<br />
particular piece emits, under suitable control, and by<br />
measuring all modulations of the sound, overtones,<br />
etc., all about the crystal form of its crystal unit and<br />
in a somewhat grosser size unit accomplish something<br />
analogous to what the X-ray is doing in the atomic<br />
field.) Seriously, however, the new method may _ be<br />
applied to determine if any structure-, in use are being<br />
dangerously stressed, and it would seem that in many<br />
cases this information could be had at a time that<br />
would prevent imminent failure, or would permit of<br />
preparations being made to lessen materially the serious<br />
results of failure.<br />
A new hardness testing machine has been brought<br />
out by Mr. Edward G. Herbert, of Sheffield, England,<br />
called the pendulum hardness tester. A one millimeter<br />
ruby or steel ball supports at or near its center<br />
of gravity a yoke free to swing, the ball rolling back<br />
and forth on the surface to be tested. Work is done<br />
by the ball, minutely or more, deforming the surface.<br />
more work being done as the surface is softer; the effect<br />
of this work on the amplitude of swing is noted,<br />
and the work done estimated thereby, this being connected<br />
with hardness.<br />
Considerable progress has been achieved in illumination<br />
for microscopic examination of opaque<br />
pieces. Some very nice results were reported in the<br />
Transactions of the American Society for Steel Treating,<br />
for August which were secured by a form of oblique<br />
illumination called conical. In addition to the<br />
means suggested in the original paper by Mr. Harry<br />
S. Ge<strong>org</strong>e, of the Union Carbide and Research Laboratories,<br />
Inc., Long Island City, it is here suggested that<br />
the form of incandescent light now so generally used<br />
and called "Mill type" should give the desired results<br />
and perhaps by means easier to arrange, although not<br />
giving such an intense light. The radiating filament<br />
of this lamp is arranged to occupy roughly two thirds<br />
of the circumference of a circle, supported at intervals.<br />
This would seem to be capable of giving a very good<br />
relief effect, as the light from one side would be<br />
stronger than that from the other side. Incandescent<br />
lights are increasing in favor for illuminating anyway,<br />
because of their greater convenience over the arc.<br />
where the arc has to have such frequent attention for<br />
adjusting the carbons as they burn away, especially<br />
when made so small as in some modern transparent<br />
metallog apparatus. The small carbons work very<br />
nicely when properly centered but they do burn away<br />
very quickly. To overcome this difficulty a new lamp<br />
has been devised consisting of a ribbon of tungsten<br />
mounted in a nitrogen filled bulb. When this is once<br />
mounted in connection with the microscope it remains<br />
in alignment permanently, and is sufficiently brilliant<br />
for photographic work. Still another lamp is the<br />
"Point 'o light", a very brilliant special type of arc<br />
with tungsten ball for the hot spot.
February, 1924<br />
In the field of alloy steels, much work has been<br />
done on zirconium as an allov addition. This element<br />
combines energetically with oxygen, nitrogen and sulphur,<br />
in the order named and is able at least, in part,<br />
to neutralize the embrittling effect of phosphorus in<br />
steel. A small addition of zirconium is said to make<br />
possible the rolling of steel containing unusually high<br />
sulphur.<br />
« ; The zirconium treated steels seem to be relatively<br />
clean, perhaps because the zirconium oxide unites<br />
with the alumina and silica becoming readily fusible<br />
and rising quickly to the slag. Zirconium treated<br />
experimental lots of steel showed an average of 54 per<br />
cent reduction in oxygen over the silicon treated metal,<br />
and a lessening of nitrogen from .0072 per cent to .0035<br />
per cent. Minute yellow cubic crystals of ZrN are<br />
present in steels which have received more than .1<br />
per cent of Zr. Zr is said to have a stronger affinity<br />
than even manganese for sulphur. Steel with .2 per<br />
cent S with .22 per cent Zr has been rolled into sheets<br />
free from seams and cracks, also steels of .29 per cent<br />
S which carried .43 per cent Zr where untreated steels<br />
with these amounts of sulphur usually broke in the<br />
first pass through the rolls.<br />
A great deal of work is being done on the stainless<br />
types of steel. Many compositions and heat treatments<br />
are being tried out in the effort to secure something<br />
which will be really stainless. The effects of<br />
temperature changes on these steels have been studied<br />
in England and English metallurgical works are specially<br />
active in the search for better rust resisting material.<br />
A brief report has been made of a series of experiments<br />
on the addition of tellurium to steel. This<br />
element forms a compound, FeTe, with iron which<br />
behaves very similarly to manganese sulphide in the<br />
metal. In f<strong>org</strong>ing it elongates as well as or better than<br />
manganese sulphide. The steel containing this element<br />
appears to be somewhat lower in ductility than<br />
the normal steel.<br />
The influence of nitrogen in steel was further reported<br />
on during the year together with careful work<br />
in regard to the determination of. nitrogen in the<br />
metal. The difficulty of determining nitrogen in steel<br />
is partly-due to the necessity of determining the element<br />
in the presence of the same element in most of<br />
the surroundinf materials. The investigation mentioned<br />
which was carried at the Massachusetts Institute<br />
of Technology under the direction of Professor<br />
Henry Fay has resulted in increasing the reliance<br />
placed on the distillation method of determining nitrogen.<br />
A very extensive paper was presented early in the<br />
year as the last contribution from the late Doctor<br />
Henry M. Howe. The work which was initiated by<br />
Dr. Howe was finished in an able manner by several<br />
of his colleagues. It reported an extensive series of<br />
experiments to determine the influence of temperature,<br />
time and rate of cooling on the physical properties of<br />
three carbon steels.<br />
For foundry use a new arrangement of melting<br />
units has been brought out by a Pittsburgh firm,<br />
called the "multiple electric melting system". Two<br />
furnaces are erected on a turntable, with a single complete<br />
electrode holder unit at one point. At any moment<br />
melting and refining will be carried on in one<br />
furnace spotted under the electrodes; while the second<br />
furnace is spotted at the pouring position and has<br />
Ihe Dlast hirnaceLOteel riant<br />
111<br />
time to discharge its contents and have its lining repaired<br />
while a heat is being made. By means of this<br />
arrangement a very high load factor can be maintained<br />
on the electrical supply system.<br />
Another novel melting arrangement, the Schuermann<br />
system, is a side blast cupola which has been<br />
introduced in a Chicago plant. The blast is introduced<br />
through tuyeres on one side, while the waste<br />
gases are taken off through other tuyeres opposite<br />
and at or near the same level, and are used for preheating<br />
the blast. A saving of some 25 per cent of<br />
coke is claimed for this scheme, and a similar reduction<br />
in sulphur. Oxygen is admitted to burn the CO<br />
in the waste gas for more effective utilization of this<br />
heat in preheating blast. It is claimed also that the<br />
life of the cupola lining is increased with this method.<br />
Centrifugal casting, although the basic ideas are<br />
very old, is only now coming into use on such a scale<br />
as to be of large commercial importance. Several<br />
groups are interested in developing specialties in this<br />
general field, and the writer believes that the method,<br />
with various modifications will be of very great commercial<br />
significance within the next comparatively<br />
few years. The method really can be applied practically<br />
to a great variety of products of a diameter<br />
greater than, say, 3 in. Piston rings, for instance, for<br />
internal combustion engines can be cast using cores<br />
that completely surround the casting in a lined mold.<br />
The molds used in the DeLavaud process for making<br />
cast iron pipe may stand up to some 3,000 heats. The<br />
annealing of the pipe cast in the chill molds is an essential<br />
factor in this process, and can be started while<br />
the pipe is still hot from casting. Casting in heated<br />
molds has been developed by Mr. Cammen for such<br />
metals as steel, monel metal, and brass. It is necessary<br />
to use special alloys for such molds, as ordinary<br />
materials will not stand the service at the temperatures<br />
necessary. The surface of these molds must be<br />
very smooth, the molds must be rotated at closely controlled<br />
speed, and the temperature of the metal at<br />
pouring must be correct. With all these conditions<br />
right, excellent castings will result.<br />
In steel foundry practice a somewhat radical departure<br />
is described in the annealing of low or medium<br />
carbon steel castings by Mr. L. R. Mann, of Sivyer<br />
Steel Castings Company. This consists in a long high<br />
temperature anneal to diffuse the carbon more thoroughly<br />
throughout the Austenite; followed by a relatively<br />
rapid cooling through the transformation range.<br />
Castings annealed 7 hours at 950 deg. C. and oil<br />
quenched had a minute grain size, ferrite well dispersed<br />
and not in continuous envelopes. The structure<br />
is stated to have resembled closely that of good<br />
f<strong>org</strong>ings; and the metal showed an elastic limit of<br />
some 63,000 pounds per square inch.<br />
In several connections of late the subject has been<br />
more and more emphasized by Prof. Sauveur, of Harvard<br />
University, Dr. Saklatwalla, and others of the<br />
desirability of controlling the primary crystallization<br />
of metal in solidifying. It is pointed out that a very<br />
great deal of effort has been expended in attempts to<br />
control the secondary crystallization during the transformation<br />
range, but that relatively little has been<br />
done in regulating the primary crystallization. This<br />
is probably due to the difficulty of the thing. What<br />
agent or agents can be made to penetrate a mass of<br />
molten steel and regulate the grouping of the crystal<br />
elements as they form from the liquid and grow? It
112<br />
might be accomplished, perhaps, by mechanical agitation<br />
of the right extent; and this may, in fact, be what<br />
happens in centrifugal casting. The control of this<br />
crystallization by means of electro-magnetic effects<br />
has been considered, and would seem to offer considerable<br />
promise of availability.<br />
In open hearth working there have been some very<br />
interesting developments. The Basic Products Company<br />
of this city have patents on a machine for introducing<br />
refractory material for repair by means of compressed<br />
air through a 2y2-'m. hose line. The repairing<br />
can be started while the steel is still running into the<br />
ladle, thus saving much in heat radiated from the furnace<br />
between heats, and can be completed in less time<br />
than by hand.<br />
The influence of temperature in the steel making<br />
process was described in a French paper by Ch. Clausel.<br />
The solubility of iron oxide in iron is nearly 0 at<br />
1400, 1 per cent at 1700 and 3 per cent at 1800. It is<br />
therefore easier to cause oxidation at the higher temperatures.<br />
Clausel considers rapid basic steel making<br />
practice as best divided into three periods for study,<br />
the first a high temperature period of slag formation<br />
and oxidation; the second a deoxidation by phosphorus,<br />
during which this element is driven into the slag,<br />
and a final deoxidation by additions or by the reducing<br />
slag from an electric furnace. When one compares<br />
a steel making process with a chemical operation<br />
in other fields, as, for instance, analytical work<br />
in the laboratory, there is good reason to believe that<br />
control of temperature in that high temperature range<br />
above the melting point of steel may be as important to<br />
the best steel making as the control of temperature of<br />
solutions for correct results in other chemical work.<br />
The solubility of iron oxide in the metal is onlv one of<br />
a number of factors that will change with changing<br />
high temperature. The viscosity may decrease with<br />
rising temperature so rapidly that a high temperature<br />
settling treatment when connected with suitable chemical<br />
treatment might reduce sonims below the minimum<br />
resulting from even the best present day practice.<br />
Steel ingot molds have been in use in some German<br />
works. The average life of some 74 steel molds<br />
was 235 heats, as against 150 heats for the cast iron<br />
molds formerly used.<br />
It seems as if mechanical puddling may be revived<br />
again, this time with a formidable backing of capital<br />
and skill. The new plant of the American Puddle Iron<br />
Company is nearly completed as to one unit at Warren,<br />
Ohio.<br />
In conclusion it might again be stated that the<br />
amount of investigational work being carried on by<br />
various agencies is very great indeed. It is much more<br />
than any one man can follow adequately. Such a review<br />
as the present then consists of only a few items<br />
which have happened to come to the notice of the<br />
writer and to have impressed him in going over so<br />
much of the literature as he has been able to do. There<br />
are many other developmets of importance in the various<br />
fields of metallurgy.<br />
A. S. M. E. Spring Meeting Date Changed<br />
On account of conflicting convention dates in Cleveland in<br />
May, the date of the spring meeting of the American Society<br />
of Mechanical Engineers has been postponed for a week. The<br />
spring meeting will be held in Cleveland, Ohio, May 26-29,<br />
Die Blast FurnaceSSteel Plant<br />
February, 1924<br />
inclusive. Frank A. Scott, president of the Cleveland Engi<br />
neering Society, is chairman of the committee on local<br />
arrangements.<br />
New Gold Medal Endowed<br />
Ge<strong>org</strong>e I. Rockwood, president and treasurer of the Rockwood<br />
Sprinkler Company at Worcester, Mass., has endowed<br />
a gold medal of the A. S. M. E. to be awarded "in those rare<br />
cases when an individual has succeeded by the exercise of his<br />
genius and character, in powerfully assisting the fortunes of<br />
our country or the general engineering progress of the world."<br />
Mr. Rockwood was the guest of honor at a dinner meeting<br />
of the Worcester Section of the Society on January 14.<br />
To Help Place Italian Engineers<br />
The A. S. M. E. is taking an active and effective part in<br />
placing young graduate Italian engineers in industries in this<br />
country where they may gain practical experience. This work<br />
is being done at the request of the Italian ambassador, Don<br />
Gelasio Caetani, and in co-operation with the National Association<br />
of Italian Engineers, which is making a careful selection<br />
of applicants in Rome. The plan to give Italian engineers<br />
an opportunity for personal experience in American<br />
plants and industries cannot help but result in a closer friendship<br />
between the two countries.<br />
Calvin W. Rice Plans Trip to Middle West<br />
Calvin W. Rice, secretary of the A. S. M. E., leaves shortly<br />
after the first of February for a trip to the Middle West,<br />
where he will address meetings of engineers and student engineers.<br />
He will speak February 22 at Madison, Wis., at a joint<br />
banquet of the Technical Club of Madison and the Engineering<br />
Society of Wisconsin.<br />
Among the cities where Mr. Rice will deliver addresses en<br />
route are Pittsburgh, Dayton and Indianapolis. He will<br />
speak to the students at Carnegie Institute of Technology.<br />
Pennsylvania State College, University of Pittsburgh, Purdue<br />
University, University of West Virginia and Ohio Northern<br />
University.<br />
To Publish Autobiography of Dr. Brashear<br />
Some time during the year the autobiography of Dr. John<br />
A. Brashear, a past president of the American Society of<br />
Mechanical Engineers, and often spoken of as "the humanest<br />
of all scientists," will be published. The book will appear as<br />
the next in the series of biographies of scientific men which is<br />
being published under the auspices of the Society.<br />
A Life of Professor John E. Sweet is also nearly ready<br />
for publication.<br />
Judge Gary to Preside at Engineers' Dinner<br />
Judge Elbert H. Gary will preside at a joint dinner of the<br />
New York Sections of the American Society of Mechanical<br />
Engineers, the Army Ordnance Association, the American<br />
Society of Civil Engineers, the American Institute of Mining<br />
and Metallurgical Engineers, the American Institute of Electrical<br />
Engineers, and the Society of Automotive Engineers<br />
which will be held at the Hotel Commodore on Friday<br />
evening, February 5.<br />
The addresses will be on Industrial Preparedness as Insurance<br />
Against War. In addition to Judge Gary, Assistant<br />
Secretary of War Dwight F. Davis and Col. James A. Walsh<br />
will speak.
"•" y - 1924 J* BU I»nW3SU Plan!<br />
Rolling Alloy Steel<br />
At the Plant of the Harrisburg Pipe & Pipe Bending Company<br />
IN the following article it is not the intention of the<br />
writer to go into a technical discussion of the subject<br />
of rolling alloy steel, nor to assume that the<br />
method followed by the Harrisburg Pipe & Pipe<br />
Bending Company is the right one, and all other methods<br />
are wrong; but to describe how alloy steel is<br />
handled in that plant, and explain in a general way<br />
their equipment and their reasons for departing from<br />
the generally accepted practice.<br />
Some time ago an advertisement of a rolling mill<br />
appeared in a technical journal, giving for its virtue<br />
FIG. 1—Charging end of furnace shozving the pusher and<br />
and overhead crane.<br />
"Maximum Production Per Alan." This same thought<br />
is followed out at the Harrisburg plant, but changed<br />
slightly, viz., "Maximum Quality Production per Man.'<br />
With this thought in mind they set up their equipment<br />
with the idea of furnishing the best product possible<br />
for the prevailing market price of alloy steel, and at<br />
the same time giving them a fair return on their investment.<br />
From the open hearth through their soaking pits,<br />
blooming mill, and chipping shed, the general speed-up<br />
thought has been eliminated, especially in the mill<br />
proper where quick reductions have been displaced by<br />
as slight a reduction and as many turns of an ingot as<br />
it is possible to obtain while keeping within the proper<br />
working temperature of the steel.<br />
Guide Mill.<br />
The harmful effect produced on alloy steel by the<br />
sudden change in temperature from a cold billet to<br />
the highly heated furnace is well known. With this<br />
limitation in view, the Engineers of the Harrisburg<br />
Pipe & Pipe Bending Company, assisted by expert advice<br />
from the Metallurgical Furnace Department of<br />
*Chief Engineer. Member A. S. M. E.<br />
By JENS CLAUSEN*<br />
the Sanford Riley Stoker Company, designed a continuous<br />
coal-fired furnace. (See tracing Fig. 3.) The<br />
furnace is equipped with two Jones "Industrial Furnace"<br />
Under-Feed Stokers, each stoker having a coalburning<br />
capacity of from 200 to 800 pounds of coal<br />
per hour. Due to the fact that a number of grades of<br />
coal were to be burned, an arbitrary figure of 160 cubic<br />
feet of air per one pound of coal was used in the calculations.<br />
The temperature at the bridge wall was figured at<br />
2300 deg. F., at the rear end of the furnace 1400 deg.<br />
F., in the flues 1200 deg. F., and in the stack 1000 deg.<br />
F. This equals a gas velocity at the bridge wall of 10<br />
feet per second, half way through the furnace; nine<br />
feet per second at the charging end, 115^ ft. per second<br />
in the stack. The average time the gas remains<br />
in the furnace is 4.36 seconds.<br />
The size of the furnaces was designed to heat 50<br />
tons of billets, ranging from 60 to 290 pounds each,<br />
per 12 hours, using 225 pounds of coal per ton of billets.<br />
By assuming an average weight of 175 pounds<br />
per billet, the heater is allowed to take an average of<br />
4.7 hours to bring the steel up to the proper temperature.<br />
By charging the steel in the cold end of the furnace<br />
where the temperature rarely exceeds 1400 deg., and<br />
passing through a distance of approximately 30 feet<br />
of ever-increasing temperature, and only reaching the<br />
final heat in the last six feet of travel, it can readily<br />
lie seen that this type of furnace is admirably adapted<br />
for re-heating high-grade steels.<br />
In the design of the furnace it will lie noticed<br />
that the roof is especially designed to fit the particular<br />
stoker of the manufacture above referred to, and<br />
is drawn down to have a distance of three feet from<br />
the stoker to the arch. This retards the combustion<br />
directly over the stoker so that the combustion will<br />
be completed where needed, that is, directly over the<br />
FIG. 2—View of the Jones "Industrial Furnace" stokers.
114 r^o Tke Blast F. urnace. Steel Plant<br />
hearth of the furnace. The roof then runs straight<br />
for a distance of six feet from the bridge wall, which<br />
gives a good combustion area when the steel reaches<br />
its final temperature. The roof and bottom from this<br />
point, to the end of the furnaces, are drawn together<br />
so that the flame will have the proper velocity at the<br />
charging end.<br />
The billets charged in the furnace are placed on<br />
the charging platform by a Shepard Hoist, and arranged<br />
in single, double or triple rows, depending<br />
February, 1924<br />
upon their weight and size, and are then pushed<br />
through the furnace by a hydraulic pusher. When<br />
they have reached the drawing door at the bridge wall<br />
each billet is tumbled and inspected by the heater before<br />
drawing. While this type of furnace can readily<br />
be equipped with a mechanical drawing device, it is<br />
felt that the heater performing this operation by giving<br />
each billet the proper inspection for uniformity in<br />
heat assures a more perfect rolling condition.<br />
piG. 3—Assembly drawings of the continuous coal fired heating furnace designed especially for heating of alloy bill<br />
Four and seven-tenths hours is the a
February, 1924<br />
It may be of interest to know that this furnace has<br />
been in operation for two years, and the cost of repairs<br />
to the stokers has not exceeded $30.00, nor has<br />
the furnace proper from the bridge wall to the stack<br />
been repaired during this time. The brick work over<br />
the stoker has been rebuilt once, and a slight repair<br />
made at another time. The bottom has had one complete<br />
repair, and this was due principally to changing<br />
The Blast hmuico'SStool Plant<br />
115<br />
the design from a water-cooled to a solid bottom.<br />
This low maintenance cost is due to the fact that<br />
the stoker is properly designed and proportioned for<br />
the work and the furnace is designed for slow gas<br />
velocity and uniformity of temperature, which can be<br />
maintained in this type of furnace.<br />
The coal consumption has been as low as 172 lbs.<br />
of coal per ton of steel; however, this consumption<br />
iriety of coals are fired on under-feed stokers. Fifty tons of billets ranging from 60-200 lbs. each are heated per U hours.<br />
ngth of time billets are in the furnace.
116 lheDlast I'urnace"Z jtee! riant<br />
fluctuates with the speed of rolling and class of material<br />
rolled. An interesting feature of this furnace is<br />
that by the under-feed method of burning coal the<br />
Smoke Ordinance of the city of Harrisburg has been<br />
complied with fully.<br />
The mill is a 10-in., three-high, consisting of five<br />
stands; steam driven, with a variable speed up to<br />
only 170 r.p.m., the mill being built by the Birdsboro<br />
Steel Foundry & Machine Compeny, Birdsboro, Pa.<br />
In f<strong>org</strong>ing it is recognized that the slow moving<br />
hydraulic f<strong>org</strong>ing press produces a better grade of<br />
f<strong>org</strong>ing than a steam hammer, due to the slow moving<br />
of the press, thereby allowing the steel to have time<br />
to conform itself to its new shape, and thus working<br />
through to the center of the f<strong>org</strong>ing; while the quick<br />
action of a hammer blow has a tendency to move only<br />
the surface. With this thought in mind the mill is<br />
kept down in speed with the idea of furnishing the bar<br />
within the proper rolling temperature, and at the same<br />
time delivering it to the cooling rack at a temperature<br />
sufficient for self-annealing.<br />
Leaving the mill, and coming to the question of<br />
piling of alloys, a departure from the generally accepted<br />
practice has been made for the reason that the<br />
usual practice of piling spring steels, or alloy steel<br />
flats, edgewise on the hot bed, allowing it to cool in a<br />
mass, then shearing cold, has many faults, among<br />
which are the rapidity with which it cools owing to<br />
the upward rush of air through the hot bed, the looseness<br />
of the pile, and the additional handling necessary<br />
I g<br />
'••"•'••—•—- \<br />
February, 1924<br />
to build the stack, all of which cause excessive hardness.<br />
The more modern hot bed of the walking type produces<br />
the same defects, only to a marked degree, as<br />
the cooling is usually in single, or only a few bars,<br />
which allows the product to cool more rapidly, and at<br />
the same time cool in spots where the strips come in<br />
contact with the fingers of the hot bed. To overcome<br />
this a runout table with a variable speed conveys the<br />
strips to a shear, where the material is sheared hot<br />
and passed on to a mechanical loader, the speed of the<br />
conveyor being adjusted to suit the section being<br />
rolled so that all sections are delivered to the loader<br />
at approximately the same temperature. The hot<br />
strip falls into the loader automatically until it has<br />
built itself up to approximately 100 strips, when a<br />
clamp is slipped over both ends and the whole mass is<br />
lifted out intact by an electric crane provided with a<br />
spreader to keep the pile straight. The pile is then<br />
set on the hot bed to cool.<br />
The advantage of handling the material by this<br />
method is that the strips flatten themselves by their<br />
own weight, forming such a compact mass that the<br />
cooling is very slow, and at the same time keeping<br />
the strips straight. It is true that the first and last<br />
strips on the pile will not get the same annealing as<br />
the inner parts of the mass; however, this is overcome<br />
by removing these two extreme bars and placing them<br />
in the center of the following pile.<br />
("Concluded on Page 133)<br />
- . — ' • « * - " • " — - — -<br />
~ I'I tin i<br />
•HTIJHI .' fJNfl<br />
FIG. 4—Shows an excellent view of the guide mill proper.<br />
* V. ;p " .&<br />
j *|
February, 1924<br />
IheDlast lurnace jteel riant<br />
Gas Producer Practice<br />
By WALDEMAR DYRSSENt<br />
PART II<br />
Table IX shows such a comparison, with a seven<br />
months' and one month average record in operating a<br />
mechanical producer on coke, taken from a paper|<br />
by W. Reed Morris. The analyses correspond very<br />
closely. The H in the coke gas is slightly higher<br />
than the theoretical and contains some CH4 The coke<br />
used in this run contained about 3 per cent volatile<br />
matter and approximately 88 per cent F. C. The CH4<br />
and a small part of the H are derived from the volatile<br />
matter. If this is taken into consideration, the Btu.<br />
TABLE IX — COMPARISON BETWEEN THEORETICAL<br />
GAS FROM PURE C, AS ARRIVED AT IN TABLE VII,<br />
AND GAS OBTAINED IN PRACTICE FROM COKE<br />
CONTAINING ABOUT 3% VOLATILE MAT<br />
TER. THE PRODUCERS WORKED UN<br />
DER WHAT COULD BE CALLED<br />
C02<br />
02 ..<br />
CO .<br />
H2 ..<br />
CH,<br />
TEST CONDITIONS.<br />
Theoretical gas<br />
62° F.at 2000°<br />
temperature of<br />
gasification<br />
3.50<br />
31.55<br />
9.43<br />
55.50<br />
N .<br />
Total (per cent).. 100.00<br />
Btu. per cu. ft 128.10<br />
Lbs. of C per 100<br />
cu. ft 1.110<br />
Btu. per Lb. of C in<br />
gas 11546<br />
Seven months<br />
average analysis<br />
of gas made<br />
from coke<br />
3.60<br />
.20<br />
29.80<br />
10.10<br />
.30<br />
56.00<br />
100.00<br />
127.10<br />
1.066<br />
11923<br />
One month's<br />
average analysis<br />
of gas made<br />
from coke<br />
3.40<br />
.20<br />
30.70<br />
. 970<br />
.10<br />
55.90<br />
100.00<br />
127.10<br />
1.082<br />
11744<br />
per pound of C in the gas will be practically identical<br />
with the theoretical gas as derived from balance diagrams<br />
Figs. 1 and 2. This figure constitutes the best<br />
means of comparing various gases. In the same paper<br />
are given two more analyses, which evidently indicate<br />
a somewhat lower gasification temperature, of approximately<br />
190 deg. F. The comparison is shown in<br />
Table X. This indicates that the diagrams in Figs.<br />
1 and 2 and the theoretical considerations are approximately<br />
correct.<br />
Gas from Bituminous Coal.<br />
In the calculation of the theoretical gas that can<br />
be obtained from bituminous coal, the distillation gas<br />
must be added to the gas derived from pure C gasified<br />
by blast, as calculated above. The distillation gas is,<br />
however, not subject to measurements or analysis.<br />
It can be reasonably assumed that it parallels the<br />
distillation gas from coke ovens and consists of CH4,<br />
C2H4, H, CO, CO,, H20, N, soot and tarry vapors.<br />
That the last item forms a very considerable part of<br />
the producer gas is an everyday experience in the<br />
production of cleaned cooled producer gas. The method<br />
commonly used to calculate the quantity of gas<br />
from the ordinary analysis and total C in coal is fun-<br />
*Read before the American Iron and Steel Institute at<br />
New York, May 25, 1923.<br />
tUnited States Steel Corporation, New York, N. Y.<br />
JThe Carbonization of Coal with Blue Gas and Producer Gas,<br />
read at the 1922 Convention of the American Gas Association.<br />
117<br />
TABLE X - COMPARISON BETWEEN THEORETICAL<br />
GAS FROM PURE C AS SHOWN IN FIG. 7, AND<br />
GAS OBTAINED IN PRACTICE FROM COKE<br />
CONTAINING ABOUT 3.5 PER CENT<br />
CO.,<br />
0= .<br />
CO<br />
H;<br />
CH.<br />
N .<br />
Total (per cent) . .<br />
VOLATILE MATTER.<br />
Theoretical gas from blast<br />
at 62° P., temperature of<br />
gasification 1900° F.,<br />
from Fig. 7<br />
5.1<br />
29.1<br />
11.2<br />
54.6<br />
Gas from coke containing<br />
3.54% volatile, 85.78<br />
fixed carbon<br />
1 2<br />
5.1<br />
.1<br />
28.7<br />
13.0<br />
.3<br />
52.8<br />
5.2<br />
.1<br />
28.3<br />
12.3<br />
.6<br />
53.5<br />
100.0 100.0 100.0<br />
damentally r incorrect. It is not possible to explain<br />
the presence as fixed gases in producer gas of all<br />
the C in the volatile matters in the coal. Bone and<br />
Wheeler found in their tests on Mond gas producers<br />
that the C in the tar was 6.1 per cent of the total C<br />
charged into the producer on coal with a ratio F.V<br />
: V.M. = 1.7. In producing cool, clean gas in this<br />
country, from 10 to 25 gallons (average 15 gallons)<br />
of tar are obtained per ton of coal. According to the<br />
exhaustive tests made by the United States Geological<br />
Survey at St. Louis in 1904 with producing gas<br />
for gas engines, the C in the cleaned gas constituted<br />
about 75 to 80 per cent of the total C in the coals, with<br />
a ratio of fixed carbon to volatile of 1.25 to 1.75. Part<br />
of the remainder was lost in the ashes, but a very large<br />
part was washed away as soot and tar. The higher<br />
volatile coals showed a lesser recovery.<br />
We can, therefore, assume that the larger the<br />
amount of volatile in the coal, the more soot and<br />
especially tar are produced. All of the tar as well as<br />
much of the soot is undoubtedly suspended in the gas,<br />
at least in open-hearth practice, and is burned in the<br />
furnace. These constituents, as well as the H,0, do<br />
not appear in the ordinary analysis of producer gas.<br />
TABLE XI — ESTIMATED AVERAGE BALANCE OF C<br />
IN THE GASIFICATION OF MEDIUM AND HIGH<br />
VALATILE COALS IN PRODUCERS. PER<br />
CENTAGES BASED ON ASH AND SUL<br />
PHUR-FREE COAL ANALYSIS.<br />
Fixed carbon . .<br />
Volatile matter<br />
Total<br />
C in volatile<br />
Total C<br />
C in fixed distillation gases...<br />
C in tar and soot ..<br />
C in ash<br />
C gasified by blast<br />
Total C in fixed gases from<br />
producer<br />
Percentage of total C<br />
C in distillation gases of C<br />
gasified by blast<br />
Western Pittsburgh<br />
Coals (Per cent)<br />
About 63<br />
About 37<br />
100<br />
21.0<br />
84.0<br />
11.8<br />
7.2<br />
1.0<br />
64.0<br />
75.8<br />
90.2<br />
Eastern Indiana<br />
and Illinois CoalB<br />
CPer cent)<br />
About 57<br />
About 43<br />
100<br />
22.5<br />
79.5<br />
11.0<br />
8.5<br />
1.0<br />
59.0<br />
70.0<br />
88.1<br />
18.4 18.65
118<br />
TABLE XII — AVERAGE COMPOSITION AND QUAN<br />
TITY OF DISTILLATION GAS FROM BITUMINOUS<br />
COAL IN GAS PRODUCER PRACTICE.<br />
Composition of distillation gas bv volume (per cent) :<br />
CO, 3.0<br />
CO 7.0<br />
C2H. 6.0<br />
CH. 36.0<br />
H 48.0<br />
Total 100.0<br />
Btu. per cubic foot 573.2<br />
C per 100 cubic feet 1.838 lbs.<br />
Btu. per pound of C in gas 31186.0<br />
Cubic feet per pound of C in gas 54.4<br />
1.838X54.4<br />
Cu. ft. per lb. of C gasified by blast 10.0<br />
100<br />
See Table XI.<br />
TABLE XIII<br />
TOTAL THEORETICAL GAS FROM ORDINARY BITU-<br />
MINOUE COALS GASIFIED BY AIR AND H=0 AT<br />
2,000 DEG. F. TEMPERATURE OF GASIFI<br />
CATION. ALSO COMPOSITION OF DRY<br />
CO,<br />
CO<br />
H<br />
N<br />
C, H.<br />
CH*<br />
Total 100.00<br />
Btu. in gas 128.10<br />
per<br />
cubic<br />
foot<br />
GAS (H=0 EXCLUDED) BY VOLUME<br />
Gas from 1 ] aound of<br />
C gasified b v blast,<br />
Bee Table 7<br />
Analysis<br />
by volume<br />
(Per cent)<br />
3.52<br />
31.55<br />
9.43<br />
55.50<br />
Cubic<br />
feet<br />
of gas<br />
3.17<br />
28.43<br />
8.50<br />
50.00<br />
90.10<br />
11546<br />
in 90.1<br />
cubic<br />
. feet<br />
Distillation gas per<br />
pound of C gasified<br />
by blast, see Table 12<br />
Analysis<br />
by volume<br />
(Per cent)<br />
3.00<br />
7.00<br />
48.00<br />
6.66<br />
36.00<br />
1CO.0O<br />
573.20<br />
per<br />
cubic<br />
foot<br />
Cubic<br />
feet<br />
of gas<br />
.30<br />
.70<br />
4.80<br />
.60<br />
3.60<br />
10.00<br />
4732<br />
in 10.0<br />
cubic<br />
feet<br />
The Wast 1-urnace'SSteel Plant<br />
Total gas pe r pound<br />
of C gasified by<br />
blasl<br />
Analysis<br />
by volume<br />
( Per cent)<br />
3.47<br />
29.10<br />
13.29<br />
49.95<br />
.60<br />
3.59<br />
100.00<br />
172.61<br />
per<br />
cubic<br />
foot<br />
:<br />
Cubic<br />
feet<br />
of gas<br />
3.47<br />
29.13<br />
13.30<br />
50.00<br />
.60<br />
3.60<br />
100.10<br />
17278<br />
in 100.1<br />
cubic<br />
feet<br />
There is without doubt also some fixed carbon created<br />
in the distillation zone by the breaking up of tarry<br />
vapors, which is afterwards gasified by blast. From<br />
a study of various coal and gas analyses, Table XI<br />
has been worked out, as representing average conditions<br />
in the gasification of two classes of coal, which<br />
cover nearly all the important producer gas coals in<br />
America. Fr.om this table it is seen that more tar<br />
and soot are produced from high volatile than from<br />
medium volatile coals, but the C in the fixed distillation<br />
gas is about the same as compared to pure C<br />
gasified by the blast. An average probable composition<br />
of the distillation gas is given in Table XII with<br />
the exclusion of N and H20 and the distillation gas<br />
per pound of C gasified by blast. By adding this gas<br />
to the gas from C gasified by blast, as previously calculated,<br />
the composition of actual theoretical producer<br />
gas is obtained. The gas composition is given in Fig.<br />
11 and the method of calculation for a gasification<br />
temperature of 2000 deg. F. is given in Table XIII.<br />
The composition of the gas represented in Fig. 11 is<br />
also given in Table XIV for more convenient use.<br />
The Btu. in the gas per pound of C in the gas form<br />
an ideal basis for comparing the quality of various<br />
gases. This has been previously pointed out in the<br />
comparison of gas from C and coke. In case of bituminous<br />
coals it also gives excellent comparisons, if consideration<br />
is taken of the ratio F.C. to V.M. This<br />
February, 1924<br />
TABLE XIV—COMPOSITION OF TOTAL THEORETICAL<br />
GAS FROM ORDINARY BITUMINOUS COALS GASI<br />
FIED BY AIR AND H^O AT VARIOUS TEM<br />
PERATURES OF GASIFICATION.<br />
Gasification temperatures<br />
1600° F. 1800° F.<br />
GH, 51 .57<br />
CH. 3.05 3.44<br />
CO 13.80 23.22<br />
H 17.70 15.78<br />
Total combustibles;<br />
per cent 35.06 43.01<br />
CO* 13.80 7.62<br />
N 51.14 49.37<br />
Total; per cent 100.00<br />
Btu. per cu. ft.. 129.31<br />
C in 100 cu. ft.<br />
of gas 1.002 lbs<br />
Btu. per pound<br />
100.00<br />
158.87<br />
C in gas 12905 14177<br />
2000° F. 2200° F.<br />
.60<br />
3.59<br />
29.10<br />
13.29<br />
46.58<br />
3.47<br />
49.95<br />
100.00<br />
172.61<br />
.61<br />
3.67<br />
31.36<br />
11.10<br />
46.74<br />
1.56<br />
51.70<br />
1.121 lbs. 1.182 lbs. 1.196 lbs.<br />
14603<br />
100.00<br />
174.80<br />
14615<br />
method of comparing gases has therefore been adopted.<br />
From analysis in Fig. 11 and Table XIV can be<br />
estimated the gasification temperature corresponding<br />
to an actual producer gas, and the Btu. per pound of<br />
C in the gas can be compared to the same figure for<br />
the theoretical gas at the same temperature of gasification.<br />
The theoretical Btu. per pound of C in the<br />
gas is shown in Fig. 12. For comparison, there are<br />
given curves for pure C as derived before (see Fig. 8)<br />
for coke and coals with less volatile matter than ordinary<br />
bituminous coals. These curves have been calculated<br />
by considering the analysis of these coals and<br />
the distillation gas that is obtained in the gasification<br />
thereof.<br />
Comparison Between Theory and Practice.<br />
In order to compare a gas analysis with the theoretical<br />
gas, the following operations are necessary:<br />
1. Calculate net Btu. per cubic foot of gas, standard condition,<br />
according to usual methods.<br />
2. Calculate C contained in 100 cubic feet of gas. This is<br />
readily obtained by the following formula from the gas analysis:<br />
Pounds of C in 100 cubic feet of gas = .03164X (%C0rf<br />
%C04-%CH,+2X%C,H4).<br />
3. Calculate Btu. per pound of C in gas from the two previous<br />
calculations :<br />
D. . , _ . Btu. per cubic foot X 100<br />
Btu. per pound of C in gas =z _<br />
Lbs. of C in 100 cubic feet gas<br />
4. Estimate gasification temperature by comparing the gas<br />
analysis with the theoretical gas in Table 14 and read corresponding<br />
theoretical Btu. per pound of C in gas.<br />
5. Divide the result from 3 by the theoretical Btu. per pound<br />
of C and the result gives a comparison between actual and theoretical<br />
practice.<br />
In Table XV such a comparison is made.<br />
Gas No. 1—Average of 12 hour samples for 66<br />
hours run on high grade West Virginia gas coal;<br />
ratio F.C. to V.M. = 1.60, from a modern mechanically<br />
poked producer with ash zone agitation and automatic<br />
ash removal, under test conditions at a rate of<br />
about 47.5 pounds of coal gasified per sq ft per hour<br />
Quality factor, 99.1.<br />
Gas No. 2—Average for about five days run on<br />
a high grade Indiana gas coal; ratio F.C. to V.M. =<br />
1.30, in the same producer under test conditions at a<br />
rate of gasification of about 33 pounds of coal gasified<br />
per sq. ft. per hour. Quality factor, 99.2
February, 1924<br />
Gas No. 3—Twelve hour gas sample from Illinois<br />
coal; ratio F.C. to V.M. = about 1.55, from the same<br />
producer at a gasification rate of about 48 pounds of<br />
coal gasified per sq. ft. per hour. Quality factor, 96.3.<br />
Gas. No. 4—Average gas from a modern mechanical<br />
producer running under excellent operating mill<br />
conditions on high grade gas coal. Quality factor, 96.4.<br />
Gas. No. 5—Average gas analysis from an openhearth<br />
plant with good gas producer operating conditions<br />
using high grade Eastern gas coal in mechanically<br />
poked producers, but without ash zone agitation.<br />
Quality factor, 94.1.<br />
Gas No. 6—Average gas analysis from an openhearth<br />
plant using Pittsburgh coal in mechanically<br />
poked producers, but without ash zone agitation.<br />
Quality factor, 94.1.<br />
Gas No. 7—Average gas analysis from an openhearth<br />
plant using Pittsburgh coal in mechanically<br />
poked producers, but without ash zone agitation.<br />
Quality factor, 91.7.<br />
Gas No. 8—Average gas for best month in an openhearth<br />
plant using Eastern gas coal in a modern type<br />
producer with agitated fuel bed but without ash zone<br />
agitation. Quality factor, 96.6.<br />
Gas No. 9—Gas produced in hand-poked producers<br />
from Illinois coal under fair operating conditions.*<br />
Quality factor 89.1.<br />
Gas No. 10—Average gas from Indiana coal; ratio<br />
F.C. to V.M. = 1.36, under poor operating conditions.t<br />
Quality factor, 82.7.<br />
Gas No. 11—Average gas in an open-hearth plant,<br />
with old type hand-poked producers using Pittsburgh<br />
coal. Quality factor, 89.9.<br />
Gas No. 12—Four days sample of gas obtained in<br />
mechanically agitated producers form ordinary Illinois<br />
coal in open-hearth practice at a gasification rate of<br />
35.4 pounds per sq. ft. per hour. Quality factor, 96.5.<br />
*See 1922 Year Book of the American Iron and Steel Institute,<br />
Fig. 7, page 477.<br />
•(-Analysis from a paper by A. S. Witting, "Judging Fuels<br />
from Gas Analysis," Association of Iron and Steel Electrical<br />
Engineers, 1922.<br />
Ine Dlast l-urnace Meel riant<br />
119<br />
This comparison shows that, under test conditions,<br />
results very close to the theortical can be obtained<br />
with good gas coal, even during a prolonged run. For<br />
shorter runs, 9 to 12 hours, results have actually been<br />
obtained, both on Eastern and high grade Indiana<br />
coals, which show 1 per cent to 2 per cent above 100<br />
per cent efficiency. This is probably due to a difference<br />
in the distillation gas, as the assumption made<br />
of the quantity and composition thereof for various<br />
coals can only be an approximation.<br />
The gases Nos. 4 to 11, represent mill conditions.<br />
Good mill practice is about 96 per cent on both Eastern<br />
and Western coals and is represented by gases<br />
Nos. 4, 8 and 12. A quality factor below 94 per cent<br />
can only be called fair, as represented in Nos. 7, 9<br />
and 10. Hand-poked producers show considerably<br />
lower quality factors.<br />
It is worthy of note that the gasification temperature,<br />
with one exception is below the temperature at<br />
which theoretically the maximum efficiency of gasification<br />
and combustion occurs, as represented in Figs.<br />
6 and 10. On Eastern coals which have an ash fusing<br />
point of 2100 deg. to 2300 deg. F., there should not<br />
be any difficulty in using a considerably smaller<br />
amount of steam in the blast and bring up the gasification<br />
temperature, thereby making the gas higher in<br />
CO and lower in C02 and H,0. Suitable blowers<br />
must of course be used. Indiana and Illinois coals<br />
generally have 100 deg. to 150 deg. lower ash fusing<br />
points, and with these one must, therefore, be satisfied<br />
with a gasification temperature of about 1900<br />
deg. F.<br />
Efficiency of Producers.<br />
The definition of the efficiency of producers as used<br />
today is very indefinite. The methods of calculation<br />
vary extremely and are just as uncertain as the proper<br />
methods of defining the efficiency of the open-hearth<br />
furnace. Messrs. Kinney and McDermott, in their<br />
paper before this Institute last year (The Thermal<br />
Efficiency and Heat Balance of an Open-Hearth Furnace),<br />
suggested that it would be within the jurisdic-<br />
TABLE XV — COMPARISON OF THEORETICAL GAS WITH PRODUCER GAS FROM VARIOUS BITUMINOUS COAL,<br />
AND ESTIMATE OF GASIFICATION TEMPERATURES.<br />
Theoretical<br />
i<br />
Gas* at *<br />
1900°<br />
10 11 12<br />
Gas analysis by volume: jg 4Q ^ ^ ^ ^ j() 7Q ^ ^ 4Q 4Q ^<br />
prY 4 . 3.53 3.10 2.80 2.80 2.70 3.10 2.80 3.00 2.70 2.86 2.60 2.90 3.54<br />
Co '" "" • 26.48 26.70 24.30 25.00 28.70 2380 23.60 22.00 25.20 16.23 20.30 18.10 20.18<br />
H ".'.'..'.'.'.'..'.'.'.'.'.'. 14.60 13.90 13.00 12.60 12.00 12.40 11.50 10.20 14.40 11.30 8<br />
Total comhustion .. 45.20 44.10 40.60 41.00 44.30 39.50 38.20 35.90 42.60 30.72 31.40 33.00 37.47<br />
rn 5.20 4.30 4.70 5.40 3.70 5.70 5.00 6.60 5.40 8.96 8.00 8.70 7.78<br />
O """ 10 .10 .20 20 .53 30<br />
N .'.".'.'.'.'."'.'.!!'.!!'.. 49.60 51.50 54.60 53.40 52.00 54.80 56.80 57.50 51.80 59.79 60.60 58.00 54.75<br />
Total (oe*r cent) .. 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00<br />
Btu oer cubic foot 167.79 159.24 147.73 150.37 164.22 142.71 138.31 137.31 150.65 114.93 117.84 123.22 143.93<br />
C Der 100 cubic feet (pounds) 1.151 1104 1.033 1.088 1.167 1.044 1.012 1.044 1.073 .908 1.003 .965 1.039<br />
Btu. per Lb. of C in gas 14529 14424 14232 13820 14071 13669 13667 13152 14040 12657 11748 12768 13852<br />
Estimated gasification Temperature, 1800 to 1800 to 1800 to<br />
Deg. F. 1900 1925 1850 1850 2000 1900 1900 1850 1900 1900 1900 1900 1850<br />
Theoretical Btu. per Lb. of C in<br />
gas at this temperature, see Table<br />
XIV and Fig. 12 14529 14549 14350 14350 14603 14529 14529 14350 14529 14200 14200 14200 14350<br />
Comparison in per cent 100.00 99.10 99.20 96.30 96.40 94.10 94.10 91.70 96.60 89.10 82.70 89.90 96.50<br />
•See Table XIV and Fig. 11.
120<br />
tion of the American Iron and Steel Institute to appoint<br />
a committee on standards for calculating the<br />
efficiency of the open-hearth furnace. This suggestion<br />
would apply with equal reason to the efficiency of<br />
gas producers.<br />
The heat value of coals is commonly given in gross<br />
The Blast HirnaceSStee! Plant<br />
February, 1924<br />
Btu. per pound. This is not a true basis for comparing<br />
various coals, as is frequently pointed out by combustion<br />
engineers. It is unlikely, however, that this<br />
basis will be changed to the more rational net basis.<br />
In the following, therefore, producer efficiency means<br />
the net calorific heat in the gas from the producer,<br />
TABLE XV-A — COMPARISON BETWEEN PRODUCER EFFICIENCY FOR EASTERN AND WESTERN<br />
COALS AT IDEAL, GOOD AND FAIR PRACTICE.<br />
Analysis of natural coal (per cent)<br />
Moisture<br />
Ash<br />
Fixed carbon<br />
Volatile<br />
Per Btu.<br />
cent. per lb.<br />
3.0<br />
7.5<br />
56.5<br />
33.0<br />
Eastern coal Western coal<br />
Total 100.0 100.0<br />
Total C 75.2<br />
Btu. per pound of natural coal:<br />
Gross<br />
Net<br />
Btu. per pound of C in coal:<br />
Gross<br />
Net<br />
Distribution of total C in coal and heat therein after gasification<br />
at various practices:<br />
C in ash<br />
C in soot<br />
C in tar<br />
C in fixed gases :<br />
Ideal practice<br />
Ordinary good practice<br />
Fair practice<br />
Total<br />
Heat lost as latent heat in water vapor (difference between<br />
gross and net Btu.)<br />
Heat lost in C in ash.<br />
Heat lost in soot.<br />
Total heat in these items ._<br />
Total heat in gas, sensible and calorific and radiated heat<br />
Ideal practice:<br />
Heat radiated and lost in cooling water<br />
Net calorific heat in total gas (fixed gas and tarry vapors).<br />
producer efficiency<br />
Sensible heat in gas.<br />
Ordinary good practice:<br />
Heat radiated<br />
Net calorific heat in total gas. Producer efficiency.<br />
Sensible heat in gas<br />
Fair practice:<br />
Heat radiated<br />
Net calorific heat in total gas. Producer efficiency.<br />
Sensible heat in gas<br />
The heat lost in radiation and cooling water is estimated a.id<br />
The sensible heat in the gas follows from this estimate.<br />
1.2<br />
3.6<br />
5.0<br />
•90.2<br />
14600<br />
13900<br />
13200<br />
Total<br />
Btu.<br />
13169<br />
12538<br />
11906<br />
Per<br />
cent.<br />
10.0<br />
7.5<br />
47.0<br />
35.5<br />
65.5<br />
100.0 100.0<br />
3 2<br />
1 0<br />
2 9<br />
Equation<br />
18000 — 17430<br />
18000<br />
175<br />
18000<br />
523<br />
18000<br />
3.9<br />
1.0<br />
3.0<br />
7.1 7.9<br />
92.9<br />
3.0<br />
77.t,<br />
12.3<br />
3.5<br />
74.1<br />
15.3<br />
4.0<br />
70.6<br />
18.3<br />
13536<br />
13107<br />
18000<br />
17430<br />
14544<br />
14544<br />
16300<br />
815 + 13169<br />
18000<br />
815 + 12538<br />
18000<br />
815 + 11906<br />
18000<br />
175<br />
523<br />
815<br />
92.1<br />
3.0<br />
76.3<br />
12.8<br />
3.5<br />
72.9<br />
15.7<br />
40<br />
69.5<br />
18.6<br />
varies greatly for various producers.<br />
1.2<br />
3.8<br />
6.9<br />
Btu.<br />
per lb.<br />
11855.5<br />
11394.0<br />
18100.0<br />
17395.0<br />
14544.0<br />
14544.0<br />
16300.0<br />
14400.0<br />
13700.0<br />
13000.0<br />
Equation<br />
Total<br />
Btu.<br />
175<br />
552<br />
1125<br />
12686<br />
12070<br />
11453<br />
18100 — 17395<br />
18100<br />
175<br />
18100<br />
552<br />
18100<br />
1125 + 12686<br />
18100<br />
1125 + 12070<br />
18100<br />
1125 + 11453<br />
18100
February, 1924<br />
divided by the gross heat value of the coal from which<br />
this gas is obtained. In the net calorific heat in the<br />
gas are included the net heat in the tarry vapors, but<br />
not the heat in the soot that is deposited before the<br />
gas reaches the place of combustion. In the coal used,<br />
the coal, or coal equivalent, is not included that is<br />
used to raise the steam blown into the producer or<br />
condensed in the steam line. The latent heat in this<br />
steam is not considered nor the sensible heat in the<br />
blast, which in ordinary practice is obtained from the<br />
steam. To include the steam item involves a number<br />
of assumptions, which vary in different plants; and in<br />
a number of cases, waste heat is used to produce the<br />
steam. The coal, or coal equivalent, used to make the<br />
electricity for operating the mechanical producers, is<br />
not considered. This item has often been taken into<br />
account, but there is no more reason to include this<br />
item than there would be to count the coal used to<br />
heat the homes of the men operating the hand-poked<br />
producer, or that needed to transport them to work.<br />
A method for comparing the actual producer gas<br />
from the analysis to a certain high standard has been<br />
given in the early part of this paper. Such a comparison<br />
constitutes a simple method of judging the<br />
gasification without the necessity of considering the<br />
complicated producer efficiency. It follows that the<br />
higher the quality factor the higher, as a rule, is the<br />
total producer efficiency. The quality factor, however,<br />
does not take into account the loss of C in the<br />
ashes and the soot, the radiation losses, and those occurring<br />
in the cooling-water or the sensible heat in<br />
the gas. The actual efficiency of the producer must<br />
be considered when heat units in coal are compared to<br />
heat units in other fuels such as tar or coke oven gas,<br />
and when values of various fuels are considered.<br />
It has been previously pointed out that the various<br />
present methods used for expressing the producer efficiency<br />
are all fundamentally incorrect, as they do not<br />
take account of the tarry vapors in the proper way.<br />
The tar has a net Btu. value of about 16,300 Btu. per<br />
pound of contained C.<br />
It has been shown before that, under ideal gasification<br />
conditions the Btu. in the fixed gases per pound<br />
of C is about 14,600. The tarry vapors, therefore, increase<br />
the Btu. per pound of C in the total gas. Methods,<br />
in which all the C gasified is considered as fixed<br />
gases, give a producer efficiency of from one-half to<br />
one per cent lower than that actually obtained. This<br />
is especially true when poor gas is made. One would<br />
hardly think that such a gas as No. 10 in Table XV<br />
could be successfully used for making steel. This is<br />
nevertheless done, the tarry vapors accounting for<br />
this.<br />
In Table XV-A the producer efficiency is calculated<br />
in ideal, good and fair practice for Eastern and<br />
Western coal. The ideal practice corresponds to the<br />
theoretical gas at about 2000 deg. F. gasification temperature<br />
for Eastern coal, and about 1900 deg. F. for<br />
Western coal (see Table XIV). Good practice corresponds<br />
to gases Nos. 4, 8 and 12, and fair practice<br />
to gas No. 7. Gases Nos. 5 and 6 give a producer efficiency<br />
about midway between good and fair practice.<br />
The method of calculation in the table can readily<br />
be applied to actual cases. The distribution of C in<br />
the coal must first be determined in the same manner<br />
as shown and the Btu. per pound of C in the gas<br />
from the gas analysis. The producer efficiency then<br />
follows directly. To determine the sensible heat in<br />
IheDlast l'umace^jteol riant<br />
121<br />
the gas, the exact composition, including moisture and<br />
temperature thereof, must be known.<br />
The producer efficiency falls off with falling temperature<br />
of gasification. This follows from the figures<br />
for Btu. per pound of C in gas given in Table XIV.<br />
The theoretical efficiencies are for a gasification temperature<br />
of 1600 deg., 69.2 per cent; 1800 deg., 75.6<br />
per cent; 2000 deg., 77.6 per cent; 2200 deg., 77.6 per<br />
cent.<br />
To determine the exact relative values between<br />
various.coals and other fuels, one must take into consideration<br />
the condition under which the fuels are to<br />
be burnt and the cost of gasification, etc., which,<br />
however, is outside the scope of this paper.<br />
Hot Raw versus Cool Clean Producer Gas.<br />
Hot gas is used almost exclusively in steel works<br />
and the demands are such that, in the majority of<br />
cases, cleaned gas could not be used to advantage.<br />
The cleaning of the gas removes the tarry vapors,<br />
the sensible heat, and a large part of the moisture.<br />
For open-hearth furnaces, the tarry vapors are a necessity,<br />
as a luminous flame is required. The beneficial<br />
effect of the removal of the moisture cannot counteract<br />
the loss of luminosity. The sensible heat is not<br />
essential in open-hearth furnaces and soaking pits,<br />
where the gas is preheated before combustion by<br />
waste gases. The sensible heat is, however, ultimately<br />
partially recovered in furnaces equipped with waste<br />
heat boilers and has therefore a certain value. In<br />
heating furnaces, where the producer gas enters the<br />
combustion chamber direct, the sensible heat in the<br />
gas is valuable as it raises the temperature of combustion.<br />
There is a considerable field, however, where<br />
cleaned gas can and should be used. This occurs when<br />
gas is to be supplied to a large number of smaller heating<br />
furnaces spread over an extensive area. The gas<br />
can then be produced in a central producer plant,<br />
cleaned and distributed under pressure in a pipe system<br />
mixed with the theoretical proportion of combustion<br />
air and burnt with high efficiency. The tar extracted<br />
from the gas should be recovered, charged<br />
back into the producer and converted into fixed gases<br />
or burnt separately.<br />
The Ash Fusing Producer.<br />
It has been shown that a maximum gasification<br />
efficiency is obtained at a temperature of 2000 to 2200<br />
deg. F. About 2200 deg. F. the efficiency drops off<br />
slowly until there is no moisture added to the blast.<br />
The gas from the gasification of pure C then will consist<br />
of CO and N only and contains as calorific heat<br />
70.3 per cent of the heat in C. Only by using highly<br />
preheated blast containing moisture or waste gases<br />
can efficiencies be obtained in an ash fusing producer<br />
as high as with ordinary blast at lower temperatures.<br />
It does not seem likely therefore that the ash fusing<br />
producer will make very much headway, and its use<br />
will probably be restricted to special cases for coke or<br />
anthracite.<br />
(To be continued)<br />
The Variety Iron & Steel Works Company of<br />
Cleveland, O., engineers and manufacturers of conveying<br />
equipment and accessories, announce the opening<br />
of a Pittsburgh office, room 2203, Oliver Building,<br />
in charge of Edward T. Rahm, Jr. Mr. Rahm is<br />
well known in connection with the Aero Pulverizer<br />
Company.
122<br />
TheBlasthirnaceeSteelPl ani<br />
Pair Heating<br />
A Resume of Conditions Surrounding Present Practice in Heating<br />
Sheet Bars—Description of a Heating Furnace of New<br />
Design and Employing Two-Stage Combustion<br />
By WILLIAM C. BUELL, JR.<br />
PART I<br />
February, 1924<br />
T H E "furnace problem" is always with the sheet This article will consider only the possible im<br />
mill operating executive as one of the major variaprovement which may be made in the operation of the<br />
bles of management for without a continuity of so-called, continuous pair furnace.<br />
properly heated sheet bars or "pairs" at a fair fuel, Within the last two years, there has been con<br />
labor and upkeep cost per ton heated, production, qualstructed within a few miles of Pittsburgh, a heating<br />
ity and conversion cost vary through wide limits. furnace of a new type and although this furnace is<br />
Assuming that the furnaces conform to good prac- heating bar; for a continuous bolt making machine,<br />
the adaption of the principal used to<br />
the continuous pair furnace is only a<br />
matter of detail. The results secured<br />
with this furnace both from a combustion<br />
and economic standpoint have<br />
been so very remarkable, that the<br />
writer is attempting from an analysis<br />
of figures available, to draw some conclusions<br />
as to what results should be<br />
secured, when application is made to<br />
pair heating.<br />
A New Furnace Type.<br />
The present furnace is shown in<br />
Figs. 1, 2 and 3. The chamber in which<br />
the stock is heated is 39 ft. 0 in. long,<br />
4 ft. 0 in. wide and the door openings<br />
at each end are about 10 in. high. Bars<br />
from 25 ft. to 27 ft. long are inserted<br />
through the charging door by hand and<br />
when called for by the machine operator<br />
are manually pushed to the feed<br />
rolls of the machine. The bars have a<br />
range of from .'4 in. to IJ4 in. diameter<br />
and as many as 30 bars are in the furnace<br />
heating, at one time. The requirements<br />
of the machine necessitate<br />
an even heat of about 1900 deg. F. (50<br />
deg plus or minus) through the length<br />
of the bar and the minimum of scale.<br />
FIG. 1—An excellent view of complete installation zvhich includes (A) producer,<br />
(B) coal hopper, (C) heating furnace, (D) stack, (B) compr ?ssed air blozv-<br />
Except adjacent to localities pro<br />
er, operating in a Pittsburgh steel plant.<br />
ducing oil and natural gas in large<br />
quantities, bituminous coal will heat a<br />
tice as it is now understood, that the fuel available larger is tonnage of steel per unit of cost than any other<br />
of the proper quality for use in the system installed, fuel, and it is the only fuel, the supply of which will<br />
then production and quality and to some extent cost, certainly outlast the next 50 years.<br />
are labor problems. Cost is largely influenced by the Efforts have been made to overcome the extrava<br />
economics of the fuel and labor markets, and consegance of hand firing, and the uneveness of temperature<br />
quently beyond the control of the operating executive. and atmospheric conditions, by the use of the gas<br />
The heaters usually found in the sheet mill belong producer, the stoker and lately by pulverizing, but all<br />
to the semi-skilled class. They are called upon to who have used these methods, while admitting con<br />
manually control temperature and atmosphere within siderable improvement, will confess that a much great<br />
the furnace. The control of either of these factors is er improvement would be welcomed.<br />
difficult under any conditions, and the consistant con Producer gas is quite universally admitted to be<br />
trol of both within the desired limits, well nigh im the most desirable method of heating metal, when<br />
possible.<br />
properly made and fired, but labor and upkeep condi<br />
Any apparatus that will remove either of these factions and cost have materially limited its application.<br />
tors from the variable class, especially if crude fuels The so-called "lean-to" producer, in which a small<br />
may be used, and any method that will maintain both producer is built integral with the furnace it serves<br />
of these variables appreciably nearer the desired con has been quite successful in Europe, but has failed<br />
stant, is worthy of most careful consideration.<br />
miserably in American practice from a combination
February, 1924<br />
of unskilled labor and the varying quality of the gas<br />
delivered. That the idea is fundamentally sound is<br />
evidenced by the large number of attempts to apply it<br />
successfully, that have been made in the United<br />
States.<br />
In the furnace being described* the "lean-to" producer<br />
idea has been employed, but by the addition of a<br />
continuous coal feed and grate agitation, is converted<br />
into what is virtually a small mechanical gas producer<br />
delivering gas of a constant quality in volumes that<br />
may be automatically controlled from the furnace temperature.<br />
In addition to the foregoing, a unique recuperator<br />
is disclosed in the use of the stack for the<br />
container for the heat exchange elements.<br />
Fig. 1 gives a view of the apparatus as a whole,<br />
from the control side. Fig. 2 ("see March Blast Furnace),<br />
is an enlarged view of the producer front, the<br />
moving mechanism and the control (experience has<br />
shown that all control may be placed at the furnace<br />
front, convenient to the discharge door), and Fig. 3<br />
(see April Blast Furnace), a side view, opposite to<br />
the producer side. In the case of a number of furnaces,<br />
the rather expensive drive shown in Fig. 2, may<br />
be eliminated for a central motor, driving a main shaft,<br />
and from which each furnace mechanism may be selectively<br />
driven through simple clutch arrangements.<br />
In the photographs, "A" is the producer; "B" the<br />
hopper, holding the coal which in this particular case<br />
is elevated from the ground in the conveyor, Fig. 1;<br />
"C" is the furnace heating chamber, "D" the stack<br />
which as a matter of convenience is mounted on the<br />
substructure shown; "E" is the blower, compressing<br />
air for the secondary system, and "F" is the conduit<br />
leading the hot blast to the point of mixing with the<br />
gas from the producer.<br />
The operation of the apparatus is as follows : Coal<br />
moves from "B" through a screw feed to the center of<br />
the roof of the producer (Fig. 3), through which it is<br />
discharged to the fire box. Partial air for combustion<br />
is delivered under the grate through a conventional<br />
steam jet blower (not shown). The products from the<br />
reaction of the air, steam and coal pass over a bridge<br />
wall into the furnace chamber, meeting at right angles<br />
the hot blast in proper quantity to complete the combustion<br />
reaction. The products then pass the length<br />
of the furnace chamber, enter uptakes at each side of<br />
the chamber at the charging end and through the connecting<br />
flue to the stack. The secondary air, compressed<br />
by the blower "E", is directed by the pipe to<br />
the top of the stack and enters a manifold from which<br />
the air passes into three pipes that extend throughout<br />
the length of the stack and terminate in a second<br />
manifold below the stack base, beginning the hot blast<br />
pipe "F".<br />
Any solid fuel that will pass through a 2-in. screen<br />
may be used and the furnace has been operated on<br />
both high fixed carbon-low volatile, and low fixed carbon-high<br />
volatile coals with perfect satisfaction, but<br />
the preference is for gas slack.<br />
The furnace proper is conventional excepting that<br />
a suspended arch (Fig. 3), is used, and this because it<br />
is possible for the designer to make the contour of the<br />
arch as appeared to be most desirable, or to change<br />
the contour easily if necessary.<br />
In its operation the greatest loading of the hearth<br />
*Application has been made for U. S. Letters Patent covering<br />
method and apparatus.<br />
Die Blast FurnaceSSteel Plant<br />
123<br />
of the furnace was less than 20 lbs. per square foot as<br />
compared to 200 lbs. or more in the continuous pair<br />
furnace, but in spite of this light loading, a production<br />
in excess of 6,500 lbs. heated steel per hour has been<br />
produced. An increased loading should materially<br />
reduce fuel consumption.<br />
As operated, the only attention given the furnace<br />
by the fireman, other than to increase or decrease coal<br />
feed and air in accordance with temperature and production<br />
requirements, is to remove the ashes twice a<br />
day, and to rake the fire for about 30 seconds, to level<br />
it, about once in two hours.<br />
This furnace has been in operation over a year, but<br />
working only a single, eight bour turn, daily. Single<br />
turn materially increases fuel cost, for a considerable<br />
amount of coal is necessary to make the fire bed when<br />
the furnace is started in the morning and at least a<br />
similar amount of coal is on the grate at the secession<br />
of operation which is early all consumed in the 16<br />
hour layover. This waste would be 80 per cent absent<br />
in continuous operation.<br />
(To be continued)<br />
Hauck Venturi Low Pressure Oil Burner<br />
Hauck Manufacturing Company, Brooklyn, N. Y., are dis<br />
tributing a new booklet describing their low pressure oil burner.<br />
The Hauck venturi low pressure oil burner is the result of<br />
many years of oil burner experience and of the efforts of our<br />
engineers to develop a burner that would—<br />
1. Produce a clean, intense yet soft soaking flame under<br />
full control of the operator.<br />
2. Insure perfect combustion through perfect atomization<br />
and proper air regulation—thereby saving fuel, eliminating<br />
smoke and soot or carbon deposits in the furnace chamber.<br />
3. Light instantly on a cold furnace and bring it up to<br />
desired temperature quickly.<br />
4. Be of sturdy construction, easily taken apart so that<br />
all parts can be cleaned and re-assembled in a few minutes.<br />
These features are incorporated in the venturi low pressure<br />
burner and have proven their values in every installation by the<br />
extreme economy in oil and air consumption and the time and<br />
labor saved.<br />
Modern Foundry in France<br />
Andre Citroon, of Paris, France, commonly called the "Henry<br />
Ford of France" is now building one of the most modern up-<br />
to-date foundries in Europe. As a matter of fact it will probably<br />
be one of the best laid out foundries of its kind located<br />
anywhere.<br />
Thorough investigations were made to determine the very<br />
best equipment that could be used in the foundry for turning out<br />
castings, particularly for automobile work, at low expense for<br />
production maintaining the necessary quality. It is quite a com<br />
pliment to manufacturers of American foundry equipment that<br />
a certain apparatus in the Citroen Foundry will be manufactured<br />
in the United States, including two No. 2 6-in. diameter Simpson<br />
intensive foundry sand mixers. These machines, manufactured<br />
by the National Engineering Company, of Chicago, will be ex<br />
ported to France for use in the Citroen foundry.<br />
The question of proper sand manipulation is recognized as<br />
being part of the necessary equipment to turn out an excellent<br />
quality of casting at a low price, and while French foundrymen<br />
have, for many years, recognized the necessity of using a muller<br />
type of sand mixer as exemplified in the Simpson apparatus, they<br />
did not hesitate to order the machines above mentioned from<br />
America, regardless of the considerable expense entailed in shipment.
124<br />
TneDlastFurnaceSSteel Plant<br />
February, 1924<br />
SHEET-TIN PLATE<br />
Manufacturing Enameled Ware Utensils<br />
Quality of Steel and Careful Annealing and Pickling Are Essential<br />
to the Successful Enameling of Cooking Utensils—<br />
Removal of Die Lubricant Impotrant<br />
R O Y A L Granite enameled ware has been known<br />
to the trade for nearly 40 years. It is made exclusively<br />
at the Granite City factory of the National<br />
Enameling & Stamping Company, which covers<br />
40 acres of ground. The enameling room, the largest<br />
of its kind in the industry, is some 1.000 feet long by<br />
250 feet wide.<br />
In color this war is blue gray and is mottled on a<br />
steel gray background. It is a one coated ware,<br />
notedly free from chipping, and possesses a very high<br />
gloss. With real granite in the enamel an unusually<br />
smooth and hard enamel is obtained, which is acid<br />
proof and makes an ideal kitche>n utensil. With a<br />
capacity of 70,000 pieces a day, this factory is known<br />
throughout the country.<br />
Before going into a description of the process of<br />
manufacture of "granite ware," it might be well to<br />
consider the base of the utensil—the steel. It must<br />
be remembered at the start that the cost of the steel<br />
is one of the smallest items in the ultimate cost of the<br />
finished article. Therefore, as poor steel would make<br />
a defective article in enamelware, the utmost care is<br />
taken in the melting, rolling and finishing of the steel<br />
sheet. In the manufacture of kitchen utensils on a<br />
large scale we meet certain difficulties which might<br />
not arise in a smaller plant. The first of these might<br />
be called uniformity of the steel, which would include<br />
uniform chemical analysis and annealing.<br />
A large majority of articles are not made from one<br />
piece of steel for they may have a handle, a cover, a<br />
spout, or even may be made up of several pieces double<br />
seamed together.<br />
Sheets are rolled to such a size that when the<br />
blanks are cut there is a least possible amount of scrap<br />
left. With the large number of sizes and gauges<br />
which must be kept in stock it is impossible to have<br />
the steel all from one heat, or even the same gauge.<br />
When three coat or colored ware is made this would<br />
not work such a hardship on the enameler, but<br />
"Royal Granite" is a one coat mottled ware and in<br />
order for an article to pass inspection it must not only<br />
be perfectly enameled, but all parts must have a similar<br />
mottle.<br />
Chemical Composition of Steel.<br />
Since most articles are stamped from 26 to 29 gauge<br />
sheets the phosphorous must be high enough to per-<br />
•Metallurgical Engineer, National Enameling & Stamping<br />
Company, Granite City Steel Works Branch, Granite City, 111.<br />
By FRANCIS G. WHITE*<br />
mit rolling in these light guages. The coefficient of<br />
expansion must be similar to that of the enamel in<br />
order to prevent chipping. On a pieced article the<br />
enamel might be adjusted to "fit" the body, but unless<br />
the spout and handle were of similar composition the<br />
chipping would merely be moved from one part of the<br />
article to another part.<br />
Very low carbon steel will not take "Royal" enamel<br />
without a considerable change in the formulae and will<br />
FIG. 1—After blanking, the ware is drawn in double acting<br />
presses. Lubrication is necessary to prevent<br />
tearing of the metal in deep drawing.<br />
run higher in breakage in stamping. Most enameling<br />
steels for this class of work (one coat ware) run from<br />
.08 to .12 carbon. While even higher carbon has many<br />
advantages for the enameler, the breakage increase's<br />
tremendously. Manganese, sulphur, silicon and cop-
February, 1924<br />
two or three sheets are blanked at a time and are<br />
usually cut in 10,000-piece lots. The shallow stamped<br />
articles, such as basins, pudding pans, etc., are made<br />
from the lightest gauge and therefore the highest<br />
phosphorous which is, of course, quite detrimental to<br />
cold working or stamping. On this type of ware<br />
breakage has been reduced more than half by turning<br />
the blanks so that the "grain of the steel" (direction<br />
of rolling) is at right angles to the other blank. This<br />
light gauge work is all done in one operation on<br />
rather light presses. Sauce pans, dish pans and kettles<br />
are stamped individually and as the article is<br />
much deeper the pressing will be done in two or more<br />
presses and frequently annealing between operations.<br />
This annealing operation might be abandoned if<br />
tbe phosphorous could be kept below .010 per cent,<br />
but the gauge being so light this is impossible. On<br />
some articles it has been possible to stamp in one<br />
operation by using a double action press and lubricating<br />
the sheet with tallow in place of soap or borax<br />
water. The tallow adds quite a serious problem because<br />
of the difficulty in removing it. While a good<br />
cleaner may remove it before annealing, if the tallow<br />
has been burned on the surface (as in annealing)<br />
there seems to be some carbonizing done to the steel,<br />
which naturally makes enameling more difficult. This<br />
annealing is carried on in semi-airtight pots (being<br />
sealed with sand and clay) and since the weight of<br />
steel within the pot is quite light, from three to six<br />
hours will give a quite uniform temperature<br />
throughout.<br />
The actual temperature will vary from 1400 to 1600<br />
deg., depending upon whether it is a between stamping<br />
annealing or a normalizing. In order to get the<br />
desired results each annealing should be slightly hot<br />
IheDlast Kirnace^yjteel riant<br />
per have more effect in the mottle than in the enamelter than the previous one. Occasionally ware is burnt<br />
ing defect—chipping. While it has been possible to off or "scaled" in an open furnace. This has the effect<br />
control the mottle for any one steel, in a pieced article of a very rapid annealing and in some cases has an<br />
one piece of steel might have to suffer at the expense advantage, especially if the ware is very dirty, or if<br />
of another piece. Hence the necessity of keeping the an excess of tallow has been used.<br />
steel uniform in analysis.<br />
For simplicity the actual manufacture of a specified<br />
article will be described, and perhaps the most<br />
Stamping and Annealing.<br />
popular article is a convex sauce pan or kettle. These<br />
Naturally the first operation would be cutting a are made in various sizes from 2 to 20-quart capacity,<br />
blank from the sheet. On the lighter gauge materia! a 10-quart sauce pan being cataloged as "010 Convex<br />
Kettle or Sauce Pan."<br />
A circular blank is cut of \9<br />
FIG. 2—Box annealing to relieve strains set up during drawing<br />
operations.<br />
l f2-\ri. diameter and<br />
stamped one at a time and usually done in two operations,<br />
occasionally annealing between operations.<br />
At the trimming and wiring department the bowl<br />
is placed in a spinning lathe and a rotary shear trims<br />
off any surplus stock, leaving about a half-inch collar<br />
which is rolled over to form a wire by a tool which<br />
follows the shear. The bowl is now completely<br />
formed as a straight sided, one-piece article and is<br />
packed in an annealing boiler, sealed up and placed in<br />
an annealing furnace for about five hours, being fired<br />
around 1500 deg. F. This annealing serves two purposes—first,<br />
to make the steel soft enough to stand<br />
the bulging operation and, second, to normalize or remove<br />
all strains from the cold working of the stamping<br />
operations. Several sized bowls will be run<br />
through at the same time, being nested inside one another<br />
in the annealing pot, but even then the weight<br />
of steel for the amount of air present is very small.<br />
Consequently the ware is fairly well scaled during the<br />
annealing and this assists in removing any tallow, oil<br />
or grease which has been used in pressing.<br />
The bowl is then taken to an expanding or bulging<br />
press which changes it from a straight sided to a con-<br />
125<br />
FIG. 3—After annealing, the ware is picketed to remove scal<br />
dirt, and then dipped in liquid enamel, after zvhich i<br />
and the enamel vitrified by burning in a furnace.<br />
vex bowl. This die is made up by arranging a number<br />
of spherical segments into the shape of a spherical<br />
zone, and just before the press reaches the bottom of<br />
its stroke, a wedge is driven in the vertical axis, increasing<br />
the circumference of the zone. As the wedge<br />
is withdrawn a spring draws the segments together<br />
and the die can be withdrawn. Although this operation<br />
is quite severe because of the wire, the breakage<br />
is practically nothing, largely due to the fact that the
126 D,e Blast FurnaceSSteel Plant<br />
bowl was annealed just before this operation. The<br />
bowls are now ready to pickle, and as the bulging has<br />
loosened the surface scale the pickling is made easier.<br />
Pickling.<br />
Similar pickling is quite necessary to keep the mottle<br />
uniform so the handles, if a sauce pan is being<br />
made, or the ears if the article is to be a kettle, are<br />
pickled in the same tank along with the bowl. In<br />
pickling the bowls are again nested inside one an-<br />
FIG. 4—During manufacture frequent inspections are made to<br />
eliminate defective work.<br />
other, and after going through muriatic acid water,<br />
and soda, they are dried and taken to the welding department,<br />
where the handles or ears are spot welded<br />
and the "010 Convex" is ready to be dipped.<br />
The enamel, after being ground and mixed with<br />
the proper amount of water, looks like a thick, rich<br />
cream, and is kept inTarge dish pans (dipping pans).<br />
The dipper, holding the bowl with a wire fork, immerses<br />
it in a liquid enamel, twirling it to get all parts<br />
covered, and then shakes it to remove any excess of<br />
enamel. At this stage the ware is a muddy color (the<br />
golden brown steel base altering the cream colored<br />
enamel). The sauce pan is then placed on pin points<br />
on a drying rack and as it drys the mottle forms. After<br />
it is thoroughly dry it is taken to the burning furnaces<br />
and fired. It has entered the furnace a cream yellow<br />
color with a very faint mottle design and when withdrawn,<br />
a few minutes later, it conies out a bright red<br />
and as it cools (which is very rapid) it turns a bluish<br />
gray, covered with darker gray mottles and our ware<br />
is made.<br />
The ware is kept three days in trucks on the floor<br />
before final inspection, which gives it time to develop<br />
any chipping. It is then inspected, piece by piece,<br />
wrapped and crated.<br />
Nickel Plating on Steel<br />
A program of nickel plating experiments is being<br />
undertaken by the Bureau of Standards with a view to<br />
February, 1924<br />
finding the best possible process for making protective<br />
coatings on steel. A large number of specimens of<br />
steel are to be plated, and the procedure will be varied<br />
from the standard conditions in many different ways<br />
in order to test the effect on the product of these variations.<br />
After plating the specimens will be subjected<br />
to tests to determine their resistance to corrosion and<br />
to other adverse conditions that nickel plated ware is<br />
expected to meet. A few other tests will be made<br />
with nickel plating on brass and other metals in<br />
order to learn to what extent the results found for steel<br />
are generally applicable to other metals. From six<br />
months to a year will probably be required for the<br />
tests.<br />
The program is being carried out in co-operation<br />
with the advisory committee of the American Electroplaters'<br />
Society, a committee which is appointed<br />
from the society for the purpose of co-operating with<br />
the bureau, and which meets at the bureau twice a<br />
year to discuss results and recommend investigations.<br />
Cold rolled steel is to be used for all the tests, as<br />
it is considered desirable to have them all made on one<br />
material. In addition, the normal procedure will, in a<br />
few instances, be tried on brass. The normal procedure<br />
consists in the electrolytic cleaning of the steel<br />
and then plating it in a solution of nickel sulphate, (140<br />
grams per liter), ammonium chloride, f 13.5 grams),<br />
and boric acid (15.5 grams), the solution having a<br />
hydrogen ion concentration of 5.8. Ninety-seven per<br />
cent commercial anodes will be used, the temperature<br />
will be 70 deg. F., and the current density 5 amperes<br />
per square foot. The specimen will be plated for an<br />
hour, resulting in a coating of 0.00025 inch thickness.<br />
One side will be buffed.<br />
Variations in preparation will be tried, such as<br />
cleaning in hot alkali, sand blasting, etc.; preliminary<br />
plating with copper, zinc, and cadmium will be tested,<br />
and many variations in the nickel plating process itself<br />
will be experimented with, such as changing the<br />
temperature, current density, composition of solution,<br />
etc. Different kinds of anodes will also be tried.<br />
When complete, the deposits will be examined<br />
both directly and under the microscope. They will be<br />
tested for hardness, for their adhesion to the steel under<br />
such adverse conditions as bending, rolling, etc.,<br />
and for the resistance they offer to corrosion under<br />
various conditions of exposure, both indoor and outdoor.<br />
A stud}' of special interest which was discussed at<br />
the meeting was that of the throwing power of different<br />
solutions. By this is meant the ability of the<br />
solution to deposit nickel on surfaces at different distances<br />
from the anode with a minimum of unevenness<br />
in distribution. It might be expected that any solution<br />
would put more nickel on the outside of a hollow<br />
article than it does at the bottom of a cavity, the proportion<br />
varying inversely as the distance of the surface<br />
from the anode. But it is found that this inverse<br />
law does not hold, and that some solutions give a more<br />
even deposit than do others. This results in economy<br />
of time and materials, and improvement of the finished<br />
product. If the throwing power is poor the parts of<br />
the object near the anode receive an excessive amount<br />
of nickel if a coating of adequate thickness is put on<br />
the more distant parts.
February, 1924<br />
Die Blast FurnaceSSteel Plant<br />
7% POWER PLANT<br />
Union Electric Light and Power Compan<br />
Handle Coal With Gondola Car Dumper<br />
St. Louis Public Utility Finds Dumping Coal by Rotary Car Dump<br />
Method More Economical Than by Trestle or Crane<br />
D U M P I N G a 50-ton car of coal in 1 minute 10 seconds,<br />
with only one unskilled man and a 35-hp.<br />
motor—that is the feat being performed daily<br />
by the Gondola car dumper recently installed at the<br />
new Cahokia plant of the Union Electric Eight &<br />
Power Company, St. Louis, Mo.<br />
Jules Verne, in all his wildest dreams, failed to<br />
conceive such a performance. Indeed, who could believe<br />
it possible to turn, topsy-turvy, a standard gondola<br />
car of coal, dumping the contents into a pit below,<br />
then righting the car—all in less than two minute,<br />
with the labor (or rather, attention) of but one<br />
man together with a few cents worth of electricity!<br />
Yet this is now a reality and is one of the outstanding<br />
features of the 1923 developments in the public<br />
utility and engineering fields.<br />
With only the first unit of the Cahokia plant completed<br />
at the present time the coal consumption averages<br />
but eight cars a day. Under the burden of eight<br />
cars a day the continued operation of the dumper<br />
seldom exceeds 20 minutes. The completion of additional<br />
units will, of course, place a greater burden<br />
upon the dumper, but it is interesting to know that<br />
with this minimum load the contractors feel the<br />
dumper pays for itself in time and labor saved. They<br />
contrast the rotary dump method with the bottom<br />
dump method, which usually requires the labor of<br />
two men for 30 minutes to unload one car of coal.<br />
From the mechanical standpoint, the mechanism,<br />
as is the case with any rotary type of car dumper, has<br />
three distinct functions to perform, viz., the rotation<br />
of the car through an angle which will permit the discharge<br />
of the material; support of the car on its tipping<br />
side; and the clamping of the car at the top. In<br />
spite of this multiple and seemingly complicated<br />
action, the operator, in this case, has but one controller<br />
handle to operate. This controller is of the<br />
drum type, similar in design to a street car controller.<br />
And while it provides speed control, its primary function<br />
is the starting of the rotating motor. All other<br />
operations are cared for automatically by limit<br />
switches.<br />
The gondola car dumper is made up of two distinctly<br />
separate structures. One, that of the two<br />
roller rings, 24 feet in diameter. The other being the<br />
transfer table or platen upon which the car stands.<br />
"Engineer, Link-Belt Company, Chicago, 111.<br />
By E. H. KIDDER*<br />
127<br />
The transfer table is carried on four rollors, two<br />
in the plane of each roller ring. The track for the<br />
rollers consists of four wedge shaped or beveled castings,<br />
attached to the under side of the transfer table.<br />
The bevel of these castings is such that the transfer<br />
table, with the car, would move over to the side<br />
support if it were not restrained. It is held in place,<br />
however, by two hook shaped castings (C) fastened<br />
to the ends of the transfer table. Each of these castings<br />
engages a roller which is an integral part of the<br />
foundation.<br />
As the dumper starts to rotate these hook shaped<br />
castings remain in contact with the roller, serving as<br />
a retarding device for the transfer table. That is,<br />
there is a relative movement between the transfer<br />
table and the rest of the dumper, until the car has<br />
reached its sidewsupport. The angle of the beveled<br />
plates, which causes the platen to move towards the<br />
dumping side simultaneously with the rotating movement,<br />
is approximately 6 deg. and the distance of car<br />
travel from 6 to 12 inches, depending upon the width<br />
of the car.<br />
With the return movement the reverse of these<br />
operations takes place. The car remains supported<br />
by the side structure until the hoo*k shaped castings<br />
engage the rollers. After engagement, the continued<br />
rotation of the dumper causes a force or pressure to<br />
be exerted between the rollers and hook castings<br />
which is sufficient to push the transfer table up the<br />
slight incline made by the slope of the beveled supports<br />
and to perfectly align the rails.<br />
With the car in the normal position on the dumper<br />
the controller handle is in the neutral position. To<br />
begin the cycle of operations, the operator moves the<br />
controller handle into the extreme forward position.<br />
Rotation of the dumper and, as has been explained,<br />
the movement of the transfer table, starts immediately.<br />
Upon rotating 10 deg., a projection (built on<br />
the side of one of the roller rings) operates a track<br />
limit switch, which in turn, starts the top clamp motor<br />
(10 hp.). This motor pulls the four top clamps<br />
downward simultaneously, until all four clamps have<br />
become firmly seated upon the top of the car and<br />
have exerted a predetermined pull on the operating<br />
cables. When this predetermined pull has been<br />
reached it displaces an idler, which displacement<br />
operates a load switch, thereby cutting off the motor<br />
and setting a high torque brake.
128<br />
With the car firmly held to its dumping side and<br />
clamped at the top, the dumper continues to rotate<br />
until the rotating motor is automatically stopped by<br />
limit switches at the end of the rotating movement.<br />
Up to this time all the operator has done is to move<br />
his controller handle from the neutral to forward<br />
position.<br />
He now moves his controller handle through the<br />
neutral position and into the extreme reverse position.<br />
This reverses the direction of the rotating<br />
motor and the dumper returns to its normal position.<br />
On the return movement when the dumper is within<br />
about 10 deg. of its initial position, the top clamp<br />
motor limit switch is tripped which automatically reverses<br />
the direction of this motor and counterweights<br />
raise the top clamps to their initial position. When<br />
the top clamps have reached their uppermost position<br />
the clamping motor is cut out by a limit switch<br />
operated by one of the clamps. The rotating motor is<br />
also stopped on its return movement by a limit switch<br />
and the rails are held in correct alignment by a solenoid<br />
brake.<br />
Without doubt the most outstanding feature of<br />
Die Blast hirnaceSSteel Plant<br />
An assembly of five positions zvhich illustrate the cycle of operation of a car-dumper.<br />
February, 1924<br />
this car dumper is its fool-proof construction and its<br />
simplicity of operation. Any operator who is capable<br />
of moving the control lever in the forward position<br />
for dumping, thence into the reverse position for the<br />
return movement, is perfectly capable of handling the<br />
entire mechanism. It is impossible for the operator to<br />
perform the cycle in any other but the correct way.<br />
The supporting of the car at the dumping side and<br />
the clamping at its top are both automatic and their<br />
operation depends solely upon the rotation of the<br />
dumper.<br />
Another feature of this dumper is the placement<br />
of the counterweights. Extreme care was used in determining<br />
the amount and correct location for the<br />
counterweights used and the result has been the minimizing<br />
of the power requirements. The rotating motor<br />
is of 35 hp., but the entire structure is so well balanced<br />
that ammeter readings, which have been taken,<br />
indicate the size of motor furnished far in excess of<br />
the actual power required.<br />
The gondola car dumper was designed, manufactured<br />
and erected by the Link-Belt Company of<br />
Chicago.
February, 1924<br />
Tne BlastFurnaceSSteel Plant<br />
Progress in the Power Field<br />
1923 Brought Tangible Developments in Many Important<br />
Fields of Research<br />
T H E First World Power Conference, to be held in<br />
London, England, June 30th to July 12th, 1923,<br />
is being promoted by the Council of the British<br />
Electrical and Allied Manufacturers Association in<br />
co-operation with technical and scientific institutions<br />
and industrial <strong>org</strong>anizations in Australia, Austria, Belgium,<br />
Canada, Czecho-Slovakia, Denmark, France,<br />
Great Britain, Greece, Holland, India, Italy, Norway,<br />
Roumania, Sweden and the United States.<br />
The objects of this conference as stated by the<br />
American Committee are as follows:<br />
By considering the potential resources of each<br />
country in hydro-electric power, oil and minerals.<br />
By comparing experiences in the development<br />
of scientific agriculture, irrigation and transportation<br />
by land, water and air.<br />
It should be of interest to the steel industry<br />
of this country that Barton R. Shover, consulting<br />
engineer of Pittsburgh, has been selected<br />
to prepare the American paper on<br />
"Power in the Steel Mill Industry," to be presented<br />
at this conference. Mr. Shover is particularly<br />
well qualified for compiling a paper<br />
on this subject because his activities in the industry<br />
since 1895, both in this country and<br />
abroad, have given him a wide experience in<br />
design, construction and operation. Among the<br />
original installations standing to his credit is<br />
that of the original Gary Plant, which has<br />
more total electrical power than any other one<br />
steel plant in the country, and he enjoys the<br />
distinction of having engineered the installation<br />
of at least as much electrical equipment in<br />
iron and steel works as any other one man in<br />
the country. He is a Fellow of the A. I. E. E.,<br />
members of the A. I. & S. I., and past president<br />
of the A. I. & S. E. E.<br />
By conferences of civil, electrical, mechanical,<br />
marine and mining engineers, technical experts and<br />
authorities on scientific and industrial research.<br />
By consultations of the consumers of power and<br />
the manufacturers of the instruments of production.<br />
By conferences on technical education to review<br />
the educational methods in different countries, and<br />
to consider means by which existing facilities may<br />
be improved.<br />
By discussions on the financial and economic<br />
aspects of industry, nationally and internationally.<br />
By conferences on the possibility of establishing<br />
a Permanent World Bureau for the collection of<br />
data, the preparation of inventories of the World's<br />
resources, and the exchange of industrial and scientific<br />
information through appointed representatives<br />
in the various countries.<br />
•Consulting Engineer, Pittsburgh, Pa.<br />
By BARTON R. SHOVER*<br />
129<br />
The American Committee, as at present <strong>org</strong>anized,<br />
consists of designated representatives of eight national<br />
technical and engineering societies, 12 national business<br />
<strong>org</strong>anizations interested in power development,<br />
and nine government <strong>org</strong>anizations. To this membership<br />
is to be added a group of individuals prominent<br />
in the fields of power development, administration<br />
and finance to be selected by the executive committee.<br />
This committee is the governing body of the general<br />
American Committee and is in charge of all preparations<br />
for participation in the conference. The honorary<br />
chairman of this committee is Hon. John W.<br />
Weeks, Secretary of War and chairman of the Federal<br />
Power Commission. O. C. Merrill, executive secretary<br />
of the Federal Power Commission is general chairman.<br />
BARTON R. SHOVER<br />
The Power Show in New York City, December 3-8,<br />
was a fitting climax to a year of concentration upon<br />
great power projects. The A. S. M. E. meetings,<br />
which were enthusiastically attended brought to a<br />
focus much of the intensive research which has characterized<br />
the recent year.<br />
Holding the exposition during the week of the annual<br />
meetings of the American Society of Mechanical<br />
Engineers and the American Society of Refrigerating<br />
Engineers formed a strong attraction to techni-
130<br />
cal men in New York City during that time. However,<br />
many men came from considerable distances<br />
purely to attend the show and to learn of the newdevices<br />
which have been developed for the more economical<br />
combustion of fuels and utilization of power.<br />
Aside from the commercial exhibits there was an interesting<br />
series of educational exhibits and a showing<br />
of excellent motion pictures.<br />
Educational Exhibits.<br />
There were three purely educational exhibits, one<br />
devoted to fuels, the second to the development of the<br />
steam locomotive, and the third displaying drawings<br />
of the latest developments in modern boilers operating<br />
at high temperatures and high pressures. The exhibit<br />
of fuels was made up of sample specimens of the<br />
various kinds of solid, semi-solid and liquid fuels. The<br />
origin, analysis and heating value of each was stated.<br />
The solid fuels embraced anthracite, semi-anthracite,<br />
semi-bituminous, and bituminous, and included samples<br />
of Virginia anthracite which is beginning to attract<br />
attention. There were also specimens of cannel<br />
coal, peat, wood logs, and various forms of domestic<br />
and foreign briquetted coals. The Bureau of Mines<br />
co-operated in providing some of the samples, coke.<br />
charcoal, and colloidal fuel completed the exhibit.<br />
The space devoted to the development, drawings.<br />
and models showing the various steps in the growth<br />
of the steam locomotive. This exhibit was prepared<br />
by the co-operation of the American, Baldwin and<br />
Lima locomotive builders and the New York Central<br />
and Erie Railroad companies. At all times there was<br />
a large crowd of spectators before it, and the management<br />
plans at the next power show to amplify the exhibit<br />
still further and give it a more prominent place.<br />
The high-pressure boiler display was made up of a<br />
series of drawings of boilers in operation or in progress<br />
of installation each operating at 800, 1200 and<br />
1500 lb. per square inch.<br />
Motion Pictures.<br />
The motion picture program, which was given<br />
twice daily, with a changing list of films in each period<br />
was made up of a large number of films provided by<br />
manufacturing companies, the United States Bureau<br />
of Mines and the Bureau of Commercial Economics,<br />
which treated such topics as water power resources,<br />
mining and preparing coal, large steam turbines, steamship<br />
Olympic, electric locomotives, locomotive building,<br />
ship building, automobile motor manufacture, airplane<br />
building, cement manufacture and nickel rolling.<br />
IheDlast rurnaceL/jteel riant<br />
The exhibits devoted to combustion equipment was<br />
probably the largest and consisted of showings of<br />
water-tube boilers, stokers, oil burning equipment, coal<br />
pulverizing and burning machinery and ecpiipment,<br />
superheaters and economizers, air preheaters, stokers,<br />
soot blowers, grates, forced draft apparatus and ash<br />
hoppers and grates. There were several full size stokers<br />
in operation and several working models of watertube<br />
boilers showing the paths of the water within the<br />
boiler. Construction features and methods of baffling<br />
as well as sectionalized meters and tubes were also<br />
featured. Oil-burning equipment of both mechanical<br />
and steam atomizing types attracted considerable attention.<br />
The atomizing abilities of the several burners<br />
were shown by using them to spray water in a glass<br />
case.<br />
February, 1924<br />
The exhibit of pulverized fuel equipment attracted<br />
considerable attention. One exhibitor displayed- a<br />
method on conveying pulverized coal with a one-inch<br />
model of a pump which forced pulverized talc through<br />
a small pipe, through a distributing valve, to any one<br />
of a number of points as desired. Another exhibitor<br />
showed a complete pulverizing unit with a capacity of<br />
a ton of coal per hour. This was shown in motion<br />
with the cover removed. Two types of air preheaters<br />
were on view giving an opportunity to American engineers<br />
to see a device which has been effective in foreign<br />
countries, but of which there is only one large<br />
installation in this country. There were several different<br />
types of fans and turbo blowers for forced draft<br />
combustion. An ash hopper with power operated<br />
gates was shown by one exhibitor.<br />
The exhibits devoted to boiler and turbine room instruments<br />
were probably the most interesting as the<br />
small size of the devices enables them to be shown<br />
under actual operating conditions. One exhibitor<br />
pumped water through glass pipes, showed the effect<br />
of various kinds of fittings on the flow of water. There<br />
were several V-notch meters under operating conditions,<br />
CO and CO, recorders, meters for coal, for<br />
water, gas, air, thermometers, tachometers, temperature<br />
controllers, draft gages, water gages, low water<br />
alarms, etc. This phase of the exposition displayed the<br />
advances in the art of measuring fluids used in power<br />
plant work, the first step in securing maximum economy<br />
of operation.<br />
The exhibits of valves and fittings allayed any<br />
doubt there might be as to the provision of proper<br />
material for high temperature and high pressure steam<br />
plants. Many exhibits of this type of equipment used<br />
steel as the major element of construction. Motoroperated<br />
valves remotely controlled were shown by<br />
many exhibitors in actual operation. The models were<br />
in most cases sectionalized. One exhibitor presented<br />
a globe valve in which the disc swung on a lever and<br />
when the valve is open this disc is entirely out of the<br />
path of the fluid. The valve is closed with a toggle<br />
joint. A f<strong>org</strong>ed steel gate valve for the high pressures<br />
and temperatures encountered in oil refining was<br />
also displayed. Flared and ground joints were used<br />
and this valve is adaptable for steam at high temperatures.<br />
Other devices shown included a scheme of<br />
control for steam turbine, lead lined pipe, rapid-action<br />
hvdraulic valve, flexible seat valves, and several types<br />
of steam traps in operation.<br />
Power transmission equipment contained many interesting<br />
exhibits of ball bearings, beltings and belt<br />
drives, herringboned gearing, flexible couplings, shafting,<br />
pulleys, friction clutches, and belt fastenings. A<br />
cutless bearing adapted for service under water was<br />
shown. This bearing consisted of an outer casing of<br />
metal with a rubber inside surface ground to the required<br />
size. A spiral groove in this inner surface of<br />
rubber is devised to circulate a stream of water<br />
through the groove and prevent the bearings from being<br />
cut by any dirt in the water.<br />
The material handling equipment featured coal and<br />
ash-handling systems, scales and weigh larries and<br />
steel conveyor apparatus. One manufacturer showed<br />
a working model of a skip-hoist with suspended coal<br />
bunker, weigh larry and grab scrapper. Steel belt<br />
conveyors and bucket conveyors were shown by<br />
others.
Feb ruary, 1924<br />
Refractories of all kinds were well represented,<br />
many exhibitors showed fire brick, monolithic well<br />
material, special blocks, air cooled blocks, furnace<br />
arches, clinker-proof furnace wells, and high temperature<br />
cements.<br />
Other equipment displayed consisted of grinding<br />
machines, grates, sprokets, chains, portable boring<br />
bars for engine repairs, refrigerating machines, sixcylinder<br />
gasoline engine directly connected to a 75<br />
kw. alternating generator, industrial trucks, Diesel engines,<br />
etc.<br />
The problems of heating and treating boiler feedwater<br />
were considered in many exhibits. A new type<br />
of deaerator to operate without temperature drop was<br />
shown. There was a model of a large unit for water<br />
softening and filtering and a half-size model of a cooling<br />
tower in operation.<br />
Marked Tendencies.<br />
Several certain tendencies are marked by the year's<br />
developments :<br />
1. The advance into new high ground of pressures.<br />
2. The development and use of higher temperatures.<br />
3. A keener realization of the necessities for<br />
detail improvements—such as pre-heated air, improved<br />
wall construction, better refractories—an<br />
acknowledgement that the water problem is of first<br />
importance, and must soon be approached from a<br />
definitely scientific angle; the necessity for clean<br />
steam.<br />
4. The proper evaluation of regulation and<br />
control of all the elements involved in steam and<br />
power generation.<br />
5. A consciousness among executives that<br />
power has become a most important phase in our<br />
total economic and social scheme, and as such,<br />
must be reduced to an engineering proportion.<br />
As related to the steel industry, two points of attack<br />
have finally become conclusive :<br />
1. The heat balance of the blast furnace must<br />
be immeasurably improved.<br />
2. Open-hearth waste heats must obviously be<br />
recovered.<br />
"When it is understood—as Mr. Siebert's excellent<br />
paper recently stated—that a modern steel plant consisting<br />
of by-product ovens, blast furnaces, openhearth<br />
and heating furnaces with rolling mills can be<br />
designed and so balanced in fuel requirements that<br />
all needs for gas and power can be met by the output<br />
in liquid and gaseous by-product of the coke plant,<br />
Ihe Dlast kirnace"^ Stool riant<br />
131<br />
together with the otttpttt in blast furnace gas and<br />
waste heat from furnaces and engines—it will be acknowledged<br />
that as an industry steel stands in a most<br />
unique and enviable position, which can no longer tolerate<br />
the "economic crime" of poor engineering.<br />
Steel's Relation to Coal.<br />
The bituminous coal mined in this country is distributed<br />
among the various consumers as shown by<br />
Table II.<br />
TABLE II.<br />
Cent Tons<br />
Per Million<br />
Railroads 28 154.0<br />
Industries, other than steel and coke 25 137.5<br />
Steel plants ( Steel Industry ] 64 35.2<br />
Beehive coke plants | requires 6.5 35.8<br />
By-product coke plants [ 21.6 Per Cent J 8.7 48.0<br />
Electric power plants 57 31.4<br />
Gas plants 0.9 4.8<br />
Domestic consumers 10 55.0<br />
Coal mines 2 11.0<br />
Export 3 16.5<br />
Seaborne 2 11.0<br />
Foreign Trade 1 5.5<br />
Coast and Total lake steamers 100 0.8 550.0 "4.3<br />
The steel industry alone consumes 21.6 per cent of<br />
the total bituminous coal mined, or 106 million gross<br />
tons per year. It is therefore one of the four principal<br />
consumers. Economy effected in its fuel consuming<br />
equipment will therefore bear on a large portion<br />
of the total coal mined. Thus an improvement in<br />
economy of 10 per cent will net a saving in coal of 10<br />
million tons per year, the value of which on a most<br />
conservative estimate is $40,000,000. The magnitude<br />
of the sum involved is such that it should claim the<br />
most serious thought of the men who are responsible<br />
for the operation of steel plants."<br />
The past year has witnessed a continued concentration<br />
upon the drive against combustion losses incident<br />
upon steam generation.<br />
The following table of stoker installations emphasizes<br />
one point in this direction.<br />
There are other losses where water is converted<br />
into steam, and used for power or other purposes •—<br />
which heretofore seem to have been accepted as inevitable—but<br />
which must now be recognized as avoidable.<br />
In the June Power Plant issue of this magazine,<br />
there appeared an article entitled "Dirty Steam No<br />
Longer Necessary"; anyone interested in the costs<br />
of steam may well refer to that article; it points the<br />
way to one of the surest recoveries of direct losses<br />
shown by the heat balance.<br />
SIEBERT'S TABLE OF POWER TO STOVE AND BOILER EFFICIENCY<br />
Showing effect of stove and boiler efficiency on the amount of steam<br />
Heat required to raise the temperature of one cu. ft. air from 165° to<br />
Heat required for 120,000 cu. ft. air at 100 per cent stove efficiency . .<br />
Heat required per boiler h.p<br />
Stove efficiency — per cent / 50<br />
Total gas from furnace<br />
Required to heat 120,000 cu. ft. air to 1265° F.<br />
Available for steam production<br />
Boiler efficiency in per cent<br />
Thousand B.t.u. required per Bo.h.p. hr<br />
Bo.h.p. can be produced per ton iron at rate of<br />
Hourly rate of steam production in Bo.h.p—<br />
Million<br />
B.t.u.<br />
13.44<br />
5.28<br />
8.16<br />
50<br />
67<br />
122<br />
2,540<br />
Thousand<br />
cu. ft. gas<br />
147<br />
58<br />
89<br />
65<br />
51.5<br />
158<br />
3,300<br />
which can be generated on blast furnace gas.<br />
1265° F. = 1 X HOO X 0.02 = ' 22 B.t.u.<br />
> , 80<br />
2,640,000 B.t.u.<br />
33,479 B.t.u.<br />
,<br />
Quantity Per Ton of Iron<br />
Per cent of Million Thousand Per cent of<br />
total gas B.t.u. cu. ft. gas total gas<br />
100 13.44 147 100<br />
39.4 3.29 36 24.3<br />
60.6 10.15 111 75.7<br />
80 50 65 80<br />
41.8 67 51.5 41.8<br />
195 152 197 243<br />
4,070 3,170 4,110 5,070
132<br />
MECHANICAL STOKERS — NUMBER SOLD, HORSE<br />
POWER, AND KINDS OF INSTALLATION,<br />
FOR SPECIFIED MONTHS, 1923<br />
Month<br />
January<br />
February<br />
March ..<br />
April ....<br />
May ....<br />
June ....<br />
July<br />
August<br />
September.<br />
October<br />
November.<br />
December.<br />
Number<br />
of establishments<br />
reporting<br />
15<br />
15<br />
15<br />
15<br />
15<br />
15<br />
15<br />
15<br />
15<br />
15<br />
15<br />
15<br />
Stokers sold<br />
No.<br />
145<br />
129<br />
120<br />
167<br />
194<br />
135<br />
129<br />
135<br />
99<br />
88<br />
50<br />
73<br />
H.P.<br />
83,270<br />
66,619<br />
68.955<br />
85,339<br />
100,513<br />
59,719<br />
52,518<br />
71,693<br />
60,486<br />
32,576<br />
16.241<br />
32,517<br />
The Blast F, umace.<br />
r^> Steel Plant<br />
Installed ur der<br />
Fire tube Water tube<br />
boilers b oilers<br />
No.<br />
29<br />
9<br />
9<br />
14<br />
14<br />
6<br />
21<br />
18<br />
16<br />
14<br />
10<br />
17<br />
IIP.<br />
3 400<br />
1,172<br />
1,259<br />
2,000<br />
1,915<br />
804<br />
3,454<br />
2,624<br />
2,754<br />
2,330<br />
1,300<br />
2,820<br />
No.<br />
116<br />
120<br />
111<br />
153<br />
180<br />
129<br />
108<br />
117<br />
83<br />
74<br />
40<br />
56<br />
H.P.<br />
79,870<br />
65,447<br />
67,696<br />
83,339<br />
98,598<br />
58,915<br />
49,064<br />
69,069<br />
57,732<br />
30,246<br />
14,941<br />
29,697<br />
Every pound of water carried away by the outgoing<br />
steam is a greater economic loss than even the<br />
percentage figures indicate.<br />
Fig. 1 approximates these losses for varying percentages<br />
of moisture, and at various costs per horsepower.<br />
Even of greater magnitude, is the blow-down loss—<br />
that is the circulation water voluntarily withdrawn<br />
from an operating boiler, either, or both from the muddrum<br />
blow-off valves, and the water-column. The<br />
purpose of such withdrawals being an attempt to re-<br />
MOISTURE IN STEAM<br />
Loss per Year<br />
t/ooo<br />
900<br />
800<br />
700<br />
600<br />
SoO<br />
4So<br />
4oo<br />
3 SO<br />
Zoo<br />
2SO<br />
aoo<br />
/so<br />
/oo<br />
So<br />
/<br />
u \ / '<br />
February, 1924<br />
equal number of twin pulverizing units. These blowing<br />
tanks rest on platform scales, the dial of which<br />
indicates to the operator in the pulverizing room the<br />
amount of fuel in the tank.<br />
The fuel feeds into these tanks by gravity as desired<br />
from pulverized fuel bins in the pulverizing room.<br />
Each charge is automatically weighed and then elevated<br />
by compressed air to a height of about 75 feet<br />
through 4-in. pipes. By means of a simple system of<br />
switching valves and parallel distributing mains, cross<br />
connected, any blowing unit can discharge into any<br />
of the eight enclosed storage hoppers in the boiler<br />
• house. These hoppers serve the four pairs of boilers<br />
of 1780 h.p. each, comprising the first group of boiler<br />
units to be installed.<br />
The fuel requirements for the first group of units<br />
is estimated at 1,000 tons in 16 hours.<br />
The accompanying drawing shows the general arrangement<br />
of blowing tanks with relation to the boilers.<br />
Quigley Fuel System equipment was selected on<br />
account of its cleanliness and freedom from mechanical<br />
complication which would be liable to interrupt service.<br />
The putting into service of combination blast-furnace<br />
gas and powdered coal equipment boilers by the<br />
Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad Company at the Enslev<br />
plant was described in January Blast Furnace and<br />
Steel Plant.<br />
Completion of six large high-pressure boilers at<br />
the La Belle plant of the Wheeling Steel Corporation<br />
—using the same combination of blast-furnace gas,<br />
and powdered coal—but in this installation, direct firing<br />
pulverizers were selected owing to the far greater<br />
simplicity of the operation. These boilers deliver<br />
steam to the two largest unaflow engines ever constructed,<br />
rated at 12,500 h.p. at 72 revolutions but<br />
capable of developing nearly 25,000 h.p. at peak demand.<br />
A picture of one of these Nordberg giants during<br />
construction appeared in June Blast Furnace &<br />
Steel Plant.<br />
A further experiment is now nearing completion<br />
in New York City, at the Sherman Creek Station. Six<br />
specially designed boilers of approximately 600 h.p.<br />
each are being equipt with various types and systems<br />
of pulverized coal equipment including the new highspeed<br />
Simplex unit, in order that comparative data<br />
may be obtained of the relative merits of these various<br />
systems when operated under identical conditions.<br />
The Inland Steel Company, Chicago, 111., has consummated<br />
arrangements for the acquisition of the plant of the<br />
Milwaukee Rolling Mill Company, Milwaukee, Wis., for which<br />
negotiations have been in progress for a number of months<br />
past. The purchase price has not been made public. The<br />
plant consists of ten sheet mills, five galvanizing pots, cold<br />
rolling equipment and other necessary rolling machinery to<br />
roll and finish about 5,000 tons of black and galvanized sheets<br />
per month. The purchasing company has plans in prospect<br />
for extensions and betterments in the plant, including remodeling<br />
of a portion of the present machinery, and will<br />
likely arrange financing for the purchase and this work in<br />
the near future. Exclusive of this new acquisition, the Inland<br />
company has a total of 18 sheet mills, all of which are<br />
now operating at capacity; the Milwaukee plant will be placed<br />
on a like basis at an early date. P. D. Block is president of<br />
the purchasing <strong>org</strong>anization.<br />
Tke Blast Furnace's Steel Plant<br />
Youngstown Steel Expands<br />
133<br />
James A. Campbell, president of the Youngstown<br />
Sheet and Tube Company, has announced the company<br />
will construct two buttweld pipe mills and a furnace<br />
at Indiana Harbor. Chicago, 111., at a cost of<br />
$4,000,000. The furnace is to be completed within a<br />
year and the mills by May 1. This will make a total<br />
of 22 mills owned by this company. Eleven are located<br />
in Youngstown. Total output will be about<br />
100,000 tons a month, it is said.<br />
ROLLING ALLOY STEEL<br />
(Continued from page 116)<br />
Brinell tests of the steel handled in the manner<br />
described above show that the hardness has been lowered<br />
as much as 50 points over the hot-bed piling<br />
method.<br />
After the pile has cooled to a point where it can<br />
FIG 5.—Side of furnace shozving the discharging doors—the<br />
final discharging door being the second from the right<br />
hand side.<br />
be handled by hand, the inspection corps take it up<br />
and give each piece an individual inspection before<br />
shipping.<br />
In conclusion the efforts of the Harrisburg Pipe &<br />
Pipe Bending Company can be summarized as follows<br />
:<br />
1. Careful heating.<br />
2. Slow rolling.<br />
3. No handling after rolling until the steel is<br />
properly cooled, thereby eliminating local hardness.<br />
4. Slow cooling to get the best possible annealing<br />
effect.<br />
5. Careful individual piece inspection.<br />
A four-page folder recently issued by the Combustion Engineering<br />
Corporation describes the New Frederick Stoker, an<br />
underfeed, multiple retort type. Freely illustrated, it conveys<br />
an adequate idea of correct combustion practically applied. One<br />
illustration is that of the Frederick stoker in the boiler room of<br />
a large central station, which has four 14-retort Fredericks under<br />
1608 h.p. boilers.
IWBkslFunracoSSUPLl<br />
Power Plant Management<br />
IN maintaining combustion efficiency there are few<br />
factors more important than draft regulation. Without<br />
draft there would be no combustion. With<br />
too little draft huge operating losses occur. With<br />
too much draft the losses are equally large.<br />
Draft Required for Different Fuels.<br />
For each individual furnace there is a variable<br />
draft loss, which is affected by a number of factors.<br />
The air necessary for combustion must pass through<br />
the grate and through the fuel bed. With large openings<br />
and short passages such as occur when large<br />
uniform lumps of coal are thinly spread on a grate,<br />
the draft loss is extremely small. With fine coal, or<br />
coal of variable sizes which packs well, and with deep<br />
fuel beds the resistance to the passage of the air is<br />
very much greater. Should we attempt to supply the<br />
same amount of draft for both fuel beds, we would<br />
have with the thin fuel bed and the large lumps a<br />
condition where the coal would be rapidly burned<br />
on certain sections of the grate, leaving the fire thin<br />
at these points and as a matter of fact uncovering the<br />
This is the fourth in a new series of articles<br />
by Robert June, the well known authority on<br />
power plant management. The articles are<br />
written from the point of view of the managing<br />
executive and deal with the dollars<br />
and cents end of power plant operation and<br />
maintenance. Succeeding articles deal with<br />
such live topics as Safe and Efficient Boiler<br />
Operation, Stoker Operation and Maintenance,<br />
What Management Should Know<br />
about Coal and Ash Handling Equipment,<br />
Steam Piping, Efficient Turbine Operation,<br />
etc. The series is timely and should prove<br />
of value to our readers.<br />
grates, so that there would be very large losses due<br />
to the excessive amounts of air. With the thick fuel<br />
bed offering considerable resistance to the passage of<br />
the draft, due both to its thickness and more compact<br />
nature, we should have incomplete combustion, with<br />
low CO=, high CO and large volumes of dense smoke<br />
pouring from the stack.<br />
Thus we find that for every kind and grade of<br />
coal, for every furnace, and for different rates of combustion<br />
in the same furnace, there is a certain draft<br />
from which most economical and satisfactory results<br />
are secured. Fig. 1 gives a good general idea of the<br />
draft required to burn a number of the most commonly<br />
used steam coals at various rates of combustion.<br />
These are not absolute figures, but simply indicate<br />
common experience. It will be seen that with<br />
the free burning bituminous coals a comparative light<br />
draft is most economical. The amount of draft required<br />
increases as the fixed carbon increases and the<br />
volatile decreases. The highest drafts are thus commonly<br />
required for small sizes of anthracite. It<br />
should be understood, of course, that not only the<br />
•Copyright, 1923, by Robert June.<br />
fAssociate Member A. S. M. E.<br />
By ROBERT JUNEf<br />
composition of the coal but the percentage of ash has<br />
a bearing on the draft required.<br />
To sum up: there is one best draft for each boiler<br />
with a given fuel and a given rate of combustion.<br />
This best draft can be readily determined by experiment.<br />
Draft Gauges Essential.<br />
If you are going to operate at a draft best suited<br />
to your fuel and your rate of combustion, you must<br />
know when you have secured that draft and whether<br />
you are maintaining it. This means that the use of a<br />
draft gauge is essential.<br />
ROBERT JUNE<br />
Let us suppose that your boilers are equipped with<br />
draft gauges. Unless the firemen are making use of<br />
the information furnished them, you will be surprised<br />
at the variety of drafts which you have in vour plant<br />
as you go from boiler to boiler. The trouble is this,<br />
the firemen know that draft is a good thing and their<br />
inclination is to make good use of it.<br />
It is a universal custom in designing power plants<br />
to provide for an excess of draft. Then to throttle<br />
this down dampers are furnished. Now the great<br />
trouble is the firemen may either leave the damper<br />
wide open, or else open entirely too wide for the purpose<br />
in hand. This is on the assumption that you do<br />
not have automatic damper control, of which more
later. The point here is that the draft gauge tells the<br />
story and the damper controls it.<br />
Suppose you have a hand fired plant, and the firemen<br />
do not adjust the dampers to the load. What<br />
then is their procedure? The answer is that they use<br />
the ash pit door for this purpose, and that this is a<br />
most expensive procedure. Close the ash pit doors<br />
and you will note that the vacuum on your draft<br />
gauge is greatly increased. The result of this is to<br />
speed up the inflow of air at all of the cracks, crevices<br />
and holes in the boiler setting. Flue gas temperature<br />
is reduced and steam production is checked, but the<br />
process is a wasteful one. The answer is—if nothing<br />
better can be done at least see to it that manual damper<br />
control from the front of the boiler, so arranged that<br />
the fireman can get at it as easily as he does the ash<br />
pit doors, is provided. Then compel the fireman to<br />
use the dampers in preference to the ash pit doors.<br />
Now getting back to the draft gauge. You are buying<br />
this for the fiifcman, and he is the man to keep in<br />
mind. If the gauge tells him what he wants to know<br />
and in a way which he can understand and at the moment<br />
when he needs the information he will use it—not otherwise.<br />
Herfe are the points to keep in mind:<br />
1. Provide a draft gauge for each boiler furnace.<br />
2. Locate gauges at the most convenient and<br />
accessible point. Put them at the front of the boiler<br />
at a convenient height so that the fireman does not<br />
have to step out of his way a foot to read them.<br />
3. See that the scales are large and easily read.<br />
If necessary provide an electric light for the gaugfe.<br />
An unlighted gauge is not much good in a dark<br />
boiler room.<br />
Fig. 2 shows a typical draft gauge with a range of<br />
74 hundredths of an inch of water.<br />
Automatic Control.<br />
Automatic control as applied to forced diaft involves<br />
the consideration of three factors ; the provision of air<br />
supply introduced beneath the fuel bed, the feeding of<br />
the fuel, and the draft over the fire. To govern these<br />
factors so that they may be utilized to the best advantage<br />
we must control the apparatus which supplies the forced<br />
draft under the fire, we must control the rate at which<br />
the stoker feeds the fuel, and we must control the damper<br />
or it may be the induced draft fan in the boiler<br />
breaching, which controls draft over the fire.<br />
Now, first and last a good many different types of<br />
equipment have been developed for the purpose of securing<br />
automatic control. Speaking in a general sense<br />
this equipment as a class has giv^n effective service and<br />
has effected worthwhile economies which have made it<br />
a good investment in the plants where it has been installed.<br />
Specifically, however, combustion control equipment has<br />
not always been designed and is not today always designed,<br />
on lines which will effect the greatest economies.<br />
A straight line is the shortest distance between two<br />
points. This being the case if you want to maintain an<br />
even steam pressure the most effective means of accomplishing<br />
this result is to have the steam pressure directly<br />
control the forced draft fan. This is the direct straight<br />
line and it is a better arrangement than to have the steam<br />
pressure control the damper and then let the draft over<br />
the fire in turn control the forced draft fan. In following<br />
out this principle of reasoning we arrive at once at<br />
the proposition that two or more sources of control may<br />
perhaps be better than one. Here we run counter to<br />
Ine Dlast kirnace"Z- Meel Plant<br />
some exponents of a single source of control. Let us<br />
examine the situation as impartially as possible.<br />
Control of Forced Draft.<br />
Our forced draft fan is operated by an engine or<br />
motor, so that we can govern it through the medium of<br />
regulation on the steam lines to the engine, or in the<br />
electric circuit of the motor. We have the choice also<br />
of letting the governing factor be the amount of fuel<br />
supplied, the draft over the fire, or the steam pressure.<br />
Now if you want to raise steam pressure in a hurry<br />
there is one reliable and immediate method, and that is<br />
to increase the draft. Setting about the matter in any<br />
other way simply complicates the situation and increases<br />
5 io 15 20 25 3° 35 40<br />
POUNDS OF COAL BURNED PER SQUARE FOOT OF ORATE SURFACE PER HOUR<br />
DRAFT REQUIRED AT DIFFERENT COMBUSTION<br />
RATES FOR VARIOUS KINDS OF COAL<br />
FIG. 1.<br />
the length of time it takes to produce the desired results.<br />
Falling steam pressure is instantly compensated for by<br />
an increased draft.<br />
Granted that this form of control is adopted you<br />
have to decide on some modification of it when more than<br />
one boiler takes air from a fan. The modification sometimes<br />
used is that of arranging to govern the butterfly<br />
gates and the air ducts leading to individual boilers,<br />
by the rate of combustion in each boiler. This does not<br />
work well in practice, since the greater the amount of<br />
combustion in an individual boiler, the greater the air<br />
supply and therefore still greater increase in combustion.<br />
In other words a condition is created whereby one boiler<br />
tends to pull the load away from another.<br />
Therefore the proper way to handle the butter-fly<br />
gates is to determine best average point at which equable<br />
distribution of the load can be obtained and then to set<br />
the butter-fly gates permanently in this position. This<br />
method eliminates see-sawing as each boiler will take<br />
its share of the plant load at all times without any tendency<br />
towards "hunting."<br />
Control of Draft Over the Fire.<br />
The amount of draft over the fire is directly influenced<br />
by the damper. Here again the shortest distance between<br />
two points is to have the draft control the damper. The<br />
point simply is this: for each given rate of combustion<br />
there is a certain^ draft over the fire which assures the<br />
highest economy. An even draft can be maintained most<br />
readily by shifting the position of the damper. To let<br />
the steam pressure govern the damper is to go considerably<br />
out of our way and to have a less satisfactory result
136 IheDlast l-uniace Meel riant<br />
than if we regulate the draft over the lire by means of<br />
the damper. To make this still clearer suppose we open<br />
the damper by a change in steam pressure. We then<br />
find that the damper must be open an appreciable length<br />
of time before the forced draft fan has increased the<br />
amount of gases to a volume corresponding to the opening.<br />
In the meantime the economy of combustion has<br />
been adversely affected. We need to separate very clearly<br />
in our mind these two propositions.<br />
Proposition 1—The maintenance of steady, even steam<br />
pressure is of value only in its relation to load conditions.<br />
Governing the forced draft fan from the steam pressure<br />
is the most direct method of maintaining uniform load<br />
requirements. While highly desirable and frequently<br />
absolutely necessary it is not primarily a means of effecting<br />
economies. The saving may range from 2 to 5 per<br />
cent of fuel.<br />
Proposition 2—Damper regulation controlled by draft<br />
over the fire is one outstanding means of effecting marked<br />
economies in combustion. Here the savings in fuel may<br />
range from 5 to 15 per cent.<br />
Damper regulation from the draft over the tire is<br />
therefore recommended for all plants. Where there are<br />
FIG. 2—Shows a typical draft gauge.<br />
a number of boilers in a plant direct control of each<br />
damper from the draft over the fire in the boiler to<br />
which it is attached is a very much better proposition<br />
than to attempt to move all dampers simultaneously<br />
without regard to the condition's obtaining in the individual<br />
boiler.<br />
Control of Feed of Fuel.<br />
With mechanical stokers the feed of fuel to the furnace<br />
may be arranged to give constant steam pressure.<br />
constant draft over the fire, or it may be made to increase<br />
or decrease with the load on the boilers. The latter method<br />
is of course theoretically the best. If you could vary<br />
the amount of coal just as the load varied you would<br />
have an ideal condition. L
February, 1924<br />
The blast Fu mace /Z3<br />
Steel Plant<br />
GIRRENTTECHNICAL DIGEST<br />
Following are some of the principal features of<br />
interest that have appeared in Iron Trade Review,<br />
January 3 to January 24:<br />
January 3—<br />
In this, the annual statistical issue, the world's production<br />
of pig iron in 1923 is given as 64,580,000 gross<br />
tons compared with 51,938,000 in 1922, 34,700,000 tons<br />
in 1921 and 77,182,000 tons in 1913. The world production<br />
of steel ingots and castings in 1923 was 72,-<br />
573,000 gross tons, compared with 63,098,000 tons in<br />
1922, 42,487,000 tons in 1921 and 75,019,000 tons in<br />
1913. The output of pig iron and steel last year<br />
reached 93 per cent of that of 1913. Nearly two-thirds<br />
of the world's output of pig iron and steel was "made<br />
in America."<br />
Production of 2,905,806 tons of pig iron in the<br />
United States in December brought the total for the<br />
year to 40,019,129 tons, the largest tonnage ever produced<br />
in one year in this country. The output of steel<br />
ingots and castings for the year was 43,226,955 gross<br />
tons, the second largest on record. Shipments of iron<br />
ore from the Lake Superior district in 1923 totaled<br />
61,000,000 tons.<br />
In the analysis of steel consumption by various<br />
groups in the United States it is shown that the railroads<br />
dominated all other lines. Cars and locomotives<br />
took 14.67 per cent of the output and railroad<br />
track work 12.86 per cent; building 15.77 per cent;<br />
oil, gas and water interests 10.81 per cent; automotive<br />
manufacture 10.09 per cent; exports 6.27 per cent;<br />
metal containers 3.71 per cent; machinery and tools<br />
2.50; agricultural 2.37; street railways 1.48; mining<br />
and lumbering 1.07; shipbuilding 0.84; and other miscellaneous<br />
groups 17.56 per cent.<br />
Reviews of industrial, business, constructional and<br />
engineering enterprises of the year are given in this<br />
issue; one of the outstanding articles being a thorough<br />
analysis of European conditions, in which H.<br />
Cole Estep, European manager of Iron Trade Review,<br />
shows that the majority of European countries<br />
are enjoying a fair degree of prosperity and that European<br />
business conditions are not as bad as indicated<br />
by those who see only the political entanglements.<br />
January 10—<br />
The year begins with an increase in mill bookings<br />
and release of considerable steel held back during the<br />
period of inventories. Railroad demands and building<br />
work feature the activity in the iron and steel markets.<br />
Iron Trade Review's composite of 14 leading<br />
iron and steel products moves up to $43.21 compared<br />
with $43.06 in the preceding week. The United States<br />
Steel Corporation is producing 83 per cent of ingot<br />
and 80 per cent of finishing capacity. Deliveries of<br />
pig iron are exceeding production with many repre<br />
sentative makers and several blast furnaces are preparing<br />
to resume operations.<br />
The Ford Motor Company announces a program<br />
of extensions for 1924, which will require $110,000,000.<br />
Harry Coulby resigns as president of the Pittsburgh<br />
Steamship Company, Great Lakes subsidiary of<br />
the steel corporation, after 19 years in that position.<br />
A. F. Harvey, vice president and general manager,<br />
succeeds Mr. Coulby as president.<br />
January 17—<br />
An increase in production is the feature of the<br />
iron and steel situation this week. Bookings are running<br />
25 to 50 per cent ahead of those in December.<br />
At Chicago, where the best improvement is noted, the<br />
Illinois Steel Company has gone from 75 to 83 per<br />
cent of ingot capacity in a week and is blowing in more<br />
furnaces. In Youngstown territory independent<br />
open hearth furnace operations are the highest since<br />
September, and in sheets, since August. A gain of<br />
76,755 tons in steel corporation unfilled tonnage for<br />
December, the first since March, is noted. The advance<br />
in prices of scrap has stimulated demand for<br />
basic iron, a Cleveland seller having inquiries for<br />
around 75,000 tons. The price of basic has strengthened<br />
to $22, valley. Iron Trade Review's composite<br />
of 14 leading iron and steel products this week is<br />
$43.29 compared with $43.21 in the preceding week.<br />
January 24—<br />
The volume of new business in the iron and steel<br />
markets continues to expand, and general operations<br />
are around 75 per cent of capacity. Railroads are<br />
negotiating for 40,000 cars; building constructional<br />
awards are heavy. The composite price of 14 iron and<br />
steel products is $43.35. Pig iron prices continue to<br />
advance, while buying gives indications of a new<br />
movement, especially for second quarter iron. Inquiries<br />
and sales for the second quarter are noted<br />
especially at Chicago and Cleveland. Cleveland furnaces<br />
quote $24, base, furnace, this week, 50 cents<br />
higher than a week ago, and have sold tonnages at<br />
this figure. Southern iron is at a minimum of $22,<br />
some makers asking $23. The Tennessee Coal, Iron<br />
& Railroad Company has sold 60,000 tons of iron to<br />
pipe makers. One large merchant producer in Ohio<br />
reports shipments running 25 per cent ahead of production.<br />
The Chicago market has moved up to $24<br />
to $24.50.<br />
Abroad, the iron and steel markets are affected<br />
by the strike of British locomotive engineers and the<br />
low prices offered by Belgian and German makers.<br />
British furnaces are beginning to bank.<br />
The effect of silica on the cost of making pig iron<br />
is presented in an article giving the results of tests<br />
made by the Bureau of Mines.<br />
137'
138-A<br />
IheDlast kirnace^yjteel riant<br />
MACKINTOSH-HEMPHILL CO.<br />
The MASTER BUILDERS<br />
of<br />
63 Blooming Mills in 56 Years<br />
"Each Mill a Better Mill"<br />
Within the last 7 years<br />
We have built 7 Blooming Mills<br />
One has just been shipped to Otis Steel Co.<br />
One is under construction for<br />
Timken Roller Bearing Co.<br />
"THERE IS A MIGHTY GOOD REASON"<br />
FOR OUR BUILDING THE MAJORITY OF ALL OF<br />
THE RECENT MILLS<br />
MACKINTOSH-HEMPHILL COMPANY<br />
PIONEERS—ENGINEERS—BUILDERS<br />
Established 1803 at Pittsburgh<br />
" The "Best in tolling MM Machinery "<br />
FORT PITT FOUNDRY<br />
A. GARRISON FOUNDRY<br />
WOODARD MACHINE CO.<br />
PITTSBURGH IRON & STEEL FOUNDRY
February, 1924<br />
For the purpose of making an intensive<br />
study of economic and business conditions<br />
in Europe and Asia, covering a<br />
period of several months, Mr. F. A.<br />
Wilson-Lawrenson has resigned his executive<br />
positions with the Union Carbide<br />
& Carbon Corporation and its various<br />
subsidiaries, with which he has been<br />
connected since 1917. Too close application<br />
to his heavy duties as vice president<br />
in charge of sales of the Prest-O-<br />
Lite Company, Inc.; of the National<br />
Carbon Company; of the American Everready<br />
Works, as well as in other capacities,<br />
have made it necessary for Mr.<br />
Lawrenson to conserve his health, which<br />
his devotion and strenuous work on behalf<br />
of public and civic enterprises has<br />
somewhat impaired. The change of interests<br />
involved in the extensive travel<br />
abroad that he has planned will give<br />
him, it is thought, the much-needed relief.<br />
Since the war period, during which Mr.<br />
F. A. Wilson-Lawrenson served the government<br />
as assistant food administrator<br />
of New York, he has been markedly<br />
prominent in public and business life. As<br />
president of the Advertising Club of<br />
New York his progressive and constructive<br />
labors did much to bring that <strong>org</strong>anization<br />
into international prominence.<br />
and he was appointed by the president<br />
of the Associated Advertising Clubs of<br />
the World as a special delegate to visit<br />
London and consult with the prime minister,<br />
Mr. Bonar Law, and the leading<br />
business men and publishing interests in<br />
England as to the advisability of holding<br />
the International Advertising Convention<br />
in London in 1924. After several<br />
months' travel through England<br />
and the European countries he arranged<br />
for the visit of a huge British delegation<br />
of advertising men and newspaper men.<br />
Hie Blast Furnace^ Steel PI anr<br />
A Book Review by M. W. von Bernewitz<br />
"The Cinder Buggy: A Fable in Iron<br />
and Steel," by Garet Garrett. 357 pages.<br />
E. P. Dutton & Company, New York.<br />
1923.<br />
This is essential^ the story of a town<br />
(New Damascus), or of a furnace and<br />
rolling mill plant that was the backbone<br />
of the town, which stuck to the manufacture<br />
of wrought iron, never giving<br />
way to steel, although the making of steel<br />
was tried. Interwoven is a strange partnership,<br />
during which one partner "stole"<br />
the intended wife of the other; the return<br />
years after of a son of this runaway<br />
match; his working for his father's<br />
old partner who hated him, and falling in<br />
love with the partner's daughter, and the<br />
forced marriage of the daughter to a<br />
skilled puddler. Then comes a change<br />
of scene to Pittsburgh, to where the<br />
couple and the son of the runaway partner<br />
move. The son buys a nail mill,<br />
puts the puddler in charge, and the latter<br />
makes such great changes in operation<br />
that all the nail mills, save that of<br />
the old partner at New Damascus, are<br />
combined into one company, because the<br />
industry was in a bad way. Then first<br />
comes a price war in nails with the New<br />
Damascus plant, and later, when the<br />
nail concern takes to rolling steel rails,<br />
a price war in rails—steel versus iron.<br />
Of course this is all hate and spite of the<br />
partner for the son of his old partner.<br />
Eventually the stubborn man at New<br />
Damascus gave in and died, and at his<br />
request was cremated in one of his own<br />
furnaces, which was cheerfully done by<br />
his son-in-law, the puddler. (This is<br />
somewhat akin to the Norse Vikings going<br />
to sea and setting fire to their boats.)<br />
Then comes the <strong>org</strong>anizing of big steel<br />
companies, plunging on Wall Street—<br />
138<br />
rather too much space devoted to this—<br />
and labor troubles, in which the puddler,<br />
who by this time has become a great<br />
and wealthy steel man, loses his life.<br />
Eventually the son of the old runaway<br />
match marries the puddler's widow, the<br />
daughter of his father's partner, and for<br />
years his enemy. Generally, the story<br />
maintains its interest, and there are some<br />
illuminating passages on the metallurgy<br />
of iron and steel, on puddling, on mixing<br />
molten iron, on nail making, on Bessemerizing,<br />
on Pittsburgh, on human nature,<br />
and on the tips and downs of the<br />
steel industry.<br />
The Perry Iron Company, Erie, Pa.,<br />
has blown out its blast furnace and will<br />
commence work at once on the complete<br />
rebuilding of the unit. The new stack<br />
will be higher than the present one, provided<br />
with a skip hoist and other modern<br />
operating equipment. New ore bins and<br />
facilities in this department will be provided,<br />
and a new trestle erected. The estimated<br />
cost of the work has not been announced,<br />
but will run to a considerable<br />
amount. The company plans for extensive<br />
operations during the coming year.<br />
The Alabama Company, Gadsden, Ala.,<br />
has commenced work on the repairing of<br />
its local blast furnace, recently blown out,<br />
and plans to have the unit ready for service<br />
at an early date. It will be relined<br />
and a number of other improvements<br />
made, for increased operating efficiency.<br />
The Newton Steel Company, Newton<br />
Falls, Ohio, has commenced the enlargement<br />
of the power plant at its local works,<br />
and will install considerable new equipment<br />
for increased production, including<br />
underfeed stoker, steam engine and aux<br />
iliary apparatus. It is expected to have<br />
the expansion completed at an early date.
139 D* Blast UaceSSteel Plant FebrUary ' 1924<br />
K'INIIII iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii^<br />
I WITH THE EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURERS<br />
^uiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinuiiiiiiiiittiiiiiiiiiiiiiniuiiiiiiiiiiiiim<br />
Repairing a Ruptured Pipe by Oxy-Acetylene<br />
Welding<br />
A ruptured or broken pipe in the power systems of<br />
an industrial plant is often the cause of a shutdown<br />
and concurrent serious production delays. Hence it<br />
is advisable to be prepared for such emergencies by<br />
understanding how to handle such a job and having<br />
the equipment necessary to its execution at hand when<br />
it does happen.<br />
Forces, like so many other things, always follow<br />
the lines of least resistance so that when a break occurs<br />
at a certain point in a pipe it is usually feasible<br />
to assume that the pipe was weakest at that particular<br />
point. In repairing the break by oxy-acetylene welding<br />
(no other method is considered since this is usually<br />
the most practical), it is well to keep in mind that the<br />
metal immediately in the vicinity of the break is probably<br />
weak also and for this reason it is best to remove<br />
it for a short distance back from the break.<br />
If the break is a longitudinal rupture, as is usually<br />
the case, it may be repaired as follows: With an oxy-<br />
acetylene cutting blowpipe cut away the ruptured and<br />
weakened metal leaving a rectangular hole in the pipe<br />
as indicated by dotted line in first sketch. Then a<br />
rectangular patch of the same thickness and form may<br />
be obtained by cutting it from a stock or scrap length<br />
of the same size and class of pipe or it may be readily<br />
formed from a piece of sheet steel of the same thickness<br />
as the pipe wall. If this thickness is Mi-in. or<br />
more the edges of both the hole and the patch should<br />
be beveled to a 45 degree angle with the cutting blowpipe<br />
so that when the piece is inserted a 90 degree vee<br />
will be formed thus permitting the welder to obtain<br />
full penetration of the joint when he butt welds the<br />
patch in place. (A piece of rod welded to the patch will<br />
serve as a handle by which it can be held in place during<br />
welding and is readily cut off with the blowpipe<br />
after the welding is completed.) This type of repair<br />
can be fully completed in an hour or two, can be made<br />
at very small expense, and has the decided advantage<br />
of being permanent.<br />
New Bailey Flush Front Meters and Gages<br />
The scrupulous designing engineers of the modern power<br />
plants have led the Bailey Meter Company of Cleveland, Ohio,<br />
to bring out new types of metering equipment to meet the<br />
most exacting requirements. These flush front meters and<br />
gages are designed for panel board mounting and are so constructed<br />
that the meter casings and all connecting pipes are<br />
behind the panels.<br />
The double flush front meter was designed for a boiler<br />
equipped with an economizer. Steam flow and air flow are<br />
recorded on the left hand chart, while the temperature of the<br />
feed water entering and leaving the economizer are recorded<br />
on the right hand chart. The eight pointer multi-pointer<br />
gage above this meter is suitable for installation on a boiler<br />
fired with a forced blast chain grate stoker. It indicates<br />
wind box pressure, five compartment pressures, fire box draft<br />
and uptake draft.
IneDlast l-urnace^yjteel riant<br />
3i^^lill^BillMMij^i^^^Bi^BBiBBi5iiiiiii5i i|i|i|i1 |I|I:| SBII^^<br />
Blue Gas Engineering—<br />
tJThe vital importance of careful engineering in tke design and construct<br />
ion of klue gas apparatus is very apparent to tke discriminating invest<br />
igator.<br />
CJTkis type of ap<br />
paratus cannot ke<br />
"thrown togetker.<br />
It must ke designed<br />
and kuilt witk re<br />
gard to proper ma<br />
terials properly ke-<br />
stowed.<br />
^It must afford ease<br />
and economy or oper<br />
ation, adaptakility to<br />
ckanged conditions<br />
and rugged resistance<br />
to wear and tear.<br />
U. G. I. BLUE GAS APPARATUS is tke original.<br />
Its experimental stages were passed years ago. It produces a<br />
CLEAN, COOL GAS, kaving kigk flame temperature and does<br />
it ckeaply and efficiently.<br />
U. G. I. BLUE GAS is a sukstitute for natural gas.<br />
We would be glad to show facts and figures.<br />
THE U. G. I. CONTRACTING CO.<br />
Broad and Arch Sts., Philadelphia<br />
335 Peoples Gas Bldg., Chicago 928 Union Arcade, Pittsburgh<br />
Ipllllllllllilllit IIIIIHN: l<br />
Cooperate:—Refer to The Blast Furnace and Steel Plant<br />
139-A
140 Ti Rl i r 0C1 ID] 1 February, 1924<br />
Ihe Ulasr himace _ Jreel rlanr<br />
gWIIINIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINIINIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINIIIIIIIIIIIIIINIIIIIIIIIIIIIINIIIIIIIIIII^<br />
I NEWS OF THE PLANTS<br />
^iiiiiiniimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiN^<br />
The Blair Strip Steel Company, New Castle, Pa., recently<br />
<strong>org</strong>anized, has taken out a charter under state laws, with<br />
capital stock of $100,000, and 100,000 shares, common stock.<br />
no par value. The company has work in progress on a new<br />
local mill, as recently announced in The Blast Furnace and<br />
Steel Plant, to be devoted to the manufacture of cold rolled<br />
and high tempered steel products. The initial plant will represent<br />
an investment in excess of $75,000, and is to be ready<br />
for operating service at an early date. The new company is<br />
headed by Ge<strong>org</strong>e D. Blair, Sr. and Jr., and J. Norman Martin,<br />
all of New Castle.<br />
The Algoma Steel Corporation, Sault Ste. Marie. Out..<br />
has perfected plans for active operations at its new mill units<br />
and has a program to develop maximum output at an early<br />
date. Work lias been commenced at the rail mill, and the<br />
merchant mill will follow into active service immediately.<br />
With one blast furnace in operation, it is planned to blow<br />
in two other units in the near future, keeping all three stacks<br />
on the active list for an indefinite period. Additional coke<br />
ovens, recently completed, will be placed in use. also, at the<br />
same time, as well as new open hearth furnaces, now about<br />
ready. It is purposed to have all departments running full<br />
in the very near future.<br />
The Bethlehem Steel Corporation, Bethlehem, Pa., is<br />
arranging an appropriation of close to $1,000,000, for extensions<br />
and improvements in its Cambria Works at Johnstown,<br />
Pa. The work will include several new mills, it is<br />
stated, with remodeling and betterments in existing structures,<br />
including considerable additional equipment in a number<br />
of departments. The company has work in progress at<br />
its Buffalo mill, including improvements in blast furnaces, as<br />
well as in the different mill units, and will gradually place the<br />
plant in shape for maximum output, which will be established<br />
at the earliest possible date.<br />
The American Sheet & Tin Plate Company, Pittsburgh,<br />
Pa., is perfecting plans for extensions in its Guernsey works<br />
at Cambridge, Ohio, to include the erection of a number of<br />
new buildings, as well as improvements in the existing structures.<br />
Considerable expansion will be developed in the annealing<br />
department. A fund of $350,000 is said to be avail<br />
able for the project, including the installation of additional<br />
equipment.<br />
The Carnegie Steel Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., lias plans<br />
for improvements in the open hearth department at its Farrell.<br />
Pa., works, covering the installation of 15 new waste heat<br />
boilers, each with capacity of about 450 hp., to operate on gas<br />
from the blast furnaces. The power will be used for rolling<br />
mill service and is expected to develop a considerable saving<br />
in fuel consumption at the mill. Other improvements will be<br />
made at the plant, including equipment betterments in a<br />
number of departments.<br />
The United Alloy Steel Corporation, Canton, Ohio, has<br />
work in progress on extensions and improvements at its local<br />
mill, designed for increased output as well as greater<br />
efficiency in operation. A new gas producer is being installed,<br />
while new soaking pits are also in course of con<br />
struction, to be supplemented by a new preliminary warming<br />
pit. Tentative plans are under consideration for the construction<br />
of two new continuous furnaces, as well as the erec<br />
tion of a new steam power plant, estimated to cost in ex<br />
cess of $125,000. It is expected that additional plans will be<br />
developed for further expansion in other departments in the<br />
near future.<br />
The Sociedade de Usinas Siderurgicas de Santa Barbara,<br />
city of Santa Barbara, State of Minas Geraes, Brazil, has<br />
plans under consideration for the construction of two new<br />
blast furnaces at its local mills, to cost close to $1,000,000.<br />
The stacks will be of thoroughly modern type, and are expected<br />
to utilize considerable American equipment. A new<br />
steel foundry will also be built.<br />
The orders received by the General Electric Company for<br />
the year ending December 31, 1923, amounted to $304,199,746,<br />
compared to a total of $242,739,527 for the year 1922, or a<br />
gain of 25 per cent., according to a recent announcement by<br />
< ierard Swope, president of that concern. For the fourth<br />
quarters of 1923, orders totalled $74,452,442, as compared<br />
with a total of $66,568,333 for the corresponding quarter in<br />
the year 1922, or a gain of 12 per cent.<br />
The Anchor Drawn Steel Company, Latrobe, Pa., has<br />
acquired a local tract of land, fronting on the Pennsylvania<br />
Railroad, and is perfecting plans for the early erection of a<br />
new mill for the manufacture of carbon steel and cold drawn<br />
products. The initial works will consist of a main one-story<br />
structure, 80x290 ft., with L-extension 50x120 ft., including<br />
power house and auxiliary buildings, estimated to cost close<br />
to $90,000. A list of equipment to be installed, it is stated,<br />
will be prepared in the near future.<br />
The Metal & Thermit Corporation. 120 Broadway. New<br />
York, is pushing construction on its new sheet mill on property<br />
adjoining its present works at South San Francisco. Cal.,<br />
and plans to have the unit ready tor service in the near future.<br />
It will be of 2-high type, with rated capacity in excess<br />
of 2,100 tons per month, including both black and galvanized<br />
sheets. The mill will represent an investment in excess of<br />
$750,000, with equipment, and will give employment to a<br />
large increased working force.<br />
The Seamless Steel Tube Company, Appleton, Wis., recently<br />
formed with a capital of $400,000, has taken over a<br />
local works, heretofore used for the production of motor<br />
trucks, and will remodel and improve the buildings for company<br />
use, to total about 60.000 sq. ft. of available floor area.<br />
The initial equipment installation will consist of three finishing<br />
mills, one piercing mill and furnace, break-down mill.<br />
three annealing furnaces, six straightening machines, and<br />
auxiliary equipment, the majority of which will be electrically<br />
operated. The new plant will specialize in the manufacture<br />
of seamless steel tubing, 3 inches in diameter and<br />
smaller, and it is expected to develop a large output. The<br />
mill will be ready for service late in the summer. Ge<strong>org</strong>e<br />
J. Thust, formerly connected with the United States Steel<br />
Corporation, is one of tlie officials of the new company and<br />
will l>e in charge of production at the plant.<br />
The National Tube Company, Frick Bldg., Pittsburgh, Pa.,<br />
a subsidiary of the United States Steel Corporation, has secured<br />
an appropriation from the parent company of $1,500,000,<br />
to be used for extensions and improvements at its plant at<br />
McKeesport, Pa. The project will include a new blast furnace,<br />
estimated to cost close to $900,000, with mechanical<br />
charging, washing and auxiliary equipment of latest type. The<br />
remainder of the fund will he used for mill extensions and the<br />
installation of considerable additional machinery, including as<br />
well, remodeling and improving of present machinery. It is<br />
expected to inaugurate work on tlie project at an early date.
Tke Blast PurnaceSSkJ PW<br />
Vol. XII PITTSBURGH, PA.. MARCH, 1924 No. 3<br />
Joint Representation at Colorado Fuel<br />
Joint representation has brought together employer<br />
and employe and has given each the opportunity<br />
of understanding the other's difficulties, aims<br />
and viewpoints. It has developed mutual confidence<br />
—confidence of the employer that the employe was<br />
willing to consider with fairness everything in which<br />
the well-being of either was concerned. It has developed<br />
confidence on the part of the employe that<br />
his employer was concerned in his welfare and was<br />
anxious to help in bettering his condition and willing<br />
to give consideration to his problems in a way he had<br />
not believed.<br />
A better understanding has been brought about by<br />
acquainting the employes with the varying business<br />
problems as they affect employes. It has in this way<br />
dispelled the ignorance of both parties, and has en<br />
141<br />
abled each to see that the other was the kind of fellow<br />
who could be trusted.<br />
It has to a large extent destroyed suspicion on<br />
both sides.<br />
It has, in this company, increased efficiency of both<br />
management and employe.<br />
Differences between employe and employer which<br />
constantly arise in industry are quickly settled and<br />
small grievances are prevented from becoming large<br />
ones.<br />
Foremen do not act as impulsively as formerly.<br />
Employes do not quit on the spur of the moment<br />
when something seems to them wrong. Labor turnover<br />
is decreased.<br />
It has brought about greater satisfaction and happiness<br />
in our industry.
142<br />
IheDlast nirnace^ jteel riant<br />
Plant Two Power House<br />
Remarkable Concentration of Motor Drives Makes<br />
Inland Steel Notable<br />
By F. J. CROLIUS<br />
PART III<br />
L O C A T E D centrally within the rolling mills is.<br />
what is termed Plant Two Motor Room, which<br />
houses all the main drives and regulating equipment,<br />
and is also a continuation of the new power<br />
house necessary for the generation ol power lor the<br />
new mills. The generating equipment, as installed at<br />
that time, consists of two 5,000-kva. turbo-generator<br />
units, 2300 volts, 25 cycle, 3 phase, and are connected<br />
to a litis structure located in the basement. This<br />
structure is built of special brick, the barriers between<br />
the buses being transite board, 2 inches thick.<br />
Bus bars are supported by heavy pedestal type insulators,<br />
held in place by means of bolts set in special<br />
concrete blocks. This structure carries a single bus<br />
circuit and contains necessary switching apparatus<br />
for the different main drives, transformer stations,<br />
main pumping stations, and main breakers for the syn-<br />
In the January and February issues, the<br />
general features of the Inland Steel Company<br />
plant at Indiana Harbor were shown. This<br />
final instalment concludes the description<br />
with further details of a remarkable motordrive<br />
assembly.<br />
chronous motor-generator sets for the conversion of<br />
power from a.c. into d.c. There were two synchronous<br />
motor-generator sets originally installed, but one<br />
more has been added lately. These three units are<br />
1,000-kw.. 250-volts. d.c, and are of the same make<br />
and operating characteristics.<br />
Due to other departments being added at this<br />
plant, such as rail finishing equipment, splice bar and<br />
tie plate units, it was necessary to increase the capacity<br />
of this station. There has been added one 12,500kva.<br />
turbo-generator unit, 2300 volts, 3 phase, 25<br />
cycles, connected to a separate bus structure, parallel<br />
with the original structure, and located in a dust-proof<br />
leanto outside of the main building.<br />
The two structures are electrically tied together<br />
by means of an oil switch with instantaneous trip and<br />
set for the full load capacity of the large unit, hi case<br />
of a disturbance on any of the feeder circuits, the tic<br />
switch will open and cut the large unit off the original,<br />
lighter bus structure. This was thought necessary,<br />
as the interrupting capacity of the original feedei<br />
switches was not sufficient to take care of the increased<br />
generator capacity under short-circuit conditions.<br />
Also, duplicate feeder switches were installed<br />
in the new structure for all important circuits, and<br />
with the necessary connections and disconnecting<br />
switches duplicate bus conditions were obtained.<br />
The switchboard at this station is located over the<br />
original bus structure on the same floor as the generator<br />
units. This switchboard contains controlling and<br />
metering equipment for the generators and feeder circuits,<br />
voltage regulators, exciter buses and exciter<br />
starting equipment. Provision is also made for excitation<br />
of the generators from the d.c. bus, in case<br />
March, 1924<br />
of trouble with the exciters. Also controlled from<br />
this board, arc the tie line switches. These switches<br />
arc in duplicate on the different structures and are<br />
2300 volts, 2500 amp. capacity, and tic plant two<br />
motor room buses to the original a.c. low pressure<br />
station buses located in plant one. Distance between<br />
the stations is about 3,000 feet and the feeders are<br />
1,000,000 cm. cable per phase.<br />
The tie line is in three sections, due to having part<br />
of this line installed in a tunnel. At the junction of<br />
these sections are mounted special disconnecting<br />
switches, located in concrete houses at the foot of<br />
the towers. Also at this point are installed two sets<br />
of transfer switches which can be thrown to either<br />
side of the main disconnecting switch.<br />
The second section of the switchboard consists of<br />
starting and metering equipment for the three synchronous<br />
motor-generator sets. Each set has its own<br />
feeder switch in the main structure, the starting<br />
switches being located back of their respective panels.<br />
The third section of the switchboard consists of<br />
three d.c. generator panels, one d.c. tie line panel, four<br />
4,000-amp. feeder circuits, six 2,000-amp. feeder circuits.<br />
Two of the generator panels are equipped with<br />
the necessary switches and resistance for reversing the<br />
operation of these machines, in case of emergency.<br />
In a scheme of this kind it is imperative that no<br />
constant speed, shunt wound motors having flywheels,<br />
such as shears, presses, etc., are connected on the<br />
circuits, as the counter e.tn.f. of these motors feeding<br />
back on the line after breaker has opened at power<br />
house, would cause the operating magnetic coils tu<br />
lag, thereby delaying the action of the spring and<br />
causing the load on the crane magnets to drop. The<br />
high pressure fire pumps for the coke plant department<br />
are also fed from the d.c. tie line circuit. The<br />
constant speed motors at plant two are 440-volt a.c.<br />
and are supplied from a transformer station located<br />
in the motor room. This station consists of four 500kva.,<br />
single-phase transformers, 2200 to 440 volts, one<br />
transformer being equipped with necessary switches<br />
to he thrown on any phase, and is used as a spare.<br />
Description of Electrical Equipment in Various<br />
Departments in Plants One and Two.<br />
Plant < >11e- is a complete steel making plant in<br />
itself, depending on plant two only for hot metal from<br />
the blast furnaces for use in the open hearth department.<br />
The open hearth department consists of 12<br />
furnaces of 50 ton capacity each, and has an output of<br />
approximately 46,000 tons of steel per month. This<br />
department is served by three scrap handling magnet<br />
cranes, one cast house coal handling gantry crane, one<br />
stock crane, two hot metal cranes, five hot metal cars,<br />
three crane type charging cars, three 100-ton ladle<br />
cranes, one 25-ton floor crane, one-15-ton pit crane and<br />
one stripper.<br />
South of the open hearth department are located<br />
15 soaking pits, necessary for the 36-in blooming mill.
March, 1924<br />
Die Blast FurnaceSSteo! Ptn.<br />
Plant Tzvo Pozver House. This is a remarkable grouping of tudbo-generators. mill motors, and control apparatus.<br />
The 36-in. mill is steam driven, the manipulators<br />
and screw down being hydraulically operated. All<br />
other auxiliary drives, such as tables, shears, transfers.<br />
etc., are electrically operated. This mill acts as a<br />
roughing mill for the 24-in. billet mill and 24-in. sheet<br />
bar mill, the steel being rolled direct on these mills<br />
from the 36-in. bloomer without reheating.<br />
The 24-in. billet mill is in line with the 36-in. mill<br />
and rolls billets for the 14-in. M<strong>org</strong>an continuous mill.<br />
The 24-in. billet mill is driven by a constant speed engine,<br />
having a large flywheel mounted between the<br />
engine and the mill to take care of the peaks incidental<br />
to a mill of this kind. The 24-in. billet mill engine<br />
also drives the roughing stand of the 24-in. sheet bar<br />
mill.<br />
The 24-in. sheet bar mill finishing stand is driven<br />
by a 1500-h.p., 2200-v., 3-phase, 25-cycle, 368 r.p.m.<br />
induction motor, speed of the rolls being reduced to 93<br />
r.p.m. by means of a suitable reduction gear, running<br />
in oil. Material from this mill is cut into different<br />
lengths required by means of a steam operated flying<br />
shear. Adjustable speed motors are installed on shear<br />
tables and regulate the speed of delivery of the bars<br />
to comply with the operating speed of the flying shear.<br />
Sheet bar rolled on this mill is piled for shipment by<br />
means of a pinch roller on a vertical cradle piler.<br />
Pinch roll is driven by an adjustable speed motor to<br />
enable the operator to vary the speed to comply with<br />
the different weights of the bars.<br />
143<br />
As the 36-in. blooming, 24-in. billet and 24-in. sheet<br />
bar mills are in the same building, most of the cranes<br />
serve the different departments. The total crane equipment<br />
for these departments is two soaking pit cranes,<br />
one 40 ton mill crane, three five ton mill cranes, two<br />
25 ton billet yard cranes and two hot bed cranes. The<br />
25 ton cranes can be taken into the different engine<br />
rooms when work is to be done on the engines. The<br />
hot bed cranes take material from the piler to hot beds<br />
and from the hot beds to cars for shipment. The 36in.<br />
blooming mill also rolls billets for the 24-in bar<br />
mill. This material is put onto skids by means of a<br />
hydraulic pusher. These skids are directly opposite<br />
the reheating furnaces for the 24-in. bar mill and material<br />
is transferred to the furnaces by cranes. The<br />
24-in. bar mill is a four stand mill, the first stand being<br />
universal for the rolling of universal plates. Material<br />
rolled on this mill are structural shapes, from<br />
3 in. x 2 in., angles to 12 in. I-beams. The usual practice<br />
on this mill is to roll universal plates while they<br />
are changing finishing rolls for different sections. The<br />
mill is driven by a twin-simple, reversing engine. Material<br />
is transferred from one stand to another, from<br />
either side of the mill, by means of chains and dogs,<br />
operated by hydraulic rams. All table rolls in this department<br />
are motor driven, as is also the screw down<br />
on the universal mill. The product is taken from the<br />
mill over tables and past saw to hot bed, across hot<br />
bed to hot bed table, through a leveler, to warehouse,
144<br />
Tne blast hirnaceSSteelW<br />
where it is sawed or sheared, as the case might be, and<br />
loaded on cars for shipment.<br />
The crane equipment in this mill consists of one<br />
mill crane, one hot bed crane and three warehouse<br />
cranes. All saws, shears, levelers and gaggers are<br />
electrically operated.<br />
The sheet mill consists of two units, number one<br />
unit being electrically driven, while number two unit<br />
is driven by a cross compound steam engine. Number<br />
one unit drive is a 1600-h.p., 2200-v., a.c, 3-phase, 25cycle,<br />
210 r.p.m., wound rotor, induction motor. Speed<br />
of the rolls is reduced to 28 r.p.m. by means of a<br />
triple staggered tooth gear unit, entirely encased. The<br />
flywheel is installed on this drive to take care of peaks<br />
incidental to work of this kind. This motor operates<br />
on a fixed resistance of six per cent in the secondary<br />
and steps of 11 and 16 per cent can be obtained by<br />
means of the master controller. Number one unit consists<br />
of nine stands of sheet mills, one jobbing mill<br />
and three stands of cold rolls. Number two unit consists<br />
of seven stands of sheet mills, one jobbing mill<br />
and four stands of cold rolls. All shears, stokers, fans<br />
and levelers are electrically driven.<br />
The galvanizing department is located south of<br />
the sheet mills and consists of eight standard galvanizing<br />
pots, having individual drives. The motors<br />
are 15 h.p., 230 v., d.c, adjustable speed, 425 to 1275<br />
r.p.m., to permit operator to set pot speed according<br />
to the material he is galvanizing. The galvanized<br />
sheets are carried by conveyors from the pots to the<br />
warehouse where they are inspected, weighed and<br />
shipped. All fans, conveyors and levelers are motor<br />
driven. The crane equipment consists of two cranes<br />
to serve the galvanizing pots and picklers and one<br />
crane in the warehouse.<br />
Located next to the warehouse is the roofing department.<br />
This department is equipped with necessary<br />
corrugating, stamping machines and presses for<br />
the finishing of sheets used in building construction.<br />
This building is a continuation of the sheet mill warehouse<br />
and shipping department, and is served by two<br />
cranes. All machinery in this department is electrically<br />
operated, with the exception of the patent levelers,<br />
which are operated by steam.<br />
The continuous merchant mill consists of 14-in.<br />
roughing and 11-in. and 8-in. finishing. This mill rolls<br />
rounds, squares and deformed bars for reinforcing<br />
concrete work. The mill is driven by a tandem, compound<br />
steam engine, 3500 h.p., 150 pounds steam pressure.<br />
All roll tables, transfers and twisting machines<br />
are motor driven. This mill is served by three cranes,<br />
one at the furnaces, two at the finishing and shipping<br />
ends.<br />
Plate Mill: The 30-in. x 100-in. plate mill is of the<br />
tandem type having roughing and finishing stands.<br />
Both stands are driven by 2200 v., a.c. induction motors.<br />
Number one unit, or roughing stand, is driven<br />
by 2000-h.p., 2200-v., 3-phase, 25-cycle, 245-r.p.m.,<br />
wound rotor induction motor. Peaks on the motor are<br />
controlled by means of liquid slip regulator in the<br />
secondary of the motor. On the occasion of a heavy<br />
load, the resistance is inserted in the secondary winding,<br />
tending to slow the motor down and allow the<br />
flywheel to give up part of its energy. The speed of<br />
the mill is reduced to 52 r.p.m. by means of a suitable<br />
rope drive, with the larger pulley acting as a flywheel.<br />
Number two unit, or finishing stand, is driven by<br />
3000-h.p., 2200-v., 3-phase, 25-cycle, 245-r.p.m., wound<br />
March, 1924<br />
rotor induction motor, having the same general characteristics<br />
and control as the roughing mill. All<br />
tables, screw downs, transfers and shears are motor<br />
driven. This department is served by seven cranes,<br />
two acting as charging cranes, two mill cranes and<br />
three at the finishing and shipping end. All of the<br />
charging is done by means of magnets, and also a<br />
large percentage of the shipping and inspection is<br />
handled by magnets.<br />
Bolt and Rivet Department: Bolt and rivet department<br />
operates approximately 75 motors on the different<br />
machines, such as lathes, shapers, planers,<br />
grinders, etc.. in the tool room, and on nut. rivet,<br />
thread and spike machines in the shop. All machines<br />
are individually driven by motors, and quite a number<br />
have adjustable speed by rheostats. This adjustment<br />
of speed is necessary, due to the manufacture<br />
of a wide range of sizes. This department makes different<br />
sizes of bolts, rivets, spikes and special track<br />
bolts for rail splices. They also turn out silo rods.<br />
Shops : The shops, such as the main machine shop,<br />
boiler shop, locomotive shop, carpenter shop, pattern<br />
shop and blacksmith shop are centrally located, together<br />
with the general storeroom. Practically all the<br />
machines in the various shops are individually driven<br />
by electric motors.<br />
Total number of cranes in plant one—75.<br />
Total number of motors in plant one, not including<br />
cranes—574.<br />
Plant Two.<br />
The western boundary of Plant No. 2 is on the<br />
Indiana Harbor ship canal, for a distance of 3.000 feet,<br />
and forms a dock for receiving material from boats,<br />
such as ore. stone and coal. Boat unloading equipment<br />
consists of five combination bridges and unloaders<br />
for ore and stone and two high speed unloaders<br />
for coal. The ore bridges are also used for the unloading<br />
of coal, when conditions warrant same.<br />
Ore and stone is unloaded from the boats to storage<br />
yard and over storage yard to larry cars, then to the<br />
furnace storage bins. From the storage bins the ore<br />
is weighed on scale cars and then moved on to the<br />
skip hoists. The skip hoists are steam driven. However,<br />
material is on hand for the changing of these<br />
drives to electric.<br />
The blast furnace department consists of one 500<br />
ton and two 550 ton furnaces, and supplies all the iron<br />
for plants one and two open hearth furnaces, also pig<br />
iron for company use and for the trade.<br />
The supply of coal for the coke plant is practically<br />
all delivered in boats. The coal is unloaded from<br />
boats by unloaders to track hopper, and by belt conveyor<br />
for a distance of some 600 feet to a cross belt<br />
conveyor running parallel to the coal storage field and<br />
extending the entire length of the field. The coal is<br />
delivered from belt conveyors on coal bridge and deposited<br />
in any space desired in the field. Due to the<br />
fact that the unloaders, working with the bridges,<br />
could unload faster than the belt conveyor could take<br />
it away, thereby causing considerable delay, a large<br />
storage hopper was built at the dock and is used for<br />
storage of coal unloaded by ore bridges. This hopper<br />
is equipped with a cross belt conveyor which empties<br />
on the main belt conveyor to the coke plant storage.<br />
After boats have been unloaded, the dock hopper is<br />
opened and coal conveyed to the main storage. This
March, 1924<br />
method cut down the time to unload approximately<br />
50 per cent.<br />
All equipment, such as larry cars, conveyors,<br />
crushers, door machines, pushers, etc., are electrically<br />
operated, the only steam driven apparatus being installed<br />
in the by-product department. Coal is taken<br />
from the storage yard and put into the crushing system<br />
by use of two coal bridges.<br />
Plant Two Open Hearth.<br />
This department consists of ten 85-ton furnaces and<br />
one 600-ton hot metal mixer. All doors and valves on<br />
the furnaces are hydraulically operated. The mixer<br />
is operated by two motors, either motor being large<br />
enough to handle the work alone. Each motor has its<br />
own control panel and master control; the master controllers<br />
are mechanically interlocked together, but can<br />
be readily separated. There is also provided a dead<br />
man limit switch, mounted over and above the running<br />
masters. It is necessary for the operator to hold the<br />
dead man switch while operating the mixer, and if,<br />
for any reason, he should let go of the switch, the<br />
mixer immediately would return to its upright position.<br />
If, for any reason, the limit switches should fail<br />
to operate, they can be short-circuited by means of<br />
a four pole switch within the operator's reach. The<br />
emergency feed, described in another part of this article,<br />
makes this installation very reliable.<br />
The open hearth department is served by two mold<br />
yard cranes, three scrap handling magnet cranes, one<br />
bucket crane for stone and limestone, two 75-ton hot<br />
metal cranes, two 150-ton ladle cranes and one stripper<br />
crane.<br />
Under construction in this department are four 100ton<br />
furnaces, all doors and valves to be electrically operated,<br />
and one 175-ton ladle crane.<br />
Located at plant two open hearth are the skullcracker<br />
cranes. Two 25-ton skull cracking cranes are<br />
installed and they handle all the skulls from open<br />
hearth and blast furnaces.<br />
Die blast RirnaceS Steel P>-<br />
40-Inch Mill.<br />
The 40-in. mill is one of the latest designs in rolling<br />
mill equipment and is entirely electrically operated.<br />
The mill proper is driven by Westinghouse, double<br />
unit, reversing equipment, consisting of special flywheel<br />
motor-generator set, main motor and necessary<br />
masters and control. The complete outfit is tinder the<br />
control of the operator located in the rollers pulpit,<br />
by means of a drum type master control, vertically<br />
operated. The motor-generator set consists of a 3000h.p.,<br />
2200-v., 3-phase, 25-cycle, 368-r.p.m., wound rotor,<br />
induction motor, one 45-ton flywheel and two special<br />
generators. The fields of the generators are separately<br />
excited, and with full excitation, generator voltage is<br />
600. By reversing the direction of the field current,<br />
the armature current is reversed, and, as the main<br />
motor is directly connected to the generators, reversal<br />
of the generator armature current reverses the motor<br />
armature current, thereby reversing direction of rotation<br />
of the main motor. The speed of the main motor<br />
is under the control of the operator and is adjustable<br />
from 0 to 120 r.p.m. in either direction, in 16 steps.<br />
The peak input to the motor-generator set is regulated<br />
by means of a liquid slip regulator connected in the<br />
secondary of the 3000 h.p. drive motor. When the load<br />
on the motor reaches the predetermined setting, the<br />
regulator opens and inserts resistance in the motor<br />
145<br />
secondary, tending to slow same down and allow the<br />
flywheel to give up part of its energy. The main roll<br />
motor weighs approximately 270 tons and is connected<br />
to the pinions of the mill by means of 'l suitable universal<br />
coupling.<br />
All of the 40-in. mill auxiliaries are motor driven.<br />
A feature worthy of mention is that all the motors on<br />
the mill proper, i. e., tables, manipulators, screw down<br />
and fingers, are supplied with washed air from an air<br />
conditioning system located in the main motor room.<br />
Due to this method of operation, we have very little<br />
trouble with the electrical equipment of this mill.<br />
The crane equipment in this mill consists of two<br />
soaking pit cranes, two mill cranes and three billet<br />
dock cranes.<br />
The 40-in. mill rolls, from the ingot, slabs for the<br />
plate mill and blooms for the 32-in. mill. The slabs<br />
for the plate mijl are slid off the table rolls by means<br />
of a grass hopper pusher and carried by a conveyor to<br />
a special piler car. The blooms for the 32-in. mill are<br />
taken off table rolls by means of chain conveyor to<br />
skids in back of the reheating furnaces and are then<br />
taken care of by an electric pusher, which forces material<br />
through the furnaces.<br />
The 32-in. mill is a roughing mill for the 28-in. mill.<br />
The 32-in. mill is entirely electrically driven, the main<br />
motor having the same operating characteristics as<br />
the 40-in. mill motor, but being a single unit.<br />
The 28-in. mill motor is also a single unit, having<br />
the same operating characteristics as the 32-in. and<br />
40-in. mill motors. Due to the fact that the 28-in. mill<br />
is a three-high mill, the motor is operated in one direction,<br />
but is so designed that it can be reversed, as<br />
are the other motors. Control for all three motors is<br />
identical. The intention of having a motor of this<br />
design on a mill of this kind was to enable the operator<br />
to pick up a large beam slowly and to stop the motor<br />
instantly at will. The motor-generator set supplying<br />
current to the 28-in. and 32-in. mill motors is a double<br />
unit, one generator being used for each mill. The<br />
driving motor of the set is rated at 5000-h.p., 2200-v.,<br />
3-phase, 25-cycle, 368-r.p.m., wound rotor, induction<br />
motor and is considerably larger than the 40-in. mill.<br />
This is necessary, as there are practically no idle<br />
periods on a mill of this type, one or two bars being<br />
in the rolls at all times.<br />
The tables of this mill are of the traveling, tilting<br />
type, the motors of which are supplied with current<br />
from conductor bars in a pit located at the back of the<br />
tables. The operators are on a cantilever pulpit, directly<br />
over the mill, and they do not travel with the<br />
tables, as in some mills of this type. There are two<br />
,sets of hot saws located near the hot beds of this mill.<br />
One saw is of the sliding type, for use on structural<br />
shapes, and two saws on adjusting rails of the drop<br />
type are used when rolling rails. Structural shapes<br />
rolled on this mill, after having been cooled on hot<br />
beds, are straightened, cold sawed or sheared to specified<br />
lengths in warehouse, and loaded for shipment.<br />
Rails, splice bars and hot worked tie plates, are<br />
stored in No. 2 warehouse, and are conveyed to the<br />
different departments where they are finished, inspected<br />
and loaded for shipment.<br />
All the auxiliary equipment in the 32-in. and 28-in.<br />
mills and finishing departments are electrically driven.<br />
The 28-in. and 32-in. mills are served by two 75ton<br />
cranes and one 15-ton crane. No. I warehouse,<br />
splice bar and hot worked tie plate departments are
146<br />
served by four 15-ton cranes. No. 2 warehouse and<br />
the finishing end are served by three 15-ton cranes.<br />
Total cranes in plant two—60.<br />
Number motors in plant two, not including cranes<br />
—557.<br />
At the present time the following additions to<br />
Plant 2 mills are under construction:<br />
Die blast FurnaceSSteelPW 1<br />
Four 100-ton open hearth furnaces are being added<br />
to the battery, making 14 furnaces in all.<br />
A 14-in. merchant mill built by the M<strong>org</strong>an Construction<br />
Company is under construction. The mill<br />
has six stands of 18-in. roughing rolls and four stands<br />
of 14-in. finishing rolls. The mill will roll rounds and<br />
squares from 7/% in. to 3 in., beams and angles up to 3<br />
in., and channels up to 4 in.<br />
This mill will be driven by a 4,500-hp. adjustable<br />
speed Kraemer set. The reheating for this mill is to be<br />
done in two M<strong>org</strong>an continuous furnaces 13 ft. wide<br />
March, 1924<br />
and 40 ft. long. The furnaces are to be fired with producer<br />
gas furnished by M<strong>org</strong>an mechanical producers.<br />
A six stand 24-in. continuous mill is being installed<br />
in line with the 40-in. blooming mill to roll billets and<br />
light slabs without reheating. This mill will be driven<br />
by a 6,250-hp., 2,200-volt a.c. motor.<br />
The addition of the mills now under construction<br />
together with the numerous small auxiliary motors<br />
being installed throughout the works necessitates the<br />
installation of additional generating capacity. After<br />
a thorough survey and study of the present power<br />
system and future power requirements for additional<br />
electric driven mills and the probable electrification<br />
of existing steam driven mills, it was decided to install<br />
the first unit in a new power station located at<br />
the blast furnace. It is the intention, as future demands<br />
for power require, to add more units to this<br />
station, making it the main power station of the<br />
works.<br />
FIG. 6—The 24-in. structural bar mill. Universal plates are rolled during periods of finishing pass roll changes. FIG. 7 — The<br />
Hoover & Mason coal unloaders. There arc tzvo of these zvhich in combination zvith transfer cars distribute the total coal<br />
supply. FIG. 8—28-in., 3-stand, 3-high structural mill motor. One of the group located in Plant Tzvo Pozver House. FIG. 9<br />
—A view of the five ore bridges, shozving lake steamer at do k. FIG. 10.—Heating plant at the main machine shop motor and<br />
fan end.
March, 1924<br />
Hie blast RirnaceS Steele<br />
Turbine Room.<br />
In the turbine room is being installed a 12,500-kva.<br />
turbo-generator, built by Westinghouse Electric &<br />
Manufacturing Company, designed to carry full capacity,<br />
90 per cent power factor, and having its most<br />
economical point at 9,000 kw. load. The turbine has<br />
a structural steel foundation, which is built around<br />
the condenser. The condenser has 15,000 sq. ft. surface<br />
and is provided with duplicate sets of duplex air<br />
ejectors. The condenser is also provided with duplicate<br />
condensate pumps, which will be motor driven.<br />
It is intended that, as the plant is extended in the future,<br />
one of the air ejectors and one of the condensate<br />
pumps will also act as a spare for the second machine<br />
installed. The steam used by the air ejectors is condensed<br />
by a small auxiliary condenser, the condensate<br />
being circulating water, so that such heat as may be<br />
in this steam is recovered in the main feed. To provide<br />
for starting up when the amount of condensate<br />
is very small but the full amount of steam is being<br />
used by the air ejector, a by-pass is provided so that<br />
water from the feed tank can be fed to the suction of<br />
the condensate pumps, thereby augmenting the<br />
amount circulated through the air ejector and condenser.<br />
For cooling the generator an enclosed air washing<br />
system is installed; it is a totally enclosed system, the<br />
same air being circulated over and over again, the<br />
water sprays in this case having only a function of<br />
cooling the air. A thermostatic device is provided<br />
so that, if the temperature of the air entering the<br />
generator should rise above 100 deg. F., dampers will<br />
be operated automatically to open the inlet and discharge<br />
ducts to the atmosphere.<br />
Boilers.<br />
At present two boilers are being installed with integral<br />
economizers. The boilers have a heating surface<br />
of 12,045 sq. ft. and the economizers 6,740 sq. ft.<br />
They are designed for a working pressure of 300 lbs.<br />
per sq. in. and superheat of 200 deg.<br />
These boilers will be fired with blast furnace gas,<br />
there being four burners to each boiler. The burners<br />
are being furnished by Surface Combustion Company.<br />
The induced draft fans are driven by d.c. motors,<br />
the speed of which will be regulated to maintain balanced<br />
draft. Each boiler is provided with a stack 7<br />
ft. in diameter, mounted on top of the fan. The boilers<br />
will be individually set.<br />
Feed Water.<br />
It is proposed to use only distilled water for feed<br />
water for these boilers, and such loss as occurs will<br />
be made up by two Griscom-Russell evaporators<br />
working double effect. Steam is furnished the<br />
evaporators through a reducing valve and a desuperheater,<br />
in which water from the feed line is sprayed<br />
into steam to saturate it. The raw feed water for the<br />
evaporators is first preheated in a small open heater.<br />
The vapor from the evaporators is used for heating<br />
the feed water and is discharged direct into the main<br />
heater.<br />
The feed pumps are turbine driven and exhaust<br />
against about 5 lbs. back pressure into the main feed<br />
heater. These pumps are of the Cameron type, driven<br />
by Westinghouse turbines.<br />
The main feed heater is of the deaerating type,<br />
manufactured by Griscom-Russell Company. This<br />
heater is arranged to operate under vacuum corre<br />
147<br />
sponding to the feed temperature and is so arranged<br />
that the feed water is deaerated, so as to avoid pitting<br />
of economizer tubes. The heater is provided<br />
with a storage tank at the bottom of 2,000 gallons<br />
capacity and the level in this tank is maintained constant<br />
by regulating the feed water entering the heater<br />
from the main feed tank. The main feed tank is elevated<br />
above the heater and has a capacity of approximately<br />
10,000 gallons. The discharge from the condensate<br />
pumps flows into this tank, as well as drains<br />
from the evaporator cells.<br />
Chinese Inventions and Discoveries<br />
The remark of Gore about Western civilization,<br />
that "the origin of many important discoveries lies<br />
buried in the obscurity of past ages," is none the less<br />
true of Chinese inventions and discoveries. Whether<br />
we believe with Jespersen that the flexionless Chinese<br />
language represents a higher linguistic development<br />
than the flexional languages such as Latin or Greek<br />
or whether with Taylor that "Chinese would take rank<br />
with English as a world language" and that "the Chinese<br />
come out near the apex of human evolution," or<br />
not, we nevertheless would admit the fact that some<br />
of the fundamental discoveries and inventions of great<br />
import to the human race have been made or forestalled<br />
by the Chinese. In fact, China is self-contained,<br />
with a virtually continuous existence of 5000<br />
years, developing step by step through various discoveries<br />
and inventions by her people. Truly, in the<br />
words of Faber, an eminent sinologue, "China forms<br />
a World in itself."<br />
I shall enumerate a few of the important discoveries<br />
and inventions of China as indicating in a way<br />
the general trend of her development.<br />
The Compass: Records show that Chow Kung in<br />
the Chow Dynasty, about 1122 B. C. used a kind of<br />
wagon equipped with an instrument that pointed always<br />
toward the north.<br />
Paper was first made by Tsai Lun, out of tree<br />
fibres, rags and hemp, during the Dynasty of Eastern<br />
Han, the early part of the first century.<br />
Printing: It has been mentioned that Fung To<br />
originated the art of stereotyped wooden plates about<br />
the year 932 A. D., but later investigation made by<br />
the sinologue Stanislas Julien has shown that the invention<br />
actually dated from the year 593. A record of<br />
this period proves this: "It was decreed that drawings<br />
and unpublished texts should be collected and<br />
engraved on wood for publication."<br />
Glass was first manufactured by Pun Fang about<br />
the early part of the second century. It is recorded<br />
that he bad a piece carved with 130 designs.<br />
Seismograph : An instrument, resembling perhaps<br />
the present day seismograph, was invented by Chang<br />
Heng in the first century, during the Han Dynasty,<br />
which could record any slight earthquake not perceptible<br />
by human senses.<br />
Metals: In Tai Hao's time (2852-2737 B. C.) metallic<br />
coin was already in circulation. The inventive<br />
genius of the ancient Chinese can nowhere be more<br />
explicitly shown than in the art of making alloys. An<br />
alloy, similar to German silver, under the name of Pait'<br />
ong, was obtained by fusing "red steel" with arsenic.<br />
The manufacture by the ancient Chinese of gongs and<br />
tom toms, with their perfect tones, still remains to<br />
us a mystery, although their chemical composition has<br />
been determined.
Ihe Dlast rurnace^yjteel riant<br />
I E SAFETY CRUSADE<br />
Safety Work of the Bureau of Mines<br />
Safety in industry is distinctly a modern problem.<br />
Most probably a number of the toilers who built the<br />
Pyramids were injured and killed by the breaking of the<br />
ropes and other mechanical devices with which they put<br />
the heavy stones in place, but such occurrences can hardly<br />
have made much impression except upon the unfortunate<br />
victims and their fellow workers. Industrial work was<br />
done at that time, and for many centuries thereafter,<br />
mainly by slaves, injury to whom could hardly awaken<br />
much more concern than injury to a domestic animal,<br />
with which they shared the status of ownership. Not<br />
until the industrial worker became a citizen of the state<br />
did his personal welfare become an object of general<br />
concern. In the middle ages there were so many other<br />
hazards to life that industrial hazards were overshadowed.<br />
Evelyn and Pepys in their diaries have given<br />
us a vivid picture of the tornado-like epidemics of disease<br />
that swept over Europe from time to time. It is estimated<br />
that over 60 million of the inhabitants of Europe died<br />
from smallpox in the eighteenth century. And our custom<br />
of shaking hands on meeting has its origin in a state<br />
of society in which it was fair to assume that any one<br />
met on the road or in the street was a possible enemy.<br />
So much progress has been made since then that such<br />
conditions seem unreal as an ugly dream. With the exception<br />
of influenza, medicine now knows how to control<br />
epidemics; murders, except among the criminal stratum<br />
of society, are infrequent; and industrial hazards now<br />
come out in relief, just as the candle shines when the<br />
electric lights are turned off.<br />
Industrial hazards have, however, increased actually,<br />
as well as relatively, through the enormous advance of<br />
mechanicalization of industry. This makes an important<br />
additional reason why we should do something about<br />
accidents in industry. The words I have just used are<br />
significant, "do something." When the importance of<br />
accidents in industry was realized the accent was on doing<br />
and the weakness of the word "something" was not so<br />
apparent. In many cases what to do was clear; if men<br />
were injured by falling into holes the obvious thing to<br />
do was to put fences around the holes, and to attempt<br />
to teach men to look where they were going. This sounds<br />
easy, and it is probable that many of those who early<br />
took up "safety first" with enthusiasm thought that accident<br />
prevention would be easy once people piit their minds<br />
on it. A decade of experience has not confirmed this<br />
optimistic view. Accident prevention proves unexpectedly<br />
difficult and we are being forced to view that no such<br />
measure of nearly complete success as has been achieved,<br />
for example, in the prevention of small-pox, will ever be<br />
possible. This is not an entirely fair comparison, however,<br />
because industrial accidents never claimed the number<br />
of victims that small-pox did, and just as in chemical<br />
Paper presented at meeting of American Institute of Mining<br />
and Metallurgical Engineers, New York Citv, Fehruary<br />
18, 1924.<br />
By H. FOSTER BAIN, Director<br />
manufacture it is relatively easy to take out the gross<br />
impurities but difficult to remove the last traces, so we<br />
must recognize that in dealing with industrial accidents<br />
we are working in the zone where improvement is difficult.<br />
It was inevitable that doing would focus attention<br />
on the second word of the pair, "do something." From<br />
its inception, the Bureau of Mines has had this viewpoint<br />
in a large degree, feeling that the mining industry should<br />
and could be relied on to do the things that it was evident<br />
should be done when attention was focused on them.<br />
Our job in many cases has been to so direct attention<br />
and we lay no claims of priority of discovery as to many<br />
of the dangers against which we have issued warnings.<br />
Beyond this, however, has been the very large problem<br />
of first finding out what to do before starting to "do<br />
something. Explosions in coal mines afford a good example.<br />
It was generally known that mixtures of gas and<br />
air are explosive. It was much less generally known<br />
that coal dust alone was explosive and few appreciated<br />
how commonly dust permitted the spreading through<br />
a mine of what would otherwise have been a minor local<br />
gas explosion. No one knew exactly what to do about it.<br />
So it was necessary, not only to demonstrate beyond<br />
dispute by large scale tests and exhibitions the dangerous<br />
nature of coal dust, but to determine causes and<br />
formulate methods of prevention or limitations. It is<br />
in this latter field that, by common consent, the Bureau<br />
of Mines finds its peculiar field of usefulness. Under our<br />
system of dual government, regulatory powers in the<br />
mines rest with the states but where, prior to formulating<br />
regulations extensive and expensive research in<br />
technical matters is required, there is obvious economy<br />
in the states acting through the Federal government,<br />
and thus avoiding duplication and disagreement. The<br />
Bureau spent approximately a quarter of a million dollars<br />
in its five years work on dust barriers at its experimental<br />
mine near Pittsburgh. Obviously it would be<br />
poor economy to have each of the 29 coal mining states<br />
duplicate this work, and while the amount spent may seem<br />
large it is to be remembered that the property damage<br />
alone in one coal mine explosion is often larger.<br />
Development of permissible explosives has decreased<br />
the danger of disasters in coal mines and the use of rock<br />
dust will undoubtedly limit the area affected in the case<br />
of such explosions as continue to occur. The Bureau<br />
has, in this case, pointed the way. It remains for the<br />
industry to make the application.<br />
There remain many problems to be solved. The high<br />
speed at which mining is done in the United States and<br />
the limited amount of labor available and to be available<br />
necessitates the wider and wider introduction of machinery<br />
underground- This in turn means the use of<br />
electricity throughout the workings and each new force<br />
applied brings new dangers. It is entirely possible to<br />
guard against them and permissible electric machinery
March, 1924<br />
is now being developed to parallel permissible explosives,<br />
but all this requires research.. Before doing we must<br />
know what it is safe to do and in this as in other lines of<br />
work the Bureau of Mines is endeavoring to answer the<br />
question, "What?" asked in response to the urge to "do<br />
something" to lesson the number of deaths and injuries<br />
that have been so unwelcome an accompaniment to the<br />
task of removing hundreds of thousand million tons of<br />
mineral yearly from deep within the earth and making<br />
it available for the service of man.<br />
American Engineering Council<br />
The <strong>org</strong>anization of the American Engineering Council<br />
now constitutes a Federal System analogous to that<br />
under which the Government of the United States functions,<br />
says Gardner S. Williams of Ann Arbor, Mich.,<br />
in a prepared statement interpreting the Council's Revised<br />
Constitution. The new constitution permits the<br />
reelection of the president, an office now occupied by<br />
former Governor James Hartness of Vermont. The<br />
statement of Mr. Williams, who is a vice-president of<br />
the Council, follows:<br />
"The first change in the revision is the dropping<br />
of the name 'Federated American Engineering Societies'<br />
and replacing it by 'American Engineering Council'<br />
which now stands for the association of societies. Tlie<br />
administrative and legislative bod)', formerly called the<br />
American Engineering Council is now designated the<br />
Assembly. The name of the Executive Board is changed<br />
to Administrative Board and the Committee on Procedure<br />
becomes the Executive Committee.<br />
"By the analogy it may be said that the constituent<br />
Societies correspond to the States in our national government<br />
and like them have delegated certain powers<br />
to a national <strong>org</strong>anization. This <strong>org</strong>anization, American<br />
Engineering Council, therefore corresponds to the United<br />
States. The Assembly then is analogous to Congress and<br />
the Administrative Board may be said to roughly represent<br />
the President and his Cabinet. It may be pointed<br />
out that by reason of the method of selecting delegates<br />
to the Assembly the latter partakes of the nature of a<br />
Senate rather than a House of Representatives, while<br />
in its representation proportioned to membership it resembles<br />
the House rather than the Senate.<br />
"The next change is in the provision for membership<br />
where it is made possible for technical sections or<br />
divisions of non-engineering <strong>org</strong>anizations to be admitted<br />
to membership, as well as alumni associations of engineering<br />
schools and sections of non-member national societies,<br />
none of which seemed to be included under the<br />
original constitution.<br />
"The Assembly is specifically directed to 'through appropriate<br />
channels communicate to the proper representatives<br />
of the National Government opinions, advice<br />
and suggestions relative to questions of legislation or<br />
administration in the solution of which engineering and<br />
allied technical knowledge and experience may be involved<br />
or valuable;' and is authorized 'upon request of<br />
local or state <strong>org</strong>anization, or in the absence of such<br />
<strong>org</strong>anizations (to) render similar service in local and state<br />
affairs.'<br />
"The former function has been regularly exercised<br />
by the Council since its <strong>org</strong>anization, but was never specifically<br />
provided for in the constitution.<br />
"The past-presidents are made members of the Assembly<br />
for six years following the expiration of their<br />
service as Presidents, in order that their judgment and<br />
experience may be available to the Council.<br />
lhe Dlast hirnace^jteel riant<br />
149<br />
"A provision is introduced making possible a reduction<br />
of membership on the Administrative Board below<br />
thirty, the former requirement.<br />
"The most important change is in Section II of<br />
Article IV, wherein the established practice of the Council<br />
is written definitely into the Constitution as follows :<br />
" 'Limitations: No decision affecting the policy or<br />
action of American Engineering Council shall be made<br />
by the General Assembly or the Administrative Board<br />
unless it shall receive a two thirds affirmative vote:<br />
" '(a) Of the representatives present of each of the<br />
national member societies having six or more<br />
representatives on the Assembly.<br />
" '(b) Of the aggregate of the representatives present<br />
of the other national member societies.<br />
"'(c) Of the aggregate of the representatives present<br />
of the local, state and regional member societies.<br />
" 'These limitations shall not apply to the election of<br />
officers, the eligibility of representatives, the admission<br />
of members, the determination of assessments, the payment<br />
of bills, the adoption of a budget, the amendment of<br />
the 'By-Laws' or 'Standing Rules,' the selection of a place<br />
and time for a subsequent meeting, or matters of a purely<br />
routing nature.'<br />
"This provision prevents any hasty or illconsidered<br />
action being taken over the opposition of even a comparatively<br />
small minority, and assures substantial unanimity<br />
on all matters of major importance.. It gives<br />
to each of the large national societies the power to stop<br />
action and should fully answer the charge that they may<br />
be swamped by the votes of the smaller local societies.<br />
"The old provisions regarding the setting up of state<br />
councils and relations to state affairs have been dropped.<br />
"The By-Laws now appear as 'By-Laws and Standing<br />
Rules.' The former embrace those practices which have<br />
been found while the latter include matters upon which<br />
a final conclusion has not yet been reached. The former<br />
can only be amended by a vote of the Assembly while<br />
the latter can be changed by the Administrative Board.<br />
"The membership is now restricted to <strong>org</strong>anizations<br />
'of the United States,' it being recognized that the Council's<br />
functions are primarily to deal with our National<br />
Government from the standpoint of its citizens and that<br />
there can be no proper participation of foreign societies<br />
therein.<br />
"A qualification for Representatives on the Assembly<br />
has been inserted which is practically equivalent to that<br />
of the second grade of Corporate Membership in the great<br />
national societies. This assures men of similar qualifications<br />
on the Assembly to those met in the governing<br />
bodies and on the Committees of the national societies.<br />
"In the Standing Rules provision is made for alternates<br />
both on the Assembly and Administrative Board, it<br />
being the belief that the more persons who can be brought<br />
into close touch with the work of the Council the more<br />
strongly will it become entrenched in the engineering<br />
profession."<br />
By replacing the armature return spring of their<br />
types G and M demand meters with an electromagnet,<br />
the General Electric Company have made it possible<br />
to eliminate false registration due to failure of supply<br />
voltage. This development also allows the use of<br />
these types of meters with the type D-3 or so-called<br />
three-wire contact device, thus minimizing the danger<br />
of false registration due to improperly adjusted contacts.<br />
This construction is now available in the G-2,<br />
M-4 and allied types of meters.
150<br />
TheblastUaceSSteelPl anf<br />
March, 1924<br />
Metalloids in Basic Pig Iron in Basic Open<br />
hearth Practice*<br />
By C. L. KINNEY, JR.f<br />
PART II<br />
T H E first section of this important discussion<br />
appeared in January Blast Furnace and Steel<br />
Plant, pages 45-50. "An endeavor to emphasize<br />
the effect of varying percentages of silicon, manganese<br />
and phosphorus in the basic open hearth process,<br />
on the cost of steel; supplemented by calculations<br />
that exhibit the monetary losses sustained, when unnecessary<br />
quantities of silica or bases are used."<br />
THERMAL BALANCE SHEET<br />
Heat Absorbed<br />
THERMOCHEMICAL CHANCES<br />
Reduction of oxides of iron :<br />
Heat of formation of F203 = 3240 B.t.u.<br />
Heat of formation of FeO = 2-130<br />
Input:<br />
FcO* = 6781<br />
FeO = 100<br />
Heat of formation:<br />
Fe2Oa = 3240 X 6781 = 21.97 X 10"<br />
FeO = 2430 X 100 = 0.24 X 10*<br />
Total = 22.21 X 10"<br />
•Copyright 1923 by the American Institute of Mining and<br />
Metallurgical Engineers, Inc.<br />
tSuperintendent of Open Hearth. Illinois Steel Company,<br />
South Chicago, 111.<br />
1<br />
Material<br />
Basic hot metal<br />
Structural steel scrap<br />
Low SiOi ore (natural)<br />
Michigan limestone.<br />
Calcined dolomite...<br />
SiOi from furnace<br />
Total entering fur-<br />
Total Bteelin bath...<br />
Tapping slag, 100.97<br />
Unaccounted for. . . .<br />
Metalloids oxidized.<br />
Material<br />
Structural steel scrap.<br />
Low SiOa ore (natural)<br />
Michigan limestone...<br />
Calcined dolomite<br />
SiOj from furnace<br />
Total entering furnace<br />
Total steel in bath ....<br />
Tapping slag, 100.97<br />
Total output<br />
Metalloids oxidized..<br />
2<br />
Weight<br />
in<br />
Pounds<br />
65.000<br />
35.000<br />
8,462<br />
4,478<br />
2.500<br />
300<br />
99,552<br />
8,975<br />
18<br />
Pounds<br />
S<br />
26<br />
14<br />
1<br />
2<br />
6<br />
48<br />
40<br />
22<br />
62<br />
+ 14<br />
3<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
C<br />
4.30<br />
0.20<br />
0.20<br />
19<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
CaO<br />
0.96<br />
54.60<br />
48.58<br />
2.50<br />
41.77<br />
4<br />
Pounds<br />
C<br />
2,795<br />
70<br />
2.866<br />
199<br />
199<br />
2,660<br />
20<br />
Pounds<br />
CaO<br />
81<br />
2,445<br />
1,215<br />
8<br />
3,749<br />
3,749<br />
3,749<br />
Output:<br />
Tapping slag = FeO<br />
1644 X 2430 = 3.99 X 10"<br />
Moisture in ore:<br />
Total weight of ore = 8462 lb.<br />
Per cent = 8.20<br />
Total water = 694<br />
Total heat to make steam at 212°<br />
694 X 1092 = 0.76 X 10"<br />
Specific heat of steam = 0.42 + 0.00013 X<br />
(2800 -f- 212) = 0.81<br />
Heat in superheat = 694 X (2800 — 212) 0.81 = 145 X<br />
Total = 2.21 X 10"<br />
Decomposition of limestone:<br />
Heat of formation CaCO, per lb. = 772 B.t.u.<br />
Total limestone = 4478<br />
Total heat required = 772 X 4478 = 3.46 X 10"<br />
Moisture l.S per cent = 67<br />
Total heat to make steam — 67 X 1,092 =<br />
Heat in superheat = 2,096 X 67 =<br />
Total =<br />
Decomposition of improperly burned dolomite:<br />
Total weight of dolomite = 2500 lb.<br />
Volatile = 15.54 per cent = 389 lb.<br />
Assumed 98 per cent 389 = 381 exists as CO-<br />
To drive off C02 = 1756 B.t.u. per lb.<br />
Total heat to drive off C02 = 1756 X 381 = 0.671<br />
TABLE 7.—Standard Iron, Low-silica Ore, Furnace Charge<br />
CHEMICAL BALANCE SHEET<br />
5<br />
Pounds<br />
CO<br />
21<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
MgO<br />
21.12<br />
0.88<br />
32.58<br />
0.38<br />
11.52<br />
6<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
Si<br />
0.75<br />
22<br />
Pounds<br />
MgO<br />
179<br />
39<br />
815<br />
1<br />
1,034<br />
1,034<br />
1,034<br />
7 8 9<br />
Pounds<br />
Si<br />
488<br />
488<br />
488<br />
23<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
Fe<br />
56.09<br />
0.20<br />
0.38<br />
99.52<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
SiOi<br />
4.62<br />
0.34<br />
1.32<br />
1.12<br />
17.61<br />
24<br />
Pounds<br />
Fe<br />
00,911<br />
34,772<br />
4,746<br />
9<br />
10<br />
100,448<br />
99,074<br />
1,274<br />
100.34S<br />
-100<br />
100<br />
Pounds<br />
SiOj<br />
1,039<br />
391<br />
15<br />
33<br />
3<br />
100<br />
1,581<br />
1,581<br />
1,581<br />
25<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
FeO<br />
1.18<br />
18.32<br />
10 | 11<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
P<br />
0.20<br />
0.01<br />
0.017<br />
0.006<br />
0.004<br />
0.004<br />
0.01<br />
26<br />
Pounds<br />
FeO<br />
100<br />
1,644<br />
Pounds<br />
P<br />
130<br />
4<br />
1<br />
135<br />
10<br />
125<br />
135<br />
125<br />
12 | 13<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
P.O£<br />
3.18<br />
27 j 28<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
FeiOj<br />
78.82<br />
Pounds<br />
FejOj<br />
6,781<br />
Pounds<br />
P.O.<br />
286<br />
29<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
AhOj<br />
1.10<br />
0.30<br />
1.49<br />
RsOi<br />
1.15<br />
1.62<br />
14 | 15 | 16<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
Mn<br />
1.00<br />
0.40<br />
0.07<br />
0.23<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
MnO<br />
6.70<br />
30 | 31<br />
Pounds<br />
AhOi<br />
93<br />
13<br />
37<br />
3<br />
148<br />
148<br />
146<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
CaFi<br />
92.53<br />
Pounds<br />
Mn<br />
0.07 X<br />
0.14 X<br />
650<br />
140<br />
10*<br />
10'<br />
1C<br />
3.67 X 10*<br />
6<br />
796<br />
230<br />
466<br />
696<br />
-100<br />
566<br />
32<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
Volume<br />
1.68<br />
15.54<br />
17<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
S<br />
0.04<br />
0.04<br />
0 006<br />
0.042<br />
0.126<br />
0.04<br />
0 23<br />
33<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
Moisture<br />
8.20<br />
1.50
March, 1924<br />
THERMOPHYSICAL CHANGES<br />
Hot metal = 65.000 lb. Temperature = 2474° F.<br />
Tapping temperature = 3030° F. includes emissivity factor<br />
Temperature rise (3080 — 2474) = 606° F.<br />
Specific Heat = 0.2<br />
Heat absorbed = 65,000 X 606 X 0.2 = 7.88 X 10"<br />
Scrap = 35,000 lb. Temperature = 62° F.<br />
Melting temperature scrap = 2795° F.<br />
Heat required to bring to melting temperature = 2733 X 35,000<br />
X 0.16 = 15.30 X 10"<br />
Latent heat of fusion = 72 B.t.u.<br />
Total heat of fusion = 35,000 X 72 = 2.52 X 10"<br />
Heat to raise to temperature of bath 35,000 X 285 X 0.2 =<br />
2.00 X 10'<br />
Total heat = 19.82 X 10"<br />
Total heat in molten slag:<br />
Heat in tapping slag = 8975 X 1066 = 9.57 X 10' B.t.u.<br />
Total heat absorbed = 62.04 X 10" B.t.u.<br />
Heat Generated<br />
Oxidation of carbon, weight = 2666 lb.<br />
Heat of formation of CO from C per lb = 4374 B.t.u.<br />
Heat generated = 4374 X 2666 = 11.66 X 10'<br />
Oxidation of manganese, weight = 566 lb.<br />
Heat of formation of MnO = 2984 B.t.u.<br />
Heat generated = 2984 X 560 = 1.69 X 10°<br />
Oxidation of silicon, weight = 488 lb.<br />
Heat of formation of Si02 = 11.693 B.t.u.<br />
Heat generated = 11,693 X 488 = 5.71 X 10'<br />
Oxidation of phosphorus, weight = 125 lb.<br />
Heat of formation of P2O.-, = 10,825 B.t.u.<br />
Heat generated = 10,825 X 125 = 1.35 X 10'<br />
Heat of formation of slag, weight = 8975 lb.<br />
Heat of formation of slag = 114 B.t.u.<br />
Heat generated = 8975 X 114 — 1.02 X 10 6<br />
Total heat generated = 21.43 B.t.u.<br />
Authorities for Constants Used<br />
THERMOCHEMICAL CHANGES<br />
Iron oxide reduction—Richards<br />
Decomposition of limestone—U. S. Bureau of Standards<br />
Oxidation of C, Mn, Si, P—Richards, LeChatelier, Berthelot,<br />
Thomson<br />
Formation of slag, calculated using Richards' values<br />
THERMOPHYSICAL CHANGES<br />
Specific heat, pig iron—0.1665—Oberhoffer<br />
Specific heat, soft steel—0.16—Meuther<br />
Latent heat of fusion, pig iron—Hutter<br />
Latent heat of fusion, steel—average value—Jetner, Richards,<br />
Brisker<br />
Heat in molten slag—Springorum<br />
Thermal Balance Sheet<br />
HEAT ABSORBED<br />
Red. of oxides of Fe<br />
Absorp. moist, of ore<br />
Decomp. of limestone<br />
Absorp. moist, of limestone<br />
Decomp. of dolomite<br />
Heat in molten slab<br />
Heat added to mixer metal<br />
Heat added to scrap<br />
HEAT GENERATED<br />
Oxidation of C<br />
Oxidation of Mn<br />
=<br />
=<br />
Oxidation of Si =<br />
Oxidation of P =<br />
Heat form, slag<br />
Balance heat to be supplied<br />
by combustion<br />
=<br />
of gases in furnace =<br />
=<br />
^<br />
=<br />
—<br />
--=<br />
—<br />
=z<br />
=<br />
11.66<br />
1.69<br />
5.71<br />
1.35<br />
1.02<br />
18.22<br />
2.21<br />
3.46<br />
0.21<br />
0.67<br />
9.57<br />
7.88<br />
19.82<br />
X 10*<br />
X 10'<br />
X 10"<br />
X 10"<br />
X 10'<br />
Total B.t.u. =<br />
40.61 X 10'<br />
62.04 X 10'<br />
THERMAL EFFICIENCY OF BATH<br />
Thermal efficiency of furnace = 17.3 per cent.<br />
B.t.u. in gas per pound of coal = 10,625<br />
Total B.t.u. to be supplied in producer gas<br />
232.06 X 10" B.t.u.<br />
Total coal burned = 21,841 lb.<br />
Ihp Dlasf hirnaccOjfee] rlanf<br />
40.61 X 10*<br />
0.175<br />
THERMAL BALANCE SHEET<br />
Heat Absorbed<br />
THERMOCHEMICAL CHANGES<br />
Reduction of oxides of iron :<br />
Heat of formation of F=03 = 3240.<br />
Heat of formation of FeO = 2430<br />
Input:<br />
FftOa = 7281<br />
FeO = 118<br />
Heat of formation :<br />
Fe=03 = 7281 X 3240 = 23.59 X 10'<br />
FeO = 118 X 2430 = 0.29 X 10'<br />
Total = 23.88 X 10"<br />
Output:<br />
Tapping slag—FeO = 1847 X 2430 = 4.49 X 10'<br />
Moisture in ore :<br />
Total weight of ore = 10,023<br />
Per cent moisture = 8<br />
Total water = 802<br />
Total heat to make steam at 212°<br />
802 X 1092 = 088 X 10'<br />
Specific heat of steam = 0.42 + 0.00013 X<br />
(2800 + 212) = 0.81<br />
Heat in superheat 802 X (2800 — 212) 0.S1 = 1.68 X 10°<br />
Decomposition of limestone:<br />
Heat of formation CaCO. per lb. = 772 B.t.u.<br />
Total limestone = 6915<br />
Total heat required = 6915 X 772 = 5.34 X 10'<br />
Moisture 1.5 per cent = 104<br />
Total heat to make steam = 104 X 1092 =<br />
Heat in superheat = 104 X 2096 =<br />
151<br />
0.11 X 10"<br />
0.22 X 10'<br />
Total = 0.33 X 10"<br />
Decomposition of improperly burned dolomite:<br />
Total weight of dolomite = 2500 lb.<br />
Volatile = 15.54 per cent = 389 lb.<br />
Assumed 98 per cent = 381 exists as CO2<br />
To drive off C02 = 1756 B.t.u. per lb.<br />
Total heat to drive off C02 = 1756 X 381 = 0.67 X 10"<br />
THERMOPHYSICAL CHANGES<br />
Hot metal = 65,000 lb. Temperature = 2474° F.<br />
Tapping temperature = 3080° F. includes emissivity factor<br />
Temperature rise (3080 — 2474) = 606° F.<br />
Sparine Heat = 0.2<br />
Heat absorbed = 65.000 X 606 X 0.2 = 7.88 X 10'<br />
Scrap = 35,000 lb. Temperature = 62° F.<br />
Melting temperature scrap = 2795° F.<br />
Heat required to bring to melting temperature = 35,000 X 2733<br />
X 0.16 = 15.30 X 10'<br />
Latent heat of fusion = 72 B.t.u.<br />
Total heat of fusion = 35,000 X 72 = 2.52 X 10'<br />
Heat to raise to temperature of bath = (2080 — 2795) 35,000 X<br />
0.2 = 2.00 X 10'<br />
Total heat = 19.82 X 10"<br />
Total heat in molten slag:<br />
Heat in tapping slag = 11,965 X 1066 = 12.75 X 10' B.t.u.<br />
Total heat absorbed — 68.74 X 10' B.t.u.<br />
Heat Generated<br />
Oxidation of carbon, weight = 2666 lb.<br />
Heat of formation of CO from C per lb = 4374 B.t.u.<br />
Heat generated = 4374 X 2667 = 11.66 X 10"<br />
Oxidation of manganese, weight = 1115 lb.<br />
Heat of formation of MnO — 2984 B.t.u.<br />
Heat generated = 2984 X 1115 = 3.33 X 10"<br />
Oxidation of silicon, weight = 488 lb.<br />
Heat of formation of Si02 = 11,693 B.t.u.<br />
Heat generated = 11,693 X 488 = 5.71 X 10'<br />
Oxidation of phosphorus, weight = 129 lb.<br />
Heat of formation of P2Os = 10,825 B.t.u.<br />
Heat generated = 10,825 X 129 = 1.40 X 10'<br />
Heat of formation of slag, weight = 11,965 lb.<br />
Heat of formation of slag = 98 B.t.u.<br />
Heat generated = 98 X 11,965 = 1.17 X 10"<br />
Total heat generated = 23.27 X 10' B.t.u.<br />
Authorities for Constants Used<br />
THERMOCHEMICAL CHANGES<br />
Iron oxide reduction—Richards<br />
Decomposition of limestone—U. S. Bureau of Standards
152<br />
1 2 3 4<br />
Material<br />
Basjc hot metal'..... 65,000<br />
Structural steel scrap 35,000<br />
Chapin ore (natural). 10,023<br />
Michigan limestone. 6,915<br />
Calcined dolomite... 2,500<br />
Fluorspar<br />
300<br />
SiCh from furnace<br />
structure<br />
Total entering fur-<br />
Total steel in bath.... 99,289<br />
Tapping slag, 99.89<br />
11,965<br />
Unaccounted for<br />
Metalloids oxidized.<br />
Material<br />
Basic hot metal<br />
Structural steel scrap.<br />
Chapin ore (natural).<br />
Michigan limestone..<br />
Calcined dolomite... .<br />
Fluorspar<br />
S1O2 from furnace<br />
structure<br />
Total entering furnace<br />
Total steel in bath . .<br />
Tapping slag, 99 89<br />
Total output<br />
Unaccounted for<br />
Metalloids oxidized..<br />
Weight,<br />
in<br />
Pounds<br />
ThpBlasfFiinWSSUPlanf<br />
TABLE 8.—High-manganese Iron, High-silica Ore, Furnace Charge<br />
CHEMICAL BALANCE SHEET<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
C<br />
4.30<br />
0.20<br />
0 20<br />
Pounds<br />
C<br />
2,795<br />
70<br />
2,805<br />
199<br />
2,000<br />
18 | 19 1 20<br />
Pounds<br />
S<br />
20<br />
14<br />
3<br />
3<br />
40<br />
35<br />
30<br />
65<br />
+ 19<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
CaO<br />
1.00<br />
54.00<br />
48.58<br />
2.50<br />
43.12<br />
Pounds<br />
CaO<br />
100<br />
3,770<br />
1,215<br />
8<br />
5,159<br />
5,159<br />
5,159<br />
5 6 7<br />
Pounds<br />
CO<br />
21<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
MgO<br />
2.64<br />
0.88<br />
32.58<br />
0.38<br />
9.54<br />
0^. Po M nd3<br />
Si | b '<br />
0.75 488<br />
22<br />
Pounds<br />
MgO<br />
265<br />
61<br />
815<br />
1<br />
1,142<br />
1.142<br />
1,142<br />
Oxidation of C, Mn, Si, P—Richards, LeChatelier,<br />
Thomson<br />
Formation of slag, calculated using Richards' values<br />
THERMOPHYSICAL CHANGES<br />
Specific heat, pig iron—0.1665—Oberhoffer<br />
Specific heat, soft steel—0.16—Meuther<br />
Latent heat of fusion, pig iron—Hutter<br />
Latent heat of fusion, steel—average value—Jetner,<br />
Brisker<br />
Heat in molten slag—Springorum<br />
Thermal Balance Sheet<br />
HEAT ABSORBED<br />
Red. of oxides of Fe<br />
Absorp. moist, of ore<br />
Decomp. of limestone<br />
Absorp. moist, of limestone<br />
Decomp. of dolomite<br />
Heat in molten slag<br />
Heat added to mixer metal<br />
Heat added to scrap<br />
HEAT GENERATED<br />
Oxidation of C =<br />
Oxidation of Mn =<br />
Oxidation of Si =<br />
Oxidation of P =<br />
Heat form, slag =<br />
Balance heat to be supplied<br />
by combustion<br />
of gases in furnace =<br />
Total B.t.u. =<br />
THERMAL EFFICIENCY OF BATH<br />
Thermal efficiency of furnace = 17.3 per cent.<br />
B.t.u. in gas per pound of coal = 10,685<br />
Total B.t.u. to be supplied in producer gas =<br />
262.83 X 10'<br />
Total coal burned = 24,737 lb.<br />
=<br />
-=<br />
—<br />
—<br />
=<br />
=<br />
=<br />
=<br />
11.66 X 10"<br />
3.33 X 10"<br />
5.71 X UI"<br />
1.40<br />
1.17<br />
45.47<br />
68.74<br />
19.39<br />
2.56<br />
5.34<br />
0.33<br />
0.67<br />
12.75<br />
7.88<br />
19.82<br />
X 10"<br />
X 10'<br />
488<br />
488<br />
8<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
SiOj<br />
9.29<br />
0 34<br />
1.32<br />
1.12<br />
17 80<br />
9 10<br />
Pounds XZ<br />
Sich \ Ce £ l -<br />
1,039<br />
931<br />
24<br />
33<br />
3<br />
100<br />
2,130<br />
2,130<br />
2,130<br />
0.20<br />
0.01<br />
0.05<br />
0.006<br />
0.004<br />
0.004<br />
0 01<br />
11<br />
Pounds<br />
P<br />
130<br />
4<br />
5<br />
139<br />
10<br />
129<br />
139<br />
120<br />
12<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
PiOi,<br />
2.47<br />
23 24 1 25 1 26 1 27 1 28<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
Fe<br />
51.76<br />
0.20<br />
0.38<br />
99.42<br />
Berthelot,<br />
Richards<br />
45.47 X 10'<br />
0.173<br />
Pounds<br />
Fe<br />
60,261<br />
34,772<br />
5,188<br />
14<br />
10<br />
100.21=,<br />
98,713<br />
1,432<br />
100,14".<br />
-100<br />
100<br />
Cenc Po "" ds<br />
FeO<br />
F e 0<br />
1.18<br />
15 41<br />
118<br />
1,847<br />
1.847<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
FeiOj<br />
72.64<br />
Pounds<br />
FcjOa<br />
7,281<br />
13 14<br />
Pounds<br />
P206<br />
290<br />
29<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
AbOa<br />
1.10<br />
0.30<br />
1.49<br />
1.15<br />
1.43<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
Mn<br />
2 00<br />
0.40<br />
0.13<br />
0 34<br />
30<br />
Pounds<br />
AhOi<br />
110<br />
21<br />
37<br />
3<br />
171<br />
171<br />
171<br />
March, 1924<br />
15 I 16 17<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
MnO<br />
9.84<br />
31<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
CaFi<br />
92.53<br />
THERMAL BALANCE SHEET<br />
Heat Absorbed<br />
THERMOCHEMICAL CHANGES<br />
Reduction of oxides of iron:<br />
Heat of formation of Fe=03 = 324(1<br />
Heat of formation of FeO = 2430<br />
Input:<br />
Fe303 = 7291<br />
FeO = 109<br />
Heat of formation:<br />
Fe203 = 729 X 3240 = 23.62 X 10"<br />
FeO = 109 X 2430 = 0.26 X 10"<br />
Output:<br />
Total =<br />
Tapping slag FeO = 1213<br />
Moisture in ore :<br />
23.88 X 10'<br />
X 2430 = 295 X 10'<br />
Pounds<br />
Mn<br />
1,300<br />
140<br />
13<br />
1,453<br />
338<br />
913<br />
1,251<br />
-202<br />
1,115<br />
32<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
Volume<br />
3 15<br />
15.54<br />
Per<br />
1 Cent.<br />
S<br />
0 04<br />
0.04<br />
0.042<br />
0.126<br />
0 035<br />
0 25<br />
33<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
Moisture<br />
8.00<br />
1.50<br />
Total weight of ore = 9250<br />
Per cent moisture = 8.20<br />
Total water = 9250 X 0.082 = 759<br />
Total heat to make steam at 212° = 759 X 1092 = 0.83 X Hi*<br />
Specific heat of steam —<br />
0.81<br />
0.42 + 0.00013 X (2800 -4- 212)<br />
Heat in superheat = 759 (2800 — 212) 0.81 = 1.59 X 10<br />
Decomposition of limestone:<br />
s<br />
Total = 2.42 X 10°<br />
Heat of formation CaCO= per lb. = 772 B.t.u.<br />
Total limestone = 4620<br />
Total heat required =r 4620 X 772 = 3.57 X 10"<br />
Moisture 1.5 per cent = 4620 X 0.015 = 69.3<br />
Total heat to make steam = 69.3 X 1092 =<br />
Heat in superheat = 69.3 X 2096 =<br />
Total<br />
Decomposition of improperly burned dolomite:<br />
Total weight of dolomite = 2500 lb.<br />
Volatile = 15.54 per cent = 389 lb.<br />
Assumed 98 per cent = 381 exists as COa<br />
To drive off C02 = 1756 B.t.u. per lb.<br />
0.08 X<br />
0.15 X<br />
Total heat to drive off CO, = 1756 X 381 = 0.67 X 10'<br />
10"<br />
10"<br />
0.23 X 10'
March, 1924<br />
THERMOPHYSICAL CHANGES<br />
Hot metal = 65,000 lb. Temperature = 2474° F.<br />
Tapping temperature = 3080° F. includes emissivity factor<br />
Temperature rise (3080 — 2474) = 606° F.<br />
Specific Heat = 0.2<br />
Heat absorbed = 65,000 X 606 X 0.2 = 7.1 X 10'<br />
Scrap = 35,000 lb. Temperature = 62° F.<br />
Melting temperature scrap = 2795° F.<br />
Heat required to bring to melting temperature = 35.0(10 2733<br />
X 0.16 = 15.30 X 10'<br />
Latent heat of fusion = 72 B.t.u.<br />
Total heat of fusion = 35,000 X 72 = 2.52 X 10'<br />
Heat to raise to temperature of bath = (3080 — 2795) 35,000 X<br />
0.2 = 2.00 X 10'<br />
Total heat = 19.82 X 10"<br />
Total heat in molten slag:<br />
Heat in tapping slag = 9254 X 1066 = 9.86 X 10' B.t.u.<br />
Total heat absorbed = 65.38 X 10' B.t.u.<br />
Heat Generated<br />
Oxidation of carbon, weight = 2665 lb.<br />
Heat of formation of CO from C per lb = 4374 B.t.u.<br />
Heat generated = 4374 X 2665 = 11.66 X 10'<br />
Oxidation of manganese, weight = 1047 lb.<br />
Heat of formation of MnO = 2984 B.t.u.<br />
Heat generated = 2984 X 1047 = 3.12 X 10"<br />
Oxidation of silicon, weight = 488 lb.<br />
Heat of formation of Si02 = 11.693 B.t.u.<br />
Heat generated = 11,693 X 488 = 5.71 X 10"<br />
Oxidation of phosphorus, weight = 126 lb.<br />
Heat of formation of P2Os = 10,825 B.t.u.<br />
Heat generated = 10,825 X 126 = 1.36 X 10*<br />
Heat of formation of slag, weight = 9254 lb.<br />
Heat of formation of slag = 108 B.t.u.<br />
Heat generated = 108 X 9254 = 1.00 X 10'<br />
Total heat generated = 22.85 X 10' B.t.u.<br />
Authorities for Constants Used<br />
THERMOCHEMICAL CHANGES<br />
Iron oxide reduction—Richards<br />
Decomposition of limestone—U. S. Bureau of Standards<br />
Material<br />
Basic hot metal<br />
Structural steel scrap<br />
Low SiOz ore (natural)<br />
Michigan limestone.<br />
Calcined dolomite...<br />
Fluorspar<br />
Si02 from furnace<br />
Total entering furnace<br />
Total steel in bath.. .<br />
Tapping slag, 100.10<br />
per cent<br />
Unaccounted for... .<br />
Metalloids oxidized.<br />
Material<br />
Structural steel scrap.<br />
Low SiOa ore (natural)<br />
Michigan limestone..<br />
Calcined dolomite....<br />
SiO: from furnace<br />
Total entering furnace<br />
Total steel in bath....<br />
Tapping slag, 100.19<br />
Unaccounted for<br />
Metalloids oxidized..<br />
1 2<br />
Weight<br />
in<br />
Pounds<br />
65,000<br />
35,000<br />
9,250<br />
4,620<br />
2,500<br />
300<br />
99,849<br />
9,254<br />
18<br />
Pounds<br />
S<br />
26<br />
14<br />
2<br />
5<br />
47<br />
35<br />
23<br />
58<br />
+ 11<br />
IheBlasrFurnaceSSUPl anl<br />
153<br />
Oxidation of C, Mn, Si, P—Richards, LeChatelier, Berthelot,<br />
Thomson<br />
Formation of slag, calculated using Richards' values<br />
THERMOPHYSICAL CHANGES<br />
Specific heat, pig iron—0.1665—Oberhoffer<br />
Specific heat, soft steel—0.16—Meuther<br />
Latent heat of fusion, pig iron—Hutter<br />
Latent heat of fusion, steel—average value—Jetner, Richards<br />
Brisker<br />
Heat in molten slag—Springorum<br />
Thermal Balance Sheet<br />
HEAT ABSORBED<br />
Red. of oxides of Fe<br />
Absorp. moist, of ore<br />
Decomp. of limestone<br />
Absorp. moist, of limestone<br />
Decomp, of dolomite<br />
Heat in molten slag<br />
Heat added to mixer metal<br />
Heat added to scrap<br />
HEAT GENERATED<br />
Oxidation of C =<br />
Oxidation of Mn =<br />
Oxidation of Si =<br />
Oxidation of P =<br />
Heat form, slag =<br />
Balance heat to be supplied<br />
by combustion<br />
of gases in furnace =<br />
Total B.t.u. =<br />
—<br />
—<br />
;=<br />
=<br />
=<br />
=<br />
—<br />
=<br />
11.66<br />
3.12<br />
5.71<br />
1.36<br />
1.00<br />
20.93<br />
2.42<br />
3.57<br />
0.23<br />
0.67<br />
9.86<br />
7.88<br />
19.82<br />
X 10*<br />
X 10*<br />
X 10*<br />
X 10"<br />
X 10*<br />
42.53 X 10*<br />
65.38 X 10*<br />
THERMAL EFFICIENCY OF BATH<br />
Thermal efficiency of furnace = 17.3 per cent.<br />
B.t.u. in gas per pound of coal = 10,625<br />
Total B.t.u. to be supplied in producer gas = 245.83<br />
Total coal burned = 23.137 lb.<br />
( To be ci included.)<br />
TABLE 9.—High-manganese Iron, Low-silica Ore, Furnace Charge<br />
3 | 4<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
C<br />
4.30<br />
0.20<br />
0.20<br />
19<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
CaO<br />
0.96<br />
54.60<br />
48.58<br />
2.50<br />
41.44<br />
Pounds<br />
c<br />
2,795<br />
70<br />
2,865<br />
200<br />
2,865<br />
2,665<br />
20<br />
Pounds<br />
CaO<br />
89<br />
2,523<br />
1,215<br />
8<br />
3,835<br />
3,835<br />
3,835<br />
5<br />
Pounds<br />
CO<br />
21<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
MgO<br />
2.12<br />
0.88<br />
32.58<br />
0.38<br />
11.38<br />
CHEMICAL BALANCE SHEET<br />
6<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
Si<br />
0.75<br />
7<br />
Pounds<br />
Si<br />
488<br />
488<br />
488<br />
22 | 23<br />
Pounds<br />
MgO<br />
196<br />
41<br />
815<br />
1<br />
1,053<br />
1,053<br />
1,053<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
Fe<br />
56.09<br />
0.20<br />
0.38<br />
8 9<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
Si02<br />
4.62<br />
0.34<br />
1.32<br />
1.12<br />
17.48<br />
Pounds<br />
SiOj<br />
1 039<br />
427<br />
16<br />
33<br />
3<br />
100<br />
1,618<br />
1,618<br />
1,618<br />
10<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
P<br />
0.20<br />
0.01<br />
0.017<br />
0.006<br />
0.004<br />
0.004<br />
0.01<br />
24 1 25 1 26<br />
Pounds<br />
Fe<br />
60,261<br />
34,772<br />
5,188<br />
9<br />
10<br />
100,240<br />
99.200<br />
940<br />
100,140<br />
-100<br />
100<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
FeO<br />
1.18<br />
13.11<br />
Pounds<br />
FeO<br />
109<br />
1,213<br />
11<br />
Pounds<br />
P<br />
130<br />
4<br />
2<br />
136<br />
10<br />
126<br />
136<br />
126<br />
27<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
Fe2Oj<br />
78.82<br />
12<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
P2Os<br />
3.12<br />
28<br />
Pounds<br />
Fe2Oj<br />
7,291<br />
13<br />
Pounds<br />
P2Os<br />
289<br />
29<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
AhOj<br />
1.10<br />
0.30<br />
1.49<br />
R2Oj<br />
1.15<br />
1.69<br />
14<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
Mn<br />
2.00<br />
0.40<br />
0.07<br />
0.40<br />
30<br />
Pounds<br />
AhOj<br />
102<br />
14<br />
37<br />
3<br />
156<br />
156<br />
156<br />
15<br />
Per<br />
Cent<br />
MnO<br />
11.72<br />
31<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
CaF2<br />
92.53<br />
10"<br />
16 17<br />
Pounds<br />
Mn<br />
1,300<br />
140<br />
6<br />
1,446<br />
399<br />
841<br />
1,240<br />
-206<br />
1.047<br />
32<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
Volume<br />
1.68<br />
15.54<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
S<br />
0.04<br />
0.04<br />
o.ooo<br />
0.042<br />
0.126<br />
0.035<br />
0.25<br />
33<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
Moisture<br />
8.20<br />
1.50
154<br />
Masf FurnaceSSU PU<br />
Significance of the Hearth'<br />
A Continuation of the Bureau of Mines Report of Data Secured<br />
T H E process of reduction of iron ore in the blast<br />
furnace has been discussed by the writers, 5 who<br />
illustrated their discussion with data collected<br />
during the operation of an experimental furnace by<br />
the Bureau of Mines at its Minneapolis station. It<br />
was pointed out that the so-called "bosh gas", formed<br />
at the nose of the tuyere, a 35-G5 mixture of carbon<br />
monoxide and nitrogen, has two functions to perform<br />
as it is forced upward through the furnace shaft. The<br />
first is a chemical one of reducing the ore to the metallic<br />
state, while the second is a physical one of heating<br />
descending solids. The purpose of this present<br />
paper is to present experimental data bearing on the<br />
temperatures attained by the slag, the metal, and the<br />
coke, in the bottom of the furnace. Part of the data<br />
was collected at industrial blast-furnace plants 6 , and<br />
part during the operation of the experimental furnace.<br />
from Experimental Blast Furnace<br />
By P. H. ROYSTER 2 , T. L. JOSEPH 3 and S. P. KINNEY'<br />
March, 1924<br />
The practical elimination of such periods of poor<br />
operation is often attributed to an improvement in the<br />
theory and practice of furnace operation, but it should<br />
not be f<strong>org</strong>otten that the present general custom of<br />
promptly reporting the analysis of each cast serves<br />
to warn the operator of the approach of the phenomenon,<br />
and measures are almost always taken temporarily<br />
to let the desire for low coke consumption and<br />
large tonnage go by the" boards, and to "straighten<br />
the furnace up" as quickly as possible by suitable<br />
changing of the burden, the wind blown, and the blast<br />
temperature, or some combination of these. The furnace-man<br />
of the past, not having the help of such<br />
continuous analysis of the sulphur content of the iron<br />
The problem of preheating the descending charge,<br />
and particularly of melting the slag and the metal,<br />
has attracted more attention among metallurgists and<br />
furnace-men than has the chemical process of ore reduction.<br />
It happens that no difficulty would be experienced<br />
in satisfying both these requirements if it<br />
were required only that the furnace make merchantable<br />
pig iron. Actually it is necessary for the furnace<br />
to make not only pig iron, but money, and this<br />
financial aspect of the problem introduces two economic<br />
requirements — the production of a maximum<br />
tonnage by each furnace unit, and the realization of a<br />
minimum consumption of fuel for each ton of metal<br />
made. To comply with these economic demands,<br />
heavy burdening and fast driving are required. It is<br />
not possible, however, to go too far in this direction<br />
or the furnace will become involved in operating difficulties.<br />
The first important indication of the presence<br />
of such difficulties is the appearance of high-sulphur<br />
iron. If, for any reason, the production of such<br />
off-grade metal is ignored, and the overburdening or<br />
over-driving be carried further, a black iron-bearing<br />
FIG. 1—Diagram shozving coke at tuyere.<br />
cinder will result. Such a condition causes a loss both<br />
of quality and quantity in the iron product, and,<br />
though possibly a frequent happening in times past,<br />
is today distinctly a rare occurrence.<br />
made, was not forewarned of impending trouble to<br />
the extent the operator is today. It is possible, therefore,<br />
that the adoption of "chemical control" of the<br />
furnace will explain or help explain the general elim<br />
'Second of the series. Published by permission of the Direcination of these operating difficulties.<br />
tor, U. S. Bureau of Mines. This work was done in co-operation<br />
with the University of Minnesota.<br />
Hearth Temperature.<br />
'Assistant metallurgist, North Central Experiment Station, The writers have often asked themselves, as the<br />
Minneapolis.<br />
reader may be asking himself, the obvious question,<br />
'Associate metallurgist, North Central Experiment Station, "What has this to do with hearth temperature?" The<br />
Minneapolis.<br />
equally obvious answer to such a question is, "Measure<br />
'Assistant metallurgical chemist, North Central Experiment<br />
the hearth temperature and see." Although much has<br />
Station, Minneapolis.<br />
•Royster, P. H., Joseph, T. L., and Kinney, S. P., Reduction<br />
been said and written about the cause and the signifi<br />
of iron ore in the blast furnace: Blast Furnace and Steel Plant, cance of "hot iron" and "cold iron" in blast-furnace<br />
vol. 12, 1924, pp. 35-37.<br />
operation, few seem to have made an effort even to<br />
"The Bureau of Mines wishes to acknowledge the helpful co measure the temperature of the metal tapped from<br />
operation of the following companies in the collection of these the blast furnace, much less to correlate such measure<br />
data: Bethlehem Steel, Brier Hill, Buffalo Union, Colorado<br />
Fuel & Iron, Jones & Laughlin, Illinois Steel, McKinney Steel,<br />
Lackawanna, National Tube. Rogers Brown, Republic Iron &<br />
Steel, Wharton, Wickwire, and Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co.<br />
ments with the various probable and fairly obvious<br />
theories of metal temperature.
March, 1924<br />
The first systematic attempt to measure hearth<br />
temperatures to be found in technical literature seems<br />
to have appeared 7 in 1919. Temperature measurements<br />
had been given in 1918, in Bureau of Mines' reports<br />
8 on the production of ferro-manganese and<br />
spiegeleisen, but figures relating to manganese alloy<br />
furnaces are not precisely in order in this discussion.<br />
Temperature observations at single furnace plants had<br />
'Royster, P. H., and Joseph, T. L., Pyrometry in blast-furnace<br />
work: A. I. M. & M. E. volume on Pyrometry, 1920, pp. 544-558.<br />
Discussion on pp. 558-567.<br />
"(a) Royster, P. H., Bureau of Mines War Minerals Investigation<br />
Series No. 5 and 6, 1918.<br />
(b) Weld, C. M., and others, Manganese: uses, preparation,<br />
mining costs, manufacture of ferro-alloys: Bull. 173, Bureau of<br />
Mines, 1920, 209 pp.<br />
"(a)Linville, C. P., Combustion temperature of carbon and<br />
its relation to blast-furnace operation : Trans. A. I. M. E., vol.<br />
41, 1910, pp. 268-279.<br />
(b)Backman, F. E., The use of titaniferous ore in the blast<br />
furnace: Year Book Amer. Iron & Steel Inst., 1914, pp. 370-419<br />
(Table III gives the temperature readings made by J. F. Cullum<br />
of the Bureau of Mines.)<br />
(c)Johnson. J. E., Jr., Operation of the blast furnace: Met.<br />
& Chem. Eng., vol. 14, 1916, pp. 363-372.<br />
(d) Feild, A. L., Viscosity of blast-furnace slag: Trans. Faraday<br />
Society, vol. 13, 1917, part 1, pp. 3-35.<br />
Mast hmiacoSSU Plan,<br />
FIG. 2—View of bosh and hearth of experimental furnace.<br />
155<br />
previously been measured by Linville 9 , Cullum (Backman),<br />
Johnson, and Feild, but the figures given by<br />
these writers are fragmentary, and were taken only<br />
from isolated furnace plants, and it seems difficult to<br />
draw comparative relationships between them. The<br />
data given by Royster and Joseph covered 20 modern<br />
blast-furnace plants, taken as nearly as possible under<br />
the same conditions. It has been said in criticism<br />
of their work that American furnace practice cannot<br />
properly be covered by measurements at only 20 furnaces,<br />
so their work was continued until 50 furnaces<br />
had been investigated. The addition of data from<br />
30 other furnaces has not had the effect of changing<br />
appreciably either the average value for the three<br />
kinds of hearth temperatures measured by them or the<br />
relationship between these three. To some extent, the<br />
fact that a study of the first 20 furnaces gives the<br />
same answer as does a consideration of all 50 furnaces,<br />
tends to inspire confidence in the conclusions drawn<br />
from both.<br />
Three Hearth Temperatures.<br />
Earlier writers on the metallurgy of iron had to<br />
content themselves with the theorem implied or expressed<br />
that there was a "hearth temperature", some
unknown but more or less definite temperature obtaining<br />
generally in the crucible of the furnace. Johnson<br />
10 seems to have been the first to point out directly<br />
that, the molten bath of slag and metal was, according<br />
to his estimate, about 200 deg. C. colder than the temperature<br />
in the combustion zone. He found the combustion<br />
zone to be about 1650 deg. C and the metal<br />
and slag to average 1450 or 1550 deg. C. It does not<br />
appear that he considered the possibility of these two<br />
fluids being at different temperatures. Three temperatures<br />
in the furnace hearth have been reported in<br />
the Bureau of Mines papers cited above, and were<br />
termed "metal temperature", "slag temperature", and<br />
"tuyere temperature". In a recent investigation, Perrott<br />
and Kinney 11 have studied the position of the<br />
"combustion zone" in 11 furnaces, and have shown<br />
(1) that combustion takes place essentially in the same<br />
portion in every furnace; and (2), that this is not a<br />
"zone", but a number of "spheres", one at the nose<br />
of each tuyere. A study of the gas analyses given by<br />
Perrott and Kinney makes the so-called "tuyere temperatures"<br />
of Royster and Joseph somewhat doubtful.<br />
Assuming that the number of papers 12 inspired by<br />
Perrott and Kinney's report indicate a general interest<br />
in the phenomenon of how the coke burns at the tuyeres,<br />
a brief description of what exists at the nose of<br />
the tuyere may not be out of place.<br />
Coke Temperature at the Tuyere Nose.<br />
Fig. 1 is a somewhat fanciful diagram of a bed of<br />
coke resting at the nose of a tuyere. Something similar<br />
to this exists in actual furnace operation, provided<br />
first that the jet velocity of the blast is not so great<br />
, that the coke lumps will be blown away from the<br />
tuyere, and second that the coke lumps in the bosh<br />
just above the tuyeres are free to promptly replace the<br />
coke as it is burned near the tuyeres. In these circumstances<br />
there are three points in the fuel bed<br />
which are subject to such different physical and chemical<br />
conditions that it is well to distinguish them from<br />
each other.<br />
The coke lumps marked 1 are called for convenience<br />
the first layer; those marked 2, the second layer,<br />
etc. Initial contact between blast and fuel takes place<br />
at position marked A. That portion of the gas stream<br />
involved in combustion with first layer lumps flows<br />
from A to B. The gas arriving at B is no longer<br />
atmospheric air at blast temperature, but is preheated<br />
during its travel from A to B by the reception of so<br />
much of the heat as is generated in the production of<br />
the carbon dioxide it contains. Perrott and Kinney's<br />
gas analyses throw little light on the composition of<br />
TkpBlas. hirnaceSS.eel Planf<br />
the gas blown across the coke at the point B, because<br />
the sampling tube used by them was too large, compared<br />
with the size of the coke lumps, to obtain a sample.<br />
The gas jets through the irregular cracks between<br />
the first layer lumps and impinges on second layer<br />
lumps at C.<br />
The process here is slightly analogous to the case<br />
of a multi-stage impulse turbine in which steam jets<br />
through the first-stage nozzles, strikes the first-stage<br />
buckets, is discharged with an altered pressure, temperature,<br />
superheat, entropy, and total heat, and then<br />
jets through the second-stage nozzles and impinges on<br />
the second-stage buckets, with another change in its<br />
physical properties. The combustion problem is the<br />
harder to study, because the size and shape of the coke<br />
lumps are irregular and vary, and in addition to the<br />
gas changing in physical properties, its chemical composition<br />
is also changed due to the process of combustion<br />
that is going on. Gas analyses show that combustion<br />
is practically complete in about 40 inches.<br />
The layers of coke involved in combustion will probablv<br />
average nine, while seven to eleven would probably<br />
cover the number of active layers in the combustion<br />
spheres.<br />
Measurements of Temperature in the Combustion<br />
Spheres.<br />
If irregular solids are thrown into a pile, it is<br />
known that the front side of the top *ayer is visible,<br />
and that portions of the front side of the second layer<br />
are visible through the interstices in the first layer.<br />
The third layer is never visible except through some<br />
freak of chance. In looking through a tuyere, positions<br />
A, B, and C can generally be seen and temperatures<br />
measured with a disappearing filament pyrometer.<br />
In the bureau's experimental furnace, conditions<br />
were favorable to such pyrometry; the selection of the<br />
jet velocity, furnace lines, size and number of tuyeres,<br />
and size of the coke lumps having been considered in<br />
the design to ensure that the coke would lie at the face<br />
of the tuyeres in the manner shown in R. Fig. 1. A<br />
photograph of the bosh and hearth of the experimental<br />
furnace is shown in Fig. 2, an observer being seen in<br />
position to read tuyere temperatures.<br />
Effect of Blast Temperature on Tuyere<br />
Temperature.<br />
Certain operating features of the Bureau's thirtyfifth<br />
campaign with the experimental furnace were<br />
given in the writers' two previous papers in this journal.<br />
The lines of the furnace are shown<br />
'"Johnson, J. E., Jr., Blast furnace construction, 1917, p. 233+.<br />
"Perrott, G. St. J., and Kinney, S. P., Combustion of coke in<br />
the blast-furnace hearth: Trans. A. I. M. & M. E., vol. 69, 1923,<br />
p. 526.<br />
"(a) Sherman, Ralph A., and Kinney, S. P., Combustibility<br />
of blast-furnace coke: Paper read before Eastern States Blast<br />
Furnace and Coke Oven Association, South Bethlehem, Pa., May<br />
23, 1923; reprinted in Iron-Age, vol. Ill, 1923, pp. 1839-1844.<br />
(b) Fieldner, A. C, Combustibility of coke; Paper read at<br />
meeting of Amer. Inst. Chem. Eng., Washington, D. C, Dec. 5,<br />
1923; reprinted in Chem. & Met. Eng., vol. 29, 1923, pp. 1052-<br />
1057.<br />
(c) Perrott, G. St. J., and Fieldner, A. C, Properties of<br />
metallurgical coke: Proc. Amer. Soc. Test. Mats., vol. 23, 1923,<br />
pp. 475-493. Discussion pp. 494-500.<br />
(d) Royster, P. H„ and Joseph T. L.; The effect of coke<br />
combustibility on stock descent in the blast furnace : Paper read<br />
at Feb.. 1924, meeting of A. I. M. & M. E. at New York, preprint<br />
No. 1307-S.<br />
13 in Fig. 2.<br />
This 20-inch hearth furnace was blown-in on cold<br />
wind at its full working volume of 300 cubic feet per<br />
minute. The initial coke blank was so small that the<br />
first slag appeared at the end of 60 minutes. The<br />
composition of top gas was essentially bosh gas about<br />
20 minutes after igniting the fuel. The furnace was<br />
charged with 120 pounds of nut coke and 160 pounds<br />
of manganiferous slag from previous runs. The slag<br />
was practically iron-free, and since no flux was<br />
charged, the furnace operated making slag but no<br />
metal. About 90 minutes after being blown-in, the<br />
temperature at position C varied from 1770 to 1707<br />
deg. C. Cold blast was continued for 10 hours, and<br />
sufficient readings were taken to give reliable average<br />
temperatures. Hot blast was then applied without<br />
changing any other operating condition. Table I gives,<br />
"Royster, P. H., Joseph, T. I,., and Kinney, S. P., work
March, 1924<br />
for convenient comparison, the average pyrometer<br />
readings.<br />
TABLE 1—Pyrometer readings during furnace runs zvith cold<br />
and hot blast (°C).<br />
Tuvere<br />
blast<br />
Temperatu<br />
Point A<br />
Point B<br />
Point C<br />
Mean<br />
Cold<br />
blast<br />
re<br />
1362<br />
1431<br />
1601<br />
No. 1 Run<br />
Hot<br />
blast<br />
1531<br />
1617<br />
1732<br />
Difference<br />
169<br />
186<br />
131<br />
162<br />
Cold<br />
blast<br />
1383<br />
1469<br />
1631<br />
Mast RmtacoSSfeel Plan,<br />
No. 2<br />
Hot<br />
blast<br />
1575<br />
1630<br />
1749<br />
Run<br />
Difference<br />
192<br />
161<br />
118<br />
157<br />
The effect of changing the blast temperature from<br />
68 to 692 deg. F. (an increase of 346 deg. C), is accompanied<br />
by an increase of 160 C. in coke temperature<br />
at positions A, B, and C. This result could be<br />
roughly stated as the combustion temperature rises<br />
one deg. for every two deg. increase in blast temperature.<br />
This increase is little better than half the<br />
theoretical change calculated by the usual assumptions<br />
made in discussing the thermal principles of the blast<br />
furnace. Nearly 400 observations were averaged in<br />
computing Table I, all taken with the same pyrometer<br />
but by three observers. 14 This seems the only evidence<br />
of a quantitative sort tending to show that when<br />
all other factors are held constant, hot blast produces<br />
a higher combustion temperature than does cold blast.<br />
It will be shown below that proof of such a relation<br />
from similar measurements at industrial plants is not<br />
so satisfactory.<br />
A, B, and C Tuyere Temperatures.<br />
The apparent rise of 160 deg. C. in temperature,<br />
due to increasing the blast temperature to 692 deg. F.,<br />
is big enough to discuss and too big to ignore. The<br />
differences in temperature between the characteristic<br />
points A, B, and C are of the same order of magnitude,<br />
however. For example, readings at C average 215<br />
deg. C. hotter than those at A; the difference is 242<br />
deg. C. for cold blast and 188 deg. for hot blast. The<br />
probable average distance between A and C, with the<br />
nut coke used, was not much greater than one inch—<br />
possibly less. A rise in temperature of 200 deg. C. per<br />
inch would indicate a rise of 2000 deg. C. in 10 inches,<br />
the radius of the hearth. Since the temperature at<br />
the point A is greater than 1300 deg. and less than<br />
1600 deg. C, this rate of increase in temperature, if<br />
maintained, would predict 3300 to 3600 deg. C. at the<br />
center of the 20-inch furnace.<br />
In taking observations at industrial plants, conditions<br />
for such observations are much worse. In fact,<br />
at many plants a re-design of the tuyeres and peepsights,<br />
a change in wind, and alteration in furnace<br />
line to prevent bosh hanging, would be necessary to<br />
permit any sure distinction between these kinds of<br />
tuyere temperatures. It is not so difficult even with<br />
a tuyere of high jet velocity, where the coke lumps<br />
dart into and out of the field of vision, leaving only<br />
a few seconds for setting the pyrometer, to eliminate<br />
point A from the headings as much as possible. The<br />
most serious source of error is the presence of a flame<br />
"The writers wish to acknowledge here the assistance of<br />
F. B. Foley, metallurgist of Bureau of Mines, now at its Mississippi<br />
Valley Experiment Station, Rolla, Missouri, in conducting<br />
this and many other experimental blast-furnace tests.<br />
157<br />
at the tuyeres, when the first layer lumps are driven<br />
by the blast a foot or so from the tuyere nose. The<br />
apparent temperature of the coke bed, as viewed<br />
through the flame, is too low, due to the absorption<br />
of light in the flame itself. Fine solid particles, either<br />
from the blast (dirty stoves) or stirred up in the coke<br />
bed itself (soft coke), accentuate the difficulties<br />
caused by the flame. In the readings at industrial<br />
plants, those taken through a flame were discarded.<br />
The "tuyere temperature," attributed by the writers<br />
to industrial furnaces, is probably an average of B<br />
and C readings. The experimental blast-furnace observations<br />
are easily interpreted. In the case of both<br />
the B and the C positions, the effect of hot blast is<br />
about the same; hence, the effect on the average of<br />
B and C should be the same. It is logical therefore to<br />
plot tuyere temperatures against blast temperatures,<br />
with the hope of finding an upward sloping curve.<br />
This has been done in Fig. 3, but the slope of the curve<br />
is apparently downward. 15<br />
Effect of Blast Temperature on Slag<br />
Temperature.<br />
Johnson 16 has suggested that at whichever point<br />
the slag becomes fluid enough to be "free-running,"<br />
it drops quickly into the slag bath without further rise<br />
of temperature. Such a statement would make the<br />
temperature depend on its temperature-fluidity characteristics,<br />
and be more or less independent of blast<br />
temperature or of tuyere temperature. In the case of<br />
large furnace operation this seems to be true. According<br />
to Table 2, illustrated graphically in Fig. 3,<br />
the effect of blast temperature on slag temperature is<br />
small, if any. In the same way Table 3 and Fig. 4<br />
show observed slag temperature to be practically independent<br />
of tuyere temperature. It might be possible<br />
(the attempt seems not to have been made even by<br />
Johnson) to extend this free-running theory to explain<br />
why the observed metal temperatures, also plotted in<br />
Figs. 3 and 4, are to the same extent unaffected by<br />
blast temperature or by the temperature of the combustion<br />
zone.<br />
TABLE II.<br />
Furnaces grouped in order of increasing blast temperature.<br />
Temperature of<br />
Blast, deg. F<br />
Metal, deg. C<br />
Tuyere, deg. C<br />
Slag, deg. C<br />
Metal, deg. C<br />
I<br />
865<br />
462<br />
1761<br />
1527<br />
1476<br />
Groups<br />
II III<br />
977<br />
525<br />
1684<br />
1523<br />
1474<br />
TABLE III.<br />
1057<br />
569<br />
1715<br />
1523<br />
1467<br />
IV<br />
1233<br />
667<br />
1672<br />
1531<br />
1471<br />
Average<br />
1033<br />
555<br />
1708<br />
1526<br />
1472<br />
Furnaces grouped in order of tuyere temperatures (Deg. C).<br />
Groups<br />
Temperature of V VI VII VIII Average<br />
Tuyere 1619 1678 1737 1798 1708<br />
Slag 1515 1526 1528 1535 1526<br />
Metal 1462 1470 1477 1479 1472<br />
Difference between<br />
slag and metal<br />
temperatures .... 53 56 51 56 54<br />
"Johnson, J. E., Jr., Principles, operation and products of the<br />
blast-furnace; 1918, McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York.<br />
"Johnson, J. E., Jr., work cited.
158 The Nasi hi maco 00\ sa Plan!<br />
Hearth Temperatures in the Experimental<br />
Furnace.<br />
Enough has been said in regard to the significance<br />
of the various temperatures that can be measured in<br />
the tuyere zone and in the crucible of a blast furnace<br />
to make intelligible a comparison between industrial<br />
furnace units and the Bureau's 20-inch furnace. When<br />
this furnace was operated on the burden, under the<br />
conditions and with the results described in the writers'<br />
two other papers in this journal, 18 the average temperatures<br />
observed are those given in item 10 of Table<br />
IV following:<br />
TABLE IV.<br />
1 Pig iron' 1711 1509 1466<br />
2 Pig iron' 1708 1526 1472<br />
3 Foundrv iron 1748 1553 1493<br />
4 Bessemer iron 1733 1513 1466<br />
5 Basic iron 1669 1522 1468<br />
6 Charcoal' 1669 1451 1415<br />
7 Manganese alloy' 1573 1427 1389<br />
8 Spiegeleisen 1597 1427 1392<br />
9 Ferro-manganese 1550 - 1426 1386<br />
10 Experimental furnace 1647 1529 1396<br />
March, 1924<br />
The following data from the Bureau's experimental<br />
furnace records, during the period of operation on cold<br />
and on hot blast, 17 For the sake of comparison, similar temperatures<br />
from industrial furnaces operating under a variety of<br />
offer a stronger continuation of the practices are given in items 1 to 9. Since the experi<br />
approximate truth of this free-running theorem. During<br />
the time the furnace was at a steady state on cold<br />
blast, slag was flushed from the hearth 16 times, while<br />
under the average blast temperature of 692 deg. F.,<br />
1800r<br />
mental furnace was making basic iron, it is more appropriate<br />
to compare the readings with those in item<br />
5. It will be seen that the bureau's slag is slightly hotter<br />
and the tuyeres are colder than the average. Of<br />
the 26 furnaces grouped under item 5, however, nine<br />
have colder tuyeres and 13 have colder slags than are<br />
Tuyere<br />
found in item 10. It can hardly be said that any real<br />
difference exists between the large units and the ex<br />
W 1600<br />
perimental furnace.<br />
->iag<br />
The metal temperature in item 10 is, however, un<br />
MPI 1<br />
deniably cold. The figures are not as reliable as the<br />
a. .<br />
remainder of the data because the small amount of<br />
metal tapped at each cast (from 300 to 400 pounds),<br />
gave only a short time for temperature readings. It<br />
1200<br />
is doubtful, however, if experimental error will com<br />
•100<br />
5U0 600<br />
700 pletely explain the difference.<br />
BLAST TEMPERATURE, °C.<br />
Metallurgists have generally agreed that it is pos<br />
1G 3—Curves shozving blast temperature and slug tempcraturi sible in a 500-ton furnace to realize a greater intensity<br />
of heat than is possible with so small a unit as the<br />
32 flushes were made. During each period, slag read bureau's furnace. The data presented here shows defiings<br />
were taken for six flushes. These observations nitely, however, that any temperature differences due<br />
give the following average temperatures: with cold to furnace size are negligibly small, if they exist at<br />
blast. 1382 deg. C, and with hot blast, 1360 deg. C. all. This is a most encouraging feature inthe develop<br />
These two temperatures are identical within the limits ment of experimental furnace research It brings the<br />
of accuracy attained. This experiment shows that, although<br />
hot blast increased the tuyere temperature 160<br />
1800<br />
deg. C its effect on slay temperature could not be detected.<br />
-<br />
t4 1600<br />
,Slag<br />
4,977,000 tons in 1923, compared with 5,128,000 tons<br />
'Average of 20 furnaces. Royster, P. H., and Joseph, T. L.,<br />
and 4,471,000 tons, respectively, in 1922.<br />
Pyrometry in blast-furnace work: A. I. M. & M. E. volume on<br />
Pyrometry, 1920. Also see Blast Furnace and Sleel Plant, vol. 7,<br />
The iron and steel market is dis<strong>org</strong>anized due to<br />
1919, pp. 556-560.<br />
exchange, doubt regarding the outcome of the finan<br />
'Mean of 43 furnaces given in Tables II and III. Items 3, 4, cial discussions in the Chamber of Deputies, and<br />
and 5 divide the furnaces according to the grade of iron made. manufacturers' perplexity regarding future prices of<br />
3<br />
Joseph, T. L., Temperatures in charcoal blast furnaces (un coke. The agreements under which the Societe des<br />
published paper).<br />
'See Bureau of Mines ['.nil. 173. p. 141. Work cited.<br />
Consummateurs de Coke des Hants Fourneaux, popularly<br />
known as the "Scol," distributed supplies of coke<br />
"The tuyere temperatures during this test are given in Table to the 1. French metallurgical plants, came to an end on<br />
"Royster, P. H., Joseph, T. L., and Kinney, S. P., work cited. lamiarv 31.<br />
s Ul<br />
1200<br />
Meul<br />
1500 1600 1700 1800<br />
TUYERE TEMPERATURE. 'C<br />
FIG. 4—Curves show slag and tuyere temperatures.<br />
state of iron metallurgy a step nearer the point where<br />
the phrase, "it has been shown", can be substituted for<br />
"metallurgists have generally agreed". From the<br />
Comparison of hearth temperatures zvith various practices. data in this paper a number of questions relating to<br />
— Temperature, Deg. C. —<br />
Item Furnace Tuyeres Slag Metal<br />
hearth temperatures can be answered in this manner.<br />
For one thing, it is reasonably obvious that the significance<br />
of hearth temperatures is not so simple as<br />
metallurgists have generally agreed.<br />
French Iron and Steel in 1923<br />
Production of iron and steel in France during<br />
1923 was greater than during the preceding year, according<br />
to cabled advice to the Commerce Department<br />
from Acting Commercial Attache J. F. Butler. Paris.<br />
Pig iron output totaled 5,299,000 metric tons and steel
March, 1924<br />
IheDlasf I'lirnaco^ JIOOI rlanf<br />
SHEET-TIN PLATE<br />
Pair Heating<br />
Further Description of a Heating Furnace of New Design, and<br />
Employing Two-Stage Combustion<br />
By WILLIAM C. BUELL, JR.*<br />
A Furnace Test.<br />
In July, 1923, a test made of the furnace operation<br />
and from the data' secured a number of interesting<br />
studies have been made. The tests were taken on five<br />
consecutive days, and although data was taken over<br />
the first day's run, these figures are not included in<br />
any of the totals as it was considered only as an opportunity<br />
to try out different adjustments and conditions.<br />
A balance sheet on the basis of the total test and<br />
the best day is given as Table I.<br />
Under item "A", sub-item II and under item "B".<br />
sub-item VII is shown "in coal unburned". Due to<br />
single turn operation, it was as explained before, it<br />
was necessary to rapidly feed a considerable weight<br />
of fuel (over 1.000 lbs.) to form the bed of the fire,<br />
and this quantity (approximately) remained unburned<br />
when the furnace was shut down at the end of the<br />
day. As this loss was characteristic of local conditions<br />
within the plant, it is shown as a separate item,<br />
not chargeable to furnace operating losses as it would<br />
nearly be absent in continuous operation.<br />
TABLE I — BALANCE SHEET.<br />
Semi-Producer Recuperative Furnace.<br />
a, Pounds coal per ton steel heated; b, Pounds coal per hour;<br />
C, Per cent of AA (total).<br />
A, Heat Imput with Source:<br />
Average Average<br />
4 Days Best Day<br />
1. In coal burned a 180.0 lbs. 120.0 lbs.<br />
b 214.0 " 207.0 "<br />
c 78.2% 74.3%<br />
2. In coal unburned a 51.0 lbs. 31.0 lbs.<br />
b 61.0 " 54.0 "<br />
c 20.8% 19.4%<br />
3. In blower steam a 0.5 lbs. 0.4 lbs.<br />
b 0.6 " 0.6 "<br />
c 0.2% 0.2%<br />
4. In blower air a 0.8 lbs. 0.5 lbs.<br />
b 1.0 " 0.8 "<br />
c 0.4% 0.3%<br />
5. In hot blast a 14.4 lbs. 9.4 lbs.<br />
b 17.3 " 16.2 "<br />
c 5.8% 5.8%<br />
AA. Total Heat Imput a 245.0 lbs. 161.8 lbs.<br />
b 293.7 " 278.6 "<br />
c 100.0% 100.0%<br />
B. Losses Not Chargeable to Furnace:<br />
6. By water vapor in air., a 0.6 lbs. 0.3 lbs.<br />
b 0.7 " 0.5 "<br />
c 0.2% 0.2%<br />
*Consulting Engineer, Pittsburgh, Pa.<br />
PART II<br />
7. In coal unburned a<br />
b<br />
c<br />
BB. Total Losses N. C. to F.. . . a<br />
b<br />
c<br />
C. Operating Losses Chargeable to Fi<br />
8. Radiation loss semi-producer<br />
a<br />
b<br />
c<br />
9. Radiation loss furnace<br />
chamber a<br />
b<br />
c<br />
10. Radiation loss flue and<br />
recuperator a<br />
b<br />
c<br />
11. In gas leaving recuperator<br />
a<br />
b<br />
c<br />
CC. Total Losses C. to F a<br />
D. Operating Efficiencies:<br />
Gross DD/AA<br />
b<br />
c<br />
12. To metal a<br />
b<br />
c<br />
13. To hot blast a<br />
b<br />
c<br />
DD. Gross Efficiency — Heat to<br />
metal and air by transfer a<br />
b<br />
c<br />
Net DD/(AA—BB)<br />
12. To metal a<br />
b<br />
c<br />
13. To hot blast a<br />
b<br />
c<br />
D'D' Net Efficiency — Heat to<br />
metal and air by transfer a<br />
b<br />
c<br />
51.0 lbs.<br />
61.0 "<br />
20.8%<br />
51.6 lbs.<br />
61.0 "<br />
21.9%<br />
8.9 lbs.<br />
10.7 "<br />
3.6%<br />
85.5 lbs.<br />
102.0 "<br />
34.7%<br />
18.8 lbs.<br />
22.6 "<br />
7.8% .<br />
137.0 lbs.<br />
29.4 "<br />
10.8%<br />
137.0 lbs.<br />
164.7 "<br />
56.1%<br />
43.4 lbs.<br />
52.1 "<br />
17.7%<br />
12.7 lbs.<br />
15.2 "<br />
32%<br />
56.1 lbs.<br />
67.3 "<br />
22.9%<br />
43.4 lbs.<br />
52.1 "<br />
21.6%<br />
12.7 lbs.<br />
15.2 "<br />
6.3 r /o<br />
56.1 lbs.<br />
67.3 "<br />
28.9%<br />
159<br />
31.0 lbs.<br />
54.0 "<br />
19.4%<br />
31.3 lbs.<br />
54.0 "<br />
19.6%<br />
5.9 lbs.<br />
10.2 "<br />
3.6%<br />
40.0 lbs.<br />
69.0 "<br />
24.8%<br />
14.6 lbs.<br />
25.1 "<br />
9.0%<br />
17.5 lbs.<br />
30.2 "<br />
10.8%<br />
78.0 lbs.<br />
135.5 "<br />
48.2%<br />
44.0 lbs.<br />
75.8 "<br />
27.2%<br />
8.0 lbs.<br />
13.8 "<br />
5.2%<br />
52.0 lbs.<br />
89.6 "<br />
32.4%<br />
44.0 lbs.<br />
75.8 "<br />
33.6%<br />
8.0 lbs.<br />
13.8 "<br />
6.4%<br />
52.0 lbs.<br />
89.6 "<br />
40.07o
160<br />
TABLE II — COMPARATIVE EFFICIENCIES.<br />
Note: The symbols under each grouping represent the derivation<br />
as taken from Table I.<br />
Average<br />
4 Days<br />
Tlie Blast hirnacoSSteel Planf<br />
Average<br />
Best Day<br />
Semi-Producer Furnace Recuperator:<br />
Gross DD/AA 22.9% 32.4%<br />
Net D'D7(AA —BB) 28.9% 40.0%<br />
Furnace only:<br />
12/AA—(BB + 8) 23.5% 35.5%<br />
Furnace and Recuperator:<br />
DD/AA— (BB + 8) 30.3% 41.8%<br />
Recuperator only 22.6% 20.0%<br />
In the balance sheet, Table 1, it should be especially<br />
noted that all calorific values used are the "low"<br />
value.<br />
Fuel Cost—Bolt Making.<br />
Naturally the question will be asked as to what all<br />
the foregoing has to do with "pair" furnaces. It will<br />
first be necessary to make a comparative analysis of<br />
the improvements and economies that this furnace has<br />
shown over existing methods in the manufacture of<br />
bolts.<br />
On a basis of 231 pounds of coal per ton (A1+A2<br />
Table I) the cost of operation was as follows :<br />
March, 1924<br />
TABLE III — COST OF OPERATING<br />
Coal—231 lbs. at $3.00 del $0.36<br />
Electric Power—4 Kw. at 1.5c / Kwh .06<br />
Steam — 69 lbs. at $1.50 / M lbs 103<br />
Firing labor •'"<br />
Total $0,623<br />
On a basis of the "Best Day" rate of 151 pounds of<br />
coal per ton the foregoing cost would vary directly<br />
with the coal rate and (0.623 x 161) / 231 = $0,364<br />
per ton of steel heated.<br />
Against the above the manufacturers of bolts claim<br />
that with good practice they require about 25 gallons<br />
of fuel oil or 4,000 cubic feet of natural gas per ton<br />
of bolt stock heated. With oil at 6c per gallon and<br />
gas at 45c per thousand the cost for fuel is $1.50 and<br />
$1.80 without and firing costs included.<br />
The author was fortunate to secure a few days ago,<br />
figures on the same work using pulverized coal, and<br />
from one of the plants that is widely quoted as having<br />
excellent practice. This figure is given as $1.60<br />
per ton of metal, with coal at $3.00 delivered.<br />
(To be Continued)<br />
Republic Iron & Steel Company is installing a<br />
Brassert washer at their No. 4 furnace. This will<br />
make the total of three Brassert washers installed at<br />
the Hazleton plant.<br />
1'iezv shozving top of furnace, zvith elevator, bin and piping arrangement.
March, 1924<br />
Inp DIasf lumaco^yjipo! rlanf<br />
Gas Producer Practice<br />
By WALDEMAR DYRSSEN*<br />
PART III<br />
Temperature of the Gas.<br />
It has long been known that the temperature of the<br />
gas has a marked bearing on the efficiency of gasification<br />
and the quality of the gas made. It is generally<br />
agreed that a low temperature gas is the best. A few<br />
theoretical considerations confirm this in a most striking<br />
manner. The sensible heat in the gas produced<br />
by the gasification of carbon by the blast is given up<br />
in its upward travel through the producer, as follows:<br />
1. The carbon subsequently gasified by the blast<br />
is preheated, also the ash.<br />
2. The volatile matter in the coal and the water<br />
is distilled off.<br />
3. Heat is lost in radiation in the upper part of the<br />
producer.<br />
4. There remains a balance of heat in the gas,<br />
which gives a definite temperature to the off-going<br />
gases.<br />
As there is a given amount of gas at a definite<br />
gasification temperature and since the items above<br />
are fixed by a given coal, the producer employed and<br />
the rate of driving, it follows that the temperature<br />
of the gas leaving the producer has a minimum temperature<br />
which cannot be lowered by increasing the<br />
height of the coal bed above the gasification zone.<br />
This temperature can be calculated for each variety of<br />
coal.<br />
In the producer operation, when blast consisting<br />
of air and H,0 is used, there is an unavoidable surplus<br />
of heat which cannot be utilized, except in heating<br />
the off-going gases. If there were a smaller volume<br />
of hot gases pasing through the producer, as, for<br />
instance, if the blast contained no nitrogen, then the<br />
temperature of the off-going gases would be reduced<br />
below the minimum just considered. On the other<br />
hand, if blast consisting of air and waste gases were<br />
used, the volume of hot gases would be increased and<br />
the temperature of the off-going gases would be<br />
higher.<br />
Similar conditions exist in metallurgical furnaces<br />
and other apparatus used in steel works, as, for instance,<br />
the blast furnace, the open-hearth furnace and<br />
recuperative furnaces. In the first mentioned, the gas<br />
leaves the top at a definite temperature, fixed by the<br />
descending materials capacity to take up heat from the<br />
ascending gases. Other condition being equal, this<br />
temperature cannot be lowered by making the blast<br />
furnace, say, twice as high. Only a reduction in the<br />
volume of the ascending gases can lower the top temperature.<br />
In the checkers of the open-hearth furnace and in<br />
recuperative furnaces, the waste gases can only give<br />
up the same amount of heat as the air or gases entering<br />
the checkers or recuperators are able to take up.<br />
Under such a condition, an increase in size of checkers<br />
or recuperators cannot further lower the stack temperature,<br />
radiation losses and infiltration of air being<br />
equal.<br />
*U. S. Steel Corporation, New York City.<br />
161<br />
Table 16 represents, as nearly as can be estimated,<br />
the heat required for the distillation of two grades<br />
of coal. The values are only approximate, but serve,<br />
nevertheless, to illustrate the point. The last line<br />
gives the heat required per pound of C gasified by<br />
blast. The gas created therefrom must give up this<br />
heat before passing away from the producer. In<br />
Table VII is given the amount of gas created per<br />
pound of C at 2000 deg. F. gasification temperature.<br />
The heat content of this gas can be calculated and also<br />
its temperature after withdrawing the heat required<br />
for distillation.<br />
TABLE XVI<br />
Estimate of Heat Required for the Complete Distillation of<br />
Medium and High Volatile Coals<br />
Analysis of natural coal (per<br />
cent):<br />
Moisture ....<br />
Ash<br />
Fixed Carbon ....<br />
Volatile<br />
Total<br />
C gasified by blast per pound<br />
of coal<br />
C in ash<br />
Moisture and V.M. driven off<br />
in distillation zone:<br />
Moisture<br />
V.M<br />
Total (per cent)<br />
Heat required in distillation<br />
zone per pound of coal:<br />
Moisture *1700<br />
V.M *800<br />
To heat C and ash *760<br />
Radiation<br />
Total<br />
Heat required per pound of C<br />
gasified by blast<br />
* Approximate.<br />
TABLE XVII<br />
Btu. per Eastern<br />
Pound Coal<br />
3.0<br />
7.5<br />
56.5<br />
33.0<br />
100.0<br />
57.5<br />
1.0<br />
3.0<br />
31.0<br />
92.5<br />
51 Btu.<br />
248 Btu.<br />
436 Btu.<br />
*170 Btu.<br />
905 Btu.<br />
Western<br />
Coal<br />
10.0<br />
7.5<br />
47.0<br />
35.5<br />
100.0<br />
48.0<br />
1.0<br />
10.0<br />
33.5<br />
92.5<br />
170 Btu.<br />
268 Btu.<br />
365 Btu.<br />
170 Btu.<br />
973 Btu.<br />
*1570 Btu. 2020 Btu.<br />
Sensible Heat in Gas per Pound of C Gasified with Blast at<br />
2,000 deg. F. Before Entering Distillation Zone and After<br />
Leaving Producer.<br />
Gas entering distillation zone 2000°<br />
Heat required for the distillation of Eastern<br />
Coal per pound of C gasified bv<br />
blast, see Table XVI<br />
Gas leaving producer on Eastern Coal. . . 1280° F.<br />
Heat required for distillation of Western<br />
Coal per pound of C gasified by<br />
blast, see Table XVI<br />
Gas leaving producer on Western Coal. . 1070°<br />
Temperature Sensible heat<br />
of gas above 62° F.<br />
3675 Btu.<br />
1570 Btu.<br />
2195 Btu.<br />
2020 Btu.<br />
1745 Btu.<br />
The result of the calculation is given in Table<br />
XVII. The gas temperature for other gasification<br />
temperatures is calculated in the same manner. The
162<br />
results are shown in Fig. 13, and are very instructive.<br />
For Western coal, the gas temperature is about 1100<br />
deg. F. and is practically independent of the gasification<br />
temperature. For Eastern coal, the temperature<br />
varies between 1200 deg. and 1300 deg., except for<br />
gasification temperatures above 2000 deg. F. If the<br />
gas temperatures in practice are higher than these,<br />
this does not indicate that the temperature in the gasification<br />
zone is high, but that blowholes exist in the<br />
fire bed, allowing air to burn C to C02 or pass through<br />
and burn the gas. This results in inferior gas and<br />
low gasification efficiency, that is, the calorific heat in<br />
the gas is transferred into sensible heat. This is detrimental<br />
to high combustion efficiency in the openhearth<br />
furnace. For this reason the importance of<br />
the measurement of the gas temperature cannot be<br />
overestimated. It will be found that in every case<br />
with high gas temperature the gas analyses are poor<br />
and vice versa.<br />
Blast Temperature and Steam Consumption.<br />
It is generally believed that the blast temperature<br />
indicates the amount of moisture going into the producer<br />
and can be calculated by assuming the air to be<br />
dry and saturated at this temperature. This belief<br />
needs to be somewhat modified. When steam is introduced<br />
into air, the air is heated and part of the<br />
steam is condensed and exists in the blast as fog. The<br />
colder the outside air is. the more steam condenses.<br />
In most cases, the steam entering the nozzle is also<br />
wet, adding still more condensed moisture to the blast.<br />
This moisture enters the producer in the blast hood,<br />
which usually is only 8 to 10 inches below the hottest<br />
part of the fire. The ashes at this point are quite<br />
warm and heated by radiation from the fire and it is<br />
hardly possible that the fog is trapped in the ashes,<br />
taking into consideration also, the high velocity of the<br />
blast. Carefully made tests also indicate this.<br />
In several producers, the water seal is so close to<br />
the fire zone that some additional moisture vapor is<br />
added to the blast from this source. It is well known<br />
that the ashes always are moist two or three inches<br />
above the seal. A certain blast temperature does not,<br />
therefore, give the same gasification condition or gasification<br />
temperature in all producers, and this fact<br />
must always be kept in mind in comparing results<br />
from various producers. On an average, it can be<br />
safely assumed that 10 per cent to 20 per cent more<br />
moiture enters with the blast than the saturation temperature<br />
indicates.<br />
In Table VII the H20 in the blast at a gasification<br />
temperature of 2,000 deg. F. was calculated. In<br />
Table XVIII are also given the blast conditions<br />
at other gasification temperatures. From this table it<br />
can be seen that the blast temperature should not be<br />
below 131 deg. F., if 2000 deg. F. temperature of gasification<br />
is desired, and in most cases the temperature<br />
should be kept from 2 deg. to 4 deg. lower than this,<br />
due to the quality of steam used, and a still further decrease<br />
is necessary in cold weather. The blast temperature<br />
gives a very good indication in operating producers,<br />
but one must guard against depending on this<br />
for judging the amount of moisture entering the producer,<br />
moisture decomposed, or moisture contained in<br />
the producer gas. It might be well here to enter a<br />
plea for frequent moisture determinations in the gas,<br />
which is now seldom done.<br />
' Die Blast F. urnaco<br />
J^o S U Plant<br />
TABLE XVIII<br />
March, 1924<br />
Theoretical Amount of H20 per Pound of Dry Air Corresponding<br />
to Various Temperatures of Gasification in the<br />
Producer. Also Estimated Temperature of Saturation<br />
LInder Ordinary Conditions.<br />
Temperature of Gasification in Deg. F.<br />
1600<br />
Deg.<br />
H2O per pound of air in blast<br />
(per cent) 585<br />
Steam required to raise air<br />
from 62 deg. F. to saturation<br />
temperature (per cent) .028<br />
Dry H=0 in blast .557<br />
Saturation temperature at this<br />
moisture content, Deg. F.. 176<br />
lKcin<br />
Deg.<br />
.257<br />
.023<br />
.234<br />
153<br />
2000 2200<br />
Deg. Deg.<br />
.130<br />
.018<br />
.112<br />
131<br />
.071<br />
.013<br />
.058<br />
110<br />
The approximate consumption of steam for the two<br />
coals given in Table XVI can be calculated with consideration<br />
of the natural moisture in the air. The actual<br />
steam consumption is from 10 per cent to 30 per cent<br />
higher, due to steam line losses. In this connection.<br />
it might be well to point out the superiority of the<br />
turbo- blower over the ordinary steam jet blower as<br />
a means of introducing the blast, and the more general<br />
adoption of the former cannot be too highly recommended.<br />
The Use of Oxygen in Gas Producers.<br />
This has been proposed by Prof. F. G. Cottrell before<br />
the Institute in 1920 and especially by E. A. W.<br />
Jeffries in a discussion of Prof. Cottrell's paper.* The<br />
effect thereof can readily be calculated in the same<br />
manner as shown for blast and H20 in Tables V, VI<br />
and VII. If all air were replaced by pure oxygen, the<br />
surplus heat as given in Item B, Table V. is increased<br />
by Item 6 in the same table. This will allow<br />
and necessitate the addition of more H„0 per pound<br />
of C gasified. The percentage of C gasified by H..0<br />
will thereby be increased to 40.2 per cent of the total<br />
C, and the resulting gas will contain as calorific heat<br />
89.8 per cent of the heat in C. This compares to 79.4<br />
per cent with air and H20 at 62 deg. F. With proper<br />
consideration of the distillation gases, these percentages<br />
indicate that 8 per cent less fuel will give the<br />
same calorific heat in the total gas. The gas will be<br />
extremely high in calorific value (300 to 350 B.t.u. per<br />
cubic foot), and will consist of CO, IT and distillation<br />
gases, with smaller amounts of CO., and H20. Due to<br />
an increase in combustion efficiency, a possible saving<br />
of 15 per cent of the fuel in open-hearth practice<br />
may be effected. As about one-half of a ton of oxygen<br />
is required per ton of ordinary bituminous coal, the<br />
price of oxygen should not exceed about 30 per cent of<br />
the cost of coal (cost of additional ILO not considered)<br />
in order to make the process economical for steel<br />
works. Such a low price of oxygen is not vet in sight.<br />
The field for the oxygen process, therefore, seems<br />
to be exclusively in the production of high calorific<br />
gas or so-called "city gas." In this process it is possible<br />
to transfer nearly all the heat in the coal into<br />
calorific heat in gas.<br />
Influence of Rate of Gasification.<br />
With hand-poked producers, it was considered that<br />
10 to 15 pounds of coal per square foot per hour was<br />
*"The Future of Oxygen Enrichment of Air in Metallurgical<br />
Operations", 1920 Year Book of the American Iron and Steel<br />
Institute, pages 117 and 139.
March, 1924<br />
an economical rate of driving in steel works practice.<br />
With the advent of the mechanically poked or surface<br />
agitated producer, with automatic coal feed, this was<br />
raised to 20 to 25 pounds. The most modern mechanical<br />
producers, with agitated ash zone and continuous<br />
automatic ash removal, have proven that rates<br />
as high as 50 pounds are perfectly feasible on most<br />
grades of both Eastern and Western coals, still maintaining<br />
an extremely high gasification efficiency. In<br />
fact, a low rate of driving does not give as high efficiency,<br />
due to increased heat radiation from the gasification<br />
zone. In the theoretical considerations, radiation<br />
losses from this zone were not taken into account.<br />
This is proper, as this zone has the shape of a pancake.<br />
The radiation loss through the brick-lined wall along<br />
the edge of this pancake is practically nil, and the<br />
radiation downward is recovered in the blast and<br />
transferred back into the zone. The radiation upward<br />
is only partly recovered, as far as the gasification zone<br />
proper is concerned, but it is only the very top thereof<br />
that is affected at gasification rates of 20 to 50<br />
pounds, and this has practically no influence on the<br />
gasification conditions. However, at a low rate of<br />
gasification, the radiation downward and upward, especially<br />
the latter, has a greater influence on the gasification<br />
conditions. However, at a low rate of gasification,<br />
the radiation downward and upward, especially<br />
the latter, has a greater influence on the temperature<br />
in this zone, even if it were possible to maintain uniform<br />
conditions throughout the fuel bed. In such a<br />
case, less than the theoretical amount of moisture<br />
can be decomposed. This lowers the efficiency of<br />
gasification and makes it necessary to reduce the<br />
amount of moisture in the blast, that is, the blast temperature,<br />
in order to maintain the proper temperature<br />
of gasification.<br />
The practicability of rates of gasification as high<br />
as 50 pounds is still doubted by many, but in view<br />
of actual results obtained in fully mechanical and automatic<br />
producers this does not seem to be justified.<br />
Instruments Required for Controlling and Supervising<br />
the Operation of Gas Producers.<br />
1. The most important instrument is a pyrometer,<br />
preferably of the recording type, placed in the gas outlet<br />
from the producer. It has been pointed out above<br />
that good gas and high gas temperature cannot exist<br />
simultaneously. A record of the gas temperature from<br />
each producer, is, therefore, nearly as indicative of<br />
operation as gas analysis, and in some respects more<br />
valuable. It will tell the operator practically instantly<br />
when a blowhole is formed, and enable him to close<br />
it before fusing takes place and clinkers are produced.<br />
Twelve, eight or six hour gas samples cannot give<br />
such information. If a temperature record is made of<br />
the gas from each gas producer, analysis of the gas<br />
can practically be eliminated. From a cost standpoint,<br />
it is possible that temperature records will not<br />
be more expensive than gas analysis from each producer<br />
every eight or 12 hours. A few steel works<br />
recognize this and have at least partially adopted<br />
pyrometers.<br />
2. The gas temperature, however, does not indicate<br />
the temperature of the gasification zone. This<br />
temperature is closely related to the blast temperature<br />
and a thermometer in the blast pipe is, therefore,<br />
next to the pyrometer in importance. There are also<br />
devices on the market which keep the blast tempera<br />
Tho I)last h, rnaco<br />
. Stool Plant<br />
163<br />
ture constant automatically for any rate of driving,<br />
and take this important item out of the operator's<br />
hands. With these two instruments the conditions of<br />
gasification efficiency can be judged.<br />
Other instruments to facilitate the operation are:<br />
3. Steam pressure gauge, showing the steam<br />
pressure for the turbo or the jet blower. This indicates<br />
the rate of driving.<br />
4. Blast pressure gauge, or U tube, showing the<br />
blast pressure. This indicates the condition in the fuel<br />
bed.<br />
5. Gas pressure gauge.<br />
6. Measuring device, for measuring the rate of<br />
feeding coal. This is usually a simple device when<br />
automatic coal feed is used.<br />
There is also an instrument on the market for the<br />
continuous recording of B.t.u. per cubic foot of the<br />
gas produced.<br />
In addition t.> these, the operator should have a<br />
measuring rod for measuring the depth of the fuel<br />
bed, including ash, gasification and distilling zones,<br />
and should keep a record thereof.<br />
There are devices on the market that keep the gas<br />
pressure constant by regulating the blast. Such a device<br />
is useful when a gas producer battery is furnishing<br />
gas for heating furnaces, or more than one openhearth<br />
furnace. For open-hearth furnaces equipped<br />
with individual groups of producers, gas pressure<br />
regulation is not so important.<br />
Preheating of the Blast.<br />
In the comparison between theoretical and actual<br />
practice, blast of 62 deg. F. has been assumed in the<br />
former case. This is proper, as the sensible heat in<br />
the blast in actual practice corresponds to the latest<br />
heat given up by part of the steam being condensed<br />
to a fog. In the majority of producers, this fog enters<br />
the gasification zone also, as pointed out above,<br />
and the blast in actual practice, therefore, corresponds<br />
to a mixture of air and dry moisture at 62 deg. F.<br />
In the first part of the paper, a few calculations<br />
were carried out for blast preheated to 562 deg. F. In<br />
Tables V and VI are given the surplus and deficiency<br />
of heat when C is gasified by air and steam respectively<br />
at 562 deg. F., and in Table VII, the condition when<br />
balance is obtained with 562 deg. F. blast. Proportionally<br />
more steam is decomposed per pound of C<br />
and higher efficiencies of gasification and combustion<br />
are obtained. More steam per pound of C gasified<br />
must also be used. That preheated blast would increase<br />
the efficiency is pointed out by several writers,<br />
among others Carl Dichman.*<br />
The Mond Producer system uses blast preheated<br />
to a certain degree. From the theoretical point of<br />
view, the efficiency of combustion would be increased<br />
from about 45 per cent to 49 per cent at a gasification<br />
temperature of about 1900 deg. F. This would mean<br />
a reduction of fuel consumption of about 9 per cent.<br />
Another way to express this is, that preheated blast<br />
makes it possible to obtain the same efficiency at a<br />
lower temperature of gasification as obtained with<br />
natural blast at higher temperature of gasification.<br />
However, the heat necessary to produce the additional<br />
steam required and to preheat the blast would cor-<br />
*The Basic Open-Hearth Steel Process, by Carl Dichman.
164 Inp Dlast rumacp^y jteel Plant<br />
respond to about 7.5 per cent of the fuel. Unless waste<br />
heat is used, practically no saving can be expected,<br />
and the operation will also be more complicated. In<br />
open-hearth practice, there is always sufficient heat in<br />
the waste gases, even if waste heat boilers are used,<br />
to produce all the moisture vapor required and preheat<br />
the blast considerably. To solve this problem in<br />
a practical way does not seem to be a very difficult<br />
one, and a great saving in steam and coal can be realized<br />
thereby.<br />
Other Cooling Mediums Than Steam in Gas<br />
Producers.<br />
The addition of moisture to blast serves two purposes<br />
in the producer:<br />
1. To maintain the temperature of gasification below<br />
the fusing point of ash.<br />
2. To increase the gasification efficiency.<br />
The first purpose is the most important, as otherwise,<br />
producers could not run except at a very low<br />
rate of gasification.<br />
A popular way of expressing the action of steam<br />
is that "it breaks up the clinkers." This is not a correct<br />
way of expressing the action. Moisture, after it<br />
becomes superheated, does not act on coal ash or coal<br />
in any different manner than any other gas. Steam<br />
prevents clinkers only by cooling the fire. Any other<br />
gas could be used for cooling just as well. This was<br />
realized some 30 years ago by Siemens, who proposed<br />
to use waste gases and many others have since proposed<br />
the same or similar method. The soundness of<br />
this from a theoretical point of view has not been<br />
denied by competent investigators, but the savings<br />
that could be obtained have often been grossly exaggerated.<br />
That it has not been used to a greater extent<br />
is due to practical difficulties. It is necessary<br />
that the source from which the gases used for cooling<br />
are taken be dependable and that the composition<br />
of the gases does not vary to any great extent. The<br />
waste gas from the open hearth furnace is not a good<br />
source; it varies greatly during each heat and still<br />
more during a run. It varies also between reversals,<br />
on account of air leakage being different in the two<br />
ends of the furnace. With waste heat boilers the conditions<br />
are somewhat better, as the gases are practically<br />
of constant temperature, but the composition still<br />
remains variable. At reversals, there is some gas going<br />
directly into the stack, which might cause explosions<br />
in the producer blast pipe, and this must be<br />
guarded against. Given a constant source of waste<br />
gases, the required amount of these must be mixed in<br />
constant proportion with air. This, however, does<br />
not present a difficult problem.<br />
One of the best sources of waste gases available in<br />
steel works is the stack gases from the blast furnace<br />
stoves. These gases are very uniform in analysis and<br />
temperature when a common stack for each group of<br />
stoves is used. These gases consist of C02, N, O, and<br />
HzO. In case washed blast furnace gas is used, H20<br />
is low. The gases can be considered as a mixture of<br />
air and true combustion products. The proportion of<br />
N to CO, in these latter is about 1.8 and this ratio is<br />
lower than in any other combustion product. In open<br />
hearth waste gases, the ratio is about 2.8. The reason<br />
for the low ratio in products from blast furnace<br />
gas is that part of the CO, in this gas is formed from<br />
O in the iron ore and part is derived from the lime<br />
March, 1924<br />
stone. This low ratio is of great benefit if the gases<br />
are to be used in producers, as will be shown presently.<br />
It is possible to calculate the results of adding a<br />
certain waste gas with air in the producer. Part of<br />
the CO, is broken up into CO by oxidizing C, and the<br />
resultant gases, consisting of C02, CO and N, are<br />
heated to the gasification temperature. These calculations<br />
are given in Tables XIX, XX, XXI and XXII<br />
for a gasification temperature of 2,000 deg. F.<br />
Table XIX is a chemical balance of materials. The<br />
gas obtained contains the same proportion of C02<br />
and CO as given in Table III. In Table XX<br />
is calculated the deficency of heat when C is<br />
gasified by waste gases of 62 deg. and 562 deg. F. temperature.<br />
The efficiency of gasification is calculated in<br />
Table XXI. Gas analyses by volume are also given<br />
for comparison with those in Table VII. The B.t.u.<br />
per cubic foot are low, as compared to gas made by<br />
air and H,0, but the gas does not contain moisture.<br />
The gasification efficiency for other temperatures has<br />
been calculated. The efficiency for air and moisture<br />
blast is about 4 per cent higher; but with air and<br />
waste gas blast at 562 per cent F. the efficiency is<br />
slightly higher for the latter. The combustion efficiency<br />
is calculated in Table XXII. It might be of interest to<br />
note here that it requires only 25 per cent to 33 per cent<br />
of the waste gases from the blast furnace stoves for<br />
operating the producers required to convert all the pig<br />
iron into steel in open-hearth furnaces. These figures<br />
refer to cleaned, washed blast furnace gas being used<br />
in the stoves. Considerably less is required in case<br />
raw or dry cleaned gas is used, on account of the<br />
moisture contained therein. Such waste gases are<br />
sulphur-free and do not add to the total amount of<br />
S in the producer gas.<br />
If waste gases, containing 1 part C02 and 2.8 parts<br />
N, from burning coal are used, the gasification and<br />
combustion efficiency are slightly lowered, as the deficiency<br />
of heat per pound of C gasified with such<br />
gases is higher and less C is therefore gasified by<br />
waste gases. It is not necessary to give the calculations<br />
here, as they are made in the same way as in<br />
Tables 19 to 22. The gasification and combustion efficiency<br />
are about 2 per cent to 3 per cent lower than<br />
in the case of using waste gases from the combustion<br />
of blast furnace gas.<br />
If waste gases contain moisture, this acts in the<br />
same way as steam introduced into the blast in ordinary<br />
practice, and if the quantity is known, the amount<br />
of the waste gases required and other items of interest<br />
can be calculated.<br />
In judging the merits of cooling producers with<br />
waste gases versus moisture, one must take into account<br />
the gas analysis. The former gives a gas high<br />
in CO, low in H and H20. Moisture gives a gas low<br />
in CO, high in H and incidentally in H20. In such a<br />
comparison, the actual B.t.u. per cubic foot of dry gas<br />
by no means form a basis for comparison. One must<br />
take into account the combustion efficiencies of the<br />
gases, in which the H20 content must not be left out.<br />
It is generally believed, and many practical openhearth<br />
men are thoroughly convinced, that in openhearth<br />
furnaces B.t.u. in the form of CO are more<br />
efficient than in the form of H. Actual proof of this is<br />
difficult to obtain, but theoretically there is some<br />
foundation for such a belief. H20 dissociates at a<br />
somewhat lower temperature than C02. This temperature<br />
is reached towards the end of the heat in the
March, 1924<br />
open-hearth furnace, and H therefore requires a higher<br />
excess amount of air to burn completely. There are<br />
also some practical points. H and fl20 makes a lighter<br />
gas than CO and N, and with the former it is more<br />
difficult to hold down the flame on the bath. In practice,<br />
it is not impossible that the gas made from air<br />
and waste gases will show a considerable superiority<br />
over ordinary gas.<br />
New Slide Rule Simplifies Design Work<br />
Whenever in any given line of manufacture it is<br />
necessary to make a considerable range of sizes of<br />
articles, the work of preparing drawings in which<br />
such items appear is made irksome by the necessity<br />
of referring to rather complicated tables and diagrams<br />
by which the standard dimensions of the whole<br />
series of articles are shown. In preparing detail and<br />
assembly drawings from such diagrams and tables,<br />
mistakes are frequently made, either by taking values<br />
from the wrong column or line of the table, or by selecting<br />
the wrong reference letter in the diagram.<br />
The American Engineering Standards Committee<br />
has called attention to a newly developed slide rule<br />
for standard parts, which was recently put on the<br />
market in Switzerland and was exhibited at the international<br />
standardization conference at Zurich. In<br />
the use of this novel aid to the draftsman and designer,<br />
the danger of making mistakes in transferring<br />
standard dimensions to drawing and computations is<br />
practically eliminated; and, furthermore, it is used<br />
much more quickly and conveniently than the usual<br />
tables of standard parts.<br />
The slide rule presents all essential dimensions for<br />
the full series of the Swiss standard bolts, nuts and<br />
washers, so that by moving the slide to such position<br />
that the desired diameter appears through a window<br />
or opening in the fixed part of the rule, all the dimensions<br />
for the other parts of the bolt of that size appear<br />
in the corresponding rectangles on a clear diagram<br />
of the bolt which is engraved on the fixed part of the<br />
rule. In this way, each dimension appears in exactly<br />
the place where it applies. For example, the diameter<br />
of the washer appears just where the washer<br />
would be dimensioned in any actual drawing incorporating<br />
the bolt, nut and washer combination.<br />
In addition to the fundamental dimensions of the<br />
bolt itself, the rule provides a convenient means of<br />
showing also the diameter of the drill that is to be<br />
used for drilling a threaded hole to receive the bolt;<br />
the diameter of the cotter pin to be used; the effective<br />
cross sectional area of the bolt in square inches; its<br />
safe carrying capacity in pounds; and the working<br />
stress at that load in pounds per square inch.<br />
The same slide rule carries on the reverse side, a<br />
similar presentation of the dimensions of two other<br />
standard design components, shaft keys, and gas<br />
pipes. This rule illustrates one of the advantages of<br />
standardization in favoring manufacturing economy.<br />
It is adapted to all cases where standard dimensions<br />
have been determined upon for parts, components, or<br />
complete machines.<br />
A reprint giving a picture and detailed description<br />
of this slide rule is available upon request to the<br />
American Engineering Standards Committee, 29 West<br />
Thirty-ninth Street, New York City, at whose offices<br />
samples of the rule may be seen.—Engineering<br />
Standards Bulletin.<br />
Ihe Dlast Kirnaco^jteol riant<br />
A Century of Endeavor<br />
165<br />
Concealed in the brief announcement that portland<br />
cement is now 100 years old, there is a fascinating<br />
story; a story of early struggles—of hard-fought<br />
contests among men and machines—of spectacular<br />
progress once the industry had gained a firm footing.<br />
Picture a small manufacturing town in old England<br />
a century ago. Intent upon his unusual endeavor,<br />
a mason named Joseph Aspdin is earnestly at work—<br />
his goal a superior cementing material. Anxiously he<br />
takes a few handfuls of a fine powder and stirs it up<br />
with water into a stick)- mixture. Impatiently he<br />
awaits results.<br />
Harder and harder the mass becomes, growing<br />
more and more like stone. At length even the famed<br />
building stone from the Isle of Portland—portland<br />
stone—was no stronger nor more solid.<br />
"This new material," Aspdin then announced,<br />
"shall be known as portland cement."<br />
Next came a long period of development, in which<br />
the science of the chemist displaced guesswork in<br />
cement making. And with this careful control came<br />
a reputation for reliability that brought the material<br />
into wide favor abroad.<br />
At length interest was aroused in making this product<br />
in the United States. One experimenter utilized<br />
his kitchen stove for burning the raw materials into<br />
cement-clinker. Another made test burns in a piece<br />
of sewer-pipe and ground the resulting clinker in a<br />
coffee mill. Crude though the apparatus was and<br />
many the disappointments, good portland cement was<br />
finally made, and the first American factories established<br />
in Pennsylvania and Indiana in 1872.<br />
Then followed a period when imported and domestic<br />
portlands competed for favor in this country.<br />
Those in charge of important projects had come to<br />
rely upon foreign cements ; and at first regarded the<br />
American product with suspicion. But the domestic<br />
manufacturers, by dint of close attention to the quality<br />
and reliability of their cement, succeeded in establishing<br />
a reputation that eventually won for them the<br />
United States market.<br />
During this time of manufacturing development<br />
came the wars of the cement-making machines.<br />
Against the old time vertical kiln was arrayed the<br />
new horizontal rotary kiln—a great steel cylinder<br />
with firebrick lining that burns cement-clinker in<br />
hours instead of the days needed by the old vertical<br />
kiln. And the iron grinding mill—today equipped<br />
with huge rotating rolls, tons of tumbling balls, or<br />
heavy swinging hammers—similarly disputed the<br />
field with the millstones long employed in pulverizing<br />
raw materials and cement clinker.<br />
Of course, improved methods won. And fortunately<br />
so, for without them present day outputs<br />
would be impossible.<br />
In contrast to this country's production of a third<br />
of a million barrels in 1890, and eight and one-half<br />
million barrels in 1900, the 126 plants in the United<br />
States now turn out over 135,000,000 barrels—or 540,-<br />
000,000 sacks of portland cement in a year. Mixed<br />
with sand and stone as used for concrete, it is used<br />
but not consumed, and adds to the country's permanent<br />
wealth.
166<br />
IdpDiast kirnace^ySteel Plant<br />
March, 1924<br />
Weirton's New By-Product Plant<br />
S E V E N minutes past seven on the seventh day of<br />
the seventh month, the first coke was pushed<br />
from the new ovens at the new by-product coke<br />
plant of the Weirton Steel Company, and is significant<br />
for two reasons in that it completes the final link in<br />
the chain at Weirton, enabling the control of all<br />
facilities and processes for the manufacture of the<br />
usual raw materials entering into the various highly<br />
finished products of the company, ready for delivery<br />
to the consumer, and that it inaugurates a new era in<br />
the by-product coke industry of interest to the industry<br />
at large, being the first battery of ovens designed<br />
for high capacity short coking time with 14-in.<br />
oven width, to operate in the steel industry for the<br />
production of blast furnace coke from high volatile<br />
coal exclusively.<br />
The growth and development of the Weirton Steel<br />
Company from its beginning at Clarksburg, West<br />
Virginia, in 1905, with the starting" of a six mill tin<br />
*Chief Engineer of the Weirton Steel Company.<br />
By C. J. HUNT*<br />
plate plant, then known as the Phillips Sheet & Tin<br />
Plate Company, into the largest independent tin plate<br />
manufacturer in the country, operating 50 tin mills<br />
and 100 tin stacks and in addition being one of the<br />
foremost producers of hot and cold rolled strip steel<br />
with two hot strip mills and 40 cold rolling mills and<br />
the recent addition of an 8-mill sheet mill plant, complete<br />
with galvanizing and finishing facilities, with its<br />
own coal mines, iron ore supply, by-product coke plant,<br />
blast furnace, open hearth steel plant, blooming mill,<br />
bar and billet mills, constitutes one of the most noteworthy<br />
achievements within 18 years in the independent<br />
steel industry.<br />
A brief review of the order in which these developments<br />
occurred was contained in an article by the<br />
writer with a description of the steel plant published<br />
by the technical press in March and April, 1921.<br />
Including the recently completed coke plant and<br />
sheet mill, the company owns and operates eight practically<br />
separate plants, the finishing plants comprise<br />
Birdseye view of nczv by-product plant at Weirton, shozving coal handling tozver at left and Koppers ovens in the mai
12 tin mills at Clarksburg, 12 tin mills at Steubenville<br />
and 26 tin mills at Weirton, having a capacity of<br />
225,000 tons or equivalent to 4,500,000 base boxes of<br />
tin plate annually, the hot and cold rolled strip steel<br />
plant at Weirton, with a capacity of 200,000 tons of<br />
hot rolled and 60,000 tons of cold rolled strip steel annually,<br />
the sheet mill plant at Weirton with an annual<br />
capacity of 60,000 tons of black and galvanized sheets.<br />
Almost from the first the company foresaw the<br />
time when they would require their own source of raw<br />
material supply, therefore in 1909 when the site was<br />
selected for the erection of a new tin plate plant, consideration<br />
was given to a location which would provide<br />
space for the erection of such facilities and for additional<br />
finishing mills; the present town of Weirton<br />
with a population of about 12,000 persons and the<br />
modern self-contained plants there is the result of<br />
that foresight and vision.<br />
Early in 1917, the company's engineers developed<br />
the plans for the present and ultimate steel making<br />
units, including blast furnaces, steel plant, rolling<br />
mills and by-product coke plant, an analysis of the<br />
consumption of the finishing mills indicated there<br />
would eventually be required steel making capacity<br />
for 75,000 to 80,000 tons of ingots per month and the<br />
entire layout was designed to permit of these eventual<br />
requirements. The blast furnace department was laid<br />
out for the eventual construction of three furnaces, the<br />
by-product coke plant for three batteries of ovens and<br />
the open hearth plant for 14 100-ton furnaces, with<br />
rolling mills to take care of the ultimate tonnage.<br />
The present 600-ton blast furnace was the first of<br />
these units to be constructed and was blown in July<br />
21, 1919, being built to operate temporarily as a merchant<br />
furnace until the steel plant was constructed,<br />
its building being hastened in advance of the steel<br />
plant to assist the country in the war emergency due<br />
to the stortage of pig iron needed for war materials<br />
and munitions, a sufficient supply of beehive coke to<br />
meet the requirements of the furnace was obtained<br />
by the purchase of an interest in the mines and ovens<br />
of the Redstone Coal and Coke Company, near<br />
Brownsville, Pa., in the Connellsville region.<br />
In June, 1919, ground was broken for the present<br />
steel plant consisting of seven 100-ton stationary open<br />
hearth furnaces, 40-in. blooming mill, 21-in. continuous<br />
roughing mill and 18-in. continuous bar and billet<br />
mills, this plant going into operation in November,<br />
1920.<br />
During this construction ladles and cars were purchased<br />
and changes were made at the blast furnace to<br />
deliver hot metal to them for movement to the adjacent<br />
mixer building housing a 1300-ton mixer, hot<br />
metal being charged direct to the open hearth furnaces<br />
from the mixer as required.<br />
The need of by-product coke ovens located adjacent<br />
to the blast furnace and steel plant was felt even<br />
before the steel plant went into operation, not only<br />
on account of the high cost and waste of beehive method<br />
of making coke but also to the difficulties in maintaining<br />
schedules of movement from the mine to the<br />
furnace due to uncertainties of transportation, strikes<br />
and car shortage, it being necessary to purchase 240<br />
coke cars to be assured of cars to move the coke as<br />
required.<br />
The plant had been laid out in the beginning for<br />
construction on a site located on the Ohio River bank<br />
The Blast FurnacoSSteel Plant<br />
paralleling the tin mill plant with arrangements for<br />
receiving coal by river and unloading it from barges<br />
and delivering it to the breakers at the coke plant<br />
with storage space provided for 280,000 tons as insurance<br />
against low or frozen river and other contingencies.<br />
River equipment and unloading docks,<br />
also loading facilities up river to permit of transporting<br />
coal by water are to be installed in the near future.<br />
This location permits a system of gas lines for<br />
distribution of the surplus gas from the coke plant<br />
to the other departments of the plant where its use<br />
will effect the greatest economies, and with the completion<br />
of river transportation will make possible the<br />
delivery of coke to the blast furnace entirely within the<br />
company's control and at the lowest possible cost.<br />
All of the scrap produced by the finishing mills is<br />
used at the open hearth plant, the most of which is<br />
light sheet scrap from the sheet and tin mills and crops<br />
from the hot and cold strip mills, this material being<br />
hard to handle to the furnaces and slow to melt down,<br />
it is essential for fast production to receive a maximum<br />
amount of hot metal from the blast furnace and<br />
for the further reason that the amount of hot metal<br />
and scrap produced is not sufficient to make the quantity<br />
of steel required, it being necessary to purchase<br />
the remainder in the form of scrap from outside<br />
sources.<br />
Therefore in the consideration of a by-product coke<br />
plant, the first requisite was for a quality of coke<br />
which would permit of maximum production from the<br />
blast furnace from as large a percentage as possible<br />
of the corhpany's ores, secondly as the company purchased<br />
the entire interest in the mine and property of<br />
the Redstone Coal & Coke Company in November,<br />
1922, and also owns 1,000 acres of coal on the Monongahela<br />
River at Brownsville, Pa., that this coke be<br />
made from the maximum percentage of this high volatile<br />
coal, as the addition of low volatile coal would<br />
materially increase the cost of the coke on account<br />
of its higher cost and long freight haul from the Kentucky<br />
and West Virginia fields, and also its production<br />
and transportation not being under the company's<br />
control, the elimination of the necessity for it was<br />
highly desirable.<br />
The problem then was to determine whether a coke<br />
possessing the following qualities and characteristics<br />
generally accepted by blast furnace and coke oven<br />
operators as necessary for good blast furnace performance,<br />
could be made from 100 per cent high volatile<br />
coal.<br />
Good combustibility so it would burn equally at<br />
the tuyeres of the blast furnace, maintaining the zone<br />
of combustion low down in the bosh of the furnace<br />
where it is needed.<br />
Strength to prevent crushing in the furnace due to<br />
heavy weight of the burden.<br />
Uniformity of cell structure.<br />
Absence of cross fracture causing it to break in<br />
small pieces when being handled from coke plant into<br />
furnace. Of blocky instead of fingery structure.<br />
Uniformity of size.<br />
Various coking coals and mixtures of coals require<br />
different treatment during the coking process, such<br />
as length of coking time and degree of heat under<br />
which the coking is completed to produce coke best<br />
suited for blast furnace purpose.
168<br />
Three viezvs taken inside the benzol plant.<br />
The following is a fair average analysis of the coal<br />
to be coked:<br />
Volatile Matter 33.25%<br />
Fixed Carbon 57.97<br />
Ash 8.50<br />
Sulphur 1.09<br />
Moisture 2.5 to 3.5<br />
The Blast h.rnaceSSteel Plant<br />
March, 1924<br />
While a first quality coking coal mixture will make<br />
good coke independent of oven width and temperatures,<br />
this is not true of straight high volatile coal<br />
especially with coal containing over 33 per cent volatile<br />
matter, for the reason that such coals contain an<br />
excess of bituminous matter which during the process<br />
of distillation in the oven, has a tendency to condense<br />
in the center of the charge and to form a spongy<br />
coke of low quality.<br />
The customary remedy for eliminating sponge in<br />
the ordinary type of oven and one that is nearly always<br />
effective, is to mix with the high volatile coal,<br />
a sufficient quantity of low volatile coal to effect the<br />
absorption of the excess bituminous material and to<br />
eliminate the condition of sponge formation. Different<br />
coals require considerable varient percentages of lowvolatile<br />
coal to completely eliminate the sponge.<br />
Coals containing over 30 per cent volatile matter<br />
are also apt to have a fingery tendency in coking, that<br />
is the coke forms with a greater number of seams perpendicular<br />
to the oven walls which on account of the<br />
small cross section break up into small short pieces<br />
during the necessary handling. This becomes pronounced<br />
if the coal is of high oxygen content and is<br />
likewise encountered in coals which have remained in<br />
stock piles for a considerable length of time.<br />
It has been demonstrated to the satisfaction of the<br />
majority of coke oven and blast furnace operators, that<br />
especially from high volatile coal better coke can be<br />
made in narrower ovens and by careful study of the<br />
results obtained and tests made with high volatile coal<br />
in the five Koppers experimental ovens of the Becker<br />
type, 14 in. wide, at the plant of the Chicago By-Product<br />
Coke Company, it was found that the percentage<br />
of such low quality coke can be reduced and in fact<br />
practically eliminated by coking to the center of the<br />
charge quickly, so as to avoid excessive condensation<br />
and spongy formation toward the center; this can be<br />
accomplished in the narrower oven to relatively lower<br />
coking temperature as the narrow fused coking zones<br />
are driven to the center of the oven from both walls<br />
more quickly in the narrow than in wide ovens, due to<br />
the shorter distance the heat must penetrate through<br />
the heat resisting coked portion to reach the center.<br />
Also when coking high volatile coals or coals of<br />
a high oxygen content, by coking at temperatures<br />
somewhat lower than used in ordinary practice, the<br />
fingery tendency may in many cases be entirely eliminated,<br />
as over-coking and high temperatures tend to<br />
produce fingery or small size coke, and bv careful heat<br />
treatment, well regulated during the coking process,<br />
especially in the case of the narrower ovens, firm<br />
blocky coke may be made from coal usually regarded<br />
as having a fingery tendency.<br />
The heat applied to the coking mass from the oven<br />
wall must be uniform from end to end of the oven and<br />
also from top to bottom of the oven, except for the<br />
usual thin layer on top of the coking mass to protect<br />
the space in the upper part of the oven through which<br />
the gases pass from the oven from high temperatures<br />
destructive to by-product recovery and the coking<br />
should reach the center of the oven over the total area<br />
of the oven at the same time, otherwise the portion<br />
which has been completely coked will become overcoked<br />
in order to complete the portion that was lagging<br />
behind. With the old style wide oven, it is necessary<br />
to apply the heat longer and at higher temperatures<br />
to drive the heat to the center of the coal mass.
March, 1924<br />
This produces coke of unequel structure from wall to<br />
center, due to over-coking at the wall end and is apt<br />
to cause cross fracture, while with the narrower oven<br />
with shorter coking time, the heat will penetrate to the<br />
center of the oven with equal or even lower temperatures<br />
in a shorter time and make a more uniform<br />
strong blocky coke.<br />
After a thorough investigation of various types and<br />
designs of ovens, the new development by the Koppers<br />
Company in the coke oven design as embodied in the<br />
Becker type of narrow width, was chosen as fulfiling<br />
various requirements essential to the conversion<br />
of high volatile coal into blast furnace coke. This<br />
type of oven was fully described in a paper by Joseph<br />
Becker, read before the Eastren States Blast Furnace<br />
and Coke Oven Association and since reprinted in<br />
whole or in part in the various trade journals.<br />
In the old style Koppers ovens operating on longer<br />
coking time, the quantity of gas per flue becomes corresponding<br />
1 y less and the combustion is quicker and<br />
the flame shorter so that the bottom of the oven is<br />
completely coked in advance of the top and in order<br />
to complete the coking of the top portion, longer application<br />
of heat at the bottom increases the temperatures<br />
in the oven walls, causing over-coking of the<br />
mass in the bottom of the oven.<br />
In the new type of oven, which is of the vertical<br />
rectangular flue design, one side of the oven is heated<br />
in its entirety. The products of combustion joining<br />
in the horizontal flues pass over the top of the oven,<br />
through cross-over flues, one pair of which is located<br />
on the coke side and the other pair on the pusher<br />
side—the products of combustion then enter the horizontal<br />
flues of the adjacent heating wall and pass<br />
downward throughout the entire wall into the regenerators.<br />
The flow of gases has been worked out so that<br />
there is a minimum of leakage between individual flues<br />
since adjacent flues are all working under the same<br />
flow and pressure condition, there being no counterflow<br />
in any adjacent heating flues. This theory has<br />
also been carried out in the arrangement and design<br />
of the regenerators, which reverse longitudinally with<br />
the battery instead of crossways as in the older type.<br />
Due to the design of these flues and the faster heat<br />
absorption, the height of the flame in the flues has been<br />
increased and extends far up toward the top of the<br />
oven with the result that the heating of the cold charge<br />
is uniform over the entire area in contact with the<br />
oven wall, so that the coking reaches the center of the<br />
oven over the total area at virtually the same time.<br />
The ovens were built with combination regenerators<br />
to permit the use of blast furnace or producer<br />
gas at any time, so that all of the coke oven gas can<br />
be utilized as fuel throughout the plants, and in case<br />
producer or blast furnace gas is used, the arrangement<br />
of regenerators and flow of gas is such that there does<br />
not exist at any time counterflow between incoming<br />
fuel gas and outgoing products of combustion in adjacent<br />
regenerator chambers. Fuel gas and outgoing<br />
products of combustion are separated by a regenerator<br />
containing ingoing air and should a slight leakage occur<br />
in the waste gas regenerator chamber, it can only<br />
result in the loss of air and it would be impossible to<br />
waste producer or blast furnace gas. These features<br />
minimize the dangers of leakage from one part of<br />
the oven to the other as the battery gets old, with<br />
Die Blast hirnacoSSteel Plant<br />
169<br />
lessoned liability of damage by local overheating of<br />
the brickwork on account of leaks through cracks or<br />
joints, due to the relatively low differential pressures<br />
existing in any part of the battery.<br />
The arrangement of flues and regenerators is such<br />
that it has been found possible to maintain lower uniform<br />
stack temperature indicating less waste of heat<br />
to the stack and lower fuel consumption for heating<br />
the ovens due to more efficient heat distribution and<br />
transmission to the coal.<br />
The following comparison at Chicago indicates the<br />
above advantage of the new design of oven:<br />
Width<br />
of Oven<br />
14 m.<br />
16 in.<br />
Coking<br />
Time<br />
14hrs.<br />
16hrs.<br />
Flue<br />
Temp.<br />
2300°F<br />
2550<br />
Stack-<br />
Temp.<br />
500<br />
575<br />
Flue Gas<br />
Pressure<br />
150 MM<br />
90 MM<br />
Stack<br />
Draft<br />
23 MM<br />
14 MM<br />
Flue<br />
Differential<br />
6 MM<br />
9 MM<br />
From which it will Lie observed that the new type<br />
of oven operates at an equivalent coking speed with<br />
Interior of benzol building shozving the zvash oil still with the<br />
final heaters in the rear, the light oil cooler and separator<br />
and the vapor to oil heat exchanger on the platform above.<br />
The zvash oil circulating pumps are in the Icanto at the<br />
rear and the charging and loading pumps at the left.<br />
less flue temperatures, also lower stack temperature<br />
with a more nearly balanced condition indicated by<br />
the lower flue differential pressure.<br />
By tests made on the experimental ovens at Chicago,<br />
it was demonstrated that about 200 deg. less temperature<br />
was required in this type of oven for the same<br />
oven width as compared with the older type.<br />
With the same flue temperature, the new type 14<br />
in. oven would coke in 11 hours as compared with 16<br />
hours coking time of the old type 16-in. oven.
The coke from the new ovens is more uniform in<br />
temperature when pushed, also both in size and structure<br />
and from all parts of the oven as it is unnecessary<br />
to over-coke one portion of the oven in order to properly<br />
coke another.<br />
Porosity of coke from 16-in. oven—52 per cent;<br />
comparative porosity of coke in 14-in. oven—55 per<br />
cent.<br />
The shatter test shows 10 per cent better on coke<br />
from 14-in. oven and with better combustibility.<br />
That coke can be made from high volatile coal with<br />
lower temperatures in the heating walls in the new<br />
type of oven as compared with the old type without<br />
sacrificing speed.<br />
These various points were considered sufficient<br />
to justify the building of a plant to operate exclusively<br />
Die Blast h.rnaceSStee! Plant<br />
Coke side of battery shozving quenching car and its electric<br />
locomotive ready to receive coke from the oven. The coke<br />
wharf is shown in the middle foreground with the quenching<br />
station and the coke screening and loading station at<br />
the left.<br />
Interior view of the pump, room under the primary coolers—<br />
the by-product department pumps are in the foreground,<br />
the zvater service pumps beyond at the right and the air<br />
compressors at the rear.<br />
with high volatile coal, although provision has been<br />
made in the layout for the installation of pulverizers<br />
and for mixing coal should it be deemed necessary or<br />
feasible in the future to do so. In this decision, the<br />
Weirton Steel Company was the pioneer in the adoption<br />
of the new type narrow oven, as the plant would<br />
go into operation a year before any other ovens contracted<br />
for or contemplated would be finished.<br />
The demand of the blast furnace was for not less<br />
than 600 net tons of furnace coke per day, to meet<br />
this demand it was decided to install one battery of 37<br />
ovens, each oven having a capacity of 544 cu. ft. or<br />
13.6 net tons based on coal at 50 lb. per cu. ft., thus<br />
establishing a new record for the minimum of ovens<br />
required for a like production of coke per day and<br />
consequently for minimum investment required per<br />
ton of coke produced.<br />
The primary coolers in the middle foreground rest on a reinforced<br />
concrete structure forming a room zvhich houses<br />
all by-product department pumps, zvater set-vice pumps and<br />
air compressors. The gas collecting main from the ovens,<br />
the pitch trap and the hot drain tank zvhich is located<br />
above ground level are shown at the left, the by-product<br />
building at the right. The gas holder, tar and ammonia<br />
liquor tanks are shown beyond.<br />
Interior of the by-product building shozving tzvo lines of apparatus,<br />
one in operation, one as a spare. The exhausters<br />
are at the right, the sulphate drain table and centrifugal<br />
dryers are located on a platform at the left.
March, 1924<br />
The builder guaranteed this production of 600 tons<br />
of furnace coke per day over a 1*4 in. revolving grizzly<br />
screen, coke passing through the grizzly to be rescreened<br />
on a I34 in. shaking screen and all coke passing<br />
over this screen to return to the furnace coke.<br />
The Ovens.<br />
The ovens are 41 ft. 0 in. long, face to face of<br />
doors 1.2 ft. 8 in. high, \3 l /\ in. wide at the pusher side<br />
and 14^4 in. wide at the coke side, an average of 14<br />
in. width. The ovens are spaced 3 ft. 634 in. center<br />
to center and are the Koppers patented cross regenerative<br />
combination oven with two regenerators per<br />
ovens, so that they can be operated in the future with<br />
either producer gas or coke oven gas, the heating<br />
chambers are rectangular flue construction with 31<br />
vertical flues, four cross-over flues connect the horizontal<br />
flues on either side of the oven chamber.<br />
Sil-O-Cel insulating material is used to insulate the<br />
ends of the regenerators, the horizontal flues and the<br />
cross flues, cast iron face plates are provided between<br />
the vertical buckstays and the brickwork between the<br />
ovens, these are sectional of the same height as the<br />
jamb brick and extend in to form the jamb for the<br />
doors; the lintels also being faced with cast iron lintel<br />
plates. Sil-O-Cel insulation is provided in spaces between<br />
the brickwork and the jamb plates and also as<br />
packing in the oven doors, assuring comparatively cool<br />
benches.<br />
The pusher side bench is 7 ft. 4 in. wide and the<br />
coke side bench 7 ft. 10 in. wide with smooth finished<br />
reinforced concrete floors; also extending across at<br />
each end of the battery to form connecting walks.<br />
A brick enclosed room at bench level at the east<br />
end of the battery, back of the pinion walls contains<br />
the reversing mechanism and battery instruments<br />
while at the opposite end of the battery underneath<br />
the coal bin at bench level are two rooms also brick<br />
enclosed, one containing the wet pan for mixing luting<br />
clay with storage and handling facilities for same,<br />
the other a service and sanitary station for battery<br />
coal and coke handling men.<br />
The fuel gas for heating the ovens is delivered from<br />
the 10000 cu. ft. fuel gas holder through a 16 in.<br />
main by two branches with a Venturi meter in each<br />
branch to a 12 in. main on each side of the battery,<br />
from which it is introduced alternately to each side<br />
of the ovens by reversing cocks and connections with<br />
regulating cocks to the gun brick connecting to the<br />
ports in each heating flue. The gas gun casings are<br />
provided with decarbonizing caps connected with the<br />
reversing mechanism so that they open on reversal of<br />
the gas to the opposite side, admitting a small quantity<br />
of air through the gun brick and nozzles burning<br />
out any carbon deposited there.<br />
The air for combustion enters the regenerators for<br />
each oven through cast iron reversing valves four for<br />
each oven, one on each end of the two regenerator<br />
chambers. These valves also serve to convey the<br />
waste gases to the waste heat flues a cast iron disc<br />
valve operating between air and flue openings, a butterfly<br />
damper in the flue connection to each valve,<br />
hand adjustable, provides individual regulatio,. of the<br />
draft conditions from the regeneratois while linger<br />
bars over the air inlet openings control tiie amount<br />
of air admitted affording complete control 01 air and<br />
draft to compensate for relative distance of even to<br />
stack and other variable conditions.<br />
IheDlast rumace^/jtee! Plant<br />
171<br />
The waste heat flues from each side of Ihe battery<br />
are connected to a common reinforced concrete stack<br />
8 ft. 0 in. diameter, 200 ft. high with perforated radial<br />
brick lining, a regulating damper is provided in each<br />
waste heat flue and a stack damper in the flue leading<br />
to the stack, thus providing means for controlling the<br />
draft on each side of the battery and for the battery<br />
as a whole, and as is common in the Koppers ovens<br />
with means for regulating the admission of gas and<br />
air to each vertical heating flue by changeable gas<br />
nozzle brick and by adjustable sliding brick over each<br />
flue regulating the down draft in each flue, every<br />
facility is provided to control the heating so as to<br />
maintain uniform temperature from end to end of<br />
the ovens and in all ovens from end to end of the<br />
battery, which has proven of particular advantage in<br />
this plant for properly coking high volatile coal.<br />
The air and draft valves and gas reversing c cks<br />
are all operated by a single reversing unit, motor<br />
and timed to reverse every 20 minutes by an electrical<br />
timing device energized by a clock.<br />
The gas from the oven enters the codec ling main<br />
through ascension pipes provided with cast steel butterfly<br />
valves, the collecting main is 60 in. diameter,<br />
gas leaves the ovens at a temperature of approximately<br />
1000 deg. F. and is sprayed with tar and ammonia<br />
liquor by sprays located about every four feet alone<br />
the main, so that the gas enters the suction main at<br />
less than 210 deg. F. The collecting main slopes from<br />
both ends toward the 36-in. suction main connection<br />
at the center of the battery, the heavy tars are condensed<br />
out of the gas in the collecting main and<br />
washed along by the flushing liquor to the suction<br />
main which is so arranged that the tar and liquor<br />
flows from the collecting main through pitch traps<br />
and back through the suction main to the hot drain<br />
tank, while the gas passes through a by-pass with<br />
butterfly valve for regulating the gas pressure in the<br />
collecting main, controlled by a Koppers automatic<br />
governor operated by oil pressure.<br />
Coal and Coke Handling.<br />
Fig. 1, see April issue, shows the general plan of<br />
the plant and the provisions for extensions including<br />
coal handling facilities from river barges.<br />
Coal is received at present by rail and can go direct to<br />
the ovens or be sent to storage by discharging from<br />
the bottom of the cars into an unloading pit and<br />
thrown back onto the storage pile by a fixed radius<br />
whirly crane operating on a semi-circular track. This<br />
crane is equipped with a 5 cu. yd. bucket and boom<br />
100 ft. long, and is also utilized for reclaiming from<br />
storage into cars for delivery to the ovens, this arrangement<br />
being adequate until such time as additional<br />
batteries are added, when more extensive storage<br />
and reclaiming facilities are contemplated.<br />
Coal going to the ovens is delivered to the unloading<br />
building at yard level and from the bottom of the<br />
cars into two track hoppers. Duplex reciprocating<br />
feeders deliver the coal onto a 36-in. belt 20 ft. 0 in.<br />
below yard level, which conveys up an 18 deg. slope to<br />
the junction house at yard level and onto a 36 in.<br />
belt at right angles, also at a slope of 18 deg. to the<br />
top of the breaker building 35 ft. 0 in. above the level<br />
of the yard.<br />
(To be Continued)
172 ItaBlastF", urnace<br />
JS> jteol Plant<br />
March, 1924<br />
CURRENTTECHNICAL DIGEST<br />
America's Industrial Armada Leaves for Spain<br />
America's industrial "Armada" to Spain, a 34-car<br />
train of steel mill plant electrical equipment for the<br />
Cia Siderurgica del Mediterraneo (Metallurgical Company<br />
of the Mediterranean) at Sagunto, Spain, left the<br />
East Pittsburgh works of the Westinghouse Electric<br />
& Manufacturing Company, Monday. January 28. The<br />
total value of the shipment is more than $500,000 and<br />
is part of a development, costing many millions, of<br />
which that represented by purchases in America approximates<br />
$2,000,000.<br />
The shipment represents a great forward stride in<br />
Spain's industrial progress as the electrical equipment<br />
contained in the shipment, when installed, will drive<br />
the first complete electrically equipped modern steel<br />
rolling mill plant in that country.<br />
Just before the departure of the train from East<br />
Pittsburgh an interesting pageant was staged by students<br />
of the Dramatic School, Carnegie Institute of<br />
Technology. A man, representing industry, and three<br />
girls, representing the United States, Spain and Queen<br />
Electricity, took part in the pageant depicting the<br />
United States congratulating Spain on her industrial<br />
progress. At the conclusion of the ceremony, Queen<br />
Electricity christened the shipment the "American<br />
Industrial Armada to Spain." Then the train slowly<br />
pulled out of the yards on the first leg of its long<br />
journey.<br />
The Sagunto plant, which will be among the most<br />
modern in the world, was designed and constructed<br />
under the drawings, specifications and supervision of<br />
Frank C. Roberts & Company, prominent consulting<br />
engineers of Philadelphia. The plans call for the complete<br />
works, including coal dock, by-product coke<br />
ovens, blast furnaces, open hearth steel furnaces and<br />
rolling mills for an ultimate capacity of 1,200 tons<br />
per day of finished product. Practically all of the<br />
plant is electrified and controlled with Westinghouse<br />
equipment.<br />
Sagunto is the ancient town of Saguntum, captured<br />
by Hannibal 219 B.C., and is ideally situated for the<br />
new plant, according to Mr. Roberts. The iron ore<br />
Pagent staged by Carnegie Tech dramatic students.<br />
lies in deposits that were worked by the Carthaginians<br />
and are located in Sierra Manera mountains, about 130<br />
miles from Sagunto. The ore is transported to<br />
Sagunto over the company's own railroad. From this<br />
point Spain exports vast quantities of ore to the United<br />
States and various countries of Europe. The company<br />
operates its own fleet of 50 ocean steamers.<br />
Tram load of electrical equipment leaving East Pittsburgh for Spain.
March, 1924<br />
The vision of a modern American iron and steel<br />
works against the background of the ancient town of<br />
Saguntum with all its traditions and history arouses<br />
a realization of the progress of the human race.<br />
Mr. Roberts was also the American agent in the<br />
transaction and much credit is due to his expert counsel<br />
and design that America landed this business in<br />
the face of keen European competition.<br />
Sota and Aznar, the holding company of the Cia<br />
Siderurgica del Mediterraneo, have been assured of<br />
the hearty support of the government and industrial<br />
<strong>org</strong>anizations of Spain in developing the new plant.<br />
Practically all the machinery and equipment of the<br />
mill is of American design and manufacture and the<br />
actual operation will be in conjunction with experienced<br />
American steel men.<br />
That Spain regards American methods of design<br />
and operation very highly is attested to by the complete<br />
American installation of this important plant in<br />
the leading industry of the world.<br />
The shipment included a 5,000-hp. motor, which<br />
will be installed in a 48-inch blooming mill, which is<br />
larger than any mill ever used in the United States ;<br />
a 3,750-hp. motor for a 28-inch structural mill; a threeunit<br />
motor generator set, consisting of one 3,500-kw.,<br />
and one 3,000-kw. generator with a 180,000-lb. flywheel,<br />
all driven by a 5,000-hp. induction motor; a<br />
four-unit exciter set, blower and air washer equipment<br />
for forced ventilation, switchboard and automatic<br />
control equipment.<br />
This comprised one unit of the shipment. There<br />
was also included a 3.000-hp. motor for driving a 36inch<br />
three-high plate mill, and its gear unit, in addition<br />
to the driving motors. The shipment includes<br />
85 auxiliary mill motors with automatic control equipment<br />
for use in the various mills. There are also included<br />
three rotarv converters with accompanying<br />
switchboard and three transformers, each with a rating<br />
of 1,100 kva.<br />
The shipment after leaving East Pittsburgh proceeded<br />
immediately to Port Richmond, Philadelphia,<br />
where it will be loaded on ships for the journey by<br />
water.<br />
Prior to actual ceremony of christening the train,<br />
a niass meeting was held in the Westinghouse Lunch<br />
Club, where employes of the company gathered to<br />
hear addresses given by President E. M. Herr and<br />
Works Manager R. L. Wilson. Both speakers impressed<br />
their audience with the importance of the<br />
shipment as a messenger of electrified industry to<br />
Spain and congratulated all the workers for their cooperation<br />
in producing the equipment.<br />
The Mercury Boiler<br />
The first mercury engine in the world, for the production<br />
of power in commercial quantity, is now in<br />
operation in the plant of the Hartford Electric Light<br />
Company whose officials predict a saving of from 40<br />
to 50 per cent of fuel by its use. The invention is<br />
essentially a turbine engine run by mercury vapor.<br />
The whole electrical industry is interested in observations<br />
being made of its operation.<br />
Incentive for a careful investigation of the properties<br />
of mercury vapor for power generation is given<br />
by the high cost of coal and its transportation, making<br />
it necessary to minimize fuel consumption. The mercury<br />
boiler was started up successfully early in Sep<br />
Die Blast FumaceSSteel Plant<br />
173<br />
tember and has since been in regular operation, carrying<br />
a part of the commercial load of the local lighting<br />
system. Officers of the local lighting company say<br />
that it has carried approximately 3,500 kw. of the<br />
Hartford load.<br />
While the present installation is not of sufficient<br />
size to have any effect on total cost of power produced<br />
by the company at the present time, it is large<br />
enough to provide a working basis to figure the results<br />
that may be obtained eventually from larger<br />
sizes. The manufacture of these boilers is so intricate<br />
that it will be several years, probably, before the<br />
larger boilers can be in operation.<br />
It is expected that the mercury boilers will be a<br />
very material improvement over the most modern<br />
stations, even those contemplating using 1,000 and<br />
1,200 pounds of steam pressure. The new process<br />
will require only about one-quarter of the fuel that is<br />
used with the best reciprocating engines.<br />
First mercury boiler operated at Hartford, Conn.<br />
The mercury vapor exhausted by the mercury turbine<br />
is sent to a condenser where it is cooled by water,<br />
just as in any ordinary power system. But the mercury<br />
vapor is so hot that the "cooling water" is turned<br />
into high-pressure steam. This steam is not wasted,<br />
but is sent to a steam turbine from which additional<br />
power is obtained. This still further increases the<br />
efficiency of the system.<br />
It is the object in making such installations in the<br />
future to replace the steam boilers in the large modern<br />
plants by«a mercury boiler which will give nearly<br />
double the output in the same place. Consequently,<br />
it will not be necessary for a general redesign of a<br />
station to obtain the benefit of better economy.<br />
The process was invented and designed by Dr. W.<br />
L. R. Emmet of the General Electric Company. As<br />
the characteristics of mercury vapor had never been<br />
thoroughly studied by other scientists, it was necessary<br />
for him to go into this general subject in great<br />
detail. It was found that no form of packing of the<br />
joints would resist the mercury vapor and a system of
174<br />
arc and acetylene welded joints was therefore developed.<br />
In this connection it is of interest to recall that<br />
the Hartford Electric Light Company installed the<br />
first commercial sized steam turbine in this country.<br />
The possible efficiency of the mercury vapor<br />
process for the generation of electrical power is<br />
equivalent to that of internal combustion engines, its<br />
inventor, W. L. R. Emmet, consulting engineer of the<br />
General Electric Company, said in a statement requested<br />
by Science Service. Since the new process<br />
involves only simple rotation and is applicable to any<br />
kind of fuel, Mr. Emmet expects it to be "simple and<br />
practicable for application to a variety of purposes"<br />
just as soon as the commercial installation at Hartford<br />
is given a severe service trial and mechanical difficulties<br />
are fully overcome.<br />
The mercury boiler and turbine is not yet ready<br />
for general commercial application, Mr. Emmet said,<br />
as the development of such a process involves a very<br />
large amount of experimentation and' accumulation of<br />
experience, both in methods of construction and the<br />
proportioning of boilers and condensers.<br />
In discussing its efficiency, Mr. Emmet said:<br />
"The possible rate of gain which may be accomplished<br />
by proposed mercury vapor process, as compared<br />
with steam plants, is naturally dependent upon<br />
the conditions and efficiency of the plant with which<br />
comparison is made. To give an idea of the possibilities<br />
it may be said that, if we compare with a steam<br />
turbine generating plant, using 200 lbs. steam pressure,<br />
with the highest standards of efficiency in turbines<br />
and auxiliaries, the mercury steam combination<br />
with 35 lbs. gauge pressure in mefcury vapor should<br />
give about 52 per cent more output in electricity per<br />
pound of fuel. And, if in such a plant the boiler room<br />
is re-equipped with furnaces and mercury apparatus<br />
arranged to burn 18 per cent more fuel, the station<br />
capacity with the same steam turbines, condensers,<br />
auxiliaries, water circulation, etc.. would be increased<br />
about 80 per cent. As compared with higher steam<br />
pressures, such as are now being developed, the percentage<br />
of gain would naturally be less, but still very<br />
important."<br />
The mercury is re-used many times, unlike the<br />
water used in steam boilers. Mr. Emmet expects that<br />
less than five pounds of mercury per kilowatt of capacity<br />
will be required when the process is operated on<br />
a large scale.—General Electric Bulletin.<br />
Following are some of the more important articles<br />
and market reviews which have appeared in Iron<br />
Trade Review, February 7 to date:<br />
FEBRUARY 7<br />
General tendency of production is upward, although<br />
the Steel Corporation this week is'operating at<br />
91.5 per cent of steel capacity which is slightly lower<br />
than the peak point of the preceding week. The feature<br />
of the week's market is the fact that the National<br />
Tube Company closed for a round lot of basic iron for<br />
Lorain, Ohio, estimated at 40,000 to 60,000 tons. Sales<br />
of pig iron for the second quarter have been active.<br />
Iron Trade Review's composite of 14 iron and steel<br />
products still is rising, registering $43.49 this week<br />
against $43.39 the week preceding. Pig iron production<br />
in January increased for the first time in seven<br />
IheDlast hirnace'SjfepI Plant<br />
March, 1924<br />
months. The total output was 3,017,444 tons compared<br />
with 2,912,519 tons in December. The daily<br />
average increased from 93,952 to 97,337 tons or a 3.6<br />
per cent gain. Eighteen blast furnaces were put in<br />
operation during the month, and only one was blown<br />
out.<br />
The British iron and steel trade is recovering<br />
slightly from the effects of the railroad strike. Loss<br />
of production of Welsh tin plate, due to the strike is<br />
estimated at 340,000 base boxes. Continental makers<br />
continue to make low price offers in the export field.<br />
The Germans are building new steel works at Kiel<br />
outside of the zone under French control.<br />
Luther Becker, chief of the iron and steel division,<br />
Department of Commerce, contributes to this issue a<br />
comprehensive article on the iron and steel requirements<br />
of Japan, with the conclusion that Japan has<br />
become the best export market for American iron and<br />
steel.<br />
H. R. Simonds, Boston representative of Iron<br />
Trade Review, describes the use of alloy and special<br />
steels in the construction of bank vaults. The transactions<br />
of the American Society for Steel Treating at<br />
its winter sectional meeting at Rochester, New York,<br />
are presented in this issue.<br />
The complete record of iron ore shipments for the<br />
Lake Superior districts for 1923 shows a total of 60,-<br />
780.003 tons, an increase of 16.789,907 tons over 1922.<br />
The output per active mine was larger than in the<br />
record year of 1916 when 66.658,466 tons of ore was<br />
forwarded. Fifteen mines of the Oliver Iron Mining<br />
Company, steel corporation unit, shipped 24.580,148<br />
tons in 1923 or 40 per cent of all the ore forwarded.<br />
FEBRUARY 14<br />
Steady progress is being made in second quarter<br />
business in the pig iron market. Bookings of basic<br />
iron in the New York and Philadelphia districts mark<br />
this as one of the heaviest buying periods the eastern<br />
trade has known in many months. An eastern subsidiary<br />
steel corporation closed for 30.000 tons of basic<br />
at a price report under $22 delivered. Prices show<br />
considerable firmness. Iron Trade Review's composite<br />
of 14 products has advanced to $43.50.<br />
The steel market also shows increased activity.<br />
Recovery of steel ingot production in January after<br />
four months of losses is at a more rapid rate than in<br />
the pig iron. The output totaled 3,599,938 tons, an<br />
increase of 756,174 tons or 17.2 per cent over December.<br />
The Steel Corporation reports an increase of<br />
353,190 tons in unfilled orders for January. Constructional<br />
and railroad requirements are bringing out a<br />
heavy demand for steel.<br />
One of the largest enterprises ever undertaken in<br />
the iron and steel jobbing field is revealed in the projected<br />
merger of more than 30 eastern warehouses with<br />
a capitalization of at least $40,000,000.<br />
French and British producers are competing with<br />
American mills for business along the Atlantic coast,<br />
and offer prices $5 to $10 below those quoted by home<br />
mills.<br />
Iron Trade Review's London correspondent reports<br />
that deliveries through Antwerp are much delayed.<br />
British makers are obtaining good export orders<br />
and also large specifications from home railroads.<br />
G. H. Woodroffe, metallurgical engineer of the<br />
Parkersburg Iron Company, Parkersburg, Pa., con-
March, 1924<br />
tributes an article to this issue describing the production<br />
of charcoal iron tubes.<br />
A complete report is given of the transactions at<br />
the Atlantic city meeting of the American Ceramic<br />
Society.<br />
A bill is introduced in Congress to put the department<br />
of commerce foreign representatives on a more<br />
stable basis. The legislation provides for a continuance<br />
of service on a basis not possible under year to<br />
year appropriations. The House Immigration Committee<br />
has reported a bill that would reduce the yearly<br />
quota from 350,000 to 150,000.<br />
Average wages of employees in iron and steel<br />
works in December was $130.80, the highest monthly<br />
average since 1917.<br />
FEBRUARY 21<br />
Substantial sales continue to be made in the pig<br />
iron market, one of the conspicuous transactions of the<br />
week being the purchase of 25,000 tons of foundry<br />
grades by the American Radiator Company, Buffalo.<br />
Basic is selling at $22, Valley, and foundry at $23 to<br />
$23.50, Valley. Large shipments in some instances<br />
surpassing current output, are reported by representative<br />
makers. Iron Trade Review's composite of 14<br />
iron and steel products this week is unchanged for the<br />
first time in many weeks, at $43.53. Steel needs for<br />
second quarter are being covered in good volume,<br />
bookings by leading mills at Chicago being 25 per<br />
cent ahead of those of January.<br />
The steel industry in general is operating on 86<br />
per cent of ingot capacity while the steel corporation<br />
is running above 94 per cent. Japanese steel requirements<br />
from American mills are estimated at 1,000.000<br />
tons, to be spread over a period of time.<br />
The Ford Motor Company has issued the first inquiry<br />
of the season for iron ore asking prices on 250,-<br />
000 tons. Ore producers say that shipments this year<br />
will approximate 60,000,000 tons, but they will not be<br />
in a position to quote prices until the latter part of<br />
March.<br />
At New York and Philadelphia, 8,000 to 10,000 tons<br />
of French and Belgian bars and shapes have been<br />
bought around 2.00c per pound delivered, duty paid.<br />
The British dock strike has tied up exports in that<br />
country. The first day of the strike over 50,000 tons<br />
of export steel business was lost to Britain producers.<br />
The recent railroad strike was estimated to have cost<br />
British Industry $4,000,000 to $5,000,000.<br />
An editorial in this issue refers to the recent death<br />
by drowning of 41 men in a small iron ore mine in the<br />
Lake Superior district and shows how remarkably<br />
free from serious accidents is the iron ore industry.<br />
The nearest approach to this accident was the drowning<br />
of 27 men in 1893, these accidents being in s-rong<br />
contrast with the usual record during the intervening<br />
31 years.<br />
E. F. Ross, editorial representative at Cleveland<br />
of Iron Trade Review contributes to this issue, a<br />
comprehensive article on the modernizing of a heat<br />
treating shop, describing the installation by a Rochester<br />
gear manufacture of new high temperature, continuous,<br />
automatic, electric furnaces for hardening<br />
high speed, gear cutting tools.<br />
An interesting experiment in industrial relations<br />
is described. A Massachusetts manufacturing plant<br />
employing 3,000 men has dispensed with superintend<br />
Die Blast FurnaceSSteel Plant<br />
175<br />
ents, the general manager maintaining contact with<br />
the men through 52 foremen.<br />
The Midland Steel Products Company, Cleveland,<br />
has adopted a profit, sharing plan with some new features,<br />
principal of which is the issuance of shares in a<br />
fund for distribution among employees. There are<br />
400 shares and the fund is maintained with earnings<br />
over a certain percentage.<br />
FEBRUARY 28<br />
The pig iron market this week is quiet, while melters<br />
give indication of waiting their chances for lower<br />
prices. The markets in some districts, notably Buffalo<br />
and the Valley are not as strong as they were<br />
three weeks ago. Steel works' operations are nearing<br />
the maximum in the Mahoning Valley.<br />
Steel demands for the second quarter are coming<br />
out more freely and export business also is increasing,<br />
the Steel Corporation's foreign sales at present represent<br />
eight to 10 per cent of its ingot output, or at<br />
the rate of 1,500,000 tons of finished material annually.<br />
The principal requirements are coming from the<br />
railroads and railroad equipment makers, the New<br />
York Central having distributed its large order for<br />
14,500 cars, calling for 277,500 tons of steel. At Chicago,<br />
20,000 cars are pending in the market, requiring<br />
at least 200.000 tons of steel.<br />
The British dockworkers' strike has been settled<br />
quickly as was the locomotive engineering, but before<br />
exports were released, the British mills'lost large tonnages.<br />
Pacific coast users are obtaining steel from<br />
Belgium and other European countries far below the<br />
American prices, and the London correspondent of<br />
Iron Trade Review notes that a tonnage of Scotch<br />
pig iron has just been sold for delivery to San Francisco<br />
at 025 f.o.b., the freight being $3.87.<br />
Secretary Hoover states that the agreement between<br />
miners and operators in the soft coal fields is the<br />
most important made in many years, and it means that<br />
stable prices, ranging from $2.20 to $2.40 per ton at the<br />
mines probably will prevail for the next three years.<br />
Coal consumption records compiled by the National<br />
Association of Purchasing Agents indicate that business<br />
activity gained 21.7 per cent in January.<br />
This issue contains an article, describing the successful<br />
operation of hot mills installed in 1923 by the<br />
Tin Plate Company of India. The mills are of American<br />
design and during the year 213,940 boxes of black<br />
plate were rolled under extremes of heat and humidity.<br />
H. Cole Estep, European Manager of the Iron<br />
Trade Review analyzes the European steel situation,<br />
concluding that a flood of steel into the United States<br />
from European countries is improbable, despite recent<br />
sales to Atlantic and Pacific Coast points. He points<br />
out that large tonnages are not behind the low offers.<br />
An interesting item is to the effect that a government<br />
commission appointed to investigate unrest in<br />
the steel industry of Canada reports in favor of that<br />
industry abolishing the 12-hour shift and the adoption<br />
of a three shift plan in continuous processes.<br />
The General Electric Company have developed a<br />
distant dial mechanism for use with watthour meters<br />
where, for various reasons, it is desired to have the<br />
registration of the meter appear at a point remote<br />
from that where it is installed.
176<br />
Die Blast F,<br />
urnace S3 Steel Plant<br />
March, 1924<br />
7% POWER PLANT<br />
Underfeed Stokers and Midwest Coal *<br />
T H I S would not be a great engineering society if<br />
it excluded rational opinions. It would not be a<br />
progressive association if it were to do anything<br />
to submerge engineering feeling or subvert engineering<br />
theory.<br />
Through your selection of subjects concerning fuel<br />
burning equipment for this meeting you will probably<br />
get a mixture of all—both feeling and theory.<br />
Finally, however, we must discriminate between<br />
theory and good practical operating engineering. Our<br />
problem in fuel burning is not entirely one of select-<br />
JOSEPH G. WORKER<br />
ing the thermally most efficient system. We must<br />
consider those things that are connected with a combustion<br />
system that are vital factors in the ultimate<br />
results.<br />
Flue gas temperature, preheated air, hollow wall<br />
construction, etc., have shown that they can effect<br />
the overall efficiency of a combustion system from 5<br />
to 10 per cent. These are not a part of any particular<br />
combustion system. In our endeavor to find that<br />
*Paper read before Chicago Section A. S. M. E.<br />
fPresident, Stoker Manufacturers' Association.<br />
By JOSEPH G. WORKERf<br />
system that will give the best results from a dollar<br />
and cents basis for a particular condition great care<br />
must be taken to see that the results obtained are not<br />
attributed to other causes than the real ones.<br />
The mechanical stoker has, more than any other<br />
piece of boiler room equipment, made possible the<br />
present size of boiler plants and the rate at which<br />
fuel is now so efficiently burned and utilized. It is<br />
also the major reason why we are now installing a<br />
boiler horsepower for 6 kw. generator capacity, where<br />
15 years ago we installed a boiler horsepower for 2<br />
kw. generator capacity.<br />
There have been and there are many types of<br />
stokers that have been involved in this development.<br />
The underfeed stoker has played its part and has figured<br />
very prominently in this progress. In order to<br />
find out to what extent the underfeed stoker is now<br />
used to burn midwest coals, figures were sought with<br />
the following results:<br />
A little over 1,000,000 hp. of boilers were sold in<br />
the United States during the year 1922 by 28 boiler<br />
companies. About 800.000 hp. of all types of boilers<br />
were sold. Of these 800,000 hp. of stoker fired boilers<br />
550,000 hp. were equipped with one type or another<br />
of underfeed stokers, about 200,000 hp, were equipped<br />
with some type of chain grate stoker and about 50,000<br />
hp. were equipped with some type of overfeed stoker.<br />
That is, about 75 per cent of the stokers sold in the<br />
United States during the year 1922 were underfeed<br />
stokers.<br />
From the most exact figures I am able to obtain,<br />
with a foundation in the knowledge of the sales of<br />
large underfeed stoker manufacturers, the indications<br />
are that there were more underfeed stokers sold in<br />
the west during the year 1922 than any other type of<br />
stoker.<br />
While these sets of figures throw some light on<br />
our subject they are perhaps as expressive of economic<br />
conditions as they are of differing measures<br />
of efficiencies in combustion system. These figures<br />
may be surprising, because only a few years ago any<br />
of us would have correctly stated that there were<br />
more chain grate stokers sold in the west than any<br />
other stoker. I am particularly bringing out this<br />
point because I want you to get a positive thought<br />
in connection with the subject that your committee<br />
asked me to talk about and to know what the trend<br />
is and not get the thought that I am here talking<br />
about something that is new and yet to show its<br />
worth and position in the burning of midwest coals.<br />
This change has come about slowly. It may have<br />
been delayed at times, but as it grew it accumulated<br />
in numbers and gained in power as years have gone<br />
by until now we are up to a point where we have
March, 1924<br />
Ihe Blast kirnace^jteel Plant<br />
almost as many underfeed stokers going into the west<br />
as in the east.<br />
We may have been correct in the past in holding<br />
that no stoker handles all grades of coal with the<br />
same degree of satisfaction, In that thought, however,<br />
we have mixed with it mechanical operating difficulties<br />
that were not at all a part of the fuel burning<br />
system, but were to quite an extent a part of the<br />
cleaning process of a fuel bed.<br />
There have always been two types of stoker designers.<br />
One had tendencies towards building a ma<br />
chine that would offer the best combustion possibilities,<br />
irrespective of the cleaning device. Others have<br />
mixed the problem to the extent that there have been<br />
stokers designed that may not have been the most<br />
efficient insofar as burning coal was concerned, but<br />
they handled clinkers to such satisfaction that a sacrifice<br />
was made of combustion efficiency.<br />
We have heard many times that the underfeed<br />
principle was all right for middle west coals, but there<br />
177<br />
was too much clinker trouble. In a number of cases<br />
this statement, without analysis, prevented stoker<br />
manufacturers and users from looking through this<br />
trouble into combustion results in order to create the<br />
problem of determining what things should be done<br />
to overcome this trouble without disturbing the primary<br />
combustion system.<br />
The east went through a partial situation similar<br />
to this years ago when the development of the underfeed<br />
principle was being taken up by some power<br />
stations. Some could see the virtue of this system<br />
Various viezvs zvhich illustrate the typical problems involved in underfeed stoker design and operation.<br />
when it was first developed, but it gave rise to endless<br />
discussion. It created thought, and what was<br />
more, it placed the most severe construction upon the<br />
prevailing combustion systems at that time. Nothing<br />
could stop this movement after it once started and<br />
the faith and character of it led to further development.<br />
Improvements were made on one part or another<br />
of the controlling mechanism, but the underfeed<br />
method of burning coal was probably more than any
178<br />
other single element the reason for the success of the<br />
whole system.<br />
The history of eastern power stations shows nothing<br />
compared with the development and use of the<br />
underfeed principle. They surrendered individually<br />
to a great combustion system and they did that for<br />
only one reason and that was that it was a proper<br />
engineering movement, and proper engineering movements<br />
never fail.<br />
Fig. 1 shows an obsolete setting of a Roney stoker<br />
in the east. The Interborotigh Rapid Transit Company<br />
had many of these settings of 600-hp. boiler<br />
capacity with a 12 ft. 7 in. furnace width. Note the<br />
distance of the front boiler header from the floor line<br />
of 7 ft. 6 in. and in some cases 8 ft. A battery of these<br />
boilers was about 30 ft. wide. Xote the distance from<br />
the stoker to the boiler tubes only about 5 ft. Fig. 2<br />
is the replacement valve in underfeed stokers. The<br />
underfeed stoker still goes in the 12 ft. 7 in. furnace<br />
width and gives 4,800 hp. instead of 900 hp. Over five<br />
times the capacity at maximum rating insofar as coal<br />
burning is concerned, but only being double the size<br />
of the boiler, the new units being 1,200 hp. normal<br />
rating.<br />
We sometimes f<strong>org</strong>et that newest stoker developments<br />
start in the west, but in a number of cases the<br />
problem was never finally and definitely worked out<br />
before some other part of the country took it up, and<br />
as their coal conditions were not so severe, they gave<br />
such am impetus to the business no further effort or<br />
money was spent in making a particular stoker suit<br />
western coal conditions.<br />
A clear idea of the principles involved in a fuel<br />
bed of a multiple retort underfeed stoker is an important<br />
consideration. An endeavor has been made<br />
to bring out some of the ideas of Ehvood Taylor, the<br />
inventor of this type of stoker, in a prepared sketch<br />
of an underfeed fuel bed. (Fig. 3.) , A review of some<br />
of the inventors' claims when he petitioned for patents<br />
on this device particularly brings out the movement<br />
of the fuel. Many have the idea that an underfeed<br />
fuel bed is agitated and the fuel is pushed across<br />
the supporting structure from the point of entering<br />
the fuel to the discharge of ash.<br />
The inventor stated that in the operation of his<br />
stoker the fuel bodies in the several retorts constituted<br />
legs of a single fuel bed. This fuel bed burned<br />
with the incandescent fuel on top and the coking fuel<br />
underneath and extending back into the retorts. The<br />
fuel bed receives its support from the walls of the<br />
retort and, owing to the cohesion and arching properties<br />
of the fuel as it swells during the coking process<br />
and is fed outwardly by the retort pushers, it is kept<br />
substantially free from the tuyere faces by arching<br />
over them, as shown in Fig. 3. This sketch also<br />
shows very plainly the partially coked coal extending<br />
into the retorts and an endeavor has been made<br />
to bring out clearly the arches over the tuyeres. This<br />
operating principle and claim of the inventor has been<br />
demonstrated in research work in connection with<br />
this stoker and also substantiated by expert engineering<br />
testimony.<br />
Few have considered that underfeed stokers use<br />
arches in the combustion process similar to the way<br />
chain grates and other stokers use refractory arches.<br />
These underfeed arches are made up of partially<br />
burned coal and are continuously being burned up<br />
The Blast Furnace^Steel Plant<br />
March, 1924<br />
and reformed. Immediately over these arches of partially<br />
burned coal comes the incandescent and major<br />
fuel bed extending across the openings of the retorts.<br />
Finally, the fine ash floats on top of the entire fuel<br />
bed (Fig. 4). These particles of ash are small and<br />
originally independent pieces. The feed of ash is a<br />
gravity feed down the slope of the fuel bed and the<br />
movement of ash is induced by the introduction of<br />
cartridges of fuel. These cartridges of fuel introduced<br />
periodically give a weaving movement to the<br />
fuel bed and an outward feed movement across the<br />
mouth of the retort.<br />
Very often the idea is advanced that the agitation<br />
of underfeed fuel beds is not proper for a high ash<br />
coal. A careful analysis of underfeed fuel beds will<br />
show, in fact, there is little agitation or mixing of the<br />
fuel bed of the kind generally supposed. The injection<br />
of these cartridges of fuel is so small that the<br />
movement at the time the coal is introduced is hardly<br />
perceptible to the eye. Arching of the fuel in the retort<br />
also relieves the pressure on these portions of the<br />
fuel in contact with the coal pushers when they retract<br />
for another charge of fuel so that their movement<br />
is always outward.<br />
In its preferred operation, the underfeed stoker is<br />
thus distinguishable from those forms of mechanical<br />
stokers employing inclined grates in which the feed<br />
of the green fuel is an overfeed, along the slope of<br />
the grate, produced by a movement of the grate bars.<br />
No grate or fuel support such as employed by overfeed<br />
or chain grate stokers are used in underfeed<br />
stokers, the fuel instead being supported from the retorts.<br />
In order to make this clear, Fig. 5 has been<br />
shown with all of the supporting structure of an<br />
underfeed fuel bed taken away, leaving only the fuel<br />
bed. This shows how the underfeed fire is supported<br />
on legs of coal and the major weight of the fuel bed<br />
is transmitted to the retorts.<br />
The formation and progress of the ash of an<br />
underfeed fuel bed is generally misunderstood. There<br />
is no progressive movement of ash through an underfeed<br />
fuel lied by bushers or rams. It can be proven<br />
that the feed of the ash is a gravity feed down the<br />
slope of the fuel bed, induced by the feed of the green<br />
fuel. A close-up view of the surface of a fuel bed<br />
would bring out clearly this idea of the travel of the<br />
fine particles of ash down the incline of the fuel bed<br />
and the inclination of the fuel bed must lie such that<br />
the ash will effect this process.<br />
Having developed the principles of a proper fuel<br />
burning process, have we given enough thought to<br />
the machinery necessary to allow a fuel bed to function<br />
according to its principles? If there were no side<br />
walls nor bridge walls or other refractory parts surrounding<br />
an underfeed stoker and nothing to retard<br />
the flow of ash from the top of the fuel "bed to the<br />
bottom, would clinkers form?<br />
lake for example a particle of ash in a fuel bed,<br />
a view of such as shown in Fig. 6, when stopped in its<br />
proper course down the slope, adheres to the side<br />
wall and backs up the oncoming ash and commences<br />
the formation of clinkers. This will gradually grow<br />
until it is built out into the fuel bed and underneath<br />
it and in some cases down into the retorts unless it is<br />
started on its course again.<br />
The development work done on furnace construction<br />
for underfeed stokers has brought out sidewall
air plates, air cooled crusher plates, water backs, etc.,<br />
all to the end of'keeping the ash from stopping in its<br />
course down the fuel bed. Side wall air backs are<br />
now being generally used in connection with underfeed<br />
stokers. These plates are working very satisfactorily<br />
and of course are much better than the refractory<br />
material that was previously used.<br />
If we assume that the progress of the ash is not<br />
stopped, but continues down the slope of the fuel<br />
bed, the next obstruction is the bridge wall. When<br />
multiple retort underfeed stokers were first installed<br />
they were equipped with dump grates, and unless this<br />
part of the stoker was handled properly, the flow of<br />
ashes would be stopped at the bridge wall and a<br />
gradual accumulation and backing up of ash would<br />
soon result in large clinkers that would not only lay<br />
lhe Blast kirnacoI!yjteol Plant<br />
on the dump grates, but would build up into the fuel<br />
bed.<br />
Without disturbing the underfeed fuel bed principles,<br />
the designers tackled this problem and the result<br />
was what is commonly termed the rotary ash discharge,<br />
shown in Fig. 7. This device is very necessary<br />
for continuous and uninterrupted progress of ash<br />
Above are assembled a number of the most modem installations of "underfeeds" for burning Western coals.<br />
and clinker from underfeed stoker fires. It is obvious<br />
that under certain conditions of operation it would<br />
not be necessary to continuously actuate the crusher<br />
in the ash well and it is operated to keep in tune with<br />
the formation of ash as it proceeds down the slope of<br />
the fuel bed. Air backs and water backs are used on<br />
the front face of the bridge wall to prevent the stopping<br />
of any ash or clinker from continuing its course
180<br />
down through the ash wells through the crusher rolls<br />
into the ash pit.<br />
The thing that is happening today in the west is<br />
that some of these clinker problems are being solved<br />
and we no longer fear clinkers. At least, we are not<br />
stopping good engineering movements just because<br />
western coals clinker. For support of this statement,<br />
I want to refer to a number of practical installations<br />
of underfeed stokers in the west to give you as briefly<br />
as possible just what is being done.<br />
Die Blast FurnaceSSteel Plant<br />
The H. M. Byllesby Company was probably one<br />
of the first large operating companies in the west to<br />
investigate the possibilities of the underfeed system<br />
in connection with their many power stations. They<br />
have not only put them in widely diversified plants,<br />
but are using widely diversified coals with them. The<br />
Minneapolis General Electric Company, operated by<br />
H. M. Byllesby Company, was probably one of the<br />
first stations in the Northwest to install underfeed<br />
stokers. The earliest stokers were installed under 12<br />
600-hp. boilers in 1913. The next extensions were installed<br />
in 1917, under 1300-hp. boilers, as shown in<br />
Fig. 8. The latest installation covers underfeed<br />
stokers under 1800-hp. boilers with the use of rotary<br />
ash discharge, as shown in Fig. 9. The H. M. Byllesby<br />
Company have also installed underfeed stokers in<br />
the plants of the Oklahoma Gas & Electric Company,<br />
and Louisville Gas & Electric Company, Louisville,<br />
Ky.<br />
The Twin City Rapid Transit Company of Minneapolis<br />
supplies current to electric railway systems<br />
and operates in parallel with several hydro-electric<br />
plants. A few years ago it was decided to increase<br />
the capacity of the boiler plant and to improve its<br />
flexibility and economy. In view of the kind of coal<br />
being used, which was Northern Illinois coal, time<br />
and thought were given the underfeed stoker to<br />
work out the problem of continuous and satisfactory<br />
operation. It was established in the beginning that<br />
the underfeed method of burning coal was to be used<br />
and a trial underfeed stoker was installed. Work was<br />
done on this trial stoker until the results sought were<br />
obtained. After that many more underfeed stokers<br />
were installed.<br />
The setting as shown in Fig. 10 demonstrated that<br />
an operating capacity of 350 per cent of boiler rating<br />
was possible and at this high rating a low grade coal<br />
was used of the following analysis.<br />
Ash Min. 16 Pet. Max. 22 Pet.<br />
Sulphur 3.5 Pet. 5 Pet.<br />
Btu. Commercial 8827 9750<br />
Efficiencies were obtained of from 77 per cent at<br />
normal rating to 60 per cent at 350 per cent rating.<br />
Considering the variable load and the above coal conditions,<br />
this performance was better than anything<br />
yet obtained at this plant.<br />
The Merchants Heat & Light Company, Indianapolis,<br />
in 1911, started revamping their plant and installed<br />
underfeed stokers and this led to the installation<br />
of underfeed stokers at the LaCrosse, Wis., plant<br />
of the Wisconsin Minnesota Light & Power Company,<br />
a related property where Illinois coal was used.<br />
As probably most of you know, all of the stations<br />
of the Milwaukee Electric Railway Light & Power<br />
Company, Milwaukee, except the Lakeside station,<br />
are equipped with underfeed stokers.<br />
March, 1924<br />
The United Light & Railway Company of Grand<br />
Rapids, Mich., controlling properties in Davenport,<br />
Fort Dodge, Cedar Rapids, Mason City, Iowa (Fig.<br />
11), and Moline, 111., changed over their combustion<br />
system in 1912, and since have been installing underfeed<br />
stokers. The new $10,000,000 plant at Moline,<br />
111., will be equipped with underfeed stokers. A poor<br />
grade of Iowa coal is being used in most of these<br />
plants and the rotary ash discharge is being used. A<br />
side elevation of the Fort Dodge plant of this company<br />
is shown in Fig. 12.<br />
Another large power producer in the west using<br />
the underfeed stoker is the Consumers Power Company,<br />
having plants at Grand Rapids, Flint and Battle<br />
Creek, Mich. A side elevation of one of these setting<br />
is shown in Fig. 13. The coals that will be used<br />
at these plants are extremely difficult to handle, but<br />
nevertheless the rotary discharge is being used.<br />
The Central Illinois Lighting Company at Peoria,<br />
111., have underfeed stokers and have burned some<br />
very troublesome coals on them. The Iowa Railway<br />
& Light Company of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, changed<br />
their combustion system years ago and have since<br />
used underfeed stokers. Armour & Company installed<br />
underfeed stokers in Omaha and St. Paul, Minn. The<br />
Indiana Service Corporation of Fort Wayne have installed<br />
underfeed stokers with rotary ash discharge.<br />
In 1913, there was presented before your society<br />
the results of underfeed stokers at the plant of the<br />
Kewanee Works of the National Tube Company, now<br />
the Walworth Manufacturing Company. The feature<br />
of the installation was the use for the first time of the<br />
Taylor stoker with Illinois coals. At that time very<br />
high efficiencies were, obtained with Illinois coal<br />
averaging about 9700 Btu. That was 11 years ago.<br />
The average operating results of this plant for nine<br />
years were published not long ago and as a matter of<br />
interest are reviewed here because maybe some of you<br />
remember the skepticism manifested at the time the<br />
original installation was made.<br />
My idea in mentioning these stations in the west<br />
that are using low grade, high ash coals with the<br />
underfeed principle is to bring out the point that we<br />
in the west are getting over our fear of handling<br />
clinkers on any kind of a stoker. I do not believe<br />
either that we have exhausted our resources in this<br />
respect. The feeling that we should leave the fuel<br />
bed alone, since it is established that it is an efficient<br />
fuel burning method and devote more thought and<br />
effort to taking care of conditions that such a fuel<br />
bed establishes and change the furnace or bridge wall<br />
or any other part of the whole installation that is<br />
necessary to get the practical operating results that<br />
are necessary.<br />
The Institute of Metals<br />
The annual general meeting of the Institute of<br />
Metals will be held, by kind permission, in the House<br />
of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Storey's<br />
Gate, Westminster, S.W.I, on Wednesday and Thursday,<br />
March 12th and 13th, 1924. The meeting will<br />
commence at 10:00 a.m. each day, concluding not later<br />
than 5 :00 p.m. On March 12 the annual dinner of the<br />
Institute will be held at the Trocadero Restaurant,<br />
Piccadilly Circus, W.l, at 7:15 for 7:30 p.m.
March, 1924<br />
Ihe Blast hirnace'!!/Moo! Plant<br />
Bolt Manufacture Simplified<br />
After adopting recommendations calling for the<br />
elimination of more than 40 per cent of types of plow<br />
bolts, representatives of the manufacturers of bolts<br />
and nuts and of agricultural implements, the United<br />
States Chamber of Commerce and the American Engineering<br />
Standards Sectional Committee embracing<br />
26 other industrial groups, came to an agreement on<br />
what should constitute standard sizes of carriage bolts<br />
and nuts used in the agricultural implement trade.<br />
The conference also voted to recommend to all manufacturers,<br />
distributors and consumers that the new<br />
program should become effective on new production<br />
on January 1, 1925, and on existing stocks on January<br />
1, 1926. The meeting was held in the Department of<br />
Commerce, under the auspices of the Division of Simplified<br />
Practice, William A. Durgin of the division<br />
presiding.<br />
Simplification, Secretary of Commerce Hoover<br />
told the conference, represents one of the foremost<br />
steps in the reduction of manufacturing costs. Through<br />
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1-5/16<br />
1-9/16<br />
1-13/16<br />
2-1/16<br />
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simplification, trade associations are enabled to make : American Engineering Standards Committee, New<br />
contributions on a sound basis to our industry and 1 York City; Roberts. Burnett, of the Society of Auto<br />
commerce. The progress reported by the conference, motive Engineers, New York; H. G. Sameit, secretary<br />
he continued, would be of value to the farmer, and he : of the National Association of Farm Equipment<br />
congratulated the members on their achievements. Manufacturers, Chicago; H. J. Hirscheimer, presi<br />
A. E. Norton, chairman of the sectional committee, dent of the National Association of Farm Implement<br />
outlining the value of the conference from a technical [<br />
standpoint, stated that the steps taken would affect<br />
Manufactures, La Crosse, Wis.<br />
certain exports. He estimated that the standardization<br />
steps made by this conference in conjunction Pemalloy Possesses Remarkable Properties<br />
with other groups would eventually bring about the One of the most striking features of modern scien<br />
elimination of more than 50 per cent of the present tific research is the effect on well established arts of<br />
number of open-end wrench sizes.<br />
developments in fields not, at first sight, closely re<br />
"No longer will it be a case of the farmer taking lated. New industries have grown from such origins.<br />
an armful of wrenches out to make repairs—and then In other instances quietly conducted abstruse investi<br />
not finding the right size," said A. C. Lindgren, of the gations have greatly increased the usefulness, and,<br />
International Harvester Company, discussing the pro therefore, the value, of existing properties in which<br />
posals. "The proposed action will help the farmer in vast sums have been invested.<br />
181<br />
the purchase of tools. When he buys a three-eighths<br />
wrench it will fit a three-eighth nut—which it frequently<br />
would not do in the past."<br />
The sub-committee of the conference, to which<br />
was referred the problem of technical standards for<br />
carriage bolts and nuts, included A. E. Norton of the<br />
American Society of Mechanical Engineers; W. J.<br />
Outcalt of the General Motors Corporation, Detroit;<br />
H. W. Bearce, secretary of the National Screw Thread<br />
Commission; Ellwood Burdsall of Port Chester, N.<br />
Y.; William M. Horton of Cleveland, Ohio; J. H. Edmonds<br />
of Bethlehem, Pa.; Commander J. B. Rhodes<br />
and Commander John N. Ferguson of the U. S. Navy;<br />
Theodore Brown of Moline, 111.; A. C. Lindgren and<br />
O. B. Zimmerman of the International Harvester<br />
Company, Chicago; Charles T. Ray of Louisville,<br />
Ky.; B. J. Kough of Moline, 111.; C. B. LePage of the<br />
American Society of Mechanical Engineers, New-<br />
York; A. J. Schwartz of the Naval Gun Factory.<br />
Washington; F. J. Schlink, assistant secretary of the<br />
STANDARD DIMENSIONS FOR "CARRIAGE" BOLTS<br />
e<br />
c<br />
D<br />
Fin<br />
15/32<br />
19/32<br />
23/32<br />
27/32<br />
31/32<br />
1-3/32<br />
r*<br />
L»<br />
\<br />
Meek Carnaqe-<br />
Bol+ Head<br />
D--<br />
- A '<br />
_c<br />
X<br />
H<br />
5/64<br />
7/64<br />
9/64<br />
11/64<br />
13/64<br />
15/64<br />
1<br />
'
The announcement was recently made of a new<br />
alloy, called permalloy, which has such remarkable<br />
magnetic properties that its use in the manufacture<br />
of submarine cables will permit messages to be transmitted<br />
at speeds many times that now obtainable, and<br />
that is only one of the many applications that this new<br />
alloy is sure to find. An old message bearer, the<br />
cable, with advantages of control and privacy, has been<br />
given "new wind" in the race with its young rival in<br />
service to mankind, "wireless". Permalloy did not<br />
just happen; it is one of many results of modern,<br />
mehtodical, planned research. To be sure, there was<br />
pleasant surprise when test after test revealed and<br />
prov-ed its remarkable properties.<br />
Permalloy is an alloy of nickel and iron which is<br />
characterized by extremely high magnetic permeability<br />
at low magnetizing forces. Its extraordinary<br />
"magnetic permeability" means the ease with which<br />
magnetic "lines of force" penetrate it and make of it<br />
an electro-magnet. It is far the mos teasily magnetized<br />
and demagnetized of all metals now known. The<br />
particular composition which is best in this regard<br />
contains about 80 per cent nickel and 20 per cent iron.<br />
The mere mixture of the two metals is, however, not<br />
sufficient to secure the highest permeability. A special<br />
heat treatment is also required. When properly<br />
heat treated its initial permeability is more than 30<br />
times that of soft iron.<br />
Another interesting property of nickel-iron alloys<br />
of about this composition is extreme sensitiveness of<br />
magnetic properties to mechanical strain. So far<br />
as has been determined, however, it is only in connection<br />
with its magnetic properties that permalloy is unusual.<br />
The X-ray study of these alloys reveals that<br />
their crystal structure is like that of nickel. Permalloy<br />
can easily be cast in ingots, reduced to billets,<br />
drawn into rods and wire, and rolled to thin tape.<br />
To the engineer the discovery of permalloy will<br />
means the accomplishment of results heretofore believed<br />
impossible. For the scientist the principal interest<br />
in these high nickel-iron alloys may well lie in<br />
the large response of their magnetic properties to simple<br />
external controls. Without alteration of composition<br />
these properties may be adjusted through extraordinary<br />
ranges by strain, by magnetization, or by<br />
heat treatment. This allows a more definite study of<br />
the way in which these factors are related to magnetic<br />
properties than has been possible with materials hitherto<br />
available in which their effects are comparatively<br />
small and may be associated with complicated and irreversible<br />
changes in other properties. The behavior<br />
of permalloy demonstrates that ferromagnetization is<br />
associated with material structure in a different way<br />
than are the other ordinary physical and chemical<br />
properties, and its extreme sensitiveness to control<br />
gives us a powerful method for use in magnetic investigations.<br />
Nickel-iron alloys containing more than 30 per cent<br />
nickel and having the arrangement of their crystals<br />
characteristic of nickel, possess remarkable magnetic<br />
properties. This series of alloys shows no mechanical,<br />
physical or electrical abnormalities and these qualities<br />
are little affected by heat treatment, which so<br />
profoundly affects the magnetic properties.<br />
Much remains to be learned about magnetism, notwithstanding<br />
the fact that the phenomenon of magnetic<br />
attraction was observed many centuries ago.<br />
Die Blast FumaceSSteel Plant<br />
Largest Magnetic Iron Deposits Discovered<br />
The largest deposits of magnetic iron ore known<br />
to man have been discovered in Russia, it has become<br />
known through the visit of Prof. Dr. P. Lasareff, director<br />
of the magnetic division of the Physical Institute<br />
of Moscow, who is in this country as the guest<br />
of the American Society of Zoologists.<br />
Lying near Kursk in European Russia about midway<br />
between Moscow and Crimea, they extend for<br />
150 miles, and at one point are 10 to 20 miles wide.<br />
The deposits take the form of a great subterranean<br />
mountain with its peak 450 feet under ground.<br />
Magnetic observations made primarily for the advancement<br />
of science are responsible for the discovery,<br />
Prof. Lasareff explained.<br />
For 50 years the compass needle has been known<br />
to act strangely in the vicinity of Kursk. The vertical<br />
dip was over three times as great as that at the<br />
magnetic north pole where the earth's magnetism is<br />
felt most strongly.<br />
In 1919 while civil war was still in progress in<br />
that region, Prof. Lasareff, using only instruments<br />
constructed in the laboratory at Moscow, began a<br />
magnetic survey of the area for the Russian Academy<br />
of Sciences, of which he is a member. Investigations<br />
continued during the summers following, and gravitational<br />
measurements were added to the magnetic.<br />
To measure the force of gravity, Prof. Lasareff<br />
used the Eotvos balance, a very sensitive instrument<br />
invented in Germany, that will detect very small<br />
changes in gravity caused by masses in the earth's<br />
crust. It is said that this new device is so sensitive<br />
that it will detect a man 30 feet away.<br />
Combining the gravitational and magnetic observations,<br />
Prof. Lasareff was able to map the deposits of<br />
magnetic iron ore before they were discovered.<br />
Diamond and churn drills were set at work at<br />
points designated by Prof. Lasareff and the huge ore<br />
body of magnetite was actually found. It lies about<br />
450 feet under the surface and already the drills have<br />
penetrated over 500 feet without any sign of its exhaustion.<br />
The top portion of the deposit analyzes 40<br />
to 45 per cent iron, but deeper portions run over 50<br />
per cent. So colossal is the deposit that Prof. Lasareff<br />
would not attempt to estimate the quantity in tons.<br />
The next largest known deposit is in Norway and has<br />
a length of only about six miles.<br />
After the steel churn drilling tool had penetrated<br />
the deposit of ore for about 100 feet it became so<br />
highly magnetized that it would attract and hold 10<br />
to 20 pounds of iron.<br />
This summer Prof. Lasareff will make an exploratory<br />
trip into Siberia and the same methods of investigation<br />
will be used.<br />
Prof. Lasareff believes that with the possible exception<br />
of the United States and Canada, Russia is<br />
the land of greatest promise for future natural<br />
resources.—Science Service.<br />
Pittsburgh, the Billion Dollar Market<br />
will feature among its conventions this year the million<br />
dollar Iron and Steel Exposition of the Assocation<br />
of Iron and Steel Electrical Engineers at Duquesne<br />
Garden, September 15-20, inclusive. Reservations<br />
made in order of application. Address Iron and Steel<br />
Exposition, 708 Empire Building, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Die Blast Furnace^Steel PI<br />
Asbesto-Sponge Felted Insulation<br />
laminated L<br />
A simple and reliable<br />
steam trap<br />
The three part simplicity of the<br />
Jokni-Maniville steam trap<br />
makes it the most reliable trap you<br />
can buy. It gives the maximum<br />
service ivith minimum attention.<br />
Over 100,000 in service.<br />
am<br />
fir two reasons<br />
Because this laminated,heat resisting asbestos<br />
felt with imbedded spongy material shows<br />
the highest efficiency of any commercial<br />
insulating material—as has been proved by<br />
many careful tests.<br />
Because this construction has the rugged<br />
durability that enables it to stand the wear<br />
and tear of hard service without loss of<br />
efficiency. Asbesto-Sponge installations of<br />
a generation ago are still giving efficient service.<br />
"Hit it withahammer ,, and see why.<br />
JOHNS-MANVILLE, Inc., 294 Madison Ave. at 41st St.,New York City<br />
Branch,! in bl UrS, Cith,<br />
For Canada: CANADIAN JOHNS-MANVILLE CO., Lid.. Toronto<br />
4W JOHNS-MANVILLE<br />
Power Plant Materials<br />
Co-operate:—Refer to The Blast Furnace and Steel Plant<br />
182-A
183 The Blast FumaceSSteel Plant<br />
March, 1924<br />
V'i'i:,,. ' ':iiimiiiiiiii.;,i 'j'liiiiiiiiiiiii.L.'iii'iiiiiiiiiii.i.iimiiiihi .:ii,ri. i!,i,i, .'.11 IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIHIIUIIIIII llllllllllliliunillHllllllim IIIIIII t • .iimiii' • nun iiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniii.iiiimiNiminminiiiiiiiiiiiwiimiit.miiimiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiBiiijii<br />
I Some Pointers on By-Product Coke Oven Operati<br />
T r- F : I';'I>:M'II n ti 11 m 111 n i n iiv i m II iii .in in I in :rin i n'> ;i 11 m i Mm 11 i-rr ni- n i n 11 im > rr. 1 •.•HT^ ;r r. i r rn • mn r i' n 111 n
March, 1924<br />
C. I. Ilgenfritz has resigned as vice president of the Stroh<br />
Ilgenfritz Company to become assistant purchasing agent of<br />
the Youngstown Sheet & Tube Company, effective March 1.<br />
He was formerly purchasing agent of the Brier Hill Steel<br />
Company.<br />
F. B. Zopf, for the past 20 years identified with the Riter-<br />
Conley Company, Pittsburgh, and for the past 10 years as<br />
sales manager of the Youngstown Boiler & Tank Company,<br />
Youngstown, Ohio, with headquarters at the home office.<br />
Martin J. Lide, consulting engineer, Birmingham, Ala., is<br />
scheduled to speak before a meeting of the American Society<br />
of Mechanical Engineers at the Hillman Hotel, Birmingham,<br />
March 19, on powdered coal and waste heat dryers.<br />
J. L. Adams, district sales manager at Cincinnati for the<br />
Bethlehem Steel Company, has resigned, effective March 1,<br />
and will open an office in Cincinnati for the sale of iron and<br />
steel products. He is well known in iron and steel circles in<br />
the Middle West, having been connected with the industry<br />
practically his entire life. He was first associated with the<br />
Globe Rolling Mill Company, later joining the forces of the<br />
Cambria Steel Company and the Midvale Steel & Ordnance<br />
Company and served as manager of sales in Cincinnati for<br />
the two latter companies. Upon their absorption by the<br />
Bethlehem Steel Corporation, Mr. Adams retained his position<br />
as district manager until his resignation. He will be succeeded<br />
in the Cincinnati office by John Hennessy, who has<br />
been connected with the Bethlehem Steel Company at<br />
Chicago.<br />
J. W. Bell, who was consulting engineer in charge of the<br />
tin plate plant development in India for Perin & Marshall<br />
from June 1, 1922, until the completion of the plant, arrived<br />
in the United States on February 5 from England on a business<br />
visit preparatory to establishing himself in London as a<br />
member of Douglass & Bell, marine and mechanical engineers.<br />
H. C. Thomas has resigned as vice president and assistant<br />
general manager of the United Alloy Steel Corporation, Canton,<br />
Ohio, which position he had held for 18 months. He will<br />
take an extended vacation and will sail from Los Angeles in<br />
March for a trip around the world. At a farewell dinner his<br />
associates presented him a gold watch as a token of their<br />
esteem.<br />
H. H. Davis, who as recently announced, has been appointed<br />
general manager of sales for the Molybdenum Cor<br />
Die Blast FurnaceSSteel Plant<br />
poration of America, Pittsburgh, has been identified with the<br />
alloy steel and ferroalloy business since 1907, the year following<br />
his graduation from Stevens Institute of Technology. He<br />
became identified with the Railway Steel Spring Company in<br />
1907 as a designing engineer, later becoming assistant purchasing<br />
agent, then assistant to the vice president in charge<br />
of operations. He severed that connection in 1912 to accept<br />
a position with the Crucible Steel Company of America in its<br />
spring department, and in 1914 became assistant to Ge<strong>org</strong>e<br />
M. Sargent, then vice president in charge of alloy steels of<br />
that company. In 1916 he was made assistant general sales<br />
agent in charge of alloy steel sales in Pittsburgh, and in<br />
1922 became assiatsnt general manager of sales for the Pittsburgh<br />
Crucible Steel Company, a subsidiary of the Crucible<br />
Steel Company of America.<br />
National Immigration Conference<br />
Special Report No. 26. This publication of the National<br />
Industrial Conference Board presents a complete record of<br />
the discussions on the major aspects of the immigration<br />
problem at the national conference assembled under the<br />
auspices of the board for the purpose of securing the free exchange<br />
and clarification of public opinion on this important<br />
and timely question. The conference was attended by over<br />
500 individuals and representatives of national <strong>org</strong>anizations,<br />
state and Federal departments and of foreign governments.<br />
concerned with the formulation of a new immigration policy<br />
to succeed that expressed in the present law expiring June<br />
30, 1924. The views of social <strong>org</strong>anizations, Americanization<br />
workers, scientists, educators, foreign language groups,<br />
government officials, labor unions and employers on such<br />
problems as improvement of administration of the law,<br />
changes in the extent and basis of quota restriction, means<br />
of selecting, distributing and assimilating immigrants, and<br />
other aspects of immigration policy are fully and representatively<br />
set forth in systematic and convenient form. This report<br />
is an important and timely contribution to the discussion<br />
of a pressing problem vital to the social and economic<br />
welfare of the country. Copies ($2.00 paper bound, $2.50 cloth<br />
bound) are ready for distribution and may be obtained from<br />
National Industrial Conference Board, 10 East Thirty-ninth<br />
Street, New York.<br />
184
185<br />
DieBlastFurnaceSSteelPl anr<br />
March, 1924<br />
^ - 11 • i • 111.. i •' • i:, i, . 'i-'.ii. : 11: • 111 • .: -Mil-. • 11. • ... 11; . 11. •. . 1:11.1 :,: . •.: I • 11: • 1 ::.: M1: • •: .: 11 • 1:11: • : • • 1111:' • : • • .': : 1 • 1: • j j •. r 1: r<br />
j WITH THE EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURERS<br />
Sin'''IlilllllllllliiK-i'.rillllllilii.''''IIIIIIIIIII :'illllliin "I'IIIIIIIII MIIIIIH|. mil,:,, in-1 '.|n|. 'iiirn -i iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiittiiiiiiiin<br />
New Fire Clay Brick on Market<br />
Realizing that in the brick lining of any metallurgical<br />
operation the weakest point is the joint between<br />
the brick, engineers for a long time have desired a<br />
brick uniform enough in size so that such joints would<br />
reach the vanishing point. In blast furnace linings, in<br />
coke oven operations and in heating, heat treating and<br />
other mill furnaces, the tighter the joint or the closer<br />
the brick, the longer the life of the furnace lining. In<br />
fire boxes under boilers a fire brick of dependable uniformity<br />
has been an essential long desired. At a meeting<br />
early this year of the Metropolitan section of the<br />
A. S. M. E. in New York, Edwin B. Ricketts, assistant<br />
to chief operating engineer, New York Edison Company,<br />
speaking as one who has made a special study<br />
of boiler wall construction, emphasized the major importance<br />
of uniform size, since lack of uniformity<br />
made thick joints necessary, these being the starting<br />
point for the destruction of the walls. The ideal was<br />
a brick-to-brick contact with only a thin wash of fire<br />
clay to fill the pores. It is clearly evident that in a<br />
blast furnace, the use of brick so uniform in size that<br />
the lining made with them would approach in continuity<br />
a solid mass of fire clay should insure much<br />
less liability to disintegration and hence a longer life.<br />
A new fire clay brick, for metallurgical and other<br />
purposes, which it is claimed meets the ideals briefly<br />
outlined above, has been put on the market by the<br />
General Refractories Company, 117 South Sixteenth<br />
Street, Philadelphia. It is made by a new process<br />
patented by the company and developed at the Olive<br />
Hill plant of the company at Olive Hill, Ky. It is<br />
the result of extensive experiments conducted by the<br />
company over a period of years, the aim being to produce<br />
a brick so uniform as to reduce joints all possible.<br />
The new process is claimed to turn out a brick<br />
absolutely uniform in size and with no sacrifice of<br />
quality. Essential features are described as regulation<br />
in the mixture, grind and density. Some of the<br />
brick made by the new process are shown by the illustrations.<br />
In one of these there is a comparison between<br />
a uniform brick made by the new process and<br />
a pile of brick of the same dimensions not made by<br />
this process, but representative of fire brick hitherto<br />
Vised. Several piles of 3-inch thick brick made by this<br />
process, six high, showed a total variation of less than<br />
1/16 inch, or less than an average of 1/96 inch for each<br />
brick. The other illustration represents a stack of<br />
standard blast furnace sizes made by the new process.<br />
Plans are under way to equip other plants of the company<br />
to manufacture by the new process. The new<br />
brick are now being used by some of the company's<br />
principal customers, including many large steel plants.<br />
It will be interesting to learn whether brick, made<br />
by this new process, will insure a materially longer<br />
life than the less uniform sized brick, quality being<br />
unchanged. Already blast furnace records in the older<br />
form of brick have shown an output of 1,500,000 tons<br />
of pig iron on one lining. If the new brick can improve<br />
on this there will be also the added advantage<br />
of the elimination of extra cost due to cutting of brick<br />
to fit and of the large amount of bonding material<br />
usually used to fill up joints, failures often resulting.<br />
New Clark "Duat" Tractor<br />
The "Duat", the smallest industrial truck and tracto<br />
rever built, has just been announced by the Clark<br />
Tructractor Company, Buchanan, Michigan, manufacturers<br />
of gasoline industrial trucks and tractors.<br />
The "Duat" Tructractor is a compact, 3-wheeled<br />
gasoline powered mobile crane, truck and tractor. It<br />
pivots on one<br />
wheel and has a<br />
turning radius<br />
of but 52 inches.<br />
I t t u r n s<br />
around in a box<br />
car. It is an inexpensivegeneral<br />
utility haulage<br />
unit.<br />
The "Duat"<br />
Tru c t r a c to r<br />
tows from seven<br />
to 10 tons or<br />
from one to 20<br />
trailers, depending<br />
on condition of the factory floor or yard. Through<br />
an ingenious device, a one-ton crane is attached to<br />
the "Duat" without the use of tools, in less than five<br />
minutes, converting the "Duat" into a mobile crane.<br />
The crane attachment will lift and carry loads up to<br />
2,000 lbs. A brake device permits the load to be crried<br />
at any height up to 56 inches; load may be lowered<br />
at will. The machine has been designed for the<br />
loading and unloading of box cars, the lifting and towing<br />
of laods through narrow factory aisles, and for inter-plant<br />
haulage.<br />
Like all Clark tructractors, it is of 3-wheeled construction.<br />
Ample traction is provided by 16-inch<br />
whels equipped with 3y2 inch solid rubber tires. The<br />
"Duat" has a wheelbase of 40 inches with a tread of<br />
33 inches, and will enter and turn around in a freight<br />
car. A brake beneath the driver's seat which automatically<br />
stops the machine when the driver dismounts<br />
is a safety factor.
me Blast kirnace^jteel riant<br />
.''iii III IINII.II IIMI; .|i I!;.III'|||||||||||I|II|||IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII[||I||II;|" ' , im, ,i" i. .: „ llliiiiilllllllliiiillllllllllllllllilllllllllillllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllil ill i ,r lii'i|ii|llllilllilllliiliilll)i;ii ,1 ...'•',. r<br />
J31ue Gas Engineering—<br />
tjjlne vital importance of careful engineering in the design and construct<br />
ion or blue gas apparatus is very apparent to the discriminating invest<br />
igator.<br />
fJThis type of ap<br />
paratus cannot he<br />
"thrown together.<br />
It must he designed<br />
and built -with re<br />
gard to proper ma<br />
terials properly be<br />
stowed.<br />
tjlt must afford ease<br />
and economy of oper<br />
ation, adaptability to<br />
changed conditions<br />
and rugged resistance<br />
to wear and tear.<br />
U. G. I. BLUE GAS APPARATUS is the original.<br />
Its experimental stages -were passed years ago. It produces a<br />
CLEAN, COOL GAS, having high flame temperature and does<br />
it cheaply and efficiently.<br />
U. G. I. BLUE GAS is a substitute for natural gas.<br />
We would be glad to show jacts and figures.<br />
THE U. G. I. CONTRACTING CO.<br />
Broad and Arch Sts., Philadelphia<br />
335 Peoples Gas Bldg., Chicago 928 Union Arcade, Pittsburgh<br />
| i niiiiiiiiiii: in i H iMM!!Milii iiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiii mm iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin • § 111111 i mn i miim i i IIIIIIUMI<br />
Co-operate:—Refer to The Blast Furnace and Steel Plant<br />
185-A
186<br />
lneBlast lurnace^l/jtee! riant<br />
NEWS OF THE PLANTS<br />
The Tonawanda Iron Corporation. North Tonawanda, N.<br />
Y., an interest of the American Radiator Company, Buffalo,<br />
N. Y., has preliminary plans under way for extensive additions<br />
and improvements in its plant. It is proposed to construct<br />
two new blast furnaces in the near future, with battery<br />
of by-product coke ovens, estimated to cost well in excess<br />
of $1,500,000. The project includes the construction of<br />
a new ore bridge and bin system. The present plant consists<br />
of two blast furnaces, one of which is now in service; the<br />
other stack will be remodeled and improved, and considerable<br />
additional auxiliary apparatus installed. Also, the present<br />
hand-filled method of operation will be changed over with<br />
skip hoist installation, and the capacity of the unit increased<br />
to 400 tons. The plant was taken over by the American<br />
Radiator interests about a year ago for the production of pig<br />
iron for its various manufacturing establishments in different<br />
parts of the country. Contract has recently been awarded<br />
for the construction of a new dock at the plant, and this work<br />
will proceed at once. Freyn, Brassert & Company, 122 South<br />
Michigan Avenue, Chicago, 111., are engineers for the proposed<br />
new work.<br />
The Braeburn Alloy Steel Company, Braeburn, Pa., represented<br />
by Burgwin, Scully & Burgwin, 621 Bakewell<br />
Building, Pittsburgh, Pa., recently formed under state laws<br />
with a capital of $1,000,000, has taken over the local plant<br />
of the Marlin-Rockwell Corporation, New York, and will<br />
remodel and improve the plant for the manufacture of alloy<br />
steel products. It is proposed to develop a maximum capacity<br />
of 16,000 tons per annum, divided into electric steel and<br />
crucible steel ingots. There are two crucible furnaces at<br />
present, one of 24-pot and the other of 26-pot rating, and it<br />
is purposed to improve these units. Two 6-ton furnaces will<br />
also be placed in service. The new company is headed by<br />
D. T. Sipe, formerly head of the Vanadium Alloy Steel Company,<br />
Latrobe, Pa., who will act as president for the new<br />
corporation; G. H. Neilson, formerly president of the Braeburn<br />
Steel Company; G. W. Yealy and A. J. Barnett. The<br />
two last noted will be treasurer and secretary, respectively.<br />
The West Chester Steel Products Company, Lanape, near<br />
West Chester, Pa., recently <strong>org</strong>anized by Charles B. Fairweather,<br />
formerly associated with the Downington Iron<br />
Company, Downington, Pa., has acquired local property<br />
heretofore held by the West Chester Railway Company, and<br />
will convert the structure into a new mill for the manufacture<br />
of a line of steel products. It is proposed to install<br />
equipment for the employment of about 75 men for initial<br />
operations, and this number of workers will be increased in<br />
the near future.<br />
Jacob D. Waddell, formerly president of the Mahoning<br />
Valley Steel Company, Niles, Ohio has acquired the Empire<br />
plant of the Brier Hill Steel Company in this same city from<br />
the present owner, the Youngstown Sheet & Tube Company,<br />
Youngstown, Ohio. The new owner is arranging for the<br />
<strong>org</strong>anization of a company to operate the mill, which will<br />
be placed on a working basis at an early date. Tentative<br />
plans are under consideration for the remodeling of a portion<br />
of the plant for greater capacity and efficiency in production,<br />
and it is likely that this work will be carried out in<br />
the near future. The plant consists of eight black sheet<br />
mills, three cold mills and auxiliary structures, with six an<br />
nealing furnaces and four galvanizing pots. The plant has<br />
March, 1924<br />
a rated capacity of about 40,000 tons of black sheets and<br />
41,000 tons of galvanized sheets per year. The new owner<br />
plans to limit the present production to black sheets only,<br />
probably developing the galvanized sheet end of the business<br />
later on.<br />
The American Sheet & Tin Plate Company, Frick Building,<br />
Pittsburgh, Pa., has secured an appropriation of about<br />
$800,000 from the parent <strong>org</strong>anization, the United States<br />
Steel Corporation, for extensions and improvements in its<br />
plant at Farrell, Pa. Plans are in progress for the construction<br />
of four new sheet mills at the works, and it is expected<br />
to proceed with the project at a very early date. The structures<br />
will provide for an increase of about 50 per cent in<br />
capacity, and will have facilities for the employment of approximately<br />
400 additional men.<br />
The Horton Steel Company, Bridgeburg, Ontario, Canada,<br />
will commence the immediate reconstruction of the portion<br />
of its local plant destroyed by fire a number of weeks ago<br />
with loss estimated in excess of $75,000. In connection with<br />
the rebuilding, it is proposed to provide considerable increased<br />
equipment for larger output. The new plant will be completed<br />
and equipped at the earliest possible date, and placed<br />
in service.<br />
The Carnegie Steel Corporation, Carnegie Building, Pittsburgh,<br />
Pa., has plans in progress for extensions and betterments<br />
in its plant at Homestead, Pa., to be carried out over<br />
a period of a number of months, involving a total expenditure<br />
of $20,000,000. The initial work, according to present<br />
intentions, will include remodeling of several of the structural<br />
mills at the works, consisting of building enlargements<br />
and the installation of additional equipment, as well as the<br />
modernizing of present apparatus. At a later date, it is said<br />
that the program will be devoted to other rolling mills at the<br />
plant, with the installation of new machinery.<br />
The Ashtabula Steel Company, Ashtabula, Ohio, has completed<br />
plans and will soon commence the construction of a<br />
new finishing mill at the local plant. It will be a complete<br />
operating unit, comprising pickling apparatus, cold roll equipment,<br />
traveling cranes and other apparatus. The production<br />
will be devoted to high finish sheets suitable for the automobile<br />
industry. It is expected to have the unit ready for service<br />
at an early date.<br />
The Kalman Steel Company, Chicago, III., operating a<br />
steel fabricating plant, has acquired the plant and business<br />
of the Corrugated Bar Company, Buffalo, N. Y., with branch<br />
mills at Hammond, Ind., Boston, Mass., Philadelphia, Pa.,<br />
and Atlanta, Ga., all devoted to bar fabrication for concretereinforcement<br />
work. The purchasing company will take immediate<br />
possession, and will merge the acquired interest with<br />
its present <strong>org</strong>anization. The Kalman company name will<br />
be maintained, with an increase of $2,000,000 capitalization to<br />
provide for proposed expansion in operations. The different<br />
fabricating plants will be continued in service, with probable<br />
extensions in the future. Paul J. Kalman will be president<br />
of the consolidated <strong>org</strong>anization, and is also chairman of the<br />
board of the Globe Steel Tubes Company, Milwaukee, Wis.<br />
Ge<strong>org</strong>e E. Routh, Jr., a prominent official in the Kalman<br />
company, will be vice president of the new corporation, while<br />
J. A. Cathcart will act as assistant vice president.
Material Handling Section Die Blast F, „o<br />
urnace. Steel Plant<br />
Keeping America Safe for Americans<br />
With Machines<br />
Have the Divergent Religious, Social, Governmental Instincts<br />
Prevented Real Assimilation?<br />
IN 1790 there were approximately 2,810,000 people<br />
in the newly formed United States. Not quite as<br />
many as are now in the city of Chicago. Of that<br />
1790 population, 83 per cent, or 2,345,000 were English.<br />
Of the remaining 17 per cent, 6 per cent were<br />
Scotch, 5 per cent German, 2 per cent Dutch, \y2 per<br />
cent Irish. The small 2]/2 per cent still unaccounted<br />
for was comprised of 13,384 French, 1,243 Hebrew, a<br />
few Scandinavian and others.<br />
This, then, is the combination that produced<br />
America. That was the original scant 3,000,000 that<br />
By RUSSELL BYRON WILLIAMS<br />
Handling plates at Navy Yard.<br />
wrote the Declaration of Independence, fought for it,<br />
established it, worked it. And what they established<br />
and worked has remained established and has been<br />
working ever since—with a measure of success unparalleled<br />
by any race or government.<br />
It has been said by many, both well and ill-intentioned,<br />
that the only true "American" was the Indian;<br />
that in reality there was no such thing as an "American."<br />
This is erroneous. The true American is of<br />
the same blood as his forefathers. He is 83 per cent<br />
English. 6 per cent Scotch, 5 per cent German, 2 per<br />
Handling heavy materials by crane, either locomotive or crawler, is one way in which we can keep America for Americans. It is<br />
estimated that this crane replaces from 25 to 50 men. Photo taken at Cramps Shipyards, Philadelphia, Pa.
cent Dutch—with a few Irish, French, Hebrew and<br />
miscellaneous freckles. In short, the true American<br />
is he who speaks the English language as his ancestral<br />
tongue—he who loves and reverences the great<br />
charters of liberty (Magna Charta, Declaration of Independence,<br />
etc.) and he who finds his greatest in-<br />
The situation in Europe, proposed legislation,<br />
prohibition, labor conditions, the soldiers'<br />
bonus, the coming November elections<br />
—all are questions of importance. All have<br />
their bearing upon the welfare of this country.<br />
There is nothing so important to us,<br />
however, as the character of the future American.<br />
This article treats on this subject,<br />
pointing out ways wherein every manufacturer<br />
can do his part toward the betterment<br />
of future America. We commend it to your<br />
attention.<br />
spiration in the literature written in English and in<br />
the King James version of the Bible.<br />
Such is the true American and such he has been<br />
since the establishment of the American government.<br />
He has always been a distinct type, and, thus far, has<br />
J^!> The blast Pi urnace. Steel PI anr<br />
Material Handling- Section<br />
been dominant in the progress of the American<br />
nation. Pray God, may he always be.<br />
However, it is high time that we look to our<br />
future—to make sure that we can thoroughly assimilate<br />
all those who enter our gates. For—there are distinct<br />
and sinister signs of retrogression. We Americans<br />
no longer form 83 per cent of the nation's population.<br />
We are a scant 55 per cent. Instead of 1,243<br />
Jews on American soil, as in 1790, there are 1,643,000<br />
Jews in New York City alone. That means that while<br />
the country has been growing from a scant 3,000,000<br />
to an approximate 110,000,000—37 times its own size<br />
—one alien race has multiplied itself over 1,000 times<br />
in one city alone.<br />
In the same strain, out of our population of 110,-<br />
000,000 we now have 14,000,000 of foreign born, and<br />
23,000,000 of foreign or half-foreign parentage. All<br />
told, in the brief period of 103 years (1820) there have<br />
been admitted to this country 34,000.000 aliens—and<br />
the}' speak 30 different languages.<br />
Have we, as Americans, assimilated them—or<br />
have they remained unassimilated and un-Americanized?<br />
Are they clots of foreign matter on the surface<br />
of a deep and tranquil and harmonious sea of<br />
Anglo-Saxon? Are they as floating buoys that tend<br />
to break up the waves of American progress?<br />
View of mill room at Cayuga Steel Company, Ltd., Auburn, N. )'.<br />
Battery of woven wire machines driven by individual motors and silent chain. Note extreme freedom and absence<br />
obstruction. Production has been increased through elimination of slippage, journal friction, etc., which i<br />
reduction in payroll.
Material Handling Section<br />
Ihe Dlast lumace^yjteol rl anr<br />
Traveling skip hoist—capable of delivering to any one of six kilns. Supported on 4 wheels it is 34-m. square at base and 100<br />
feet high. Each skip holds 3 tons. Capacity 100 tons the hour.<br />
If they have been assimilated—if they have become<br />
"Americanized"—why do these 34,000,000 maintain<br />
over 900 publications issued in their own individual<br />
language, ranging alphabetically from Albanian<br />
and Arabic to Yiddish? If they are Americans,<br />
how does it come that some foreign boys of 8 or<br />
10 are punished severely when they, in a burst of<br />
childish enthusiasm and all unmindful of previous<br />
admonitions, run into their homes speaking the Engglish<br />
language? Why is it (or was, as I have not<br />
been there since 1918) that German is taught in the<br />
public schools of certain parts of North Dakota and<br />
Nebraska instead of English? Why. in Passaic, N.<br />
J., are 4 of every 10 women foreign born and 60 per<br />
cent of that female element bread winners? That in<br />
itself would not be so bad if it were not true that 45<br />
per cent of those female workers cannot read, write<br />
or speak English. This, in spite of the fact that twothirds<br />
of them have been here 10 years or more, with<br />
only 73 of the 7,500 found to be recent immigrants.<br />
Why should the literature of a certain religious denomination<br />
in Chicago describe one of its institutions<br />
as an <strong>org</strong>anization where members are expected to be<br />
"guardians of everything that is divine" and "foreign",
in order to grow up to be real patriots and defenders<br />
of the Christian faith? Why, in Newark, N. J., only<br />
29 per cent of the school children possess fathers born<br />
in the United States? Why does New Bedford, Mass.,<br />
find itself compelled to admit an illiteracy of 12.1 per<br />
cent of all persons over 10 years of age?<br />
This sort of question could be asked endlessly,<br />
each question adding weight to the conviction that<br />
they have not been assimilated, and what is worse,<br />
they have little or no desire to become so.<br />
Aliens of eastern and southern Europe, or of<br />
Asiatic extraction, find it exceedingly difficult to accept<br />
the views and doctrines of our country and life.<br />
In religious, social and governmental instincts they<br />
are as widely divergent as the poles. Steeped in hundreds<br />
and thousands of years of viewpoints, ideals<br />
and aims diametrically opposed to ours, it is well<br />
nigh impossible to Americanize these people short of<br />
several generations. In our "melting pot" they are<br />
slugs of slate and bone—things apart. Inefficient as<br />
workmen and unassimilable as citizens, we want no<br />
more of them.<br />
But however disturbing this element, it is apparent<br />
we cannot deport them. We can, and should,<br />
however, stop their brothers and neighbors from<br />
entering our doors. We can place greater restriction<br />
upon our immigration laws "But—hold on!" shouts<br />
TheBlnsthmiaceSSteelPl anr<br />
Material Handling Section<br />
the large employer. "What about our labor supply?"<br />
To that we answer—give machines to the man<br />
you have. The foreigner now here can, after a time,<br />
become Americanized—providing his foreign mentality<br />
is not kept alive with overseas ideas and the<br />
process retarded by fresh arrivals from his homeland.<br />
And he can handle machines. As for the machines—<br />
they are not radical—they do not strike—they are<br />
already Americanized—they are far more efficient.<br />
And to prove the justifiability of machines:<br />
Mr. Sherman, general manager of the Detroit<br />
Vapor Stove Company, employs two 1,000 conveyors<br />
on which their "Red Star" stoves are now completely<br />
assembled, enameled, dried, crated, carried from one<br />
floor to another, and deposited either on the shipping<br />
platform or in the warehouse. With this method the<br />
stoves come to the men, each specialized in his particular<br />
task. The result is steady production, less confusion<br />
and absolutely no handling of stoves by the<br />
workmen. He says: "Were we to employ the old<br />
bench assembly, fully twice the factory floor space<br />
and double the number of men would be required to<br />
assemble, enamel and crate our stoves." Taking this<br />
statement literally, his conveyor saves 50 per cent of<br />
the factory floor space and the labor of 100 men.<br />
Formerly the National Lumber Company of Chicago<br />
unloaded their incoming cars of lumber by<br />
Electric Hoists replacing common labor in the handling of heavy I-beams at plant of Phoenix Iron Compa
ial Handling Section fl^j^ UaceS Steel Plant<br />
hand. Under this method it required the time of<br />
three men 12 hours to complete the handling of one<br />
car. Now they employ a crawler type of crane with<br />
the result that the time element is reduced from 12<br />
hours to 3 l /2 hours—a reduction of nearly 75 per cent.<br />
For a long time the Fisheries Products Company<br />
of Norfolk, Va., handled their fertilizer with picks and<br />
shovels and push carts. But they found this method<br />
too slow-—too expensive. So they bought a mechanical<br />
loader. Result: This loader does as much work<br />
as was formerly accomplished by eight men. Saving<br />
the labor of eight men a day (at 32y2 cents an<br />
hour) totals over $6,000 annually. Not alone are mechanical<br />
means an end to overcoming labor shortage<br />
or the elimination of the undesirable alien, but also<br />
a medium for the extension of profit.<br />
At the Superior Sand & Gravel Company, Detroit,<br />
a fleet of 30 five and six-ton trucks are employed for<br />
delivering sand and gravel. Formerly they maintained<br />
a gang of 100 men—just to load these trucks.<br />
Under this method it required from 10 to 15 minutes<br />
to load each truck. Now they have erected two hoppers,<br />
elevated 10 feet above the ground, each hopper<br />
holding 150 tons of material. To fill these hoppers a<br />
locomotive crane is used—a task that is completed in<br />
less than an hour. The motor trucks now draw up<br />
under the hopper and are loaded in \ l /2 minutes—and<br />
are off on the job of delivering the material. The installation<br />
of the hoppers and locomotive crane has released<br />
100 men for other and perhaps more fruitful<br />
labor.<br />
At the publishing plant of the Boston American,<br />
Adams & Pond, general contractors, were employed<br />
in the excavation work that made possible the installation<br />
of additional presses in the basement of their<br />
old building. Lowering the level of this basement<br />
was particularly difficult because of the necessity for<br />
non-interference with the daily progress of the newspaper<br />
plant. Steam shovels or cranes were out of<br />
the question as the upper part of the building could<br />
not be removed and only a small portion of the floor<br />
torn away.<br />
In order that this unusual condition might be met<br />
satisfactorily an electric hoist was pressed into service.<br />
This hoist lifted large buckets of dirt and refuse<br />
to awaiting trucks. The capacity of the hoist was<br />
about 14 trucks a day.<br />
Were it not possible to thus employ a hoist it<br />
would have been necessary to remove all of this dirt<br />
and debris by hand. And this would necessitate the<br />
construction of two shovel platforms, each platform<br />
having three men with shovels. Not only would this<br />
have slowed up the work, but the construction of the<br />
platforms would have made necessary the demolition<br />
Storing and reclaiming coal beyond the reach of the crane boom through the use of the power hoe attachment.<br />
of the sidewalk with consequent replacement at the<br />
time the work was completed. Thus the hoist saved<br />
the labor of six men a day together with the labor<br />
and cost of demolishing and reconstructing a section<br />
of cement sidewalk.<br />
Formerly the Milwaukee Bridge Company employed<br />
painters in the erection of their bridges and<br />
steel structures. Now, almost universally, they use<br />
one operator equipped with a paint spray gun, which<br />
equipment eliminates from five to six men with 4-inch<br />
brushes.<br />
And speaking of economies affected through the<br />
use of spray guns, Mr. Clark, general manager of the<br />
Hyde Park Hotel, Chicago, recently redecorated the<br />
lobby and two adjacent rooms of his hostelry. He<br />
used one operator and one spray gun and the time<br />
required to complete the work was 2]/2 hours. Formerly<br />
the work required eight painters 16 hours—<br />
5
1^0<br />
Hie Blast F, umace. Steel Plant<br />
Material Handling Section<br />
A very interesting development zvherein gasoline tractor is combined to effect several combinations. A Clark Duat carrying<br />
steel casting on crane, while towing tzvo trailers zvhich zvere loaded by the crane.<br />
and eight painters for 16 hours at $1.25 an hour is<br />
quite a different matter.<br />
One of the public service corporations serving the<br />
city of St. Louis consumes a large tonnage of coal.<br />
This coal was formerly handled by hand, with the<br />
result that one man unloaded an average of one car<br />
a day. Now they have installed a gondola car dumper,<br />
which dumper is little more than an immense cradle<br />
whose function is to turn, topsy-turvy, a standard<br />
sized gondola car of coal—dumping the contents into<br />
a hopper below. This cradle or dumper, operated<br />
with an unskilled laborer and a 45-hp. motor, dumps<br />
cars at the rate of 25 to 30 an hour.<br />
The rotary car dumper was pictured and described<br />
in detail on pages 127-128 in February, 1924, Blast<br />
Furnace & Steel Plant.<br />
These are but a few of the unnumbered instances<br />
wherein machines have performed double duty—that<br />
of yielding a profit for their employer as well as<br />
alleviating the need for cheap and undesirable labor.<br />
And, in the long run, there is little question which is<br />
the more valuable of the two.<br />
The necessity for making money is obvious. The<br />
Ruhr, prohibition, coal tax and other questions are<br />
important to the welfare of this country. But no<br />
question ib so important as that of the character of<br />
the future Americans. And whether they be a credit<br />
or a dibcredit can be determined by us—now. Bar<br />
the undesirable. Provide ourselves with machines.<br />
Keep America for Americans.<br />
Power Company to Install New Equipment<br />
The Columbia Power Company, a subsidiary of<br />
the Columbia Gas & Electric Company, has contracted<br />
with the Fuller-Lehigh Company for complete<br />
pulverized coal preparation, conveying and<br />
burning equipment for eight 1500-hp. Babcock & Wilcox<br />
boilers to be installed at the new Miami Fort<br />
Power Station.<br />
Pulverized coal was chosen as the fuel after the<br />
Columbia Power Company engineers, in conjunction<br />
with their consulting and designing engineers, Sargent<br />
& Lundy Company of Chicago, had made extensive<br />
investigations and tests as to the economies involved<br />
by the use of pulverized coal.<br />
The equipment will comprise six 57-in. Fuller-<br />
Lehigh screen type pulverizers, gear driven. Two<br />
6 ft. 6 in. by 50 ft. Fuller-Kinyon pumps will convey<br />
the coal from pulverizers to weigh bins, and 10-in.<br />
pumps will distribute the fuel from the weigh bins to<br />
the boiler bins. Each boiler will be equipped with<br />
five Fuller Triplex Feeders, driven by variable speed<br />
motors. The boilers will be of hollow wall design<br />
with no water screens; equipped with economizers<br />
and air heaters. Operating pressure of the station<br />
will be 575 lbs; total steam temperature approximately<br />
725 deg. F.<br />
Generating equipment for the first unit will be two<br />
40,000-kw. reheater turbines. Furnaces will be designed<br />
for average rating of 225 per cent with peaks<br />
of 350 per cent.
Material Handling Section C^i The Blast F, urnace. SU PL(<br />
Cahokia—A Masterpiecei<br />
Newest Super-Power Plant Constitutes a Study in Material<br />
Handling—Unusual Opportunity Here Afforded<br />
to Analyze the Problems Involved<br />
IN a recent publication entitled, "St. Louis, the Coming<br />
Steel, Iron and Metal Center, and Why," issued<br />
by the Mercantile Trust Company, President F. J.<br />
Wade enumerates many advantages, stated briefly as<br />
follows :<br />
1—Center of nation and center of great producing<br />
and consuming area.<br />
2—Low freight rates and unsurpassed shipping<br />
facilities.<br />
4—Cheap and abundant coal at door.<br />
5—Cheap and abundant electric power.<br />
6—Development of Mississippi River and in<br />
Hot Air to Feeders — -<br />
Frve Pir t/e/if<br />
Pulverized fuet<br />
Go/lee tor'<br />
Distributing Chute<br />
Pulveri zed Fuel 3m<br />
Coal Feed Line —Yr teoi HP<br />
'' B SrJ. Boiler<br />
tlain Hot Pir Duct -<br />
Pulverized Fuel Burner<br />
Hot Ftir Duct -<br />
Hot Fiir Fan -<br />
By F. J. CROLIUS<br />
land waterways, providing cheap water carriage<br />
and insuring low railroad rates.<br />
Among these advantages, Cahokia, the new $35,-<br />
000,000 electric plant, stands out prominently.<br />
"Muscle Shoals is big. When completed, Cahokia<br />
will have three times the year round power of Muscle<br />
Shoals. Cahokia will use a ton of coal every 30 seconds,<br />
and 616,000,000 gallons of water per day."<br />
Very few have a very comprehensive idea of the<br />
elements involved in such a power development.<br />
Through the courtesy of McClellan & Junkersfeld,<br />
the engineers and constructors, we are privileged<br />
to detail this remarkable assembly of modern devices<br />
for material handling interpreted in terms of power.<br />
- ^moke Flue<br />
Dryer Oas Discharge Stack<br />
Belt (/V| -<br />
Conveyor—• U " Bucktl [levator<br />
rv'eialung and<br />
Blowing tank<br />
Fish Sluice fish Sluice N Segregated Compartments<br />
f<br />
- Hot Cos Connection<br />
• Dryer Cas In/et Duct<br />
- Dryer Cas Outlet Duct<br />
-Stationary Wood Dryer<br />
Coal & Pir<br />
Cross-section of Cahokia showing the steam generating and coal preparation units.<br />
— Cyclone Collector<br />
— Pir Fel/ef Line from Bloner Tank<br />
- Mill Fxhauster<br />
- Raymond Mill<br />
Magnetic Pul/ey
Principal Equipment in the Cahokia Station<br />
GENERAL<br />
PLANT LOCATION'—East bank of the Mississippi River, near East St.<br />
Louis, ill,<br />
CHARACTER OP LOAD—Domostic and industrial load of the City of<br />
PRE S SENT 1S CAPArl5Y S ^^0O0 U L S w I1L ' "* 8 r0,uldi »« territOT ^<br />
UNDER CONSTRUCTION—05,OoO 'kw<br />
ULTIMATE CAPACITY—300,000 kw.<br />
ENGINEERS AND CONSTRUCTORS—McClellan & Junkersfeld, Inc., of<br />
New York.<br />
MECHANICAL EQUIPMENT<br />
RAW COAL HANDLING EQUIPMENT—<br />
Weighing—1 Buffalo Scale Co. track scale.<br />
Unloading—1 Link Belt Co. 90-ton gondola rotary car dumper 1<br />
Auxiliary open track hopper.<br />
Conveying—Link Belt Co. apron conveyors, belt conveyors and elevators.<br />
Capacity 300 tons per hour.<br />
Belting—c-ply rubber belting by U. S. Rubber Co.<br />
Crushing—1 Bradford coal breaker (primary) ; capacity 350 to 400<br />
tons per hour. 1 American Pulverizer Co. swing ring cru6her (secondary<br />
for rejects from Bradford breaker) ; capacity 50 to 60 tons<br />
per hour.<br />
Magnetic Separators—2 24x38-in. Ding magnetic separators.<br />
Crushed Coal Storage—Concrete bunkers; capacity 1,600 tons.<br />
Storing and Reclaiming—1 Brownhoist locomotive crane. 1 American<br />
Hoist & Derrick Co. locomotive crane. 1 American saddle tank<br />
locomotive.<br />
PULVERIZED COAL HANDLING EQUIPMENT—<br />
Weighing and Transport—5 Howe Scale Co. platform scales; capacity<br />
4.5 tons. 1 Quigley compressed air coal transport system; capacity<br />
94 tons per hour.<br />
Storage—Concrete bins; capacity 500 tons.<br />
DRYING, PULVERIZING AND COMBUSTION<br />
EQUIPMENT<br />
METHOD OF FIRING—Pulverized coal, Lopulco system.<br />
MAKE AND TYPE OF COMBUSTION EQUIPMENT—Combustion Engineering<br />
Corporation.<br />
Drying—10 Wood coal dryers manufactured by the Combustion Engineering<br />
Corporation; flue gases utilized as drying medium- capacity<br />
6.5 tons per hour from 12 to 5 per cent moisture<br />
Induced Draft for Dryers—2 60,000 CFM fans by B. F. Sturevant<br />
Co., driven by 125-hp., 425-rpm., 2300-volt, 60-cycle,<br />
3-phase, squirrel cage induction motors.<br />
Pulverizing—8 Raymond Bros. Impact Pulverizer Co. 6-roll pulverizers;<br />
capacity 6 tons per hour each. Drive—Direct connected 100hp.,<br />
450-rpm., 2300-volt, 60-cycle, 3-phase, squirrel cage induction<br />
motors.<br />
1 Raymond Bros. Impact Pulverizer Co. pulverizer; capacity 15 vari- tons<br />
per hour. Drive—200-hp. belted motor.<br />
Lopulco feeders and burners.<br />
F. Sturtevant Co.<br />
Number of Feeders—10 feeders per boiler.<br />
60-cycle, 3-phase<br />
Method of Drive—10 feeders on each boiler driven by a 15-hp<br />
able speed d.c. motor.<br />
PRIMARY AIR FANS—4 20,000 cfm., 15 in, S. P. B.<br />
blowers.<br />
METHOD OF DRIVE—100-hp., 1200-rpm., 2300-volt,<br />
squirrel cage induction motors.<br />
COMBUSTION CONTROL EQUIPMENT (2 boilers) furnished by Bailey<br />
Meter Co.<br />
BOILER UPTAKES AND FLUES by Connery & Company. Steel plate,<br />
gunite<br />
Evans<br />
lined.<br />
& Howard Fire Brick Co Refractory tile by Walsh Fire Clay<br />
Products Co<br />
Furnaces<br />
INSULATING BRICK—Sil-o-Cel C-22 by Celite Products Co.<br />
TYPE—Air FURNACE cooled CASING—Sheet side walls and steel. ash hopper, water screen cooled rear<br />
wall and bottom.<br />
Fire<br />
SUSPENDED ARCHES—4 by M. H. Dietrick Co. 4 by Liptak<br />
REFRACTORIES—Fire Brick Arch Co. brick by Laclede Christy Clay Products Co. and<br />
FURNACE VOLUME—11,440 cu. ft. per boiler.<br />
BRICKWORK erected by D. Seeger.<br />
ASH GATES—Number—2 per boiler. Manufacturers—Allen-Sherman-<br />
Hoff Co.<br />
ASH HANDLING EQUIPMENT—Hydraulic sluicing system from ash<br />
hoppers to sump. Make—Allen-Sherman-Hoff Co.<br />
2 dredge pumps for removing ashes from sump. Make—Morris Machine<br />
Works. Size and type—6-in. centrifugal, manganese steel<br />
lined. Drive—Direct connected 75-hp,, 1200-rpm., 2300-volt, 60cycle,<br />
3-phase, squirrel cage induction motors.<br />
Stacks—Type—Tile-concrete. Make—Wiederholdt Construction Co.<br />
Inside diameter at top 19 ft. Height above burners 325 ft. Supported<br />
on building steel.<br />
WATER SUPPLY<br />
SOURCE AND CHARACTER OF RAW WATER—Mississippi River water<br />
containing scale forming salts.<br />
PRIMARY TREATMENT—Calcium hydrate and iron sulphate.<br />
Manufacturers of Equipment—Graver Corportaion.<br />
Type of Equipment—Cold Process.<br />
Capacity of Equipment—600 gpm.<br />
Used For—Cooling bearings and service water.<br />
SECONDARY TREATMENT—Barium hydrate.<br />
Manufacturers of Equipment—Graver Corporation.<br />
Type of Equipment—Cold process.<br />
Capacity of Equipment—600 gpm.<br />
Used For—Evaporator raw water and emergency make up to boilers.<br />
Chemicals handled and weighed by traveling weigh larry furnished by<br />
Strait Scale Co.<br />
Drinking Water<br />
SOURCE—Water after primary treatment described above.<br />
TREATMENT—Filtered, clorinated and cooled.<br />
Hie Blast FurnaceSSteel Plant<br />
Material Handling Section<br />
CAPACITY—20 gpm. at 50 deg. F.<br />
REFRIGERATION SYSTEM by R. H. Tart & Sons, Inc.<br />
TYPE—Ammonia.<br />
FILTERS by The New York Continental Jewell Filtration Co.<br />
TYPE—Sand and bone black.<br />
BOILER FEED WATER MAKE UP—<br />
Source—Evaporators.<br />
Manufacturers of Equipment—Sugar Apparatus Mfg. Co. (Lillie.)<br />
Type of Equipment—Low pressure, two effect, condensate as cooling<br />
water through the evaporator condenser.<br />
Capacity—10,000 lbs. per hour.<br />
DEAERATING EQUIPMENT— '<br />
Manufacturers of Equipment—H. S. B. W. Cochrane Corporation.<br />
Type of Equipment—Open heater, reboiler type.<br />
Capacity of Equipment—720,000 lbs. per hour.<br />
Source of Steam—Exhaust from house turbines.<br />
BOILER FEED PUMPS AND EXCESS PRESSURE<br />
REGULATORS<br />
4—4-in. Allis Chalmers Mfg. Co. 6 stage, 750 gpm , 1760 rpm., 425 lbs.<br />
per sq. in.<br />
3 driven by 300-hp., 1760-rpm., 2300-volt, 60-cycle, 3-phase General<br />
Electric Company slip ring induction motors.<br />
1 driven by 300-hp., 1760-rpm,, Terry steam turbine exhausting to<br />
deaerating heater.<br />
3-—Ruggles Klingemann excess pressure regulators for varying speed of<br />
motor driven feed pump motors.<br />
1—Fischer Governor Co. excess pressure regulator for varying speed of<br />
turbine driven boiler feed pump.<br />
Closed Feed Water Heaters—2 Alberger Pump & Condenser Co. closed<br />
Wainwright floating head feed water heaters using bled steam from<br />
main turbines.<br />
Oil and water tanks by Hamler Boiler & Tank Co.<br />
BOILERS AND SUPERHEATERS<br />
BOILERS, MAKE AND TYPE—Babcock & Wilcox; horizontal cross drum,<br />
sectional; water tube.<br />
NUMBER—Present 8.<br />
RATING AND TUBING—1801 hp. 18,010 sq. ft. 38 tubes wide, 20<br />
tubes deep, 4-in. tubes; 20' 0" long boiler drum = 60" D. x 33' 6"<br />
long.<br />
WATER SCREEN—Bottom and rear of furnace. 4" tubes 580 sq. ft.<br />
effective surface.<br />
SUPERHEATERS—Babcock & Wilcox Alert type located above sixth<br />
row of boiler tubes.<br />
SURFACE AND TUBING 4,070 sq. ft. per boiler. 2" tubes No. 10 gage.<br />
SOOT BLOWERS—<br />
Type—Diamond.<br />
Number of Elements—18 per boiler.<br />
BOILER FEED WATER REGULATORS—2 Copes regulators per boiler.<br />
PIPING, VALVES AND COVERING<br />
High pressure steam, boiler feed and boiler blow-off piping and fittings by<br />
Midwest Piping & Supply Co.<br />
Low pressure steam piping and fittings by Steero Engineering Co.<br />
Circulating water piping by Joubert & Goslin Machine & Foundry Co.<br />
Low pressure piping bought in stock lengths and fabricated by McClellan<br />
& Junkersfield, Inc.<br />
Heat insulation by Philip Carey Co. High temperature and 85 per cent<br />
carbonate of magnesia.<br />
Boiler non-return and high pressure steam globe valves bv Edward Valve<br />
& Mfg. Co.<br />
High pressure steam gate valves by Crane Co.<br />
Motor operating mechanisms for high pressure steam gate valves by Payne<br />
Dean, Ltd.<br />
High pressure boiler feed gate and check valves by Chapman Valve Mfg. Co.<br />
High pressure boiler feed globe valves by Lunkenheraier Co.<br />
Low pressure steam and water valves by Nelson Valve Co. and others.<br />
Circulating water hvdraulically operated gate valves by Kennedy Valve<br />
Mfg. Co.<br />
Atmospheric relief valves by Atwood & Morrill.<br />
Yarway seatless blow-off valves in series with Lunkenheimer gate valves.<br />
High pressure steam joints are of the Sargol type SOO-lb. hydraulic standard.<br />
High pressure boiler feed and low pressure steam joints are of the Van<br />
Stone type.<br />
Piping systems erected by McClellan & Junkerfield, Inc.<br />
PRIME MOVERS<br />
MAKE, TYPE AND NUMBER INSTALLED—1 General Electric Co.<br />
Curtis 17-stage; 1 Westinghouse Electric & Mfg. Co. semi-double flow.<br />
RATING—30,000 kw„ 35,000 kva.; 30,000 kw., 35,000 kva.<br />
ELECTRICAL CHARACTERISTICS—13,800 volt, 3 phase, 60 evele;<br />
13,800 volt, 3 phase, 60 cvcle.<br />
SPEED—1800 rpm.; 1800 rpm.<br />
STEAM CONDITIONS AT THE THROTTLE—300 lbs. 690 deg. F.;<br />
300 lbs. 690 deg. F.<br />
VENTILATING AIR FOR GENERATOR—80,000 cfm. at 104 deg. F.;<br />
84,000 cfm. at 104 deg. F.<br />
HOUSE TURBINES<br />
MAKE—Westinghouse Electric & Mfg. Co.<br />
TYPE—Horizontal; non-condensing.<br />
NUMBER — Installed 2; Ultimate 2.<br />
RATING—2000 kw., 2500 kva.<br />
ELECTRICAL CHARACTERISTICS—2300 volt, 3 phase, 60 cycle.<br />
SPEED—3600 rpm.<br />
STEAM CONDITIONS AT THROTTLE—300 lbs. 690 deg. P<br />
STEAM CONDITIONS AT EXHAUST—18 lbs. absolute.<br />
VENTILATING AIR FOR GENERATOR—8,000 cfm. at 104 deg F.<br />
LOAD CARRIED—Essential auxiliaries.<br />
GENERATOR AIR COOLING SYSTEM<br />
SYSTEM.—'Closed system with surface coolers.<br />
AIR COOLERS—2 Griscom Russell Co. surface air coolers using condensate<br />
as cooling medium.<br />
HEAT Pipe Type—Steel ing Generator medium. EXCHANGERS—For Co. spiral air plate.<br />
ducts flow by heat John exchangers sub-cooling Nooter Iron using condensate: Works. circulating 2 water Whitlock as cool Coil
Material Handling Section 1U Blast F, r^j<br />
urnace. SU Plan!<br />
Generator fire suppression system.<br />
PRIMARY—Receivers of C02 gas at 200 lbs. pressure discharging to<br />
closed ventilating system.<br />
SECONDARY—Water coils in end bells of genertaors.<br />
CONDENSERS<br />
NUMBER, MAKE AND TYPE—2 Worthington Pump & Machine Corporation<br />
53,000 sq. ft.. 2 pass surface condensers.<br />
TUBES: SIZE, MATERIAL, GAGE AND MAKE—1 in. 0. D. Admiralty<br />
Metal No. 18 B. W. G. furnished for one condenser by Wheeler<br />
Condenser & Engineering Co., and for the other condenser by Scovill<br />
Mfg. Co.<br />
CIRCULATING PUMPS (each condenser)—2 30-in. Worthington Pump<br />
& Mach. Corporation. 27,000 gpm. each in parallel; 33,000 gpm. each<br />
operating alone.<br />
CIRCULATING PUMP DRIVE—Direct connected 250-hp., 2300-volt, 60cycle,<br />
3-phase, 385-rpm., General Electric Co. slip ring induction<br />
motors.<br />
CONDENSATE PUMPS (each condenser)—2 6-in. Worthington Pump &<br />
Mach. Corporation 800-gpm., 225-ft. head, 2-stage.<br />
CONDENSATE PUMP DRIVE—Direct connected, 75-hp., 2300-volt, 60cycle,<br />
3-phase, Wagner slip ring induction motors.<br />
AIR REMOVAL EQUIPMENT (each condenser)—1 33x24 in. Laidlaw-<br />
Dunn-Gordon feather valve rotative dry vacuum pump.<br />
R. D. V. PUMP DRIVE—50-hp., 440-volt, 60-cycle, 3-phase, 600-rpm.,<br />
Wagner slip ring induction motor through silent chain drive at 100<br />
rpm. max.<br />
Sluice Gates<br />
MANUFACTURER—Coffin Valve Co.<br />
NUMBER—11 gates 1 butterfly valve.<br />
INTAKE WATER SCREENS<br />
PRIMARY—Bar racks below low water.<br />
SECONDARY—4 5'0" wide 52'0" center to center sprockets Link Belt<br />
Co. traveling water screens.<br />
DRIVE—5-hp., 1200-rpm. squirrel cage induction motors through Jones<br />
speed reducers.<br />
ON RAW WATER PUMPS—1 12" Elliott Co. twin strainer.<br />
AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT<br />
TURBINE ROOM CRANE—1 Niles-Bement-Pond Co.<br />
Type—Alternating current.<br />
Span—55 ft. 7 in.<br />
Main Hoist—110 tons at 5 ft. per minute.<br />
Auxiliary Hoist—10 tons at 25 ft. per minute.<br />
Main Hoist Motor—60 hp., 600/300 rpm.<br />
Auxiliary Hoist Motor—30 hp., 600/300 rpm.<br />
Bridge Travel Motor—60 hp., 600/300 rpm.<br />
Trolley Travel Motor—30 hp., 600/300 rpm.<br />
AIR COMPRESSORS<br />
NUMBER, MAKE, SIZE AND TYPE—2 Sullivan Machinery Co. 20xl2x<br />
14-in., 760-cfm., 100-lb. angle compound compressors.<br />
DRIVE—Belt driven by 2 Wagner 150-hp., 2300-volt, 60-cycle, 3-phase,<br />
720-rpm., squirrel cage induction motors.<br />
After coolers for air compressor by Whitlock Coil Pipe Co.<br />
Auxiliary exciter.<br />
1 300-kw., 250-volt, d.c, 1760-rpm. generator driven by a direct connected<br />
General Electric Co. steam turbine and a General Electric<br />
Co. squirrel cage induction motor.<br />
SPECIAL CENTRIFUGAL PUMPS<br />
PUMPS FOR RAW, SEMI-TREATED AND TREATED WATER—5 6-in.<br />
Worthington Pump & Mach. Corp. 2-stage, 500-gpm., 200-ft. head,<br />
driven by Wagner 50-hp., 440-volt, 60-cycle, 3-phase, 1200-rpm, squirrel<br />
cage induction motors.<br />
SLUDGE PUMPS—2 4-in. Worthington Pump & Mach. Corp. single stage,<br />
350-gpm., 75-ft. head, driven by Wagner 15-hp., 440-volt, 60-cycle, 3phase,<br />
1800-rpm. squirrel cage induction motors.<br />
MAKE-UP PUMPS—2 4-in. Worthington Pump & Mach. Corp. singlestage,<br />
500-gpm., 65-ft. head, driven by Wagner 20-hp., 440-volt, 60cvcle,<br />
3-phase, 1200-rpm. squirrel cage induction motors.<br />
SUMP PUMPS—3 Yeomans Bros, single stage, 500-gpm., 75-ft. head submerged<br />
sump pumps, driven by Wagner 20-hp., 440-volt, 60-cycle, 3phase,<br />
1200-rpm. squirrel cage induction motors.<br />
FIRE PUMP—1 6-in. Dayton Dowd two-stage, 750-gpm., 200-ft. head,<br />
driven by Wagner 75-hp., 2300-volt, 60-cycle, 3-phase, squirrel cage<br />
induction motor.<br />
HEATING SYSTEM RETURNS—2 Nash Engineering Co. 16,000 sq. ft.<br />
heating system return and vacuum pumps driven by 2-hp., 1800-rpm.,<br />
440-volt, 60-cycle, 3-phase squirrel cage induction motors.<br />
TRANSFORMER OIL CIRCULATING PUMPS—7 2-in. Worthington<br />
Pump & Mach. Corp. two-stage, 110-gpm., 80-ft. centrifugal oil pumps,<br />
driven by 5-hp., 440-volt, 60-cycle, 3-phase, 1200-rpm. squirrel cage<br />
induction motors.<br />
Priming Vacuum Pumps—2 No. 1 Hytor pumps by Nash Engineering<br />
Co.<br />
Drive—Direct connected 7%-hp., 900-rpm., 440-volt, 60-cycle, 3-phase<br />
squirrel cage induction motors.<br />
Test Tanks<br />
TANKS by Hamler Boiler & Tank Co.<br />
SCALES by Strait Scale Co.<br />
CAPACITY—30,000 lbs. each.<br />
NUMBER—2.<br />
OIL PURIFYING SYSTEM<br />
SYSTEM—Batch system for prime movers. Batch and continuous for<br />
main transformers.<br />
PURIFIERS—2 No. 600 motor driven DeLaval centrifugal oil purifiers.<br />
Capacity—300 gph.<br />
PUMPS—Circulating and filling; American Steam Pump Co. back geared<br />
reciprocating pumps.<br />
TRANSFORMER OIL COOLERS<br />
SYSTEM—Forced<br />
COOLERS—7 densate as<br />
oil<br />
cooling Whitlock<br />
circulation<br />
medium. Coil<br />
with<br />
Pipe<br />
exfiternal<br />
Co. multiwhirl<br />
coolers.<br />
oil coolers using con<br />
LUBRICATING OIL COOLERS FOR PRIME MOVERS—<br />
General Electric Co. Unit—Oil cooler by Andale Engineering Co. Cooling<br />
Medium—Condensate.<br />
Westinghouse Electric & Mfg. Co. Units (Main and House)—Griscom<br />
Russell Co. multiwhirl coolers. Cooling Medium—Main unit, condensate<br />
; house turbine, partially treated water.<br />
VENTILATING FANS<br />
1—7200-cfm., 470-rpm., American Blower Co. ventilating blower, driven<br />
by 5-hp., 1200 rpm., 440-volt, 60-cycle, 3-phase, squirrel cage induction<br />
motor through silent chain drive.<br />
2—1800-cfm., American Blower Co. propeller type blowers, driven by direct<br />
connected squirrel cage induction motors.<br />
VACUUM CLEANING SYSTEM<br />
MANUFACTURERS—Allen & Billmeyer Co.<br />
CAPACITY—2 sweepers.<br />
INSTRUMENTS<br />
Wilson Mneulen Co. resistance thermometers, indicating and recording.<br />
Foxboro Co. recording thermometers and pressure gages.<br />
General Electric Co. steam flow meters with temperature and pressure records<br />
on same chart.<br />
Simplex Valve & Meter Co. recording flow meters for boiler feed water.<br />
Bailey Meter Co. boiler meters for recording steam flow, gas flow and flue<br />
gas temperature on each boiler.<br />
Indicating Pressure and Vacuum Gages—<br />
Crosby Steam Gage & Valve Co.<br />
Ashton Valve Co.<br />
Schaeffer & Buclenberg Mfg. Co.<br />
C. J. Tagliabue Mfg. Co.<br />
Manning, Maxwell & Moore, Inc. (Ashcroft).<br />
Indicating dial thermometers by C. J. Tagliabue Mfg. Co.<br />
Mercurial industrial thermometers by Taylor Instrument Co.<br />
ELEVATORS<br />
MANUFACTURERS—Otis Elevator Company.<br />
No. 1—Electrical bay; passenger and freight; 2500 lbs. at 75 ft. per minute.<br />
Full automatic dual control.<br />
No. 2—Boiler house; passenger and freight; 2500 lbs. at 150 ft. per minute.<br />
Full automatic with micro-leveling device dial control.<br />
NO. 3—Coal elevator tower; passenger; 1000 lbs. at 137 ft. per minute.<br />
Full automatic; dual control.<br />
IMPORTANT RATIOS<br />
Cubic ft. of building to installed kw. ("present) 57. 3 to 1<br />
Cubic ft. of building to installed kw. (ultimate) 43.3 to 1<br />
Boiler heating surface to installed kw 2.4 to 1<br />
Furnace volume to installed kw 1 . 5 to 1<br />
Furnace volume to boiler surface (including water screens).. 0.615 to 1<br />
Condensing surface to installed kw 1.75 to 1<br />
Gpm. of circulating water to installed kw 1.80 to 1<br />
Installed kw. to boiler feed pump capacity in gpm 20 to 1<br />
ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT IN THE CAHOKIA<br />
STATION<br />
STATTQN TIE FEEDERS—Three 12,000-kva., 60-cycle, 3-phase, 33,000<br />
volt.<br />
OUTGOING FEEDERS—Eight 5000-kva., 60-cycle, 3-phase, 13,800-volt,<br />
and three 7500-kva., 60-cycle, 3-phase, 33,000-voIt.<br />
STATION TRANSFORMER FEEDERS—Two 3,000-kva., 60-cycle, 3phase,<br />
13,800-volt.<br />
ELECTRICAL CONSTRUCTION, including installation of main oil circuit<br />
breakers, disconnecting switches, instrument transformers, high<br />
tension switchboards, d.c. control boards, etc., by McClellan & Junkersfield,<br />
Inc.<br />
MAIN OIL CIRCUIT BREAKERS<br />
NUMBER INSTALLED—Six 2000-amp. for generators and bus ties; four<br />
1200-amp. for generator neutrals, and 34 800-amp. for feeder bus<br />
selectors<br />
MAKE—General Electric Co.<br />
TYPE—F. H. D. 17 single pole for isolated phase arrangement.<br />
OPFRATION—Remote controlled, motor operated at 125 volts d.c.<br />
RUPTURING CAPACITY—38,000 amp. at 13,800 volts.<br />
MOUNTING—Concrete compartments with separate floor for each phase.<br />
Vertical isolated arrangement with operating mechanism floor below<br />
circuit breaker floors.<br />
2300 VOLT AUXILIARY POWER OIL CIRCUIT<br />
BREAKERS<br />
NUMBER INSTALLED—Five 1200-amp. for auxiliary generators, station<br />
transformers and auxiliary generator bus tie; 13 600-amp. for feeders,<br />
bus ties and primaries of 440-volt power transformers; 39 300-amp.<br />
for feeders, compensators and 440-volt transformer primaries, and 16<br />
for auto transformer starting switches for motors.<br />
MAKE—Westinghouse Electric & Mfg. Co.<br />
TYPE—B2.<br />
OPERATION—Remote controlled, solenoid operated at 125 volts d.c.<br />
RUPTURING CAPACITY—16.000 amp. at 2500 volts.<br />
MOUNTING—Concrete compartments.<br />
440 VOLT AUXILIARY POWER OIL CIRCUIT<br />
BREAKERS<br />
NUMBER INSTALLED—Fifteen 300-amp. for feeders, 440-volt transformers<br />
and transformer bus ties; four 500-amp. for feeders and three<br />
1200-amp. for 440-volt transformers and transformer bus ties.<br />
MAKE—Westinghouse Electric & Mfg. Co.<br />
TYPE—300 and 500-amp. Type F2, and 1200-amp. Type B2.<br />
OPERATION—Remote controlled, solenoid operated at 125 volts d.c.<br />
RUPTURING CAPACITY—15,000 amp. at 440 volts.<br />
MOUNTING—Pipe framework.
10<br />
IheDlasf hirnacp^Jice! rlanf<br />
Material Handling Section<br />
Turbines and condenser pit looking southeast from grade Main turbine and generator room shozving straight line<br />
assembly.<br />
Cohokia—an artist's impression.<br />
Union Electric Light & Pozver Company's new Cohokia StaBoiler<br />
room, at feeder level looking north, shozving pulve<br />
tion — first completed unit showing Mississippi River fuel equipment.<br />
bridges to St. Louis, Mo.<br />
This station was put into service on October 15,<br />
1923, or about 13 months after the first pile was driven,<br />
because of the urgent demand for additional power.<br />
Since then one turbo-generator has been continuously<br />
in commercial service, the other intermittently<br />
from November 30 to February 20 and continuously<br />
since the latter date.<br />
Seven boilers were put into steaming service on<br />
various dates from < tctober 2 to January 10, the eighth<br />
boiler on February IS, and the various elements of<br />
coal handling and coal preparation as needed in advance<br />
of boilers and furnaces.<br />
The total station economy from coal as received<br />
on car dump has been as follows:<br />
Btu. per Kw.-Hr. Maximum Capacity Net Output<br />
Gross Net Load Kw. Factor Kw.-Hr.<br />
January<br />
_ (31 days) 17,922 19,310 40,000 30.3 13,503,200<br />
February<br />
(29 days) 17,579 18,640 45,000 36.3 15,175,900<br />
March<br />
17,339 18,360 45,000 47.0 10,145,400<br />
(15 days)<br />
The foregoing is exclusive of economizers or air<br />
preheaters. none having been installed, as the station<br />
was designed to burn low-grade coal averaging $2.50<br />
per ton. The station has not yet reached its permanent<br />
operating load, as indicated by the maximum load,<br />
the capacity factor and output given above.<br />
No official or acceptance tests on principal equipment<br />
have so far been made except on the No. 1 turbogenerator.
Material Handling Section<br />
MOTOR GENERATOR SETS<br />
Numbers installed 2<br />
Service D.C. Power<br />
Make Westinghouse<br />
Generator<br />
Capacity<br />
100 kw.<br />
Voltage 250 volts<br />
Rpm 1160<br />
Winding<br />
Motor<br />
Compound<br />
Size 150 hp.<br />
Voltage 2300 volts<br />
Type<br />
Auxiliary Exciter.<br />
TRANSFORMERS<br />
Squirrel Cage<br />
DIP Dlasf LrnacoSStW! Plan!<br />
Battery Charging<br />
Westinghouse<br />
25 kw.<br />
125/175 volts<br />
1160<br />
Shunt<br />
35 hp.<br />
440 volts<br />
Squirrel Cage<br />
SET-UP TIE FEEDER TRANSFORMERS—Three transformers, each<br />
3-phase, delta-zigzag 12,000-kva., 60-cycle, 13,800/33,000 volts, forced<br />
oil cooled. General Electric Co.<br />
STEP-UP FEEDER TRANSFORMERS—Three transformers, each 3phase,<br />
delta-zigzag, 7500-k\a„ 60 cycle, 13,800/33,000 volts, forced<br />
oil cooled, General Electric Co.<br />
STATION POWER TRANSFORMERS—<br />
Two transformers, each 3-phase, delta-delta, 3000-kva., 60-cycle, 13,800/<br />
2300 volts, self and water cooled, General Electric Co.<br />
Two 3-phase, delta-delta, 750-kva., 60-cycle, 2300/440 volt, self cooled<br />
oil insulated Westinghouse Electric & Mfg. Co.<br />
Two 3-phase, delta-delta, 200-kva., 60-cycle, 2300/440 volts, self cooled<br />
oil insulated Westinghouse Electric & Mfg. Co.<br />
STATION LIGHTING TRANSFORMERS—Two single-phase transformers,<br />
150-kva., 60-cycle, 2300/220/110 volts, self cooled, oil insulated Westinghouse<br />
Electric & Mfg. Co.<br />
DISCONNECTING SWITCHES<br />
LOCATION—All disconnects for 13,800-volt oil circuit breakers are S. P.<br />
S. T. and are located in the same cumpartment as the oil circuit breaker.<br />
OPERATION—Remote hand operated from floor below lowest phase.<br />
MAKE—General Electric Co.<br />
GENERAL—All 2300 and 440-volt disconnects are S. P. S. T.<br />
OPERATION—Hook stick.<br />
MAKE-—-Electric Power Equipment Corporatinn.<br />
MAIN CURRENT TRANSFORMERS<br />
MAKE—General Electric Co<br />
TVPF—-Single turn primary, single<br />
MAIN POTENTIAL TRANSFORMERS<br />
MAKE—General Electric Co.<br />
TYPE—Oil insulated, with o fuse and current limiting resistor for star<br />
connection.<br />
REACTANCE COILS<br />
MAKE—General Electric Co. for generators and bus ties; Metropolitan<br />
Device Corp. for feeders.<br />
NUMBER INSTALLED—Six for generators; 3 for main bus tie and 24<br />
for feeders.<br />
TYPE—Single-phase, concrete clad.<br />
REACTANCE—5 per cent for main and ring bus ties; 4 per cent for outgoing<br />
feeders; 3 per cent for generators and outgoing feeders, and<br />
220-kva. saturated core reactors for 2300-volt inter-bus ties.<br />
STORAGE BATTERIES<br />
SERVICE—D.C. control and emergency lighting.<br />
NUMBER INSTALLED—Two.<br />
MAKE—The Electric Storage Battery Co.<br />
CAPACITY—81 amp. for 8 hrs. and 360 amp, for 1 hr.<br />
NUMBER OF CELLS—63.<br />
TYPE—F-19 in wood tanks.<br />
VOLTAGE—126 volts.<br />
MAIN GENERATOR AND TIE FEEDER<br />
CONTROL BENCHBOARD<br />
Comprising the following sections: Two 35,300-kva., 13,800-volt, 60cycle<br />
generator sections; two sections each having two 12,000-kva.,<br />
13,800-volt, 60-cycle station tie feeders and one section for 13,800volt<br />
bus tie and neutral ground, one bracket section for voltmeter and<br />
synchronizing indicators.<br />
MATERIAL OF PANELS—2-inch, oil finished, natural black Monson<br />
slate.<br />
MAKE—General Electric Co.<br />
MAIN FEEDER CONTROL SWITCHBOARD<br />
Comprising the following sections: Two sections having one 3000-kva.,<br />
13,800/2300-volt station transformers and one 5000-kva., 13,800-volt<br />
feeder; three sections having one 5000-kva., 13,800-volt feeder and<br />
one 7500-kva., 13,800/33,000-volt feeder and two sections having two<br />
5000-kva., 13,800-volt feeders.<br />
MATERIAL OF PANELS—2-inch oil finished, natural black Monson slate.<br />
MAKE—General Electric Co.<br />
AUXILIARY GENERATION GROUP CONTROL<br />
SWITCHBOARD<br />
Comprising the following sections: Two 2500-kva., 2300-volt, 3-phase,<br />
60-cycle generator sections; two 3000-kva., 13,800/2300-volt, 3-phase,<br />
60-cycle transformer sections; two 750-kva. and 200-kva. 2300/440volt,<br />
3-phase, 60-cycle transformer sections, one voltage regulator section<br />
and one swinging bracket type synchronizing panel.<br />
MATERIAL OF PANELS—2-in. oil finished, natural black Monson elate.<br />
MAKE—All panels are Westinghouse except voltage regulator panel, which<br />
is General Electric Co.<br />
MOTORS<br />
104 induction motors up to 150 hp. Wagner Electric & Mfg. Co.<br />
15 14 induction d.c. motors. motors Westinghouse above 150 Electric hp. General & Mfg. Electric Co. Co.<br />
D.C. POWER AND CONTROL BOARDS<br />
D.C. POWER BOARD controls the following: Two 100-kw., 250volt<br />
motor generator sets; one 300-kw., 250-volt reserve exciter, one 200amp.<br />
feeder for magnetic pulleys on conveyors and two 800-amp. feeders<br />
for fuel feeder drive motors.<br />
BATTERY CONTROL PANEL—.125-volt d.c. controls the following:<br />
Two 63-cell, 125-volt storage batteries; two 25-kw., 125/175-volt motor<br />
generator sets; 8 200-amp. feeders 125-volt 2-wire for valve<br />
motors, station emergency light rheostat and governor motors, d.c. circuit<br />
breaker controls; fuel signal and annunciator systems; 16 400amp.<br />
feeders 125-volt 2-wire, for motor generator and battery circuit<br />
breaker controls and oil switch tripping and closing circuits.<br />
MAKE—Electric Power Equipment Co.<br />
MATERIAL OF PANELS—2-in. oil finished, natural black Monson slate.<br />
Lighting Panels<br />
For control of the following: Twelve 200-amp. 220/110-volt, 3-wire a.c.<br />
feeders for lighting circuits in switch house, turbine room, boiler house<br />
and yard lighting, for normal lighting; and nine 60-amp., 110-volt, 2wire<br />
feeders for emergency lighting in same locations with the exception<br />
of yard lighting.<br />
IheD'asf kimaccOjiee! Plant<br />
Material Handling Section<br />
Cutting Corners in Material Handling<br />
Horizontal Conveyors, Vertical Hoists, Tractors, Cranes<br />
Show Enormous Savings<br />
HISTORY tells us that the metallurgy of iron is<br />
an age-old art. Homer speaks of iron, used by<br />
the Greeks, twelve centuries before the coming<br />
of the Christ. At Delhi, India, stands an iron pillar<br />
which was first recorded eighteen centuries ago. In<br />
the fourth chapter of Genesis, Tubal Cain introduces<br />
us to "an instructor of every artificier in brass and<br />
iron." The possession of iron deposits and the ability<br />
to work such deposits has ever determined the commercial<br />
and political status of nations.<br />
But though history sheds light upon the product<br />
as it came to us throughout the ages, it does not tell<br />
of the methods then employed in producing this all<br />
important commodity nor yet speak of the one costly<br />
element in its manufacture—the handling of materials.<br />
Though the gigantic pyramids of the Nile Valley yield<br />
implements of iron, how those implements were made<br />
or even how the pyramids themselves were raised is<br />
yet an unsolved mystery.<br />
How to handle materials efficiently and with the<br />
least expenditure of energy was, no doubt, a problem<br />
of paramount importance with the peoples of dead<br />
centuries. Certain it is, material handling is still a<br />
major problem in every branch of manufacturing. As<br />
the possession and the ability to use iron has always<br />
determined the progress of nations, so the ability to<br />
move materials with the minimum of effort is today<br />
a determining factor in the progress of companies.<br />
* Engineer. Link-Belt Company, Chicago.<br />
By A. G. J. RAPP*<br />
The more corners a manufacturer can cut in his materials<br />
handling expense, the more profit he can show<br />
on the ledgers and the more expansion of enterprise<br />
is warranted. "Cutting corners" in materials handling,<br />
furthermore, is an assignment seldom delegated<br />
to one man alone. It is a game in which every department<br />
can participate, every foreman and every<br />
engineer take a hand.<br />
One of the most interesting and perhaps the quickest<br />
way to further one's own game of cutting corners<br />
is to learn the experience of others—to find "how the<br />
other fellow does it." And to the end of illustration<br />
we introduce the Commonwealth Steel Company at<br />
Granite City, 111., producers of steel castings for locomotive<br />
and railway car construction. The foundry of<br />
the Commonwealth Steel Company is one of the large<br />
steel foundries in the country. It has four open hearth<br />
furnaces at present, with a fifth under construction.<br />
Nine heats are run per day and approximately 200 tons<br />
of steel poured.<br />
About 10 years ago a Peck carrier was installed<br />
for handling core sand to the core makers' benches.<br />
This equipment was selected because of certain construction<br />
features, such as the overlapping buckets<br />
and the fact that the buckets remain in a horizontal<br />
position at all times except when tripped for dumping.<br />
This unit for handling core sand is approximately<br />
350 feet long. A second Peck carrier was installed<br />
in 1918 for facing sand which was about 550<br />
feet long. (This is one of the longest Peck carriers<br />
Plymouth gasoline locomotive in constant operation at the plant of the Tennessee Copper and Chemical Company, Lockland, 0.
Material Handling Section<br />
ItaBlasrhmiacoSSieel PU<br />
1.1.1.1.<br />
FIG. 1—Detail viczv of the endless mold conveyor shown in Fig. 3. FIG. 2—Illustrates the skip hoist in operation at one of the<br />
Crucible Steel Company's plants near Pittsburgh, Pa. The skip hoist method of handling ashes, mill refuse, coal, and so<br />
forth, has become a standard practice with steel plants. Under many conditions it aff'ords the most economical method for<br />
temporary storage or disposal of bulk materials. FIG. 3—Showing the complete foundry equipment of Kelsey Wheel Co.<br />
This installation, according to W. J. Kalty, saves 90 per cent of the floor space and SO per cent of the men necessary as<br />
labor. In other words it does twice as much work as was formerly accomplished in 1/10 the floor space. FIG. 4—Illustrating<br />
the flight conveyor used to store coal at the foundry of the American Car and Foundry Co., Wilmington, Del. 5-in. x 15in.<br />
flights—every 2 ft.—100 f.p.m. Capacity 25 tons per hour. FIG. 5—Link Belt Locomotive Crane aiding production at<br />
General American Tank Car Corp., East Chicago, Ind. FIG. 6—Locomotive crane saving the labor of 30 men in coal handling<br />
at a large coke and gas producing company. FIG. 7—Illustrating one of the many uses to which a gasoline, crawler<br />
type crane can be put. FIG. 8—View of boiler house showing man operating zveigh larry at Cornell University. January,<br />
1924. FIG. 9—This is a close up view of the five-ton weigh larry. Penn Central Power Co., Philadelphia, Pa. January,<br />
1924. FIG. 10—550 ft. Peck Carrier handling facing sand at Commonwealth Steel Company, Granite City, Illinois.. This<br />
conveyor saves the labor of 100 men over the old system it replaced.
14<br />
ever installed.) Last year a third carrier was put in<br />
for core sand and in the new extension being made<br />
to the foundry a fourth carrier will be put in operation.<br />
The latter will handle facing sand.<br />
The arrangement of the carrier used for molding<br />
sand permits the carrying of both used sand and facing<br />
sand by the conveyor. The return line of the carrier<br />
runs in a tunnel under the molding floor. Gratings<br />
are placed over the conveyor, and when the flasks<br />
are shaken out upon the gratings, the sand falls into<br />
the buckets. This sand is carried almost to the end<br />
of the foundry, where it is dumped on an inclined belt<br />
conveyor leading to the sand mills. On the way to<br />
the sand mills, however, new white sand and fire clay<br />
are added automatically.<br />
After the sand has been thoroughly mixed by the<br />
sand mill it discharges into the buckets of the Peck<br />
carrier and is elevated and conveyed to the hoppers<br />
over the molding stations. A man sets the tripper<br />
which causes the buckets to dump into the hoppers<br />
and he sees to it that all the hoppers are supplied<br />
with sand. The molder, when he wants sand, simply<br />
swings the chute from the overhead hopper to the<br />
proper position, pulls the discharge control, and the<br />
sand flows in a stream to wherever he wants it. No<br />
shoveling is required as the sand is led right into the<br />
flask.<br />
Present Method Saves 100 Men.<br />
Before this equipment was installed, dump cars<br />
hauled on a narrow gauge railway by an electric locomotive<br />
were used for bringing the sand from the sand<br />
mills to the molders. It was merely dumped in piles<br />
and the molder shoveled it into the flask. This method<br />
was in no way as efficient as the present one. In fact,<br />
the present system of overhead hoppers, Peck carrier<br />
and the sand conditioning machinery saves the<br />
labor of fully 100 men. At $4.20 a day this amounts<br />
to $126,000 annually—and this gross saving is obtained<br />
from an installation which cost, at the time it was installed,<br />
about $175,000.<br />
Considering the hard usage these conveyors receive<br />
(the facing sand conveyor was said by the engineer<br />
who installed it to be the most abused Peck car<br />
IheDIast KiniacoH jtool Plant<br />
Material Handling Section<br />
rier in the country) repair costs have been remarkably<br />
low. It is necessary to rebush the wheels once<br />
in about three years, and replace a chain pin occasionally.<br />
But whatever repairs are necessary must be<br />
made on Sunday, as the conveyors cannot be laid up.<br />
Once a week the wheels are oiled. This is done while<br />
the carrier is running, by injecting oil under pressure<br />
into the oilers as the wheels are in the vertical part<br />
of their travel and not revolving.<br />
Very little power is needed to drive this equipment.<br />
The facing sand carrier has a 25-hp. motor, but<br />
it only develops 10-12 hp. The core sand conveyors<br />
use about 4 hp .each. The facing sand conveyor has<br />
two operators, one who distributes the sand among<br />
the hoppers, the other looking after the lower run.<br />
One man for each core sand conveyor keeps the coremakers'<br />
hoppers filled. The conveyors do not run<br />
steadily throughout the 24 hours of the day, but total<br />
about 16 hours' operation each day. The capacity of<br />
the facing sand equipment is 60 tons per hour, and the<br />
core sand conveyors 25 tons the hour. The life of the<br />
bucket conveyors seems to be indefinite, because the<br />
firs': one, after 10 years' use, is still in splendid<br />
condition.<br />
Increasing Production and Eliminating Rehandling<br />
with Locomotive Crane.<br />
Another modern implement for material handling<br />
which is used extensively in steel plants is the locomotive<br />
crane. So universal have they become and so<br />
necessary a portion of the steel plant's equipment that<br />
it is difficult to visualize conditions or the number of<br />
men it would be necessary to employ if such cranes<br />
were suddenly made unavailable.<br />
A concrete instance of what locomotive cranes are<br />
doing for such plants is to be had at the General<br />
American Tank Car Corporation, East Chicago, Ind.<br />
Mr. William Bald, master mechanic, says:<br />
"Our locomotive cranes more than pay for themselves<br />
by the extra odd jobs they do around our plant,<br />
such as switching freight cars, moving heavy objects<br />
and handling building materials.<br />
"We use four such cranes, equipped with hook and<br />
chain for unloading cars of steel plates and shifting<br />
Left—Showing how the electric hoist is capable of performing the most delicate work as well as the rough, heavy tasks. Here<br />
shown handling fragile core sand in a foundry. Middle—An unusual use to which an electric hoist has been put. With the<br />
trolley and I-beam extending over a driveway, this hoist lifts the body zvith contents off of a truck, replacing it with an<br />
empty box. This saves delivery truck time sufficient to far more than pay the cost of the hoist. The convenience to the<br />
men in loading or tinloading truck bodies is also an appreciated result of this method. Right—Illustrating the rough usage<br />
and heavy duty capable of the electric hoist.
aterial Handling Section \p ft^ |.urnacoSStool Plant<br />
tank parts and tanks weighing from 1 tci 10 tons, from<br />
one section of the plant to another—work which cannot<br />
be handled by manual labor because of the excessive<br />
weight and bulk.<br />
"At the time we erected our new 125x300 ft. building,<br />
the cranes were particularly valuable. Equipped<br />
with 75-ft. extension booms, they In list and hold steel<br />
members steady until they are bolted in place. Later<br />
the heavy equipment for this building was lifted and<br />
set by the locomotive cranes.<br />
"With our cranes, two of the 25-ton capacity, one<br />
of the 20-ton and one of 15 tons, we save thousands of<br />
dollars annually, because they speed up production,<br />
eliminate rehandling of material and do the work that<br />
cannot be done with our other equipment or with<br />
hand labor."<br />
A rather unusual crane application was recently<br />
made by the Carpenter Steel Company of Reading, Pa.<br />
The specifications called for a gasoline, crawler type<br />
crane so equipped that it could not only handle a grab<br />
bucket or hook block, but also a standard 45-in. magnet<br />
for pig iron.<br />
This sort of equipment involved providing this<br />
gasoline operated crane with its own generator and<br />
lifting magnet equipment in addition to the regular<br />
lifting and propelling mechanism. This requirement<br />
might have presented difficulties with the ordinary<br />
type of crawler crane but, it is said, the Link-Belt<br />
crawler crane possesses such an abundance of cab<br />
and operating room that the establishment of an extra<br />
generator incurs no difficulties.<br />
A lifting magnet of the sort furnished handles upwards<br />
of 1,500 pounds of pig iron or about 1,200<br />
pounds of scrap and is the usual type seen in use on<br />
locomotive cranes about the average industrial plant.<br />
Another instance of labor economy through the<br />
use of locomotive cranes comes from S. H. Hunt, chief<br />
engineer for a large coke and gas producing company.<br />
Mr. Hunt states :<br />
"In handling large quantities of coal quickly and<br />
efficiently from cars to coal pile and vice versa, the<br />
locomotive crane has a very decided advantage over<br />
hand labor.<br />
"And although we installed this crane originally<br />
to load and unload coal, we have found that it performs<br />
equally well many other jobs about the yards.<br />
For example, we use it for switching cars, unloading<br />
mud scows, driving piles, dredging the river at our<br />
dock and cleaning up the yard. This is work which,<br />
if done by hand, would require many men and heavy<br />
expense.<br />
"Fully 30 men would be required to load and unload<br />
from 12 to 15 cars in eight hours. This work<br />
we now do easily with one locomotive crane and four<br />
men. Indeed, we found that our crane more than<br />
paid for itself in the time and wages saved, during the<br />
first year."<br />
Where coal requirements are in excess of eight or<br />
10 cars a day, and particularly where the storage is<br />
made direct to overhead bins, the gondola car dumper<br />
is perhaps the most efficient and speedy of all mechanical<br />
means. The dumper is completely controlled by<br />
one man—the movement of a single lever (comparable<br />
to the control lever of a street car) governing all<br />
operations.<br />
Any gondola car of standard size is accommodated<br />
by this car dumper and is rotated, dumping the contents<br />
into a hopper in one minute, ten seconds. Two<br />
minutes is ample time fur the complete operation of<br />
spotting the car, rotating and dumping, then shoving<br />
the empty ff the dumper to make room for the succeeding<br />
load. The entire rotating operation is performed<br />
by a 35-hp. motor (which ammeter readings<br />
have shown to develop no more than 20 hp.) and the<br />
top clamp motor is of 10 lip.<br />
During the construction of this dumper and before<br />
it was available for operation, coal was obtained<br />
from bottom dump cars and spotted over the hopper.<br />
The difference between the time and labor necessary<br />
to handle coal in this fashion and the speed with<br />
which the dumper now dumps coal, convinced Mc<br />
Clellan & Junkersfeld, construction engineers for the<br />
Cahokia Plant, that the gondola car dumper will justify<br />
its cost and earn its keep on eight or ten cars of<br />
coal a day.<br />
Coal Handling Machinery for Inland Steel<br />
Coke Plant.<br />
The Inland Steel Company, Indiana Harbor, Ind.,<br />
employs a very interesting coal handling sy r stem for<br />
their coke plant—an installation that is interesting if<br />
only from the fact that it has been in continuous<br />
operation for 10 or 12 years.<br />
Coal is received in cars operating on double tracks<br />
which parallel the coal storage on the east or coke<br />
plant side, and are the connecting link between the<br />
coal handling and the coal crushing plants. From the<br />
cars the coal drops through track hoppers to a 42-in.<br />
apron conveyor which carries the coal across 50 feet<br />
to a 36-in. belt conveyor having a capacity of 400 tons<br />
per hour and on which the coal is elevated into the<br />
two hoppers of the crusher building. Each hopper has<br />
a capacity of 140 tons. By means of a reciprocating<br />
feeder the coal is fed from each hopper into a 12x14ft.<br />
Bradford breaker, the coal being handled at the<br />
rate of 200 tons per hour. The refuse from the breaker<br />
is discharged upon a 24-in. belt conveyor and elevated<br />
to a refuse tower from which the refuse is loaded<br />
into cars. The coal from the breaker drops onto a<br />
36-in. inclined belt conveyor which carries it to the<br />
hammer mills. Through two-way spouts the crushed<br />
coal from the mills is discharged onto two 36-in. belt<br />
conveyors and is carried up into the 400-ton bins of<br />
the mixer building. The arrangement of the equipment<br />
and conveyors in parallel for handling the coal<br />
through the crusher building and to the mixers, provides<br />
for the two grades of coal used. From the foot<br />
valves of the two mixers the crushed coal is brought<br />
together on two 36-in. belts, each with a capacity of<br />
100 tons per hour, delivering to the coal mixer. The<br />
coal mixer delivers to a 36-in. belt conveyor that carries<br />
the coal up to the 1,300-ton storage bins from<br />
which the over larries are loaded. From the storage<br />
yard to the coke larries the coal moves in process of<br />
crushing and mixing an approximate distance of 875<br />
feet.<br />
System of Conveyors Saves 90 per Cent in Floor<br />
Space and Doubles Production.<br />
Another interesting, instance of the economy in<br />
both time and labor which can be effected bv mechanical<br />
means is found at the Kelsey Wheel Company of<br />
Detroit. With regard to this equipment. W. J. Klatz,<br />
general superintendent, says: "The results we have<br />
obtained from using Link-Belt mold conveyors, applied<br />
to make possible the progressive assembly plan,<br />
have been quite remarkable. In the first place this<br />
system has enabled us to double our production be-
16 r^u DIP Blast F, urnaco. SU PI anf<br />
cause we begin pouring the metal into the molds on<br />
the conveyor at 8:30 in the morning, while before<br />
using the system, and when laying the molds on the<br />
floor, the entire morning was spent preparing for the<br />
pouring, leaving but half the day for actual pouring—<br />
and as the average per hour is the same by both methods<br />
the conveyors save half a day.<br />
"Second, by handling this work by conveyors, only<br />
one-tenth of the floor space otherwise needed is used.<br />
The foregoing are but a very few of the unnumbered<br />
instances where mechanical means have proven<br />
a source of economy and efficiency over hand labor.<br />
Material Handling Section<br />
And while the steel industry, of all industries,<br />
perhaps needs least the admonition to employ mechanical<br />
means, yet it is well to recognize that there<br />
is every indication that immigration restriction will<br />
be increased and that the existing shortage o.f labor<br />
will not only continue, but actually grow.<br />
Hence it is even more true of the future than of<br />
the past that: "As the possession and the ability to<br />
use iron has always determined the progress of nations,<br />
so the ability to move materials with the minimum<br />
of effort is today a determining factor in the<br />
progress of industrial enterprises."<br />
Fireless Locomotive Saves Fuel<br />
A T the Springdale Power Station of the West<br />
Penn Power Company, a fireless steam locomotive<br />
has been in successful operation for the past<br />
year and a half. The steam used by this locomotive is<br />
taken from a heat accumulator which takes the place<br />
of the boiler on the ordinary locomotive. The accumulator<br />
is 6.79 feet in diameter and 21 feet long, of cylindrical<br />
construction with convex heads and holds 45,500<br />
lbs. of water at 212 deg. F. This accumulator is<br />
charged with steam at 300 lb. pressure until the temperature<br />
of the water is raised to nearly 425 deg. F.<br />
When charged to this temperature a total of 17,730,000<br />
B.t.u. above 32 deg. F. is stored in the water. 1.35<br />
per cent of this stored heat will be given up to the<br />
generation of steam if the temperature of the water is<br />
allowed to drop to 365 deg. F., which is about the point<br />
at which it becomes necessary to recharge because of<br />
the pressure falling so low that the power and efficiency<br />
of the engine is reduced. Assuming an average<br />
*\Vest Penn Power Company, Springdale, Pa.<br />
By C. E. COLBURN'<br />
engine thermal efficiency of 10 per cent, the work that<br />
can be done by the stored heat is 95 hp. The loss of<br />
heat by radiation from the accumulator is small, it<br />
being possible to go 8 hours without recharging on<br />
the coldest winter days.<br />
As the pressure of the steam supplied to the cylinders<br />
by the accumulator falls it is necessary to increase<br />
the length of steam admission. After the steam pressure<br />
has been considerably reduced it is necessary to<br />
admit steam during nearly the whole of the stroke<br />
when pulling heavy loads. With this admission there<br />
is not complete expansion and a lowered efficiency<br />
results. For this reason the accumulator is charged<br />
frequently so as to keep it on the average as nearly<br />
fully charged as possible and obtain the highest efficiency.<br />
Although the average efficiency of the engine<br />
is somewhat low due to the incomplete expansion<br />
at times, this is more than compensated for by the fact<br />
that heat furnished the engine is generated at high<br />
efficiency in the large boilers of the station.<br />
A power company combines the factors of low-steam-costs, flexibility, safety, reliability in the operation of the fireless loco<br />
tive shown above. This Porter machine weighs in working order, 135,000 lbs., has cylinder diameters of 24-in. by 24-in. stroke,<br />
drivers 46-in. diameter, with total tractive force of 25,000 lb.
I Tke Bias} FurnaceSSleel P W<br />
Vol. XII PITTSBURGH, PA., APRIL, 1924 No. 4<br />
China's Second Rolling Mill<br />
Purely Chinese Control Will Operate Modern Motor-Driven Units<br />
T H L second rolling mill to be constructed in China,<br />
and the only one to be in operation, commenced<br />
work at Pootung, opposite the Kiangnan dock<br />
yard near Shanghai on the first of January, and will<br />
have a monthly output of approximately 1200 tons of<br />
bars, billets, T-s, rods, cross-bars, bars for reinforced<br />
concrete, and light rails up to 26 pounds in weight.<br />
The works comprise two Siemens-Martins steel furnaces<br />
and a rolling mill, the entire equipment being<br />
of German manufacture, from Westphalia, and supplied<br />
by the Siemens-Rheinelbe-Schuckert-Union<br />
through their agents in China, the Siemens China<br />
Company. The new plant will cost, it is estimated,<br />
approximately Tls. 900,000 and will be the property<br />
of a purely Chinese concern, with a concession from<br />
the Ministry of Communications. The managing director<br />
of the plant will be Mr. Loh Pa-hong, and the<br />
consulting and directing engineers will be Messrs.<br />
Bucher and Kocher, of the firm of Siemens China Company.<br />
The building of the plant comes as the result of a<br />
move by local Chinese iron and steel merchants who<br />
are interested financially, with the intention of avoiding<br />
the occasional shortages of steel products in<br />
Shanghai, with attendant high prices. Shortages often<br />
occur in special grades of steel or in special shapes<br />
or forms, which contractors or merchants must have<br />
immediately. The result is that until telegraphic orders<br />
can be filled and shipped from Hamburg, from<br />
Liverpool, or from the Pacific Coast of the United<br />
States^ local merchants are at the mercy of a bull market,<br />
and scarcity prices. With the new plant it is expected<br />
that such shortages can be filled on short order<br />
and immediate delivery made.<br />
The new plant, which is the property of the<br />
Wouching Iron and Steel Company, Limited, will operate<br />
two Siemens-Martins ovens producing high<br />
grade steel, the smaller with a capacity of 12 tons per<br />
day of seven hours, and the larger with a capacity of<br />
36 tons per day of 10 hours. It is anticipated that the<br />
smallness of these ovens, though making necessary a<br />
larger proportionate consumption of coke, will make<br />
possible the production of a better grade of steel, and<br />
will be easier to handle. The monthly capacity of the<br />
two furnaces will be about 1300 tons of high-grade<br />
steel.<br />
For these furnaces either a mixture of pig-iron with<br />
scrap iron, or a mixture of oxydic iron ore and molten<br />
pig iron will be used. The company has its own supplies<br />
of ore in Chekiang, and is connected with the<br />
•American Consulate, Shanghai, China.<br />
By H. C. FLEMING*<br />
187<br />
Ihua Iron Mining Company in V'uhu. It also has<br />
blast furnaces capable of turning out approximately<br />
1300 tons of pig iron a month, though these have not<br />
been firing recently on account of the low price of<br />
pig. But the use of scrap iron in the ovens will make<br />
the ovens and the rolling mill independent of its own<br />
blast furnaces, and in rush times, with the use of several<br />
shifts, capable of greatly increasing its output.<br />
Construction on the plant began on April 1.<br />
1923, but the delivery of the machinery was held up in<br />
the fall on account of difficulties with the French authorities<br />
in the occupation area. The plant has a considerable<br />
river front, from which the production will<br />
be shipped to various parts of China as well as the<br />
local market. It occupies an area of about 80 mow,<br />
but with extensions resulting from the construction of<br />
a new dyke by the Conservancy Board and a pier by<br />
the company this will be enlarged by another 25 mow.<br />
It is estimated that the local market requirements<br />
of steel are about 60,000 to 80,000 tons, and if the plant<br />
turns out 10,000 tons only a year, it can find a ready<br />
sale for it locally. Besides the production of rolled<br />
steel, the plant is equipped to make big cast steel parts<br />
for ships and large cast steel pipes, from part of the<br />
output of the Martin furnaces.<br />
The electric power by wdiich the rolling mill is to<br />
be operated, 1,000 kilowatts, will be supplied by the<br />
Chinese Electric Power Company of Nantow.<br />
The new plant is the outcome of a number of years<br />
of development on the part of the Wou-ching Iron<br />
& Steel Company, which put its first plant up in 1917,<br />
at a cost of only Tls. 80,000, a blast furnace equipped<br />
to turn out only 350 tons of pig iron per month. This,<br />
however, was sold at Tls. 250 per ton, and the original<br />
cost of the plant was paid off in the short space of<br />
three months. The promoter was Mr. Lo Pah-hong.<br />
This success induced the company to put up a second<br />
and much larger furnace with a capacity of 1,000<br />
tons monthly. Both of these furnaces were constructed<br />
entirely out of local material and machinery made<br />
locally, by Chinese engineers but under the direction<br />
of German engineers. The contractor for the construction<br />
of the second furnace was Li Koh-king; the<br />
drafting engineer Mr. Kocher of Siemens China Company,<br />
and the construction was in charge of Dr. M.<br />
Bruecher, technical manager of Siemens China Company<br />
and representative of the Rheinelbe-Union. Mr.<br />
E. Oster remained in charge of the blast furnaces.<br />
Before the second furnaces were ready, however,<br />
the war ended, and the price of pig iron dropped to<br />
(Continued on Page 190)
Tho Blast Furnace3Stool Plant<br />
SHEET-TIN PLATE<br />
Pair Heating<br />
Conclusion of Description of New Design Heating Furnace—<br />
Remarkable Savings Shown by Carefully Recorded<br />
Tests—Heating Costs Analyzed<br />
In the preceding issues Table II- contained itemized<br />
costs of heating a ton of bolts. The comparison<br />
is valuable and is continued in Table IV.<br />
This data might be tabulated as follows for comparative<br />
purposes:<br />
TABLE IV—FUEL COST—CONTINUOUS BOLT MAKING<br />
(Cost per Ton of Metal Heated)<br />
Fuel Oil* $1-50<br />
Natural Gas* 1-80<br />
Pulverized Coal 160<br />
Semi-producer recuperative furnace, 231 lb.<br />
coal rate .623<br />
Same, 1511b. coal rate .364<br />
*Firing cost not included.<br />
Fuel Cost — Pair Heating.<br />
For the purposes of comparative analysis it will<br />
next be necessary to draw some conclusions as to the<br />
present cost of heating sheet bars. Figures from<br />
many plants, available for comparison, show such a<br />
wide divergence in all methods of firing coal that it<br />
will be necessary to work within considerable limits.<br />
A large plant, operating with stokers and keeping accurate<br />
records gives 325 pounds of coal per ton of<br />
sheet bars as its average, and this figure will be taken<br />
as the maximum although probably far from that.<br />
Unofficial records from small plants, over short periods<br />
of time have been given as low as 180 pounds of coal<br />
per ton of steel. This figure will be conceded to be<br />
a fair minimum and will be used as such. Investigation<br />
of coal handling and firing in furnaces from quite<br />
a large number of plants would indicate that $1.40<br />
per ton was about the average and if the cost of coal<br />
on the siding is taken as $3.00, a total coal cost of<br />
$4.40 is the result.<br />
One pound of steel will require 270 Btu. to raise its<br />
temperature from cold to 1700 deg. F. and consequently<br />
540,000 Btu. is necessary to raise one ton through<br />
this range. In the tests previously described, the calorific<br />
value of the coal was 12,800 Btu. per pound and<br />
this figure will be used in the following calculations.<br />
•Consulting Engineer, Pittsburgh, Pa.<br />
By WILLIAM C. BUELL, JR.*<br />
PART III<br />
TABLE V — FUEL COST — PAIR HEATING<br />
(Cost per Ton of Metal Heated)<br />
Coal Cost $4.40 per Ton<br />
Lbs. Coal per<br />
Ton of Steel<br />
325 $0.72<br />
Z3U ••'•'<br />
225 49<br />
200 43<br />
175 39<br />
Comparative Efficiency.<br />
The following table will give the efficiency (thermal)<br />
based on the above coal rate and the previous<br />
data :<br />
TABLE VI — EFFICIENCY — PAIR HEATING<br />
Lbs. Coal for<br />
Ton of Steel<br />
325 — 540,000/325 X 12,800 = 13.0%<br />
300 — 13 x 325 / 300 = 14.4<br />
275 — 13 x 325 / 275 = 15.8<br />
250 — 13 x 325 / 250 = 17.3<br />
225 — 13 x 325 / 225 = 19.3<br />
200 — 13 x 325 / 200 = 21.6<br />
175 — 13 x 325 / 175 = 24.7<br />
The above values compare with a gross efficiency<br />
for the semi-producer recuperative furnace of 22.9 per<br />
cent for four-day operation, 32.4 per cent for the best<br />
day ; and with the net figures of 28.9 per cent and 40.0<br />
per cent respectively from Table II. In making the<br />
comparison it should be born in mind that the metal<br />
temperature is about 200 deg. F. greater for the bolt<br />
bars than is usual heating practice on pairs.<br />
It can be assumed with safety that the mean of<br />
the gross (27.7 per cent) and the net (34.5 per cent)<br />
will represent the probable and the possible operation<br />
and ignoring the increased thermal efficiency contingent<br />
upon the lower temperature in heating pairs,<br />
it will be found that with proper substitutions the<br />
coal for pair heating with the improved method will<br />
be:<br />
TABLE VII — COAL REQUIRED — PAIR HEATING<br />
Semi-Producer Recuperative Furnace<br />
Per Cent<br />
Efficiency Lbs./Ton<br />
Good practice 27.7 156<br />
Best practice 34.5 125<br />
Possible 40.4 108<br />
;
April, 1924<br />
By the substitution of the proper figures of pounds<br />
of coal above, and the cost figures Table III we will<br />
arrive at the following:<br />
TABLE VIII — FIRING COST—PAIR HEATING<br />
(Cost per Ton of Metal Heated)<br />
Semi-Producer Recuperative Furnace<br />
Good practice 0.623 x 156 / 231 = $0.42<br />
Best practice 0.623 x 125 / 231 = .34<br />
Possible 0.623 x 108 / 231 = .29<br />
In none of the foregoing comparisons has mention<br />
been made of the furnace upkeep cost. This item will<br />
make a most favorable showing in favor of the new<br />
type. In a year's experience the brickwork of the furnace<br />
is in perfect shape and it was constructed entirely<br />
with Pennsylvania second and third grade<br />
brick.<br />
The Improved Method.<br />
The method can be applied to any furnaces having<br />
the common bottoms or continuous methods, and<br />
the entire structure will occupy less floor space than<br />
a hand or stoker fired continuous furnace.<br />
There are six factors entering into the design and<br />
operation of this furnace that have a great bearing on<br />
the splendid results secured. They are :<br />
(a) The two stage method of burning the fuel.<br />
(b) The use of preheated air.<br />
IhoDlast rurnaco"Z, jtool riant<br />
189<br />
(c) The ease.and convenience by which coal,<br />
air and steam quantities are controlled.<br />
(d) The ease with which furnace temperature<br />
and atmosphere is controlled.<br />
(e) The recuperator.<br />
(f) The suspended arch construction which<br />
permits cross sectional elevation of the furnace<br />
chamber to be designed to maintain the furnace<br />
gases within the range of speeds conductive to the'<br />
maximum heat transfer.<br />
By the two stage method of burning the fuel, all<br />
the good points of producer gas firing are retained and<br />
the undesirable factors eliminated. Producer gas<br />
seems to give the metal a more thorough "soak" than<br />
any other fuel in an equal time.<br />
The use of preheated air improves furnace operation<br />
in two major points. The first is that of materially<br />
increasing the speed of the combustion reaction<br />
and the second has the effect of increasing the flame<br />
temperature of the fuel. Especially in the use of coal,<br />
air at atmospheric temperatures tends to appreciably<br />
reduce the speed of combustion by withdrawing a considerable<br />
amount of the sensible heat in the fuel bed,<br />
and by its cooling action preventing complete combustion<br />
and forming smoke. The use of highly preheated<br />
air, as with this system, causes about one-half<br />
of the total air to enter the combustion reaction at temperatures<br />
only slightly below the kindling temperature<br />
FIG. 3—Another view of producer furnace showing accessibility of controls, flow-meters, etc.
arbon thus causing and accelerating the combusi<br />
of those components that would usually pass off<br />
smoke.<br />
The second is the increase of flame temperature<br />
which has the effect of increasing the calorific value<br />
of the fuel itself in an almost direct ratio of the calorific<br />
value of the fuel to the Btu. returned in the air.<br />
In operation, three controls are used by and are<br />
convenient to the operator. They are the coal feed<br />
clutch, which when engaged causes the feed of the<br />
fuel; a steam valve by which the quantity of steam<br />
and proportionally the air introduced under the grate<br />
is adjusted, and which carries the coal, air and steam<br />
through the gasification reaction of C + 02 = C02 and<br />
the secondary reaction of 3C + 2COo -\- H„0 =<br />
5CO + H2.<br />
The air coming from the recuperator and which<br />
completes the reaction of 5CO -f- H„ -\- 302 =<br />
5C02 + H„0 is controlled by means of a slide gate on<br />
the cold side of the system.<br />
Experience has shown that with the coal feed at<br />
one of the selective speeds, steam at a given pressure<br />
and the hot blast at a given pressure, temperature and<br />
atmospheric conditions can be maintained within close<br />
limits. The temperature range will fall well within<br />
50 deg. F. During the tests previously mentioned,<br />
over 200 furnace gas analyses were made and these<br />
gave the C02 component well above 16.5 per cent,<br />
and on a few occasions samples were taken that gave<br />
the ultimate.<br />
The method of recuperator construction has previously<br />
been touched upon. In this device conditions<br />
for a high heat transfer are nearly ideal. The air<br />
passes through without the great resistance encountered<br />
when changes of flow direction are made. The<br />
design gives true cotintercurrent action and repairs<br />
when necessary may be made conveniently.<br />
The pipe elements are of commercial steel pipe,<br />
and it was the thought in installing these, that they<br />
would last long enough to permit sufficent figures to<br />
be taken, to form the basis for a study of its value in<br />
the system. After 10 months' service the original<br />
pipes are still in service and from appearances will<br />
last for many more months. In service the waste<br />
gases enter the recuperator up to 1850 deg. F. and the<br />
air is heated to about 900 deg. F. indicating a metal<br />
temperature of perhaps 1400 deg. F. at the base. It is<br />
thought that the long life of the pipes, comes from<br />
the high air velocities, especial attention having been<br />
given this point in design. It should be mentioned<br />
that pipes treated to prevent oxidation at high temperature,<br />
have long been on the ground, ready to be<br />
used upon the failure of the steel pipes.<br />
The suspended arch is a considerable help to even<br />
heating and increased economies. Quite often after a<br />
furnace is in service it is found desirable to change the<br />
conformation to produce a change in heating conditions<br />
and certain types of the suspended arch lend<br />
themselves particularly well to this purpose.<br />
Again it may be desirable to develop an arch to the<br />
long axis of the furnace and in part to develop it also<br />
on the short axis. The suspended arch permits this<br />
to be accomplished.<br />
Conclusion.<br />
A final comparison of costs gives: Heating cost,<br />
present practice, and at a rate of from 175 to 325<br />
pounds of coal per ton of metal, 0.39c to 0.72c. Im<br />
IheDlast kirnaccOjreel riant<br />
provement by use of semi-producer recuperative type;<br />
coal rate 108 to 156 pounds per ton of metal at a firing<br />
cost of 0.29c to 0.42c. This improvement will represent<br />
an average reduction in firing cost of 0.20c per<br />
ton heated and a saving of from 25 per cent to 42 per<br />
cent.<br />
While the item of fuel saving is in itself important,<br />
it is the writer's belief that a much greater indirect<br />
saving will come through the more nearly automatic<br />
temperature and atmospheric control, the ease<br />
with which any given condition once established may<br />
be later duplicated, the virtual elimination of all manual<br />
stoking, the reduction in the cost of furnace upkeep,<br />
and the greater satisfaction of the rollers in the<br />
quality of the metal.<br />
China's Second Rolling Mill<br />
(Continued from Page 187)<br />
Tls. 40 per ton. Foundry iron was made, but the bla<br />
furnaces could not compete with the Nanyang Iron<br />
Works and imported material, and the plant did not<br />
operate. The smaller blast furnace operated until<br />
1923, when it stopped, the local market being flooded<br />
with 100,000 tons of pig iron.<br />
The original capital of the company, Tls. 80,000,<br />
was increased in 1918 to Tls.350,000 which was raised<br />
in 1921 to Tls. 1,000,000. Of this to date only 75 per<br />
cent has been paid up, but as the cost of the new plant<br />
is to be Tls. 900,000 the rest of the capital will probably<br />
shortly be called for, and when the plant is paid<br />
for, the firm will have a working capital of Tls. 100,000.<br />
It is hoped that with the experience gained and the<br />
staff built up with this plant, expansion on a larger<br />
scale may be possible later on. The administration of<br />
the plant will be Chinese, but the manager and the assistant<br />
manager will be German. Baron Von Ungern-<br />
Sternberg, now in Shanghai, will be the managing<br />
director.<br />
Changes in Blaw-Knox Organization<br />
Robert T. Harris, who has been located at the New<br />
York office, has been transferred to Baltimore as district<br />
sales manager for all the products of the Blaw-<br />
Knox Company.<br />
Walter H. Duncan, formerly field engineer for<br />
John F. Casey Company, contractors, has joined the<br />
sales staff of the Road Equipment Department of<br />
Blaw-Knox Company.<br />
William F. Glasser, formerly engineer in the Heavy<br />
Forms Department of the Blaw-Knox Company, has<br />
been promoted to Assistant Chief Engineer of the department.<br />
Charles K. Wehn, formerly located at the company's<br />
Chicago office, has been transferred to the<br />
Pittsburgh office, as district manager of the Standard<br />
Steel Building Department at Pittsburgh.<br />
R. D. Spradling, who has been located at the Baltimore<br />
office, has been made district manager of the<br />
Standard Building Department at Chicago.<br />
Dan W. Healy remains at the New York office in<br />
the capacity of district sales manager of the Standard<br />
Building Department in New York,
April, 1924<br />
le Blast ru maco r-^) Stool Plant<br />
E SAFETY CRUSADE<br />
Elimination of Accidents<br />
Safety in Material Handling Mechanically Deserves<br />
Greater Amplification<br />
T H E use of material handling equipment, whether<br />
for packages of definite dimensions or for bulk<br />
products, in its rapid development for industrial<br />
uses, has had behind it, primarily, the thought of cost<br />
reduction in any of the many ways in which it is<br />
achieved.<br />
The warrant for expenditure for improvement;<br />
greater speed in production and movement by fluidity<br />
of operation, and justification for adoption of these<br />
innovations solely on analytical figures, has been the<br />
appeal generally, because of the restrictions of expression<br />
in figures to tangibles, proven or broadly evident.<br />
The final figures of net earnings in a financial report<br />
of anticipated benefits holds the spotlight, but the<br />
elimination of accidents by conveyors strikes a new<br />
note of appeal as strengthening the argument for the<br />
employment of this tremendous innovation, the value<br />
of which is not fully envisioned without consideration<br />
of the human factors involved and the consequent and<br />
inevitable result in losses in dollars.<br />
In the realm of material movement the causes of<br />
accidents are chiefly as tabulated in the following:<br />
Physical fatigue<br />
Mental fatigue<br />
Lack of safety measures<br />
Poor working conditions<br />
Poor lighting conditions<br />
Inexpertness<br />
Ignorance<br />
Carelessness<br />
named generally in order of their importance, the first<br />
five being very tangible and have correctives in the<br />
adoption of equipment and arrangement to minimize<br />
occurrences.<br />
191<br />
Physical fatigue is frequently due to tasks beyond<br />
the capacity of the individual, but when such tasks<br />
are brought within the range of work that can only<br />
be done with human hands, the individual usually is<br />
not overtaxed, and by intelligent direction can be<br />
employed to best advantage.<br />
Mental fatigue follows close on the heels of physical<br />
fatigue as an effect, though inaptitude, unfitness<br />
and unsuitable surroundings and conditions are often<br />
causes. Natural instinctive alertness is reduced by<br />
fatigue with resultant accidents in inverse ratio.<br />
Poor working conditions blanket a broad variety<br />
of conditions, the cataloging of which is unnecessary<br />
here, but are vastly improved by the application of<br />
mechanical movement and general arrangement to<br />
produce the desired results.<br />
Poor lighting conditions are at times really a part<br />
of poor working conditions, though frequently arrangement<br />
is well planned in all respects with exception<br />
of lighting, there being occasions, of course, when<br />
full consideration cannot be given to proper lighting<br />
because of plant conditions.<br />
Lack of safety measures as referring to arrangements<br />
conceived to a partial extent of efficiency, but<br />
lacking the supposedly minor points of safety features,<br />
has a corrective in additions and refinements specifically<br />
applying to local conditions and the completion<br />
of the project in detail, encompassing all possibilities<br />
within the scope of foresight, irrespective of<br />
remoteness or seeming improbability. No scheme is<br />
complete without due regard to all safety precautions.<br />
The foregoing is a brief summary of conditions intended<br />
to be corrected by the proper employment of<br />
conveying equipment.<br />
Courtesy Westinghouse Electric ,t Mfg. C<<br />
Well maintained storage departments. Safety has been zvell considered in the arrangement.
192<br />
Inexpertness can be corrected in a measure by a<br />
curriculum wherein the individual has duties, restricted<br />
in number, or by repetition, sequence, regulation,<br />
or standardization, quickly familiarizes himself<br />
with the task. The same might be said for the factor<br />
of ignorance. Carelessness can be eliminated, partly<br />
by training and partly by repetition, naturally forming<br />
a habit. A routine prescribed by an arrangement<br />
enforcing a methodical procedure, compelling adherence<br />
to a preconceived and exact plan of operation.<br />
The following is a discussion of a few subjects that<br />
come to mind from past experience. At greater length<br />
and with more time for thought on the matter, undoubtedly<br />
many more accident possibilities would develop,<br />
but the few applications described will, I believe,<br />
suggest consideration of material handling, mechanically,<br />
broadly visioned from a new and important<br />
angle.<br />
There are three principal applications: (1) Rawmaterials<br />
transported, (2) in progress through processes<br />
(assemblies), and (3) finished products transported<br />
out (accumulation, crating or boxing, storage,<br />
and shipping, packing.)<br />
1. Primarily with any labor saving device (and<br />
conveyors are of great importance in the realm of<br />
these devices) a stabilized product is maintained with<br />
a less number of individuals or production is increased<br />
without additional labor: in consequence there is a<br />
natural reduction in number of individuals engaged<br />
through employment of conveyors with corresponding<br />
reductions of accidents averaged per individual<br />
with former methods of material handling.<br />
2. Conveyors dictate unit movements with<br />
greater frequency, a continuous stream. There is no<br />
reciprocation of movement as in hand movements by<br />
carry or hand trucks. Where necessary for operators<br />
to remove or load by hand the smaller unit movement<br />
means less weight to manipulate, less chance of falling<br />
articles, less fatigue, less of injury due to strain<br />
or overexertion. The stream movement or flow,<br />
being non-reciprocating, reduces the congestion attendant<br />
in aisles or along docks or platforms where<br />
movement of individuals in counter directions invite<br />
collision. Where conditions permit, transportation is<br />
effected overhead by attaching conveyors to ceilings,<br />
leaving ample headroom with freeway on floor or in<br />
aisles.<br />
3. In process operations, by arrangement of conveyors,<br />
machiner}", benches, tables, etc., in proper relation<br />
to each other, the work to be done by operators<br />
can be developed in a manner to produce the greatest<br />
ease and efficiency, operators frequently being seated<br />
and the work sent in and out of the area automatically,<br />
eliminating fatigue. The conveyor sets a nominal<br />
pace which has been predetermined by test or<br />
time study, the operator is able to concentrate on the<br />
task without distraction by interruption, idle periods<br />
are reduced to minimum, there are seldom any spasmodic<br />
stress periods of overspeeding with consequent<br />
frantic efforts to maintain rates, a "rhythmic order"<br />
in steady pace is produced, resulting in high production<br />
with greatest safety. In movement of raw or finished<br />
products, such as loading in or out of cars or<br />
boats, there are frequent transportation expediencies<br />
requiring abnormal movement in tonnage or number<br />
of units in a period ol time, normally overtaxing entrances,<br />
exits, or aisles with an otherwise increased<br />
number of individuals to handle it. The intelligent<br />
use of conveyors in such instances reduces possibili<br />
Ihp Dlast rumaco^jfeel Plant<br />
April, 1924<br />
ties of accident because operators are required only at<br />
source and terminal points, the necessary increase_ in<br />
number of operators is not increased in the proportion<br />
required bv hand truck movement which involves a<br />
double lane of travel the entire distance from source<br />
to terminal point. This means a natural reduction of<br />
approximately SO per cent in accidents on average.<br />
4. Conveyors make possible arrangements wherein-<br />
the best lighting conditions are obtained, the eyesight<br />
is not overtaxed, mental strain is eliminated, resulting<br />
in a sustained alertness.<br />
5. Automatic conveyor transportation between<br />
floors restricts elevators to legitimate use (that of<br />
handling such material that does not lend itself to<br />
automatic movement) reducing the number of trips<br />
on the part of individuals who would be otherwise required<br />
to accompany quantities of material for loading<br />
or unloading, with consequent reduction in probability<br />
of casualties.<br />
6. Through the employment of overhead conveyor<br />
transportation, there is a minimum of choke<br />
points or areas, with freedom of movement to fire<br />
escapes, and less fire hazards.<br />
7. Conveyors displace unskilled workers, many<br />
of whom are of the foreign element, often illiterate<br />
immigrants, who are generally slow-witted and unresourceful<br />
in danger. This type represents a goodly<br />
portion of casualties in material handling.<br />
8. In the realm of high temperatures, heat<br />
processed parts, hot castings, hot sand, ashes, baking,<br />
canning, ceramics, glass products, etc.. conveyors are<br />
employed, in some cases in a manner to completely<br />
isolate operators from exposure to heat, or to handle<br />
the products while in a state of high temperature, or<br />
until, sufficiently cooled to a safe point of handling.<br />
Other applications enable operators to work at safe<br />
distances during sustained temperatures. "Small<br />
mould" casting in foundries has been developed on<br />
circular conveyors to bring moulds directly under a<br />
fixed pouring position in uniform time elements, preventing<br />
accidental spillage of molten metal.<br />
9. Chemicals, whether transported or used for<br />
immersion, offer opportunities in mechanical handling<br />
advantageously to the exclusion of many mishaps<br />
resulting in human casualties. Dipping tanks<br />
for immersion of parts for cleaning, pickling, or coatings<br />
are served by overhead conveyors to automatically<br />
immerse and remove products without danger<br />
to operators. Conveyors serve filling machines delivering<br />
spillage of any material of dangerous nature.<br />
10. Conveyors make possible the isolation of<br />
operations, such as sandblasting or other work with<br />
abrasives, by enclosure of the area of operation, in<br />
which the operator can be properly equipped for the<br />
work: other workmen on adjacent operations being<br />
protected from flying abrasives. This is accomplished<br />
by placing the enclosure in the conveyor line, products<br />
being delivered into the area and removed automatically.<br />
11. Loading or unloading cargoes of more or less<br />
uniform packages, cases, bags, etc., automatically by<br />
conveyors reduces possibilities of accident, both in<br />
reduction of operators and the danger of falling material<br />
in ship's tackle. In loading in, products are deposited<br />
selectively on any deck, coming over a through<br />
route from any warehouse or process source, or reversed<br />
in loading out. deposition being made in advantageous<br />
position either way. for safe and easy storage.<br />
(Continued on Page 199)
April, 1924<br />
Hie Blast FurnaceSSlc-ol Plant<br />
Weirton's New By-Product Plant<br />
A Further Description of Latest Coke-Oven Development<br />
T H E breaker building houses a 12 ft. by 17 ft.<br />
Bradford breaker, which breaks the coal up to<br />
pass through \y2-'m. diameter perforations, refuse,<br />
slate, bits of iron, etc., being discharged from the end<br />
of the breaker by a chute into a car at the north end<br />
of the building, the conveyor chutes and building are<br />
arranged for extension to accommodate a second<br />
breaker.<br />
Coal after passing through the breakers is conveyed<br />
by a 30-in. belt up a 20 deg. incline to a transfer<br />
tower and" then at right angle for a distance of 85 ft.<br />
over a 30-in. belt to the head house over the coal<br />
bunkers 110 ft. above yard level. The coal bunker<br />
located over the west end of the battery has a capacity<br />
of 1,000 tons and is divided into two sections. Provision<br />
is made for addition of bunkers to hold 3,000<br />
tons of coal to serve an ultimate of three batteries of<br />
ovens and for the installation of a shuttle conveyor<br />
at that time to deliver coal from the head of the conveyor<br />
to any bin.<br />
All conveyors are designed so that 3,000 tons of<br />
coal can be handled in 10 hours by increasing the speed<br />
of the belts.<br />
Coal is drawn from the bunkers through four manually<br />
operated cut-off gates in the bottom of each bin<br />
into a specially designed larry car having four cone<br />
shaped hoppers attached at the top of each hopper.<br />
just beneath the coal gates is an annular ring 3 ft. 0 in.<br />
diameter of adjustable height through which the coal<br />
ui<br />
><br />
i<br />
O<br />
•Chief Engineer. Weirton Steel Company. Weirton. W. Ya.<br />
By C. J. HUNT*<br />
PART II<br />
193<br />
flows into the hopper and into which the coal rises<br />
when the hopper is filled, the height of the coal in<br />
this ring serving to measure the exact volume of coal<br />
in the hopper so that when charged into the oven and<br />
levelled, a predetermined space remains between the<br />
top of the coal and the top of the oven for the rapid<br />
passage of the gases out of the oven chamber. This<br />
measuring also successfully serves the requirements<br />
in place of the usual scales on the larry car.<br />
Coke Handling.<br />
On completion of the coking period which at present<br />
is 11 hours, 46 minutes, the coke is pushed from<br />
the oven by the usual type pusher and levelling machine,<br />
except that on account of the exceptional height<br />
of the oven chambers and consequently the increased<br />
height of the regenerators, the sill line being 14 ft. 3 in.<br />
yard level, a sturdier, heavier machine was designed<br />
due to the height of the run above the rails. The door<br />
extractor for the doors on the pusher side is a part of<br />
the pusher machine.<br />
During the operation of levelling the coal in the<br />
top of the oven, a small amount of coal is withdrawn<br />
by the action of the leveller bar—this coal is caught<br />
and accumulated in a hopper on the pusher machine<br />
and periodically discharged into a hopper beneath yard<br />
level adjacent to the coal bin structure, from which<br />
it is conveyed by apron conveyor under the bench enclosure<br />
to a bucket elevator and elevated to a small<br />
bin at the side of the coal bin from which it is returned<br />
bv the larry car to thp ovens.<br />
General plan of the complete coke plant, shozving the ideal location between main-line railroad on the right and the Ohio<br />
River on the left.
194<br />
Die Blast h.<br />
A new heavier type door extractor was designed<br />
by the Koppers Companv for handling the doors on<br />
the coke side of the battery ; the door lifting levers,<br />
door pulling mechanism and travel along the bench<br />
are all motor operated. This machine propels and<br />
spots the coke guide in position ready for pushing.<br />
There are two quenching cars, one being a spare, of<br />
the usual type lined with cast iron plates and having<br />
discharge doors operated by air cylinders controlled<br />
from the cab of the 20-ton electric quenching locomotive.<br />
The quenching station located at the stack end of<br />
the battery consists of a rectangular brick structure 17<br />
ft. 0 in. wide, 50 ft. 0 in. long and 48 ft. high open at<br />
the top the area being sufficient to entirely enclose<br />
the quenching car. Ample arches at each end allow<br />
the car and locomotive to be taken through for repair<br />
or replacement and for a standard locomotive or locomotive<br />
crane to run in on the. quencher track for<br />
emergency purposes.<br />
Water for quenching flows by gravity, from a 12,-<br />
000 gallon tank elevated on a steel structure located<br />
alongside into sprinkler pipes supported and located<br />
over the car so as to quickly and uniformly quench the<br />
hot coke, requiring about 40 seconds.<br />
The water from the quenching car flows to a settling<br />
basin which collects small coke washed into it,<br />
the water flowing under baffles and through a screen<br />
into a clear well, from which it is raised by a 25,000<br />
/»<br />
rnaco - Stool Plant<br />
April, 1924<br />
gallon per hour centrifugal pump against 70 ft. head,<br />
into the quenching tank. The motor is float, controlled<br />
from the water level in the tank, the water lost by<br />
evaporation amounting to about 15 per cent is admitted<br />
by a flat controlled valve into the clear well<br />
from the service water line. The feed line to the<br />
sprays is 12 in. with a quick opening valve arranged<br />
to be operated from the quenching locomotive cab.<br />
•**<br />
To avoid excessive moisture in the coke after<br />
quenching has been completed, a 12-in. drain valve in<br />
the feed line to the sprinklers is automatically opened<br />
on closure of the service valve, which quickly discharges<br />
all water remaining in the lines and sprinkler<br />
pipes back into the clear well, so that there is no after<br />
drip from the sprinklers to be absorbed by the coke,<br />
allowing the car to remain in the quenching station<br />
until drainage from the coke is completed.<br />
After quenching the coke is discharged onto a coke<br />
wharf 84 ft. 5 in. long, inclined at an angle of 26 deg.<br />
to the horizontal and covered with special cast iron<br />
wearing plates. These plates are laid with their edges<br />
flush instead of overlapping to minimize coke breakage<br />
and for the same reason the usual type of rotary<br />
feeders are omitted, the coke after being spot<br />
quenched, where any fire remains, and cooled is discharged<br />
direct onto the coke conveyor belt, the flow<br />
from the wharf being regulated by cut-off gates composed<br />
of %-in. square finger bars with handles extend-<br />
General -.'iezv oj plant from by-product side, shozving benzol plant at the
April, 1924<br />
ed within reach from the operator's platform along the<br />
length of the coke wharf.<br />
Coke Screening Station.<br />
The wharf conveyor belt 36 in. wide and 97 ft. 3 in.<br />
long center to center of pulleys, discharges onto a 30in.<br />
inclined conveyor 237 ft. centers, which delivers the<br />
coke onto a 4-ft. wide revolving grizzly screen with<br />
11 in. diameter discs spaced to give an average of<br />
1}4 ' n - opening,s the furnace coke which passes over<br />
the grizzly screen is delivered by a curved chute at an<br />
angle of 49 deg. onto a 36-in. boom conveyor 96 ft.<br />
centers, a portion of this conveyor 57 ft. long is carried<br />
on a boom structure hinged at one end and raised<br />
or lowered at the delivery end by a 3-ton electric<br />
hoist, the weight being partially balanced by counterweights<br />
attached to wire cable passing over sheaves<br />
and fastening to a structural bail at the boom end, this<br />
permits the discharge end of the boom to be lowered<br />
into the cars so the coke may be loaded without excessive<br />
dropping and breakage ; a motor driven drum<br />
type car haul moves the cars forward as the loading<br />
progresses.<br />
The small coke passing through the rotary grizzly<br />
travels over a high speed balanced shaking screen,<br />
having a screening surface 4 ft. by 6 ft. with Y\<br />
round openings. The breeze passes through this<br />
screen and is delivered bv a chute to cars on a track<br />
DIP Blast F,<br />
urnaco ^Sfeel PU<br />
>y-product building at the right, with coal handling equipment and batterx beyond.<br />
195<br />
underneath the screening station paralleling the furnace<br />
coke track.<br />
The coke passing over the shaking screen falls into<br />
an 18-in. conveyor belt and is discharged into a chute<br />
arranged to deliver it onto the boom conveyor belt for<br />
mixing with the furnace coke or as nut coke to cars<br />
on a track alongside the screening station.<br />
The screening equipment and also the head drive<br />
for the inclined coke conveyor is housed in a building<br />
34 ft. wide by 30 ft. long with an extension 17 ft. wide<br />
by 87 ft. 6 in. long over the furnace coke track and<br />
loading boom, at the far end of which is located the<br />
motor driven car haul, the control for the conveyors,<br />
loading boom hoist and car haul are all centralized<br />
over the loading point of the cars under the attention<br />
of one operator.<br />
For both the coal and coke handling plants all conveyors<br />
below yard level are carried on reinforced concrete<br />
beams and slab construction with reinforced concrete<br />
posts and above yard level by steel galleries<br />
roofed and sheeted with corrugated galvanized steel,<br />
the decking under the conveyors being steel plates and<br />
the floor alongside the conveyors on both sides being<br />
made of reinforced concrete slab construction; all<br />
chutes and hoppers subject to excessive wear are composed<br />
of or lined with hard cast iron plates or manganese<br />
steel.<br />
All troughing and return idlers for belt conveyors
196<br />
are equipped with roller bearings designed for grease<br />
lubrication which has to be replenished only once<br />
every four to six months, thereby dispensing with<br />
labor for oiling. All conveyor head drives are of heavy<br />
design with gearing enclosed in oil tight cast gear<br />
cases, high speed bearings ring oiled, with flexible<br />
couplings connecting motor armature shafts to the<br />
pinion shafts and with alignment couplings between<br />
the gear drive and the driven element.<br />
The control for the various conveyor drives is<br />
electrically interlocked to start in sequence which will<br />
prevent overloading or spillage at any one point by<br />
starting the succeeding conveyor first and all conveyors<br />
of a system can be stopped simultaneously from<br />
push-button stations.<br />
By-Product Plant.<br />
The by-product department is laid out parallel<br />
with the battery along the south side of the plant, the<br />
benzol department being located west of the by-product<br />
buildings adjacent to the river bank. All buildings<br />
and equipment have been constructed so that<br />
extensions can be made and apparatus added to handle<br />
gas from additional batteries of ovens when constructed<br />
without delay to existing operations. The present<br />
equipment being designed for a capacity of 570,000<br />
cu. ft. of gas per hour and at the benzol plant for the<br />
conversion of 200 to 230 gallons of light oil per hour<br />
into pure products.<br />
All buildings are of steel frame and buff brick construction<br />
with steel window sash and steel doors, with<br />
smooth finished concrete or asphalt platform and<br />
floors.<br />
The by-product building is 133 feet long by 59 feet<br />
wide, 32 feet high to bottom chord of roof truss, 40<br />
feet of the west end being separated off by a brick<br />
partition providing storage for ammonium sulphate.<br />
One of the novel features of the layout is the location<br />
of all by-product department pumps, service water<br />
pumps and air .compressors in a room undernearth the<br />
primary coolers 42 ft. 6 in. long, 19 ft. 0 in. wide and<br />
9 ft. 6 in. high, the walls and roof of which are extra<br />
heavy and constructed of reinforced concrete with<br />
reinforced beam construction and pilasters under each<br />
cooler, this location of pumps being done to facilitate<br />
ease of extension to both ends of the by-product<br />
building for the addition of apparatus on the east end<br />
and additional sulphate storage on the west end; this<br />
arrangement also has the advantage of simplifying<br />
and shortening the pipe lines to and from the pumps.<br />
Gas from the collecting main at the ovens is drawn<br />
through the suction main into a 36-in. downcomer,<br />
connecting with the inlet header at the primary coolers.<br />
There are three primary coolers of the tubular<br />
type, two operating in parallel and one as a spare in<br />
which the gas is cooled by contact with the watercooled<br />
tubes from 185 deg. to 70 deg. F. Taylor temperature<br />
controlled diaphram motor valves maintain<br />
a necessary uniform temperature of the gas leaving<br />
the coolers, by controlling the amount of water flowing<br />
through the coolers.<br />
About 90 per cent of the tar is condensed out of<br />
the gas by spraying with cool liquor in the collecting<br />
main and in passage to the coolers, while the lighter<br />
tar and water vapors are condensed in the primary<br />
coolers, this water carries with it about 20 per cent<br />
of the ammonia in the gas forming what is termed<br />
ammonia liquor, the tar and ammonia liquor flowing<br />
IhpDIast nirnacc^yjtcol Plant<br />
April, 1924<br />
into a 20,000 gallon hot drain tank located north of the<br />
primary coolers.<br />
There are provided two centrifugal motor driven<br />
tar flushing pumps, one held in reserve, located in the<br />
pump house having a capacity of 670 gpm., each at<br />
125 ft. head. These pumps circulate tar and ammonia<br />
liquor from the hot drain tank to the sprays in the<br />
collecting main, this circulating liquor return to the<br />
hot drain tank, the amount condened out of the gas<br />
in the mains, which together with the tar and liquor<br />
from the primary coolers and tar extractors is pumped<br />
by either of two motor driven centrifugal ammonia<br />
liquor pumps of 100 gpm. capacity at 75 ft. head, to a<br />
separating tank of 45,000 gallons, east of the by-product<br />
building, where the tar is separated from the ammonia<br />
liquor by difference of specific gravity, the ammonia<br />
liquor flowing to the weak liquor storage tank,<br />
having a capacity of 70,000 gallons, for further treatment<br />
and the tar into a 300.000 gallon storage tank<br />
from which it is loaded into tank cars for shipment or<br />
for use as fuel at the steel plant.<br />
It may be noted that the hot drain tank is located<br />
above yard level with steel platforms level with the<br />
top around the pitch traps and strainers, so it can<br />
easily be kept clean, instead of a pit below yard level,<br />
thus eliminating one of the unsightly places around<br />
the coke plant and allowing the tar flushing pumps to<br />
operate with suction head and be located above floor<br />
level in the pump house, which is only 18 in. below<br />
yard level. Therefore to receive the drain from the<br />
tar extractors, reheaters and exhausters which are at<br />
floor level in the by-product room and also the overflow<br />
from the tar and ammonia tanks, etc., a 3000<br />
gallon concrete condensate drain tank is provided<br />
below yard level with two 6 x 5% x 6 in. horizontal<br />
double acting steam pumps, one being a spare, controlled<br />
by a float in the condensate tank for transferring<br />
the tar, etc., to the hot drain tank.<br />
All pipes for tar and ammonia liquor are laid in<br />
covered concrete trenches which also drain to the<br />
condensate drain tank, thus returning leakage or spillage<br />
from pipes or apparatus.<br />
There are two lines of apparatus in the by-product<br />
room, one of which has sufficient capacity to handle<br />
all of the gas, the other held in reserve. The exhausters<br />
are of the positive type, having a capacity<br />
of 11,700 cu. ft. per minute at inlet temperature of<br />
1100 deg. F., designed for a suction of 10 in. of water<br />
and a discharge pressure of 2 l /2 to 3 l /2 pounds. They<br />
are driven by 16 in. x 22 in., four valve, non-releasing<br />
Corliss engines, 135 to 175 rpm., designed to operate<br />
against 15 lb. back pressure or atmospheric exhaust.<br />
The gas is drawn from the ovens through the<br />
mains and coolers by the exhauster and then driven<br />
through rigid three bell type tar extractor where any<br />
tar remaining in the gas is taken out, and then on<br />
through the by-product apparatus with sufficient pressure<br />
to deliver it back to the gas holder and to the<br />
ovens at the required pressure.<br />
From the tar extractor the gas passes through a<br />
reheater and is preheated by contact with the steam<br />
heated tubes to a temperature of approximately 140<br />
deg. F., the gas then enters a 10-ft. diameter" lead<br />
lined saturator and bubbles up through a 5 per cent<br />
solution of sulphuric acid, the ammonia in the gas<br />
uniting with the acid and precipatating to the bottom<br />
of the saturator which has the shape of an inverted
April, 1924<br />
cone from which it is lifted by an air injector onto a<br />
lead lined drain table and acid draining back into the<br />
saturator.<br />
The sludge of salt crystals and acid are then<br />
whirled in a perforated cylindrical dryer forcing out<br />
the remaining acid which flows back into the saturator.<br />
After being washed with a small quantity of hot<br />
water and whirled until dry, the white soft crystals<br />
are scraped from the cylinder by mechanical salt cutters<br />
into buggies below the platform on which the<br />
drain table and dryers are located, ready for storage<br />
or shipment.<br />
The weak ammonia liquor is delivered from the<br />
storage tank by one of two motor driven centrifugal<br />
pumps, having a capacity of 100 gpm. to the ammonia<br />
still where it is mixed with milk of lime and heated<br />
by steam driving off the ammonia as a gas which is<br />
piped into the gas main just before it enters the saturator<br />
and converted into ammonium sulphate.<br />
From the by-product building, the gas is piped into<br />
the benzol washers, first passing through the final<br />
cooler of the hurdle type, 8 ft. in diameter by 70 ft.<br />
high, sprayed with water which cools the gas from 120<br />
deg. to 80 deg. F. and removes the naphthalene, of<br />
which very little is encountered with narrow ovens<br />
and rapid coking. In order to maintain the gas at a<br />
constant temperature, a Taylor controlled valve admits<br />
the proper amount of cooling water through the<br />
inlet line. The gas then passes in series through the<br />
two washers which are 10 feet in diameter by 100 feet<br />
high, containing wooden hurdles for about 85 feet<br />
of their height, as the gas flows upward through the<br />
hurdles, composed of wooden slats set on edge, a<br />
petroleum wash oil is sprayed in at the top cf the<br />
washer running over the entire area and surface of the<br />
hurdles from top to bottom, thus the gas is thoroughly<br />
broken up and brought in contact with the wash oil<br />
which absorbs all the benzol vapors from the gas, the<br />
usual practice being to keep the amount of benzol<br />
absorbed between 2y2 and 3 per cent of the wash oil.<br />
The gas then freed from all by-products flows to<br />
the gas holder, less than 35 per cent being required for<br />
heating the ovens, the remaining amount of 65 per<br />
cent is available as surplus gas which is delivered at<br />
5 lb. pressure to a system of mains supplying gas to<br />
the mills, by a positive type rotary gas booster located<br />
in the by-product room, having a capacity of 6200 cu.<br />
ft. per minute under inlet conditions of 80 deg. F. The<br />
booster is driven by a non-releasing Corliss valve engine,<br />
duplicate of the engines driving the exhausters.<br />
One of the exhausters is also connected with the mill<br />
line to serve as a spare for the booster.<br />
The wash oil enriched with the benzol and its<br />
homologues is pumped to the wash oil still at the<br />
benzol plant, first passing through the vapor to oil<br />
heat exchanger where it is heated by benzol vapors<br />
and steam from the wash oil still, then to the oil to<br />
oil heat exchanger receiving heat from the hot debenzolized<br />
wash oil leaving the still. It is then further<br />
heated to the required temperature of about 300 deg.<br />
F. in two final heaters and enters the wash oil still, 7<br />
ft. in diameter containing 27 trays, in which the heated<br />
oil flows down through the still while steam admitted<br />
at the bottom travels upward distilling out the benzol<br />
vapors. These benzol and water vapois are partially<br />
condensed in the upper part of the still and then further<br />
condensed in the vapor to oil heat exchanger by<br />
Ihe Dlast nimaco^jfeol Plant<br />
197<br />
indirect contact with the incoming cold enriched wash<br />
oil. The final condensation and cooling is accomplished<br />
in a water cooled condenser or light oil cooler<br />
3 ft. 6 in. diameter by 24 ft. 0 in. high—the benzol condensate,<br />
termed light oil, is separated from water in<br />
the condensate in the light oil separator, 3 ft. 0 in.<br />
diameter by 11 ft. 0 in. high, and flows to a 20,000 gallon<br />
light oil storage tank.<br />
The wash oil after leaving the oil to oil heat exchanger<br />
is finally cooled by the wash oil cooler, consisting<br />
of 10 banks of pipe cooled by water flowing<br />
over them, and then pumped again to the benzol<br />
washer completing a continuous cycle of circulation.<br />
There are five wash oil circulating pumps of the positive<br />
cycloidal type all iron fitted, each having a capacity<br />
of 7,500 gallons per hour, individually driven<br />
by 7x6 vertical engines at 350 to 450 rpm., one serving<br />
as a spare, located in a leanto of the benzol building.<br />
The heat exchangers of this system effect a great<br />
saving both in steam necessary for distilling off the<br />
light oil and also in water required for cooling the<br />
wash oil.<br />
The benzol building is 31 ft. 0 in. long and 51 ft.<br />
0 in. wide and 42 ft. 0 in. high to the bottom chord of<br />
the roof, with a pump room leanto 15 ft. 0 in. wide by<br />
31 ft. 0 in. long, and is designed for extension for additional<br />
equipment in the future. In addition to the<br />
light oil apparatus, the building contains a crude still<br />
and a pure still, the still tanks being 9 ft. 0 in. diameter<br />
by 13 ft. 9 in. long, each with a working capacity<br />
of 7000 gallons.<br />
Light oil which shows a distillation test of 93 per<br />
cent at 200 deg. C, is washed by mechanically mixing<br />
with 66 deg. Baume sulphuric acid in a 4500 gallon<br />
agitator to remove impurities, principally olefines and<br />
phenoloides and then agitated with caustic soda solution<br />
to neutralize the acid. The purified light oil is<br />
then charged in the crude still and about 92 per cent<br />
of the benzol and its homologues distilled off by the<br />
application of steam in heating coils in the still tank,<br />
leaving a residue of naphthalene and wash oil. Two<br />
cooling pans, 6 ft. 0 in. wide, 16 ft. 6 in. long and 2 ft.<br />
0 in. deep receive the residue and serve to crystallize<br />
out the naphthalene, the wash oil being returned to the<br />
wash oil system. The benzol vapors from the still are<br />
condensed and cooled by tubular condensers and<br />
cooled by tubular condensers and coolers, three fractions<br />
are made—crude benzol, crude toluol and crude<br />
solvent naphtha.<br />
These crude products are then separately redistilled<br />
in the pure still without further treatment, the vapors<br />
condensed and cooled making nitration benzol, nitration<br />
toluol and nitration zylol—all of these products<br />
as finished being absolutely non-corrosive to copper<br />
and silver.<br />
A small amount of intermediates remaining in the<br />
still fulfill the specifications as 90 per cent benzol.<br />
Steam for the operation of the plant is furnished<br />
from the main boiler plant of the Tin Plate Department,<br />
where sufficient generating capacity was available<br />
without additions, and is conveyed to the benzol<br />
and by-product plants by a 6 in. overhead line. The<br />
exhauster and booster engines, all steam engines and<br />
pumps exhaust into a common exhaust line 8 in. diameter,<br />
connecting the by-product and benzol plants,<br />
furnishing sufficient exhaust steam for the require-
198<br />
ments of the reheater and lime still in the by-product<br />
plant, and for the wash oil still at the benzol plant.<br />
Provisions are made for returning the excess exhaust<br />
steam to the tin mill power station nearby for<br />
heating boiler feed water.<br />
The coke plant receives water from the; large<br />
service main from the river pump house 88 ft. below<br />
the plant level, which parallels the south side of the<br />
plant. Two motor driven centrifugal pumps—one being<br />
in reserve, located in the by-product pump room,<br />
having a capacity of 2000 gallons per minute, boost<br />
this water from 40 ft. to 125 ft. total head for the general<br />
purposes of the plant.<br />
Electric current is supplied from the main plant<br />
transmission system to a substation at the coke plant<br />
at 6600 volts, 60 cycle and stepped down by three 333<br />
kva. transformers furnishing current at 550 volts for<br />
all coal and coke handling and pump motors, also for<br />
two 150 kw. direct current motor generators, furnishing<br />
power to the oven machinery.<br />
All main transmission lines from the substation to<br />
the points of distribution are laid in underground conduits<br />
encased in concrete; all exposed lines are laid in<br />
pipe conduits and the motors are totally enclosed to<br />
exclude all dust; the substation is of brick and concrete<br />
construction, 34 ft. wide by 45 ft. long, housing<br />
the high tension transformers, lightning arrestors, 23,-<br />
000 volt oil circuit breakers mounted in brick cell<br />
Application<br />
Pusher Machine Pusher Ram 1 Westg.<br />
Pusher Machine Leveler Bar 1<br />
Pusher Machine Bridge 1<br />
Pusher Machine Door Ram 1<br />
Larry Car Drive 1<br />
Larry Car Swab Crane 1<br />
Door Machine Bridge 1<br />
Door Machine Door Ram 1<br />
Door Machine Door Hook 1<br />
Reversing Machine 1<br />
Coal Spillage Elevators 1<br />
Coal Spillage Feeder 1<br />
Quenching Locomotive Drive 2<br />
Quenching Locomotive Air Compressor. 1 GE<br />
550 1<br />
Clay Mixer 1 GE<br />
Lime Mixer 1<br />
Limewater Pumps 2<br />
Quenching Pump 1<br />
Ammonia and Hot Drain Pumps 3<br />
Tar Flushing Pumps 2<br />
Coke Conveyor No. 1 1<br />
Coke Conveyor No. 2 1<br />
Coke Conveyor No. 3 1<br />
Coke Conveyor No. 4 1<br />
Coke Wharf Sump Pump 1<br />
Boom Conveyor Hoist 1<br />
Coal Duplex Feeder 1<br />
Coal Conveyor A 1<br />
Coal Conveyor B 1<br />
Coal Conveyor C 1<br />
Coal Conveyor D<br />
Coal Bradford Breaker 1<br />
Air Compressors 2<br />
Water Booster Pumps 2<br />
Perfex Screen 1<br />
Portable Conveyor (BP Bldg.) 1<br />
Sample Room Laboratory 1<br />
Car Haul 1 Et. Wayne<br />
Die Blast FurnacoSSteel Plan,<br />
MOTOR APPLICATION AT COKE PLANT<br />
No.<br />
Motors Make H.p. Type<br />
April, 1924<br />
structures, the two motor generator sets and the main<br />
control and distributing switchboard.<br />
The adoption of 550 volt power for all alternating<br />
current motor drives simplified the installation and<br />
effected marked savings in the initial cost and has<br />
proven entirely satisfactory in operation.<br />
The surplus gas is used at the tin mills for all annealing,<br />
for the annealing furnaces and galvanizing<br />
pots at the sheet mill and for part of the annealing<br />
furnaces at the strip mills. A gas main also connects<br />
with the open hearth plant, gas being used for heating<br />
the mixer and for drying the ladles and steel runners.<br />
All open hearth furnaces are piped for gas and tar<br />
burning so that any surplus not required at the other<br />
plants and at week ends when they are not operating,<br />
can be used in the open hearth furnaces, eliminating<br />
all bleeding of gas. The total surplus gas is metered<br />
at the coke plant and also to each department using<br />
it. Regulating valves at each department maintain<br />
the pressure required at each plant. The gas as applied<br />
has replaced producer gas or coal firing and has<br />
substantially increased the efficiency and reduced<br />
costs at these departments.<br />
The plant was built in remarkably short time. Construction<br />
work was started November 1, 1922, and despite<br />
the bad weather and delays during the winter<br />
The following is a list of the principal motor applications<br />
at the plant:<br />
0 Volt D. C. Equipment<br />
60<br />
30<br />
30<br />
6<br />
30<br />
2'4<br />
12<br />
6<br />
2'4<br />
7V2<br />
IV,<br />
3*S<br />
50<br />
30<br />
MCA<br />
"<br />
MCB<br />
MCA<br />
MCB<br />
K<br />
MCB<br />
MCA<br />
K<br />
MCA<br />
SK<br />
SK<br />
HM<br />
CP- 26<br />
Frame<br />
No.<br />
70<br />
50<br />
50<br />
20<br />
50<br />
1<br />
30<br />
20<br />
1<br />
20<br />
50<br />
50<br />
827<br />
B-3<br />
, 3 Phi ise, 60 Cycle Equi pment<br />
25<br />
5<br />
7V?.<br />
15<br />
7 V,<br />
40<br />
5<br />
2a<br />
5<br />
5<br />
UA<br />
r<br />
10<br />
10<br />
20<br />
25<br />
15<br />
75<br />
50<br />
75<br />
5<br />
5<br />
5<br />
75<br />
KT<br />
KT<br />
KT<br />
KT<br />
KT<br />
KT<br />
KT<br />
KT<br />
KT<br />
KT<br />
KT<br />
KTC<br />
KT<br />
KT<br />
KT<br />
KT<br />
KT<br />
I<br />
KT<br />
KT<br />
KT<br />
KT<br />
KT<br />
M<br />
346<br />
302<br />
750<br />
753<br />
750<br />
327<br />
302<br />
342<br />
302<br />
302<br />
160<br />
5150<br />
312<br />
322-<br />
336<br />
332-<br />
322<br />
14<br />
336<br />
343<br />
302<br />
160<br />
732<br />
10<br />
Rpm.<br />
475<br />
525<br />
525<br />
700<br />
525<br />
835<br />
700<br />
700<br />
835<br />
625-850<br />
950<br />
950<br />
875<br />
875<br />
1750<br />
18C0<br />
1750<br />
1750<br />
875<br />
860<br />
875<br />
875<br />
1150<br />
1200<br />
865<br />
690<br />
690<br />
855<br />
875<br />
575<br />
1155<br />
1150<br />
875<br />
1750<br />
1155<br />
720<br />
Control<br />
Type<br />
Semi. Mag.<br />
Plugging<br />
Drum<br />
"<br />
"<br />
"<br />
"<br />
"<br />
"<br />
"<br />
Magnetic<br />
"<br />
Drum<br />
Magnetic<br />
Magnetic<br />
Manual<br />
"<br />
Magnetic<br />
Manual<br />
"<br />
Magnetic<br />
"<br />
II<br />
"<br />
Manual<br />
Magnetic<br />
"<br />
"<br />
"<br />
"<br />
"<br />
Manual<br />
Magnetic<br />
Manual<br />
"<br />
Magnetic<br />
Control<br />
Make<br />
Cutler-Hammer<br />
"<br />
H<br />
II<br />
n<br />
"<br />
II<br />
II<br />
II<br />
II<br />
General Elec.<br />
"<br />
"<br />
"<br />
Cutler-Hammer<br />
"<br />
General Elec.<br />
Cutler-Hammer<br />
General Elec.<br />
"<br />
E. C.&M.Co.<br />
ii<br />
II<br />
"<br />
General Elec.<br />
Sprague Elec.<br />
Cutler-Hammer<br />
n<br />
n<br />
n<br />
n<br />
"<br />
General Elec.<br />
Cutler-Hammer<br />
E. C. & M. Co.<br />
Sq. D Switch<br />
General Elec.<br />
Cutler-Hammer
A pril 1924 The Blast F urnaco r^) SU Plant<br />
months, the plant was ready for operation July 1,<br />
1923, in accordance with the original date set for completion—just<br />
eight months after the beginning of<br />
construction.<br />
The plant equipment was designed and constructed<br />
by the Koppers Company in collaboration with the<br />
engineers of the Weirton Steel Company.<br />
The ovens were brought up to heat and first coke<br />
pushed July 7th as before stated, and the ovens have<br />
operated continuously on 11 hours and 26 minutes coking<br />
time, carbonizing 1060 tons of coal per day or 29<br />
tons per oven per day without any leaks developing<br />
in the brickwork or overheating in any portion of the<br />
battery and establishing a new record for short coking<br />
time and production of blast furnace coke from a<br />
like number of ovens.<br />
All coke from the plant has been used at the blast<br />
furnace and only the coke which passes over the \ l /$in.<br />
rotary grizzly screen is classed as furnace coke and<br />
sent to the furnace, the coke passing through the<br />
screen being separated, the nut coke being sold as<br />
domestic coke on the market and the breeze used at<br />
the soaking pits and burned under boilers.<br />
The following average results of operations in December<br />
will give a good idea of what has been accomplished<br />
:<br />
Gross coking time 11 hrs. 46 min.<br />
Net coking time 11 hrs. 26 min.<br />
Coal per oven per day 28.7 tons<br />
Furnace coke per day over lJ4-in. revolving<br />
grizzly 661.0 "<br />
Total coke yield—per ton of coal 75.75%<br />
Furnace coke yield— 63.07%<br />
Domestic coke yield— " 6.98%<br />
Breeze— " 5.70%<br />
Total gas yield— " 11,360 cu. ft.<br />
Tar yield— . " 12.37 gals.<br />
Sulphate yield— 25.21 lbs.<br />
Light oil yield— 4.03 gals.<br />
Average Analysis of Coal<br />
Moisture 2.75%<br />
Ash 9.25<br />
Sulphur 1.01<br />
Volatile matter 33.60<br />
Fixed Carbon 57.17<br />
Average Analysis of Coke<br />
Moisture 1.11%<br />
Ash 11.79<br />
Sulphur 0.72<br />
Volatile Matter 0.67<br />
Fixed Carbon 87.85<br />
The following are the average results for the first<br />
21 days of January, 1924:<br />
Gross coking time 11 hrs. 46 min.<br />
Net coking time 11 hrs._ 26 jnin.<br />
Total coke yield—per ton of coal<br />
75.49%<br />
Furnace coke yield—<br />
63.24%<br />
Domestic—<br />
6.33%<br />
Breeze—<br />
5.92%<br />
Total gas yield—<br />
11,790 cu. ft.<br />
Tar yield—<br />
13.13 gals.<br />
Sulphate yield—<br />
25.50 lbs.<br />
Light oil yield—<br />
4.10 gals.<br />
Surplus gas<br />
63%<br />
The debenzolized gas has an average Btu. of 590.<br />
The tar is of low specific gravity, rich in cresote<br />
and anthracene oil, high in tar acid approaching tar<br />
produced by low temperature coking processes and<br />
is in demand for creosoting and wood preserving purposes.<br />
The sulphate is of good standard grade with large<br />
pure white crystals. The benzol plant was originally<br />
intended for the production of motor benzol, however,<br />
additional tanks have been added and changes made<br />
so that all of the product is now being made into nitration<br />
benzol, nitration toluol and zylol.<br />
199<br />
The plant has exceeded the guarantees and yields<br />
expected prior to its building. It was built to supply<br />
coke to the blast furnace to yield results equal to or<br />
better than obtained from beehive coke from coal<br />
from the mines of the company, and while the blast<br />
furnace and coke plant departments have had a relatively<br />
short time in which to co-ordinate their practices,<br />
the results so far have proven that a good coke<br />
can be made from the Klondike basin coal and that<br />
blast furnace results may be expected from this coke<br />
which will eliminate the necessity for using low volatile<br />
coal.<br />
The following results from the blast furnace, which<br />
is lined for 600 tons, in August on straight ore and in<br />
December with scrap added to increase the hot metal<br />
production, will give an idea of the performances obtained<br />
with the use of this coke.<br />
August December<br />
Average day — tons 610.8 757.8<br />
Average on ore only — tons 610.8 626.6<br />
Lbs. coke per ton iron—lbs. on straight<br />
ore basis 2,078 1667-2001<br />
Lbs. stone per ton iron 700 583<br />
Lbs. ore per ton iron 3,880 3,015<br />
Lbs. sinter per ton iron 486 369<br />
Lbs. turnings None 441<br />
Per cent Mesaba ore used 76.0 91.5<br />
Cubic ft. wind blown 43,290 43,875<br />
Hot blast pressure 18.5 19.25<br />
Hot blast temperature — deg 1,005 979<br />
Top temperature — deg 355 326<br />
Average Iron Analysis:<br />
Silicon 1.34 1.20<br />
Sulphur .034 .038<br />
Phos .369 .284<br />
Manganese 2.12 1.73<br />
Coke used—By-product from 100% High<br />
Volatile Coal:<br />
Per cent BP 81.9 100<br />
Per cent Revere 9.6<br />
Per cent Stock 8.5<br />
In October the open hearth plant made what is<br />
probably a world's record tonnage for a seven-furnace<br />
plant, producing 50,431 tons of ingots, using 38 per<br />
cent hot metal from the blast furnace and the balance<br />
light sheet scrap and crops from the blooming mill and<br />
finishing mills.<br />
Elimination of Accidents<br />
(Continued from Page 192)<br />
12. In the manufacture of cartridges, conveyors<br />
play a big part in safely handling material in various<br />
processes in sequence, through packing, storage, and<br />
shipping entirely without a shock.<br />
13. Pneumatic tube conveyors have a splendid<br />
application in the transportation of high explosives in<br />
small and isolated but frequent quantities, providing<br />
the minimum of risk by eliminating all local storage.<br />
14. Pneumatic tube conveyors have advantages<br />
of safety in transmission of inter-departmental matter<br />
through factory departments<br />
15. Pneumatic tube conveyors have been employed<br />
for the transmission of papers in railway yards.<br />
16. Or, transgressing the subject of accidents,<br />
conveyors perform an additional office in safeguarding<br />
health.<br />
17. Material handling mechanically and automatically<br />
has been in practice for a great many years,<br />
but regulated chiefly to bulk products and to some extent<br />
in uniform packages.
200<br />
Tho Blast FurnaceS Steel Plant<br />
Heat Balance of Bureau of Mines<br />
Experimental Blast Furnace 1<br />
Although Small Furnace Operation Shows High Radiation<br />
Losses, Comparisons Are of Great Value<br />
T H L writers have recently published data r ' taken<br />
during the operation of an experimental blastfurnace<br />
carried out by the Bureau of Mines and<br />
the University of Minnesota. According to the furnace<br />
lines shown in the January issue of this journal",<br />
the hearth diameter of the Minneapolis furnace is 20<br />
in. and its active height 16 ft. 5 in. (tuyere plane to<br />
stock-line). Metallurgists have generally considered<br />
that a furnace as small as this will not operate. The<br />
difficulty in carrying out small-scale experiments of<br />
this nature has seemed to many furnace men to lie in<br />
the impossibility of attaining a sufficiently high hearth<br />
temperature. During the operation of the Bureau's<br />
experimental furnace the temperature of the furnace<br />
hearth was measured by means of a disappearing filament<br />
pyrometer. This information has been published<br />
7 , and temperature measurements of a similar<br />
nature previously taken by the Bureau and by others<br />
were given for comparison. A study of these readings<br />
indicates that the hearth temperatures in a 500-ton<br />
furnace are not materially higher than those observed<br />
in the experimental furnace.<br />
It is, nevertheless, possible to contend, as many<br />
do, that the results of the Bureau's experiments are<br />
inapplicable to large-scale practice, and logically to<br />
base this opinion on the number of heat units produced<br />
and consumed in the two types of furnaces. The<br />
heat lost through the furnace walls is a quantity generally<br />
conceded to be of rninor importance in industrial<br />
practice. It is conceivable, and even probable,<br />
that this quantity may be excessively great in the case<br />
of a furnace producing only 2 l /2 tons of iron per day.<br />
A small furnace must operate necessarily under the<br />
handicap of a large surface per unit of furnace volume.<br />
It will therefore sustain proportionately a greater loss<br />
of heat through its walls than the large scale furnace<br />
will. This loss of heat must be compensated<br />
for by high-blast heats, by higher coke consumption,<br />
By P. H. ROYSTER', T. L. JOSEPH' and S. P. KINNEY'<br />
'Published by permission of the Director, U. S. Bureau of<br />
Mines.<br />
J<br />
Asst. Metallurgist, North Central Experiment Station, Minneapolis,<br />
Minn.<br />
'Assoc. Metallurgist, North Central Experiment Station, Minneapolis,<br />
Minn.<br />
'Asst. Met. Chemist, North Central Experiment Station, Minneapolis,<br />
Minn.<br />
'Progress in Blast-Furnace Research. Reports of Investigations,<br />
Serial No. 2524, Bureau of Mines, Sept., 1923, 6 pp. ;<br />
Shillings Mining Reviezv, Oct. 20, 1923, p. 6; Engineering (London)<br />
Vol. 117, 3021, No. 23, 1923, pp. 667-8. The Minim, Reviezv<br />
(London) Dec. 15, 1923, pp. 966-7; quoted by J. A. Mohr, Blast<br />
Furnace and Steel Plant, Vol 12, Jan. 1924, p. 10. Reduction of<br />
Iron Ore In the Blast Furnace, Blast Furnace and Steel Plant,<br />
vol. 12, January 1924, pp. 35-37, and February 1924, pp. 98-100;<br />
Significance of Hearth Temperatures in the Blast-Furnace Process.<br />
Blast Furnace and Steel Plant, March, 1924 pp. 154-158.<br />
"Figure 2, p. 36.<br />
'Royster, Joseph, and Kinney; op. cit. Blast Furnace &• Steel<br />
Plant, March, 1924, pp. 154-158.<br />
April, 1924<br />
or by both. In the present state of metallurgical<br />
knowledge it is not possible accurately to predict howlarge<br />
this factor will prove to be.<br />
No direct means of measuring the total heat lost<br />
through the furnace walls is at present available. An<br />
estimate of its magnitude, however, can be made by<br />
means of a thermal analysis of the furnace process.<br />
The purpose of this paper therefore is to ascertain the<br />
magnitude of this heat loss in the furnace experiments<br />
previously described in this series of articles. In order<br />
that the calculations may be more readily understood<br />
by the reader, similar thermal balance sheets for a number<br />
of large furnaces are given for comparison. The<br />
operating data used in computing these heat balances<br />
are given in Table I. These data were copied directly<br />
from the daily plant records, and are undoubtedly as<br />
typical of modern American blast furnace practice as<br />
any figures available at this time. It is obvious that<br />
the material balance of the various constituents<br />
charged into the furnace and discharged from it is not<br />
in every case consistent. Xo attempt has been made,<br />
however, to adjust the original figures to make them<br />
concordant.<br />
Method For Computing the Heat Balance.<br />
In developing the thermal balances in this paper.<br />
the methods of computation used are those adopted<br />
by Mathesius 8 . Other forms of calculation have been<br />
used' 1 but Mathesius' method is probably best known<br />
due partly to the fact that his calculations were reprinted<br />
verbatim in Johnson's textbook 1 ". For the<br />
purpose in hand it is important that the heat balance<br />
be computed for each of the several furnaces by the<br />
same method, and preferably of one familiar to the<br />
reader, in order that a comparison may be most easily<br />
drawn.<br />
The sum of the quantities of heat produced and<br />
consumed in each of the 14 furnaces is given in as<br />
concise a form as possible in Table II. A few changes<br />
of minor importance have been made. The sensible<br />
heat attributed to the moisture in the blast has been<br />
added to the heat of the blast, because this quantity<br />
is small in magnitude. The heats of reduction of<br />
MnO, P205, and SiO; are reported together; and similarly<br />
the heat used in the reduction of iron from<br />
Fe:t04 has been added to and reported together with<br />
the heat used in the reduction of iron from Fe.,Ov A<br />
"High Blast Heats in Mesabi Practice, bv W Mathesius,<br />
Trans. A. I. M. E., vol. 51, 1915, pp. 794-810.<br />
"Richards' Metallurgical Calculation (McGraw-Hill) one vol.<br />
edition, 1915, pp. 294-301; Cornell, Met. & Che'. Eng.. vol. 12.<br />
1914, pp. 747-50; Gillhausen, W. F., Investigation of the Material<br />
and Heat Balance of the Blast Furnace, Mitteilung a.d.<br />
Eisenhutten-Mannisch, Inc. d.k. Hochschule (Aachen), 1913;<br />
Davis, F. W., Bureau of Mines, Report of Investigations, Serial<br />
2502, July, 1923, pp. 7-10.<br />
'"Johnson's Principles, Operation and Products of the Blast<br />
Furnace, pp. 58-64.
April, 1924<br />
Ine Dlast rurnaco'^vMeol Plant<br />
more important change has been made by the writers<br />
in adopting Johnson's suggestion 11 that the heat used<br />
in the dissociation of moisture be computed from the<br />
observed H„ content of the top gas rather than that<br />
this quantity be computed from the moisture contained<br />
in the blast. Johnson has pointed out that moisture<br />
in the solid charge may be carried down the furnace<br />
shaft so far that it comes into contact with incandescent<br />
coke and the reaction<br />
H20 + C H, CO<br />
takes place. In any case, if the gas analyses are correct,<br />
this hydrogen must be accounted for, while if<br />
the gas analyses are not correct, the heat balance is in<br />
error and probably valueless.<br />
In reporting the gas analyses the writers have followed<br />
Perrott, Kinney, Sherman, and Blizard 12 in denying<br />
the existence of methane as a possible constituent<br />
of blast furnace gas. Where CH4 has been reported<br />
by the plant chemists it has been deleted from<br />
the analyses, and a suitable correction made in the H2<br />
and CO determinations; it being assumed that the<br />
supposed CH4 reported was due to incomplete absorption<br />
of CO in the Orsat determination. In the case<br />
of the sensible heat of the metal and slag, the number<br />
"Work cited, p. 65.<br />
"Transactions A. I.<br />
543-84.<br />
10<br />
11<br />
12<br />
13<br />
14<br />
16<br />
16<br />
17<br />
16<br />
19<br />
20<br />
21<br />
22<br />
23<br />
24<br />
26<br />
26<br />
27<br />
E6<br />
£9<br />
30<br />
31<br />
32<br />
33<br />
34<br />
26<br />
36<br />
37<br />
38<br />
Dimensions<br />
Height; ft.<br />
Bosh dla.:ft.<br />
Hearth dia.;ft.<br />
Boah angle<br />
Temperatures<br />
Blast °F.<br />
Top °F.<br />
Tuyere °C.<br />
Slag °C.<br />
Metal °C.<br />
Charge: lb.<br />
per ton<br />
Ore<br />
Coke<br />
Stone<br />
Slag<br />
Analyses of<br />
charge:per pent<br />
Fe In ore<br />
S102-»Al203in ore<br />
3 In ooRe<br />
Ash In coke<br />
F.C. In ooke<br />
Analysis of<br />
metal:per pent<br />
SI<br />
3<br />
lin<br />
P<br />
Analysis of<br />
slag: per cent<br />
310o<br />
Al£63<br />
Cao<br />
MgO<br />
S<br />
HBO<br />
FeO<br />
AnalyelB of gas:<br />
percent by volume<br />
0C£<br />
CO<br />
I 2<br />
Analysis of eaa;<br />
percent by weight<br />
So 02<br />
*2<br />
groanotlon: tone<br />
Dig lrop per a«J<br />
201<br />
of heat units per pound has been taken to be directly<br />
proportional to the slag and to the metal temperatures<br />
as reported in items 8 and 9 in Tables I and III.<br />
Details of Heat Production and Consumption<br />
In the Bureau's Furnace.<br />
The average data for the Bureau of Mines experimental<br />
furnace while operating on the burden and under<br />
the conditions described in the preceding articles<br />
of this series are given in Table III. Complete analyses<br />
of the ore, stone, and coke charged into the furnace<br />
have appeared, together with a description of the<br />
physical characteristics of these three constituents 13 .<br />
TABLE III—Operating details of Bureau of Mines' experimental<br />
furnace.<br />
Furnace Dimension<br />
Height 20 ft. 3 in.<br />
Bosh diameter.. 4 ft. 0 in.<br />
Hearth diameter 1 ft. 8 in.<br />
Bosh angle ..74 deg. 56 min.<br />
Furnace Temperatures<br />
Blast 750 deg. F.<br />
Top 660 deg. F.<br />
Tuyere 1647 deg. C.<br />
Blag 1529 deg. C.<br />
Metal 1396 deg. C.<br />
Charge; Lb. per Ton<br />
Ore 3,889<br />
Coke 3,218<br />
Stone 1,341<br />
Slag produced 1,566<br />
Analysis of Charge; Per Cent<br />
Fe in ore 52.13<br />
Si0:-AL03 in ore 12.35<br />
S in coke. .. .<br />
Ash in coke.<br />
F. C. in coke.<br />
M. E., vol. 69, 1923, pp. 526-42 and pp. "Blast Furnace & Steel Plant, vol. 12, Jan. 1923, Tables I<br />
and II.<br />
80<br />
22<br />
16<br />
76.6°<br />
980<br />
263<br />
1666<br />
1449<br />
1466<br />
3890<br />
1907<br />
802<br />
906<br />
66.1<br />
8.2<br />
0.90<br />
12.0<br />
86.23<br />
1.37<br />
0.031<br />
0.71<br />
0.084<br />
32.6<br />
16.7<br />
46.6<br />
2.3<br />
1.30<br />
0.43<br />
0.96<br />
13.2<br />
26.4<br />
2.3<br />
69.0<br />
19.6<br />
24.9<br />
0.16<br />
66.4<br />
69S<br />
80<br />
22<br />
16<br />
76.6'<br />
960<br />
312<br />
1710<br />
1493<br />
1464<br />
3760<br />
1892<br />
896<br />
986<br />
66.0<br />
8.2<br />
0.89<br />
12.0<br />
86.20<br />
1.14<br />
0.030<br />
0.73<br />
0.084<br />
33.7<br />
16.4<br />
46.6<br />
2.2<br />
1.22<br />
0.61<br />
0.90<br />
12.7<br />
26.8<br />
2.6<br />
68.9<br />
19.0<br />
24.6<br />
0.18<br />
66.2<br />
646<br />
TABLB I - Operating Data from Fourteen Arcerloan Blast Furnaoee.<br />
88<br />
22<br />
18<br />
60"<br />
" 1020<br />
296<br />
1666<br />
1642<br />
1477<br />
4408<br />
1968<br />
786<br />
886<br />
49.3<br />
0.76<br />
10.3<br />
64.93<br />
0.97<br />
0.044<br />
1.18<br />
0.224<br />
34.8<br />
14.1<br />
46.7<br />
2.3<br />
1.61<br />
1.20<br />
0.36<br />
11.7<br />
26.6<br />
3.2<br />
68.6<br />
17.7<br />
26.6<br />
0.22<br />
66.6<br />
626<br />
90<br />
22<br />
17<br />
78.6°<br />
1026<br />
362<br />
1640<br />
1461<br />
1437<br />
4466<br />
2070<br />
1310<br />
1390<br />
63.4<br />
10.3<br />
1.20<br />
13.2<br />
66.26<br />
1.29<br />
0.049<br />
0.66<br />
0.096<br />
36.0<br />
13.0<br />
48.3<br />
2.2<br />
1.74<br />
12.9<br />
26.2<br />
2.6<br />
69.3<br />
19.3<br />
24.0<br />
0.18<br />
66.6<br />
662<br />
80<br />
22<br />
16,6<br />
76°<br />
890<br />
364<br />
1690<br />
1600<br />
1466<br />
4090<br />
2040<br />
966<br />
1086<br />
61.1<br />
11.9<br />
1.14<br />
13.2<br />
86.44<br />
1.27<br />
0.036<br />
32.7<br />
14.1<br />
40.9<br />
9.4<br />
13.0<br />
26.0<br />
3.1<br />
67.9<br />
19.6<br />
24.9<br />
0.22<br />
66.4<br />
619<br />
92.6<br />
22<br />
16.6<br />
77"<br />
1106<br />
326<br />
1821<br />
1628<br />
1469<br />
3204<br />
1704<br />
723<br />
800<br />
63.9<br />
7.4<br />
0.82<br />
11.0<br />
88.14<br />
1.69<br />
0.032<br />
0.80<br />
0.086<br />
36.0<br />
16.6<br />
38.9<br />
7.3<br />
1.70<br />
13.2<br />
26.4<br />
3.8<br />
66.6<br />
19.9<br />
26.4<br />
0.21<br />
64.4<br />
644<br />
90<br />
22<br />
17<br />
826<br />
426<br />
1730<br />
1481<br />
1437<br />
4436<br />
2000<br />
896<br />
1222<br />
49.9<br />
10.3<br />
0.61<br />
10.7<br />
88.9C<br />
1.12<br />
0.033<br />
1.84<br />
0.324<br />
36.8<br />
12.4<br />
44.6<br />
5.7<br />
1.29<br />
0.63<br />
12.8<br />
24.4<br />
2.3<br />
60.6<br />
19.1<br />
23.2<br />
0.16<br />
67.6<br />
96<br />
22<br />
17.7<br />
80°<br />
1000<br />
232<br />
1696<br />
1437<br />
1437<br />
4400<br />
2085<br />
1223<br />
1470<br />
49.3<br />
11.3<br />
1.18<br />
13.0<br />
86.37<br />
0.96<br />
0.049<br />
1.62<br />
0.206<br />
34.0<br />
14.7<br />
46.1<br />
3.5<br />
1.81<br />
0.90<br />
14.6<br />
26.3<br />
1.1<br />
69.1<br />
21.2<br />
23.6<br />
0.16<br />
66.0<br />
90<br />
22<br />
17.3<br />
80"<br />
1006<br />
308<br />
1862<br />
1614<br />
1468<br />
3480<br />
1720<br />
793<br />
910<br />
48.7<br />
9.3<br />
0.82<br />
11.0<br />
88.26<br />
1.27<br />
0.034<br />
1.34<br />
0.131<br />
34.2<br />
17.2<br />
43.0<br />
2.3<br />
1.43<br />
14.9<br />
24.6<br />
3.7<br />
66.9<br />
22.3<br />
23.3<br />
0.26<br />
64.1<br />
85<br />
22<br />
17.3<br />
80°<br />
944<br />
278<br />
1849<br />
1643<br />
1471<br />
3429<br />
1960<br />
732<br />
910<br />
64.0<br />
7.4<br />
0.62<br />
11.2<br />
86.20<br />
1.70<br />
0.041<br />
0.71<br />
0.084<br />
37.1<br />
16.0<br />
36.6<br />
7.1<br />
1.83<br />
12.6<br />
26.6<br />
3.8<br />
67.0<br />
19.1<br />
26.7<br />
0.26<br />
66.0<br />
971<br />
362<br />
1800<br />
1626<br />
1471<br />
3306<br />
1845<br />
694<br />
786<br />
53.8<br />
7.3<br />
0.83<br />
11.2<br />
88.24<br />
1.76<br />
0.029<br />
0.76<br />
0.084<br />
36.6<br />
16.6<br />
37.3<br />
7.3<br />
1.84<br />
11.9<br />
26.9<br />
3.6<br />
67.6<br />
18.1<br />
25.8<br />
0.26<br />
66.7<br />
662 664 646 619 608<br />
86<br />
21<br />
16<br />
78.6°<br />
1160<br />
476<br />
1648<br />
1473<br />
1444<br />
4474<br />
2460<br />
1267<br />
1366<br />
53.4<br />
10.2<br />
1.18<br />
13.0<br />
86.31<br />
1.61<br />
0.036<br />
0.68<br />
0.100<br />
34.9<br />
13.1<br />
48.6<br />
2.0<br />
1.62<br />
0.96<br />
12.6<br />
26.9<br />
1.4<br />
60.2<br />
18.6<br />
24.6<br />
0.09<br />
66.9<br />
667<br />
88<br />
21.5<br />
17.3<br />
80"<br />
1100<br />
377<br />
1703<br />
1644<br />
1484<br />
4218<br />
2168<br />
839<br />
1020<br />
60.9<br />
10.6<br />
0.76<br />
10.3<br />
84.89<br />
1.43<br />
0.038<br />
1.03<br />
0.260<br />
36.0<br />
13.3<br />
43.6<br />
4.8<br />
1.33<br />
0.66<br />
0.33<br />
12.2<br />
27.0<br />
3.0<br />
67.8<br />
18.4<br />
26.9<br />
0.21<br />
65.6<br />
17<br />
80.6°<br />
1183<br />
380<br />
1638<br />
1544<br />
1476<br />
4026<br />
2213<br />
763<br />
900<br />
47.2<br />
9.6<br />
0.76<br />
10.3<br />
64.91<br />
1.18<br />
0.041<br />
1.68<br />
0.226<br />
33.7<br />
16.3<br />
44,2<br />
3.8<br />
1.68<br />
1.69<br />
0.39<br />
12.4<br />
26.8<br />
3.6<br />
67.3<br />
18.8<br />
26.8<br />
0.24<br />
55.2<br />
0.83<br />
12.17<br />
80.65<br />
86.9<br />
21.9<br />
16.8<br />
78.6°<br />
1012<br />
337<br />
1714<br />
1601<br />
1468<br />
3970<br />
2000<br />
906<br />
1046<br />
61.9<br />
9.3<br />
0.90<br />
11.6<br />
86.45<br />
1.32<br />
0.037<br />
1.06<br />
0.166<br />
34.8<br />
14.7<br />
43.6<br />
4.46<br />
1.67<br />
0.89<br />
0.68<br />
12.9<br />
26.0<br />
2.9<br />
66.3<br />
19.S<br />
26.0<br />
0.20<br />
56.6<br />
477 618 640
2()2<br />
0.14384 lb. total carbon<br />
The gases therefore weigh<br />
2671.4<br />
= 18572 lb./ton<br />
0.14384<br />
Hence, 1897 lb. of carbon is discharged as CO (18,572<br />
X 0.10216) and 774 lb. as C02 (18572 X 0.04168).<br />
The 151 lb. of C from the carbonates must be deducted<br />
from this, leaving 623 lb. of C as the amount actually<br />
oxidized to CO= inside the furnace. According<br />
to Mathesius' thermal constants, the CO generates<br />
1897 lb. X 4446 B.t.u./lb. = 8,434,060 B.t.u.<br />
and the C02 supplies<br />
623 lb. X 14543 B.t.u./lb. = 9,060,290 B.t.u.<br />
Since the X2 entering with the blast is supposed to<br />
come out with the top gas unchanged, the weight of<br />
the dry air is<br />
1PC79 it, ,, 60 ' 97C /° N * in ^ as ,d7nsl.<br />
18572 lb. gas X = 14705 lb.<br />
77% N2 in air<br />
The blast temperature being 750 deg. F., and its specific<br />
heat 0.248, the air brings in<br />
14705 X 0.248 X 750 deg. F. = 2,735,130 B.t.u.<br />
From the observed humidity (see Table I, January<br />
paper), 87 lb. of water per ton of metal accompanied<br />
the air as moisture. This adds a small amount of<br />
heat to the furnace, that is,<br />
87 lb. X 0.49 X 750 deg. F. = 32,100 B.t.u.<br />
where 0.49 is the specific heat of steam.<br />
Heat Accounted for in the Experimental Furnace.<br />
The ore analyses 51.08 per cent Fe as Fe203 and<br />
1.05 per cent Fe as Fe304. The Fe in the stone is<br />
present as ferric oxide and the Fe in the coke either as<br />
its sulphide or its carbide. The iron from Fe203<br />
amounts to<br />
3889 1b. ore X 51.08 per cent = 1986.5<br />
1341 lb. stone X 0.80 per cent = 10.7<br />
The Blast F, urnace CZo Steel Plant<br />
April, 1924<br />
Analysis of Metal, Per Cent Analysis of Gas; Per Cent The reduction of this amount of oxide absorbs<br />
Si<br />
S<br />
Mn<br />
P<br />
1.17<br />
0.083<br />
1.47<br />
0.130<br />
CO.<br />
CO<br />
H2<br />
bv Volume<br />
10.17<br />
24.93<br />
1.31<br />
1997.2 lb. X 3240 B.t.u./lb. = 6,471,960<br />
The 40.8 lb. of Fe reduced from Fe,04 (3889 lb. ore<br />
X 1-05 per cent Fe) absorbs<br />
C 3.33<br />
Analysis of Slag, Per Cent<br />
Si02<br />
35.0<br />
AL03<br />
7.8<br />
CaO 50.3<br />
N2<br />
63.59<br />
Analysis of Gas; Per Cent<br />
by Weight<br />
CO= 15.28<br />
CO 23.84<br />
40.8 lb. X 2970 B.t.u./lb. = 118,420 B.t.u.<br />
One ton of metal contains 26.2 lb. of Si, 32.9 lb. of<br />
Mn, and 2.91 lb. of P. The reduction of these metalloids<br />
consume heat, as follows:<br />
MgO<br />
S<br />
MnO<br />
FeO<br />
3.0<br />
1.85<br />
1.68<br />
0.83<br />
H= 0.09<br />
N_. 60.79<br />
26.2 lb. X 14,090 B.t.u./lb. = 369,160 B.t.u.<br />
32.9 lb. X 2,970 B.t.u./lb. = 97,710 B.t.u.<br />
Production , tons per day, 2.49<br />
2.91 lb. X 10,620 B.t.u./lb. = 30,900 B.t.u.<br />
Heat Produced In the Experimental Furnace.<br />
For each ton of metal made, the coke brings into 497,770 B.t.u.<br />
the furnace<br />
3218 lb. X 80.65% = 2595 lb. C/ton metal<br />
The metal takes up as carbide 74.6 lb. C (2240 lb. X<br />
3.33%) and the carbonates in the charge release 151<br />
lb. of carbon (as C02). The carbon in the gas is therefore<br />
2595 — 74.6 + 151 = 2671.4 lb./ton metal<br />
The gas composition, given in items 35 to 38 of Table<br />
III, shows that 1 lb. of top gases (dry) contains<br />
0.04168 lb. C as CO,<br />
0.10216 lb. C as CO<br />
The decomposition of the carbonates absorbs 1830<br />
B.t.u. per lb. of C02. To drive off 554 lb. CO,, requires<br />
554 lb. X 1830 B.t.u./lb. = 1,013,820 B.t.u.<br />
The gas analysis indicates the presence of 16.7 lb. of<br />
H2 in the top gas (18,572 lb. X 0.09 per cent). According<br />
to Johnson, this represents a decomposition<br />
of 149.2 lb. of water, and therefore a consumption of<br />
149.2 lb. X 5760 B.t.u./lb. = 859,400 B.t.u.<br />
The metal temperature of the average furnace (Table<br />
I) is 1458 deg. C. and for the Bureau's furnace only<br />
1396 deg. C. Taking the 510 B.t.u./lb. used by Mathesius<br />
to represent metal at an average temperature,<br />
the heat charged to the iron is<br />
Total iron from Fe203<br />
1997.2 lb.<br />
2240 lb. X 13% C X 510 B.t.u./lb: = 1.093,820 B.t.u.<br />
1458T.<br />
In this same way 1566 lb. of slag produced (Table<br />
III, item 13) at 1529 deg. C. (item 2) should be charged<br />
with<br />
1529°C.<br />
1566 lb. X —<br />
X 900 B.t.u./lb. = 1.435.690 B.t.u.,<br />
150FC.<br />
since Mathesius adopts 900 B.t.u./lb. for average<br />
and the average temperature (Table I, item 2) is 1501<br />
deg. C.<br />
The sensible heat of the top gas is calculated as<br />
follows:<br />
Gas analysis X weight of gas X top temperature<br />
X specific heat = B.t.u.<br />
CO, 15.28 18572 660 0.2169 406,240<br />
CO" 23.84 18572 660 0.2426 708,920<br />
H„ 0.09 18572 660 3.4090 37,610<br />
N." 60.79 18572 660 0.2438 1.816.640<br />
Total 2,969,410<br />
The moisture in the ore entered as a liquid at 70<br />
F. and raised to 212 deg. F., (142 B.t.u./lb.), evaporated<br />
at 212 deg. (964.8 B.t.u./lb. latent heat) and<br />
superheated 448 to 660 deg. F. (0.48 X 448 = 215<br />
B.t.u./lb. superheat). The total heat carried out by<br />
the moisture is therefore 1321.8 B.t.u./lb., and the analysis<br />
of the charge shows<br />
from ore 3889 lb. X 11.89% = 462.4 1b.<br />
from coke 3218 lb. X 4.85% = 156.1<br />
from stone 1341 lb. X 3.20% = 42.9<br />
Total water in charge 661.4 lb.<br />
The heat carried away by this moisture is<br />
661.4 lb. X 1321.8 B.t.u./lb. = 874,240
April, 1924<br />
Die Blast FurnaceSSteel Plant<br />
TABLB II - Distribution of Heat in 7ourteen Amerioan Blast Furnaces: B.t.u. per Long Ton of Iron.<br />
Heat Generated<br />
Fnxnaoe flumber<br />
Combustion C to CO<br />
Combustion C to COg<br />
Heat In blast (including moisture)<br />
Total heat<br />
Reduction of iron oxides<br />
Reduction of MnO, P2O6 and 310^<br />
Calcination of carbonates<br />
Dleaociation of Moisture<br />
Carried off with the iron<br />
Carried off with the slag<br />
Carried off with gases (dry)<br />
Carried off with moisture in top gas<br />
Total heat accounted for<br />
Heat unaccounted for<br />
Furnace number<br />
Combustion C to CO<br />
Combustion C to COp<br />
Heat in blast {including moisture)<br />
Total heat<br />
Reduction of iron oxides<br />
Reduction of MnO, P2O5 and SIO2<br />
Calcination of carbonates<br />
Dissociation of moisture<br />
Carried off with the iron<br />
Carried off with the slag<br />
Carried off with gases (dry)<br />
Carried off with moisture in top gas<br />
Total heat acoounted for<br />
Heat unacoounted for<br />
1<br />
4. ,890 ,600<br />
7. ,547 ,320<br />
1 ,634 ,360<br />
14 ,272 ,300<br />
7,070,620<br />
499,610<br />
645,640<br />
627,990<br />
1,140,830<br />
786,280<br />
663,930<br />
479,540<br />
12,104,600<br />
2,167,700<br />
9<br />
4,194,410<br />
7,869,030<br />
1,683,600<br />
13,747,000<br />
6,491,020<br />
621,140<br />
604,320<br />
1,264,230<br />
1,160,240<br />
627,000<br />
714,600<br />
734,460<br />
11,307,200<br />
2,439,600<br />
2<br />
,903, ,630<br />
*: ,366 060<br />
1 ,617 ,660<br />
14 ,106 ,300<br />
6,b04,000<br />
426,360<br />
701,060<br />
968,630<br />
1,139,270<br />
881,770<br />
796,470<br />
496,670<br />
12,216,100<br />
1,890,200<br />
10<br />
5,478,340<br />
6,037,130<br />
1,901,890<br />
16,417,400<br />
6,999,360<br />
603,760<br />
604,030<br />
1,497,230<br />
1,162,690<br />
839,140<br />
767,400<br />
638,750<br />
18,002,300<br />
3,416,100<br />
Heat Unaccounted for in the Blast Furnace.<br />
The various amounts of heat calculated above are<br />
tabulated in convenient form in Table IV. It will<br />
be seen that the computed value of the total heat produced<br />
in the experimental furnace exceeds by a considerable<br />
amount the heat charged to the various<br />
items of heat consumption. The difference is termed<br />
"heat unaccounted for" and amounts to 4,927,180 B.t.u.<br />
per ton of metal (see last item of Table IV). If there<br />
are no errors in the data shown in Table III, and if<br />
the thermal constants used in constructing Table IV<br />
are accurate, this "heat unaccounted for" must be<br />
nothing more or less than the heat lost through the<br />
furnace walls.<br />
TABLE IV — Distribution of Heat in Experimental Furnace;<br />
B.t.u. per Long Ton of Iron.<br />
Heat Generated<br />
Combustion of C to CO 8,434,060<br />
Combustion of C to C0 2<br />
9,060,290<br />
Heat in blast (including moisture) 2,767,230<br />
Total 20,261,600<br />
Heat Consumed<br />
Reduction of iron oxides 6,590,380<br />
Reduction of MnO, P20», and SiO: 497,770<br />
Calcination of carbonates 1,013,820<br />
Dissociation of moisture 859,400<br />
Carried off with the iron 1,093,820<br />
Carried off with the slag 1,435,690<br />
Carried off with the dry top gases 2,969,410<br />
Carried off with moisture in top gas.... 874,240<br />
Heat accounted for 15,334,500<br />
Heat unaccounted for 4,927,100<br />
In case of the 14 furnaces given in Tables I and<br />
II, the heat loss is large for the average furnace, and<br />
3<br />
6 ,076 ,840<br />
6 ,989 ,800<br />
1 ,967 ,440<br />
14 ,033 ,100<br />
,040,990<br />
437,940<br />
477,090<br />
176,820<br />
167,290<br />
702,490<br />
767,020<br />
770,780<br />
12,620,400<br />
1,612,700<br />
11<br />
4,970,460<br />
6,904,360<br />
1,790,620<br />
13,666,300<br />
6,762,760<br />
626,030<br />
534,240<br />
1,301,090<br />
1,162,690<br />
716,880<br />
876,170<br />
676,430<br />
11,646,200<br />
2,119,100<br />
4<br />
5 ,079,060<br />
e ,246,920<br />
2 ,102,210<br />
15 ,427,200<br />
Heat Co; •sumed<br />
,725,160<br />
472,990<br />
353,540<br />
026,260<br />
125,950<br />
208,460<br />
953,780<br />
637,460<br />
13,606,600<br />
1,921,600<br />
6<br />
5,276, 600<br />
8,140, 960<br />
1,917, 930<br />
15,334, 700<br />
6,771,570<br />
608,410<br />
841,720<br />
1.195,780<br />
1,140,050<br />
976,760<br />
964,820<br />
606,300<br />
13,005,400<br />
2,329,300<br />
Heat Generated<br />
12<br />
6,460,410<br />
9,440,093<br />
2,961,660<br />
18,862,400<br />
Heat Consumed<br />
7,740,740<br />
545,610<br />
1,006,960<br />
640,290<br />
1,131,430<br />
1,206,470<br />
1,661,370<br />
776,790<br />
14,626,700<br />
4,233,700<br />
13<br />
6,960,190<br />
8,294,860<br />
2,414,240<br />
16,669,300<br />
6,956,160<br />
579,330<br />
734,970<br />
1,306,390<br />
1,162,770<br />
942,460<br />
1,116,170<br />
600,120<br />
13,397,400<br />
3,271,900<br />
6<br />
4 ,435 ,380<br />
6 ,831 ,880<br />
1 ,603 ,840<br />
13 ,071, ,100<br />
4,041,080<br />
676,270<br />
662,160<br />
990,680<br />
1,143,180<br />
731,120<br />
728,490<br />
632,900<br />
9,304,900<br />
3,766,200<br />
14<br />
6,660,520<br />
6,497,160<br />
2,660,030<br />
16,713,700<br />
6,165.350<br />
537,720<br />
638,930<br />
1,485,660<br />
1,156,720<br />
832,280<br />
1,122,300<br />
610,220<br />
12,738,400<br />
3,976,300<br />
7<br />
6 ,321 ,980<br />
8 ,446 ,960<br />
2 ,419, ,620<br />
16 ,188, 600<br />
,167,870<br />
564,830<br />
920,060<br />
976,770<br />
,126,960<br />
,087,080<br />
244,910<br />
695,120<br />
13,771,600<br />
2,416,900<br />
Average<br />
6,209,980<br />
7,969,300<br />
2,091,600<br />
16,270,600<br />
6,663,900<br />
526,100<br />
692,700<br />
1,116,686<br />
1,143,100<br />
928,700<br />
923,610<br />
634,200<br />
12,517,200<br />
2,763,600<br />
e<br />
6 ,243,300<br />
8 ,939,610<br />
2 ,099,920<br />
16, 282,600<br />
,028,210<br />
469,770<br />
,073,860<br />
960,320<br />
126,950<br />
264,000<br />
656,710<br />
623,290<br />
13,192,100<br />
3,090,700<br />
Per oent<br />
34.12<br />
62.19<br />
13.69<br />
100.00<br />
42,92<br />
3.44<br />
4.63<br />
7.30<br />
7.60<br />
6.08<br />
6.06<br />
4.16<br />
61.97<br />
18.03<br />
203<br />
varies widely from furnace to furnace. Its minimum<br />
is 1,512,700 B.t.u. per ton of metal (furnace No. 3)<br />
and its maximum 4,233,700 B.t.u. per ton (furnace No.<br />
12). This represents a variation of nearly three to<br />
one. In terms of heat loss per unit of time furnace<br />
No. 3 shows 551,500 B.t.u. per min., and furnace No.<br />
12 shows 1,667,000 B.t.u. per min., a variation here of<br />
more than three to one. Tables I and II are included<br />
in this paper merely for comparison with Tables III<br />
and IV. The thermal balances of the 14 industrial<br />
furnaces and of the experimental furnace have been<br />
calculated in the same manner. It is seen that the<br />
heat loss shown by the Bureau's small furnace is<br />
higher than the heat loss of furnace No. 12. The fact<br />
that the small furnace appears to lose 16.5 per cent<br />
more than does the worst furnace (from the standpoint<br />
of heat loss), substantiates the prediction that<br />
a small furnace will lose more heat than will a 500ton<br />
furnace. If the heat loss for the 14 furnaces, as<br />
calculated, gave more concordant results, this comparison<br />
would have greater significance. As it stands.<br />
the nearest approach to a conclusion to be derived<br />
from the data presented and discussed in this paper<br />
is this: The small furnace loses 4,900,000 B.t.u. per<br />
ton, while a large furnace may lose any amount from<br />
4,200,000 to 1.500.000 B.t.u. per ton. No metallurgist<br />
has yet developed an accepted rule for relating heat<br />
loss with coke consumption, therefore it is not possible<br />
at present to convert the heat loss handicap of<br />
the small furnace into its equivalent coke consumption<br />
handicap.<br />
Cooling Water Heat Loss.<br />
The amount of heat absorbed by the water flowing<br />
through the coolers used to preserve the bosh and
204<br />
hearth of the blast furnace, while not usually determined,<br />
has been measured in a number of instances.<br />
In the Bureau's experiments this source of heat loss<br />
was determined, and for the experiment reported above<br />
amounted to 1,630 B.t.u. per minute. This includes the<br />
heat conducted through the 4^-inch brick lining of<br />
the bosh and of the tuyere breast, as well as the heat<br />
absorbed by the two tuyeres, their coolers, and by<br />
the cinder-notch coolers.<br />
From Tables III and IV it is seen that the total<br />
heat unaccounted for per minute is<br />
,,„_.„-, 2.47 tons/day<br />
4,027,100 B.t.u./ton X -<br />
1440 min./day<br />
10,700 B.t.u./min.<br />
The cooling loss of 1630 B.t.u. per minute is only Id<br />
per cent of the total heat unaccounted for, and leaves<br />
9070 B.t.u. per min. .still to be explained. The brickwork<br />
in the walls of the furnace hearth is 9 in. thick<br />
and in the hearth bottom IX in. thick. The thermal<br />
conductivity of firebrick at high temperatures is not<br />
known with any certainty, but on any reasonable assumption<br />
the heat lost through this brickwork is a<br />
minor fraction of 9000 B.t.u. per min.<br />
From the top of the bosh to the stock-line the mantle<br />
was lined with 18 in. of firebrick. The inside surface<br />
of this lining is 160 sq. ft. and the outside surface<br />
218 sq. ft. The remaining heat unaccounted for (9000<br />
B.t.u.), if assumed to be due to conduction through<br />
this brickwork, would indicate a mean transmission of<br />
41 B.t.u. per min. per sq. ft. outside diameter, or 56<br />
B.t.u. per min. per sq. ft. inside diameter. This high<br />
rate of heat transmission will need more verification<br />
before it can be accepter as proved.<br />
Summary and Conclusion.<br />
The writers have calculated by the usual method<br />
the distribution of heat in the experimental blast furnace,<br />
and have presented for comparison similar calculations<br />
for 14 large furnaces now in operation in this<br />
country. The heat lost through the walls of the small<br />
furnace was expected to be very heavy, but somewhat<br />
surprisingly it appears not to be as large relatively as<br />
was predicted.<br />
The actual amount of heat unaccounted for, if<br />
called heat loss, gives a high value for the thermal<br />
conductivity of firebrick. The writers are not convinced<br />
that this value is a true one. No answer of any<br />
finality has been given this problem. The Bureau's<br />
plans for continuation of this work involve the construction<br />
of a new- experimental furnace of about<br />
twice the capacity of the present one. The design for<br />
the new stack calls for a 27-inch firebrick lining in<br />
place of the present 18-inch lining. Further work on<br />
the new furnace, when completed, should throw some<br />
light on this "heat unaccounted for" and its identity.<br />
Dr. Sauveur Lectures in Pittsburgh<br />
At the March meeting of the Pittsburgh Section<br />
of the American Chemical Society, which was held on<br />
Thursday, .March 20, in the auditorium of the Pittsburgh<br />
Station of the United States Bureau of Mines,<br />
4800 Forbes Street. I Jr. Albert Sauveur, Professor of<br />
Metallurgy and Metallography in Harvard University,<br />
spoke on "The Behavior oi Steel Under the Action oi<br />
Heat," a subject of great interest to ferrous metal<br />
InoDlast nirnuco'^/jtccl riant<br />
April, 1924<br />
lurgists and to iron and steel chemists. The address<br />
was illustrated by lantern slides.<br />
Dr. Sauveur is regarded generally as the Nestor<br />
of metallography. He was formerly editor of "The<br />
Metallographist" and of "The Iron and Steel Magazine,"<br />
and he is the author of a standard treatise on<br />
"The Metallography of Iron and Steel." In 1913 he<br />
DR. ALBERT SAUVEUR<br />
was awarded the Cresson Medal of the Franklin Institute<br />
and he recently received from the Iron and<br />
Steel Institute of Great Britain the Bessemer Medal<br />
for 1 ( L>4, "in recognition of his eminent services in the<br />
advancement oi the science ol metallurgy ol iron and<br />
steel."<br />
To Electrify Worcester District Plants<br />
The American Steel & Wire Company is undertaking<br />
an almost complete electrification of its three<br />
plants in Worcester, Mass., where special products of<br />
the corporation are manufactured. Eleven steam<br />
engines in the North, South and Central Works will<br />
be scrapped and supplanted by Westinghouse Type<br />
CS electric motors with a total of 12,000 horsepower,<br />
ranging from 1 to 250 hp. for each motor.<br />
Through a special 10-year agreement with the<br />
New England Power Company, each plant will be<br />
supplied with three independent power sources, a<br />
triple protection against interruption of the operation<br />
of the mills. Power will be received at 13.000 volts<br />
and stepped down by transformers to 550 volts for the<br />
motors. Oil circuit breakers and switching equipment<br />
for the distribution of this power have been<br />
ordered from the Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing<br />
Company.<br />
When completed, this will constitute probably the<br />
largest electrically driven wire mill in the country.
April, 1924<br />
ts<br />
TlV Blast hi mace r^b<br />
Stool PI<br />
GIRRENTTECHNICAL DIGEST<br />
Three Score Years and Today<br />
Everywhere, on every hand, we see the rapid march<br />
of progress, and recently while visiting the Cambria<br />
Plant of the Bethlehem Steel Company at Johnstown,<br />
Pa., the developments in steel making and processing<br />
were forcibly brought to mind bv one of the pioneer<br />
steel converters, which is located in the offices of this<br />
company.<br />
In an interview with Mr. D. M. Stackhouse, of the<br />
P>ethlehem Steel Company, we learned that this converter<br />
is a most interesting historical metallurgical relic, one of<br />
Wm. Kelly's early steel converters, in which he made steel<br />
at the Cambria Iron Company's plant in 1857.<br />
A pictorial contrast is presented to show- the<br />
advertisement in the art of steel making. One<br />
picture represents one of the earliest converters.<br />
the other picture illustrates the most<br />
converters in use today.<br />
modern<br />
In 1851 William Kelly, who then operated a<br />
small iron works at Fddyv die, Ky., conceived<br />
the idea that if air was blown through liquid pig<br />
iron, the impurities would burn out, leaving pure<br />
iron. This idea was brought about through<br />
Kelly's observations at a puddling furnace. In<br />
watching the charge in the furnace he noted that<br />
the cold air, which was drawn into the furnace<br />
through natural draft, heated the sides of the<br />
puddle ball, which on the contrary seemed to<br />
him, should cool the charge. He became interested<br />
in this phenomena and through his experiments<br />
developed the method of forcing air<br />
through hot metal to purify it. Kelly named his<br />
method the Pneumatic Process. About the same<br />
time Henry Bessemer was conducting similar experiments<br />
and arrived at the same conclusion which<br />
resulted in the Bessemer Process.<br />
Further researches by both Kelly and Bessemer<br />
proved that their theories were correct, that manganese,<br />
silicon, and carbon would oxidize under<br />
both processes, and that the iron itself would not<br />
burn unless subjected to a continual blow. 'Phe<br />
theories advanced by both men also proved that in<br />
the oxidation of these elements sufficient heat was<br />
developed to keep the metal fluid, and purify it without<br />
the addition of any other fuel. This is one of<br />
the advantages of this process over the open hearth<br />
practice.<br />
Mm. Kelly and Henry Bessemer made puite a<br />
number of these converters, the earlier ones be : ng<br />
stationary, the blast being blown through the sides.<br />
Some of Kelly's earlier experiments were witnessed<br />
by the late James H Geer, a native of Johnstown.<br />
In relating his experiments he said that the pig metal<br />
am<br />
^<br />
205<br />
was first reduced in a foundry cupola. About 300 lbs. of<br />
hot metal constituted a charge, and a foundry ladle carried<br />
bv hand was used for transporting the hot metal from<br />
the cupola to the converter. In one of the first trials,<br />
the pressure used in blowing the air through the converter,<br />
was so strong, that it blew the liquid pig iron<br />
out of the converter. ( in the next trial however, the<br />
blast pressure was reduced and the process resulted<br />
successfully, a heat of steel being produced. The steel<br />
was again poured into a foundry ladle, and then into<br />
rectangular molds 3 in. wide by 4 ft. long.<br />
Tests of the steel were made in the company blacksmith<br />
shop, and while no record exists of the actual results<br />
of these tests, there is no doubt that the steel
cracked when worked hot. No method existed at that<br />
time for the elimination of red shortness in steel,<br />
Henry Bessemer's early trials were also failures, due<br />
to the same causes. Later when Henry Mushet discovered<br />
that if manganese was added to the bath after<br />
the heat was blown, the red shortness disappeared,<br />
and then this process of Kelly's and Bessemer's became<br />
a commercial success.<br />
It seems that Kelly's efforts were confined to invention<br />
only, as he demonstrated his lack of business<br />
foresight by neglecting to take advantage of the patent<br />
laws of the United States, and it was not until after<br />
Henry Bessemer made an application for the patent<br />
rights of America did Kelly make any effort to commercialize<br />
his activities. He was granted a patent<br />
over Henry Bessemer on the grounds of priority of<br />
invention.<br />
The result of this invention was immediately apparent,<br />
inasmuch as more uses for steel were immediately<br />
found, and the consumption of steel per<br />
capita in this country increased far beyond the comprehension<br />
and dreams of the men in the industry at<br />
that day.<br />
William Kelly was born in 1811 and died in 1888.<br />
He accumulated a small fortune from the royalties<br />
which accrued from the use of the Kelp' Pneumatic<br />
Process.<br />
A. I. & S. E. E. Iron and Steel Cost and<br />
Practice Chart<br />
By B. R. SHOVER*<br />
The idea of publishing a chart showing costs and<br />
practice was suggested by Mr. John F. Kelly, business<br />
manager of the Association, at whose request the<br />
writer consented to undertake its compilation.<br />
Although there are few, if any, such plants in existence,<br />
a balanced installation was assumed in order<br />
to define the scope of the work, and also to indicate<br />
relative values.<br />
•Consulting Engineer, Pittsburgh, Pa.<br />
IheDlast hirnace9jteol riant<br />
In estimating "Cost of Installation," the attempt<br />
was made to assume average construction and not<br />
take either the most expensive or the cheapest.<br />
Practice, as represented by figures for "Raw Materials"<br />
and "Products," are the closest even figures<br />
to the true or weighted averages of tonnages running<br />
into the millions, and the figures on the charts are believed<br />
to be representative of average conditions as<br />
regards different plants, variations in the character<br />
of raw materials, etc.<br />
Obviously the greatest problem was "Costs", for<br />
while a large amount of data collected over a period<br />
of years was available, hardly any two concerns use<br />
the same captions on their cost sheets, and even if<br />
such is the case, comparison showed a great difference<br />
in the interpretation of those captions as to what<br />
items of cost should be included. In many cases certain<br />
figures were so far off from the average that they<br />
had to be neglected.<br />
. The basis of the cost figures in each column is the<br />
curves shown at the top. These were made by changing<br />
the available costs to correspond with a plant of<br />
the size assumed, and the figures finally accepted represent<br />
the combined judgment and experience of several<br />
engineers and steel experts. The costs were then<br />
spotted on cross section paper at points corresponding<br />
to the labor rates prevailing for their different<br />
years, and while the resulting "target" greatly resembled<br />
the effect of a charge of bird shot, there was<br />
still a definite direction, and by averaging the costs<br />
in different labor rate zones, points were secured from<br />
which the shape and direction of the curves could be<br />
produced.<br />
It will be noted that in every instance except Coke<br />
Ovens, "All Other Costs" go up with the increase of<br />
common labor rates more rapidly than "Department<br />
Labor," which can only be explained by extra profits<br />
being taken by concerns furnishing materials used in<br />
repairs, etc. This was very noticeable when an attempt<br />
was made to check the curves from figures<br />
obtained, after the labor rate was reduced, when the<br />
drop in "Department Labor" was very much more<br />
rapid than in "All Other Costs," and it is to be regretted<br />
that sufficient data was not available to show<br />
this effect.<br />
As previously stated, there was considerable difference<br />
in the itemized costs of the various plants,<br />
but this difference was marked less for "Total Cost<br />
Above," and while different plant layouts and equipment<br />
would account for some of the discrepancies,<br />
methods of cost accounting are probably responsible<br />
for more. The divisions given on the chart were obtained<br />
by reducing all itemized costs to a 40c base<br />
in proportion to the curves, and then averaging these<br />
results.<br />
This chart is believed to be the first of its kind<br />
and should it prove useful, it should be revised from<br />
time to time in order to be of value, and with this<br />
end in view the Association would welcome criticisms<br />
of this issue and suggestions for possible future<br />
editions.—Iron and Steel Engineer.<br />
Aerial Mapping of New York<br />
New York has been mapped from the air. The last<br />
flight of the greatest aerial photographic mapping project<br />
has been completed. Over 2000 negatives were
April, 1924<br />
secured. They are now being corrected and assembled.<br />
About 3000 miles were flown and the five boroughs—Manhattan,<br />
the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and<br />
Richmond—have been mapped. Three planes were<br />
over the city whenever there was a good photographic<br />
day. Included in the squadron was a Fokker C, 2camera<br />
plane purchased especially for this contract as<br />
it is particularly adapted for high-altitude photography.<br />
The camera used was the Fairchild automatic aerial<br />
camera with the "between-the-lens" shutter. It weighs<br />
42 pounds, has over a thousand parts and is one of<br />
the finest examples of automatic precision machinery<br />
ever made. This is the official camera of the U. S.<br />
Army and Navy, the Canadian Government, and the<br />
Brazilian Government.<br />
The map pictures the city with the minutest detail—every<br />
structure from the contractor's temporary<br />
tool shed where construction is going on, to the skyscraper,<br />
backyards, gardens and parks with every tree<br />
and bush visible, avenues and alleys, streets and unrecorded<br />
foot paths, big league ball parks, water front<br />
clubs, with their yacht and motor boats, the boardwalk<br />
of Coney Island, and crowds of people appearing like<br />
small black dots. Even the congestion of traffic on<br />
busy thoroughfares is clearly shown.<br />
Two distinct photographic maps are being made.<br />
The first includes the area of approximately 400 square<br />
miles within the official city limits at the scale of one<br />
inch equals 600 feet, in 140 sections, each about 14 x 21<br />
inches. These sections are to be assembled in groups<br />
of four, to correspond with the 35 sectional plan maps<br />
laid out by the Board of Estimate and Apportionment.<br />
The second map is being made at the scale of one<br />
inch equals 2000 feet, and covers 625 square miles, including<br />
the city proper and portions of the counties<br />
of Westchester and Nassau in New York State, and<br />
that part of New Jersey contiguous to the city. The<br />
completed map at this small scale will measure 10 by<br />
8 feet.<br />
Few days are suitable for photographic mapping<br />
as there must be little haze and no clouds. Prints<br />
with clouds and cloud shadows are rejected. The<br />
shore line had to be photographed at low tide. This<br />
requirement proved difficult as low tide could not be<br />
later than 2 p. m. on a day when other conditions were<br />
favorable. In one instance there was a wait of several<br />
weeks for a suitable day to get part of the shore<br />
line. It was also imperative that flying be completed<br />
before snow set in. Some of the work for the map<br />
mosaic was done at 16,000 feet altitude in the Fokker,<br />
too high for the plane to be seen with the naked eye.<br />
For this work a short focal length camera was used<br />
to take photographs at a very small scale for checkingcontrols.<br />
Many times the photographic squadron started<br />
out on days that seemed suitable, only to be compelled<br />
to return without pictures on account of haze<br />
or cloud formation.<br />
If the 2000 exposures necessary to cover the entire<br />
area with an allowance of 50 per cent end and 50 per<br />
cent side overlap were matched together they would<br />
make a single strip map covering 800 linear miles on<br />
the ground. The greatest accuracy was required.<br />
Negatives showing very small degree of tilt have to<br />
be adjusted in the printing process. All prints have<br />
to be brought to the required scale; a different ratio<br />
of enlargement or reduction is required for practically<br />
Ttte Blast RirnaceSSteel Plant<br />
207<br />
every print. This requires a finely calibrated adjustment<br />
of the enlarging camera.<br />
In his recommendation to the Mayor, Arthur S.<br />
Tuttle, Chief Engineer of the Board of Estimate and<br />
Apportionment, wrote: "The numerous advantages<br />
which an aerial map of the entire city would afford<br />
in the study of municipal problems are too apparent<br />
for discussion."<br />
Success is due primarily to the "between-the-lens"<br />
shutter. In 1918, Mr. Fairchild tested every known<br />
make of camera shutter and found that the largest exposure<br />
was 1/125 of a second using an opening of Y%<br />
inch. He developed his first "between-the-lens" shutter<br />
in the spring of 1918. It ran at a speed of 1/220<br />
of a second and had an opening of 2}i inches. The<br />
efficiency of this camera was 70 per cent. There were<br />
then no others on the market that had so high efficiency;<br />
most of them averaged around 50 per cent.<br />
His newest camera, known as the five-mile aerial<br />
camera, has a high efficiency shutter with a 4-inch<br />
opening, and a speed of 1/125 of a second. This is<br />
the same as the speed of the old cameras in 1918, but<br />
this new shutter covers an area about 45 times larger<br />
than the old type. A lens of "F-5" 20-inch proportions<br />
is used, working at all times at full aperture. The<br />
shutter is of exceptionally rugged construction. On a<br />
recent break-down test it stood up for over 20,500<br />
shots, losing only a negligible percentage of its speed<br />
and accuracy.<br />
Another remarkable feature of this camera is that<br />
on special high-altitude photographic work it is operated<br />
from an enclosed cabin through the floor of the<br />
plane, being suspended on a special carriage. Before<br />
the plane leaves the ground, adjustments are made so<br />
that when in flight (approximately 80 miles an hour)<br />
and at a set altitude over the country to be mapped,<br />
the camera automatically makes the necessary exposures.<br />
There are about 110 exposures to 75 feet of<br />
film.—Science Notes.<br />
Statement on World Conditions<br />
Nowhere in the world is the outlook more favorable<br />
than in the United States, according to General<br />
Guy E. Tripp, chairman of the board of the Westinghouse<br />
Electric & Manufacturing Company, who has<br />
just returned from a trip around the world, visiting<br />
Japan, the Philippines, China, India and Europe. "In<br />
Europe, France is at present leading the nations,<br />
while in the Far East, Japan alone shows commercial<br />
initiative," General Tripp declared.<br />
In Europe, according to General Tripp, conditions<br />
are most promising in France. "France is very busv,<br />
as is obvious to any visitor," said the general. "Her<br />
exports are now exceeding her imports; thus the low<br />
price of the franc is actually helping her to improve<br />
her general situation.<br />
"England is not yet out of her difficulties, her unemployment<br />
problem being especially serious. Her<br />
Labor government, though complacently accepted Inmost<br />
Englishmen, is apparently inherently unstable.<br />
If Premier MacDonald is not sufficiently radical, he<br />
will likely be deposed by his own party, while if he<br />
does become radical, there are enough conservatives<br />
left in England to force him out.<br />
The immense potential strength of the British<br />
Empire is, however, a factor of the highest importance.<br />
Great Britain controls practically every stra-
208<br />
tegic point in the great trade belt passing through the<br />
Mediterranean and encircling Asia. Among these<br />
points are Gibraltar, Malta, Suez Canal, India, Strait<br />
Settlements, Singapore, and Hong Kong. As long as<br />
she retains these outposts, her position as the leading<br />
world power can hardly be jeopardized by difficulties<br />
at home. Incidentally, the United States, possessing<br />
Manila, the Philippines, Hawaii and the Panama<br />
Canal, ranks second as a world power.<br />
"But behind every phase of the individual and<br />
commercial situation in Europe lies Germany. She<br />
possesses unequalled industrial resources, both as to<br />
physical plant and trained men, and she will quickly<br />
place herself in position to challenge the leadership<br />
of any other nation just as soon as she can free herself<br />
from her present difficulties.<br />
"In the Far East, Japan is an outstanding figure.<br />
She alone of all the oriental nations needs no extensive<br />
help from Europe and America. Though the destruction<br />
caused by the earthquake was enormous,<br />
the destroyed cities will be rebuilt on a very much<br />
better scale and the buildings will be as proof against<br />
earthquakes as it is possible to make them. The Japanese<br />
are doing the reconstruction work themselves,<br />
and the technical and financial experience thus gained<br />
will undoubtedly be worth the price to this progressive<br />
and energetic nation.<br />
"In the Philippines, China. India, and the other<br />
Asiatic countries, there are prospects for extensive<br />
industrial development, but generally speaking, it<br />
will be done by Europeans, Americans and Japanese.<br />
There is, apparently, no racial desire for improvements<br />
and progress as we understand these words.<br />
"China is a conspicuous example of the oriental<br />
tendency to resist occidental ideas. If the accounts of<br />
Marco Polo, who traveled through China in about<br />
A.D. 1300, are to be believed, China is no further advanced<br />
toward our standard today than she was 1,000<br />
years ago. Whole districts are still being periodically<br />
ravaged by famine simply because no one cares<br />
enough to improve the roads so that food supplies can<br />
be brought from other provinces.<br />
"It is not for us to pass judgment on this attitude<br />
of the oriental peoples. They believe that their philosophy<br />
is better than ours and that they gain more<br />
out of life than we do. Perhaps they are right and<br />
perhaps time will show that theirs is the more enduring<br />
civilization. In the meantime, however, the American<br />
business man must not be deceived in believing<br />
that Asia industrially is comparable with Europe and<br />
America.<br />
"At present China is in the throes of a very serious<br />
civil war. Dr. Sun Yat Sen may quite possibly<br />
gain control of Southern China. If he could impose<br />
a stable and progressive government, he might do<br />
his country a great service. Unfortunately, however,<br />
he has advanced political ideas that seem to be quite<br />
unsuitable to the Chinese character, so that his efforts<br />
may result in no lasting good. Incidentally, there<br />
was a strong anti-American sentiment in the Canton<br />
district last December, due to the fact that American<br />
destroyers participated in preventing the Sun forces<br />
from seizing the customs, which are pledged to pay<br />
the interest on Chinese debts. The feeling was that<br />
America was playing with China's enemies, but this<br />
feeling will probably prove ephemeral only, since<br />
America is a sincere friend of China.<br />
"In both India and the Philippines there is a strong<br />
The Blast FurnaceS Steel Plant<br />
April, 1924<br />
native sentiment for independence. To grant this in<br />
either case, however, would probably be very injurious<br />
to the people themselves. The natives are not<br />
yet fit for self-government, and they would quickly<br />
revert to their original state were the influence of<br />
Great Britain or the United States withdrawn.<br />
"An interesting incident illustrates the popular<br />
feeling in the Philippines. While traveling through<br />
the country outside of Manila, our party came to a<br />
water-hole where several families, including men,<br />
women, children and buffaloes, were deporting themselves.<br />
It made an interesting picture and the bathers<br />
were requested to pose. One fine looking young man<br />
refused to do so. When asked his reason, he replied<br />
in perfectly good English :<br />
' 'You will show that picture in the United States<br />
and say these are the kind of Filipinos who want independence.'<br />
" 'Aren't you grateful for these fine roads and<br />
other things that the United States have given you?'<br />
he was asked.<br />
" 'We thank you for what you have done, but we<br />
want our freedom,' was his reply."<br />
—Westinghouse Electric Bulletin.<br />
To Spend Billions for New Equipment in 1924<br />
During 1923 more than three billion dollars were spent<br />
by American railroads for fuel, material supplies, and<br />
maintenance of equipment, and the expenditures for 1924<br />
are expected again to reach this staggering total.<br />
"The general prosperity of the country is reflected<br />
in these figures," says the Washington Star. "They<br />
mean, first of all, that there has been a great volume of<br />
business in the country, for the freight records constitute<br />
one of the surest indexes of business volume." Most<br />
other papers also feel that the fact that the roads are<br />
busy hauling freight is a sure sign the factories are busy<br />
making it.<br />
The proposed expenditure of three billions more in<br />
1924 has caught the attention of financial writers and<br />
experts in general. Arthur D. Welton, in the Philadelphia<br />
Public Ledger, writes:<br />
"Today every one is looking forward with hope and<br />
confidence. There might have been a conspiracy to force<br />
a change, it came so suddenly. Judge Gary caught the<br />
ball and carried it back to niidtield with the announcement<br />
of his satisfaction with conditions and an extra dividend<br />
for United States Steel. The Stock Exchange caught<br />
a forward pass and gained twenty yards in the faceof<br />
weakening bear opposition, and since then any one can<br />
get through for a touch down.<br />
"The railroads have so far recovered their confidence<br />
that they are planning to spend more billions, just as<br />
if Congress was not going to do all kinds of fearsome<br />
things. If the message that comes through the air is correctly<br />
interpreted. Congress isn't goin to do anything<br />
fearsome at all. It isn't the season for fearsome things.<br />
Radicalism thrives only on disaster, and disaster is not<br />
popular. Business is going on whether any number of<br />
Congressmen like it or not.<br />
"Considered in relation to each other and with all<br />
allowances made for extraneous influences, the present<br />
condition of business warrants the confidence of the<br />
railway executives in adopting such a program of large<br />
expenditure."—Laclede-Christy Bulletin.
April, 1924<br />
Following is the resume of leading articles and<br />
market reviews appearing in Iron Trade Review during<br />
March.<br />
March 6—<br />
Production of pig iron in February totaled 3,064,-<br />
536 tons compared with 3,015,480 tons in January.<br />
The daily average in February was 105,673 tons in<br />
contrast with 97,273 tons daily in January. This was<br />
the first time since last October the daily average advanced<br />
to over 100,000 tons. The number of furnaces<br />
operated at the end of February was 262, or 14 more<br />
than the last day of January and 31 more than the<br />
last day of December.<br />
Iron Trade Review's composite of 14 leading iron<br />
and steel products this week is $43.24 against $43.39<br />
in the week preceding. The lower composite is due<br />
chiefly to the easier price conditions in the pig iron<br />
market. Although shipments of pig iron continue on<br />
a large scale, buying is held in abeyance and prices<br />
this week in some of the leading producing districts<br />
are 50c lower than last week. Steel prices are holding<br />
fairly uniform, with an exception with respect to<br />
plates. The conspicuous feature of the trade is the<br />
high operating record of the steel companies; U. S.<br />
Steel Corporation units this week registering 94 per<br />
cent of the steel ingot capacity, and 88 per cent of the<br />
blast furnace capacity.<br />
Iron Trade Review's European representative at<br />
Condon cables that German competition is becoming<br />
more active, the German steel producers meeting the<br />
export prices quoted by Belgium and France.<br />
A description is given of the technical work involved<br />
in the construction of airplanes for the American<br />
government, with particular reference to some<br />
manufacturing problems that are general in scope.<br />
The Washington correspondent of Iron Trade Review<br />
contributes an article analyzing the effect of the<br />
recent agreement in the bituminous industry.<br />
March 13—<br />
The U. S. Steel Corporation operations this week<br />
are at 96 per cent of capacity, practically maximum,<br />
and the independents average 85 per cent. The steel<br />
corporation plants in February shipped on the average<br />
6,000 tons daily over the daily record for January.<br />
The gain in unfilled orders was 114,000 tons, indicating<br />
that the corporation booked about 260,000 tons more<br />
in February than in the preceding month.<br />
The third highest rate of ingot output in history<br />
is registered for February. The daily average was<br />
151,227 tons, equivalent to an annual rate of 47,030,000<br />
tons. The February record was succeeded only in<br />
April and May. 1923!<br />
Iron Trade Review's market composite this weekis<br />
$43.27, compared with $43.29 the week preceding.<br />
Producers of sheet bars are booking orders for second<br />
quarter at $42.50 and prices on semifinished material<br />
generally are unchanged. Weakness is noted in<br />
the market for some finished lines, and also in the pig<br />
iron market.<br />
The fabricating of hydroelectric units is described<br />
by H. R. Simonds, Boston representative of Iron Trade<br />
Review. The article gives details of some new problems<br />
developed in the construction of a 70.000 hp. turbo-generator.<br />
The construction of barges with steel channels,<br />
producing a hull of extraordinary strength, also is described<br />
in this issue.<br />
The Blast FurnaceSSteel Plant<br />
209<br />
Mrach 20—<br />
The railroad and building industries develop new<br />
and extensive demands, but in other departments of<br />
finished steel, buying is backward. Car orders last<br />
week totaled 8,000 and the number of car orders since<br />
January 1 is estimated at 75,000. Car building plants<br />
in the Chicago district are filled to October 1. The<br />
pig iron market is featureless and some resale iron is<br />
appearing at Pittsburgh at $22 Yalley basis. A Tennessee<br />
furnace is shipping iron by rail and water and<br />
competing with Chicago furnaces at northern points.<br />
Iron Trade Review's composite this week is $43.2c<br />
compared with $43.27 the preceding week.<br />
Iron Trade Review's European representatives report<br />
that operations in the Ruhr now are at 60 per<br />
cent. Recent competition by Germans has given the<br />
Ruhr plants sufficient orders for three month's operations.<br />
John D. Knox. Associate Technical Editor, at<br />
Pittsburgh, contributes an article describing the process<br />
of lithographing steel sheets, giving the method<br />
employed at a typical plant working up 72,000 sheets<br />
daily.<br />
March 27—<br />
Less activity is noted in the ir.frn and steel markets<br />
this week, with the exception of buying for railroad<br />
and constructional needs. The railroads are taking<br />
about 40 per cent of the output of the mills. The Steel<br />
Corporation is maintaining operations at nearly 97<br />
per cent though some of the independent plants have<br />
reduced their rates slightly, and at Youngstown, Pittsburgh<br />
and elsewhere, open-hearth furnaces have been<br />
put out. The majority of consumers of iron and steel<br />
are buying close; this is noted particularly in the<br />
sheet market. The political situation at Washington<br />
is given by many buyers as their reason for reluctance<br />
in closing. The Ford Motor Company is figuring<br />
on 15.000 tons of automobile sheets. Sheet prices are<br />
showing weakness and in some districts steel bars are<br />
offered at 2.30c, Pittsburgh.<br />
The market for Lake Superior iron ore is about to<br />
be opened probably with a reduction in price from last<br />
year's level. Some of the producers have quoted less<br />
than last year's prices on the largest single tonnage<br />
offered in the open market, 250,000 tons for the Ford<br />
Motor Company.<br />
Iron Trade Review's European manager at London,<br />
cables that the enthusiastic expectations of an<br />
agreement on the reparation question on the basis of<br />
Dawes negotiations may not be realized, as the Committee<br />
of Experts is having difficulty in agreeing, and<br />
political wrangling is being intensified, with possible<br />
consequences of nullifying much of the committee's<br />
work. The steel mills in the Ruhr and France and<br />
Belgium are booked for several months, while British<br />
mills lack orders.<br />
The method adopted by a large steel casting company<br />
in the Chicago district for apportioning costs according<br />
to each job is described in this issue. The<br />
price to buyer is based on cost rather than weight.<br />
Running inventories are maintained to show stock and<br />
other necessary featurse.<br />
Iron Trade Review has been presenting each week<br />
brief, descriptive articles entitled "Large Uses of Steel<br />
in Small Ways." Spinning rings and travelers, license<br />
plates, toys, steel, wool, cotton ties, pens, hypodermic<br />
needles, pins and corsets, are some of the "subjects<br />
already covered.
Die Blast UaceSSteel Plant<br />
Apri1 ' 192<br />
V -.rrr/ —r^. K ^-rrr ::: ^'^1<br />
]7% POWER PLAN<br />
t\i Z^Z^— VT7> I7Z^ —<br />
Power Plant Management*<br />
'^<br />
By ROBERT JUNEt<br />
T H E fact that coal prices have shown no tendency<br />
to recede in recent years has caused power plant<br />
operators in many sections of the country, not<br />
generally regarded as natural oil burning localities,<br />
to consider and frequently to adopt oil as a boiler fuel.<br />
In this paper we will deal first with the advantages<br />
and disadvantages of fuel oil. and then take up certain<br />
factors in the efficient use of fuel oil which have not<br />
heretofore been discussed at any great length in the<br />
many articles which have appeared in the press on this<br />
subject.<br />
Comparative Cost of Oil and Coal.<br />
The first cost of oil and coal does not tell the story<br />
of the comparative advantages of these two fuels.<br />
Many other factors such as availability of supply, increased<br />
boiler efficiency, comparative labor costs,<br />
storage factors, etc., have to be taken into consideration.<br />
Nevertheless our starting point is the actual di-<br />
This is the fifth in a new series of articles<br />
by Robert June the well known authority on<br />
Power Plant Management. The articles are<br />
written from the point of view of the managing<br />
executive and deal with the dollars and<br />
cents end of Power Plant Operation and<br />
Maintenance. Succeeding articles deal with<br />
such live topics as Safe and Efficient Boiler<br />
Operation, Stoker Operation and Maintenance,<br />
What Management Should Know<br />
About Coal and Ash Handling Equipment,<br />
Steam Piping, Efficient Turbine Operation,<br />
etc. The series is timely and should prove of<br />
value to our readers.<br />
rect comparison in cost of B.t.u. per pound for each<br />
fuel. Fig. 1 shows the comparative first cost of fuel<br />
oil. Table I developed on a different basis takes into<br />
consideration the variation in efficiency with the two<br />
fuels, but is based on a constant calorific value for<br />
coal and oil.<br />
Advantages of Oil Fuel.<br />
1. Handling costs are reduced; the boiler-room<br />
staff is cut fewer firemen, coal passers, helpers, etc.,<br />
are required, the reduction being approximately in the<br />
ratio of five to one.<br />
2. Ease of fire control, ignition, regulation. In an<br />
exigency, such as, for instance, a failure in water supply,<br />
the oil fire can be promptly extinguished. Much<br />
time is saved in bringing up the pressure; 150 lbs. can<br />
be secured from cold water in a half hour.<br />
•Copyright 1923, by Robert June.<br />
fAssociate Member A. S. M. E.<br />
3. Since combustion is nearly perfect, much higher<br />
capacities and efficiencies obtain. Excess air is held to<br />
a minimum. The opening of furnace doors for cleaning<br />
or working of fires is dispensed with; furnace temperatures<br />
are, accordingly, almost constant.<br />
4. Oil in storage does not lose its calorific value,<br />
as does coal. Moreover, there is little danger from<br />
spontaneous combustion.<br />
5. The refuse from the combustion of fuel oil is<br />
insignificant, and of easy disposal. The boiler-room is<br />
free of ashes and dust. The equipment is spared the<br />
Dollars per Ton for Coal<br />
FIG. 1. COMPARATIVE WORTH nv COAL AND OIL<br />
Courtesy of Power "<br />
deleterious effects of such abrasives. Annoyance and<br />
damage to surrounding property is minimized.<br />
6. Smoke can be practically eliminated.<br />
Disadvantages of Oil Fuel.<br />
1. Fire Hazard: Apparatus using oil for fuel,<br />
however safeguarded, introduces a distinct hazard<br />
which should be recognized.<br />
2. Storage: Oil storage not only offers more<br />
hazards than coal storage, but it frequently calls for<br />
the use of a great deal more space. The table of
April, 1924<br />
storage capacities permissable under laws of National<br />
Board of Fire Underwriters, shows that unlimited capacity<br />
may be stored at a minimum of 30 feet from the<br />
nearest building line. The laws deal at length with<br />
the thickness and size of vent and fill pipes, cover<br />
boxes, indicators, filters, etc., making a complicated<br />
and expensive storage installation.<br />
3. Reliability of Supply: Fuel oil must be transported<br />
in special cars and special delivery wagons of<br />
which there are a limited number available at any one<br />
time. Coal shipments so far exceed the shipments<br />
of oil that the transportation of coal is a chief source<br />
of revenue to the railroads. If coal cars should be delayed<br />
in transit, the roads would soon become blocked<br />
and demoralize the whole system of freight movement.<br />
Production of bituminous coal has always been adequate,<br />
the coal must be moved, consequently the supply<br />
has always proved reliable. Coal hauling by local<br />
teamsters is more flexible than depending upon one<br />
company for delivery of fuel in a tank wagon.<br />
4. Price Stability: The history of tne oil market<br />
shows wide variation in price, ranging from 2c per<br />
FIG. 2—Cross section rotary pump.<br />
gallon up to as high as 7.5c. Present quotations are<br />
still subject to fluctuation and it is doubtful whether<br />
a contract could be made to guarantee a fixed reasonable<br />
price and delivery over a satisfactory period of<br />
time. The coal market, insofar as steam sizes go, has<br />
been very much more stable than the oil market.<br />
Moreover, coal prices today are regarded as near the<br />
top and any tendency to boost them seriously would<br />
meet with tremendous resistance all over the country.<br />
There is no such public sentiment against increases in<br />
oil prices as there is against increases in coal prices.<br />
5. F'irst cost of Equipment: A modern fuel oil<br />
plant consisting of duplicate storage tanks, oil heaters,<br />
pumps, etc., and reliable workmanship for its installation<br />
is estimated to cost approximately $30 per h.p.<br />
Up to date, mechanical stoker equipment consisting of<br />
complete stokers, which will ordinarily outlast the<br />
life of an oil plant, auxiliary apparatus including modern<br />
ash removal system and labor for installing should<br />
not exceed $18.00 per h.p., a saving of nearly 40 per<br />
cent over a fuel oil plant.<br />
6. Boiler and furnace maintenance costs will be<br />
higher with oil, unless they are especially constructed<br />
for burning it. In localities where feed water tends<br />
to form considerable quantities of scale, the repair<br />
The Blast Funracoe Steel Plant<br />
211<br />
costs are likely to be much increased by reason of<br />
the intense temperature developed in the furnace.<br />
Handling in Bulk.<br />
The decision as to whether to use fuel oil will<br />
depend entirely upon local conditions. The above<br />
points are suggestive of the factors which must be<br />
taken into consideration in considering use of oil in<br />
any given plant. The final decision will be made upon<br />
local conditions. Let us assume that oil is to be used.<br />
We have then the problem of handling it in bulk quantities.<br />
This presents a problem which has not been<br />
generally discussed.<br />
Let us assume that we must take care of an average<br />
of one or more tank cars within each 24 hour<br />
period. Where gravity discharge is possible, it is desirable<br />
to place 10-inch pipes in a vertical position in<br />
the center of the rails and discharge the oil through<br />
these pipes into the storage tank. If several cars are<br />
customarily received at the plant at the same time, it<br />
may be well to put in several of these pipes, in which<br />
event they should be arranged with 43-foot centers.<br />
as this is the length of the most commonly used tank<br />
cars. Threaded, or flanged caps, preferably threaded,<br />
should be provided for the lO-inch pipes, when not<br />
in use. The 4-inch discharge pipes of the car can be<br />
located directly over the 10-inch pipe with the result<br />
that when the car is properly heated, its contents may<br />
be discharged in one-half to three-quarters of an hour.<br />
The 10-inch line should have a gate valve at the<br />
entrance to the tank or at the entrance of each tank,<br />
if branches are provided to more than one tank. As a<br />
matter of safety and also to comply with the insurance<br />
rules of some states, the filling pipe should enter<br />
the tank near the bottom, thus providing an oil seal<br />
which will prevent the possibility of any gas within<br />
the tank being ignited by means of a flame carried<br />
through the 10-inch line.<br />
It is, of course, necessary to heat heavy oil whenever<br />
it is moved. This means that storage tanks may<br />
be equipped with heating coils. Where tanks are located<br />
above the ground, the area of the heating coils<br />
will be' largely determined by the climate. Where<br />
tanks are burried, approximately 35 ft. of y-'m. steam<br />
pipe should be provided for each 10,000 gallons capacity.<br />
It is quite a common mistake to bring oils to too<br />
high temperature when endeavoring to move from<br />
storage. This should be avoided because it wastes<br />
steam and therefore fuel, unnecessarily, and it does<br />
not make oil any easier to handle above a certain<br />
point. Should there be any water in the tank, as<br />
frequently happens, it may produce steam bubbles in<br />
the oil, causing foaming.<br />
A good average safe temperature for handling oil<br />
out of storage is 125 deg. F. In laying out steam lines,<br />
provision should be made for a y-in. line to the tank<br />
car.<br />
Best Pump for Oil Service.<br />
Rotary pumps are in use by thousands for handling<br />
oil and their popularity is well deserved. The rotary<br />
pump has so frequently demonstrated its advantages<br />
over the piston pump for this same service, that it is<br />
hardly necessary to describe at length the different<br />
actions of these two principles. Suffice to say that<br />
the rotary pump will handle a larger volume of liquid<br />
with less power than the piston pump. This is so<br />
because the action of the rotary pump is continuous.
212<br />
W r hen once started there is no stop or hesitation<br />
in the flow of liquid, whereas in reciprocating pumps,<br />
when the piston has reached the end of the stroke, it<br />
stops and with it stops the flow of liquid. It is a well<br />
established fact that it takes more power to intermittently<br />
start the movement of anything than it does<br />
to keep it moving when once started.<br />
The three advantages of rotary action are: (1)<br />
Continuous flow with greater pumping volume; (2)<br />
saving in power, with consequent reduced cost of operation<br />
; (3) less slippage.<br />
A typical rotary pump is illustrated in Fig. 2. It<br />
will be noted that the buckets are hung in the roter<br />
in such a way that they ride in the cylinder wall with<br />
extremely light contact, similar to a balanced flange<br />
valve on a steam engine. An important feature of the<br />
action is that the buckets take up their wear automatically,<br />
thus making a perfect seat on the cylinder<br />
wall at all times. The rotary pump, having a piston<br />
suction, need not be primed.<br />
The piston revolves with the shaff, causing the<br />
buckets to hold out against the cylider by centrifugal<br />
force and gravity. This exhausts the air from the<br />
suction line, allowing the atmospheric pressure to<br />
force the oil into the pump and fill the extension<br />
chamber. The oil is forced out of the discharge as<br />
it cannot carry by the discharge port, owing to the<br />
fact that the only oil that will carry by is that which<br />
fills the recesses in the piston and this acts as an oil<br />
packing, keeping the pump at all times suction tight.<br />
Piping Systems.<br />
Where heavy oil is to be burned as fuel in boilers,<br />
special attention must be paid to the design and layout<br />
of the piping system between the tank and pumps,<br />
and between the pumps and the burners. All of the<br />
FIG. 3—Pumping plant Standard Oil Company of Ohio. All<br />
piping 4-inch. By-pass on every pump.<br />
pumps should be located as close to the tank and at<br />
the same time, as close to the floor as possible, in order<br />
to reduce friction and suction lifts.<br />
The intake line should be at least half an inch<br />
larger than the pump suction. The use of elbows<br />
should be avoided, long sweep bends being used in<br />
their places. Where the intake pipe lies along level<br />
Die Blast Furnace^Steel Plant<br />
April, 1924<br />
ground for some distance, it should be installed with a<br />
slope upwards of about one floor in 100, toward the<br />
pump. Care should be taken to see that pipes are<br />
placed either in dry, well drained ground, or in an<br />
equally well drained wood or concrete trenches. In<br />
the northern states, piping subject to frost should<br />
FIG. 4—Pumping plant Nicholas Oil Company, Omaha, Neb., six<br />
pumps handle kerosine, gasoline and four grades at lubricating<br />
oil. All pumps driven from one motor. Clutches and<br />
gears allow operation at any and all units.<br />
be insulated. Discharge pipes from pump to burner<br />
should also be insulated.<br />
It is quite frequently the practice to place a small<br />
live steam line inside the discharge line to supplement<br />
the oil heater. In such cases, expansion at the point<br />
where the small line is introduced is taken care of by<br />
provision of stuffing boxes. By putting in this small<br />
steam line, it is possible to heat the oil in the discharge<br />
line when starting up a cold installation. This<br />
is an important point as it greatly facilitates handling<br />
the heavy oil. Another piping detail which will greatly<br />
facilitate handling, is to run a circulating- line from<br />
the far end of the discharge heater back to the suction<br />
tank. This makes it possible to circulate oil entirely<br />
through the system, in advance of firing the boilers—<br />
quite an advantage with heavy oils.<br />
For piping of this sort, standard weight pipe and<br />
fittings can be used. However, real care should be<br />
exercised in selecting the valves, as cheap valves have<br />
a great tendency to leak.<br />
In putting in piping for oil, joints should be made<br />
up with compound not effected by oil. For this purpose<br />
a mixture of litharge and glycerine is frequently<br />
used. However, to secure best results, this combination<br />
should be mixed in very small quantities and used as<br />
rapidly as mixed, for the reason that it sets very<br />
quickly and is, of course, of little value if the thread<br />
is not screwed on and the joint made before the compound<br />
has hardened.<br />
Pointers on Efficient Operation.<br />
Oil should not be heated above its flash point in<br />
any part of the system except the burner. Such preheating<br />
will cause oil to become carbonized and to<br />
clog up the piping system, resulting in unsteady burning<br />
and the need for additional pressure to force oil<br />
through the clogged pipes.
April, 1924<br />
Grosfl Boiler Net Boiler Net Evaporation<br />
Efficiency Efficiency* from and at<br />
with Oil with Oil 212 deg. F. per<br />
Fuel Fuel Pound of Oil<br />
73<br />
74<br />
75<br />
76<br />
77<br />
78<br />
79<br />
80<br />
81<br />
82<br />
83<br />
73<br />
74<br />
75<br />
76<br />
77<br />
78<br />
79<br />
80<br />
81<br />
82<br />
83<br />
71<br />
72<br />
73<br />
74<br />
75<br />
76<br />
77<br />
78<br />
79<br />
80<br />
81<br />
71<br />
72<br />
73<br />
74<br />
75<br />
76<br />
77<br />
78<br />
79<br />
80<br />
81<br />
13.54<br />
13.73<br />
13.92<br />
14.11<br />
14.30<br />
14.49<br />
14.68<br />
14.87<br />
15.06<br />
15.25<br />
15.44<br />
Net Evaporation<br />
from and at<br />
212 deg. F.per<br />
Barrel of Oil<br />
4549<br />
4613<br />
4677<br />
4741<br />
4807<br />
4869<br />
4932<br />
4996<br />
5060<br />
5124<br />
5187<br />
Ihe Dlast furnace^ Stool rl anr<br />
TABLE I—RELATIVE VALUE OF COAL AND OIL FUEL<br />
. 3963<br />
.3642<br />
.3592<br />
.3544<br />
.3497<br />
.3451<br />
.3406<br />
.3363<br />
.3320<br />
.3279<br />
.3238<br />
2.198<br />
2.168<br />
2.138<br />
2.110<br />
2.082<br />
2.054<br />
2.027<br />
2.002<br />
1.976<br />
1.952<br />
1.927<br />
WATER EVAPORATED FROM AND AT 212 DEG. F. PER POUND OF COAL<br />
.4431<br />
.4370<br />
.4310<br />
.4253<br />
.4196<br />
.4141<br />
.4087<br />
.4035<br />
.3984<br />
.3934<br />
. 3886<br />
2.638<br />
2.601<br />
2.565<br />
2.532<br />
2.498<br />
2.465<br />
2.433<br />
2.402<br />
2.371<br />
2.342<br />
2.313<br />
POUNDS OF OIL EQUAL TO ONE POUND OF COAL<br />
.5170<br />
.5099<br />
. 5029<br />
.4961<br />
.4895<br />
.4831<br />
.4768<br />
.4708<br />
.4648<br />
.4590<br />
.4534<br />
5909<br />
5827<br />
5747<br />
5670<br />
5594<br />
5521<br />
5450<br />
5380<br />
5312<br />
5246<br />
5181<br />
.6647<br />
.6556<br />
. 6466<br />
.6378<br />
.6294<br />
.6211<br />
.6131<br />
.6053<br />
.5976<br />
5902<br />
5829<br />
10 11<br />
. 7386<br />
. 72X3<br />
.7184<br />
.7087<br />
' .6993<br />
.6901<br />
.6812<br />
.6725<br />
.6640<br />
.6557<br />
6447<br />
BARRELS OF OIL EQUAL TO ONE TON OF COAL<br />
3.077<br />
3.035<br />
2,993<br />
2.954<br />
2.914<br />
2.876<br />
2.838<br />
2.802<br />
2.767<br />
2.732<br />
2.699<br />
3.51b<br />
3.468<br />
3.420<br />
3.376<br />
3.330<br />
3.286<br />
3.243<br />
3.202<br />
3.162<br />
3.122<br />
3.085<br />
3.955<br />
3.902<br />
3.848<br />
3.798<br />
3.746<br />
3.697<br />
3.649<br />
3.602<br />
3.557<br />
3.513<br />
3.470<br />
4.395<br />
4.335<br />
4.275<br />
4.220<br />
4.162<br />
4.108<br />
4.054<br />
4.003<br />
3.952<br />
3.903<br />
3.856<br />
•Net efficiency = gross efficiency less 2 per cent for steam used in atomizing oil. Heat value of oil<br />
One ton of coal weighs 2,000 pounds. One barrel of oil weighs 336 pounds. One gallon of oil weighs 8 pounds.<br />
When using a steam atomizing burner see that only<br />
enough steam is turned on to give a soft clear flame.<br />
Too much steam is not only wasteful, but cools the<br />
flame to a certain extent and develops the possibility<br />
of blow-torch action so damaging to brick work. A<br />
white flame indicates excessive steam. Regulate the<br />
steam for each burner at its respective steam valve.<br />
Constant attention should be given to this.<br />
If boiler is provided with a superheater see that<br />
superheated steam is used in preference to saturated<br />
steam as an atomizing agent for the oil.<br />
.8124<br />
.8011<br />
.7903<br />
.7796<br />
.7692<br />
.7591<br />
.7493<br />
.7398<br />
.7304<br />
.7213<br />
7125<br />
4.835<br />
4.769<br />
4.703<br />
4.642<br />
4.578<br />
4.517<br />
4.460<br />
4.403<br />
4.348<br />
4.293<br />
4.241<br />
213<br />
12<br />
.8863<br />
.8740<br />
.8621<br />
.8505<br />
.8392<br />
.8281<br />
.8174<br />
.8070<br />
.7968<br />
.7869<br />
.7772<br />
5.275<br />
5.202<br />
5.131<br />
5.063<br />
4.994<br />
4.929<br />
4.865<br />
4.803<br />
4.743<br />
4.683<br />
4.627<br />
18,500 Btu.<br />
Oil pressure should not exceed the pressure of<br />
the atomizing steam or air. If this occurs there is<br />
danger that the oil will lodge on the brick work at the<br />
back of the combustion chamber before combustion<br />
is complete. In general the steam or air pressure<br />
should be five pounds greater than that of the oil.<br />
When a boiler is down for repairs, particularly furnace<br />
repairs, take out the burner before any work is<br />
done inside. Damage to tips is always possible if<br />
the furnace is being worked upon.<br />
Steam From Earth's Center<br />
The idea of obtaining steam power from the heated<br />
center of the earth is not practicable at the present<br />
time, according to Dr. Thomas T. Read, of the Department<br />
of the Interior, who, with F. C. Houghten,<br />
of the research laboratory of the American Society of<br />
Heating and Ventilating Engineers, has prepared for<br />
the Bureau of Mines a report on the cooling of mine<br />
air. In descending beneath the surface of the earth<br />
the temperature increases continuously with depth at<br />
a rate varying from 1 deg. F. for 70 feet in depth to<br />
1 deg. in 250 feet, according to the region where it has<br />
been measured. Men have ascended over five miles<br />
above the surface of the earth; if they could go five<br />
miles below the surface in a shaft that deep a region<br />
of high temperature would be reached, and it would<br />
seem as though it ought to be possible to utilize that<br />
heat as a source of power, free and perpetual. Sir<br />
Charles Parsons, the inventor of the steam turbine,<br />
has suggested that it is possible, but Dr. Read considers<br />
that the difficulties involved would make the<br />
power thus obtained too expensive to compete with<br />
coal.<br />
The principal difficulty is not the cost of penetrating<br />
to so great a depth (though a shaft 5 miles<br />
deep would cost $5,000,000 or more), but the fact that<br />
the amount of heat that can be derived from hot rock<br />
is not proportional to its temperature, but is limited<br />
by the conductivity of the rock. Comparing the heat<br />
with water filtering through porous rock, it is evident<br />
that the amount of water that can get through in a<br />
given time is not dependent upon the amount of water<br />
available, or even on its pressure, but depends chiefly<br />
on the porosity of the rock. The heat conductivity of<br />
rock is low, and in order to get any considerable quantity<br />
of heat through in a unit of time the area of surface<br />
exposed must be large.<br />
The second important difficulty depends on space;<br />
the heat is available five miles below the surface, but<br />
it can only be usefully employed on the surface, and<br />
how to get it there without losing most of it on the
214<br />
way is the problem. One suggestion is to pass water<br />
down, and circulate it through large galleries at the<br />
bottom, thus giving it time to take up the heat, even<br />
at the slow rate of transfer that exists. This would<br />
give us water at a high temperature and pressure, but<br />
at the bottom of the shaft, where it is no more useful<br />
than ice is in the polar regions. In rising to the top<br />
of the shaft, the hot water would cool down at about<br />
the same rate as it is heated up in descending. Even<br />
with extremely efficient (and expensive) heat insulation<br />
on the up-going pipe, so much of the heat would<br />
be lost that what remained would not pay for the cost<br />
of getting it, at least until coal and other sources of<br />
power are much more expensive than they are now.<br />
The keeping of a deep mine cool enough so that<br />
the miners can work efficiently, which is the subject<br />
of Serial 2554 of the Bureau of Mines, written by<br />
Messrs. Read and Houghten, is usually made possible<br />
by circulating a volume of ventilating air sufficiently<br />
large in proportion to the area of workings to be kept<br />
cool. In most cases this method will suffice to, keep<br />
the working places below 85 deg. F. wet bulb, which<br />
is about the limit of effective work by the miners. In<br />
a series of mathematical calculations that resemble<br />
those of Einstein in that very few people can understand<br />
them, the authors show why this is so and also<br />
why adiabatic compression of the air is so important<br />
in deep mines. Air going down into a mine heats up<br />
at the rate of 5}2 deg. F. for every 1,000 feet of<br />
descent from the compression due to the increase in<br />
barometic pressure. If this heat is used up in evaporating<br />
water in the mine the temperature of the air<br />
can be kept down, but if the air on entering the mine<br />
is nearly saturated with water vapor the air in the<br />
mine gets very hot and the miners can scarcely work.<br />
In the deepest mine in the world, in Brazil, the air is<br />
dried before it enters the mine and this gives it enough<br />
cooling power so the men can work in reasonable<br />
comfort in the deepest workings, 6,726 feet below the<br />
surface. In most of the mines in the United States,<br />
fortunately, the necessary cooling power of the air<br />
can be maintained by simply circulating a large<br />
enough volume of air, which is much less expensive<br />
than drying it.<br />
French exports of iron and steel products during<br />
the first 11 months of 1923 were nearly 7 per cent below<br />
the amount shipped abroad during the corresponding<br />
period of 1922, but were 20 per cent greater<br />
than the 1921 period figure. Consignments of French<br />
iron and steel and certain manufactures thereof for<br />
foreign countries during the calendar year 1923 are<br />
estimated at 2,705,300, calculated upon the trade of<br />
the first 11 months of the year.<br />
Electric Steam Generator Installation<br />
A recent application of an electric steam generator is the<br />
installation of one of these units in the Hudson Falls, N. Y.,<br />
plant of the Union Bag & Paper Company. This plant is<br />
devoted to the manufacture of paper, paper bags and other<br />
paper products, and the steam generator recently installed<br />
will furnish steam for heating purposes and process work<br />
throughout the plant.<br />
The generator was built by the General Electric Company,<br />
is rated 5,000 kw., 6600 volt, 500 bhp., and is designed to<br />
generate steam at 100 pounds pressure. The generator<br />
The Blast TumaceSSteel Plant<br />
April, 1924<br />
operates in parallel with other fuel-fired boilers, but its<br />
operation is mostly confined to periods of high water and<br />
non-working days, when an excess of water is available for<br />
operating the power plant generators. In normal times, the<br />
fuel-fired boilers carry the steam load.<br />
In the Hudson Falls plant the operating conditions are<br />
such that the steam demand is very constant and the genera<br />
tor, for this reason, is equipped only with hand control. This<br />
consists of a valve in the discharge side of the hot water circulating<br />
pump. This valve regulates the water level in the<br />
Electric steam generator.<br />
electrode chamber of the generator to such a height as to convert<br />
into steam whatever power is available up to the capacity<br />
of the generator.<br />
The generator is located in the same room as the fuelfired<br />
boilers and takes up a floor space of approximately 6x10<br />
feet, with a 24-foot headroom for the pump, shell and primary<br />
switchboard panel. The unit is operated by the same<br />
crew operating the fuel-fired boilers, no increase in boiler<br />
room force being necessary.<br />
STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP. MANAGEMENT. ETC., OF<br />
Ihe Dlast lurnace L Mool Plant<br />
[Required by Act of Congress of August 21, 1912]<br />
Name of Publication: The Blast Furnace and Steel Plant, published<br />
monthly at Pittsburgh, Pa. (Report of April, 1924]<br />
Publisher—Tho Andresen Co., Inc., 108 Smithfield St., Pittsburgh Pa<br />
Editor—F. J. Crolius, 108 Smithfield St., Pittsburgh, Pa.<br />
Managing Editor—L. L. Carson, 108 Smithneid St., Pittsburgh Pa.<br />
Business Manager—L. I,. Carson, 108 Smithfield St., Pittsburgh, Pa.<br />
Names and Addresses of stockholders holding 1 per cent or more of total<br />
amount of stock:<br />
L L. Carson, 108 Smithneid St., Pittsburgh, Pa.<br />
P. C. Andresen, 70 l J House Bldg., Pittsburgh, Pa.<br />
C. J. Keller, 5840 Solway St., Pittsburgh, Pa.<br />
R. It. Thiess, 420 Byrne Bldg., Los Angeles, Calif.<br />
M. M. Zedor, 108 Smithfield St., Pittsburgh, Pa.<br />
Known bondholders, mortgagees, and other security holders holding 1 per<br />
cent or more of total amount of bonds, mortgages, or other securities:<br />
None.<br />
L. L. CARSON, Business Manager.<br />
Sworn to and subscribed before me this 20th day of March, 1924.<br />
CIIAS. A. SEIBERT, Notary Public.<br />
(My commisiion expires March 6, 1927.)
April, 1924<br />
llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINIIIIIIIIIIIillllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllilllllllllllllllllllillllllllllllllllllllllUIIIIIIIU<br />
IheDlast Unlacedjteel riant<br />
WITH THE EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURERS<br />
Soderberg Self-Baking Electrode<br />
C. W. Eger, Managing Director of Elektrokemisk<br />
lndustri, Norway, and connected with numerous Hydro-<br />
Power developments and Electro-Chemical industries,<br />
is now in the United States with his metallurgical advisor.<br />
Dr. M. Seni to negotiate for the use of the Soderberg<br />
continuous self-baking electrode.<br />
Mr. Eger reports that licenses for the use of Soderberg<br />
electrode and process have been issued to 24 large<br />
companies for use in over 35 different plants. Over<br />
200,000 kw. of carbide, ferro-alloy, iron smelting, aluminum,<br />
steel and other furnaces are using or installing<br />
the Soderberg electrode.<br />
Mr. Eger or Dr. Seni can be reached through their<br />
American representatives, the Electric Furnace Construction<br />
Company, 1015 Chestnut St., Philadelphia.<br />
Oil Burner Association Meets<br />
The first annual meeting of the American Association<br />
of Oil Burner Manufacturers will be held at the Hotel<br />
Chase, St. Louis, April 1, 2 and 3, 1924. A program of<br />
speakers of national reputation on both industrial and<br />
domestic oil burners has been arranged and the Association<br />
has issued a general invitation to firms and individuals<br />
in allied industries to attend these meetings.<br />
Exhibits of oil burners and oil burning equipment will<br />
be shown on the Roof Garden of the Hotel.<br />
215<br />
The water works pumping station of the City of<br />
Allentovvn, Pa., is described in an illustrated leaflet issued<br />
by the De Laval Steam Turbine Company, of Trenton,<br />
N. J. The station as a whole may be considered a good<br />
example of a reliable and economical plant for a small<br />
city. The water supply for the 85,000 inhabitants is<br />
taken from two springs, one located near the pumping<br />
station and the other at a distance of five miles, and<br />
cool, clear and pure water is supplied to 19,000 connections<br />
at a single family rate of only $3.75- net per year.<br />
The pressure varies from 40 to 100 lbs., which is sufficient<br />
for fire purposes. The principal pumping equipment<br />
consists of two centrifugal pumps designed to be<br />
driven either by steam turbine or by an electric motor<br />
using purchased electric power, the units being mounted<br />
upon an elevated platform above flood level, so that the<br />
pumps can continue to operate in case the steam supply<br />
fails due to flooding of the pumping station.<br />
"Steinmetz and His Discoverer" is the title of a 24<br />
page booklet just published by Robson & Adee, Schenectady.<br />
The booklet was written by John T. Broderick,<br />
an early associate of Doctor Steinmetz in the General<br />
Electric Company, and at present employed there. He<br />
is also author of "Pulling Together," a book on industrial<br />
relations, containing an introduction by Doctor Steinmetz.<br />
Mr. Broderick points to E. Wilbur Rice, Jr., as the discoverer<br />
of Steinmetz, and their meeting in a Yonkers<br />
workshop 30 years ago is described. An outline of the<br />
growth of the electrical industry during the past twenty<br />
years follows as a prelude to Mr. Broderick's description<br />
of the influence of the two men on electrical progress.<br />
The McConway & Torley Company, Pittsburgh, Pa.<br />
is enlarging the boiler room of their steel f<strong>org</strong>ing plant<br />
at 48th Street and Allegheny Avenue. This plant manufactures<br />
the Jenny railroad car coupling. This new addition<br />
to the steam plant will include a new 343 horsepower<br />
B. & \Y. boiler and a Westinghouse New Model<br />
underfeed stoker. The boiler walls will be protected by<br />
non-clinkering extension side-wall tuyeres which are<br />
fastened to the side of the stoker and extend down along<br />
the side wall of the boiler.<br />
This new model underfeed stoker is equipped with an<br />
extension agitating grate which is supplied with air under<br />
pressure and hence is active fuel burning surface. The<br />
agitator is operated by a steam cylinder which may also<br />
be equipped for air operation. The depth and contour<br />
of the fuel bed on this stoker may be varied at will by<br />
means of the secondary ram adjusting mechanisms which<br />
are connected to the main fuel feeding rams. The main<br />
rams which constitute the fuel feeding mechanisms are<br />
driven by a d.c. variable speed motor. A chain transmits<br />
the power from the motor to the stoker line shaft which<br />
in turn drives the fuel feeding mechanisms.<br />
This new steam unit will use Pittsburgh nut and slackcoal<br />
of a heating value of approximately 12,500 B.t.u.<br />
as fired.
216<br />
^mmilUIIIIIIII!lllllllllllllllhlllllll!lllll|)!llli!|l|,|||l||l|||l!N<br />
Ihe Dlast kir<br />
•O Steel PI anr<br />
April, 1924<br />
1 Some Pointers on By-Product Coke Oven Operation<br />
~iiiiiiiiiiiiii|iiiniiiiiniiiiiiiiiii!ii"iiiiinii:iiiii,iiiiiii"!iii'iii IIIIIIIIIII lliiiiiiiniililiniliiliilil IIIIIIII Iiiilllllllliiiliiilillllllilliillliiillllllllliliiilllliililiiliniinini iniiimiiiiiiiii|iiiMmiiiiiiii!iiiiii : 'iiliiiii!:llliillliiiillllliliiiililililillllllli:illlillliiiiiilllliiiliiNM^<br />
Steam Process Best in Coke Desulphurization<br />
Experimental work on a laboratory scale on the desulphurization<br />
of coke by steam, conducted by the '<br />
Department of the Interior and the Carnegie Institute<br />
of Technology at the Pittsburgh Experiment Station of<br />
the Bureau of Mines, has demonstated that the steaming<br />
process effects a greater sulphur removal than is possible<br />
with other processes. The economic importance of the<br />
results of these experiments is that they point the way<br />
to future utilization of enormous reserves of high-sulphur<br />
coals not now suitable for coke making. At the present<br />
time only low-sulphur coals are used for this purpose.<br />
In a report giving the results of these experiments,<br />
made by Alfred R. Powell, associate chemist. Bureau<br />
of Mines, and John H. Thompson, research fellow, Carnegie<br />
Institute of Technology, it is pointed out that sulphur<br />
in metallurgical coke gives rise to many problems<br />
and difficulties in furnace operations. Over 1% per cent<br />
of sulphur is likely to produce an inferior grade of iron.<br />
Sulphur will, in addition to causing trouble in the furnace.make<br />
it difficult, if not impossible, to work the iron.<br />
Any process for removing this deleterious substance from<br />
the coke is therefore of value to both the manufacturer<br />
and consumer of coke, if the cost is not prohibitive.<br />
The average annual coke production of the United<br />
States during the last 10 years has been 45,404,000 tons.<br />
Approximately 60 per cent of this total has been used in<br />
metallurgical industries, chiefly iron and steel, while the<br />
remainder was consumed for domestic or gas-making purposes.<br />
The coal used in producing this quantity of coke<br />
represents annually approximated 15 per cent of the<br />
total of bituminous coal mined in the United States.<br />
Any saving in the production of coke, even though<br />
it be relatively small, or any improvement made in the<br />
finished product, will amount to large sums. The removal<br />
of part—even a small part—of the sulphur from<br />
the coke offers such an improvement. In addition to<br />
solving one of the principal problems of the steel industry,<br />
this removal would create a much greater coal supply<br />
from which the coke producer would draw his raw material.<br />
Many of the coals of Pennsylvania, West Virginia,<br />
and Kentucky are so high in sulphur that their use<br />
for the manufacture of metallurgical coke is prohibitive,<br />
without preliminary treatment by the present known<br />
means of coal cleaning, principally coal-washing, which<br />
is not always an effective remedy. Illinois has the greatest<br />
potential coal supply of any State in the Union, with<br />
the possible exception of Wyoming, which is underlain<br />
by immense fields of low-grade sub-bituminous coal.<br />
Nearly all of this Illinois coal will make good coke, if<br />
not alone, when used in proper mixtures with other coals;<br />
but in most cases the sulphur content is above tlie limit<br />
fixed by present standards. This can not be reduced by<br />
wasing in some cases, due to the peculiar combinations<br />
of the sulphur compounds in the coal. The possibility<br />
of removing part of the sulphur should interest the coal<br />
mine operator as well as the coke producer; and a new<br />
market would be created for the product of the former,<br />
which has heretofore only been available to those mining<br />
a low-sulphur coal.<br />
Many processes have been tried for the removal of<br />
sulphur from coke, including steam; but most of them<br />
have not met with any degree of success. The investigators<br />
at the Bureau of Mines laboratories found that<br />
between 10 and 15 per cent of the total sulphur in the coke<br />
is removed by simple steaming at 75 deg. C. With alternate<br />
vacuum and pressure treatment the desulphurization<br />
is increased to 20 to 25 per cent. Furthermore it is believed<br />
that the steaming is much more beneficial than the<br />
actual sulphur reduction indicates, since the sulphur removal<br />
is almost entirely taken from the surface of the<br />
coke, and this surface sulphur may be the part that is<br />
easily absorbed by the iron in the blast furnace.<br />
The recent rapid growth of the by-product coking<br />
industry serves to simplify the matter of cheap steam<br />
supply. Large quantities of heat are now allowed to go<br />
to waste, but this heat could be well utilized in the generation<br />
of steam. Thus the process of steam coke could be<br />
made comparatively inexpensive.<br />
The investigators point out that, so long as the supply<br />
of low-sulphur coals are available, the steaming of coke<br />
could not be termed an industrially feasible process.<br />
However, when it becomes necessary to resort to the use<br />
of higher sulphur coals for the manufacture of coke,<br />
the improvement of the coke through steaming may be<br />
of sufficient value to warrant the expense of the process.<br />
Of the many processes thus far tried, steaming results<br />
in the greatest removal, and offers the best possibilities<br />
for adaption to the coke industrv.<br />
The results of this investigation are embodied in<br />
Bulletin 7 of the Coal Alining Investigations Series,<br />
which may be obtained from the Carnegie Institute of<br />
Technology, Pittsburgh, Pa., at a price of 30 cents.<br />
Bethlehem's Ship Repair Business Increases<br />
Eugene G. Grace, president of the Bethlehem Shipbuilding<br />
Corporation, made public todav the following<br />
facts regarding the operations of the corporation in<br />
1923:<br />
During the year 1923 the ship tepair business of<br />
the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, Ltd., showed<br />
an increase over 1 c >22 of 22 per cent in number of<br />
ships repaired, of 23 per cent in tonnage of ships repaired<br />
and of 25 per cent in billings per ship repaired.<br />
The Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation. Ltd., is<br />
a subsidiary of the Bethlehem Steel Corporation handling<br />
the ship building and ship repairing work of the<br />
corporation in addition to constructing passenger railroad<br />
cars. American designed Diesel engines, and special<br />
machinery for shipping and industrial purposes.<br />
Ship building has declined throughout the world<br />
during the past few years. According to a recent statement<br />
by Lloyd's register, world shin construction for<br />
last year was less than a quarter of that for the record<br />
year 1919 when 7,144.000 gross tons of merchant shipin'<br />
ng was sent down the ways.<br />
On the either hand, that the old ships are gradually<br />
wearing out is indicated by the steady increase in<br />
Bethlehem's repair business. The ships repaired by<br />
the Bethlehem plants last year were registered at a<br />
tonnage of 9.748,872, or equivalent to 59 per cent of<br />
the total merchant marine tonnage of the United States.
IkeBlasrFumaceSSfeelPU<br />
Better service from fewer packings<br />
This chart shows how seven<br />
packings can be used for all<br />
general requirements. It simplifies<br />
your paci\iny sioct\<br />
and shows the way to better<br />
packing service at less cost.<br />
CONDITIONS<br />
STEAM<br />
HOT<br />
WATER<br />
COLD<br />
WATER<br />
AIR<br />
AMMONIA<br />
BRINE<br />
Select Your Packings From This Chart<br />
RODS AND PLUNGERS<br />
(Reciprocating and Oscillating)<br />
Packing Space<br />
-j in. or more<br />
oea Rings<br />
or<br />
Kearsarge<br />
Sea Rings<br />
or<br />
Duplex<br />
Sea Rings<br />
or<br />
Duplex<br />
Sea Rings<br />
or<br />
Kearsarge<br />
Kearsarge<br />
Sea Rings<br />
or<br />
Duplex<br />
Packing Space<br />
less than f in.<br />
Mogul<br />
Mogul<br />
Mogul<br />
Mogul<br />
Mogul<br />
Mogul<br />
ROTATING<br />
RODS<br />
& Shafts<br />
Mogul<br />
Mogul<br />
Mogul<br />
Mogul<br />
Mogul<br />
Mogul<br />
PISTONS<br />
(inside<br />
packed)<br />
Universal<br />
Universal<br />
Universal<br />
Universal<br />
Universal<br />
Boiler Manhole and Handhole Plates — Kearsarge Gaskets<br />
SHEET<br />
PACKING<br />
Service<br />
Service<br />
Service<br />
Service<br />
Service<br />
Service<br />
NOTE: however, we prefer to make a specific recom-<br />
The seven packings listed can be used for many mendation based on exact knowledge of the<br />
conditions not given above. Some of them may kind of fluid, its temperature, pressure, and<br />
be used for Oils, Asphalts, Gasoline, Gas, and other important factors. Refer such problems<br />
various chemical fluids. For such conditions, to our nearest branch.<br />
7 Johns-Manville Packings for many<br />
every day packing requirements<br />
M O S T plants carry far too great a<br />
Packing stock.<br />
"Special" packings quickly run into<br />
money — too many styles are needed<br />
for ordinary plant requirements. They<br />
make stock-keeping expensive and<br />
difficult, and lead to mistakes.<br />
Johns-Manville Standardized packings<br />
do away with this completely.<br />
They are designed to cover, not one,<br />
but many service conditions. The chart<br />
above shows how the 7 Johns-Manville<br />
Packings meet at least thirty-two<br />
ordinary plant requirements.<br />
Select your packings from this chart.<br />
It means a smaller investment with<br />
less spoilage in stock and less waste<br />
in use. It simplifies ordering, prevents<br />
delays and mistakes in using packing—<br />
guarding against shut-downs. The result<br />
is an economy in time and money.<br />
JOHNS-MANVILLE Inc., 294 Madison Ave. at 41st St., New York City<br />
Branches in 62 Large Cities<br />
For Canada: CANADIAN JOHNS-MANVILLE CO., Ltd., Toronto<br />
JOHNS-MANVILLE<br />
Power Plant Materials<br />
Co-operate:—Refer to The Blast Furnace and Steel Plant<br />
216-A
April, 1924<br />
T. R. Harrison has assumed charge of the Research<br />
Department of the Brown Instrument Company. Mr.<br />
Harrison was formerly associated with the Pyrometry<br />
Department of the Bureau of Standards and more recently<br />
with the Champion Porcelain Company of Detroit.<br />
Kent Engineering Company, district representatives<br />
of the Conveyors Corporation of America, 326 W. Madison<br />
St., Chicago, has changed its address from 504 First<br />
National Bank Bldg. to 1110 Farnam St., Omaha, Neb.<br />
This engineering firm handles the sale of American Steam<br />
Jet Ash Conveyors and American Air Tight Doors, as<br />
well as other power plant equipment in Nebraska and<br />
Western Iowa.<br />
Inland Steel Company at Indiana Harbor have contracted<br />
with Freyn, Brassert & Company for the installation<br />
of a Brassert gas washer at their No. 1 furnace.<br />
With the completion of this installation the Inland Steel<br />
Company will have all of its three furnaces equipped<br />
with Brassert washers.<br />
Arthur G. McKee & Company. Cleveland, have been<br />
awarded contracts by the National Tube Company, for<br />
the design and furnishing of ore and scrap bins, coke<br />
bin, 2 scale cars and a McKee Revolving Distributor,<br />
all for the No. 1 Blast Furnace of the National Tube<br />
Company at McKeesport, Pa.<br />
David O. Stewart has been appointed District Sales<br />
Representative for the Ohio Electric & Controller Company,<br />
St. Louis, Mo., effective February 15, vice Mr.<br />
Thomas E. Beasley, resigned to engage in other business.<br />
Mr. Stewart will maintain an office in the Bank of Commerce<br />
Building, St. Louis, Mo.<br />
The Belfont Steel & Wire Company, Ironton, Ohio,<br />
formed by a merger of the Belfont Iron Works Company<br />
and the Kelly Nail & Iron Company, has commenced<br />
the erection of an addition to its wire and<br />
nail mills to take care of the equipment of the Kelly<br />
Nail & Iron Company, which is being moved to the<br />
plant of the former Belfont Iron Works Company.<br />
The plans of the Belfont Steel & Wire Company include<br />
the erection of an open hearth plant and the<br />
establishment of a billet and wire mill on the site of<br />
the present Kelly nail mills. A pig casting machine<br />
at Sarah furnace is also contemplated. Plans are now<br />
Masf FumaceSSiWl PU<br />
217<br />
being made for blowing in this furnace on Bessemer<br />
iron for the company's own use. It is expected that<br />
construction work on the units oi the plant will be<br />
commenced this summer.<br />
President Ge<strong>org</strong>e Gordon Crawford of the Tennessee<br />
Coal, Iron & Railroad Company has announced<br />
that plans are being worked on for an open hearth<br />
plant of four furnaces, and a sheet mill to produce<br />
plain and corrugated black galvanized sheets, to be<br />
located at Fairfield works, Birmingham, Ala. No estimate<br />
was given as to cost nor was any statement made<br />
as to when the work will be started.<br />
D. A. Polhemus has resigned as assistant to the<br />
president of the Pittsburgh Crucible Steel Company,<br />
Pittsburgh, and expects to engage in the construction<br />
business at Los Angeles, Cal. Before going with the<br />
Pittsburgh Crucible Steel Company, he was with the<br />
Carnegie Steel Company at its Clairton, Pa., works.<br />
Rollin K. Cheney, for several years general superintendent<br />
of the Sweet's Steel Company, Williamsport,<br />
Pa., has resigned that position to accept a similar<br />
one with Southern California Iron & Steel Company,<br />
Los Angeles, Cal. Mr. Cheney was for several<br />
years with the Jones & Laughlin Steel Company (now<br />
Corporation), Pittsburgh, being superintendent there<br />
of the "double-storage" mills in the South Side plant.<br />
Robert W. Coats, former superintendent for the<br />
Sharpsville Furnace Company, Sharpsville, Pa., has<br />
accepted the position of superintendent with the Toledo<br />
Furnace Company, Toledo, Ohio. J. W. Halloran<br />
succeeded Mr. Coats as superintendent at the Sharpsville<br />
Furnace Company.<br />
W. L. Reed, superintendent of blast furnace of the<br />
Toledo Furnace Company, Toledo, Ohio, resigned<br />
March 1.<br />
Decker R. Fithian, formerly general superintendent<br />
of sheet mills of Sharon Steel Hoop Company,<br />
Youngstown, Ohio, is superintendent of the Waddell<br />
Steel Company at Niles, Ohio. Joseph Malborn, formerly<br />
assistant general superintendent at Sharon<br />
Steel Hoop Company, has succeeded Mr. Fithian as<br />
general superintendent of Youngstown, Ohio, plant.
DIP Bias, F,<br />
urnacp rZZ SU Plan!<br />
^yiiiiimniiiiiwiiitiiimiimiimiinin lwtiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiwiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii'iiiiiiitiii'ii '!iir!ii!iii,iyi'ii-ii:ti''iiiiiiiii[iiiiiiiiiiiiiiii<br />
J31ue Gas Engineering—<br />
tjJThe vital importance or careful engineering in the design and construct<br />
ion or blue gas apparatus is very apparent to the discriminating invest<br />
igator. WW-'" 11 -—" '• — " IT T^J'<br />
tf 1 his type of ap<br />
paratus cannot he<br />
"thrown together.<br />
It must be designed<br />
and built with re<br />
gard to proper ma<br />
terials properly be<br />
stowed.<br />
{Jit must afford ease<br />
and economy of oper<br />
ation, adaptability to<br />
changed conditions<br />
and rugged resistance<br />
to wear and tear.<br />
U. G. I. BLUE GAS APPARATUS is the original.<br />
Its experimental stages were passed years ago. It produces a<br />
CLEAN, COOL GAS, having high flame temperature and does<br />
it cheaply and efficiently.<br />
U. G. I. BLUE GAS is a substitute for natural gas.<br />
We would be glad to show facts and figures.<br />
THE U. G. I. CONTRACTING CO.<br />
Broad and Arch Sts., Philadelphia<br />
335 Peoples Gas Bldg., Chicago 928 Union Arcade, Pittsburgh<br />
217-A<br />
j iiiiiiniiiii mm mi • .m M V: • • -. MI -i;. i JIJ MI .i; n -111:11: ;i .IU, • 11, m 11 I-M;..:. • - ;i: M -,I, H .1 ,n ; .: n II M-III I;I 1 in Mini NIIMI.INIFIIJIII IJTI INMI IM nnn I;I 1 MiniiiMiitihn 1 Nfiiiiti HIMIIII 1 IIHIIIII MHIMI<br />
Co-operate:—Refer to The Blast Furnace and Steel Plant
218<br />
MasfFurnaceSSteelPU<br />
April, 1924<br />
giwiiiii ill iiiiiliiliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinniuiiii III.,;,::IIIIIIIII:III IS'IIIIIIIIII:': iiiiiiiiii.ii-iiiiiiiiiiKii.'Biiiiliiiiiuiini'iililiililii.^iiiililllliii;:: JI IIIIIIIIIIIIUIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII iiniiiiiiiiiiiiiililiiiiliiliiiiiiiiililiiiiliiiliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiii MH1W<br />
NEWS OF THE PLANTS<br />
illlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllNIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINIIIIIIII<br />
The Tidewater Steel Corporation, Baltimore, Md., re<br />
cently <strong>org</strong>anized with M. D. Perine as president, has acquired<br />
a tract of property at Hagerstown, Md., and plans for the<br />
construction of a new rolling mill, for which detailed draw<br />
ings will be prepared at an early date. It is estimated to<br />
cost in excess of $150,000, and will be equipped to give em<br />
ployment to about 300 operatives, with estimated annual output<br />
of $1,225,000 valuation. Arrangements for the new mill<br />
will soon be consummated; it is expected to have the plant<br />
ready for service during the summer.<br />
The Buffalo Sintering Corporation, Buffalo, N. Y., with<br />
headquarters at 86 East Randolph Street, Chicago, 111., has<br />
construction under way on a new plant on Buffalo site for<br />
sintering the flue dust from blast furnaces in this district. The<br />
new works will be located near the mills of the Donner Steel<br />
Company and the Rogers-Brown Company, in the South<br />
Buffalo section, and will be equipped with an initial capacity<br />
of about 350 tons of sinter per day. All apparatus will be<br />
of modern type and will represent a considerable investment.<br />
The company is closely associated with the American Sin<br />
tering Company, with Eugene B. Clark heading both <strong>org</strong>anizations.<br />
It is also affiliated with the American Ore Reduc<br />
tion Company, of which Walter S. Reed is vice president and<br />
treasurer, occupying the same position with the Buffalo<br />
<strong>org</strong>anization.<br />
The Thomas Sheet Steel Company, Youngstown, Ohio,<br />
recently <strong>org</strong>anized to take over the former Thomas Sheet<br />
Mills of the Youngstown Sheet & Tube Company, located<br />
at Niles, Ohio, has secured title to the property and has<br />
commenced operations. The plant consists of 12 sheet mills<br />
and auxiliary structures, and is expected to be developed to<br />
maximum capacity at an early date. It is likely that a number<br />
of improvements will be made in the future and addi<br />
tional equipment installed in a number of departments.<br />
Charles S. Thomas, heretofore prominent in the DeForest<br />
Sheet & Tin Plate Company, Niles, heads the new company<br />
and will act as chairman of the board of directors; Myron C.<br />
Summers has been elected president; S. P. Ker, Jr., vice<br />
president; Claude R. Thomas, treasurer; and Frank Howell,<br />
secretary. The last noted has at different times been con<br />
nected with the American Sheet & Tin Plate Company and<br />
the Superior Steel Company.<br />
The Colonial Steel Company, Keystone Building, Pitts<br />
burgh, Pa., has completed plans and will commence work at<br />
an early date on a new two-story and basement addition to<br />
its plant at Colona, Pa., to be used primarily for laboratory<br />
service. It is estimated to cost close to $55,000, including<br />
equipment, of which a list will be prepared soon. The gen<br />
eral building contract has been awarded to the Cook & An<br />
derson Company, Fifth Street, Beaver, Pa. S. W. Dunlevy<br />
is president of the Colonial Company.<br />
The Elyria Iron & Steel Company, 232 East One Hundred<br />
Thirty-first Street, Cleveland, Ohio, has plans nearing<br />
completion for the erection of a new addition to its plant at<br />
Elyria, consisting of four new brick buildings, one of which<br />
will be equipped as a rolling mill. The entire plant will<br />
represent an investment of about $400,000, including equip<br />
ment. Ernest McGe<strong>org</strong>e, 3020 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, is<br />
architect, and H. B. Wick, president of the Elyria Company.<br />
The Waddell Steel Company, Niles, Ohio, has been or<br />
ganized with a capital of $600,000, by Jacob D. Waddell and<br />
associates, to take over the former local Empire plant of the<br />
Youngstown Sheet & Tube Company, Youngstown. Ohio, for<br />
which arrangements recently were consummated, as an<br />
nounced in these columns in the last issue of The Blast Fur<br />
nace and Steel Plant. The new <strong>org</strong>anization has started<br />
operations and proposes to make a number of improvements<br />
in the present plant; four mills are in service and other units<br />
will soon be started up. The new company is headed by<br />
Jacob D. Waddell, W. H. Davey, A. J. Bentley and others.<br />
Mr. Davey is now head of the Mansfield Sheet & Tin Plate<br />
Company, Mansfield, Ohio, while Mr. Bentley is president of<br />
the Ohio Galvanizing Company, Niles.<br />
The Bethlehem Steel Company, Bethlehem, Pa., has active<br />
work in progress on the installation of additional equipment<br />
at the blooming mill of its Lackawanna Steel Works, Buf<br />
falo, N. Y., all such apparatus to be electrically-operated, and<br />
expects to have the unit ready to place in service at an early<br />
date. The company also has construction under way on ad<br />
ditional coke ovens at this same plant, consisting of two batteries,<br />
each with 57 ovens. Work will be pushed for early<br />
completion, and operations commenced immeditely thereafter.<br />
The other departments of the mill are advancing production.<br />
There are now seven of the nine blast furnaces in active service,<br />
as well as 19 open hearth furnaces on the operating sched<br />
ule out of a total of 24. All of the plate and other mills are<br />
running with normal working forces. The total production<br />
is now close to 120,000 tons of ingots per month, as compared<br />
with a maximum rating of 135,000 tons. The company<br />
is making ready to proceed with improvements and exten<br />
sions at its Sparrows Point, Baltimore, Md.. plant, and ex<br />
pects to install considerable new equipment in the rail mill<br />
and other departments of this works, with cost estimated at<br />
approximately $550,000.<br />
The Youngstown Sheet & Tube Company, Youngstown,<br />
Ohio, has awarded a contract to the Blaw-Knox Company,<br />
Pittsburgh, Pa., for structural steel for the proposed new<br />
additions at its local plant, comprising a new sheet mill for<br />
the Brier Hill division, with eight hot mills and six cold mills.<br />
An order for the rolling mill equipment has been let to the<br />
United Engineering & Foundry Company, Pittsburgh, and<br />
contracts for miscellaneous auxiliary apparatus will be placed<br />
in the near future.<br />
The Columbia Steel Corporation, San Francisco, Cal., with<br />
mills at Pittsburg, Cal., and other points on the coast, is com<br />
pleting the construction of blast furnaces at its plant at Iron-<br />
ton, Utah, including three stoves and auxiliary departments,<br />
and plans to commence active operations at an early date.<br />
It is proposed to remove the company offices at Provo, Utah,<br />
to Ironton, and a new two-story office building will be occu<br />
pied in the near future. The company has disposed of a<br />
bond issue of $1,000,000, a portion of the proceeds to be used<br />
for extensions in properties and general expansion. It is<br />
purposed to install new by-product equipment, it is reported,<br />
in the months to come.<br />
The Inland Steel Company. Chicago, 111., is pushing construction<br />
on its new open hearth furnaces and blooming mill<br />
at the Indiana Harbor works, and expects to have two of the<br />
four first noted ready for production in May. The other two<br />
furnaces will be ready in June, and will be placed in service<br />
immediately thereafter. A new merchant mill is in course<br />
of erection, and will likely be completed in about 90 days.
DieBW PurnaceSSieel PW<br />
Vol. XII PITTSBURGH, PA., MAY, 1924 No. 5<br />
Substituting Machines For Men<br />
THREE important phases of the immigration problem will be discussed<br />
at a special group session held in connection with the forthcoming<br />
annual meeting of the Chamber of Commerce of the United States at<br />
Cleveland, May 6 to 8.<br />
This group session, which is being arranged under the auspices of the<br />
Chamber's Civic Development Department, will deal with these subjects:<br />
Essentials of American Citizenship.<br />
The Immigrant's Part Today in Industrial and Agricultural Development.<br />
How Far Can Those Now Here, Native Born and Foreign Born, Plus<br />
Labor Saving Machinery, Take the Place of the Immigrant in the Future?<br />
Discussion of the last question is expected to bring out much important<br />
data which will be useful in the formation of a future immigration policy. In<br />
a statement discussing this phase of the Civic Development group, John<br />
Ihlder, manager of the department, said:<br />
"The United States has achieved its industrial leadership largely through<br />
its genius in devising machinery which will not only take the place of human<br />
muscle, but will produce many times as much. From the old time cobbler<br />
sitting cross-legged on his bench to the shoe factory of today is a long stride,<br />
but one that has been matched in many other lines. Flour is now untouched<br />
by human hands from the time it enters the bakery until the loaf of bread is<br />
placed on the consumer's table; iron from the time it is smelted until ready<br />
for shipment is processed by machinery; ditches for our water mains and<br />
sewers are dug, not with pick and shovel, but by machines. Our products<br />
are multiplied, the number of men required for drudgery decreased. But at<br />
the same time the demand for men trained and with alert minds, quick-thinking<br />
and resourceful, is increasing<br />
"Can this process of substituting machines for men be speeded up so that<br />
the demand for unskilled labor will decrease and the product per man plus<br />
machine increase enough to meet our needs?"<br />
219
220<br />
ThoBlasfh, rnaco r^d<br />
Sfeo! Plan*<br />
Metalloids in Basic Pig Iron in<br />
Openhearth Practice*<br />
This is a Continuation of a Most Interesting Phase<br />
of Open Hearth Study<br />
By C. L. KINNEY, JR.f<br />
T H E determination of the quantities of earthy<br />
bases to he charged fur any given amounts of<br />
silica and phosphorus may most conveniently be<br />
ascertained by taking an average composition of those<br />
slags that, under given conditions, nave yielded economical<br />
operation, and empirically separating it into<br />
a silicate slag (which is assumed to hold the phosphate<br />
slag in solution) and a phosphate slag, in which<br />
the phosphorus is assumed to be combined with calcium<br />
oxide in the form of CaiPsO. When this has<br />
been done, the analysis of the silicate slag is calculated,<br />
and from this the relation of the silica to the lime<br />
plus magnesia and to the weight of the silicate slag is<br />
determined. The total weight of slag, of course, is the<br />
weight of the silicate slag plus the phosphate slag,<br />
the last named being the weight of the phosphorus<br />
oxidized multiplied by 5.9. In our operation, the<br />
average composition of generally satisfactory slags<br />
shows a silicate portion which analyzes as follows:<br />
SiCX, 19 per cent; FeO + MnO, 2/"per cent; Al2Oa<br />
+ TiO; -f- S, 2 per cent or a total of 48 per cent.<br />
Therefore, the CaO -\- MgO necessary to equal 100<br />
per cent is, by difference, 52 per cent, and the CaO<br />
-f- MgO required per unit of Si02 is the ratio of 52<br />
to 19 or 2.74; and the weight of silicate slag produced<br />
per unit of silica is the ratio of 100 to 19 or 5.26.<br />
These ratios are used in all the theoretical heats<br />
shown, except in the excessive limestone charge.<br />
where they become silicate slag to silica 7.1, and MgO<br />
-f- CaO to SiO=, 4.01. In all cases the ratio of phosphorus<br />
to calcium oxide is 1 to 3.61, which corresponds<br />
to the composition of the tetrabasic phosphate. Tables<br />
13 and 14 give the ratios and the analyses of the theoretical<br />
slags used in the construction of the chemical<br />
and thermal balances and cost sheet.<br />
THERMAL BALANCE SHEET<br />
Heat Absorbed<br />
THERMOCHEMICAL CHANGES<br />
Reduction of oxides of Iron:<br />
Heat of formation of Fe?03 = 3240<br />
Heat of formation of FeO = 2430<br />
Input:<br />
Fe,0, = 6661<br />
FeO = 108<br />
Heat of formation:<br />
Fe-Os = 6661 X 3240 = 21.58 X 10' B.t.u.<br />
FeO = 108 X 2430 = 0.26 X 10" B.t.u.<br />
Total<br />
Output:<br />
=<br />
21.84 X 10* B.t.u.<br />
Tapping slag<br />
Moisture in ore:<br />
FeO : 3268 X 2430 = 7.94 X 10"<br />
Total weight of ore = 9170 lb.<br />
Per cent moisture = 8<br />
Total water = 734<br />
•Copyright 1923 by the American Institute of Mining and<br />
Metallurgical Engineers, Inc.<br />
fSuperintendcnt of Open Hearth, Illinois Steel Company.<br />
South Chicago, 111,<br />
Mav, 1924<br />
Basic<br />
Total heat to make steam at 212°<br />
734 X 1092 = 0.80 X 10" B.t.u.<br />
Specific heat of steam 0.42 + 0.00013 (2800 + 212) =- 0.81<br />
Heat in superheat 734 (2800 — 212) 0.81 = 1.54 X 10* B.t.u.<br />
Total = 2.34 X 10" B.t.u.<br />
Decomposition of limestone:<br />
Heat of formation CaCOs per lb. = 772 B.t.u.<br />
Total limestone = 11,675 lb.<br />
Total heat required = 11,675 X 772 = 9.01 X 10* B.t.u.<br />
Moisture 1.5 per cent = 175 lb.<br />
Total heat to make steam = 175 X 1092 = 0.19 X 10°<br />
Heat in superheat = 175 X 2096 = 0.37 X 10"<br />
Total = 0.56 X 10*<br />
Decomposition of improperly burned dolomite :<br />
Total weight of dolomite = 2500 lb.<br />
Volatile = 15.54 per cent = 389 lb.<br />
Assumed 98 per cent = 381 exists as CO=<br />
To drive off CO, = 1756 B.t.u. per lb.<br />
Total heat to drive off CO, = 381 X 1756 = 0.67 X 10' B.t.u.<br />
THERMOPHYSICAL CHANCE<br />
Hot metal = 65,000 lb. Temperature — 2474° F.<br />
Tapping temperature = 3080° F. includes emissivity factor.<br />
Temperature rise (3080 — 2474) = 606° F.<br />
Specific heat = 0.2<br />
Heat absorbed = 65,000 X 606 X 0.2 = 7.88 X 10* B.t.u.<br />
Scrap = 35,000 lb. Temperature = 62° F.<br />
Melting temperature scrap = 2795° F.<br />
Heat required to bring to melting temperature = 35.000 X 2733<br />
X 0.16 = 15.30 X 10"<br />
Latent heat of fusion = 72 B.t.u.<br />
Total heat of fusion = 35,000 X 72 = 2.52 X 10 s<br />
Heat to raise to temperature of bath :<br />
(3080 — 2795) 35,000 X 0.2 = 2.00 X 10'<br />
Total heat = 19.82 X 10'<br />
Total heat in molten slag:<br />
Heat in tapping slag = 15,465 X 1066 = 16.49 X 10" B.t.u.<br />
Total heat absorbed = 70.67 X 10' B.t.u.<br />
Heat Generated<br />
Oxidation of carbon, weight = 2669 lb.<br />
Heat of formation of CO from C per Ib. = 4374 B.t.u.<br />
Heat generated = 4374 X 2669 = 11.07 : < 10'<br />
Oxidation of manganese, weight = o45 lb.<br />
Heat of formation of MnO = 2984 B.t.u.<br />
Heat generated = 2984 X 645 =<br />
Oxidation of silicon, weight = 488 lb.<br />
1.92 X 10"<br />
Heat of formation of SiO, = ll,b93 B.t.u.<br />
Heat generated = 11,693 X 488 = 5.71 10*<br />
Oxidation of phosphorus, weight = 129 lb.<br />
Heat of formation of P2O. = 10.825 B.t.u.<br />
Heat generated = 10.825 X 129 = 1.40 10°<br />
Heat of formation of slag, weight = 15,465 lb.<br />
Heat of formation of slag = 74 B.t.u.<br />
Heat generated = 15,465 X 74 = 1.14 X 10*<br />
Total heat generated = 21.84 X 10" B.t.u.<br />
Authorities for Constants Used<br />
THERMOCHEMICAL CHANCES<br />
Iron oxide reduction—Richards<br />
Decomposition of limestone—U. S. Bureau of Standards<br />
Oxidation of C, Mn, Si, P—Richards, LeChatelier, Berthelot,<br />
Thomson<br />
Formation of slag, calculated using Richards' values<br />
THERMOPHYSICAL CHANGE<br />
Specific heat, pig iron—0.1665—Oberhoffer<br />
Specific heat, soft steel—0.16—Meuther<br />
Latent heat of fusion, pig iron—Hutter<br />
Latent heat of fusion, steel—average value—Jetner, Richards.<br />
Brisker<br />
Heat in molten slag—Springorum
May, 1924<br />
Material<br />
Weight<br />
in<br />
Pounds<br />
Basic hot metal. 65,000<br />
Structural steel scrap 35,000<br />
Chapin ore (naturaf) 9.170<br />
Michigan limestone. 11,675<br />
Calcined dolomite. .. 2,500<br />
Fluorspar<br />
000<br />
SiOj from<br />
structure<br />
furnace<br />
Total entering furnace<br />
98,211<br />
Total steel in bath..<br />
Tapping slag, 100.01<br />
per cent<br />
Total output<br />
Unaccounted for... .<br />
Metalloids oxidized.<br />
15,465<br />
Material<br />
Structural steel scrap.<br />
Michigan limestone. .<br />
Calcined dolomite... .<br />
SiOj from furnace<br />
structure<br />
Total entering furnace<br />
Totai steel in bath ....<br />
Tapping slag, 100.01<br />
Unaccounted for<br />
Metalloids oxidized. .<br />
18<br />
Pounds<br />
S<br />
26<br />
14<br />
4<br />
5<br />
50<br />
34<br />
39<br />
73<br />
+23<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
C<br />
4.30<br />
0 20<br />
0.20<br />
19<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
CaO<br />
1.60<br />
54.60<br />
48.58<br />
2.50<br />
50.13<br />
Pounds<br />
C<br />
2,795<br />
70<br />
2,865<br />
196<br />
2,669<br />
20<br />
Pounds<br />
CaO<br />
147<br />
6,375<br />
1.215<br />
15<br />
7,752<br />
7,752<br />
Pounds<br />
CO<br />
21<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
MgO<br />
2.64<br />
0.88<br />
32.58<br />
0.38<br />
7.51<br />
IWIMasfFi. rnaco 'SU Plant<br />
TABLE 10.—Excess Limestone Heat<br />
CHEMICAL BALANCE SHEET<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
Si<br />
Pounds<br />
Si<br />
0 75 488<br />
22<br />
Pounds<br />
MgO<br />
242<br />
103<br />
815<br />
2<br />
1,102<br />
1,162<br />
Thermal Balance Sheet<br />
HEAT ABSORBED<br />
Red. of oxides of Fe<br />
: 13.90<br />
Absorp. moist, of ore<br />
: 2.34<br />
Decomp. of limestone<br />
: 9.01<br />
Absorp. moist, of limestone )ne = : 0.56<br />
Decomp. of dolomite<br />
: 0.67<br />
Heat in moletn slag<br />
: 16.49<br />
Heat added to mixer metal al : 7.88<br />
Heat added to scrap<br />
: 19.82<br />
HEAT GENERATE!<br />
Oxidation of C<br />
Oxidation of Mn<br />
Oxidation of Si<br />
Oxidation of P<br />
Heat form, slag<br />
Balance heat to be supplied<br />
by combustion<br />
of gases in furnace<br />
Total B.t.u.<br />
rED<br />
= 11.67<br />
= 1.92<br />
= 5.71<br />
= 1.40<br />
= 1.14<br />
48.83<br />
= 70.67<br />
488<br />
488<br />
23<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
Fe<br />
51.76<br />
0.20<br />
0.38<br />
THERMAL EFFICIENCY OF BATH<br />
Thermal efficiency of furnace = 17.3 per cent<br />
B.t.u. in gas per pound of coal = 10,625<br />
48.83 10"<br />
•Total B.t.u. to be supplied in producer gas r<br />
0.173<br />
282.25 X 10*<br />
Total coal burned = 26,564 lb.<br />
THERMAL BALANCE SHEET<br />
Heat Absorbed<br />
THERMOCHEMICAL CHANGES<br />
Reduction of oxides of iron:<br />
Heat of formation of FeaOi = 3240<br />
Heat of formation of FeO = 2430<br />
Input:<br />
Fe.0, = 9419<br />
FeO = 153<br />
Heat of formation :<br />
Fe203 = 9419 X 3240 = 30.52 X 10'<br />
FeO = 153 X 2430 s= 0.37 X 10.<br />
Total = 30.89 X 10*<br />
X 10*<br />
X 10*<br />
X 10'<br />
X 10"<br />
X 10*<br />
X 10"<br />
X 10"<br />
Per<br />
Cent<br />
SiOi<br />
9.29<br />
0.34<br />
1 32<br />
1.12<br />
13.39<br />
24<br />
Pounds<br />
Fe<br />
60398<br />
34,772<br />
4,746<br />
23<br />
10<br />
100,449<br />
97,813<br />
2,536<br />
100349<br />
-100<br />
100<br />
Pounds<br />
SiO-2<br />
1,039<br />
852<br />
40<br />
33<br />
7<br />
100<br />
25<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
FeO<br />
1.18<br />
21.12<br />
10 13<br />
Per<br />
Ceot.<br />
P<br />
0.20<br />
0 01<br />
0.05<br />
0.006<br />
0.004<br />
0 004<br />
0.01<br />
26<br />
Pounds<br />
FeO<br />
108<br />
3,268<br />
Pounds<br />
P<br />
130<br />
4<br />
5<br />
139<br />
10<br />
129<br />
L29<br />
27<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
FetOi<br />
72.64<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
PaO,<br />
Pounds<br />
PiCh<br />
1.91 295<br />
28<br />
Pounds<br />
FeiOj<br />
8,661<br />
29<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
AhOj<br />
1.10<br />
0.30<br />
1.49<br />
1.15<br />
1.16<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
Mn<br />
1.00<br />
0.40<br />
0.13<br />
0 16<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
MnO<br />
4.54<br />
30 | 31<br />
Pounds<br />
AhOj<br />
101<br />
35<br />
37<br />
7<br />
180<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
CaFi<br />
9,253<br />
Pounds<br />
Mn<br />
650<br />
140<br />
12<br />
802<br />
157<br />
544<br />
701<br />
-101<br />
645<br />
32<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
Volume<br />
3.15<br />
15.54<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
S<br />
0.04<br />
0.04<br />
Tr.<br />
0.042<br />
0.126<br />
0.035<br />
0.25<br />
33<br />
Per<br />
Cent<br />
Moisture<br />
8.00<br />
1.50<br />
Output:<br />
Tapping slag = FeO = 4675 X 2430 = 11.36 X 10"<br />
Moisture in ore:<br />
Total weight of ore = 12,967 lb.<br />
Per cent moisture = 8.00<br />
Total water = 1037<br />
Total heat to make steam at 212° = 1037 X 1092 = 1.13 X 10'<br />
Specific heat of steam = 0.42 + 0.00013 X (2800 + 212) =<br />
0.81<br />
Heat in superheat = 1037 X (2800 — 212) 0.81 = 2.17 X 10'<br />
Total = 3.30 X 10*<br />
Decomposition of limestone:<br />
Heat of formation CaCOa per lb = 772 B.t.u.<br />
Total limestone = 15,081<br />
Total heat required = 15.081 X 772 = 11.64 X 10"<br />
Moisture 1.5 per cent = 226<br />
Total heat to make steam = 226 X 1092 = 0.25 X 10°<br />
Heat in superheat = 2096 + 226 = 0.47 X 10°<br />
Total<br />
Decomposition of improperly burned dolomite:<br />
0.72 X 10°<br />
Total weight of dolomite = 2500 lb.<br />
Volatile—15.54 per cent = 389 lb.<br />
Assumed 98 per cent = 381 exists as COj<br />
To drive off CO= = 1756 B.t.u. per lb.<br />
Total heat to drive off CO: = 1756 X 381 = 0.67 X 10*<br />
THERMOPHYSICAL CHANGE<br />
Hot metal = 65,000 lb. Temperature = 2474° F.<br />
Tapping temperature = 3080° F. includes emissivity factor<br />
Temperature rise (3080 — 2474) = 606° F.<br />
Specific heat = 0.2<br />
Heat absorbed = 65,000 X 606 X 0.2 = 7.88 X 10°<br />
Scrap = 35,000 lb. Temperature = 62° F.<br />
Melting temperature scrap = 2795° F.<br />
Heat required to bring to melting temperature = 35,000 X 2733<br />
X 0.16 = 15.30 X 10'<br />
Latent heat of fusion = 72 B.t.u.<br />
Total heat of fusion = 35,000 X 72 = 2.52 X 10*<br />
Heat to raise to temperature of bath = (3080 — 2795) 35 0GO<br />
X 0.2 ±= 2.00 X 10°<br />
Total heat = 19.82 X 10°<br />
Total heat in molten slag:<br />
Heat in tapping slag = 20,897 X 1066 = 22.25 B.t.u<br />
Total heat absorbed = 8584 X 10° B.t.u.
222<br />
Heat Generated<br />
Oxidation of carbon, weight = 2669 lb.<br />
Heat of formation of CO from C per lb. = 4374 B.t.u.<br />
Heat generated = 4374 X 2669 = 11.67 X 10°<br />
Oxidation of manganese, weight = 689 lb.<br />
Heat of formation of MnO = 2984 B.t.u.<br />
Heat generated = 2984 X 689 = 2.06 X 10°<br />
Oxidation of silicon, weight = 1138 lb.<br />
Heat of formation of SiOj = 11,693 B.t.u.<br />
Heat generated = 11,693 X 1138 = 13.31 X 10"<br />
Oxidation of phosphorus, weight = 130 lb.<br />
Heat of formation of P=05 — 10,825 B.t.u.<br />
Heat generated = 10,825 X 130 = 1.41 X 10°<br />
Heat of formation of slag, weight = 20,897 lb.<br />
Heat of formation of slag = 84 B.t.u.<br />
Heat generated = 20,897 X 84 = 1.75 X 10'<br />
Total heat generated = 30.20 X 10* B.t.u.<br />
Authorities for Constants Used<br />
THERMOCHEMICAL CHANGES<br />
Iron oxide reduction—Richards<br />
Decomposition of limestone—U. S. Bur. of Standards<br />
Oxidation of C, Mn, Si. P—Richards, LeChatelier, Berthelot,<br />
Thomson<br />
Formation of slag, calculated using Richards' volumes<br />
THERMOPHYSICAL CHANGE<br />
Specific heat, pig iron—0.1665—Oberhoffer<br />
Specific heat, soft steel—0.16—Meuther<br />
Latent heat of fusion, pig iron—Hutter<br />
Latent heat of fusion, steel—average value—Jetner, Richards,<br />
Brisker<br />
Heat in molten slag—Springorum<br />
Thermal Balance Sheet<br />
HEAT ABSORBED<br />
Red. of oxides of Fe = 19.53<br />
Absorp. moist, of ore = 3.30<br />
Decomp. of limestone = 11.64<br />
Absorp. moist, of limestone = 0.72<br />
Decomp. of dolomite = 0.67<br />
Heat in molten slag = 22.28<br />
Heat added to mixer metal = 7.88<br />
Heat added to scrap = 19.82<br />
1 2 3<br />
Material<br />
Basic hot metal<br />
Structural steel scrap<br />
Chapin ore (natural).<br />
Michigan limestone.<br />
Calcined dolomite.. .<br />
SiOi from furnace<br />
Total entering fur-<br />
Total steel in bath . ..<br />
Tapping slag, 99.50<br />
Total output<br />
Unaccounted for.. . .<br />
Metalloids oxidized<br />
Material<br />
Basic hot metal<br />
Structural steel scrap<br />
Chapin ore (.natural),<br />
Michigan limestone .<br />
Calcined dolomite.. . .<br />
Fluorspar<br />
SiOi from furnace<br />
T0141I entering furnace<br />
Total steel in bath. . . .<br />
Tapping slag, 99.50<br />
per cent<br />
Total output<br />
Unaccounted for<br />
Metalloids oxidized..<br />
Weight<br />
in<br />
Pounds<br />
65,000<br />
35,000<br />
12,967<br />
15,081<br />
2,500<br />
300<br />
98,431<br />
20,897<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
C<br />
4.30<br />
0 20<br />
0.20<br />
18 19<br />
Pounds<br />
S<br />
20<br />
14<br />
6<br />
3<br />
49<br />
40<br />
52<br />
92<br />
+43<br />
Per<br />
Cent<br />
CaO<br />
1.60<br />
54.00<br />
48. 58<br />
2 50<br />
46.24<br />
ihp Dlasf Furnace ^jfpol rlanf<br />
HEAT GENERA fED<br />
Oxidation of C<br />
Oxidation of Mn<br />
Oxidation of Si<br />
Oxidation of P<br />
Heat form, slag<br />
Balance heat to be supplied<br />
by combustion<br />
of gases in furnace<br />
Total B.t.u.<br />
= 11.67<br />
= 2.06<br />
= 13.31<br />
= 1.41<br />
= 1.75<br />
= 55.64<br />
= 85.84<br />
THERMAL EFFICIENCY OF BATH<br />
Thermal efficiency of furnace = 17.3 per cent.<br />
B.t.u. in gas per pound of coal = 10,625<br />
Total B.t.u. to be supplied in producer gas =<br />
321,62 >: 10* B.t.u.<br />
Total coal burned = 30,270 lb.<br />
X<br />
X<br />
X<br />
THERMAL BALANCE SHEET<br />
Heat Absorbed<br />
THERMOCHEMICAL CHANCES<br />
Reduction of oxides of iron :<br />
Heat of formation of Fe203 = 3240<br />
Heat of formation of FeO = 2430<br />
Input :<br />
Fe:Oa = 8034<br />
FeO = 131<br />
Heat of formation:<br />
Fe-O, = 3240 X 8034 = 26.03 X 10"<br />
FeO = 131 X 2430 0.32 X 10'<br />
TABLE 11.—High-silicon Iron Furnace Charge<br />
CHEMICAL BALANCE SHEET<br />
4 5<br />
Pounds<br />
C<br />
2,795<br />
70<br />
2,865<br />
196<br />
2,609<br />
Pounds<br />
CO<br />
20 ! 21<br />
Pounds<br />
CaO<br />
207<br />
8,231<br />
1.215<br />
8<br />
9,064<br />
9,664<br />
9,064<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
MgO<br />
2.64<br />
0.88<br />
32. 58<br />
0.38<br />
6.18<br />
6 7<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
Si<br />
1.75<br />
22<br />
Pounds<br />
MgO<br />
312<br />
133<br />
815<br />
1<br />
1.291<br />
1,291<br />
1,291<br />
Pounds<br />
Si<br />
1,138<br />
1,138<br />
1,138<br />
23<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
Fe<br />
51.76<br />
0.20<br />
0 38<br />
99 03<br />
10*<br />
10*<br />
10*<br />
May, 1924<br />
55.64 X 10'<br />
0.173<br />
Total = 26.35 X 10°<br />
Output:<br />
Tapping slag—FeO = 2474 X 2430 = 6.01 X 10*<br />
Moisture in ore :<br />
Total weight of ore = 11,060 lb.<br />
Per cent moisture = 8<br />
T ,t3> w-Uer = 8»5<br />
Total heat to make steam at 212° = 885 X 1092 = 0.97 X 10*<br />
Specific heat of steam = 0.42 + 0.00013 (2800 — 212) = 0.81<br />
8 9<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
SiOi<br />
9.29<br />
0.34<br />
1.32<br />
1. 12<br />
18.31<br />
24<br />
Pounds<br />
Fe<br />
00,201<br />
34,772<br />
6,718<br />
30<br />
10<br />
101.791<br />
98,007<br />
3,624<br />
101,691<br />
-100<br />
100<br />
Pounds<br />
SiOi<br />
2,435<br />
1,205<br />
51<br />
33<br />
3<br />
100<br />
3,827<br />
3,827<br />
3,827<br />
25<br />
Per<br />
Cent<br />
FeO<br />
1 18<br />
22.37<br />
10<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
P<br />
0.20<br />
0.01<br />
0.05<br />
0.006<br />
0 004<br />
0.004<br />
0.01<br />
26<br />
Pounds<br />
FeO<br />
153<br />
4,675<br />
11 12 13 | 14<br />
Pounds<br />
P<br />
130<br />
4<br />
0<br />
140<br />
10<br />
130<br />
140<br />
130<br />
27<br />
Per<br />
Cent<br />
FeiOi<br />
72.64<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
PIOJ<br />
1.42<br />
28<br />
Pounds<br />
FeiOj<br />
9,419<br />
Pounds<br />
P.O.<br />
297<br />
29<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
AhOi<br />
1.10<br />
0.30<br />
1.49<br />
1.15<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
Mn<br />
1.00<br />
0.40<br />
0 13<br />
0.12<br />
30<br />
Pounds<br />
AliO,<br />
143<br />
45<br />
37<br />
3<br />
228<br />
109<br />
15 j 16<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
MnO<br />
3.64<br />
17<br />
Vo* 3 Cent.<br />
Mn | g<br />
650<br />
140<br />
17<br />
807<br />
118<br />
589<br />
707<br />
100<br />
689<br />
31 1 32<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
CaF,<br />
92.53<br />
Pef<br />
Cent.<br />
Volume<br />
3.15<br />
15.54<br />
0.04<br />
0.04<br />
0.042<br />
0.126<br />
0 04<br />
0.25<br />
33<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
Mois»<br />
ture<br />
8.00<br />
1.50
y- 1924<br />
1 2 3 4 5<br />
Material<br />
Basic hot metal<br />
Structural steel scrap<br />
Chapin ore (natural).<br />
Michigan limestone.<br />
Calcined dolomite. . .<br />
SiOi from furnace<br />
Total entering furnace<br />
Total steel in bath . .<br />
Tapping slag, 99.71<br />
per cent<br />
Total output<br />
Unaccounted for... .<br />
Metalloids oxidized.<br />
Material<br />
Basic hot metal<br />
Structural steel scrap.<br />
Chapin ore (natural).<br />
Michigan limestone.<br />
Calcined dolomite....<br />
Fluorspar<br />
SiOi from furnace<br />
structure<br />
Total entering furnace<br />
Total steel in bath<br />
Tapping slag, 99.71 !<br />
per cent<br />
Total output<br />
Unaccounted for.. .<br />
Metalloids oxidized<br />
Weight<br />
in<br />
Pounds<br />
65,000<br />
35,000<br />
11,060<br />
9,473<br />
2,500<br />
300<br />
99,501<br />
14,318<br />
Pounds<br />
S<br />
26<br />
14<br />
4<br />
3<br />
47<br />
40<br />
36<br />
76<br />
+29<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
C<br />
4.30<br />
0 20<br />
0 20<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
CaO<br />
1.60<br />
54.60<br />
48.58<br />
250<br />
4,608<br />
Pounds<br />
C<br />
Ihp Dlasf kirnaco jfeol rlanf<br />
TABLE 12.—High-phosphorus, Iron Furnace Charge<br />
CHEMICAL BALANCE SHEET<br />
2,795<br />
70<br />
2,865<br />
199<br />
199<br />
2,667<br />
Pounds<br />
CaO<br />
177<br />
5,198<br />
1,215<br />
S<br />
6,572<br />
6,572<br />
Pounds<br />
CO<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
MgO<br />
2.64<br />
0.88<br />
32 58<br />
0.38<br />
8.32<br />
0 7<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
Si<br />
0 75<br />
Pounds<br />
MgO<br />
292<br />
84<br />
S15<br />
1<br />
1,191<br />
1,192<br />
Pounds<br />
Si<br />
488<br />
488<br />
488<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
Fe<br />
51.76<br />
0.20<br />
0.3S<br />
99.59<br />
Heat in superheat = 88S (2800 — 212) 0.81 = 1.85 X 10'<br />
Total = 2.82 X 10° B.t.u.<br />
Decomposition of limestone:<br />
Heat of formation CaCO.-, per lb. = 772 B.t.u.<br />
Total limestone = 9520 lb.<br />
Total heat required = 9520 X 772 = 7.35 X 10*<br />
Moisture 1.5 per cent = 142<br />
Total heat to make steam = 142 X 1092 = 0.16 X 10'<br />
Heat in superheat = 142 X 2096 = 0.30 X 10*<br />
Total = 0.46 X 10" B.t.u.<br />
Decomposition of improperly burned dolomite:<br />
Total weight of dolomite = 2500 lb.<br />
Volatile = 15.54 per cent = 389<br />
Assumed 98 per cent = 381 exists as CO;<br />
To drive off CO= = 1756 B.t.u. per lb.<br />
Total heat to drive off CO= = 1756 X 381 = 0.67 X 10"<br />
THERMOPHYSICAL CHANGE<br />
Hot metal = 65,000 lb., temperature = 2474° F.<br />
Tapping temperature = 3080° F. includes emissivity factor<br />
Temperature rise (3080 — 2474) = 606° F.<br />
Specific heat = 0.2<br />
Heat absorbed = 65.000 X 606 X 0.2 = 7.88 X 10'<br />
Scrap = 35.000 lb. Temperature = 62° F.<br />
Melting temperature scrap = 2795° F.<br />
Heat required to bring to melting temperature = 35.000 X 2733 X<br />
0.16 = 15.30 X 10*<br />
Latent heat of fusion = 72 B.t.u.<br />
Total heat of fusion = 35,000 X 72 = 2.52 ;<br />
Heat to raise to temperature of bath = (3080<br />
X 0.2 = 2.00 X 10"<br />
Total heat = 19.82 X 10*<br />
Total heat in molten slag<br />
Heat in tapping slag = 14,318 X 1066 = 15.26 B.t.u.<br />
Total heat absorbed = 74.60 X 10" B.t.u.<br />
10'<br />
2795) X 35,000<br />
Heat Generated<br />
Oxidation of carbon, weight = 2667 lb.<br />
Heat of formation of CO from C per lb. = 4374 B.t.u.<br />
Heat generated = 4374 X 2667 = 11.67 X 10"<br />
Oxidation of manganese, weight = 645 lb.<br />
Heat of formation of MnO = 2984 B.t.u.<br />
Heat generated = 2984 X £45_= 1.92 X 10"<br />
8 9 10 11 ; 12 13<br />
Per r, , Per<br />
Cent. P " ds Cent.<br />
SiOi | &l0, | P<br />
9.29<br />
0 34<br />
1.32<br />
1. 12<br />
15 60<br />
Pounds<br />
Fe<br />
60,586<br />
34,772<br />
5,725<br />
19<br />
10<br />
101,112<br />
99,094<br />
1,918<br />
101.012<br />
•100<br />
100<br />
1,039<br />
1,027<br />
32<br />
33<br />
3<br />
100<br />
2,234<br />
2,234<br />
0 70<br />
0.01<br />
0.05<br />
0.006<br />
0.004<br />
0 004<br />
0.03<br />
r^t ! Pounds<br />
go ^O<br />
17.14 2,474<br />
Pounds<br />
P<br />
455<br />
4<br />
6<br />
30<br />
435<br />
465<br />
435<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
FeiOi<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
PiO»<br />
696<br />
Pounds<br />
FeiOi<br />
Pounds<br />
PiO.<br />
996<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
AI1O3<br />
80.34 1.10<br />
0.30<br />
i:49<br />
1 .15<br />
1.32<br />
14 15 16 17<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
Mn<br />
1.00<br />
0.40<br />
0 13<br />
0.16<br />
Pounds<br />
AIIOJ<br />
122<br />
28<br />
37<br />
3<br />
190<br />
190<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
MnO<br />
4.87<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
CaFi<br />
92.53<br />
Pounds<br />
Mn<br />
650<br />
140<br />
14<br />
804<br />
159<br />
541<br />
32<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
Volume<br />
3,15<br />
15.54<br />
Oxidation of silicon, weight =: 488 lb.<br />
Heat of formation of SiOi = 11,693 B.t.u.<br />
Heat generated = 11,693 X 488 = 5.71 X 10'<br />
Oxidation of phosphorus, weight = 435 lb.<br />
Heat of formation of P=Os = 10,825 B.t.u.<br />
Heat generated = 10,825 X 435 = 4.71 X 10"<br />
Heat of formation of slag, weight = 14,435 lb.<br />
Heat of formation of slag = 191 B.t.u.<br />
Heat generated = 191 X 14,435 = 2.76 X 10*<br />
Total heat generated = 26.77 X 10° B.t.u.<br />
Authorities for Constants Used<br />
Per<br />
Cent<br />
S<br />
0.01<br />
0 01<br />
0 012<br />
0 126<br />
0 04<br />
0.25<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
Moisture<br />
8.00<br />
1.50<br />
223<br />
THERMOCHEMICAL CHANGES<br />
Iron oxide reduction—Richards<br />
Decomposition of limestone—U. S. Bureau of Standards<br />
Oxidation of C. Mn, Si, P—Richards, LeChatelier, Berthelot.<br />
Thomson<br />
Formation of slag, calculated using Richards' values<br />
THERMOPHYSICAL CHANGE<br />
Specific heat, pig iron—0.1665—Oberhoffer<br />
Specific heat, soft steel—0.16—Meuther<br />
Latent heat of fusion, pig iron—Hutter<br />
Latent heat of fusion, steel—average value—Jetner, Richards,<br />
Brisker<br />
Heat in molten slag—Springorum<br />
Thermal Balance Sheet<br />
HEAT ABSORBED<br />
Red. of oxides of Fe<br />
Absorp. moist, of ore<br />
Decomp. of limestone<br />
Absorp. moist, of limestone<br />
Decomp. of dolomite<br />
Heat in molten slag<br />
Heat added to mixer metal<br />
Heat added to scrap<br />
HEAT GENERATED<br />
Oxidation of C =<br />
Oxidation of Mn =<br />
Oxidation of Si =<br />
Oxidation of P =<br />
Heat form, slag ==<br />
— 20.34<br />
= 2.82<br />
— 7.35<br />
= 0.46<br />
= 0.67<br />
=: 15.26<br />
= 7.88<br />
= 19.82<br />
11.67<br />
1.92<br />
5.71<br />
4.71<br />
2.76<br />
X 10"
224<br />
Balance heat to be supplied<br />
by combustion of<br />
gases in furnace = 47.83 X 10<br />
Total B.t.u. = 74.60 X 10"<br />
THERMAL EFFICIENCY OF BATH<br />
Thermal efficiency of furnace 3= 17.3 per cent<br />
B.t.u. in gas per pound of coal 3= 10,625<br />
47.83 X 10*<br />
Total B.t.u. to be supplied in producer gas =<br />
0.173<br />
276.47 X 10* B.t.u.<br />
Total coal burned 3= 26,021 lb.<br />
Constructing' a slag in this manner gives only the<br />
combined percentages of ferrous oxide and manganous<br />
oxide, so that it is necessary to compute on the basis<br />
of working conditions the quantity of residual manganese<br />
carried by the bath for different conditions of slag<br />
volume. With this amount ascertained, the manganese<br />
in the slag is the total manganese charged less<br />
that in the bath less that carried away by the furnace<br />
gases. The difference between the manganese in the<br />
slag, expressed as manganous oxide, and 27 per cent<br />
is the ferrous oxide in the silicate slag.<br />
The method of calculating the residual manganese<br />
is as follows: The residual manganese remaining in<br />
a bath, after the reactions have come to a condition of<br />
equilibrium, is a function of the manganese available<br />
(i.e.. the manganese charged less that which has been<br />
oxidized and carried away with the waste gases) the<br />
character of the slag, and the relative volumes or<br />
masses of slag and bath. The character of the slag<br />
determines the chemical affinity for manganese and<br />
represents the amount in the slag, other things being<br />
equal. But superimposed upon this is the relative<br />
masses of slag and bath, for a large slag volume will<br />
leave lower manganese residuals than one of similar<br />
analysis but smaller volume. For slags of similar an<br />
SiOi,<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
Dichmann 21.0<br />
In n o r m a 1 heats.<br />
values used .... 19.0<br />
In excess limestone<br />
heat 14.0<br />
Scrap<br />
Standard iron, high<br />
SiOi<br />
Standard iron, low<br />
SiOi<br />
High- manganese<br />
iron, high SiO,. .<br />
High- manganese<br />
iron low SiOa. . .<br />
Excess limestone..<br />
High-silicon iron . .<br />
High- phosphorus<br />
Average not including<br />
high limestone<br />
IWNasfFumaceSSUPLl<br />
May, 1924<br />
alysis, it is considered that the manganese available<br />
will divide according to the relative masses.<br />
and<br />
Let<br />
TABLE XIII — SLAG RATIOS<br />
FeO + ALO,<br />
MnO. S.<br />
Per Per<br />
Cent. Cent.<br />
26.00 4.0<br />
27.00 2.0<br />
27.00 2.0<br />
Silicate Slag<br />
Weight manganese in bath<br />
Weight manganese in<br />
dag<br />
Weight of bath<br />
and s<br />
Weight of slag<br />
So it becomes necessary to determine the relation be-<br />
tween x and s which is a measure of the chemical<br />
affinity and will remain essentially constant for a given<br />
type of slag. It was found, from practice, that when<br />
working with slags of this type that s = 22.5x.<br />
Let a = weight of manganese in bath;<br />
b = weight of manganese in slag;<br />
a<br />
a + y = total weight of manganese<br />
— bx<br />
available.<br />
a = y — -—•—<br />
1 +<br />
a =<br />
4y<br />
1 + x<br />
*y<br />
1 + X<br />
In all cases the ratio of bath to slag is known, so<br />
that it becomes possible to figure all the residuals on<br />
the same basis.<br />
The effect of the various percentages of residual<br />
manganese on the finishing additions of manganese<br />
made in the ladle is shown in Table XV. The calculated<br />
amounts of pure manganese correspond to results<br />
obtained in actual practice.<br />
CaO+-<br />
MgO,<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
49.00<br />
52.00<br />
57.00<br />
(Concluded on Page 25X)<br />
Phosphate Slag<br />
Sil. Slag CaO + MgO CaO Phos. Slag<br />
P SiO= P<br />
SiOi<br />
4.78<br />
5.26<br />
7.10<br />
TABLE XIV ANALYSIS OF THEORETICAL SLAGS<br />
PiO,<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
3.83<br />
2.58<br />
3.18<br />
2.47<br />
3.12<br />
1.91<br />
1.42<br />
6.96<br />
3.36<br />
FeO<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
17.26<br />
19.51<br />
18.32<br />
15.44<br />
13.11<br />
21.12<br />
22.37<br />
17.28<br />
17.61<br />
MnO<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
7.07<br />
5.69<br />
6.70<br />
9.84<br />
11.72<br />
4.54<br />
3.64<br />
4.87<br />
7.07<br />
SiO,<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
17.15<br />
17.94<br />
17.61<br />
17.80<br />
17.48<br />
13.39<br />
18.31<br />
15.60<br />
17.41<br />
AhO, +<br />
TiO,<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
0.52<br />
1.41<br />
1.62<br />
1.43<br />
1.69<br />
1.16<br />
1.09<br />
1.33<br />
1.30<br />
2.33<br />
2.74<br />
4.00<br />
CaO<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
44.29<br />
43.46<br />
41.77<br />
43.12<br />
41.44<br />
50.13<br />
46.24<br />
46.08<br />
43.77<br />
3.61<br />
3.61<br />
3.61<br />
MgO<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
8.67<br />
9.77<br />
11.52<br />
9.54<br />
11.38<br />
7.51<br />
6.18<br />
8.32<br />
9.34<br />
5.9<br />
5.9<br />
5.9<br />
S<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
0.25<br />
0.25<br />
0.25<br />
0.25<br />
0.25<br />
0.25<br />
0.25<br />
0.25<br />
0.25
MATERIAL<br />
HANDLING
226<br />
Ihp Dlasf kirnaco^ jfoo! Flanr<br />
Straight Line Production<br />
Woodward Iron Cuts All Unnecessary Corners in Reducing Raw<br />
Materials to High Grade Metal<br />
T H E making of iron in the Birmingham district<br />
is first, last and always a great material handling<br />
business.<br />
At the Woodward Iron this business finds its<br />
lowest common denominator. To best understand<br />
the problem a glance at the territorial map will be<br />
enlightening. On the right will be found Red Ore<br />
Mountain, well named as its appearance from a distance<br />
and upon closer approach will testify. "Red<br />
Ore" is historical; decades before the production of<br />
iron was even thought of. the Indians, probably the<br />
Seminoles wound their trails through the pine forests,<br />
and from the very surface found the disintegrated<br />
red material which they mixed with animal oils to<br />
paint their faces in preparation for the war-path.<br />
Recent years have recognized this early incident thro'<br />
beautiful pageantry staged on these historical slopes<br />
themselves by the children of the vicinity. This<br />
pageant is intensely interesting, and forms a definite<br />
link in the social development of this community.<br />
On the left looking from the south will be found<br />
a broad expanse of coal field dotted at close intervals<br />
with shafts and slopes. In the very center stands<br />
Woodward, the operating core of a railroad <strong>org</strong>anization<br />
which, receiving ore at one end and coal at<br />
the other, blends them at the coke oven and blast<br />
furnace unit midway from either end. One familiar<br />
with iron production will note the fact that limestone<br />
receives scant mention in this citation of essential<br />
raw materials. And herein lies the great difference<br />
between northern furnace practice and Birmingham.<br />
The Red Ore (Clinton Iron Ore) is lower grade,<br />
that is ferric content, than northern ores, but it is<br />
self-fluxing, carrying with it's 38 per cent iron oxide,<br />
some 20 per cent lime. The silica content varies with<br />
location, being lowest at Woodward, the centre of the<br />
outcrop, shown in Fig. 2 which totals some 10 miles,<br />
and increasing both toward the north and south.<br />
This silica proportion will have an important bearing<br />
on the future of this district.<br />
Clinton Ore.<br />
The Clinton iron ore, so named from its typical<br />
occurence in sedimentary rocks at Clinton, N. Y.,<br />
and in strata of equivalent age in other parts of<br />
North America, belongs to the class of iron oxides<br />
known as red hematite. It includes the structural<br />
varieties known as red fossil and oolitic ore. The<br />
mass of the ore is amorphous red hematite mixed with<br />
calcium carbonate, silica, alumina, magnesium carbonate,<br />
and other minerals in minor quantities.<br />
The structure and mineralogy of the Clinton ore<br />
with its associated minerals occurs in beds analogous<br />
to strata of sandstone, shale, and limestone, and interbedded<br />
with such rocks.<br />
The fossil ore consists of aggregate of fossil <strong>org</strong>anic<br />
forms such as bryozoans, crinoids, corals, and<br />
brachiopods. These forms were evidently at one time<br />
By F. J. CROLIUS<br />
PART I.<br />
May, 1924<br />
principally calcium carbonate, and they have been<br />
replaced partly or wholly by ferric oxide. The fossil<br />
material, much of which consists of broken and waterworn<br />
fragments, evidently was gathered by the action<br />
of waves and currents into beds, and subsequently<br />
cemented toeether by calcium carbonate and ferric<br />
oxide. More or less clay material has been likewise<br />
included in the beds during their formation, and this<br />
•commonly exists as thin seams of shale.<br />
The oolitic ore consists of aggregate of flat grains<br />
with rounded edges, somewhat of the size and shape<br />
of flaxseeds. These grains generally lie with their<br />
flatter sides parellel to the bedding planes of the rock,<br />
and the mass is cemented by ferric oxide and more<br />
or less calcium carbonate.<br />
Chemical Composition.<br />
Conditions of blast furnace practice define the<br />
grade of material that may be regarded as an ore.<br />
For instance, a lower limit of metallic iron and a<br />
higher limit of impurities may be allowed in a limy<br />
ore than in one that contains but little lime. In<br />
localities where brown iron ores are available for mixing<br />
with Clinton ores, an ore of the Clinton class can<br />
be used as a flux in many instances, although it runs<br />
so low in iron and so high in lime that it might not be<br />
regarded as acceptable in districts where no brown<br />
ore can be used. In general, the hard and semihard<br />
ores used today in the Birmingham district range in<br />
percentages of major constituents as follows: Metallic<br />
iron, from 32 to 45 per cent; lime oxide, from 5 to<br />
20 per cent; silica, from 2 to 25 per cent; alumina,<br />
from 2 to 5 per cent; magnesia, from 1 to 3 per cent;<br />
phosphorus, from 0.25 to 1.5 per cent; sulphur, from<br />
a trace up to 0.5 per cent; and water, from 0.5 to 3<br />
per cent. The ore therefore is of non-Bessemer grade.<br />
Small quantities of manganese are found in the ore in<br />
places. The content of this mineral seldom exceeds<br />
0.25 per cent. In the soft ore the lime generally runs<br />
less than 1 per cent, so that the percentages of the<br />
other constituents are proportionatelv higher.<br />
Hard and Soft Ores.<br />
The terms "hard" and "soft," as applied to the<br />
two principal varieties of Clinton ores, hardly express<br />
the facts, for the distinction between the two varieties<br />
in question is based upon differences in their chemical<br />
composition rather than upon differences in hardness.<br />
Most of the red ore of Alabama is, in its typical<br />
or "hard" variety, a highly limy ore. The ore' beds<br />
are usually overlain and underlain by comparatively<br />
impervious shales; and in most places dip at rather<br />
high angles. These conditions favor the penetration<br />
of the ore. near the surface at least, by percolating<br />
water. The result is that near the outcrop, and for<br />
some distance down the slope, the lime carbonate of<br />
the original ore is largely or entirely leached out.<br />
This removal of one constituent of course increases<br />
the relative percentages of the remaining less soluble
M; 1924 MaslPu rnaco 'Stool Plant<br />
ingredients, while it renders the ore more porous and<br />
friable. The resulting "soft ore" is therefore very<br />
low in lime, and correspondingly high in iron oxide.<br />
A secondary effect of the change, shown best where<br />
the cover is heavy and the dip low, is that the overlving<br />
shales settle down slightly as the bulk of the ore<br />
is reduced, so that tin the outcrop the ore bed often<br />
has less than its normal underground thickness.<br />
The Woodward Iron Company's slopes 2, 3, and<br />
1 are located in the SW. % sec. 36, T. 18 S., R. 4 W.,<br />
and the SE. y sec. 2, T. 19 S., R. 4 W. Besides these<br />
slopes there was in 1906 in the XW. y NW. W sec. 1,<br />
T. 19 S., R. W., a temporary slope or scram said to<br />
be mining 5 ft. of siliceous soft ore from the lower<br />
bench of the Big seam. Slope 3'has been laid out<br />
a little farther southwest, or about 600 ft. from Xo. 2.<br />
This slope is reached by a drift beginning in the upper<br />
portion of the Chickamauga limestone. At Woodward<br />
mine Xo. 2 the present mining is on the upper<br />
227<br />
bench of the Big seam, which is about 10^. ft. thick<br />
here. In places \ l /2 to 2 ft. of the bed are left at the<br />
top as roof, since this portion of the bed is rather<br />
siliceous and makes a better roof than the sandstone<br />
above the bed. Between the upper and lower benches<br />
of the Big seam is 18 to 24 in of shale. This slope<br />
was down about 3500 ft. in January. 1924. nearly all<br />
the distance in hard ore. The normal dip is 28 deg.<br />
to 30 deg.. but at about 185 ft. from the entrance to<br />
the slope the strata flatten out for a short distance<br />
and again resume their normal dip. The rocks are<br />
folded and fractured noticeably in the vicinity of the<br />
entrance, and a small fault is reported to occur in one<br />
of the right-hand entries, now robbed. The ore at<br />
this place is reported to average slightly leaner in<br />
iron and lime than at the No. 1 slope, three-fourths<br />
of a mile farther southwest.<br />
Woodward mine No. 1 is located near the northwest<br />
foot of Red Mountain at Tanyard Gap. The<br />
FIG. 2—The striking feature shown by the general map of the Birmingham District is the paralelling of the outcrops. On the<br />
eastern side lies the ore, on the western is found the coal. No ore or coal docks, no ice-bound winter lake seasons, no enormous<br />
ore bridges, rairoad and water transfers needed here.
228<br />
DIP Blast furnaceSSteel Plant<br />
May, 1924<br />
FIG. 3—It would be difficult to exaggerate the natural beauty of these mines as located. In the midst of healthy pine woods<br />
with occasional mistletoe, appearances and conditions ore distinctly different from the mines of any other district.<br />
Hickory Nut and Ida seams and the Big seam, with<br />
its upper and lower benches, are present here, and<br />
also a shaly, ferruginous horizon which may represent<br />
the Irondale seam. The Hickory Xut seam never<br />
was mined, but the Ida seam yielded a thickness of<br />
3 ft. of soft ore, carrying about 40 per cent iron. This<br />
was stripped for some distance along its outcrop.<br />
In the slope the upper bench of the Big seam is about<br />
12 ft. thick. Xine and one-half to 10*/j ft. of ore are<br />
obtained. Occasionally a thin parting of shale is<br />
found 15 to 18 in. from the bottom or top. The top<br />
18 in. of the bed are generally left for a roof, as at<br />
slope 2. The dip of the rocks is variable here also.<br />
On the outcrop it is 34 deg., but within the slope it<br />
flattens out and ranges between 20 deg. and 28 deg.,<br />
until at the lower end, a distance of about 1,500 ft.<br />
from the outcrop, the beds abruptly bend downward<br />
at an angle of 40 deg., and the ore is faulted downward<br />
a distance reported to be about 15 ft. The<br />
direction of this fault is N. 35 deg. E., as observed<br />
in the slope, and its hade is 80 deg. to the down throw.<br />
"Water channels" passing along fractured beds<br />
are reported to have been encountered in several<br />
places, for instance in the eleventh right entry, and<br />
adjacent to these the ore was soft but surrounded by<br />
hard ore.<br />
The bottom ledge of the Big seam is here about<br />
Ay ft. thick and carries where soft 45 to 47 per cent<br />
iron, but less than 35 per cent of iron where hard.<br />
Under present conditions it is not considered worth<br />
mining, since it is poor in lime. The ore from the<br />
upper bench at these mines contains enough, or in<br />
places a trifle more than enough, lime to be self-fluxing.<br />
Systematic chemical analyses are reported to<br />
have been made of samples of ore taken every few<br />
feet from the outcrop to the bottom of the slope and<br />
from each entry to the right and left of the slope.<br />
The composition of the ore has been found to vary<br />
considerably from place to place, and the degree of<br />
variation has been found to be as great within a few<br />
yards as it is between remote parts of the mine, but<br />
the average run of the mine has been remarkably regular<br />
since the hard ore was reached. The hard ore<br />
"slacks" when left standing several years in pillars,<br />
making it necesary to rob promptly to obtain the<br />
pillars.<br />
There is indicated a total of 358,470,700 long tons<br />
of ore at present available in the main portion of the<br />
Birmingham district, and it is probable that one-half<br />
billion tons would be reached by any estimate that<br />
considered carefully the reserves in the other divisions<br />
of the district not included within the present<br />
estimate. The estimates show also a reserve of 146,-<br />
024,700 long tons of ore in the lower bench of the<br />
Big seam, and of 292,401,400 long tons in the main<br />
part of the Big seam in the eastern part of the Shades<br />
Valley—a total of 438,426,100 long tons of red ore<br />
not available under present conditions.<br />
When it is considered that the annual production<br />
of red ore in Alabama in 1923 was exactly 5,169,782<br />
long tons, and that the production has not increased<br />
rapidly in recent years and does not promise to increase<br />
rapidly in the near future, the results of the<br />
estimate indicate that the iron ore at present available<br />
in this district promises to last more than 100 years<br />
longer at the present rate of output. The foregoing<br />
estimate, which gives a grand total of 796,896,800 long<br />
tons of red ore in the Birmingham district, as compared<br />
with the preliminary estimate of 1,000,000,000<br />
long tons of red ore in Alabama, previously published<br />
by E. C. Eckel, appears fairly conservative, when it<br />
is recalled that the Birmingham district probably con-
ME 1924<br />
The Blast hi rnace.<br />
tains 80 per cent of the red ore of the State that can<br />
be regarded as possibly workable. On the other<br />
hand, the preliminary estimate made by Eckel of<br />
1,000,000,000 long tons of red ore in Alabama, including<br />
as it did much ore probably carrying 25 to 30 per<br />
cent metallic iron, and occuring in seams at present<br />
regarded as too thin to be profitably worked, but of<br />
possible future value, appears to be consistently supported<br />
by the present estimate of ore reserves in the<br />
Birmingham district.<br />
System of Mining.<br />
The room-and-pillar system of mining is employed,<br />
with final robbing of the pillars. From both<br />
sides of the main slope entries or headings are driven<br />
in the ore at regular intervals of 50 to 65 ft., thus<br />
dividing the mine into levels or slopes which are<br />
worked independently. The distance between the<br />
centers of the headings is determined by twice the<br />
length to which it is desired to drive the rooms. For<br />
instance, if it is desired to drive rooms 30 ft. in length<br />
up the dip from the heading the headings are driven<br />
60 ft. apart. The size of the rooms depends on the<br />
character of the roof and thickness of the ore seam.<br />
The grade of the main slope varies with the dip of<br />
the beds, whether it is driven down the dip or with<br />
the jointing of the ore. The dips range from 15 deg.<br />
to 45 deg. as observed in the various slopes of the<br />
district, but thev range mostly between 18 deg. and<br />
30 deg.<br />
Two methods of haulage are in use in the ore<br />
mines. Under the older method the trams of ore in<br />
trains of 5 to 8 cars each are hauled up the slope by<br />
cable. The floor of the slope corresponds with the<br />
bottom of the ore that is mined. With tram haulage<br />
the headings are sometimes offset 15 to 25 ft. in order<br />
i> Steel PI<br />
ant<br />
229<br />
that the switches on opposite sides may not come<br />
at the same point on the main slope track. The later<br />
method of haulage employs the skip, or steel slope<br />
car, which carries ore from the mouths of the headings<br />
up to the tipple. With skip haulage the right<br />
and left headings are generally opened directly opposite<br />
each other and the main slope is depressed<br />
about 8 ft. below the bottom of the worked ore bed,<br />
enough to give headway for dumping the pit cars into<br />
the skip. The tracks in the headings are laid on the<br />
floor of the workable bench of ore. The main slope<br />
is therefore 16 to 20 ft. high, while the headings are<br />
the height of the workable portion of the ore bed,<br />
unless this is less than enough to provide head room.<br />
The width of headings is about 15 feet for 60 to 100<br />
feet from the man slope, beyond which it is increased<br />
to 25 or 30 feet, the width of the rooms. The portions<br />
of ore remaining after driving the headings, cutting<br />
out rooms and connecting the headings by "break<br />
throughs" or air ways about 100 feet apart, are called<br />
pillars. The pillars are finlaly taken out or robbed<br />
after the mine workings have been extended below as<br />
far as is advisable.<br />
Since the presence of water in a mine is due to<br />
fractures in the rocks, mines in localities of slight<br />
folding or faulting usually encounter more or less<br />
water, while those in undisturbed strata may be practically<br />
dry. The water which collects in the sumps<br />
is pumped out by air or steam, principally by air,<br />
since air has also to be employed extensively for<br />
drilling.<br />
The ventilation of these iron-ore mines is much<br />
more easily effected than that of a coal mine, since<br />
there are no suffocating or inflammable gases and no<br />
combustible dust. In dry mines there is some ore<br />
dust and, of course, considerable powder smoke<br />
FIG 4—A panara-ia of the three blast furnaces at Woodward; two more furnaces located at Vanderbilt, distant ab<br />
miles complete a producing capacity of 1,500 tons of iron per day. This furnace plant is a model of neatness and
230<br />
Ihe Dlast hirnaco'Iy jteol Plant<br />
May, 1924<br />
FIG. 5—This Link-Belt washer handles more than 5000 tons of coal per day. The problem involves an apron conveyor un<br />
the 2500-ton concrete hopper zvhich receives the coal from the railroad cars. The apron conveyor empties onto<br />
conveyor discharging into two 12 x 17 Bradford breakers. From thence, over a belt-conveyor, the coal proceeds<br />
elevator, zvhich carries it up and into the raw coal bins. The coal is then drawn off into a series of double<br />
from zvhich it is sluiced off to the zvet coal tank, thence into tzvo large bucket elevators and into the z<br />
the tracks. Between the zvet coal tanks and the bins is a settling cone, which cares for the overflow of the w<br />
This construction conserves zvater. a precious element in the Birmingham district, to the last degree; the o<br />
loss being due to incidental evaporation.<br />
from blasting. The currents of air entering the mine<br />
slope naturally pass downward and are divided and<br />
drawn laterally into the headings, and the air supply<br />
is further augmented by the exhaust from the air<br />
drills, which also stimulates the circulation. The<br />
mines are illuminated by electric lamps. Electric apparatus<br />
is employed for signalling, and telephones are<br />
installed at stations underground.<br />
Drills are operated by air under a pressure of<br />
75 to 80 lb., and the ore is shot down by dynamite<br />
fired usually by fuse, but in some mines by electricity.<br />
The ore face is worked upward from the heading, so<br />
that gravity aids in moving the broken ore to the<br />
tram car. The tram cars are gathered into small<br />
trains and hauled to the slope, or else they are moved<br />
singly by gravity to the slope and hauled back to the<br />
face by mule.<br />
Haulage and Power.<br />
Raising ore to the surface is, as previously stated,<br />
accomplished either by dumping it from the tram<br />
car into a skip which is hauled up the slope by winding<br />
engine and cable or by hauling the mine cars<br />
themselves out by the cable. Steel cables used in<br />
the slopes are generally ly& to \y2 in. in diameter.<br />
Ski]) haulage has supplanted train haulage in all<br />
the slopes.<br />
Production and Consumption of Iron Ore.<br />
Since 1894 Alabama has held third place among<br />
the iron-producing States. In 1907, a normal year<br />
in the iron industry, her total production of iron ore<br />
amounted to 4,039,453 long tons, composed of 3,144,-<br />
011 tons of red hematite and 895,442 tons of brown<br />
hematite.<br />
In 1920, the total production of iron ore in the<br />
State of Alabama was 5,833,317 long tons, valued at<br />
$15,993,985. Of this total production 5,169,782 tons<br />
was red ore, and represented 86 per cent of the production<br />
of ore for the state. This tonnage constituted<br />
7.64 per cent in 1920 of the total ore produced in the<br />
United States.<br />
It will be noticed that in a year of industrial depression,<br />
such as 1908, the production from the Birmingham<br />
district did not suffer as did other districts<br />
in the State. The production of brown ore in the Birmingham<br />
district actually showed a large increase in<br />
1908, due in part to the reopening of the mines at<br />
Champion. The average value for red ore per ton is<br />
between $1.05 and $1.10, and has not suffered much<br />
change in the last three years. The average value<br />
for brown ore per long ton in 1908 was about $1.36,<br />
as compared with $1.55 for 1907.<br />
Practically all the ore produced in the district<br />
is manufactured into pig iron in the vicinity of Birmingham.<br />
Brown Ore.<br />
Near the middle of sec. 9, T. 21 S.. R. 6 W. the<br />
Woodward Iron Company has done some very systematic<br />
prospecting, and an ore body trending northeast-southwest,<br />
300 to 1,500 ft. wide and more than<br />
4,000 ft. long, ranging from 1 to 32 ft. thick, but in<br />
general from 4 to 15 ft. thick, has been proved. The<br />
cover is composed in part of loam of the Lafayette<br />
formation and possibly some Tuscaloosa materials,<br />
the total thickness being in general between a few<br />
inches and 20 ft., but running in one place to 47 ft.<br />
A few holes struck no ore at all, and several encountered<br />
very hard ore at water level and were<br />
driven no deeper, so that it is not known just how<br />
thick the ore may be at those places. Limestone.<br />
probably Knox, and residual clay were found below<br />
the ore in several pits. Clays of the Tuscaloosa formation<br />
are found in abundance just northwest of the<br />
ore-bearing ground.<br />
In one prospect the ore was found to be highly<br />
manganiferous. Below 43 ft. of loam was found 3 ft.<br />
of brown ore, then 5y'2 ft. of cray, then 4 ft. of manganese<br />
ore and brown ore mixed, and the pit stopped<br />
in ore and water. Analysis showed the material in<br />
the lower bed to carry 45.8 per cent insoluble matter,<br />
15.2 per cent iron, and 18.2 per cent manganese.
May, 1924<br />
In connection with the prospecting of this property,<br />
a detailed topographic map on a scale of 100 ft.<br />
to 1 in., with 5 to 10 ft. contour intervals, was prepared.<br />
By means of this map it has been possible<br />
to select the best sites for a storage dam. pump house,<br />
washer, and to lay out pipe line, railway tracks, settling<br />
pond, etc., besides plotting the location of the<br />
test pits at their relative altitudes.<br />
This property is connected with the mineral division<br />
of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad at Chamblee<br />
by a spur about 2 miles in length.<br />
In January, 1909, the Woodward brown-ore workings<br />
consisted of several open cuts in the hillsides at<br />
or above the level of the private railroad line. The<br />
ore is exposed in places to a depth of 15 ft. No ore<br />
is exposed to the underlying limestone or its residual<br />
clay. Little or no stripping is required in places,<br />
while in others 10 ft. of stripping is necessary. The<br />
cover normally consists of a reddish residual clay,<br />
mixed with surface debris. Some red loam of tlie<br />
Lafayette is present. The ore consists of (a) "wash<br />
ore"—that is, of loose, small-sized fragments, and<br />
loose irregular-shaped masses, all imbedded in reddish<br />
clay or reddish to light-yellow sand and clay—<br />
and (b) masses of hard, compact ore that are continuous<br />
for some distance. Associated with and inclosed<br />
by these large masses of ore are pockets of<br />
tough yellow clay, showing faint laminations in<br />
places. This clay and the beds of laminated Cretaceous<br />
clay that are also found near the ore in several<br />
railroad cuts are indiscriminately termed "white<br />
horse" by the miners. Xo true "white horse" or clay<br />
bottom was observed in these workings.<br />
The massive ore is so compact and hard that it can<br />
be worked only very slowly and with great difficulty<br />
by pick and shovel, and blasting is therefore employed.<br />
W r ithin masses of this ore were noted cavities<br />
in which redeposition of limonite had taken place<br />
through the action of percolating water, and some of<br />
the cavities contained fine-grained yellow sand.<br />
The ore that was produced from here at the beginning<br />
of 1909 was worked out by hand in connection<br />
with blasting, and was screened by hand over an inclined,<br />
stationary screen of coarse mesh.<br />
There are more than 25 operating ore mines on<br />
Red Ore Mountain. The descriptions given will cover<br />
TneBlasthirnaceSSteelPlanf<br />
231<br />
them all, very similar methods and equipment being<br />
employed universally.<br />
In both the Woodstock and the Champion areas<br />
the brown ore is mined from open cuts.<br />
The steam shovels used in brown-ore mining<br />
range from 20 to 60 tons in weight, and handle from<br />
134 to 2y2 cubic yards per dipper.<br />
The brown ore is separated from the impurities<br />
that are mined with it, such as loam, sand, gravel, and<br />
clay, by a system of breaking, washing, picking, and<br />
screening.<br />
A description of the latest washer to be installed<br />
in the Woodstock district, that of the Woodward Iron<br />
Company, at Docray, will serve to illustrate the standard<br />
method and equipment employed for cleaning and<br />
concentrating the brown ore. Gravity carries both ore<br />
and water through the whole process from the top<br />
deck of the washer until the cleaned ore is delivered<br />
to the railroad cars and the water to the settling pond.<br />
The washer is built in two sections on a hillside above<br />
the Louisville and Xashville Railroad track. Ore is<br />
brought from the cuts in steel, bottom-dump cars.<br />
The tracks of the mine road terminate on the top deck<br />
of the washer. Three cars may be dumped at once<br />
on this deck. The ore falls through to a steel-shod<br />
incline below, 80 by 20 feet, pitching 30 deg. The ore<br />
slides down the incline over a bar screen 12 feet wide,<br />
pitching at the same angle as the incline. The bar<br />
screen is constructed of steel rails, 4 inches by 12 feet,<br />
spaced 3 inches apart<br />
The screenings fall into a trough or flume of water.<br />
The rejects fall on a conveyor belt, 36 inches by 80<br />
feet. This belt may serve as a picking belt if necessary.<br />
The belt discharges into a Xo. 7y2 Gates gyratory<br />
crusher, which discharges into the same flume<br />
that received the screenings. This flume is lined with<br />
a U-shaped chilled-iron channel, 27 inches wide at the<br />
top and I3y inches high inside. The flume is 96<br />
feet long, pitches about 2y feet in 12 feet, and is fed<br />
by a 6-inch stream of water under about a 50-foot<br />
head. This flume discharges its ore into a revolving<br />
conical screen 12 feet long by 3 and 3y feet diameters.<br />
The axis of the screen is horizontal with the small end<br />
toward the flume. Inside the screen is a spiral retarder,<br />
and the ore that passes the perforations, which<br />
are lj4 inches in diameter, is divided between two sets<br />
FIG. 6—Woodward is justly proud of the railroad bearing its name. The operation comprises some 45 miles of trackage.<br />
and employs 12 modem locomotives zvith 232 standard guage cars. This is the connecting link between Ore-Mines, on the<br />
one side. Coal Mines on the other, Plant Operations near the centre, and Shipping Facilities, adjacent. Above is shown<br />
big No. 33, a Sante Fe type locomotive, latest addition to Pozver Plant, hauling a train of coal.
232<br />
of washers below. The rejects from the screen fall on<br />
a conveyor belt and are carried to a chute which divides<br />
the material between two revolving sand screens<br />
below. Each of the two log washers consists of two<br />
logs 29 feet long, octagonal in section, I8y2 inches<br />
between faces. The ore after passing through the log<br />
washers goes also to the sand screens- These two<br />
screens are of wire, with Ms-inch mesh. They are 6<br />
feet long, conical in shape, 31 and 37 inches in diameter<br />
at the ends. The ore from each of the sand screens<br />
passes on to a picking belt, 36 inches by 30 feet. From<br />
these belts the lumps of foreign material, such as clay,<br />
chert gravel, sandstone, etc., are removed by hand.<br />
The picking belts discharge into a storage bin built<br />
directly over the Louisville and Nashville Railroad<br />
track. This bin holds two carloads of ore, and dumps<br />
into cars below- The muddy waste water passes to<br />
a mud flume beyond the railroad track. This mud<br />
flume carries the waste 1,500 feet up a small valley to<br />
the head of the settling pond, which is about one-half<br />
mile in length. Water is supplied from a storage<br />
reservoir above a dam on Kennedy Creek, about threefourths<br />
mile below the washer, and the clear water from<br />
the lower end of the settling pond will be collected<br />
also by this storage reservoir. Two pumps with 6-inch<br />
suction and 5-inch discharge will be employed, and<br />
the water will be pumped to two 25,000-gallon tanks<br />
on the hill about 50 feet above the washer. This<br />
washer is designed to handle 500 short tons of ore in<br />
10 hours.<br />
Transportation.<br />
The ore broken to conveniently small charging<br />
sizes, falls directly into the broad guage railroad cars,<br />
which convey their part of the burden directly to the<br />
furnace stock-house. This is a substantial concrete<br />
structure parallelling the straight line arrangement<br />
of the five blast furnaces, double tracked the entire<br />
length. Hand operated ore and coke bin doors feed<br />
by gravity into stock lorries, which complete the<br />
transit to the furnace skip. It will be noted that no<br />
ore-bridges are employed, the source of supply being<br />
contiguous without the handicap of weather, or seasonal<br />
limitations, no trans-shipments are necessary,<br />
and gravity being brought into play throughout the<br />
journey. The only power required is the current on<br />
the mine hoist motor 750 hp., on the mine locomotives,<br />
on the fans and pumps and air compressors, plus the<br />
relatively small amount of power called forth in hauling<br />
the empty cars back up to the mine mouth level.<br />
Nothing could be simpler, nore free from surplus labor<br />
than the entire operation. Forty-two hundred men<br />
produce 1400 to 1500 tons of foundry iron per day, performing<br />
all the functions of mining both ore and coal,<br />
its transportation, preparation conversive into coke,<br />
and reduction into iron, shipped to destination. One<br />
mine. "Redding", produces 1,400 tons of ore per day.<br />
Except for the color of the buildings, it would be difficult<br />
to distinguish the coal mines from the ore mines.<br />
The fuel used in the blast-furnaces at Woodward, and<br />
at all Birmingham furnaces, is coke made exclusively<br />
from Warrior Field coal.<br />
ESTIMATED TONNAGE OF COKING COALS. WARRIOR<br />
FIELD, ALABAMA<br />
Short tons<br />
Mary Lee group 3,207,168,000<br />
Pratt bed 827,360 000<br />
Brookwood group 160,800,000<br />
4,195,328,000<br />
iVBlasfh.rnaceSSteelPU<br />
May, 1924<br />
In this computation it is assumed that approximately<br />
100,000,000 tons of Pratt coal have been worked<br />
out, leaving a remainder of 827,360,000 tons as given<br />
above. Assuming that 80 per cent of the total coal in<br />
the ground will be mined, the yield would be 3,366,-<br />
262,400 short tons. Assuming further that the coal<br />
will yield 60 per cent of coke, the total amount of<br />
coke that could be made from this coal would be<br />
2,019,757,240 short tons- On the basis of 1.8 tons of<br />
coke to a ton of pig iron, which is derived from a<br />
statement of furnace operations of a single company<br />
for April, 1906, this quantity of coke would produce<br />
1,122,087,355 short tons of pig iron. To produce this<br />
amount of iron at the present rate of production would<br />
take 625 years, but if the production should be doubled<br />
every 20 years it would take only 87 years.<br />
Similar Methods.<br />
Here again slope and shaft mining is employed.<br />
The 56-in. vein of bituminous coal lays at about the<br />
same angle as the iron, but in a different plane. Mining<br />
at Dolomite, the town site name of one of the<br />
most important mining operations. At Dolomite, the<br />
present working is about 1200 ft. The coal is elevated<br />
at about 30 deg. angle by a newly completed<br />
motor driven hoist, which is a model of s'ubstantiability<br />
and completeness. Perhaps the most interesting<br />
feature of the coal hoisting mechanism is the<br />
Rolls-Right Tipple, at the top. The railroad tipple,<br />
belies the suggestion employed in its name to the<br />
Rolls-Royce Motor car, that is in appearance, but in<br />
its effectiveness, it supercedes it. Five 3600 lb. car<br />
loads of coal find their journeys end into the light<br />
structural tunnel which forms the frame of the railroad.<br />
The simple tripping of a latch causes the unbalanced<br />
load up the tipple platform rails to whirl<br />
downward, not through a complete circle, however,<br />
as in the rotary car dumper so well known, but only<br />
through sufficient length of arc to emptv the cars<br />
cleanly. This done, the weight of the empties themselves<br />
exert counter force enough to re-act upward<br />
through the same arc, where the operator throws his<br />
lever leaving the Rolls-Right fastened in position for<br />
the trips release, and the arrival of the next loads.<br />
Five cars, or 18.000 lb. of coal are thus dumped by one<br />
man in about 20 seconds. This mine produces about<br />
2000 tons of coal per day.<br />
Typical Installations<br />
The first was installed at the coal mine slope known<br />
as Dolomite No. 1. The coal cars, after being brought<br />
to the foot of the slope by an endless rope are attached<br />
in trips of four to a tail-rope haulage and hoisted<br />
at a speed of 1,500 ft. per minute up a double-track<br />
slope 1,900 ft. long having a maximum grade of 26J4<br />
deg. At the top of the slope the cars enter either of<br />
two car tipples which are located over a 300-ton pyramid<br />
bin, from which the coal is loaded directly into<br />
railroad cars. The average capacity of this mine is<br />
1,500 tons in eight hours.<br />
At Dolomite Xo. 3 are located two 5 car dumps of<br />
the same kind. The cars at this mine are brought to<br />
the foot of the slope by an electric locomotive and are<br />
there made up into trips of five, which are hauled by a<br />
700 hp. double-drum electric hoist up a 30 deg. grade<br />
1,400 ft. long at a speed of 2,000 ft. per minute. The<br />
rotary dumps are set at an angle of 15 deg. over a<br />
400-ton double bin with Y-shaped bottom, as shown<br />
in Fig. 1.<br />
(Continued in June)
May, 1924<br />
IhoDlast lumace^jteel Plant<br />
THE SAFETY CRUSADE<br />
3891 Men—95 Days<br />
No Lost Time Accidents—Perfect Record Established<br />
At Joliet Works<br />
"The month of December, 1923, marked the establishing<br />
of the first perfect score we had ever attained<br />
in our Accident Prevention Campaign. We were all<br />
very proud, and rightly so.<br />
The month of January, 1924, followed with another<br />
perfect record. Two months in succession without a<br />
lost time accident. Indeed, every one of us on the<br />
plant had just reason for being proud of such an unusual<br />
accomplishment.<br />
The month of February, 1924, started out in the<br />
same encouraging manner and as the month nearly<br />
passed we had hoped for another month of perfect<br />
score. However on February 23, a gripman slipped<br />
and injured his ankle thus breaking the record after<br />
95 days with an average of 3891 men employed per day<br />
without .a lost time accident.<br />
Every one of us at Joliet Works justly feels proud<br />
of this record. We are proud of our efforts which<br />
made it possible; proud of the connection with a company<br />
which is conscientiously endeavoring to conduct<br />
a safe manufacturing establishment; and proud of this<br />
contribution we have made to the humanitarian work<br />
which is being carried on the world over.<br />
Our slogan for 1924 is "Keep On Keeping On" and<br />
we are going to start right in and try to make another<br />
record.<br />
This record did not just happen. It was the result<br />
of a determined and conscientious effort on the part of<br />
every man employed at this plant who really strived in<br />
making it possible.<br />
The team work, loyalty, and service which went<br />
to make up such a fine showing as was manifested by<br />
all concerned speaks entirely for itself and entirely exemplifies<br />
the adoption of the Joliet Works' slogan in<br />
Accident Prevention for 1924 which is, "Keep On<br />
Keeping On."<br />
Banquet for Safety Committeemen and<br />
Foremen<br />
On Tuesday evening, February 12, 1924, a Safety<br />
banquet for Safety Committeemen and Foremen was<br />
held in the Auditorium of the Steel Works Club and<br />
over 400 Safety workers packed the large auditorium.<br />
In addition an invitation was sent to all of the clergy<br />
in the community and to a number of representatives<br />
of other industries in the community.<br />
The Safety Committeemen were the guests of the<br />
management in an effort to show their appreciation of<br />
their past good work in Accident Prevention and to appeal<br />
to them for their continued co-operation and to<br />
show them that the management of this company and<br />
the management of the United States Steel Corpora<br />
233<br />
tion was back of them in every way in their efforts<br />
in this great humanitarian work of the eliminating of<br />
preventable accidents in this industry.<br />
The large auditorium was packed even to over its<br />
capacity and the affair was a combined Safety Meeting<br />
TELEGRAM<br />
SUBSIDIARY COMPANIES OF<br />
United States Steel Corporation<br />
PRIVATE WIRE SERVICE<br />
1056 New York, February 15, 1924.<br />
E. J. Buffington, President,<br />
Illinois Steel Company.<br />
It is very gratifying to learn that your Joliet<br />
Works have established a record in accident<br />
prevention and through you we extend to your<br />
<strong>org</strong>anization our heartiest congratulations<br />
upon what has been accomplished. This cooperation<br />
speaks for itself.<br />
J . A. Farrell,<br />
President.<br />
2:40 P. M.<br />
jlllinuisj :?trrl ILiunpruiu<br />
206 SOUTH LA SALLE STREET<br />
CHICAGO<br />
E. J BUFFINGTON.<br />
February 15, 1924.<br />
Mr. D. B. Hathias,<br />
General Superintendent,<br />
Joliet Works.<br />
Dear Sir:-<br />
It is a great pleasure to enclose copy of<br />
a telegram just received from Mr. Farrell,<br />
President of the United States Steel Corporation,<br />
extending his congratulations to the<br />
<strong>org</strong>anisation of Joliet Works on account of the<br />
record in' accident prevention which has been<br />
established at your plant.<br />
With my personal congratulations to you<br />
and your associates, and best wishes for continuance<br />
of the good record, I am<br />
Encl.<br />
President.<br />
Rewards of meritorious effort. Recognition by personal me<br />
sage from the president of the company is a tremendous<br />
stimulus to continued vigilance. *•<br />
and to honor the birthday of Abraham Lincoln. The<br />
tables and room were fittingly decorated for both occasions<br />
and on the night of the banquet we had established<br />
a record of 85 days without a lost time accident.<br />
Mr. D. R. Mathias, General Superintendent, acted<br />
as toastmaster and after the invocation had been pro-
34 TkeBksf Fu rnuco.<br />
nounced by Rev. Father Albert S. Olszewski, of the<br />
Holy Cross Church, a flash light picture of the assemblage<br />
was taken and a reproduction of the same appears<br />
at the bottom of this page.<br />
After Mr. Mathias had made the opening announcement<br />
and stated the purpose of the meeting. Mr. R. W.<br />
Campbell, who is General Attorney for the company<br />
and also chairman of the General Safety Committee,<br />
i^d SU Pi<br />
anr<br />
Mav, 1924<br />
made a very fitting address which might well be<br />
termed, "Reminiscences". Mr. Campbell gave a review<br />
of the earlv days in Accident Prevention and mentioned<br />
the part that Joliet Works played in this effort<br />
and also mentioned that <strong>org</strong>anized accident prevention<br />
work had its inception at Joliet Works and that Mr. H.<br />
I',. Smith who devoted his entire lifetime to the safety<br />
cause, was the first safety inspector in this country and<br />
PIG. 1—Splice mill safety meeting. FIG. 2—John Woods, right; John P. Eib. left. FIG. 3—Billet mill safety meetin<br />
Mechanical department safety meeting. FIG. 5—Converting department safety reeling. FIG. 6—Bolt and nut fa<br />
safety meeting. FIG. 7—Mason department safety meeting. FIG. 8—John Woods. FIG. 9—Safety banquet at St<br />
Works Club.
probably in the world, having been appointed safety<br />
inspector at Joliet Works in 1893-<br />
Mr. R. J. Young, manager of the Department of<br />
Safety and Relief, and secretary of the Central Safety<br />
Committee of the Illinois Steel Company, also gave a<br />
very interesting review of the early days as well as<br />
the present day work in this great field. Mr. Young<br />
stated that he had recently returned from Mew York<br />
where a meeting of the Committee of Safety of the<br />
United States Steel Corporation had just been held<br />
and he brought a direct message from fudge Gary,<br />
who is the executive head of the United States Steel<br />
Corporation, to the Committeemen and Safety workers<br />
at Joliet, which message was received with great appreciation<br />
and gratification.<br />
Rev. Walter Macpherson of the Universalist<br />
Church of Joliet, then gave one of his wonderful talks<br />
for which he is renowned and his combined talk about<br />
the great Emancipator and the Safety work, coupled<br />
with his keen wit and humor, of which he is so entirely<br />
capable, pleased the entire assemblage and was<br />
received with such enthusiasm that everyone present<br />
wanted him to continue much longer than he really<br />
did.<br />
The closing number of the program consisted of a<br />
moving picture film entitled, "The House that Jack<br />
Built," the scenario of which was written by Mr. Marcus<br />
A. Dow, formerly General Safety Agent of the<br />
New York Central lines, and contained a beautiful representation<br />
of safety not only on the job but carrying<br />
it into the home life as well. Beyond a doubt this is<br />
one of the greatest, if not the greatest, safety films<br />
which has ever been produced.<br />
The entire meeting was one of enthusiasm and was<br />
very well received and it is felt that a great deal of<br />
good will result from this Get-Together meeting. We<br />
wish that it were possible for us to shake the hand<br />
and personally thank each safety committeeman and<br />
foreman and worker of this plant who has helped to<br />
make our record possible but inasmuch as this could<br />
not be accomplished we wish to take this means of<br />
again thanking each and everyone of you for the part<br />
played in accomplishing this feat and to sincerely ask<br />
your continued co-operation.<br />
International First Aid Contest<br />
Several thousand invitations to attend and participate<br />
in the Fourth International First-Aid and Mine-<br />
Rescue Contest, to be held at Huntington, West Virginia,<br />
September 11, 12, and 13, have been sent out by<br />
the Department of the Interior. The invitations are<br />
being mailed to the coal and metal mining companies<br />
of the country, quarry operators, metallurgical plants,<br />
local unions of the United Mine Workers of America,<br />
petroleum refiners, the larger oil-producing companies,<br />
pipe line operators, the mine inspectors of the various<br />
states, and to the mining officials of various foreign<br />
countries, including England, Canada, Mexico, France,<br />
and Belgium. Metal mining companies operating in<br />
Mexico, and the larger coal mining companies of England<br />
and Canada, are also being invited to attend the<br />
contest.<br />
The International First-Aid and Mine-Rescue Contest<br />
will be held under the auspices of the Bureau of<br />
Mines, with the co-operation of the West Virginia<br />
Department of Mines, the Huntington Chamber of<br />
Commerce, the American National Red Cross, the<br />
IheDlasr hirnacelyjfeel rlanf<br />
National Safety Council, and various mine operators<br />
associations and miners' <strong>org</strong>anizations. It is anticipated<br />
that as many as 80 teams of trained miners will<br />
compete for the various prizes offered for proficiency<br />
in first-aid and mine-rescue methods.<br />
The Department calls attention to the fact that<br />
more than 115.000 miners have already been trained in<br />
first-aid to the injured and mine-rescue methods by<br />
the Bureau of Mines. This event promises, it is stated<br />
to be an important one for the promotion of safety and<br />
efficiency in mining. A large attendance of miners is<br />
expected at the contest, and it is anticipated that many<br />
prominent representatives of the industry who have<br />
taken a keen interest in the promotion of industrial<br />
safety will be present.<br />
The first-aid and mine-rescue contests will be for<br />
the international championships. International contest<br />
cups, medals, and prizes will also be awared.<br />
The judging of the events will be according to Bureau<br />
of Mines standards by judges thoroughly familiar with<br />
first-aid and mine-rescue work. Entries for competing<br />
teams will close on August 27.<br />
A feature of the meet will be the awarding of the<br />
congressional medal which is given annually to the<br />
team of miners adjudged to be most thoroughly skilled<br />
in first-aid and mine-rescue methods. Another interesting<br />
feature will be the awarding of the medals offered<br />
annually by the Joseph A. Holmes Safety Association<br />
in commemoration of notable deeds of heroism<br />
performed by miners in succoring their comrades imperiled<br />
at mine fires and disasters. The selection of<br />
the individual miners to receive these medals was<br />
made by the directors of the Joseph A. Holmes Safety<br />
Association last month.<br />
Industrial Accidents Up 20 Per Cent<br />
A 20 per cent increase in industrial accidents in the<br />
United States in 1923 is estimated by the National<br />
Safety Council from statistics collected from states,<br />
insurance agencies and industrial concerns. The total<br />
for the year is estimated at 3,000,000 accidents, of<br />
which 23,000 were fatal and 115,000 caused permanent<br />
disability.<br />
Industrial accidents reported by Illinois. Indiana.<br />
Wisconsin, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Delaware,<br />
Washington, Oregon and Pennsylvania, totalled more<br />
than 500,000. Pennsylvania reported 105,473 accidents.<br />
2,412 of which were fatal; Massachusetts, 64,890 with<br />
33 fatal; Oregon, 30,227, and 178 fatal; New Jersev.<br />
49,392, of which 390 fatal; Wisconsin, 20,095 total, 154<br />
fatal; Delaware, 14 fatal; Illinois, 55,142 total; Washington,<br />
34,745, with 366 fatalities; Indiana, 54,860, and<br />
268 fatal.<br />
Increased production, many new employes, and a<br />
let down in safety interest by employers and employes<br />
are held as factors. Many steel plants, public utilities.<br />
mines, railroads, automobile and general manufacturing<br />
concerns made excellent records.<br />
In addition to the contract recently awarded the<br />
U. G. I. Contracting Company, of Philadelphia, by the<br />
Enterprise Gas Company, of Egg Harbor City, N. J.,<br />
for new gas making and boiler equipment, the former<br />
company has been awarded an additional contract covering<br />
all foundations, new buildings and every other<br />
improvement required at the plant and made necessary<br />
by the installation of the new manufacturing units.
IneDlasf kirnacel^Meel rlanr<br />
Experiences With Multiple Feed, High<br />
Pressure Lubrication'<br />
By LOUIS R. HUMPTON*<br />
IT is a matter of constant surprise to me that in so<br />
many manufacturing plants and steel mills so little<br />
attention is given to the solution of problems connected<br />
with lubrication. In a large number of cases<br />
the same methods are in use today as were followed<br />
50 years ago. Although new methods of improved<br />
lubrication have been brought forward, perfected, and<br />
although these have been successful in eliminating<br />
accidents and adding plant efficiency wherever used,<br />
it is a shocking fact that in so many big establishments<br />
the old fashioned, antiquated oil can is still the<br />
mainstay of lubrication. The only explanation of this<br />
condition is the existence of the "if it was good enough<br />
for father it's good enough for me" spirit. And this<br />
despite the large number of mishaps to men engaged<br />
in oiling by the old fashioned methods and the number<br />
of fires, some of them quite costly, which result<br />
from the spattering of lubricants.<br />
Considering the matter merely from the standpoint<br />
of accidents to oilers, statistics tell an impressive<br />
story. Companies writing compensation insurance<br />
in Pennsylvania, covering all kinds of industries<br />
over a period of years, have compiled figures showing<br />
that out of 1,542,349 compensation days lost as a<br />
result of accident, 104,971—or nearly 7 per cent—were '<br />
due to injuries to workmen while oiling or cleaning<br />
machinery.<br />
"Safety First" signs were probably displayed in<br />
all of the plants where these accidents occurred, but<br />
machinery made safe—and it can be made safe—is a<br />
great deal better than "Safety First" signs.<br />
Now from the standpoint of efficiency. Have you<br />
ever considered how many bearing caps you find which<br />
have drilled with a one-eighth of an inch oil hole? It is<br />
expected that enough oil can be squirted into this hole<br />
to lubricate the bearing perfectly—and possible the expectation<br />
could be fulfilled if the oiler or machine<br />
operator was able to force a stream of oil from y to y<br />
of an inch in diameter into this y&-in. oil hole. But it<br />
can't be done. The oiler wastes a good deal of time<br />
trying, but he never becomes proficient at an impossible<br />
job.<br />
I have often wondered—to point to another phase<br />
of the question—whether it would not be profitable<br />
to drill oil wells around the machine foundations in<br />
some of our large mills, so much oil is spilled and<br />
wasted in plants where the antiquated methods still<br />
prevail. And with this spillage, and with oil lying<br />
around on the floor in puddles, the menace of fire is<br />
apparent. Many a blaze is directly traceable to this<br />
cause. In my own plant we have had two very bad<br />
fires—under the old conditions—caused by sparks<br />
igniting oil which had collected on the floor. Two<br />
200-hp. motors were destroyed by the fires.<br />
We have been all through the question of lubrication<br />
in my plant, making progress slowly, but at any<br />
rate constantly experimenting and trying to improve.<br />
We think we have solved our problem pretty completely<br />
now.<br />
•Chief Electrical Engineer of Parkesburg Iron Company.<br />
fCopyright A. I. & S. E. E.<br />
Take for example, our cold scarfing machine for<br />
scarving bevel edge on plate or skelp iron for making<br />
lap weld boiler tubes. This machine is driven with<br />
a 50-hp. motor and is subject to very hard service at<br />
all times. It has 12 bearings. Formerly we used machinery<br />
oil to lubricate it, with oil rings to carry the<br />
oil around the shaft.<br />
But we were constantly having trouble, necessitating<br />
frequent shut-downs for repairs. Because of<br />
cold weather, because of dirt getting into bearings,<br />
the rings would not follow around the shaft. Consequently<br />
the bearings would run hot.<br />
Then we tried sight feed oil cups, but they would<br />
not stand the vibration. The -thread on the stem<br />
would become worn, and shut off tight. The bearings<br />
would start to heat. As we could not get at the<br />
bearings while the machine was running, it would become<br />
necessary to stop the machine. The delays due<br />
Lap weld finishing mill, and 24 h.p. Westinghouse<br />
motor lubricated by one Keystone<br />
Manifold Safety Lubricator.<br />
to complete stoppage were frequent. Another trouble<br />
with the oil cups was that the steins would become<br />
loose, work out and run oil cup dry. We tried ordinary<br />
grease cups, but there was danger in getting<br />
at them and we could refill them only when the machine<br />
was standing still. They were an improvement<br />
over the oil cups, it must be confessed, but they were<br />
not entirely satisfactory.<br />
Finally we tried a manifold safety lubricator, connecting<br />
it to each bearing, using half-inch standard<br />
gas pipe. With that we ran the machine continuously<br />
for six months without any delay or trouble of any<br />
kind. Not only were we saved the loss of time incident<br />
to shutting off operations, but we made a considerable<br />
monetary saving. Formerly, we had used<br />
one barrel of oil each week, at a cost of $15, but with<br />
the manifold safety lubricator we cut the oil consumption<br />
down to the point where the grease itself cost us<br />
only $8 per month—as against $60 previously with<br />
oil. Our babbitt metal bills have been cut 75 per cent.<br />
And as I have indicated before, we eliminated all fire
May, 1924<br />
risk. Since we installed the first lubricator on this<br />
machine, we have placed 40 more of them throughout<br />
the plant. We are now operating virtually without<br />
loss of time so far as bearing trouble is concerned.<br />
In addition we have this type of lubricator connected<br />
with Westinghouse mill type motors. In the<br />
old days we had constant trouble because of oil splashing<br />
out of oil well bearings and saturating the arma-<br />
Lubricator installed on tube straightening machine<br />
feeding all seventeen bearings.<br />
ture coils and field coils, causing a short circuit, and<br />
necessitating rewinding of armature and coils. But<br />
with our new-style lubricator all these difficulties<br />
have been done away with. Another place where we<br />
have solved a problem is with our scrap or alligator<br />
shears. Formerly the men poured oil all over the outside<br />
of the bearings, but very little reached the right<br />
place. Now the lubricator takes care of this, dis-<br />
IhoDlasf hirnaccOMa'o! rlanf<br />
200-h.p., lap-welding mill equipped zvith lubricator.<br />
Pipes from lubricator lead dozvn under<br />
floor, and come up under roll housing<br />
connecting zvith brasses.<br />
tributing grease to the parts that need lubrication<br />
most.<br />
Many of us make the mistake of worrying too<br />
much about initial cost in considering new equipment<br />
of this sort. I suppose at our plant we are no different<br />
than others in such matters and that we did<br />
a large amount of hesitating before we decided to go<br />
ahead with this lubricating proposition. But I have<br />
237<br />
just looked up the figures and in the light of our experience<br />
I feel that we made a cheap investment.<br />
Take the 8-lb. manifold safety lubricator installation<br />
on our 10-ton, 85-ft. span crane, for example.<br />
The lubricator itself cost $60, although the price may<br />
be somewhat higher now than it was two years ago,<br />
when the installation was made. The equipment consisted,<br />
first, of 100 feet of 1^-in. pipe run the length<br />
of the bridge and across its ends. This pipe cost 21<br />
cents a foot or $21, the biggest item of the equipment<br />
cost; it has 18 outlets reduced from \y2 in. to y2 in.<br />
In addition there were 18 stopcocks at 70 cents<br />
each, 18 tees \y2xiy2xy in. at 17 cents each, 300 ft.<br />
of y in. black pipe at 11 cents a foot and 36 unions<br />
y in. size at 15 cents each—a total for equipment of<br />
$45.36.<br />
Lubrication equipment for the trolley of the crane<br />
was provided by running lines separately to 16 bearings.<br />
For this it was necessary to use 120 ft. of J^-in.<br />
pipe at 11 cents per foot, 16 stopcocks at 70 cents each,<br />
16 unions at 15 cents each—a total of $26.80.<br />
The actual task of installing the lubricator and its<br />
equipment required the services of four men receiving<br />
66 cents an hour for a trifle less than two full days.<br />
The charge for labor was entered as $42.24. The total<br />
cost of lubrication, equipment and installation on both<br />
crane and trolley was $174.40.<br />
Obviously we no longer have accidents from lubricating.<br />
There is one central point of lubricant distribution,<br />
with many bearings lubricated from one<br />
central point. Pipe lines lead from the manifolds to<br />
each bearing and the lubricating grease is forced into<br />
each bearing under high pressure. Many of the bearings<br />
lubricated under this system are as much as 100<br />
feet away from the point of distribution, but nevertheless<br />
the results are perfect. The lubricator and<br />
the manifolds are at all times stationed in a safe place,<br />
so that our employes never need take chances on their<br />
safety. We have no accidents.<br />
Iron pipe, brass tubing and armored flexible metallic<br />
tubing runs from the lubricator to the bearings,<br />
and when the very best petroleum grease is used there<br />
is no possible chance of the pipe lines becoming<br />
stopped up, because in high grade grease there is no<br />
filler present to become separated from the oil.<br />
All of us feel now that our worries in regard to<br />
lubrication are over.<br />
Employees of the General Electric Company are<br />
owners of, or are paying on the installment plan for,<br />
a total of $11,458,260 in G-E Employee's Securities<br />
Corporation bonds. This was announced after a tabulation<br />
had been made of the subscriptions to the third<br />
offering of these bonds, these subscriptions amounting<br />
to $5,339,800.<br />
The total bonds subscribed for in all three offerings,<br />
in the various factories of the company, are as<br />
follows: Schenectady, $3,584,010; West Lynn, $373,-<br />
570; River W r orks, Lynn, $1,196,400; Pittsfield, $737,-<br />
570; Erie, $833,770; Fort Wayne, $742,150; Edison<br />
Lamp Works, $617,140; National Lamp Works, $1,-<br />
003,310; all other factories, $581,790; general office<br />
$986,120; district offices, $802,430.<br />
The number of the company's employees who have<br />
subscribed to these bonds, which pay 8 per cent as<br />
long as the individual remains with the General Electric,<br />
is around 267,100.
238<br />
Die Mast Fu<br />
:£> Steel Plan*<br />
Rotary Flying Shears<br />
S O M E time ago Mr. Norman Rendleman conceived'<br />
the idea of shearing round, flat and square bars<br />
"on the fly" immediately behind the finishing<br />
stand of a rolling mill by means of two rotary knives<br />
set at an angle to the line of travel of the bar. This<br />
meant taking a rotary shear and placing it at an angle<br />
with the line of travel of the bar leaving the mill, and<br />
then slipping the bar between the knives. Suitable<br />
speed of rotation of the rotary cutters, combined with<br />
the angle at which they were set. would enable the<br />
shear to cut the bar without interrupting its delivery<br />
from the mill.<br />
In mills which roll steel of small sizes such as<br />
rounds and squares, the lengths of bars which the hot<br />
bed will take nearly always determines the size of<br />
billets which can be used.<br />
For instance, if a mill rolling half-inch rounds is<br />
equipped with a hot bed 200 ft. long, the weight of<br />
the billet which can be rolled will be 200X-668 lbs.<br />
= 134 lbs. If this billet is four inches square, then<br />
the length of the billet will be 29 in. This is a very<br />
short and light billet. It is much more convenient<br />
and economical to work a 400-lb. billet. This weight<br />
of billet, however, will finish into a half-inch round<br />
May, 1924<br />
600 ft. long, which is altogether too much for a hot<br />
bed 200 ft. long.<br />
A Rotary Flying Shear located immediately behind<br />
the finishing stand of the mill will automatically cut<br />
this bar into lengths of 200 ft. a.s it comes from the<br />
mill without interrupting its forward motion.<br />
The equipment consists of the shear proper arranged<br />
in connection with a runout table with driven<br />
rollers ; a flag arranged to be set at various positions<br />
on the runout table, which is operated by the front<br />
end of the bar, and a kickoff to push the bars from the<br />
runout table to the hot bed.<br />
The shear consists of two circular cutters mounted<br />
on a suitable base and rotated at the proper speed<br />
bv two adjustable speed motors each connected to the<br />
spindle of one of the cutters. Another motor raises<br />
and lowers the upper spidle. The shear is arranged<br />
with the cutters at an angle of about 45 deg. to the<br />
line of travel of the bar leaving the mill.<br />
The bar from the mill runs past the shear knives<br />
and along the runout table until it hits the flag. When<br />
the flag moves it releases the forward end of the<br />
swinging trough on the shear, which "flips" the bar<br />
between the knives. See illustrations.<br />
Q^a^<br />
FIG. 3 FIG. 1 Bar travels in direction<br />
indicated by arrow<br />
TG. 4 FIG.<br />
Figures 1 and 2 shozv the position of the bar as it comes from the mill before being cut. When a cut is to be made the szvinging<br />
trough "flips" the bar across the knives. Figures 3 ami 4 shozv the bar after being cut and before the shear is reset for another<br />
cut.
May, 1924 Tl* Blast Fu rnaco »SU PI ant<br />
- : • ; -<br />
Selecting Material For Drawn Parts<br />
A Suggested Method of Testing Sheets and Strips to Show Their<br />
Suitability for Forming and Drawing Operations—All<br />
Shipments Should Be Carefully Sampled<br />
T H E use of sheet and strip metal has increased<br />
rapidly during the last few years and manufacturers<br />
have been called upon for an ever-increasing<br />
tonnage, better drawing quality, and better surface.<br />
The automobile industry is probably the most<br />
insistent in striving for a better product and a desire<br />
to reduce costs. Confronted by these demands, the<br />
mills have directed their efforts toward the delivery<br />
of material. Their personnel has been occupied largely<br />
with the problems inci-<br />
dent to production, as<br />
any increase forced the<br />
use of new sources of<br />
raw material with their<br />
problems. These problems,<br />
combined w i t h<br />
those met in the daily<br />
routine, have demanded<br />
immediate attention,<br />
with the result that the<br />
standardizing of heat<br />
treatments, quality, or<br />
temper, etc., have been<br />
neglected.<br />
Considerable work in<br />
standardizing has been<br />
done by many companies,<br />
but no acceptable<br />
method has been developed.<br />
The following<br />
method, therefore.<br />
is given with the hope<br />
that some method that<br />
can be accepted by the<br />
4200<br />
4000<br />
4 3800<br />
o<br />
g 3600<br />
"^ 3400<br />
I |_3200<br />
2 3000<br />
ro2800<br />
H 2600<br />
2100<br />
'2200<br />
cP<br />
2000<br />
1800<br />
1600<br />
By L. N. BROWNf<br />
5 3<br />
manufacturers and users may be developed. The problem<br />
of selecting a material with such properties that<br />
the losses in processing are a minimum is interesting<br />
and difficult. A description of the properties required<br />
is likewise difficult, largely because of loose terms.<br />
Another handicap is the number of methods of testing<br />
which have not been standardized and concerning<br />
which little information is available.<br />
In the selection of drawing or forming stock, it is<br />
advisable to eliminate as many variables as possible;<br />
consequently the method of testing the material is of<br />
the utmost importance. The method should be rapid<br />
and comparatively easy of application, as it is more<br />
important that a large percentage of the stock be<br />
tested by a more accurate method. It is necessary<br />
to consider the process by which the material is made<br />
and samples must be selected with care and must be<br />
representative, as there is liable to be a great variation<br />
in any shipment. The results of the tests of material<br />
received during one year for one part are shown,<br />
graphically, in Fig. 1. A print of the part to be made<br />
rfS-r<br />
*s<br />
co ro ^t § ^ fr oS<br />
M r^> r^j ro f^> rO r^><br />
^ O O O C> (-z> 1<br />
Depth at Brepk,Inch<br />
o<br />
«T. 3!<br />
Sh et<br />
FIG. 1—Results of tests of 20-gage material received, for one part,<br />
during the year.<br />
•Paper presented at the Canadian Meeting. August, 1923,<br />
American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers.<br />
flnspection Division, Maxwell Motor Corporation.<br />
239<br />
was sent with the purchase orders in each case.<br />
Some plants have found it advantageous to use<br />
one class of material and. by processing, have been<br />
able to produce certain results. Another plant may<br />
work on less expensive material but produce the same<br />
result by varying the method of handling. A third<br />
plant may use more expensive material than either<br />
and produce comparable results with less hand work.<br />
The equipment, space, and facilities for handling are<br />
important factors and<br />
the ultimate choice may<br />
be governed by any one<br />
of about a dozen elements.<br />
The method here described<br />
shows one plan<br />
of attack that has been<br />
satisfactory in so far as<br />
it gives a quick, fairly<br />
accurate check. The<br />
manipulation is simple,<br />
the first cost low, and<br />
the upkeep not excessive.<br />
The testing requires<br />
no special training,<br />
and after standards<br />
are set may be performed<br />
by any one. The<br />
machine used is the Olsen<br />
ductility machine<br />
with pressure-gage attachment.<br />
In principle,<br />
a plunger is pressed into<br />
the stock, which is<br />
held between two dies. The depth of impression is<br />
shown by a dial micrometer and the pressure exerted<br />
is indicated by a pressure gage. The apparatus is subject<br />
to some criticism but seemed to offer the best<br />
possibilities at the time the work was started.<br />
Inasmuch as that property vaguely called "hardness"<br />
is indicative, in a general way, of certain physical<br />
properties, it was thought that if a method for measuring<br />
the hardness with this machine could be devised, it<br />
would aid greatly in solving the problem. A large<br />
number of tests were made and, from the results,<br />
charts were developed that seemed to show a marked<br />
relation between the results obtained with the standard<br />
hardness testing machines and the results obtained<br />
by the method described later.<br />
On 16-gage material and under (where the ^-in.<br />
ball is used) the machine seemed to have considerable<br />
advantage for obvious reasons. The method of operation<br />
is a slight modification of one used by several<br />
firms that have done considerable testing with this<br />
machine. It consists of taking for a "hardness factor"<br />
the number of pounds per 0.001 in. at a depth of<br />
0.250 in. This is obtained by dividing the reading<br />
on the pressure gage at a depth of 0.250 in. by the
240<br />
Depth of Break, Inch<br />
TkeBlastFurnaceSSteelPl anr<br />
FIG. 2—Results of tests of 16-gage, blue-annealed and box-annealed<br />
material received, for two parts, during one year.<br />
thickness of the stock, in thousandths of an inch.<br />
One of the reasons for using this figure instead of<br />
the direct reading obtained is that a correction is necessary<br />
for variation in gage in order that results may<br />
be comparable. To get complete data, pressure readings<br />
were taken and recorded at 0.300 in., 0.350 in.,<br />
0.400 in. etc., as well as the depth and pressure reading<br />
at the point of rupture. The hardness factor and<br />
"depth" at rupture will be discussed later.<br />
The suitability of a material usually depends on:<br />
(1) Percentage of breakage on drawn jobs or defectives<br />
on former jobs; (2) freedom from graining or<br />
roughness; (3) freedom from cross wrinkles, stretcher<br />
strains, etc.; (4) variation in gage. The surface finish<br />
must be considered to a certain degree.<br />
The result desired is a finished piece free<br />
from breaks and objectionable surface defects<br />
caused by processing. With so-called<br />
hot-rolled or blue-annealed material, the<br />
breakage and gage variations are the important<br />
requisites, the others becoming<br />
important as material of higher finish is<br />
used.<br />
May, 1924<br />
after the hardness factor is derived, in order<br />
to obtain necessary information regarding<br />
workability.<br />
The results of the tests of extra deep drawnig<br />
material received during a year for two<br />
rather difficult parts are shown in Fig. 2. The<br />
numbers given are the numbers of the test<br />
pieces. Circles around a number indicate that<br />
the total breakage on the lot represented by<br />
that test piece was less than 3 per cent; the<br />
numbers are placed inside rectangles when the<br />
loss is over 3 per cent. Lines connecting two<br />
numbers indicate that both samples are from<br />
the same sheet or strip. For example, the two<br />
tests marked "34" were from the same test<br />
piece and, in this case, were taken within 10<br />
in. of each other; the breakage was 100 per<br />
cent on a small lot. Tests 58, 59 and 60 were<br />
strips from a sheet of the same heat number<br />
as tests 45, 46, and 47, which were samples<br />
from a different sheet. These show uneven<br />
annealing. On the run of this lot of over<br />
5,000 pieces, the breakage was about 18 per<br />
cent. The breakage on the lot represented<br />
by tests 48, 49, and 50 was 4.6 per cent on a<br />
run of 1100; this lot was bought in an emergency<br />
as deep drawing only.<br />
The reason so many bad samples are shown on the<br />
chart is that we were attempting to establish limits<br />
and carefully investigated all excessive breakage. The<br />
good samples represent a much greater tonnage. The<br />
limits necessary are easily discernible.<br />
One of the peculiarities of certain grades of full<br />
finished stock is its tendency to "roughen" or "grain"<br />
when subjected to a comparatively deep draw. This<br />
is a bad condition as it necessitates a snagging, or<br />
polishing, operation. Dies are not designed to draw<br />
equally all over and the contrast of "rough" and<br />
"smooth" areas is very noticeable after japanning. It<br />
was found desirable to determine, roughly, if any<br />
•"-'-*?W1<br />
i' ,1 • ••. V -i^,~~i .-X&3<br />
To simplify the problem somewhat, the<br />
discussion will be limited to blue-annealed<br />
material, or stock of that character where<br />
t» '.'•w~v -~-' -SAi— / • -TV .-»•». »"••<br />
the finish is comparatively unimportant.<br />
Just as the hardness values are indicative.<br />
to a considerable degree, of the other physical<br />
properties of heat-treated stock, the<br />
hardness factor is an indication of the other<br />
physical properties of the material under<br />
discussion. A percentage hardness inspection,<br />
small or total, presupposes many<br />
things such as correct analysis, homogenity,<br />
uniformity of handling, etc. Hardness<br />
is probably the best practical index<br />
we have, at present, when the history of<br />
the part in question is known — analysis,<br />
heat treatment, etc. As the history of this<br />
class of material is somewhat shrouded,<br />
the test must be carried to destruction FIG. 3—Test strip No. 34A. 100. FIG. 4—Test strip No. 34B. 100.<br />
M
May, 1924<br />
depth of impression on the testing machine was comparable<br />
to the maximum effect of the presses under<br />
regular operation. Long strips were cut from one<br />
side of a sheet and impressions made with the testing<br />
machine at depths of 0.100, 0.125, 0.150 in., etc. A<br />
part was then drawn from the other half of the sheet.<br />
The character of the surface of the stamping at its<br />
roughest area was compared with the various impressions<br />
and the one determined whose surface was most<br />
nearly like it. This was repeated with several kinds<br />
of material. It could then be quite definitely stated<br />
that to be satisfactory a material should not roughen<br />
on test at a depth of, say, 0.050 in. greater than the<br />
depth selected, this gjving a good factor of safety.<br />
The phenomena known as stretcher strains, wrinkles,<br />
etc., can usually be discounted by observing the<br />
hardness factor carefully in connection with the total<br />
depth.<br />
The permissible variation in gage has been worked<br />
FIG. S—.Test strip No. 61, 16-gage<br />
material. X 100.<br />
out by many concerns using this material,<br />
but will not be discussed here.<br />
At present, the best material is<br />
thought to be that which makes the<br />
lest looking part and which requires<br />
the least hand work to finish. It is,<br />
therefore, frequently advisable to select<br />
material of slightly inferior finish<br />
but which will draw better than material<br />
with a higher finish. It is possible,<br />
however, to get both surface and<br />
temper for drawing or for forming.<br />
By making a number of tests on the<br />
machine with carefully selected samples,<br />
parts of the same sheet or strip<br />
being run on the presses at a time<br />
when there is no breakage, and closely<br />
observing the finished part, limits can<br />
be established. These limits are com-<br />
Mast FurnaceSSteel Plant<br />
FIG. 6—Test strip No. 5, 16-gage<br />
material. X 100.<br />
FIG. 7—Test strip No. 48, special deep drawing stock. X 100.<br />
FIG. 8—Test strip No. 275, 20-gage<br />
material. 100.<br />
241<br />
parable with the customary manner of setting<br />
those with a Brinell or Shore machine<br />
on heat-treated material. By this.<br />
we mean that by testing the material which<br />
works satisfactorily and that which does<br />
not work, we can decide the workability<br />
of a lot very closely without trying on the<br />
press. It is more difficult than setting<br />
limits with a Brinell machine at the present<br />
time as the factor of safety is not considered.<br />
For testing material over 16 gage, the<br />
T -2-in. ball and corresponding die should<br />
be used and the reading taken at a depth<br />
of 0.150 in. As the capacity of the machine<br />
is limited, the greatest part of the<br />
material causing trouble may be eliminated<br />
by using the hardness factor alone. In<br />
order to determine as definitely as is needed<br />
in the case of materials to be subjected<br />
to difficult draws, a punch and die<br />
arrangement may be installed on a tensile<br />
machine to run the test piece to rupture<br />
and the limits set accordingly, the procedure<br />
being the same as described above.<br />
The effect of grain size will not be discussed,<br />
although it has a great influence<br />
on the character of the manufactured prod-<br />
FIG. 9—Test strip No. 163, which<br />
roughened on draw. X 100.
Die Blast F. urn ace. rs> 'Steel Plant<br />
FIG. 10—Test strip No.160. 100. FIG. 11—Test strip No. 220. 100.<br />
net. To get good results with microscopic<br />
analysis alone, expensive equipment<br />
is necessary, together with experienced<br />
operators and good supervision.<br />
As a method of checking other<br />
results, it is probaolv unequalled.<br />
The photomicrographs. Figs. 3 and 4,<br />
explain the cause of the peculiar results<br />
shown in Fig. 2. It is much more<br />
difficult to explain the failure of test<br />
M IV, 1921<br />
the photomicrograph alone; this latter<br />
was 20-gage material.<br />
The reason No. 163 roughened more<br />
than test piece No. 160 on the draw<br />
for the same job may easily be accounted<br />
for from Figs. 9 and 10. Nos.<br />
220. 237. and 222, Figs. 11, 12, and<br />
13. were for another job, one being<br />
rough, one good, and one breaking.<br />
However, it appears from testing lightgage<br />
material that the greater field<br />
for the use of the microscope is with<br />
the producers.<br />
It is as essential that heavy-gage<br />
material be run to destruction as it<br />
is that light gage should be, if no other<br />
inspection methods are employed;<br />
Figs. 14, 15, and 16 show what may<br />
be expected. Material No. 181 worked<br />
piece No. 61 from the photomicrograph<br />
alone. Fig. 5. It is easy to explain the<br />
breakage of the parts made from Fig.<br />
6, which is also 16 gage, but somewhat<br />
more difficult to account for test<br />
piece No. 48. Fig. 7. It is likewise<br />
difficult to explain a breakage of over<br />
80 per cent on test piece No. 275 from FIG - 12—Test strip No. 237. 100. FIG. 13—Test strip No. 222. X 100.<br />
X ' • -V-4>
Ui 1924<br />
• ^ )<br />
Ike Blast Fu mace Steel<br />
PI<br />
CURRENT REVIEW<br />
A. S. M. E. Technical Program for<br />
Cleveland Spring Meeting<br />
The Cleveland committee is planning to entertain<br />
the largest attendance at any spring meeting of the<br />
Society. Cleveland, with its wealth of industrial<br />
activity, will provide an interesting setting for the<br />
semi-annual meeting of the Society which will be<br />
held May 26 through 29, 1924. Members are urged<br />
to decide about attending the spring meeting at the<br />
earliest possible moment and send in their hotel reservations<br />
at an early date so that their reservations<br />
will be properly taken care of.<br />
Plans for the evening sessions and entertainments<br />
have not as yet been completed. The program for<br />
these events call for two meetings of great general<br />
interest, with outstanding speakers of international<br />
fame.<br />
The technical program for the meeting has a number<br />
of outstanding features. W. L. R. Emmet will<br />
make his first formal presentation of his development<br />
of the mercury vapor process. There will be a joint<br />
session with the American Society for Testing Materials<br />
on the Properties of Materials at High and<br />
Low Temperatures. This is of great importance at<br />
the present time because of the trend toward higher<br />
temperatures in steam power plant practice and in<br />
the oil refinery. There will be a joint session with<br />
the American Society of Refrigerating Engineers, as<br />
this body meets in Cleveland from May 27 through<br />
29. The Machine Shop Practice Division is holding<br />
two sessions, at one of which A. L. DeLeeuw will<br />
present a paper giving the Analysis of a Machine Shop<br />
Problem on a Quantity and Final Economy Basis.<br />
The Management Division will continue the discussion<br />
on the Measurement of Management which was<br />
instituted by the presentation of the paper by Prof.<br />
Joseph W. Roe on Methods of Management during<br />
Management Week in October, 1923.<br />
Technical Program.<br />
Session on Mercury Vapor Process, with paper by<br />
W. L. R. Emmet.<br />
Conference on Industrial Education under the auspices<br />
of the A. S. M. E. Committee on Education and<br />
Training in the Industries.<br />
Power Problems of Steel Industry (Gas Power and<br />
Power Divisions). "General Power Problems,"<br />
Bryant Bannister. "Steam Problems," John A.<br />
Hunter. "Gas Power Problems—Use of Gas Engine<br />
in Steel Works," A. E. Banks.<br />
Materials Handling in Industrial Plants (Materials<br />
Handling and Forest Products Divisions). "Economics<br />
of Materials Handling," by M. L. Begeman.<br />
"Continuous Assembly of Automobiles," M.<br />
R. Denison. "Materials Handling in Tire Manufacturing."<br />
W. C. Hoover. "Wood Handling from<br />
the Railroad Car to the Cut-Off Saw," B. Nagelboort<br />
and Thomas D. Perry.<br />
ant<br />
243<br />
General Session on Windmill and Fan Design. "Performance<br />
of Centrifugal Fans for Electrical Machinery."<br />
C. J. Fechheimer. "Wind Power," F. J.<br />
Pancratz.<br />
Machine Shop Session (Machine Shop Practice Division).<br />
"British Machine Tool Design," W. E.<br />
Sykes.<br />
Cleveland Power Session. "Pulverized Fuel." Mr.<br />
Aldrich. "High Pressure Pumping." L. A. Quayle.<br />
"Determination of Heat Losses through Insulating<br />
Material." R. H. Heilman (by title).<br />
Joint Aeronautic and ' irdnance Session. "Aerial<br />
Bombing," Maj. A. H. Hobley. "The War's Impress<br />
on the Steel Industry," A. E. White.<br />
Measurement of Management (Management Division).<br />
"The Measurement of the Cost Accounting<br />
Function," Messrs. Jordan and Lamb. "The<br />
Mesaurement of the Quality of Product," G. W.<br />
Radford. "The Measurement of Efficiency of<br />
Plant. Equipment and Methods," W. L. Conrad.<br />
Public Hearing on Power Test Codes—Condensers<br />
and Gas Producers.<br />
Topical Discussion on Materials at High and Low<br />
Temperatures (joint session with A. S. T. M.)<br />
"Industrial Application of Metals at Various<br />
Temperatures," L. W. Spring. "Methods of Testing<br />
at Various Temperatures and Their Limitations,"<br />
V. T. Malcolm. "Available Data on the<br />
Properties of Irons and Steels at Various Temperatures,"<br />
H. I. French. "Available Data on the<br />
Properties of Xon-Ferrous Metals," A. E. White<br />
and H. W. Upstegrove. %•<br />
Tooling and Gaging for Interchangeable Manufacture<br />
(Machine Shop Practice Divisiotf). "Analysis<br />
of a Machine Shop Problem on a Quantity and<br />
Final Economy Basis." A. L. DeLeeuw.<br />
joint Session with A. S. R. E. "Temperature Measurement."<br />
P. Nicholls. "Heat Transfer," Edgar<br />
Buckingham.<br />
Recent Developments in Heavy Electric Locomotives.<br />
Papers by X. W. Storer and W. B. Potter.<br />
Of special interest to our readers is the wide range<br />
of engineering courses that will be given this year at<br />
the Summer Session of the Carnegie Institute of Technology.<br />
The summer work, which will cover both theoretical<br />
class room instruction and shop practice, is outlined,<br />
according to an announcement, to be of special<br />
benefit to under-graduates and to those engaged in engineering<br />
work who feel a need for more technical training<br />
in their respective fields. Courses of six and eight weeks<br />
will be given, beginning June 16.<br />
The College of Engineering will give courses in<br />
Chemistry, Physics, Mechanics. Fngineering Drawing.<br />
Descriptive Geometry, and Surveying. A special short<br />
course in Coal Mining will be given in co-operation with<br />
the U. S. Bureau of Mines.
244<br />
Recent Patents—British and Foreign<br />
Riveted joints. No. 190,339, British. C. E. Tetr<br />
low, Hollinwood.<br />
To increase the efficiency of riveted joints for<br />
boilers, kiers and like vessels subjected to fluid pressure,<br />
the shell plates, etc., are welded to prevent leakage,<br />
and the riveted joint is then designed purely from<br />
considerations of strength. Figures show the pitch<br />
of the third row of a treble riveted double butt joint<br />
when the spacing of the rivets is determined from<br />
considerations of leakage and of strength respectively.<br />
Electric transformers. No. 190,378 British. Western<br />
Electric Company, Ltd.. Westminster.<br />
A transformer comprises primary and secondary<br />
windings wound on the central part of a core, which<br />
projects an equal distance from each end of the<br />
windings, and a winding which is loosely coupled to<br />
the other windings by winding it on one of the projecting<br />
ends of the core. The transformer is particularly<br />
adapted for use in telephone substation circuits,<br />
the winding acting both as a transformer winding and<br />
as a balancing network.<br />
Manufacture of gas. No. 190,819 British. T. W.<br />
S. Hutchins. Northwich.<br />
Coal, oil shale and the like are distilled by being<br />
charged from a hopper into a trough from which a<br />
scoop, attached to an inner rotary tube, feeds the<br />
material through this tube, from which it passes<br />
through holes into an outer rotary tube, to which the<br />
inner tube is secured at an end, fhe material being<br />
finally discharged into a hopper. The inner tube is<br />
provided with a tumbler having radiator arms and<br />
adapted to knock or scape off any caked material in<br />
the tube; a similar tumbler may be provided in the<br />
outer tube, which is heated by hot gases in flues. The<br />
tubes are rotated by gearings, and the distillates<br />
escape through a pipe. A flexible joint between the<br />
tube and chamber comprises a diaphragm carrying a<br />
jointing ring held against a collar on the tube by<br />
tension springs.<br />
Furnaces, retorts, etc. No. 190,919 British. S. E.<br />
Ge<strong>org</strong>e, Kidderminster.<br />
An air or gas-tight door for furnaces, retorts and<br />
the like of the kind, in which the door is pivoted to its<br />
frame by a swinging link to allow the door a limited<br />
movement at right angles to the plane of the door<br />
opening is pressed against its seat by a pivoted bar,<br />
the ends of which are tapered and engage with brackets<br />
on the door frame. When the door is of substantial<br />
size, projecting ribs are formed on the door above<br />
and below the pivot and brackets. The ribs may be<br />
provided with stops to limit the movement of the bar.<br />
Lugs on the door are connected by a pin to an intermediate<br />
member, which is hinged to the lugs on the<br />
door frame. Packing may be arranged in a groove<br />
formed in the machined seating of the door to assist<br />
in making a tight joint.<br />
Centrifugal blowers. No. 191,050 British. Akt.-<br />
Ges. Brown, Bovert et Cie, Baden, Switzerland.<br />
A centrifugal blower for gases or vapors which<br />
are to be excluded from the atmosphere, lias a rotor<br />
mounted on a flexible shaft connected by speed multiplying<br />
gearings to the slow-motion shaft. This apparatus<br />
is enclosed by a common fluid-tight casing. A<br />
simple packing ring is provided at the place where<br />
the slow shaft leaves the casing since labyrinth packings<br />
are provided on the shaft.<br />
IheDlast Furnace ^jfcel riant<br />
May, 1924<br />
Metals and alloys. No. 191,167 British. W. L.<br />
Turner, Caldy, Cheshire.<br />
In the production of metals and alloys such as<br />
manganese, cobalt, ferro-tungsten, ferro-vanadium,<br />
and ferro-titanium, by a thermo-aluminic process, a<br />
portion of the reaction mixture contains aluminum<br />
in powdered or finely granulated form, and another<br />
portion contains aluminum in relatively large pieces,<br />
the two portions being brought into reaction successively<br />
or together. In some cases, as in the manufacture<br />
of iron, practically all the aluminum may be<br />
in the larger form. The larger aluminum may be in<br />
the form of sheet cuttings, scrap, shavings, borings,<br />
etc., and aluminum alloys may be used in some cases.<br />
Furnaces. No. 191,378 British. Westinghouse<br />
Electric & Manufacturing Company, East Pittsburgh,<br />
U. S. A.<br />
The formation of clinker is prevented by injecting<br />
aqueous medium into the fuel bed at points of incipient<br />
clinker formation. The method is described<br />
in connection with an underfeed stoker comprising<br />
series of tuyeres with intervening retorts and a clinker<br />
pit. Mounted in channels in the sloping faces of air<br />
boxes, on opposite sides of the pit are distributing<br />
headers, through which water or steam or mixtures<br />
thereof, and it may be air also, is discharged into the<br />
burning refuse. The header may be omitted where<br />
the pit is of comparatively small width.<br />
Oil gas. No. 191.411 British. E. Robinson and<br />
M. Robinson, Sydenham.<br />
Apparatus for generating gas from liquid hydrocarbon<br />
and water consists of an auxiliary steam boiler<br />
which supplies steam to a heater containing heating<br />
coils, through which hydrocarbon and water circulates,<br />
the hydrocarbon and water then passing to a<br />
retort which is heated by superheated steam from the<br />
boiler to a temperature sufficient to vaporize the<br />
liquids. The hydrocarbon and water is supplied to<br />
the coils by a duplex pump, and the water from the<br />
coil is arranged to be sprayed into the retort to mix<br />
with the hydrocarbon admitted thereto by a pipe from<br />
the coil. The produced gas is then delivered to a<br />
scrubber, whence it passes to a burner to which may<br />
be led an auxiliary supply of oil through a pipe.<br />
When the burner is used for steam raising purposes,<br />
the auxiliary boiler may be dispensed with after<br />
starting up. The furnace front is secured by lugs to<br />
the boiler front and is provided with adjustable doors<br />
adapted to open and close upon hinges to regulate the<br />
inflow of air to the furnace.<br />
Furnaces. No. 1 ''1.622 British. T. A. Rutherford<br />
and H. J. Pickles, Stockton-on-Tees.<br />
A reversing-valve of the pivoted-hood type carried<br />
by four rocking-arms mounted on shafts is counterbalanced<br />
by weights connected to arms secured to extensions<br />
of the shafts on each side of the valve casing.<br />
Ignition System. No. 1.441,451, American. Walter<br />
W. Riedel, Dayton, O.<br />
In an ignition system, the combination with an internal<br />
combustion engine provided with an electrically ignited fuel<br />
burner; of a source of current; ignition apparatus including a<br />
circuit interrupter; means controlling said interrupter for producing<br />
in recurrent sequence a series of sparking impulses certain<br />
of which are of greater intensity than the others; and<br />
means fur distributing the sparking impulses, said means being<br />
constructed so that the impulse of greater intensity will be<br />
conducted to the burner plug and one engine plug connected in<br />
series.
May, 1924<br />
Following is a resume of some of the leading articles<br />
and trade reports appearing in Iron Trade Review,<br />
April 3 to April 24:<br />
April 3—<br />
At the opening of the second quarter pig iron producers<br />
are well supplied with orders, but new buying<br />
is light. Prices are fairly firm on a basis of $22 to<br />
$23 for No. 2 foundry iron, valley, and $21.75 to $22<br />
valley for basic. Iron Trade Review's composite of<br />
leading iron and steel price this week is $42.91 compared<br />
with $43.13 in the week preceding. Pig iron production<br />
in March was 2,435,813 tons compared with<br />
3,072,165 tons in February. The March average represented<br />
89 per cent of the record figure of iast May.<br />
Automobile production is showing evidence of some<br />
retrenchment and railroad buying is less prominent,<br />
but other steel consuming lines are well maintained.<br />
An indictment voted by the federal grand jury at<br />
Cleveland accuses 47 companies, members of the<br />
American Malleable Casting Association of violating<br />
the anti-trust law. The Association denies the charge<br />
that there has been any agreement, with respect to<br />
prices, elimination of competition or the "Parceling"<br />
of customers.<br />
Charles A. Barnes, treasurer of the Steel Scrap<br />
Company and vice president of the Perry, Buxton,<br />
Doane Company, Philadelphia contributes an article<br />
to this issue on the salvaging of hulls of battleships.<br />
About 10,000 tons of material heretofore lost in scrapping<br />
each ship now is reclaimed by a method of<br />
cutting up hulls at navy yards and the cost of work is<br />
comparatively low. W. H. Rastall, chief industrial<br />
machinery division, department of commerce, Washington,<br />
outlines in this issue opportunities open to<br />
American tool builders in foreign markets. The greatest<br />
chance for American participation lies in the field<br />
formerly dominated by German machinery exporters.<br />
American exports of metalworking machines now are<br />
below prewar levels while those of Great Britain are<br />
above.<br />
Another chapter on the subject of heat treating—<br />
its principles and applications, is presented in this<br />
issue dealing with hardening and tempering. The<br />
series of articles on this subject by Charles H. Fulton,<br />
Hugh M. Henton and James H. Knapp are attracting<br />
the attention of steel treaters throughout this country<br />
and abroad.<br />
A New Orleans company specializing on saw and<br />
sugar mill machinery has installed an electric furnace<br />
to make railroad castings. Some interesting features<br />
of this development are set forth in an article entitled<br />
"Making Electric Steel in Louisiana".<br />
April 10—<br />
Iron Trade Review's composite of 14 leading iron<br />
and steel products this week is down to $42.55 from<br />
$42.91 in the week preceding. This reflects the continuing<br />
weakness in pig iron and some finished steel<br />
products, especially in plates.<br />
Steel ingot production in March attained the daily<br />
average of 159,455 tons, a record never before equalled<br />
in this country. This was at an annual rate of 49,590,-<br />
000 tons. The best previous record was in April, 1923,<br />
with a daily average of 157,776 tons, an annual rate of<br />
IheDlast hirnaco'^otool Plant<br />
245<br />
49,060,000 tons. The total output in March was approximately<br />
4,145,829 tons. Some capacity is being<br />
taken off and the outlook for April production is not<br />
so encouraging, the steel corporation plants this week<br />
operating at 93 per cent which is 2 per cent to 3 per<br />
cent less than their recent rate. The trend of the<br />
steel market is indicated by the fact that on an inquiry<br />
of 40.000 tons of plates, shapes and bars for the Chesapeak<br />
and Ohio Railroad a bid of 2.10c, Pittsburgh was<br />
submitted. Concessions of $2 to $3 or more on sheets<br />
are failing to stimulate buying and the sheet bar price<br />
is being shaded to $41.<br />
Reduction of 80c per ton has been made in the<br />
price of Lake Superior iron ore, which it is believed<br />
will compel some of the smaller operators to close their<br />
mines or work at a loss. The Ford Motor Company<br />
placed the bulk of its 250,000 ton order at a higher<br />
price than the market and before the market price was<br />
established, owing to special considerations. Iron<br />
Trade Review's European manager cables from London<br />
that a new corporation has been formed in South<br />
Wales and controls two thirds of the tin plate export<br />
trade. France's production of pig iron and steel in<br />
February was the largest for any one month since the<br />
close of the war, the output of pig iron being 590,000<br />
metric tons and of steel 555.000 tons. E. C. Kreutzberg<br />
associate editor of .Iron Trade Review in New<br />
York contributes an article to this issue describing<br />
conditions that confront American purchasers of European<br />
steel. He compares prices and points out difficulties<br />
the American purchasers have in obtaining material<br />
according to analysis on American standards.<br />
Contract clauses strongly favor the sellers, unless the<br />
American are represented abroad or inspect the material<br />
before purchase.<br />
The U. S.'Supreme Court decides that the Federal<br />
Trade Commission has no right to the private papers<br />
pertaining to the affairs of tobacco producers, ruling<br />
substantially as did the lower courts in the case of the<br />
Claire Furnace Company. This is considered in some<br />
quarters as sustaining the furnace operators and their<br />
refusal to comply with the trade commissions demand<br />
for report. E. C. Boehringer editorial representative<br />
of Iron Trade Review at Chicago presents the results<br />
of a survey of the rail steel products industry. The<br />
French correspondent of Iron Trade Review describes<br />
a new foundry school established in Paris for foundry<br />
engineers and managers. C. H. Hunt, chief engineer<br />
of the Weirton Steel Company contributes an article<br />
descriptive of the company's 37 new by-product ovens.<br />
This company is pioneering in the use of the new type<br />
of narrow oven, coking high volatile coals exclusively.<br />
April 17—<br />
Iron Trade Review's composite price this week<br />
stands at $42.47 compared with $42.55 in the week<br />
preceding. The pig iron market continues dormant<br />
and prices are lower. Steel buyers are holding back<br />
until prices settle although new requirements are<br />
strikingly large in those fields which for months have<br />
been the main support of the market, building work<br />
and the railroads. The Lake Superior iron ore market<br />
is the quietest in years notwithstanding the drastic<br />
reduction in price. The open market sales to date<br />
probably do not exceed 500,000 tons, while large consumers<br />
have reduced their estimates of requirements<br />
over the season.
24(.<br />
IneDlast hiniaco L, jtool Plant<br />
May, 1924<br />
Time Element in Iron Ore Reduction 1<br />
A Series of Experimental Determinations Which Suggest Very<br />
Low "Volume of Efficiency of Reduction."<br />
DURING the course of certain experiments carried<br />
out by the Bureau of Mines at the University<br />
of Minnesota, the writers obtained data<br />
bearing on the question of the time required for the<br />
reduction of iron ore in the blast-furnace. This information<br />
is of considerable interest to a study of the<br />
metallurgy of iron, and may prove useful in blastfurnace<br />
design and operation.<br />
I'iezv of experimental furnace at the University of Minnesota.<br />
Observer determining "reduction zone" zvith ivatcr-coolcd<br />
gas-sampling tube.<br />
After ore is charged at the stock-line of a furnace,<br />
little is known of the subsequent physical and chemical<br />
conditions to which it is subjected, or of the details<br />
of the changes it experiences as a result of these conditions.<br />
When the charge finally appears as metal<br />
in the hearth, it has been reduced, melted, carburized,<br />
and contaminated with a small quantity of metalloids.<br />
By P. H. ROYSTER', T. L. JOSEPH' and S. P. KINNEY'<br />
The final result is of course known, and for many purposes<br />
perhaps it suffices to know the total sum of the<br />
reactions that have taken place during the 15 to 20<br />
hours taken for the passage of the ore through the<br />
furnace. Nevertheless, it has seemed worth while to<br />
the writers to study the rate at which the known reactions<br />
take place, and to determine as definitely as<br />
possible at what place these reactions occur.<br />
Although such phrases as the "zone of reduction",<br />
"zone of calcination" and the like appear frequently<br />
enough in the language of technical literature, little<br />
evidence as to the size, extent, and position of these<br />
zones can be found. In fact, so little is known that<br />
it is not possible definitely to assume that the regions<br />
in which the various reactions take place are zones at<br />
all.<br />
Methods of Measuring the Rate of Reduction.<br />
Two obvious methods of measuring the reduction<br />
rate in the Bureau's experimental furnace were attempted<br />
with some success. The first which will be<br />
called the "te>t-charge" method, is easily carried out,<br />
and determines in a most direct manner the average<br />
time-rate of reduction. The second will be called the<br />
"sample-tube" method, and measures in greater detail,<br />
if somewhat less directly, the space-rate of reduction.<br />
The results of the two methods, though experimentally<br />
independent, are measurements of the<br />
same quantity, and they should be concordant. In<br />
the general case, the time-rate or the space-rate of any<br />
reaction is readily calculated one from the other, if<br />
the speed of stock descent is known.<br />
In carrying out the test-charge experiments, the<br />
furnace was operated on two burdens alternately—<br />
one a blank charge of coke and manganiferous slag;<br />
4<br />
3<br />
2<br />
o<br />
a<br />
C<br />
o<br />
—<br />
o<br />
M<br />
V<br />
to<br />
/ -,<br />
/ ', 0<br />
V /<br />
'<br />
|<br />
)<br />
s<br />
1<br />
0<br />
\<br />
V Sj s<br />
,0<br />
Average CO2 without ore s<br />
SA.M 'J 10 11 12 1P.M.<br />
TIME<br />
FIG. 1—Effect of one test charge on top gas composition.<br />
the other, a charge of coke and iron ore. Continuous<br />
sampling of the gas from the down-comer was maintained<br />
during the transitions from one burden to the<br />
'Fourth of series. Published by permission of the Director,<br />
other, and from the analyses of these top-gas samples<br />
U. S. Bureau of Mines.<br />
it is possible to follow the course of the reactions tak<br />
2<br />
Asst. metallurgist, North Central Station. Minneapolis, Minn. ing place as the ore settles in the shaft.<br />
3<br />
Assoc. metallurgist. North Central Station, Minneapolis. Minn. In the sample-tube method as carried out by the<br />
*Asst. metallurgist chemist, North Central Station, Minneapo<br />
writers, the furnace was operated as steadily as poslis,<br />
Minnesota.
M av. 1024<br />
sible on a normal charge of coke, ore, and limestone.<br />
Water-cooled sample tubes were introduced through<br />
holes in the furnace wall at five elevations, and gas<br />
7<br />
H<br />
2<br />
a 6<br />
OS<br />
o<br />
w 5<br />
o <<br />
o<br />
e><br />
X q<br />
-1<br />
2<br />
o<br />
CQ o<br />
<<br />
1<br />
4J<br />
r c<br />
1<br />
„ 3<br />
3<br />
3 (<br />
-'<br />
S<br />
! -<br />
•<br />
lh<br />
r<br />
i<br />
r^<br />
/<br />
• • —<br />
X<br />
- Second test charce. 240 pounds of ore<br />
1 |<br />
t<br />
jVl !<br />
r<br />
lL<br />
; pr<br />
P<br />
"<br />
^ ~j<br />
1 Avengp<br />
=1=<br />
k<br />
~,c<br />
-<br />
2 without or p<br />
|<br />
*<br />
e<br />
c i<br />
J I N [.<br />
A.<br />
3<br />
n &l<br />
t<br />
i F .M<br />
FIG. 2—Effect of tzvo test charges on top gas composition.<br />
samples were withdrawn at various distances between<br />
the center and the wall. Such a systematic series of<br />
samples from the interior of the shaft makes it possible<br />
to determine the regions of chemical activity with<br />
a fair degree of accuracy. Since the rate of speed at<br />
which the charge settles was measured, it is possible<br />
to convert the space-rate determined by this experiment<br />
into time-rate units. The relation between these<br />
two tests will perhaps better be discussed after the<br />
results of the tests are presented.<br />
Test-Charge Method.<br />
The blank charge, used alternately with the ore<br />
charge, contained 120 lb. of coke and 160 lb. of slag.<br />
Ml<br />
jCharge<br />
— coke and<br />
£l?<br />
"<br />
•3 »r<br />
a. 8 TUt<br />
P 1 1<br />
2 r,<br />
Q<br />
« 1 s=°-<br />
1 1 l ir<br />
1 1 r" 1<br />
°p 145 ore, 50 stone "<br />
sag and 120 coke each<br />
«<br />
'C<br />
11<br />
£<br />
° J<br />
S i-HL<br />
•S-W " 4<br />
s<br />
E<br />
E" H ?"<br />
"l ~<br />
A<br />
|<br />
|<br />
r 1<br />
i —<br />
-T *-,<br />
1 ><br />
\<br />
S<br />
a,<br />
J<br />
[ \<br />
-<br />
-<br />
\<br />
,<br />
'\<br />
j Vvera K C02 >.'| th out or •<br />
-<br />
-<br />
The Blast ru<br />
r^i<br />
rnaco. Steel Plant<br />
— i<br />
1 1<br />
1 1 II 1 1 II II 1 II l_<br />
Charge of coke and slap; only<br />
\ s \ *s<br />
5 A.M. 7 1 P.M. 3<br />
TIME<br />
FIG. 3—Effect of 16 rounds of ore and lime stone on top gas<br />
composition.<br />
The composition of this slag, produced during previous<br />
experiments, averaged 30.7 per cent Si02, 8.6 per<br />
cent A1203, 32.6 per cent MnO, and 4.5 per cent FeO.<br />
An analysis of the coke used has already been published,<br />
as well as the lines of the experimental furnace 5 .<br />
With this material in the charge the top gas had this<br />
composition:<br />
-<br />
Constituent<br />
CO,<br />
CO<br />
H,<br />
N„<br />
Per cent<br />
1.39<br />
33.36<br />
1.52<br />
63.73<br />
247<br />
a result obtained from averaging 55 gas samples taken<br />
during 48 hours of operation. In theory, the blank<br />
charge should give a gas containing no C02. Actually<br />
the slag is seen not to be free from iron, and the coke<br />
itself carried 2.24 per cent iron, so that under this<br />
"slagging type gas producer" operation, about 25 lb.<br />
of spiegeleisen was produced per hour, the manganese<br />
in the slag not proving wholly irreducible. In the<br />
Numbers on curves are per cent C02<br />
A-B Average stock line after charging a round<br />
C-D Average stock line before charging a round<br />
Average stock line<br />
-J- Plane 2<br />
first of the test-charge experiments a single round of<br />
240 lb. of iron ore was charged at 9:13 a.m. The slag<br />
burden was restored immediately, and continued until<br />
the effect of the test charge had been dissipated. The<br />
ore contained 52.13 per cent Fe. 11.13 per cent SiC,<br />
1.22 per cent A1203, and 0.39 per cent CaO + MgO.<br />
The gas analyses taken in this test are recorded in<br />
Table I, and the CO, content of the top gas, plotted<br />
against time, is shown in Fig. 1.<br />
In the next experiment, two successive charges of<br />
240 lb. of iron ore (no flux was used) were made, one<br />
20 minutes after the other- (The bell was lowered at<br />
2:38 and 2:58 p. m.) The gas analyses from this experiment<br />
are shown in Table II and the C02 content<br />
of the gas is presented graphically in Fig. 2.<br />
5 P. H. Royster, T. L. Joseph, and S. P. Kinney, "Reduction<br />
of Iron Ore in the Blast Furnace," The Blast Furnace and Steel<br />
Plant, vol. 12, January, 1924, pp. 35-37.
248<br />
The third experiment consisted of charging 16<br />
successive rounds containing 120 lb. of coke, 145 lb. of<br />
ore, and 50 lb. of limestone, commencing at 9:35<br />
a. m., the sixteenth test round going into the furnace<br />
18<br />
, 14<br />
\^<br />
BS12<br />
z~<br />
r 10<br />
o<br />
PQ<br />
OS<br />
o 6<br />
4<br />
Jr* / i<br />
2<br />
U_L] '<br />
o/'o Nj<br />
/ ^\<br />
/ \<br />
1 / .in<br />
/<br />
•<br />
it<br />
1/ /<br />
[<br />
May, 1924<br />
taken to be essentially unaltered bosh gas. The dotced<br />
line in Fig. 4, representing 0.5 per cent C02, is assumed<br />
to divide the active from the inactive region.<br />
Comparison of Results.<br />
A study of Figs. 1, 2, and 3, leads to the conclusion<br />
that reduction of the ore takes place remarkably<br />
close to the stock-line. In the first test charge experiment,<br />
the C02 in the top gas reached a maximum<br />
about 28 minutes after the ore had been charged. The<br />
C02 curve for the second test (Fig. 2) exhibits two<br />
maxima, the first occurring 26 minutes after the first<br />
TABLE II - Doable Charge Test: Variation in top gas<br />
composition when 240 lb. iron ore are charged at 2:38 p.m.<br />
and 240 lb. at 2:58 p.m.<br />
Sample Ko. Time<br />
1<br />
2<br />
3<br />
4<br />
5<br />
6<br />
7<br />
8<br />
9<br />
10<br />
11<br />
Xi.<br />
12<br />
14<br />
15<br />
16<br />
17<br />
2:08 P<br />
2:45<br />
3:05<br />
3:15<br />
3:25<br />
3:34<br />
3:46<br />
3:50<br />
3:56<br />
4:15<br />
5:03<br />
5:39<br />
6:00<br />
8:00<br />
9:50<br />
10:50<br />
11:50<br />
Per oent<br />
COs<br />
1.8<br />
3.9<br />
7.9<br />
2.7<br />
6.2<br />
6.3<br />
5.0<br />
5.0<br />
4.5<br />
3.8<br />
2.5<br />
1.9<br />
1.7<br />
1.4<br />
1.2<br />
1.2<br />
1.2<br />
Per oent<br />
CO<br />
33.9<br />
31.6<br />
27.4<br />
33.6<br />
27.5<br />
29.4<br />
30.5<br />
30.7<br />
31.3<br />
29.9<br />
33.5<br />
33.7<br />
30.7<br />
34.4<br />
34.4<br />
34.0<br />
34.4<br />
Per oent<br />
H2<br />
1.8<br />
1.8<br />
1.7<br />
1.5<br />
1.7<br />
1.7<br />
1.6<br />
1.6<br />
1.6<br />
1.9<br />
0.9<br />
1.7<br />
2.4<br />
1.1<br />
0.6<br />
1.8<br />
1.1<br />
Die Blast Fi urnace /£> Steel Plant<br />
Per oent<br />
"2<br />
62.5<br />
62.3<br />
63.0<br />
62.2<br />
64.6<br />
62.6<br />
62.9<br />
62.7<br />
62.6<br />
64.4<br />
63.7<br />
62.7<br />
65.2<br />
63.1<br />
63.8<br />
63.0<br />
63.3<br />
ore was charged, the second maximum being reached<br />
31 minutes after the second round entered the furnace.<br />
In the 16-round experiment, the first ore was dropped<br />
on the stock-line at 9:40 a. m. The first peak on the<br />
C02 curve is found at 10:05 a. m. The rate of reduction<br />
therefore appears to have reached a maximum according<br />
to the average of there four determinations,<br />
27.5 minutes aftre the ore was charged. The stockline<br />
was found to settle regularly at a rate of 0.418<br />
inches per minute, this figure being the average of<br />
several hundred measurements. The center of the<br />
test round was therefore 11.5 inches (27.5 X 0.418)<br />
below the stock-line when the C02 curve reached its<br />
maximum. This would plac ethe point of maximum<br />
rate of reduction at 1.5 inches above plane 1.<br />
The results of the sample-tube experiments shown<br />
in Fig. 4 point to a somewhat similar conclusion. The<br />
reduction of the ore is proportional to the rate at<br />
which the C02 content increases as the gas is forced<br />
up the shaft. This rate of increase is greater at plane<br />
I than at any other elevation in the furnace. The<br />
maximum rate of increase in the whole furnace occurs<br />
at the left wall of the furnace in plane 2, the C02<br />
249<br />
increasing 0.56 per cent per inch at that point. These<br />
conclusions are therefore consistent with each other,<br />
although they have been arrived at by independent<br />
methods. They are not, however, in strict accord<br />
with many conceptions of the mechanism of ore reduction.<br />
The gas in plane 1 shows an unexpectedly large<br />
COjVCO ratio. The maximum value of 0.92, shown<br />
TABLS III. - Variation in top gas composition<br />
when 16 rounds of ore and stone are oharged.<br />
Samole "o. Time<br />
1<br />
2<br />
3<br />
4<br />
5<br />
6<br />
7<br />
8<br />
9<br />
10<br />
11<br />
12<br />
13<br />
14<br />
15<br />
16<br />
17<br />
18<br />
19<br />
20<br />
21<br />
22<br />
23<br />
24<br />
25<br />
26<br />
27<br />
per cent<br />
CO<br />
5:15 a. .a.<br />
6:20<br />
1.5<br />
1.6<br />
7:15 1.8<br />
8:23 1.4<br />
9:15 1.3<br />
9:58 2.5<br />
10:05 7.7<br />
10:32 4.8<br />
11:01 7.6<br />
11:29 8.8<br />
12:02 12.2<br />
12:28 9.5<br />
12:54 10.8<br />
1:59 10.6<br />
2:45 10.9<br />
3:00 10.8<br />
3:39 9.8<br />
3:58 7.7<br />
4:30 5.8<br />
4:56 4.9<br />
6:30 3.7<br />
7:06 3.8<br />
7:40 3.4<br />
9:30 1.5<br />
11:00 0.8<br />
11:50 1.6<br />
1:00 1.5<br />
j-er cent<br />
CO<br />
33.3<br />
33.4<br />
33.4<br />
33.1<br />
33.6<br />
32.6<br />
24.4<br />
30.2<br />
28.0<br />
27.0<br />
15.1<br />
26.0<br />
21.9<br />
25.7<br />
25.8<br />
23.2<br />
28.8<br />
30.3<br />
26.3<br />
25.2<br />
23.7<br />
27.8<br />
28.0<br />
33.1<br />
33.6<br />
33.0<br />
Per oent<br />
"2<br />
0.5 -<br />
1.1<br />
0.8<br />
2.0<br />
1.6<br />
1.8<br />
1.7<br />
1.6<br />
1.6<br />
1.4<br />
0.7<br />
1.4<br />
2.3<br />
1.3<br />
1.4<br />
2.6<br />
1.2<br />
1.5<br />
1.8<br />
2.8<br />
3.1<br />
2.8<br />
2.8<br />
1.1<br />
1.6<br />
1.1<br />
per cent<br />
H2<br />
64.1<br />
63.9<br />
64.0<br />
63.5<br />
63.5<br />
64.9<br />
66.2<br />
63.4<br />
52.8<br />
62.8<br />
72.0<br />
63.1<br />
65.0<br />
62.1<br />
62.0<br />
64.4<br />
62.3<br />
62.4<br />
67.0<br />
68.3<br />
59.4<br />
56.0<br />
67.7<br />
65.0<br />
63.2<br />
64.4<br />
• Eaoh round 145 lb. ore, 50 lb. stone, 120 lb. coke. First<br />
round charged at 9:40 a.m.: last round at 2:47 p.m.<br />
Sample<br />
Eo.<br />
1<br />
2<br />
3<br />
4<br />
5<br />
6<br />
7<br />
8<br />
9<br />
10<br />
11<br />
12<br />
TABLS IV. - Gas Composition in plane 1«.<br />
(15 ft. 4 in. above tuyeres, 13 in. below stock line)<br />
Distance<br />
from<br />
wall in<br />
inches<br />
0<br />
2<br />
4<br />
6<br />
8<br />
12<br />
16<br />
20<br />
24<br />
28<br />
32<br />
36<br />
Per<br />
oent<br />
co2<br />
10.9<br />
10.4<br />
13.6<br />
17.3<br />
17.3<br />
17.2<br />
IS.3<br />
14.5<br />
13.5<br />
10.4<br />
5.8<br />
4.5<br />
Per<br />
oent<br />
CO<br />
25.4<br />
25.9<br />
22.6<br />
18.9<br />
18.8<br />
20.2<br />
22.8<br />
24.0<br />
22.7<br />
24.7<br />
30.3<br />
31.2<br />
Per<br />
oent<br />
H 2<br />
1.3<br />
1.0<br />
0.8<br />
1.1<br />
1.4<br />
1.1<br />
1.4<br />
1.1<br />
1.2<br />
1.4<br />
0.8<br />
0.7<br />
Per<br />
oent<br />
"2<br />
62.4<br />
62.7<br />
63.0<br />
62.7<br />
62.5<br />
61.5<br />
60.5<br />
60.4<br />
62.6<br />
63.5<br />
63.1<br />
63.6<br />
Per<br />
oent<br />
COa/CO<br />
0.43<br />
0.40<br />
0.60<br />
0.92<br />
0.92<br />
0.85<br />
0.67<br />
0.60<br />
0.60<br />
0.42<br />
0.19<br />
0.14<br />
Variation uorosa the plane measured.from saa^llng hole In<br />
.7all over V\*yere i;o. 2.
250<br />
in Table IV, is just double the theoretical maximum<br />
set by Bell 8 . The data presented here, if credited, may<br />
force the reader to conclude that gas containing say<br />
16 per cent of CO, and 21 per cent of CO, acting on<br />
freshly charged ore, will cause reduction to take place<br />
at a somewhat greater speed than will gas at a higher<br />
temperature, carrying 4 per cent of C02 and 30 per<br />
cent of CO, acting on ore that has been preheated in<br />
the furnace during four hours. To many metallurgists<br />
this perhaps seems inconsistent with what is known<br />
of the speed of chemical reactions. However, there<br />
is an unexplored gap between the chemical science of<br />
reaction velocities and the metallurgical process of<br />
ore reduction. The Bureau's furnace experiments<br />
were planned to throw light on a definite metallurgical<br />
problem; hence, the data reported here are as illadapted<br />
to a study of chemical kinetics as many of the<br />
published laboratory experiments on ore reduction<br />
are to actual blast-furnace practice.<br />
Time and Volume Efficiency of the Furnace.<br />
The question of ore reduction was considered in<br />
the first article of this series, but reduction was discussed<br />
there from th epoint of view of the furnace as<br />
a whole. It is evident from Fig. 4 that the phrase,<br />
"furnace as a whole", means little. In the lower part<br />
of the furnace no important chemical reactions seem<br />
to take place. In the upper part of the furnace, where<br />
chemical action is rapid, the rate of reduction is not<br />
TABLE 7. - Sas Composition In Plane 2.<br />
(12 ft. 11 in. above tuyeres, 3 ft. 6 in. below stock<br />
line)<br />
Sample Distance per Per<br />
C02 CO<br />
1<br />
2<br />
3<br />
4<br />
5<br />
6<br />
7<br />
8<br />
9<br />
10<br />
-.vail In<br />
incl.es.<br />
0<br />
4<br />
8<br />
12<br />
16<br />
20<br />
24<br />
28<br />
32<br />
39<br />
3.7<br />
3.7<br />
8.3<br />
12.4<br />
13.6<br />
11.1<br />
11.7<br />
10.0<br />
4.4<br />
0.1<br />
31.5<br />
32.2<br />
28.2<br />
25.1<br />
23.9<br />
27.4<br />
26.7<br />
28.0<br />
32.2<br />
34.8<br />
Per<br />
oent<br />
H2<br />
1.0<br />
0.8<br />
0.9<br />
0.9<br />
1.0<br />
0.8<br />
0.9<br />
0.5<br />
0.6<br />
1.2<br />
MastFurnacoSStool Plant<br />
Per Per<br />
oent oent<br />
COg/CO<br />
H2<br />
63.8<br />
63.3<br />
62.6<br />
61.6<br />
61.5<br />
60.7<br />
60.7<br />
61.5<br />
62.8<br />
63.9<br />
0.12<br />
0.11<br />
0.29<br />
0.49<br />
0.57<br />
0.41<br />
0.44<br />
0.36<br />
0.14<br />
0.00<br />
uniform across a given section, nor along a line of flow<br />
either of the stock or of the gas.<br />
The data given in this report make it easy to study<br />
in considerable detail the intensity of reduction at any<br />
point in the furnace. The following example illustrates<br />
a method of calculating the reduction at any<br />
point in the furnace by means of the curves in Figs. 4,<br />
6, and 7 :<br />
Let it be required to know the reduction going on<br />
at a point say 10 inches from the left wall and 20<br />
'I. L. Bell, "Chemical Phenomena In Iron Smelting": 1872.<br />
May, 1924<br />
inches below the stock-line, the degree or intensity<br />
of reduction being measured in the units: pound of<br />
oxygen removed from the ore per minute per cubic<br />
foot. Twenty inches below the stock-line the diameter<br />
of the shaft is 40.5 inches, the corresponding area<br />
TABLE 71. - Ga» Composition In Plane 3.<br />
110 ft. 5 in. above tuyeres, 5 ft. 11 In. below atook<br />
line)<br />
Sample Dl3tanoe Per Per<br />
from<br />
P<br />
oent oent<br />
l i ln inches.<br />
co2 co<br />
c<br />
Ilo.<br />
1<br />
2<br />
3<br />
4<br />
5<br />
6<br />
7<br />
8<br />
9<br />
10<br />
11<br />
12<br />
2<br />
8<br />
13<br />
15<br />
17<br />
19<br />
22<br />
26<br />
30<br />
34<br />
38<br />
41<br />
1.6<br />
5.4<br />
8.3<br />
5.6<br />
6.4<br />
7.2<br />
5.0<br />
4.3<br />
3.9<br />
2.9<br />
0.9<br />
0.2<br />
30.2<br />
27.2<br />
27.7<br />
30.6<br />
30.5<br />
29.6<br />
29.5<br />
30.4<br />
33.4<br />
34.2<br />
34.8<br />
34.9<br />
per<br />
oent<br />
H2<br />
1.5<br />
1.2<br />
0.6<br />
1.1<br />
0.9<br />
0.7<br />
0.8<br />
0.9<br />
0.9<br />
0.7<br />
0.7<br />
0.7<br />
Per Per<br />
oent oent<br />
n2<br />
66.7<br />
66.2<br />
63.4<br />
62.7<br />
62.2<br />
62.5<br />
64.7<br />
64.4<br />
61.8<br />
62.2<br />
63.6<br />
64.2<br />
cog/co<br />
0.05<br />
0.20<br />
0.30<br />
0.19<br />
0.21<br />
0.24<br />
0.17<br />
0.14<br />
0.12<br />
0.08<br />
0.03<br />
0.01<br />
being 8.96 sq. ft. The rate of increase of C02 content<br />
of the gas stream at this elevation and 10 inches<br />
from the left wall is seen from Fig. 4 to be about 4.4<br />
per cent of C02 by volume per vertical foot. By<br />
weight this is equivalent to 7.0 per cent of C02. If<br />
the gas velocity be assumed to be uniform across the<br />
horizontal section, the flow of gas amounts to 3.7 lb.<br />
per sq. ft. per min. Hence, the gas stream gains 0.26 lb.<br />
of C02 per minute in passing through an element of<br />
volume one foot high and with a base of one square<br />
foot. This cubic foot element of volume therefore removes<br />
0.096 lb. (4/11 X 0.26) oxygen from the ore<br />
contained in it per minute, since 7 lb. of CO removes 4<br />
lb. of O, to form 11 lb. of CO.. The total 02 removed<br />
from the ore per minute by the whole furnace<br />
is 1.52 lb. 0 . It would take, therefore, nearly 16 cubic<br />
feet of furnace volume to carry out the required reduction.<br />
A number of interesting conclusions could perhaps<br />
be drawn from this calculation. The total volume of<br />
the furnace is 159 cu. ft., and 16 cu. ft. would suffice<br />
for reduction if the conditions everywhere were as<br />
favorable for reduction as those existing 20 inches below<br />
the stock-line and 10 inches from the left wall.<br />
This point was selected more or less at random as being<br />
typical of the chemically active region. Although<br />
representing a fairly high intensity of reduction, it<br />
"The furnace received o7.U rounds per dav, and each round<br />
is not the maximum for the furnace. If it be admitted<br />
lost 326 lb. of G2. P. H. Royster, T. L. Joseph, and S. P. Kin<br />
ney, that work one cubic cited in foot The furnace Blast Furnace volume and is Steel enough Plant, working vol. 12,<br />
Jan., 1924, p. 35.<br />
(Concluded on page 254.)
May, 1924<br />
lhe Dlast kirnaceL/jteel riant<br />
^ 2 ^ ^_ ' -• st^s, , •' -" ' - ' ~ - " A v ~ ; . . .. --—s.-ryy ,..••• , i . S,TJ<br />
|7As POWER PLA<br />
Economical Operation and Maintenance<br />
of Boiler Furnaces*<br />
T H E furnace volume required for the complete<br />
combustion of any fuel is dependent upon a good<br />
many variables, so that satisfactory calculation of<br />
furnace volume is extremely difficult. Among the<br />
factors to be taken into account are the chemical and<br />
physical qualities of the fuel, the system of combustion,<br />
the shape of the combustion chamber, the draft<br />
and distribution of air and the thoroughness with<br />
which air and fuel may be mixed.<br />
The least amount of combustion space is required<br />
with oil, where modern mechanical atomization is<br />
employed. The largest amount of combustion space<br />
is required with pulverized fuel. In between lie all<br />
grades of lump coal.<br />
Furnace volume required is primarily dependent<br />
upon the thoroughness of the facilities for mixing air<br />
and fuel. Thus with modern oil burning equipment,<br />
the mixing is very largly done in the burner itself and<br />
complete combustion is secured within a few feet of<br />
the tip. With low volatile coals the greater part of<br />
combustion takes place within the fuel bed or directly<br />
above it. With high volatile, long flaming coals combustion<br />
is not completed until the gases have traveled<br />
a considerable distance from the fuel bed, and can<br />
possibly only be made complete through the employment<br />
of ignition arches.<br />
With pulverized fuel, in the present state of the<br />
development of the art, there is little or no mixing of<br />
the fuel and air prior to their injection into the furnace.<br />
As a result very large furnace volumes are required<br />
in order to assure ample room for each particle<br />
of fuel to find the particle of air which it requires with-<br />
•Copyright, 1924, by Robert June.<br />
fAssociate Member A, is. M .E.<br />
By ROBERT JUNEf<br />
This is the sixth in a series of articles by<br />
Robert June, who is well qualified to write<br />
on this subject. The articles are written from<br />
the point of view of the managing executive<br />
a<br />
and deal with the dollars and cents end of i°<br />
power plant operation and maintenance. Sueceeding<br />
articles deal with such live topics as<br />
9<br />
safe and efficient boiler operation and mainte-<br />
fi<br />
nance, what management should know about<br />
coal and ash handling equipment, steam pip<br />
7<br />
ing, efficient turbine operation, etc. The serv-<br />
ice is timely and should prove of value to our 5<br />
readers.<br />
251<br />
out the admission of large volumes of excess air.<br />
Some day, perhaps pulverized fuel engineers will succeed<br />
in designing burners which will so thoroughly<br />
mix the fuel and the air before their injection into the<br />
furnace, that combustion will be completed within a<br />
short distance of the burners. When this is done furnace<br />
volumes for pulverized fuel can be materially<br />
reduced.<br />
Table I below shows the B.t.u. fired per hour per<br />
cubic foot of furnace volume at very high efficiencies,<br />
6<br />
. *<br />
r<br />
s<br />
,s s s r \ s<br />
,,« &<br />
^*<br />
la tir iq hi !ck<br />
300 600 1000 1400 1800 2200 2600 3000<br />
FIG. 1—Bureau of Standards curves showing the relative conductivity<br />
of various bricks.<br />
and which thus represent probably the best attainable<br />
results in actual practice. For this table as well<br />
as for Table II, we are indebted to Mr. E. B. Ricketts<br />
of the New York Edison Company.<br />
TABLE I—B.T.U. FIRED PER HOUR PER CUBIC FOOT<br />
OF FURNACE VOLUME AT EFFICIENCIES OF<br />
ABOUT 80 PER CENT WITHOUT ECONOMIZERS<br />
B.t.u. per<br />
Fuel Burning System. Cu. Ft. of<br />
Furnace Volume<br />
Pulverized coal 22,000<br />
Chain-grate stokers 37,500<br />
Underfeed stokers 64,000<br />
Locomotives 70,000<br />
Oil — steam atomization 85,000<br />
Scotch marine boiler hand fired 144,000<br />
Oil — mechanical atomization 176,000<br />
*y<br />
s^
It was the practice 10 or IS years ago for boilers<br />
to be provided with from 1 to 1.75 cubic feet of furnace<br />
Tolume per rated hp. Practice in recent years has<br />
differed radically from this, very much larger furnace<br />
volumes being provided. Table II shows the cubic<br />
feet of furnace volume per rated hp. of some of the<br />
important plants completed within the past five years.<br />
TABLE II — CUBIC FEET OF FURNACE VOLUME PER<br />
RATED HORSE POWER.<br />
(10 Sq. Ft. Boiler Heating Surface.)<br />
RECENT STATIONS<br />
Station Chain-grate Under-feed<br />
Stokers Stokers<br />
American Sugar—Baltimore 2.00<br />
Kansas City<br />
2.57<br />
Dalmarnock — Glasgow<br />
3.10<br />
Barking — London<br />
3.87<br />
Calumet<br />
4.45<br />
Waukegan<br />
5.75<br />
Dodge Bros<br />
2.17<br />
Seward<br />
3.24<br />
Colfax<br />
3.45<br />
Springdale<br />
3.95<br />
Hell Gate<br />
4.23<br />
Gennevilliers — Paris<br />
4.50<br />
South Meadow<br />
4.56<br />
Delaware<br />
Lakeside<br />
River Rouge<br />
Cahokia<br />
4.80<br />
Waterside<br />
Essex<br />
Muscle Shoals .<br />
L. Street<br />
Conners Creek<br />
OLDER STATIONS<br />
1.05<br />
1.95<br />
2.19<br />
2.43<br />
2.72<br />
i^S> H* blast F, urnace. Steel Plant<br />
Pulverized<br />
Coal<br />
4.66<br />
4.98<br />
6.52<br />
The question naturally arises, are these increased<br />
furnace volumes more economical than smaller furnace<br />
volumes. The answer is that the larger furnace<br />
costs relatively more, but not proportionately more to<br />
build and maintain than the smaller furnace. The<br />
justification for the larger furnace must necessarily be<br />
found in increased boiler efficiency and capacity. It<br />
is the general consensus of opinion of combustion engineers<br />
that despite heavier maintenance costs the<br />
tendency towards larger furnace volumes is justified.<br />
This justification is found in the higher evaporation<br />
rates and higher efficiencies now being demanded and<br />
secured. What we are doing is working existing<br />
equipment several times harder than was the practice<br />
only a few years ago. Despite increased costs of fuel.<br />
the cost of producing power is either remaining stationary<br />
or decreasing slightly. It is paying to work<br />
apparatus hard.<br />
Conditions the Furnace Must Meet.<br />
As a result of the larger quantities of fuel going<br />
into the furnace with the higher evaporation rates, fuel<br />
beds are thicker than formerly and therefore draft<br />
must be increased. We have higher temperatures<br />
inside the furnace and as stated higher height and<br />
greater volume. The furnace, therefore, must have<br />
sufficient strength to support itself at all temperatures<br />
regardless of loads or stresses which may be applied<br />
to it.<br />
Inside the furnace we will have temperatures over<br />
considerable lengths of time of 2800 deg. to 3000 deg.<br />
F. While exposed to this temperature the furnace<br />
wall must stand up under the erosion and attrition of<br />
ash and clinker flowing over it. It must resist the<br />
attack of the fireman's slice bar while he endeavors to<br />
May, 1924<br />
break off lumps of clinker ami molten ash. The furnace<br />
lining must not be chemically active with either<br />
the ash or clinker as such a condition will cause it to<br />
flux rapidly. Porocity must be at a minimum, otherwise<br />
there will be a considerable inseepage of air<br />
through the walls lowering the furnace temperature,<br />
wasting heat and fuel and hastening the spalling of<br />
the refractory in the furnace. Radiation losses must<br />
also be avoided.<br />
These several requirements of the furnace—higher<br />
refractory quality—physical strength, surface hardness,<br />
low expansion and contraction coefficient oyer<br />
a wide temperature range, low heat conductivity, imperviousness<br />
— are all of the greatest importance.<br />
The Refractory.<br />
The particular requirements of the modern boiler<br />
furnace wall are so widely varied that no one material<br />
can meet them all 100 per cent. Therefore, the tendency<br />
is toward the use of two or three or even four<br />
materials. Table III gives the thermal properties of<br />
various refractories.<br />
TABLE III<br />
Material<br />
Fireclay<br />
Silica<br />
Magnesia<br />
Chrome<br />
Bauxite<br />
Zirconia<br />
Carborundum<br />
Alundum<br />
THERMAL PROPORTIONS OF VARIOUS<br />
REFRACTORIES<br />
'l^'<br />
C (JO<br />
o 0><br />
•go<br />
3092<br />
3092<br />
2929<br />
3722<br />
3245<br />
4667<br />
4064<br />
3722<br />
u zrW<br />
Point<br />
failure i<br />
50 lbs. p<br />
in load D<br />
2462-2552<br />
2912<br />
2696<br />
2597<br />
2462 or more<br />
2750<br />
Above 3002<br />
Above 2822<br />
S„ • u<br />
Thermal c ond<br />
tivity at 183<br />
Deg. P, t t.<br />
per br. pe r 1><br />
P. per i<br />
11.3<br />
12.7<br />
22.9<br />
16.5<br />
11.3<br />
Low<br />
67.0<br />
High<br />
M %<br />
«2<br />
ftCl<br />
ta-M<br />
0.199<br />
0.219<br />
0.231<br />
0.186<br />
0.198<br />
IS<br />
Good<br />
Poor<br />
Poor<br />
Poor<br />
Good<br />
Good<br />
Good<br />
Examination of the above table would give the<br />
impression that a satisfactory combination of materials<br />
for all practical purposes could be made from it.<br />
This would be true if we could eliminate the item of<br />
cost of material. Some of the refractories in this table,<br />
however, are so expensive that they can only be used<br />
in special ways. Therefore, it is necessary to rely upon<br />
fire clay products for the bulk of our boiler wall work.<br />
Furnace Difficulties.<br />
Furnace deterioration usually starts at the joints<br />
between bricks. Every joint and every layer of binding<br />
material is a possible source of weakness.<br />
Each brick has its individual characteristics of<br />
shape, size and uniformity of mixture of its component<br />
materials. Therefore, expansion and contraction<br />
of the various bricks in the wall are not uniform.<br />
Bricks not true to size and shape exert a side thrust<br />
adjacent bricks. Bricks not properly baked and tempered<br />
or not uniformly mixed crack with sudden temperature<br />
changes.<br />
Probably the most prolific source of failure is the<br />
erosion of fire brick by molten ash. It is true this is<br />
not a problem where coals having ash fusion temperatures<br />
of 2700 deg. to 2800 deg. are used, but there<br />
are very few power plants today which enjoy the use<br />
of coals of this quality. Whereas, it is every day experience<br />
in thousands of plants to deal with coals the<br />
ash of which begins to soften at 2100 deg. and runs at<br />
2300 deg.
May, 1924<br />
TheUlastFu rnaco rO Stool PI anr<br />
K*£T#-SI<br />
i/M/j<br />
1/ 7,7'/<br />
F' re Vhtull<br />
llVmch<br />
/l<br />
'bncfij^lc<br />
W'f 1<br />
—<br />
J<br />
-.+<br />
l£<br />
'l///l/<br />
l/l/'l<br />
briri ttS<br />
W/.'/WM<br />
l#^»*<br />
Ash erosion becomes a serious matter with pulverized<br />
coal or where underfeed stokers with forced<br />
draft are used. In such furnaces a vertible sand blast<br />
action is produced. The flames, carrying small particles<br />
of molten ash, are driven into the cracks and<br />
pores of the brick work. The surface then becomes a<br />
mixture of fire brick and ash which has a much lower<br />
melting temperature than the fire brick.<br />
Now if the temperature of the surface of the brick<br />
is lower than that of the molten ash, the ash will not<br />
penetrate into the brick to any great extent but will<br />
form a pasty coating over it. Then there will not be<br />
a great deal of erosion. If, however, the surface temperature<br />
of the brick is the same as that of the ash,<br />
due to higher gas temperatures and better insulation,<br />
some of the molten ash will penetrate into the brick<br />
and erosion will take place. If gas temperatures and<br />
insulation effect are increased still further so that the<br />
temperature an inch beneath the surface of the wall is<br />
the same as that of the ash, then the molten ash will<br />
literally wash the brick away rapidly.<br />
While we have just referred particularly to the<br />
increase in temperature of furnace gases, we must<br />
bear in mind that this is a matter over which we do<br />
(450<br />
— 1200<br />
\<br />
BTU.Ptersq.rt. Per Hour<br />
1150 IQOO 850 700 5,50 400<br />
FIG. 2—Graphic presentation of preventable radiation losses.<br />
BTU. Loss Per. sq. Ft. Per. Hour<br />
100 750 4O0 400 300 150<br />
BTU Loss Psr. set Ft. Pter. Hour<br />
850 700 550 4O0 250 IOO<br />
253<br />
not have any particular control, and further that the<br />
depth of penetration of high temperature in the furnace<br />
walls is largely controlled by the material with<br />
which'the wall is constructed as well as its thickness.<br />
Right away we see that this means a well insulated<br />
wall may really be much more expensive because of<br />
the rapid erosion of the inside walls, than the less<br />
efficient wall which will stand up a very long time because<br />
some of the heat is radiated from it.<br />
Our problem, therefore, is to insulate our wall to<br />
just the proper degree in just the proper place or else<br />
to provide some means of ventilating the wall or better<br />
yet to cool the wall by means of water or steam<br />
in such manner that the heat transferred to the cooling<br />
fluid may later be reclaimed for useful work.<br />
When the use of insulating brick is being considered<br />
it is well to remember that such brick may usually<br />
be used with entire safety in the construction of<br />
all sections of the furnace other than the high heat<br />
zone of the combustion chamber. Where the gas temperatures<br />
is 2400 deg. F. or less the insulation can<br />
be built in the wall as close as 9 in. from the inside<br />
(Concluded on Page 260)
254<br />
ii:illl!lliriliLIIIIIIILIIIIIi;.:!i .,' i !1l|llllll:,li', I'iil'IMIL, hlhll.; .III.IIII :, h i L I L . iri.llll Ii. .h:llllll,.:, I'illllllJI,; II<br />
Trade Notes and Publications<br />
lllllllllHllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllillllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllillll^<br />
Power Plant Lubrication<br />
To the executive or engineer seeking a thorough<br />
discussion of any lubricating problem, we strongly<br />
recommend this exhaustive treatise recently distributed<br />
by the Tide Water < )il Sales Corporation of New<br />
York City.<br />
Beautifully bound in artistic covers, its 60-pages<br />
of applied information form an asset to any technical<br />
library or file.<br />
No feature of the general problem has been omitted.<br />
As its first sub-head implies, it "covers the latest<br />
developments in the lubrication of Power Plant<br />
Machinery." Profuse illustrations in colors, emphasizing<br />
the points of contacts needing oil, make clear<br />
a1 a glance the magnitude of this important problem.<br />
Copies are available free to interested parties upon<br />
request.<br />
Koppers Company Buys Meadows Tract<br />
The Koppers Company, of Pittsburgh, Pa., designers<br />
and builders of by-product coke and gas oven<br />
plants, has purchased a tract of about thirty-five acres<br />
south of the aviation field along the Connecticut river,<br />
and another piece of about five acres just north of<br />
the aviation field, and also fronting the river. It is<br />
believed the company has purchased the land as a<br />
factory site, although the company is not expected<br />
to begin operations in this city within the year.<br />
Electric Heat<br />
Controlled Heat is the frontispage caption of Vol.<br />
2, Xo. 1 issue of this interesting little magazine published<br />
bv the Westinghouse Electric & Mfg. Company.<br />
Mr. A. M. Staehle, managing editor, formerly<br />
editor Blast Furnace ci Steel Plant is responsible for<br />
this addition to scientific trade literature.<br />
Within this month's covers will be found Heat<br />
Treating Electrically by J. F. Kelly; Eliminating<br />
"Cloudy Finish", by F. Arnold; Better Eggs—Electrically<br />
; Long Distance Heating, by L. V. Curran;<br />
Prolonging the Life of Transformer Cells, by Edmund<br />
J. Henke.<br />
A New Publication on Brass Melting<br />
An interesting new publication on brass melting<br />
has just been issued by the Detroit Electric Furnace<br />
Company. This little booklet tells, first, that the<br />
electric furnace is a factor of ever increasing value<br />
in brass melting. It next enumerates the economies<br />
effected bv the electric furnace and then shows how<br />
complete control of analysis, color, texture and homogeneity<br />
of the alloy is secured through the electric<br />
furnace. There is a section on test data showing how<br />
foundry costs are reduced an average of $10.00 a ton<br />
through the use of the electric furnace.<br />
The bulletin is known as No. 41. Copies may be<br />
had by addressing the Detroit Electric Furnace Company,<br />
2335 First National Bank Building, Detroit,<br />
Michigan.<br />
The blast FurnaceSSteel Plant<br />
May, 1924<br />
Time Elements in Iron Ore Reduction<br />
(Continued from page 250.)<br />
room to remove 0.097 lb. of 02 from the ore per minute,<br />
the experimental furnace "as a whole" has about<br />
10 times the volume actually required for the reduction<br />
process. The volume of efficiency of reduction for<br />
the furnace is therefore about 10 per cent if such a<br />
coined term as this is permissible.<br />
It has already been pointed out that 82 cu. ft. of the<br />
volume of the furnace is chemically inactive. Nevertheless,<br />
it is not possible to assume that this lower portion<br />
of the furnace is metallurgical^ useless. Nor is<br />
it at all essential to make a decision on this point in<br />
the case of the Bureau's furnace. This experimental<br />
TABLE VII. - 3as Composition In Plane 4.<br />
(18 ft. 1 In. above tuyeres, 8 ft. 4 In. below stock line.)<br />
Sample Distance Per Per<br />
Ho. from oent oent<br />
tnoheS. °°2 °°<br />
1<br />
z<br />
3<br />
4<br />
5<br />
6<br />
T<br />
8<br />
Sample<br />
Ho.<br />
1<br />
2<br />
3<br />
4<br />
6<br />
Uean<br />
4<br />
6<br />
10<br />
15<br />
20<br />
24<br />
29<br />
38<br />
0.6<br />
0.6<br />
1.4<br />
2.0<br />
1.2<br />
0.4<br />
0.3<br />
0.3<br />
34.4<br />
34.6<br />
34.5<br />
30.9<br />
31.1<br />
34.8<br />
33.4<br />
32.9<br />
Per<br />
oent<br />
H2<br />
0.9<br />
1.2<br />
1.2<br />
1.9<br />
1.9<br />
1.0<br />
1.1<br />
1.2<br />
Per Per<br />
oent cent<br />
CO^/CO<br />
K2<br />
64.2<br />
63.6<br />
52.9<br />
65.2<br />
66.8<br />
63.8<br />
65.2<br />
65.6<br />
0.01<br />
0.02<br />
0.04<br />
0.06<br />
0.04<br />
0.01<br />
0.01<br />
0.01<br />
IA3LS VIII. - Gas Ooaposltlon In Plane 5.<br />
15 ft. 8 In. above tuyeres, 10 ft. 9 In. below stook line.)<br />
Distance<br />
from<br />
wall In<br />
IncLes.<br />
6<br />
16<br />
22<br />
37<br />
47<br />
Per<br />
cent<br />
co2<br />
0.4<br />
0.4<br />
0.0<br />
0.2<br />
0.3<br />
0.3<br />
per<br />
oent<br />
CO<br />
32.8<br />
32.0<br />
32.6<br />
32.6<br />
30.4<br />
32.1<br />
Per<br />
cent<br />
H 2<br />
0.2<br />
1.3<br />
0.7<br />
1.1<br />
1.1<br />
1.0<br />
Per<br />
oent<br />
E2<br />
66.6<br />
65.3<br />
66.7<br />
66.1<br />
68.2<br />
66.5<br />
Per<br />
cent<br />
OO^/CO<br />
0.01<br />
0.01<br />
0.01<br />
0.01<br />
furnace, although possibly larger than necessary for<br />
the particular burden and operating conditions discussed<br />
in this series of papers, is about as small a unit<br />
as is practicable for experimental purposes.<br />
The question whether 20,000 cubic feet of furnace<br />
volume is essential and economically desirable for a<br />
500-ton blast furnace is important enough to warrant<br />
considerable study. In fact, as a result of the experiments<br />
described in this paper, the Bureau of Mines<br />
has undertaken to repeat the sample-tube experiments<br />
on a number of full-size furnaces. This work has been<br />
in progress for about a year, and some valuable data<br />
of practical value have been obtained. Any deductions<br />
in regard to the furnace size necessary in industrial<br />
practice must wait until further progress in this plant<br />
investigation has been made.
May, 1924<br />
j^> Die Blast Fu rnace. Steel Plant<br />
••i^^i.iii-iiniiiikku 11111 u Mn iFtuni Ltudj ujiMiiiirruJ'iiiniri-i hi-riuniniM rtiiiimriiUJJMiii-iiiiiiiiMikhNJJiikMLiNjn.iiriiN^jjiiE JJIIII JiiLiiij^iriiiiJiii ji?r ^i ddii jdiii.riiiNJM.-irhririJjjnEEiLLNMdiiririiiJ^iiriririJjiiiicrrihriiMJiEric tdciPEr ^iiir diiF)eLiriNi^ir)tirriiiJJiE;rrr iiirrprtiErilirrTiM ^f<br />
WITH THE EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURERS I<br />
TiiMiiiittiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimimiimiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiim^<br />
Distinctive Electric Furnace Unit Installed<br />
A little over a year ago the Gleason Works at<br />
Rochester, N. Y., were confronted with the problem<br />
of heat treatment of high speed tools for automatic<br />
gear cutting machines, the chief product of this company.<br />
In the finishing heat treatment operation these<br />
tools required a temperature approximating 2350 deg.<br />
F. before quenching. The method of treatment at that<br />
time was in an oil furnace, but the results secured<br />
were not entirely satisfactory because of the ununiform<br />
heating conditions resulting in ununiformity in<br />
the finished product, especially as it pertained to hardness.<br />
Towards the solution of the problem the Gleason<br />
Works have just placed in operation an electric furnace<br />
unit of distinctive type designed and manufactured<br />
by F. J. Ryan & Company of Philadelphia.<br />
Previous electric furnace developments have not<br />
proved satisfactory on this work because of the impossibility<br />
of providing resistance capable of withstanding<br />
temperatures higher than 2,000 deg. F. During<br />
the war the German chemists developed a type of<br />
quartz carbon resistors for which it was claimed<br />
working temperatures up to 2,400 deg., and with a<br />
hope of them solving the temperature problem a few<br />
were imported by the Ryan Company. They were<br />
found, however, too fragile for general commercial<br />
usages at the temperature desired. The Ryan Company<br />
then commenced experimentation on the use of<br />
solid graphite resistors. In its early tests the electrode<br />
oxidized very quickly; in fact, burned out before<br />
the desired temperature had been reached.<br />
In the first experiment with these solid graphite<br />
resistors power in the amount of 27 kw. was applied,<br />
but as stated this did not secure the results. Working<br />
on the theory that some method would have to be devised<br />
to counteract the effect of oxidation on the<br />
heated electrode, that is a method whereby the heat<br />
of the electrodes could be increased instantaneously<br />
to a great many degrees higher than the possible<br />
saturation affinity of the air, the Ryan Company designed<br />
a special low voltage transformer, which was<br />
built by the Wagner Electric Manufacturing Company<br />
of St. Louis. These results were satisfactory for<br />
commercial usages. Temperatures up to the working<br />
conditions of the furnace were reached easily and it<br />
was found that after this temperature was reached the<br />
power input of this transformer could be reduced to<br />
the original calculation of necessary input. Therefore,<br />
the high power input is only used for bringing up the<br />
temperature and to overcome oxidizing conditions.<br />
After operation of the furnace for some period it is<br />
found that tools of exceptional quality are being<br />
secured.<br />
One of the distinct advantages covered by this furnace<br />
design is the fact that the tools are conveved<br />
automatically through the furnace and are then extruded<br />
directly into the quenching bath. The heat of<br />
the tools entering the quenching bath causes fumes<br />
to be given off which prove a direct benefit to both<br />
the electrode and to the tools. Towards the extension<br />
of the life of these graphite resistors, further experi<br />
255<br />
ments were carried out and it was found by the injection<br />
of a small amount of gas into the high heating<br />
chamber that from 30 to 40 hours of continuous service<br />
can be obtained. Experiments are now being carried<br />
out towards the coating of the electrodes with<br />
the viewpoint of extending even this present life.<br />
The complete description of the furnace is briefly a<br />
unit made up of two chambers, one the mean heating<br />
chamber in which metallic resistors are used, and the<br />
final heating chamber in which the graphite resistor<br />
is used. The two chambers are separated by a wall.<br />
Both chambers are automatically controlled with L.<br />
& N. temperature control devices with power input<br />
and switches designed by the Ryan Company.<br />
New Induction Motors on Market<br />
Two new types of induction motor are now being<br />
marketed by the General Electric Company. The<br />
SCR single-nhase motors are designed for constant<br />
speed at 60, 50 or 40 cycles, in sizes from y2 to 10 hp.,<br />
and are interchangeable for 110 or 220-volt circuits.<br />
The KT-900 type is a riveted frame, polyphase induction<br />
motor, of three and two-phase, squirrel cage, 60cvcle<br />
design, and is being sold in sizes ranging from<br />
y to 15 hp.<br />
The new single-phase motor, operating on the<br />
squirrel cage induction principle, entirely eliminates<br />
the short circuiting switches heretofore considered<br />
essential and permits very simple construction. It<br />
combines high starting torque with low current demand<br />
and has operating characteristics similar to<br />
those of the induction motor. Both the maximum and<br />
accelerating torques are approximately 200 per cent<br />
full load torque without any low points during acceleration.<br />
The no load and full load speeds are respectively<br />
about 3 per cent above and below synchronous<br />
speed, giving very close regulation for a<br />
motor of this type.<br />
The stator winding consists of simple concentric<br />
polar windings arranged for double voltage connections.<br />
The rotor contains the cast squirrel cage<br />
winding and a repulsion wire winding of the multiple<br />
type with equalized commutator connections to insure<br />
uniform distribution of armature currents.<br />
The polyphase motor is a 40-deg. continuous duty.<br />
riveted frame, machine. The electrical improvements<br />
embodied in this new line comprise reduced heating,<br />
higher efficiency and higher power factor at full and<br />
fractional loads, and increased starting torque, the<br />
maximum torque ranging from 275 to 300 per cent of<br />
full load synchronous torque for different sizes. The<br />
accelerating torque curves are free from dips common<br />
to those of preceding types.<br />
The principal mechanical improvements include<br />
from 50 per cent to 100 per cent increase in oil reservoir<br />
capacity, a new method of directing the ventilating<br />
air to prevent dirt from settling on the windings.<br />
and a "cast" rotor of one-piece construction having<br />
no joints nor high resistance spots.
256<br />
Judge E. H. Gary, chairman of the United States<br />
Steel Corporation, returned from Rio de Janerio to the<br />
United States about April 15.<br />
Wade H. Oldham, recently appointed general superintendent<br />
of the Fairfield steel works of the Tennessee<br />
Coal, Iron & Railroad Company, Birmingham, Ala.,<br />
formerly was superintendent of the Ensley blast furnaces<br />
for that company.<br />
Ge<strong>org</strong>e H. Millar, former superintendent of the<br />
Fairfield plant now is assistant to Mr. Oldham while<br />
R. H. Ledbetter has succeeded Mr. Oldham at Ensley.<br />
Mr. Ledbetter formerly was connected with the Bessemer<br />
plant. The changes were effective as of April 1.<br />
Eugene Rich, engineer, formerly with a construction<br />
company at Indianapolis, Ind., is now connected<br />
with the Bourne-Fuller Co., and is working out of the<br />
company's Cincinnati office on reinforced concrete projects.<br />
E. R. Perkins of Tarentum, Pa., has been appointed<br />
general manager of the Allegheny Steel Co., Brackenridge,<br />
Pa., succeeding V. B. Browne who has been<br />
appointed assistant to the president, Harry E. Sheldon.<br />
C. A. Wills, general foreman of the Wni. B. Pollock<br />
Co., Youngstown, blast furnace builder, has been<br />
named general superintendent to fill the vacancy<br />
caused by the death of John Kirby. Mr. Wills has<br />
been in the employ of the Pollock company for many<br />
years.<br />
James Bowron, chairman Gulf States Steel Company,<br />
is making a tour of South American countries.<br />
He is expected to return to Birmingham, Ala., in May.<br />
Mr. G. H. Richards, Weirton Steel Company, Weirton,<br />
W. Va., has been transferred to the Steubenville<br />
plant of the same company- Mr. J. R. Black goes backto<br />
Weirton in Air. Richards' position.<br />
J. W. Bell, who was construction engineer for Perin<br />
& Marshall, New York, during the erection of the new<br />
mill of Tinplate Company of India, has entered into<br />
partnership with W. J. Douglas under the name of<br />
Douglas & Bell, at 200 Abbey House, Victoria street,<br />
..",»> Die Blast F urn ace. Meet riant<br />
May, 1924<br />
London, S. W. I. A general iron and steel engineering<br />
business will be conducted.<br />
W. Y. Stroh, president, Stroh Steel-Hardening<br />
Process Company, Pittsburgh, who is visiting Great<br />
Britain on business, has established temporary headquarters<br />
at Ormonde House, St. James street, London,<br />
S. W. I. Mr. Stroh is investigating the possibilities of<br />
the steel casting industry in Great Britain, where he<br />
expects to remain two or three months.<br />
T. R. Harrington, recently placed in charge of the<br />
research department of the Brown Instrument Company,<br />
Philadelphia, manufacturer of pyrometers, thermometers<br />
and other indicating and recording instruments,<br />
formerly was associated with the pyrometry<br />
department of the bureau of standards, Washington,<br />
and more recently was connected with the Champion<br />
Porcelain Company, Detroit.<br />
W. D. Moore, a prominent figure in cast iron pipe<br />
manufacturing circles, has been made president of the<br />
American Cast Iron Pipe Company, Birmingham, Ala..<br />
succeeding John J. Eagan, Atlanta, Ga., resigned.<br />
Mr. Moore has been with the Birmingham plant for<br />
15 years, having gone there from Gabon. Ohio, in<br />
1907. For a brief time he was connected with the<br />
Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad Co. at Ensley. He<br />
went with the Cast Iron Pipe company in 1908 and<br />
worked his way through every department of the company,<br />
becoming vice president and works manager in<br />
1922. He is the inventor of a centrifugal method of<br />
making pipe. John J. Eagan has been connected with<br />
the American Cast Iron Pipe Co. since its <strong>org</strong>anization.<br />
For several months past he has been seriously<br />
ill, and while his condition is improving, his forced<br />
absence from business affairs, prompted him to resign.<br />
He will continue his connection with the company<br />
as advisory director. Mr. Eagan installed the<br />
plan of industrial government at Acipco, which is<br />
based on practical application of the golden rule to<br />
industry- Other officers of the company are Paul A.<br />
Ivy, vice president and general sales manager; C. D.<br />
P.arr, vice president and director of purchases; C. O.<br />
Hodges, assistant treasurer.
May, 1924<br />
iiiimiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiNiiiiiiiiimiiM<br />
NEWS OF THE PLANTS<br />
^iiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiim<br />
The Alan Wood iron & Steel Company, Widener<br />
Building, Philadelphia, Pa., has plans under way for<br />
extensions and improvements in its plant at Conshohocken,<br />
Pa., devoted to the production of steel billets,<br />
sheets, and kindred products. The work will consist<br />
of new one story structures to be equipped as finishing<br />
mills, and the enlargement of existing buildings<br />
now being used for similar purpose, with the installation<br />
of considerable additional equipment. The<br />
company has disposed of a bond issue of $3,500,000,<br />
a portion of the fund to be used for the expansion,<br />
and the remainder to be employed for financing. Richard<br />
G. Wood is president.<br />
The St. Louis Coke & Iron Company, St. Louis,<br />
Mo., has commenced operations at the blast furnace of<br />
the Mississippi Valley Iron Company, South Broadway,<br />
St. Louis, recently leased for a long period. The<br />
plant has been inactive for a number of years past.<br />
and the lessee proposes to develop maximum capacity<br />
at the 400-ton rating at an early date. The unit is in<br />
good condition, having lately been relined and improved.<br />
It will be used for the production of pig iron.<br />
The St. Louis company has arranged to make immediate<br />
improvements at its blast furnace at Granite<br />
City, 111., and the unit will be relined and otherwise<br />
rebuilt. It has been in blast for close to two years<br />
past. While the furnace is down, the company will<br />
concentrate operations at the St, Louis stack.<br />
The Wheeling Steel Corporation, Wheeling, W.<br />
\*a., is pushing final construction at its Steubenville.<br />
Ohio, mills, and expects to have the work completed<br />
at an early date, when the plant will be developed to<br />
maximum capacity. The remaining expansion is centered<br />
largely in the open-hearth department, covering<br />
changes in present equipment, and the installation of<br />
additional apparatus. The new blooming mill has been<br />
completed, as has the new sheet bar mill, and both of<br />
these units are now in active service. The expansion<br />
program has been in progress for some time past, and<br />
represents a large investment.<br />
The Illinois Steel Company, 208 South La Salle<br />
Street, Chicago, 111., is said to be arranging for the<br />
immediate rebuilding of the portion of its works at<br />
Gary, Ind., destroyed by fire recently. The loss was<br />
centered largely in the naphtha department, and is<br />
estimated at $140,000, including buildings and equipment.<br />
The reconstruction is estimated to cost approximately<br />
the amount of the fire loss.<br />
The Carpenter Steel Company, Reading, Pa., has<br />
plans nearing completion for the erection of a new addition<br />
to its plant on the River Road, to be one-story,<br />
55 x 100 feet, equipped for general production, estimated<br />
to cost approximately $210,000, with machinery.<br />
Work will be commenced at an early date. F. H.<br />
Muhlenberg, Ganster Building, Reading, is engineer.<br />
The Ford Motor Company, Highland Park. Detroit,<br />
Mich., is perfecting plans for the erection of a large<br />
steel mill at its River Rouge works. The initial unit<br />
will be 500 x 1700 feet, forming one of the largest<br />
structures of its kind ever built. It will be supplemented<br />
with other buildings at a later date. The plan will<br />
the Dlast rurnaco !_ jteol riant<br />
257<br />
cost more than $1,000,000. with machinery. Albert<br />
Kahn, Marquette Building, Detroit, is architect.<br />
The Superior Steel Products Company, Beaver<br />
Falls, Pa., recently formed, is perfecting plans for the<br />
erection of a new plant on site selected at Monaca,<br />
Pa., for the manufacture of steel bars, steel plates and<br />
kindred products. The initial unit will be 60 x 300<br />
feet, and is estimated to cost close to $90,000, with<br />
equipment. Other structures will be erected at an<br />
early date. The officials of the new company formerly<br />
were connected with the Moltrup Steel Products Company,<br />
these being M. P. Simpson, who will act as<br />
president; Williams Elmes, vice president; and Frank<br />
H. Guppy, secretary. Homer H. Swaney, a member<br />
of the firm of Martin & Swaney, attorneys. Beaver<br />
Falls, has been elected treasurer of the new <strong>org</strong>anization.<br />
The Fairfax Iron & Steel Company, Kansas City.<br />
Kan., care of Horner & Wyatt, 306 McMillen Building,<br />
Kansas City, engineers, has plans nearing completion<br />
for the erection of a new steel plant on tract of property<br />
selected in the Fairfax Drainage District. The<br />
initial unit will be one-story, brick and steel, 160 x 700<br />
feet, and is estimated to cost close to $200,000, including<br />
equipment, for which it is expected to place orders<br />
at an early date. Extensive production is planned.<br />
The Colorado Fuel & Iron Company, Pueblo, Colo.,<br />
is perfecting plans for a number of extensions and<br />
improvements in its local steel mills to provide for<br />
considerable increase in output and better efficiency in<br />
operation. The program will require close to 24<br />
months for completion, with initial work to include<br />
enlargements in the power department, with high pressure<br />
boilers and superheaters, electric generators and<br />
auxiliary apparatus. Electric drives will be arranged<br />
in different rolling mills to replace present steam operation.<br />
New electric precipitators will be installed for<br />
cleaning blast gas. With other work to be carried<br />
out later, the project will involve close to $2,500,000.<br />
The first contracts will be let during the spring.<br />
The Dominion Alloy Steel Corporation, Sarnia,<br />
Ont., operatine with a capital of $15,000,000, has commenced<br />
the erection of the initial units of its proposed<br />
local mills, for which plans have been in preparation<br />
for a number of months past. The company has a<br />
tract of about 250 acres of property, fronting on the<br />
St. Claire River, in the vicinity of the works of the Imperial<br />
Oil Company. The buildings to be erected<br />
at the present time include the open-hearth department,<br />
for the production of bars and shapes, estimated<br />
to cost in excess of $1,200,000, with equipment. Electric<br />
furnaces will be installed. The present unit will<br />
have a rated capacity of about 45,000 tons per year, and<br />
is expected to be ready for service in the fall. At that<br />
time, work will begin on the other plant units, which<br />
will be rushed to completion. William B. Boyd, Toronto,<br />
is president of the company; R. V. LeSueur,<br />
Sarnia, is vice-president; and N. L. LeSueur, Sarnia,<br />
secretary. C. Harold Wills, Marvsville, Mich., head of<br />
the Wills-Sainte Clair Company, manufacturer of automobiles,<br />
is prominent in the new <strong>org</strong>anization.
Metalloids in Basic Pig Iron in Basic<br />
Openhearth Practice<br />
(Continued from Page 224)<br />
It is to be emphasized that a residual manganese<br />
in excess of 0.25 per cent not only reduces the openhearth<br />
cost per ton of ingots by decreasing the quantity<br />
of expensive ferromanganese that must be added<br />
to the heat to attain a given manganese percentage,<br />
but because of the protection it gives against over-<br />
oxidation in the furnace, the quality of the steel is improved.<br />
This higher quality steel increases the percentage<br />
of merchantable product at the mills by from<br />
1 to 3 per cent, depending on the amount that the<br />
residual manganese exceeds 0.25 per cent; and while<br />
such a saving cannot be properly shown on the openhearth<br />
cost sheet, it increases the net profits of the<br />
works as a unit. The protection afforded against overoxidation<br />
by a proper percentage of residual manganese<br />
may be accounted for by the following reasoning:<br />
The oxygen of the ore first attacks the manganese.<br />
phosphorus, and silicon and at the higher temperatures<br />
the carbon oxidation takes precedence. As the carbon<br />
content of the bath decreases, iron oxidation sets it;<br />
and at the lower carbon percentages the protective<br />
power of carbon oxidation is very low. It seems apparent,<br />
therefore, that in the lower carbon ranges the<br />
0.25 to 0.40 per cent manganese, which at all temperatures<br />
is more easily oxidized than iron, can act only<br />
as a preventative of overoxidation of the steel.<br />
The weight of iron oxidized and carried away in<br />
the waste gases was taken in all ore heats to be 100<br />
lb. per heat and the quantity of manganese lost in a<br />
similar way to be about 200 lb. per heat, in the cases<br />
of the high-manganese iron, and about 100 lb. per heat<br />
in the others. In the case of the scrap heat, these<br />
losses were taken at 150 lb. per heat for both iron and<br />
manganese.<br />
As a matter of precaution, the percentage of phosphorus<br />
remaining in the steel, in the case of the highphosphorus<br />
iron heat, was placed at 0.03 per cent instead<br />
of 0.01 per cent. The sulphur content of all<br />
the slags was put at 0.25 per cent, which is both conservative<br />
and common in practice. All the calcium,<br />
magnesium, and aluminum oxides carried in with the<br />
charge appear in the slag.<br />
Sulphur elimination in the open-hearth furnace is,<br />
at best, an uncertain and costly procedure. In the<br />
The Blast FurnaceSSteel Plant<br />
earlier days of the industry, when the use of natural<br />
gas was general, high-grade producer coal was available<br />
for those plants outside the gas belt and scrap<br />
heats more generally charged; there was then but little<br />
d'fficulty in holding the sulphur content of the steel<br />
at 0.04 per cent and below, provided that the sulphur<br />
in the iron corresponded approximately to this percentage.<br />
With the advent of the higher percentage<br />
iron charges and lower grade fuel, the difficulty of<br />
producing low-sulphur steel has been tremendously<br />
TABLE XV — EFFECT OF RESIDUAL MANGANESE ON MANGANESE ADDED IN LADLE<br />
Scrap<br />
Standard iron, h.gh<br />
Standard iron, low<br />
SiO-<br />
High- manganese<br />
iron, high SiO... .<br />
High- manganese<br />
iron, low SiO?. .<br />
Excess limestone. .<br />
High silicon iron . .<br />
High phosphorus<br />
Residual<br />
Mangane<br />
>e,<br />
Per<br />
Cent.<br />
0.24<br />
0.20<br />
0.23<br />
0.34<br />
0.40<br />
0.16<br />
0.12<br />
0.16<br />
Tons<br />
Ingot<br />
40.90<br />
42.36<br />
42.57<br />
42.44<br />
42.70<br />
41.97<br />
42.04<br />
42.53<br />
Weight<br />
Manganese<br />
in Bath,<br />
Pounds<br />
232<br />
198<br />
230<br />
338<br />
399<br />
157<br />
118<br />
159<br />
Weight<br />
Manganese,<br />
Required<br />
Pounds<br />
386<br />
396<br />
398<br />
397<br />
399<br />
393<br />
394<br />
398<br />
Theoretical<br />
Added<br />
Manganese,<br />
Pounds<br />
154<br />
198<br />
168<br />
59<br />
0<br />
236<br />
276<br />
239<br />
Actual Pounds<br />
Manganese<br />
in Ladle<br />
Ton<br />
7.8<br />
10.0<br />
8.5<br />
2.9<br />
1.0<br />
12.0<br />
14.0<br />
12.0<br />
Heat<br />
increased. While probably sulphur above 0.04 per cent<br />
is not, in many instances, prejudicial to the physical<br />
quality of the steel, the general trend of specifications<br />
is in the direction of lower, rather than higher, sulphur<br />
content. Regardless of the merits of either side of this<br />
controversy, one must meet specifications as they exist.<br />
Under such conditions and with low-manganese iron<br />
(1.00-1.25 per cent) the percentage of sulphur in the<br />
pig iron must be practically as low as that desired in<br />
the steel.<br />
As coke also has followed the downward trend in<br />
quality, it has become more difficult for the blast furnaces<br />
to produce consistently iron with the sulphur<br />
content desired by the open hearth, and this difficulty<br />
is increased by the necessity of maintaining a silicon<br />
content in the iron not appreciably above 1 per cent.<br />
Under a condition of approximately 1 per cent manganese<br />
and 0.05 per cent sulphur in the iron and a<br />
sulphur content of 0.04 per cent being required in the<br />
steel, or with a like manganese content and 0.04 per<br />
cent sulphur in the iron and 0.035 per cent sulphur or<br />
under being required in the steel, the open hearth is<br />
forced to adopt one of two methods of sulphur elimination,<br />
both of which are uncertain and costly. The<br />
usual method is to charge additional limestone, probably<br />
because the expense incurred is not so obvious<br />
as when ferromanganese is used. The cost sheet shows<br />
an increased cost of $0.87 per ton in the case of the<br />
heat heavily overchanged with limestone compared to<br />
the so-called standard heat charged with a normal<br />
amount, and the same relative increase of cost would<br />
have followed any proportional increase or decrease in<br />
the excess charged. Assuming that to accomplish an<br />
equal reduction in sulphur it has been necessary to<br />
use 10 lb. of pure manganese per ton of ingots, the<br />
cost of such sulphur removal added to the cost of ingots<br />
in the case of the standard iron heat would bring<br />
the total cost to $31.43. This figure is $0.14 lower<br />
319<br />
424<br />
362<br />
123<br />
43<br />
504<br />
589<br />
510<br />
Pounds<br />
80 Per<br />
Cent.<br />
FeMn<br />
399<br />
530<br />
453<br />
154<br />
54<br />
630<br />
736<br />
638
May, 1924<br />
than the cost of the limestone heat, although it has not<br />
been credited with the reduced ladle addition of manganese,<br />
and the improvement in the quality of the<br />
steel.<br />
It will be observed on the chemical balance sheet<br />
that all irons are assumed to carry 0.014 per cent sulphur,<br />
but that the steel produced with the 2-per<br />
cent manganese iron contains 0.035 per cent sulphur,<br />
which is more than would result in practice under the<br />
conditions of charge and fuel assumed. Whether the<br />
open hearth is required to produce 0.035 per cent and<br />
under sulphur in the steel from 0.04-per cent sulphur<br />
iron, or 0.04 per cent sulphur in the steel from 0.05per<br />
cent sulphur iron, the cost of accomplishing this<br />
is, in all cases, less with 3-per cent manganese than<br />
with 1-per cent manganese iron. Furthermore, because<br />
of the sulphur eliminated from the high-manganese<br />
iron in the transfer ladle between the blast furnaces<br />
and the open hearth and in the open-hearth<br />
mixer, 0.04-per cent sulphur steel can be regularly and<br />
economically produced from such iron, even though its<br />
sulphur content rises to 0.07 per cent.<br />
With the thought of presenting greatly contrasting<br />
costs and thus emphasizing the loss sustained through<br />
the charging of unnecessarily high-silicon irons, the<br />
silicon content of all the irons has been assumed at<br />
0.75 per cent; such an amount is not only practical<br />
but desirable in the case of the 2-per cent manganese<br />
iron. On the other hand, 0.75 per cent silicon iron<br />
with 1 per cent manganese would, in actual practice,<br />
cost more to produce than an iron containing 0.75 per<br />
cent silicon and 2 per cent manganese; and, unless<br />
made very hot physically at the expense of increased<br />
coke charges, the works as a unit would suffer a loss<br />
because of delayed operations and excessive scrap,<br />
from badly skulled ladles, mixers, and runners.<br />
In the case of the high-silicon iron heat, the assumption<br />
of the use of 1.75-per cent silicon iron may<br />
be radical, but the use of such iron is not as unusual<br />
as may be supposed ; and while the physical results<br />
of its use in the open hearth may be readily perceived,<br />
its effect on costs is not usually considered.<br />
While the costs of the low-silica ore heats do not<br />
strictly come within the province of a paper dealing<br />
with metalloids, they are shown to emphasize the<br />
harmful effect of such unnecessary impurities upon<br />
practice and costs. In the case shown, the difference<br />
in cost between the so-called standard iron heat, and<br />
the low-silica ore heat was $0.43 per ton of ingots in<br />
favor of the latter. It is apparent from this that if<br />
low-silica ore can be procured at the same cost as the<br />
high-silica ore, that the use of the last named is nothing<br />
short of criminal waste.<br />
In closing, I wish to acknowledge the help given<br />
in the preparation of this paper by my assistant Roger<br />
B. McMullen, Jr.<br />
The Gait Machine & Screw Co., Ltd., have been recapitalized<br />
under Dominion Charter for $500,000, and<br />
have taken over and will continue to operate on a<br />
much larger scale the business formerly carried on by<br />
the Gait Machine Screw Co., Ltd. This company has<br />
been noted as manufacturers of high-grade automatic<br />
screw machine products and specialties, and will continue<br />
to manufacture only the highest-grade products.<br />
Considerable new equipment will be added from time<br />
to time, and the company will be in position to give ex<br />
Ihe Dlast kirnace Moot riant<br />
259<br />
cellent service to American manufacturers who desire<br />
to have high-grade specialties and small machines<br />
manufactured and distributed in Canada.<br />
The officers of the new company are: R. W. Roelofson,<br />
president C. E. A. Dowler, vice president, and<br />
C. K. Jansen, secretary-treasurer.<br />
The Gellert-Cottrell electrical cleaning plant which<br />
the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company will install to<br />
clean the fume and dust from its blast furnace gases<br />
will be the largest plant of its kind that has yet been<br />
installed for this work either in America or Europe.<br />
Long period testing on a standard size unit was<br />
conducted by the Colorado Company at its own plant<br />
before it was decided to install the cleaners. The latest<br />
tests show that the gas could be cleaned to such an e-xtent<br />
that only 0.11 grains of dust per cubic foot were<br />
left in the outgoing gas.<br />
The demonstration plant attracted great interest in<br />
the blast furnace industry and was visited by many<br />
eastern engineers in the past four months.<br />
Specially designed automatic mechanisms will<br />
make this one of the most up to date dust precipitation<br />
plants that has ever been built.<br />
The Gellert Engineering Company, which developed<br />
the electrical precipitation process for the blast<br />
furnace gas application, and which has built the other<br />
electrical blast furnace gas cleaning plants in this<br />
country, will design the Colorado gas cleaning plant.<br />
Patent Office Needs Men<br />
There are 200,000 applications for patents on inventions<br />
now pending in the United States Patent<br />
Office, according to a statement today of the United<br />
States Civil Service Commission. To speed up action.<br />
Congress has authorized an appropriation which will<br />
permit the addition of 100 to the present examining<br />
force of 500.<br />
The Civil Service Commission will hold examinations<br />
on May 7 and later dates for positions of assistant<br />
examiner in the Patent Office. The entrance salarv<br />
is $1,860 a year, and increases are provided up to<br />
$5',000 a year.<br />
Full information concerning the examination may<br />
be obtained from the United States Civil Service Commission,<br />
Washington, D. C., or the secretary of the<br />
civil service board at the post office or custom house in<br />
any city.<br />
The commission states that of approximately 80,000<br />
applications for patents made annually, fully twothirds<br />
of them relate to some phase of the automobile<br />
industry. The present system in the Patent Office of<br />
examination before issue was authorized by an act of<br />
Congress of 1836. The system has been copied by<br />
practically all large countries.<br />
The Chapman-Stein Furnace Company, of Mt.<br />
Vernon, Ohio, announces the addition of William C.<br />
Buell, Jr., to their engineering staff. Mr. Buell has<br />
had a broad training along combustion lines and a<br />
very valuable practical experience in furnace designing<br />
and construction. From 1906 to 1914 he served<br />
as engineer for the Westmacott Furnace Company<br />
when they were redesigning their heat-treating, melting<br />
and annealing furnaces.
260<br />
Economical Operation and Maintenance<br />
of Boiler Furnaces<br />
lneDlast furnaceUoteel riant<br />
May, 1924<br />
structure. The bond extends through the entire thickness<br />
of the wall.<br />
(Continued from Page 251 )<br />
Monolithic Construction.<br />
This method of constructing furnace linings, has<br />
face of the wall without detriment to the refractory been gaining in favor and will no doubt be given in<br />
brick work, provided calcined insulation of considercreasing consideration by engineers.<br />
able high heat resisting quality is used. A survey of<br />
the temperature drop through any boiler setting will<br />
show that the high heat zone of the combustion chamber<br />
is of limited area.<br />
Two means of monolithic construction are available;<br />
1. The use of prepared mixture either wet or<br />
dry.<br />
In addition to the danger of failure of the brick<br />
2. The reclaiming of old furnace linings by<br />
work, there has been another reason for not placing in crushing the old fire brick and adding the proper<br />
sulating brick in the high heat zones in the wall. This percentage of plastic high temperature cement.<br />
has been due to the fact that the insulating brick here It has been found that monolithic walls for boiler<br />
tofore available have shown considerable shrinkage furnaces effect savings both in construction and opera<br />
under high temperature conditions. There are, howtion.ever, now available insulating brick that have shown The advantages of this method include :<br />
by test no shrinkage under pressure of 40 lbs. per<br />
1. Reclaiming old firebrick.<br />
square inch at 1900 deg. F. and but slight shrinkage<br />
2. Low cost of construction.<br />
at 2000 deg. F.<br />
3. Longer service from lining.<br />
Fig. 1 plotted from the Bureau of Standards tests<br />
4. Reduced infiltration.<br />
shows the relative conductivity of fire brick, red brick<br />
5. Reduced heat losses.<br />
and insulating brick at various temperatures.<br />
6. Lower fuel consumption.<br />
Fig. 2 is a graphic presentation of comparative<br />
losses through un-insulated and insulated furnace<br />
walls of standard thickness and with different methods<br />
of construction.<br />
By referring to the side wall sections, B and C and<br />
7. Operation at higher capacities.<br />
In concluding our discussion of this subject next<br />
month we will deal with methods of furnace construction,<br />
bridge walls, first suspended arches and baffles.<br />
D the savings resulting from the use of insulating<br />
brick are shown to be very marked.<br />
Among the advantages of insulated walls are that<br />
Synopsis of Papers Given Before American<br />
Electro-Chemical Society<br />
overloads may be more uniformly maintained, with "Organic Electrochemistry," Dr. C. J. Thatcher,<br />
better efficiency. Moreover in all types of boilers chairman.<br />
which are supported by steel structure and are not "The Electrolytic Preparation of Salicylic Alde<br />
dependent on the walls for support, thinner walls can hyde from Salicylic Acid." Kendall S. Tesh and Alex.<br />
be used, the cost of construction reduced and space Lowy.<br />
saved, when insulating brick are built in as part of "The Electrolytic Reduction of /8-Anthraquinone<br />
the wall structure.<br />
Sulfonic Acid," Alfred R. Ebberts and Alex. Lowy.<br />
Keeping Down Maintenance.<br />
Frequent reconstruction of furnace linings and unnecessary<br />
fuel waste may be due to any or all of the<br />
following:<br />
1<br />
. Use of inferior refractories.<br />
2. Thick joints between bricks.<br />
3. Cracks in furnace walls.<br />
4. Lack of insulation.<br />
5. Failure to make minor repairs.<br />
"The Electrolytic Preparation of Metanilic Acid<br />
and Its Possibilities," Arthur K. Doolittle.<br />
"The Electrolytic Oxidation of p-Nitrotoluene and<br />
p-Chlorotoluene to their Respective Acids." Raymond<br />
F. Dunhrook and Alex. Lowy.<br />
"Electrochemical Oxidation of Aromatic Hydrocarbons,"<br />
Fr. Fichter.<br />
"The Function of Peroxides and Peracids in the<br />
Electrochemical Oxidation of Organic Compounds,"<br />
Fr. Fichter.<br />
The life of most furnace linings can be lengthened<br />
ant their general efficiency increased by :<br />
"Electrolytic Production of Cobalt and Nickel<br />
Triacetates from the Diacetates ; the Electrolytic Pro<br />
1. Proper selection of refractories.<br />
duction of Nickel Triacetates," C. Schall and H.<br />
2. Bonding with thin cemented joints or<br />
Markgraf.<br />
3. Monolithic construction of walls and arches. Symposium on "Recent Progress in Electrodepo-<br />
4. Insulation properly installed as an integral sition," Mr. S. Skowronski, chairman.<br />
part of the structure.<br />
5. Frequent minor repairs.<br />
"Recent Progress in Electroplating and Electroforming,"<br />
Win, Blum.<br />
The Brick and the Joint.<br />
"Nickel Anodes." C. T. Thomas and W. Blum.<br />
High grade fire brick laid up with thin cemented "Conductivity of Nickel Depositing Solutions,"<br />
joints will give long life to any furnace lining. A L. D. Hammond.<br />
refractory cement which sets at normal room tempera "The Relation Between Polarization and Structures<br />
will bond the brick, which are dipped when layture in the Electrodeposition of Metals," V. Kohling<br />
into a thick batter of cement, then tamped or rubschutter.bed into place with a thin "push" point.<br />
"Acidity of Cobalt and Nickel Plating Baths. The<br />
The action of heat merely serves to strengthen the Use of the Oxygen Electrode," G. H. Montillon and<br />
bond by fusing brick and cement together in a solid N. S. Cassel.
lho Dlasf nirnaco ^Mool Flanf<br />
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1 Some Pointers on By-Product Coke Oven Operatio<br />
^TlllirilllllllllUlllllllttllllllllllflllll'Iltlllllllllt'ftllllinf'IlllllllltfllllllllllllltUll^inillllllllliaillllTllllTinillllllvirillllllfltlHIIIIIItlllllllllllllllllllllTrillllllllfllllllllMlllllllltTMIIIIIPIIIIIIIirillSlllfl il'IIIINItllllllllllll IIIIIIIIIIIIIII'NIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII<br />
Electric Furnace Refractories<br />
The original edition of "Refractories<br />
for Electric Furnaces" was a report of<br />
the proceedings of the Electric Furnace<br />
Association and included the papers presented<br />
at one of its meetings, together<br />
with a stenographic record of the discussion<br />
which followed. The booklet<br />
proved to be a popular one and when the<br />
supply of copies neared exhaustion the<br />
board of directors of the American Electrochemical<br />
Society, which took over all<br />
the printed copies when the Electric Furnace<br />
Association became merged in the<br />
Electrochemic Division of the Society,<br />
decided to bring out a new edition. This<br />
differs from the original because it was<br />
thought desirable, while preserving most<br />
of the papers which were printed in the<br />
first edition, to make a number of additions<br />
with the object of bringing the<br />
book up to date. There have been a few<br />
minor changes in the original papers,<br />
while one of these, that by Hartman on<br />
carborundum refractories, has been completely<br />
rewritten. New papers specially<br />
written for this edition are: the one by<br />
L. C. Hewitt, the one by the Norton<br />
Company and the one by Clyde E. Williams<br />
of the Bureau of Mines.<br />
This edition contains the following<br />
original papers, complete as chapters:<br />
"Refractories for Electric Furnaces,"<br />
by Raymond M. Howe 5<br />
"Refractories for Electric Furnaces,"<br />
by Clyde E. Williams 18<br />
"Some Properties of Refractories," by<br />
R. T. Stull 30<br />
"Refractories for Electric Furnaces,"<br />
by Homer F. Staley 41<br />
"Electric Furnace Refractories," by<br />
C. W. Berry 50<br />
"Aluminous Refractories for Electric<br />
Furnaces," by L. C. Hewitt 53<br />
"Electric Furnace Refractories," by A.<br />
F. Greaves-Walker 60<br />
"Carborundum Refractories in Electric<br />
Furnaces," by M. L. Hartmann. 69<br />
"Refractories for Electric Furnaces,"<br />
by Refractories Dept., Norton Company,<br />
Worcester, Mass 81<br />
Discussion 88<br />
Index 95<br />
Committee Appointed to Make<br />
Cement Survey<br />
The secretary of commerce has appointed<br />
an advisory commitee to make,<br />
under the general direction of the De<br />
partment of Commerce, a comprehensive<br />
surve\' of the properties and uses of<br />
cement and concrete. The committee will<br />
co-operate with the Bureau of Standards<br />
and officials of the department.<br />
The committee consists of: lohn Lyle<br />
Harrington, chairman, engineer, Kansas<br />
City, Mo.; C. E. Boynton, cement manufacturer,<br />
New York, N. Y.; N. Max Dunning,<br />
architect, Chicago, 111.; H. C. Turner,<br />
contractor, New York, N. Y.; Chas.<br />
M. Upham, highway engineer, Raleigh,<br />
N. C.<br />
The cement industry has grown so<br />
rapidly and has achieved such great importance<br />
in the United States that the<br />
use of cement in the construction of<br />
roads, bridges and buildings has become<br />
so great and so diversified that the intelligent<br />
and appropriate use of this material<br />
becomes a matter of great economic<br />
interest to the public.<br />
Research work is now being carried on<br />
by the Bureau of Standards and by various<br />
<strong>org</strong>anizations in the properties, characteristics<br />
and proper use of cement; in<br />
the improvement of methods, equipment<br />
and appliances tending toward improved<br />
efficiency and economy; the seasonal use<br />
of cement, especially in winter weather,<br />
important in its relation to continuity<br />
of employment of labor and the elimination<br />
of "peaks" and "depressions" and<br />
the spread of manufacture and distribution<br />
more evenly.<br />
It is proposed through the survey to<br />
co-relate for the benefit of the industry<br />
and the public the results of such scientific<br />
and technical activities and to center<br />
in and under the direction of the Department<br />
of Commerce a thorough and<br />
disinterested study of the entire subject.<br />
It is believed that such concentration of<br />
effort as the committee proposes to<br />
bring about will produce material results<br />
in the elimination of wasteful duplication<br />
of effort, and effect savings to the<br />
public and result in benefit to the manufacturer.<br />
$15,000,000 STEEL PLANT AS<br />
SURED LOS ANGELES<br />
The $15,000,000 steel mill for Los Angeles<br />
Harbor is now assured.<br />
As a site for the gigantic plant, final ne<br />
gotiations were completed yesterday by the<br />
Pacific Coast Steel Corporation for the<br />
purchase of a 200-acre tract in Long Beach<br />
from the Los Angeles Dock and Terminal<br />
Company, for a consideration of $2,000,000.<br />
For the last four months the steel corporation<br />
has had an option on the property,<br />
but it was not until yesterday that the<br />
board of directors definitely decided on the<br />
site.<br />
Announcement of the huge transaction,<br />
which marks the first step in the development<br />
of one of the biggest industries in<br />
Southern California, was made public yesterday<br />
by T. T. C. Gregory of San Fran<br />
cisco, attorney for the Pacific Coast Steel<br />
Corporation<br />
With the view of deepening and widening<br />
the harbor channel past the company's<br />
property, the corporation has deposited<br />
a bond of $250,000 with city officials of<br />
Long Beach and negotiations with government<br />
officials also are under way.<br />
The depth of the channel is to be in<br />
creased to 32 ft.<br />
The erection of the first blast furnace in<br />
Southern California on the harbor property<br />
is part of the scheme of the develop<br />
ment.<br />
Parties representing the steel corporation<br />
locally in the transaction were D. M. Reynolds,<br />
vice president of the First National<br />
Bank; Attorney Walter M. Campbell and<br />
C. ]. Curtis, president of the Los Angeles<br />
Dock & Terminal Company.<br />
With the purchase of the 200-acre tract,<br />
it is the plan of the steel corporation to<br />
start immediately the development of the<br />
plant, which, when fully completed, will<br />
represent an investment of $15,000,000.<br />
Koppers Coal Gas Plant at Saginaw<br />
Put Into Operation<br />
The coal gas plant of the Consumers<br />
Power Company at Saginaw, Michigan, was<br />
put into operation last week. This plant<br />
consists of 19 small gas ovens and central<br />
plant together with the necessary by-product<br />
recovery and coal and coke handling ap<br />
paratus. When the ovens are heated with<br />
producer gas the plant will have a capacity<br />
of approximately two and one-half million<br />
cubic feet of gas per day, based on 12 hours<br />
carbonizing time. This capacity can be re<br />
duced instantly to 1,725,000 cubic feet by<br />
substituting coal gas for underfiring the<br />
ovens instead of producer gas and can be<br />
further decreased by lengthening the car<br />
bonizing time. The plant can be operated<br />
at any capacity between these figures by<br />
heating any desired number of ovens with<br />
producer gas and the remainder with coal<br />
gas. The ovens and producer plant were<br />
designed and built by the Koppers Company.
44<br />
Positions Wanted and Help Wanted<br />
advertising inserted under proper headings<br />
free of charge. Where replies ai e kej ed<br />
to this office or branch offices, we request<br />
that users of this column pay postage for<br />
forwarding such replies Classified ads can<br />
be keyed for the Pittsburgh, New York or<br />
Chicago offices.<br />
POSITION WANTED<br />
MECHANICAL superintendent or assistant, 38<br />
years of age, technical education, shop training,<br />
drafting room experience, 5 years in charge<br />
of construction, repairs and machine shop; good<br />
reason for seeking change. Box B B B, care of<br />
The Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
CHIEF DRAFTSMAN or assistant; experienced<br />
in all branches of Bteel works engineering, shop,<br />
erection as well as office training; considerable<br />
experience in estimating and appropriation work.<br />
Box F J B, care of The Blast Furnace and<br />
Steel Plant.<br />
MASTER MECHANIC with 30 years' experience<br />
on construction and operation of steel mills,<br />
Mast furnaces, open hearths, Bessemer departments,<br />
by-product coke plants; constructed hydro<br />
snd steam electric plants, large pumping stations,<br />
etc.; at present employed, wish to make change.<br />
Box 100, care of The Blast Furnace and Steel<br />
Plant.<br />
CHIEF DRAUGHTSMAN—Broad and varied experience<br />
in general engineering, mechanical,<br />
structural, electrical, designing machinery, tools,<br />
power, structural steel, concrete and industrial<br />
buildings; purchase, installation and plant maintenance.<br />
Address Box A M B, care of The Blast<br />
Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
DESIGNING ENGINEER, experienced executive<br />
with technical training, desires position as chief<br />
engineer or master mechanic. Fifteen years' experience,<br />
including design and construction of rolling<br />
mills, furnaces, plant equipment, power plants,<br />
special machinery, etc.; four years in machine<br />
shop. Address Box F C M, care of The Blast<br />
Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
POSITION WANTED—A graduate mechanical<br />
engineer with 12 years' experience in rolling<br />
mills, desires a position as superintendent or assistant.<br />
Experience covers every job in a rolling mill<br />
from laborer to assistant superintendent. Also<br />
has had some office and sales training. At present<br />
employed, but desireB a better outlook. Box<br />
CAS, care of The Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
CHIEF ENGINEER or assistant to general manager.<br />
A mechanical engineer with 14 years'<br />
broad experience in steel plant construction and<br />
colliery operations is available. Age 38. Best<br />
references. Box K M, care of The Blast Furnace<br />
and Stee! Plant.<br />
POSITION by chemist, technical graduate. 15<br />
years experience glass, animal fats, bleaching<br />
Iron and steel. Six years experience as<br />
plant executive. Research work a specialty.<br />
Box L, care of The Blast Furnace and Steel<br />
Plant.<br />
YOUNG rolling mill superintendent with 20 years'<br />
practical experience on iron and steel Belgian<br />
type mills, also latest continuous type steel mills,<br />
desires to make change. Can furnish records and<br />
references. Have practical knowledge of rolling<br />
and roll designing. Box F A W, care of The<br />
Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
ENGINEER, Cornell graduate, seven years' steam<br />
and fuel engineering, three years' executive experience<br />
as master mechanic of a rolling mill, three<br />
years' sales engineering, desires change. Box S,<br />
care of The Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
IhoDlasf rurnuccO Moo! rlanf<br />
POSITION WANTED<br />
ENGLISHMAN, 23, of sound general and technical<br />
educations, with seven years' experience of<br />
steel making by open hearth process (acid and<br />
basic) in prominent English steel works, desires<br />
appointment where scientific and practical knowledge<br />
would be an asset. Box G B J, care of The<br />
Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
WANTED—A position wherein the following will<br />
be of value: A fair tehnical education, a large<br />
Amount of practical experience in the various mechanical<br />
arts and plant operation and maintenance<br />
with an eye on the "works operating expense"<br />
account, a fair degree of executive ability<br />
and absolute dependability. Experience has been<br />
had in production and general machine shops,<br />
rolling mills, rod and wire mills and at blast furnaces.<br />
Expert in design and construction of the<br />
Dwight and Lloyd type of sintering plant. Box<br />
C C C, care of Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
CHEMICAL ENGINEER, 1922 graduate, leading<br />
university, desires position in a steel plant.<br />
One year's experience in the inspection department.<br />
At present employed, but available f»n<br />
short notice. Box J B C, care of Blast Furnace<br />
and Steel Plant.<br />
POSITION WANTED—Electric furnace man open<br />
for position; experienced on basic Heroult electric<br />
furnaces, tool and alloy steels. Box A T,<br />
care of The Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
WITH experienced consulting mining engineer;<br />
will go to any country. Speak French<br />
and Spanish Box M, care of The Blast Furnace<br />
and Steel Plant.<br />
HEATER on soaking pits or reheating furnaces;<br />
10 vears" mill experience; can give references.<br />
Box C Z, care of The Blast Furnace and Steel<br />
Plant.<br />
SALES POSITION with manufacturers' sales<br />
agent for power plant specialties or chief<br />
draftsman or plant engineer with moderate<br />
sized manufacture Box K, care of The Blast<br />
Furnace and Steel riant.<br />
I DESIRE to have a position as tracer or on<br />
small drafting work with reliable concern,<br />
preferably in mechanical line. Box J, care<br />
of The Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
YOUNG MAN. technical graduate and 7 years<br />
practical experience, would like to connect<br />
with <strong>org</strong>anization needing n producer. Prefers<br />
a job which keeps him on the road the major<br />
portion of the time. He has intensive education<br />
along lines of general inspection of materials.<br />
Box I, care of The Blast Furnace and<br />
Sloe! Plant.<br />
POSITION as field engineer, construction<br />
work, general survey work and right-ofwav<br />
work. Box G, enre of The Blast Furnace<br />
and Steel Plant.<br />
PLANT ENGINEER or assistant to general<br />
manager. A graduate mechanical engineer,<br />
with broad training and experience is available<br />
for position requiring ability and hard<br />
work. Box F, care of The Blast Furnace and<br />
Steel Plant.<br />
POSITION WANTED—Assistant superintendent<br />
open hearth or bloom mill. Have had<br />
quite a number of years' experience in open<br />
hearth and bloom mill practice, believe in<br />
quality steel and can furnish best of references.<br />
Box T, care of The Blast Furnace and<br />
Steel Plant<br />
POSITION WANTED<br />
POSITION WANTED by chemical engineer, degree<br />
of doctor-engineer (1916) from leading<br />
German university, 33 years old, six years' experience<br />
embracing the analysis, metallography and<br />
physical testing of steel and alloys. Nationality,<br />
Norwegian. Languages, Norwegian, Swedish, German<br />
and English. Location, anywhere. Available,<br />
any time. Can furnish best of references. Box<br />
RED, care of The Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
CHIEF CLERK or assistant to works manager;<br />
32 years old, married. Ten years' experience<br />
in sheet and tin rolling mills, galvanizing,<br />
lung terne and factory record and<br />
office work. Experienced from time-keepiDg to<br />
corporation yearly statement, including cost.<br />
Box L E T , care of The Blast Furuace and<br />
Steel Plant.<br />
ELECTRICAL ENGINEER — Technical graduate<br />
(1912), general steel mill experience in construction<br />
and operation. Can take charge of electrical<br />
department. Desire position as assistant general<br />
superintendent or works manager, Pittsburgh<br />
district preferred. Box RM, care of The Blast<br />
Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
SITUATION WANTED—By-product cokeoven<br />
technical man seeks a new connection.<br />
Seven years' experience. University graduate,<br />
Ch.E. degree. Thirty-three years old; married.<br />
Box W, care of The Blast Furnace and<br />
Steel Plant.<br />
ROLLING MILL superintendent, experienced in<br />
the heating and rolling of carbon, alloy and electric<br />
furnace steels, desires position; experienced in<br />
blooming, plate and universal mills. Highest references.<br />
Box ART, care of The Blast Furnace<br />
and Steel Plant.<br />
YOUNG MAN with five years' experience as machinist<br />
and three years' experience in foundry,<br />
Tech graduate, wishes position with growing firm<br />
at or near Philadelphia, Pa. Box W B, care of<br />
The Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
POSITION WANTED by experienced roll turner<br />
and designer. Have had several years' experience<br />
in charge of roll shops, designing, etc., as well<br />
as turning rolls. Have also had experience working<br />
on the mills. Can handle position of mill<br />
superintendent, roll designer or boss roll turner.<br />
Can furnish best of references. Box P V C, care<br />
of The Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
POSITION WANTED—Steel mill electrical engineer<br />
desires change in location. Five years' engineering<br />
and operating experience in steel mills.<br />
Technical graduate, member A. I. & S. E. E., Associate<br />
A. I. E. E.; age 32. Box A R L, care of<br />
The Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
YOUNG MAN, technical education, desires position<br />
in Pittsburgh District as chemist on analysis<br />
of open hearth steels. The applicant is at present<br />
employed in steel work, but desires a connection<br />
offering greater possibilities. Details as to<br />
past experience and recommendations will be submitted<br />
on request. Box G P G, care of The Blast<br />
Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
WANTED—Position on maintenance in medium<br />
sized steel plant or factory; 12 years' drafting<br />
room experience on general mill engineering and<br />
three years' machine shop experience. Box F D J,<br />
care of Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
TIME KEEPER—Have had seveval years experience.<br />
Box H, care of The Blast Furu.ice<br />
and Steel Plant.
Die Bias* PumaceSSleel PW<br />
Vol. XII PITTSBURGH. PA.. JUNE, 1924 No. 6<br />
Conventions<br />
THE months of May and June have become a time of rendezvous. Men<br />
meet at many places and, on a plane of common understanding, devise<br />
better ways of extending their joint or competing fields of influence.<br />
Could there be better evidence of the innate human desire to work co-opera<br />
tively, and to bear the weight of broad impersonal perspective upon other<br />
wise personal problems?<br />
When we observe a gathering of Sheet Steel Executives, such as filled<br />
the Greenbrier at White Sulphur Springs, or the thousand steel men who<br />
graced the board at the Commodore, where the American Iron and Steel<br />
Institute held annual session; when we read the proceedings of the National<br />
Electric Light Association, which gathered its enthusiastic members at<br />
Atlantic City, coming from all points of the compass, and the various asso<br />
ciated divisions of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers with co<br />
operating societies, combined under the roof of the Hotel Cleveland, we real<br />
ize the extent to which this form of community of interest spirit has grown.<br />
In the remarkably frank atmosphere of friendly discussion which per<br />
vades each of these conventions, stands our most substantial bulwark against<br />
foreign aggression or lasting depression.<br />
How entirely different from the blare and secrecy of those other two<br />
national conventions soon to influence four years of American life, where mob<br />
psychology in the name of politics will usurp the place of Reason, and per<br />
sonal ambitions will be achieved.<br />
263
264<br />
IhpDlasf himaco^/jfcol rlanf<br />
Straight Line Production<br />
Woodward Iron, Alabama, Presents Many Unusual<br />
Operating Features<br />
T H E cars at both the No. 1 and No. 3 Dolomite<br />
mines are discharged without detaching them from<br />
the hoist rope. The tipple at the Xo. 1 mine has been<br />
in operation since 1918 and that at No. 3 for a<br />
slightly shorter period of time. Thus far neither has<br />
failed to perform its duty properly, nor has either<br />
caused any delay or expense in its operation.<br />
Both of the tipples described in the foregoing are<br />
used for handling coal, the weight of each loaded car<br />
being about 4,600 pounds.<br />
At the Redding mine another 5-car dump of the<br />
same type handles ore cars. This is located 400 ft. below<br />
the surface and is set at an angle of \7y2 deg. A<br />
trip of five cars, the gross weight of each being three<br />
tons, is brought into the dump and discharged into a<br />
300-ton bin. Thence the ore is dropped by a roller<br />
feed gate into a measuring pocket, whence it passes to<br />
an 8-ton skip which is hoisted in a vertical shaft to the<br />
surface. The contents of the skip is then dumped into<br />
a bin feeding a gyratory crusher and from that point<br />
By F. J. CROLIUS<br />
PART II<br />
June, 1924<br />
discharged as needed into railroad cars. The capacity<br />
at this mine is 1,200 tons in 10 hours.<br />
As these mining operations lead up to a single conclusion,<br />
the production of foundry iron, a point in<br />
possing is worth noting. Practically every ton of coal<br />
mined is sampled, tested for bone and slate and recorded<br />
in terms of the man that loaded it.<br />
Located underneath the tipple is a sampling room.<br />
As each car dumps its load, 100 lbs. of the coal drops<br />
into a gravity chute leading into the sampling room.<br />
There it passes onto shaker screens and picking tables,<br />
where boys carefully separate the slate- This is automatically<br />
weighed and recorded. So carefully is total<br />
operation checked against the car loader by the individual's<br />
number that frequent repetition of unduly<br />
high slate content is immediately evident and corrected.<br />
All miners work on a bonus system related to an<br />
average slate base, and this system is nearly infallible.<br />
We have described the journey of the ore to the<br />
bins at the blast furnaces. Almost the same works<br />
FIG. 7—The simple tripping of a latch causes five cars of coal to dump their loads simultaneously, the cars to whirl back into<br />
position and start on their return to the mine.
June, 1924<br />
The Blast Fu mace.<br />
/S5> Sleel PI<br />
FIG. 8—Here are shown a viczv of the 230 by-product ovens' from the railroad main line side. At this plant, the first Edison<br />
Benzol recovery plant was installed during the zvar.<br />
would cover the coal to the coke ovens, except that a<br />
Link-Belt washer interposes an intermediate station.<br />
As by-product coal demands pulverizing or line crushing,<br />
advantage is taken of this subdivision to reduce<br />
the normal 15 per cent ash native in the coal as mined,<br />
to an average of less than 5 per cent as charged in the<br />
coke-ovens.<br />
The operation of the Link-Belt washer is interesting.<br />
Intrinsically, water is all-important, and as in<br />
most Birmingham plants very little is allowed to escape.<br />
The life of a gallon of water resolves itself into<br />
about 50 cycles through the complete system.<br />
At the washer proper, water is circulated in a<br />
closed circuit, which picks up the crushed coal as it<br />
leaves the coal bins under the tressel, carries it into<br />
the separating chambers where the first slate is caught,<br />
over flows with the cleaned coal into a secondary separator<br />
and discharged at the bottom of a belt conveyor.<br />
which hoists the moist coal (carrying 20 per cent<br />
water) and conveys it to the centrifugal driers. The<br />
water is recovered in a sump and although heavily<br />
saturated with 200 mesh coal dust, is returned to the<br />
primary circuit. The 20 per cent water in the discharged<br />
clean coal is recovered all but about 20 per<br />
cent in four great centrifugal dryers, which discharges<br />
upon a belt conveyor to the coke-ovens. The capacity<br />
of each of the four dryers is over 70 tons of coal per<br />
hour.<br />
The coking operation is the familiar Koppers process,<br />
with ammonia and benzol recovery. This is the<br />
first Edison benzol plant constructed in this country<br />
during the war. There are 230 \2y2-tor\ by-product<br />
ovens, making 18 hour furnace coke. Tar is sold to<br />
the American Tar Products Company, who distill into<br />
its derivatives. By-product gas is used in regenerators,<br />
and excess finds its way to several batteries of<br />
boilers for steam production and power.<br />
aril<br />
265<br />
As coke, broad guage cars receive the product from<br />
the pushers, transfer it directly to the quenching station,<br />
then discharge it into the stock-bins previously<br />
described.<br />
At the top of skip hoist the furnace charge meets<br />
another interesting feature. In its course into the<br />
burden it is distributed by a Crockard top.<br />
The Crockard Furnace Top.<br />
A number of years ago, the Crockard top was applied<br />
to several of the Ensley furnaces of the Tennessee<br />
Coal, Iron & Railroad Company, with marked success.<br />
The first furnace so equipped made about 1,400,-<br />
000 tons of iron on one lining.<br />
A simplified and improved design of this top was<br />
applied to No. 2 Woodward Furnace in 1921. This<br />
furnace was blown in on November 21, 1920, and to<br />
date has produced about 320,000 tons, with no indication<br />
of trouble from the lining.<br />
Briefly described, the distributor consists of a revolving<br />
spout, carried on rollers and actuated through<br />
a train of spur gears by the counterweight cable from<br />
the skip hoist. An ingenious application of the roller<br />
friction or "Star" clutch secures rotation of the distributor<br />
in one direction only. The spout revolves<br />
while the skip is ascending, and clutch disengages<br />
when skip starts lowering. Fig. 1 shows the construction<br />
of clutch. The outer ring or housing is of<br />
cast steel, keyed to the shaf tand having hardened<br />
steel roller race pressed in. The steel rollers are 2 in.<br />
diameter hardened and ground. The star clutch is<br />
cast integral with gear and carries hardened steel<br />
wearing plates for rollers. The clutch engages or<br />
disengages instantly with practically no lost motion<br />
or back lash. By choosing the proper gear ratios,<br />
any desired angle of rotation can be secured.. At<br />
Woodward, the distributor is turned 67^ deg. between<br />
each skip.
266<br />
The revolving spout is carried on the cast steel<br />
riding ring A, as shown in Fig. 2, to which is bolted<br />
the cast steel driving gear B. This riding ring is<br />
supported on three flanged wheels W—each turning<br />
on Hyatt roller bearings. Each wheel is supported<br />
in a cast iron bearing housing resting on iron filler<br />
blocks. By withdrawing these supporting blocks, the<br />
entire unit of wheel and housing can be removed and<br />
replaced by a spare in a few minutes time. However,<br />
in two years of operation, no replacements have been<br />
Tkeftlasf FurnaceSSfeel Plant<br />
FIG. 9—The Crockard furnace top. Distribution of Uncharge<br />
is now recognized as one of the most important<br />
elements in successful blast furnace operation. Simplicity.<br />
ruggedncss, reliability are the foundation stones upon<br />
which this design is based. Its mechanical movements are<br />
not dependent upon external motor pozver.<br />
necessary. The entire revolving portion is centered<br />
by the wheel flanges and the thrust of driving pinion<br />
is taken by rollers, R—spaced 120 deg. each way<br />
from pinion.<br />
The driving force is furnished by the friction ol<br />
counterweight cable wrapped 180 deg. around the<br />
sheaves "S" a.s shown in Fig. 3. That the resistance<br />
to turning is slight is evidenced by the fact that the<br />
sheave shows no sign of wear from the slippage ot<br />
the cable. This result is attained by careful attention<br />
to bushing and lubricating all bearings and to the interposition<br />
(jf a flexible coupling between the separately<br />
supported units of the drive, which prevents<br />
any tendency to bind. The openings around the three<br />
supporting rollers are closed with thin plate to a very<br />
small clearance, so that leakage of dust and gas is<br />
so small as to be negligible. All gears, as well as the<br />
roller clutch, are enclosed. The entire driving mechanism<br />
is of simple and rugged construction and has<br />
occasioned no delays to the furnace operation.<br />
June, 1924<br />
FIG. 10 — "Co -ib" or bed of pit) iron made<br />
from bed mouldc >.».. Comb is en route to pig<br />
breaker. Center—l / iew showing front and end<br />
of moulder. Lozver—Viezv showing character<br />
of moulding done zvith "roller." A very simple<br />
and most effective solution of the pig casting<br />
problem, which is typical of the methods<br />
developed by the Woodzvard <strong>org</strong>anization.
Tune, 1924<br />
The Woodward furnaces are single skip furnaces,<br />
and to counteract any possible segregation of the<br />
charge in the receiving hopper, a pair of baffle plates<br />
has been placed at the top of this hopper as shown<br />
in the general arrangement of the furnace top. These<br />
baffle plates on either side of central bell rod split<br />
the charge on the principle of the well known sample<br />
riffle. Between skips, each baffle is automatically<br />
revolved 90 deg. and half the skip load is thus directed<br />
to alternate quarters of the furnace, thus obviating<br />
the possibility of any section receiving a preponderance<br />
of fines. Rotation of baffles is effected by small<br />
8-in. steam cylinders which are interlocked with the<br />
little bell cylinder so that the entire operation is<br />
automatic. This mechanism has proven very satisfactory,<br />
and requires no attention other than periodical<br />
replacement of wearing plates.<br />
Particular attention has been given in the design<br />
of this top to facilitating a possible change of furnace<br />
bells. The receiving hopper has brackets cast<br />
on which rest on two-wheel trolleys running on I<br />
Beams, which enable the whole receiving hopper and<br />
distributor to be moved back to clean the main hopper.<br />
In making this change the bell rod clevis is<br />
disconnected, the bell being supported meanwhile on<br />
temporary beams thrown across the hoppers. The<br />
two bell beams are next disconnected and the bell<br />
rod lashed to the top hopper. A few turns are given<br />
to the screw jacks on supporting trolleys and the<br />
entire top above gas seal is lifted to clear and can<br />
then be pushed back to clear the entire center of furnace.<br />
Bell and lip ring can then be swung from the<br />
upper trolley and removed. By this means, the replacement<br />
of main bell can be made in one third the<br />
time required on the furnaces not so equipped, where<br />
Ine Dlasf kimace 'Z- jfee! rlanf<br />
267<br />
it is necessary to remove the entire top piecemeal and<br />
then re-assemble it.<br />
The successful operation of this top has led the<br />
management to install it on a second furnace. No. 3<br />
Woodward was thus equipped on its last re-lining and<br />
was blown in about the first of the present year.<br />
The Pig Bed Machines.<br />
One of the labor saving devices that has been introduced<br />
at Woodward is the pig bed roller and harrow<br />
machines that prepare the sand bed for the cast<br />
in a few minutes when it formerly required a force<br />
of "sand-cutters" two or three hours.<br />
After the previous cast has been removed the bed<br />
is thoroughly wetted down by an overhead spray<br />
system that is easily controlled and that gives a uniform<br />
soaking to the sand bed. This wetting puts<br />
the sand in proper condition for moulding and incidentally<br />
exposes any pieces of iron or scrap on the<br />
surface of the sand. These are removed before the<br />
operation of harrowing.<br />
The harrow consists of a rectangular frame having<br />
an 8 in. double extra heavy pipe for the front member,<br />
a 90 lb. rail for the rear member with two side members<br />
of yx6 flats bent in the form of sled runners.<br />
These prevent the teeth from digging too deep into<br />
the sand The teeth bolt through the 8 in pipe at 5 in.<br />
spaces and are set to loosen the sand to a depth of<br />
9 to 12 in. The rail rear member smooths the bed<br />
and helps to grade the bed to desired level. About<br />
two trips are made over the entire length of bed with<br />
the harrow which is the same length as the width of<br />
the bed. Harrow is dragged through the sand to-<br />
(Concluded on page 305)<br />
FIG. 11—Dolomite No. 3 is a fine example of a modern slope coal mine. As can be seen from the picture, the surface stru<br />
including the new hoist-house (not shown) are of solid concrete. The top of the incline terminates in a Rolls<br />
where the trips of five cars are automatically dumped as a unit, by the mere throwing of a lever by a single attend<br />
ing could be simpler, more effective nor expeditious. Thirty seconds after the cars reach the top, they are o<br />
to the mine.
268<br />
IkeDlast kirnacel/jfeel rlanf<br />
The first and last thought at Woodzvard.<br />
June, 1924
J u ^ 1924 Tke Nasi FurnaceeSieel Plant ~ 6<br />
E SAFETY CRUSADE<br />
Prevention of Accidents by Educational<br />
Methods<br />
Abstract of an Address Delivered Before the Metropolitan Section<br />
of the National Electric Light Association in<br />
New York City, May 2, 1924<br />
T H E man who holds the most important safety<br />
job in America, and probably in the world from<br />
the standpoint of the number of employes<br />
affected and the money invested, has said that he<br />
would rather accept responsibility for accident prevention<br />
in a plant that did not have a single mechanical<br />
safety device, but where there was the spirit of<br />
safety among the workmen and managers, than in a<br />
plant where there was every known physical safeguard,<br />
but not this spirit of safety. This view is undoubtedly<br />
sustained by the earlier experience of our<br />
own company to which I have referred, where the mechanical<br />
or electrical human safety device was unknown,<br />
and yet, because of the care exercised by<br />
everyone, accidents were practically unknown. This<br />
is perhaps the best commentary on the extent to<br />
which education may be relied upon and is demanded<br />
for the prevention of industrial as well as civic<br />
accidents.<br />
Safety Museum.<br />
Another indication of the value of education in<br />
this direction can be seen in the exhibits of the American<br />
Museum of Safety. For many years after the<br />
opening of the Museum in 1907 the exhibits were confined<br />
to machine guards, safety devices and safety<br />
materials; in the new Museum of Safety, which is<br />
maintained in co-operation with the New York State<br />
Department of Labor, photographs, stereopticon slides<br />
and other graphic exhibits show the schools for foremen,<br />
safety meetings for workmen, bulletin board<br />
posters, safety magazines, and numerous other educational<br />
means which are now being used effectively<br />
for the prevention of accidents in factories, mines,<br />
and public utilities.<br />
Mechanical vs. Educational Methods.<br />
Professional safety engineers who have watched<br />
the development of the accident prevention movement<br />
from its infancy say that even today, with the hundreds<br />
of ingenious safety devices available, with automatic<br />
machines which are almost fool-proof, and with<br />
safety incorporated in the design, construction, and<br />
installation of industrial equipment, it is possible to<br />
prevent only 25 to 50 per cent of industrial accidents<br />
through mechanical means, and that for the preven-<br />
*General Commercial Manager, the New York Edison<br />
Company, and President, the American Museum of Safety.<br />
By ARTHUR WILLIAMS*<br />
tion of the rest we must turn to educational methods,<br />
better supervision and improved morale of employes.<br />
This estimate is borne out by a recent analysis of<br />
some 300,000 accidents which occurred over a period<br />
of many years in the plants of the subsidiaries of the<br />
United States Steel Corporation. This analysis<br />
showed that hand labor was responsible for more<br />
than 40 per cent of these accidents. In commenting<br />
on this, Mr. Charles L. Close, manager of the Bureau<br />
of Safety, Sanitation and Welfare, said the majority<br />
of these accidents could not possibly have been prevented<br />
by the use of mechanical safety devices or<br />
appliances. They were due to carelessness and the<br />
failure of workmen to observe the simple precautions<br />
conducive to safety. That is why we must devise and<br />
perfect educational methods of accident prevention.<br />
Safe Workmen Best Safety Device.<br />
What is true in the plants of the Steel Corporation<br />
is undoubtedly true throughout the industries and in<br />
public utility operations. Nowhere is the saying that<br />
a safe workman is the best safety device more true<br />
than in public utility operations. In most utilities<br />
safety and ordinary operating efficiency are so closely<br />
interrelated it is impossible to draw the line between<br />
them. The New York Edison Company, in the training<br />
of its operating employes, gives special attention<br />
to the question of accident prevention. For example,<br />
every employe is taught the prone pressure method<br />
of resuscitation, not alone as a first aid or safety measure,<br />
but as part of his general training. In that company<br />
are 300 men trained to give instruction in prone<br />
pressure resuscitation, and I have been told that approximately<br />
5,000 of the employes of the company<br />
have received this instruction and are required to<br />
practice this method at least once in four months.<br />
Training in Safety Part of the Job.<br />
Every employe in the operating department of the<br />
company knows, for instance, that a prerequisite to<br />
promotion to any job is a thorough knowledge of the<br />
safety rules and practices of that job as well as of his<br />
own. He must know not only what is the safe thing<br />
to do in any given circumstances likely to arise on<br />
that job, but why it is the safe thing to do. In other<br />
words, the company requires of its employes not mere<br />
obedience, but a thorough understanding of what they<br />
are doing. Only through such understanding can<br />
you have safety in the operation of public utilities.
270<br />
And only through educational methods can you bring<br />
about that understanding.<br />
Safety Measures Topic Throughout the Whole<br />
Company.<br />
A great deal of the safety education of employes<br />
in the New York Edison Company is brought about<br />
through talks to the men in groups and as individuals.<br />
The company, of course, uses safety bulletins, magazines,<br />
motion pictures and the other educational<br />
means in common use.<br />
There was a time when most accidents were<br />
attributed to carelessness and when we made little<br />
effort to find out just what caused or constituted carelessness,<br />
but that time is passed for most employers<br />
and I think for most public utilities.<br />
Today we know that carelessness is as much a<br />
frame of mind as it is a bodily habit and we are beginning<br />
to find out what causes that frame of mind and<br />
how to change it.<br />
We know, for instance, that lack of confidence in<br />
the sincerity of the employer or failure to understand<br />
the motives of the employer are often responsible for<br />
the frame of mind which is conducive to accidents.<br />
Experience of a Standard Oil Company<br />
Safety Engineer.<br />
This point is illustrated by the experience of a representative<br />
of one of the Standard Oil Companies<br />
which recently came to my attention. Like most<br />
other safety engineers, this man found that a number<br />
of their oldest and best employes simply would not<br />
take the safety work of the company seriously. When<br />
everything else failed, he tried this: he would get<br />
into a conversation with the workman or foreman<br />
who refused to observe safety rules and practices and<br />
would say, "John, what do you think of this company,<br />
anyhow?" In nine cases out of ten, John would<br />
say that you couldn't find a better place to work anywhere<br />
in the world and would then go on to enumerate<br />
all the things he liked about the company. When he<br />
was through, the safety engineer would say, "Well,<br />
John, now that you agree with me that the company<br />
is giving its men a square deal, do you think you are<br />
giving the company a square deal when you persist<br />
in dangerous practices which may cause an accident<br />
to you or to the men around you and that this accident<br />
in addition to the injury to yourself and your<br />
fellow-workers might cost the company thousands of<br />
dollars?"<br />
This representative has said that invariably the<br />
worker's response is: "I must say I have never<br />
thought of it that way and you can bank on it that<br />
from now on I am going to play the game squarely<br />
with the company and there will be no accidents<br />
around here if I can help it." That representative's<br />
work represents probably the highest type of accident<br />
prevention through education and there is room for<br />
a great deal of such work in every one of our great<br />
industries.<br />
Caution Has Been Subordinated.<br />
Safety education in the major sense probably<br />
means that development of oneself so that he is constantly,<br />
automatically, sub-consciously on guard<br />
against accident. Many years of personal safety in<br />
the character of the work done in a shop, or the traffic<br />
upon the highways, has subordinated or practically<br />
eliminated the element of caution in every human<br />
being. Going back to the early days of the republic,<br />
Ike Blast Furnace^ Sf«T Plant<br />
June, 1924<br />
you recall how everyone was always on guard and<br />
any unusual or unexpected sound, like a rustling twig<br />
or a cracking stick, brought one to immediate attention,<br />
looking for possible danger. Today, every industrial<br />
activity is accomplished through the aid of<br />
high speed and dangerous machinery; a very large<br />
percentage of our population lives at great relative<br />
heights from the ground; highways, even in the otherwise<br />
quiet, secluded country, are occupied by heavy,<br />
high-speed traffic that makes them more dangerous<br />
than the usual right of way occupied by a railway.<br />
The dangers of the early days of the republic are multiplied<br />
a thousand-fold on every hand, and we must<br />
train ourselves to be constantly on the watch<br />
wherever we are, in a power plant, factory, on the<br />
highways, or traveling by boat or train.<br />
The safety movement of the country has resulted<br />
in the development of a new profession in our industrial<br />
life in which, at the moment, there are probably<br />
no less than 5,000 men giving their entire time to<br />
this work as a life profession. I have seen large<br />
gatherings of these men who, collectively, seemed to<br />
represent a combination of a lawyer, a doctor, and a<br />
minister, such has been the result of the practical constructive<br />
interest in every phase of human welfare.<br />
These men should be considered in the highest sense<br />
as elements of economy and efficiency in our industrial<br />
and commercial life, for in every instance <strong>org</strong>anized<br />
safety effort, both in plant equipment and education,<br />
pays and pays handsomely.<br />
This knife was perfected two years ago by J. L.<br />
Junkin, safety director of the Wheeling Steel Corporation,<br />
Steubenville plant, and since it has been<br />
placed in use in the sheet mills there they have not<br />
had a single cut hand or arm where this knife has been<br />
used. Once in a while it was found at first that some<br />
of the openers would make their own knife without<br />
the hand guard on it and the result was that there<br />
was very soon a cut hand or arm case at the hospital.<br />
With the co-operation of the sheet mill superintendent<br />
and his force, the old style knife was soon eliminated,<br />
and now no one thinks of making or using any other<br />
kind of a knife. The basket hilt or guard is made of<br />
about 14-gauge galvanized steel and the handle of<br />
fiber, with copper rivets through same. The blade is<br />
best made of good spring steel, to avoid bending and<br />
scouring sheets. Electric alloy steel makes the best<br />
blade, of sufficient length and weight to suit the opening<br />
to be done. This knife has not been patented and<br />
any one is free to use same.<br />
From accidents of 10 to 12 per day to none is a<br />
very good record for any safety device.
June, 1924<br />
IheDlasr hirnace Meol Plant<br />
Gas Producer Practice<br />
Conclusion of Valuable Paper Presented Before the American<br />
Iron and Steel Institute<br />
B L A S T furnace gas presents another cooling medium<br />
that should not be overlooked. This gas<br />
withdraws heat if introduced into the fire zone,<br />
principally by being heated up, but at temperatures<br />
of gasification above about 1700 deg. F. part of the<br />
C02 is broken up by C into CO. For the benefit of those<br />
especially interested, the calculaitons for a gasification<br />
temperature at 2200 deg. F. are given in Tables XXIII,<br />
XXIV and XXV.<br />
From a theoretical viewpoint, the use of blast furnace<br />
gas as a cooling medium has many advantages.<br />
It is also of uniform composition and temperature.<br />
The introduction thereof into the producer, however,<br />
presents a problem. Two methods can be used: 1—<br />
The introduction of air and blast furnace gas separately<br />
in the producer at separate periods. This<br />
method would be similar to the production of water<br />
gas, except that only the blast consisting of air during<br />
the first period, and the blast gas during the second<br />
period, are to be reversed. The gas made during<br />
each period passes into the same flue. When two or<br />
more producers are operated in parallel on the same<br />
main, constant composition of gas is obtained. In the<br />
production of water gas, automatic control of reversals<br />
is often used. This can also be done still more easily<br />
in this case, and there would be little labor connected<br />
with the reversals. 2—The mixing of air and blast<br />
furnace gas together in the blast pipe near the blast<br />
distribution hood in the producers. The proportion<br />
of blast furnace gas to air is so small that the mixture<br />
is not explosive and furthermore the velocity in the<br />
blast is too great for combustion to take place. After<br />
entering the ash zone, the mixture could burn, but<br />
this would take place at about the same place as it<br />
enters the gasification zone. If proper check valves<br />
are arranged in the air and blast furnace gas pipes, it<br />
is possible that this method would be practical.<br />
Savings Possible by Using Waste Gases in Place of<br />
Steam for Cooling the Fire Zone.<br />
About 10 years ago the cost of steam in gasifying<br />
coal was comparatively a small item as compared to<br />
the total cost of gasification. This condition has<br />
gradually changed, especially since the advent of the<br />
mechanical labor saving producer.<br />
Under present practice and prices, the cost of<br />
steam constitutes from 30 per cent to 50 per cent of<br />
the total operating cost of gasification. The cost of<br />
steam is, therefore, of tremendous importance. If<br />
waste heat boilers are used in the open hearth, the<br />
producer steam corresponds to 25 per cent to 35 per<br />
cent of the total steam made in these boilers. Including<br />
the investment charges for producing the steam,<br />
the cost is still higher than that given above. The<br />
mechanical work that this steam accomplishes in<br />
creating the required blast pressure could be done by<br />
electro-motor-driven fans with 2 or 3 kwh., or for $.02<br />
By WALDEMAR DYRRSENf<br />
•Read before the American Iron and Steel Institute at New ing mechanism above. The horizontal bar is equipped<br />
York, May 25, 1923.<br />
with tips pointing at an angle downward in the direc<br />
fUnited States Steel Corporation, New York City.<br />
tion of rotation. The bar can adjust itself to the level<br />
271<br />
to $.03 per ton of coal. Nearly the total cost of the<br />
steam, therefore, could be saved by the use of waste<br />
gases.<br />
Modern Types of Gas Producers.<br />
Hand-poked, hand-filled producers of different<br />
types, such as Siemens, Duff, Laughlin, Bradley and<br />
others, are extensively used in the United States.<br />
They probably constitute 75 per cent of the total<br />
number of producers used in the steel industry, and<br />
gasify about 55 to 60 per cent of the total coal used in<br />
producers. A description of these is, however, outside<br />
the scope of this paper.<br />
The modern partially or completely mechanical<br />
producer is a development of the last 20 or 25 years,<br />
and the most rapid development has been made during<br />
the last five years. The historical development<br />
will also be passed over. The rapid advancement of<br />
modern producers is due to the many experiments,<br />
with their failures as well as successes, and to the<br />
foresight of practical men and those interested in the<br />
subject. In the early days of experimentation, failures<br />
were frequent and the investigators were sometimes<br />
forced to change their ideas radically as to how<br />
a mechanical producer should be built. At the present<br />
time, the development is going on perhaps more<br />
rapidly than at any previous time. There are, however,<br />
on the market today, a number of very successful<br />
mechanical producers, which do extremely good<br />
work.<br />
The mechanical features of a producer may be<br />
divided into three parts:<br />
1—Automatic coal feed.<br />
2—Automatic agitation of the fuel bed.<br />
3—Automatic agitation of the ash zone.<br />
4—Automatic ash discharge.<br />
The most used coal feed is the drum type. In the<br />
Chapman producer the drum type coal feed charges<br />
the coal into the center of the producer and a special<br />
cone distributes the coal over the fuel bed. In both<br />
of the Hughes-Wellman producers, there are one or<br />
two drum feeds, depending upon the size of the producer,<br />
placed between the center and the edge. The<br />
M<strong>org</strong>an and the Wood producers also have a drum<br />
feed, placed in a similar position. In these three types<br />
the fuel bed rotates and the coal is distributed over<br />
the whole fuel bed. The Keperley producer is not<br />
equipped with automatic feed.<br />
The agitation of the fuel bed is of great importance<br />
in a mechanical producer and saves more labor<br />
than the other items. Practically every farm implement<br />
used for breaking up the soil is represented in<br />
gas producers—the plow, the tooth and disc harrow,<br />
cultivators, spades, etc. The agitator in the Chapman<br />
producer consists of a horizontal bar fastened to<br />
a central shaft extended through the top, with driv
of the fuel bed. This agitator has been successfully<br />
applied to hand-poked producers and other mechanical<br />
producers not equipped with surface agitation, as<br />
tor example, the Kerperley producer. The Hughes<br />
producer has a swinging poker, which extends 10 to<br />
12 inches down in the fuel bed. On the Hughes-<br />
Wellman producer, the poker is placed at an angle<br />
against the rotation of the fuel bed. The top is stationary<br />
and the fuel bed rotates, and in the course of<br />
a few revolutions, the poker tip has covered the surface.<br />
This principle is also utilized in the Wood producer,<br />
which has one or two bent pokers, depending<br />
upon the size of the producer, which rotate, the tip<br />
making a circular path, the whole surface being agitated<br />
by the rotation of the fuel bed. The M<strong>org</strong>an<br />
producer is equipped with a leveler, hinged in the stationary<br />
top: the fuel bed rotates. The Sheldon producer<br />
is equipped with two knives suspended from a<br />
rotating top. The knives are lifted and fall down,<br />
slicing the fuel bed. The stroke can be regulated. In<br />
the course of one revolution of the top, the whole fuel<br />
bed is chopped up. The Smith mechanical producer<br />
has a rotating top with swinging, steam operated<br />
plungers, which poke holes into the whole surface of<br />
the fuel bed.<br />
The automatic agitation of the ash zone is a comparatively<br />
late addition to the mechanical producers<br />
in the United States. It has been proven that good<br />
gas at much higher rates of driving can be made<br />
thereby, and it is certain that more general use is<br />
o-oing to be made thereof. In the Chapman producer,<br />
there is a horizontal casting, made in the shape of a<br />
bar, located in the water seal. This is attached to a<br />
gear ring above the water seal. The bar is equipped<br />
with short vertical lugs, which lift the ashes slightly<br />
when it rotates slowly. The bar also forces the ashes<br />
out towards the circumference, where they are automatically<br />
removed. The old Hughes producer did<br />
not have ash zone agitation, as the ash pan and shell<br />
were built together. In the new producer, however,<br />
the ash pan is not connected with the shell. The ash<br />
pan and the blast hood rotate with the producer by<br />
friction from the ashes. These parts are automatically<br />
stopped at short intervals, creating a twisting action<br />
at the bottom of the ash zone. The blast hood is<br />
shaped like a triangle or a hexagon, with rounded<br />
corners. This sets up a crushing action in the ashes<br />
in the plane of the hood, when tlie pan stops. In the<br />
Kerperley producer, the blast cone is located slightly<br />
eccentric in relation to the producer. The ash pan<br />
with the hood, rotates slowly, creating a twisting and<br />
crushing action in the ash zone. The M<strong>org</strong>an producer<br />
has a spiral in the bottom of the rotating ash<br />
pan. This spiral can be stopped at will by the operator<br />
and discharge the ashes. The wood producer has<br />
scrapers attached to the rotating shell and the ashes<br />
are automatically removed continuously. The Smith<br />
mechanical producer is not equipped with water seal,<br />
as are most other types. Instead, there is a bricklined<br />
cone, closed by a gate. The ashes are removed<br />
from this cone from time to time.<br />
In addition to these producers, there are a few<br />
other types introduced in this country, or about to be<br />
introduced. A producer, similar to the Wood, is<br />
manufactured by the United States Cast Iron Pipe &<br />
Foundry Company, Philadelphia, Pa. The Duff Patents<br />
Company, Inc., Pittsburgh, Pa., is introducing a<br />
producer with arms extended from the rotating center<br />
of the top. These arms have fingers which de<br />
Ita Blast Furnace SU Plant<br />
scribe circular paths in the fuel bed. The Gas Producer<br />
& Engineering Corporation of New Jersey, of<br />
New York, are introducing the Galusha producer. It<br />
is equipped with a vertical shaft, which extends from<br />
the driving mechanism on top of the producer through<br />
the fuel bed and the horizontal grating. To this shaft<br />
are fastened two flattened horizontal bars, which<br />
move in spiral paths, caused by the rotation and raising<br />
and lowering of the shaft. Both the ash and fuel<br />
zones are broken up by these bars. The construction<br />
is similar to the Talbot producer, introduced some<br />
25 years ago in England. The Galusha producer<br />
uses a similar method for ash removal as the Smith<br />
mechanical producer.<br />
The average dimension of the mechanical producers<br />
are 8 ft. and 10 to I0y2 ft. diameter inside the<br />
brickwork. In one exceptional case, however, the<br />
diameter is as much as 16 ft.<br />
Summary.<br />
1. Laboratory tests of the balance between air,<br />
CO;,, H20 and C have hitherto been conducted under<br />
conditions so different from the conditions in the gas<br />
producer that such tests cannot be applied to the<br />
gas producer.<br />
2. Balance diagrams of the two systems C02,<br />
CO, C and H20, H, CO, CO.,, C have been worked out<br />
which are applicable to gas producer practice.<br />
3. By application of the laws of thermo-chemistry<br />
to these diagrams, conclusions are effected embracing<br />
all the factors that play a part in coal gasification.<br />
4. The results obtained are compared to actual<br />
gas producer practice and check very closely with<br />
the best results obtained with both coke and bituminous<br />
coal.<br />
5. A simple method is given for comparing the<br />
quality of the producer gas from practice with theoretical<br />
gas.<br />
6. The influence of the temperature of gasification<br />
is discussed and it has been shown that a temperature<br />
between 2000 deg. and 2200 deg. F. gives the<br />
highest producer and combustion efficiency of the gas.<br />
7. The gas made at 2000 deg. F. from ordinary<br />
bituminous coal should show the following analysis<br />
bv volume of dry gas (H..O and tarry vapors not included)<br />
: C,H4, 0.6; CH,, 3.6; CO, 29.1; H,13.3; total<br />
combustibles, 46.6; CO., 3.4; N, 50.0.<br />
8. Producer efficiency is discussed and a basis<br />
given for the calculation thereof.<br />
9. Hot raw gas versus cold clean producer gas is<br />
discussed. In open hearth practice hot raw gas is a<br />
necessity. For small heating furnaces spread over a<br />
large area, clean gas has certain advantages.<br />
10. The ash fusing producer is discussed. The<br />
efficiency of this producer cannot be expected to he<br />
as high as that of the ordinary producer, except under<br />
special conditions, and it is improbable that it will<br />
come into more general use.<br />
11. The temperature of the gas from the producer<br />
is discussed. It is shown that on each fuel there<br />
is a certain low temperature which indicates that the<br />
condition of gasification is correct and that the fuel<br />
bed is uniform and free from blowholes. When this<br />
temperature is exceeded, the quality of the gas is reduced.<br />
This temperature is about 1100 deg. F. for<br />
western high moisture, high volatile coal and about<br />
1200 deg. to 1300 deg. F. for eastern gas coal.
June. 1024<br />
Ike Blast Fur<br />
12. The influence of the temperature of the blast<br />
is discussed. The temperature should not exceed 131<br />
deg. F. and in most producers it should be 2 to 4 deg.<br />
lower.<br />
13. The use of oxygen in gas producers is discussed.<br />
Very high efficiencies can be obtained therewith,<br />
but in steel works practice the cost of oxygen<br />
must be lower than 30 per cent of the cost of coal to<br />
show a saving. With oxygen it is possible to make<br />
so-called "city gas" and transfer nearly all the heat<br />
in the coal into calorific heat in gas.<br />
14. Rates of gasification are discussed. Rates as<br />
high as 50 pounds of coal per square foot per hour<br />
are possible in modern mechanically operated producers,<br />
with ash zone agitation, on both eastern and<br />
western bituminous coals.<br />
15. Instruments required for controlling and<br />
supervising the operation of gas producers are discussed.<br />
It is shown that a pyrometer for measuring<br />
the gas temperature is the most important instrument<br />
and that with a recording pyrometer gas analyses are<br />
not required. The instrument next in importance is<br />
a thermometer for measuring the blast temperature.<br />
16. The influence of preheated blast is discussed.<br />
Higher producer efficiency can be obtained thereby,<br />
but the heat required must be derived from waste<br />
heat in order to obtain economy.<br />
17. It is pointed out that great savings in operation<br />
can be effected by using waste heat to supply<br />
the moisture in the blast. Even if waste heat boilers<br />
are used with the open hearth furnace, the waste<br />
gases contain sufficient waste heat to produce this<br />
moisture.<br />
18. Waste gases, as a cooling medium in producers<br />
in place of moisture is discussed. Waste gases<br />
with a lower ratio of N to CO,, do not contain sulphur,<br />
and constitute therefore an ideal source. With<br />
the use of waste gases, the producer gas will contain<br />
CO instead of H, which is desirable for open hearth<br />
furnaces. Higher producer efficiency than that obtained<br />
by the H,0 cannot be expected, except with<br />
preheated waste gas blast.<br />
19. The use of blast furnace gas as a cooling<br />
medium is discussed. In this relation there are two<br />
outstanding factors, (1) the substitution of 15 to 20<br />
per cent of the coal fuel by heat in the blast furnace<br />
gas results in a fuel lower in sulphur, a desirable factor<br />
in open hearth operation ; it also permits the use<br />
of a higher sulphur coal. And (2) the efficiency obtained<br />
is high and the heat in the blast furnace gas<br />
is transferred into a high grade fuel that can be used<br />
in open hearth furnaces.<br />
20. The savings possible with waste gases or blast<br />
furnace gas are discussed. Practically all of the<br />
steam cost under present practice and prices, 35 to<br />
70 cents per gross ton of coal, can be saved.<br />
21. A short description of modern mechanical<br />
producer types is given.<br />
H. A. Berg, general manager of the Marting Iron<br />
& Steel Company, Ironton, Ohio, has resigned to liecome<br />
associated with Arthur G. McKee & Company,<br />
engineers-and contractors, Cleveland, Ohio. Mr. Berg<br />
is one of the foremost blast furnace operators in the<br />
industry. Following years of experience at Carrie<br />
Furnaces, he joined A. A. Corey, Jr., as superintendent<br />
at Cambria Steel, going from there to Ironton.<br />
r^j Steel Plant<br />
273<br />
Operation of Open Hearth<br />
Furnaces<br />
By ULRICH PETERS<br />
The operations of open-hearth furnaces in the past.<br />
present, and eventually in the future, will show irregularities<br />
as to endurance and heat economy regardless of all<br />
the practical improvements conceived, evolved and applied,<br />
for the reason, primarily, that the life and tonnage<br />
production depends on the quality of the fuel supplied, the<br />
proper control of the heats, and on the resistance of the<br />
refractory materials. In other words, the variable factor<br />
of tonnage production goes a great deal with the ability<br />
and vigilance of the melter, who is driving and nursing<br />
the furnaces as much and as best he can. Conditions,<br />
such as clogged checkers, defective bottoms and ports<br />
and a crumbling roof arch demand periodically a complete<br />
shutdown for repairs.<br />
For comparison, the tonnage records of two furnaces<br />
are here given,—both were oil-fired and otherwise alike in<br />
every respect as to life and details of constructions:<br />
Cost Repair<br />
O. H. No. of Tons Days on Repairs Cost<br />
Furnace Heats Melted Run Repair and Bottom per Ton<br />
E 334 18.376 132 74 $21,278 $1,157<br />
D 154 7,604 81 60 20,094 2.643<br />
These furnaces, E and D, have been picked out from a<br />
group of five 50-ton furnaces,—Furnace E showing the<br />
best and Furnace D the worst performance of a run under<br />
the charge of the same melter. The great deficiency<br />
in tonnage of the D furnace over the E furnace amounts<br />
to nearly 12,000 tons per year pro rata taken, representing<br />
a financial loss or opportunity to a waiting market. From<br />
the other viewpoint, the operating expenditures, based per<br />
ton, pile up as follows:<br />
Cost per Ton O. H. Ingot •<br />
O. H. Wages, Mchy. Furnace Depreciation Total<br />
Furnace Fuel and Ladles Repairs Fixed Charges Cost<br />
E $1.95 $3.25 $1157 $1.05 $7,407<br />
D 2.75 2.85 2.643 1.60 9.843<br />
In the above accounting, we note that the difference<br />
in the total costs of operations equals to $9,843 — $7,-<br />
407 = $2,436, and that this additional cost of operating<br />
such bad furnaces would equal the total cost of the fuel<br />
utilized.<br />
The American Electric Power Company has recently<br />
awarded contract to the U. G. I. Contracting<br />
Company, of Philadelphia, for the remodeling of the<br />
Carburetted Water Gas Apparatus at the plant of the<br />
Carbondale (Pa.) Gas Company. These improvements<br />
will greatly increase the facilities of the Carbondale<br />
Company for serving its territory.<br />
John F. Gaffney, for several years in charge of<br />
foundries for the Bethlehem Steel Company at Sparrows<br />
Point, Md., and for the Allis-Chalmers Mfg. Co.,<br />
Milwaukee, has been employed as superintendent of<br />
the foundry for the Hadfield-Penfield Steel Company,<br />
Willoughby, Ohio.<br />
Thomas Vickers, C.E., late of the British Cast<br />
Iron Research Association, has commenced in private<br />
practice as a foundry consulting engineer with offices<br />
at 14 New Street, Birmingham, England.
274<br />
lb Blast FurnaceS Steel Plant<br />
June, 1924<br />
Influence of Ore Size on Reduction'<br />
Conclusion of Most Exhaustive Series of Investigations Surrounding<br />
the Experimental Blast Furnace of the<br />
Bureau of Mines<br />
A N effort was made during the experiments with<br />
the Bureau of Mines' blast furnace at Minneapolis<br />
to determine the composition of the gas<br />
stream at various points in the furnace shaft. It was<br />
hoped such data would afford means of following the<br />
course of the reactions taking place in the furnace.<br />
Altogether about 600 samples of gas were collected,<br />
these being taken with a water-cooled tube driven<br />
into the charge column through five test-holes built<br />
in the shell and brickwork of the mantle. The testholes<br />
were respectively 13, 42, 71, 100, and 129 inches<br />
below the stock line. The sample tube was long<br />
enough to cover the complete diameter of the furnace<br />
at these five elevations. The position of the testholes<br />
and the results of one series of gas samples<br />
were shown in Fig. 4 of the paper in the May issue<br />
of this journal 5 . For convenience of reference, this<br />
figure has been reproduced here as Fig. 1, and the<br />
furnace operation described in the four preceding articles<br />
is designated in this paper as Test A. The 47<br />
gas analyses, used in constructing this drawing, were<br />
given in Tables IV to VIII of the May article. The<br />
purpose of the present paper is briefly to summarize<br />
the remaining 565 analyses, and to direct attention<br />
to some of their more obvious features.<br />
Furnace Operation with Sized Ore.<br />
It seems to be true that the physical properties of<br />
iron ore. and particularly its most obvious physical<br />
property — size of particle — have an important effect<br />
on the blast-furnace process. This fact is appreciated<br />
by certain Eastern operators who are having<br />
experience with ores, the characteristics of which<br />
have changed in recent years. It will also be recalled<br />
by consumers of Lake ores who have not f<strong>org</strong>otten<br />
the difficulties encountered when Mesabi ore was introduced<br />
into American practice. To the writers,<br />
whose task it has been for some years to collect and<br />
study operating data from a wide variety of practices,<br />
representing a number of iron-making districts of this<br />
country, the importance of ore size has always been<br />
most evident. It was inevitable, therefore, in initiating<br />
the present experiments that attention should have<br />
been given to the size of the particles constituting<br />
the charge. A general description of the size of the<br />
ore, coke, and limestone used in Test A was printed in<br />
January 6 . In other experiments to be discussed in<br />
'Published by permission of the Director, U. S. Bureau of<br />
Mines.<br />
Assistant Metallurgist, North Central Experiment Station,<br />
Minneapolis, Minn.<br />
'Associate Metallurgist, North Central Experiment Station,<br />
Minneapolis, Minn.<br />
'Assistant Metallurgical Chemist, North Central Experiment<br />
Station, Minneapolis, Minn.<br />
[ P. H. Royster. T. L. Joseph, and S. P. Kinney, "Time Element<br />
in Iron Ore Reduction", The Blast Furnace and Steel Plant,<br />
vol. 12, May, 1924. pp. 246-250, and 254.<br />
"P. H. Royster, T. L. Joseph, and S. P. Kinney, "Reduction of<br />
Iron Ore in the Blast Furnace",The Blast Furnace and Steel<br />
Plant, vol. 12, January, 1924, pp. 35-37.<br />
By P. H. ROYSTER 1 , T. L. JOSEPH 3 and S. P. KINNEY'<br />
this paper, the size of the coke and limestone remained<br />
unchanged. The size of the ore, however,<br />
was altered in the several tests, and it was found that<br />
a marked change in the operation of the experimental<br />
furnace resulted. The composition of the metal and<br />
of the slag changed, and a glance at the six diagrams<br />
(Figs. 1 to 6) accompanying this paper will show that<br />
the size and shape of the so-called inactive zone also<br />
changed.<br />
It should not be f<strong>org</strong>otten that the results already<br />
published were attained with a particular furnace and<br />
with sized ore, limestone, and coke, as was described<br />
in January. The size of particle of the materials in<br />
the charge was as much a part of the design as was<br />
the hearth diameter, the bosh angle (74 deg. 56 min.),<br />
or the height of the furnace. There is evidence that<br />
with some other combination of fuel and flux sizing<br />
different results might have been attained. The writers<br />
are not suggesting that the sizing of material is<br />
desirable in regular practice, but they are presenting<br />
this set of seven rated experiments simply as a contribution<br />
to present knowledge of the mechanism of<br />
ore reduction, leaving it to the reader to apply them,<br />
if he thinks them applicable, to any practical problem<br />
that interest him.<br />
Operation with Medium Size Ore.<br />
All of previously reported results were obtained<br />
from furnace operation designated here as Test A, in<br />
which the ore used was of "medium size". There<br />
seems to be neither a term in common usage nor an accepted<br />
method of calculating an index number or a<br />
label to designate size of irregular particles 7 . If the<br />
indefinite adjective "typical" is permissible, it can be<br />
said that the typical lump was y in. long, y in. wide,<br />
and y in. thick. If the ore had passed through a<br />
shaking screen with a 0.47-in. square opening, and<br />
had been caught on a second screen with a 0.33-in.<br />
opening, the resultant product would have been about<br />
as uniform and would have the same average particle<br />
size as the material actually used. This medium size<br />
ore in bulk contained from 15,000 or 20,000 particles<br />
or lumps to the cubic foot, the uncertainty in the estimate<br />
being due to a doubt as to the proper method<br />
of taking an average. The expression "lumps per<br />
cubic foot" seems the most convenient method of recording<br />
ore size, but unfortunately it is not a term<br />
that has been used previously, and therefore will mean<br />
little to the reader.<br />
Fine Ore Test.<br />
All the iron ore used in Tests A, B, C, D, and E,<br />
came as a single shipment from one mine. The structure<br />
and chemical composition of all the ore, so far<br />
as could be ascertained, was essentially the same.<br />
In Test B the ore was partly dried, and passed through<br />
'G. St. J. Perrott, and S. P. Kinney. Meaning and microscopic<br />
measurement of average particle size: Journal, American Ceramic<br />
Society, vol. 6, 1923, pp. 417-439
Line, 1024 ]\ Rl i T r„<br />
IheDlasr Hirnace^<br />
a stationary screen with a J/^-in. opening. A sieve<br />
test on this fine ore gave the following results:<br />
Screen No. Per Cent<br />
+ 8 0.4<br />
14 6.0<br />
28 20.4<br />
+ 48 35.4<br />
+ 65 14.5<br />
(- 100 8.9<br />
— 100 14.4<br />
The lines of equal C02 content for Test B, shown<br />
in Fig. 2, have the same general shape as those in<br />
Fig. 1. The maximum CO,, however, is quite high,<br />
so much so that it is probably worth while giving the<br />
complete analysis of the gas in the plane 13 inches below<br />
the stock line :<br />
Sample<br />
Xo.<br />
434<br />
432<br />
431<br />
430<br />
429<br />
428<br />
Distance<br />
from<br />
left<br />
wall,<br />
Inches<br />
0<br />
12<br />
19<br />
21<br />
26<br />
31<br />
CO*<br />
10.8<br />
21.0<br />
19.0<br />
20.8<br />
10.0<br />
7.5<br />
Per cent bv volume.<br />
CO<br />
25.0<br />
13.8<br />
14.3<br />
15.6<br />
26.0<br />
28.2<br />
H2<br />
1.4<br />
2.7<br />
3.1<br />
3.9<br />
2.3<br />
1.9<br />
N,<br />
62.8<br />
62.5<br />
63.6<br />
59.7<br />
61.7<br />
62.4<br />
Ratio<br />
COVCO<br />
0.43<br />
1.52<br />
1.33<br />
1.33<br />
0.39<br />
0.26<br />
The analyses are sufficiently unusual to be of interest,<br />
particularly to those who are accustomed to<br />
judging the efficiency of reduction by the ratio C02/<br />
CO found in the gases at the furnace top. Unless<br />
samples 430, 431. and 432 are completely in error, any<br />
attempt to defend Bell's theory 8 of the limited reducing<br />
power of CO must be abandoned. His prediction<br />
that the ratio cannot exceed 0.4 to 0.5 is evidently unjustified.<br />
On the other hand, it should be noted that<br />
a high C02/C0 ratio is found only on a small part<br />
of the stock-line area. It is difficult to say which is<br />
the more striking feature of the analyses tabulated<br />
above; the high C02/CO near the center, or the large<br />
variation in this ratio at different points on the same<br />
horizontal section of the furnace. The first indicates<br />
the great intensity of reduction which is chemically<br />
possible, and which might be attained in a properly<br />
designed furnace; the other shows how improperly<br />
this furnace was designed.<br />
No hanging or slipping occurred in the shaft with<br />
fine ore. The pressure at the tuyeres did not increase;<br />
on the contrary, it was somewhat less than in Test A.<br />
The ore reached the tuyeres, however, in an incompletely<br />
reduced state. This caused a clogging effect<br />
in the hearth and in the combustion zone which made<br />
it necessary to take the fine ore burden off, and some<br />
care had to be exercised in handling the furnace, or<br />
the success of the campaign would have been jeopardized.<br />
The metal made on this burden was high in<br />
sulphur and its accompanying slag was black and<br />
scouring showing several per cent ferrous oxide.<br />
Experiment with Coarse Ore.<br />
It having been found impracticable to operate on<br />
the fine ore, in spite of the promising indication of<br />
rapid reduction in the shaft, a coarse lumpy part of<br />
the ore was used. The number of ore particles in<br />
Test A was say 20,000 per cubic foot. In Test B, the<br />
fine ore consisted of some 50,000,000 particles per<br />
T. L. Bell, Chemical Phenomena in Iron Smelting; 1872.<br />
Meel riant<br />
FIG. 1.—Medium size iron ore—Test A.
276<br />
5tock line<br />
o>%;<br />
l^** Zone of chemical inactivity^<br />
/^^•*MX '0^ fc<br />
vVf<br />
Ike Blast F urnace. _^n Steel Plant<br />
June, 1924<br />
cubic foot. The lump ore used in this third experiment.<br />
Test C, averaged 1,650 lumps per cubic foot,<br />
and the ore lump was therefore "on an average" about<br />
the size of the nut coke used. The so-called typical<br />
particle of this coarse ore was \y2 in. long, 1 in. wide,<br />
and y2 in. thick. It was not as uniform in size as the<br />
medium ore of Test A, although it was much more<br />
uniform than the fine ore of Test B.<br />
The gas composition in the furnace shaft during<br />
Test C is indicated in Fig. 3, and an analysis of the<br />
top gas is given in Table I. The hearth products were<br />
again high-sulphur white-iron metal and a black scouring<br />
slag. No mechanical difficulties were experienced<br />
in handling the furnace, operation being, if anything,<br />
less difficult than in Test A. The temperature<br />
of the slag and metal was noticeably lower, the average<br />
slag temperature being 1473 deg. C. for Test C,<br />
compared with 1529 deg. for Test A 9 . The off-grade<br />
metal made showed an average composition of 2.48<br />
per cent, Si, 0.80 per cent, S, 0.32 per cent, Mn, 0.65 per<br />
cent, and P, 0.17 per cent. The sulphur in the metal<br />
wandered erratically from 0.125 per cent to 0.432 per<br />
cent. The slag analyzed about 2 per cent of iron as<br />
FeO, and carried off an appreciable amount of metal<br />
as shot. Throughout Test C the furnace had all the<br />
symptoms of a "cold hearth".<br />
TABLE I. — Average Composition of Blast-Furnace Top Gas<br />
for Six Tests.<br />
Test Ore used CO, CO H; N2 CO:/CO<br />
A Medium size... 10.17 24.93 1.31 63.59 0.41<br />
B Fine ore 8.18 26.50 1.65 63.67 0.31<br />
C Lump ore 8.79 27.61 1.53 62.07 0.32<br />
E Lump: Light<br />
burden 8.68 26.61 1.88 62.83 0.33<br />
F Manganiferous,<br />
medium 7.63 29.28 1.67 61.42 0.26<br />
G Manganiferous,<br />
lump 7.16 25.50 2.05 65.29 0.28<br />
In common parlance, the furnace operated<br />
"smoothly" in Test A; it was "stuck up in the bosh"<br />
in Test B, and in Test C it was "cold in the bottom"<br />
and "overburdened". In point of fact, the chemical<br />
composition of the charge was the same throughout,<br />
and the burden in each of the three tests was the<br />
same — namely, 145 lb. of ore, 50 lb. of limestone,<br />
and 120 lb. of coke per round. The changes in the<br />
operation of the furnace must therefore have been<br />
due solely to changes in the physical properties of the<br />
ore. The easiest explanation would be to say that<br />
the fine ore was too fine, the coarse ore too coarse,<br />
and the medium ore just right. Such an explanation<br />
is consistent with the facts, but it is not comprehensive.<br />
The true explanation may not depend on the<br />
inherent size of the particles. The size of the particles<br />
of medium ore and of coarse ore is of the same order<br />
of magnitude, but differs widely from that of the fine<br />
ore. If therefore the absolute size of the particle was<br />
the dominant factor in the rate of reduction, it would<br />
be expected that Figs. 1 and 3 would more nearly resemble<br />
each other than would Figs. 1 and 2, but the<br />
reverse of this is found to be true.<br />
Homogeneity and Absolute Size.<br />
There is an element other than average particle<br />
size which may be of importance. This is homogene-<br />
"P. H. Royster, T. L. Joseph, and S. P. Kinney, Significance<br />
of Hearth Tempteratures; The Blast Furnace and Steel Plant<br />
vol. 12, March, 1924, p. 158, Item 10, Table IV.
J une > 1924 Tke Blast Fuma<br />
ity or uniformity of particle size. A variation in size<br />
from one ore lump to another in a given round will<br />
lead inevitably to a non-uniformity in the flow of<br />
gas. Some ore particles will be in a strong current.<br />
others will be more or less shielded from the gas<br />
stream. The sheltered particles will reach the hearth<br />
inadequately reduced. Their oxidizing effect will interrupt<br />
the proper course of the desulphurization process<br />
there, and produce just exactly the results actually<br />
found in Tests B and C. To throw some light on<br />
this problem, the following experiment (Test'D) was<br />
carried out:<br />
The coarse ore was thrown on a y-'mch. grizzly,<br />
and from the grizzly oversize the large lumps were<br />
removed by hand picking. The residue was first<br />
charged, and then the lumps removed by hand were<br />
sorted into three sizes and charged in their turn. Then<br />
the portion passing through the grizzly was rescreened<br />
on a J^-inch screen and charged. This process<br />
was laborious, and only enough hand-picked ore<br />
was obtained to last six hours. Nine hours after this<br />
ore was charged the furnace began making grey iron<br />
in place of the white iron of Test C. The slag temperature<br />
rose to an average of 1562 deg. C. The fracture<br />
of the slag sample was almost perfectly white,<br />
and analysis averaged 0.39 per cent FeO.<br />
The results obtained are presented here somewhat<br />
hesitantly; they are offered because they seem too<br />
important to suppress, and yet the writers realize that<br />
they are far from conclusive. At best they may be<br />
said merely to hint at a metallurgical conclusion. The<br />
evidence suggests that within reasonable limits uniformity<br />
of particle size in a given round has more<br />
effect upon the rate and completeness of reduction<br />
than does the absolute size of the average particle.<br />
The test was so short, however, that such a conclusion<br />
may be quite erroneous. Its effect at least is to warn<br />
the reader not to ignore uniformity of lump size, in<br />
any discussion of the effect of ore size on reduction<br />
in the blast furnace.<br />
Coarse Ore with Higher Fuel Ratio.<br />
The results of Test C show that smelting operations<br />
with lump ore were unsatisfactory. It appears<br />
from Test D that an approach to satisfactory operation<br />
can be realized by classifying the lumps, segregating<br />
them, and charging the different sizes into the<br />
furnace in sequence. Presumably there are a number<br />
of other suitable modifications in procedure which will<br />
accomplish the same result. In Test E. for example,<br />
an increase in the coke ratio restored the chemically<br />
idle zone to its normal position, as will be readily<br />
seen from Fig. 4. During Test E, the burden was<br />
115 lb. of lump ore, 50 lb. of limestone, and 120 lb. of<br />
coke per round. The composition of top gas with this<br />
burden is given in Table I. The metal made was<br />
grey iron, high in sulphur, the average analysis being<br />
C, 3.16 per cent; Si, 1.19 per cent; S, 0.118 per cent;<br />
Mn, 1.64 per cent, and P, 0.15 per cent. The hearth<br />
was probably not so strongly reducing as in Test A,<br />
and desulphurization of the metal was not complete.<br />
The slag was reasonably iron-free, averaging 0.9 per<br />
cent iron as FeO. Tests C, D, and E, taken together,<br />
show that an increase in coke neutralized the bad<br />
effects of an unsuitably sized ore. The 800 lb. of additional<br />
coke of Test E accomplished the same result<br />
that the improved sizing seemed to accomplish in Test<br />
eSteel Plant<br />
FIG. 3.—Lump ore—Test C.
27?-<br />
# ><br />
-Averaqe stock line<br />
'TT~I~\<br />
i—l f—<br />
?&&$$ w Ife<br />
^ ^<br />
r>s v-^,v ^ ^ s « M<br />
5^<br />
cy-Vst;<br />
A<br />
V<br />
(\? Zone of chemical inactivity '•£<br />
Die Blast FurnaceSSteel Plant<br />
#7<br />
-Average stock line<br />
C&S<br />
Tune, 1924<br />
V<br />
TgZone of chemical inactivity v}<br />
1 &
June, 1924<br />
D. The three tests indicate how a relationship may<br />
be developed connecting fuel consumption and the<br />
size of the ore particles.<br />
Experiments with Manganiferous Iron Ore.<br />
It seems appropriate to incorporate in this paper<br />
the results of two experiments with manganiferous ore<br />
from the Cuyuna Range. The chemical composition<br />
and mineralogical character of the ore are supposed<br />
to have an effect upon the rate of reduction, and therefore<br />
upon the position of the reduction "zone" in the<br />
blast furnace. In Test F, the Cuyuna ore was sized<br />
to correspond somewhat to the medium size ore of<br />
Test A. Although the ore in Test G was lumpy, the<br />
size of the average lump was smaller than in Tests<br />
C, D, and E. The analysis of the manganiferous ore<br />
was Fe, 31.6 per cent; Mn, 21.0 per cent; SiO,, 6.98<br />
per cent, and A1203, 4:18 per cent. The burden in Test<br />
F was 135 lb. of medium size Cuyuna ore, 40 lb. of<br />
limestone, 15 lb. of dolomite, and 120 lb. of coke per<br />
round. In Test G, the burden was 135 lb. of lump<br />
Cuyuna ore, 50 lb. of limestone, and 120 lb. of coke<br />
per round. The composition of the top gas for the<br />
two tests are given in Table I. The position of the<br />
CO, lines in the furnace shaft for Test F is given in<br />
Fig. 5 and for Test G in Fig. 6. Reduction takes place<br />
well within the upper half of the mantle in Fig. 5.<br />
In Fig. 6 there is evidence that a slight increase in burden,<br />
or an increased irregularity in the lump size<br />
would cause the reduction zone to descend into the<br />
normally inactive zone with the result that Fig. 6<br />
would resemble Fig. 3. The metal made with this<br />
ore was somewhat variable, particularly in regard to<br />
manganese content. The average analysis obtained<br />
indicated the following composition: C, 4.42 per cent;<br />
Si, 1.20 per cent; S, 0.022 per cent; Mn, 10.8 per cent,<br />
and P, 0.59 per cent. The rather incomplete data on<br />
manganiferous ores in the experimental furnace are<br />
given here since it is of interest in connection with<br />
the iron ore tests; the study of this type of ore is<br />
being continued.<br />
Conclusion.<br />
The details of the sample-tube method of determining<br />
the zone of reduction in the blast-furnace<br />
shaft were described in the preceding article of this<br />
series, and in the present paper, data from a group<br />
of seven tests is given. During these seven tests only<br />
three operating quantities were changed, the character<br />
of the ore (Mesabi hematite and Cuyuna manganiferous),<br />
the size of the ore (coarse, medium, and<br />
fine), and the fuel ratio. In each test the size and<br />
chemical analyses of the coke and limestone, the rate<br />
of driving, the blast temperature, and furnace lines<br />
were constant throughout. The six diagrams accompanying<br />
this paper throw considerable light on the<br />
details of the reduction-reactions, and the writers have<br />
found them well worth studying. Aside from their<br />
intrinsic value, these tests are of interest as an illustration<br />
of the kind of problems which can be investigated<br />
with such a piece of laboratory equipment as an experimental<br />
blast furnace. With a full-size furnace<br />
the sample-tube method of studying blast-furnace reactions<br />
yields similar results, although the time and<br />
effort required to get the same amount of information<br />
is increased manifold, and little hope is entertained of<br />
collecting such data for a group of related operations<br />
on the same furnace.<br />
IheDlast kimace^l/jteel riant<br />
Averaqe stock line<br />
~\\~\~ ^T- — -r./TiT<br />
279<br />
FIG 6.—Lump size manganiferous iron ore—Test G.
One of the present writers believes the continuation<br />
of the experimental furnace work is the most<br />
promising method of studying blast-furnace phenomena;<br />
another believes that the field work at industrial<br />
furnaces is the best line of attack; while the third<br />
thinks that a more thorough study of the fundamental<br />
reactions in a purely scientific laboratory manner is<br />
of more practical value. All three writers, however,<br />
agree that these various methods of study are of value,<br />
and the research will be continued along these three<br />
channels, as rapidly as opportunity permits.<br />
Acknowledgements.<br />
The writers are unwilling to conclude this series<br />
of papers without some reference to the assistance<br />
they have received from members of the Bureau of<br />
Mines and of the University of Minnesota. In the<br />
first place, this research would have been abandoned<br />
years ago had it not been for the unfailing confidence<br />
and continued encouragement of the chief metallurgist<br />
and assistant director, Dorsey A. Lyon. To no less<br />
extent, the progress of this work is indebted to the<br />
advice and co-operation of C. E. Julihn, past superintendent<br />
of the North Central Experiment Station, and<br />
to William R. Appleby, Dean of the School of Mines,<br />
University of Minnesota. The list of those at the University<br />
and in the Bureau who have helped in the<br />
work is too long for publication, but some reference<br />
must be made to the interest, practical advice, and<br />
active assistance of Peter Christianson, professor of<br />
metallurgy in the School of Mines.<br />
Blast Furnace Practice<br />
By MARK MEREDITH<br />
The iron and steel industries account for the consumption<br />
of a considerable amount of coal per annum.<br />
probably of some 30.000.000 tons. For a long time it<br />
has been suggested that the portion used in the blast<br />
furnace has been near the border line of irreducibility.<br />
Sir Lowthian Bell set this figure at 201-2 cwt.<br />
of coke per ton of pig iron from a Cleveland ironstone<br />
yielding 41 per cent of metal, and but a few years ago<br />
a fuel economy committee of the British Association<br />
still represented this figure as the practical minimum.<br />
The subject is an attractive one for research, and<br />
some time ago Messrs. E. R. Sutcliffe and E. C.<br />
Evans gave to the Iron and Steel Institute convincing<br />
indications of possible economies. There are, for<br />
example, several factors which may considerably influence<br />
fuel consumption. These include design of<br />
furnace and the character of the material used, such<br />
as ore, limestone, air blast, and coke. It is, however,<br />
mainly with the fuel that the authors are concerned.<br />
This is required for two purposes, chemical reduction<br />
and thermal effects.<br />
For a long time certain definite qualities in furnace<br />
coke have been regarded as very desirable and were<br />
therefore sought for. These were freedom from sulphur,<br />
high carbon content, porosity, and resistance to<br />
abrasion. These qualities are above criticism, but it<br />
was further required that the coke should be resistive<br />
to the action of carbonic acid in the upper part<br />
of the furnace, an action which the authors now advocate<br />
as distinctly advantageous rather than detrimental.<br />
For a long time the solubility of carbon in car-<br />
*Liverpool, England.<br />
Die Blast Furnace3 Steel Plant<br />
bon dioxide has been regarded as deleterious to fuel<br />
economy. It has, for example, been found that the<br />
solubilities of charcoal, coke and anthracite in carbon<br />
dioxide are in the order named, and yet the practical<br />
superiority of charcoal is well recognized. The matter<br />
undoubtedly calls for research and admits of<br />
discussion.<br />
The problem seems to center around what has<br />
been called the reactivity of coke as measured by its<br />
power of reacting with oxygen or with carbon dioxide.<br />
This constitutes a measure of the combustibility of<br />
coke. This, according to the authors, is not so much<br />
dependent upon the percentage of volatile matter in<br />
the coke as on its structure. A coal can be carbonized<br />
at any temperature and by any system and, with<br />
due care to obtain a certain characteristic structure,<br />
an extremely high degree of combustibility will result.<br />
Such a fuel lowers the zone of reduction on the<br />
furnace and enables the reactions to be carried out at<br />
a much higher temperature than with ordinary coke.<br />
The output of a furnace increases with the rapidity<br />
with which the fuel is consumed.<br />
It is possible to make estimates of the quantities<br />
of the coke required on the assumption that the furnace<br />
reactions proceed along definite lines, which are<br />
within the range of possibility. Against the usual<br />
consumption of, say, 21 cwt. coke per ton of pig iron.<br />
cases in which a much reduced quantity has been used<br />
can be quoted. One of the 11 cwt. per ton of pig iron<br />
was reported by Bell. If reduction can be effected<br />
by a lower proportion of carbon monoxide to carbon<br />
dioxide than usual, and if some of the carbon can be<br />
reduced by carbon then considerable savings of fuel<br />
are possible, and it appears probable that a highlv<br />
active fuel of the type described opens up far-reaching<br />
possibilities in blast furnace practice, and long established<br />
views of experts with reference to fuel economy<br />
in the smelting of iron may have to be reconsidered.<br />
While we have been publishing a series of highly<br />
technical articles on the operation of the blast furnace,<br />
by members of the Bureau of Mines staff, our<br />
esteemed monthly. The Scientific American, has been<br />
printing a popular series entitled, "The Story of<br />
Steel." Its fourth number, that in the April issue,<br />
concerns the blast furnace. In this is shown diagrammatically<br />
the operation of a furnace and its<br />
accompanying stoves and accessories. For the purpose<br />
of informing the scientifically inclined portion<br />
of the public we consider these popular articles of real<br />
value, and of course they are correctly presented.<br />
Birmingham. Ala., is to be the meeting place for<br />
the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical<br />
Engineers during October. We understand that some<br />
particularly interesting papers have been and are<br />
being prepared for this meeting, especially pertaining<br />
to furnaces and mining ore. That district mines 10<br />
per cent of our total iron ore and produces 7 per cent<br />
of the pig iron of the country.<br />
Further mention of foreign fields might include<br />
the progress of the Tata Iron & Steel Company in<br />
India. As is well known, much of this works was<br />
made in America. Recently a fifth blast furnace was<br />
blown in. This is the second of 600 tons capacity, and<br />
two more are contemplated. At present the daily<br />
capacity is 2,000 tons of pig iron.
Ihe Dlast kirnace Steel Plant<br />
Bohler Steel<br />
A Thriving Industrial Vestige of Dismembered Austria<br />
A U S T R I A has been so severely stripped of her<br />
industries, natural resources, population and<br />
other elements of her former wealth that she is<br />
scarcely expected to be included any more as one of<br />
the industrial nations of Europe. Nearly all her big<br />
textile, sugar and glass factories as well as her former<br />
coal deposits are now in Czecho-Slovakia, and as a<br />
general rule there can be said to be little love lost between<br />
the two. On the other hand, the few machine<br />
factories which Austria has retained, especially three<br />
or four locomotive works, which formerly supplied<br />
all the railroads in the great dual monarchy and who<br />
now find their market suddenly limited to a state only<br />
a fraction of the size of the old, have shrunk to an<br />
extent which is only a step or two removed from<br />
total extinction. That, under these circumstances,<br />
there should still exist in Austria an industrial firm<br />
in comparatively flourishing circumstances is a cause<br />
both for wonder and explanation. Hence this account.<br />
Bohler Brothers & Company, manufacturers of<br />
quality steel, are not unknown outside of Austria. In<br />
fact, they are rather better known outside than in.<br />
Domestic trade is but a small part of their total output—approximately<br />
a third—and represented about<br />
the same percentage before the war as now. Backed<br />
by a tradition literally of centuries they have considered<br />
it worth while to devote their entire production<br />
to a branch of the steel industry which is admittedly<br />
too slow, too complicated and too restricted to claim<br />
much time or attention from the big iron and steel<br />
corporations of Europe and America. The consequence<br />
is that Bohler Brothers now have the world for<br />
their market. They are specialists with what might<br />
be called a unique place in the industry. While other<br />
manufacturers of steel, in Europe at least, are wondering<br />
where the next orders are coming from, Bohler<br />
Brothers keep their five factories working at an even,<br />
steady and remunerative pace.<br />
As briefly as possible, Bohler products mean crucible<br />
steel at a dollar a pound including transport<br />
across the Atlantic, or four crowns i pre war gold)<br />
f.o.b. Kapfenberg. They mean a variety of fine steel<br />
tools, intricate f<strong>org</strong>ings for the construction of machines<br />
and motor cars, switches and cross sections for<br />
street railways, plates and sheets of high speed steel<br />
and of transformer and dynamo plates, and other appliances<br />
to the intricacy and perfection of which there<br />
is no reasonable limit. They mean the old. cumbersome,<br />
expensive methods of hand labor and minute<br />
personal attention ; of commission business and piecework.<br />
In short the reverse of the principles of standardization<br />
and quantity production usually associated<br />
with prosperous, up-to-date steel mills whether here<br />
or abroad. And yet there is no other way thus far<br />
discovered by which Bohler products can be turned<br />
out for the market.<br />
It is not that Bohler Brothers confuse the attributes<br />
of quality and quantity. Herr Otto Bohler, from<br />
whom the facts used in this article were obtained,<br />
is sufficiently acquainted with American steel produc<br />
By HENRY OBERMEYER and ARTHUR L. GREENE<br />
tion to know that quantity production is not necessarily<br />
inconsistent with quality steel. Old fashioned<br />
hand methods, where employed in the Bohler plants,<br />
are employed because of necessity. If the manufacturer<br />
of rails, boilers and girders were to adopt the<br />
Bohler method the price of steel would become prohibitive;<br />
and besides, the quality would surpass the<br />
requirements. A steel corporation with hundreds<br />
of millions of invested capital cannot afford to devote<br />
its mills to the production of, say, steel for surgical<br />
instruments. That is the place Bohler Brothers<br />
have made for themselves. They won their success<br />
because they avoided competition as far as that was<br />
possible. They are operating today, in spite of adverse<br />
conditions in their own country and in foreign<br />
mrakets, because their product is a necessity.<br />
Drying crucibles. The crucibles emerging from the presses are<br />
dried for about 5 to 6 weeks in heated and Z'cutilatcd chambers.<br />
Permanent stock of 50,000 crucibles.<br />
One is permitted a little curiosity over the affairs<br />
of such a concern as Bohler Brothers. Situated in a<br />
country which has literally fallen to pieces and the<br />
value of whose currency is second in fantastic worthlessness<br />
only to that of Russia, how are they able<br />
to carry on business as before? What handicaps have<br />
they met and by wdiat methods have they managed<br />
to overcome them? Financing, raw materials and<br />
marketing are the bases of one"s questions. One also<br />
wonders how, with the war and the consequent shortage<br />
of raw materials, especially in Austria, a manufacturer<br />
of quality steel has managed to maintain<br />
his standard. Obviously this is the most important<br />
question of them all.<br />
First, however, one must examine the resources<br />
and the <strong>org</strong>anization of the company. Briefly, Bohler<br />
Brothers own and operate five factories in Central Europe.<br />
The largest is in Kapfenberg, Austria. The<br />
second is in Dusseldorf, Germany, one of the principal<br />
centers of the Ruhr district now occupied by the<br />
French. The remaining three factories are all in Aus-
282<br />
tria. The company's principal source of high grade<br />
ore lies in the Styrian Mountains, one of the fewnatural<br />
productive regions left to Austria, and consists<br />
of what is probably one of the most remarkable<br />
deposits of iron in the world. Here is an entire mountain<br />
of extraordinarily pure spathic ore, extracted entirely<br />
by open quarrying, of which, together with the<br />
Alpine Mining Company (Alpina Montan Gesellschaft)<br />
Bohler Brothers are the sole owners.<br />
The equipment of the various factories, even of<br />
the newest in the Dusseldorf, which is less than 10<br />
years old, may be described as conservatively modern.<br />
Bohler Brothers are not and cannot afford to be<br />
radicals in the development of steel manufacturing.<br />
A large output—quantity production—holds no inducement<br />
for them. They work for the comparatively<br />
few. Their sole concern is with the maintenance of<br />
a standard. Thus, while they are well equipped with<br />
those machines and furnaces which help to increase<br />
Dredge buckets. The bucket lips are made of manganese steel<br />
of extraordinary resistance.<br />
the quality of their manufactured steel, they have<br />
not extended themselves in the direction of mere labor<br />
or fuel saving devices. Pig iron is produced in small<br />
blast furnaces, converted into steel in open hearth,<br />
and remelted in electric and crucible furnaces. The<br />
big Kapfenberg factory is operated to within 50 per<br />
cent of its capacity on water generated electric power.<br />
But there are many things, they say, which still<br />
cannot be done by electricity, such as the production<br />
of pig iron in electric blast furnaces as is being attempted<br />
in parts of Sweden. They are busily investigating<br />
the scientific problems that may lead to technical<br />
improvements, not wishing, however, to adopt<br />
a new process until it has proved as reliable as the old.<br />
Otherwise they prefer to rely on the methods of the<br />
past on which their reputation is based. In the manufacture<br />
of pig iron for crucible steel the factory uses<br />
only the highest grade charcoal instead of coke. Gas<br />
furnaces are operated only on pure coal. The labor<br />
that goes into the making of the steel is of the same<br />
high quality. Many operations are carried out by<br />
hand which in our steel mills are accomplished mechanically<br />
if not automatically. A great many of the<br />
laborers are descended from generations of steel workers<br />
who are said to have worked on the site of the<br />
Kapfenberg mill when it was one of the centers of the<br />
me Dlasr lurnace^ jteel riant<br />
June, 1924<br />
guild. Parts of the old walls are still standing as<br />
sections of the new.<br />
We see, therefore, that change and readaptation<br />
does not come easy to a firm like this. This makes it<br />
seem all the more amazing that Bohler Brothers were<br />
able to pass through the strenuous days of war and<br />
the even more trying times of peace without .ipparently<br />
having its reputation, <strong>org</strong>anization or even markets<br />
seriously impaired. The fact remains, however, that<br />
Bohler Brothers today employ approximately the same<br />
number of workmen as before the war — something<br />
more than 7,000 •— who receive the same scale of<br />
wages, estimated on a gold basis, and who produce.<br />
in the main, the same variety and amount of products.<br />
Even the distribution of sales has not materially<br />
altered, although the occupation of the Ruhr may be<br />
found to have effected a more or less temporary<br />
change. Up to that time one-third of the Bohler output<br />
went to Germany^, one-third was sold in Austria<br />
or its former possessions, and the remaining third was<br />
distributed abroad, especially to the United States<br />
where the manufacture of high grade steel for machine<br />
tools, etc., generally gives way to production of structural<br />
grades. This distribution was substantially the<br />
same in 1914. The constant demand for this type of<br />
steel on the part of America is naturally owing principally<br />
to the cost of labor here which prohibits the<br />
employment of large numbers of workers for such enterprises.<br />
The turnover is too small and the yield of<br />
profits is too low.<br />
One of the most notable features of the Bohler<br />
Company after the war was the rapidity with which<br />
the concern recaptured its markets in so-called enemy<br />
as well as neutral countries. The real answer to this,<br />
of course, lies in the fact that no serious attempt was<br />
made by any other company to capture it. This would<br />
have been difficult not merely because of Bohler's<br />
world-wide reputation but more directly because of<br />
its long years' of experience in the manufacture of a<br />
highly specialized product. In point of fact Bohler<br />
had regained at least a permanent foothold on its<br />
former markets within six months after the Treaty of<br />
Versailles.<br />
Difficulties not inconsiderable had to be circumvented.<br />
Chief among these were the effects of the<br />
long, lean years of fighting during which there existed<br />
a virtual embargo of tungsten manganese and other<br />
elements required in the manufacture of Bohler steel<br />
which the company had been accustomed to obtain<br />
through the London market. With the resumption of<br />
peacetime activities there were very real doubts<br />
among the company's heads whether or not the factory<br />
would be able to restore its prewar turnover.<br />
These doubts were soon overcome by the only<br />
really important kind of evidence, namely the restoration<br />
of old markets. Salesmanship and modern business<br />
methods were large contributory factors to this<br />
result. The immediate resumption of peace production<br />
had an excellent effect on commerce at a time<br />
when deliveries were doubtful and production of any<br />
sort, but especially in machine industries, was, to<br />
speak conservatively, uncertain.<br />
The Austrian temperament, more engaging, conducive<br />
to compromise, more willing to please than<br />
that of the north German, drove a wedge into many<br />
markets still closed to Germany on the ground of<br />
prejudice. Just as Austrians have pleaded their case
June, 1924<br />
so well in the councils of the League of Nations, so<br />
they tooted their goods in the markets of the world.<br />
Thus we see France and Italy highin the list of Bohler's<br />
customers, while Australia, most for bidding of<br />
all to German merchants, receives mention once more<br />
in the Bohler books. Nowhere was the export field<br />
more quickly regained than in Japan, a field which<br />
had been well developed 20 years before the war. Englang<br />
alone, the home of Sheffield steel, has proved a<br />
disappointment. There was a Bohler office in Sheffield<br />
before the war, but this was soon swallowed up in the<br />
enemy alien property confiscations. Failure to have<br />
its property restored, Bohler decided that the cost of<br />
bringing suit or starting in anew from the ground up<br />
would not justify the probable result. Instead the<br />
company has started after South American trade, recently<br />
opening a house in Buenos Aires.<br />
Border's connections with Germany, as have been<br />
indicated, are exceedingly close. Up to January of<br />
this year, when the French made their move on the<br />
Ruhr, Germany was buying one-third of all the Bohler<br />
output. This consisted virtually of the total output of<br />
the Dusseldorf plant. It was this large German market<br />
which was originally responsible for the building<br />
of a plant in western Germany. Before 1914 the German<br />
market was supplied from Kapfenberg and the<br />
other Austrian plants. Competition was strong and<br />
the promptness of delivery was often a deciding factor.<br />
Expanding business and restricted space made<br />
the building of another plant imperative, and it was<br />
inevitable under the circumstances that this plant<br />
should be situated in the heart of the company's largest<br />
single foreign market. It is interesting to note,<br />
however, that not merely were the plans drawn up,<br />
but the actual building of the factory was commenced<br />
some months before the outbreak of the war. With<br />
the coming of hostilities it was immediately pushed<br />
to a hurried completion, requisitioned, like that at<br />
Kapfenberg, for munitions and other war materials,<br />
so that it was not actually used for its destined purpose<br />
until more than four years later. At the time of<br />
our visit to Vienna the occupation of the Ruhr was<br />
still in a state of deadlock. Herr Bohler was not of<br />
the opinion, however, that the German branch of the<br />
company would suffer seriously either from restrictive<br />
measures or from lack of fuel and raw materials.<br />
The prosperity over the Bohler company naturally<br />
makes its heads perhaps unduly optimistic over the<br />
future industrial recovery of Austria. On the other<br />
hand Herr Bohler probably knows the actual condition<br />
of the country as it exists today about as well as<br />
any other man in Austria.<br />
"There is no doubt," he said, "that Austria at the<br />
moment is in the throes of an industrial and financial<br />
depression, due in large measure to the government's<br />
attempt to stabilize the crown, but owing chiefly, of<br />
course, to the fact that Austria has lost the greatest<br />
part of both her domestic markets and her large productive<br />
centers as well as her natural resources of<br />
coal. In discussing the future, however, we are compelled<br />
to disregard the latter factor, because there<br />
does not appear to be much hope of immediate restoration.<br />
We must consider industrial Austria in the<br />
light of what she is today.<br />
"Stabilization of the currency, whether by artificial<br />
or other means, was vitally necessary for the restoration<br />
of the country, but was by no means an unmixed<br />
blessing either to producers or consumers. We see<br />
Tke Blast FurnaccSStoel Plant<br />
283<br />
this most clearly in Czecho-Slovakia where stabilization<br />
has been going on for a much longer period. Unemployment<br />
is rife, markets are difficult to obtain, and<br />
the cost of living at home has risen to some extent in<br />
spite of the high value of the currency.<br />
"Much the same thing has happened here in Austria.<br />
In the domestic market especially we find that<br />
people are buying as little as possible because they<br />
are convinced that prices are about to fall. 1 doubt,<br />
however, that the stringency will last with us as long<br />
as with Czecho-Slovakia, because in our case the re-<br />
Special sections of rolled steel. Sheel in these sections is rolled<br />
in a separate plant exclusively equipped for the manufacture<br />
of such specialties. This selection representing only a small<br />
part of the range of profiles shows the manifoldness in the<br />
production.<br />
suits have been confined chiefly within the country.<br />
They have not affected our foreign markets. The<br />
Bohler Company has a special problem to deal with in<br />
this connection because of its German factory. Owing<br />
to opposite tendencies in the two countries we<br />
see the value of the mark and of the crown rapidly<br />
approaching each other. This renders all our calculations<br />
uncertain from day to day.<br />
"In the main, however, stabilization has had a<br />
healthy effect on the industrial life of the country.<br />
Indeed, at the present moment I doubt very much if<br />
the removal of government regulation would affect the<br />
value of the crown adversely except as fluctuations occurred<br />
through speculation. In actuality the crown
284<br />
is not being supported by artificial means. There was<br />
even an occasion last winter when the government<br />
was compelled to keep the value of the crown from<br />
rising in order to avoid unnecessary embarrassment<br />
to industry. The present tendency of the crown is<br />
not to fall but to rise.<br />
"However, the rise has not yet reached the point<br />
where we can safely finance our operations on a paper<br />
crown basis. Both our sales and purchases have been<br />
made on a gold basis ever since the end of the war,<br />
but it has sometimes been extremely difficult to educate<br />
our customers to the idea. There is a law against<br />
selling in terms of foreign currency within the country,<br />
but it is not generally regarded, and even the<br />
government collects its duties at the frontier in gold<br />
instead of paper crowns.<br />
"The problem is not as simple as it sounds. It is<br />
easy to make up one's mind to sell and buy only in<br />
gold crowns, but, with the value of the paper crown<br />
where it is, it is not easy to put into effect. We and<br />
our customers all had to strip our minds entirely of<br />
the old ideas of money. We had to convince ourselves<br />
that the old currency no longer existed. A<br />
crown in June was not the same as a crown in July.<br />
One could not borrow money one month and promise<br />
to repay it the next. Finance required an entirely new<br />
frame of mind. Except' for those few who were already<br />
dealing in gold crowns—principally those from<br />
whom we bought—we were compelled to accustom all<br />
those with whom we dealt to the new conditions. It<br />
was a long and not always successful process. Even<br />
today we find small buyers occasionally refusing to<br />
meet our terms. They think they can still pay in<br />
paper crowns. W r e have to show them why they<br />
can't.<br />
"The future? Well, I think we are looking rather<br />
hopefully toward Russia. One reads a good deal<br />
about the possibility of an industrial alliance between<br />
Germany and Russia. Personally I think Austria's<br />
opportunity is much better than that of Germany.<br />
Vienna, you know, has always been the door leading<br />
directly into Russia. It is the gateway to the East.<br />
Our firm has always been on the best of terms with<br />
the Russians. It was with us that their engineers<br />
learned the art of making crucible steel. Of course<br />
just at present anything in the way of real business<br />
there would be too risky. But we have sent our salesmen<br />
there, though mostly for the purpose of looking<br />
over the field and reporting. We have also made certain<br />
tentative agreements with the Soviet government.<br />
I am convinced that Russia will develop to the necessary<br />
point within a very short time. Already there is<br />
a tremendous improvement which has come about<br />
only during the past year. When reconstruction actually<br />
begins it will go forward rapidly.<br />
"When Russia returns to health—or, more correctly,<br />
wdien health returns to Russia—then the rest of<br />
industrial Europe will be able to resume its predestined<br />
course by means of its natural resources of raw<br />
materials, its water power, its agriculture, and the<br />
thrift and labor of its people in spite of war s devastation<br />
and in spite of new political alignments. We<br />
have learned that great nations can be utterly ruined<br />
yet their people continue to live. The only essentials<br />
are the ability to work and the will to do it. Both<br />
these conditions have been fulfilled in Austria, and for<br />
this reason I look for the return of national and personal<br />
prosperity."<br />
IneDlast kirnaceL-jteel riant<br />
June, 1924<br />
Welding Locomotive Guide Rods<br />
An interesting exhibit was brought to the attention<br />
of railroad men at the National Railway Appliance<br />
Association exhibition at the Coliseum, Chicago, recently.<br />
A new process for repairing locomotive guides<br />
was displayed by means of wdtich the General Electric<br />
Company claims to have eliminated all difficulties previously<br />
encountered in renewing these guides and<br />
keeping them up to I. C. C. standards.<br />
The process used was electric arc welding automatically<br />
applied. The guides were placed in an ordinary<br />
lathe and on the tool post, was mounted the<br />
automatic welder. When in operation, the guide<br />
remained stationary and the automatic welder traveled<br />
along with the carriage of the lathe, depositing<br />
electrode metal on the worn surface of the guide. The<br />
welding was applied on the side surface of the guide<br />
covering a width of two inches, beginning the welding<br />
on the inside and laying down adjacent beads<br />
working to the outer edge. Two layers of beads were<br />
required to build up the worn spot, a total of y, in.<br />
on each side. This was then machined away y in. on<br />
each side, leaving a y in. finished built-up stock. The<br />
length of the built-up guide was five feet. A total of<br />
three hours was required for welding both sides, using<br />
150 amperes, 20 volts across the arc and y in.<br />
diameter electrode wire.<br />
Four Guides Reclaimed by Oxyacetylene Process.<br />
Labor (8 hours at 75 cents) $6.24<br />
Oxygen (3.168 cu. ft. at $1.75) 5.54<br />
Acetylene (4.024 cu. ft. at $1.15) 4.53<br />
Wire (28 lbs. Manganese bronze—43 cents per lb. 12.04<br />
Total (four guides ) $28.35<br />
Cost (one guide) 7.09<br />
Four Guides Reclaimed by Automatic Electric Arc Process.<br />
Labor (12 hrs. at 78 cents) $9.36<br />
Electric Power 2.40<br />
Electrode (28 lbs. Roebling) 2.53<br />
Total (four guides) $14.28<br />
Cost (one guide) 3.57<br />
—General Electric Bulletin.<br />
A New Wire Fence Galvanizing Process<br />
The development of a new process of galvanizing<br />
that trebles the life of woven wire fence has been announced<br />
by the Page Steel & Wire Company of<br />
Bridgeport, Conn. The new method is called "Galvanizing<br />
after Weaving."<br />
The process applies a protecting coat of zinc to<br />
the fabricated wire that is five times heavier than<br />
that on ordinary galvanized wire.<br />
Formerly the wire of wheih fence was made was<br />
first galvanized and then woven into fence, and due<br />
to the fact that considerable mechanical operations<br />
were performed, the thickness of the zinc coating was<br />
definitely limited. In the "galvanizing after weaving"<br />
method, the mechanical operations are all performed<br />
first, and the fabric is then galvanized, thus<br />
permitting the application of a "super-heavy" coating<br />
of zinc.<br />
In service tests, wire bearing the thickness of coating<br />
that is applied by the new method has successfully<br />
withstood exposure in New England for more<br />
than seven years. It is pointed out that inasmuch as<br />
the "galvanized after weaving" method trebles the<br />
life of fence, it reduces service costs about two-thirds<br />
for the user.
June, 1924<br />
Ihe Dlasf kimaco^-jteel riant<br />
SHEET-TIN PLATE<br />
Sheet Steel Executives Convene<br />
White Sulphur Springs Meeting Results in Trade Extension Plan<br />
T H E second annual meeting of sheet steel executives<br />
brought to a successful conclusion the seven<br />
years' campaign for <strong>org</strong>anized trade extension effort.<br />
At the conclusion of the final session, President<br />
W. S. Horner, of the National Association of Sheet<br />
and Tin Plate Manufacturers, was tendered a rising<br />
vote of thanks in recognition of his most successful<br />
effort.<br />
The purpose of the meeting, held at Hotel Greenbrier,<br />
May 12, 13, 14, 15, was for the "careful study,<br />
joint consideration and discussion of vital problems affecting<br />
the sheet steel industry, also to widen and<br />
deepen friendship within its circle." Judged by the<br />
atmsophere of unanimous satisfaction and approval,<br />
and the evident reluctance to separate, the purposes<br />
suggested were conclusively accomplished.<br />
Executive sessions were conveniently divided into<br />
three separate sub-divisions, administration, distribution,<br />
and production.<br />
Administration—Under the chairmanship of Severn<br />
P. Ker, President Sharon Steel Hoop Co., Sharon,<br />
Pa.<br />
Mr. Horner's address, "The Sheet Steel Industry,"<br />
sounded the keynote for the entire convention. Reviewing<br />
the early growth of the industry, he submitted<br />
many tabulated comparisons which emphasized his<br />
points. Among these, a list of the major users of sheet<br />
steel shown by percentage of tonnage is as follows :<br />
Class Per Cent<br />
Automotive industry 37.7<br />
Jobbers 13.0<br />
Electrical manufacturers 7.8<br />
Roofing 5.2<br />
Barrel and keg manufacturers 4.3<br />
Export 4.0<br />
Stove and range 3.5<br />
Refrigerators and range boilers 3.2<br />
Metal furniture 2.8<br />
Building construction 22<br />
Water troughs and grain bins 1.9<br />
Culvert and flume 1.9<br />
Car builders 1.8<br />
Farm implements 1.1<br />
Tack and nail plate .2<br />
Casket and vault manufacturers .2<br />
Miscellaneous 9.2<br />
100.0<br />
Mr. Horner's address will be published in full in<br />
the July issue of this magazine.<br />
"The Relation of Administration to Operation," by<br />
Clayton L. Patterson, Secretary of Labor Bureau,<br />
National Association of Sheet and Tin Plate Manufacturers.<br />
Mr. Patterson struck a happy vein when he<br />
stressed the qualifications most needed by executives<br />
in the conduct of modern complex industrialism. With<br />
Ratification by 80 Per Cent of Independents<br />
285<br />
out the ability to select with judgment and foresight<br />
those men upon whose shoulders the burden of actual<br />
operation must rest, any executive must fail, irrespective<br />
of his capacity for work or his general intelligence.<br />
Mr. Ge<strong>org</strong>e M. Verity, President of the American<br />
Rolling Mill Company, Middletown, Ohio, was most<br />
timely in his address, "Industrial Stability."<br />
Momentary fluctuations, successes or failures<br />
should be considered in a purely relative way, an average<br />
perspective can only be gained by comprehending<br />
a period of years as a unit. Five years was suggested<br />
as a logical period, but not an arbitrary period,<br />
in which to weigh comparisons. Coming at this moment<br />
of reaction in industry, Mr. Verity's plea for<br />
stability took on added significance. Rather is not<br />
stability a question of the human instabilities and lack<br />
of vision, rather than any inherent weakness in the<br />
industrial fabric itself.<br />
"Economic Factors and Administration of Industry,"<br />
by Leslie M. Vickers of the National Industrial<br />
Conference Board, brought out very clearly through<br />
the aid of charts and curves the evident relations between<br />
costs of living and wages. Standards not costs<br />
is the insistent cry of today's breadwinners.<br />
Distribution.<br />
Air. Walter C. Carroll, vice president, Inland Steel<br />
Company, Chicago, 111., presided as chairman of the<br />
Distribution sessions.<br />
"Economy and Elimination of Waste in the Sheet<br />
Steel Industry," by A. E. Foote, of the U. S. Department<br />
of Commerce, Washington. Major Foote gave<br />
an interesting survey of this most important phase of<br />
work now being carried on under Secretary Hoover's<br />
direction. Innumerable instances were cited showing<br />
progress made by other industries, and the way was<br />
pointed out where by the sheet steel industry may profit<br />
by the experiences and methods already gained and<br />
applied. Reference to the availability of the Bureau<br />
of Standards' vast laboratory resources indicated<br />
points of common contact.<br />
"Feasibility and Advantage of Trade Promotion<br />
Through United Effort," was the subject of Mr.<br />
Murray Springer, Executive Vice President, Crosby<br />
Company, Chicago, which company recently completed<br />
the general plan for sheet steel trade extension.<br />
The plan provides for a publicity campaign which is<br />
expected to involve the expenditure of approximately<br />
$900,000, divided over a period of three years. The<br />
funds are to be secured through an assessment upon<br />
a tonnage basis to be levied upon all signitory companies'<br />
product. Assuming an annual tonnage of
286<br />
about 3,000,000 tons of sheets per year, and assessment<br />
of about 10c per ton will provide the necessary<br />
revenues.<br />
"Is the Trade Extension Plan Legal?" Mr. T. D.<br />
McCloskey, General Counsel, National Association<br />
of Sheet and Tin Plate Manufacturers, laid emphasis<br />
upon the underlying motive of the association, namely,<br />
to increase the sales and uses of sheet steel, and for<br />
that reason should meet no legal interferences.<br />
Mr. L. D. Mercer, Sales Manager of the United Alloy<br />
Steel Corporation, of Canton, O., presented a<br />
most telling analysis of the factors upon which the<br />
steel business has rested, and indicated some of the<br />
difficulties which confronted the very acceptance of<br />
the idea of publicity. The Steel Industry as a whole<br />
deals and thinks in terms of tonnage. The Sheet Steel<br />
Industry has contented itself with producing sheets<br />
and left it up to the distributor to sell them. Progress<br />
in selling, merchandizing or advertising, as the terms<br />
are modernly understood, has been conspicuous by its<br />
absence.<br />
Mr. W. V. Follansbee, President of Follansbee<br />
Brothers Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., drew an analogy<br />
between results obtained by the jobbing division of<br />
Follansbee Brothers Company, in the sales of sheet<br />
copper, as a result of the publicity campaign carried<br />
on by the Copper and Brass Research Association.<br />
The Zinc Institute effort in the same direction is bearing<br />
fruit. Speaking specifically, Mr. Follansbee called<br />
attention to a single class of receptacles, which, if<br />
made exclusively of sheet steel, would require 50,000<br />
tons to supply a city of 2,000,000 people.<br />
Mr. Roy de Staebler, Manager of Sales, Beck &<br />
Corbitt Iron Company, St. Louis, voiced the opinion<br />
of the large jobber. He bore a message from the<br />
Zinc Institute, which in substance was a prayer for<br />
"Two Ounce Coating." Over a million tons of sheet<br />
steel roofing was now being lost annually to prepared<br />
roofings due conspicuously to the fact that low<br />
standards of galvanizing had been allowed to creep<br />
into the sheet business. "Give us jobbers 'two ounce<br />
sheet' and we will sell it, otherwise the galvanized<br />
business may as well be relegated to the archives."<br />
Production.<br />
Mr. Charles R. Hook, vice president, American<br />
Rolling Mill Company, Middletown, Ohio, presided<br />
as chairman of this division.<br />
"Labor Supply," an address by Cyrus S. Ching,<br />
supervisor of industrial relations, M. S. Rubber Coinpan}-,<br />
New York, summarized the changing conditions<br />
of vital employment in the light of intimate statistics<br />
available to the National Manufacturers' Association.<br />
"Man power must be conserved."<br />
"Better Understanding Between Management and<br />
Men," by James M. Larkin, assistant to the president,<br />
Bethlehem Steel Company, Bethlehem, Pa., was a concrete<br />
story of Bethlehem's solution of this modern<br />
problem.<br />
"The Development of Labor Saving Machinery in<br />
the Steel Industry."<br />
In this important discussion, Mr. L. D. Mercer,<br />
Sales Manager of the United Alloy Steel Corporation<br />
of Canton, Ohio, was called upon to deliver the address<br />
of Mr. G. H. Charls, Vice President and General<br />
Manager of the same company.<br />
The growth of working power during the last 50<br />
years of progress has been from 68,000 h.p. per 1,000,-<br />
Ihe blast Furnace^Steel Plant<br />
June, 1924<br />
000 inhabitants in 1880, to 228,000 h.p. per 1,000,000<br />
inhabitants in 1914.<br />
To secure accurate data covering the substitution of<br />
mechanical means where formerly hand labor was involved,<br />
a questionnaire to various mills was submitted.<br />
The replies cover a wide range of activities. A list<br />
from a single concern is suggestive:<br />
Cement guns for sealing up furnaces and checkers.<br />
Slag guns for cleaning slag from open hearth cinder<br />
pockets.<br />
Mechanical methods for spraying mold interiors.<br />
Gravity conveyors for hauling brick, spelter, lumber,<br />
etc.<br />
Tractors and trucks for internal transportation.<br />
In addition, many other applications already accomplished,<br />
such as, mechanical brick handling for<br />
furnace rebuilding; coal-handling by drag-line bucket<br />
method ; introduction of roller-bearings on ingot-buggies;<br />
water cooled furnace ports; automatic handling<br />
of sheets in pickling, which reduces man-power and<br />
improves quality of product; pack-opening machines,<br />
which reduce the hazard incident to this clumsy hand<br />
operation, and many others too numerous to mention,<br />
each frequently leading to a further development long<br />
considered impossible.<br />
"Public Policy and Production.' Mr. James A.<br />
Emery, General Counsel of the National Manufacturers<br />
Association of Washington, D. C, presented<br />
this inclusive subject as only Mr. Emery himself is<br />
qualified to do. Building upon an historical background,<br />
the speaker led his receptive audience through<br />
the successive stages of human progress, the while<br />
calling upon the broad perspective of his years of experiences<br />
not with a single industry but with the<br />
many to clinch the points so frequently made. The<br />
enthusiasm shown at his conclusion formed a fitting<br />
climax to a gathering which will go down in sheet<br />
steel history as the meeting where the accomplishments<br />
were worthy of the quality of the attendance.<br />
The roll of attendance follows:<br />
ROLL OF ATTENDANCE<br />
ALAN WOOD IRON & STEEL COMPANY<br />
PHILADELPHIA, PA.<br />
MR. RICHARD G. WOOD, President<br />
MR. \V. W. LUKENS, Vice President<br />
MR. C. O. HADLY, Gen. Mgr. Sales<br />
ALLEGHENY STEEL COMPANY<br />
BRACKENRIDCE, PA.<br />
MR. H. E. SHELDON, President<br />
MR. ROBT. D. CAMPBELL. Vice President and Treasurer<br />
MR. JAMES O. CARR, I'iee President<br />
MR. PAUL F. VOIGHT, .IR.. General Sales Agent<br />
THE AMERICAN ROLLING MILL COMPANY<br />
MIDDLETOWN, OHIO.<br />
MR. GEORGE M. VERITY, President<br />
MR. C. R. HOOK, Vice Pres. and Gen. Mgr.<br />
MR. C. W. VERITY, Treasurer<br />
MR. W. W. SEBALD. Asst. Vice Pres.<br />
MR. G. E. AHLBRANDT, Gen. Mgr. Sales<br />
APOLLO STEEL COMPANY-<br />
APOLLO, PA.<br />
MR. A. M. OPPENHEIMER, President<br />
BETHLEHEM STEEL COMPANY<br />
BETHLEHEM, PA.<br />
MR. PAUL MACKALL, Asst. Gen. Sales Agt.<br />
MR. IAMES M. LARKIN, Asst. to the President<br />
MR. B. F. MCMAHON, Mgr. of Sales, Sheet Div.
June, 1924<br />
CANONSBURG STEEL & IRON WORKS<br />
CANONSBURG, PA.<br />
MR. E. W. EDWARDS, President<br />
MR. C. L. POLLOCK, Gen. Mgr. Sales<br />
CENTRAL STEEL COMPANY<br />
MASSILLON, OHIO<br />
MR. R. F. BEBB. Chairman<br />
MR. F. J. GRIFFITHS, President and Gen. Manager<br />
MR. B. F. FAIRLESS, Vice President<br />
MR. J. M. SCHLENDORF, Vice President<br />
EASTERN ROLLING MILL COMPANY<br />
BALTIMORE, MD.<br />
MR. A. I. HAZLETT, Sales Manager<br />
FALCON STEEL COMPANY<br />
NILES, OHIO.<br />
MR. LLOYD BOOTH, President<br />
MR. PAUL WICK, Vice President<br />
FOLLANSBEE BROTHERS COMPANY<br />
PITTSBURGH, PA.<br />
MR. W. U. FOLLANSBEE, President<br />
INLAND STEEL COMPANY<br />
CHICAGO, III.<br />
MR. WALTER C CARROLL, Vice President<br />
MR. C. A. IRWIN<br />
MAHONING VALLEY' STEEL COMPANY<br />
NILES, OHIO<br />
MR. J. P. HOSACK, Vice President<br />
MANSFIELD SHEET & TIN PLATE COMPANY<br />
MANSFIELD, OHIO<br />
MR. A. 1. DAVEY, First Vice President<br />
MR. F. W. BEACH, Gen. Mgr. Sales<br />
MICHIGAN STEEL CORPORATION<br />
DETROIT, MICHIGAN<br />
MR. FREDERICK B. LOVEJOY, Chairman of the Board<br />
MR. GEORGE R. FINK, President<br />
"NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SHEET & TIN PLATE<br />
MANUFACTURERS<br />
PITTSBURGH, PA.<br />
MR. W. S. HORNER, President<br />
MR. W. W. LOWER, Secretary-Treasurer<br />
MR. C. L. PATTERSON, Secretary Labor Bureau<br />
MR. T. D. MCCLOSKEY, General Counsel<br />
NATIONAL ENAMELING & STAMPING COMPANY-<br />
GRANITE CITY, III.<br />
MR. GEORGE W. NEIDRINGHAUS, President<br />
NEWPORT ROLLING MILL COMPANY<br />
NEWPORT, KY.<br />
MR. JOS. B. ANDREWS, Vice President<br />
MR. FRANK A. M0E6CHL, Vice President<br />
NEWTON STEEL COMPANY<br />
YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO<br />
MR. J. H. FITCH, JR., Vice President<br />
OTIS STEEL COMPANY<br />
CLEVELAND, OHIO<br />
MR. GEORGE BARTOL, President<br />
MR. B. D. QUARRIE. General Manager<br />
MR. J. G. CARRUTHERS, Gen. Mgr. Sales<br />
PARKERSBURG IRON & STEEL COMPANY<br />
PITTSBURGH, PA.<br />
MR. C. F. NIEMANN, President<br />
Ine Blast rumaceSSteel Plant<br />
REEVES MANUFACTURING COMPANY<br />
DOVER, OHIO.<br />
MR. A. J. KRANTZ, Treasurer and General Manager<br />
REPUBLIC IRON & STEEL COMPANY<br />
YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO<br />
MR. WILBER B. TOPPING, General Manager Sales<br />
SENECA IRON & STEEL COMPANY<br />
BUFFALO, N. Y.<br />
MR. K. L. GRIFFITH, General Manager<br />
MR. A. T. HUNT, Manager of Sales<br />
SHARON STEEL HOOP COMPANY<br />
SHARON, PA.<br />
MR. SEVERN P. KER, President<br />
MR. H. T. GILBERT, Vice President<br />
287<br />
SUPERIOR SHEET STEEL COMPANY<br />
CANTON, OHIO<br />
MR. H. A. ROE.MER, Vice President and General Manager<br />
THOMAS SHEET STEEL COMPANY<br />
NILES, OHIO.<br />
MR. M. C SUMMERS, President<br />
TRUMBULL STEEL COMPANY<br />
WARREN, OHIO.<br />
MR. E. T. SPROULL, General Manager Sales<br />
L T NITED ALLOY STEEL CORPORATION<br />
CANTON, OHIO.<br />
MR. G. H. CHARLS, Vice President and General Manager<br />
MR. L. D. MERCER, Sales Manager, Stark Division<br />
WEIRTON STEEL COMPANY<br />
WEIRTON, W. VA.<br />
MR. E. T. WEIR, President<br />
WEST PENN STEEL COMPANY<br />
BRACKENRIDGE, PA.<br />
MR. JOEL BURDICK, Chairman<br />
MR. JULIAN BURDICK, President<br />
MR. F. L. KENNEDY, General Manager Sales<br />
WHEELING STEEL CORPORATION<br />
WHEELING, W. VA.<br />
MR. ALEXANDER GLASS, CHAIRMAN<br />
MR. W. H. ABBOTT, Vice President<br />
MR. W. J. STOOP, Vice President<br />
MR. H. D. WESTFALL, General Manager Sales<br />
MR. W. L. LATTA, Asst. Manager of Sales<br />
YOUNGSTOWN SHEET & TUBE COMPANY<br />
YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO.<br />
MR. JAMES A. CAMPBELL, President<br />
MR. W. E. WATSON, General Manager Sales<br />
Official Reporter,<br />
MRS. G. F. AHLBRANDT<br />
MRS. J. B. ANDREWS<br />
MRS. JOEL BURDICK<br />
MRS. GEORGE BARTOL<br />
MISS ELEANOR BARTOL<br />
MRS. F. W. BEACH<br />
MRS. LLOYD BOOTH<br />
MRS. G. M. CHARLS<br />
MRS. R. D. CAMPBELL<br />
MRS. J. 0. CARR<br />
MRS. A. I. DAVEY<br />
MRS. JAMES A. EMERY<br />
MRS. E. W. EDWARDS<br />
MRS. W. U. FOLLANSBEE<br />
MRS. GEORGE R. FINK<br />
MRS. ALEXANDER GLASS<br />
MRS. W. S. HORNER<br />
MRS. C. 0. HADLY<br />
MRS. C. A. IRWIN<br />
MRS. A. J. KRANTZ<br />
MRS. SEVERN P. KER<br />
MRS. F. B. LOVEJOY<br />
MR. H. A. ROSS<br />
MRS. W. W. LOWER<br />
MRS. L. D. MERCER<br />
MRS. F. A. MOESCHL<br />
MRS. G W. NEIDRINGHAUS<br />
MRS. A. M. OPPENHEIMER<br />
MRS. H. A. ROEMER<br />
MRS. C. B. STEFFEY<br />
MRS. M. C. SUMMERS<br />
MRS. W. W. SEBALD<br />
MRS. J. H. STRONGMAN<br />
MRS. C. S. THOMAS<br />
MRS. PAUL VOIGHT, JR.<br />
MRS. CALVIN W. VERITY<br />
MRS. W. E. WATSON<br />
MRS. RICHARD G. WOOD<br />
MRS. PAUL WICK<br />
MR. CYRUS S. CHING<br />
MR. JAMES A. EMERY<br />
MR. JOHN H. STRONGMAN<br />
MR. C. B. STEFFEY<br />
MR. LESLIE M. VICKERS
288<br />
TneBlasth.rnaceSSteelPl an!<br />
June, 1924<br />
27th Annual Convention A.S.T.M.<br />
Metal and Non-Metal Sessions to Be Held Simultaneously<br />
T H E twenty-seventh annual meeting of the American<br />
Society for Testing Materials will be held at<br />
the Chalfonte-Haddon Hall, Atlantic City, N. J.,<br />
during the week of June 23. A notable departure is<br />
being made this year by the Committee on Papers in<br />
the arrangement of the program by which parallel<br />
sessions will be held practically throughout the meeting,<br />
beginning Tuesday afternoon, June 24, and closing<br />
on Friday evening, June 27.<br />
The ever increasing volume of business coming<br />
before the Society has, under the plan of "single" sessions,<br />
made the meetings longer than was thought<br />
desirable, the meeting last year having been started<br />
for the first time on Monday night. The activities of<br />
the Society divide naturally into metals and nonmetals.<br />
The arrangement of the program heretofore<br />
has brought these two groups to the annual meeting<br />
for the most part at opposite ends of the program,<br />
having the tendency to "split" the membership of the<br />
Society rather sharply. Moreover, with sessions of<br />
tlie Society morning, afternoon and evening of practically<br />
every day, it was no longer possible to avoid<br />
the holding of committee meetings without seriously<br />
interfering with these sessions.<br />
Accordingly, the program this year has been arranged<br />
so that two sessions are held simultaneously<br />
at all but two periods at which the Society meets.<br />
The program on metals extends throughout the meeting<br />
and the sessions on non-metals have been scheduled<br />
against the metals sessions with little conflict of<br />
subject matter and group interest. In this way the<br />
meeting has been shortened as much as possible, consistent<br />
with opportunity for proper consideration of<br />
the reports and papers. The several groups of interests<br />
in the Society are brought more closely together,<br />
thus providing opportunity for extending acquaintance<br />
and good fellowship among members. With the<br />
exception of Tuesday, there will be no afternoon sessions<br />
of the Society, these periods being reserved for<br />
recreation and committee meetings.
June, 1924<br />
Some Features of the Annual Meeting.<br />
An outstanding feature of the program is the<br />
prominence of reports and papers on metals. Sufficient<br />
material in this field has been accepted by the<br />
Committee on Papers to extend its consideration over<br />
the entire meeting.<br />
Corrosion.—The subject of corrosion is one of the<br />
big attractions at the meeting. The Symposium on<br />
Corrosion-Resistant, Heat-Resistant and Electrical-<br />
Resistance Alloys is creating widespread interest and<br />
unquestionably will result in the bringing together of<br />
a fund of valuable information regarding these alloys<br />
and their properties. One of the features of the symposium<br />
is a tabulation of the composition and properties<br />
of practically all of the alloys of this type manufactured<br />
in this country. Second only in significance<br />
are the reports of the Society's two committees A-S<br />
and B-3 on corrosion. Papers on methods of corrosion<br />
testing complete this part of the program.<br />
Endurance of Metals.—The importance of this subject<br />
warrants the continued discussion of it in the Society.<br />
Three papers are to be presented which will<br />
bring before the members detailed reports of endurance<br />
tests of ferrous and non-ferrous metals made by<br />
the U. S. Bureau of Mines, the U. S. Naval Engineering<br />
Experiment Station and the U. S. Air Service.<br />
Cast Iron Pipe.—On the program are included two<br />
important contributions on the subject of cast-iron<br />
pipe, one that has engaged the attention of waterworks<br />
and other engineers and the producers for a<br />
number of years. These papers will present data on<br />
extensive series of tests that have not heretofore been<br />
published and a very interesting discussion is being<br />
planned.<br />
Effect of Sulphur on Steel.—The joint committee<br />
on this subject is planning to present the results of<br />
two supplementary investigations of rivet steel first<br />
reported on two years ago, i. e., endurance tests and<br />
an extensive metallographic examination. A preliminary<br />
report on the effect of sulphur on the second<br />
group of residual sulphur steels corresponding to<br />
medium-carbon structural material will also be presented.<br />
In addition, the various metals committees have<br />
been particularly active and are presenting reports<br />
whose importance can only generally be indicated on<br />
the program. Attention should also be called to the<br />
several interesting papers on the properties of metals<br />
not mentioned above.<br />
Methods of Testing and Nomenclature.<br />
These two subjects are of very general interest and<br />
the Reports of Committees E-l and E-8 should interest<br />
every member. Committee E-l is making im-portant<br />
recommendations respecting tension, compression<br />
and Brinell hardness tests of metals, and the<br />
standardization of testing sieves. This session also<br />
includes several general papers on testing.<br />
The usual entertainment features will be provided.<br />
There will be an informal dance and smoker on<br />
Wednesday evening. Friday afternoon will be devoted<br />
to recreation and at this time the annual golf<br />
and tennis tournaments will be held. Additional<br />
entertainment will be provided and the committee is<br />
planning to make these features attractive to members<br />
and the ladies accompanying them.<br />
Die Blast himaceSSteel Plan*<br />
Tuesday, June 24<br />
TENTATIVE PROGRAM<br />
289<br />
2:00 P.M.—First Session. (Held simultaneously with<br />
ond Session.) Symposium on Corrosion-Resistant, Heat-<br />
Resistant and Electrical-Resistance Alloys.<br />
Introduction to Symposium, with Tabulation of<br />
Manufacturers' Data on Composition and Properties<br />
of the Alloys. Jerome Strauss, Chairman.<br />
Corrosion-Resistant Metals—Past, Present and Future.<br />
P. A. E. Armstrong.<br />
Corrosion-Resistant Alloys for Use in Mine Water.<br />
R. J. Anderson and G. M. Enos.<br />
Endurance Properties of Corrosion-Resistant Steels.<br />
D. J. McAdam, Jr.<br />
Non-Rusting Chromium-Nickel Steels. B. Strauss.<br />
Stainless Steels: Their Heat Treatment and Resistance<br />
to Sea-Water Corrosion. Jerome Strauss<br />
and J. W. Talley.<br />
The Carrying Capacity of Ball Bearings Made of<br />
Stainless Steel. Axel Hultgren.<br />
(Symposium continued in Third Session.)<br />
3:00 P.M.—Second Session. (Held simultaneously with First<br />
Session.) On Coal, Timber, Rubber and Textiles.<br />
Report of Committee D-5: On Coal and Coke. A.<br />
C. Fieldner, Chairman.<br />
The Strength of Structural Timbers: Innuence of<br />
Defects and a Discussion of Variability. J. A.<br />
Newlin and R. P. A. Johnson.<br />
Report of Committee D-7: On Timber. Hermann<br />
von Schrenk, Chairman.<br />
Report of Committee D-10: On Shipping Containers.<br />
J. A. Newlin, Chairman.<br />
Report of Committee D-ll: On Rubber Products.<br />
F. M. Farmer, Chairman.<br />
Report of Committee D-13: On Textile Materials.<br />
A. E. Jury, Chairman.<br />
8:00 P.M.—Third Session. (Held simultaneously with Fourt<br />
Session.) Symposium on Corrosion-Resistant, Heat-Resistant<br />
and Electrical-Resistance Alloys. (Continued from<br />
First Session.)<br />
Metals for High-Temperature Service—Past, Present<br />
and Future. F. A. Fahrenwald.<br />
Deterioration of Metals in Hot Reducing Gases. J.<br />
S. Vanick.<br />
Some Engineering Applications of High-Chromium<br />
Iron Alloys. C. E. MacQuigg.<br />
Steels for Automotive Engine Valves. J. B. Johnson<br />
and S. A. Christiansen.<br />
Cast Metals for High-Temperature Service. L. O.<br />
Hart.<br />
Some Electrical Properties of High-Resistance Alloys.<br />
M. A. Hunter and A. Jones.<br />
Characteristics of Some Materials for Base-Metal<br />
Thermocouples. F. E. Bash.<br />
8:00 P.M.—Fourth Session. (Held simultaneously with Third<br />
Session.) On Paints, Petroleum Products, Insulating<br />
Materials and Thermometers.<br />
Report of Committee D-l: On Preservative Coatings<br />
for Structural Materials. Allen Rogers, Chairman.<br />
Accelerated Weathering. H. A. Nelson and F. C.<br />
Schmutz.<br />
Report of Committee D-l 5: On Thermometers. W<br />
H. Fulweiler, Chairman.<br />
Report of Committee D-2: On Petroleum Products<br />
and Lubricants. C. P. Van Gundy, Chairman.<br />
A Method for Determining the Oxidation Value of<br />
Lubricating Oils. T. S. Sligh, Jr.<br />
Report of Committee D-9: On Electrical Insulating<br />
Materials. F. M. Farmer, Chairman.<br />
Sludging Tests for Transformer Oils. E. A. Snyder.<br />
Wednesday, June 25<br />
9:30 A.M.—Fifth Session. (Held simultaneously with Sixth<br />
Session). On Non-Ferrous Metals, Corrosion and Metallography.
290<br />
Ine Blast rumaceSSteel Plant<br />
Report of Committee B-l: On Copper Wire. J. A.<br />
Capp, Chairman.<br />
Report of Committee B-2: On Non-Ferrous Metals<br />
and Alloys. William Campbell, Chairman.<br />
Report of Committee A-5: On Corrosion of Iron<br />
and Steel. J. H. Gibboney, Chairman.<br />
Types of Apparatus Used in Testing the Corrodability<br />
of Metals. H. S. Rawdon, A. I. Krynitsky and<br />
W. H. Finkeldey.<br />
Report of Committee B-3: On Corrosion of Non-<br />
Ferrous Metals and Alloys. E. C. Lathrop,<br />
Chairman.<br />
An Accelerated Electrolytic Corrosion Test. R. J.<br />
Anderson and G. M. Enos.<br />
Report of Committee D-14: On Screen Wire Cloth.<br />
R. W. Woodward, Chairman.<br />
Report of Committee E-4: On Metallography. W.<br />
H. Bassett. Chairman.<br />
9:30 A.M.—Sixth Session. (Held simultaneously with Fifth<br />
Session). On Lime, Gypsum and Ceramics.<br />
Report of Committee C-3: On Brick. T. R. Lawson,<br />
Chairman.<br />
Report of Committee C-4: On Clav and Cement<br />
Sewer Pipe. A. J. Provost, Jr., Chairman.<br />
Report of Committee C-5: On Fireproofing. I. H.<br />
Woolson, Chairman.<br />
Report of Committee C-7: On Lime. H. C. Berry,<br />
Chairman.<br />
Report of Committee C-ll: On Gypsum. W. E.<br />
Emley. Chairman.<br />
Properties of Gypsum Tile. J. Miller Porter.<br />
Report of Committee C-10: On Hollow Building<br />
Tile. S. H. Ingberg, Chairman.<br />
Wednesday Afternoon—Recreation. Committee meetings.<br />
8:00 P.M.—Seventh Session. Presidential Address and Reports<br />
of Administrative Committees.<br />
Annual Address by the President. Guilliaem Aertsen.<br />
Annual Report of the Executive Committee. C. L.<br />
Warwick, Secretary-Treasurer.<br />
Report of Committee E-6: On Papers and Publications.<br />
C. L. Warwick, Chairman.<br />
This Session will be followed by an Informal Dance and<br />
Smoker.<br />
Thursday, June 26<br />
9:30 A.M.—Eighth Session. (Held simultaneously with Ninth<br />
Session.) On Steel.<br />
Report of Committee A-l : On Steel. F. M. Waring,<br />
Chairman.<br />
Report of Committee A-4: On Heat Treatment of<br />
Iron and Steel. H. M. Boylston, Chairman.<br />
Report of the Joint Committee on Investigation of<br />
Phosphorus and Sulphur in Steel. Ge<strong>org</strong>e K.<br />
Burgess, Chairman.<br />
How Can the Benefits of A. S. T. M. Standardization<br />
Be Secured to the Small User? T. H. Wiggin.<br />
High Tensile Strengths with Low-Carbon Steels. R.<br />
H. Smith.<br />
Composition and Physical Properties of Cast 12-pereent<br />
Manganese Steel J. H. Hall and G. R<br />
Hanks.<br />
Report of Committee A-9: On Ferro Alloys. F. C<br />
Langenberg, Chairman.<br />
9:30 A.M.—Ninth Session. (Held simultaneously with Eighth<br />
Session.) On Road and Paving Materials and Water<br />
proofing.<br />
Accelerated Wear Tests of Concrete. F. H. Jackson,<br />
Jr.<br />
Methods of Securing Samples of Completed Pavements<br />
with Reference to the Determination of<br />
the Quality of the Cement-Concrete Foundation.<br />
E. E. Butterfield.<br />
Report of Committee D-4: On Road and Paving<br />
Materials. F. P. Smith, Chairman.<br />
Tests for Stability of Bituminous Mixtures. B. A.<br />
Anderton and H. M. Milburn.<br />
June, 1924<br />
Blown Oils. H. B. Pullar.<br />
Report of Committee D-8: On Waterproofing Materials.<br />
S. T. Wagner, Chairman.<br />
Thursday Afternoon—Recreation. Committee meetings.<br />
8:00 P.M.—Tenth Session. On Methods of Testing and<br />
Nomenclature.<br />
Report of Committee E-8: On Nomenclature and<br />
Definitions. Cloyd M. Chapman, Chairman.<br />
Report of Committee E-l: On Methods of Testing.<br />
J. A. Capp, Chairman.<br />
A Study of Sieve Specifications. J. V. Judson.<br />
Testing Sieves. D. A. Abrams.<br />
Physical Tests of Thin-Gage Metals and Light<br />
Alloys. H. A. Anderson.<br />
Determination of Poisson's Ratio and a Suggestion<br />
for Its Use in Stress Analysis. T. M. Jasper.<br />
Direct Measurement of Poisson's Ratio for Concrete.<br />
A. N. Johnson.<br />
Friday, June 27<br />
9:30 A.M.—Eleventh Session. (Held simultaneously with<br />
Twelfth Session/) On Magnetic Analysis and Fatigue of<br />
Metals.<br />
Report of Committee A-6: On Magnetic Properties.<br />
C. W. Burrows, Chairman.<br />
Report of Committee A-8: On Magnetic Analysis.<br />
F. P. Fahy, Chairman.<br />
Magnetic Tests of A. S. T. M. Drills. W. B. Kouwenhoven.<br />
Notes on Some Endurance Tests of Metals. H. W<br />
Gillett and E. L. Mack.<br />
Accelerated Fatigue Tests and Some Endurance<br />
Properties of Metals. D. J. McAdam, Jr.<br />
The Resistance of Metals to Repeated Static and<br />
Impact Stresses. R. R. Moore.<br />
9:30 A.M.—Twelfth Session. (Held simultaneously with<br />
Eleventh Session.) On Cement and Concrete.<br />
Report of Committee C-l: On Concrete. R. S.<br />
Greenman, Chairman.<br />
Report of Committee C-6: On Drain Tile. Anson<br />
Marston, Chairman.<br />
Laboratory Investigations of the Influence of Curing<br />
Conditions and Various Admixtures on the Life<br />
of Concrete Stored in Sulphate Solutions as Indicated<br />
by Physical Changes. D. G. Miller.<br />
Influence of Aggregates upon Shrinkage of Mortar<br />
and Concrete. Cloyd M. Chapman.<br />
Calcium Chloride as an Admixture in Concrete. D.<br />
A. Abrams.<br />
Effect of End Condition of Test Cylinder on Compressive<br />
Strength of Concrete. H. F. Gonnerman.<br />
Friday Afternoon—Recreation. Golf and tennis tournaments.<br />
8:00 P.M.—Thirteenth Session. (Held simultaneously with<br />
Fourteenth Session.) (On Wrought and Cast Iron and<br />
Cast Pipe.<br />
Report of Committee A-2: On Wrought Iron. H.<br />
E. Smith, Chairman.<br />
Chain: The Effect of Proofing and of Annealing on<br />
Brittleness in Large Chain Links. C. G. Lutts.<br />
Report of Committee A-7: On Malleable Castings.<br />
Enrique Touceda, Secretary.<br />
Report of Committee A-3: On Cast Iron. Richard<br />
Moldenke, Chairman.<br />
Recent Investigations on Cast Iron for Pipe. Richard<br />
Moldenke.<br />
The American Water Works Association Test Bar.<br />
J. T. MacKenzie.<br />
Discussion: On Cast Iron Pipe.<br />
8:00 P.M.—Fourteenth Session. (Held simultaneously with<br />
Thirteenth Session.) On Concrete and Reinforced Concrete.<br />
Report of Committee C-9: On Concrete and Concrete<br />
Aggregates. A. T. Goldbeck, Chairman.
June, 1924<br />
Hie Blast Furnace^Stool Plant<br />
A Southern Rolling Mill<br />
Overcomes Unusual Locational Difficulties by Adhering to<br />
T H E Atlantic Steel Company occupies the rather<br />
unique position of being the only steel manufacturing<br />
plant in the state. In size it is rather<br />
small as steel plants go. This, together with its isolation,<br />
present many problems which make it in some<br />
respects more interesting than the average.<br />
Such a plant will naturally suffer from certain<br />
limitations as well as profit by other advantages. The<br />
limitations of size need not be dwelt upon. It is only<br />
necessary to mention the disadvantage of transporting<br />
*Steam Engineer, Atlantic Steel Company. Atlanta, Ga.<br />
Quality-Service Standards<br />
By M. P. LAWTON*<br />
291<br />
all raw materials by rail, and that of being more or<br />
less out of direct contact with other concerns of a<br />
similar nature.<br />
( )n the other hand, this plant is located in a strategic<br />
position for distribution of its products. Atlanta,<br />
Ge<strong>org</strong>ia, is a sort of hub from which radiate eight difterent<br />
railroads, many of them operating several lines;<br />
a number of suburban electric lines; and truck roads<br />
leading to every section of the southeast. It is not<br />
surprising therefore, that its sales territory extends<br />
from the Mexican border on one hand to the very<br />
FIG. 1—General viezv of the Atlantic Steel Company. FIG. 2—Storage racks for flat slock. The 204 racks sliozvn pro<br />
for storage of over a million pounds of flats and s 'all angles. The total floor space is 26 ft. x 70 ft. FIG. 3—O<br />
pit. Ingots are placed on the skids by a 10-ton crane. Then they are shoved by a hydraulic pusher on to a set o<br />
ers, by zvhich they are conveyed to a point zvhich can be reached by the soaking pit crane. One section of the r<br />
together zvith an independent driving motor is on a scale platform by which the ingots are weighed one at a tim<br />
—The original Atlanta Steel Hoop Company. This picture shows the original mill, built in 1901 for rolling hoo<br />
ton ties. The steel zvarehouse in the background is of later construction. FIG. 5—Diagram of soaking pit. P<br />
coal is blown in by fan air, through the long burner pipe shown. Each pit holds 10 to 14 ingots.
292<br />
1<br />
1<br />
1<br />
|<br />
•I ^<br />
Hie Blast F, urnace r£> Steel Plant<br />
^ ^ ^ k _<br />
P|. j<br />
*<br />
1 •<br />
life * in<br />
1 ft "<br />
"11 It<br />
IB [ • • -<br />
FIG. 6—Galvanizer. Shozving worm-driven and gear-driven fra cs. Speller pan and hooded acid tub in background.<br />
doors of the Pittsburgh district on the other, besides<br />
a very considerable export trade.<br />
Other advantages lie in the excellent climate and<br />
living conditions of Atlanta, and in the fact that there<br />
is quite a good local market for semi-finished products.<br />
Lastly, there is an advantage common to smaller<br />
plants — the possibility of paying closer attention<br />
to details. This, along with the central location mentioned<br />
above, have resulted in the two aims of the<br />
company w-fiich have grown to the proportions of slogans,<br />
namely, (1) quality, and (2) service.<br />
This company was started in 1901 as the Atlanta<br />
Steel Hoop Company, manufacturing hoop and cotton<br />
June, 1924<br />
^11<br />
- - *<br />
• -<br />
ties. Billets were bought in other cities for four years.<br />
when the plant was enlarged by the construction of<br />
two open hearth furnaces, blooming, rod, spike, wire,<br />
nail and fence mills.<br />
The original furnaces were of 35 ton capacity, but<br />
have since been rebuilt for 60 tons. Producer gas is<br />
used for fuel. In 1916 a third furnace was added and<br />
is arranged to burn either fuel oil or powdered coal.<br />
With this furnace it is possible to produce a 60 ton<br />
heat in less than eight hours.<br />
Ingots are poured from a 60 ton ladle, stripped almost<br />
immediately and charged directly into adjoining<br />
soaking pits, as shown. Originally thev were re<br />
FIG. 7—Cotton ti, zvarehouse. Cotton ties are dipped 100 bundles at a time and placed on the racks to drain. When dry they<br />
are stacked in the zvarehouse or loaded into box cars by means of the chute at the left.
June, 1924<br />
heated in continuous gas-fired furnaces, but these have<br />
been superseded by eight soaking pits, holding 10 to<br />
14 ingots each and fired with pulverized coal.<br />
The 25-inch blooming mill was originally driven by<br />
a 1350. h.p. twin reversing engine, which has recently<br />
been replaced by a 5000 h.p. reversing motor. The<br />
six stand billet mill is driven by a 1600 h.p. induction<br />
motor. Billets range from \y2 inch to 2)\ inch, according<br />
to the use for which they are intended.<br />
The original 8-in. Hoop Mill has been supplemented<br />
with a 10-in. mill, the two together having a capacity<br />
of 400 tons per day. The range of sizes rolled<br />
FIG. 8—Former blooming mill engine. This 28-<br />
is rather wide, covering the thinnest trunk strips to<br />
heavy flats. A partial list of the products made on<br />
these mills is as follows :<br />
1. Cotton ties.<br />
2. Hoop.<br />
3. Bands.<br />
4. Flats, up to y-in. x 3-in.<br />
5. Saw Blades (J^-in. x 3-in., high car).<br />
6. Angles, in bar sizes.<br />
7. Special shapes, to order.<br />
This very diversity of products constitutes one of<br />
the previously-named disadvantages of a small mill,<br />
and often it has been necessary to spend three dol-<br />
Die Blast LrnaceSSteel Plant<br />
293<br />
lars in rolling one dollar's worth of product. This<br />
disadvantage has been largely overcome by the installation<br />
of complete storage facilities for cotton ties,<br />
bands, flats and angles as shown in the photos. It is<br />
a very tangible outgrowth of the "service" end of this<br />
company's slogan that any desired quantity of most<br />
standard products can now be shipped from stock<br />
without delay.<br />
The Rod Mill is a 14-stand, 10-inch Garrett type,<br />
with continuous roughing rolls. This mill, the last<br />
remaining steam driven unit in the plant, was electrified<br />
in 1922. Its ciriginal capacity was 60 tons; but<br />
x 33-in. tzvin reversing steam engine of 1350 h.p. has been replaced by the<br />
electric motor sliozvn.<br />
bit by bit this capacity has been increased until it can<br />
now produce 150 tons in 12 hours.<br />
The mill is equipped with both reels and cooling<br />
bed. Small rounds are usually run to the reels and<br />
straightened and sheared afterwards, thus insuring<br />
uniformity of quality and length. A large proportion<br />
of the output from this mill is concrete reinforcement<br />
bar, both corrugated and square twisted. It supplies<br />
all the southern tonnage for the Kalman Steel Company.<br />
A vigorous campaign for quality has been conducted<br />
in this mill, particularly in the matter of plain<br />
bar. By constant study and rigid inspection the quality<br />
of this product has been improved greatly in the
294<br />
past few months. Bar is inspected on the cooling bed<br />
by means of solid snap gages made to the A. S. T. M.<br />
rolling tolerances, a different gage being necessary<br />
for each size. In addition, two complete sets of gages<br />
are used, one for hot bar and another for cold, since<br />
the shrinkage in cooling from a red heat amounts to<br />
six thousandths of an inch on a bar one inch in diameter.<br />
As in the Hoop Mills, it is necessary to carry a<br />
large stock of corrugated and plain bar. It is planned<br />
to construct a set of storage racks for this purpose in<br />
order to economize on space and promote orderliness.<br />
The Warehouse is equipped with a double-ended<br />
power bending bench and hand bending facilities for<br />
making stirrups, column hoops, beam and slab bars;<br />
and specially fabricated units for concrete reinforcement.<br />
The Wire Mill consists of 50 blocks and four M<strong>org</strong>an<br />
continuous wire-drawing machines. In addition,<br />
there are on hand new benches totalling 24 blocks<br />
ready for installation.<br />
The galvanizer has been rebuilt within the past<br />
two years. It consists of one worm-driven frame of<br />
30 reels and one gear-driven frame of 12 reels. Part<br />
of the reels on the latter turn faster and the rest slower<br />
than those on the main frame, so that very large or<br />
very small wire can be run at the most advantageous<br />
speed.<br />
The Nail Mill consists of 50 nail machines, two<br />
staple machines, barbing machine and rumblers. All<br />
IneBlastFurnaceSSteelPU<br />
June, 1924<br />
standard sizes and specifications are run on this mill,<br />
and a heavy tonnage of stock is carried on hand at<br />
all times.<br />
All sizes and styles of barbed wire are made to<br />
order. Standard styles are kept in stock at all times<br />
for shipments on short notice.<br />
Two general types of field fencing are woven—the<br />
"knot" fence and the "wrapped joint" fence. Each of<br />
these is made in a variety of sizes, ranging from 26<br />
inches to 72 inches in height, every style being kept in<br />
stock in considerable tonnage. There are now in<br />
operation four "knot" type looms, and three "wrapped<br />
joint" looms. Three additional machines of the latter<br />
type are now under construction, and will be put into<br />
service shortly.<br />
It will be noticed from the foregoing summary<br />
that a plant the size of this is continually beset with<br />
the problem of stock. It is always a question of just<br />
how much material to keep on hand, whether to tie<br />
up money in large stocks, or to risk having to change<br />
over a machine or a mill in order to fill an order for<br />
a small quantity. With "Service" as their basis of<br />
operation, however, the decision has been in favor of<br />
the former policy.<br />
A standard type of warehouse has been adopted,<br />
of steel construction, 70 feet wide, and served by fiveton<br />
overhead traveling cranes. To date there have<br />
been four such warehouses built.<br />
(Concluded on page 305)<br />
FIG. 9—Nezv electric drive for blooming mill. This reversing motor has a speed range from 0-150 r.p.m. and a peak pozver of .<br />
5000 h.p. current is supplied at 600 volts d.c, from a motor-generator set equipped zvith a 35-ton solid steel yyzvheel. -
fune, 1924 Die Blast F, umace«<br />
1^0 Steel PU<br />
CURRENT REVIEW<br />
Business Navigation<br />
Imagine yourself on a large ocean liner intent on<br />
keeping a business appointment in Liverpool in six<br />
days. The conference is vital to your business; but<br />
you know the captain of the ship has charted his<br />
course and you have confidence in his ability to bring<br />
his ship into port on time. The captain, in turn,<br />
knows the speed of his vessel and has confidence in<br />
his knowdedge of the direction and velocity of wind<br />
and tide. Forecasts of weather conditions are received<br />
over the radio. Nevertheless he finds it necessary<br />
to take observations several times a day to check<br />
the estimated progress of the ship with its actual position.<br />
By doing this he can keep to his course and<br />
can better hold to his time schedule. Both the passengers<br />
and the crew have confidence in him and take a<br />
personal interest in the ship in so far as they understand<br />
the method by which it is navigated. You<br />
never doubt that the ship will dock on time for your<br />
conference.<br />
Our ship of state must have the confidence of its<br />
passengers—the citizens ; and the captain, like the sea<br />
captain, must take observations. No ship can sail<br />
blindly. Its course must be planned and its progress<br />
governed by that plan. The ship of state ran an uncharted<br />
course until 1921. At that time budget machinery<br />
was put on the bridge to serve as the eye<br />
and ear of the chief executive. It has brought about<br />
a better co-ordination of the various departments. It<br />
has aided the heads of government in more accurately<br />
planning activities and estimating needed appropriations.<br />
In addition, according to General Charles G.<br />
Dawes, it has made possible in one year the saving<br />
of $250,000,000 which otherwise would have been<br />
spent.<br />
"Business methods for the government" was a slogan<br />
frequently heard before the Federal budget law<br />
was passed. Today a new slogan is current, "Budget<br />
methods for business."<br />
The practicability of the budget in business navigation<br />
is well shown by the experience of companies<br />
operating under it. The New England Telephone &<br />
Telegraph Company in 1921 began its field budget<br />
system which has now spread to every part of the<br />
business. Not only the company itself, but each division,<br />
district and local unit has its own budget committee.<br />
Each knows its own needs and estimates its<br />
own requirements, taking local business conditions<br />
into account. Forecasts of general conditions affecting<br />
the company are sent each local unit so that the<br />
effect of these conditions may be properly calculated<br />
when the local budgets are prepared, and finally, as<br />
is stated in the company's memoranda for budget<br />
committees, "by thus first planning and then seeing<br />
the resuts of our plans we develop an understanding<br />
and pride in our business and our management which,<br />
in turn, lead us to freely and fairly explain to our<br />
295<br />
patrons our plans and methods. Both employes and<br />
patrons are thus encouraged to understand and to<br />
assist in properly assisting local revenues, expenses,<br />
and construction programs with the service requirements<br />
of the communities involved."<br />
Budgeting Usually Successful.<br />
Business navigation with the budget is not limited<br />
to the telephone industry, however. It is applicable<br />
to hotels, railroads, mines, department stores, and<br />
manufacturing concerns just as well. The bureau's<br />
contacts with each of these industries indicate that<br />
budget practice is successful where it has been fairly<br />
tried out.<br />
Impressed with the value of budgeting and the<br />
desire on the part of business executives for information<br />
on this subject, the Bureau took steps to fill the<br />
need. A series of business leaflets on management<br />
practices was prepared. Seven of them have already<br />
been released for distribution. Sample budget programs<br />
for nine industries are now available as follows:<br />
Railroad, public utility, hotel, garment, newspaper,<br />
construction and contracting, ice cream, department<br />
store, metal products.—Executives Service Bulletin.<br />
Pulverized Fuel<br />
Almost unnoticed in Great Britain, in the past year<br />
or two a revolution has been effected in the methods of<br />
steam generation in the United States, especially for large<br />
power station boiler plants, by the successful application<br />
of pulverized fuel. One of the principal factors<br />
in this achievement has been the perfecting of the<br />
"Lopulco" system, which, while retaining all the long<br />
admitted advantages of pulverized fuel firing, has completely<br />
eliminated the disadvantages of "slagging;" that<br />
is, the deposited ash becoming molten in the furnace,<br />
and the wear and tear on the brickwork. Already over<br />
1,000,000 hp. is being generated in America with pulverized<br />
fuel, and some of the largest and most famous<br />
stations in the world are adopting it throughout, or have<br />
already done so, such as the Lakeside plant, Milwaukee,<br />
the River Rouge plant of the Ford Motor Company at<br />
Detroit, the new Cahokia plant at St. Louis, and now<br />
one of the huge Detroit Edison plants, the Trent Channel<br />
installation.<br />
The plant now being erected at the Vitry (Paris)<br />
power station of the Societe Anonyme Union d' Electricite<br />
of Paris is particularly significant because, as<br />
is well known, this company have just completed the<br />
huge Gennevilliers station, the largest outside America,<br />
which is equipped throughout with mechanical stokers.<br />
After a very thorough investigation of "Lopulco" installations<br />
in America, however, the engineers of the company<br />
have already decided upon pulverized fuel in preference,<br />
and a further interesting point is that this Vitrv<br />
station, when completed, will have the largest water tube
oilers, and the first modern pulverized fuel installation<br />
in Europe.<br />
A diagrammatic outline sectional drawing of the<br />
Vitry installation is shown in Fig. 1. This consists<br />
of four huge water tube boilers of the American "Ladd"<br />
design, now being constructed in France by the wellknown<br />
firm of Messrs. Delaunay-Belleville; the heating<br />
surface, together with the super-heaters, being 16,678<br />
sq. ft. for each unit. There is also provided with each<br />
boiler a steel tube economizer of 9,684 sq. ft. heating<br />
surface, the combined heating surface of the boiler, superheater,<br />
and economizer unit being therefore 26,362 sq. ft.<br />
The normal rated evaporation of these units is<br />
140,580 lb. water each, from and at 212 deg. F., but<br />
the guarantee includes a heavy overload for a continuous<br />
period of 4 hours of 210,870 lb. water from and at<br />
212 deg. F. corresponding to 8.4 lb. from and at 212 deg.<br />
F. per sq. ft. of boiler heating surface at normal load,<br />
and 12.6 at maximum load.<br />
It may be stated that the average British power station<br />
boiler is 50,000 lb. evaporation per hour, although<br />
a few 100,000 lb. boilers have been installed ; while the<br />
"Stirling" boilers at Gennevilliers, at present the largest<br />
in Europe are about 132,000 lb. evaporation.<br />
In the Vitry installation, in the first place the compactness<br />
of the arrangement will be noted, the ground<br />
space being extremely small, the pulverizing of the coal<br />
being carried out in front of the boilers and the pulverized<br />
coal stored on the top, the total radiation losses<br />
being estimated at not much over 1 per cent because of<br />
the enormous evaporation. The coal is first crushed,<br />
and passes over a magnetic separator to remove all particles<br />
of iron, being then delivered to the main overhead<br />
crushed coal bunkers in front, as illustrated. The<br />
crushed coal will then fall as required through "Usco"<br />
waste heat gravity driers on the latest principles, in which<br />
the drying of the coal is carried out in the most efficient<br />
manner by using a portion of the hot exit flue gases in the<br />
chimney base. This drier, of which one only is required<br />
for each boiler, consists essentially of a vertical compartmented<br />
cylinder, and the coal travels through continually<br />
by gravity direct to the pulverizer underneath.<br />
The coal therefore simply falls through the whole system<br />
by gravity from the coal hopper, through the drier and<br />
into the pulverizers, and the rate of travel of the fuel<br />
is controlled automatically by the speed at which the pulverizer<br />
works.<br />
A motor driven variable speed exhauster, fixed on<br />
the top of the boiler, draws the hot gases through<br />
suitable trunking from the chimney base, up through<br />
the descending coal in the drier, and delivers the exit<br />
gases to the chimney again at a higher level, the speed<br />
of the gases being adjusted as required. Air valves<br />
are also included in the circuit, so that a supply of cold<br />
air enters along with the hot gases, and the temperature<br />
of the mixed drying current as actually entering the<br />
base of the drier is not allowed to exceed about 215<br />
deg. F. As a result the coal is dried as required down<br />
to about 2 per cent moisture, with practically no loss of<br />
volatile matter, which by ordinary methods of drying<br />
is often as much as 1 per cent of the weight of the coal.<br />
The amount of hot exit gases required is approximately<br />
10 per cent of the total chimney discharge, and the power<br />
taken by the fan is almost negligible, representing a great<br />
improvement on the ordinary separately fired rotating<br />
driers used, which absorbed the equivalent of about 1 per<br />
cent of the coal dried.<br />
The pulverizers are of the standard ball pattern,<br />
situated almost directly under the vertical driers, and<br />
Tne Blast FurnaceSSteel Plant June, 1924<br />
one pulverizer, with a normal capacity of 6 tons of coal<br />
per hour delivered, of a fineness on test of 95 per cent<br />
through a 100-mesh screen (100 holes per linear inch),<br />
and 80 per cent through a 200 mesh, is supplied with each<br />
boiler. These ball pulverizers are claimed to be so reliable<br />
and efficient that it is only necessary to supply one<br />
installation to each boiler, there being no more fear of<br />
breakdowns than with an ordinary mechanical stoker.<br />
As fast as the coal is pulverized, it is exhausted from<br />
the pulverizer through a short trunk by means of a<br />
motor driven exhauster just above, and discharged<br />
through a long vertical trunk right to the top of the installation,<br />
through a cyclone separator. From here it<br />
falls down, through a screw conveyor, into the pulverized<br />
coal bunkers above the boiler plant and the pulverized<br />
coal then passes out of the bottom of these bunkers<br />
to the duplex "Lopulco" coal feeders which supply the<br />
pulverized fuel, mixed with air, to the actual burners.<br />
Each boiler has five of these duplex feeders side by side,<br />
the whole installation of four boilers having therefore<br />
20 feeders.<br />
The "Lopulco" coal feeder consists essentially of<br />
an attachment to the bottom of the pulverized coal bunkers,<br />
in the form of a horizontal chamber containing a<br />
cast-iron screw feed driven through gear wheels by a<br />
small variable speed motor, so that the coal supply can<br />
be adjusted as required. The screw conveys the pulverized<br />
coal to the end of the feeder, where compressed air<br />
at about 12 in. wg. is supplied, and at this point there<br />
is a series of very rapidly revolving paddles, so that the<br />
air and the pulverized fuel are intimately mixed and pass<br />
direct down a small vertical delivery pipe, direct to the<br />
burners. The air used up to this point is only intended<br />
as a conveyor for the pulverized fuel, and amounts to<br />
about 10 per cent of that required for total combustion.<br />
On the circuit secondary air is taken in, which has<br />
been heated by having passed through the hollow brickwork<br />
of the furnace walls, this supply—about 90 per<br />
cent of the air required for combustion—being controlled<br />
by means of adjustable shutters so that the combustion<br />
at the burners is under perfect control.<br />
Each boiler is fitted with "Lopulco" burners, so<br />
that the whole installation is 40 burners, of the latest<br />
triplex design, consisting essentially of three rectangular<br />
chambers having a 3^-in. nozzle, the flame being directed<br />
downwards into the main body of the very large furnace<br />
chambers and then passing upwards through the boiler<br />
tubes, the total furnace volume being very great.<br />
One of the most valuable accessories of the "Lopulco"<br />
system, to which much of the success is due, is the<br />
"water screen," in the bottom of the furnace, as illustrated<br />
in Fig. 1, consisting essentially of a series of steel tubes,<br />
about 4-in. diameter, through which the water in the<br />
boiler circulates; an invention which has completely<br />
eliminated slagging troubles, hitherto one of the chief<br />
difficulties of large scale pulverized fuel firing. Another<br />
valuable feature is the hollow firebrick construction<br />
throughout, cooled by the circulation of 90 per cent of the<br />
air required for the burners.<br />
The guarantee of the performance of the plant is<br />
the very remarkable one of 84 per cent efficiency, based<br />
on the higher or gross heating value of the coal. The<br />
amount of pulverized coal to be burned will be 12,800<br />
lb. (5.7 tons) per boiler per hour at normal evaporation,<br />
and 19,700 lb. (8.8 tons) at maximum, corresponding to<br />
about 10.9 lb. of water from and at 212 deg. F. per lb.<br />
of coal, the coal used being about 12,000 Btu. higher<br />
value.
June, 1924<br />
The remarkable efficiency of the "Lopulco" system<br />
of pulverized fuel is best illustrated by the figures of the<br />
Lakeside power station of 40,000 kw. at Milwaukee,<br />
started up in December, 1920, the first large plant in the<br />
world to run on pulverized fuel.<br />
The efficiency of boiler plant is 84-86 per cent week<br />
in, week out, all the year round, with only 20 per cent<br />
excess air over the theoretical; while the total auxiliary<br />
power throughout, handling, crushing, drying and pulverizing<br />
is only 1.75 per cent of the steam generated<br />
using rotary driers, although at Vitry the figure will be<br />
less than 1 per cent because of the new vertical driers.<br />
As regards wear and tear, the figure after grinding over<br />
200,000 tons of coal at the Lakeside plant is about 2.0<br />
pence per ton, actually less than mechanical stoking, and<br />
the labor costs are Is. 2d. per ton, equivalent to British<br />
conditions, also less than mechanical stoking. Finally,<br />
pulverized fuel has made possible the working of water<br />
tube boilers of 350,000 lb. evaporation per hour, and<br />
over, and the entire control of the working of a boiler<br />
from a panel switchboard at a distance.—Engineering and<br />
Boiler House Reviezv, London, Eng.<br />
Workers' Suggestions<br />
D,e Blast FurnaceSSteel Plant<br />
An index of the effectiveness of the system which<br />
rewards workers for suggestions is found in the recent<br />
compilation made by suggestion committees operating<br />
in plants of the General Electric Company.<br />
Of the 8,078 suggestions reviewed by the various<br />
committees in the works 1,752 were accepted. Awards<br />
ranging from $1 to $500 were paid to those whose suggestions<br />
were accepted, making a total of $22,988 paid<br />
out in cash awards during 1923.<br />
Briefly, the operation of the suggestion committees<br />
is as follows: Suggestions for improvements are focused<br />
through a small committee in each works. This<br />
committee investigates the suggestion, passes upon the<br />
merit of it, and makes the award to the man or woman<br />
who made the suggestion, or explains why the suggestion<br />
cannot be effectively adopted. In most cases<br />
the award can be made within a period of a few weeks<br />
after the suggestion is received; where it is necessary<br />
to put the suggestion into practice in order to determine<br />
its value, a longer time must elapse. The nature<br />
of the suggestions have a wide range from additional<br />
protective devices to new methods of working materials,<br />
and include new methods of following production,<br />
as well as improvements in plant publications.—<br />
General Electric Bulletin.<br />
Concrete<br />
A hundred years ago, Joseph Aspdin, a mason in<br />
an English town, got an idea. It led him to experiment.<br />
In time he produced a fine powder, which when<br />
mixed with water into a paste and allowed to stand<br />
would "set", forming a hard substance. This substance<br />
so resembled the building stone from the Isle of<br />
Portland that the powder was named Portland cement.<br />
As years passed, rocks, clays and marls were found in<br />
many countries from which Portland cement could be<br />
made. The industry took root in Pennsylvania and<br />
Indiana in 1872. A third of a million barrels were<br />
made in the United States in 1890; in 1923 more than<br />
137,000,000 barrels were produced by 126 mills, for<br />
which the manufacturers received about $240,000,000.<br />
297<br />
"Concrete" is the name of many substances made<br />
by mixing ingredients. Among engineers, architects<br />
and general contractors, however, it has for several<br />
years meant usually one kind of substance, mixtures<br />
of Portland cement with water, sand and gravel,<br />
crushed stone, slag or cinders. There have been other<br />
kinds of hydraulic cements, and there are now, which<br />
are or have been used in making concrete.<br />
Hydraulic cement concretes have several remarkable<br />
properties which have led to widespread use.<br />
They will set and harden under water. When freshly<br />
mixed, they are easily poured or packed into molds of<br />
almost any desirable form. They can be used with<br />
steel so as to combine economically the great tensile<br />
strength of this metal with stonelike resistance to<br />
crushing. Concretes are very resistant to fire when<br />
made of suitable materials.<br />
Concretes have been used for almost every purpose<br />
for which stones and bricks have been used and<br />
for many more. For years users of concrete thought<br />
it could be mixed and placed according to simple rules<br />
by unskilled labor with little supervision. But the use<br />
of concrete was extended to more elaborate structures<br />
—especially reinforced concrete (combinations of concrete<br />
and steel). Factories, office buildings, houses,<br />
bridges, dams, pipes, and highway pavements demanded<br />
for economical and structural reasons higher development<br />
of the strength possibilities of the materials,<br />
greater dependability and more intelligent adaptation<br />
to specific purpose.<br />
No longer was it sufficient to mix concrete by ruleof<br />
thumb from any likely looking sand and stone.<br />
Concrete mixtures must be designed. But data on<br />
which to base designing did not exist; engineers began<br />
collecting them from experience "on the job" and<br />
from laboratory experiments. In 1914, the Portland<br />
cement manufacturers took a hand in these investigations<br />
the Structural Materials Research Laboratory<br />
was established at Lewis Institute, Chicago. Since<br />
then several hundred thousand tests have been made<br />
there.<br />
Several factors are involved in the making of concrete,<br />
the ingredients, their proportions, the mixing,<br />
the placing and the curing. Each has a large influence<br />
on density, strength and durability. The quality of<br />
each ingredient is important, cement, water and aggregate,<br />
by "aggregate" meaning sand or stone dust,<br />
and gravel, crushed stone, or other substances, mixed<br />
with the cement and water. Kinds of aggregates are<br />
numerous and various. For example, the laboratory<br />
mentioned has 2800 samples of different sands.<br />
Sizes of aggregates and the proportions of the various<br />
sizes must be determined to suit the purpose for<br />
which the concrete is to be used. Sets of wire sieves<br />
with square meshes were found convenient for controlling<br />
the grading of the aggregates. Tests showed a<br />
relation between sizes and grading of aggregates and<br />
the strength of the concrete. Hence, one element in<br />
the designing of concrete mixtures was determined.<br />
Further investigations brought to light two more<br />
important facts: (1) The quantity of mixing water<br />
should be the smallest which will produce a concrete<br />
sufficiently plastic for proper placing in the molds or<br />
forms; (2) The concrete must be cured under favorable<br />
conditions during its first few days (for example, it<br />
must have sufficient moisture for the hydration of the<br />
cement, which constitutes setting and hardening).
298<br />
Strength of concrete was found to depend upon<br />
the ratio of the volume of mixing water to the volume<br />
of cement. So long as the mixture is workable, the<br />
less water, the stronger the concrete. "Sloppy" mixtures<br />
frequently sacrifice three-fourths of the possible<br />
strength.<br />
A most important process occurs after the concrete<br />
has been "placed", the hydration of the cement,<br />
which transforms the plastic mass into a rock-like<br />
substance. As the word "hydration" signifies, the<br />
cement takes up water, which must be provided in<br />
suitable quantity. It has been possible to increase the<br />
wear resistance of concrete 65 per cent by providing<br />
proper moisture during the first 10 days of hardening.<br />
For some engineers and architects there is little<br />
that is new in these paragraphs. But how many persons<br />
who live and work in concrete structures, travel<br />
through concrete-lined subways and tunnels, drink<br />
water conveyed through concrete-lined subways and<br />
tunnels, drink water conveyed through concrete aqueducts<br />
from behind concrete dams, and ride on concrete<br />
highways have any suspicion of the scientific research<br />
back of the cements and concrete?—Cement Association.<br />
British Iron and Steel in 1923<br />
Total Pig Iron Production Has Tripled in<br />
Two Years<br />
By A. C. BLACKALL*<br />
Notwithstanding the low ebb to which the British<br />
iron and steel trade had fallen in 1921 and 1922, great<br />
forward strides were made in 1923 and it is notable<br />
that there were over 200 blast furnaces in operation<br />
on December 31 as against 169 on the corresponding<br />
date in 1922.<br />
Appearances all tend to show that the present year<br />
will even eclipse the figures of 1923, which in production<br />
of pig-iron were over 50 per cent greater than<br />
those of the previous year, while the steel output was<br />
considerably in excess of pre-war years. Last year<br />
showed Great Britain as the world's greatest exporter<br />
of iron and steel, ranking second only in amount of<br />
production to the United States. France's output of<br />
pig-iron for 1921 and 1922 exceeded that of Great<br />
Britain, which country, however, took first place in<br />
1923, while Germany's figures were materially less<br />
than in 1922.<br />
The building boom which has taken place all over<br />
the country and particularly in London has enormously<br />
increased the domestic demand for steel, while<br />
the considerable expansion in exports has had a wonderful<br />
effect on the output of the blast furnaces.<br />
The total pig-iron production in 1923 amounted<br />
to 7,400,000 tons, against 4,900,000 tons in 1922 and<br />
2,616,000 tons in 1921. The average monthly output<br />
for 1922 amounted to 408,500 tons against 616,650<br />
tons for 1923, February showing the lowest production<br />
at 543,400 tons. That of May, at 714,200, was<br />
the highest after which production fell steadily until<br />
September. This was largely due to the unsettled<br />
state of Europe and the uncertainty attaching to the<br />
Ruhr developments, while the high prices demanded<br />
were additional factors tending towards the curtailment<br />
of business. After September, when production<br />
fell to 558,600 tons, a steady recovery set in<br />
and has continued until the present time.<br />
IheDlast rurnace^jteel Plant<br />
June, 1924<br />
This rapid recovery is all the more remarkable,<br />
since, generally speaking, conditions were entirely<br />
adverse to any improvement. For six months a boilermakers'<br />
strike paralyzed the shipyard industry,<br />
while both France and Belgium, due to their depreciated<br />
currencies and low costs of labor, were frequently<br />
not only able to successfully compete with British<br />
manufacturers for foreign orders, but also managed<br />
to sell considerable quantities of their productions<br />
to the British market as well. Nevertheless, the steel<br />
production in 1923 amounted to 8,600,000 tons against<br />
5,832,000 tons in 1922 and 3,703 tons in 1921, and was<br />
approximately a million tons greater than the pre-war<br />
figures of 1913.<br />
While approximately 750,000 tons of pig-iron were<br />
exported from the United Kingdom in 1923, imports<br />
amounted to 114,000 tons, total exports of pig and<br />
manufactured steel and iron being about \y2 million<br />
tons, or practically double the figures of any other<br />
nation. The future of the industry can be sized up in<br />
three words—cost of production. The war was responsible<br />
for enormous extensions of plants, resulting<br />
in greatly increased manufacturing capacity at lowproduction<br />
costs. So long as these can be kept in<br />
check further expansions of the industry may be predicted<br />
with safety.<br />
London, England.<br />
Finds Why Enameled Iron Ware Warps<br />
Enameled iron ware is much more likely to warp<br />
if the iron and enamel have different rates of thermal<br />
expansion than if they expand and contract at the<br />
same rate, the Bureau of Standards finds. These<br />
made at the Bureau have also shown that warping is<br />
less likely to occur if the grease is burned off than if<br />
it is taken off with chemicals, and that warping is apt<br />
to result from sudden, irregular cooling or from failure<br />
to support the ware properly in firing. Thin metal<br />
is found to warp more easily than thick, but is more<br />
easily straightened.<br />
The enamel used on such ware has for its chief ingredient<br />
a form of glass which is finely ground and<br />
mixed with other materials to form a paste which is<br />
applied to the surface of the metal, dried, and fired.<br />
The firing causes the glass to melt and adhere to the<br />
metal, while the other ingredients are dissolved in it.<br />
Warping sometimes occurs when the ware is cooled<br />
to room temperature after firing.<br />
The tests were made on commercial enamelling<br />
steel and sheet iron which was furnished by a number<br />
of manufacturers. The material was cut into 16inch<br />
squares and the effect of different variables in<br />
the enamelling process tested. Warpage was determined<br />
by allowing the test piece to rest on a flat base<br />
and measuring the areas included between the base<br />
and the test piece on vertical planes at five evenly<br />
spaced cross sections. The warpage was expressed as<br />
the average of the five areas.<br />
W. T. Burt, aged 45 years, vice president of the<br />
Wheeling Steel Company, Wheeling, W. Va., was<br />
killed on May 22 in an automobile accident at Washington,<br />
Pa.
J«ne, 1924 The Blast Furnace 3Steel Plant<br />
Following is a resume of some of the leading articles<br />
and trade reports appearing in Iron Trade Review,<br />
May 1 to May 29:<br />
May 1.<br />
A sharp decline in output is the leading feature of<br />
market reports at the beginning of May. Steel ingot<br />
operations in general are 65 to 70 per cent and prices<br />
lack stability. Iron Trade Review's composite of 14<br />
leading iron and steel products this week is $41.72, the<br />
lowest since January, 1923. Connellsville coke producers<br />
are reducing operations and wage reductions<br />
are being put into effect by coke oven operators. The<br />
Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel & Tin Workers,<br />
has presented demands for an increase m wages<br />
for sheet and tin plate mill workmen averaging 25 per<br />
cent, and also for a 6-hour day. The demand made on<br />
the bar mill operators is for an average increase of 10<br />
per cent.<br />
A review of the automobile trade shows that average<br />
operations in Michigan plants have been reduced<br />
to about 80 per cent of the recent high peak.<br />
The National Metal Trades Association at the 26th<br />
annual convention, New York City, appointed a committee<br />
to study human relations in industry. It is<br />
shown that 68 per cent of the members are training<br />
craftsmen.<br />
May. 8.<br />
Pig iron production in April fell to 3,226,401 tons<br />
compared with 3,465,389 tons in March. Average<br />
daily output fell from 111,787 tons to 107,546 tons, or<br />
3.28 per cent. The decline for output by steel works<br />
furnaces was 236,155 tons, while merchant output was<br />
reduced on 4,912 tons. Approximately 35 blast furnaces<br />
were taken from the active list in April.<br />
The composite of iron and steel prices this week is<br />
$41.58, compared with $41.72, showing a little more<br />
stability in prices. Carnegie Steel Company has put<br />
out six more furnaces, and its ingot operations, after<br />
going down to 52 per cent, are again higher. Sheet<br />
mill operations in the Mahoning Valley this week<br />
are the lowest since March, 1922. Lake Superior iron<br />
ore operators have revised their estimate on shipments<br />
for this season from 60,000,000 tons to 50,000,-<br />
000 tons. The market is extremely dull. A feature<br />
of Iron Trade Review's staff cablegram from London<br />
this week is to the effect that German mills have sold<br />
ship plates on the Cylde at $4.39 per ton under the<br />
British producer's price. French production of iron<br />
and steel in March, 634,000 metric tons of iron and<br />
573,000 tons of steel, was the largest of many months<br />
since the award. Canadian manufacturers are protesting<br />
the British government's proposal for reduction in<br />
the safe-guarding- of industries tariffs. The proposal<br />
would remove preferential rates for Canada and place<br />
American exporters in a better position.<br />
The description of the Henry Ford II, a new steel<br />
motorship, shows many departures from conventional<br />
design of iron ore carriers. All auxiliaries are electrically<br />
operated. The results of a survey of real importance<br />
and location of metal working industries in<br />
New York environments, are presented in this issue.<br />
This shows the importance of New York as a consuming<br />
center, is much greater than that as a producer.<br />
The American Gear Manufacturers' Association,<br />
meeting at Buffalo, reports progress in the movement<br />
for standardization. The Society of Industrial Engineers<br />
also in session at Buffalo outlined its studies<br />
and plans for cost reduction. Complete reports of<br />
both these conventions are presented in this issue.<br />
May 15.<br />
Steel ingot production in April fell to an annual<br />
rate of 40,500,000 tons, a decline of 23.6 per cent from<br />
an annual rate of 50,000,000 tons in Aiarch. A reduction<br />
amounting to 574,360 tons in the Steel Corporation's<br />
bookings at the end of April is the largest<br />
in percentage in a single month in many years. The<br />
Corporation this week is operating under 70 per cent<br />
of ingot capacity, while the industries average 60 per<br />
cent. Iron Trade Review's composite of 14 leading<br />
iron and steel products this week shows a decline of<br />
only 2 cents, now registering $41.56. The most important<br />
item in the week's transactions is that relating<br />
to bookings in rails, esimated at about 2,500,000 tons<br />
for all makers. Leading iron and steel producers say<br />
they are not considering wage reductions at this time.<br />
The pig iron situation shows some bright spots<br />
for the first time in many weeks. Buyers are beginning<br />
to negotiate for larger tonnages. The amounts<br />
actually placed are small and prices continue to recede.<br />
An article by John D. Knox, technical editor representative<br />
of Iron Trade Review, gives the complete<br />
description of recent developments in the scattering<br />
of slag by Hydraulic means.<br />
This issue contains a comprehensive summary of<br />
the proceedings of the 12th annual meeting of the<br />
Chamber of Commerce of the United States, presenting<br />
an address by Herbert Hoover, a feature of the<br />
meeting in which he urges manufacturers to adopt<br />
higher standards for business conduct to avert further<br />
regulation by government.<br />
May 22.<br />
Prices of pig iron and steel are lower. Semi-finished<br />
material is $1 to $2 under recent levels. Practically<br />
all districts report recession of 50 cents to $1<br />
on pig iron, accompanied with a greater display of<br />
interest by buyers. At Buffalo, inquiry is suddenly<br />
swollen to 35,000 tons. Some Buffalo furnaces quoted<br />
as low as $19.50. Iron Trade Review's composite of<br />
prices this week is $41.22, in contrast with $41.56<br />
last week.<br />
The most important feature of the market this<br />
week is the fact that pig iron, made in the Netherlands,<br />
is being sold for delivery to Philadelphia and<br />
also to San Francisco, amounting this week to approximately<br />
15,000 tons. British producers of galvanized<br />
sheets reduced prices making it possible to<br />
land the material at New York $20 a ton under the<br />
American domestic price.<br />
May 29.<br />
This issue of Iron Trade Review contains accounts<br />
of eight conventions of metal working industries.<br />
Among them are the meeting of the Iron & Steel Institute<br />
at New York, the National Supply & Machinery<br />
Dealers Association, the Southern Supply & Machenry<br />
Dealers Association, The American Supply &<br />
Manufacturers Association at Cleveland, the National<br />
Association of Manufacturers at New York, the<br />
National Machine Tool Builders Association at Buffalo,<br />
the American Society for Steel Treating at Moline,<br />
Illinois, the National Pipe & Supply Association<br />
at Cleveland and the National Association of Purchasing<br />
Agents, at Boston.
300<br />
Tke Blast FurnaceSSteel Plant<br />
June, 1924<br />
p 7 ' •••m— ' 'A' • -^"' *^<br />
|7% POWER PLA<br />
1\v „ , „ T>V. , < ST — 5—'A<br />
Economical Operation and Maintenance<br />
of Boiler Furnaces*<br />
T H E R E are only two essential elements in the<br />
fire clay from which our furnace refractories are<br />
made. These are silica and alumina. All other<br />
elements and combinations such as lime, magnesia,<br />
iron, titanic acid and the various alkalis may be properly<br />
classed as impurities.<br />
As it is not practicable to separate the impurities<br />
from the silica and alumina, we find that there is a<br />
wide variation in the properties of the various commercial<br />
fire brick. While this is due primarily to the<br />
This is the seventh in a series of articles<br />
by Robert June, who is well qualified to write<br />
on this subject. The articles are written from<br />
the point of view of the managing executive<br />
and deal with the dollars and cents end of<br />
power plant operation and maintenance.<br />
Succeeding articles deal with such live topics<br />
as safe and efficient boiler operation and maintenance,<br />
what management should know<br />
about coal and ash handling equipment, steam<br />
piping, efficient turbine operation, etc. The<br />
series is timely and should prove of value to<br />
our readers.<br />
varying analyses of the several refractories, nevertheless<br />
analysis alone will not enable us to predetermine<br />
how a given fire brick will stand up in a given<br />
furnace. The resistance of the various bricks to the<br />
erosive action of the molten slag and ash, can, generally<br />
speaking, only be satisfactorily determined by<br />
experiment.<br />
The best one can hope from an analysis is a negative<br />
result, that is, to show that certain bricks are<br />
unsuited to the work in hand. Bricks of apparently<br />
good analysis may not render satisfactory service due<br />
to their physical structure which is influenced by the<br />
manufacturing processes. The reason for this becomes<br />
apparent when it is understood that fire brick<br />
are made by combining certain proportions of the<br />
hard flint clays with varying proportions of soft or<br />
plastic clays ; the hard clays forming in the main the<br />
heat resisting elements of the mass while the soft<br />
clays act as a binder and are the means of insuring<br />
physical strength.<br />
Experiment is, therefore, our recourse to the selection<br />
of the refractory best suited for any given fur-<br />
*Copyright 1924, by Robert June.<br />
tThe Robert June Engineering Management Organization<br />
of Detroit.<br />
By ROBERT JUNEt<br />
I'AKi I I<br />
nace condition. If you are not getting satisfactory<br />
service from the fire brick you are using by all means<br />
try other kinds.<br />
Methods of Furnace Construction.<br />
The melting point of first-class fire brick is many<br />
hundreds of degrees higher than the temperatures<br />
encountered in present day boiler operation; therefore,<br />
direct fusion of the furnace lining is not our<br />
problem. What we do encounter is a softening of the<br />
fire brick structure at temperatures of 500 to 600 deg.<br />
below the melting point with a pronounced tendency<br />
toward erosion from the effects of molten slag and<br />
ash at these temperatures. Another factor encountered<br />
in the newer boiler room is the greatly increased<br />
height of the furnace wall with the consequent increase<br />
in pressure upon the brick. The effect of this<br />
pressure on the brick exposed to high temperature is<br />
very pronounced, greatly increasing the tendency to<br />
failure.<br />
One of the principles, therefore, to be kept in mind<br />
in designing furnaces is that no unnecessary stresses<br />
FIG. 1—Two methods of furnace zvall construction.<br />
and strains shall be put upon the brick. An excellent<br />
example of proper and improper design is furnished<br />
by Mr. E. B. Ricketts of the New York Edison Company,<br />
through whose courtesy we include the illustration<br />
in Fig. 1.<br />
The wall at the left is corbeled in such a way as<br />
to impose a very heavy load on the course of brick<br />
just above the ram box caps. When this construction
June, 1924 Ji P-vl J [ -^<br />
Steel Plant <br />
. Ihe Ulasr Furnace_<br />
was employed a softening of the lower rows of brick<br />
caused the whole front wall of the furnace to come<br />
tumbling down onto the stoker after a few weeks'<br />
use. When the furnace was rebuilt the method of<br />
construction shown at the right of Fig. 1 was employed<br />
with the result that this part of the furnace<br />
has given continuous satisfactory service for a number<br />
of years.<br />
It may be set down as an axiom that the wall<br />
which leans in toward the fuel bed is a constant<br />
source of trouble and that the wall which is corbeled<br />
away from the fuel bed is the most satisfactory.<br />
Flat Suspended Arches.<br />
One of the most important factors in the reduction<br />
of furnace maintenance cost has been the development<br />
of the flat suspended arch. Sprung arches are<br />
an expensive proposition to erect, the buckstays and<br />
tie rods require special attention. Despite the best<br />
provisions there is buckling of brickwork and when<br />
FIG. 2—Suspended arch sh'owing nose tile construction.<br />
repairs must presently be made it is usually necessary<br />
to tear down considerable sections of the wall in order<br />
to repair the arch.<br />
With the flat suspended arch all this trouble is<br />
eliminated. The whole arch is constructed on the<br />
unit principle so that any one piece can be removed<br />
and replaced at a minimum loss of time and at a<br />
minimum expense. There is practically no time out<br />
for shut-downs—an important point where the operations<br />
of expensive equipment and highly paid labor<br />
must be suspended due to the fact that power or<br />
steam in necessary quantities cannot be supplied,<br />
owing to the necessity of repair of the furnace arch.<br />
In addition to this direct saving in time and expense,<br />
the use of the flat suspended arch results in<br />
better combustion conditions due to the large furnace<br />
volumes possible and the even distribution of<br />
the gases. This saves fuel and increases efficiency.<br />
Characteristics of the Well Designed Flat<br />
Suspended Arch.<br />
The following general features will be found in<br />
the well designed flat suspended arch:<br />
1—Any individual tile can be replaced in 15<br />
minutes without disturbing any other tile. It is<br />
not necessary to tear down considerable parts of<br />
good tile or a curtain wall in order to replace a<br />
few burnt ones.<br />
2—Each tile hangs vertically on a separate bolt<br />
like a plumb bob so there is no strain on the neighboring<br />
tile.<br />
3—The nose tile in particular can be removed<br />
without disturbing any other tile or without disturbing<br />
any of the curtain wall above.<br />
4—Expansion of the arch is taken up by allowing<br />
the nose tile to swing upward on its bolt in<br />
such a manner as to cause no strain or pressure<br />
upon the other tile.<br />
5—The arch is well supported by steel work,<br />
each row of tile being suspended on a separate pair<br />
of channels or I-beams, distributing the load evenly<br />
over the walls.<br />
6—A separate support for the curtain wall is<br />
provided. There is thus no need to disturb the<br />
nose tile or arch proper, as the curtain wall is a<br />
separate and distinct unit.<br />
7—The supporting steel work is adequately<br />
ventilated without in any way admitting air to the<br />
furnace.<br />
With the flat suspended arch as each tile is hung<br />
on its own bolt free from any strain or from the<br />
weight of any other tile or brick, the tile will not<br />
break off, but will remain in place even if burned<br />
more than two-thirds through and such tile as burn<br />
are easily replaced. The illustrations show how it is<br />
unnecessary to tear down any but the tile that is to be<br />
replaced. The services of a high priced bricklayer are<br />
not required and anyone who can handle a hammer<br />
and chisel can readily replace the tile.<br />
Inequalities of burning in the tile can be taken<br />
care of by the use of bolts of varying length so that<br />
tile which are partially burned may be continued in<br />
service even when new tile are put in alongside, by<br />
the insertion of shorter bolts in the new tile, bringing<br />
surfaces exposed to the heat to the same level.<br />
The flat suspended arch is particularly adapted to<br />
the burning of bagasse, wet tan bark, wood refuse,<br />
hogged fuel, sawdust, etc. In installations of this<br />
character the fuel is generally admitted through openings<br />
through the arch in the roof of the furnace. By<br />
using longer or shorter bolts the contour of the arch<br />
can be specially adapted to the characteristics of the<br />
refuse being burned. Radiation can be so directed<br />
that the moisture is quickly driven off, and high combustion<br />
rates maintained.<br />
Baffles.<br />
There has been great improvement in baffle design<br />
and construction within recent years. The weaknesses<br />
and limitations of brick baffles have long been<br />
recognized and modern practice has tended more and<br />
more toward the use of baffles of what may be termed<br />
monolithic construction. The three important advantages<br />
resulting from this type of construction are:<br />
First, that the baffle is gas tight; second, that it is durable;<br />
third, that it can be built in any desired position.<br />
This last feature has made possible the betterment of<br />
furnace design and relief from many specific operating<br />
difficulties.<br />
In the use of this type of baffle the following general<br />
principles have been found most effective:<br />
1—In general the passes of the boiler are<br />
tapered on the principle of reducing the volume<br />
to correspond to the reduced volume of the gases
due to their shrinkage, as the temperature decreases.<br />
2—Securing a low entrance velocity of the<br />
gases, thus aiding the draft and tending to relieve<br />
accumulations of slag on the tubes.<br />
3—Exposing a large area of the bottom rows<br />
of tubes to the radiant heat of the furnace. In<br />
general providing for maximum heating surface<br />
in the first pass of the boiler.<br />
4—Placing baffles so they will prevent accumulation<br />
of soot.<br />
5—Increasing combustion volume by moving<br />
back bridge walls and at times inclining them<br />
backward for the sake of rigidity and longer life.<br />
Monolithic curtain walls may also be installed to<br />
excellent advantage in many furnaces. Where brick<br />
curtain walls are employed in horizontal water tube<br />
boilers these are usually of the standard 9-inch thickness<br />
and the walls are supported at the bottom wdth<br />
a cast iron beam carried in the side walls of the furnaces.<br />
In a construction of this sort it is difficult to<br />
make a tight joint between the bricks, which are<br />
square, and the drums, which are circular; with the<br />
result that there is very apt to be considerable leakage<br />
through the curtain wall at this point. Such leakage<br />
is serious since the gases go from the top of the<br />
second pass directly to the stack instead of passing<br />
through the second and third passes as they should.<br />
In order to meet this situation the monolithic curtain<br />
wall has been introduced and has been found to<br />
render satisfactory service. Leakage is prevented<br />
and it has been possible to reduce the thickness of the<br />
curtain wall from 9 in. to 4 in. with a corresponding<br />
decrease in the weight to be supported as well as a<br />
slight increase in the volume of the gas chamber.<br />
Relining.<br />
As a general proposition boiler furnaces are not<br />
inspected and repairs made at close enough intervals.<br />
Frequent attention to minor repairs may save in<br />
costly shut-downs and complete rebuilding of the furnace<br />
walls. The time to make furnace repairs is<br />
when the boilers are down, as they usually are at<br />
regular intervals for internal inspection and cleaning.<br />
Then is the time to go over the walls, linings, arches,<br />
bridge walls and baffles and put them in proper condition.<br />
In inspecting furnace walls pay careful attention<br />
and keep a sharp look-out for any signs of bulging.<br />
This is especially to be watched for where the<br />
walls are high or the brickwork carries part or all of<br />
the weight of the boiler. If the boiler is supported<br />
by an independent steel structure see that this structure<br />
is properly protected at all times. In a case<br />
which recently came to our attention the supporting<br />
structure for the boiler had been so badly damaged<br />
by heat that the entire furnace had to be torn down<br />
and a new steel structure put in, thus causing the<br />
loss of the use of the boiler for a number of weeks and<br />
a very large repair expense, all due to carelessness.<br />
In inspecting the lining tear out any parts showing<br />
signs of weakness without waiting for complete<br />
failure of the part. In making such repairs thoroughly<br />
clean the openings caused by the removal of<br />
the bricks and wedge the new brick in tight.<br />
In stoker fired boilers see that the inspection doors<br />
are lined with fire brick or tile and that such lining is<br />
kept in good condition. It is a very easy matter to<br />
warp inspection doors and once they are warped it is<br />
TheBlastFunvaceSSteelPU June, 1924<br />
next to impossible to keep them tight so that such<br />
doors may become an expensive source of air infiltration<br />
into the boiler setting.<br />
After inspection is completed and repairs, which<br />
have been noted, have been made, it is good practice<br />
to open the damper wide and close tight the furnace<br />
doors, then to go over the exterior of the setting with<br />
a lighted candle or torch so that any air leaks may<br />
be detected. In this connection a plastic cement coating<br />
on the boiler is recommended and in proportion<br />
to the expense involved in applying it, the returns<br />
will be found to be very high.<br />
New High Pressure Power Plant<br />
One of the most interesting and modern power<br />
stations recently built is that of the American Construction<br />
& Securities Company, Williamsport, Md.,<br />
a general view of wdiich is shown in Fig. 1.<br />
The boiler house equipment consists of two Babcock<br />
& Wilcox cross drum type boilers, each of 1450<br />
bhp., for generating steam at 350 lbs. pressure with<br />
200 deg. superheat. Ultimately there will be 24 such<br />
boilers, giving a total capacity of 34,500 hp.<br />
Only one 14,000-kw. Westinghouse generator is in<br />
operation, but eventually there will be five additional<br />
generators of 30,000 kw. each, or a total of 164,000 kw.<br />
FIG. 1—General viezv of nczv pozver station at Williamsport, Pa.<br />
'Two Link-Belt "Clean Water" intake screens handle<br />
the condenser water for the present and will be<br />
added to as the plant enlarges.<br />
The coal handling equipment installed consists of<br />
one 50-ton track hopper, equipped with automatic<br />
loaders, one automatic skip hoist with balanced buckets,<br />
one 10-ton auxiliary overhead hopper filter with<br />
reciprocating feeder, one two-roll crusher, one 24-in.<br />
belt conveyor with traveling tripper, one Merrick<br />
weightometcr, coal bunker gates and stoker spouts.<br />
The overhead storage in front of each pair of boilers<br />
is at present of 600-ton capacity. This will be increased<br />
as additional boilers are installed.<br />
After a careful study of the requirements of this<br />
installation, the engineers, Sanderson & Porter of<br />
New York City, chose the skip hoist as the better
June, 1924<br />
medium for elevating the coal, particularly on account<br />
of the high lift.<br />
Coal is received by rail on an elevated track and<br />
is either dumped directly into the 50-ton track hopper<br />
or dumped from the trestle and stored by a locomotive<br />
crane. The present outside coal storage capacity<br />
adjacent to the plant is about 5,000 tons. This<br />
storage will eventually be increased to 60,000 tons,<br />
at which time it will be served by a bridge tramway<br />
or a long radius locomotive crane.<br />
The skip hoist has a vertical lift of 140 feet, the<br />
angle of the incline being 68 deg. from horizontal.<br />
With the speed of bucket travel of 200 ft. per min., the<br />
hoist has a guaranteed capacity of 150 tons per hour.<br />
Under actual test, however, it has exceeded this<br />
guarantee.<br />
The hoisting operation is continuous, the skip<br />
buckets being automatically loaded at the track hop-<br />
per and discharged in the auxiliary 10-ton overhead<br />
hopper. After being crushed, the coal is distributed<br />
over the 600-ton storage by means of the 24-in. belt<br />
conveyor (Fig. 2), being weighed and recorded by<br />
the Merrick weightometer.<br />
In the development of this plant the present equipment<br />
will practically be duplicated. The entire skip<br />
hoist, including the structural steel, was designed and<br />
manufactured by the Link-Belt Company of Philadelphia.<br />
Brooke Combustion Controller<br />
Changes in load on boiler cause the steam pressure<br />
regulator to open or close the stack damper.<br />
This produces a change in draught over fuel bed,<br />
which actuates our controller. The controller then<br />
proceeds to open or close the blast gates, until the<br />
predetermined draught has been restored.<br />
This controller consists of two inverted bells, enclosed<br />
in separate chambers, and sealed with oil. Furnace<br />
draught is piped to the under side of one, and<br />
the upper side of the other. Atmosphere is admitted<br />
above the first, and below the second. Due to this<br />
balancing of the bells, possible changes in oil level<br />
have no effect on accuracy or sensibility. The bells<br />
are connected to an arm which passes through the oil<br />
ie Diast kirnace^ jteel riant<br />
303<br />
chamber above the levels of the oil, so that all packed<br />
joints are avoided.<br />
Rigidly connected to the pivot, but ouside the oil<br />
chamber, is a threaded arm which carries the electrical<br />
contacts. A slight tipping of the bells forms a<br />
Brooke Combustion Controller.<br />
contact on one side or the other, and this actuates a<br />
magnetic contactor, throwing the reversible motor<br />
across the line. The motor starts forward or backward,<br />
as occasion requires, and operates through a<br />
powerful gear train. Pulleys on the main shaft give<br />
the final drive. The electric motor gives a positive<br />
drive in both directions, and being a constant speed<br />
motor, will not slow up the action through friction in<br />
the damper.<br />
This controller will maintain the draft constant at<br />
any predetermined point, with very slight variations.<br />
It will prevent the formation of positive pressure over<br />
FIG. 2—Coal distributing belt, 24-in. zvith, zvhich conveys the<br />
coal from crushers to storage bins.<br />
the fuel bed, which does great damage to settings and<br />
arches. It will give a correct supply of air whether<br />
the fuel bed is thick or thin, and in case of an incipient<br />
hole in the fire, will not force air through, thereby<br />
making the condition worse, as any control will do<br />
in which the steam pressure regulator actuates the<br />
tan first, or wdiere there is a mechanical connection<br />
between the stack damper and the fan.<br />
Set Drafts by Composition of Flue Gases<br />
An electrical method of gas analysis recently perfected<br />
at the Bureau of Standards of the Department<br />
of Commerce makes possible the immediate detection of<br />
the change in composition of flue gases in a boiler plant,<br />
the recording of such changes throughout the day, and<br />
the manual or automatic control of regulating apparatus<br />
in accordance with the gas composition. Other industries<br />
in which the new method is expected to prove useful<br />
are the manufacture of oxygen and hydrogen by the<br />
electrolytic method, the manufacture of sulphuric acid<br />
and of synthetic ammonia, and the extraction of helium<br />
from natural gas for use in balloons and airships.<br />
This device and tests made of it are described in Technologic<br />
Paper No. 249 of the Bureau of Standards entitled,<br />
"Thermal Conductivity Method for the Analysis<br />
of Gases." Copies may be obtained from the Superintedent<br />
of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington,<br />
D. C. The price is 20 cents.
304 Tke Blast F, urnacc •S) Meel riant<br />
| ^"'!:^m:!l!r':r: ••• ;I.I:IIIIIIIIIIIII!'V .'IIIIIIH; !iii;ii: 'II'ITI. i.iiiiirn i.iir'r'- .IIIIIIII'II;: • ;!IIIIIIIIIII!'III'=-<br />
| NEW EQUIPMENT |<br />
Rotary Flying Shear<br />
l ' .1 .1111. illl'lll I I I I I I I I ^<br />
The Buffalo Bolt Company, North Tonawanda,<br />
N. Y., recently installed a new type of flying shear at<br />
their 8 in. and 10 in. merchant mills for cutting rounds,<br />
squares and flats. This shear was designed and built<br />
by the United Engineering & Foundry Company, Pittsburgh,<br />
Pa., under a patent of Mr. Norman Rendleman<br />
of the Jones & Laughlin Steel Company wdio conceived<br />
the idea of shearing round, flat and square bars immediately<br />
behind the finishing stand of a rolling mill<br />
by means of two rotary knives set at an angle to the<br />
line of travel of the bar. In other words, taking a<br />
rotary shear and placing it at an angle with the line<br />
of travel of the bar leaving the mill and slipping the<br />
bar between the knives when a cut was to be made.<br />
Suitable speed of rotation of the rotary cutters combined<br />
with the angle at which they were set, would enable the<br />
shear to cut the bar without interrupting its delivery<br />
speed from the mill.<br />
The shear consists of two circular cutters mounted<br />
on a suitable base and rotated at the proper speed by<br />
two adjustable speed motors each connected to the spindle<br />
of one of the cutters. Means is provided so that when<br />
a bar is to be cut, it is moved sideways until the cutters<br />
catch it. The rotating knives cut the bar without stopping<br />
its forward motion. The bar is then traveling on<br />
the opposite side of the knives and cannot be cut again<br />
until it is moved to its first position. This is done by<br />
raising the upper knife and moving the bar across the<br />
trough between the open knives. The upper knife is<br />
then lowered to cutting position and the shear is ready<br />
to repeat the cutting operation. A third motor is provided<br />
for raising and lowering the upper spindle. The<br />
shear is arranged with the cutters at an angle of about<br />
45 deg. to the line of travel of the bar leaving the mill.<br />
The whole operation is automatic and a complete<br />
cutting and resetting cycle requires about two seconds,<br />
and the shear will cut bars into any convenient length<br />
delivered in a time greater than this period. In other<br />
words, with a delivery speed of 1,200 ft. per minute,<br />
June, 1924<br />
the shortest piece which the shear will cut would be about<br />
40 ft. It is claimed that it will cut bars at any delivery<br />
speed up to 5,000 ft. per minute.<br />
A.s the cutters work at an angle to the line of travel<br />
to the bar, the cut will also be at the same angle. Illustration<br />
shows the appearance of a round and a flat after<br />
being cut. The bars were traveling from left to right<br />
when cut.<br />
With the use of this shear heavier billets may be<br />
used with a moderate length of hot bed. The shear<br />
can also be used with equally good advantage in connection<br />
with reels when rolling rods, as the product of<br />
one billet may be fed into two or more reels as desired.<br />
The illustration at the bottom of the page shows the<br />
shear as installed at the plant of the Buffalo Bolt Company.<br />
With this particular installation, the shear is not<br />
used when the bars are coiled. The shear has capacity to<br />
cut rounds or squares up to 1 in. and flats up to yx.2 in.<br />
or ;M$x4 in., and we understand larger sizes can be built<br />
to cut much heavier sections.<br />
The advantages claimed for using the shear, are as<br />
follows:<br />
Heavier billets can be used for small sections.<br />
Labor saving in handling a less number of billets.<br />
Less crane time required to handle the same tonnage,<br />
due to using larger billets.<br />
Cheaper cost of raw material due to using larger<br />
and longer billets.<br />
Tonnage increased as the lost time between bars<br />
is proportionately reduced.<br />
Reduced scrap loss due to less number of billets.<br />
The work of the men on the various stands is<br />
reduced, and in some cases less men required, as<br />
there are fewer bars to be entered into the mill.<br />
First cost of mill buildings and hot beds can be<br />
materially reduced.
June, 1924<br />
''ini':iiilliii,.!iili!v,;!!ir III:'' ...111! ..ill!!' I.ll. ' .III!!' IIII!|...;;IIIIIII. iiiiiim<br />
Trade Notes and Publications<br />
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIKIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIBIIIIIIU.IIIIIIIIIII iiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiu IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINIIII<br />
The Centrifix Corporation of Cleveland, Ohio, is<br />
distributing a four-page bulletin describing its Centrifix<br />
steam purifier. Pictures of the device serve to<br />
illustrate this recent development in the art of better<br />
boiler operation. In a field where before engineering<br />
entered largely in the solution of any specific application,<br />
herein "steam purification has been reduced to<br />
a standard," and any standard boiler may be fitted<br />
with a correctly sized purifier regardless of variations<br />
in capacity or feed water characteristics.<br />
The M<strong>org</strong>an Engineering Company, Alliance,<br />
Ohio, are distributing several new and interesting<br />
bulletins. Bulletin No. 24 is devoted to standard<br />
cranes, pictures on the front cover, a M<strong>org</strong>an 250-ton,<br />
85 ft. I0y in. span crane in service at the Pennsylvania<br />
Railroad Company's Logansport, Ind., shops.<br />
Details of the many construction features which enter<br />
into successful crane engineering are gone into carefully<br />
and illustrated. Bulletin No. 28 pictures the<br />
extent to which punches and shears have been developed.<br />
A M<strong>org</strong>an motor-driven guillotine plate<br />
shear, built for the Youngstown Sheet & Tube Company<br />
Indiana Harbor, Ind., plant is featured. Bulletin<br />
No. 29 is an excellent analysis of the safety limit<br />
stop problem and is worth reading and filing for<br />
reference.<br />
"Modern Motors for Modern Appliances," is the<br />
title used to introduce two new bulletins being distributed<br />
by the Ohio Electric & Controller Company<br />
of Cleveland, Ohio. Ohio motors described here have<br />
been designed to meet the increasing demand for high<br />
grade motors for application to domestic appliances,<br />
pumps, machines and other devices which are operated<br />
from lighting circuits.<br />
A very complete textbook on power transmission,<br />
and silent chain transmission in particular, has just<br />
been issued by the Ramsey Chain Company, Inc.,<br />
general offices and factory Albany, N. Y., manufacturers<br />
of the chain with the compensating joint. It<br />
is a 6x9, 48-page book in two colors, beautifully illustrated<br />
and bound. It treats on the comparisons between<br />
the various methods of drives, leather and rubber<br />
belting, gearing, direct drives and silent chain.<br />
It also covers the transmission problems in the following<br />
fields: Textile, machine tool, punch presses,<br />
shears, wood-working machinery, fans and blowers,<br />
mixing machinery, grain elevators and flour mills,<br />
pumps and compressors, cement and clay working<br />
machinery, rubber plants, paper mills, steel plants,<br />
etc. It has complete engineering information and<br />
data for laying out silent chain drives. A copy will<br />
be sent free to any reader mentioning this magazine.<br />
One of the largest contracts for electrical apparatus<br />
ever closed was that recently awarded the General<br />
Electric Company, Schenectady, N. Y., by the<br />
Jones & Laughlin Steel Corporation, Pittsburgh, for<br />
a 14-inch continuous steel mill at its Aliquippa<br />
works. The contract calls for 10 direct adjustable<br />
speed 600-volt motors ranging in size from 200 to<br />
3,000 hp.; five motor generators with an aggregate<br />
capacity of 13,500 kw., and a number of mill type motors<br />
for mill tables, cranes, etc.<br />
Die Blast FurnaceSSteel Plant<br />
305<br />
The Cleaton Company (Canada), Ltd., Eastern<br />
Canadian representatives of the Conveyors Corporation<br />
of America, 326 West Madison Street, Chicago,<br />
have moved to their new office at 1070 Bleury Street,<br />
Montreal, Quebec. The Cleanton <strong>org</strong>anization handle<br />
the sale of American steam jet ash conveyors, American<br />
air-tight doors and other power plant specialties<br />
in Montreal and Eastern Canada. R. E. Cleaton is<br />
president and N. Bannatyne chief engineer of this<br />
well known <strong>org</strong>anization.<br />
The Diamond Power Specialty Corporation of Detroit,<br />
Mich., manufacturers of Diamond soot blowers<br />
for water tube and horizontal return tubular boilers,<br />
has appointed W. L. Sullivan, 505 Central National<br />
Bank Bldg., Tulsa, Okla., as their representative for<br />
State of Oklahoma. Mr. Sullivan has been in Tulsa<br />
for several years, specializing in the sale of power<br />
plant equipment and machinery.<br />
The American Roll & Machine Company, Warren,<br />
Ohio, recently .incorporated with a capital stock<br />
of $300,000, will shortly begin the erection of a plant<br />
for the manufacture of chilled rolls. Officers of the<br />
company are J. C. Manternach, president American<br />
Welding & Mfg. Company, president; J. D. Estabrook,<br />
president Sunlight Electric Company, Warren,<br />
vice president, and R. E. Shook, Canton, secretary<br />
and treasurer. Ge<strong>org</strong>e G. Brader, N. C. Ralph<br />
and R. C. Day, Warren, and W. E. Blecker, Canton,<br />
are directors.<br />
Straight Line Production<br />
(Continued from page 267)<br />
ward the furnace and carried back over the sand by<br />
the cast house crane.<br />
The roller is now dragged over the sand leaving<br />
a series of perfectly molded imprints of pig bed and<br />
sow, each identical with the others and exactly spaced.<br />
The roller is not truly cylindrical but is more nearly<br />
a four equal sided figure whose sides are cycloids.<br />
Each side comprises a bed and carries a sow mold<br />
running the whole length with 28 pig molds attached<br />
thereto. The pig molds are so formed as to leave a<br />
minimum neck joining pigs to sow and to form a<br />
notch in center of pig to facilitate its being broken.<br />
After roller has traversed the length of cast steel<br />
the bed is ready for the cast, the only hand work<br />
necessary being to connect the sows at their ends to<br />
the runner.<br />
Pig roller iron is smoother, freer from sand and<br />
is more uniform in size than that made in hand-made<br />
beds. The individual pigs are a little lighter. For<br />
these reasons, foundries prefer it to the old type of<br />
pigs.<br />
A Southern Rolling Mill<br />
(Continued from page 294)<br />
In view of the "Quality" aimed at, something has<br />
already been said of the measures taken for improvement.<br />
New equipment is constantly being added for<br />
bettering the product, both in mill and laboratory.<br />
The inspection force has recently been trebled. And<br />
these measures, together with the closer contact possible<br />
in a small plant, make quite feasible the relization<br />
of their aims to deliver the best steel obtainable in the<br />
shortest time possible.
306<br />
Fred J. Mershon, for many years export sales manager<br />
of the Industrial Works at Bay City. Mich.. ha><br />
now taken entire charge of their Detroit branch office<br />
located in the Book Building.<br />
W r illiam Wietelmann has been elected assistant<br />
superintendent of the plant at Zanesville, Ohio, of the<br />
Youngstown Sheet & Tube Company, Youngstown.<br />
A. L. Jones has been named superintendent of the<br />
Zanesville plant, succeeding F. W. Gordon, former<br />
superintendent, who resigned to assume charge of a<br />
tube mill in Chicago.<br />
Frank W. Gordon, superintendent of the plant at<br />
Zanesville, Ohio, of the Youngstown Sheet & Tube<br />
Company, has resigned to assume charge of a new<br />
tube mill at Chicago to be operated by Clayton and<br />
Anson Mark. Mr. Gordon will be accompanied t<br />
Chicago by Frank Windsor, Harry Alden, James<br />
Mawhinney and Alex McClelland, department managers<br />
of the Zanesville mill who will be advanced to<br />
department heads at the Chicago plant. Albert L.<br />
Jones, who for the past several years has been assistant<br />
superintendent of the Zanesville plant, will succeed<br />
Mr. Gordon as superintendent there.<br />
Roy H. Davis has resigned as a director and general<br />
manager of the Firth-Sterling Steel Company.<br />
McKeesport, Pa., and also as vice president and a director<br />
of the Globe Wire Company, owned by the<br />
Firth-Sterling Company. He is, however, continuing<br />
his association as a director of Thos. Firth & Sons.<br />
Inc., Hartford, Conn. Mr. Davis has been associated<br />
with the Firth-Sterling Steel Company since 1917.<br />
Last fall he spent several months at the works of<br />
Thos. Firth & Sons, Ltd., Sheffield, England, making<br />
a special study of stainless steel and its application<br />
for engineering purposes, especially turbine plates.<br />
He also has been in close touch with its development<br />
in this country. Previous to his association with the<br />
Firth-Sterling Steel Company, Mr. Davis was with<br />
the Washington Steel & Ordnance Company, a Firth<br />
company, in charge of munition work, having been<br />
located at the office in New York. He has made no<br />
definite plans for the future.<br />
DieBlasfFurnaceSSteelPU<br />
June, 1924<br />
L. D. Albin, formerly general sales manager of<br />
the Ingersoll-Rand Company, 11 Broadway, New-<br />
York City, has been elected vice president in charge<br />
of European sales of that company. Mr. D. C. Keefe,<br />
formerly assistant general sales manager, has been<br />
appointed to succeed Mr. Albin as general sales<br />
manager.<br />
Charles Pettigrew, formerly superintendent of the<br />
Joliet. 111., works of the Illinois Steel Company, and<br />
general manager of the Sparrows Point, Md., plant of<br />
the Maryland Steel Company (now a part of Bethlehem<br />
Steel Company), left' S100.000 to the Silver<br />
Cross hospital at Joliet, according to his will recently<br />
probated at Bridgeport. Conn. Mr. Pettigrew died at<br />
Pasadena, Cal, May 22, 1923.<br />
Stanley A. Cullington of the Bond plant of the<br />
American Radiator Company, C. C. McDonald of the<br />
Wickwire-Spencer Steel Corporation, and John J.<br />
Ryan of the Automatic Transportation Company were<br />
among those elected directors of the Safety Club of the<br />
Buffalo Chamber of Commerce for 1924.<br />
Mrs. Nellie Lowry, widow of the late Dr. A. C.<br />
Lowry, was elected president of the Marting Iron &<br />
Steel Company at Ironton, Ohio, March 19. Mrs.<br />
Lowry is a daughter of the late Col. H. A. Marting.<br />
and succeeds to the presidency which was formerly<br />
held by her husband. No other changes in the officials<br />
were made.<br />
J. L. Schueler, metallurgist of the Keystone Steel<br />
& Wire Co., Peoria, 111., has been appointed superintendent<br />
of the open-hearth department to succeed<br />
Alexander G. Black, who recently resigned to become<br />
superintendent of the open hearth department at the<br />
Vandergrift, Pa., works of the American Sheet & Tin<br />
Plate Company.<br />
Thomas Williams has been appointed superintendent<br />
of the Thomas Sheet Steel Company, Niles, Ohio,<br />
formerly operated by the Brier Hill Steel Company,<br />
which was absorbed by the Youngstown Sheet & Tube<br />
Company at the time the Brier Hill Steel Company<br />
was taken over by the Youngstown Sheet & Tube<br />
Company.
June, 1924<br />
Dte Blast F,
308<br />
Die Blast Fu rnace rZ£) Steel Plant<br />
June, 1924<br />
^ F! =i i n 11 r M n 131111 n L i n J 1 J 11:31 r 11 E L 11.11 r i M i J J 1111 r r 11 r i J i u: b M n 11; J j j f t h 11111 a 11 c 11 ^ 111, r 11 N d i' 11 M i E n E M 1111 J 111 a [ c 11 M I r 111 ^n J J 11.11 b: 1111 h F 11 a J J J J 111111111 c M M J i j 311 M 111 n n u J L.n LI 11 c J i E j J I n 1111 M 11-J u J i y r 11111 n J 111111 r 11 p i M 1111111 i:: 11111 J J J J J I n J i M M i L 11 J J 11 a J d 11111 M 11 r t F t L I H J J J 11 J I n<br />
1 NEWS OF THE PLANTS I<br />
ftlliulllllimillllllllinllliuilllllllllllllllllllinillllllllillllltlllllllllllllltllllllllllllim<br />
The American Sheet & Tin Plate Company, Frick<br />
Bldg., Pittsburgh. Pa., has plans under way for extensions<br />
and improvements in its mills at Canton, Ohio,<br />
to include the erection of a new- roll shop and several<br />
other structures, and the installation of considerable<br />
additional equipment, including several air furnaces.<br />
W. A. Harris is local manager.<br />
The Bethlehem Steel Corporation, Bethlehem, Pa.,<br />
has plans in progress for expansion and betterments<br />
at its several subsidiary plants, including the Lackawanna<br />
Steel Works, Buffalo. N. Y. ; Midvale Steel &<br />
Ordnance Company, Coatesville and Johnstown, Pa. ;<br />
and the Cambria Steel Company, Johnstown. The<br />
work will include improvements and enlargements in<br />
blast furnaces and mills, and the installation of additional<br />
equipment, carrying out an improvement program<br />
inaugurated a number of months ago. In order<br />
to provide funds for the expansion, the company has<br />
disposed of a bond issue of $30,000,000, of which a<br />
substantial portion will be used for this purpose.<br />
The Ford Alotor Company, Highland Park, Detroit.<br />
Mich., is arranging for the equipment installation<br />
for its proposed steel mills at the River Rouge<br />
works, to consist of an 18-inch sheet bar mill, 18-inch<br />
billet mill, 32-inch billet mill, 42-inch continuous<br />
booming mill, 14-inch merchant bar mill, and miscellaneous<br />
structures. The plant is expected to develop<br />
a capacity of close to 100,000 tons of ingots and billets<br />
per month, while present plans call for extensions<br />
in the initial blooming mill at a later date.<br />
Three electric furnaces of Greaves-Etchells type will<br />
be installed, the largest with a capacity of 50 tons, and<br />
the two others each 10 tons. It is expected to have<br />
the mills readv for service towards the latter part<br />
of 1925.<br />
The Pacific Sheet Steel Corporation, South San<br />
Francisco, Cal., has commenced operations at its newlocal<br />
sheet mills and plans to develop the plant to<br />
maximum capacity at an early date. It consists of six<br />
main structures, adjoining the works of the Pacific<br />
Coast Steel Company, which will furnish sheet bars<br />
for the mills, and is equipped for the production of<br />
black, gaKanized and blue annealed sheets. The<br />
plant represents an investment of close to $1,500,000.<br />
and will give employment to about 200 operatives.<br />
The Pacific Sheet Steel Corporation is operated bv the<br />
Metal & Thermit Corporation, New York.<br />
The West Coast Steel Company, Tacoma, Wash.,<br />
is said to be perfecting plans for the rebuilding of the<br />
portion of its local mills, recently destroyed by fire<br />
with loss estimated at close to $250,000, including<br />
buildings and equipment. The reconstruction at the<br />
same location, Pacific Avenue and Twenty-second<br />
Street, is estimated to cost approximately a like<br />
amount.<br />
The Minnesota Steel Company, Duluth, Minn..<br />
has work in progress on improvements in its No. 1<br />
blast furnace, including stack enlargement, relining<br />
and other betterment to completely modernize the<br />
unit. It is expected to have the furnace ready to<br />
blow in at an early date. The No. 2 furnace at the<br />
plant will be remodeled similarly at an early date.<br />
with like increase in capacity and new shell. The<br />
company has work under way, also, on an addition<br />
to its merchant mill, to be equipped primarily for the<br />
manufacture of steel posts. Considerable machinery<br />
will be installed during the next month, and the extension<br />
placed in service shortly thereafter.<br />
The Mystic Iron Works, Everett, Mass., a subsidiary<br />
of the Massachusetts Gas Company, Boston,<br />
has commenced preliminary work for its proposed<br />
local blast furnace, ore dock and auxiliary structures.<br />
The stack will be of 400 tons capacity, provided with<br />
four hot blast stoves, with electric power station and<br />
other accessory departments. A large battery of<br />
watertube boilers will be installed for steam service<br />
at the plant as well as to handle a by-products coke<br />
oven plant to be constructed on adjoining site. The<br />
furnace will be used for the production of pig iron<br />
from domestic and imported ores, and is expected to<br />
develop an output of about 150,000 tons per annum.<br />
This is to be the first of four such furnaces, it is stated,<br />
in this same district along the Mystic River. An extensive<br />
ore docks will be constructed for the unloading<br />
of ore and other materials direct from the vessels.<br />
To provide for the project, the parent company<br />
has disposed of a note issue of $5,000,000. Freyn,<br />
Brassert & Company, Chicago, 111., are consulting<br />
engineers.<br />
The Penn-Seaboard Steel Corporation, Franklin<br />
Bank Bldg., Philadelphia, Pa., has approved an increase<br />
in its capital stock from 1,000,000 to 1,500,000<br />
shares, a portion of the proceeds to be used for extensions<br />
and improvements at its plant, as well as for<br />
additions to working capital to provide for necessary<br />
expansion.<br />
The Lockhart Iron & Steel Company, Connellsville,<br />
Pa., is said to have plans under way for the rebuilding<br />
of its local Sligo mill, destroyed by fire a<br />
number of weeks ago with loss estimated at $300,000,<br />
including equipment. It is expected to invest close<br />
to a similar amount in the reconstruction.<br />
The Troy Coke & Iron Company, Inc., Troy, N.<br />
Y., recently formed by officials of the Burden Iron<br />
Company, with local plant, has plans under way for<br />
the erection of a new steel mill on site selected, and<br />
expects to break ground at an early date. It will<br />
consist of a number of units with power plant, as<br />
well as foundry for steel casting service, and is estimated<br />
to cost in excess of $1,200,000, including equipment,<br />
of which a list will soon be arranged. It is<br />
understood that the building construction will be<br />
handled by the Foundation Company, 120 Liberty<br />
Street, New York. The Burden company has filed<br />
notice of increase in capital from $2,000,000 to $3,500,-<br />
000, a portion of the proceeds to be used for general<br />
expansion at the local mills.<br />
The Youngstown Sheet & Tube Company,<br />
Youngstown, Ohio, has completed foundations and<br />
has superstructure work in progress for its proposed<br />
new sheet mill at the Brier Hill works. The structure<br />
will be of eight-mill type and is expected to be<br />
readv for initial service in the fall. It is expected to<br />
cost'in excess of $700,000
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| lie Bias I PumaceS SW PW j<br />
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Vol. XII PITTSBURGH, PA.. JULY, 1924 No. 7<br />
An Important Decision<br />
THE problem of problems confronting young men just leaving college and<br />
ready for entrance into the world of affairs is—What shall it be—agriculture<br />
or the trades, a profession or a business, science or art CJ One<br />
who has the advantage of a college training ought to come to his work with a<br />
disciplined body, trained mind, generous spirit, and a determination to do<br />
something worth while in life.<br />
It does not require much imagination to realize that a business career<br />
presents an alluring opportunity for service to one's fellowmen. Mines, factories,<br />
transportation, banking, wholesale and retail stores—all these enterprises<br />
form a colossal field for the cultivated mind.<br />
The production, distribution and consumption of goods and services<br />
compasses the full cycle of life, and the young man who has ambition to succeed<br />
need have no difficulty in finding a place in this vast scheme of things<br />
for any talent he may possess. New processes, new resources, new territories<br />
are waiting for those who can do constructive things, who can plan,<br />
design and run the machine so as to eliminate waste, cut down costs, utilize<br />
by-products and make the workers happy and productive. The element of<br />
chance and speculation in business is yielding more and more to scientific<br />
<strong>org</strong>anization and planning, and the acquisitive type of personal success is<br />
less highly regarded than that of achieving—creating—accomplishing something<br />
which will be a real contribution to society and to our fellowmen.<br />
Business needs trained minds, high standards and constructive ability.<br />
It needs and richly rewards real leadership.<br />
Mr. James Simpson, president of Marshall Field & Company, knows college<br />
boys well. This is the spirit of his message to 1924 graduates.<br />
309<br />
•
310<br />
Die Blast Furnace'3Steel Plant<br />
July, 1924<br />
Color Classification of Blast Furnace Slags<br />
An Attempt to Demonstrate the Underlying Principles Which<br />
IT has been previously shown that the components<br />
of blast furnace slags and molten magmas are very<br />
much the same. It is reasonable, therefore, to go<br />
one step farther and assume that the combinations of<br />
the components into various silicates should be essentially<br />
the same. The slag then as a magma may be<br />
composed of the following combinations. (See Table).<br />
In the table below the compositions are only representative<br />
types, as the composition of slags is ever<br />
changing. In addition to the above data, information<br />
of a similar nature 01 ;f mineral composition is of particular<br />
interest here. The following data are given in<br />
chapters nine and ten ;>f U. S. G. S. Bulletin 695:<br />
Sillimanite, AUSiOs. Simple aluminum silicate. M. P.<br />
1816° C. Nephelite, leucite. and anorthite, complex aluminumsilicates.<br />
Quartz, SiO.-. M. P. 1780° C. Brun; 1625° C. Day.<br />
CaSiOs (artificial) M. P. 1515° C. Brim ; 1540° C. Day. MgSiO,<br />
(artificial M. P. 1557° C. Day.<br />
The following melting points were made by G.<br />
Stein with a Wanner pyrometer 1 :<br />
'The Data' of Geochemistry. By Frank Wigglesworth<br />
Clark. U.S.G.S. Bull. 695, pp. 287, 288.<br />
Quartz, silica, became viscous, semifluid at 1600° C. and<br />
was completely liquid at 1750° C. (Quartz, tridymite, cristobalite.)<br />
CaSiOn. M. P. 1512° C. Mineral form, Wollastonite.<br />
MgSiOs. M. P. 1565° C. Mineral form, Enstatite. FeSiOa, M. P.<br />
1521-1557" C. Mineral form. Hvpersthene. MnSiOj, M. P.<br />
1470-1500° C. Mineral form. MgiSiOs, M. P. 1900°. Mineral<br />
form. Olivine.<br />
The object of presenting the various minerals and<br />
their melting points is to form a general basis for discussion<br />
later on. Since the composition of a slag is<br />
ever changing and also the conditions of temperature<br />
and pressure continually varying, it is seen at once<br />
that no definite mineral composition can be stated, but<br />
the magma interpreted as a whole, applying compositions<br />
and temperatures in a general way only.<br />
It seems like a hopeless task to try and describe<br />
just what happens with so many variables and with<br />
such countless possibilities for chemical combinations.<br />
However, an attempt will be made to absolutely demonstrate<br />
the underlying principles, and from these<br />
very much information can be obtained.<br />
The table below is not in any way supposed to<br />
represent definite slag compositions, but only possible<br />
combinations of the various components. With this<br />
•Metallurgist, Pittsburgh, Pa.<br />
Result in Definite Slag Characteristics<br />
By WALLACE G. IMHOFF*<br />
fact in view we will proceed with the facts as found<br />
in actual slags. The base of the magma seems to be<br />
molten silica, for as the slag begins to get lean the<br />
glass edge of silica begins to appear, or is the first to<br />
solidify. But we have two possible ends to the series<br />
which makes up the magma. On the one end is a<br />
magma composed almost entirely of silica. Therefore,<br />
since bv our table it is seen that silica melts at<br />
Si Ox<br />
TABLE OF SLAG COMBINATIONS<br />
ft 0 |<br />
'7S~o'C. /Soo-C.U) ZZS-oXV) Ztoo'Cf.') ZS70°c<br />
FIG. 1.—Characteristics of slag components.<br />
1600-1750 deg. C, this temperature should be the lowest<br />
temperature at which a magma of this type could<br />
still remain liquid. On the other hand, it could be<br />
heated to an extremely high heat, the high value not<br />
being limited by 1750 deg. C. This at once gives us<br />
a starting point, for with the base or main body of the<br />
magma in liquid form, other components can be<br />
added.<br />
A Simple Magma of Silica and Lime.<br />
A multitude of conditions can exist and therefore<br />
we will take just one to start our discussion with. We<br />
will assume we have silica as the base of the magma<br />
with some lime to form calcium silicate. The features<br />
to be borne in mind then are the characteristics of<br />
these components which are:<br />
SiO* CaO. SiO:. CaO<br />
M. P. 1600-1750° C. M. P. 1512° C. M. P. 2570° C.<br />
Strictly adhering to the formula CaSiOs (CaO.<br />
Si02) we might get the melting point of 1512 deg. C,<br />
but this perhaps represents only one definite combination<br />
of silica and lime. In the blast furnace all<br />
combinations occur so that the melting point of the<br />
slag immediately becomes a function of the slag composition.<br />
This may be illustrated as follows, assuming<br />
we have, say:<br />
Nat Color {cold) Melting Point<br />
Lime silicate, CaSiOs Pure white, cream white<br />
Magnesium silicate, MgSiOn White<br />
Iron silicate, FeSiO= Bottle green, dark green, black.<br />
Manganese silicate, MnSiOi Brown, olive green<br />
Aluminum silicate, AUSiOs Light blue, dark blue<br />
Lime Aluminum (CaSiOj), silicate (AUSiOs) Blue gray<br />
Silica, SiO= Colorless<br />
Calcium Sulphide, CaS White<br />
Manganese sulphide, MnS Green, red<br />
Magnesium sulphide, MgS Red, brown<br />
Iron Oxide, FeO Black<br />
1512° C.<br />
1565° C.<br />
1275°<br />
1218° c.<br />
1800° c.<br />
2200° c.<br />
60(M750° c.<br />
Fusible<br />
c.<br />
Decomposes<br />
Decomposes<br />
1419° c.
July, 1924<br />
The Blast FurnaceSSteel Plant<br />
1. Constant slag volume; varying composition<br />
i-nd temperature.<br />
Fig. 1 represents pure silica with a melting point<br />
of 1600-1750 deg. C. Fig. 5 represents pure lime with<br />
a melting point of 2570 deg. C, and all combinations<br />
are not only possible, but most of them up to Fig. 4<br />
actually are encountered. The average may bring the<br />
lime back to 45-55 per cent, but the lime silicates<br />
themselves found in the magma will no doubt at times<br />
reach the neighborhood of 75 per cent or higher.<br />
There can be no doubt that if silica melts at 1600-<br />
1750 deg. C. and lime melts at 2570 deg. C, and if the<br />
volume is kept constant, increasing the lime and decreasing<br />
the silica must raise the melting point of the<br />
magma. It may be true that at some combination the<br />
melting point of CaSiOa may be below r the melting<br />
points of both the silica and the lime, but the fundamental<br />
principle must remain the same that as the<br />
silica constantly decreases a point must be reached<br />
where the lime will predominate and the temperature<br />
rise with the increase of lime toward the melting<br />
point of CaO.<br />
Suppose for example that we choose a lime silicate<br />
that has a melting point of 1875 deg. C. Our slag<br />
volume remains the same and for our purposes we<br />
will assume that we have a large excess of silica and<br />
the original slag temperature in the furnace to have<br />
been 2200 deg. C.<br />
When this slag was poured into the iron sample<br />
box what happened? The pure silica had the lowest<br />
melting point, hence when the slag came in contact<br />
with the cold iron sides of the sample box the silica<br />
froze first. A certain amount of heat was still held<br />
in the slag and as the slag temperature passed<br />
through 1875 deg. C. the lime silicate which segregated<br />
to the middle froze.<br />
Slags of this type are very common in the blast<br />
furnace, but the silica is generally colored green and<br />
the center is either white or blue. An actual drawing<br />
from such a slag is shown below :<br />
Before going further it is of interest to observe<br />
the order of crystallization of the various minerals<br />
from rock magmas. Pirsson 1 gives the general order<br />
of crystallization as follows: "First, the oxides or<br />
ores of iron, then ferromagnesian minerals, then sodalime<br />
feldspars, then alkalic feldspars (and feldspathoids)<br />
and lastly quartz. One observes from this<br />
that the process begins with metallic oxides which<br />
contain no silica, that next come the ferromagnesian<br />
minerals, ortho and metasilicates, then feldspars<br />
which contain more silica, and finally quartz or free<br />
silica. Thus there tends to crystallize out successively<br />
minerals richer and richer in silica."<br />
Kemp 2 says, "The relations of the minerals in<br />
rocks show that the earliest to form are apatite; the<br />
metallic oxides (magnetite, ilmenite, hematite) ; the<br />
sulfides (pyrite, pyrrhotite) ; zircon and titanite.<br />
These are often called the group ores. Next come the<br />
ferro-magnesian silicates, olivine, biotite, the pyroxenes<br />
and hornblende. Next follow the feldspars and<br />
feldspathoids, nepheline and leucite, but their periods<br />
often begin well back in that of the ferromanganesian<br />
' oup. East of all, if excess SiO, remains, it yields<br />
quartz."<br />
'Racks and Minerals. Bv Louis V. Pirsson, p. 148. John<br />
Wiley & Sons, New York, N. Y.<br />
*A 'handbook of Rocks. By James F. Kemp. p. 21. D.<br />
Van Nostrand Company, New York, N. Y.<br />
-Silica - 7 700° C<br />
-Ca SiQ3~ /87S°C<br />
®^rWs£08$i$lhr Silica -Class Edge<br />
wfci"<br />
'Blue Aluminum<br />
^;v'j^y:rj.»^f Silicate Center<br />
Hot Lean Green<br />
Glass Slag<br />
311<br />
Cream i^/hite Lime<br />
Silicate Slag<br />
Dry White Hot<br />
Lime Slag<br />
Glassy Black Cold<br />
Lean Slag<br />
Med/um Co/d<br />
Brown G/ass<br />
Manganese Slag<br />
FIG. 2.—Shozving the relation between melting point<br />
and slag composition.
312<br />
Crystals are seldom if ever seen in blast furnace<br />
slags. Compared to a rock magma it is cooled quickly<br />
and hence although there is segregation in the slag<br />
still the time is too short to form any crystals. This<br />
is one of the unexplored fields in blast furnace slags.<br />
There is every reason to believe that mineral crystals<br />
will form if slag is cooled slowly enough.<br />
PLATE I.<br />
The Blast FurnaceSSteel Plant<br />
by a glass, or a predominance of silica. From the<br />
practical standpoint such a slag is actually found as<br />
a bottle green glass slag. (See also Plate I, the samples<br />
at the right side.)<br />
Turning again to our figures on slag volume, suppose<br />
we have a magma of half silica and half lime as<br />
shown by the third figure. Suppose this slag is at the<br />
original temperature of 2200 deg. C, the same as the<br />
first magma. This silicate would contain more lime<br />
and hence the freezing temperature would be higher.<br />
perhaps at 1950 deg. C. When the sample is poured<br />
in the sample box the whole thing is a cream white<br />
color and no silica can be seen around the edges. The<br />
PLATE N.<br />
July, 1924<br />
volume series. Our slag must be very hot to melt at<br />
all, due to the predominance of lime. When it chills<br />
it has a tendency to be thick, mucky and heavy. Such<br />
a magma must therefore be at a temperature of 2600-<br />
2700 deg. C. in the furnace. Due to the extremely<br />
low silica it must freeze at a very high temperature<br />
and therefore when poured into the mold such a slag<br />
would be frozen almost before it could be poured<br />
PLATE III.<br />
from the dipper. It might be so dry (low in silica)<br />
that when left in the air it slacked to power.<br />
An example from actual practice of a white hot<br />
heavy lime slag may be seen in the illustration:<br />
The middle sample and the other shown in Plate<br />
III above are typical slag samples from a magma of<br />
this nature.<br />
So far we have confined our magma to silica and<br />
lime. A magma, or slag, which is a glass (silica predominates)<br />
and is not at a very high temperature will<br />
be colored brown if there is any manganese present.<br />
This feature is due entirely to temperature, for if the<br />
same glass slag were hot the manganese would be<br />
PLATE IV<br />
reason for this is that there was no excess silica in reduced and the slag would be the lean bottle gree<br />
the magma and therefore the whole thing cooled at slag described above.<br />
once. When it passed through the temperature ol An actual example of a cold, lean, brown slag<br />
1950 deg. C. it froze all over.<br />
which is a glass and contains manganese, is shown in<br />
Such a type of slag is illustrated from an actual the illustration :<br />
basic furnace slag shown below :<br />
Since our slag is compared to a magma, and prac<br />
This slag represents a large slag volume with an tically all slags carry out iron shot, we are interested<br />
acid to base ratio of perhaps 1.00 to 1.12. Such a slag in the development of another practical feature that<br />
is seen in the middle sample of Plate II.<br />
can be very easily verified by close observation. These<br />
Suppose we now take another example of a magma iron shot, which in the hot slag are covered by a<br />
represented by a figure between 3 and 4 of the slag greasy film, are oxidized to FeO when the slag comes
out into the air. FeO is a black oxide of iron with<br />
very strong coloring properties. The iron shot are<br />
covered with sulphur which in burning off starts the<br />
iron to oxidize. On extremely cold lean glass slags<br />
sulphur is present in such large quantities that the<br />
iron shot are entire!}- consumed and the entire slag<br />
is colored ink black from the iron oxide formed.<br />
Such a slag from actual practice is shown below :<br />
Plate IV shows the black glossy slag just described.<br />
The holes in the top of the slag are gas<br />
cavities left by the escaping sulphur gas. The white<br />
edges of the iron samples and the holes in the top<br />
are the effects of the sulphur on the iron.<br />
Plate V shows clearly the oxidation of the iron<br />
shot. This series of samples show how the iron shot<br />
are burned to the black oxide of iron, FeO, as the tem-<br />
PLATE V<br />
perature of the slag changes from a white heat to the<br />
extremely cold slag shown by the sample on the right<br />
end. These slag samples are all taken from a furnace<br />
that continually carries heavy lime. The slag sample<br />
shown in Plate IV is from a cold furnace carrying<br />
"lake ores" on the burden. The difference in the<br />
types of the slags is seen at once. There was less free<br />
sulphur in the slags seen in Plate V because there are<br />
practically no gas cavities present.<br />
One feature of importance is that FeO acts merely<br />
as a coloring matter in ordinary slags. With a furnace<br />
so cold that the iron is unreduced, or only partly<br />
reduced, then blood-red iron silicate is formed. When<br />
this slag is cold it has a dark bluish black color.<br />
(To be continued.)<br />
Encouraging Business Report<br />
In this period of frequent trade depression stories,<br />
it is notable to read of exceptions to the general rule.<br />
The S. P. Bowser Company of Indianapolis seems<br />
to be an exception, according to the Fort Wayne<br />
News Sentinel of June 9th.<br />
Business at the plant of S. F. Bowser &: Companv<br />
during the month of May reached a new high mark<br />
in the history of the company, according to information<br />
embodied in a report of the statistician of the<br />
company, sent to various departments. This statement<br />
is particularly interesting at this time, in view<br />
of the recent public reports in regard to the financial<br />
situation at the tank works.<br />
May, according to the report, is the second month<br />
in the present year in which the sales of the company<br />
The Blast Furnace3Steel Plant<br />
were considerably in excess of $1,000,000. April was<br />
the first month this year when the sales reached this<br />
point. The total sales for the year to date are said to<br />
be over $500,000 ahead of 1923, and 1923 was the banner<br />
year. These large sales, even in the face of business<br />
conditions which are not entirely favorable in all<br />
parts of the country, are said to be the result of a very<br />
extensive and efficient sales <strong>org</strong>anization, reaching far<br />
into Europe, South America, Australia and other foreign<br />
lands.<br />
The detailed report for the month of May shows<br />
that in the east, regardless of conditions in the textile<br />
and leather industries, the business exceeds that of a<br />
year ago. The same statement applies to the Pittsburgh<br />
region, regardless of curtailed activity in steel.<br />
The midwest is reported good. The southeast is perhaps<br />
the least active of all sections of the United<br />
States, though even there a satisfactory volume of<br />
business has been procured. Conditions in the southwest<br />
are reported excellent, and the northwest is improving<br />
weekly with the improved condition of the<br />
farmer. The Rocky Mountain and west coast districts<br />
are far ahead of any previous year so far as<br />
Bowser sales are concerned.<br />
Though an aggressive policy of winter manufacturing<br />
has filled the Bowser warehouses located at<br />
Fort Wayne, Albany, Dallas, San Francisco, Toronto,<br />
London, Paris, Mexico City and Sydney, Australia,<br />
with a complete line of standard goods, yet some departments<br />
are running behind sales schedule and this<br />
is particularly true in the divisions manufacturing the<br />
visible type of gasoline equipment.<br />
New Blooming Mill to Be Installed<br />
The Alan Wood Iron & Steel Company shut down<br />
its 35-inch blooming mill at Ivy Rock Division June<br />
28 and will replace the present installation with a<br />
modern unit. About one month will be required to<br />
complete the change. The company also is erecting<br />
a new steel building, 95x360 feet, to replace the present<br />
wooden structure which houses the blue annealed<br />
sheet department at its Schuylkill iron works division<br />
at Conshohocken, Pa. The company also is installing<br />
some new equipment and is generally modernizing<br />
and improving the latter plant to increase the sheet<br />
finishing capacity.<br />
On June 5th, Mr. N. H. Gellert, president of the<br />
Gellert Engineering Company, read a paper on the<br />
electrical cleaning of blast furnace gases at the joint<br />
meeting of the Eastern States Blast Furnace and<br />
Coke Oven Association and the Blast Furnace and<br />
Coke Oven Association of the Chicago District in<br />
Cleveland, Ohio. The paper dealt particularly with<br />
the disadvantages of wet cleaning and the progress<br />
of the electrical method of cleaning gases.<br />
Many friends and associates of Wm. Swindell &<br />
Brothers availed themselves of an exceptional opportunity<br />
to enjoy an afternoon's hospitality at the informal<br />
opening of the new Swindell office building.<br />
located near Aspinwall. Special train accommodations<br />
over the Pennsylvania Railroad made access<br />
easy for those who elected not to drive. Buffet<br />
luncheon was served to over 200 guests.
314<br />
The Blast Furnace'SSteel Plant<br />
Electric Furnace Development<br />
Many Supposed Limitations Now Being Removed Suggests<br />
Unlimited Growth<br />
T H E early history of the electric melting furnace<br />
is very closely interwoven with the names of Siemens,<br />
Hale of Philadelphia, Ferranti, Moissan,<br />
Cowles, and closely following come Colby of Pittsburgh<br />
in 1887 with an induction furnace for melting<br />
metals—Heroult, Girod, Keller and Chaplet in France.<br />
Soderberg, Hiorth and Harden in Norway, Gronwall,<br />
Rennerfelt and Kjellin in Sweden, Rochling-Rodenhauser,<br />
Frick, Mathusius in Germany, Stassano and<br />
Catani in Italy, Hering and Snyder in America.<br />
Many distinguished scientists and metallurgists<br />
have followed the early pioneers and helped development<br />
along, but broadly speaking the chief types of<br />
furnace in use today originated with the above.<br />
Heroult the plain arc furnace — Stassano and Rennerfelt<br />
the indirect arc — Girod and Cronwall the arc-resistance<br />
— Colby, Rochling and Hering the induction<br />
furnace.<br />
In 1904 the Haanel Commission appointed by the<br />
Canadian Government to investigate electric furnace<br />
p:g iron and processes in Europe, found only four<br />
what might be termed "commercial electric melting<br />
furnaces." These were the Heroult furnace at La<br />
Praz, France — the Staseano furnace at Turin, Italy—<br />
a Heroult furnace at Kortfors, Sweden—and the Kjellin<br />
induction furnace at Gysinge, Sw-eden. With the<br />
exception of the latter which was used for melting<br />
down pure materials, these ancient landmarks were<br />
making electric steel exactly as we are today — same<br />
By FRANK HODSON*<br />
FIG. 1.—Soderberg electrodes in operation at 6-ton electric fur-<br />
^^^^ nacc of Ford Motor Company. Detroit.<br />
kind of charge, same electrical principles, same silica,<br />
lime, iron oxide and carbon on slag, and producing<br />
equally good steel.<br />
At the end of 1914 the number of electric furnaces<br />
had grown to 114 with 30 or so additional ones under<br />
•President, Electric Furnace Construction Company, Philadelphia,<br />
Pa.<br />
July, 1924<br />
constuction — 14 of these 114 were credited to the<br />
United States — the bulk of tlfese furnaces then as<br />
now were arc furnaces. The total charge capacity of<br />
the furnaces installed to this time was about 250 tons.<br />
The 1923 Iron Age Annual Review, gives the number<br />
of furnaces in America and Canada as 406 and one<br />
furnace, the new "Greaves-Etchells" top or bottom<br />
FIG. 2.—Same furnace in tilting position.<br />
connected furnace at the Ford Motor Company, has a<br />
capacity of 60 tons of metal per charge.<br />
The largest furnace installed in 1914 had transformers<br />
of 1500 kw. although it is only fair to say a<br />
300 kw. furnace was then contemplated. The<br />
"Greaves-Etchells" Ford furnace has Westinghouse<br />
transformers of 12,000 kw. — probably more power<br />
than all the existing furnaces to 1914.<br />
Many observers today are apt to think that electric<br />
furnace growth has reached its limit in certain directions.<br />
A far seeing minority recognizing some of the<br />
limitations that have for many years held back electric<br />
furnace development believe that we are merely on<br />
the fringe of electric furnace possibilities. Some of<br />
these limitations to natural growth and development,
July, 1924<br />
such as cost and availability of power, knowledge of<br />
building and operating electric furnaces are being<br />
rapidly removed. The electric power companies are<br />
beginning to look for and encourage electric furnace<br />
installations — although from the point of view of a<br />
builder of furnaces this might come much quicker—•<br />
many power suppliers are willing to make very special<br />
rates for furnaces and the linking up of super-power<br />
schemes and of new hydro-electric development all<br />
mean less limitations to furnaces.<br />
On the design and operation end we are daily getting<br />
more knowledge, the unfit and incapable as being<br />
weeded out and both building and operation of furnaces<br />
is fast becoming looked upon as a real science—<br />
not the efforts of the man who has once worked on a<br />
furnace and so thinks he can design a new type—nor<br />
of the melter who thinks throwing scrap into a furnace<br />
and pouring same into a ladle constitutes him as<br />
an authority on steel making.<br />
All these things run their natural course, but the<br />
electric furnace industry has been unduly blessed with<br />
many such and as a consequence the industry has suffered.<br />
There is one limitation to furnace development that<br />
is entirely physical — the maximum size of furnace<br />
has hitherto been looked upon as being governed by<br />
the number of electrodes and of the largest jointed<br />
FIG. 3.—Continuous Soderberg self-baking electrodes, each 950<br />
m/m diameter operating in 7,000 kw. carbide furnace, Knapsack,<br />
Germany.<br />
carbon electrode that is commercially made for electric<br />
melting furnace use, which is 24 in. diameter.<br />
The most prevalent and accepted type of furnace<br />
is the Heroult — which covers all three top electrode<br />
furnaces arcing onto the slag or metal — there are<br />
excellent electrical and metallurgical reasons why it is<br />
not advisable to put more than three electrodes in<br />
such a furnace — and it therefore follows that when<br />
Die Blast Furnace3Steel Plant<br />
315<br />
you reach the ampere carrying capacity of three 24in.<br />
electrodes, you also reach the maximum quantity<br />
of metal you can melt or superheat in a reasonable<br />
time. Mr. E. T. Moore, Electrical Engineer of Halcomb<br />
Steel Company, Syracuse, N. Y., and one of the<br />
best informed men in America in the science of electric<br />
furnaces states that in his opinion the maximum<br />
FIG. 4.—Interior of electrode tamping house over furnace<br />
shozving tops of three electrodes.<br />
satisfactory size of a large three top electrode furnace<br />
for cold melting should be 15 tons and for hot charges<br />
40 tons. *<br />
This limitation in size of furnaces has been removed<br />
in two ways — first, by use of the "Greaves-<br />
Etchells" principle of furnace and transformer design<br />
wdiich permits of any multiple of two electrodes — the<br />
large Ford furnace has eight electrodes—and by the<br />
Soderberg self-baking electrode.<br />
The Soderberg electrode is not limited to 24 in.<br />
diameter—electrodes up to 60 in. diameter have been<br />
in successful operation for some years and when one<br />
considers that a Soderberg electrode will carry twice<br />
the amperage per square inch of a standard amorphous<br />
carbon electrode it will be seen that the possibilities<br />
of getting large amounts of current into furnaces are<br />
not merely a question of 24 in. against 60 in. but of<br />
double that ratio. It should not be assumed however<br />
that 60 in. is the limit in size of Soderberg electrode—<br />
it just happens to be the largest size in operation today.<br />
It is quite possible that the advent of the Soderberg<br />
electrode which can be built in a variety of shapes,<br />
solid or hollow — may completely revolutionize our<br />
present ideas on furnace design and on application of<br />
electricity to smelting and melting. As an example<br />
considerable work has already been done on the use<br />
of large hollow electrodes, the charge being fed down<br />
the center — and what is probably more important—<br />
making up a continuous Soderberg composite electrode<br />
in which the actual charge—say of iron ore—<br />
zinc ore, etc., is mixed with the binder and forms<br />
the electrode. In the cast of iron ore the resistance of<br />
the ore to the passage of current and the presence of<br />
carbon will result in reduction of the ore to low carbon<br />
iron sponge before it reaches the arcing zone of<br />
the furnace — where it can be readily converted into<br />
low carbon iron or steel. Coming back to electr c<br />
steel furnaces, the over development due to war con-
lheDlast rurnaco^l/jteel Plant<br />
July, 1924<br />
ditions is being very rapidly taken up and will probably<br />
cease to be a factor in the near future.<br />
The use of large furnaces for refining and superheating<br />
both steel and iron is a logical development<br />
that is bound to come - - the removal of difficulties<br />
cited previously will hasten matters and improvement<br />
of the general steel business will further help. The<br />
writer is of opinion that such furnaces will followalong<br />
general open hearth lines — fixed furnaces —<br />
Soderberg continuous electrode and costing little more<br />
than present large open hearths.. One of the possible<br />
difficulties will be that electric furnace slag on a basic<br />
furnace is more difficult to control than basic slag<br />
in open hearth furnace. However, progress will not<br />
be held back for such reasons — it is a problem that<br />
good metallurgists can and will solve.<br />
Acid lined furnaces would have no such objection<br />
and even if used merely as a method of superheating<br />
FIG. 7.—New design one ton. three top electrode furnace<br />
installed Ozvens Bottle Co., Toledo. Ohio, used for making<br />
gray iron bottle molds.<br />
iron or steel and removing occluded gases, oxides.<br />
slag and dirt large electric furnaces are going to justify<br />
their adoption.<br />
The quality of both iron and steel can be immensely<br />
improved by merely superheating — the experiments<br />
made at the River Rouge Works of the Ford<br />
Motor Company under Mr. C. E. Sorenson on electric<br />
superheating of blast furnace iron (see Figs. 5 and 6)<br />
have proved conclusively that such super-heating<br />
gives a product entirely different to the iron put into<br />
the furnace. Small intricate castings were made having<br />
mechanical strength far in excess of cupola iron.<br />
FIG. 5.—Sixty-ton, eight-electrode Greaves-Etchells electric furnace<br />
at Ford Motor C ompany, River Rouge Work.<br />
The same process could well be applied to cast iron<br />
pipes, molds, large iron castings to stand pressure or<br />
FIG. 6.—liezv of tilting end of 60-ton furnace.<br />
excessive wear and many such purposes. It is time<br />
we made a better iron than the ancients — vet present
July, 1924<br />
Die Blast FurnaceSSteel Plant<br />
FIG. 8.—New four top electrode Greaves-Etchells circular furnace installed at Ford Motor Cor'pany used for refining six ton<br />
charges of hot blast furnace metal for manufacture of high grade steel eastings. This furnace operates with balanced<br />
load on primary on acid or basic lining using four top electrodes only or top electrodes and furnace hearth.<br />
day cupola practice of iron making differs little, if any,<br />
in essential principle with the first known records of<br />
iron making. Some are unkind enough to say that<br />
the ancients made it better than we do now — certainly<br />
the iron statue at Delhi and many other similar examples<br />
could be quoted in their favor.<br />
The electric furnace when used either to melt down<br />
cold scrap or to superheat hot iron made in some other<br />
process, undoubtedly makes possible the production<br />
of sound dense iron free from blowholes, slag, gases<br />
and dirt. The amount of power used in superheating<br />
is small and in many cases saving on rejections alone<br />
will pay for such power. The work that has been done<br />
on iron with the possible exception of the Ford experiments<br />
has been in small electric furnaces making<br />
iron for piston rings, valves, steam fittings, bottle<br />
molds, and parts where special quality iron is necessary.<br />
There is probably, however, a much larger field<br />
in large iron castings and in malleable.<br />
The writer is confident that by adjusting analysis<br />
somewhat an electric furnace malleable iron could be<br />
made that could be annealed in less than half the time<br />
now occupied and give at least 25 per cent better tests.<br />
A very large tonnage of steel castings is now being<br />
made in acid electric furnaces of from one-half to five<br />
317<br />
tons capacity. Such furnaces are usually of the standard<br />
three top electrode type designed with high melting<br />
down voltages and excess of transformer capacity<br />
to insure quick melting. No attempt is made in such<br />
furnaces to do much more than melt down scrap and<br />
pour into castings but they appear to fill a want.<br />
Fig. 7 shows a 1 ton, 3 top, electrode furnace installed<br />
at the Owens Bottle Company, Toledo, and<br />
used for making grey iron bottle molds. An acid<br />
lining is used in this furnace, and furnaces are easily<br />
handled—experienced steelmakers are not so essential<br />
as in the basic steel making process and castings can<br />
be made at competitive prices. The only trouble is<br />
that anybody and everybody can make such castings<br />
and real steel making knowledge is not a paying proposition.<br />
However, such furnaces can and do make<br />
a very good steel and a large number have been installed<br />
in the last two to three years.<br />
For making tool steels and higher grade steels the<br />
basic electric furnace is still pre-eminent and whilst<br />
on account of general steel trade depression and over<br />
war production few new furnaces have been installed<br />
recently, the electric furnace is now one of the chief<br />
factors in alloy steel production.<br />
The increasing use of rustless (chromium) steel
and other alloys both in steel and castings will mean<br />
more electric furnace installations.<br />
In conclusion might say that whilst electric smelting<br />
of iron ore is not generally feasible in U. S. A.<br />
it is receiving considerable attention from South<br />
America and Canadian Companies who have cheap<br />
hydro power and good iron ore.<br />
Probably some of the developments outlined may<br />
take years to mature but I believe they are logical and<br />
based on fact not theory. Present plants have large<br />
investments that cannot readily be changed, but better<br />
and cheaper iron and steel is being called for and<br />
cheap electric power permitting the use of large economical<br />
electric furnace units will help solve some of<br />
the steel makers' problem-.<br />
Book Review<br />
By PROF. W. TRINKS<br />
Popular treatise on iron and steel ( Gemeinfassliche<br />
Darstellung des Eisenhnttenwesens) published by the German<br />
Iron & Steel Institute. 661 pages, 5y2 in. x 9 in.,<br />
123 illustrations, published in 1923, $3.40 at Paul Hermann,<br />
501 Century Building, Pittsburgh, Pa.<br />
This book, which is written in German, is, as the<br />
name implies, a popular treatise on the properties of<br />
iron and steel, on their manufacture, on their use,<br />
and upon the economics of iron and steel in the civilized<br />
countries of the earth. The book is up-to-date<br />
in every respect and takes into account the latest developments<br />
of the iron and steel industry, including<br />
auxiliary industries such as by-product coking, utilization<br />
of slag, rust protection, and generation of<br />
power.<br />
The present treatise on iron and steel is the<br />
twelfth edition of the book, the first edition having<br />
appeared in 1889. This fact in itself speaks well for<br />
the book. A list of the chapters may be of interest:<br />
Introduction, giving general properties and history.<br />
Chapter I: The production of pig iron from the mining<br />
of ore and coal to the making of pig iron in the<br />
blast furnace and in the electric furnace. Chapter II :<br />
The manufacture of steel including puddling, Bessemer<br />
and Thomas processes, open hearth process,<br />
crucible melting, and the production of steel in the<br />
electric furnace. Chapter III: The shaping of iron<br />
and steel in the foundry, in the f<strong>org</strong>e and in the rolling<br />
mill. Chapter IV: Transportation, and heat and<br />
power economics in the steel plant, and the testing of<br />
iron and steel. In the appendix to the technical part,<br />
a short discussion is given on the education of the<br />
steelworks engineers; it also contains a bibliography.<br />
More than half the book is taken up by economic<br />
consideration on deposits of iron ore and of coal in<br />
the different countries of the earth. A large part of<br />
the space is given over to historical development of<br />
the steel industry in Germany and to the effects of the<br />
Treaty of Versailles. The effects of trade in scrap.<br />
of means of transportation, of trusts and sales <strong>org</strong>anizations,<br />
of labor policies and of protective tariffs<br />
are likewise considered. The appendix to the economic<br />
part contains a complete list of iron and steel<br />
works and of foundries in Germany.<br />
The Blast Furnace 3 Steel Plant<br />
Small Inciease in Accidents<br />
Sixtv-eight steel companies, machine shops and<br />
foundries, and other heavy metal working industries<br />
comprising partial membership of the Metals Section<br />
of the National Safety Council, show relatively small<br />
increases in accident rates in comparison with the increase<br />
of hours worked in 1923 over 1922. The comnanies<br />
included in the report are those which reported<br />
in both 1922 and 1923.<br />
The increase in the number of hours worked for<br />
this group of industries, which employed about 60,000<br />
men in 1923, was 9y2 per cent, while the increase in<br />
frequency rate was only 3y2 per cent.<br />
An increase of 11 per cent in the severity rate was<br />
due to the increase of three in number of fatalities.<br />
Another cause for the increase in severity rates is<br />
the more accurate reporting of permanent disabilities,<br />
especially by the smaller companies, due to the use of<br />
a new report form which emphasizes more clearly the<br />
heavy charges of lost time for permanent disabilities.<br />
Seek to Make Airships Stronger<br />
Tests to determine the possibility of getting<br />
greater strength for the same weight in airship girders<br />
are being undertaken by the Bureau of Standards<br />
of the Department of Commerce. Such girders<br />
carry loads in compression or bending or both and<br />
their strength depends upon their design as well as<br />
upon the strength of the material. In the best duralumin<br />
girders of today the Bureau of Standards finds<br />
it possible to apply a load of only 20,000 pounds per<br />
square inch of the metal, whereas the metal itself will<br />
not yield under compressive stresses of over 30,000<br />
pounds per square inch. It is thought that better<br />
design, resulting in making all parts equally strong,<br />
may result in the strength of the girders approaching<br />
more nearly the strength of the metal. The correct<br />
calculation of the strength of such girders is considered<br />
impossible, and will be necessary to make girders<br />
and girder parts of various promising designs and test<br />
them for strength.<br />
The Republic Iron & Steel Company, Youngstown,<br />
Ohio, has work under way on a new buttweld tube<br />
mill at its local plant, and proposes to have the structure<br />
equipped for full production in the near future.<br />
This will make the seventh tube mill at the plant,<br />
four being for buttweld service and the other three,<br />
lapweld mills.<br />
The Carpenter Steel Company, Exeter Street,<br />
Reading, Pa., manufacturer of iron and steel bars,<br />
etc., has plans nearing completion and will soon break<br />
ground for the erection of its proposed one-story<br />
addition for general increase in output, estimated to<br />
cost $200,000, with equipment. Fred A. Muhlenberg,<br />
Canister, Reading, is architect. F. A. Bigelow is<br />
president.<br />
The Carpenter Steel Company, Exeter Street,<br />
Reading, Pa., manufacturer of iron and steel bars, etc..<br />
has plans nearing completion and will soon break<br />
ground for the erection of its proposed one-story<br />
addition for general increase in output, estimated to<br />
cost $200,000, with equipment. Fred A. Muhlenberg,<br />
Canister, Reading, is architect. F. A. Bigelow is<br />
president.
July. 1924<br />
The Blast Furnace 3 Steel Plant<br />
Sheet Steel Industry<br />
The President's Address Before Second Annual Meeting of Sheet<br />
Steel Executives at White Sulphur Springs,<br />
W. Va., May 13, 1924<br />
IN the Sheet Steel Survey prepared by N. W. Aver<br />
& Son, of Philadelphia, it is suggested by the<br />
writer, that the record as to the first manufacture<br />
of sheets is obscure and shrouded in the past. The<br />
earliest reference discovered is that written by John<br />
Houghton, for the Bradley "Husbandry and Trade<br />
Improved" published in 1697, and reading as follow r s :<br />
"Whereas those they intend to cut into rods,<br />
are carried to the slitting mills, where they first<br />
break or cut them cold with the force of one of<br />
the wheels, into short lengths, then they are put<br />
into a furnace to be heated red hot to a good<br />
height and then brought singly to the rolls, by<br />
which they are drawn even and to greater length ;<br />
after this, another workman takes them while hot<br />
and puts them through the cutters, which are of<br />
divers sizes, and may be put on or off according<br />
to pleasure. Then another lays them straight, also<br />
while hot, and when cold, binds them into faggots,<br />
and they are fit for sale."<br />
1890 300,000 N.T.<br />
1900 700,000 "<br />
1905 983.437 "<br />
1909 1,248,766 "<br />
1914<br />
1915<br />
1,302,355 "<br />
1916 2,520,000 "<br />
1917 2,651,000 "<br />
1918 2,322,000 "<br />
1919 2,352,000 "<br />
1920 3,232,000 "<br />
1921 1,693,000 "<br />
1922 3,312.000 "<br />
1923 3,926,000 "<br />
To some extent, the earlier figures are only approximate.<br />
It is seen, therefore, that from the primitive conditions<br />
referred to in the paragraph just quoted, the<br />
sheet steel industry has grown steadily, until as of<br />
January •President, 1st, 1924, National we Association find a capacity of Sheet of almost and Tin 5,000,- Plate<br />
Manufacturers, Pittsburgh, Pa.<br />
By W. S. HORNER*<br />
79.3<br />
83.0<br />
76.3<br />
84.3<br />
319<br />
000 tons; shipments aggregating $400,000,000 of value<br />
; and with over 50,000 employees, exclusive of clerical<br />
help, and not including those engaged by associated<br />
steel works.<br />
The record for the past two years, is as follows:<br />
% to Capacity<br />
1923 1922<br />
Total number of mills, Dec. 31, 1923.. 666<br />
Average capacity tor 1923 4,730,200<br />
Per cent of operation<br />
Total production 3,926,000<br />
Total sales 3,609,100<br />
Total shipments 3,987,600<br />
Total unfilled tonnage, Jan. 1, 1924... 608.700<br />
Total unfilled tonnage, Jan. 1, 1923... 987,265<br />
The sheet steel industry is today probably serving<br />
a greater percentage of the population of the world,<br />
than is any other branch or division of the steel trade.<br />
Sheet steel is found everywhere; in the home, the<br />
office, the farm; in every department of transportation,<br />
and in innumerable lines of manufacture. To enumer<br />
In contrast, it is the more interesting to consider ate the uses, would tax both your patience and mine.<br />
the figures which follow, in the course of this report. From a sheet steel survey made several years ago, I<br />
For a long time the yearly tonnage record of sheets count more than 250 separate and distinct articles in<br />
manufactured was not kept separate from plates. The which sheet steel is used. Sheet steel is found in al<br />
best figures available as to sheet tonnage manufacmost every walk of life, and it follows us even to the<br />
tured from year to year, are as follows:<br />
grave. Probably the industry in which we are en<br />
THIRTEEN AND LIGHTER GAUGE SHEETS<br />
gaged, is a greater convenience and service to mankind,<br />
than any of us can imagine.<br />
Relation of Sheets to Steel Production,<br />
For Years 1922 and 1923.<br />
While sheet steel, for the year 1922, took third<br />
place in classification with other products, it has<br />
dropped to fourth for the year 1923, the figures being<br />
as follows:<br />
1. Bars and shapes<br />
Net Tons<br />
6,562,000<br />
2. Plates 4,597,000<br />
3. Tubing and pipe 4,256,000<br />
4. Sheets 3,926,000<br />
5. Structural shapes 3,898,000<br />
6. Rails 3,120,000<br />
7. Wire products 3,013,000<br />
8. Tin plate<br />
9. Angle bars, steel ties and other<br />
1,596,000<br />
track accessories 885,000<br />
10. Hoops, bands and cotton ties 885,000<br />
11. All other finished steel products.. 2,632,000<br />
77.2<br />
72.7<br />
83.6<br />
72.5<br />
DISTRIBUTION OF PRODUCTION OF FINISHED STEEL<br />
YEAR 1923<br />
Per Cent<br />
1923 1922<br />
18.5 15.5<br />
13.0 12.8<br />
12.0 13.0<br />
11.1 12.9<br />
11.0 10.3<br />
9.0 10.8<br />
8.5 10.1<br />
4.5 5.2<br />
2.5<br />
2.5<br />
7.4<br />
2.9<br />
1.8<br />
4.7<br />
35,370,000 100.0 100.0
320<br />
During the year, the total production of finished<br />
steel increased approximately 6,750,000 tons, or about<br />
23y per cent.<br />
Figures from the American Iron & Steel Institute<br />
are not yet available. The above figures are taken<br />
from the Annual Issue of the Iron Age, and sheet steel<br />
figures as compiled by the association.<br />
ft will be observed that there was no increase in<br />
tlie number of hot mills, during the year 1923. There<br />
were as man)- mills dismantled, as were built. Since<br />
the first of this present calendar year, however, there<br />
have been added 20 mills, so that as of this date the<br />
total number of hot mills is 686, having an annual<br />
capacity of approximately 4,889,200 net tons.<br />
The approximate figures covering operations of<br />
the independent sheet mills for the first quarter of<br />
1924. as compared with the first quarter of 1923, are as<br />
follows :<br />
1924 1923<br />
Net Tons<br />
Capacity 947,000 912,730<br />
Per cent operating<br />
Production 882,600<br />
Sales 720,700<br />
Shipments 790,700<br />
Rate of Operation:<br />
First hal f March<br />
Last half March<br />
Average for March<br />
Classification of Shipments.<br />
82o,b00<br />
906,600<br />
821.800<br />
Ihe Dlast furnace' j.ool Plant<br />
1924 1923<br />
Per Cent<br />
100.0 100.0<br />
86.4 88.8<br />
93.2 90.6<br />
76.1 99.4<br />
83.5 90.1<br />
87.8<br />
87.2<br />
87.5<br />
90.5<br />
90.8<br />
90.7<br />
During the year 1923, reports to the association<br />
covering classification of shipments to industries or<br />
groups as named, were made by 23 companies, shipping<br />
2.791,000 tons. Percentages for the year, which<br />
closely approximate similar figures shown for the<br />
six months ending April 1. 1923, are as follows:<br />
CLASSIFICATION OF SHIPMENTS OF SHEET<br />
STEEL FOR TWELVE MONTHS ENDING<br />
1.<br />
2.<br />
3.<br />
4.<br />
5.<br />
6.<br />
7.<br />
8.<br />
9.<br />
10.<br />
11.<br />
12.<br />
13.<br />
14.<br />
15.<br />
DECEMBER 31, 1923.<br />
Class Per Cent<br />
Automotive industry 37.7<br />
Jobbers 13.0<br />
Electrical manufacturers 7.8<br />
Roofing 5.2<br />
Barrel and keg manufacturers 4.3<br />
Export 4.0<br />
Stove and range<br />
Refrigerator Metal furniture and range boilers<br />
Building construction<br />
.<br />
3.5<br />
3.2<br />
2.8<br />
Culvert and flume.<br />
Water troughs and grain bins<br />
Car builders<br />
Farm implements<br />
Tack and nail plate<br />
Casket and vault manufacturers.<br />
Miscellaneous<br />
.<br />
.<br />
2.2<br />
1.9<br />
1.9<br />
1.8<br />
1.1<br />
2<br />
2<br />
9.2<br />
16.<br />
While<br />
100.0<br />
17. the above figures are incomplete, yet the<br />
percentage is so large as to make it reasonable to<br />
suppose that they are fairly typical of the industry<br />
as a whole. The Trade Extension Plan now under<br />
consideration contemplates a complete and accurate<br />
record as to this distribution and classification.<br />
Figure Picture — Years 1923 and 1922.<br />
Nineteen twenty-three was probably as large a<br />
year in production of sheet steel, as any we have ever<br />
had. A year ago I presented to you for the first time,<br />
a figure picture showing comparative operation, production<br />
and shipments of independent mills, represent<br />
July, 1924<br />
ing 69 per cent of the total industry, having a capacity<br />
of 3,123,000 tons.<br />
The report this year is slightly more complete, in<br />
that it represents about 71 per cent of the industry,<br />
having productive capacity of 3,370,000 net tons. I<br />
had hoped to have this report prepared and ready<br />
for distribution some two months ago. It has been<br />
found impossible, however, to gather in all reports<br />
from companies, and to make corrections of errors<br />
which were disclosed in a stud} - of the figures as furnished.<br />
In briefly analyzing the report, 1 wish to call attention<br />
to the following points of interest:<br />
Source of Information.<br />
The figures on this report are from Association records,<br />
and summarized from monthly statements of<br />
individual companies as supplied during the year.<br />
During the last few months, they have been carefully<br />
revised, and where inconsistencies appeared, were rechecked<br />
with the companies concerned. It-cannot be<br />
claimed that the report is absolutely accurate in every<br />
detail. In the main, however, and as a basis for comparison,<br />
it can be regarded as substantially correct.<br />
Capacity.<br />
It should be observed that capacity for each company<br />
is figured on a uniform basis of 7.65 net tons per<br />
8-hour turn for sheet mills, and 22,635 net tons per<br />
8-hour turn for jobbing mills, allowing 800 turns, or<br />
16 turns per week for 50 weeks. Obviously, where<br />
more turns are operated, the percentage of production<br />
is increased.<br />
Operation.<br />
While for the year 1922, average operations were<br />
77.2 per cent, for 1923 they were 78.4 per cent. There<br />
is not much occasion for comment here. The figures<br />
speak for themselves.<br />
Production.<br />
The record here is worthy of comment. I doubt<br />
if there has ever been, in the period of one year, a<br />
greater percentage of production as related to mechanical<br />
operation, than that of the past year. While<br />
for 1922 production was four per cent less than the<br />
operation, for 1923 it was reversed, being four per<br />
cent greater. In other words, the operation was 78.4<br />
per cent and the production 81.5 per cent. The total<br />
production of the independent manufacturers, less<br />
the 3 per cent not reporting, was 2,746,300 net tons.<br />
Company A, standing at the head of the list, and<br />
occupying sixth place last year, had an operation of<br />
95.5 per cent, with a production of 110.5 per cent to<br />
capacity. Other records, as indicated in the report,<br />
will doubtless be observed with unusual interest.<br />
( )f course, as stated before, it must be borne in<br />
mind that capacity is based on an operation of 16 turns<br />
per week, for 50 weeks. Where companies have operated<br />
more than 800 turns per mill, as was the case<br />
with Company A, the production and shipments, as<br />
related to capacity, would naturally t)e higher than<br />
for companies which did not operate quite so heavily.<br />
Production is also affected by character of mills,<br />
gauges and sizes rolled, efficiency in operation, etc.<br />
During the summer, several companies shut down entirely<br />
for a period of one or two weeks.
1.<br />
£.<br />
3.<br />
4.<br />
5.<br />
6.<br />
7.<br />
8.<br />
9.<br />
10.<br />
11.<br />
12.<br />
13.<br />
14.<br />
15.<br />
16.<br />
17.<br />
18.<br />
19.<br />
20.<br />
21.<br />
22.<br />
23.<br />
24.<br />
25.<br />
26.<br />
27.<br />
28.<br />
29.<br />
30.<br />
Avg.<br />
Avg.<br />
.<br />
A.<br />
B.<br />
C.<br />
D.<br />
E.<br />
P.<br />
G.<br />
H.<br />
I.<br />
J.<br />
K.<br />
L.<br />
M.<br />
N.<br />
0.<br />
P.<br />
Q.<br />
H.<br />
S.<br />
T.<br />
TJ.<br />
V.<br />
w.<br />
z.<br />
Y.<br />
Z.<br />
AA.<br />
BB.<br />
CO.<br />
DD.<br />
1923<br />
1922<br />
Mechanioal<br />
Operation<br />
95.5<br />
89.0<br />
90.4<br />
88*8<br />
95.3<br />
89.6<br />
83.4<br />
95.1<br />
82.2<br />
"i r7*7<br />
6 18.2<br />
81.2<br />
84.8<br />
78.8<br />
74.5<br />
74.7<br />
76.1<br />
71.0<br />
69.2<br />
76.3<br />
86.7<br />
63.8<br />
71.3<br />
74.7<br />
78.9<br />
66.0<br />
80.8<br />
62.4<br />
59.3<br />
53.3<br />
78.4<br />
77.2<br />
lheDlast rurnace^jteel riant<br />
THE SHEET STEEL INDUSTRY<br />
For Year 1923<br />
FIGURE PICTURE<br />
Per Cent to Capaoity<br />
Production<br />
110.5<br />
105.6<br />
103.8<br />
97.0<br />
92.8<br />
93.0<br />
96.4<br />
86.2<br />
89.0<br />
91.9<br />
81.4<br />
86.6<br />
82.8<br />
88.4<br />
82.9<br />
84.5<br />
83.6<br />
77.9<br />
72.0<br />
75.2<br />
78.5<br />
74.5<br />
66.8<br />
68.1<br />
62.4<br />
60.3<br />
57.0<br />
65.7<br />
66.9<br />
39.3<br />
81.5<br />
74.3<br />
Shipments<br />
U1J_2_<br />
110.2<br />
103.1<br />
96*8<br />
93.9<br />
97.8<br />
97.0<br />
91.8<br />
96.1<br />
93*2<br />
88.3<br />
88.4<br />
84.0<br />
83.2<br />
86.4<br />
82.0<br />
75.7<br />
86.4<br />
93.7<br />
81.5<br />
67.2<br />
79.1<br />
69.6<br />
64.6<br />
62.8<br />
72.6<br />
59.9<br />
67.7<br />
66.4<br />
37.4<br />
83.7<br />
72.5<br />
Total Production - 2,746,300 N.T.<br />
Total Shipments - 2,819,000 N.T.<br />
1923<br />
Average<br />
105.7<br />
101.6<br />
99.1<br />
94.2<br />
94.0<br />
93.5<br />
92.3<br />
91.0<br />
89.1<br />
87.6<br />
86.0<br />
85.4<br />
83.9<br />
83.5<br />
81.3<br />
80.4<br />
78.5<br />
78.4<br />
78.3<br />
77.7<br />
77.5<br />
72.5<br />
69.2<br />
69.1<br />
68.0<br />
66.3<br />
65.9<br />
65.3<br />
64.2<br />
43.3<br />
81.0<br />
74.7<br />
The abov< i ±U ;ures cover 95.6$ in capacity of the Inde pender it<br />
Sheet St< jel I ianufaoturers, and represent 70.9$ of the total<br />
sheet st< iel Industry, having productive capacity of 3 ,370,C 00<br />
Net Tons . Tl ie balance is represented by Amerioan She et, 2E ».8#,<br />
and mill sta" tistios unobtainable, 3.3$.<br />
Ba: 3is for calculation of oapaoity tonnages:<br />
Sheet Mills 7.65 N.T. per turn<br />
Jobbing Mills 22.635 N.T. per turn<br />
8( 30 turns (16 turns per week for 50 weeks)<br />
1922<br />
Average<br />
85.0<br />
93.1<br />
74.5<br />
72.3<br />
83.2<br />
95.7<br />
79.4<br />
80.6<br />
84.8<br />
67.1<br />
77.8<br />
79.9<br />
75.1<br />
83.3<br />
91.8<br />
79.9<br />
88.8<br />
63.3<br />
--<br />
75.7<br />
78.9<br />
88.3<br />
40.9<br />
65.4<br />
69.5<br />
82.3<br />
82.5<br />
60.6<br />
59^5<br />
40.7
322 ^>.ind The blast F, urnace. Steel PI ar.r<br />
July, 1924<br />
The success of ez'ery convention is very largely dependent upon the atmosphere created either by the immediate<br />
environment or by the character of the proceedings. The sheet steel executives are to be congratulated upon the<br />
selection of White Sulphur Springs as a setting for their most successful gathering. Mr. Horner's opening address<br />
could not have met more harmonious response. The Greenbrier spring sliozvn in the beautiful panel above<br />
reflects all the historic incidents zvhich have made White Sulphur famous; it zvas a Mecca frequently attended<br />
zvhich dispelled all thoughts of inclement weather outside.
July, 1924<br />
Shipments.<br />
Shipments during the year for the group were<br />
2,819,000 tons, or about 70,000 tons more than the<br />
production. Possibly these figures as related to both<br />
production and shipments, will throw some light upon<br />
the present reaction in the steel business. As a matter<br />
of fact, production was pushed very hard during<br />
most of last, as well as the first quarter of this, year,<br />
and we should be willing to rest a short time without<br />
serious complaint.<br />
Production figures, in all cases, represent hot rolled<br />
sheets. Shipments of full finished sheets are calculated<br />
on the basis of prime product, plus 10 per cent<br />
for seconds. Obviously, variations from this percentage<br />
of seconds result in seeming inconsistencies as<br />
between production and shipments. This difference as<br />
shown in letter S, may be disregarded, as there are<br />
special and satisfactory reasons which account for this<br />
company's figures.<br />
There is but one key to this report, and it is in my<br />
possession. Each company named in the report has<br />
been informed privately as to their code letter. The<br />
identification of individual companies wall not, therefore,<br />
extend beyond themselves, except by their voluntary<br />
act in disclosing it.<br />
Contract Situation.<br />
For years, the subject of good contracts and sound<br />
selling principles, have engaged the best thought<br />
of the sheet steel manufacturers. At times, it would<br />
seem that the battle was won; that written orders and<br />
contracts were firm and irrevocable; selling prices<br />
fixed and not to be revised because of changing market<br />
conditions; that never again would the ugly spector<br />
of guaranteeing prices against decline, thrust itself<br />
upon us, either in letter or in fact. Then come<br />
times like the present, when volume of business suddenly<br />
shrivels up. lower prices are made in the mid<br />
The Blast furnace estc Plot<br />
anr<br />
323<br />
dle of a quarter, and, for some reasons, mostly weak<br />
and feeble, the new prices are applied to unfilled tonnage<br />
booked at higher prices, and we just naturally<br />
begin to question, one with the other, as to where we<br />
are in this just struggle for better conditions, so important<br />
to buyer and seller alike.<br />
In 1918 and 1919 the policy was temporarily set<br />
aside, as a war measure; in 1921 and 1922, it was partially<br />
sidetracked, because of the existing unusual<br />
period of deflation following the post-war boom. Now,<br />
I suppose we may be thought to be in a secondary<br />
period of deflation, justifying another suspension of<br />
the policy and, prompted by our usual and characteristic<br />
spirit of benevolence, make further concessions.<br />
If, however, there is any inflation in present steel<br />
prices, it will certainly require a strong magnifying<br />
glass, or vivid imagination, to find it.<br />
I have felt certain, up until quite recently, that we<br />
were making real and substantial progress in these<br />
matters. Recent events compel me to pause and take<br />
another inventory. This I am trying to do. It is<br />
needless to reason further about it. All you manufacturers<br />
must be fairly saturated with the facts, logic<br />
and merit of the situation. They have been gone over<br />
so often. I wonder, however, if you can fully comprehend<br />
what is really involved in this great effort. If<br />
you did, surely you would be more patiently, persistently,<br />
and courageously, contend for its recognition<br />
and respect. In doing so, there is being erected a better<br />
and sounder structure in which to build and promote<br />
your business. Without this structure, you can<br />
have no enduring peace, but will be tossed about by<br />
every storm and wind that blows.<br />
Since the purpose of our meetings here is for careful<br />
study, joint consideration and discussion of vital<br />
problems affecting the industry, it has occurred to me,<br />
in this paper, to consider with you, intimately and<br />
quietly, if you please, a subject which we might be<br />
It is difficult to picture the ideal location and surroundings of fie Greenbrier. above shows The the figuri famous hotel in the<br />
main foreground, with the extensive bathing establishment a id arcade on the The right. driveway between leads directly<br />
toward the zvalks and bridle paths to the club-house, cottages and golf-links.
324<br />
disposed to evade, but which, under existing business<br />
conditions, should not be ignored during these conferences.<br />
This, for the want of a better title, I will<br />
designate as:<br />
Economics and Sheet Mill Labor.<br />
The sliding wage scale for hot mill men in the<br />
sheet steel industry, was established in 1915. It is<br />
the only wage scale to my knowledge, where a man's<br />
earnings are directly governed by the selling price of<br />
the manufactured product.<br />
In such highly <strong>org</strong>anized industries as the building<br />
trades and coal mines, the responsibility ei the employer<br />
for ihe economic welfare of his employees, is<br />
minimized, since the employer does not deal directly<br />
with his employees, but with representatives of the<br />
<strong>org</strong>anization to which the employee belongs. The<br />
wages paid the employee is not determined by the employer's<br />
ability to pay, nor by any great measure of<br />
justice and right, but is rather fixed at the breaking<br />
point between the employer's ability to pass the increase<br />
on to the customer, and the employee's <strong>org</strong>anized<br />
strength to enforce his demands.<br />
In un<strong>org</strong>anized industries, wages and earnings are<br />
dependent upon the employer's sense of justice and<br />
fairness to his employees, and the laws of supply and<br />
demand as applied to the labor market.<br />
Since earnings of the skilled union man in the<br />
sheet steel industry are not fixed at a flat rate for a<br />
period of years by a signed contract, unflexible and<br />
independent of market conditions of the manufactured<br />
product, as is the case in the building trades, coal<br />
mining, and railroad labor, our skilled men, so far<br />
as wages are concerned, are much at the mercy of our<br />
sales departments; and because of the existing scale<br />
under which they operate, have but little voice in the<br />
determination of their earnings. Our unskilled and<br />
un<strong>org</strong>anized employees, whose wages must necessarily<br />
be determined with due regard for the wages paid<br />
for similar jobs in their locality, are relatively better<br />
off than our skilled union men, since we must necessarily<br />
pay a wage more nearly equal to that paid in<br />
other industries. In the last 10 years, skilled hot mill<br />
labor has increased 50 per cent, while common labor<br />
rates have increased 130 per cent. In further proof of<br />
these statements, consider the percentage increase in<br />
earnings from 1914 to 1924 in the following industires :<br />
In agriculture, an un<strong>org</strong>anized industry, earnings<br />
have increased 70 per cent during the past 10 years.<br />
Increases in the following <strong>org</strong>anized industries, have<br />
been as follows:<br />
Building trades 101%<br />
Manufacturing 129<br />
Railroad Labor 131<br />
Anthracite coal mining 195<br />
In the sheet steel industry, common labor rates<br />
have increased 130 per cent; skilled hot mill labor, 50<br />
per cent.<br />
While it is no doubt true that in the sheet steel<br />
plants, these figures are not a true index of the increased<br />
earnings of hot mill men, due to increased<br />
production during this period, it is equally true that<br />
increased production has benefited the manufacturer<br />
in like proportion; if not, it is at least no fault of the<br />
workman. Production in the anthracite mines has<br />
also increased, while in other industries named, where<br />
production per unit has shown no material increase,<br />
TheNast FurnacoSSteel Plant<br />
July, 1924<br />
there has been a proportionate decrease in labor performed.<br />
Reformers and economists these days are demanding<br />
that the water be drained out of stocks, but say<br />
nothing about draining the water out of labor. During<br />
the past 10 years, the supply of water in stocks<br />
has been fairly well exhausted, while labor inflation<br />
increases steadily with the years.<br />
The Amalgamated Scale is based upon the average<br />
invoice price of 26, 27 and 28 gauge black sheets.<br />
At the time the sliding scale was established, in 1915,<br />
this price was $1.80 per hundred, the lowest price<br />
existing during this 10-year period. The highest price<br />
was reached in September and October, 1920, at $5.80<br />
per cwt. The average price for the 10-year period, was<br />
$3.95. The scale price today is $3.75, and going<br />
down.<br />
With the prices of raw and semi-finished materials,<br />
fuel, and transportation, high and fairly stable,<br />
with few exceptions, any material reduction in selling<br />
prices can only be compensated by a reduction in wage<br />
rates, if we are to operate at a profit. Does the cost<br />
of living as now existing, and as affected by labor rates<br />
in other industries, justify any reduction? Surely we<br />
should remember 1920 and 1921.<br />
It has been well said that we must not f<strong>org</strong>et<br />
that in the administration of industrial affairs, we are<br />
not only dealing with matters economic, but with<br />
conditions that vitally affect the welfare of human<br />
beings, and that we are living in an age when people<br />
are not submissive to injustice or to unnecessary privation<br />
and suffering. They are very much in earnest.<br />
If those who are the actual political, social, and industrial<br />
leaders of the nation, will not act upon the<br />
principle that the greatest shall be the servant of all,<br />
then the people themselves, with indignation and bitterness,<br />
are sure to take their destiny, and that of<br />
the world, in their own hands. The labor question<br />
cannot be dealt with casually. People who are born<br />
with unusual ability, of whatever kind, who possess<br />
special advantages, or who hold in their hands power<br />
to shape the destinies of their fellow-man, must exercise<br />
these gifts unselfishly. Large ownings of property<br />
can be justified only by devotion to the common<br />
good. We are entering upon an era in which the<br />
absorbing concern of the world will be for social and<br />
industrial justice and the greatest well-being of the<br />
greatest number."<br />
Yet, in the face of increased limitation of labor supply,<br />
due to further restriction of immigration, and<br />
approaching presidential campaign, under the most<br />
uncertain and disturbing conditions which have existed<br />
in this country since the Civil War, the sheet steel<br />
industry seems to be on the verge of taking a step<br />
which, if taken, is bound to result in a readjustment<br />
of wage rates, downward. Similar conditions might<br />
obtain in the entire steel industry. What the result<br />
of such a step will be, I am fearful to consider. I feel<br />
certain, however, that, even though we might thus<br />
be able to effect a slight increase in operation, which<br />
is doubtful, the disturbance in labor conditions would<br />
far outweigh any gains accruing thereby, and we<br />
would suffer in the end.<br />
If this is the time for labor readjustment, or when<br />
and as it comes, it would be better that the steel industry<br />
should follow, rather than lead, as was the<br />
case in 1920 and 1921, and no one followed.
July, 1924 jZ2> The 51ast F, urnace. Steel Plant<br />
Within lawful limitations, probably one of the<br />
greatest services we could render to all classes of<br />
labor, which of course includes ourselves, would be<br />
that of stabilizing industry on the basis of good and<br />
fair wages, assisted by an orderly readjustment of<br />
production to consumption, and the constant and<br />
continuous increase of consumption by joint and<br />
united trade extension effort. This policy, if adopted,<br />
would surely, in the long run, promote peace and contentment<br />
to all who work, and give fair returns to<br />
stockholders.<br />
No person can live and prosper alone, in this<br />
world. No manufacturing <strong>org</strong>anization can exist independently,<br />
and with disregard for the interests and<br />
rights of other <strong>org</strong>anizations in that industry. No industry<br />
can long exist without due regard for the rights<br />
of other industries. Everyone engaged in the productive<br />
process, and in the exchange of values, is intimately<br />
identified with everyone else. Should one<br />
attempt to wrest himself from this general movement,<br />
he would discover either that he would wreck his own<br />
enterprise, or, if successful, would inflict untold injury<br />
upon others. A twist given to the process in the<br />
productive end, or in the distributive end, means that<br />
elsewhere along the line, there must be compensation.<br />
Therefore, it is our business, not only to discover how<br />
intimately related we are as manufacturers and workers<br />
and units of society, but also to develop such attitudes<br />
as will respect, in a wholesome manner, the<br />
rights and responsibilities of all others.<br />
Why do I say these things? Largely because of<br />
the practice and folly, in the past, of reducing prices<br />
nearly every time there has been a slight recession in<br />
business — and experience shows that the practice reduces<br />
rather than increases the volume of trade, reduces<br />
the earnings of labor, and unemployment increases.<br />
No individual and no group can afford to take an<br />
isolated position and throw brickbats at others, without<br />
at the same time introducing into a stabilized<br />
order of procedure, a disturbance that might eventually<br />
destroy the whole economic structure in which<br />
we live and must do our business. "Be not deceived;<br />
God is not mocked; for whatsoever a man soweth,<br />
that shall he also reap."<br />
One of the unfortunate habits of modem life, is<br />
the use of the words "profit" and "wages". I presume<br />
we cannot yet get away from it, but a great deal<br />
of the irritation today is due, not so much to the<br />
amount of money one may have, as that we have segregated<br />
humanity into groups. We have the wage<br />
earner on one side, the profit taker on the other side.<br />
Wages are received and profits made. If we could<br />
persuade humanity to think in terms of compensation ;<br />
that everyone investing skill, strength, ability, experience,<br />
or money, in this great process, so indispensable<br />
to the comfort, welfare, and advancement of human<br />
Jan.-Feb<br />
Mar.-Apr<br />
May-June<br />
July-August<br />
Septemer-October 1.80<br />
November-December .. . 2.00<br />
AVERAGE INVOICE PRICES<br />
26, 27, 28 Gauge, Black Sheets.<br />
325<br />
ity, is entitled to compensation, we then would have<br />
advanced a long way toward the sense of comradeship<br />
that ought to exist between all those engaged in<br />
the productive and distributive processes.<br />
No sound theory of human life can ever deny to a<br />
man, just compensation for service rendered (and<br />
those services may be of a material nature and, so far<br />
as possible, removed from wild and uncertain fluctuations),<br />
and proceed toward the stabilizing of the whole<br />
productive and distributive process. This involves a<br />
change—not so much in the content of our method, as<br />
a change in attitude on the part of all the workers in<br />
the process, whether the man works with his hands,<br />
his head, or his money; but, having introduced such<br />
a change of attitude and the general use of the term<br />
"compensation" for services rendered, we would find<br />
the irritative, destructive, and divisive tendencies of<br />
society disappearing. A blessed stability, for which<br />
we long, and toward which every highmindcd man is<br />
working, would be brought to pass, and we would discover<br />
that "brotherhood in industry" was no longer<br />
a dream of the poets and a song of the bards, but it<br />
would become a reality among men.<br />
Our goal, gentlemen, is, after all, not the production<br />
of so much steel each year — that is merely a<br />
means to an end. Is it not rather that we may help in<br />
the advancement of the human race? W r e are workers<br />
together in the great Kingdom of Humanity. We<br />
refuse to be rated or measured by the tonnage of<br />
the year, by improved methods of production, by the<br />
amount of compensation we may receive or which<br />
others may receive through our efforts. We ask to<br />
be measured by the fact of our contribution to the<br />
forward movement of the human family.<br />
If the Fatherhood of God is to be something<br />
more than a dream of seers, the brotherhood of men<br />
something greater than a figure of speech, the democracy<br />
of method and ideal something other than a beautiful<br />
phrase, then, gentlemen, we must not only study<br />
the laws of sound economics, but, with all the courage<br />
of a prophet of old, must seek to apply, year by<br />
year, the principles that we have discovered, to the<br />
processes of life in which we are engaged. Our principle<br />
concern, therefore, is, after all, a willingness to<br />
abide by laws—not so much laws enacted by a body<br />
of men, but laws that are fundamental to the proper<br />
conduct of business and society, the right order of<br />
human life and the proper utilization of human energy.<br />
We are responsible not only to each other, and<br />
to those who are associated with us in mill and shop,<br />
not only to society as a whole, but are we not equally<br />
responsible to Almighty God, Who has invested so<br />
much creative energy in each one of us, and has inspired<br />
the race thus far toward a destination of truth,<br />
justice, and brotherhood?<br />
1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924<br />
2.25<br />
2.50<br />
2.60<br />
2.75<br />
2.75<br />
2.85<br />
3.45<br />
3.90<br />
4.50<br />
5.00<br />
5.35<br />
5.50<br />
5.35<br />
5.10<br />
5.15<br />
5.15<br />
5.00<br />
5.15<br />
4.90<br />
4.50<br />
4.35<br />
4.35<br />
4.35<br />
4.35<br />
4.65<br />
5.05<br />
5.75<br />
5.70<br />
5.80<br />
5.15<br />
4.30<br />
3.95<br />
3.85<br />
3.10<br />
2.75<br />
2.80<br />
2.80<br />
2.80<br />
2.90<br />
3.05<br />
3.20<br />
3.30<br />
3.30<br />
3.40<br />
3.60<br />
3.70<br />
3.75<br />
3.75<br />
3.75
326<br />
The blast FurnaceSSteel Plant<br />
July, 1924<br />
Pickling of Iron and Steel; A Bibliography<br />
General and Miscellaneous.<br />
1—General and Miscellaneous. 2—Machines and Equipment. 3—<br />
Pickling in Acid Solutions. 4—Pickling in Salt Solutions. 5—<br />
Electrolytic Pickling. 6—Inhibitors and Accelerators. 7—Effect<br />
of Pickling. 8—Recovery of Spent Liquors.<br />
[Adding Fresh Acid to a Pickling Solution.] 1902.<br />
(In American Machinist, v. 25, pt. 1, p. 775.)<br />
Inquiry submitted to the editor.<br />
Baker. E. M., and Schneidewind, Richard. Metal<br />
Cleaning With Alkaline Cleaning Solutions. 1924. ( In<br />
Metal Industry, U. S., v. 22, p. 184-186.)<br />
Abstract of a paper presented at the forty-fifth general meeting<br />
of the "American Electrochemical Society." Gives typical<br />
analyses of cleaners used for various purposes, and discusses the<br />
factors entering into the mixing of cleaners.<br />
Blum. William, and Hogdboom, Ge<strong>org</strong>e B. Principles<br />
of Electroplating and Electroforming (Electrotyping).<br />
1924. McGraw.<br />
Treats of pickling of and the effect of pickling solutions on<br />
iron and steel, p. 135-138.<br />
Boyle, C. L. Indicators Used for Determining Free<br />
Acid in Pickling Solutions. 1920. (In Journal of Industrial<br />
and Engineering Chemistry, v. 12, p. 571-572.)<br />
The same. 1920. (In Metal Industry, U. S., v. 18, p.<br />
78.)<br />
Discusses use of sodium sulphocyanid or potassium sulphocyanate<br />
instead of phenolphthalein or methyl orange.<br />
Charpy, Ge<strong>org</strong>es. Note sur un Precede Nouveau<br />
Pour le Decapage du Fer et la Recuperation du Sulfate<br />
de P"er. 1909. (In Revue de Metallurgie, v. 6, Memoires,<br />
p. 697-699.)<br />
Compiled by VICTOR S. POLANSKY*<br />
The same, abstract translation. 1909. (In Stahl und<br />
Eisen, v. 29, pt. 2, p. 1079-1080.)<br />
Describes method of pickling iron sheets and wire, and the<br />
recovery of sulphate of iron from the liquors.<br />
Clement. B. Das Beizen der Feinbleche. 1908. (In<br />
Stahl und Eisen, v. 28, pt. 2, p. 937-944.)<br />
Describes several establishments and machinery used, and<br />
gives tables showing the effects of temperature, different<br />
strengths of solutions, and duration of pickling on the character<br />
of tin-plate.<br />
Cochran. R. S. Science Revolutionizes Pickling.<br />
1923. (In Blast Furnace and Steel Plant, v. 11, p 276-<br />
277.)<br />
Gives a table which enables one to develop efficiency of acid<br />
consumption in pickling.<br />
Conroy, J. T. Certain Deposits of Iron Salts. 1908.<br />
(In Journal of the Society of Chemical Industry, v 27,<br />
pt. 1, p. 367-368.)<br />
Gives result of analysis of pickling solution of hydrochloric<br />
acid after treating scrap iron.<br />
Corbett. E. Ii. Removing Oxide Scale. 1919. (In<br />
Iron Trade Review, v. 64, p. 564-568.)<br />
Compares steel-cleaning liquors made of niter-cake and sulphuric<br />
acid, mode of working the solutions, and chemical and<br />
mechanical reactions which take place.<br />
Darrah, IV. A. Using Gas for Drying Pickled Sheets.<br />
1924. (In Iron Trade Review, v. 74,'p. 1115-1116.)<br />
Davies, James. Galvanized Iron ; Its Manufacture<br />
and Uses; a Detailed Description of This Important In-<br />
•Carnegic Library of Pittsburgh.<br />
dustry and Its Manufacturing Process. 1899. Spon &<br />
Chamberlain.<br />
Deals with pickling, cost of labor (in England) and output<br />
p. 73-79.<br />
Derulle, C. Note Sur le Decapage des Fontes Usinage,<br />
1923. ( In La Fonderie Moderne, v. 17, p 427-<br />
428.)<br />
The same, abstract translation. 1924. (In Bulletin<br />
of the Cleveland Scientific and Technical Institution v.<br />
3, p. 215.)<br />
Discusses the use of proper acids in pickling, and also the<br />
use of the sand blast for cleaning metals.<br />
Does It Pay to Pickle Ordinary Castings? 1899.<br />
(In Transactions of the American Society of Mechanical<br />
Engineers, v. 20, p. 427-429.)<br />
"Topical discussions and notes of experience" on pickling, and<br />
comparison of pickling with sand-blasting.<br />
England—Patent Office. Abridgments of Specifications<br />
[of English Patents] for the Period 1856-1920.<br />
Class 1, part 2, contains patents on recovery of spent pickling<br />
liquors. Class 82, part 2, contains patents on pickling of metals.<br />
Gates, H. D. Sand Blasting F<strong>org</strong>ings and Sand Blasting<br />
Versus Pickling. 1921. (In F<strong>org</strong>ing and Heat<br />
Treating, v. 7, p. 72-74.)<br />
Gives comparative costs of sand-blasting and pickling of f<strong>org</strong>ings.<br />
Geigcr, C.. ed. Handbuch der Eisen- und Stahlgiesserei.<br />
2 v. 1911-1916. Springer.<br />
Treats of cleaning castings with acid, and appliances used, v.<br />
2, p. 687-691.<br />
Germany—Kaiserliches Patentamt. Nummernliste<br />
der Deutschen Patentschriften nach rund 8000 Gruppen.<br />
Sachlich Geordnet; bearbeitet im Kaiserlichen Patentamt.<br />
Fd. 2. 1912.<br />
Arranged according to classes, subclasses and groups of the<br />
German patent classification, giving the numbers of all the patents<br />
in each group. For pickling and cleaning of metals, see class<br />
48, subclass 48a, group 1.<br />
Gray, H. Liggett. Cleaning Steel For Enameling.<br />
1924. (In Fuels and Furnaces, v. 2, p. 383-384.)<br />
Comparison of the tank and scale cleaning methods.<br />
Gruenwald, Julius. Ueber das Gluehen und Beizen<br />
der Fertigen Eisenrohware in der Emailindustrie. 1909.<br />
( In Stahl und Eisen, v. 29, pt. 1, p. 137-139.)<br />
States that hydrochloric acid is the best for pickling, though<br />
sulphuric acid is often used, also that either acid should be free<br />
from arsenic, and discusses the effect of pickling on iron.<br />
Guernsey, P. II. Metal Cleaning. 1923. (In Machinery,<br />
v. 30, p. 185-18d.)<br />
The same, condensed. 1924. (In Sibley Journal of<br />
Engineering, v. 38, p. 20.)<br />
Discusses the imporatnce of the condition of the water, type<br />
of equipment used, and how the various metals are affected bv<br />
the acids.<br />
Hering. Carl. Removing Iron Scale bv Pickling;<br />
Theory versus Practice. 1915. (In Metallurgical and<br />
Chemical Engineering, v. 13, p. 785-786.)<br />
Presents advantages of the electrolytic process over simple<br />
dipping in acid.
July. 1924<br />
Later, E. P. Planning and Operating a Galvanizing<br />
Plant. 1919. (In Foundry, v. 47, p. 289-291.)<br />
Includes a discussion of the choice of equipment and treats of<br />
the temperature factors and difficulties that may occur in pickling<br />
of iron and steel.<br />
Robson. J. T. Investigation on Pickling. 1 ( '24. ( In<br />
Enamelist, v. 1, no. 8. p. 10-13.)<br />
Discusses the relation between tWemperature of solution and<br />
time required for pickling, the effect of agitation on the time of<br />
pickling at different temperatures, and comparison between the<br />
use of sodium hydroxid and trisodium phosphate.<br />
Sehaum. Otto. Pickling Castings. 1898. (In American<br />
Machinist, v. 21, p. 484.)<br />
Compares sand-blasting with acid pickling for small castings.<br />
Sill. T. T. Improvements in the Manufacture of Red<br />
Oxide from Waste Liquors from Galvanizing \\ orks.<br />
(British Patent, 10,509 of 1897.)<br />
Production of red oxid for use in manufacture of paints.<br />
Ihe Dlast luniace^yjteel Plant<br />
Stouqhton, Bradley. Metallurgy of Iron and Steel.<br />
Ed. 3. '1923. McGraw.<br />
Treats of pickling and compares sand-blasting with pickling,<br />
p. 458-459.<br />
United States -- Patent Office. Manual of Classification<br />
of Subjects of Invention of United States Patent<br />
Office; Revised to January 1, 1920. (Including Classification<br />
Bulletin No. 43.) ' 1920.<br />
Class 75. subdivision 198, and class 266, subdivision 7, contain<br />
patents on pickling of iron and steel. The Carnegie Library of<br />
Pittsburgh has a list of patent numbers available in each of the<br />
above classes, brought up to May 31, 1921.<br />
Williams, Charlie. Process for Treating Pickled<br />
/^Plates. (United States patent, 1,360,843.)<br />
Characterized by treating pickled plates with a soapy solution<br />
after they have been removed from the pickling bath, washing,<br />
drying and finally annealing.<br />
Wood. M. P. Rustless Coatings; Corrosion and<br />
Electrolysis of Iron and Steel. 1904. Wiley.<br />
Mainly a comparison of sand-blasting with pickling, p. 275-<br />
277.<br />
Machines and Equipment.<br />
Atkinson, William PI., and Somers, Daniel M. Apparatus<br />
for Pickling Metal Plates. ( United States Patent,<br />
473,106.)<br />
Relates to machines in which sheets of rolled metal are pickled<br />
in acid preliminary to planishing or coating them with tin.<br />
Au Werter. John T. Apparatus for Pickling. (United<br />
States Patent, 959,195.)<br />
Bitekman. Samuel V. Process of and Apparatus for<br />
Tinning Sheet Metal. (United States Patent, 451,261.)<br />
Relates to an apparatus for acid cleaning the sheet metal<br />
prior to tinning.<br />
Burgess, Robert Williams, and Clark. Alexander.<br />
Apparatus for Cleaning Wire. ( United States Patent,<br />
1,016,473.)<br />
Byrnes, Clarence P. Pickling Bath. (United States<br />
Patent, 686,842.)<br />
Relates to a pickling tank designed to prevent the pickling<br />
fluid from acting upon the oxid or other scale.<br />
Carey. Edward J. Apparatus for Pickling Metal.<br />
((United" States Patent, 1,066,993.)<br />
Particularly applicable for use in pickling sheet metal articles<br />
such as buckets, pails, etc.. to prepare them for further treatment.<br />
Chess, Henry, and Chess. Harvey B. Apparatus for<br />
Scaling and Pickling Metal Plates. "(United States Patent,<br />
294,441.)<br />
Relates to a means for easily handling and transferring the<br />
material while being treated.<br />
Compressed Air Operated Pickling Machine. 1919.<br />
(In Blast Furnace and Steel Plant, v. 7, p. 442-443.)<br />
Description of Mesta pickling machine.<br />
327<br />
Continuous Cleaning of Strip Steel. 1924. (In Iron<br />
Age. v. 113, p. 1358-1359.)<br />
Description of the apparatus employed by the Trumbull Steel<br />
Co.<br />
Cook, William H. Pickling and Annealing Castings.<br />
1°06. (In American Machinist, v. 29, pt. 2. p. 420-422.)<br />
Treats of the method and appliances used.<br />
Curtis. Myron S. Pipe Pickling Apparatus. ( Lhhted<br />
States Patent", 1,066,800.)<br />
Relates to apparatus for agitating iron and steel pipe in a<br />
pickling solution.<br />
Designs Air-Operated Pickling Machine. 1919. (In<br />
Iron Trade Review, v. 65. p. 570.)<br />
Dicscher, Samuel. Apparatus for Pickling or Cleaning<br />
Metal Sheets. (United States Patent, 646.266.)<br />
Describes an apparatus whereby the cage containing the sheets<br />
can be easily shifted in and out of the bath, and then shifted to<br />
a convenient point for unloading and recharging.<br />
Elektrisch Betriebene Beizeinrichtungen. 1914. (In<br />
Stahl und Eisen. v. 34, pt. 2, p. 1385-1386.)<br />
Elektrisch Betriebene Beizmaschinen. 1909. (In<br />
Stahl und Eisen, v. 29, pt. 1, p. 73-76.)<br />
Ellis. Ge<strong>org</strong>e W.. and Warren. Edward L. Wire-<br />
Cleaning Apparatus. ( United States Patent, 304,514.)<br />
A triangular lifting-frame consisting of a horizontal wiresupporting<br />
bar and links, with means at the apex for attaching<br />
a hoisting-chain.<br />
Ely, W. Pickling and Washing Machines. (British<br />
Patent, 156,596.)<br />
Relates to a continuously operated apparatus.<br />
Powler, James. Automatic Sheet-Metal Tank.<br />
(United States Patent. 1,212,341.)<br />
Automatic sheet-metal tank to be used in pickling" metal sheets.<br />
Gauhe. Otto.. Machine for Pickling and Washing<br />
Sheet Metal. (United States patent, 678.392.)<br />
Gauhe. Otto. Pickling-Machine. (jUnited States<br />
Patent. 671.588.)<br />
Gething, William, and Others. Apparatus for Pickling<br />
Metal Plates. (United States Patent, 160,178.)<br />
Gray, J. D. Apparatus for Pickling Sheet Iron.<br />
(•United States Patent, 190,316.)<br />
Gre\, John D. Apparatus for Treating Sheet Metal<br />
Plates." (United States Patent, 542,159.)<br />
Griffith 1 ;, Ed-win. Cage for Pickling Metal Plates.<br />
((United States Patent, 1,277,914.)<br />
Guteiisohn, Adolph. An Improved Apparatus for<br />
Pickling or Cleaning the Surface of Iron and Other<br />
Metals.' (British Patent, 16,848 of 1888.)<br />
Relates to an apparatus whereby electrolytic pickling can be<br />
quickly and efficiently performed.<br />
Hermann. Artur. Electrolytic Apparatus. (United<br />
States Patent, 1.115,671.)<br />
Relates to cleaning or pickling metals electrolytically.<br />
Hezuitt. William. Apparatus for Cleaning Iron Wire<br />
and Collecting the Waste Hydrogen Gas. (LTnited<br />
Staetyb Patent, 254,478.)<br />
Hatchings, Richard J. Apparatus for Pickling and<br />
Swilling Metal Plates and Other Wares. (United States<br />
Patent,' 282,084.)<br />
Improved Pickling Machine for Sheets. 1913. (In<br />
Iron Age, v. 92, pt. 2, p. 1162.)<br />
Improvements in Pickling Machines. 1910. (In<br />
Metallurgical and Chemical Engineering, v. 8, p. 598-<br />
599.)<br />
Deals with construction and efficiency of the Mesta pickling<br />
machine.<br />
Kendall. David. Pickling Apparatus. (United States<br />
-Patent, 1,259.024.)
328<br />
Kraemer, IV. Das Zeizen von Feinblechen. 1910.<br />
(In Stahl und Eisen, v. 30, pt. 2, p. 1443-1449.)<br />
Describes various appliances in use for the manipulation of<br />
steel plates in the pickling process.<br />
Krebs, Hermann. Neuere Beizmaschinen. 1916. (In<br />
Stahl und Eisen, v. 36, pt. 2, p. 966-969.)<br />
Describes electric pickling machines of simple construction<br />
and great efficiency.<br />
Lamp, Joseph A., and Stincr, Savenious C. Apparatus<br />
for the Manufacture of Tin-Plate. (United States<br />
Patent, 956,981.)<br />
Apparatus for pickling tin-plate preparatory to coating.<br />
Lane, J. S. Pickling Bed at the Reed Foundry, Worcester,<br />
Mass. 1903. (In Foundry, v. 23, p. 184.)<br />
Brief description giving dimensions.<br />
Leza'is. John E. Machinery for Pickling Plates for<br />
Coating With Tin, Etc. (United States Patent, 717,585.)<br />
Describes a pickling mechanism with a beam, a means for<br />
oscillating the beam and for raising and locking the beam from<br />
oscillation.<br />
Loh*e, W. Geradbahn- und Kreisbahn-Beizmaschinen.<br />
1909. (In Stahl und Eisen. v. 29, pt. 1, p. 893-899,<br />
946-950.)<br />
Describes four different arrangements of pickling machinery.<br />
McCarter, Louis M. Pickling Machine. (United<br />
States Patent. 545,412.)<br />
McKay. William J. Pipe-Cleaning Apparatus.<br />
(United States Patent. 1,068,599.)<br />
McMurtrv. Ge<strong>org</strong>e G. Pickling Apparatus. (LTnited<br />
States Patent, 575,404).<br />
Marsh. Henry S.. and Cochran. Ralf S. Apparatus<br />
for Pickling Metal Articles. (United States Patent,<br />
1.392.781.)<br />
Sheets are held in a vertical position while passing through<br />
a succession of lateral sprays of pickling solution.<br />
Marsh, Henry S.. and Cochran. Ralf S. Method and<br />
Apparatus for Recovering Spent Pickling Liquors.<br />
United States Patent, 1,450|217.)<br />
Marsh, Henry S.. and Cochran, Ralf S. Method and<br />
Apparatus for Recovering Spent Pickling Solution.<br />
(United States Patent, 1,450,216.)<br />
Maskrcy, Alfred E. Pickling Machine. (United<br />
States Patent, 1,247,699.)<br />
The same, abstract. 1917. (In Iron Age, v. 100, p.<br />
1187.)<br />
Pickling and washing machine with a vertically movable ram,<br />
and a vertically movable spider carrying crates.<br />
Mesta. Ge<strong>org</strong>e. Apparatus for Pickling Metal.<br />
(United States Patent, 510,697.)<br />
Mesta, Ge<strong>org</strong>e. Apparatus for Pickling and Washing<br />
Metal Plates, Etc. (LTnited States Patent, 484,664.)<br />
Mesta, Ge<strong>org</strong>e. Apparatus for Pickling or Washing<br />
Metal. (United States Patent, 586,858.)<br />
Mesta, Ge<strong>org</strong>e. Automatic Pickling and Washing<br />
Apparatus. (United States Patent, 549,809.)<br />
Meyn, Adolf. Pickling and Washing Machine for<br />
Metal Plates. (United States Patent, 1,066,298.)<br />
New Features in Heat Treating Plant. 1919. (In<br />
Iron Age, v. 103, pt. 2, p. 1493-1495.)<br />
Description of apparatus adopted in annealing and pickling<br />
rooms.<br />
Obertnutin, August W. Cleansing Apparatus for Metallic<br />
Ware. (United States Patent, 961,792.)<br />
Apparatus comprises a tank, a cage to be lowered into tank,<br />
a hood mounted over the tank and having an exhaust stack, and<br />
means for elevating the cage.<br />
lheDlast kirnace^jleel riant<br />
July, 1924<br />
Parker, J. A., and Parker, A. Pickling and Scouring<br />
Plates, Etc. (British Patent, 21,621 of 1914.)<br />
Sheets are placed in a stationary container, and one or more<br />
rocking partitions force the liquid upwards and downwards between<br />
the sheets.<br />
Paton, J. Pickling Metal Plates, Etc. (British Patent,<br />
115, 111.)<br />
Relates to feeding metal plates and passing them through<br />
a pickling apparatus.<br />
Perkins, Frank C. Modern Pickling Machines. 1913.<br />
(In Scientific American Supplement, v. 76, p. 404.)<br />
Perls, Paul H. Eine den Neuesten Erfahrungen Entsprechende<br />
Metallbeizerei Fuer Massengegenstaende.<br />
1914. (In Elektrochemische Zeitschrift, v. 21, p. 235-<br />
238.)<br />
Short, illustrated description of the Siemens-Schuckert building<br />
and equipment for acid dipping, washing, and drying.<br />
Phelps, Richard. Apparatus for Collecting Waste<br />
Hydrogen in the Manufacture of Iron Wire. (United<br />
States Patent, 248,606.)<br />
Pickling Machine Operated by Air. 1920. (In<br />
Scientific American, v. 136, n. s. v. 112, p. 95.)<br />
Phillips. James R. Pickling and Swilling Apparatus.<br />
(United States Patent, 708,660.)<br />
Pickling trough having a series of feed rolls of acid-proof<br />
material, and mechanism for brushing the plates as they pass<br />
through the rolls.<br />
Potthoff, Louis. Tumbling Apparatus. (United<br />
States Patent, 1,251,567.)<br />
Apparatus for carrying masses of material through successive<br />
fluids and at the same time constantly tumbling the material to<br />
bring all parts of it in contact with the fluids.<br />
Richards, Richard. Cage for Pickling-Vats. (United<br />
States Patent, 838, 456.)<br />
Richards, William H. Pickling-Cradle. (United<br />
States Patent, 837,120.)<br />
Rogers, C. D. Apparatus for Pickling Wire. (United<br />
States Patent, 186,956.)<br />
Sawers, Arthur E. Apparatus for Pickling Sheets,<br />
Etc. (United States, 536,399.)<br />
Scanlon, Hugh J. Continuous Pickling and Tinning<br />
Apparatus. (United States Patent, 893.383.)<br />
An apparatus in combination with a pickling bath and a tinning<br />
machine, for feeding the sheets through the pickling bath.<br />
Scholta, Charles.. Pickling and Cleaning Apparatus.<br />
(United States Patent, 1,368,357.)<br />
Seh<strong>org</strong>cr. A. IV. Use of Wood in Chemical Apparatus.<br />
1918. (In Metallurgical and Chemical Engineering,<br />
v. 18, p. 528-531.)<br />
Include a brief discussion of the use of wood in pickling tank<br />
construction.<br />
Serve, Jean P. Apparatus for Pickling Tubes.<br />
(United States Patent, 440,511.)<br />
Some Recent Developments in Machines for Pickling<br />
Steel Sheets. 1910. (In Practical Engineer, v. 42,<br />
p. 332-333.)<br />
Somers. Daniel M.. and Atkinson, William H. Apparatus<br />
for Pickling Metal Plates. (LTnited States Patent,<br />
482,489.)<br />
(Concluded in August)<br />
Ohio Again an Iron Ore Producer<br />
After a lapse of a quarter of a century, the State<br />
of Ohio re-entered the ranks of the iron ore producers<br />
when shipments were started during May from the<br />
Thomas Maher farm, near New Lexington. A 5-foot<br />
bed of ore has been uncovered by steam shoveling.<br />
and shipments have started to the American Rolling<br />
Mills furnaces at Columbus.
July, 1924<br />
The Blast FumaceSSteol Plant<br />
THE SAFETY CRUSADE<br />
Guards—Their Use and Abuse<br />
Interesting Address at the Foremen's Safety School, Milwaukee<br />
Association of Commerce, Safety Division<br />
PUTTING guards on machinery to keep people<br />
from getting hurt is a comparatively new idea.<br />
When I started out as assistant superintendent<br />
on a construction job 17 years ago, we had a bright<br />
young water boy named Jimmy. One day he got a little<br />
too inquisitive as to the internal workings of the<br />
concrete mixer, got his fingers into the gears, and<br />
they were pretty badly chewed up. W T e rushed him<br />
to the doctor, who succeeded in saving the fingers, but<br />
two or three of them were stiff—a serious handicap<br />
for Jimmy all through the rest of his life. I remember<br />
distinctly how we praised him for being so plucky<br />
and makin? so little fuss—but even after this accident<br />
had happened, it never occurred to us to put a<br />
guard over the gears.<br />
Nowadays we know better.<br />
You probably have heard the classic story—perfectly<br />
true—of the man whose heel was cut off by an<br />
unguarded gear 15 inches below the ceiling. The<br />
man was standing on a scaffold, working on another<br />
shaft nearby; to brace himself he placed his foot<br />
against the shaft on which the unguarded gear was<br />
located, his foot slipped and was caught in the gear.<br />
Here is another one that happened in this state: A<br />
man running a small establishment—I think it was a<br />
laundry—complained bitterly against the order of a<br />
state inspector to guard a piece of shafting running<br />
under the ceiling near a trap door. A little later his<br />
wife had occasion to go up into the loft through this<br />
trap door, her hair was caught on the shafting, and a<br />
large part of her scalp pulled from her head. In another<br />
case, the proprietor of a small woodworking<br />
shoo refused bluntly to obey a state order to take out<br />
an old square head jointer. He claimed that he only<br />
ran it himself and hence the law did not apply. The<br />
inspector, puzzled, referred the case to headquarters.<br />
Before a decision was reached, the man had the fingers<br />
of his right hand cut off on this very machine—<br />
and as I remember, he abused the commission for not<br />
having compelled him to guard it!<br />
These are a few of many instances that could be<br />
cited as reasons for the present practice of guarding<br />
every possible danger point, including those "where<br />
no one ever goes"—for wherever there is machinery,<br />
some one will go sooner or later.<br />
But covering up these obvious danger points is<br />
only a part of my subject and not even the most important<br />
part. Real safeguarding means much more<br />
than this—it means looking into every accident or<br />
near accident or possible accident on or in connection<br />
with machinery or other equipment, and using all<br />
•National Safety Council, Chicago, 111.<br />
By SIDNEY J. WILLIAMS*<br />
329<br />
your ingenuity to devise some sort of improvement<br />
which will make such an accident impossible or at<br />
least improbable.<br />
As an example of what I mean, just recently in a<br />
foundry a chipper was wearing an apron soaked with<br />
oil from his pneumatic chisel and the apron caught<br />
fire from a spark coming from an acetylene welding<br />
outfit used by another worker close by. The chipper<br />
was burned so badly that he died. It would have<br />
been easy to call this a clear case of carelessness on<br />
the part of both the chipper and the welder. But instead<br />
of doing this, the company immediately made a<br />
thorough investigation of the case and put into effect<br />
six separate and distinct remedies to prevent possible<br />
repetition of this accident—and these remedies included<br />
two mechanical improvements: an improvement<br />
in the "gun" so it would not throw out oil, and<br />
an improved non-spillable can for holding oily waste<br />
for the chipper to moisten his chisel.<br />
Incidentally these improvements were in line with<br />
efficiency as well as with safety. The improved gun<br />
and oil can cut down the most of the oil used as well<br />
as keeping oil off the man's apron.<br />
Another example of real safeguarding: Several<br />
years ago, in a steel mill, they had a pickling process<br />
in which the billets were caught up by an overhead<br />
crane and chain slings and put down in a pickling<br />
tank containing an acid solution. The billets were<br />
let down into the tank by a crane and a man with a<br />
hook in his hand unhooked the chain from the billets.<br />
The billets remained in the tank for a certain time for<br />
the pickling process. When that was completed the<br />
crane came overhead again, chains were let down, the<br />
man took the hook and fished through that acid solution,<br />
in a blind sort of way, in order to get the chain<br />
hooks up, when they were lifted out of the tank again.<br />
The chains were put into the acid solution with every<br />
lift, and so one of the chains, when they were carrying<br />
the load across the mill, broke. One end of the<br />
lift was let down, the bars stood on end for a moment,<br />
and then fell over to where a group of men were<br />
working, about 25 feet away, killing two of them.<br />
To correct this, the company put in a syphon arrangement<br />
between the two tanks and syphoned the<br />
solution from one tank to another, so that when the<br />
load was let down the chains would not enter the<br />
solution.<br />
Now that turned the trick. It kept the chains out<br />
of the solution; it kept the chains good and strong; it<br />
prevented accident and loss of life, and it expedited<br />
the process, because the man could plainly see to hook<br />
the chains on the load and didn't have to grope around<br />
with a hook any more.
330<br />
Perhaps the best examples of all, for real safeguarding,<br />
are found in connection with punch presses.<br />
I haven't time to say much about punch presses tonight—this<br />
subject has been covered at another of<br />
your meetings, anyway—but we have learned that the<br />
real way to prevent punch press accidents is not simply<br />
to slap a guard on a machine, but to improve the<br />
feeding arrangements so the operator never has to<br />
put his hand between the dies at all and we have<br />
found that this increases production as well as preventing<br />
accidents.<br />
One more example: I know one plant where, a<br />
few years ago, the main shop was so crowded with<br />
material that it was literally necessary to go outdoors<br />
if you wanted to go from one end of the shop to the<br />
other. When the safety committee got on the job<br />
they saw at once that this condition was dangerous<br />
as well as inefficient. They got the management to<br />
lay out a wide aisle down the center of the shop,<br />
marked with white paint on each side, and this aisle<br />
snace was kept clear. The material handled in this<br />
plant was principally metal shapes from 10 to 20 feet<br />
long. It had been the custom to handle these with a<br />
crane in loose bundles. A crane load would be set<br />
down on the floor, one end of the sling unhooked,<br />
then the crane would pull out the chain from under<br />
and the shapes would roll out on the floor. You can<br />
imagine the confusion that this cause, and incidentally<br />
the accidents. They developed first a wooden,<br />
then a cast steel cardie—a sort of frame with posts at<br />
the four corners and an eye in the top'of each post.<br />
The shapes were piled in this cradle and the crane<br />
chains hooked onto the four corners, the cradle and its<br />
load being handled as a unit both in moving and in<br />
storing. The cradles were built so they could be piled<br />
up one on another to three or four tiers. This improvement,<br />
which was undertaken primarily for the<br />
sake of safety, made it possible to store a great deal<br />
more material in a given space than they had been<br />
able to before, and at the same time to keep the aisles<br />
open. The accidents which formerly occurred in handling<br />
this material—the pinched fingers and the<br />
mashed toes—were probably charged to carelesness,<br />
but actually they were caused by imperfect equipment<br />
which was not only unsafe, but was grossly<br />
inefficient.<br />
One of our safety slogans runs, "Any fool can take<br />
a chance—it takes brains to be careful." With equal<br />
truth we may say, Any fool can pass the buck to the<br />
other fellow by shouting "Carlessness"—it takes<br />
brains to go down to the very bottom of every accident<br />
and every hazard and study how to overcome it<br />
and at the same time increase production if possible<br />
—whether by a simple guard, by a change in the machine<br />
or equipment, a change in the method of operation,<br />
or instruction of the workmen.<br />
My subject mentions also the "abuse" of guards.<br />
How can we abuse guards? For one thing, by leaving<br />
them off or permitting our workmen to leave<br />
them off. But sometimes this means that the guard<br />
was not properly designed and constructed for the<br />
particular purpose; sometimes the answer is, not to<br />
bawl out the workman for taking the guard off, but to<br />
get his help in carefully studying the operation and<br />
designing a guard that will be more satisfactory.<br />
Another way to abuse guards is to build them in<br />
such a flimsy fashion that they go to pieces. A guard<br />
should be designed and built as carefully and as<br />
strongly as any other piece of machinery or equip<br />
The Blast FurnaceSSteel Plant<br />
July, 1924<br />
ment. If you will once get that into the heads of<br />
your guard builders there will be no more trouble on<br />
this score. If you want to be sure, consult your stateregulations<br />
and, if not found there, consult the standard<br />
codes that are now being developed; for example,<br />
the code on mechanical power transmission which<br />
specifies exactly how a guard should be built for a<br />
belt, a gear, etc.<br />
One more way to abuse a guard is to build it half<br />
way and then expect it to do a hundred per cent job,<br />
which of course it won't. Examples: A flat band<br />
guard around gears without side pieces or flanges; a<br />
railing with only a top rail, no center rail, and no toeboard<br />
; a gear guard with openings so large that they<br />
fairly invite you to stick your finger through and see<br />
what's on the inside.<br />
Solids Hydrometer<br />
By R. W. CRIST<br />
Engineers and scientists long have regarded the<br />
hydrometer for determining specific gravity of liquids<br />
as one of the most useful and convenient devices ever<br />
perfected for the particular work with which it has<br />
been related. Those who have had to work with solid<br />
materials have anticipated for many years the production<br />
of a similar apparatus which might be used in<br />
their line of work. While the specific gravity of<br />
liquids has been determined easily, solids have presented<br />
the difficulty of extensive calculations in connection<br />
with their specific gravity determination and<br />
have involved the possibility of error in arriving at the<br />
correct figure.<br />
The convenience of the hydrometer for use in connection<br />
with liquids was so well known that it seemed<br />
desirable to devise a comparable instrument for the<br />
specific gravity of solids. Dr. E. A. Yuillemier, head<br />
of the chemistry department at Dickinson College,<br />
Carlisle, Pa., attacked the problem and the result is a<br />
simple, rugged, direct-reading apparatus, which will<br />
be marketed by the Arthur H. Thomas Company, of<br />
Philadelphia, Pa.<br />
The apparatus consists of a single graduated cylinder<br />
of glass which is marked in such manner that the<br />
specific gravity of minerals, ores, rocks, metals or<br />
any other solid may be determined readily and without<br />
the usual calculations involved in figuring the<br />
specific gravity of such substances.<br />
The cylinder is about 6 ! 4 in. high with a diameter<br />
of 1'4 in. One hundred c.c. of water is placed in the<br />
cylinder first, filling it to a zero mark 4 in. from the<br />
base. One hundred grams of the solid under observation,<br />
or slightly less than 4 oz., is placed in the cylinder<br />
containing the water. Without waiting for precipitation,<br />
the exact specific gravity of the solid can<br />
be determined by reading the figure on the cylinder<br />
which has been reached by the water. No reference<br />
table is used, inasmuch as the gauge shows the exact<br />
specific gravity.<br />
The volume above the zero mark corresponding to<br />
the various indications of specific gravity readings are<br />
given in the table. The secret of the device lies in a<br />
table of reciprocals of 100 as is shown in the following:<br />
Specific Gravitv Vol. of 100 g. in ml.<br />
2.0 SO.O<br />
2.5 40.0<br />
3.0 33.3<br />
3.5 28.6<br />
4.0 25.0<br />
(Continued on page 333)
July, 1924<br />
The Blast FurnaceSSteel Plant<br />
Reducing Open Hearth Car Upkeep<br />
IN an open hearth plant the transportation problem<br />
is of vital importance and the moving of large<br />
quantities of limestone, scrap, ingots, slag and hot<br />
metal necessitates a system of efficient and dependable<br />
equipment.<br />
Recent tendencies of modern ingot and charging<br />
car design, are toward cars that can be most easily<br />
hauled and most economical in operation. Low upkeep<br />
in both materials and labor are essentials which<br />
assist in producing maximum tonnage at minimum<br />
cost.<br />
Since the advent of the 8 hour day, operating men<br />
are naturally closely observing all costs and taking<br />
steps to reduce upkeep to a minimum. Car bearings<br />
have long been a constant source of expense, both as<br />
regards upkeep and replacement costs and in causing<br />
serious and costly delays at critical moments.<br />
Cars equipped with roller bearings, of the helically<br />
wound flexible roller type are now in operation in a<br />
pronounced majority of the leading steel plants<br />
throughout the country. Such cars have assisted<br />
open hearth men to show reduced operating costs.<br />
With an installation of flexible roller bearings a<br />
marked decrease in upkeep is at once noticeable. The<br />
bearings are installed in a steel journal box of rugged<br />
construction to withstand the hard service of open<br />
hearth practice. No projecting parts or covers to<br />
be broken are used in the journal box design. The<br />
only opening is closed by a pipe plug or lubrication<br />
plug, hence the instrusion of hot metal, scale and dirt<br />
is impossible. This construction retains the lubricant<br />
in the bearing, decreases wear of operating surfaces<br />
and assures long life with minimum attention.<br />
*General Engineer, Harrison, N. J.<br />
Some of the 425 Hyatt bearing equipped ingot cars on the opera-<br />
.tion at the Youngstoivn Sheet & Tube Co., Youngstoitm, O.<br />
Anti-Friction Bearings Now an Important Factor<br />
in Production<br />
By C. L. NEWBY*<br />
331<br />
Roller bearing equipped cars have been in operation<br />
for over eight years at plants of Bethlehem Steel<br />
Company with no bearing replacements or tepairs.<br />
With cars equipped with ordinary bearings, brass<br />
renewals are extremely high, due to conditions which<br />
cannot be overcome in this type of bearing. Replacement<br />
of plain bearings once each year on all cars has<br />
been found to be common practice. Wear of the brass<br />
is often accompanied by wear on the journal, causing<br />
decreased diameter of axle and weakness which results<br />
in fracture, often at a time when delays to the<br />
hauling of a trip are most costly.<br />
Roller bearings reduce axle repairs and replacements<br />
as well as bearing repairs and replacements.<br />
Another item on which a saving can be effected<br />
by the use of flexible roller bearings is lubrication.<br />
Plain bearings require frequent lubrication, very often<br />
once each day or before a heat is poured. Experience<br />
in many open hearth plants shows that the roller bearing<br />
type of car requires lubrication only once each<br />
month and cases are on record where lubricant is replenished<br />
in the roller bearings only at intervals of<br />
two months. Simple but accurate records are easily<br />
obtained on lubrication saving by means of a card<br />
index system.<br />
These savings in upkeep are so pronounced that<br />
leading plants have changed to roller bearings on all<br />
cars. In some plants such a change to existing equipment<br />
is impossible. But in these few cases, entirely<br />
new cars, embodying latest features of couplers,<br />
wheels, axles and bearings are built to replace the<br />
costly plain bearing equipment. The substantial returns<br />
afforded by the roller bearing equipped cars<br />
amply repay for the initial investment.<br />
Saving in power goes hand in hand with roller<br />
Typical plain bearing steel mill car. The brasses are ivorn. the<br />
protecting cover has been broken off, boxes are full of dirt.
earing equipped cars. Dynamometer tests conducted<br />
at South Bethlehem, Pa., and Youngstown, Ohio,<br />
conclusively proved the power saving possibilities.<br />
These tests are comparative, using both Hyatt roller<br />
bearing and plain bearing equipped cars.<br />
At normal operating speeds the roller bearing train<br />
of cars required only one-fourth the tractive effort<br />
that was required with a similar train of plain bearing<br />
cars. An increased number of roller bearing cars<br />
can be hauled by the same locomotive, or, where double<br />
heading of trains has been the practice, one locomotive<br />
can be eliminated.<br />
Economies of this nature have been secured at<br />
South Works of lllmois Steel Company and at East<br />
Youngstown Works of Youngstown Sheet & Tube<br />
Company.<br />
The release of an extra locomotive for other duty<br />
amply repays for the investment in superior type car<br />
bearings. Where Hyatt equipped cars have been<br />
Hyatt bearing sled mill ear. Bearing securely enclosed in box,<br />
nothing to get broken, foreign matter excluded.<br />
in service for many years, the return on the investment<br />
has been conservatively estimated at 40 per<br />
cent per year.<br />
These returns are made possible by :<br />
1. Reduction in draw-bar pull required to move a<br />
train.<br />
2. Increase in train speed when desired; more<br />
rapid handling of trains.<br />
3. Greater number of cars per train without increase<br />
in power.<br />
4. Reduced upkeep to locomotives, especially<br />
wheel tires.<br />
5. Elimination of fires because of closed journal<br />
boxes.<br />
6. Elimination of wear and breakage of axles.<br />
7. Reduction of bearing replacements to a minimum.<br />
8. Decrease in lubrication frequency to once a<br />
month.<br />
9. Decrease in number of car repairmen and men<br />
required for lubricating car bearings.<br />
The Blast FnrnaceSSteel Plant<br />
Fig. 3.<br />
Plain bearing dynamometer test chart shozving draw-bar pull.<br />
10. General speeding up of production from the<br />
open hearth to the blooming mill via stripper and<br />
soaking pits.<br />
Plants using this type of steel mill car bearings include<br />
:<br />
Carnegie Steel, Farrel<br />
Carnegie Steel, New Castle<br />
Carnegie Steel, Ohio Works<br />
Carnegie Steel, Mingo Junction<br />
Carnegie Steel, Bellaire<br />
Carnegie Steel, Edgar Thompson Works<br />
Carnegie Steel, Duquesne<br />
Bethlehem Steel, South Bethlehem<br />
Bethlehem Steel, Lebanon<br />
Bethlehem Steel, Sparrows Point<br />
Bethlehem Steel, Lackawanna Plant<br />
Bethlehem Steel, Saucon Works<br />
Illinois Steel, South Works<br />
Illinois Steel, Joliet<br />
Illinois Steel, Gary<br />
American Steel & Wire, Xewburgh<br />
Brier Hill Steel, Youngstown<br />
Interstate Iron and Steel<br />
Mansfield Sheet & Tinplate<br />
Fig. 4.<br />
Hyatt bearing dynamometer test chart showing rec<br />
draw-bar pull.
July, 1924 IheDlast kirnace^yjteel riant<br />
United Alloy Steel<br />
Wisconsin Steel<br />
Youngstown Sheet & Tube<br />
Follansbee Bros.<br />
Allegheny Steel<br />
Bourne-Fuller Company, Upson \\ orks<br />
Inland Steel<br />
McKinney Steel<br />
Heavy type of steel mill car equipped zvith Hyatt bearings.<br />
National Tube, Lorain<br />
National Enameling & Stamping<br />
Otis Steel, Riverside Works<br />
Otis Steel, Lakeside Works<br />
Pibttsurgh Crucible Steel<br />
Republic Iron & Steel<br />
Standard Steel<br />
Sharon Steel Hoop<br />
Trumbull Steel<br />
Design of Hyatt equipped steel mill ear.<br />
Tennessee Coal. Iron & Railroad<br />
Canton Sheet Steel<br />
Central Steel<br />
Cromwell Steel<br />
Heppenstall F<strong>org</strong>e & Knife<br />
Weirton Steel<br />
Keystone Steel & W r ire<br />
Lukens Steel<br />
Wheeling Steel<br />
Solids Hydrometer<br />
(Continued from page 330)<br />
Specific Gravitv Vol. of 100 g. in ml.<br />
4.5 22.2<br />
5.0 20.0<br />
6.0 16.7<br />
7.0 14.3<br />
8.0 12.5<br />
9.0 HI<br />
10.0 10.0<br />
The gauges on the cylinder above the zero mark<br />
are at different spaces. A solid with a specific gravity<br />
of 2.0 would cause the water in the cylinder to rise 5.0<br />
cm. above the zero mark, while a solid showing a<br />
specific gravity of 10.0 would cause a rise of water<br />
for a distance of only 1.0 cm.<br />
The devise, because of its size and compactness.<br />
promises to be an invaluable addition to the kit of<br />
333<br />
metallurgists, mining engineers, builders and others<br />
having to deal with solid materials on locations where<br />
laboratory apparatus does not lend itself readily for<br />
use in determining specific gravity. After blasting ore<br />
from the side of a hill, the engineer need only to gather<br />
a small amount of the substance, break it into<br />
pieces small enough to drop into the cylinder filled to<br />
the zero mark with water, and read directly the specific<br />
gravity of the material just blasted a few minutes<br />
previous.<br />
That the invention is scientifically correct is shown<br />
by its acceptance by the American Chemical Society;<br />
that it is of practical use is proved by the willingness<br />
of one of the largest laboratory equipment firms in<br />
the country to place it on the market. The original<br />
solids hydrometer used by Doctor Vuilleumier was<br />
of domestic manufacture and proved too fragile for<br />
practical use, so those to be marketed will be made by<br />
foreign manufacturers. Already the inventor is contemplating<br />
the use of aluminum cylinders, marked<br />
similarly to housewives' measuring cups, in order to<br />
make the devise more substantial for hard use by engineers.<br />
Doctor Yuilleumier has waived all royalties on the<br />
instrument in the interest of science. He is a graduate<br />
of the University of Pennsylvania and several foreign<br />
schools, and is the son of the Swiss Consul at<br />
Philadelphia. The new device has been named the<br />
"Dickinson Solids Hydrometer" in honor of the institution<br />
with which he is connected as a member of the<br />
faculty. Last year Doctor Vuilleumier invented the<br />
"Dickinson Alchometer", a unique device for determining<br />
the alcoholic content of liquids within a few<br />
minutes' time, and more recently he has perfected a<br />
vest-pocket alchometer, a minature apparatus for<br />
guaging the alcoholic content of whiskey with only a<br />
small amount of liquor. Both instruments are being<br />
used by the Pennsylvania State Police and are having<br />
a wide distribution throughout the country.<br />
The Pittsburgh Testing Laboratory announces the<br />
occupancy of its new laboratories and office building<br />
located on Stevenson Street at Locust, Pittsburgh. Pa.<br />
The telephone number of Grant 3860. This building<br />
is a five-story brick-concrete structure, well lighted<br />
and ventilated so that all determinations can be accurately<br />
performed. The most improved types of accurate<br />
physical testing machines and chemical apparatus<br />
have been installed. Facilities have been greatly<br />
improved and the scope of service enlarged to better<br />
serve their clients. They invite your inspection of<br />
their new headquarters at any time.<br />
The National Tube Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., a<br />
subsidiary of the LTnited Steel Corporation, has work<br />
in active progress on additions to its local plant at<br />
Gary, Ind. The work will consist of a large tube mill<br />
and a number of miscellaneous structures, estimated<br />
to cost in excess of $15,000,000. As different units are<br />
ready for service they will be placed on the active.<br />
A large increased capacity will be developed.<br />
The Sheet & Tube Company, Youngstown, Ohio,<br />
is making a number of extensions and improvements<br />
at its plant at East Youngstown. for considerable increase<br />
in output.
334<br />
The Blast Fi urnace /£> Steel PI am<br />
Metallography at Lehigh University<br />
F O R the purpose of this sketch we may divide<br />
man's experience with metals into three grand<br />
eras. There was the period before chemical analysis<br />
and the sure identification of the components of<br />
alloys; that indefinitely long period stretching from<br />
1800 back to the first use of metal objects; then there<br />
is the period ushered in by Bergmann, Berthier and<br />
Berzelius, from 1800 till 1880, when chemical analysis<br />
opened to civilization the precise knowledge of the<br />
composition of alloys; and, lastly, we now live in the<br />
era illuminated by the efforts of Sorby, Osmond and<br />
Heyn, pioneers who showed that all metals have a<br />
structure which determines their properties and mechanics<br />
to a far greater extent than any ultimate chemical<br />
composition.<br />
The chemical control of metals brought science<br />
to help mankind in exploiting the metals; precise<br />
knowledge became possible, the quality of materials<br />
became assured, the vigor of smelting conditions and<br />
the tonnage of furnaces both increased immensely.<br />
And with uniform compositions and reliable materials,<br />
new possibilities opened to the materials of construction<br />
in every field of engineering.<br />
But simple chemical control was eclipsed in importance<br />
when the new science of metallography<br />
began accumulating the facts that made possible the<br />
machines we now use without a thought, typified by<br />
the automobile and the flying machine. Fine steel<br />
was made a thousand years B.C., but only by the aid<br />
of analysis and the microscope is the manufacturer<br />
of today assured that the ball bearings shall be perfect—every<br />
one in a million. Fine Damascus blades<br />
have been made for centuries, but only analysis and<br />
•Assistant Professor of Metallurgy.<br />
By H. B. PULSIFER*<br />
July, 1924<br />
the microscope can assure you that an engine shaft<br />
shall be good for a thousand million revolutions.<br />
Thus the science of the microscopic structure of an<br />
object completes the chemist's control and the mechanic's<br />
skill.<br />
During the year 1886 Dr. Sorby of Sheffield, England,<br />
repeated a 20-year old observation on a microscopic<br />
appearance in steel, which he called a "pearly<br />
compound." His microscope disclosed minute plates<br />
a fiftv-thousandth of an inch wide in some carbon<br />
steel; the idea of a minute mechanical aggregate composing<br />
even ordinary metal was born; the idea was<br />
published. Osmond, in France, joined in as a pioneer.<br />
Heyn, in Germany, did the same. Books were published,<br />
journals founded, laboratories came into being.<br />
Metallography pushed rapidly to the front as one of<br />
the most useful control sciences and a science reliable<br />
for metal diagnosis and promising for future development.<br />
The leading engineering colleges of today are coming<br />
to recognize metallography as possibly the most<br />
important of the aspects commonly assembled under<br />
metallurgy. The old-time conception of metallurgy<br />
as smelting is gone forever; now we study general<br />
metallurgy, electrometallurgy, metallurgical problems,<br />
the thermochemistry of metallurgy, and the<br />
metallurgy of the several metals. All of these aspects<br />
of metallurgy, along with metallography, find place<br />
in educating a metallurgical engineer, but for the engineer<br />
in general, no matter what his branch, metallography<br />
is probably most important of all. Metallography<br />
teaches the structure and properties of the<br />
metallic materials of construction. It is alike useful<br />
to the chemical, electrical, mechanical, civil, or any<br />
other engineer. Ever} - engineer uses objects of iron<br />
Student working zvith Pellui-Duboscq microscope in Lehigh University laboratory.
July, 1924<br />
The Blast Fu mace -<br />
_0 Steel Plant<br />
FIG. 1.—Simple 0.83 per cent carbon steel, 1,000 dias. Very fine granular pearlite (ferrite and cementite). FIG. 2.—Quenched<br />
0.83 per cent carbon steel, 1,000 dias. Martensite, hard and brittle. FIG 3..—Reheated 0.83 per cent carbon steel, 1,000 dias.<br />
Spicules of ferrite shozv carbon has oxidized azvay. FIG. 4.—Quenched 0.83 per cent carbon steel, 1.000 dias. Martensite,<br />
Martensite, white, and Troostite, darker ground. FIG. 5.—Quenched and reheated 0.83 per cent carbon steel, 1,000 dias.<br />
Martensite-troostite complex of a tempered steel. FIG. 6.—Annealed 0.83 per cent carbon steel, 1.000 dias. The Pearlite is<br />
arranged in granules with closely packed plates of ferrite and cementite building up each grain. FIG. 7.—Soaked 0.83 per<br />
cent steel. 1,000 dias. The cementite has coalesced from the original scattering in the pearlite leaving the ferrite nearly pure<br />
in the background.<br />
and steel, brass, bronze, zinc and aluminum. There<br />
is no engineer who cannot work to better advantage<br />
for understanding the nature of the metals he is using.<br />
For some years Lehigh University has given a<br />
short course in metallography. The principles of the<br />
science are explained to the students by lectures and<br />
the methods of the science are practiced by laboratory<br />
exercises in preparing sections, photographing the<br />
structures, and measuring the properties. The solidification<br />
of an alloy is studied, metals are worked and<br />
given heat treatment. The civil engineering department<br />
co-operates by simultaneous testing of samples<br />
in the well equipped Fritz Engineering Laboratory.<br />
The seven photomicrographs reproduced in halftone<br />
here were taken to show what varied structures<br />
can exist in just one common steel. The original bar<br />
from which all the specimens were prepared contained<br />
0.83 per cent carbon: the structure of the annealed<br />
bar is given in Fig. 1 as properly etched and magnified<br />
a thousand diameters. This is the particular<br />
texture first seen by Sorby; it is granular pearlite.<br />
It consists of a mixture of 88 per cent ferrite, or soft<br />
iron, and 12 per cent cementite, the carbide of iron.<br />
The material is in condition for machining, or f<strong>org</strong>ing,<br />
or hardening. Its ultimate tensile strength is about<br />
90,000 lbs. per square inch.<br />
If a piece of material is heated to a bright red in<br />
carbonaceous material and then quenched in water the<br />
335<br />
structure shown in Fig. 2 is to be found; it is called<br />
martensite. The metal is now hard, rather brittle, and<br />
has an ultimate tensile strength of over 200,000 lbs.<br />
per square inch.<br />
If the piece of metal should be heated to the<br />
quenching temperature in an open muffle and then<br />
simply cooled it will be found to have a decarbonized<br />
exterior as indicated in Fig. 3. In this picture the<br />
large white spines with a granular texture are clean<br />
ferrite. If the hot specimen had been quenched a martensite<br />
resembling Fig. 2 might have been obtained,<br />
but it would have been a low carbon martensite and<br />
very much softer than the one formed by quenching<br />
after heating in carbon.<br />
If the specimen is so quenched that part of it is<br />
chilled rapidly enough to make martensite, but the<br />
rest cools a bit more slowly and comes out troostite.<br />
there will be a transition somewhere between the two<br />
structures; this is shown in Fig. 4. The white areas<br />
are martensite, the larger, darker mass is troostite.<br />
All degrees between all martensite and all troostite<br />
can be observed and photographed in such a specimen.<br />
Troostite is softer and tougher than martensite<br />
; it is the structure of the tempered steels.<br />
When martensite is first made by rapid quench<br />
and then the metal is reheated to toughen we get<br />
structures like Fig. 5. This can be called the martensite-troostite<br />
complex; the ultimate strength of the
336 Ihe Dlast nirnacefl/jteel riant<br />
material falls off with the length and temperature of<br />
the reheating. The texture imperceptibly changes<br />
from martensite to pearlite as the series is made in<br />
graduated steps. The ultimate strength will hold to<br />
about 200,000 lbs. per square inch with reheating to<br />
300 dep-. C, and then as the reheat is raised to 400 deg.,<br />
500 deg. and on up to a red heat the strength falls to<br />
175,000 lbs., 150,000 lbs., 125.000 lbs. and so on down<br />
to the 90,000 lbs. of the original pearlite. But reheating<br />
to moderate temperatures increases the toughness<br />
which more than compensates for the loss in strength.<br />
In this way we can fellow under the microscope just<br />
what is taking place when steel is tempered.<br />
Under other conditions of heating and cooling the<br />
pearlite does not separate as fine or rounded granules.<br />
but as closely packed alternate plates of ferrite and<br />
cementite ; Fig. 6 shows this material. It is of very<br />
common occurrence in the materials of commerce; its<br />
properties are not much different from those of the<br />
granular pearlite. It can be changed to the granular<br />
form by heating to a particular temperature and again<br />
cooling.<br />
If our piece of steel is left to soak for several days<br />
at a rather red heat the cementite will clump together<br />
and leave the granular ferrite to form large<br />
soft ferrite spots; Fig. 7 is from a steel which was<br />
held at 700 deg. C. for a week. The material has<br />
dropped in strength to 80,000 lbs. ; it is a soft matrix<br />
containing the very hard rounded plates of cementite.<br />
These samples of the structures obtainable from<br />
one sort of material might be many times multiplied<br />
to show wider variations and more intermediate<br />
stages. They are, however, typical of the possibilities<br />
existing in a good clean steel. A book might be written<br />
if it were desirable to include the defects and imperfections<br />
all too frequently found in this same stock<br />
as it is made and sold.<br />
The metallographic equipment at Lehigh University<br />
consists of an ample library, suitable cutting,<br />
grinding, and smoothing tools, proper etching reagents,<br />
metallographic microscopes, electric heating<br />
furnaces, a convenient dark room, and materials to<br />
work upon. The Bethlehem Steel Company is an unfailing<br />
source of metal supplies and prompt to help in<br />
any way when asked. The Anaconda Mining Company<br />
has supplied several sets of materials as produced<br />
in winning and manufacturing copper. The<br />
New Jersey Zinc Company supplies specimens of<br />
zincs. The Aluminum Company of America has sent<br />
materials such as it produces. The Oxweld Company<br />
is always ready to co-operate as regards the materials<br />
and structures of modern welding. In general, the<br />
manufacturing companies are very generous in supplying<br />
almost any sort of material that the laboratory<br />
might need. Specimens are on hand from government<br />
munition materials a.s well as from objects captured<br />
from the Central Empires during the late war.<br />
Plans Furnace on Coast<br />
Plans and specifications are being prepared by the<br />
engineering department of the Pacific Coast Steel<br />
Company, Rialto Bldg., San Francisco, for the construction<br />
of a blast furnace plant at Long Beach, Cal.,<br />
the complete project to cost about $7,000,000. Tentative<br />
plans for the first unit call for a plant of one blast<br />
furnace and by-product coke ovens. Contracts will<br />
be let for certain parts of the work.<br />
Quenching Properties of Glycerin<br />
July, 1924<br />
The cooling power of glycerin and its water solutions<br />
as well as that of an oil-water emulsion has been<br />
examined by the Bureau of Standards of the Commerce<br />
Department for the purpose of finding quenching<br />
media to span the gap between water and oil.<br />
From experimental quenching curves giving the rate<br />
of cooling at the center of a 1-inch cylinder of 32 per<br />
cent nickel steel, it was found that glycerin-water<br />
solutions accomplish this purpose effectively and that,<br />
moreover, they have characteristics distinctive from<br />
those of oil and apparently in their favor.<br />
The observations on the cooling rates of the baths<br />
were confirmed by observations of the hardening of<br />
deep-hardening steels in the several baths. The<br />
hardness of these steels, measured by the scleroscope<br />
and Rockwell tests, increased slightly but definitely<br />
with the cooling rate, and the higher hardness of the<br />
faster cooled steels was maintained on tempering at<br />
low temperatures. This variation in hardness was<br />
correlated with the cooling rate during the hardening<br />
transformation and is therefore probably a transient<br />
tempering phenomenon.<br />
By mathematical analysis of the results, cooling<br />
constants of the several baths have been approximately<br />
evaluated and curves plotted from which the<br />
cooling rate at the center and the temperature differences<br />
between center and convex surfaces of long<br />
cylinders of any diameter can be estimated under<br />
certain limitations.<br />
OBITUARY<br />
Frank C. Caldwell, a director of the Link-Belt<br />
Company, since the purchase of the H. W. Caldwell<br />
& Company by the Link-Belt Company in 1921, was<br />
stricken with heart failure on the morning of May 15<br />
while on the way to his bank. Mr. Caldwell was born<br />
in Indianapolis in 1866, and went to Chicago in the<br />
early eighties to complete his education at the Union<br />
College of Law. He practiced law until 1892, when<br />
he became vice president of the H. W. Caldwell & Son<br />
Company. In 1908 he became president, which position<br />
he held until the company was purchased by the<br />
Link-Belt Company- in 1921. Since then he has been<br />
a director of the Link-Belt Company. Mr. Caldwell<br />
was president of the National Metal Trades Association<br />
from 1911 to 1912, and served as its treasurer<br />
from 1912 to 1922.<br />
Edward Payson Williams, aged 86 years, treasurer<br />
of Pickands, Mather & Company, Cleveland, and a<br />
pioneer in the iron and shipping business, died at his<br />
home in that city June 16. He was born in Conneaut,<br />
Ohio, and served in the Civil War with the Fifteenth<br />
Pennsylvania cavalry. Mr. Williams went to Cleveland<br />
at the close of the Civil War, becoming connected<br />
with Cleveland, Brown & Company, iron brokers. In<br />
1872 he joined Hames and Harry Pickands in a mining<br />
venture at Marquette, Mich. Since 1891 he has<br />
been with the Pickands, Mather & Company.<br />
O. K. Johannsen, chief engineer of the Wilson-<br />
Snyder Manufacturing Company, Braddock, Pa., died<br />
June 15 at his home in Wilkinsburg, Pa.
Juiy, 1924<br />
TheBlastFumaceSSteelPlanf<br />
CURRENT REVIEW<br />
Forty Years Ago<br />
Forty years ago, electricity was just arriving at<br />
that point in its development where it began to be<br />
of commercial value to the world. In 1884, the eighth<br />
anniversary of Bell's telephone was celebrated, only<br />
the most advanced cities had street cars, drawn byhorses<br />
or mules, and the automobile had not yet germinated<br />
in its inventor's brain.<br />
Electric generators and arc lamps were in restricted<br />
use. The very few electric lighting companies were<br />
limited by two factors, namely, the generators did<br />
not automatically regulate to care for varying loads<br />
or number of lamps burning and the use of d.c. made<br />
it impractical to distribute current except over very<br />
restricted areas.<br />
At that time, Thomas A. Edison had carried his<br />
experiments on incandescent lamps to the point where<br />
he was making a commercial lamp, and stores and<br />
homes were being lighted by his system, and central<br />
337<br />
tically universal use. From the very first, Westinghouse<br />
staked his reputation and fortune on a.c. Before<br />
his entrance into the field, d.c. was used exclusively.<br />
One of the most dramatic conflicts in the<br />
history of science waged around this question of the<br />
two currents. The fact that the central station industry<br />
today is based on the manufacture, distribution<br />
and sale of a.c. is the best answer to the accuracy<br />
of Mr. Westinghouse's judgment.<br />
In the marvelous achievements of the experimental<br />
age in electricity, the Westinghouse Electric and<br />
Manufacturing Company, which has developed from<br />
that connection made by Westinghouse with WTlliam<br />
Stanley 40 years ago, has played its part. Its growth<br />
has been the growth of the electrical art.<br />
Some of the contributions of this one company to<br />
the electrical industry are worthy of record. Over a<br />
period of 40 years, this company- has developed a<br />
Right: One of the earliest types of central stations equipped zvith Westinghouse machinery. Center: Ge<strong>org</strong>e IVcstinghouse,<br />
founder of the industries that bear his name. Inventor and founder of industries, this man's remarkable vision is chiefly<br />
responsible for the enor -ous development of electricity in the world today because of his pioneering work zvith alternating<br />
current. One of the most remarkable men of his time. Left: One of the first electric lamps. Note the peculiar shape and<br />
base. This zvas kuozvn as the Westinghouse stopper lamp.<br />
stations were being established. However, the principal<br />
limiting obstacle was the short distance over<br />
which the electric current supplied by this system<br />
could be distributed.<br />
On May 20, 1884, Ge<strong>org</strong>e Westinghouse, inventor,<br />
<strong>org</strong>anizer and successful business man, entered the<br />
electrical business, his definite connection with the<br />
industry beginning when he signed a contract with<br />
William Stanley to conduct electrical experiments for<br />
him.<br />
William Stanley's great gift to the world, while<br />
he was associated with Westinghouse, was the development<br />
of the transformer. This device made possible<br />
the long distance transmission of a.c. at relatively<br />
high voltages, reducing it to low, usable voltages at<br />
the place where the current was to be used. Thus the<br />
field of application of electricity was increased from<br />
small restricted areas to greatly extended and prac-<br />
commercial a.c. system and, successively, the transformer,<br />
the Shallenberger meter, Wurtz lightning arrester,<br />
Stillwell regulator, Tesla motor and Mershon<br />
compensator; lighted the Chicago World's Fair, harnessed<br />
Niagara to electric generators, marketed the<br />
first successful single-reduction railway motor introduced<br />
the steam turbine in America, made the first<br />
successful 60 cy r cle rotary converter, electrified the<br />
New Haven, Pennsylvania, Long Island, Norfolk and<br />
Western, Grand Trunk, Boston and Maine and Virginian<br />
railroads and supplied apparatus for the Chicago,<br />
Milwaukee and St. Paul railroad as well as electrifying<br />
and supplying apparatus for many other domestic<br />
and foreign railroads; developed the Melville-<br />
MacAlpine gear, built the first 1,000,000-volt transformer<br />
and finally instituted radio broadcasting which<br />
is today performing a definite service in the life of the<br />
American public.
338<br />
In spite of the wonderful development in electricity,<br />
it is surprising to note that nearly 40 per cent of<br />
America's population is today not included within the<br />
reach of electric service, that less than 20 per cent of<br />
America's possible hydroelectric power has been developed<br />
and that only 6y> per cent of the world's population,<br />
live in electrically wired dwellings.<br />
Surely, the future, the next 40 years, portends<br />
progress in the extension of the uses of electricity as<br />
amazing as the progress since 40 years ago, in the experimentation<br />
and realization of making electricity<br />
practical, commercial and economical.<br />
—Westinghouse Bulletin.<br />
Atoms and Isotopes<br />
Dr. F. W. Aston's May Lecture to the Institute of Metals<br />
London, Eng., June 4, 1924<br />
That matter is discontinuous and consists of discrete<br />
particles is now as accepted fact though it is<br />
not obvious to the senses on account of the extreme<br />
smallness of the particles. Some idea of their size and<br />
numbers can be gained by the hypothetical division of<br />
a piece of matter into smaller and smaller pieces until<br />
the ultimate atom is reached. For this purpose a<br />
model decimetre cube of lead is taken and cut in<br />
such a manner that after each operation a similar cube<br />
of half the linear dimensions and one-eighth the volume<br />
results. Modern science shows that this operation<br />
can be repeated no less than 28 times before the<br />
ultimate atom of lead is reached, and that the number<br />
of atoms in the original cube is so enormous that<br />
placed in a string as close together as they are in the<br />
lead they would extend over six million million miles.<br />
Again, if an ordinary evacuated electric light bulb<br />
were pierced with an aperture such that one million<br />
molecules of the air entered per second, the pressure<br />
in the bulb would not rise to that of the air outside for<br />
a hundred million years.<br />
Dalton in his atomic theory postulated that "Atoms<br />
of the same element are similar to one another and<br />
equal in weight," a simple and definite conception<br />
which has been of inestimable value in the development<br />
of chemistry. A little later Prout suggested that<br />
the atoms of all elements were made of atoms of a<br />
primordial substance which he endeavored to identify<br />
with hydrogen. If Dalton and Prout were both right<br />
the chemical atomic weights should all be whole numbers,<br />
hydrogen being unity. Chemical evidence was<br />
against this, and Prout's theory was abandoned for<br />
the time. We cannot test the truth of Dalton's postulate<br />
by chemical methods since these require countless<br />
myriads of atoms, and, therefore, only give a mean result.<br />
The weights of individual atoms can be investigated<br />
by means of the analysis of positive rays and the<br />
early experiments of Sir J. J. Thomson suggested that<br />
one element — neon — had atoms of two different<br />
weights but the method of analysis was not accurate<br />
enough to prove the point. The requisite accuracy<br />
has been obtained by means of an instrument called<br />
the "mass-spectrograph". In this the charged atoms<br />
in a beam of positive rays are sorted out according to<br />
their weights by means of magnetic and electric fields<br />
so that they strike a photographic plate at different<br />
points. A mixture of atoms of different weights will<br />
give a series of focussed lines called a mass spectrum<br />
Ihe Dlast Itirnace^L/jteel Plan!<br />
July, 1924<br />
and the relative weights of the atoms can be calculated<br />
from the position of their lines to an accuracy of<br />
1 in 1000.<br />
As the result of this analysis it has been shown that<br />
neon (atomic weight 20.20) is a mixture of atoms of<br />
weights of 20 and 22; these constituents have identical<br />
chemical properties and are called "isotopes". Chlorine<br />
(at. wt. 35.46) is a mixture of isotopic atoms of<br />
weights 35 and 37. About half the elements so far<br />
analyzed turn out to be mixtures and some are verycomplex<br />
. Thus krypton has six, tin at least seven and<br />
xenon possibly nine constituent isotopes. Recently bymeans<br />
of the method of "accelerated anode rays" the<br />
work has been extended to many metals and already<br />
some 50 of the 84 known non-radioactive elements<br />
have been analyzed into their constituent isotopes or<br />
shown to be "simple".<br />
Most important of all is the fact arising out of<br />
these measurements that all true weights of atoms can<br />
be expressed as whole numbers to a very high degree<br />
of accuracy. This remarkable generalization<br />
known as the "whole number rule" has removed the<br />
last obstacle in the way of a simple unitary theory of<br />
matter. We now know that nature uses the same<br />
bricks in the construction of the atoms of all elements,<br />
and that these standard bricks are the primordial<br />
atoms of positive and negative electricity, protons<br />
and electrons.<br />
According to the nucleus theory of the atom first<br />
suggested by Sir Ernest Rutherford, which has led<br />
to such wonderful advances recently in the hands of<br />
Professor Bohr, all the protons which are much heavier<br />
than electrons, are packed with some of the electrons<br />
in a central nucleus or sun round which circulate<br />
the remaining electrons like planets in orbits. The<br />
protons and electrons are so minute compared with<br />
the atom itself that it is difficult to indicate their numerical<br />
relations. If we were to construct a scale<br />
model of the atom as big as the dome of St. Paul's we<br />
should have some difficulty in seeing the electrons,<br />
which would be little larger than pin heads, while<br />
the protons would escape notice altogether as dust<br />
particles invisible to the unaided eye. Experimental<br />
evidence leaves us no escape from the astounding conclusion<br />
that the atom of matter as a structure, is<br />
empty, empty as the solar system, and that what we<br />
measure as its spherical boundary really only represents<br />
the limiting orbits of its outermost electrons.<br />
All the chemical and spectroscopic properties of<br />
an atom depend on the movements of its planetaryelectrons,<br />
and these in their turn depend on the positive<br />
electric charge on the central nucleus. In the<br />
case of isotopic atoms the net positive charge on<br />
their nuclei is the same, giving identical chemical<br />
properties but the total number of protons is different,<br />
giving different atomic weights.<br />
Transmutation of one element to another can only<br />
be achieved by the disruption of the nucleus. This<br />
requires enormous forces but by the bombardment<br />
of atoms by swift alpha particles Rutherford has succeeded<br />
in breaking up the nuclei of several of the<br />
lighter elements. This transmutation only takes place<br />
as the result of a direct hit on the nucleus the chance<br />
of which is only one in many millions. The quantity<br />
of matter so transmuted is indeed almost inconceivably<br />
small but it is the first step towards the release<br />
and control of the so-called "atomic eneigy". We<br />
know now with certainty that four neutral hydrogen
July, 1924<br />
atoms weigh appreciably more than one neutral helium<br />
atom, though they contain the same units, 4 protons<br />
and 4 electrons. If we could transmute hydrogen<br />
into helium matter would, therefore, be destroyed and<br />
a prodigious qantity of energy would be liberated.<br />
The transmutation of the hydrogen contained in one<br />
pint of water into helium would set free sufficient<br />
energy to propel the Mauretania across the Atlantic<br />
and back at full speed. With such vast stores of energy<br />
at our disposal there would be literally no limit<br />
to the material achievements of the human race.<br />
The Direct Production of Iron<br />
By EDVIN FORNANDER<br />
Ihe Blast FurnaceSSleel Plant<br />
As is well known, in early times wrought iron was<br />
always made direct from the ore, without going<br />
through the cast-iron stage. Up to about the sixteenth<br />
century this was the common method ; the ore<br />
was reduced with charcoal in low shaft furnaces, in<br />
which the temperature was never high enough to<br />
cause any very considerable degree of carburization<br />
or melting of liberated iron. From the modern viewpoint<br />
the process had many defects; the product was<br />
not uniform, the fuel consumption was very high, and<br />
even the amount of ore required was large, because<br />
much iron was lost in the slag. But even though the<br />
old direct methods had many and serious faults, their<br />
importance must not on that account be underestimated<br />
; they satisfied the iron requirements of mankind<br />
for a very long period of time—at least 3,000<br />
years.<br />
When the furnaces were enlarged and stronger<br />
blasts began to be used, there was formed in addition<br />
to the stiff melt of wrought iron a liquid non-malleable<br />
product, cast iron. At first the new product was not<br />
welcomed, but as soon a.s the discovery was made<br />
that the cast iron could be converted into wrought<br />
iron in a separate hearth, the advantage was seen of<br />
having the shaft furnaces produce cast iron exclusively—namely,<br />
that by making the process continuous<br />
the fuel consumption was lessened, and the loss<br />
of iron in the slag also became considerably less. Ever<br />
since that time—that is, for about 400 years—cast iron<br />
has been the raw material on which practically the<br />
entire iron industry has been based.<br />
Two ty r pes of processes can be distinguished :<br />
(a) The reducing charcoal is placed in direct<br />
contact with the ore, more or less intimately mixed.<br />
(b) The reduction is carried out with gas, in<br />
which carbon monoxide constitutes the principal<br />
reducing agent.<br />
A number of names are associated with the historical<br />
attempts to produce iron direct.<br />
Adrien Chenot was awarded the gold medal at the<br />
Paris Exposition in 1855, his work culminating from<br />
research extending back to 1823.<br />
In 1857 Adolf Gurlt, a German, attempted to avoid<br />
the difficulties incident to ore and fuel being mixed<br />
under reducing conditions by building a furnace<br />
operated on producer gas, in which pre-combustion<br />
was used.<br />
The Method of Husgafvel.<br />
Husgafvel has given a detailed description of his<br />
process in the "Jernkontorets Annalen" for 1887, from<br />
which the following account is taken. His method<br />
339<br />
was a development of the old Finnish method of making<br />
wrought iron direct from lake or bog ore in a<br />
shaft furnace. Fig. 1 shows the gradual evolution<br />
of the Husgafvel process up to the furnaces built at<br />
Wartsila (Finland) and at the Dobrianskij iron foundry<br />
in Russia.<br />
The inside height of the Dobrianskij furnace was<br />
8.50 meters and its diameter at the widest part was<br />
1.60 meters. It had double sheet-iron walls; the air<br />
current necessary for the process was forced in between<br />
these walls from above. During its spiral<br />
passage down to the lower part of the furnace the air<br />
cooled the walls and was itself jacketed. Only r the<br />
lower part of the double sheet-iron jacket was lined<br />
with a thin layer of brick. There were two rows of<br />
blast holes, one above the other, and the blowers<br />
could be set in at more or less of an angle if necessary.<br />
When the current from the bellows was so<br />
directed as to come in close contact with the upper<br />
'•••Mem rt U>„*(,,i r u m<br />
FIG. 1.—Depicts the gradual evolution of the Husgafvel method.<br />
surface of the thoroughly reduced melt lying at the<br />
bottom, it had a refining effect in that the carbon content<br />
of the iron was decreased. The lower part of<br />
the furnace was made of large cast-iron plates. The<br />
furnace had two bottoms, which were made readily<br />
interchangeable by being entirely separate from the<br />
rest of the furnace and mounted on wheels. When a<br />
sufficient amount of pasty iron had collected in the<br />
one that was in use, it was removed and turned upside<br />
down to empty out the cohering melt.<br />
The furance was charged with charcoal and ore<br />
exactly as a blast furnace is charged, and the reduction<br />
process took place in the same way, excepting<br />
that the temperature was lower owing to the cooling<br />
action of the walls and the higher charge of ore. The<br />
iron did not carburize to any- great extent, and the iron<br />
that collected at the bottom was malleable. The fo!<br />
lowing means for regulating the carbon content we- •<br />
available: Size of ore charge, blast temperature, posi-
340<br />
tion and direction of the blast. .The Dobrianskij iron<br />
was made into ingots, which in turn were rolled into<br />
sheets. Operating data for this furnace are given<br />
below:<br />
A magnetic iron ore containing 58 per cent Fe,<br />
mixed with charcoal (58 per cent birch and 42 per cent<br />
pine) gave: Maximum daily production of- iron, 3,100<br />
kg.; minimum charcoal consumption (per ton of pig<br />
iron), 1,360 kg.; maximum yield of iron from ore,<br />
52.7 per cent.<br />
When soft iron was made, the loss in the slag was<br />
greater than when iron with a higher carbon content<br />
was being produced, which of course was quite natural.<br />
Slag from the manufacture of hard but still malleable<br />
steel (carbon content not stated) contained 7.2<br />
per cent Fe. whereas the slag from iron contained<br />
40.8 per cent Fe. According to Dobrianskij data the<br />
iron losses in the slag were 9 per cent for steel and<br />
17 per cent for iron.<br />
The reported charcoal consumption seems high<br />
compared with modern practice in making cast iron;<br />
but it must lie borne in mind that these figures refer<br />
to a very small furnace, only 8.5 meters high. It is<br />
probable that the charcoal requirement can be materially<br />
reduced by using a larger furnace ; and it is<br />
also possible that the black Russian ore used in this<br />
case was unusually- hard to reduce and that the charcoal<br />
consumption would have been considerablylessened<br />
by charging partly with briquetted or sintered<br />
hematite. The report does not state the temperature<br />
of the blast nor give any analyses of the iron<br />
or of the effluent gas.<br />
Besides the Wartsila and Dibrianskij trials, a<br />
Husgafvel furnace was built at the Poutiloff foundry<br />
in St. Petersburg. According to the statement of a<br />
person who saw this furnace, it was 12 or 13 meters<br />
high and 1.5 to 1.7 meters in diameter at the widest<br />
part. About 1890 this furnace was still in operation,<br />
but it is said to have blown down not long after that.<br />
In 1899 Professon Wib<strong>org</strong>h proposed a method resulting<br />
in sponge iron.<br />
In 1909 Grondal, at Herring, went a step further,<br />
utilizing pulverized charcoal.<br />
The Sieurin method of making sponge iron is the<br />
latest development along similar lines, but with a different<br />
type furnace construction.—Chemical and<br />
Metallurgical Engineering for June, 1924.<br />
June Issue of General Electric Review-<br />
Nine articles are included in the June issue of the<br />
General Electric Review. This issue has a total of<br />
68 reading pages, the cover illustrates possibilities in<br />
the heat-carrying properties of clear, fused quartz and<br />
the frontispiece shows two views of the central operating<br />
room, Radio Corporation of America.<br />
"The Protection of Steam Turbine Disc Wheels<br />
from Axial Vibration," by Wilfred Campbell; 9 pages<br />
and 17 illustrations. This is the first of a series of<br />
three articles, originally presented as a paper at the<br />
spring meeting of the A. S. M. E. Complete, the<br />
series covers a full and detailed description of the<br />
work done in studying various forms of vibration and<br />
waves which may exist in steam turbine disc wheels.<br />
Part I outlines the troubles which gave rise to the investigation<br />
and reviews the various preliminary channels<br />
along which the study was conducted.<br />
IneBlast FurnacoeSleol Plant<br />
July, 1924<br />
"Improving Central Station Service by the Application<br />
of Current-Limiting Reactors to Distribution<br />
Feeders," by D. K. Blake; 8 pages and 17 illustrations.<br />
Mr. Blake emphasizes the fact that currentlimiting<br />
reactors furnish the means of maintaining a<br />
high standard in minimizing the voltage drop under<br />
short-circuit conditions. He advises their increased<br />
use outside of generating stations, the field to which<br />
their use is, at present, mostly confined. Their advantages<br />
and usefulness in distribution feeders are<br />
pointed out.<br />
"Clear Fused Quartz Made in the Electric Furnace,"<br />
by E. Berry; \y2 pages and 5 illustrations. The<br />
method by which this material can now be produced<br />
on a commercial scale is described in this article, together<br />
with a description of some of its physical<br />
properties.<br />
"How Some Problems in Radio Have Been<br />
Solved," by E. F. W. Alexanderson; 7 pages and 9<br />
illustrations.<br />
In describing how some of the problems of commercial<br />
radio communication have been "solved, Mr.<br />
Alexanderson treats them under four headings:<br />
efficiency and cost of radiation ; wave propagation, absorption<br />
and fading; atmospheric disturbances, and<br />
speed of commercial signaling.<br />
"Direct Current Reactor Design," by D. C. Prince;<br />
4 pages and 8 illustrations. The author discusses the<br />
design of d.c. or smoothing inductances, in a comprehensive<br />
but simple manner. Such devices, when properly-designed<br />
and used in a rectifier circuit, reduce the<br />
current variations to a large extent.<br />
"Tendencies in the Electrification of Cuban Sugar<br />
Mills," by C. A. Kelsey; 6 pages and 5 illustrations.<br />
This article deals with the engineering features in the<br />
development of electric drive as applied to the principal<br />
industry of Cuba.<br />
"Mechanical Features of the Gearless Traction<br />
Elevator Motor and Brake," by J. J. Matson; Ay2<br />
pages and 7 illustrations. This is the third article on<br />
the subject of elevators which has appeared in the<br />
Review within the last year. A description is given<br />
of the mechanical features of the gearless traction<br />
type of elevator machine.<br />
"Automatic Station Equipment for Industrial and<br />
Power Systems," by Chester Lichtenberg; 9y2 pages<br />
and 11 illustrations. This is an expansion of a paper<br />
prepared on the industrial situation and delivered at<br />
the Birmingham convention of the A. I. E. E. in April.<br />
It describes the advantages of such equipment and outlines<br />
its superiority with respect to the quality of service<br />
and economy- of operation it effects.<br />
"Development in Electric Drive for Central Station<br />
Auxiliaries," by J. W. Dodge; 11 pages and 16<br />
illustrations. Mr. Dodge outlines the advantages of<br />
this form of power over steam and devotes some time<br />
to the description of various types of motors and control<br />
for this service, and also their applications.<br />
Electrical Structure of Matter<br />
All men deal with matter in the gross and our<br />
bodies are of it constructed. Mysteries of matter,<br />
therefore, have a fascination for thoughtful laymen,<br />
as well as scientists and technologists. The atom has<br />
long been familiar as the ultimate unit of matter.<br />
While the vaguest ideas were held as to the possible<br />
structure of atoms, there was a general belief
Juiy, 1924<br />
among the more philosophically minded that the<br />
atoms could not be regarded as simple unconnected<br />
units. For the clarifying of these somewhat vague<br />
ideas, the proof in 1897 of the independent existence<br />
of the electron as a mobile electrified unit of mass<br />
minute compared with that of the lightest atom, was<br />
of extraordinary importance.<br />
Our whole conception of the atom was revolutionized<br />
by the study of radioactivity. The discovery of<br />
radium provided the experimenter with powerful<br />
sources of radiation specially suitable for examining<br />
the nature of the characteristic radiations emitted by<br />
the radioactive bodies in general. The wonderful succession<br />
of changes that occur in uranium, more than<br />
30 in number, was soon disclosed.<br />
It was early surmised that electricity was atomic<br />
in nature. This view was confirmed and extended by<br />
a study of the charges of electricity carried by electrons.<br />
Skillful experiments by physicists added to the<br />
knowledge of the subject. One of the main difficulties<br />
has been the uncertainty as to the relative part<br />
played by positive and negative electricity- in the<br />
structure of the atom. The electron has a negative<br />
charge of one fundamental unit, while the charged<br />
hydrogen atom has a charge of one positive unit.<br />
There is the strongest evidence that the atoms of<br />
matter are built up of these two electrical units.<br />
It may be of interest to try to visualize the conception<br />
of the atom we have so far reached by taking<br />
for illustration the heaviest atom, uranium. At the<br />
center of the atom is a minute nucleus surrounded by<br />
a swirling group of 92 electrons, all in motion in definite<br />
orbits, and occupying but by no means filling a<br />
volume very large compared with that of the nucleus.<br />
Some of the electrons describe nearly- circular orbits<br />
round the nucleus ; others, orbits of a more elliptical<br />
shape whose axes rotate rapidly round the nucleus.<br />
The motion of the electrons in the different groups is<br />
not necessarily- confined to a definite region of the*<br />
atom, but the electrons of one group may penetrate<br />
deeply into the region mainly occupied by another<br />
group, thus giving a type of inter-connection or<br />
coupling between the various groups. The maximum<br />
speed of any electron depends on the closeness of<br />
the approach to the nucleus, but the outermost electron<br />
will have a minimum speed of more than 90,000<br />
miles per second, or half the speed of light.<br />
The nucleus atom has often been likened to a solar<br />
system where the sun corresponds to the nucleus and<br />
the plants to the electrons. The analogy, however,<br />
must not be pressed too far. Suppose, for example,<br />
we imagined that some large and swift celestial visitor<br />
traverses and escapes from our solar system without<br />
any catastrophe to itself or the planets. There<br />
will inevitably result permanent changes in the<br />
lengths of the month and year, and our system will<br />
never return to its original state. Contrast this with<br />
the effect of shooting an electron through the electronic<br />
structure of the atom. The motion of many<br />
of the electrons will be disturbed by its passage, and<br />
in special cases an electron may be removed from its<br />
orbit and hurled out of its atomic system. In a short<br />
time another electron will fall into the vacant place<br />
from one of the outer groups, and this vacant place<br />
in turn will be filled up, and so on until the atom is<br />
again re<strong>org</strong>anized. In all cases the final state of the<br />
electronic system is the same as in the beginning.—<br />
Research Narratives.<br />
The Blast FurnaeeSSteel Plant<br />
Fuel Oil or Coal for Steam Generation in<br />
the United States<br />
341<br />
Mr. F. A. Daniels analyzes the arguments for and<br />
against both fuels and concludes his series of investigations<br />
with the following summary:<br />
To sum up the whole question, it is quite clear<br />
that fuel oil cannot compete with coal for the generation<br />
of steam in land plants, except for the short<br />
periods of time when overproduction gluts the oil<br />
markets or when strike conditions upset coal production.<br />
The figures showing the relative reserves of<br />
coal and oil in the ratio of 1370 to 1 make it quite<br />
clear also that the short periods, when oil has the<br />
advantage, will in the future become less and less frequent<br />
and of shorter duration. The year 1924 looks<br />
like decreased oil production and increased prices. If<br />
the coal industry will put its house in order and get<br />
away from domination by the United Mine Workers<br />
of America, with the resulting periodic strikes against<br />
the public interest, then coal has nothing to fear from<br />
fuel oil competition.<br />
Nature during the past ages has stored up for our<br />
use vast reserves of fuel, and once this fuel is used<br />
it can never lie replaced. The plain duty of everyone<br />
of us is to get across to the American public the<br />
following message: "Whatever fuel you use, don't<br />
waste it by burning it carelessly."<br />
—Steam Power, Chicago.<br />
Research Bureau of Metallurgy<br />
As a further ste pin the plan to expand its scientific<br />
research facilities, announcement, is made by<br />
the Carnegie Institute of Technology' in Pittsburgh<br />
of the establishment of a special Research Bureau of<br />
Metallurgy to begin its work the first of September,<br />
1924. The express object of the new department, it<br />
is reported, is to apply to metallurgical questions the<br />
recent discoveries in the field of physics and chemis-<br />
The <strong>org</strong>anizing of this ne wbureau is the second<br />
important development concerning metallurgical research<br />
that has been reported during the year at the<br />
Pittsburgh institution. The first step, it was previously<br />
announced, was the adoption of a definite program<br />
of investigations in metallurgy to be made by the<br />
Department of Metallurgy at the Institute in co-operation<br />
with the U. S. Bureau of Minse. Seceral college<br />
graduates have already been appointed to Fellowships<br />
by the Institute authorities to carry out the program<br />
of research problems, the investigators to have the<br />
financial aid and assistance of an advisory board of<br />
metallurgical engineers and steel manufacturers of<br />
Pittsburgh in addition to the co-operation of the Bureau<br />
of Mines.<br />
Attention is called to the fact, however, that the<br />
new Research Bureau of Metallurgy just <strong>org</strong>anized<br />
will be a department established separately from the<br />
research investigations carred out by the Department<br />
of Metallurgical and Mining Engineering in co-operation<br />
with the Bureau of Minse.<br />
Dr. Francis M. Walters, Jr., has been appointed<br />
Director of the new bureau and Dr. Vsevolod N.<br />
Krivobok, has been appointed as an assistant, according<br />
to an announcement by Dr. Thomas S. Baker,<br />
President of Carnegie Tech. The appointment of an-<br />
(Concluded on Page 347.)
342<br />
Ihe Blast Furnace 3Steel Plant<br />
July, 1924<br />
Combustibility of Coke and Combustion Rate<br />
By T. L. Joseph*<br />
In the January 3 issue of Iron Trade Review,<br />
Sweetserf, in referring to the problem of coke combustibility,<br />
points out that, "Some one should formulate<br />
a rule for the rate of flow of coke through the zone<br />
of coke combustion that now appears to be confined<br />
to a comparatively restricted volume in front of the<br />
tuyeres." In formulating such a rule it is necessary<br />
to distinguish clearly between combustibility, a property'<br />
of the fuel, and rate of combustion, which is determined<br />
by the rate at which air is supplied to the<br />
fuel bed. The rate of carbon gasified at the tuyeres<br />
of a blast furnace is independent of coke combustibility.<br />
A fast-burning coke will burn in a more restricted<br />
volume than a slow-burning coke, but both<br />
types of fuel will be consumed at rates determined<br />
by the supply of oxygen.<br />
A number of definitions of combustibility that have<br />
appeared in technical literature relate more closely to<br />
rate of combustion than to combustibility. Perrott<br />
and Kinney J have correctly defined it as follows:<br />
"Combustibility of coke from the standpoint of its<br />
use in the blast furnace is inversely proportional to<br />
the mean rate of gasification per unit volume of the<br />
combustion zone, assuming other factors remain constant."<br />
Combustibility of coke refers therefore to<br />
those properties that determine the size or extent of<br />
the combustion zone. Relative differences in these<br />
properties can be measured by the depth of the fuel<br />
bed required to convert oxygen from the air into carbon<br />
monoxide.<br />
The work of Perrott and Kinney indicates that in<br />
combustion at the tuyeres of a blast furnace, all the<br />
oxygen of the blast has been converted into carbon<br />
monoxide within 30 to 40 inches of the tuyeres. Under<br />
these conditions a constant weight of oxygen<br />
can combine with only a definite weight of carbon.<br />
The rate at which the coke disappears in the localized<br />
regions of combustion at the tuyeres depends, therefore,<br />
upon the weight of fixed carbon in a given<br />
volume of coke and the rate at which oxygen is supplied<br />
in the blast. The rate of air supply affects directly<br />
the rate of combustion. If the weight of air is<br />
doubled, the rate of combustion will be doubled. Increasing<br />
the rate of air supply does not change the<br />
weight of air per pound of carbon burned. The wind<br />
delivered to any given furnace depends on several factors<br />
which are not easily determined. Among these<br />
are the volumetric efficiency of the blowing tubs and<br />
the amount of leakage through valves, mains, and<br />
stove connections.<br />
Rate of combustion may be defined as the weight<br />
of fuel burned in any given length of time. Combustibility,<br />
on the other hand, depends on the nature<br />
or properties of the coke and is not affected by the<br />
rate of air supply r combustion combined with one atom of carbon picked<br />
up in passing over the surface of the coke lumps<br />
which are gradually consumed. The time that is required<br />
for the oxygen and the carbon to combine is<br />
a function of the physical and chemical properties of<br />
the coke and is a measure of its combustibility under<br />
any<br />
except as it determines the temperature<br />
at which combustibility is determined. The<br />
combustion of coke is a chemical reaction which takes<br />
place between the oxygen of the air and the solid<br />
carbon of the coke. Each oxygen atom (or molecule<br />
in combustion to C02) emerges from the region of<br />
*Associate Metallurgist, North Central Experiment Station<br />
(Minneapolis), Bureau of Mines, Department of the Interior.<br />
flron Makers Break Production Records, Iron Trade Rev.,<br />
Jan. 3. 1924, p. 18-19.<br />
tComhustion of Coke in the Blast-Furnace Hearth, Trans.<br />
A. I. M. F,., vol. 69, 1923.<br />
r given conditions.<br />
According to Nernst, chemical reactions in heterogeneous<br />
systems take place with velocities, which, if<br />
not infinite, are so great that variations in them are<br />
completely masked by limitations in the diffusion ci<br />
the reacting substances. At the temperatures which<br />
are attained near the tuyeres of a blast fui lace, 1650<br />
deg.-1800 deg. C, the speed at which the surface of<br />
any coke lump will recede depends not upon the<br />
actual time for the oxygen and the carbon to combine,<br />
once they come in contact with each other, but rather<br />
upon the approach to the optimum conditions favorable<br />
to such contact. For example, the size of the<br />
fuel lumps has a greater effect upon combustibility<br />
than the character of the fuel itself.<br />
In order to appreciate variations in combustibilityit<br />
is necessary to be able to measure them by a common<br />
yardstick. To determine the difference in actual<br />
time required for a molecule of oxygen to combine<br />
with a molecule of carbon for two types of fuel, is<br />
difficult. It is possible, however, indirectly to measure<br />
these differences. Consider two cokes, one fastburning<br />
and the other slow-burning. In the case of<br />
a fast-burning coke, oxygen molecules will unite with<br />
carbon molecules within a short distance from the<br />
nose of the tuyere. With a slow-burning coke, each<br />
oxygen molecule would not pick up a carbon molecule<br />
until it had traveled further into the fuel bed. This<br />
difference in oxygen peneration may be taken as a<br />
measure of the time required for the union of carbon<br />
and oxygen, and serves as a measure of combustibility.<br />
A highly combustible coke is one that<br />
will burn near the nose of the tuyeres, and combustion<br />
in such coke is confined to a small volume. With<br />
a slow-burning coke the oxygen and the carbon dioxide<br />
will penetrate further into the fuel bed and the<br />
region of combustion will be correspondingly larger.<br />
Here follows a very careful argument emphasized<br />
by a table showing weight rate and volume rate of<br />
combustion per tuyere. Mr. Joseph concludes as follows<br />
:<br />
It is probable that when furnaces are working<br />
"tight", leakage increases and the volumetric efficiency<br />
of the engines decreases. This condition is<br />
likely to decrease the rate of stock descent because of<br />
a lower rate of combustion.<br />
No marked differences in the combustibility of<br />
coke in the tuyere zone of the blast furnace have been<br />
found. Coke manufacturers and blast-furnace operators<br />
do not seem willing to accept the experimental<br />
work of the Bureau as conclusive evidence that variations<br />
in the combustibility- of modern metallurgical<br />
coke at the tuyeres are small. To determine whether<br />
coke combustibility as a metallurgical problem merits<br />
further study, requires the co-operation of the industry<br />
and a mutual understanding of what really constitutes<br />
combustibility. The forqgoing article has<br />
been written in the belief that properly distinguishing<br />
coke combustibility from rate of combustion is essential<br />
to a clear conception of combustibility.—Reports<br />
of Investigations, Department of the Initerior, Bureau<br />
of Mines.
July, 1924<br />
Die Blast FurnaceSSteel PI an!<br />
7% POWER PLANT<br />
Emmet Mercury Vapor Process<br />
Discussion Before the A. S. M. E. Convention in Cleveland<br />
by the Inventor<br />
j j l -1 STIMATES which do not admit of much er-<br />
H ror," made by W. L. R. Emmet, inventor of<br />
the mercury vapor process, indicate a possible<br />
average gain in output in three large central stations<br />
of 58 per cent, had the fuel in these stations been<br />
burned under mercury boilers.<br />
Figures on which this estimate is based were obtained<br />
from operating data for the month of January,<br />
1924, and show the gain in net output which would<br />
have resulted if the same quantity of fuel had been<br />
burned under mercury boilers; with the same auxiliary<br />
and flue gas conditions, it being assumed that mercury<br />
turbines with generators are 70 per cent efficient and<br />
that a mercury pressure of 70 lbs. gage is used.<br />
These facts, together with a discussion of the mercury<br />
supply ; the investigation made in the Research<br />
Laboratory of General Electric on other substances<br />
which possess physical and thermodynamic properties<br />
which might make them suitable as agents in<br />
turbine propulsion, boiler economies, etc., are discussed<br />
in a paper* which was presented on May 26<br />
before the Cleveland Convention of the American Society<br />
of Mechanical Engineers.<br />
When certain experimental work now progressing<br />
at the Dutch Point Station of the Hartford Electric<br />
Light Company is complete it is proposed to build a<br />
new boiler adapted for 70 lb. gage pressure and also<br />
to erect a new three-stage turbine.<br />
The Mercury Supply.<br />
Mr. Emmet does not believe that efforts in the<br />
development of mercury vapor turbines need be<br />
slacked on account of a mercury shortage. He says :<br />
"The demand for mercury has always been strictly<br />
limited and it is probably not safe to predict positively<br />
the consequences of a greatly increased demand.<br />
The cost is governed largely by- the richness of the<br />
ore. Ore of various grades exists in many places and<br />
it only now pays to work the best of it. A well informed<br />
mercury-mine operator has estimated that a<br />
maintained price of $2 per lb. would call forth from<br />
known sources in the United States enough mercury,<br />
if used as we expect, to correspond in plant capacity to<br />
the largest yearly output of General Electric turbines.<br />
Several other experienced persons have expressed<br />
opinions generally agreeing with this view. Unworked<br />
deposits are known in Alaska, South America,<br />
New Zealand and elsewhere, and a rise in price will<br />
undoubtedly bring much more to light. It is thought,<br />
* Mechanical Engineering, May, 1924.<br />
By W. L. R. EMMET<br />
343<br />
therefore, that we need not slack our efforts for the<br />
present through fear of a shortage of mercury."<br />
Other Substances.<br />
Public announcement is made in this paper that<br />
under the direction of Mr. Emmet, Mr. Parkman Coffin<br />
of the General Electric Research Laboratory has<br />
made a search for substances which might be used<br />
instead of mercury. Among the materials tried were<br />
diphenyl, diphenyl ether, and bensophenone. "Means<br />
might be devised by which sulphur could be used as<br />
a thermodynamic fluid. The principal objections to<br />
First mercury boiler operated at Hartford, Conn.<br />
it are that it attacks steel at the temperatures n<br />
and that it is viscous and a very poor heat conductor<br />
even at the temperature of the highest pressure steam<br />
which might be used to take heat from it in a condenser."<br />
As a result of this research Mr. Emmet is of the<br />
belief that nothing, other than mercury, is ever likely<br />
to be used with steam in a binary r vapor system.<br />
The paper which will be presented at Cleveland<br />
describes the history of the mercury vapor process
344<br />
and the experiments which have been conducted at<br />
the Hartford installation in considerable detail.<br />
As soon a.s certain boiler experiments now in<br />
progress are satisfactorily completed, it is proposed to<br />
build a new boiler of different type for the present<br />
plant at Hartford. This boiler will be adapted for a<br />
pressure of 70 lb. gage, the design pressure of the<br />
present boiler being 35 lb. gage. It is also intended<br />
to build a new three-stage turbine instead of the onestage<br />
now used.<br />
"When these changes are made it is hoped that<br />
this installation will be representative of types which<br />
can be repeated indefinitely on a large scale and with<br />
such resultant economies as have been outlined in this<br />
paper," Mr. Emmet says. Maximum economy will be<br />
obtained by bleeding the steam turbine in order to<br />
get as much heat as possible into the feedwater.<br />
Since such units will not be run at heavy- overloads,<br />
as is common with steam boilers during peaks,<br />
it will be practicable to put a large quantity of heat<br />
into the incoming air without burning the brickwork<br />
and it is thought that such a device as the Ljungstrom<br />
air heater can be used to great advantage in bringing<br />
the flue gases to a low temperature and delivering<br />
their heat to the furnace. The heat from the furnace<br />
will be used to heat and vaporize mercury and to<br />
give such superheat to the steam as may be expedient<br />
with the steam apparatus used.<br />
"With such an arrangement, if we assume 70 per<br />
cent efficiency, 70 lb. pressure for the mercury cycle,<br />
and the most desirable steam conditions, we should<br />
be able to operate on a base load at about 10,000 Btu.<br />
from fuel per kilowatt hour. In Hartford, where oil<br />
is burned and measured, and where steam flow and<br />
feed are both measured, it has been estimated that<br />
if the steam produced were used effectively, the fuel<br />
rate would be about 12,000 Btu. per kwh. This is<br />
with only 1200 kw. load, a single-wheel turbine of<br />
only about 60 per cent efficiency, and with only 22 lb.<br />
mercury- pressure.<br />
"For the purpose of giving an idea of possibilities<br />
in existing stations, the cases of three large plants—<br />
among the best in the country — operating for the<br />
month of January, 1924, have been considered. The<br />
following table shows the conditions in these plants<br />
and the gain in net output which would have resulted<br />
if the same fuel had been burned under mercury boilers,<br />
with the same auxiliary and flue-gas conditions;<br />
it being assumed that the mercury turbines with generators<br />
are 70 per cent efficient and that a mercury<br />
pressure of 70 lb. gage is used.<br />
Plant 1 Plant 2 Plant 3<br />
Capacity in kilowatts 180,000 50,000 100,000<br />
Economizers No No Yes<br />
Steam pressure, lb. per sq. in 219 28(> 235<br />
Superheat, deg. F 217 245 200<br />
Load factor, per cent 57 50 50<br />
Btu. in fuel per kwh 19,850 19,700 18,250<br />
Gain in output if fuel had been<br />
burned under mercury boilers,<br />
per cent 65 58 51<br />
"These estimates do not admit of much error. The<br />
combustion conditions would be the same in both<br />
cases and no additional auxiliary load would be occasioned<br />
by the change. There would be some difference<br />
in banking and starting since the mercury<br />
equipment would not generally be designed for heavy<br />
overloading at peaks as is common with steam boilers.<br />
The Blast FurnaceSSteel Plan J<br />
July, 1924<br />
"If in such cases the conditions described as desirable<br />
were used instead of the flue-gas and feedheating<br />
arrangements employed in these stations, the<br />
fuel efficiency would b* considerably better.<br />
"With the same steam turbines and condensers in<br />
each of these cases plant capacity could be more than<br />
doubled by providing full mercury-boiler equipment.<br />
From this fact it may be inferred that the process affords<br />
great advantages in the matter of investment as<br />
well as of operation."<br />
Boiler Makers Study Waste Elimination<br />
Manufacturers of return tubular boilers, meeting<br />
in Chicago, took initial steps toward greater standardization<br />
of their products and to secure the aid of<br />
the Division of Simplified Practice, Department of<br />
Commerce, in elimination of waste in their industry.<br />
Fifteen points which had been indicated as those<br />
in which the present diversity is excessive were presented.<br />
After a discussion of these they were referred<br />
to a committee comprising; James A. McKeown of<br />
the John O'Brien Boiler Works Company, of St.<br />
Louis, Mo., Ge<strong>org</strong>e W. Bach of the Union Iron Works,<br />
and Frank G. Brinig of the Erie City Iron Works,<br />
both of Erie, Pa.; S. H. Daniels of the Walsh & Weidner<br />
Boiler Company, of Chattanooga, Tenn.; W. A.<br />
Drake of the Brownell Company-, of Dayton, Ohio;<br />
Joseph J. Doyle of the Ames Iron Works of Oswego,<br />
N. Y., and C. V. Kellogg of the Kellogg-Mackay Company<br />
of Chicago. This committee was instructed to<br />
draw up tentative "simplified practice recommendations"<br />
to be submitted to the American Boiler Manufacturing<br />
Association at its convention in Hot Springs,<br />
Ya., on June 9-11.<br />
The points to be covered in this committee's work<br />
follow :<br />
Standard method of determining hp. ratings.<br />
Standard setting heights.<br />
Standard pressures.<br />
Sizes as now made.<br />
Sizes which might be eliminated.<br />
Special 70 hp. boiler for oil field use.<br />
Dimensions for each size of boiler made for<br />
each of standard pressures.<br />
Manufacturing details :<br />
(a) Thickness of plate for shell and for<br />
head.<br />
( b) Type of joints.<br />
(c) Tube sizes.<br />
(d) Number of tubes for each size of boiler.<br />
Safety r valves.<br />
Stacks:<br />
(a) Dimensions.<br />
(b) Thickness of plates, etc.<br />
(c) Seams and joints.<br />
Grate areas.<br />
Height of grat esurface above floor line.<br />
Two vs. three-course boilers.<br />
Methods of suspension.<br />
Ray M. Hudson, assistant chief of the Division of<br />
Simplified Practice, who presented to the meeting the<br />
services offered by that division reported that eight<br />
manufacturers not represented at the meeting had<br />
indicated willingness to co-operate in the waste elimination<br />
movement. He pointed out that the wo-k<br />
(Continued on page 346)
)"'>• 19 - 4 1UBWIITUWSSWI Plan! 345<br />
High Pressure Steam Research in German<br />
Report of Proceedings of Institute of German Engineers.<br />
Two Thousand Attend<br />
M A N Y branches of the technical industries are<br />
highly interested in the question of raising the<br />
working pressure of steam boiler plants in<br />
order to save fuel. A clear proof of this is the number<br />
of persons present at the opening of this meeting,<br />
at 3 o'clock' on the afternoon of January 18th, in the<br />
Beethoven Hall of the Philharmonic Society of Berlin.<br />
Approximately 2,000 engineers from all parts<br />
of Germany and foreign countries attended, many<br />
of whom had to stand in the crowded hall.<br />
The president of the Association of German Engineers,<br />
Professor Dr. G. Klingenberg, opened the<br />
first day's meeting by a speech, in which he brieflyreviewed<br />
the lectures which were to be held during<br />
the convention and would deal with the progress made<br />
in the matter under discussion. By utilizing the most<br />
recent improvements, we are in a position to raise<br />
the economy of steam plants practically to the same<br />
level as that of Diesel engines, and to reduce the coal<br />
consumption of power plants to about one-half of the<br />
present figures. There improvements are not restricted<br />
to steam technics, but also affect the technique of<br />
boiler furnaces. In steam plants it is essential not<br />
only to raise the working pressure, but also to improve<br />
the design of the steam turbines, to employ intermediate<br />
superheating, to preheat the feed water with<br />
steam tapped from the turbine, in order to create the<br />
conditions which will render it possible to economically<br />
utilize steam of such high pressures. The technique<br />
of furnaces has made as important stride forward<br />
in this direction, by using pulverized coal; with<br />
these furnaces inferior fuel can be burned as economically<br />
as best quality coal, a problem of paramount<br />
importance under present conditions.<br />
Another item of interest for power stations is<br />
that the pulverized coal furnaces avoid all fuel losses<br />
when shutting down and restarting the boilers.<br />
Director Dr. Munzinger of Berlin then discussed<br />
the technical and economical principles of the production<br />
and utilization of high-pressure steam. His lectures<br />
chiefly analysed the question under which conditions<br />
savings can be made in the total running expenses<br />
of a works by increasing the steam pressure,<br />
bearing in mind the reduced coal consumption on the<br />
one hand, and the increased expenses for erection and<br />
depreciation of a new equipment on the other hand a<br />
question of vital importance to every owner of a<br />
power plant. The result of his investigations proves<br />
that between 15 and 100 atmospheres (213 and 1,420<br />
lbs. per sq. in.) pressure this question must be treated<br />
to meet the individual requirements of the power station.<br />
For a station, the steam of which is exclusivelyused<br />
to produce power, the economically most favorable<br />
result, i.e., 3 to 7 per cent, is obtained when the<br />
pressure is raised to approximately 35 to 50 atmospheres<br />
(500 to 710 lbs. per sq. in.). Beyond this pressure,<br />
the costs of the boiler drums exceed the possible<br />
saving. The lecturer, therefore, advocates boiler<br />
•Berlin.<br />
By FR. HELLER*<br />
designs whose water and steam chambers are limited<br />
as far as is compatible with reliability and the production<br />
of dry steam. If, on the other hand, a power<br />
plant supplies large quantities of steam against high<br />
back pressure for manufacturing purposes, as is the<br />
case for instance in the chemical industry, a saving of<br />
10 to 20 per cent on the running expenses can be made,<br />
even when the boiler pressure has been increased to<br />
100 atmospheres (1,420 lbs. per sq. in.). This shows<br />
that high-pressure service will for the time being be<br />
most advantageously applied to combined heating and<br />
power plants operating with back pressure ; however,<br />
also in pure power stations a saving of approximately<br />
25 per cent of the thermal value of the fuel consumed<br />
can be made with a slight increase of the pressure, if<br />
intermediate superheating and gradual preheating of<br />
the feed water by means of steam tapped from the<br />
turbine is adopted. It is most probable that the power<br />
plants of the future will be designed along these lines,<br />
though steam accumulators in the low-pressure circuit,<br />
coral dust furnaces and air preheaters may be<br />
added.<br />
The next lectures held by Professor Dr. Goerens<br />
of Essen and Director Loch of Dusseldorf dealt with<br />
the question of materials and the manufacture of steam<br />
boilers for high pressures. Goerens chiefly pointed<br />
out the advantages accruing from the employment of<br />
nickel-steel, the greater mechanical strength of this<br />
material permits the boiler drums to be made of thinner<br />
boiler plates, which are more easily machined. Besides<br />
this, the nickel steels with a 3 to 5 per cent content<br />
of nickel, are preferable to the mild steel prescribed<br />
by the laws, because when the boiler is subjected<br />
to higher temperatures, they do not show such<br />
a reduction of the mechanical strength or such increased<br />
brittleness as mild steel does and consequently<br />
enhances the safety of the steam boilers. Goerens<br />
recommends making high-pressure boiler drums of<br />
one single f<strong>org</strong>ed or rolled piece, which can be subjected<br />
to the necessary hydraulic tests before delivery,<br />
to ascertain if it has the requisite mechanical strength.<br />
Mr. Loch illustrated his lecture with a number of<br />
lantern slides showing the audience the complete<br />
manufacturing process of a modern boiler works. He<br />
also demonstrated how deterioration or damage of<br />
the materials is nowadays avoided by controlling the<br />
temperature when heating the plates, and the pressures<br />
when riveting the boilers. Two films, giving<br />
views of the boiler works of Borsig and Durr, followed<br />
the lecture.<br />
The second day's meeting was likewise opened<br />
by a short speech of the president. He suggested that<br />
the burden of work, which was about to devolve on the<br />
engineers and works before practically realizing highpressure<br />
service, might be rendered more tolerable if<br />
the High-Pressure Steam Convention would accept a<br />
pressure of 35 atmospheres (500 lbs. per sq. in) as a<br />
temporary limit, and would accordingly establish certain<br />
standards for the boiler sizes. Further details<br />
could then be discussed in the boiler committee, which
has for some time past been appointed by the Association<br />
of German Engineers.<br />
Dr. M. Guilleaume of Merseburg reported very interesting<br />
and important experience gained in steam<br />
boiler plants, basing on tests made by the Association<br />
of Large Boiler Owners, founded in 1920, to promote<br />
the safety of large boiler plants. These tests prove<br />
that utmost care must be exercised when testing the<br />
boiler plates, so that the designer may be convinced<br />
that the plates in their entirety possess all the qualities<br />
which were ascertained during the tests, and, furthermore,<br />
that the machining of the plates until they<br />
are assembled in the finished boiler, especially too<br />
high a riveting pressure, can very materially- affect the<br />
properties of the plates and render them unreliable.<br />
The observations made with special measuring devices<br />
of novel design to ascertain the alterations of<br />
shape to which the finished boiler is subjected owing<br />
to fluctuations of the temperature and pressure are<br />
of great value. These alterations can never be entirelyavoided<br />
in actual service owing to the fluctuations<br />
of the load, therefore it is essential to design the boilers<br />
so that they have sufficient elasticity and that no<br />
undue stresses arise in any part of the boilers. On the<br />
other hand one should also strive to eliminate such influences<br />
by keeping the load on the boilers and feed<br />
water supply as constant as possible. Very valuable<br />
observations have also been made concerning the circulation<br />
of the water in boilers. The results of these<br />
observations are of special interest now that it is contemplated<br />
to run boilers at very much higher pressures<br />
than were usual up to the present.<br />
The last speaker, Professor Dr. E. Josse of Charlottenburg,<br />
lectured on the properties and utilization<br />
of high-pressure and super-pressure steam. He told<br />
the audience that when the working pressure is raised<br />
from 20 to 100 atmospheres (284 to 1,420 lbs. sq. in.),<br />
the most recent data concerning the properties of<br />
steam proved that theoretically the useful work available<br />
in 1 kilo (2.2 lbs.) of steam could be increased<br />
by 15 to 83 per cent according to the back pressure<br />
obtaining. However, if this is to be applied to a steam<br />
engine or steam turbine, two points must be observed,<br />
viz: (1) that high-pressure steam becomes saturated<br />
much more quickly when expanding, because, for<br />
reasons of safety, superheating may not be increased<br />
beyond a certain maximum temperature; (2) the<br />
work to be produced by the steam in the high-pressure<br />
zone will be the greater, the higher the initial<br />
pressure is taken. The first point makes it compulsory<br />
to repeatedly dry the steam during the different<br />
stages of expansion up to back pressure, as otherwise<br />
the water contained in the steam would reduce the<br />
thermo-dynamical efficiency. The second point is of<br />
special importance for steam turbines, the present design<br />
of which, contrary to that of reciprocating engines,<br />
is not suited to economically utilize the steam<br />
in the high-pressure zone. As a matter of fact, recent<br />
high-pressure steam technics have been the incentive<br />
tfi develop special types of turbines which economically<br />
utilize high-pressure steam and are the nrst practical<br />
results of modern high-pressure practice. A number<br />
of works are already busy building such turbines,<br />
and the very extensive tests made with a high-pressure<br />
turbine designed by the Erste Brunner Maschinenfabriks-Aktiengessellschaft,<br />
showed up an efficiency<br />
of over 80 per cent, a figure, which up till now had<br />
been deemed impossible for steam turbines.<br />
The Blast FurnaceSSleel Plant >'>' 1924<br />
The lectures were followed by a debate, lasting<br />
several hours. Space does not permit giving a detailed<br />
account of the highly interesting topics which<br />
were discussed during the debates, therefore a special<br />
number, entitled "High-Pressure Steam", containing<br />
the lectures, the debate and several other articles<br />
dealing with the same subject, will shortly be published<br />
by the Association of German Engineers.<br />
The convention has undoubtedly been a grea't<br />
success, and it is, therefore, not astonishing to hear<br />
that a number of parties have called for a second debate<br />
on this very interesting and instructive topic.<br />
The closing words of the president, with which he<br />
asked the audience to honor the undaunted inventor<br />
Wilhelm Schmidt, the pioneer in the field of highpressure<br />
steam, in whose spirit the meeting has been<br />
convened, were hailed with hearty cheers.<br />
Boiler Makers Study Waste Elimination<br />
(Continued from page 344)<br />
of the division, which is aiding other industries t<br />
save millions of dollars annually, would not conflict<br />
with the efforts of such <strong>org</strong>anizations as the Uniform<br />
Boiler Law Society, and the Code Committee of the<br />
American Society of Mechanical Engineers. The division's<br />
work, he said, is proving very helpful in making<br />
present standards more effective.<br />
The companies and their representatives at the<br />
meeting included :<br />
C. B. Acheson of the Erie City Iron Works, C. B.<br />
Adams of the Union Iron W'orks, W. R. Cameron of<br />
the Frost Manufacturing Company, and C. V. Kellogg<br />
of the Kellogg-Mackay Company, all of Chicago; L.<br />
E. Armstrong of the Bass Foundry & Machine Company,<br />
of Fort Wayne, Ind.; Ge<strong>org</strong>e W. Bach of the<br />
Union Iron Works, Frank G. Brinig and F. C. Burton<br />
of the Erie City Iron Works, all of Erie, Pa.; W. S.<br />
Cameron of the Frost Manufacturing Company, of<br />
Galesburg, 111.; J. E. Coleman of C. F. Watton & Son,<br />
of Louisville, Ky.; S. H. Daniels of the Walsh &<br />
Weidner Boiler Company, of Chattanooga, Tenn.;<br />
Joseph J. Doyle of the Ames Iron Works of Oswego,<br />
N. Y.; W. A. Drake and W. J. Edwards of the Brownell<br />
Company, of Dayton. Ohio; C. Freeman of the<br />
Freeman Manufacturing Company, of Racine, Wis.;<br />
A. 11. Kemper of the Gem City Boiler Company, of<br />
Dayton, Ohio; James A. McKeown of the John<br />
O'Brien Boiler Works Company, of St. Louis, Mo.,<br />
representin gthe American Boiler Manufacturing Association,<br />
and C. II. Schroeder of the Murray Iron<br />
Works Company of Burlington, Iowa.<br />
Companies which were not represented, but which<br />
indicated their willingness to join in simplification<br />
movement included the following:<br />
Casey-Hedges Company, of Chattanooga, Tenn.;<br />
Coatesville Boiler Works Company, of Philadelphia,<br />
Pa.; E. Keller Company of Williamsport, Pa.; Lombard<br />
Iron Works & Supply Co., of Augusta, Ga.; Milwaukee<br />
Boiler Manufacturing Company, of Milwaukee,<br />
Wis.; J. Schofield Sons Company, of Macon, Ga.;<br />
Titusville Iron Company, of Titusville, Pa., and Tudor<br />
Boiler Manufacturing Company, of Cincinnati, Ohio.
July, 1924<br />
G. L. Wilder, railway specialist of the International<br />
General Electric Company at Schenectady left<br />
June 7 for a several months' trip to Cuba and Mexico.<br />
Mr. Wilder will co-operate with the General Electric<br />
Company of Cuba and the Mexican General Electric-<br />
Company in expanding their facilities for service to<br />
steam and electric railways and public utilities, and<br />
also in promoting steam and electric railway sales. On<br />
this trip Mr. Wilder will also represent the merchandising<br />
and publicity departments of the International<br />
General Electric Company. He will give assistance<br />
to local representatives, through the Mexican and<br />
Cuban companies, in gaining a better acquaintance<br />
with the expanding activities and added merchandising<br />
lines of the International General Electric Co.<br />
The McCord Radiator & Manufacturing Companyhas<br />
just issued a booklet describing the part lubrication<br />
plays in the dependable operation of heavy machinery,<br />
such as steam shovels, cranes, dredges, hoisting<br />
engines and coal and ore handling apparatus. This<br />
booklet points out that the continuity of service, reduced<br />
maintenance costs and satisfactory operation<br />
of equipment are due to efficient lubrication. The<br />
publication is known as the Class BA Catalog and<br />
contains a very detailed description of their Class BA<br />
force feed lubricator with illustrations and price lists.<br />
Copies may be had by addressing the McCord Radiator<br />
& Manufacturing Company, Lubricator Division,<br />
2587 East Grand Blvd., Detroit, Mich.<br />
The Cleveland Crane & Engineering Company,<br />
Wickliffe, Ohio, have recently issued a new bulletin<br />
devoted to the activities of their Cleveland Electric<br />
Tramrail Division. Overhead conveying machineryoffers<br />
the solution for so many material handling<br />
problems that this treatise on the subject assumes<br />
most timely importance.<br />
The Refractories Manufacturers' Association is<br />
distributing a 50-page hand-book cataloging the<br />
brands of firebrick and other refractories, together<br />
with a list of manufacturers in this country and in<br />
Canada.<br />
A recent publication of the McCord Radiator &<br />
Manufacturing Company, containing illustrations of<br />
their Class B lubricator adapted to small steam engines,<br />
oil engines, gasoline engines, air compressors,<br />
steam pumps and auxiliaries, points out the phases<br />
of economy that can be obtained from proper and<br />
efficient lubrication. The outstanding features of<br />
economy due to this type of machine, its importance<br />
and necessity are all clearly enumerated and described.<br />
The booklet contains a complete set of overall<br />
dimensions, price lists and description of this<br />
The Blast Furnace3Steel Plant<br />
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lubricator. Copies are obtainable by addressing the<br />
McCord Radiator ci: Manufacturing Company, Lu<br />
Trade Notes and Publications bricator Division, 2587 East Grand Blvd., Detroit,<br />
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The Ramsey- Chain Company, Inc., general office<br />
and works, Albany, N. Y., have just announced the The Baltimore Copper Smelting & Rolling Com<br />
appointment of the Morse Engineering Company, 549 pany, subsidiary- of the American Smelting & Refining<br />
W'est Washington Street, Chicago, 111., as their Chi Company, is planning construction of a rod and wire<br />
cago representative. This is another step in the ex mill to have a capacity of 15,000,000 pounds of drawn<br />
tensive sales program recently inaugurated by the products monthly.<br />
Ramsey Chain Company. P. A. Morse is the active<br />
head of the new connection.<br />
At a meeting of the Lebanon Iron Company, Lebanon,<br />
Pa., W'illiam C. Sproul, former governor of Pennsylvania,<br />
was elected chairman of the executive committee.<br />
A. H. Beale, formerly vice president of the<br />
Sheet & Tube Company of America, Chicago, 111., has<br />
been elected president; and H. W. Pratt, former president<br />
of Naylor & Company, New York, has been<br />
elected vice president. Howard Longstreth will continue<br />
as treasurer, and John C. Brown<br />
manager.<br />
as general<br />
347<br />
The Warner Iron Company announces the removal<br />
of its main offices from Nashville to Cumberland<br />
Furnace, Tenn.<br />
At a meeting of the stockholders of the Ashtabula<br />
Steel Company, Ashtabula, Ohio, held May- 28, it was<br />
decided to surrender the charter and dissolve the corporation.<br />
The company owns a plant east of Ashtabula<br />
in Ashtabula Township.<br />
Financial arrangements have been completed for<br />
the construction of a blast furnace and power plant<br />
at the St. Louis Coke & Iron Company plant at Granite<br />
City, 111., at a cost of about $2,500,000, according<br />
to an announcement by W. G. Maguire, president.<br />
The company now has one blast furnace and 80 coke<br />
ovens.<br />
Within the month the Columbus Railway, Power<br />
& Light Company, Columbus, Ohio, placed a contract<br />
with the Link-Belt Company- of Chicago for a gondola<br />
car dumper, almost identical with the one erected<br />
for the Cahokia Station of the Union Electric Light<br />
& Power Company of St. Louis. The specifications<br />
for the dumper call for a mechanism that will capably<br />
handle 4,000 tons of coal in an 8-hour day, and which<br />
will accommodate gondola cars of 120 tons capacity.<br />
The new power and light station is being erected at<br />
Lockbourne, Ohio, about 14 miles out of Columbus,<br />
and will be one of the year's notable additions to the<br />
electric light and power field when it reaches completion.<br />
Research Bureau of Metallurgy<br />
(Continued from page 341)<br />
other assistant, a specialist in N-ray work, will be<br />
made during the summer months.<br />
President Baker went abroad early in June to<br />
visit some of the laboratories in Europe with the special<br />
view of securing some information which may be<br />
utilized in this new metallurgical work. It is reported<br />
that converences had been scheduled for him<br />
with several eminent scientists in France, England,<br />
Scotland, and Denmark.<br />
—Carnegie Tech. Inst. Bulletin.
348<br />
The Blast Fu rnace<br />
, Steel Plant<br />
July, 1924<br />
rHLomrmmrrmTrTmiMiiriiimmrnKni LIIIILIII niMiriiiMiiriiiiiiinun miiiiinniiiiixhitiiiiiM niiiiiiMiinuiiinn rnjiiMiiinj tun rrTrnii i uiiiinii n n i n i < >LII it j :nirti>in 1 t
July, 1924<br />
Carl Stenburg, who for the past four years has<br />
been general foreman for the American Brake Shoe<br />
& Foundry Company, New York, has been made general<br />
superintendent of the Railway Materials Company,<br />
Toledo, Ohio.<br />
John Howe Hall, metallurgist with the Taylor-<br />
Wharton Company, has been awarded the J. H. Whiting<br />
medal of the American Foundrymen's Association<br />
in recognition of his contributions to the steel casting<br />
industry.<br />
H. L. Schreck, for many years general engineer<br />
and chief mechanical engineer of the Wheeling Steel<br />
Corporation and subisidary companies, has recentlyresigned<br />
to take up the practice of consulting engineer,<br />
with offices in Wheeling. Mr. Schreck's 30<br />
years' experience, during which period his personal<br />
familiarity with most of the major problems peculiar<br />
to steel manufacture in the Pittsburgh District, eminently<br />
fit him for such responsibilities as consulting<br />
practice entails.<br />
The Ross Tacony Crucible Company have been<br />
granted the exclusive right to manufacture in graphite<br />
a new design of nozzle for bottom pour ladles. This<br />
design is covered by U. S. patent 1,426,136 held by W.<br />
H. Wills of the Atlas Steel Corporation. The special<br />
feature of this nozzle is the shape of the hole through<br />
the nozzle brick which is derived from that of the<br />
compound to be used in hydraulics. This type of tube<br />
for discharging water is one which converges to the<br />
minimum diameter, continues cydindrical for a short<br />
distance, then gradually diverges. Under proper conditions<br />
of pressure a discharge of a considerably<br />
larger volume can be obtained than through a tube<br />
with parallel walls. Where the coefficient discharge<br />
of the latter is less than 1.00, the coefficient of the former<br />
may be in some cases over 2.00. With heavy<br />
liquids, such a.s molten metals, the greater pressures<br />
would offset this larger coefficient to some extent.<br />
The following advantages are claimed with a nozzle<br />
of this design:<br />
The Blast FurnaceSSfeel Plant<br />
349<br />
1—It is possible to pour a slightly- larger volume<br />
of metal through this type than through a cylindrical<br />
one of the same minimum diameter. The stream is<br />
uniform and there is less tendency to spray, especially<br />
with partial openings of the stopper.<br />
2—There is obviously less chance for a freeze-up<br />
in case the metal is not superheated sufficiently, due<br />
to the short length of least diameter compared to the<br />
cylindrical type and to the divergence of the lower<br />
part.<br />
3—There should be better chance of reopening the<br />
nozzle in case of a freeze-up due to the divergence<br />
f mature.<br />
4—It can be produced at low cost and substituted<br />
for the present standard nozzle without material<br />
change in the ladle.<br />
H. L. Sheaffer has been made plant superintendent<br />
for the Hadfield-Penfield Steel Company, Bucyrus,<br />
Ohio. Mr. Sheaffer for a number of years has been<br />
connected with the American Steel Foundries, serving<br />
at Granite City, 111., and Alliance, Ohio.<br />
Andrew Glass, who resigned as vice president in<br />
charge of operations of the Wheeling Steel Corporation,<br />
Wheeling, W. Va., about two years ago to engage<br />
in business in New York, has returned to Wheeling<br />
and has resumed his old position with the company.<br />
William J. Stoop, who has been vice president<br />
in charge of operations, was appointed to the vacancy<br />
created by the resignation of H. L. Schreck, general<br />
engineer.<br />
Wm. T. Schaup, superintendent of open hearth at<br />
LaBelle plant of the Wheeling Steel Corporation, has<br />
resigned. After many years' service at Open Hearth<br />
No. 3, Homestead Steel Works, Mr. Schaup became<br />
superintendent of open hearth at Cambria Steel<br />
Works, Johnstown, going from there to Steubenville.<br />
Few practical operators are as well equipped by experience<br />
and temperament as Mr. Schaup, whose<br />
study and investigation of controlled equipment and<br />
temperature manipulations have brought exceptional<br />
improvements in open hearth practice.
350 Ihe Blast FurnaceSSleel Plant July ' 1924<br />
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I Some Pointers on By-Proauct Coke Oven Operation<br />
i =<br />
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The U. G. I. Contracting Company continues to<br />
receive orders for its automatic controls. Among those<br />
lately- received has been an order for two Automatic<br />
Model "B" Controls to be installed at the plant of the<br />
Baltimore Consolidated Gas Electric Light & Power<br />
Company.<br />
The Portsmouth (Va.) Gas Company recently<br />
awarded contract to the U. G. I. Contracting Company,<br />
Philadelphia, for the installation of Carburetted<br />
Water Gas Apparatus and other equipment. They<br />
have now awarded to the same company an additional<br />
contract covering the installation of a complete hydraulic<br />
pumping system for the new apparatus.<br />
Lynn, Mass., Gas & Electric Company is preparing<br />
to install the U. G. I. Heavy Oil Nebulizing System<br />
on its Carburetted Water Gas Apparatus and has<br />
placed the order with the U. G. I. Contracting Company,<br />
Philadelphia, for this system.<br />
The Savannah (Ga.) Gas Company has awarded<br />
contract to the U. G. I. Contracting Company, Philadelphia,<br />
for the installation of a U. G. I. Vertical<br />
Waste Heat Boiler. Upon completion of this installation,<br />
the waste heat boiler will take over a large part<br />
of the steam load formerly carried by the regular<br />
boiler plant at the Savannah Gas Works.<br />
Zinc Roofs Under Test<br />
Tests of corrugated zinc roofing are now under<br />
way at the Bureau of Standards of the Department of<br />
Commerce for the purpose of determining the loads<br />
that can safely- be carried by this material. Unlike<br />
most roofing materials zinc fails not by breaking but<br />
by bending slowly under load, the material taking a<br />
permanent set. It is therefore not considered desirable<br />
where heavy loads must be born continuously,<br />
unless it is well supported. But where the normal<br />
load is light, as it is apt to be in the tropics, zinc<br />
roofing may prove more durable than galvanized<br />
steel, as the latter fails rapidly from corrosion in such<br />
climates.<br />
The test made on the roofing consists in loading<br />
the corrugated sheet with sand, the sheet being supported<br />
on a framework representing the roof purlins.<br />
The load is left in place for a month or more and the<br />
deflection is measured each day.<br />
Luminite Cement Possesses Valuable Qualities<br />
For some time articles in technical and trade papers<br />
and discussions in technical societies have indicated<br />
an increasing interest in the French high alumina cements,<br />
which show at 24 hours a greater strength than<br />
that of Portland cement at 28 days, and a resistance<br />
to the chemical attack of sea water and sulphate bearing<br />
ground waters. Although more expensive than<br />
other cements in its first cost, manufactured as it is<br />
from raw materials consisting largely of a high grade<br />
aluminum ore, the exceptional characteristics of this<br />
cement have developed in Europe a substantial market<br />
for the product. One can readily appreciate that the<br />
peculiar characteristics of this material recommend<br />
it for many special uses, even at a higher cost.<br />
After months of experimental manufacture the<br />
Atlas Aluminate Cement Company is now prepared<br />
to produce "Luminate" cement at Northampton, Pa.,<br />
in ample quantities to meet any demand as it develops.<br />
The special qualities of Luminate cement would<br />
seem to make it particularly valuable for construction<br />
and repairs in and about industrial and power plants.<br />
Reconstruction or repair of concrete floors, run-ways,<br />
roadways, pits, tanks, engine or machine foundations<br />
may be made over the week-end, without interference<br />
with traffic or plant operation. Structures may be put<br />
in service or machinery set on foundations 24 hours<br />
after pouring.<br />
Investigations in Heat Transmission<br />
The National Research Council through its Division<br />
of Engineering has been requested to undertake<br />
investigations in heat transmission, the results of<br />
which will provide the designing, operating and research<br />
engineer with reliable information.<br />
In accordance with its usual custom, the Division<br />
of Engineering will, through a suitable committee,<br />
make a careful digest of the available information on<br />
the subject, published and otherwise, and prepare a<br />
critical summary of these data. This summary- will<br />
serve the two-fold purpose of giving the industry a<br />
concise statement of the best existing information and<br />
enabling the committee to draw up a program of<br />
needed investigations.<br />
The problem of heat transmission is so broad and<br />
concerns so many fields of engineering as, for example,<br />
refrigerating, heating, electrical, ventilating, automotive<br />
and mechanical, that it is necessary r to subdivide<br />
the work among suitable sub-committees. The<br />
entire project will be administered by a small executive<br />
committee with the following officers: W. H.<br />
Carrier, chairman; T. S. Taylor, vice chairman, and<br />
H. Harrison, Brunswick-Kroeschell Company. 30<br />
Church Street, New York, secretary.<br />
The following sub-committees have been appointed:<br />
Heat Transfer, Fluids to Solids; Heat<br />
Transfer, Insulation; Nomenclature and Definitions;<br />
Temperature Measurements.<br />
The sub-committee chairmen are now at work<br />
completing the <strong>org</strong>anization of their committees, after<br />
which the work will be sub-divided and assigned to<br />
appropriate individuals. Critical reviews will be prepared<br />
in each specific field which will include a condensed<br />
statement of present knowledge, a program of<br />
investigations that are needed to secure additional<br />
information and a budget for conducting these investigations,<br />
including the assignment to appropriate individuals<br />
and laboratories. These reports when completed<br />
will be published in the journals of the engineering<br />
societies most interested.
July, 1924<br />
Die Blast FurnaceSSleel Plant<br />
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NEWS OF THE PLANTS<br />
vimiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniminiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiinmiiiiiiiiitii mi iiiiiiimiiiiiiii miiiiiimmiiiiimmnimimniiMiiiiim mn mn mn mi IIIII imiiiiiiiiimiiuiimi imiiiiimm iiiiiiinmiiimiiiiiii mi mm iiiiiiiiniiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiif<br />
The St. Louis Coke & Iron Company, St. Louis,<br />
Mo., has completed financing for its proposed new<br />
blast furnace at Granite City, 111., and will proceed<br />
with detailed plans for the structure at once. It is<br />
said that contracts will be awarded for the unit during<br />
the summer, with expectation of having the plant<br />
ready for service in from 10 to 12 months of this time.<br />
The new stack has been designed to double the present<br />
pig iron output at the local works, which consists of<br />
a blast furnace and battery of 80 coke ovens and<br />
auxiliary- apparatus, with rated capacity of 600 tons<br />
per day; this will be 1200 tons daily when the new<br />
unit is operating. It is expected to cost about $2,500,-<br />
000, appreciably less than normal blast furnace construction,<br />
owing to the fact that the company has<br />
available considerable equipment that will be used<br />
at the new stack. In connection with this expansion,<br />
it is purposed to build an electric generating<br />
plant, utilizing gas from the furnace for fuel. A list<br />
of equipment to be installed in the power unit will<br />
be arranged at an early date. It will be of central station<br />
type, and power will be sold in blocks to local<br />
public service companies for distribution. W. C.<br />
Maguire is president of the company.<br />
The Trumbull-Cliffs Furnace Company, Cleveland,<br />
Ohio, is making improvements and repairs in its blast<br />
furnace at Warren, Ohio, and the stack will have an<br />
extensive overhauling during the coming weeks. Work<br />
is in progress on a new battery of 47 byproduct coke<br />
ovens at this location, and will be pushed to early<br />
completion, to supply coke for the blast furnace when<br />
it is blown in.<br />
The Carnegie Steel Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., is<br />
proceeding with the construction of new structural<br />
mills at its plant at Homestead, Pa., as well as carrying<br />
out a general expansion program at this works.<br />
Two structural mills will be located at Homestead,<br />
designed to replace three such mills now at that plant.<br />
The equipment in the new units will be electricallyoperated,<br />
instead of steam driven as heretofore, and<br />
contract has been let to the Westinghouse Electric &<br />
Manfacturing Company, East Pittsburgh, for the<br />
power apparatus, including a 15,000 kw. turbogenerator;<br />
15,000 hp. flywheel motor-generator set and<br />
one 5,000 hp., a.c. motor, for the 44-in. reversing<br />
blooming mill equipment; 3,750 hp. flywheel mot<strong>org</strong>enerator<br />
set, with 10,000 hp. reversing motor, for the<br />
36-in. reversing intermediate mill equipment; 6.000<br />
hp. direct-connected a.c. motor, with 125,000 lb. flywheel<br />
and auxiliary equipment, for a 28-32 three-stand<br />
finishing mill; also, complete accessory apparatus, including<br />
switchboards, control devices, etc. The electrical<br />
installation complete is estimated to cost close<br />
to $1,000,000. The power station at the mills will<br />
be enlarged to accommodate the new generator installation,<br />
with substation at the mills.<br />
The Youngstown Sheet & Tube Company, Youngstown,<br />
Ohio, has work under way on its expansion program<br />
at its Indiana Harbor, Ind., mills, comprising<br />
351<br />
the former plant of the Steel & Tube Company of<br />
America, acquired a number of months ago. The<br />
project includes the erection of a number of newmills<br />
and the installation of considerable equipment,<br />
with estimated cost placed at $4,500,000. It will require<br />
a number of months for completion, while two<br />
new buttweld tube mills at this plant are now practically<br />
ready for service.<br />
The Penn-Seaboard Steel Corporation, Franklin<br />
Bank Building, Philadelphia, Pa., has authorized plans<br />
for enlargements in its strip steel works, and will<br />
proceed with the project at an early date. Considerable<br />
additional machinery will be installed to develop<br />
the plant to maximum. The company has disposed of<br />
other interests, including steel foundry, and will concentrate<br />
operation at the steel plant.<br />
The Inland Steel Company, Chicago, 111., is proceeding<br />
with its expansion program at its Indiana<br />
Harbor, Ind., mills, and will place different units in<br />
service as ready. Both the general production and<br />
finishing departments are being expanded, with total<br />
investment approximating $7,500,000, including machinery.<br />
Witherbee, Sherman & Company, New York, will<br />
make a number of improvements in their blast furnace<br />
at Port Henry, N. Y., recently closed down, as well<br />
as general repairs to place the unit ready for blowingin<br />
under maximum production as soon as required. A<br />
revolving distributor will be placed on the B stack,<br />
for which a general contract has recently been awarded<br />
to Arthur G. McKee & Company, Cleveland, Ohio.<br />
The Blair Strip Steel Company, New Castle, Pa.,<br />
recently <strong>org</strong>anized, is pushing construction on its<br />
new local mill to be used for the production of strip<br />
steel, and proposes to have the unit equipped and<br />
ready for service at an early date. The initial investment<br />
will approximate $90,000, with machinery. A<br />
good sized working force will be employed.<br />
The Bethlehem Steel Corporatino, Bethlehem, Pa.,<br />
has constructed a new scrap reclaiming plant at its<br />
Steelton, Pa., works, located on the western side of<br />
the slab mill. The slab is crushed, the steel separated<br />
by electric magnet and recharged in the furnaces.<br />
It is said that appreciable saving will be accomplished<br />
by the new unit. The company is proceeding<br />
with the expansion program at its Cambria<br />
Works, Johnstown, Pa., and will construct a number<br />
of new mills here, as well as install additional<br />
equipment. The plant will be modernized in all departments<br />
and made ready for maximum production<br />
when this is required. The work will cost in excess<br />
of $5,000,000. Plans are also being developed for the<br />
proposed enlargements and improvements at the<br />
Sparrows Point, Baltimore, Md., plant, where the rail<br />
mill and other units will be extended, and additional<br />
machinery installed.
44 The Blast FurnaceSSteel Planf<br />
Positions Wanted and Help Wanted<br />
advertising inserted under proper headings<br />
free of charge. Where replies are keyed<br />
to this office or branch offices, we request<br />
that users of this column pay postage for<br />
forwarding such replies. Classified ads can<br />
be keyed for the Pittsburgh, New York or<br />
Chicago offices.<br />
POSITION WANTED<br />
AlFLTEK, 18 years practical experience. Open<br />
Hearth and Electric, leading European makers<br />
high grade steels, age 35, wants position where<br />
his knowledge and experience can be used. High-<br />
.•st references. Box 301, care of The Blast Furnace<br />
and Steel Plant.<br />
POSITION" WANTED—Cold strip mill superintendent<br />
with thorough knowledge in operating/<br />
Can apply latest methods to produce highly finished<br />
material. Twenty years' experience; reliable<br />
references. Bux 000, care of The Blast<br />
Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
MASTER MECHANIC with 30 years' experience<br />
on construction and operation of steel mills,<br />
blast furnaces, open hearths, Bessemer departments,<br />
by-product coke plants; constructed hydro<br />
and steam electric plants, large pumping stations,<br />
etc.; at present employed, wish to make change.<br />
Box 100, care of The Blast Furnace and Steel<br />
Plant.<br />
CHIEF DRAUGHTSMAN—Broad and varied experience<br />
in general engineering, mechanical,<br />
structural, electrical, designing machinery, tools,<br />
power, structural steel, concrete and industrial<br />
buildings; purchase, installation and plant maintenance.<br />
Address Box A M B, care of The Blast<br />
Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
DESIGNING ENGINEER, experienced executive<br />
with technical training, desires position as chief<br />
engineer or master mechanic. Fifteen years' experience,<br />
including design and construction of rolling<br />
mills, furnaces, plant equipment, power plants,<br />
special machinery, etc.; four years in machine<br />
shop. Address Box F C M, care of The Blast<br />
Furnace aud Steel Plant.<br />
POSITION WANTED—A graduate mechanical<br />
engineer with 12 years' experience in rolling<br />
mills, desires a position as superintendent or assistant.<br />
Experience covers every job in a rolling mill<br />
from laborer to assistant superintendent. Also<br />
has had some office and sales training. At present<br />
employed, but desires a better outlook. Box<br />
CAS, care of The Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
POSITION by chemist, technical graduate. 15<br />
years experience glass, animal fats, bleaching<br />
iron and steel. Six years experience as<br />
plant executive. Research uork a specialty.<br />
Box L, care ofThe Blast Furnace and Steel<br />
Plant.<br />
YOUNG rolling mill superintendent with 20 years'<br />
practical experience on iron and steel Belgian<br />
type mills, also latest continuous type steel mills,<br />
desires to make change. Can furnish records and<br />
references. Have practical knowledge of rolling<br />
and roll designing. Box F A W, care of The<br />
BlaBt Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
ENGINEER, Cornell graduate, seven years' steam<br />
and fuel engineering, three years' executive experience<br />
as master mechanic of a rolling mill, three<br />
years' sales engineering, desires change. Box S,<br />
care of The Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
PLANT ENG1NFFR or assistant to general<br />
manager. A graduate mechanical engineer,<br />
with broad training and experience is available<br />
for position requiring ability and hard<br />
work. Box F, care of The Blast Furnace and<br />
Steel Plant.<br />
POSITION WANTED<br />
ENGLISHMAN, 23, nf sound general and technical<br />
educations, with seven years' experience of<br />
steel making by open hearth process (acid and<br />
basic) in prominent English steel works, desires<br />
appointment where scientific and practical knowledge<br />
would be an asset. Box G B J, care of The<br />
Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
WANTED^A position wherein the following will<br />
be of value: A fair tehnical education, a large<br />
amount of practical experience in the various mechanical<br />
arts and plant operation and maintenance<br />
with an eye on the "works operating expense"<br />
account, a fair degree of executive ability<br />
and absolute dependability. Experience has been<br />
had in production and general machine shops,<br />
rolling mills, rod and wire mills and at blast furnaces.<br />
Expert in design and construction of the<br />
Dwight and Lloyd type of sintering plant. Box<br />
C C C, care of Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
CHEMICAL ENGINEER, 1922 graduate, leading<br />
university, desires position in a steel plant.<br />
One year's experience in the inspection department.<br />
At present employed, but available on<br />
short notice. Box J B C, care of Blast Furnace<br />
and Steel Plant.<br />
POSITION WANTED—Electric furnace man open<br />
for position; experienced on basic Heroult electric<br />
furnaces, tool and alloy steels. Box A T,<br />
care of The Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
WITH experienced consulting mining engineer;<br />
will go to anv country. Speak French<br />
and Spanish Box M, care of The Blast Furnace<br />
and Steel Plant.<br />
HEATER on soaking pits or reheating furnaces;<br />
10 years' mill experience; can give references.<br />
Box C Z, care of The Blast Furnace and Steel<br />
Plant.<br />
SALES POSITION with manufacturers' sales<br />
agent for power plant specialties or chief<br />
draftsman or plant engineer with moderate<br />
sized manufacture Box K, care of The Blaat<br />
Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
I DESIRE to have a position as tracer or on<br />
small drafting work with reliable concern.<br />
preferably in mechanical line. Box J, care<br />
of The Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
YOUNG MAN, technical graduate and 7 years<br />
practical experience, would like to connect<br />
with <strong>org</strong>anization neeiiing a producer. Prefers<br />
a job which keeps him on the road the major<br />
portion of the time. He has intensive education<br />
along lines of general inspection of materials.<br />
Box I, care of The Blast Furnace and<br />
Steel Plant.<br />
POSITION ns field engineer, construction<br />
work, general survey work and right-ofway<br />
work. Box G, care of The Blast Furnace<br />
and Steel Plant.<br />
POSITION WANTED by chemical engineer, degree<br />
of doctor-engineer (1916) from leading<br />
German university, 33 years old, six years' experience<br />
embracing the analysis, metallography and<br />
physical testing of steel and alloys. Nationality,<br />
Norwegian. Languages, Norwegian, Swedish, German<br />
and English. Location, anywhere. Available,<br />
any time. Can furnish best of references. Box<br />
R E D, care of The Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
TIME KEEPER—Have had several years experience<br />
Box H, care of The Blast Furnace<br />
and Steel Plant.<br />
T/,„ &}„
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| Tke Blasl PuraaceSSJeel Plan! |<br />
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Vol. XII PITTSBURGH. PA.. AUGUST, 1924 No. 8<br />
Politics and Business<br />
THE July letter of the National City Bank of New York, discussing the<br />
effect of politics on business, says in part: "Most of the questions that<br />
are referred to in political speeches and conventions relate to industry<br />
and business, and there appears to be no reason for any radical departure<br />
upon these matters from the public policies of this country as maintained<br />
heretofore. While it would be too much to say that there is nothing that the<br />
government can do to promote the prosperity and welfare of the country, two<br />
general propositions may be safely stated:<br />
"First, that the government has much greater power to injure the country<br />
through bad legislation affecting industry and business than to benefit it<br />
through legislation touching those subjects, and, second, that there are<br />
greater opportunities to benefit the country by repealing laws now on the<br />
statute books, thus correcting past mistakes, than by passing new laws.<br />
"Industry and business have little to gain from legislation. Prosperity<br />
comes by the free and voluntary activities of individuals in industry and the<br />
exchange of services, and the government can do little beyond facilitating<br />
these activities. It has no creative powers except as it draws on the individual<br />
powers of its citizens, and the latter are able to <strong>org</strong>anize and direct<br />
their own efforts much more effectively than the government can do it. If<br />
anything has been demonstrated by experience it is that political governments<br />
are not successful in the management and direction of business affairs."<br />
353
354<br />
The 51asf PurnaceSSleel Planf<br />
Boiler Operation at High Ratings<br />
Trumbull Steel Combines Pulverized Coal Methods in Power<br />
House and Heating Furnace<br />
W H A T is generally conceded to be a most excellent<br />
example, both in design and operation,<br />
of a pulverized coal installation is in operation<br />
at the main plant of the Trumbull Steel Company,<br />
Warren, Ohio. In fact, a member of the Fire Underwriters'<br />
Association, after visiting virtually all of the<br />
pulverized coal plants in the country, proclaimed it<br />
"the best and cleanest 1 have ever seen." His visits<br />
to the various plants were in an official capacity and<br />
extended over a period of three years.<br />
The management and engineer of the Trumbull<br />
Steel Company decided on the adoption of pulverized<br />
coal for boilers and metallurgical furnace firing after<br />
extensive investigations convinced them of its economies<br />
over all other methods of firing. In 1920 they<br />
contracted with the Fuller-Lehigh Company for a<br />
complete pulverized coal preparation plant, conveying<br />
systems, and burning equipment for three boilers<br />
and metallurgical furnaces. These are the first units<br />
of the plant which, when completely changed over to<br />
pulverized coal firing, will constitute 63,000 square<br />
feet of boiler heating surface, 17 double chamber fur-<br />
*General Engineer, Fullerton, Pa.<br />
By H. A. REICHENBACH*<br />
August, 1924<br />
naces, 64 sheet and pair furnace and two jobbing mill<br />
furnaces.<br />
Pulverized Coal Preparation Plant; Crushing and<br />
Raw Coal Storage.<br />
The pulverized coal preparation equipment is<br />
housed in a building of structural steel frame with<br />
tapestry brick walls. Run-of-mine and slack bituminous<br />
coal is delivered to a 60-ton twin concrete coal<br />
car track hopper at the southeast corner of the milling<br />
room. The coal discharges from the track hopper<br />
by gravity to either of two pan conveyors through<br />
shut-off valves. These pan conveyors discharge into<br />
a 30x30 in. single roll Jeffrey crusher of 50 tons per<br />
hour capacity where run-of-mine coal is crushed to<br />
iy in. size. This is the first step in the production of<br />
what ultimately will be a "mechanical-gas" fuel.<br />
By referring to the longitudinal sections 1 and 2<br />
and the transverse sectional elevations, AA, BB, CC,<br />
DD, the path of the fuel through the process of drying,<br />
pulverizing and conveying can readily be traced.<br />
The preliminary crusher discharges to a 20 in. belt<br />
conveyor which carries the coal up a 17-deg. incline,<br />
FIG. 1—Cross section through coal preparation plant.
TkeblesrFurnaceSStalPlanl<br />
FIG. 2—Cross section through boiler house, shozving bin arrangement.<br />
delivering into the boot of a Jeffrey crushed coal elevator<br />
No. 1, thence to screw conveyor No. 2, which<br />
discharges the green or undried coal into a 600-ton<br />
suspended bunker.<br />
On the bottom of the bunker extending throughout<br />
its length are placed 15 coal gates at regular intervals<br />
discharging onto an 18-in. belt conveyor, which<br />
carries the crushed coal to the boot of elevator No. 2,<br />
which delivers it to two 15-ton raw coal storage bins<br />
serving the driers. (Sec. AA.) Connecting the elevator<br />
discharge with the 15-ton bins is a twin discharge<br />
spot equipped with a throw-over butterfly<br />
valve so arranged that the full flow of coal can be<br />
directed to either bin or the stream can be divided,<br />
delivering a part to both bins simultaneously. The<br />
coal is delivered in a uniform stream to each drier by<br />
an adjustable 11-ton per hour capacity cradle feeder<br />
attached to the bottom of each bin hopper. These bins<br />
are provided with electric high-level bin indicators,<br />
which automatically light an electric bulb, thus advising<br />
the operator when the material reaches a certain<br />
high level.<br />
Drying.<br />
The coal is dried by two Fuller-Lehigh 5 ft. 6 in.<br />
by 42 ft. indirect fired rotary driers using pulverized<br />
coal for fuel. (Fig. 1 and Sec. AA.) Each dryer is<br />
driven through a gear train and Morse silent chain by<br />
a 25-hp. constant speed General Electric motor. The<br />
fuel for firing is fed from a 3-ton storage bin by a<br />
3-in. screw feeder driven by a motor through silent<br />
chain and Reeves speed regulator. The fuel is injected<br />
vertically into the combustion chamber and a<br />
355<br />
blast of secondary air is projected into the furnace<br />
horizontally from a 3-in. pipe so that it engages the<br />
fuel mixture immediately below the burner tip, thus<br />
inducing prompt ignition and quick combustion. A<br />
No. 3 type "B" Buffalo blower supplies the primary<br />
and secondary air.<br />
The spent gases are exhausted from the dryer<br />
shell by a No. 8 Buffalo f<strong>org</strong>e exhauster driven by a<br />
10-hp. direct connected motor. They are discharged<br />
into a cyclone separator where the entrained particles<br />
of any dust in the gases are settled out by gravity into<br />
the collecting screw No. 6, carried to screw No. 7,<br />
which discharges into the main stream of coal in elevator<br />
No. 3. The unburdened gases pass from the<br />
cyclone through a washer, thence out into the<br />
atmosphere.<br />
A thermocouple is located in the discharge end of<br />
each coal dryer; this is connected to a Brown recording<br />
pyrometer conveniently located, which facilitates<br />
temperature regulation and control.<br />
The dryers discharge through a chute to screw<br />
conveyor No. 4, which carries the coal to the boot of<br />
elevator No. 3, thence to screw conveyor No. 5, which<br />
serves the pulverizer bins.<br />
At the bottom of the spout connecting each dryer<br />
discharge with screw conveyor No. 4, there is a<br />
15x24 ft. Ohio Electric & Controller Company magnetic<br />
separator which removes all tramp iron from<br />
the coal.<br />
Pulverizing.<br />
The coal is pulverized by four Fuller-Lehigh 57-in.<br />
screen-type gear-driven mills, each served by a cradle
356<br />
TkeBIasfFurnacoSSUPl, am<br />
Upper Left—View through preparation plant, foreground—Four<br />
57-in. Fuller-Lehigh Pulverizers, each discharging into a Fuller-Kim-on<br />
pump. Background—Fuller-Lehigh driers.<br />
Upper Right—Tzvo 5 ft. 6 in. by 42 ft. Fuller-Lehigh indirect<br />
fired driers shozving magnetic separators in discharge spout.<br />
feeder from an individual 12-t
August, 1924<br />
interconnected with the four pumps by double diverting<br />
valves so that any pump can be used to deliver<br />
fuel to any furnace bin in the system.<br />
Remote Control for Distribution System.<br />
The flow of pulverized coal from the pumps to the<br />
furnace bins is remotely controlled by push button<br />
electrical connections on a switching and indicating<br />
board conveniently located in the milling room. Each<br />
pulverized coal bin is equipped with a high-level and<br />
low-level electric bin indicator which automatically<br />
shows when the material reaches a certain predetermined<br />
high or low level by extinguishing and lighting<br />
electric bulbs on the switchboard. Each diverting<br />
valve has electrical connections with bulbs on the<br />
switchboard which register the position of the valve,<br />
i. e., whether the valve is open for flow through the<br />
branch line and closed to the main line or vice versa.<br />
The diverting valves are electro-pneumatically operated<br />
either from the switchboard by push button control<br />
or are automatically thrown by the electric bin<br />
indicators. The valve disc is operated through levers<br />
by air pressure applied to one of a pair of air cylinders<br />
through a needle valve which in turn is actuated<br />
by a pair of electric solenoids. The solenoids are in<br />
circuit with the high level indicator and as soon as it<br />
is detected by the rising material in the bin an electric<br />
connection is closed through a mercoid switch which<br />
excites the solenoid, thus raising the needle valve.<br />
Compressed air is admitted to the air piston which<br />
throws the valve disc from the open to closed position,<br />
thus stopping the flow of the material to that<br />
particular bin and directing it to the next successive<br />
one.<br />
Boilers.<br />
The initial installation comprises two Stirling boilers<br />
of 4,000 square feet and one Stirling boiler of<br />
5,000 square feet heating surface. Each boiler has a<br />
furnace designed for 200 per cent of rating, and is<br />
horizontally fired by five 6-in. Fuller flare type burners<br />
placed in staggered relation in two tiers. Individual<br />
16-ton capacity storage bins serve the boilers<br />
from which the pulverized fuel is fed to the 4-in.<br />
burner pipes by five 3-in. Fuller-Lehigh single screw<br />
feeders. The feeders are driven from a gang shaft<br />
through Brown clutches and gears by one hp. d.c.<br />
Reliance motor with field control speed variation<br />
ranging from 500 rpm. to 1500 rpm. The maximum<br />
speed of the feeder screw is 320 rpm.<br />
A No. 8 Buffalo F<strong>org</strong>e blower at each boiler provides<br />
the primary air for combustion at 3-ounce pressure.<br />
The secondary air is induced through the adjustable<br />
air inlet doors around the burners and through<br />
the front and rear clean-out doors.<br />
Draft is provided by a self-supporting stack 9 ft.<br />
in diameter by 210 ft. high, which is capable of<br />
accommodating four boilers operating at 200 per cent<br />
rating. The boilers are connected to the stack by<br />
steel plate breeching.<br />
The water fed to the boiler is measured in a Cochrane<br />
metering heater and a Bailey steam flow meter<br />
records the steam output from each boiler.<br />
Probably the most remarkable feature of this installation<br />
is the consistent high ratings at which the<br />
boilers are operated. With furnaces originally designed<br />
for 200 per cent, they have averaged 275 per<br />
cent over monthly periods with peak loads of 325 per<br />
cent for several hours' duration.<br />
DieBlasf rurnaceSSfeel Planf<br />
BOILER CHARACTERISTICS<br />
357'<br />
Number (set singly) Three<br />
Make Stirling<br />
Class . Two 521 and one 527<br />
Rating 2 400-hp. and 1 500-hp.<br />
Setting height of floor to center line<br />
of mud drum 10 ft. 0 in.<br />
Baffling 3 pass regular<br />
Furnace Vol. (400 hp.) 2000 cubic feet<br />
Furnace Vol. (500 hp.) 2500 cubic feet<br />
Length of furnace—burner tip to<br />
bridge wall 10 ft. 6 in.<br />
Width of furnace (400 hp.) Hi ft. 6 in.<br />
Width of furnace (500 hp.) 13 ft. 6 in.<br />
Thickness of bridge wall at base 2 ft. 103/i in.<br />
Thickness of front wall at bottom... 2 ft. 3 in.<br />
Thickness of front wall at top 1 ft. \0y in.<br />
Thickness of side wall at bottom.... 2 ft. 7V-, in.<br />
Thickness of side wall at top 1 ft. 101/4 in.<br />
The coal is pulverized so that 75 per cent passes<br />
through a 200-mesh sieve. The boilers are operated<br />
with an average CO„ content in the stack gases of 13<br />
per cent.<br />
Motor Groups and Features of Motor Control.<br />
All the equipment is driven by individual motors<br />
through silent chains, reduction gears, or 1>v chain<br />
FIG. 3—View of the annealing furnace.<br />
sprocket. Each motor is provided with push button<br />
start and stop control.<br />
The Fuller mill motors operate with 2200 volts, 3phase,<br />
60-cycle current; all of the other smaller motors<br />
are energized by either alternating or direct current<br />
of 220 volts.<br />
The motors are interlocked in three main groups.<br />
If, for any reason, any motor in a single group stops,<br />
all the others in that group stop also, thus arresting<br />
the progress of the material through the system and<br />
avoiding an)' tendency toward clogging elevators or<br />
feeders.<br />
Group No. 1 includes No. 1 elevator, Jeffrey<br />
crusher, pan conveyor and the conveyor belt from the<br />
crusher to elevator No. 1.<br />
Group No. 2 includes No. 3 elevator motor, dryer,<br />
burner, feeder, and the dryer cradle feeder.<br />
Group No. 3 comprises pulverized coal feeders on<br />
each boiler and the corresponding fan drive for primary<br />
air. If the latter fails, the coal feed to that<br />
boiler is automatically stopped.<br />
It will probably have been noted that the installation<br />
for preparing pulverized coal is sufficient to provide<br />
750 tons of fuel per day when operating 22 hours.<br />
This is far in excess of the amount required at present.<br />
However, when pulverized fuel was decided on<br />
by the management, they planned to put in prepara-
No.<br />
2<br />
1<br />
3<br />
4<br />
J<br />
6<br />
7<br />
a<br />
August, 1924<br />
tion equipment of sufficient capacity to take care of<br />
future requirements needed after all the boilers, metallurgical<br />
and industrial furnaces had been changed to<br />
pulverized coal fired types.<br />
New Station for New York Edison Company<br />
A new power station is to be constructed by the<br />
New York Edison Company with an ultimate capacity<br />
of 700,000 kw., it is announced by the General<br />
Electric Company with whom the order for the first<br />
two turbine-generators has been placed.<br />
These turbine-generators have a rated capacity of<br />
60,000 kw. at unity power factor, 25 cycles, 11,400<br />
volts, 3 phase, to run at 1500 rpm. These machines<br />
will operate at 350-lb. steam pressure, 700 deg. F.<br />
maximum temperature. They will be equipped with<br />
direct connected exciters and will exceed by 10,000<br />
kw. capacity the present largest single unit machines<br />
now operating. The machines are scheduled for delivery<br />
during the spring of 1926.<br />
Redesigned Resistance Starter<br />
A new design of manually operated, enclosed resistor<br />
starter can be used for starting squirrel cage<br />
induction motors up to 20 hp., 550 volts, under light<br />
load. The resistance is proportioned to give an inrush<br />
current of 3y times the normal full load motor current,<br />
permitting the motor to develop at least 50 per<br />
cent full load torque in starting.<br />
The starter is made by the General Electric Company<br />
and is of the safety type, completely enclosed<br />
with ventilated case, externally operated and provides<br />
overload and undervoltage protection. It is furnished<br />
with a single step resistor, equal parts of which are<br />
connected in each phase. The switching elements are<br />
of the contact finger type, strong and readily renewable.<br />
Mellon Institute Industrial Fellowships<br />
Director Edward R. Weidlein's annual report to<br />
the Mellon Institute Committee of the Trustees of the<br />
University of Pittsburgh gives the status of the Industrial<br />
Fellowship System at the end of the Institute's<br />
fiscal year, on February 29, 1924. The accompanying<br />
list of fellowships is taken from this report,<br />
which mentions that the Institute now has available<br />
for distribution to all interested persons a new booklet,<br />
entitled "Industrial Fellowships," which describes<br />
the history and research system of the institution.<br />
At the close of the Institute's fiscal year, 52 industrial<br />
fellowships were in operation, employing 83 research<br />
chemists and engineers. The sum of $412,132<br />
was contributed for sustaining this work by the industrial<br />
fellowship donors. Two new fellowships were<br />
accepted, to begin on March 1 and April 1, respectively,<br />
and at present (May 1, 1924) there are 53 fellowships<br />
in the Institute, which is filled to approximate<br />
capacity by the activities of the incumbents.<br />
The total amount of money donated by industrial<br />
firms to the Institute for the 13 years ended February<br />
29, 1924, was $2,719,103. During the same period the<br />
Institute itself expended $494,580 in defraying overhead<br />
expenses — salaries of members of the executive<br />
staff and office force, maintenance of the building,<br />
purchase of books and apparatus, etc. — in the opera<br />
IheDlasf kirnace^jfoel rlanf<br />
359<br />
tion of the industrial fellowships. Besides this amount,<br />
the Institute has invested in a building and permanent<br />
equipment for research on all types of technochemical<br />
problems.<br />
The list of industrial fellowships shows the breadth<br />
and diversity of the Institute's work. This list includes<br />
33 individual and 19 multiple fellowships. Two<br />
of the multiple fellowships (Nos. 377 and 385) have<br />
been in operation since 1911, 26 other fellowships have<br />
been at work for three or more years, and 11 fellowships<br />
are in their second year of operation. Industrial<br />
Fellowship 386, which was founded on March 1, 1923,<br />
is a resumption of the smoke investigation carried on<br />
during the period 1912-14. Industrial Fellowship 382,<br />
established on July 23, 1923, is a continuation of a research<br />
conducted in 1917 and 1918. Industrial Fellowship<br />
364, on dental alloys, which began on February 1,<br />
1922, was terminated on January 1, 1924, upon the<br />
completion of its investigational work the incumbent<br />
of this fellowship was J. W. Harsh (B.S., University of<br />
Illinois).<br />
The industrial fellowships which have been founded<br />
by associations of manufacturers are listed below.<br />
Most of the Institute's researches for associations<br />
have for their purpose the advancement of basic<br />
knowledge of the industries, their processes and products.<br />
It has been especially successful in work on<br />
standardization of factory practice and manufactured<br />
products and on extending uses of various chemicals<br />
and commodities.<br />
Company<br />
Nos. Names Donors Members in<br />
Associations<br />
366 Refractories Refractories Manufacturers<br />
Association 90<br />
367 Magnesia products Magnesia Association of<br />
America 2<br />
370 Vitrified tile Clay Products Association.. 31<br />
371 Vitrified tile Eastern Clay Products<br />
Association 19<br />
372 Cleaning Mundatechnical Society of<br />
America 9<br />
379 Stove Stove Founders Research<br />
Association 14<br />
384 Art tile Associated Tile Manufacturers<br />
13<br />
387 Edible gelatin Edible Gelatin Manufacturers<br />
Research Society<br />
of America, Inc 10<br />
391 Laundering Laundryowners National<br />
Association 2066<br />
393 Carbon dioxide Carbon Dioxide Division,<br />
Compressed Gas Manufacturers<br />
Association 52<br />
397 Fiber National Container Association<br />
76<br />
404 Meat products Institute of American<br />
Meat Packers 266<br />
410 Insecticides Rex Research Bureau 5<br />
413 Metal ware Sheet Metal Ware Association<br />
16<br />
A Correction<br />
Frank Hodson, president of the Electric Furnace<br />
Construction Company, Philadelphia, Pa., points out<br />
that an error occurred in the captions of the first two<br />
photographs illustrating the article on Electric Furnace<br />
Development, page 314, July issue of The Blast<br />
Furnace and Steel Plant. The Soderberg electrodes<br />
illustrated in these photographs are installed on 6-ton<br />
Heroult type furnaces at Rehmscheid, Germany, and<br />
not the Ford Motor Company. The other photographs<br />
are correctly described.
360<br />
HieBlasf himaceSSfeel Plan!<br />
August, 1924<br />
E SAFETY CRUSADE<br />
"One of the Most Important Planks in the<br />
Platform of Good Business"<br />
This is the title of President E. G. Grace's June<br />
talk to the Bethlehem employes. He continues as<br />
follows:<br />
"In the course of the past eight years the number<br />
of Bethlehem accidents in proportion to the number<br />
of employes has been reduced by 40 per cent. However,<br />
the accidents which still occur in our plants<br />
from day to day are witness to the fact that we have<br />
room for improvement.<br />
"One of Bethlehem's big jobs is to reduce still<br />
further the number of accidents to men in the steel<br />
plants, shipyards and mines. Accidents are undoubtedly<br />
the largest single item of avoidable waste<br />
in our manufacturing costs.<br />
"Accident prevention work pays three-fold returns:<br />
There is a return to the employer in lower<br />
costs, a return to the employe in a physical and<br />
monetarv saving, and a return to the community<br />
The Bethlehem Safely Trophy<br />
Accidents Cost the Company $2,000,000 in 1923.<br />
Accidents and their treatment took almost $2,000,-<br />
000 out of the corporation's treasury last year. This<br />
through a lessening of care for the maimed and dis<br />
amount includes compensation paid to the men who<br />
were hurt and the cost of necessary hospital work. This<br />
abled. Any one of these alone justifies the further<br />
expense amounted to 1.7 per cent of the total payroll<br />
ance of the work, but taken in the aggregate they<br />
for the year, and was approximately equivalent to the<br />
constitute one of the most important planks in the<br />
dividend on Bethlehem's 7 per cent preferred stock<br />
platform of good business."<br />
for six months.<br />
What Bethlehem Employes Can Gain<br />
Through Avoiding Accidents<br />
Some ma)' think of accident prevention as a subject<br />
for pictures, safety weeks and chamber of com<br />
merce drives, but of little real importance in the<br />
affairs of the business world.<br />
As a matter of fact, the greatest annual loss to<br />
industry is through accidents. Among the 41,000,000<br />
persons gainfully employed in the United States last<br />
year 2,500,000 met with serious accidents. These<br />
accidents caused a loss of 227,000,000 working days.<br />
Figured at a wage of $4.50 per day, accidents mean<br />
STEELTON<br />
LEBANON<br />
BETHLEHEM<br />
CAMBRIA<br />
MARYLAND<br />
COATESVILLE<br />
LACKAWANNA<br />
SHIP PLANTS<br />
1112<br />
1275<br />
1415<br />
1552<br />
1593<br />
1649<br />
2146<br />
BALT DRY DOCKS 1482<br />
MOORE 1625<br />
HARLAN 1679<br />
SPARROWS PT. 1713<br />
UNION 2040<br />
FORE RIVER 2695<br />
MINE DIVISIONS<br />
MARION 3538<br />
JOHNSTOWN 3849<br />
PRESTON 4329<br />
HEILWOOD 4708<br />
ELLSWORTH 6924<br />
a loss to wage earners of $1,022,000,000 in wages during<br />
the year 1923. The loss of time due to accidents<br />
last year was equivalent to 757,000 men being out of<br />
employment for the entire year.<br />
Cost of Accidents to Bethlehem Families.<br />
A man who is hurt suffers pain and worry. His<br />
family loses a part or all their income. Bethlehem<br />
accidents last year will cause a total loss of 38,000<br />
pay envelopes to Bethlehem families, each pay<br />
envelope representing the average pay for a two<br />
weeks' period. This loss will exist even after including<br />
the compensation payments which the company<br />
has made and will make to its employes or their<br />
families.<br />
Who Pays Compensation?<br />
While compensation helps to relieve the distress<br />
of men who are hurt, it must be paid out of the same<br />
income that pays wages—the money received from<br />
the sale of iron and steel products. Neither the com-
August, 1924<br />
pany nor the employes, nor the community, receive<br />
any productive benefit from payments made as compensation<br />
for accidents.<br />
Causes of Accidents.<br />
Accident prevention work becomes, after a plant<br />
is adequately, physically protected, a matter almost<br />
entirely of vigilance and education, and this constitutes<br />
the basis of Bethlehem's present program.<br />
Last year there were 5,199 lost time accidents<br />
among Bethlehem's employes; 83 of these were fatal<br />
and 55 caused amputations, or lost eyes. It may be<br />
noted that more than 50 per cent of all Bethlehem<br />
accidents result in injuries to the employes hands or<br />
feet, largely to the ends of fingers or toes.<br />
The following table, showing by percentages the<br />
causes of Bethlehem accidents, indicates the activities<br />
in which care is most needed to prevent accidents :<br />
Handling material 22 per cent<br />
Falling or tripping 16<br />
Falling material 14<br />
Handling tools 12<br />
Stepping on or striking against objects 9<br />
Burns 6<br />
Machinery S<br />
Flying particles 4<br />
Engines and cars 1<br />
Miscellaneous 11<br />
100<br />
Accident Standing of Steel Plants, Ship Yards<br />
and Mines.<br />
The relative standing of Bethlehem's various steel<br />
plants, shipyards and mines in number of working<br />
days lost through accidents during the past twelve<br />
months is shown in the following table :<br />
Results of Bethlehem's Accident Prevention Work.<br />
Bethlehem's vigilant accident prevention policy<br />
during the last eight years has reduced by 40 per<br />
cent the number of accidents in the plants per 1,000<br />
employes, and has reduced the number of fatal acci-<br />
1916 I<br />
1917 I<br />
1918 I<br />
1919 I<br />
1920 I<br />
1921 I<br />
1922 I<br />
1923 I<br />
RESULT OF BETHLEHEM'S 8YEAR DRIVE<br />
PERCENTAGE DECREASE IN NUMBER<br />
LOST TIME ACCIDENTS<br />
I 32%<br />
warn 27%<br />
• 24%<br />
I 36%<br />
M 3I%><br />
I 40%<br />
dents by 25 per cent. It is estimated that this reduction<br />
has resulted in a saving to the employes and to<br />
the company of $3,000,000.<br />
The fatal accidents in Bethlehem's steel plants,<br />
compared with the fatal accidents in the entire steel<br />
industry as published by the U. S. Department of<br />
Labor, show that Bethlehem's rate is 12 per cent better<br />
than the average for the industry. Similar comparative<br />
improvement in number of fatal accidents is<br />
shown by Bethlehem's mines and shipbuilding plants.<br />
(Note—Because the accident hazards in the steel, shipbuilding<br />
and mining industries are not comparable, the three<br />
groups are shown separately.)<br />
H.e&Iasfh.mace'SSfeelPlanf<br />
9%<br />
361<br />
The figures in the following table show fatal accidents<br />
per 1,000 full time workers:<br />
Latest Estimate<br />
for the Industry<br />
Steel 1.35<br />
Shipbuilding ... 1.33<br />
Mines 4.08<br />
1923 Figures for<br />
Bethlehem Plants<br />
1.19<br />
.38<br />
3.60<br />
Bethlehem's<br />
Improvement<br />
Over Average<br />
for Industry<br />
12 per cent<br />
71 per cent<br />
12 per cent<br />
The reduction of the number and seriousness of<br />
accidents in Bethlehem plants during the past eight<br />
years, as well as the relatively better fatality standing<br />
of Bethlehem, shows what can be accomplished<br />
[t Dropped,<br />
Most Bethlehem<br />
Accidents result<br />
in injuries to<br />
hands and feet.<br />
Handle Materials Carefully!<br />
A typical poster.<br />
in the direction of accident reduction. The fact that<br />
Bethlehem employes suffered over 5,000 lost time<br />
accidents last year shows that there is still great<br />
opportunity for improvement.<br />
75-Ton Storage Battery Locomotive<br />
A 75-ton storage battery locomotive, the largest<br />
size as yet actually built in this country, has been<br />
put in operation at the Schenectady plant of the<br />
General Electric Company, for use on the interconnecting<br />
track systems of the plant and for operation<br />
in restricted areas where overhead or other outside<br />
current collection is impossible or impractical.<br />
This locomotive is a double-truck, four-motor unit<br />
with a central operator's cab and batteries arranged<br />
in compartments at either end. It is equipped with<br />
contactor control and automatic airbrake equipment.<br />
The storage battery, which consists of 100 cells, has<br />
a total capacity of 1,080 ampere-hours, or 216 kwh.<br />
The locomotive was built at the Erie plant of the<br />
General Electric Company and may also be operated<br />
with a pantograph, collecting power from overhead<br />
wires.
362<br />
TheBlasf rrirnaceSSfeel Planf<br />
August, 1924<br />
Color Classification of Blast Furnace Slags<br />
An Attempt to Demonstrate the Underlying Principles Which<br />
Result in Definite Slag Characteristics<br />
The More Complex Magma of Silica, Lime and<br />
Alumina.<br />
So far our molten magma has consisted of only<br />
two components, silica and lime. It has been clearly<br />
shown that as the silica decreases and the lime increases,<br />
there must be a corresponding rise in temperature<br />
or melting point of the magma. We are now in<br />
a position to introduce a third component and to show<br />
just what effect it will have on the melting point and<br />
slag composition.<br />
Alumina. ALO,, according to many prominent observers,<br />
melts at 2050 deg. C. Therefore we may once<br />
again look at our components from the standpoints<br />
1. Constant and changing slag volume.<br />
The first magma with the three components may<br />
be represented by the diagrams labeled Constant Slag<br />
Volume. Fig. 1 shows a slag that has plenty of silica<br />
for both the bases lime and alumina and perhaps even<br />
an excess of silica. When poured into the mold the<br />
excess silica at once freezes, then the lime silicate,<br />
then the aluminum silicate. This magma is represented<br />
by the actual slag below :<br />
The second magma with the three components may<br />
be a slag with the same volume but more bases, as<br />
shown by Fig. 2. Thus when such a magma cools<br />
the silica will freeze out as a small glass edge, then<br />
•Metallurgist, Pittsburgh, Pa.<br />
'The Effect of Alumina in Blast F'urnace Slags. By J. E.<br />
Johnson, Jr., A.M.I.E. December 1912.<br />
Function of Alumina in Slags. By C. Henrich, A.M.I.E.<br />
Bull. 119; 2081-6, N'16.<br />
By WALLACE G. IMHOFF*<br />
PART II<br />
the aluminum silicate, and due to the high lime the<br />
lime silicate will freeze out last. Such a slag from<br />
actual practice is seen below:<br />
The third magma shows that the line has become<br />
the main component. The silica content has become<br />
so small that when the slag is molten there is no free<br />
silica at all, but the magma is composed entirely of<br />
lime and aluminum silicates. W'hen this slag is poured<br />
in the mold the aluminum silicate freezes up at once<br />
and then the lime silicate. An example of this magma<br />
is illustrated by the actual slag type below:<br />
Another magma with approximately the same<br />
composition showed a slag sample as follows:<br />
PLATE 6<br />
both of a constant slag volume and of changing slag<br />
volume. There has been some doubt as to the part<br />
that alumina plays in slags. 1 The first slag sample to the left in the front row<br />
of Plate VI is an actual slag sample of this type.<br />
The components of slags are automatically<br />
changed by the change in slag volume caused by increase<br />
or decrease in silica. In practical operation<br />
the slag volume is always changing more or less due<br />
to this cause. The second series of slags are represented<br />
by the series of figures 4, 5, 6 and 7, of changing<br />
slag volume.<br />
Fig. 4 shows a large percentage of silica and bases<br />
and a typical example is the cream white basic lime<br />
silicate slag shown in Plate VII.<br />
Fig. 5 shows a large proportion of alumina and<br />
bases with a smaller slag volume than Fig. 4. Such<br />
a slag would be represented bv the hard blue stony<br />
type of slag.<br />
Fig. 6 shows a slag with a large slag volume but<br />
high silica. Any of the glass slags would represent<br />
this type. A lean slag on a basic furnace is an<br />
By some it has been<br />
regarded as an acid, by others as a base, and by still<br />
others, as either an acid or a base, depending on the<br />
conditions present. The author has found it distinctly<br />
a base and never an acid. Our magma may assume a<br />
composition represented as follows :<br />
example.<br />
Fig. 7 shows a slag with low silica and low lime.<br />
This slag is a typical high aluminum slag found on<br />
foundry iron furnaces. It would probably show a<br />
glass edge and a blue center.<br />
2. Silica constant: variation in temperature and<br />
bases.<br />
We are now ready to take up the discussion of<br />
magmas containing both lime and alumina a little<br />
deeper. In order to derive a definite magma we will<br />
assume conditions as illustrated in Case I.<br />
The features of interest are then :<br />
SiO= CaSiO, CaO, M. P. 2570° C.<br />
SiO,, M. P. 1600-1750° C. ALSiOs Ab.O., M. P. 2050° C.<br />
The total amount of available silica for the magma<br />
is constant; alumina is practically a constant, so that<br />
the lime or bases will be the changing component.<br />
Just how this sort of a magma acts is illustrated by<br />
the diagrams. In Fig. 1 the bases are shown to be<br />
both alumina and lime. At the given temperature<br />
each has an equal attraction for the silica which is<br />
divided between them. Due to the high silica and<br />
low bases the whole slag temperature is low.<br />
Now assume more limit is put on and the tern-
August, 1924<br />
perature is raised, the total amount of silica remaining<br />
constant. Fig. 2, Case I, illustrates this condition.<br />
The temperature must be higher to melt the<br />
increased lime, but the lime also requires more silica,<br />
hence a higher silicate of lime and also a higher<br />
aluminum silicate since some of the silica from the<br />
former aluminum silicate was taken for the lime.<br />
In Fig 3, Case I, the lime is still further increased<br />
with the result that still more of the silica must be<br />
used up. Therefore the melting point is raised still<br />
more, and higher lime and aluminum silicates are<br />
formed. It actually happens in practice that at times<br />
the lime is increased to so great an extent that the<br />
slag will slack and go to powder when cold. This is<br />
due to the extreme shortage of silica which gives a<br />
slag body, and its stony, vitreous properties. It is interesting<br />
in this connection to compare the glass)'<br />
appearance of the slags shown in Plate VII with the<br />
dry grainy fracture of the samples in Plate VIII. The<br />
latter are so high in lime that some of them slacked<br />
to powder.<br />
In Case II the amount of available silica is low at<br />
all times so that at the outset it is recognized that the<br />
temperature must be considerably higher than in<br />
Case I. The same general changes take place as in<br />
Case I, but the illustration shows how the temperature<br />
is affected, or in practice how the slag composition<br />
is determined by the temperature and available<br />
amounts of slag components.<br />
Type of Blast Furnace Slags.<br />
Having described how the alumina always acts<br />
as a base, we will now take an actual slag type and<br />
describe the magma that made it.<br />
All the illustrations given have been taken from<br />
actual slag samples so that it remains to try to interpret<br />
correctly just what has happened. In the above<br />
figure the magma first contained a large excess of<br />
silica, second it was at a high temperature as shown<br />
by the green glass which is characteristic of a hot<br />
lean slag. The proportions of lime and alumina were<br />
both low as evidenced by the proportion of glass to<br />
the remaining segregated lime and aluminum silicates.<br />
When the slag was poured into the slag-box the<br />
cold sides of the iron slag-box caused the silica to<br />
freeze out at once. The middle of the sample is always<br />
last to cool and freeze. Finally the temperature fell<br />
through the range at which the white lime silicate<br />
could remain liquid and it froze and the final or last<br />
part to remain liquid was the blue aluminum silicate.<br />
The temperature determines at all times the variety<br />
of lime or aluminum silicate that shall be formed. As<br />
an example suppose we take another magma at a much<br />
lower temperature, which when cold gave the slag<br />
type below:<br />
Here we have a much more complicated magma<br />
that is only medium hot. This fact is shown by the<br />
manganese in the slag which is a temperature indicator.<br />
The base or main body of the magma is seen to be a silicate<br />
with small quantities of manganese, for the green<br />
tinge shows that the slag is just on the border of being<br />
hot enough to reduce the manganese.<br />
The next component or segregation unit is found<br />
in a thin yellow band of manganese silicate which as<br />
the magma cools represents the nexj: higher freezing<br />
component. As the magma cools still further the next<br />
segregation unit is shown by the tan brown man<br />
DieDlasfFurnaceSSfeelPU<br />
363<br />
ganese silicate. This has a much higher melting<br />
point that the first or base of the magma. Finally the<br />
last component of the segregation of the magma is<br />
shown by the blue aluminum silicate center. The<br />
center of the slag is always the last to freeze and<br />
hence represents the highest freezing temperature.<br />
Suppose we take an example of another magma<br />
that represents a large slag volume, and moderately<br />
high silica and lime. This slag type when cold is<br />
shown below:<br />
The temperature of the magma is such that the<br />
base instead of being silica is the cream white lime<br />
silicate. The actual temperature of this slag is therefore<br />
higher than the one showing the glass edges<br />
unless this lime silicate has a melting point lower than<br />
pure silica, which may be entirely possible. The<br />
magma on cooling contained enough silica to form<br />
PLATE 7•<br />
in addition the blue aluminum silicate, but under<br />
conditions the temperature and the composition of the<br />
magma did not encourage its formation as shown by<br />
the very small amounts.<br />
To make a comparison with the magma just described<br />
and one which also shows small amounts of<br />
aluminum silicate another slag type is shown below :<br />
What is the difference? The first feature noticed<br />
is that there is a striking difference in the amount of<br />
lime in the magma. This is shown by the base of the<br />
magma being a green glass. The temperature may be<br />
somewhere near the same, for both slags show small<br />
amounts of the blue aluminum silicate. This example<br />
illustrates the change due to slag composition.<br />
A high base, low silica slag, will be a magma at a<br />
very high temperature. This is due to the predominance<br />
of the alumina and lime. Such slags when<br />
cold form the rocky, stony, blue slags. A typical type<br />
is shown in the illustration :<br />
When a magma of this type.cools the whole slag<br />
is practically uniform with no excess of silica. Therefore<br />
when it cools the whole thing freezes at once<br />
into a solid rock and no segregation of any kind taking<br />
place. The only trace of the presence of silica is<br />
to be seen in the somewhat vitreous fracture.<br />
The above actual examples from slags of all kinds<br />
of furnace conditions will suffice to show that a blast<br />
furnace slag is simply a magma and follows the same<br />
general laws that govern magmas.
364<br />
• White Lime<br />
Silicate Center<br />
Solid Heavy<br />
Blue Stony Slag<br />
-Whjte Lime Silicate<br />
— Ore en Gt&ss<br />
DieBIasfFurnaceSSUPlanf<br />
- Blue /iium/numSilicate<br />
W-%& ffi-vP^Ssn S/1/ ca te.<br />
, y-'^i-f-rf^ : JA^7si/7 Brown L/me<br />
^^••'^.•y'y^W Manganese Silicate<br />
^^^^^^§"-T/?//7 Ye//oir^<br />
B^^tfj^feSgj/ Manganese Siticate<br />
"Srotrvn Green Gt&ss<br />
.rJgL _ 4- Blue Aluminum Silicate<br />
/- Cream l/i/hite L/me Si teste<br />
Blue //tumincjm<br />
Silicate Stars<br />
— Green G/ass<br />
FIG. 3—Classification of slags.<br />
August, 1924<br />
, -Glass Edge<br />
-klhite Lime Si//cafe<br />
'Blue Aluminum Si/icale<br />
H$jts : Sulphur in Slags.<br />
' .'••&t4--B/ue Alum/num Sit/cate<br />
~l*Jhue Lime Silicate<br />
- Blue /Jlum/num<br />
Silicate<br />
1<br />
The sulphur has not been mentioned so far for a<br />
number of reasons. We are now ready to inquire<br />
about sulphur and the sulphides. Sulphur is contained<br />
in slags in two ways, first, as sulphur gas in<br />
solution-, and second, as calcium sulphide dissolved<br />
in a base of lime and aluminum silicates.<br />
Sulphur gas held in solution is typical of lean glass<br />
slags. It can easily be recognized by the choking,<br />
suffocating smell from the thin blue fumes which rise<br />
from the slag as it runs to the cinder pit. These thin<br />
blue fumes can be plainly seen in Plate IX.<br />
Calcium sulphide is a pure white powder and no<br />
doubt is familiar to most observers. The fundamental<br />
and only law governing sulphur in slags is that calcium<br />
sulphide is formed with a high hearth temperature.<br />
The law is simple, yet it is this law that seems<br />
hardest to understand. The simple solution is that a<br />
high hearth temperature reduces the silica which in<br />
turn leaves the lime for the sulphur and vice versa,<br />
a low hearth temperature sends the silicon into the<br />
slag as silica which uses up the lime from the sulphur.<br />
The sulphides seem to be dissolved in the slag.<br />
Thus the sulphides may be considered separate but<br />
as constantly interchangeable according to the temperature.<br />
To show clearly just what is meant suppose<br />
that a total of 100.000 pounds of stone are used<br />
and of that amount 10,000 pounds are figured for the<br />
sulphur. This then leaves 90,000 pounds for the silica<br />
and alumina in the slag. If the furnace is hot and<br />
everything is running smoothly the 10.000 pounds<br />
are used to form calcium sulphide and this calcium<br />
sulphide is dissolved up in the slag magma.<br />
The furnace becomes cold, the sulphur in the iron<br />
rises, and more lime is put on. But what is happening?<br />
As the furnace gets cold the silicon goes to the<br />
slag as silica. This must have lime. It takes it from<br />
the calcium sulphide and frees more sulphur. More<br />
lime is put on. and instead of the sulphur going down<br />
it keeps on going up. As the furnace becomes colder<br />
and more lime is put on the slag becomes infusible<br />
and the furnace may eventually become lime-set.<br />
This clearly shows lime should be taken off at this<br />
time and not put on, and the hearth temperature is<br />
raised.<br />
Classification of Blast Furnace Slags.<br />
(a) Temperature indicators.<br />
1—Silica. The classification of blast furnace slags<br />
is based on two features, namely, temperature and<br />
slag composition. For the sake of convenience the<br />
temperature may be considered as hot, medium hot,<br />
and cold. The composition varies from acid slags to<br />
basic slags, with all types of slag composition between<br />
these two extremes.<br />
The temperature indicators are silica, manganese<br />
and iron. Hot glass slags are a light bottle green<br />
color, changing to a dark green as the slag temperature<br />
falls. It will also be noted that hot glass slags<br />
are very shiny, clear and glassy, while cold glass slags<br />
'Sulfur as a Component of Furnace Slags. By Wallace<br />
G. Imhoff. Blast Furnace and Steel Plant, July 1917.<br />
Sulfur as a component of Furnace Slaigs. Part II. By<br />
Wallace G. Imhoff, Blast Furnace and Steel Plant, August<br />
1917.<br />
2 The Operation of the Blast Furnace. By J. E. Johnson.<br />
Jr. Metallurgical and hemical Engineering. Vol. XIV No.<br />
7. p. 370.
August, 1924<br />
S.oz<br />
fllz os<br />
Bases<br />
5.<br />
°2<br />
/?/a 03<br />
Bases<br />
Constant Volume<br />
Die Blast Fi urnaco °SU Plan*<br />
MAGMA COMPOSITION<br />
S.02<br />
R/Z 03<br />
Bases<br />
CASE I<br />
Changing Volume<br />
Low TEMP LOW L/ME LOWTEMR MED. LIME Low T£MP.<br />
go<br />
#izc3<br />
so<br />
ff/& o3<br />
S.cij<br />
Rlz°3<br />
Bases<br />
H/OH L/ME<br />
/ / 2 2 3 3<br />
CASE n<br />
LARGE TOTAL AMOUNT OF S/L/CA Ai/AtLASLE (wet Mix)<br />
VERY ACUTE<br />
HIGHTEMP LOW SILICA HICHTEMP LOWER SILICA HICHTEMP SHORTAGE SILICA<br />
So<br />
4o<br />
Atz o3<br />
Alzos<br />
2o<br />
/)/zo3<br />
/ / 2 2 3<br />
SMALL TOTAL AMOUNT OF SILICA AVAILABLE (Dry Mix)<br />
are dull and cloudy looking. Silica is the highest temperature<br />
indicator for the hearth and must be hot to<br />
reduce silica to silicon. A white hot lime slag is low<br />
in silica, and as the silicon goes from the iron to the<br />
slag as silica, the hearth temperature gradually falls.<br />
Thus the amount of silica in the slag becomes an indicator<br />
of the hearth temperature.<br />
2—Manganese. As the hearth temperature falls, if<br />
there is an appreciable amount of manganese present<br />
the slag will show a brown glass. This may be taken<br />
as the dividing line for hot slags and medium hot<br />
365<br />
slags although great care must be exercised to fully<br />
understand the conditions present. Manganese will<br />
not go into the slag if there is very heavy lime on the<br />
charge. The lime makes the iron thick and dry and<br />
it will not take up the manganese regardless of how<br />
hot the furnace is. Manganese will go into the iron<br />
best on a hot lean furnace under which conditions the<br />
iron will be thin and fluid. It is very convenient,<br />
however, to use manganese as a temperature indicator.<br />
W r hen manganese is present hot green glass<br />
slags turn brown as the furnace becomes colder. The
s<br />
co<br />
R<br />
i—i<br />
o<br />
e<br />
o<br />
m<br />
CLA3SIFICATION OF BLAST FURNACE SI ACS,<br />
TYPE HOT MEDIUM HOT COLD<br />
All Glass<br />
Glass; Blue and<br />
white specks.<br />
Glass: Blue or<br />
white center<br />
Glass Edges,<br />
All white or all<br />
blue.<br />
Mixtures of white<br />
and blue.<br />
Stony 3lags,<br />
Dry slags. Losing<br />
vitreous lustre.<br />
Dry grainy slags.<br />
Powdered 3lags.<br />
Green Glass; Light green to<br />
dark green glass.<br />
White specks (lime) in green glass.<br />
Blue specks (aluminum) in green " .<br />
Blue center; green bordsr glass.<br />
White center; green border glass.<br />
White with green glass edges.<br />
Blue with green glass edges.<br />
Cream white lime silicate slag.<br />
Blue aluminum silicate slag.<br />
White edge, blue center; various<br />
combinations of white, blue,<br />
and green glass.<br />
Heavy, solid, blue, or gray<br />
31 ony slags.<br />
Hot lime slags.<br />
Dry itfiite hot lime slags.<br />
( Grainy).<br />
Slags which go to powder when<br />
left in the air. White or gray<br />
powder.<br />
Brown Glass; Vitreous light brown<br />
to dull dark brown.<br />
White specks in brown glass.<br />
Blue specks in brown glass.<br />
Blue center; brown border glass.<br />
White center; brown border glass.<br />
White with brown glass edges.<br />
Blue with brown glass edges.<br />
White and brown silicate slags.<br />
Blue and brown silicate slaps.<br />
White edge, blue center; various<br />
combinations of white, blue, and<br />
brown glass.<br />
Heavy blue, gray, and brown stony<br />
slags.<br />
Brown and olive green lirj9 slags.<br />
Heavy dry brown or dark olive<br />
green slags. (Grainy.)<br />
Heavy dark brown basic slag.<br />
Extremely dry and grainy<br />
Black Glass; Shiny black<br />
glass; glass shot.<br />
Vitreous black glassy<br />
slags; black glass shot.<br />
Black glass slags.<br />
Clouded black slaps; dull<br />
glass shot.<br />
Clouded black slags.<br />
Clouded black slags.<br />
Heavy dull black stony<br />
slags. Dry black shot.<br />
Cold dry black slags;<br />
no cinder at fla3h time.<br />
Heavy dull black slags.<br />
Very dry. Huge heavy cakes.<br />
Extreme heavy, dry, crusty,<br />
black slags.
August, 1924<br />
same is true of basic slags, the brown color generally<br />
indicates that the hearth is becoming colder.<br />
3—Iron. The best, easiest and most reliable temperature<br />
indicator is iron. The two extremes of slag<br />
temperature are readily distinguished by the iron<br />
present. A hot lean slag is a light green glass; a cold<br />
lean slag is a black glass ; a hot lime slag is pure white ;<br />
a cold lime slag is black and all shades of both are<br />
found between the two extremes of temperature.<br />
Iron colors slags black and is derived from the<br />
oxidation of the iron carried out as shot. 1 At this<br />
point it is of interest to again turn to Plate V and<br />
see how the iron increases as the slags vary from a<br />
very hot slag to a cold black slag. The degree of temperature<br />
for the given slag composition is indicated<br />
by the amount of black iron oxide formed.<br />
(b) Volume change.<br />
1—Change of temperature; change of analyses.<br />
When the burden for a furnace has been figured it does<br />
not indicate by any means that the iron and slag desired<br />
will be made. It is entirely possible to change<br />
both the iron and the slag by simply raising the fusion<br />
zone. Thus the complete composition of the slag<br />
may be changed by simply changing the hearth temperature.<br />
The lower the hearth temperature, the<br />
more silica goes to the slag and the larger the slag<br />
volume, and vice versa, the higher the hearth temperature<br />
the more silica there is reduced and hence<br />
the smaller the slag volume. This change of temperature<br />
causes a variation in the slag composition<br />
which is at once shown by the analyses. At times<br />
it is difficult to tell whether the furnace needs heat<br />
or lime.<br />
2—Constant temperature; constant analyses.<br />
From the previous discussion it is readily seen that<br />
when the temperature remains constant the slag<br />
analyses will remain constant, or in other words<br />
equilibrium is established. If the temperature begins<br />
PLATE 8<br />
to rise it may be lowered by increasing the wind a<br />
little or by increasing the size of the charge, both of<br />
which will increase the tonnage. If the variation is<br />
''Conditions and Causes of Iron in Slags. Part I. By<br />
Wallace G. Imhoff. Blast Furnace and Steel Plant, August<br />
1916.<br />
Conditions and Causes of Iron in Slags. Part II. By<br />
Wallace G. Imhoff. Blast Furnace and Steel Plant September<br />
1916.<br />
Conditions and Causes of Iron in Slags. Part III. By<br />
Wallace G. Imhoff. Blast Furnace and Steel Plant October<br />
1916.<br />
Ine Dlasf furnace !!>jfeol rlani<br />
367<br />
small, the temperature can be easily controlled simply<br />
with the available stove heat.<br />
(c) Chart classification of blast furnace slags.<br />
This I believe is the first attempt ever made to<br />
classify blast furnace slags. The chart is based upon<br />
the study of thousands of slags made in the blast fur-<br />
PLATE 9<br />
nace under all conditions. In the Pittsburgh and<br />
Cleveland districts the ores were Lake Superior ores ;<br />
in other districts they were Clinton ore and all kinds<br />
of ores that are used on merchant furnaces.<br />
Those who are thoroughly familiar with the blast<br />
furnace realize the countless types of slags that are<br />
possible, but the idea here is only to show the general<br />
types and the system underlying the formation of all<br />
slags. The writer will be more than repaid for the<br />
effort if this table only forms the foundation for further<br />
work in this field of research.<br />
R. Burt Kernohan has retired as general superintendent<br />
of the Woodlawn plant of the Jones & Laughlin<br />
Steel Corporation, Pittsburgh, as well as relinquishing<br />
his position as a director. His retirement<br />
from active business is accompanied by the announcement<br />
he plans a world tour.<br />
T. O. Westhafer, chief chemist of the coke plant<br />
of the Colorado Fuel & Iron Company, Denver, has<br />
been advanced to assistant superintendent of that department.<br />
James M. Scharf, assistant chief chemist,<br />
succeeds Mr. Westhafer.
m Ihp Dlasf kirnace^/jfeel rl anl<br />
August, 1924<br />
•• - •••-?---- -.....• . -1 . ~- — . .C Tg. •<br />
SHEET-TIN PLATE<br />
Pickling of Iron and Steel; A Bibliography<br />
1—General and Miscellaneous. 2—Machines and Equipment. 3—<br />
Pickling in Acid Solutions. 4—Pickling in Salt Solutions. 5—<br />
Electrolytic Pickling. 6—Inhibitors and Accelerators. 7—Effect<br />
of Pickling. 8—Recovery of Spent Liquors.<br />
Compiled by VICTOR S. POLANSKY*<br />
Machines and Equipment—(Continued).<br />
Starck, Gustaf H. Apparatus for Treating Waste<br />
Hydrochloric-Acid-Pickle Liquors. (United States Patent,<br />
1,090,173.)<br />
Steele, Lawrence Carr. Apparatus for Pickling<br />
Metal. (United States Patent, 996,290.)<br />
Stiefel, Ralph C Crane for Pickling-Tanks, Etc.<br />
(United States Patent, 681,275.)<br />
Stiefel, Ralph C Pickling Apparatus for Metal<br />
Tubes. (United States Patent, 672,137.)<br />
Stoop, William J. Pickling Apparatus. (United<br />
States Patent, 1,430,039.)<br />
Thomas, H. S., and Dairies, W. S. Pickling Metal<br />
Sheets, Etc. (British Patent, 128,398.)<br />
Thomas, Hubert Spence, and Dairies, William R. Machinery<br />
or Apparatus to be Used in the Manufacture of<br />
Tinplates and Other Metal-Coated Plates or Sheets.<br />
(United States Patent, 1,432,578.)<br />
Arms attached to horizontal rotating shaft carry metal plates<br />
beneath the pickling solution as the shaft rotates.<br />
L'eber die Fortschritte in der Feinblechfabrikation.<br />
1890 (In Stahl und Eisen, v. 10, p. 773-783, 856-862,<br />
947-955.)<br />
Deals with pickling tin-plate and machinery employed, p.<br />
951-955.<br />
Wickwire, Charles C. Wire Cleaning and Coating<br />
Machine. (United States Patent, 1,244,153.)<br />
Wilkinson, Samuel K. Acid-Tank. (United States<br />
Patent, 1,036,761.)<br />
Williams, John, and Morris, Ge<strong>org</strong>e L. Apparatus<br />
for Pickling Iron Plates. (United States Patent, 512,-<br />
784.)<br />
Pickling In Acid Solutions.<br />
Allen, William H. Pickling-Bath. (United States<br />
Patent, 1,321,182.)<br />
Pickling solution for the removal of oxids from iron is<br />
formed of sulphur dioxid dissolved in sulphuric, hydrochloric<br />
or phosphoric acid.<br />
Andes, Louis Edgar. Iron Corrosion, Anti-Fouling<br />
and Anti-Corrosive Paints; tr. from the German by<br />
Charles Salter. Ed. 2, rev. and enl. 1918. Scott, Greenwood.<br />
Material on acid-pickling is scattered through the volume.<br />
Bablik, Heine. Das "Neuverzinken." 1924. (In<br />
Stahl und Eisen, v. 44, pt. 1, p. 223-225.)<br />
Treats briefly of pickling articles in hot sulphuric acid before<br />
galvanizing.<br />
*Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh.<br />
PART II<br />
Bailey, H. J. Pickling Tinplates. 1923. (In Iron<br />
and Coal Trades Review, v. 106, p. 560.)<br />
The same. 1923. (In Chemistry and Industry, v. 1,<br />
p. 362-365.)<br />
Discusses annealing, pickling, and tinning.<br />
Beach, H. K., and Beach, N. A. Pickling Metals.<br />
(United States Patent, 1,402,734.)<br />
Coils of metal on spools are successively immersed in acid<br />
pickling solution and in water, and unwound in the successive<br />
baths.<br />
Benoliel. S. D. The Cleaning of Metal Work. 1910.<br />
(In Brass World and Platers' Guide, v. 6, p. 56-59.><br />
The proper cleaners and method of taking care of metal work<br />
preliminary to plating, dipping, japanning, tinning, etc., are<br />
discussed.<br />
Braddock, Edward I. Method of Pickling Metal<br />
Strips. (United State's Patent, 644,574.)<br />
Buchanan, Robert. Foundry Management in the New<br />
Century. 1903. (In Engineering Magazine, v. 25, p.<br />
215-226.)<br />
Pt. 6 of a series of articles by the author. Treats of pickling<br />
of castings, p. 220-221.<br />
Bttchert, Gottfried. Maschinelle Rohrverzinkung.<br />
1912. (In Stahl und Eisen, v. 32, pt. 2, p. 1487-1489.)<br />
Treats briefly of pickling steel and wrought-iron pipe.<br />
Danielson, R. R. The Cleaning of Sheet Steel and<br />
Iron for Enameling Purposes. 1919. (In Journal of the<br />
American Ceramic Society, v. 2, p. 883-894.)<br />
The same, condetused. 1920. (In Iron Trade Review,<br />
v. 66, p. 1399-1401.)<br />
Considerable part of the paper is devoted to pickling of iron<br />
in various acids.<br />
Davidson, Thomas Regitiald. Cleaning Metals.<br />
(British Patent, 16,555 of 1914.)<br />
Davidson, Thomas Reginald. Metal-Pickling Process.<br />
(United States Patent, 1,104,107.)<br />
Davis, G. K.. and Fearon, J. R. Pickling Metals.<br />
(British Patent, 25,024 of 1908.1<br />
Eckelt, J. L. C Das Putzen der Gussstuecke mit<br />
Saeurewasser. 1904. (In Stahl und Eisen, v. 24, pt. 1,<br />
p. 354-356.)<br />
The same, abstract translation. 1904. (In Foundry,<br />
v. 24, p. 174.)<br />
Author describes his method of using acid water for pickling<br />
castings by spraying.<br />
Eichstaedt, T. C Preparing Grey Iron for Polishing<br />
and Plating. 1913. (In Metal Industry, U. S., v 11, p.<br />
254-256.)<br />
Discussion of an article by J. H. Hansjosten.
August, 1924 TheftLfUacoSSfeel Plant<br />
Eyer, Pliilipp. Emaillewissenschaft in Gemeinverstaendlicher<br />
Auslegung. 1912.<br />
Practical and informative book on raw materials for enamels,<br />
coloring materials, preliminary pickling operations, calculations<br />
and applications of enamels. Deals with pickling of metals, p.<br />
126-148.<br />
Farnham, Frederick. Hot Pickling-Bath. (United<br />
States Patent, 1,029,351.)<br />
Farnham, Frederick. Neues Verfahren zum Abbeizen<br />
von Eisen oder Stahl vor dem Verzinnen. 1913. (In<br />
Chemisch-Technisches Repertorium, v. 37, p. 531.)<br />
Abstract of article in "Bayerisches Industrie-und Gewerbeblatt,"<br />
v. 11, p. 106-107.<br />
Flanders, William Thomas. Galvanizing and Tinning<br />
; a Practical Treatise on the Coating of Metal with<br />
Zinc and Tin by the Hot Dipping, Electrogalvanizing,<br />
Sherardizing and Metal Spraying Processes, with Information<br />
on Design, Installation and Equipment of<br />
Plants. 1916. Williams.<br />
Treats of pickling and pickling solutions, p. 44-50.<br />
Foundrymen's Handbook; Based on Data Sheets from<br />
the "Foundry," Revised and Supplemented to Represent<br />
and Interpret Modern Practice. 1922. Penton Pub. Co.<br />
Gives pickling solutions for iron, p. 9.<br />
Franklin, A. J. English Galvanizing Practice. 1920.<br />
(In Metal Industry, U. S., v. 18, p. 73-76.)<br />
Treats of the importance of pickling, and of methods employed<br />
in England, p. 73.<br />
•Friend, J. Newton, and Marshall, C. W. The Relative<br />
Corrodibilities of Grey Cast Iron and Steel. 1915.<br />
(In Journal of the Iron and Steel Institute, v. 101, pt. 1,<br />
p. 353-363.)<br />
Contains a note on the removal of rust by means of chemical<br />
reagents, p. 357-363.<br />
Fulton, Morris. Pickling Castings. 1898. (In<br />
American Machinist, v. 21, p. 417-418.)<br />
The same. 1898. (In Foundry, v. 12, p. 254-255.)<br />
Brief treatment of the advantages of pickling large castings.<br />
Gerber, S. R. Hot Tinning. 1922. (In Metal Industry,<br />
U. S., v. 20, p. 65-68.)<br />
Investigation of the pickling and tinning of steel cans.<br />
Grampp, Otto. Practical Enameler, with Especial<br />
Reference to Enameling Sheet-Steel and Cast-Iron, with<br />
Useful Information Relating to All Side Lines. 1910.<br />
Privately printed.<br />
Pickling, p. 20-23.<br />
Gravell, James H. Cleaning Metals. (United States<br />
Patent, 1,268,237.)<br />
Steel surfaces are prepared for painting by treatment with<br />
an alcoholic solution of orthophosphoric acid and calcium phosphate.<br />
Gravell, James H. Method of Preparing Pickled Iron<br />
and Steel for Painting. (United States Patent, 1,279,-<br />
101.)<br />
Iron or steel is protected against corrosion, by pickling with<br />
sulphuric acid and then treating the surface with orthophosphoric<br />
acid containing calcium phosphate.<br />
Gravell, James H. Pickling Iron and Steel. (United<br />
States Patent, 1,279,331.)<br />
Iron and steel are pickled by subjecting them to the action of<br />
a mixture of sulphuric acid and orthophosphoric acid followed<br />
by treatment with an aqueous solution of soluble dichromate to<br />
prevent rusting.<br />
Gruenwald, Julius. Technology of Iron Enamelling<br />
and Tinning; Being Collected Papers tr. from the German<br />
by H. H. Hodgson. 1912. Griffin.<br />
Deals with the heating and pickling of rough iron wares, p.<br />
63-84.<br />
Gruenwald, Julius. Theorie und Praxis der Blechund<br />
Gussemail-Industrie; Handbuch der Modernen<br />
Emailiertechnik, Xebst Auszug aus der Geschichte der<br />
Kunstemaille und Emailmalerei. 1908.<br />
Treats of pickling, p. 68-76.<br />
Gruenwald, Julius. Theory and Practice of Enamelling<br />
on Iron and Steel, with Historical Notes on the Use<br />
of Enamel; tr. from the German by H. H. Hodgson.<br />
1909. Griffin.<br />
Pickling iron and steel, p. 70-78.<br />
Gru-nwald, Julius. European Practice in the Manufacture<br />
of Enameled Cast Iron Ware. 1924. (In Journal<br />
of the American Ceramic Society, v. 7, p. 118-121.)<br />
Treats briefly of preparation of castings for enameling, and<br />
states that pickling is an absolute necessity, p. 120.<br />
Hansjosten, J. H. Preparing Gray Iron for Polishing<br />
and Plating. 1913. (In Metal Industry, U. S., v. 11, p.<br />
118-119.)<br />
Description of a practical method of pickling castings. See<br />
also discussion by T. C. Eichstaedt.<br />
Harbord, F. W., and Hall, J. W. The Metallurgy of<br />
Steel. Ed. 7, rev. and enl. 2 v. 1923. Griffin. (Metallurgical<br />
Series.)<br />
Treats of pickling, see index, v. 2.<br />
Hawkins, Herbert James. Polishing and Plating of<br />
Metals; a Manual for the Electroplater, Giving Modern<br />
Methods of Polishing, Plating, Buffing, Oxydizing and<br />
Lacquering Metals. 1904.<br />
Acid dips and pickles, their composition and uses are discussed<br />
in chapter 4.<br />
Hernsheim, Maurice. Pickling Process. (United<br />
States Patent, 865,700.)<br />
Hinckley, Everett H. Process of and Apparatus for<br />
Pickling Metals. (United States Patent, 1,434,011.)<br />
Relates to iron pickled in sulphuric acid of such concentration<br />
and temperature as to maintain a maximum efficiency of ionization<br />
and capacity of absorbing iron sulphate.<br />
Hiscox, Gardner Dexter, ed. Henley's 20th Century<br />
Formulas, Recipes and Processes. Rev. and enl. ed. 1920.<br />
Henley.<br />
Gives process for pickling black iron-plate scrap before enameling,<br />
p. 305.<br />
Hobbs, Franklin IV. Pickling Gray Iron Castings.<br />
1914. (In Metal Industry, U. S., v. 12, p. 378.)<br />
Gives some practical suggestions as to solutions and apparatus.<br />
Use of hydrofluoric acid is recommended.<br />
Hoffman, Addison F. Pickling-bath and Method of<br />
Making the Same. (United States Patent, 1,225,956.)<br />
Pickling solution formed of equimolecular proportions of<br />
sodium chlorid and sulphuric acid.<br />
Hoffman, Addison F. Pickling Process and Bath.<br />
(United States Patent, 1,269,443.)<br />
Hopkins, Albert Allis, ed. Scientific American Cyclopedia<br />
of Formulas. 1915. Munn.<br />
Cleaning metal surface by pickling and the solutions employed,<br />
p. 459-461.<br />
Hydrofluoric Acid for Pickling Castings. 1909. (In<br />
Foundry, v. 34, p. 114-116.)<br />
The same, abstract. 1910. (In Ironmonger, v. 130,<br />
p. 31.)<br />
Hydrofluoric Acid in the Foundry. 1909. (In Practical<br />
Engineer, v. 39, p. 774-775.)<br />
Discusses use for pickling castings.<br />
International Correspondence Schools, Scranton, Pa.<br />
[Foundry Practice.] 2 v. 1915. International Textbook<br />
Co. (International Library of Technology, v. 141-142.)<br />
Pickling of castings in sulphuric and hydrofluoric acids, v. 2,<br />
sec. 77, p. 28-30.<br />
Kleinhans, Frank B. Preparing Castings for Machine<br />
Work. 1904. (In Foundry, v. 24, p/29-31.)<br />
Includes a short treatment of pickling.
370<br />
Langbein, Ge<strong>org</strong>e. Complete Treatise on the Electrodeposition<br />
of Metals; tr. from the latest German edition<br />
with additions bv W. T. Brannt. Ed. 7, rev. and enl.<br />
1913. Baird.<br />
Pickling and dipping of cast-iron and wrought-iron articles,<br />
p. 218-220.<br />
Laverty, Charles E. Pickling-bath. (United States<br />
Patent, 856, 644.)<br />
Consists of sulphuric acid and a hydrocarbon oil.<br />
Lemaire, E. Le Decapage Chimique du Fer et de<br />
L' Acier. 1907. (In Le Genie Civil, v. 50, p. 448-450.)<br />
Marsh, Henry S., and Cochran, Ralf S. Method of<br />
Pickling Metal Articles. (United States Patent, 1,392,-<br />
780)<br />
Passing metallic articles through a spray of hot pickling solution<br />
to remove scale.<br />
May, Walter J. Pickling Castings. 1908. (In Practical<br />
Engineer, v. 38, p. 177.)<br />
Meredith, Mark. Pickling Ship Metal. 1918. (In<br />
Machinery, v. 24, p. 762.)<br />
Miclwl-Rousset, Jacques. La Coloration des Metaux ;<br />
Nettoyage, Polissage, Patinage, Oxydation, Metallisation,<br />
Peinture, Vernissage. 1912. (Nouvelle Collection de<br />
Recueils de Recettes Rationnelles.)<br />
Various processes of pickling iron and steel are discussed,<br />
p. 25-26.<br />
Muriatic Acid the Best for Pickling Iron or Steel.<br />
1911. (In Brass World and Platers' Guide, v. 7, p. 230.)<br />
States that muriatic acid is the natural solvent for oxid of<br />
iron.<br />
Osann, Bernhard. Lehrbuch der Eisen- und Stahlgiesserei,<br />
fuer den Gebrauch beim Unterricht, beim Selbststudium<br />
und in der Praxis. Ed. 4, rev. and enl. 1920.<br />
(British Patent, 9632 of 1889.)<br />
Pickling is treated, p. 556-557.<br />
Parker, Thomas. Improvements in and in Connection<br />
with Pickling and Preparing Iron for Galvanizing.<br />
(British Patent, 9632 of 1889.)<br />
Perrigo, Oscar E. Pickling Castings. 1898. (In<br />
American Machinist, v. 21, p. 505.)<br />
Method of procedure is briefly discussed.<br />
Pickling Castings. 1907. (In Foundry, v. 30, p.<br />
196.)<br />
Pickling Castings. 1910. (In Foundry, v. 37, p. 146.)<br />
Brief discussion of the method used.<br />
Pickling Castings. 1903. (In Machinery, v. 10, p.<br />
89.)<br />
The same, abstract. 1904. (In Journal of the American<br />
Foundrymen's Association, v. 12, p. 387-388.)<br />
Pickling with sulphuric and hydrofluoric acids.<br />
Pickling Castings. 1917. (In Machinery's Encyclopedia,<br />
v. 5, p. 19-21.)<br />
General discussion of the method and the acids used in pickling.<br />
Pickling Castings and Dips Used. 1910. (In American<br />
Machinist, v. 33, pt. 2, p. 348.)<br />
Discusses various pickling baths for different kinds of work,<br />
and gives receipts.<br />
Pickling Castings with Hydrofluoric Acid. 1905. (In<br />
Brass World and Platers' Guide, v. 1, p. 204.)<br />
Pickling Iron for Plating, Etc. 1917. (In Brass<br />
World and Platers' Guide, v. 13, p. 78.)<br />
Pickling Process in Tin-Plate Manufacture. 1923.<br />
(In Chemical Trade Journal and Chemical Engineer, v.<br />
73, p. 34-35.)<br />
From the account of the investigations conducted by the<br />
"Alkali Inspectorate," London.<br />
Pickling Solutions for Iron. 1919. (In Foundry,<br />
v. 47, p. 404a.)<br />
Tne biasf FurnacoSSteel Plan!<br />
August, 1924<br />
Poppleton, Clement F. The Manufacture of Steel<br />
Sheets. 1918. (In Iron Age, v. 101, pt. 1, p. 740-742.)<br />
Pickling and pickling vats, p. 740.<br />
Poppleton, Clement F. The Manufacture of Tin-<br />
Plate. 1918. (In Iron Age, v. 101, pt. 1, p. 30-35, 127-<br />
128.)<br />
Discusses black and white pickling, p. 32-34.<br />
Potts, Joseph H. Method of Cleaning Metal Castings.<br />
(United States Patent, 405,716.)<br />
Protective Metallic Coating for the Rustproofing of<br />
Iron and Steel. 1919. ("United States. Bureau of<br />
Standards. Circular no. 80.)<br />
Treats of pickling, p. 20-22.<br />
Randau, Paul. Enamels and Enamelling; tr. fr. the<br />
German by Charles Salter. 1900.<br />
Treats of pickling and pickling materials, p. 92-93, 139-141.<br />
Robinson, Chauncey E., and Sutherland, William- L.<br />
Process of Pickling Plates, Bars or Sheets of Metal.<br />
(United States Patent, 650,095.)<br />
Sabm, Alva Horton. Industrial and Artistic Technology<br />
of Paint and Varnish. Ed. 2, rev. 1917. Wiley.<br />
Includes pickling of iron and steel, p. 272-274.<br />
Sang, Alfred. Old and New Methods of Galvanizing.<br />
1907-1908. (In Proceedings of the Engineers' Society<br />
of Western Pennsylvania, v. 23, p. 546-571.;<br />
Discusses pickling, p. 549-552.<br />
Shatc', Joseph Bradfield. The Allowable Limit of<br />
Variation in the Ingredients of Enamels for Sheet Steel.<br />
1909. (In Transactions of the American Ceramic Society,<br />
v. 11, p. 103-152.)<br />
Treats briefly of cleaning the steel by pickling, p. 108-109.<br />
Shaiv, Joseph Bradfield. Enamels for Iron and Steel.<br />
1920. (In United States Bureau of Standards. Technologic<br />
Paper no. 165.)<br />
Treats of pickling of iron and steel, p. 9-16.<br />
Singer, J. C. and Branch, Cleveland. Cleaning, Pickling<br />
and Zinc Plating Adapters. 1919. (In Metal Industry.<br />
U, S., v. 17, p. 524.)<br />
Gives solution employed and method of procedure.<br />
Snyder, J. H. Modern Economics in Pickling Steel.<br />
1917. " (In Iron Age, v. 100, pt. 1, p. 306-308.)<br />
Treats of cleaning solutions, their proper strength and temperature,<br />
and application to drop f<strong>org</strong>ings. Outlines improvements<br />
made in previous five years.<br />
Sorel. Ueber das Verzinken und Verzinnen des Stabeisens<br />
und Gusseisens; Neue Verfahrungsarten zum Beizen<br />
Derselben. 1849. (In Polvtechnisches journal, v.<br />
112, p. 121-122.)<br />
Sorenjon, James. Method of Treating Steel and Iron.<br />
(United States Patent, 1,373,573.)<br />
Stainless Steel. 1921. (In Iron and Coal Trades<br />
Review, v. 103, p. 626-627.)<br />
Tabulates results of tests on the pickling of stainless steel.<br />
Storey, Oliver W. Some Pickling Methods. 1913.<br />
(In Metallurgical and Chemical Engineering, v. 11, p<br />
45-48.)<br />
Summary of the various pickling methods used in the different<br />
processes where this operation is required.<br />
Sundh, August. Method of and Apparatus for Treating<br />
Metal. (United States Patent, 1,412,979.)<br />
Relates to pickling, washing, and drying of metals.<br />
'Th.. A. Entfernung des auf Gewalzten Eisen Haftenden<br />
Zunders. 1920. (In Elektrochemische Zeitschrift,<br />
v. 26, p. 145-146.)<br />
Deals with the removal of rolling-mill scale by pickling for<br />
one hour in 5 to 10 per cent hydrofluoric acid. Provisions are<br />
necessary for removal of acid fumes.
Thomas and Delissc. Neues Verfahren die Metalle zu<br />
Beizen (von Oxyd zu Reinigen). 1948. (In Polytechnisches<br />
Journal, v. 107, p. 446-447.)<br />
Thomas, R. B. Pickling and Swilling Plates. (British<br />
Patent, 23,883 of 1897.)<br />
Van Deventer, John H. Painting Small-Shop Products.<br />
1916. (In American Machinist, v. 44, p. 183-184.)<br />
Treats briefly of pickling castings, p. 184.<br />
Vogel, Otto. Art of Pickling Metals. (United States<br />
Patent, 1,433,579.)<br />
iKe blast Furnace'3 Steel Plant<br />
The same. (British Patent, 188,713.)<br />
Relates to a composition of carbonaceous matter and acid<br />
substance capable of dissolving iron oxids.<br />
Vogel, Otto. Pickling Bath and Process for Pickling<br />
Iron and Steel. (United States Patent, 1,460,395.)<br />
Pickling bath composed of sulphuric or other acid containing<br />
1 per cent quinoline or another of its derivatives to prevent<br />
the metal from becoming brittle.<br />
Wahl, William H., and Eltonhead, Edward Y. Galvanizing<br />
Metal. (United States Patent, 221,200.)<br />
Watt, Alexander. Electro-Plating and Electro-Refining<br />
of Metals; new edition of [his] "Electro-Deposition,"<br />
revised and largely rewritten by Arnold Philip.<br />
Ed. 2, rev. 1911. Van Nostrand.<br />
Treats of pickling and cleansing iron, p. 641-648.<br />
Wood, Matthew P. Rustless Coatings; Corrosion and<br />
Electrolysis of Iron and Steel. 1905. Wiley.<br />
Pickling, particularly of structural steel, p. 275-277.<br />
Pickling In Salt Solutions.<br />
Butler, Ge<strong>org</strong>e P. Nitrecake for Pickling Metals.<br />
1918. (In Metal Industry, U S., v. 16, p. 418 )<br />
Describes method of pickling with niter-cake.<br />
Le Chatelier, H., and Bogitch, B. Le Decapage au<br />
Bisulfate de Soude. 1915. (In Revue de Metallurgie, v.<br />
12. pt. 1, Memoires, p. 949-960.)<br />
Describes the use of sodium bisulphate for pickling.<br />
Corbett, E. E. Nitercake Substitute for Pickling<br />
Steel. 1918. (In Blast Furnace and Steel Plant, v. 6,<br />
p. 497-501.)<br />
Report of investigation to determine the possibilities of the<br />
use of niter-cake as a substitute for sulphuric acid for pickling<br />
steel.<br />
Drefahl, Louis C. Metal-Pickle and Method of Pickling.<br />
(United States Patent, 1,191,291.)<br />
Acid pickling bath is mixed wth approximately 6 per cent<br />
of cellulose pulp waste, so as to form a thick foam on the solution<br />
.<br />
Eaton, Asahel K. Method of Removing Scale Oxid<br />
from the Surface of Iron and Steel. (United States Patent,<br />
702,050.)<br />
Graue, Louis J. Pickling Metal. (United States<br />
Patent, 1,331,866.)<br />
Solution for pickling metal before galvanizing is composed<br />
of 100 lbs. of niter-cake, 3.3 lbs. of sumac leaves, and 103 gals.<br />
of water.<br />
Johnston, John. A Summary of the Proposals for the<br />
Utilization of Nitercake. 1918. (In Journal of Industrial<br />
and Engineering Chemistry, v. 10, p. 468-471.)<br />
Includes the use of niter-cake as a pickling agent. Contains<br />
numerous foot-note references.<br />
Lesbaudieres, V. Le Decapage des Metaux au Bisulfate<br />
de Soude. 1917. (In La Nature, v. 89, p. 126-128.)<br />
Nitercake for Pickling. 1917. (In Metal Industry,<br />
U. S., v. 15, p. 487.)<br />
Pickling with Nitre Cake. 1918. (In Automotive<br />
Industries, v. 39, p. 1102-1103.)<br />
The same. 1918. (In Iron Trade Review, v. 62, p.<br />
153.)<br />
Stillson, A. C Softening Rust Before Pickling. 1910.<br />
(In Brass World and Platers' Guide, v. 6, p. 351-352.)<br />
By soaking articles in a solution of sodium hydroxid, the<br />
rust is softened so that it easily pickles off.<br />
Electrolytic Pickling.<br />
Coulson, John. Electrolytic Pickling Process. (United<br />
States Patent, 1,347,897.)<br />
Coulson, John. Pickling Process. (United States<br />
Patent, 1,374,552.)<br />
Iron and steel articles are electrolyzed in a sulphuric acid<br />
bath, first as cahtode and then as anode.<br />
Cozvper-Coles, Shcrard Osborn. Improved Method<br />
and Apparatus for Pickling Metal Articles. (British<br />
Patent, 15,507 of 1893.)<br />
Relates to the removal of scale by using weak acid solutions<br />
in combination with currents of electricity, and the apparatus<br />
used.<br />
Coivper-Coles, Sherard. Removal of Mill Scale and<br />
Magnetic Oxide by Electricity. 1898. (In Engineering,<br />
v. 66, p. 872.)<br />
Methods and apparatus employed in electrolytic pickling of<br />
iron and steel.<br />
Electrogalvanizing. 1903. (In Electro-Chemical Industry,<br />
v. 1, p. 263-264.)<br />
Describes the Cowper-Coles magnetic-scale collector, and<br />
treats of the electrical-pickling of iron before galvanizing.<br />
Gutensohn, Adolph. Improvements in the Process of<br />
Pickling or Cleaning the Surface of Iron or Other Metal<br />
Previous to Coating. (British Patent, 8,324 of 1886.)<br />
Relates to pickling of iron and other metals by the use of<br />
the electrolytic method.<br />
Hering, Carl. Electrolytic Pickling of Greasy Surfaces.<br />
1918. (In Metallurgical and Chemical Engineering,<br />
v. 18, p. 438.)<br />
Hering, Carl. Electrolytic Pickling of Steel. 1918.<br />
(In Metallurgical and Chemical Engineering, v. 18, p.<br />
282.)<br />
Comments on Thompson and Dodson's paper of Dec. 15, 1917.<br />
Lindemann, IV. C. Electric Cleaning of Metals for<br />
Enameling Purposes. 1920. (In Journal of the American<br />
Ceramic Society, v. 3, p. 252-255.)<br />
Deals with method of cleaning steel and cast iron.<br />
Loppc, F. Le Decapage Electrolytique des Metaux.<br />
1900. (In L'Electricien, v. 34, ser. 2, v. 20, p. 106-107.)<br />
The same, translated. 1901. (In Electrical Engineer<br />
(London), v. 34, n. s., v. 28, p. 329.)<br />
Discusses electrolytic pickling of metals, with especial reference<br />
to the method employed by Cowper-Coles.<br />
McKay, Robert J. Corrosion by Electrolyte Concentration<br />
Cells. 1922. (In Transactinos of the American<br />
Electrochemical Society, v. 41, p. 201-215.)<br />
Discusses the rate of corrosion of acid-resisting metals in<br />
acid solutions, with especial reference to the action on stay rods<br />
in pickling tanks.<br />
McLare, J. P. Removal of Rust by Electrolytic<br />
Processes. 1924. (In Engineering, v. 117, p. 25-29.)<br />
The same, abstract. 1924. (In Chemical Trade<br />
Journal and Chemical Engineer, v. 74, p. 33-34.)<br />
Deals with development and efficiency of the alkaline electrolytic<br />
method of rust removal. Gives results of experiments.<br />
Marino, Pascal. Electrolysis. (British Patent, 101,-<br />
667.)<br />
Iron and steel articles are connected to an alternating-current<br />
supply conductor and immersed in a solution of phosphoric acid.<br />
Marino, Pascal. Electrolysis. (British patent, 14,230<br />
of 1915.)<br />
Relates to the removal of oxid from iron and steel articles by<br />
connecting them as cathodes in a solution of phosphoric acid,<br />
with or without phosphoric acid compounds.<br />
(Concluded in September)
372<br />
IheDlasr lurnace L, jteel riant<br />
August, 1924<br />
Chromium-Its Uses and Its Alloys<br />
This Article Is the First of a Series Dealing with the Uses of<br />
Chromium and Its Alloys—Its Valuable and Unique<br />
Properties Make It Almost Indispensable<br />
C H R O M I U M has been called the "master" metal<br />
—because of the remarkable properties which<br />
have made it indispensable as a constituent of<br />
certain classes of alloy steels, corrosion and heat resisting<br />
alloys. Whether it is wise to consider anymetal<br />
a "master," or to say that it is indispensable, in<br />
these davs of spectacular advances in metallurgy, is<br />
questionable, to say the least. Nevertheless, it is difficult<br />
to exaggerate the importance of a metal which,<br />
through its characteristic properties, probably affects<br />
a more diversified range of industrial activity than<br />
any of the others which are in common use, barring<br />
iron. If one were to decide which of the more common<br />
metals, again barring iron, we could least dispense<br />
with, chromium would stand very near the top<br />
of the list; and as its valuable and unique properties<br />
become better developed, and their application better<br />
understood, it must inevitably advance to still greater<br />
importance. We are acquainted with some of its useful<br />
properties; others, perhaps as well known, have<br />
not yet been converted to greatest service. It is the<br />
purpose of this paper to describe some of the applications<br />
of this interesting metal to industry, and it is<br />
hoped to stimulate still further study of its remarkable<br />
properties, both from the standpoint of metallurgical<br />
theory as well as practical use.<br />
The subject is a very long one, and perusal of the<br />
extensive literature discloses many inconsistencies<br />
and contradictions which are difficult to bring into<br />
agreement by any reasonable explanation, and which<br />
are sometimes so contradictory as to create suspicion<br />
of the accuracy of the investigators, or at least of<br />
their methods. The metal chromium and its alloys,<br />
particularly the iron-chromium-carbon system, is of<br />
particular interest, but about which as yet comparatively<br />
little is definitely known. It affords a number<br />
of interesting fields for study, in which can be mentioned:<br />
The chemical phenomenon of "passivity,"<br />
which has been investigated by Monnartz, and upon<br />
which the corrosion resistance of the metal and its<br />
alloys evidently depends; the formation of the extraordinarily<br />
hard and stable carbides at high temperatures,<br />
these attaining a hardness not reached by any<br />
other metallic substance, and which influence profoundly,<br />
in a way that is not yet clear, the hardness<br />
of the steels in which they occur; the ready chemical<br />
formation of at least three stable oxides of a metal<br />
which is apparently so unoxidizable; the great diminution<br />
of thermal conductivity imparted to steel by its<br />
presence in any considerable proportion, which necessitates<br />
increased care in heat treatment; and the remarkable<br />
retarding action which it appears to exert<br />
upon the atomic changes in iron. Certainly a promising<br />
field for the investigator, and one in which anv<br />
research will probably have some ultimate practical<br />
application.<br />
By DR. WALTER M. MITCHELL*<br />
PART I<br />
*The author is Metallurgist with E. I. du Pont de Nemours<br />
& Company, Wilmington, Del.<br />
Discovery.<br />
The metal chromium was discovered by the French<br />
chemist Vaquelin in 1797. He was led to the discovery<br />
when, in analyzing a red ore of lead from Siberia, now<br />
known to be a native chromate of lead, he found that<br />
the lead present was combined with a peculiar acid,<br />
which he recognized as the oxide of a new metal, evidently<br />
possessing unusual characteristics. He eventually<br />
separated the metal, classified it, determined<br />
most of its properties, in fact, so accurately, that the<br />
values in use today are only little different from those<br />
originally found by him. Vaquelin exhibited samples<br />
of the metal before the Academie des Sciences, and<br />
stated that it was white, very infusible, crystallized in<br />
needles, and that acids had very little effect on it. He<br />
believed that on account of its brittleness and infusibility<br />
it would find little use in the pure state, but<br />
FIG. 1—Chromium metal, "carbon free" (?). The presence<br />
of carbon is indicated by the network of carbide along the<br />
grain boundaries. Thermit process. 100X. Etched in<br />
boiling 1-1 HC1. (Reduced about one-fourth from the<br />
original photomicrograph.)<br />
that when larger sources had made the metal more<br />
obtainable its compounds might be of great use on<br />
account of the beautiful and durable pigments which<br />
could be produced from them. Vaquelin showed, further,<br />
that the emerald, a silicate of beryllium and aluminum,<br />
owed its brilliant green color to the presence<br />
of chromium.<br />
The choice of a suitable name for the new metallic<br />
element occasioned some little discussion between<br />
Vaquelin and his friends; the latter suggested<br />
"chrome," from the Latin chroma—color, because of<br />
the different colors imparted by its compounds to
August, 1924<br />
various minerals, etc. But Vaquelin objected to the<br />
name "chrome," for he said the name did not suit the<br />
metal, since it had no color in itself. Evidently the<br />
advice of his friends prevailed, and the name "chrome"<br />
was thus first used, which, by the addition of the suffix<br />
"ium" applied to metallic elements, eventually was<br />
altered to "chromium." Although Vaquelin is correctly<br />
credited with the discovery of the metal, it<br />
should not be overlooked that it was also discovered<br />
independently by Klaproth at about the same time;<br />
but it is to Vaquelin that we owe acknowledgement<br />
for introducing this interesting metal to the world at<br />
large.<br />
Vaquelin was one of the many chemists from<br />
whose labors, crude as they now appear to us, we are<br />
today reaping so many benefits. His keen intuition<br />
enabled him to see far ahead when, in speaking of<br />
the new element, he said, "I would venture to say that<br />
if chemistry could only utilize but a few of the many<br />
objects that nature offers us, it would soon convert<br />
into useful application bodies which we now know<br />
only- as vain curiosities." A prediction which, fortunately<br />
for us, has been verified many times. No doubt<br />
Vaquelin would be surprised if he could see to what<br />
extent we are indebted to the hard brittle metal discovered<br />
by r him for the remarkable properties of modern<br />
armor plate, projectiles and ordnance, heat and<br />
acid resisting alloys, tool and automobile steels, pigments<br />
for painters' use, chemical processes for dying<br />
fabrics, tanning leather, etc.<br />
The Metal.<br />
The metal chromium has an atomic weight of 52,<br />
a trifle less than that of iron (56) ; specific gravity of<br />
6.92, about the same as that of zinc; and a melting<br />
point at about 2800 deg. F., practically the same as<br />
that of iron. It is a hard ; as commercially pure, brittle;<br />
silvery to greyish white metal; capable of taking<br />
a high polish which tarnishes in the air very slowly.<br />
Similar to iron, its hardness is greatly increased by<br />
the presence of small quantities of carbon. It is not<br />
appreciably affected by exposure to the atmosphere,<br />
and is practically unoxidizable below the melting<br />
point, except for the formation of a slight surface coating<br />
which prevents further action ; but when molten<br />
appears to oxidize rather rapidly. It is attacked by<br />
sulphuric acid, more so by hydrochloric acid, but becomes<br />
passive—is unattacked—by concentrated nitric<br />
acid, the dilute acid attacking it slightly.<br />
Sources.<br />
Chromium is found in the free state in nature only<br />
in occasional meteorites. It occurs in the native lead<br />
chromate—crocoite; and in the mineral chromite—<br />
an iron chromium oxide, which is the chief ore of the<br />
metal. Ceylonite, found in Western Australia, contains<br />
nearly 23 per cent of chromic oxide. In addition<br />
chromium forms the coloring matter of numerous<br />
minerals; thus, the green of the emerald is due to<br />
chromium, while serpentine, pennine, chromic mica<br />
or fuchsite, and possibly certain sapphires and garnets<br />
all owe their color to the presence of this metal. Chromite,<br />
the chief ore, is found in periodotite, serpentine,<br />
and to a lesser extent in other ultra basic rocks. It<br />
is a heavy, black to brown, lustrous mineral, much<br />
like magnetite in appearance, but is only slightly magnetic.<br />
Crystals are of rare occurrence, the mineral<br />
being found in grains through the rock, which are<br />
sometimes segregated into nodular masses of considerable<br />
size with a compact granular texture. Rocks<br />
Ihe Diast kirnace_>Mee! riant<br />
373<br />
of this kind, when subjected to weathering conditions,<br />
become hydrated and. altered into serpentines, and<br />
for this reason most of the workable deposits of<br />
chromite are found in the serpentine rocks. Chromite<br />
is widely distributed over the earth's surface, in Rhodesia,<br />
Baluchistan, New Caledonia, Brazil, California,<br />
Quebec, and elsewhere; the New Caledonian and Rhodesian<br />
mines supplying three-fourths of the world's<br />
supply. According to reliable sources, imports and<br />
domestic sales in the United States totaled over 200,-<br />
000 tons during 1923. Of the chromite mined, the<br />
largest proportion, about 40 per cent, is used for the<br />
production of ferro-chromium alloys; about 35 per<br />
cent is used as a refractory, while the balance is used<br />
for the manufacture of bichromates, chrome alums,<br />
etc., for use in various chemical industries.<br />
Chemical Properties.<br />
Chemically chromium belongs to the same group<br />
as molybdenum, tungsten, and uranium, all of which<br />
are characterized by their hardness and infusibility.<br />
Owing to its multiple valency, chromium forms a<br />
number of oxides. Of these, chromous oxide, CrO,<br />
and chromic oxide, Cr203, are definite basic forms,<br />
yielding with acids salts in which chomium is present<br />
in the divalent and trivalent states, forming the chromous<br />
and chromic salts. Chromic oxide may also<br />
combine with bases to form salts, the chromites.<br />
Chromic anhydride (chromium trioxide) CrOa is an<br />
acid anhydride forming with bases salts called chromates<br />
and bi- or di-chromates. It may be prepared<br />
by the decomposition of a chromate with sulphuric<br />
acid, and is a strong acid substance crystallizing in<br />
scarlet rhombic needles. It has powerful oxidizing<br />
qualities, and is used as an oxidizing agent in <strong>org</strong>anic<br />
chemistry, and as a caustic in medicine. Other oxides<br />
have been prepared and are usually regarded as compounds<br />
of the basic and acid oxides, and are known<br />
as chromic chromates. With carbon, chromium forms<br />
a number of carbides which have a profound influence<br />
on the physical properties of the steels in which they<br />
are formed. These will be considered in detail in<br />
what follows:<br />
Chromite.<br />
Although the greatest part of the chromite mined<br />
is used for conversion into ferrochromium and other<br />
chromium alloys, a considerable proportion is used in<br />
furnace construction in the steel plant as a refractory<br />
material, for which purpose it is nearly ideal. Its<br />
melting point is just under 4000 deg. F., which is far<br />
above the highest working temperatures of either the<br />
open hearth or blast furnace ; and in addition it has<br />
the unique advantage of being essentially neutral in<br />
character. Hence, as it has neither acid nor basic<br />
qualities, it may be used as a lining for furnaces of<br />
either type. Mixed with slag, both finely ground, it<br />
is regularly used as a cement to daub furnace ports<br />
and jambs, and to patch walls near the slag line. In<br />
the form of brick it is used as a dividing course to<br />
separate acid from basic bricks, and for bottoms of<br />
soaking pits because it is impervious to "pit cinder."<br />
Metallic chromium may be obtained from the reduction<br />
of its oxides by various processes, either by<br />
heating with carbon, which yields a product containing<br />
considerable quantity of carbide, or with dry hydrogen<br />
under pressure. A more satisfactory method<br />
is the Thermit process, in which chromic oxide is<br />
mixed with finely divided aluminum, the chromic<br />
oxide being in excess and igniting the mixture. The
esult will be a fused mass of metallic chromium of<br />
considerable purity, 99.5 per cent chromium having<br />
been obtained. (Figs. 1 and 2.)<br />
Technical Uses.<br />
Chromium compounds, such as chromates and dichromates,<br />
are prepared directly from the ore by<br />
roasting with sodium carbonate, and afterwards leaching<br />
with water, preferably in an autoclave under considerable<br />
pressure. The chromium salt is thus extracted,<br />
leaving the iron behind as an insoluble residue.<br />
Perhaps the most important of the chromium<br />
salts from the technical standpoint is the dichromatic<br />
(or bichromate) of potassium, which crystallizes in<br />
the well known anhydrous crystals. It is used in the<br />
preparation of many of the chromium pigments, for<br />
the manufacture of safety matches, for the oxidation<br />
of anthracine to alizarine, and in the manufacture of<br />
analine violet. The double sulphates of chromium<br />
with sodium, potassium, or ammonium are of great<br />
industrial importance. These are known a.s chrome<br />
alums, and occur in the form of dark purple crystals<br />
making a reddish solution which turns green when<br />
heated, the original color returning after standing for<br />
some weeks.<br />
Chromium compounds are used in large quantities<br />
in the dye industry, both as oxidizing agents in proces-<br />
FIG. 2—Chromium metal by electric furnace. Lot analysis:<br />
Carbon .26 per cent, chromium 97.15 per cent. 150 '••'.<br />
Etched in boiling 1-1 HC1. (Reduced about one-fourth<br />
from original photomicrograph.)<br />
ses for the manufacture of the dyestuff, and as mordants,<br />
i. e., substances which combine chemically with<br />
the dyestuff employed, to fix the latter on the fabric.<br />
Chromium mordants are of first importance, since<br />
with the different dyestuffs they yield a considerable<br />
range of colors which are notable for their permanence.<br />
The most important are the sodium and potassium<br />
dichromates, above noted, which are more extensively<br />
used in wool dyeing than any other metallic<br />
salts. For mordanting cotton goods, chrome alum,<br />
chromium acetate, chromium fluoride, and various<br />
other double chromium chromates are used. Silks are<br />
not usually mordanted with chromium salts, but may<br />
Tne blast hirnuco3$teo! Plant<br />
be so treated if boiled in a solution of potassium dichromate<br />
and tartaric acid, but the process is not desirable<br />
as the fabric is somewhat injured during the<br />
process.<br />
The salts of chromium have a peculiar hardening<br />
action upon gelatine and similar bodies, several applications<br />
of the chromium compounds depending upon<br />
this property. The "carbon" or "autotype" process in<br />
photography is based upon the fact that gelatine containing<br />
potassium dichromate becomes insoluble under<br />
the action of light. Paper is coated with a solution of<br />
gelatine containing potassium dichromate and a pigment<br />
of the desired color; this is exposed under a<br />
negative in the usual way. In those portions acted<br />
upon by light the dichromate is reduced, the gelatine<br />
holding the pigment becoming insoluble, while the<br />
unacted upon portions are dissolved with hot water.<br />
In this way photographs may be produced in any<br />
desired color, depending upon the pigment, which are<br />
of great beauty and permanence.<br />
Another application of the hardening action of<br />
chromium salts upon gelatine of great commercial importance<br />
is the process of chrome tanning, which was<br />
originally developed in the United States. Two<br />
processes are in use, the "two bath" process, which<br />
came into prominence in 1884 under Schultz patents,<br />
in which the skins are tumbled in a solution of potassium<br />
dichromate, then tumbled in a solution of common<br />
hypo acidified with hydrochloric acid; and the<br />
"one bath" process originated by Dennis in 1893, in<br />
which the skins are tanned directly in a bath of basic<br />
chromium chloride. The latter process seems to be<br />
generally preferred because of its simplicity, except<br />
for glazed kid leathers, for which the two bath process<br />
gives a product with more desirable qualities. At<br />
present the majority of the world's supply of light<br />
leathers is tanned by one or the other of the chromium<br />
processes. During the World War an enormous<br />
quantity of leather was chromium tanned on<br />
account of its superior wearing qualities as a material<br />
for army shoes. The tremendous rise of "chrome"<br />
tanning has been favored by the speed and comparative<br />
simplicity of the process and the superiority of<br />
the product—the vegetable tanning processes requiring<br />
a much longer time and more labor. The lighter<br />
leathers, such as glazed kid, ooze and suede leathers<br />
are practically all chrome tanned, while the heavier<br />
leathers are generally vegetable tanned.<br />
It is interesting to note that chrome tanning, unlike<br />
vegetable tanning, is a reversible process. If a<br />
chrome tanned leather is soaked in a solution of a tartrate<br />
like rochelle salt, the hide returns to the untanned<br />
condition, which is not without advantage in<br />
the recovery of scraps, trimmings, etc., for the manufacture<br />
of gelatine and glues.<br />
Chromium Pigments.<br />
Owing to the varied and brilliant colors of the<br />
chromium compounds of other metals they are widely<br />
used as pigments in the paint industry. Probably the<br />
most important is lead chromate, better known as<br />
"chrome yellow" or Paris yellow, obtained by precipitation<br />
of a lead salt with potassium dichromate.<br />
Produced in the presence of an alkali, a basic lead<br />
chromate of brilliant red color is obtained, known as<br />
"chrome red" or Persian red, Chinese red, etc. Mixtures<br />
of the two in various proportions produce a<br />
series of orange pigments known as "chrome oranges."<br />
The lead chromates all possess good covering powers
August, 1924<br />
and brightness of color, but blacken under the influence<br />
of hydrogen sulphide. Chrome yellows, by mixture<br />
with Prussian blue, form greens known as Brunswick<br />
greens, which are useful and cheap pigments,<br />
but not as stable as the zinc greens. Chromic oxide,<br />
prepared by the oxidation of metallic chromium, or<br />
by ignition of various chromates, is a green pigment<br />
of great permanence, known under the names of<br />
"chrome green" and "ultramarine green." It is used<br />
for coloring porcelain, glassware, etc., as a pigment<br />
in oil or water color painting, and for coloring the<br />
printing inks used for bonds and banknotes. It is not<br />
affected by chlorine or sulphur gases and will stand<br />
heat. Zinc chromate, also known as "zinc yellow"<br />
or buttercup yellow, is a beautiful stable pigment produced<br />
by the action of neutral zinc sulphate upon<br />
potassium dichromate. Although not equal to chrome<br />
yellow in covering power or body, it has the advantage<br />
of not blackening with exposure to sulphides.<br />
It is largely used for mixing with Prussian blue to<br />
form a series of brilliant green pigments of wide<br />
usage, known as the "zinc greens." Basic chromium<br />
borate, known as Guignet's green, is the most permanent<br />
green pigment known, being unattacked by light,<br />
boiling alkalis, or by acids in the cold. The chromium<br />
yellow and green pigments are the most widely<br />
used of all such colored pigments.<br />
(To be Continued)<br />
A new experimental iron blast furnace, which embodies<br />
all the best features determined by observation<br />
of the performance of other furnaces constructed<br />
by Interior Department specialists, has been completed<br />
arid blown in at the Minneapolis experiment<br />
station of the Bureau of Mines. The new experimental<br />
furnace is larger than the one constructed by the<br />
Bureau of Mines at Minneapolis last year, which was<br />
the first successful experimental blast furnace in the<br />
history of metallurgy. It is expected that metallurgical<br />
studies made possible by the construction of the<br />
new blast furnace will reveal valuable information<br />
relative to the production of spiegeliron from manganiferous<br />
iron ores, which cannot be smelted under<br />
present practice. Since the United States has tremendous<br />
reserves of these manganiferous iron ores,<br />
the problem of their successful smelting is one of great<br />
importance to the iron industry.<br />
The present furnace, which was erected in cooperation<br />
with the University of Minnesota, is 36<br />
inches in diameter at the hearth and 30 feet high. The<br />
first run lasted 10 day r s. Air was supplied to the furnace<br />
at the rate of about 600 cubic feet per minute,<br />
consuming approximately 8 tons of coke per day r .<br />
From 15 to 20 tons of spiegeliron of varying manganese<br />
content was produced during the experiments.<br />
Several hundred gas samples were taken from the<br />
interior of the furnace shaft by means of water-cooled<br />
sample tubes.<br />
The most striking feature of the furnace experiment<br />
in contrast with previous ones lies in the fact<br />
that a rather complete survey of the composition of<br />
the gas stream in the furnace shaft was possible. By<br />
introducing water-cooled sample tubes through various<br />
test-holes, it was possible to cover completely six<br />
planes. As early as 1839 Bunsen determined the composition<br />
of the gas in the blast furnace at various elevations<br />
from the tuyere to the stock line. His results<br />
have been duplicated in a dozen or more investiga<br />
Ihe Dlast kirnaceL jteel riant<br />
375<br />
tions. In all this research samples were taken from<br />
only one point in each horizontal plane. During the<br />
thirty-fourth and thirty-fifth runs with the Bureau<br />
of Mines furnace over 1,000 gas samples were taken<br />
at five elevations in the furnace shaft. These samples,<br />
however, all lay along a single diameter of the<br />
furnace section. The necessity of sampling over a<br />
complete section has long been recognized, but the<br />
difficulty of obtaining such samples in practice has<br />
heretofore not been overcome.<br />
A considerable number of samples of raw materials,<br />
slag, and metal, taken during the run, await<br />
analyzing. A study of the analyses of these samples,<br />
as well as the samples of gas removed from the charge<br />
column within the furnace, should throw considerable<br />
light upon the mechanism of the gas reactions taking<br />
place within the blast furnace shaft and should result<br />
in the obtaining of much valuable information relative<br />
to the production of spiegeleisen from manganiferous<br />
iron ores.<br />
The following is a list of papers that will be<br />
offered for discussion at the meeting of the British<br />
Iron and Steel Institute, September 4 and 5:<br />
L. Aitchison and G. R. Woodvine: "Changes of<br />
Volume of Steels During Heat Treatment."<br />
C. Benedicks and V. Christiansen: "Investigations<br />
on the Herbert Pendulum Hardness Tester."<br />
E. D. Campbell and G. W. Whitney: "The Effect<br />
of Changes in Total Carbon and in the Condition of<br />
Carbides on the Specific Resistance and on Some<br />
Magnetic Properties of Steel."<br />
C. A. Edwards: "Pickling: The Action of Acid<br />
on Iron and Steel, and the Diffusion of Hydrogen<br />
Through the Metal."<br />
J. Newton Friend and W. E. Thorneycroft: "Examination<br />
of Iron from Konarak."<br />
M. A. Grossman and E. C. Bain: "On the Nature<br />
of High-Speed Steel."<br />
Axel Hultgren: "Improvements in the Brinell<br />
Test on Hardened Steel, including a New Method of<br />
Producing Hard Steel Balls."<br />
F. C. Thompson and W. E. W. Millington: "The<br />
Effect of Free Surfaces on the Plastic Deformation<br />
of Certain Metals."<br />
The United Alloy Steel Corporation, Canton, Ohio,<br />
will commence the immediate erection of a new sintering<br />
plant at its local mills, for which arrangements recently<br />
have been perfected. The plant will be of the wellknown<br />
Dwight & Llloyd type, and will have a rated<br />
capacity of 250 tons of sinter daily from blast furnace<br />
dus. The company is said to be arranging for other<br />
betterments at its mills in connection with the new installation.<br />
The Chateaugay Ore & Iron Company, Lyon Mountain,<br />
N. Y., has arranged for the installation of a new<br />
mill at its properties, to be equipped with magnetic separators.<br />
Other improvements will also be made at the<br />
works to provide for considerable increased production,<br />
as well as the installation of considerable auxiliary operating<br />
equipment.
376<br />
lheDlast lurnace^yjteel Plant<br />
August, 1924<br />
Checking Up Losses in the Foundry<br />
T H E reduction in loss resulting from waste of<br />
time and material is something which manufacturers<br />
are constantly seeking to accomplish. In<br />
case of most large companies the processes of production<br />
are periodically checked up. Notwithstanding<br />
this, there is loss which varies from large to small<br />
proportions in different industries which probably<br />
could be further reduced.<br />
The president of a large company which is engaged<br />
in the manufacture of a great variety of iron,<br />
steel and brass products, recently stated: "In the<br />
making of thousands of tons of castings every month,<br />
there is, of course, a large waste. About 55 per cent<br />
of our malleable iron melts, for example, produce<br />
acceptable castings. Five per cent of melt is in defective<br />
castings, and more than 38 per cent of the total<br />
is in gates and sprues which are of no use except<br />
for remelting. After the good castings go through<br />
the machine for threading and finishing, another 5 per<br />
cent, on the average, must be discarded for various<br />
reasons, such as fault} - machine work, air holes not<br />
detected at first inspection, breaks, etc."<br />
It is likely that some other manufacturer would<br />
naturally inquire, "Why is this the case and why the<br />
'large waste' to which the head of the company in<br />
question refers, cannot be cut down?"<br />
It is proper to mention that the company referred<br />
to might be termed a manufacturer of specialties, and<br />
that they comprise a vast variety of quite small metal<br />
products. It is conducted on the "open shop" plan,<br />
and the company for a long time has sought to develop,<br />
train and create skilled workers among its employes.<br />
It uses machine made metal patterns in the<br />
foundry department. A percentage of the product is<br />
gray cast iron.<br />
To secure the least possible waste in the foundry,<br />
one must necessarily begin with the melting of the<br />
iron, and the proper metal for the castings under consideration.<br />
By proper metal is meant not only metal<br />
of the correct chemical analysis, but metal properly<br />
mixed and melted and, therefore, correct in all respects<br />
for the castings which are to be poured. Then the<br />
various steps to the turning out of the finished product<br />
must be studied. Is the melting equipment as it<br />
should be to give hot, clean iron, or is the metal oxidized<br />
in the melting due to faulty management of the<br />
furnace? (In the case in question, the cupola process<br />
is employed.)<br />
Is the sand correct for the castings to be made?<br />
The question of suitable molding sand, including mixing,<br />
cutting up and tempering, are important factors.<br />
With machine molding and patterns properly placed<br />
on the plate, do the flasks fit the pins on the plate as<br />
they should, or are they too loose, thereby causing<br />
mismatching? Gates and sprues are of course a<br />
necessary evil, and in the making of malleable iron<br />
the percentage of gates to castings is larger than in<br />
gray iron practice due to the shrink heads necessary<br />
to take care of the greater shrinkage in malleable iron.<br />
Again, when the malleable castings are small, the<br />
weight of the castings might be even more than the<br />
weight of the gate and sprue. The problem of gating<br />
is a serious one and losses in some cases might be<br />
By L. C. BREED<br />
traced to improper gating. If cores are used, and<br />
there are few foundries where it is not the case, losses<br />
can be traced due to faulty core mixtures, insufficient<br />
baking, hard cores, etc. Of importance in case of<br />
malleable castings, is the anneal.<br />
Further causes of waste arise from the breaking<br />
of sand molds, either in clamping of parts of flask, by<br />
jarring sand into molds, or by cutting away of sand,<br />
by flowing metal into molds, by air pockets in castings<br />
and by cold "shuts"—points where metal meets<br />
metal flowing from different directions and arriving<br />
at point of contact too cold to fuse together. Through<br />
having a large amount of metal in sprues and gates,<br />
many times it will stay hot enough to flow readily<br />
without cold shuts. The worker, of course, is handicapped<br />
by the castings being out of sight.<br />
In commenting on this instance of waste, one<br />
foundry man said he would venture to attribute it<br />
mainly to the fact that this company's product comprises<br />
a large number of small items. Its catalogue<br />
enumerates more than 23,000, when different sizes of<br />
the same commodities, different materials and different<br />
shapes are considered. Another reason that he<br />
names which, in his opinion, might affect the output<br />
of acceptable castings, was the company's policy of<br />
maintaining the open shop principle, and relying upon<br />
training a considerable proportion of its molders.<br />
This question might be debated: How large a proportion<br />
of over 100 men, who are employed in working in<br />
the malleable and cast iron shops, could be classed as<br />
skilled men? If because of unskilled molders there<br />
are larger gates than otherwise would be the case,<br />
metal would flow too freely into the molds. Furthermore,<br />
in operating to as nearly as possible full capacity<br />
output, a correspondingly large percentage of<br />
skilled workers is required.<br />
Defective castings can only be remelted with a<br />
certain percentage of new iron. The money loss in<br />
case of malleable castings is greater than gray iron<br />
castings, and still more in case of steel castings.<br />
Rigidity of inspection to meet a high fixed standard<br />
of quality in production is also a factor to be<br />
considered.<br />
In the case in question, as the plant is situated in<br />
a metropolitan district, the labor turnover is greater<br />
than in smaller places, because of the facility of getting<br />
other employment. Again, the output of a foundry<br />
is affected by weather conditions. All employes<br />
are aware that the human element must be taken into<br />
account. In some instances the management offers<br />
the services of an optometrist and furnishes glasses<br />
to employes that are found to need them.<br />
Reasonable discipline, esprit de corps, and morale<br />
are things which count for efficiency and consequently<br />
should be promoted.<br />
The Northern New York Utilities Incorporated have<br />
been considering the installation of new equipment for<br />
sometime, and have just lately placed a contract with<br />
The U. G. I. Contracting Company for a complete 8-ft.<br />
set, together with operating floor for installation at their<br />
Rome, N. Y. plant.
August, 1924 The blast F, umaco O Mool Plant<br />
CURRENT REVIEW<br />
Lubrication in the Steel Industry<br />
T H E blast furnace, the Bessemer converter, the<br />
open hearth furnace and the rolling mill were the<br />
solution to our problems of maximum production<br />
with low cost and a minimum of labor. With this<br />
development, chemistry of iron and steel became a<br />
concrete science, to prove that by formulation of<br />
alloys with such elements as carbon, nickel chormium,<br />
vanadium and manganese, all manner of variable degrees<br />
of hardness, ductility and strength could be<br />
attained.<br />
Chemistry and the ingenuity of the metallurgist,<br />
however, can determine only the nature of the product.<br />
They cannot govern the rate of production of the<br />
mechanical equipment involved because they have<br />
practically no control over that nemesis of mechanics<br />
—friction. Therefore, the science of lubrication must<br />
be reckoned with. In fact, lubrication is the key to<br />
efficiency and production in the steel plant. The intensive<br />
operation demanded calls for a minimum of<br />
friction and uniformity of bearing temperatures in<br />
the face of the most discouraging operating conditions.<br />
Hot water, acid fumes, salt, dirt, dust, etc., are examples<br />
of the objectional factors confronting the lubricating<br />
engineer. Take a concrete example: Air<br />
compressor and blowing engine lubrication at best is<br />
a ticklish proposition; but a small amount of dirt or<br />
a short period of operation on the wrong compressor<br />
oil may give rise to dangerous conditions or often fires<br />
in the air lines; perhaps even explosions or ruptures<br />
will result. Can the steel man close down his blast<br />
furnace or his open hearth when these occur? He<br />
cannot, for if he did, the workings of perhaps the<br />
whole plant might be disrupted. So he fights the<br />
fire or makes his repairs on the run—or better still,<br />
uses a preventative in the form of lubricants which he<br />
can be reasonably sure will function properly and<br />
relieve him of as much worry as possible.<br />
Numerous other examples could be cited wherein<br />
the importance of good lubrication is the outstanding<br />
feature. It is better, however, to reserve them for<br />
further discussion wherever they fit in. Suffice it to<br />
say, the details of wrought iron and steel mill lubrication<br />
are of vital interest' to us all. An industry<br />
which consumes approximately 60,000,000 tons of iron<br />
ore per year evidently is based upon the last word<br />
in productive efficiency. In other words, the steel<br />
man has appreciated the value of scientific lubrication<br />
and lubricating engineering service.<br />
Lubrication of Blast Furnace Equipment.<br />
Blast furnace operation involves the use of considerable<br />
mechanical apparatus. For example, there<br />
are the huge steam reciprocating or turbo-blowing<br />
engines which furnish the necessary low pressure<br />
blasts of air to the hot-blast stoves for pre-heating<br />
377<br />
prior to delivery to the blast furnaces; the charging<br />
equipment which includes the wire ropes and bearings<br />
of the charging lorries and skip hoists, with their respective<br />
driving engines or motors, the slag cranes,<br />
the steam or hydraulic clay guns, the ladle cars and<br />
any miscellaeous gearing installed.<br />
While the range of equipment is varied, the lubricating<br />
problems are not numerous. The blast furnace<br />
generates high heats and these are naturally radiated<br />
to their surroundings quite considerably. It is perfectly<br />
possible, however, to locate much of the necessary<br />
mechanical equipment either permanently or<br />
otherwise, so that it will be both free from this<br />
heat and also not subject to excessive dirt or dust.<br />
Take the case of blower steam cylinders for example:<br />
If they are lubricated with a good grade of cylinder<br />
oil which has been compounded and refined to<br />
meet the requirements of steam and operating conditions,<br />
perfect satisfaction should be attained. Bearings<br />
in turn can be grouped into two classifications:<br />
1. As involving automatic lubricators, or<br />
2. Exposed, hand-oiled conditions.<br />
Steam engine, pump, turbo-blower, and electric<br />
motor bearings are largely oiled by some automatic<br />
system of lubrication. Inasmuch as they are usually<br />
enclosed systems and not subjected to external heat.<br />
they should give little or no trouble. Exposed, handoiled<br />
bearings as are found on skip buckets and transfer<br />
cars, etc., receive rougher service, and dust, dirt,<br />
and rain are always detrimental factors. Such bearings<br />
have high clearances, however, and operate at<br />
low speeds and pressures, therefore, a rough lubricant<br />
such as black oil is found to serve very well.<br />
Gears and wire rope operate under similar conditions<br />
to skip car journal bearings, though at perhaps<br />
higher working presures. Therefore, a lubricant must<br />
be used which will not drip from their surfaces, which<br />
will penetrate to the core of the ropes, and which will<br />
adhere tenaciously to the gear teeth in an even film.<br />
Usually a straight mineral gear and rope compound<br />
of from 1000 to 2000 seconds viscosity Saybolt at 210<br />
deg. F. will satisfy these requirements.<br />
Air tub lubrication is exceedingly important due<br />
to the fact that pressure must be kept on the lines to<br />
the blast furnaces and Bessemer converts, etc., at all<br />
times. Therefore, cleaning is practically impossible,<br />
and the blowing cylinder lubricant must be so refined<br />
as to give rise to minimum carbonaceous accumulations<br />
in the air system as far as possible. Furthermore,<br />
every care should be observed to insure against<br />
feeding oil in excessive quantities to the air cylinders.<br />
In fact the right kind of oil will lubricate most satisfactorily<br />
when a minimum amount is fed to the cylinders.<br />
Excess never improves lubrication and only
378<br />
leads to objectionable oil deposits. The subject of air<br />
compressor lubrication and the effects of deposits were<br />
treated in considerable detail in Lubrication for March,<br />
1924. Air tub pressures in the steel plant are usually<br />
low (in the neighborhood of 15 to 20 pounds), and<br />
temperatures will therefore never run much ahove 300<br />
deg. F.<br />
Blast furnace devices require careful attention to<br />
lubrication, for bearing and gear lubricants must withstand<br />
heat, pressure, dust and contamination by flying<br />
sparks. A straight mineral lubricant of from 1000 to<br />
5.000 seconds viscosity Saybolt at 210 deg. F., ac-<br />
. . ^ •<br />
Tlie blast FurnacoS Steel Plant<br />
August, 1924<br />
cording to weather and temperature conditions has<br />
been found best suited for this service. Bearings are<br />
usually hand lubricated with the exception of ringoiled<br />
motor bearings; to meet the rough cenditions involved<br />
black oil is generally used. Motor bearings,<br />
however, require a good grade of medium viscosity<br />
engine oil.<br />
Bessemer Converters.<br />
The fierce heat adjacent to the Bessemer converter<br />
naturally gives rise to considerable skepticism when<br />
it conies to lubrication. In fact, in the vernacular.<br />
mr *** •<br />
1<br />
.~m.Mmmm.;:
August, 1924<br />
"no can do!" has been the contention of not a few<br />
steel workers. But the converter has to operate, and<br />
be free to swing readily when charging or pouring is<br />
done, therefore the operating mechanism which comprises<br />
a pair of hydraulic plungers with suitable racks<br />
and pinions adjacent to the trunnions, must work with<br />
the least possible friction, otherwise the power consumption<br />
and time of turning might be rapidly increased.<br />
These gear mechanisms as well as the<br />
plungers are subject to very high conducted heat.<br />
Therefore the lubricant must be heat resisting to the<br />
highest degree. A straight mineral product of high<br />
viscosity has been found to meet the converter's requirements<br />
satisfactorily, due to its adhesive characteristics.<br />
The blast for the blowing of Bessemer converters<br />
may be supplied by either horizontal or vertical steam<br />
blowers or turbo-blowers. These normally are located<br />
in engine rooms apart from the converters, and<br />
their lubrication, involving circulating oiling systems<br />
or mechanical force feed lubricators, is similar to that<br />
of any power plant unit, with no serious problems<br />
to worry about. See Lubrication for November, 1923,<br />
and MaVch, 1924.<br />
From the converters the steel is poured into a<br />
ladle which is usually carried by a steel crane capable<br />
of swinging on a vertical axis, for transfer to the ingot<br />
moulds. Cranes of this type are gear-operated.<br />
The predominance of heat, slag and steel dust naturally<br />
imposes the same severe requirements upon the<br />
lubricant as elsewhere in this part of the plant; as a<br />
result lubrication of gears and bearings often become<br />
quite a serious problem. If the gear compound as<br />
recommended for converter gears is used, with a<br />
good black oil for bearings and journals, many of the<br />
lubricating difficulties will be eliminated. In other<br />
words, the lubricant must resist heat and contamination<br />
with foreign impurities.<br />
Ingot and ladle cars may be equipped with either<br />
plain journal boxes and brasses, or roller bearings.<br />
The latter are coming into quite extensive usage due<br />
to their savings in oiling labor, inspection and lubricants.<br />
While it might seem that such bearings would<br />
be subjected to considerable heat, we must remember<br />
that inasmuch as they are practically always in the<br />
open air, radiation can occur unhampered. As a result,<br />
such bearings, even before the ingots have solidified,<br />
will be comfortable to the touch. Hot metal,<br />
slag, dust, dirt and variable loads are usually the more<br />
important factors which must be considered. Especially<br />
are the former detrimental to plain journal<br />
bearings of the railway type because of the rough<br />
service and careless handling which is prevalent. In<br />
fact journal box covers either ajar, open or broken<br />
off, is a common occurrence. In the roller bearing<br />
of course, the housing is tight and no carelessness can<br />
so disarrange it as to expose the bearing or lubricant<br />
to the detrimental action of hot iron, slag, dust, dirt<br />
or water.<br />
Open Hearth.<br />
In the open hearth plant there is relatively little<br />
machinery requiring lubrication except the charging<br />
cranes, overhead traveling cranes, strippers, and operating<br />
mechanisms for raising and lowering the charging<br />
doors. In general, all equipment in this part of<br />
the pjant which must be lubricated will be electrically<br />
operated. The overhead traveling cranes which serve<br />
IheDlast nimacel!yjteel Plant<br />
379<br />
for the handling of metal ladles are the most important<br />
hoisting devices involved; their uniqueness lies in<br />
their high rating, some riming up to 200 tons capacity.<br />
All have at least two separate hoists, the smaller or<br />
auxiliary being oftentimes as powerful as in the average<br />
crane found on other work. As in the Bessemer<br />
plant, heat and contamination are the chief detriments<br />
to which the lubricants are subject. The cables, gears,<br />
bearings, hoists and trolleys of all these mechanisms<br />
are periodically exposed to the extreme heat of molten<br />
Ileal, dust and weight must he overcome.<br />
metal and hot gases which arise from the boiling<br />
steel during tapping. This is particularly applicable<br />
to the cables holding the hooks which raise the ladles.<br />
As a result, lubricants which are not specially refined<br />
will tend to dry up and lose their effectiveness rapidly.<br />
In certain plants where induced draft fans are installed<br />
to force the hot gases from the open hearth<br />
through a series of waste heat boilers, the lubrication<br />
of the bearings of these fans will often become difficult<br />
due to the heat from the hot gases which is
380 Ihe Dlast kirnace _ Meel Plant<br />
conducted by the shaft to the bearing. These fans<br />
are usually motor driven, being equipped with watercooled,<br />
ring-oiled bearings. To properly meet the<br />
heat conditions and afford the necessary lubrication, a<br />
relatively high viscosity engine oil. or even, in some<br />
cases, a steam refined cylinder stock must be used.<br />
Electric Furnace.<br />
The usual mechanisms which will require lubrication<br />
in the electric furnace are the rack and gear teeth,<br />
the bearings of the operating motor and connecting<br />
rod and any other accessory journals involved. In<br />
general, heat conditions will not be quite as severe,<br />
nor will these mechanisms be subject to as dusty<br />
operation as eisewhere in the mill. Therefore the<br />
usual lubricants specified heretofore for similar mechanisms<br />
will function with perfect satisfaction, in<br />
fact, lasting longer and giving better service than<br />
when operating conditions and temperatures are more<br />
severe.<br />
Conclusion.<br />
Although we have but given a fleeting introduction<br />
into the smelting and refining branches of the<br />
steel industry, we feel that sufficient has been said to<br />
bring out the particularly important part which is<br />
played by lubrication. It is true, the average equipment<br />
is rough, and massive, and first glance would<br />
lead one to believe that lubrication was really but a<br />
trifle. But the operating mechanism of these massive<br />
units must be accurately designed and machined,<br />
since they are so inter-dependent upon one another.<br />
In effect, the principles of good machine-work must<br />
be incorporated in the steel mill as everywhere else<br />
in industry, if efficient production is to result.<br />
—Lubrication for July.<br />
General Electric Review for July-<br />
Six signed articles appear in the July issue of the<br />
General Electric Review, together with four unsigned<br />
articles. The cover is a photograph of Thomas A.<br />
Edison seated in the cab of the large C. M. & St. P.<br />
locomotive now on tour in the east, and the frontispiece<br />
shows a four-node, backward traveling wave<br />
in a thin disk model of a turbine wheel. The issue<br />
contains 71 reading pages.<br />
"The Engineer's Place in Society," by Gerard<br />
Swope; 5 pages.<br />
This article contains the substance of the first<br />
Aldred lecture delivered before the Massachusetts Institute<br />
of Technology. In it, the author talks about<br />
the oosition the engineer should occupy in society,<br />
emphasis being laid on the value of his training in<br />
the development of sound, analytical judgment.<br />
"Detroit Operates New Three-Car Articulated<br />
Train," by A. C. Colby; 8 pages and 10 illustrations.<br />
This electrically operated unit is the first of its<br />
kind in the world. Mr. Colby reviews the traffic situation<br />
in Detroit calling for its adoption, describing the<br />
train itself, together with what is expected of it.<br />
"The Vacuum—There's Something In It", by Dr.<br />
W. R. Whitney; 10 pages and 11 illustrations.<br />
The contents of this article were originally presented<br />
in an address before the American Association<br />
for the Advancement of Science, at Cincinnati, in<br />
December, 1923. Its purpose was both to inform and<br />
August, 1924<br />
to encourage workers in other scientific fields by presenting<br />
a summary of the results of research in what<br />
might seem the most unpromising field of all—high<br />
vacuum.<br />
"Switchboard Type Temperature Indicators," by<br />
D. M. Carswell; 5 pages and 10 illustrations.<br />
Mr. Carswell in this article shows how, by the use<br />
of these indicators, the risk of inadvertent crowding<br />
of equipment is lessened. He states that these indicators<br />
provide an accurate and reliable means of keeping<br />
posted on machine temperatures, thus making<br />
overheating practically inexcusable.<br />
"Studies of Electric Discharges in Gases at Low<br />
Pressures." by Dr. Irving Langmuir and Harold Mott-<br />
Smith, Jr.; 7 pages and 2 illustrations.<br />
The theory of plane, cylindrical and spherical collectors,<br />
with retarding and accelerating fields, is presented<br />
in this, the first instalment of a series of articles.<br />
Subsequent sections will deal with typical experimental<br />
data with plane, cylindrical and spherical<br />
collectors, following which there will be a general discussion<br />
of these results and their interpretation.<br />
"The Protection of Steam Turbin Disk Wheels<br />
from Axial Vibration." by Wilfred Campbell; 26 pages<br />
and 44 illustrations.<br />
This is Part II of a series of three articles covering<br />
a full and detailed description of the work done in<br />
studying various forms of vibration and waves which<br />
may exist in steam turbine disk wheels. This instalment<br />
gives a general discussion of the nature and<br />
theory of vibration in turbine wheels and explains<br />
why it is necessary to rely on actual tests in addition<br />
to purely analytical methods to accomplish thorough<br />
protection of the factory product.<br />
"Chicago, Wilwaukee & St. Paul Locomotive on<br />
Exhibit Tour"; 1 page and 1 illustration.<br />
An account is given of the exhibition trip of one<br />
of the five. 265-ton, 3000 volt, d.c. gearless locomotives<br />
owned by this railroad .<br />
"Coffin Awards"; 2 pages.<br />
Two articles tell the story of the recent awards<br />
made by the Charles A. Coffin Foundation, one to the<br />
Public Service Company of Northern Illinois for "the<br />
greatest contribution towards increasing the advantages<br />
of the use of electric light and power for the convenience<br />
and well-being of the public and the benefit<br />
of the industry," and the other award being made to<br />
eight college graduates in the form of fellowships to<br />
enable them to follow research work in college.<br />
"Bibliographies"; 3 pages.<br />
Three bibliographies are included in this issue, relating<br />
to the general subjects of X-rays and of metallurgy.<br />
German Blast Furnace Patents for 1923<br />
Specifications of patents granted in Germany in<br />
1923 relating to the improvement of blast furnaces:<br />
366906 — Rhein, Nassauische Bergwerks — und<br />
Hutten A. G. and Dr. Alfred Spieker in Stolberg.<br />
Process tor utilization of waste iron containing<br />
metal, lead, zinc, tin or enameled iron, being characterized<br />
by the fact that the waste iron is melted in<br />
the lead tempering bath, eventually with addition of<br />
leaden materials into a product which owing to its<br />
contents ol iron and zinc is suitable for being treated
August, 1924<br />
in the blast furnace, whilst the other constituents of<br />
the waste iron are extracted out of the remaining<br />
products of the melting process.<br />
366827 — Leonhard Treuheit, Elberfeld.<br />
Process for generation of iron in the cupola furnace,<br />
whereby only slag containing iron is being<br />
treated. This process is characterized by the fact<br />
that the slag is reduced by means of carboniferous<br />
materials, such as powdered charcoal, being injected<br />
into the blast in a well known manner.<br />
372934 — Deutsche Maschinenfabrik A. G., Duisburg.<br />
Relating to an apparatus to cut off the conveyance<br />
of the charge consisting of finely grained or<br />
powdered material into the melting zone of blast furnaces.<br />
This invention being characterized by the<br />
fact that in case the pressure emanating from the furnace<br />
surpasses that by which the charge is conveyed<br />
to the melting zone, the equilibrium of pressure is restored<br />
automatically or the passing of the charge into<br />
the melting zone is cut off automatically.<br />
374146 — Dr. Rudolf Fabinyi & Jeno, Kolozcwar.<br />
Process for the production of poorly coaled iron<br />
out of its ores by reducing it by means of methan, being<br />
characterized by a temperature during the process<br />
of reduction varying from 700 to 1000 deg.<br />
375165 — In addition to 354469, Vlucan Feuerungs<br />
A.. G. Dusseldorf.<br />
Process for improving the working of cupola furnaces<br />
and blast furnaces, being characterized by the<br />
fact that the water being injected along with air receives<br />
a larger quantity of oxygen.<br />
380246 — Deutsche Maschinenfabrik A. G., Duisburg.<br />
Device for the injection of finely grained or powdered<br />
materials into the melting zone of a blast furnace<br />
by means of a blower, being characterized<br />
by an airtight case containing the charge. Through<br />
this case passes the heated air which carries with it<br />
parts of the charge into the melting zone of the furnace.<br />
381006 — Carl Flosseu, Dusseldorf.<br />
Prices for the production of pig iron and steel,<br />
being characterized by an immediate connection of<br />
the low-shaft furnaces for the production of pig iron<br />
with the open hearth furnaces and basic converters<br />
for the production of steel in such a way that the<br />
gases escaping from the low-shaft furnace are conveyed<br />
into the open hearth furnace for heating purposes.<br />
The gases escaping from the open hearth furnace<br />
and the basic converters are used either apart or<br />
together with the gases escaping from the furnace<br />
for the preheating and prereduction of the ores.<br />
382499 — Deutsche Maschinen fabrik A. G., Duisburg.<br />
Device to cut off the conveyance of finely grained<br />
or powdered material into the melting zone of blast<br />
furnaces from a high level hopper through a vertically<br />
disposed pipe. This invention is characterized by<br />
the fact that the weight of the charge in the high<br />
level hopper acts on a mechanism fixed to the conveyer<br />
in such a way as to close the passage to the melting<br />
zone in case the passing of the charge into the high<br />
level hopper being interrupted and the weight of the<br />
hopper being diminished.<br />
Ihe Dlast liirnace L Nteel Plant<br />
381<br />
Iron Trade Review<br />
«<br />
Following are some of the more important news<br />
articles, market reviews and features of Iron Trade<br />
Review- during June :<br />
June 5.<br />
Considerably more action is apparent in the pig<br />
iron market, many large users having placed important<br />
orders during the week. No. 2 foundry iron has<br />
settled to $20 to $21 valley. The effect of recent price<br />
reductions is apparent in Iron Trade Review's composite<br />
of 14 leading iron and steel products which this<br />
week is $40.84 as compared with $41.14 in the preceding<br />
week. The general market is back to the level of<br />
January, 1923. Plates, shapes and bars have eased off<br />
to 2.20c Pittsburgh, with concessions for preferred<br />
business. Plate prices in the east are around 2.00c,<br />
Pittsburgh. Production of pig iron in May was 2,631,-<br />
248 tons, a loss of 594,859 tons from April. The number<br />
of furnaces in blast at the end of May was 188.<br />
Eighty-one stacks were put out during March and<br />
April.'<br />
The sheet and tin plate wage scale in plants having<br />
agreements with the Amalgamated association has<br />
been reaffirmed for another year, the Amalgamated<br />
withdrawing its demand for an increase of 25 per cent.<br />
Wage reductions in the Connellsville coke district in<br />
many instances to the 1917 basis are more general.<br />
Leading business men and industrial managers of<br />
the St. Louis district are guests at a dinner tendered<br />
by Festus J. Wade, president of the Mercantile Trust<br />
Company, St. Louis, for the purpose of crystallizing<br />
St. Louis' possibilities as a coming iron and steel center.<br />
The melting of 9 tons in a 3-ton electric furnace as<br />
carried out at the plant of the Dibert, Bancroft & Ross<br />
Company, Ltd., New Orleans, is described in this<br />
issue. Standardizing tool data sheets is described in<br />
an article by A. L. Evans, giving a number of approved<br />
forms.<br />
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers at<br />
its spring meeting in Cleveland May 26-29, devoted<br />
attention to industrial preparedness, education and<br />
standardization.<br />
June 12.<br />
Iron Trade Review's composite of 14 leading iron<br />
and steel products is slightly lower this week, $40.06<br />
as against $40.85 in the preceding week. No. 2 foundry<br />
iron is down to $19.50 valley. The pig iron market<br />
generally reveals lower price levels although there<br />
is not much change in steel. The steel corporation<br />
has eliminated price margins that have recently prevailed<br />
and in some instances is meeting the $4 per<br />
ton lower figure on blue annealed, black and galvanized<br />
sheets, following the lead of the independents.<br />
The American Radiator Company has closed for approximately<br />
75,000 tons of pig iron. The Ford furnace<br />
at Detroit sold 20,000 tons of basic to a northern<br />
Ohio steel maker.<br />
Production of steel ingots in May totaled 2,628,261<br />
tons, or 705,274 tons less than in April, a reduction<br />
of 21.2 per cent. At the end of May the unfilled orders<br />
of the Steel corporation totaled 3,628,089 tons,<br />
the smallest since November, 1914. Iron Trade Review's<br />
European manager cables from London that the<br />
Belgians are flooding the British market with low<br />
price steel, 20,000 tons having been unloaded at Welsh
382<br />
ports. The government of India has adopted the report<br />
of the tariff board raising duties on steel and steel<br />
products, affecting American imports.<br />
The steel corporation in a brief filed with the Federal<br />
Trade Commission analyzes the evidence presented<br />
in the Pittsburgh Plus case, denying that the basing<br />
point plan is illegal.<br />
James A. Farrell, president of the Steel corporation,<br />
speaking at the 11th annual convention of the<br />
National Foreign Trade Council in Boston, states that<br />
he believes the business depression is near an end.<br />
He outlines America's problems in world commerce.<br />
A description is given of the special optical instruments<br />
used by British steel makers in examining<br />
large f<strong>org</strong>ings. The restoration of Belgian steel works<br />
is described by Gustave Trasenter, chairman of the<br />
Soc. An. d'Ougree-Marihaye.<br />
The open-hearth steel capacity of the Inland Steel<br />
Company at its Indiana Harbor, Ind., works has been<br />
increased to the extent of four 100-ton furnaces which<br />
have just been completed and are described in this<br />
issue. The first of two articles is presented outlining<br />
the.changes made in the federal income tax law and<br />
explaining its features, as written by a tax expert.<br />
June 19.<br />
Bookings by the steel corporation so far in June<br />
are several thousand tons in excess of the similar<br />
period in May and general activities of the iron and<br />
steel industry remain at 45 to 50 per cent of steel ingot<br />
capacity.<br />
Further reductions are noted in pig iron prices<br />
and at the same time a great increase in sales. At<br />
Chicago where the price has been marked down $1 to<br />
$21.00, new orders amount to about 100,000 tons.<br />
Iron Trade Review's composite has declined from the<br />
16th consecutive week, this week being $40.55.<br />
An article in this issue analyzes the tendency with<br />
respect to wages in iron and steel and related lines.<br />
The Amalgamated association has withdrawn its demands<br />
for increases in wages for bar mill workers<br />
and the agreement the Amalgamated has had with<br />
representative bar mills has been reaffirmed for another<br />
year.<br />
From Europe comes the information that German<br />
strikes have been settled and that steel mills are resuming<br />
operations on a much larger scale. The Micum,<br />
so-called, agreements for delieveries of coke from<br />
Germany to France have been extended. An article<br />
is presented in this issue on the rapid development of<br />
alloy steel as traced by Sir Robert Hadfield. The<br />
Hornsey process for the direct reduction of ore as<br />
now being developed in England, also is described in<br />
this issue.<br />
June 26.<br />
Recent buying movement in the pig iron marKe'<br />
since June 1 has netted furnace operators 500,000 to<br />
600,000 tons, principally for the third quarter. A<br />
sanitary ware manufacturer in the Pittsburgh districthas<br />
in the last few days placed an order for 22,000<br />
tons. Lower prices on pig iron are in evidence, No. 2<br />
foundry in the valley being $19.00 and this also representing<br />
the market in several other important consuming<br />
centers. Iron Trade Review's composite this<br />
week is $40.37 compared with $40.55 in the week preceding.<br />
This is the lowest since December, 1922. An<br />
accumulation of orders has allowed the sheet mills in<br />
The blast FumaceSSteel Plant<br />
August, 1924<br />
the valley to suddenly expand their operations from<br />
15 to 41 per cent of capacity and a much better sentiment<br />
prevails in the market. There is very little interest<br />
in the market for semi-finished material. The<br />
tonnage placed in the structural steel market during<br />
the week was the largest in nine weeks. Awards for<br />
reinforcing bars were the best in over two months.<br />
Final arguments are made to the Federal Trade<br />
Commission in the Pittsburgh Plus case and the<br />
next step in the proceedings is a decision by the commission.<br />
The iron ore bridge of the Pittsburgh &<br />
Conneaut Dock Company, subsidiary of the United<br />
States Steel Corporation, at Conneaut, was destroyed<br />
by a wind storm on June 20. The lower unloading<br />
bridge of the Ashtabula and Buffalo Dock Company at<br />
Ashtabula, identified with Pickands, Mather Company,<br />
also was destroyed. One of the steel corporation's<br />
ore bridges at Lorain, Ohio, was blown off the<br />
track and damaged. A survey of the British steel industry<br />
and its expansion is presented in a paper that<br />
was a feature of the meeting of the iron and steel section,<br />
Empire Mining and Metallurgical Congress, in<br />
London, June 3-6.<br />
July 3.<br />
Production of pig iron in June was at a daily average<br />
of 67,379 tons compared with 84.515 tons in May,<br />
while the total output for June was 2,021.377 tons, in contrast<br />
with 2.619,986 tons in May. The June production<br />
was at the lowest point since the coal strike in August<br />
1922. The total loss of production since March has<br />
been 39.8 per cent. The loss of active furnaces since<br />
March is 109. 160 stacks were in operation on June<br />
31. " T r»<br />
In the same time there has been an increase in pig<br />
iron sales and the total for June has been estimated at<br />
more than 600.000 tons. The four selling interests with<br />
headquarters in Cleveland booked 340.000 tons in June.<br />
Iron Trade Review's composite of 14 leading iron and<br />
steel products has shown a decline for 18 consecutive<br />
weeks and now is 40.13 compared with 40 37 for the<br />
preceding week. Steel lines are quiet. Steel corporation<br />
is operating at about 53 per cent of ingot capacity.<br />
The new malleable foundry of the Belle City Malleable<br />
Iron Company. Racine, Wis., which has a capacity<br />
double that of the former foundry and features some<br />
special handling equipment in its operation, is described<br />
in this issue.<br />
Machine tool builders are endeavoring to apportion<br />
their cost figures over five year periods, and an article<br />
in this issue by Mr. H. R. Simonds, Boston correspondent,<br />
outlines methods followed by some of the leading<br />
manufacturers. This article presents six charts illustrating<br />
methods of averaging cost and other data pertaining<br />
to the business.<br />
The American Society for Testing Materials, at its<br />
twenty-seventh annual meeting at Atlantic City, June<br />
24-27, studies corrosion, heating, and electrical resistance<br />
properties. This issue contains a complete report of the<br />
meeting.<br />
July. 10.<br />
A seasonal lull has developed in most finished steel<br />
lines, although there is some indication of reviving interest.<br />
No change is noted in mill operations. Iron Trade<br />
Review's composite this week is 39.91, the same as the<br />
general composite for August. 1923. More stability is<br />
observed in the markets for pig iron, while the medium<br />
size foundries continue to close for fair size lots. Coke
August, 1924<br />
for spot shipment has been sold down to 2.75 in the Connellsville<br />
district, while contract tonnage is taken at $3.<br />
About 900 workmen, principally miners, employed by one<br />
of the leading coke producers, have gone on strike against<br />
return of the 1917 basis of wage payment.<br />
Steel ingot production for the first half of 1924 was<br />
18,635, 138 tons compared with 22,133,827 tons in the<br />
first half of 1923. Production in June fell 15.5 per cent<br />
when compared with May, and this brings the total loss<br />
from a high point in March to 40.89 per cent.<br />
A cablegram from Iron Trade Review's European<br />
manager at London states that business in the European<br />
iron and steel markets is suffering from renewed political<br />
wrangling over the Dawes' reparation plans. A newindex<br />
of business devised by Colonel L. P. Ayres, a<br />
Cleveland banker, was based on a record of blast furnace<br />
operation and Colonel Ayres' plan was fully described<br />
in this issue.<br />
The Second International Exhibition of Foundry<br />
Equipment is opened at Birmingham, England, featuring<br />
an important display of modern mechanical devices.<br />
An Iron Ore Myth<br />
Either some one has been spoofing the St. Louis<br />
Globe-Democrat and the public in general, or that<br />
worthy newspaper is chaffing the rest of us. According<br />
to its leading editorial in a recent issue, there<br />
is a deposit of iron ore "in and near the Racoon Mountains,<br />
in northern Alabama," that in "three great<br />
blanket veins of high-content iron ore stretches over<br />
an area estimated at more than 1,500,000 acres," containing<br />
no less than 50,000,000,000 tons. "In other<br />
words," says the Globe-Democrat, "in one compact<br />
deposit, 400 miles from St. Louis, is twice as much iron<br />
ore as in all the other known deposits of the world.<br />
These Racoon Mountain ores are not to be confused<br />
with others that have enabled an important metallic<br />
industry to flourish in the vicinity of Birmingham,<br />
Ala." It continues : "The magnitude of the amazing<br />
deposit, almost undeveloped as yet, is known to technical<br />
specialists, but scarcely a whisper has reached<br />
the general public."<br />
Since this startling news arrived, the entire staff<br />
of geological reporters and iron ore specialists have<br />
been searching painstakingly for this amazing deposit<br />
of ore, but without success. There are lots of raccoons,<br />
however, they all agree, with a good chance<br />
for something in the nature of a skin enterprise.<br />
"Wasn't it Muscle Shoals and its unlimited power<br />
resources that the Globe-Democrat was thinking of?"<br />
asked one. "The weather was hot, and a newspaper<br />
editor might easily get confused, with all this convention<br />
stuff to handle."<br />
"The location given is somewhat hazy," replied one<br />
Alabama geologist who was asked. "It reminds me<br />
of a Cockney Englishman named Perkins whom my<br />
brother met in Algiers, and who ingenuously inquired<br />
if Charles 'knew his brother in America.' The place<br />
of abode of the Americanized Perkins was somewhat<br />
sketchily indicated as 'near Fullydulphiyah on Boston<br />
River,' the precise name being finally dug up and<br />
stated as 'Sarn Franchesko.' 'Raccoon Mountains' is<br />
about as accurately described, in respect to location,<br />
as was Perkins," he concluded.<br />
The blast Furnace 3Steel Plant<br />
383<br />
Of all the news unearthed by these keen-scented<br />
sleuths in northern Alabama the bit that sounded most<br />
like 50 billion tons of ore was to the effect that, a year<br />
or so ago, a Chicago syndicate acquired (or so the<br />
rumor said) about 140,00 acres of mineral land, mainly<br />
coal and iron, and was to develop it with a $5,000,-<br />
000 incorporation. Nothing has since been heard of<br />
the syndicate, however, and payments on some of the<br />
properties are long overdue.—Engineering and Mining<br />
Journal Press editorial.<br />
According to the recently issued Second Supplement<br />
to the Institute's Bibliographic Bulletin No. 1,<br />
copies of which may be had upon request, 1 book, 2<br />
bulletins, 34 research reports, and 74 other scientific<br />
and technical papers were published during the calendar<br />
year 1923 by members of the Institute; 13<br />
United States patents were also issued to industrial<br />
fellows. The total contributions to literature for the<br />
12 years ended January 1, 1924, have been as follows:<br />
11 books, 27 bulletins, 300 research reports, 387 other<br />
articles, and 246 United States patents.<br />
The Institute is primarily an industrial experiment<br />
station, but the nature of its investigational procedure<br />
enables broad training of young scientists in research<br />
methods and in special subjects of technology. It<br />
also recognizes the need of fundamental scientific research<br />
as a background and source of stimulus for industrial<br />
research. It has funds which are devoted to<br />
the prosecution of investigations not suggested by industry,<br />
but planned within the Institute and directed<br />
towards the study of more fundamental problems<br />
than those usually investigated for direct industrial<br />
purposes. During the period covered by the Eleventh<br />
Annual Report, four members of the Institute were<br />
engaged in purely scientific research of this type. The<br />
needs of industry are so varied and numerous that its<br />
research men are constantly opening up promising<br />
fields for investigation along fundamental lines.<br />
—Industrial and Engineering Chemistry.<br />
The American Rolling Mill Company have completed<br />
arrangements for rebuilding their "W r est" blast<br />
furnace at South Columbus, Ohio. The present furnace<br />
will be dismantled and a new mantle ring, furnace<br />
shell and downcomers erected. The top equipment<br />
and the McKee Revolving distributor at present<br />
on the furnace will be utilized and re-erected.<br />
Arthur G. McKee & Company, engineers and contractors,<br />
Cleveland, have been awarded the contract for<br />
the entire program.<br />
The first unit of the 6-battery extension to the<br />
Carnegie Steel Company's by-product coke plant at<br />
Clairton, Pa., was put into operation on June 27. This<br />
extension comprises a total of 366 Koppers Becker<br />
type combination ovens arranged in six batteries of<br />
61 oevns each, together with complete by-product and<br />
benzol recovery plants. This extension will have a<br />
capacity for carbonizing 8,500 tons of coal per da)-.<br />
The Clairton plant now consists of a total of 1,134<br />
ovens having a carbonizing capacity of approximately<br />
22,000 tons of coal per day, all of which have been<br />
designed and built by the Koppers Company.
BENJAMIN G. LAMME, Chief Engineer of the<br />
Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company,<br />
and one of the world's leading electrical<br />
authorities, after a lingering illness of several months,<br />
died at his home. 230 Stratford Street, East Liberty,<br />
Pa. Ge<strong>org</strong>e Westinghouse, with whom Mr. Lamme was<br />
closely associated until Mr. Westinghouse s death,<br />
had perfected the alternating current system, by which<br />
electricity could be transmitted over great distances<br />
economically. Mr. Lamme then perfected railway and<br />
industrial motors and synchronous converters to make<br />
this alternating current useful at any point, and thus<br />
the use of electricity was removed from small, restricted<br />
areas and its use made universal.<br />
His most spectacular achievements were the designing<br />
of generating equipment for the World's Fair<br />
in Chicago in 1892; 5.000 hp. generators, a world's<br />
record at the time, when Niagara Falls was first<br />
harnessed for waterpower; generating and motor<br />
equipment for the first big railway electrification, that<br />
of the New York. New Haven cv Hartford Railroad;<br />
the present day single-phase alternating current, high<br />
voltage railway system, which is responsible for most<br />
Ine Dlast furnace "1 Nteel Plant<br />
whose performance was the boast of the Westinghouse<br />
Company.<br />
Then came the Niagara Falls power development,<br />
for which Mr. Westinghouse took the contract for the<br />
electrical apparatus. The huge umbrella type generators<br />
rated at 5000 hp. each, were calculated to a<br />
nicety by Mr. Lamme. and the machines were a great<br />
success.<br />
About the year 1895 Mr. Lamme conceived the<br />
idea that led to the development of the well-known<br />
type — C — induction motor with the squirrel cage<br />
rotor. Engineers still marvel at the type C motors<br />
and also at Mr. Lamme's paper on induction motors,<br />
which is a recognized classic.<br />
His great work on the synchronous converter, however,<br />
he regarded as one of his greatest achievements.<br />
For years, he fought the battle for the synchronous<br />
converter almost single-handed. He won out, as usual,<br />
and this is now the accepted machinery for converting<br />
alternating into d.c.<br />
Then came his conception of the single phase a.c.<br />
railway system. He had long held the belief that<br />
BENJAMIN G LAMME<br />
the success of heavy electric railroading lay in the<br />
use of a high voltage a.c. on a single overhead trolley.<br />
He felt that the simplicity and advantage of this system<br />
with its simple sub-stations containing nothing<br />
but lowering transformers and with no attendants required,<br />
were so great that it must come. The main<br />
difficulty lay in finding suitable ways and means for<br />
utilizing^ the single phase a.c. After several attempts.<br />
Mr. Lamme succeeded in designing a series commutator<br />
type of motor with suitable characteristics, which<br />
he described along with the system of power distribution<br />
in his famous paper before the American Institute<br />
of Electrical Engineers.<br />
The paper created a furore of excitement all over<br />
the civilized world and soon every electrical manufacturer<br />
was working madly on the problems, and a<br />
dozen types of motors were on the market. Mr. Lamme<br />
never pinned his faith solely to the commutator<br />
type motor, although that is the type that has been<br />
most used. He maintained that one of the great advantages<br />
of the system lay in the fact that several different<br />
types of equipment could be used, all running<br />
under the same trolley.<br />
Mr. Lamme has received the highest honors from<br />
the American Institute of Elecerical Engineers, in<br />
being elected one of the two members from that body<br />
on the Naval Consulting Board during the War and<br />
being chairman of the inventions committee on that<br />
of the railroad electrifications; the design of the<br />
board.<br />
most<br />
In 1919, he was also awarded the Edison<br />
successful synchronous converter ever used; and the<br />
Medal by the American Institute of Electrical Engi<br />
single reduction gear street car motor, which though<br />
neers for his engineering achievements. All of these<br />
designed in 1890 is the type still used on street railway<br />
were in consequence of his work and ability as an<br />
systems.<br />
engineer — he was in competition with engineers only.<br />
At this same time he was working on d.c. arc ma<br />
When the Board of Trustees of Ohio State University<br />
chines and a.c. generators, making improvements in<br />
awarded him the Joseph Sullivant Medal, it was a<br />
the latter which increased their output by 50 per cent.<br />
recognition of the value of his work to the world.<br />
In 1892 he began work on the induction motor and Designer of many kinds of electrical apparatus,<br />
produced the first successful distributed winding Mr. Lamme's declarations and writings on electrical<br />
motor of this type. In 1892 Mr. Westinghouse took and mechanical engineers. His greatness as an out<br />
the contract for lighting the World's Fair. Great standing electrical engineer can best be judged by<br />
polyphase generators had to be designed for this pur the eagerness with which engineers always sought<br />
pose and Mr. Lamme did the work. He also designed his opinion and discussion.<br />
the synchronous converter, large induction motor and<br />
other machines which were exhibited at the fair. At<br />
this same time, he was designing railway generators<br />
Mr. Lamme was a member of the American Institute<br />
of Electrical Engineers and the Engineers Club<br />
of New York.
August, 1924<br />
The blast Ft, mace O Steel PI ant<br />
7% POWER PLANT<br />
Mechanical Stokers<br />
IN Detroit there is a manufacturer of steel products<br />
with a plant covering several acres of ground.<br />
This manufacturer heats his plant with high pressure<br />
steam generated in three 72-in. x 18-ft. tubular<br />
boilers, 150 hp. each. Ever since the plant was built<br />
several years ago these boilers have been hand fired<br />
during the heating season of about seven months per<br />
year. In 1922 an oil burning system was installed on<br />
one of the boilers and oil purchased at about 6 cents<br />
per gallon, but the cost of operation under this method<br />
was found so excessive that this plan was soon discarded<br />
and hand firing was again resorted to for the<br />
This is one of a series of articles by Robert<br />
June, who is well qualified to write on<br />
this subject. The articles are written from<br />
the view of the managing executive and deal<br />
with the dollars and cents end of power plant<br />
operation and maintenance. Succeeding articles<br />
deal with such live topics as safe and<br />
efficient boiler operation and maintenance,<br />
what management should know about coal<br />
and ash handling equipment, steam piping,<br />
efficient turbine operation, etc. The series is<br />
timely and should prove of value to our readers.<br />
balance of the heating season. Coal cost him at that<br />
time about $7.00 per ton in the bin and the evaporation<br />
averaged 6]/2 lbs. to 7 lbs. water per pound of<br />
run-of-mine coal.<br />
It was necessary to operate all three boile r s almost<br />
continuously to carry the load which meant that<br />
boilers had to be cleaned on Sundays or holidays.<br />
This also meant that the manufacturer was at all<br />
times running a risk of being short of steam if a boiler<br />
had to be taken off the line and repaired. The stack<br />
serving the boilers smoked badly which was serious<br />
in view of the plant location on the principal boulevard<br />
of the city.<br />
In the summer of 1923 a large building was added<br />
to the heating load. It was decided to investigate<br />
the possibilities of stokers. Both hand fired stokers<br />
and mechanically operated stokers were considered.<br />
but the order was finally placed last fall for mechanically<br />
operated single retort underfeeds.<br />
Operating conditions during the past winter with<br />
mechanical stokers installed have been verv different<br />
*Rohert June Engineering Management Organization. De<br />
troit, Mich. Copyright 1924.<br />
A Profitable Investment for Small Boilers?<br />
By ROBERT JUNE*<br />
3S5<br />
from those of the past. With the exception of two<br />
weeks in January during which zero weather prevailed,<br />
two boilers carried the load all winter The<br />
plant engineer states that their evaporation instead of<br />
being 6 l /2 to 7 lbs. as in the past has been increased<br />
to 8 l /2 or 9 lbs. Instead of burning run-of-mine coal<br />
at $7.00 per ton this winter they burned nut pea and<br />
slack which costs $4.60 per ton in the bin.<br />
The operating force are all boosters for mechanical<br />
stokers and the management is very thorjughlv sold<br />
on the idea that mechanical stokers are a profitable<br />
investment on even small boilers operated 'inly- part<br />
time, because they have proven to their own satisfaction<br />
that in their own case mechanical stokers pay for<br />
themselves in a very short period of time.<br />
What Happened When They Enlarged a Small<br />
Ohio Plant Sixty Per Cent.<br />
Naturally you would think that the addition of<br />
42,000 sq. ft. of floor space (constituting a 60 per cent<br />
1 3 : *p • *<br />
i _1<br />
> * * • * ! ><br />
r<br />
1<br />
FIG. 1—The installation of stokers in this plant increased<br />
evaporation from an average of 6y2 to an average of &Y2 lbs.<br />
of water per pound of coal Instead of burning run of mine<br />
coal at $7.00 per ton they now hum<br />
per ton.<br />
nut. pea and slack at $4.60<br />
increase in area) in a manufacturing plant with its<br />
high ceilings and large window space, would inevitably<br />
increase very materially the coal consumption.<br />
This was not the case, however, at this plant because<br />
they put in a small underfeed stoker at the same time<br />
they enlarged the building. For seven years prior to<br />
the installation of the stoker, the coal consumption<br />
had averaged 652 tons a year. On this same basis a<br />
60 per cent increase in the building space would have<br />
increased the coal consumption to an average of 1040<br />
w<br />
%
386<br />
tons yearly. As a matter of fact, the first year the<br />
stoker was installed the coal consumption was reduced<br />
to 540 tons—a clear saving of 500 tons as compared<br />
to the coal consumption based on former practice,<br />
and a net saving of 100 tons as compared to the<br />
average for the preceding seven years.<br />
Another Ohio Manufacturer Cuts Costs.<br />
The power plant of another small Ohio manufacturer<br />
had been operated for a number of years bv a<br />
very efficient force, which in five years succeeded in<br />
reducing the fuel consumption from approximately<br />
12 tons per 10 hour day to 10 tons per 10 hour day<br />
under the same load conditions.<br />
Three years ago the old equipment was discarded<br />
and small water tube boilers of the same make installed.<br />
These were equipped with single retort underfeed<br />
stokers. This installation is in daily operation<br />
and the fuel consumption has now been reduced to<br />
six tons per day. A saving of 40 per cent in fuel has<br />
thus been secured.<br />
Uniform steam pressure is now maintained and<br />
recent tests under every day operating conditions<br />
FIG. 2—The installation of a mechanical stoker under this boiler<br />
resulted in a net saving of 100 tons of coal per year, although<br />
the load -was increased 60 per cent. The actual saving, taking<br />
the larger load into account, figured out to 500 Ions per year.<br />
show an overall efficiency of boiler and stoker better<br />
than 75 per cent.<br />
Saved 118 Tons of Coal a Month With a<br />
30 Per Cent Increase in Load.<br />
At another steel plant they had been operating<br />
their small power plant for 15 years and had been<br />
making approximately 96,000 units of electricity per<br />
month. About two years ago a small underfeed stoker<br />
was installed in the plant as a test and the management<br />
found by the operation of this single stoker that<br />
they saved 118 tons of coal during the first month of<br />
operation. During this same period of time they pro<br />
llie blast Furnace 3Stool Plant<br />
August, 1924<br />
duced 127.000 units of electricity or an increase of<br />
31,000 units over any previous month. The management<br />
was so pleased with this showing that it contracted<br />
for the immediate installation of two additional<br />
small stokers to equip its other boilers.<br />
What to Expect from a Stoker Installation.<br />
All of the above experiences relate to very small<br />
boilers in what are literally one and two man boiler<br />
plants. They are typical of the experience of hun-<br />
FIG. 3—Mechanical stokers are saving five tons of coal a day<br />
in this plant besides providing an efficient means of burning<br />
refuse.<br />
dreds of operators of very small plants who have installed<br />
mechanical stokers of various makes.<br />
The operator of the small plant often finds it difficult<br />
to believe that a stoker will be a profitable investment<br />
for him. He does not see how he can save<br />
labor, as he perhaps has only one man in the boiler<br />
room as the matter stands, and he is not convinced<br />
that the other savings such as the saving in fuel, which<br />
is the most prominent factor which occurs to him, will<br />
warrant the expenditure. When he turns to the<br />
stoker manufacturer, his skepticism is not removed<br />
by the refusal of the stoker manufacturer to make him<br />
a guarantee of savings in fuel as compared to results<br />
he is now obtaining by hand firing.<br />
Now a word as to the stoker manufacturer and the<br />
proposed guarantee. The only means of determining<br />
that such a guarantee has been made is by an elaborate<br />
evaporation test and the maintenance of close<br />
records of hand firing operations for some period<br />
prior to the installation of the stokers. The cost of<br />
such a test may amount to $400 or $500 if carried out<br />
in all detail to a proper conclusion and there is considerable<br />
uncertainty as to the reliability of records<br />
available. The situation then works out to where the<br />
prospective user of the stoker really has to buy it on<br />
faith to a certain extent.<br />
If the mechanical stoker can be installed without<br />
expensive alterations to the plant such as would be<br />
involved in raising the boiler, increasing the stack or<br />
digging an expensive basement, the expenditures for<br />
the stoker will prove to be one of the best paying investments<br />
the purchaser ever made. It may even<br />
prove a good investment if considerable alterations<br />
are required in the boiler room but in such event a<br />
very careful study should be made of the entire situation.
August, 1924<br />
The mechanical stoker has demonstrated in actual<br />
practice that its installation under even very small<br />
boilers, results in the following economies:<br />
1. Fuel Saving: Saves eight to 12 per cent of<br />
coal—a result due to more nearly complete combustion.<br />
Hand-fired plants average 50 to 55 per cent<br />
overall boiler efficiency, whereas stoker fired boilers<br />
average 70 to 75 per cent and over. See Table I<br />
for test on a 120 hp. return tubular boiler.<br />
2. Labor Saving: Saves approximately 50 per cent<br />
of boiler room labor depending upon plant conditions.<br />
3. Cheaper Coal: Burns lower grades of fuel than<br />
is possible with hand firing. Savings thus effected<br />
may be of such magnitude as to pay for the cost of<br />
the stokers each year.<br />
4. Increases Boiler Capacity : Stoker fired boilers<br />
may be continuously driven to much higher ratings<br />
than hand-fired boilers. This assures an adequate<br />
supply of steam at all times. It may permit shutting<br />
down one or more boilers, or, where demands are<br />
heavy, obviate the necessity of buying additional boilers.<br />
5. Smokeless Operation: With stokers smokeless<br />
operation at all loads is secured through practically<br />
complete combustion.<br />
6. Eliminates Human Factor: Man's efforts constantly<br />
vary in intensity and skill. A fireman doing<br />
first class work in the morning will be less attentive<br />
in the afternoon when he- is tired. His efficiency<br />
moves up and down from hour to hour and from day<br />
to day. Presently he leaves the plant and a new man<br />
takes his place. Contrast this condition with one<br />
Ihe Dlast furnace '1/ jteel Plant<br />
387<br />
The Story of Two Plants.<br />
Listed above are certain economic advantages resulting<br />
from the installation of mechanical stokers.<br />
The dollars and cents value of these savings may be<br />
calculated in advance, and to this extent the worth of<br />
the stoker is tangible. There are other advantages,<br />
equally important, but not readily calculable because,<br />
to some extent, they are intangible.<br />
The point may be illustrated by reference to two<br />
FIG. 5—Two Detroit underfeed stokers on OR in. by 18 //.<br />
return tubular boilers.<br />
FIG. 4—It pays to equip very small boilers Two Detroit "I"'<br />
type stokers on \2S-hp. boilers.<br />
W 9<br />
power plants of approximately equal size and capacity.<br />
One of them had hand-fired furnaces, and, further, the<br />
bad conditions of this type of firing had a psychological<br />
effect on those working in the boiler room. The<br />
place was in a generally ill-kept and unsatisfactory<br />
condition. The other plant was equipped with mechanical<br />
stokers, and, perhaps, because the attainment<br />
of efficiency in combustion stimulated the firemen<br />
to better work all around, the boiler room was<br />
in first class condition. The first plant was using<br />
half again as much coal as the second, and because<br />
of the bad conditions in the boiler room the cost of<br />
steam generation was actually twice the cost of generation<br />
in the second plant.<br />
A study of the psychology- of the fireman, who<br />
labors under adverse conditions is replete with interest.<br />
Too often he works in a dimly lighted boiler<br />
room with equipment so inefficient that any incentive<br />
he may have toward improving conditions becomes<br />
buried.<br />
Where careless management prevails, coal soon<br />
comes to mean nothing to him but a black substance<br />
of unlimited supply. When the storage space gets<br />
empty, coal cars or motor trucks refill it. The boss<br />
where stokers are employed. Steady, even production who pays the bill makes no demands regarding the<br />
follows as a matter of course. Steam pressure re saving of fuel. The management's one demand is that<br />
mains constant—the same amount of coal produces steam should be kept up, and therefore, why should<br />
the same amount of steam week in and week out— he, the fireman, be concerned about anything but the<br />
boiler efficiency is uniform, dependability has replaced pressure gauge?<br />
instability.<br />
This was the condition existing in the first boiler<br />
7. Meets Emergencies: Suddenly varying loads room. When the management finally took up the<br />
on boilers of medium size, particularly where the num problem of reducing the cost of steam generation, they<br />
ber of steam generators in a plant is limited, offer found the firemen ready and willing to co-operate.<br />
a real firing problem. Hand firing, because of its When it was proposed to install stokers the manage<br />
slowness and the uncertainties of the human element, ment found the men actually welcoming the idea, al<br />
does not offer a satisfactory solution. Rapid producthough they realized that some changes would have<br />
tion of steam to meet heavy requirements calls for the to be made in the number of men working in the<br />
use of mechanical stokers.<br />
boiler room. After the stoker installation had been
388<br />
completed, it was found that a cheaper grade of fuel<br />
than had previously been used could be burned, and<br />
that, due to the uniformity with which the stoker fed<br />
the fuel, the proper proportion of air for combustion.<br />
the absence of large amounts of excess air, etc., it<br />
was possible to maintain a uniform boiler efficiency of<br />
approximately 70 per cent, whereas 55 to 60 per cent<br />
FIG. 6—Detroit underfeed stokers on two 155-hp.<br />
water tube boilers.<br />
had been the rule before, and the same amount of<br />
steam could be generated with considerably less coal.<br />
With the installation of the stokers, a transformation<br />
took place in the boiler room. The firemen began<br />
to display a hearty interest in their work, with<br />
the result that esprit de corps of the operators and<br />
the whole appearance of the boiler room was changed.<br />
As a result, the cost of producing steam in the plant<br />
was reduced something like 50 per cent, bringing it<br />
down to the cost in the second plant.<br />
TABLE I — TEST ON DETROIT "V"-TYPE STOKER<br />
Rec. Feed—Bar Drive Under One H.R.T. Boiler—<br />
66 In. x 18 Ft. 0 In.<br />
Hp. of boiler (builders' rating) 120<br />
Size of stoker 4 ft. 11 in. x 5 ft. 3 in.<br />
Grate surface — projected 27 sq. ft.<br />
Kind of fuel Kenawa gas coal slack<br />
Duration of trial — hours 8<br />
Total Quantities<br />
1. Duration of trial — hours 8<br />
2. Weight of coal as fired—lbs 3576<br />
3. Per cent of moisture in coal 5.38<br />
4. Total weight of dry coal fired—lbs 3384<br />
5. Total ash and refuse — lbs 463<br />
6. Per cent of ash and refuse in dry coal 13.7<br />
7. Total weight of water fed to boiler—lbs 32,508<br />
8. Factor of evaporation 1.083<br />
9. Equivalent water fed to boiler from and at 212<br />
deg. — lbs 35,206<br />
Hourly Quantities<br />
10. Dry coal fired per hour — lbs 423<br />
11. Dry coal per sq. ft. of grate per hour—lbs 15.66<br />
I he Dias t Furnace ^-jteel Plant<br />
August, 1924<br />
12. Water evaporated per hour—lbs 4063.5<br />
13. Equivalent water per hour from and at 212<br />
deg. - lbs 4400.7<br />
Average Pressure and Temperature<br />
14. Steam pressure by gauge—lbs 99.6<br />
15. Temperature of feed water — deg. F 170.3<br />
16. Temperature of flue gas — deg. F 507<br />
17. Force of draft in breeching<br />
18. Force of draft over fire—inches 10<br />
Horse Power<br />
19. Horse power developed 127.5<br />
21). Builders rated hp 120<br />
21. Percentage of builders rating developed 106.3<br />
Economic Results<br />
11. Water evaporated per pound of coal as fired—lbs... 9.09<br />
li. Equivalent evaporation from and at 212 deg. per<br />
pound of coal as fired—lbs 9.84<br />
24. Equivalent evaporation from and at 212 deg. per<br />
pound of dry coal—lbs 10.40<br />
25. Equivalent evaporation from and at 212 deg. per<br />
pound of combustible — lbs 12.05<br />
Coal Analysis<br />
Moisture — per cent 5.38<br />
Volatile carbon<br />
Fixed carbon<br />
Ash — per cent 10.00<br />
Btu. of coal as fired 13,088<br />
Btu. per pound of dry coal 13.833<br />
Efficiency<br />
Efficiency of boiler, including stoker based on dry<br />
coal — per cent 72.6<br />
Air Infiltration—Enemy of Boiler Efficiency<br />
By I. S. PIETERS-<br />
Air infiltration is one of the largest, and at the<br />
same time the most insideous causes of fuel waste. It<br />
may exist for a long time—indefinitely, in fact—without<br />
being suspected, unless an Orsat, a CO. recorder,<br />
a pyrometer or similar apparatus is used to search it<br />
out by exploring the passes and for passages.<br />
This seepage of air from the outside to the inside<br />
of the furnace other than through the fuel bed, (usually<br />
called "excess air") takes place through porous<br />
bricks, through fissures and cracks in the bricks themselves,<br />
through the joints between bricks and between<br />
brickwork and metal and through warped and leaky<br />
inspection and cleaning doors. When it enters the<br />
furnace, it lowers the temperature of combustion;<br />
when it enters higher up it lowers the temperature of<br />
the gases sweeping the heating surfaces; and. if of<br />
sufficient magnitude may cause trouble by causing<br />
local cooling and contraction. In each case it wastes<br />
fuel. Bv lowering the temperature difference it reduces<br />
the draft when increased draft is needed. In<br />
any case, it overloads the stack so that the combustion<br />
rate is retarded, the draft may be inadequate and<br />
the evaporation rate curtailed.<br />
Finding Air Infiltration.<br />
Air infiltration is readily discovered by analyzing<br />
the flue gas from different sections of the furnace,<br />
boiler passes and breeching. The use of a pyrometer<br />
in the various passes also shows when excess air is<br />
seeping in and the source or sources of the leakage<br />
can be ascertained.<br />
It is a simple matter to locate the more serious<br />
source of air leak; it needs no special instruments but<br />
only r a little experience and perserverence. One way<br />
•Jointless Fire Brick Company, Chicago, III.
August, 1924<br />
is to fire up, using a good thick fuel bed, so as to<br />
obtain dense smoke. Then close up the stack damper<br />
while leaving the ash pit damper open. Smoke will be<br />
forced out through the cracks and openings through<br />
which air is normally drawn in.<br />
Another way is to open the stack damper wide and<br />
produce an intense draft in the furnace. Pass a lighted<br />
candle over the brickwork, around joints where<br />
brick and metal meet and other places where cracks<br />
and leaks might be supposed to exist. The flame of<br />
the candle will be drawn toward the cracks by the<br />
negative known—the furnace or draft. Mark them<br />
with chalk and fix them as soon as possible.<br />
Ine blast Furnace _>jteel Plant<br />
How to Eliminate It.<br />
Although the one-piece, impervious, jointless,<br />
monolihtic lining shown in the illustration is the easiest<br />
and most permenent way of preventing or stopping<br />
air infiltration, still other precautions are often taken,<br />
especially where induced draft is employed. The application<br />
of a steel casing around the boiler setting is<br />
one way. The use of wire net covered with asbestos<br />
and boiler setting compound or paint is another; with<br />
a number of variations. Each aims to seal up the<br />
brickwork and cracks from the outside and so stop the<br />
seepage of air into the furnace. The monolithic lining<br />
seals them from the inside.<br />
The monolithic, jointless or one-piece lining will<br />
do more than any other one thing to prevent air infiltration<br />
for a given draft or negative pressure in the<br />
furnace. The monolithic lining eliminates all brick<br />
joints on the furnace side of the boiler setting. It<br />
constitutes a thick inside lining, keyed to the bricks,<br />
through which air cannot pass. It is impervious to<br />
air and by closing up the inside of the furnace entirely,<br />
keeps the heat in and the cold air out.<br />
That this is true was proved by a test made by the<br />
Jointless Fire Brick Company, manufacturers of Plibrico<br />
Furnace Lining.<br />
The chart reproduced here shows the relative heat<br />
conductivity of an ordinary laid-up fire brick wall<br />
(A) and a wall constructed of jointless Plibrico Furnace<br />
Lining, (B) as determined by boiler test runs.<br />
Tests show the superior insulating quality of the<br />
monolithic wall, which means a saving of fuel.<br />
In making the tests, half of the back wall was<br />
lined with fire brick — the other half with the jointless<br />
lining. In a recent test, the furnace temperature<br />
ranged from 2895 to 3010 deg. F. The temperature<br />
back of the fire brick wall ranged from 1660 to 2020<br />
deg. F.—behind the monolithic wall from 1365 to<br />
1770 deg. F.<br />
It is wise to use this monolithic lining to cut heat<br />
loss, for with this saving there come other advantages.<br />
It lasts two to four times as long as fire brick,<br />
life of four and even five and six years being not uncommon.<br />
It is easily installed by inexperienced persons—no<br />
highly paid bricklayers are needed.<br />
The Use of X-Ray in Foundry Practice<br />
By L. C. BREED<br />
In the field of human endeavor, modern science<br />
has been found to render efficient service, and especially<br />
in the direction of the elimination of conjecture<br />
regarding "how to proceed to get satisfactory re<br />
389<br />
sults." For example, the physician, in case of an accident<br />
to a person, by the use of X-Ray knows what has<br />
happened to a limb and how to treat it. In foundry<br />
practice, it now is possible to penetrate steel upwards<br />
of three inches in thickness. By the use of X-Ray,<br />
defects which are not at all apparent can be located<br />
and an imperfect casting can be rejected if necessary.<br />
But of far more value is the fact that it now is possible<br />
to stress the importance of seeking to discover<br />
the cause from which the defects arise.<br />
It is, of course, admitted that these comments<br />
more particularly apply to expensive jobs, or to those<br />
where strength is a factor of much importance. It<br />
readily will be seen that where a casting costing several<br />
thousand dollars is rejected, the cost of the next<br />
one is greatly enhanced. As a result it may be said<br />
that it is problematical, in some instances, to determine<br />
in advance whether or not, in filling a contract,<br />
the job will be found to be profitable.<br />
W r hile it is possible to make use of X-Ray in some<br />
lines of work, it is not practicable in case of rails for<br />
the reason that defects of a "stringy" kind are too fine<br />
to be shown on the film on account of lack of intensity<br />
in the power of the X-Ray.<br />
There is another phase of this matter to be considered,<br />
namely, if it is possible for the manufacturer<br />
to discover defects by the use of X-Ray-, by the same<br />
token it also is possible for the purchaser to do this.<br />
or have it done for him independently of the manufacturer.<br />
Million Dollar Electrical Equipment Order<br />
The Carnegie Steel Company has recently placed<br />
with the Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing<br />
Company orders amounting to over a million dollars<br />
for electrical equipment to be used in a new structural<br />
mill which will be erected by the steel company at<br />
its Homestead works. The electrical equipment ordered<br />
includes a 15,000-kw. turbine-generator; three<br />
1,000-kw., 500-rpm., 3-phase, 25-cycle, 6,600-volt a.c.<br />
motor-generators and their switchboards; and complete<br />
equipment for one 44-inch reversing blooming<br />
mill, one 36-inch reversing roughing mill and one 28-<br />
32-inch finishing mill.<br />
The equipment for the 44-inch reversing blooming<br />
mill consists of a 15,000-hp. reversing motor, a flywheel<br />
motor-generator set of two 3,000-kw. generators<br />
driven by a 5,000-hp. a.c. motor, and auxiliaries,<br />
switchboards and control for the mill. The 36-inch<br />
roughing mill equipment consists of a 10,000-hp, reversing<br />
motor, a flywheel motor-generator set of two<br />
2,100-kw. generators driven by a 5,000-hp. a.c. motor,<br />
and switchboards, auxiliaries and control for the mill.<br />
The 28-32-inch finishing mill has a flywheel weighing<br />
125,000 pounds and is driven by a 6,000-hp. direct<br />
connected, a.c, wound rotor motor with suitable<br />
control.<br />
The building of the new structural mill consists<br />
one-half of an extensive building program planned by<br />
the Carnegie Steel Company at its Homestead Works<br />
for the replacement of old and obsolete equipment.<br />
Three of the oldest structural mills will be dismantled<br />
and replaced by two large mills of the latest design,<br />
the obsolete steam driving equipment being replaced<br />
by electric drive throughout.
390<br />
llllllllMl!!IIIIIIIINIIII!llinilllllllltllllllli;lli::illl!lll|!|Nhii iiillllllllllli:il[llllllllllllllll!ll![l[llllllllllll!lll!nil[IIIIINIIIIIIIII!ll![|[[IINIIIIIIII!lll!ll![[|[[ll1lllllllllll<br />
Trade Notes and Publications<br />
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiNNtiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii^<br />
Sells Butt Weld Plant<br />
Assets of the Cleveland Steel Tube Company's<br />
plant located on a 21-acre site paralleling the Erie<br />
railroad at 14th Street, Cleveland, have been sold to<br />
Morris G. Songer of Pittsburgh and associates. The<br />
purchasers' plan to <strong>org</strong>anize the Union Tube Company<br />
under the laws of Ohio with a capitalization of<br />
$300,000. The plant was built in 1920 by the International<br />
Steel Tube Company for the manufacture of<br />
butt weld pipe and some of the equipment was installed.<br />
Owing to financial difficulties the International<br />
company failed. The holdings were purchased<br />
by Cleveland interests and the name changed to the<br />
Cleveland Steel Tube Company. The new ow-ners<br />
will purchase sufficient equipment to round out one<br />
butt weld mill, and if present plans materialize they<br />
expect to place the mill in operation about October 15.<br />
The American Sheet & Tin Plate Company made<br />
an unusual non-accident record in April. In eight of<br />
its plants not one accident occurred from which anytime<br />
was lost.<br />
According to newspaper reports, W. R. Wilson,<br />
president of the Crow's Nest Pass Coal Company, is<br />
connected with a company which proposes to establish<br />
a steel industry at Fernie, B. C, to cost $5,000,-<br />
000. Coal, iron and all other raw materials can be<br />
secured from this part of British Columbia.<br />
The Robert June Engineering Management Corporation<br />
of Detroit, which handles industrial advertising,<br />
sales development and engineering management,<br />
is moving from its present address at 8938 Linwood<br />
Avenue to 8835 Linwood Avenue. This move,<br />
which is the second in six month, more than doubles<br />
the office space and is made in order to provide better<br />
facilities for service to the <strong>org</strong>anization's clients, and<br />
to provide more room for the <strong>org</strong>anization's research<br />
and data files and engineering library.<br />
The Conveyors Corporation of America, 326 W. Madison<br />
St., Chicago, has published a new booklet describing<br />
their American cast iron storage tank, which is a sectional<br />
tank for the storage of all dry loose, bulky material,<br />
such as ashes, coal and gravel, etc. The booklet is illustrated<br />
with diagrams and half-tones of tanks in use. It<br />
contains table of weights, measures and capacities. Copies<br />
of this new booklet may be had on application to the<br />
Conveyors Corporation of America.<br />
A series of catalogues, bound into book form, covering<br />
practically the entire range of production of Manganese<br />
Steel Castings, is the result of unremitting endeavors<br />
by the American Manganese Steel Co. With<br />
the expenditure of much effort and considerable money,<br />
they have collected and arranged a large and interesting<br />
body of information and data regarding both the general<br />
subject of the manufacture and application of Manganese<br />
Steel, and, specifically, the varied types of castings and<br />
equipment they sell, with their uses. The book contains<br />
much valuable information not ordinarily convenient<br />
and is profusely illustrated.<br />
A new catalog by the National Carbon Company is<br />
being distributed. This catalog represents a departure<br />
TheMastrurnaceSSteel Plant<br />
August, 1924<br />
from their usual procedure in that the size has been<br />
materially increased, other carbon products included, and<br />
the technical side of brush operation emphasized to a<br />
greater extent than ever before. To facilitate the changing<br />
of obsolete pages or the insertion of additional ones,<br />
the catalog is made up of loose leaf sheets.<br />
In addition to carbon and metal graphite brushes<br />
which form the main part of this catalog, the other carbon<br />
products manufactured by this company are explained.<br />
These include a great variety of products, among which<br />
are the following: Battery electrodes, blue printing carbons,<br />
calcined coke, carbon tubes and rods, contacts,<br />
granular carbon, lightning arresters, projector carbons,<br />
photographic and photo engraving carbons, rheostat<br />
plates, searchlight carbons, transmitter back plates, transmitter<br />
diaphragms, turbine packing rings, transmitter<br />
discs (rough), transmitter discs (mounted and polished),<br />
welding carbons, welding carbon rods, welding carbon<br />
plates, welding carbon paste, miscellaneous carbon specialties<br />
not otherwise classified.<br />
One of the most interesting new publications issued<br />
recently is the book "Better Street Lighting with Greater<br />
Safety." This describes the Kuhlman Series Multiple<br />
Street Lighting Systems, and can be obtained by writing<br />
the Kuhlman Electric Co. at Bay City, Mich. The Kuhlman<br />
Electric Co. is the originator of the series-multiple<br />
transformer and much instructive data is incorporated<br />
in this book.<br />
Will Build Big Passenger Liner<br />
Contracts for the construction of the largest electrically<br />
propelled sea-going passenger liner have recently<br />
been given the Cramp Shipbuilding Company<br />
by the American-Hawaiian Steamship Company. Inc.<br />
Turbine-electric drive was selected by the owner in<br />
preference to direct Diesel engine or geared turbine.<br />
The turbine-electric propulsion equipment, consisting<br />
of two Curtis turbines with a total of 20,000 hp.,<br />
will be supplied from water tube boilers burning oil.<br />
The turbines will drive two a.c. generators of 7,700 kw.<br />
each, which in turn will drive two G. E. synchronous<br />
motors of 10,000 hp., direct connected to the propeller<br />
shafts.<br />
The completed vessel will cost about $5,000,000<br />
and will operate between San Francisco and Honolulu.<br />
Accommodations will be provided for 600 first-class<br />
passengers and 250 members of the crew. Two years<br />
will be required before this first large electrically propelled<br />
passenger vessel will be complete.<br />
Berlin, June 26. 1924.<br />
On the occasion of the projectedAmerica travel of the<br />
LZ 126, we are going to publish in a few weeks the<br />
following book: Director Dr. Durr, Friedhichshafen,<br />
25 Years Zeppelin Construction. Price G. M. 6<br />
The book, richly illustrated, will be printed on the<br />
best art print paper. It is going to be a fine jubilee<br />
souvenir (edition) in honor of Dr. Durr, who devoted<br />
25 years to the study and construction of Zeppelins. The<br />
book will contain a tempera portrait of the count Zeppelin<br />
and will be richly illustrated; it will also contain one plate<br />
on the best art print paper. It will be a remarkable<br />
feature on the book market and to judge by the manysubscriptions,<br />
the edition will soon be sold. The right<br />
of translation into the English language together with the<br />
right of selling the English translation in the United<br />
States, Canada and Mexico will be sold. Cuts will be<br />
furnished without special charges.
August, 1924<br />
The blast FumaceSSteel Plant<br />
•wHMnmrmnnmnm i nmmmmmin IIIIIIIIIII II IIIIIIII II I nHurfrtMnfimmrrrminiimifmninHnOTmmmjnmtuiHiMiriiiHiiimjmifmiimniiiiJPMiriiiiirmTTiriiinfiiniiniiriiiiJJirHitijj 'iiiimiiiiHiiiiimuiiiiiiiiii<br />
WITH THE EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURERS<br />
itliiniitiinuiiiiiiiinniiiiiiiiiinmiiininnniiiiiinnmiiiiinniiiiiiinniiiiiinii nnniniinnniiiinnminnnminininni'niinnnniiinnniiiiiniHii iiiiimmiimiiiraii iiiiiiiniiiiiimniiimiumiinniniii iinuminiii mn nn mi niiiiiiiinn nun nun miiiiininiiininiinimi ininnin<br />
The Mirra Lapping Machine<br />
The Mirra Lapping Machine now being manufactured<br />
by the Reed-Prentice Company, provides for a new process<br />
of lapping cylindrical work. It is now- being used<br />
for the lapping of piston pins for a large number of automobile<br />
and stationary engines. It is applicable to all<br />
of the standard<br />
makes of automobile<br />
piston<br />
pins.<br />
The method<br />
consists of placing<br />
a number of<br />
piston pins loosely<br />
on a quick<br />
loading spider<br />
which is located<br />
between two lapping<br />
wheels rotating<br />
on vertical<br />
axes. Both<br />
wheels rotate in<br />
opposite directions,<br />
and at a<br />
slightly different<br />
speed.<br />
The illustration<br />
shows the<br />
spider in the<br />
loaded position.<br />
and the pistcn<br />
pins are resting<br />
on the lower<br />
w h e e 1. When<br />
lapping, the upper<br />
wheel is<br />
brought down<br />
onto the pins<br />
under pressure,<br />
and the variations<br />
in wheel<br />
speeds cause the pins to rotate between the lapping wheels<br />
and creep slowly in a circular path.<br />
The projecting arms on the spider are not radial<br />
with the center of the spider, thereby causing the piston<br />
pins when rotating to have a rotating sliding action<br />
between the wheels. The center of the spider rotating<br />
on an eccentric, gives three distinct actions of the work<br />
on the wheels:<br />
First: The creeping of the work caused by the<br />
variation in wheel speeds.<br />
Second: The sliding rotating action caused by<br />
the work being set on an angle instead of being radial<br />
to the center of the wheel.<br />
Third: The eccentric spider motion giving an<br />
in and out sliding action of the piston pin from the<br />
center of the wheel.<br />
This process furnishes a finished surface which is<br />
highly polished and absolutely free from grooves. This<br />
highly finished accurate surface is obtained through two<br />
operations, one of rough lapping, and the other of finish<br />
(polish) lapping. The rough lapping is obtained<br />
391<br />
by the use of a fine grinding wheel, while the finish lapping<br />
is obtained through a soft elastic wheel giving a<br />
highly polished surface. The roundness is easily kept<br />
within .0001, the taper variation in the length, .0001,<br />
and the diameter plus or minus .0001. This method not<br />
only provides for extremely accurate work, but the high<br />
wheel speeds used provide for 30 per cent more production<br />
than in any other method used to date.<br />
The machine is made with two wheels located on<br />
vertical axes and independently driven from a pulleyshaft<br />
at the rear of the machine. The wheels are located<br />
in separate heads mounted on an extra heavy column.<br />
The lower wheel has no vertical adjustment in the head,<br />
while the upper one slides vertically. The vertical movement<br />
of the upper wheel spindle is controlled from a<br />
pilot hand wheel on the side of the machine similar to<br />
the standard drill press operation.<br />
The wheel bearings are well proportioned, while the<br />
spindle journals are hardened and ground. The end<br />
thrust of both wheels is taken by ball thrust bearings<br />
Close attention is paid to the careful aligning of the wheel<br />
spindle, and with the extra heavy construction, provides<br />
for continued accuracy.<br />
A double end diamond wheel dresser is located on<br />
the left side of the machine. This permits both wheels<br />
to be dressed independently from the same mechanism,<br />
which is operated by a hand wheel conveniently located<br />
for the operator.<br />
A pump is completely piped from a water tank to<br />
the wheel spindle, and furnishes a constant flow of lubricant<br />
on the work. A special compound is used to prevent<br />
rusting. Also, when the upper wheel is lowered onto the<br />
work, a circular guard surrounding the work and the<br />
wheel is automatically raised and guards the compound<br />
from flying off from the wheel.<br />
Tells of Progress of Pressed Metal<br />
Douglas P. Cook, president of the Boston Pressed<br />
Metal Co. of Worcester, Mass., addressed a dinner meeting<br />
of the New Britain Branch, A.S.M.E. at the Connecticut<br />
State Trade School in New Britain on the evening<br />
of Thursday, May 22.<br />
Mr. Cook's subject was "Pressed Steel Engineering" ;<br />
being part of the paper read by him before the New<br />
York seciety in December. In the course of his remarks<br />
the speaker directed the attention of his audience to the<br />
numberless instances in which pressed metal parts are<br />
taking the place of gray iron and brass castings, diecastings,<br />
and in many cases even of screw machine products.<br />
He showed how the substitution had brought<br />
about reduction in weight, increase in strength and saving<br />
in cost of machining, as well as adding to the symmetry<br />
of design.<br />
The talk was illustrated by slides, each one showing<br />
a part made of pressed steel and the casting or screw<br />
machine part it had superseded. A motion picture was<br />
also shown, exemplifying in action the many intricate<br />
drawing, swaging and stamping operations that go to<br />
make up a complex part of sheet metal.
302<br />
New Portable Arc Welder<br />
This welder is a two-unit set, consisting of a motor<br />
and a generator. The generator is self-excited, thereby<br />
eliminating the necessity of a separate exciter. All<br />
regulation of current is accomplished bv turning a handwheel<br />
on the generator. A self-adjusting, stabilizing<br />
reactor is provided, which automatically steadies the arc<br />
under all welding<br />
conditions.<br />
The new welder<br />
is made by the<br />
General Electric<br />
Company. It can<br />
be used with any<br />
of the commercial<br />
sizes of metallic<br />
electrodes<br />
from 1/16 in. to<br />
34 in. diameter.<br />
Generator voltage<br />
can be adjusted<br />
to suit the<br />
character of the<br />
work. High voltage<br />
for complete penetration on heavy work and low<br />
voltage to prevent burning through on light work are thus<br />
secured at will. Any value of current between 75 and<br />
300 amperes can be obtained in a large number of steps<br />
between these limits.<br />
Among the operating advantages of this outfit are:<br />
An arc easy to start and maintain, roller bearing wheels,<br />
holes in base for crane hooks and adaptability to long<br />
or short leads, for working close by or at a distance<br />
from the set.<br />
Among mechanical advantages are included motor<br />
and generator insulation designed to withstand severe<br />
operating conditions both with regard to duty cycle of<br />
the load imposed and general atmospheric conditions<br />
under which ordinary insulation fails. Bearings are<br />
waste-packed and oil cannot be spilled if the set is tipped<br />
when being moved.<br />
This WD-12 generator is a two-pole, self-excited,<br />
constant energy, single-operator machine with a dual<br />
magnetic circuit designed to operate at 60 volts open<br />
circuit and 20 to 25 volts under load. It is rated 200<br />
amperes for continuous service, 250 amperes for one<br />
hour and 300 amperes for short periods. The motor<br />
is a standard General Electric 10-hp. unit. The complete<br />
set has three bearings, the two units being closecoupled<br />
by a solid flange coupling. All parts, including<br />
generator, motor, generator control panel, motor<br />
starter and stabilizing reactor, are mounted on a welded<br />
structural steel base of rigid construction and light<br />
weight.<br />
The assembled unit is about 63 inches long, 29 inches<br />
wide and 47 inches high, weighing about 1600 pounds.<br />
The Economy Fuse & Manufacturing Company,<br />
Chicago, 111., announces the appointment of M<strong>org</strong>an<br />
P. Ellis as General Sales Manager. Mr. Ellis has been<br />
Assistant General Sales Manager for the past eight<br />
years.<br />
The Endicott F<strong>org</strong>ing & Manufacturing Company,<br />
Inc., Endicott, N. Y., manufacturers of Drop F<strong>org</strong>ings,<br />
has installed a Mesta Pickling Machine. A brick<br />
building has been added to the shipping room to accommodate<br />
same.<br />
IheDlast rumaco-^jtool Plant<br />
Science in the Use of Nails<br />
August, 1924<br />
The old proverb "a stitch in time saves nine" applies<br />
as pointedly to nails as to needles, says John<br />
F. Keeley, packing expert of the Department of Commerce,<br />
who is conducting, in co-operation with shipping<br />
industries, an exhaustive investigation of means<br />
of prevention of loss of goods in transit. That a<br />
timely nail is worth more than its weight in gold<br />
has been proved by tests of packing cases at the<br />
United States Forest Products Laboratory which show<br />
that the majority of failures of ordinary boxes is<br />
due not to the lumber of which the box is made but<br />
to improper nailing. In many cases a better box can<br />
be constructed with thinner material by the use of a<br />
few more nails in the right places, making a material<br />
saving in initial cost of packing as well as subsequent<br />
saving through less loss in the box car and on the<br />
concrete platform.<br />
In making a packing case the nailer must use his<br />
own head as well as the nail's declares Mr. Keeley.<br />
The proper nailing of boxes demands the use of the<br />
right kind of nails, the right size and the right number.<br />
The sizes and thickness of nails are determined<br />
by species of wood and thickness of boards. The<br />
woods commonly used for box-making purposes have<br />
been divided by the Forests Laboratory into four<br />
classes according to their strength and their ability<br />
to take and hold nails with white pine leading group<br />
one, southern yellow pine leading group 2, red gum<br />
leading group 3 and hard maple leading group 4. The<br />
number and size of nails needed to make strong boxes<br />
out of the various woods of different thicknesses have<br />
been reduced to regular rules and charted. Charts by<br />
which anybody who can read may know just what<br />
nails to use and how many and where for every common<br />
kind of box wood have been prepared by the<br />
Commerce Department and may be had by anybody<br />
who will write to the department and ask for it. This<br />
chart pasted up in the shipping room and used means<br />
money for the user.<br />
"Spare the nail and spoil the box" is Mr. Keeley's<br />
motto. The number of nails specified for different<br />
woods in the chart is not the maximum. Increasing<br />
the number of nails 50 per cent will increase the<br />
strength of the box 10 per cent on the average. The<br />
danger of splits from driving two or three times the<br />
number of specified nails is negligible. Nails are<br />
cheaper than wood. They not only serve to hold parts<br />
of a box together, but they provide rigidity. Splitting<br />
is more often caused by too large than by too many<br />
nails. With the Commerce Department chart showing<br />
the size and minimum number of nails necessary the<br />
box-maker will not go far wrong.<br />
The syndicate of firms owning the Millholland<br />
Machine Company of Indianapolis, Indiana, having<br />
passed through a receivership the Millholland Company<br />
was recently forced to liquidate. The plant<br />
buildings and equipment were sold and will be devoted<br />
to other lines of business. Gisholt Machine<br />
Company purchased the business including their stock<br />
of finished machines, the parts in process, good will,<br />
trade-marks, patents, patterns, drawings, jigs, tools,<br />
fixtures, etc., and will continue at Madison, Wisconsin,<br />
the manufacture and sale of Millholland Machines<br />
which have gained an enviable reputation throughout<br />
the manufacturing world.
August, 1924<br />
Robert J. Anderson has resigned as metallurgical<br />
engineer of the U. S. Bureau of Mines, and is now engaged<br />
in general consulting engineering practice. Specializing<br />
in the metallurgy of aluminum. His address is<br />
P. O. Box 111, Fenway Station, Boston, Mass.<br />
Ge<strong>org</strong>e Hatton, managing director of the Earl of<br />
Dudley's Round Oak Steel Works. Dudley, England, has<br />
been appointed chairman of the Midland iron and steel<br />
wages board to succeed the late Ge<strong>org</strong>e Macpherson.<br />
The newly elected chairman is a commander of the<br />
British Empire, a distinction awarded for services rendered<br />
during the war and has for many years been a<br />
member of the council of the Iron and Steel Institute.<br />
He is regarded as a great authority on the Staffordshire<br />
iron trade. The Midland board has the distinction of<br />
having maintained peace throughout the industry in Midland,<br />
Yorkshire and South Wales areas for something<br />
like 40 years. Mr. Hatton is considered eminently suitable<br />
for the chair, having the confidence of the operatives<br />
as well as the employers' section.<br />
Gunnar Starck, Sweden, metallurgical engineer, who<br />
is in America for the purpose of study, for the past<br />
year or so with the M<strong>org</strong>an Construction Co., Worcester.<br />
Mass., in its assembling department, is in Chicago.<br />
From Chicago he plans to visit Pittsburgh. He will<br />
spend about five years in this country for the purpose<br />
of qualifiying for head of one of the largest Swedish<br />
steel mills.<br />
W. S. Greenawalt has been appointed open-hearth<br />
superintendent of the Otis Steel Co., Cleveland. He was<br />
formerly connected with the Pittsburgh Steel Co., and<br />
the Cromwell Steel Co. in a similar capacity.<br />
Dr. Francis M. Walters, Jr., for the past two years<br />
connected with the U. S. Bureau of Standards in Washington<br />
as associates physicist, has been appointed director<br />
of the special research bureau of metallurgy, which<br />
has just been established by the Carnegie Institute of<br />
Technology. Dr. Vsevelod N. Krivobok, metallurgist.<br />
has been appointed an assistant. The object of the new<br />
department is to apply to metallurgy recent discoveries<br />
IheBlasffunWSSfeel Plant<br />
in physics and chemistry.<br />
early in September.<br />
393<br />
Work of the bureau will begin<br />
Mr. William Shaup has been appointed Superintendent<br />
of Open-hearth, La Belle Works of the Wheeling<br />
Steel Corporation, Steubenville, Ohio., succeeding W. W.<br />
Welch, resigned.<br />
Witherbee-Sherman & Company, who recently blew<br />
out their new "B" blast furnace at Port Henry, New<br />
York, have contracted with Arthur G. McKee & Company,<br />
Cleveland, for a McKee Revolving Distributor,<br />
which will be installed on this furnace before its next<br />
campaign.<br />
The Chapman-Stein Furnace Co., of Mt. Vernon,<br />
Ohio, has just completed a car type recuperative normalizing<br />
and annealing furnace for The Buckeye Steel<br />
Casting Company, of Columbus. The furnace will have<br />
a capacity of ten tons per charge and will be used for<br />
annealing steel castings. It is now being fitted for oil<br />
burning and will be fired in about three weeks. This<br />
furnace will be of considerable interest to the trade in<br />
that it is equipped with a Chapman-Stein refractory tile<br />
recuperator which will utilize the heat in the waste gases<br />
to preheat the air for combustion. Only 5 to 10 per cent<br />
of the air necessary for combustion is used as compressed<br />
air and passed through the burners. The remainder<br />
of the air heated to a high temperature is supplied<br />
by the recuperators without the use of a fan.<br />
J. F. Buhr has opened an office in the Blodgett Engineering<br />
& Tool Company Building, at 14th and Dalzelle<br />
Sts., Detroit, Mich. The J. F. Buhr Machine Tool Company<br />
will act as sales representatives for the Blodgett<br />
Engineering & Tool products. The outstanding item of<br />
these is the Buhr Ball Bearing Fully Adjustable Multiple<br />
Driller. The Blodgett Engineering & Tool Company<br />
also specialize in fine tool and die work.<br />
William Swindell & Brothers announce the removal<br />
of their general offices on June 1. 1924. to their<br />
new office building on Freeport Road, near Aspinwall,<br />
Pa.
394 The Blast h.macoSSteel Plant Au ^ USt ' 1924<br />
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Some Pointers on By-Product Coke Oven Operations<br />
niiinu immia nnnnn'iniiiniinniinimn'ninminiiiiiiuini ininnii nun mi innnnniiiinnnnininiiiiininnnniiiiiinnnini nnm iiiiinnnwiiiimnnnuniiiiinninnniiiiiinnniiinniiiiiiiiiiiiiini iiiinnnnniniiiiiinnniniiiiininnnninniiiiiiiiiininniiiiiiiniHiiiiiiiiiniiiiimiiiiiniiiini "<br />
New Clairton Coke Ovens in Operation<br />
The first coke was taken from the newly installed<br />
by-product coke ovens at the Clairton plant of the<br />
Carnegie Steel Company- recently. The plant had<br />
been under construction nearly two years and is<br />
classed as one of the largest pieces of construction<br />
work of its kind carried on in this district since the<br />
building of the original by-product coke plant at<br />
Clairton.<br />
The new plant began operation six years to a<br />
day from the time the original plant was put into<br />
operation. It consists of 366 ovens arranged in six<br />
batteries of 61 ovens each and has a capacity to carbonize<br />
8,500 tons of coal a day. It will produce daily<br />
6,000 tons of coke, 55,000,000'cubic feet of gas, 90,000<br />
gallons of tar, 215,000 pounds of ammonium sulphate<br />
and 25,000 gallons of benzol products.<br />
With the newly completed addition the by-product<br />
plant at Clairton is the largest in the world, according<br />
to the officials of the company. The total<br />
number of ovens, with extensions, is 1,134.<br />
The newly finished ovens embrace many radical<br />
improvements. Joseph Becker, consulting engineer<br />
of the Koppers Company, is the inventor of the ovens,<br />
which were first introduced into this country- in 1922.<br />
The U. G. I. Contracting Company has just received<br />
contract from the Lima Gas Light Company, Lima,<br />
Ohio, for a complete 9-ft. set of carburetted water<br />
gas apparatus, 150-hp. water tube boiler and feedwater<br />
heater, tar extractor, tar separator and filter, including<br />
all foundation work.<br />
Explosion Hazards of Pulverized Coal<br />
An investigation of the explosion hazards in industrial<br />
plants using pulverized coal as fuel, which has been<br />
conducted by the Department of the Interior, through<br />
the Bureau of Mines, for the past several years, has been<br />
completed. Practically all the important plants using<br />
such fuel were visited, and the installations closely studied<br />
for safety conditions and the means employed for eliminating<br />
possible hazards. In some plants "the Bureau of<br />
Mines engineer was able to point out dangerous conditions,<br />
and practical changes for their abatement. The<br />
results of this research show that the causes of an explosion<br />
hazard are similar to those from coal dust in mines.<br />
Means of combatting them are to prevent clouds of coal<br />
dust from getting into the air, and to eliminate possible<br />
sources of ignition. A report giving the result of this<br />
investigation will be issued by the Bureau of Mines within<br />
the next few months.<br />
Coal Cleaning Studies<br />
Specific problems in coal beneficiation which come to<br />
the attention of the Department of the Interior and which<br />
are considered to be of general interest, rather than an<br />
individual operator's special problem, are investigated by<br />
the Central District experiment station of the Bureau of<br />
Mines, LJrbana, 111., in order to further the better preparation<br />
and more conservative use of the fuel. In these<br />
investigations samples of the coal in question are examined<br />
in order to determine the nature of the impurities<br />
and the improvement that may be expected in treating<br />
the coal by a cleaning process. Tests are being made with<br />
the pneumatic table on a number of Eastern and Central<br />
District coals to ascertain the effectiveness of this method<br />
of treatment and its suitability for different types of<br />
coals. A general study of the dry cleaning process is<br />
being made in an effort to apply such methods in coal<br />
preparation work and to develop a simple method of<br />
treatment.<br />
Methods used by a number of large manufacturers<br />
to control their investments in raw- materials are set<br />
forth in a pamphlet just issued by the Department of<br />
Manufacture of the Chamber of Commerce of the<br />
United States.<br />
In commenting on the importance of this subject<br />
and the contents of the pamphlet. E. W. McCullough,<br />
manager of the department, said :<br />
"Early in 1922 when industry generally had not<br />
passed the period of industrial stagnation and inventories<br />
of raw and processed materials in the storerooms<br />
of manufacturers were excessive, executives<br />
pretty generally came to an appreciation of the importance<br />
of establishing firmer control over their materials<br />
investments. The subject is no less timely<br />
now. Although conditions have changed, the changed<br />
conditions have brought with them a greater need<br />
than ever for the closest control of every feature of<br />
the operation of manufacturing plants. There is now<br />
the necessity for the highest operating efficiency to<br />
meet the present keen competition. Any plans the<br />
manufacturer can adopt still further to reduce his investment<br />
in materials ; to effect a firmer control over<br />
the use of materials; and to gain greater knowledge<br />
of his business most surely will met with his approval.<br />
We have developed a pamphlet of helpful suggestions<br />
to assist the manufacturer in the development of an<br />
adequate plan of control.<br />
"This pamphlet is based on the experiences of a<br />
considerable number of manufacturing companies that<br />
have developed satisfactory methods of control, hence<br />
it is not a textbook on the subject, but rather it reports<br />
the tested procedure of these manufacturers in<br />
connection with the various phases of the general subject.<br />
"Doubt has been expressed by some manufacturers,<br />
for example as to whether it is safe to do away<br />
entirely with the year-end physical inventory. This<br />
point is covered, and the actual procedure followed<br />
whereby- the annual physical inventory is eliminated<br />
is presented."<br />
A copy of the pamphlet will be furnished upon request.
Duplex Rod Packing<br />
For water at any temperature<br />
or pressure.<br />
BBHHBBBBBHBBnu<br />
"The<br />
Standard 7<br />
Johns-Manville<br />
Packings<br />
Universal<br />
Piston Packing<br />
The back and forth folded<br />
construction presents<br />
folded edges to the cylinder<br />
wall—giving much<br />
longer wear.<br />
.BftsS.<br />
iHs^f<br />
Service Sheet Packing<br />
A dense resilient sheet<br />
packing that will pack almost<br />
anything from Mercury<br />
vapor to molasses.<br />
Kearsarge<br />
Manhole Qaskets<br />
Asbesto—Metallic fabric<br />
folded so that doubled<br />
edge is presented to the<br />
pressure. Canberemoved<br />
and replaced many times.<br />
.Asbestos,<br />
BRAKE LININGS JOHNS-MANVILLE<br />
IheftlastFurnacoeStool Plant<br />
Kearsarge<br />
Rod Packing<br />
For steam or air at any<br />
temperature or pressure.<br />
Mogul Coil Packing<br />
Contains no rubber—<br />
furnished in twisted or<br />
braided form.<br />
CONDITIONS<br />
STEAM<br />
HOT<br />
WATER<br />
COLD<br />
WATER<br />
AIR<br />
AMMONIA<br />
BRINE<br />
Sea Ring Rod and<br />
Plunger Packing<br />
Constructed on a unique<br />
scientific principle which<br />
saves wear on both the<br />
packing and the rod and<br />
saves power besides.<br />
394-A<br />
—save money<br />
in stockroom and plant<br />
Select Your Packings From This Chart<br />
RODS AND PLUNGERS<br />
(Reciprocating and Oscillating)<br />
Packing Space<br />
] in. or more<br />
Sea Rings<br />
or<br />
Kearsarge<br />
Sea Rings<br />
or<br />
Duplex<br />
Sea Rings<br />
or<br />
Duplex<br />
Sea Rings<br />
or<br />
Kearsarge<br />
Kearsarge<br />
Sea Rings<br />
or<br />
Duplex<br />
Packing Space<br />
less than * in.<br />
Mogul<br />
Mogul<br />
Mogul<br />
Mogul<br />
Mogul<br />
Mogul<br />
ROTAT1NC<br />
RODS<br />
& Shafts<br />
Mogul<br />
Mogul<br />
Mogul<br />
Mogul<br />
Mogul<br />
Mogul<br />
PISTONS<br />
(inside<br />
packed)<br />
Universal<br />
Universal<br />
Universal<br />
Universal<br />
Universal<br />
Boiler Manhole and Handhole Plates — Kearsa -ge Gaskets<br />
SHEET<br />
PACKING<br />
Service<br />
Service<br />
Service<br />
Service<br />
Service<br />
Service<br />
NOTE however, we prefer t o make a specific recom-<br />
The seven packings listed can be used for many mendation based on exact knowledge of the<br />
conditions not given above Some of them may kind of fluid, its te mperature, pressure, and<br />
be used for Oils. Asphalts. Gasoline. Gas. and other important fact urs Refer such problems<br />
various chemical fluids. For such conditions, to our nearest branch<br />
T H E "Standard Seven" Johns-Manville Packings replace<br />
many "special" styles. In the stock room they cut down<br />
your investment, simplify ordering and prevent delays. In the<br />
plant they prevent mistakes and give far longer wear. The<br />
result is economy.<br />
JOHNS-MANVILLE Inc., 292 Madison Avenue, at 41st Street, New York City<br />
Branches in 02 Large Cities For Canada: CANADIAN JOHNS-MANVILLE Co., Ltd., Toronto<br />
Power Plant Materials<br />
Co-operate:—Refer to The Blast Furnace and S'f.-el Plnnt
395<br />
ihe Dlasf kirnacp^jfeol rlanf<br />
August, 1924<br />
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3<br />
| NEWS OF THE PLANTS<br />
i<br />
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The Bethlehem Steel Company, Bethlehem, Pa., has<br />
had plans drawn for additions to its plant at Sparrows<br />
Point, Baltimore, Md., consisting' of three one-story<br />
structures of different sizes, estimated to cost approximately<br />
$100,000, including equipment. These buildings<br />
are said to be the first of a number of other groups<br />
which the company purposes to erect at the local mills,<br />
and it is expected to have plans ready for further extensions<br />
in the near future. Plans are also being developed<br />
for the proposed expansion at the Cambria Works,<br />
Johnstown, Pa., estimated to cost close to $10,000,000.<br />
complete. This work will consist of the remodeling of<br />
present mills, erection of additional structures and the<br />
installation of considerable new machinery for the complete<br />
modernizing of the plant in all departments.<br />
The Pacific Coast Steel Company, Seattle, Wash., has<br />
work in progress on additions to its plant at Youngstown,<br />
near Seattle, consisting of the installation of a<br />
new universal mill, shears and other equipment. The new<br />
mill will be used for the rolling of universal plates from<br />
8 to 20 in. wide and 34 to Y\ in. in thickness. It is expected<br />
to develop considerable increased capacity as soon<br />
as the new addition is ready for service, now slated to<br />
be in October. The company has recently started the<br />
rolling of tie plates at the plant, and will expand this<br />
branch of production as required, the present works<br />
have a rating of more than 400 tons of finished steel<br />
products per day. E. M. Wilson is president and treasurer;<br />
and T. S. Clingan, general manager.<br />
The Carnegie Steel Company, Carnegie Building.<br />
Pittsburgh, Pa., is perfecting plans for extensions and<br />
improvements in its plant at New Castle, Pa., to cost<br />
about $1,000,000, including equipment. The project<br />
will include the erection of several new buildings to provide<br />
for increased output in a number of departments,<br />
as well as the modernizing of the boiler plant and the<br />
installation of additional boilers and auxiliary power<br />
equipment. It is expected to begin work at an earlydate.<br />
The Youngstown Sheet & Tube Company, Youngstown,<br />
Ohio, is proceeding with the construction of a new<br />
600-ton blast furnace at its plant at Indiana Harbor,<br />
Ind., comprising the former works of the Sheet & Tube<br />
Company of America, acquired a number of months<br />
ago. It is expected to have the new unit ready for blowing<br />
in at an early date, providing for a large increase in<br />
the former capacity. Work is also under way on a new<br />
lap weld mill, as well as other miscellaneous structures<br />
arranged for in an expansion program recently approved<br />
for the plant, involving in excess of $4,000,000, in buildings<br />
and equipment. The company will place two new<br />
butt weld mills in service, recently completed, designed<br />
to roll pipe from l /% to 3 in. in diameter.<br />
The Central Furnace Company, Massillon, Ohio, a<br />
subsidiary of the Central Steel Company, of the same<br />
city, will proceed at once with an expansion and improvement<br />
program at the local plant, for which a fund<br />
of close to $10,000,000, is being arranged. The work<br />
will include a new blast furnace, by-products coke plant,<br />
auxiliary steel works, power plant and other miscellaneous<br />
buildings, to provide for a large increase in output.<br />
The expansion is expected to give facilities for the employment<br />
of about 4,000 additional men in the different<br />
departments, and practically all of the buildings are to<br />
be ready for service in about 12 months. A list of machinery<br />
and equipment to be installed in the new buildings<br />
will be arranged at an early date.<br />
The Union Tube Company, Cleveland, Ohio, is now<br />
being <strong>org</strong>anized under state laws with a capital of $300,-<br />
000, to take over and develop the plant of the Cleveland<br />
Steel Tube Company on 21-acre tract of land near Miles<br />
Avenue, S. E., and 144 Street, near the line of the Erie<br />
Railroad Company. The new company is headed bv<br />
Morris G. Songer, Pittsburgh, Pa., engaged in the steel<br />
jobbing business, and a number of associates. The plant<br />
was constructed in 1920 and designed for the manufacture<br />
of butt weld pipe ; it was owned by the International<br />
Steel Tube Company, which had financial difficulties before<br />
the plant was placed in service, and it was later<br />
taken over by the Cleveland Steel Tube Company, headed<br />
by Jacob Kahler and associates. The new company purposes<br />
to modernize the plant in all departments for the<br />
production of butt weld tubing, and will add new equipment<br />
for this manufacture. It is said that about three<br />
to four months will be required to place the mill in satisfactory<br />
shape.<br />
The Burden Iron Company, Troy, N. Y., has disposed<br />
of a preferred stock issue of $700,000, a large part of<br />
the proceeds to be used for the purchase of a substantial<br />
interest in the Hudson Valley Coke & Products Company<br />
of the same city. Plans are being arranged by the last<br />
noted <strong>org</strong>anization for the establishment of a central gas<br />
distributing works in the vicinity of Troy for service<br />
to public utility companies in this section. The Burden<br />
company will exercise its control of the company in connection<br />
with the project of the Troy Coke & Iron Company,<br />
recently <strong>org</strong>anized as a subsidiary, which proposes<br />
to construct and operate a blast furnace and by-products<br />
coke plant in this same district. The Hudson Valley<br />
company, it is understood, will be used as the distributing<br />
<strong>org</strong>anization for the by-products of the mills. The<br />
new coke plant will be constructed by the Foundation<br />
Company. New York, which is financially interested in<br />
the project.<br />
The Replogle Steel Company, 120 Broadway, New<br />
York, headed by J. Leonard Replogle, operating blast<br />
furnaces at Wharton, N. J., is arranging for an extension<br />
of interests and has secured options for the purchase<br />
of the plant and business of the Warren Foundry<br />
& Pipe Company, Phillipsburg, N. J., for a consideration<br />
stated to be $4,000,000. The company is also said<br />
to be negotiating- for the acquisition of the plant and<br />
property of the Donaldson Iron Co., Emaus, Pa., and<br />
proposes to expand these works to be operated, as in the<br />
case of the Warren company, in connection with its<br />
Wharton works.
LlllHIIMMIIIIlNIMNNIfllllllllltWIIIIIIIIil^<br />
I DieBWrwnaceSSleelPlani I<br />
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Vol. XII P1TTSBURCH, PA.. SEPTEMBER, 1924 No. 9<br />
Don't Neglect the Practical Man<br />
SIR WILLIAM ELLIS, in his presidential address before the<br />
British Iron and Steel Institute, said that actual plant problems<br />
are being ignored by the writers of technical articles.<br />
The man whose job it is to keep the clinkers off of side-walls,<br />
the man responsible for the consistent charging of the furnace burden,<br />
or he who regulates the dampers on a bank of soaking pits<br />
isn't interested in or helped by a highly technical discussion of the<br />
Einstein theory of relativity, or an analysis of the inter-reactions<br />
of electrons. What he would like to know is how his daily job<br />
can be done better and with less effort.<br />
Practical plant problems and their solutions, knowledge of<br />
what the other fellow is doing and the nature of the equipment<br />
furnished him to do it with, should carry a message not only to the<br />
actual practical worker, but equally to the practical executive,<br />
whose co-worker he is.<br />
Contact with the practical man and his point of view spells<br />
success throughout an <strong>org</strong>anization, and it's absence is a danger<br />
sign.<br />
307
398<br />
HIP Dlast lur<br />
/SS> Stool Plant<br />
September, 1924<br />
Completely Modern Indian Furnaces<br />
Notwithstanding Low Cost Labor, Modern Mechanical<br />
A R T H U R G. M'KEE & COMPANY, Engineers<br />
& Contractors, Cleveland, who designed and<br />
supervised the construction of the two blast furnaces<br />
of The Indian Iron & Steel Company, Ltd., have<br />
just received a number of photographs of this plant,<br />
which is located at Asansol, India, about 120 miles<br />
northwest of Calcutta. These pictures, in addition to<br />
showing the blast furnaces and coke plant, also give<br />
an idea of the surrounding country, the type of labor<br />
employed at the plant, and the different style of native<br />
costume, indicating the caste of the workman.<br />
Although situated in the Far East, the plant is<br />
typically modern in design and equipment, the only<br />
deviations being those required by topographical and<br />
climatic conditions. Practically all of the steelwork,<br />
castings and machinery were shipped from the United<br />
States and erected by native labor under the supervision<br />
of American engineers.<br />
Heretofore, builders of iron and steel plants in the<br />
Far East have been inclined to take advantage of the<br />
cheap labor and dispense to a considerable extent<br />
with labor-saving equipment. In this instance, however,<br />
it was contended by the engineers that in view<br />
of the trying weather conditions, such as temperatures<br />
of 120 deg. in the shade, excessive humidity and<br />
torrential rainfall sometimes as great as 15 inches in<br />
a few hours, labor could not reasonably be expected<br />
to render the efficient and dependable service necessary<br />
to keep the furnace plant in full operation at all<br />
Appliances Have Justified Their Adoption<br />
times. The furnace units, therefore, were made of<br />
orthodox American design and construction with a<br />
maximum of mechanical labor-saving equipment.<br />
This has made it possible for the plant to be operated<br />
with a comparatively small force of the more intelligent<br />
men, and the results obtained fully justify the<br />
original plan.<br />
The blast furnaces have already proven their ability<br />
to produce a daily tonnage exceeding 450 tons, and<br />
as the ore mines are more fully developed and transportation<br />
problems are solved, it will easily be possible<br />
to increase the output of each unit to an average<br />
of 500 tons per day or more. Both furnaces were in<br />
blast early in 1924, and due to the exceedingly low<br />
cost of assembling materials and to their excellent<br />
quality, the Indian Iron & Steel Company has been<br />
able to profitably market iron in practically all parts<br />
of the world.<br />
India possesses enormous deposits of high-grade<br />
ore, the total reserves being estimated at 20,000,000,-<br />
000 tons. The mines of the Indian Iron & Steel Company,<br />
Ltd., are located approximately 200 miles distant<br />
from the furnace plant at Asansol, to which point<br />
the ore is carried by a railroad built in part by the<br />
same company. The ore. which is soft shale-like<br />
hematite, is extremely rich in iron content, running a;high<br />
as 69 per cent metallic iron and averaging 60 to<br />
65 per cent with an average phosphorus content of .10.<br />
The site at Asansol was selected on account of its<br />
FIG. 1.—The coke ovens consist of two batteries of 80 each Simon-Carves by-product ovens.
September, 1924<br />
L Blast FurnaceSStool Plant<br />
FIG. 1.—Birdseye view of entire plant.<br />
FIG. 3.—Upper left—Coke ovens and quenching car. Upper right—Interior of machine shop. Center—Close-up of furnaces and<br />
stoves. Lower left—View showing general character of surrounding terraim. Lower right—General view showing native<br />
workmen, type of freight car, etc.<br />
399
proximity to the coal mines and to the Domoodar<br />
river, from which an abundant water supply is obtainable.<br />
Asansol is also excellently located as regards<br />
rail transportation, it being the junction of the<br />
Fast Indian Railroad and the Bengal-Nagpur Railway.<br />
The plans of the Indian Iron & Steel Co., Ltd.,<br />
contemplate the ultimate installation of six blast furnaces,<br />
sufficient coke plant capacity to provide fuel<br />
for these furnaces and the later addition of an open<br />
hearth and steel mill plant. Coke for the first two<br />
furnace units is produced in two batteries of Simon-<br />
Carves by-product ovens, each battery consisting of<br />
SO ovens. The coke plant is shown in Fig. 1.<br />
The blast furnaces are 80 ft. in height with 14 ft.<br />
bv 6-in. hearth diameter and l 1 ^ ft. bosh. There is<br />
FIG. 4.—Interior of cast-house zvhich serves both furnaces.<br />
ample room, however, for relining to 18 ft. hearth and<br />
22 ft. bosh. The furnaces have double skip hoists and<br />
are equipped with McKee Revolving Distributors.<br />
Due to local conditions, it was decided to install a<br />
tunnel system for handling the ore from the trestle to<br />
the skip cars, the trestle structure being covered with<br />
a steel roof. Underneath the trestle is the scale car<br />
tunnel, the roof of which is composed of a series of<br />
unit bin bottoms provided with a continuous line of<br />
segmental type gates which can be easily operated<br />
from the scale car platforms.<br />
Nine hot blast stoves were provided for the two<br />
furnaces, 25 ft. in diameter by 95 ft. high, with 7^4-in.<br />
checkers.<br />
Both furnaces are served by a common cast house<br />
which is shown in Fig. 4. Provision was also made<br />
for machine cast p : gs and a double strand pig machine<br />
was installed for this purpose.<br />
The furnace plant contains all auxiliaries necessary<br />
to make it complete in every respect, including<br />
foundry, machine shop, blacksmith shop, storage<br />
buildings, etc. The interior of the machine shop is<br />
shown in Fig. 3.<br />
The problems in the construction of a blast furnace<br />
plant in India are vastly different from similar work<br />
in the United States. In preparing the site at Asansol,<br />
which was originally- a rolling plane, it was necessary<br />
to dispose of approximately 100,000 cubic y-ards<br />
of excavation, which was practically all done by hand.<br />
The earth was carried away in baskets on the heads of<br />
women laborers, who also carried brick and other ma<br />
[i |M i I ^Ci I U] September. 1924<br />
lhel/la.sr KimacoJ/jreel riant '<br />
terials entering into the construction of the furnaces.<br />
An unusually large construction crew was required on<br />
account of the fact that the native of India cannot do<br />
as much or as efficient work as the sturdier laborers<br />
of America. This is due to the extreme climatic conditions,<br />
a vegetable diet almost exclusively of rice.<br />
lack of physical stamina, peculiar social and religious<br />
customs, etc.<br />
However, in spite of all the adverse conditions<br />
mentioned, and the further disadvantage of erecting<br />
equipment at a point over 10,000 miles distant from<br />
its origin, the Indian Iron & Steel Company, Ltd., has<br />
completed the first step of a program which, when<br />
finally consummated, will place them among the leading<br />
iron and steel-producing companies of the Far<br />
East. Burns & Company, Ltd., are managing agents<br />
of the Indian Iron & Steel Company, with G. H. Fairburst<br />
as managing director.<br />
The Celite Products Company, Chicago, has just<br />
published a new bulletin (B-8d) on "The Insulation<br />
of Industrial Furnaces and Ovens." This bulletin<br />
contains new and interesting information on the<br />
methods of insulating various types of furnaces and<br />
the fuel savings which can be accomplished. A new<br />
blueprint set for engineers has also just been completed,<br />
including charts on conductivity and drawings<br />
showing the methods of insulating various types<br />
of equipment. A new bulletin on "The Insulation of<br />
Boilers" is also available.<br />
Paul F. Hermann, one of the managers of the<br />
internationally known German metallurgical magazine,<br />
"Stahl und Eisen," has established his own business<br />
at 501 Century Bldg., Pittsburgh. Pa. Besidesbeing<br />
representative of "Stahl und Eisen," and therefore<br />
the German Iron and Steel Institute, he is also<br />
the representative of other important German technical<br />
and scientific societies as well as publishers. Any<br />
German technical book can be delivered by him.<br />
The National Federation of Iron and Steel Manufacturers<br />
state that the production of pig iron in the<br />
United Kingdom in June amounted to 007.800 tons,<br />
compared with 650,900 tons in .May and 692,900 tons<br />
in June, 1923. The number of furnaces in blast at tinend<br />
of the month was 185. a decrease of six since the<br />
beginning of the month, and the lowest number in<br />
blast since January, 1923. The output of steel ingots<br />
and castings amounted to 651,500 tons, compared with<br />
809,700 tons in June last year.<br />
Experimental work by the American Department<br />
of the Interior metallurgists on reduction of iron oxide<br />
by carbon monoxide is progressing rapidly at the<br />
Northwest experiment station of the Bureau of Mines<br />
at Seattle, Wash. Reduction tests have been made at<br />
temperatures varying from 700 deg. to 1000 deg. C. at<br />
times from 1 hour to 5 hours on sizes up to 2 in. Preliminary<br />
observations indicate that size has more influence<br />
than any other factor on rapidity of reduction.<br />
A piece 2 in. in diameter was not completely reduced<br />
at 900 deg. C. in 5 hours. Magnetite reduces only<br />
about half as fast as dense hematite. A new and<br />
apparently accurate method has been developed for<br />
the determination of metallic, ferrous, and ferric iron<br />
in the same sample.
1924 iu')Uiw,u,.,esupu<br />
European Producer Practice<br />
Gas Operated Furnaces Reward Engineers in Search<br />
for Economies<br />
By C. H. S. TUPHOLME*<br />
T H E European steel industry has never before<br />
been'faced with such grave problems as now confront<br />
it. Quite aside from labor difficulties and<br />
exchange fluctuations, not to speak of the low ebb ol<br />
constructional work, there is the always insistent demand<br />
for fuel economy. Many steel plants in Britain.<br />
for instance, consume 3,000 tons of coal per week and<br />
more, and estimating the wastage of this fuel as lowas<br />
25 per cent, this means a loss of over 100 tons oi<br />
coal per day. The coal-fired furnace is, of course, the<br />
simplest in construction, but the chief effect of the demand<br />
for fuel economy has been the gradual development<br />
in Europe and extended use of producer gasfired<br />
furnaces in the steel industry.<br />
Steel manufacturers are quickly appreciating the<br />
advantages of producer gas-fired furnaces, chief of<br />
which are: 1, Central generation of the gas; 2, Fuel<br />
economy; 3, Complete temperature control; 4, Ease of<br />
operation. Engineers in charge of plant in works of<br />
moderate size are recognizing now that the increased<br />
cost of gas-fired installation is quickly repaid by the<br />
saving in fuel, and even to those who only use a single<br />
furnace the question has proved to be well worth serious<br />
consideration because it is often possible to install<br />
a combined gas producer and furnace in the space previously<br />
occupied by a coal-fired furnace.<br />
It is, of course, obvious that if the combustion of<br />
the fuel is carried out in two stages, the first being the<br />
gasification of the fuel in the producer and the second<br />
the combustion of the gas in the furnace, the initial<br />
cost of the plant must be higher than if combustion is<br />
completed in one stage. On the other hand, very<br />
often one producer will supply gas to a battery of furnaces,<br />
and as the latter can be built more compactly<br />
and quite as cheaply as equivalent coal-fired furnaces,<br />
in this case the additional cost of the gas-fired system<br />
is not a large item. In any case, the general experience<br />
is that the capitalized value of the saving in fuel<br />
and wages will very quickly pay for the increased cost<br />
of the plant.<br />
So much for the reason why producer gas-fired<br />
furnaces are popular in Europe. I propose now to describe<br />
briefly some of the furnaces I have studied in<br />
my tour and to finish up with a few details of the producer<br />
gas plants employed for supplying the furnaces.<br />
Fig. 1 is an outline of the Dowson Mason steel<br />
melting furnace, which is a popular unit in Britain.<br />
Indeed, the design follows the standard adopted in<br />
that country. The furnace hearth is carried on girder<br />
work and is supported independently of the chequer<br />
chambers. The hearth is built on cast-iron plates<br />
carried on joists and the brickwork in the way of the<br />
gas and air ports is almost totally enclosed with mild<br />
steel plate. The breast plates supporting the ports<br />
are of mild steel, and the arrangement is such that<br />
there is a free passage of air under the brickwork. It<br />
will be noted that the port uptakes are vertical to<br />
•London, England.<br />
avoid excessive wear on the brickwork, which quickly<br />
takes place if there are redundant angles in the<br />
passages. The usual practice in this furnace is to<br />
carry a silica brick lining 9-in. thick down to the<br />
chequer chambers and also to make the arches of these<br />
chambers of silica brick.<br />
One gas port only is fitted and the air for combustion<br />
is carried up in two ports leading to a common<br />
chamber over the top of the gas port. The slag<br />
pockets are directly under the ports and the regenerator<br />
chambers, which are sufficiently large to preserve<br />
the heat throughout each reversal, are clear oi<br />
the furnace itself.<br />
In the case of smaller furnaces, up to 30 tons capacity,<br />
the removable type of port head is usual. This<br />
arrangement permits of the correct shape of the ports<br />
and blocks being maintained during the life of the furnace<br />
arch.<br />
An open hearth furnace, popular in Europe, especially<br />
in France, is the Stein, in which the design allows<br />
of the regenerators and the slag pockets being<br />
completely independent of the furnace proper, and the<br />
chequer work can be inspected and cleaned out without<br />
difficulty. The furnace roof, which is of simple<br />
arch form, is designed for easy repair, and a space is<br />
provided under the furnace bed to permit efficient air<br />
cooling. A typical arrangement for an open hearth<br />
FIG 1 70-f»n producer cjas-fired steel melting furnace
402<br />
plant equipped with 50-ton Stein furnaces is shown in<br />
Fig. 2.<br />
Fig. 3 is a Wincott 50-ton open hearth steel melting<br />
furnace designed for the acid process, now in<br />
operation in Britain. During a working period of 48<br />
weeks this furnace produced steel on an average coal<br />
consumption of 4.82 cwt. per ton. It will be noticed<br />
that the furnace chamber and bath are carried independently<br />
of the slag pockets, on compound girders<br />
and stanchions. Fig. 4 is a chart of operation of this<br />
furnace over a period of 44 weeks.<br />
Fig. 5 is the Stein producer gas-fired soaking pit,<br />
one of the most extensively used in Europe. These<br />
recuperative soaking pits are simply constructed and<br />
have the advantage of being easily grouped in batteries,<br />
of which each unit constitutes an independent<br />
furnace which can be heated, regulated and shut down<br />
without affecting the regular operation of the other<br />
part of the plant. The furnace slag pit is completelyseparate,<br />
and the gas and air inlets as well as the outlet<br />
for the products of combustion are each regulated<br />
by a special damper.<br />
In soaking pits of the longitudinally heated type<br />
the present practice is to replace furnaces of the lifting<br />
lid type, which require special apparatus usuallyfitted<br />
to an overhead traveling crane, by soaking pits<br />
with rolling lids, hydraulicalh- or electrically operated.<br />
This arrangement allows all the transversal partitions<br />
to be eliminated and the cost of the furnace to be reduced<br />
in consequence. Fig. 5 is, in fact, a longitudinally-fired<br />
soaking pit constructed in France.<br />
Probably more work has been done in developing<br />
the design of gas-fired continuous reheating furnaces<br />
than of any other type. These furnaces are almost invariably<br />
of the recuperator type, and a typical push<br />
furnace of the Dowson Mason type is shown in Fig.<br />
6, in w-hich the ingots or billets are laid on a table and<br />
pushed into a furnace through a charging door, usually<br />
by means of a hydraulic or electric pusher, which also<br />
regulates the speed of the material through the furnace.<br />
During their passage through the furnace the<br />
billets are carried on water-cooled rails or skid bars.<br />
In some cases the inclined hearth is carried right to<br />
the end of the furnace and the billets are withdrawn<br />
at the end. In other cases the inclined hearth ter<br />
1L Blast FuniacoSSU Plant<br />
September, 1924<br />
minates at some distance back from the end of the furnace,<br />
thus allowing space for the material to be turned<br />
over, and the billets can, if necessary, be withdrawn<br />
through side doors as shown.<br />
A f<strong>org</strong>ing shop erected in a large plant in France is<br />
shown in Fig. 7. The operation of these furnaces is<br />
very simple and does not entail the employment of<br />
-killed labor. The arrangement of the flame inlet<br />
passages is such as to prevent the flame impringing on<br />
the surface of the material charged. A slightly reducing<br />
flame, at a pressure a little above atmospheric,<br />
can easily be maintained in the heating chamber.<br />
The saving effected when these gas-fired f<strong>org</strong>e furnaces<br />
were installed in the place of the coal-fired furnaces<br />
exceeded 50 per cent. This economy is obtained<br />
not only- by reason of the recuperation of the waste<br />
heat, but also from the better operation of the furnaces,<br />
by reason of the exact regulation of the mixture<br />
of air and gas, and also from the reduction of the<br />
radiation losses.<br />
An important application of gas-fired furnaces is<br />
in heat treatment, and a large heat treatment shop for<br />
armor plate is shown in Fig. 8. The construction of<br />
these furnaces depends upon the purpose for which<br />
they are required; they are sometimes heated by gas<br />
from coal-charged producers, but in certain cases the<br />
gas from coke-charged producers is better, for its unvarying<br />
composition allows great stability and regularity<br />
of temperature to be maintained in the hearth<br />
with the minimum of labor.<br />
These furnaces have attached or independent gas<br />
producers, according to the importance and the arrangement<br />
of the plant of which they constitute a part.<br />
They are constructed with a movable bed when the<br />
pieces to be heated are of large dimensions, or when<br />
FIG. 2—An open hearth stechvorks with 50-ton gas-fired furnaces (in France). Legend: 1, 50-ton furnace; 2, regerenators; 3.<br />
air-reversing valve; 4, Forter gas valve; 5. chimney flue; 6, 8-ton overhead traveling stripping crane; 7, 80-ton casting crane<br />
8, 4-ton charging machine; 9, \0-ton overhead traveling box-lifting crane; 10, stack of charging boxes; 11, gas mains; 12, gas<br />
producers with reversing grates; 13, coal hoppers; 14, 4-ton overhead traveling grab bucket crane; 15, stack.
September, 1924<br />
the charging and discharging of the furnace must be<br />
carried out very rapidly, so as to enable, for instance,<br />
the treatment of a large number of pieces at a time.<br />
Depending upon their length, they are longitudinally<br />
or transversely heated, and, in the latter case, in<br />
different sections which may be separately regulated.<br />
As a rule they are constructed with continuous recuperation.<br />
In certain very special cases, however,<br />
they are fitted with regenerators as, for example, in<br />
the differential hardening of armor plates. In this<br />
process it is necessary to bring one side of the plate<br />
to the hardening temperature with sufficient rapidity<br />
to prevent the other attaining it, notwithstanding the<br />
conductivity of the metal. The regenerative furnace<br />
is admirably adapted for this purpose since the great<br />
quantity of heat stored up in the chambers can be<br />
transformed to the hearth in a very short time.<br />
These, in brief, are some of the outstanding types<br />
of producer gas-fired furnaces used in Europe today.<br />
Now to turn to the question of the producer gas itself.<br />
Producer gas, when generated, can be supplied to<br />
the furnaces as "hot" gas or "cold" gas. When supplied<br />
as a hot gas it is not desirable to have the producers<br />
located at a greater distance than 450 ft. from<br />
the furnaces, owing to the difficult}' of maintaining<br />
proper gas flow- and also to the reduction in temperature<br />
of the gas during its passage through the flues.<br />
If the temperature of the gas is considerably reduced<br />
then the sensible heat is lost, and no advantage is obtained<br />
by the installation of "hot" producer gas plant.<br />
The best results are obtained when the gas leaves the<br />
producer at a temperature of 1100 deg. F., and the<br />
connecting flues to the furnaces do not exceed 100 ft.<br />
in length.<br />
Cold gas plants are usually installed when it is<br />
desired to have one central gas-producing plant installed<br />
at a great distance from the furnaces. In this<br />
case the gas is cleaned as it leaves the producers and<br />
forced along the gas flues or pipes to the furnaces by<br />
means of exhausters.<br />
Tke Blast r"<br />
urnaco S3 Steel Plant<br />
: TT-T— • •— -•••!* ~. - ... : - f-:rf L<br />
n d<br />
G-ntre n III fie q£_ H<br />
.HLL<br />
3 H<br />
• • - - • ••<br />
\<br />
-t<br />
!<br />
1<br />
1<br />
1<br />
Ii 1 i<br />
4 :<br />
-<br />
A •<br />
'<br />
\ CJ. or p ^f pBtefTuX/' r../re<br />
>y ps;<br />
•smg Vahe,- r^-r<br />
403<br />
FIG. 3—Installation of a ll'incott 50-ton open hearth steel furnace<br />
operating on the acid process.<br />
10. 4 9 B 9 9 6<br />
NC o*~ CHAGGES<br />
f&e rY£m<br />
FIG. 4—Graph showing results of 44 weeks' observation on the operation of a 50-ton open hearth steel melting furnace on producer<br />
gas.
404<br />
The choice of the producer to be used is wide and<br />
depends very largely upon local conditions. The first<br />
question to be decided is whether the producers are to<br />
be attached to the furnaces or w-hether they will be<br />
placed apart. This depends upon the quantity of fuel<br />
to be gasified in the furnaces, the number of furnaces<br />
FIG. 5—Arrangement of soaking pits in French plant operated<br />
on producer gas. 1, heating chamber; 1, rolling lids; 3, gas<br />
regenerator; 4. air regenerator; 5. gas regulating valve; 6,<br />
gas-reversing valve; 7. air-reversing valve; 8, rack and gear<br />
for moving lids.<br />
to be fired and the manner of handling the fuel. As<br />
this decision also affects the first cost of the plant, the<br />
question of available capital is important.<br />
Once the position and site of the producers has<br />
been decided upon the selection of fuel is the next<br />
point. The first cost of the fuel is not the only consideration,<br />
but also the operating costs of the various<br />
classes of fuel. For example, the case of an annealing<br />
furnace requiring a ton of fuel per day. If coal<br />
were to be used in the producer the fuel costs would<br />
be around 20s. per ton, the operating of the plant,<br />
however, necessitates the constant attention of a<br />
skilled gas man at the producer, whose daily wage<br />
might be 10s. The total cost of fuel and labor would<br />
then be 30s. If, in place of coal, coke is used at 24s.<br />
per ton, a saving is effected because very little attention<br />
is required, and one hours attention per day from<br />
an unskilled man would suffice. If he is paid Is. per<br />
hour, then the total cost would be 25s., showing a<br />
saving in favor of coke of 5s. a day.<br />
Fuels used for producers in Europe are wood, coke<br />
and coal, the two latter being the more common. Coal<br />
is generally used for plants of large capacity, and under<br />
this class fall Siemens producers, wet bottom producers<br />
of the Dawson and Duff types, wet bottom producers<br />
with revolving grates for the automatic removal<br />
of the ash and for breaking up the clinker, and<br />
byproduct recovery producers.<br />
The design of the dry bottom or Siemens producer<br />
is determined very largely by the projected installation.<br />
Once the specific conditions are known the dimensions<br />
of the producer are decided upon, also the<br />
shape and profile of the inner lining, the grate area,<br />
IheDlast kirnace'3Steel Plant<br />
September, 1924<br />
the position, size and number of charging hoppers and<br />
the poking holes.<br />
A special design of grate and arrangement of<br />
charging hoppers allows of coking coals being used<br />
without the regular production of gas being interfered<br />
with. These producers can be operated with natural<br />
or forced draft.<br />
The .dry bottom producer, using coal as fuel, requires<br />
skilled attention. They can, however, be built<br />
conveniently as part of the furnaces they supply, and<br />
for this reason their adoption is justified in small installations<br />
and in cases where coke is not suitable or<br />
cheaply obtained.<br />
The wet bottoms or continuous producers have<br />
cylindrical plate casings lined with firebricks, a firebrick<br />
dome being formed over the top of the producer.<br />
The body of the producer is supported over a circular<br />
water trough by cast-iron columns. Into this trough<br />
depends a circular dipper casting which forms a hydraulic<br />
seal. The gas escapes through an opening<br />
under the producer dome some distance above the level<br />
of the fuel so as to avoid its being choked up by the<br />
coal. The air blast, containing a certain proportion<br />
of steam, is introduced at the bottom of the producer<br />
FIG. 6—Continuous billet reheating furnace operated on producer<br />
gas.<br />
and passes through a central tuyere fitted with double<br />
inverted cones. Top poking holes are located in the<br />
dome.<br />
By reason of the cylindrical shape of the producer<br />
body and inner lining there is little tendency for the<br />
clinker to adhere to the side walls a.s in the case of<br />
producers having conical bottoms.<br />
The gas produced is of constant composition with<br />
a high calorific power, containing as a rule 26 per cent
September, 1924<br />
carbon monoxide. 10 per cent hydrogen and 3.5 per<br />
cent carbon dioxide, though the exact analysis very<br />
naturally depends on the type of coal used. These<br />
producers will gasify satisfactorily nearly all classes<br />
of coal, and there is generally not more than 1 per<br />
cent carbon remaining in the ash. The steam injected<br />
in the blast is totally decomposed, and the efficiency<br />
of these producers often reaches 82 per cent.<br />
The revolving grate producer, shown in Fig. 9, is<br />
similar in construction to the wet bottom type, except<br />
that the water trough rots on a circular track and is<br />
revolved by means of worm D-earin^, the trousrh carry-<br />
Heavy F<strong>org</strong>ing<br />
and Heat Ireatraent<br />
Shop with Furnaces<br />
operated on Producer<br />
Gas.<br />
i-Gas producers<br />
2-Gas aains<br />
'BCMcney Flues<br />
4-3tack<br />
5-Steel casting annealing<br />
furnaces<br />
(.- Stacipln? firr-aces<br />
7- Stanpinr furnaces<br />
8- F<strong>org</strong>e furnaces<br />
9- F<strong>org</strong>e furnace<br />
1O-Contlnuous reheating<br />
furnace<br />
11-Regenerative f<strong>org</strong>e<br />
.furnace with fi;:ed bed<br />
12-Regenerative f<strong>org</strong>e<br />
furaaae with movable<br />
bed<br />
IJ-Annealing furnaces<br />
with novabie beds<br />
1 4-Erop forcing ha.5SE.ers<br />
15-Hftmaers and dressers<br />
l6-80C-ton presi7-2000-ton<br />
press<br />
Dimensions are in raters<br />
FIG. 7<br />
ing the grate so that the two revolve together. Blades<br />
are formed on the grate as well as on the lower inner<br />
portion of the producer body, these blades breaking<br />
up the clinker and facilitating its fall into the water<br />
trough. For the same object and also to stir the fuel.<br />
Ihe Dlast hirnaco L, jteel riant<br />
405<br />
the axis of the grate is not the same as that of the<br />
trough or producer body, so that an eccentric movement<br />
is given to the grate which assists in the stirring<br />
up of the clinker. The shape, slope and number of<br />
blades attached to the grate, and of those fitted to the<br />
lower portion of the producer body are arranged to<br />
FIG. 9—Mechanical producer with revolving grate.<br />
suit the quality of fuel used. In certain cases the<br />
grate only is fitted with crushing blades. The producer<br />
grate is connected to the air supply pipe by<br />
means of a water seal.<br />
This producer has all the advantages of the ordinary<br />
wet bottom type as well as those secured by the<br />
additions described above. Low grade fuels can be<br />
burnt, and the percentage of unburnt carbon in the<br />
ash is often as low as 1 or l /z per cent.<br />
The success of the Duff producer, shown in Fig.<br />
10, is probably due more to the shape of the grate<br />
FIG. 8—Heat treatment shop for armor plate with producer gas-fired furnaces. 1, 1, regenerative rcg<br />
furnace for heat treatment; 2,<br />
heat treatment furnace without regenerators or recuperators; 3, heat treatment ent furnaces fu with recuperators; 4, gas main; 5,<br />
chimneys. Dimension are in meters.
40f.<br />
than to anything else. This grate not only ensures an<br />
even distribution of the blast over the entire producer<br />
area, but also facilitates the easy descent of the fuel<br />
and ash. In a properly designed producer of the<br />
static type ashing only requires to be done every 8 or<br />
12 hours, and is a comparatively simple operation.<br />
The Duff producer is rectangular with rounded<br />
corners; the grate is of the dog kennel type and the<br />
FIG. 10—Duff gas producer.<br />
sloping sides are perforated with narrow slits which<br />
distribute the air and steam, yet are too narrow to allow<br />
the ash to pass through. The grate extends right<br />
across the producer and the sloping sides allow the<br />
ash to descend easily into the water lute from which<br />
it is removed.<br />
The Duff grate is also constructed in a circular<br />
form in which it is possible to arrange so that the blast<br />
which passes into the producer through the top cone<br />
of the grate shall contain a larger proportion of steam<br />
than the blast which passes through the grids. Such<br />
an arrangement is advisable when dealing with badlycoking<br />
fuels, particularly when ammonia recovery is<br />
required.<br />
The air for combustion in the smaller plants is<br />
usually supplied by means of a steam jet blower, and<br />
FIG. 11—Water seal central blast fixed type gas producer; 10-//.<br />
6-in. internal diameter, to gasify 1,300 lbs. of coal per hour.<br />
in the larger plants by fans, steam being added to the<br />
blast pipe between the fans and the producers. The<br />
quantity of steam added to the the blast plays an important<br />
part in the proper operation of the producer,<br />
and it is necessary to take note of the function which<br />
this steam performs, particularly in the case of the<br />
by-product recovery producers.<br />
The YVincotit producer. Fig. 11, is exceedinglysimple<br />
in design and operation. It consists of a cylindrical<br />
steel shell carried on a massive hematite iron<br />
Itte blast FurnaceSSteel Plant<br />
September, 1924<br />
ring, supporter on piers built in the water seal trough.<br />
The necessary steam jet blast pipe, central blast cone<br />
and distributing grid are fitted, together with the<br />
charging hopper and bell, the inspection door and the<br />
top and side poking holes. Firebricks and blocks are<br />
used for the lining.<br />
A Yhen using a good quality coal these producers<br />
have gasified at the rate of 15-lb. per square foot of<br />
gas-making area per hour, and these producers are<br />
constructed to gasify up to 1,300 lbs. of coal per hour.<br />
Considerable progress is also being made with the<br />
gas from by-product coke ovens and blast furnaces for<br />
steel furnace heating. The gas from a by-product<br />
coke oven has an average gross calorific value of 550<br />
Btu. per cubic ft. and closely- approximates manufactured<br />
gas in composition, consisting chiefly of hydrogen<br />
and methane, and also other hydrocarbons, such<br />
as ethylene. Owing to the high hy-drogen content<br />
this gas has a low specific gravity and care must be<br />
observed in the manner of feeding it to the furnaces,<br />
otherwise it will hug and tend to burn out the roofs.<br />
CANADIAN CONDITIONS<br />
The announcement that the big plants of tbe British<br />
Fmpire Steel Corporation at Sydney, N. S.. would<br />
be closed for three months has been countermanded.<br />
J. E. McLurg, manager of the company's steel manufacturing<br />
operations, had made the announcement of<br />
the pending shutdown, which he attributed to lack of<br />
orders. However, at the eleventh hour, the Canadian<br />
National Railways sent in an order for rails and other<br />
equipment that will keep the plants busy for at least<br />
a month. In the meanwhile efforts will be made to<br />
induce tbe Canadian Pacific Railway- to send in a<br />
large order. The British Empire Steel Corporation<br />
closed the machine shops of the plant at New Glasgow<br />
last week and the shops will remain closed indefinitely.<br />
The Canadian National Railways are continuing<br />
the retrenchment policy in the shops. About one<br />
hundred men were laid off last week in the Monoton<br />
machine shops. Activities in tbe Monoton shops<br />
were never at such a limited scale as at the present,<br />
there being an unprecedented dullness on the road.<br />
The machine shops of the St. John Dry Dock and<br />
Shipbuilding Company- at East St. John, X. B., which<br />
plant was opened last November, have been idle for a<br />
month, owing to dearth of business. Some ship repair<br />
work and some more important dry dock repairs<br />
on steamers are expected before the first of August.<br />
The plant of the defunct firm of James Fleming &<br />
Sons, St. John. X. I!., was offered at auction and bid in<br />
at $30,000. This is one of the oldest machine shops<br />
in America. The firm was established 100 vears ago<br />
by the late James Fleming. For some years the business<br />
has been maintained by his sons. Creditors<br />
forced the sale of the assets, a banking firm being the<br />
heaviest creditor. The price realized was much lower<br />
than anticipated. However, it is said that the property<br />
and equipment have been taken over by one of<br />
the sons through an agent.<br />
The machine shop of the Nashwaak Pulp & Paper<br />
Company of New York City and located at the company's<br />
plant in Fairville, X. B., has been closed for several<br />
weeks because of the depression. Overhauling<br />
of the equipment has been engaged. A new fire-fighting<br />
system has been installed in the entire plant, all<br />
of the equipment being imported from the U. S.
September, 1924<br />
IkeBlasfFurnaceSSteelPl ant<br />
E SAFETY CRUSADE<br />
Improved Safety Record Emphasized<br />
Having lost less time from accidents than any<br />
other Portland cement plant in the country, the San<br />
Antonio Portland Cement Company has been awarded<br />
the Portland Cement Association's safety contest<br />
trophy. Ninety-nine cement plants participated in the<br />
safety contest which determined the winner. The<br />
Association will make this contest an annual event,<br />
carrying out its policy of co-operating with cement<br />
mills to reduce accidents.<br />
The trophy, to be made of cement manufactured<br />
at the plant of the winning company, is to be a concrete<br />
medallion bearing figures depicting tbe theme,<br />
"Safety Follows Wisdom." Miss Ruth Sherwood, of<br />
the Art Institute, Chicago, is the sculptress who designed<br />
and modeled the plaque.<br />
The contest itself has been an important contributory<br />
factor in reducing the number of accidents in<br />
cement plants, according to H. G. Jacobsen, director<br />
of the accident prevention bureau of the Portland<br />
Cement Association. The cement industry's severity<br />
rate in 1923 was 5.411 days lost per 100,000 hours<br />
407<br />
worked, compared with a rate of 6.504 for 1922. This<br />
is a marked reduction, whereas other basic industries<br />
showed an increase in the severity rate for this period.<br />
Fatal accidents were decreased by 30 per cent.<br />
The San Antonio plant, Mr. Jacobsen reports, had<br />
only three accidents, which were of a minor character.<br />
The plant's record shows that on the average maintained<br />
only one day per man in \\ l /2 years would be<br />
lost on account of accidents. Several other plants<br />
gave the Texas mill a close race. Fourteen plants had<br />
better safety records in 1923 than did the plant having<br />
the best record in 1919.<br />
"No Accident Month" campaigns have been important<br />
factors in lowering the severity rate. In these<br />
campaigns the different departments of a plant are in<br />
competition. By- interesting the men in safety work<br />
in this manner great improvement has been shown.<br />
The serious consequences of carelessness have been<br />
pointed out.<br />
In addition to the hazard of running machinery,<br />
such as is found in other industries, cement manufac-<br />
(Concluded on page 417)
408<br />
Tine Blast F,<br />
urnacp<br />
Steel Plant<br />
September, 1924<br />
0 C<br />
CURRENT REVIEW<br />
% ^<br />
A. I. & S. E. E. ANNUAL CONVENTION<br />
By R. S. SHOEMAKER*<br />
THE Nineteenth Annual Convention and Exposition<br />
of tbe A. I. & S. E. E. very appropriately<br />
will be held this year in the Duquesne Gardens<br />
in the City of Pittsburgh ; very appropriately, so we<br />
think, because as an engineering society devoted solely<br />
to the interests of the steel industry, Pittsburgh, the<br />
world's greatest steel center, is also our home town<br />
and we feel that no better place could be found in<br />
which to demonstrate to the industry at large and our<br />
own employers in particular the splendid progress<br />
made by this Association during the past 18 years.<br />
We feel that this year's work has been very beneficial<br />
to our industry and to our membership in many<br />
ways, notable among which should be mentioned the<br />
very successful fuel-saving conference held in Pittsburgh<br />
April second and third by our Combustion<br />
Engineering Section, which was attended by the leading<br />
Combustion Engineers of the steel and allied industries<br />
of the country, at which time many vital problems<br />
reating to the more efficient utilization of our<br />
fuel supplies were discussed.<br />
January of this year witnessed the publication of<br />
our monthly magazine. The Iron & Steel Engineer.<br />
which has in this short time gained a most enviable<br />
position in the trade magazine field and is fast being<br />
recognized as the authority on all subjects pertaining<br />
to the practical application and utilization of fuel,<br />
electricity, machinery and methods as applied to the<br />
modern steel plant.<br />
Our branch sections, of which we have five, located<br />
at Philadelphia, Birmingham. Cleveland, Chicago and<br />
Pittsburgh, have this year been most progressively<br />
active in having presented before them papers bv the<br />
leading engineers of the country covering the most<br />
modern and vital subjects, which have been of intense<br />
interest and benefit to our managements as well as to<br />
our membership.<br />
Standardization of electrical and mechanical equipment<br />
of our plants has always been considered of very<br />
great importance and we have had for many vears<br />
committees working to this end on various classes of<br />
steel mill apparatus with considerable success, but<br />
there yet remains a vast amount of work to be done<br />
in this field. We now have our standard specifications<br />
for heavy duty cranes, general specification for<br />
a.c. main roll drives, mill type motors, etc., but we<br />
have always felt that our committees have not been<br />
able to freely devote sufficient time to this work and<br />
that our companies have not been sufficiently informed<br />
as to the mutual benefits to be derived by the steel<br />
companies, the manufacturers and the association<br />
membership. As a result of this feeling we have during<br />
the vear communicated with the managements of<br />
practically- all of the steel companies, explaining in<br />
•President A. I. & S. E. E.; Superintendent of Maintenance,<br />
American Rolling Mill Company, Middletown, Ohio.<br />
detail that our work along this line is in every way<br />
constructive and will not hamper or limit the manufacturers<br />
in developing their apparatus to the most<br />
efficient point possible, and requesting that they appoint<br />
one or more members of their <strong>org</strong>anization to<br />
work with our standards committee chairmen, we<br />
have had splendid response from the steel companies<br />
and are now in better shape to go forward with this<br />
work with committees which have the full backing<br />
and understanding of their employers.<br />
At our national convention, held at Milwaukee in<br />
F'12, the National Safety Council was born and the<br />
t A. i. & s. E. E.<br />
slogan "Safety First" was coined, thus marking the<br />
first <strong>org</strong>anized safety movement in our mills as well<br />
as all other American industry. While statistics most<br />
emphatically indicate a tremendous reduction in the<br />
number of industrial accidents during the last 12<br />
years, there is yet a great deal of work to be done.<br />
particularly of an educational nature, and it is my<br />
earnest hope that this, our nineteenth convention, will<br />
once more be responsible for a constructive safety<br />
movement which will be in line with our policy of expansion<br />
and will afford the safety engineers'of our<br />
industry a medium through which they may better<br />
exchange ideas and have the benefits of a national <strong>org</strong>anization<br />
interested only in the problems of iron and<br />
steel.
September. 1924<br />
Looking ahead, our future as an engineering association<br />
looks particularly bright, we are on a sound<br />
financial footing, our membership generally is enthusiastic<br />
and increasing in numbers; especially so is<br />
this true of our foreign enrollment, which indicates<br />
that we are more and more each year becoming the<br />
exchange medium for progressive engineering within<br />
the steel industry of the entire world.<br />
The space alloted me does not permit of my saying<br />
much about our future plans, but I cannot let this<br />
opportunity pass without expressing the hope that the<br />
rank and file of our association will in the future put<br />
forth the same effort and show the same spirit of<br />
helpfulness toward their national officers and directors,<br />
and loyalty to their association as they have<br />
shown during the past year—then I know the welfare<br />
of the A. I. & S. F. E. will be assured.<br />
WHAT OF THE FUTURE?<br />
By F. W. CRAMER'<br />
THERE was an editorial in one of the papers some<br />
few days ago that drew a striking comparison of<br />
the swiftness of developments of the present age<br />
with those of past ages. In order to bring the picture<br />
within the conception of the average man, it assumed<br />
as a base figure the "age of man" as 50 years.<br />
Then, by comparison, it was found that all our real<br />
electrical developments have come within the last two<br />
or three days, and bringing the picture more closely<br />
home to the steel industry, our large main roll drives<br />
are only a day old.<br />
How rapid this development of our main roll drives<br />
has been can be brought forcibly home by going back<br />
over our yearly proceedings and discovering that our<br />
association, though young in years, is older than the<br />
oldest main roll drive. Each volume unfolds a newstory,<br />
a new idea is brought forward, probably against<br />
a lot of adverse criticism by some staunch pioneer<br />
who had the courage to stand by his convictions, and<br />
another type of mill is electrified and put into operation.<br />
Sometimes we think the steel industry- has been<br />
skeptical, and we might even say backward in adopting<br />
these new developments—but in reality-, when a<br />
comparison is made with the battle the steam engine<br />
had to replace the hand power and the water wheel,<br />
the time is relatively short. Starting just about 15<br />
years ago, as a novelty, main drive electrification has<br />
been developed and accepted, and now surpasses its<br />
old rival—steam.<br />
At present, we are going through another cycle—<br />
a battle between the types of these motor drives—<br />
which makes it appear as if the wheels of progress<br />
have made a complete revolution and are back to the<br />
starting point for a new turn. Years and years ago,<br />
in this age of electricity, the d.c. motor was developed<br />
and brought into use, and served faithfully on many<br />
types of installations. Then as the applications called<br />
for larger and larger motors, its newer and formidable<br />
rival, the a.c. wound rotor induction motor, began to<br />
get recognition and replace the larger d.c. drives until<br />
the reversing blooming mill or plate mill motors were<br />
about the only large d.c. drives left. The industry,<br />
however, needed a variation in speed for several types<br />
of mills that the wound rotor induction motor in itself<br />
could not give, and in addition, the question of effi-<br />
*Assistant Electrical Superintendent, Bethlehem Steel<br />
Company. Johnstown, Pa.<br />
Die Blast FurnaceSSteel Plant<br />
409<br />
ciencies and low power factors of this type of motor<br />
were becoming more and more important, which<br />
caused the motor builders to seek and search for new<br />
ideas to meet with the demands. The Kraemer system,<br />
Scherbius sets, and the Frequency converter systems<br />
were all brought forward as solutions to these<br />
demands. All three of these are good drives, as the<br />
hundreds of installations will bear out, but the complications<br />
in control and the multiplicity of apparatus<br />
needed for speed variations kept a shadow of doubt<br />
hovering over the steel mill electrical man as to<br />
whether the best drive had yet been developed. In<br />
the midst of all this, first one electrical superintendent<br />
and then another began to believe that perhaps an<br />
old reliable friend had been spurned too quickly, and<br />
that with a little care and development it could be<br />
brought back into its old place. As a result of this,<br />
we find that the d.c. main roll drive has, within the<br />
past year, re-established itself as a formidable rival<br />
to the variable speed sets. It had, however, to find an<br />
ally in the synchronous motor driven MG set, in order<br />
to put itself across, and in combination with this set,<br />
the simple control needed, the high efficiency and the<br />
wonderful speed variation that could be obtained.<br />
rapidly established the d.c. motor as an ideal installation<br />
where speed variation in main roll drives w r as<br />
needed.<br />
This ally we have spoken of, the synchronous motor,<br />
seems to be like a neglected child, and has had<br />
a hard fight to keep a place on the wheel, yet its possibilities<br />
arc legion. The old criticism "you have too<br />
little starting torque" is hard to live down, but it has<br />
found some friends that developed a super-synchronous<br />
motor, and other friends who brought out the magnetic<br />
clutch, and these have eliminated this weakness.<br />
Where a constant speed drive is needed, this neglected<br />
line of motors is fast finding a place of its own. A<br />
simple control, a good power factor, a cheaper motor<br />
where direct connection and slow speed are needed<br />
are what it offers—all it needs to be put across is some<br />
staunch pioneers who will give it a chance.<br />
We have spoken of these rapid changes of main<br />
roll drives and their battle to replace steam, and have<br />
given the motors the credit—but who made it possible<br />
for the motors to get a chance to make good—<br />
who has been the super-salesman that put the deal<br />
across? The answer to this can be found in the yearlyproceedings<br />
of the A. I. & S. E. E. No company or<br />
individual was big enough—it required the co-operation<br />
of a large number of men, and the story of the<br />
pioneers who founded this <strong>org</strong>anization, their fight<br />
for recognition of the electrical department, the discussions<br />
and criticisms at the meetings, and of the<br />
new developments year after year, is a story that w-ill<br />
go down in history as the reason for the replacing of<br />
the steam drives with motors.<br />
And what can we expect of the future? Who is<br />
willing to hazard a guess? We know that mill after<br />
mill will replace its steam engine with a motor drive.<br />
We can expect developments in the types of drive and<br />
in new applications, in fact it will only be a few years<br />
until the smelting and reducing processes of the'steel<br />
industry will have reached such a stage of development<br />
in existing practice that, in order to further<br />
improve operation they will be calling for the more<br />
extensive use of the electric furnace to aid in the<br />
refinement of the ores, ahd thus the expansion of the<br />
electrical department will continue until it becomes<br />
the all important division in the manufacture of steel.
410<br />
Association of Iron and Steel Electrical Engineers,<br />
Pittsburgh, Pa.<br />
Gentlemen:<br />
Die Blast FurnacoSSteel Plant<br />
CITY OF PITTSBURGH<br />
PENNSYLVANIA<br />
September, 1924<br />
W. A. MAGEE<br />
Mayor<br />
H. E. SPEAKER<br />
Secretary<br />
September 1st, 1924.<br />
I take great pleasure in welcoming the delegates of your Convention to our city. The<br />
engineers of your Association engaged in the application of electricity in all the many and various phases<br />
in which iron and steel are used are filling a very important niche in the development of our city and<br />
nation. You gentlemen are the advance guards of progress and as such you are indeed welcome to<br />
Pittsburgh.<br />
Iron and steel have brought great wealth to Pittsburgh and made this one of the industrial<br />
centers of the world. The almost universal use of iron and steel entering largely into everything that is<br />
built, constructed and used, and the application of electricity in thousands of different ways, are two of<br />
the outstanding factors of this marvelous age.<br />
Pittsburgh is indeed grateful to and proud of its engineers who have been in a large degree<br />
responsible for giving work to thousands of people and for bringing a fair share of the wealth of the<br />
world to our doors and homes. Our great iron and steel plants have challenged the admiration of the<br />
world, and next to the names of Edison and Marconi no other is so important in the electrical sphere as<br />
that of Ge<strong>org</strong>e Westinghouse.<br />
The people of Pittsburgh are in close touch with the thought and genius of men who have<br />
wrought so well in iron and steel and who are by electricity astonishing- mankind bv their marvelous<br />
achievements, and this Convention of your <strong>org</strong>aniza ion for the exchange of sentiments, of thoughts, of<br />
methods and of ideas on the important subjects in wh'ch your <strong>org</strong>anization is interested is one of the<br />
promising things of our present day.<br />
The efforts of your <strong>org</strong>anization have been eminently successful and what you have done in<br />
the past as an <strong>org</strong>anization is but a prophecy of what you will be able to do in the future. If we could but<br />
draw back the curtain of the future, we would not only be astonished but mystified by what is in store<br />
for us and for coming generations. We cannot fore'ell what inventions are in the brain of the future or<br />
what garments of glory will be woven on the loom of the coming ages, but we do know that honest<br />
endeavor of men who associate themselves together not only for the benefits which they may individually<br />
derive, but for the good which they may do for others, is not in vain, and in this kinship of heart and unity<br />
of purpose you are real benefactors.<br />
The members of your <strong>org</strong>anization are creators. Every mill, shop, factory and plant began<br />
with an idea. By thought that idea developed into a plan, and then through mind-directed effort it<br />
materialized into an actuality with physical form and physical characteristics. All the development about<br />
Pittsburgh is but the thought of engineers operating in harness of steam and iron and steel. The thinker<br />
and the creator must precede the worker. Thus the man who thinks and plans and dreams and creates<br />
paves the way for the material things that make us great.<br />
In welcoming you to Pittsburgh, I wish you to remember that our best product is manhood<br />
and womanhood. We are justly proud of our material wealth and greatness, but we are not afraid to be<br />
judged by the prevailing type of our manhood and womanhood. May your visit here be pleasant and<br />
profitable, and when you separate and go your several ways may something gathered here last through<br />
life as a remembrance of Pittsburgh.
September, 1924<br />
Die Blast FurnacoSSteel Plant<br />
We also know that there are bound to be great<br />
developments in the source of this power—the steam<br />
to be gained by such applications. Thus the demand<br />
for broader engineering information has been created<br />
turbine and the hydro-electric plant, and that the and in filling this demand the Association has found<br />
dream of a great super-power system will some day it necessary to enlarge the scope of its activities or else<br />
be realized. Certain developments, during the past fail to live up to the well merited tradition of service<br />
two years, point out that a new type of friendship be to its membership.<br />
tween the large public service companies and the steel The present year has witnessed two outstanding<br />
mills is about to be established and the age-old debates<br />
"purchased vs. home-made power, or 25 vs.<br />
60 cycles" will be revived to be discussed and settled<br />
in a business-like way. But whatever the future may<br />
bring, the A. I. & S. E. E. will serve as the melting<br />
pot, the guide and counsel where these questions can<br />
be thrashed out among friends, and the proceedings<br />
will add chapter after chapter in this interesting story<br />
in the years to come.<br />
developments in what might be termed "servicing the<br />
membership." The first of these has been the change<br />
in size and character of the monthly publication. In<br />
enlarging the size, the Association has followed the<br />
policy of other engineering periodicals and the same<br />
mechanical advantages in presentng the subject matter<br />
have been secured. There is a marked improvement<br />
in the subject matter presented and in the more<br />
general nature of its engineering interest. The more<br />
You owe it to your company, and your company liberal dimensions permit the publication of many<br />
owes it to you that a common bond be established be valuable papers presented at section meetings which<br />
tween yourself and the association. We are no longer hitherto could not be printed on accoune of lack of<br />
fighting for recognition, but are firmly established. space.<br />
The papers presented at the meetings are recorded In the future it may develop that contributions to<br />
as authorities on the subjects ; in fact the power of the the monthly magazine will be accepted which cannot<br />
association is so great that it almost controls the be worked into meeting programs, thus giving the<br />
destiny of the steel mill electrical applications. Our membership additional information on subjects other<br />
convention exhibits have grown so fast that it is dif than those actually discussed in general or section<br />
ficult to find a building that will house them, and space meetings. It is recognized, however, that such prac<br />
is now at a premium instead of being an effort to sell, tice is open to objection, that great care must be used<br />
showing the high place we occupy in the minds of in selecting papers published without discussion in<br />
the manufacturers.<br />
order to avoid the possibility of impairing the excel<br />
You will find that the electrical development of lent reputation for accuracy now possessed by the<br />
the steel industry and the Association of Iron & Steel "Proceedings."<br />
Electrical Engineers are bound hand and foot, and<br />
The second outstanding development of the past<br />
that the more active part that you take in the asso year has been the holding of the First Fuel Saving<br />
ciation, the greater will be your part in this develop Conference. Many of our members feel that a steel<br />
ment, and a.s the story of this progress is recorded. mill electrical engineer must be fully posted on the<br />
year after year, your part in the work will be preserved advances made in the efficient utilization of fuel. For<br />
for the coming generations.<br />
a number of years it has been tbe custom to devote a<br />
DEVELOPMENTS IN THE ACTIVITY OF<br />
day of the Annual Convention to the discussion of the<br />
fuel saving problem. At the close of the last Annual<br />
THE A. I. & S. E. E.<br />
Convention at Buffalo it was decided that the time was<br />
By A. C CUMMINS*<br />
not sufficient and that a two or three day special<br />
spring meeting devoted to the discussion of fuel sav<br />
IN considering the trend of the activities of the ings should be inaugurated. Accordingly the First<br />
Association of Iron & Steel Electrical Engineers,<br />
it is not possible to avoid the conclusion that the<br />
field of effort of this Association has greatly broadened<br />
during the past few years. An examination of<br />
subjects recently discussed under its auspices immediately<br />
places it under the classification of a general<br />
steel mill engineers' society rather than an <strong>org</strong>aniza<br />
Fuel Savings Conference was held in Pittsburgh in<br />
April, 1924. This conference was unusually well<br />
attended and the interest displayed on the part of<br />
those present indicated a necessity for such a meeting.<br />
Such conferences fill a demand that is not covered<br />
by anv<br />
tion of engineers whose meetings deal exclusively<br />
with the discussion of electrical engineering problems.<br />
Further consideration of the cause of this enlargement<br />
of activity leads to the conclusion that the<br />
Association has had no choice in the matter of determining<br />
this policy. The enlarged engineering responsibilities<br />
of its membership demanded a broadening<br />
of the field of the Association if it wished to continue<br />
to give service. So rapidly has the use of electricity<br />
in the steel industry progressed that every mill<br />
improvement now entails an extensive study of the<br />
various applications on which the use of electricity<br />
may be advantageously adopted. The steel mill electrical<br />
engineer is now required to be thoroughly<br />
familiar with general steel mill engineering practices<br />
in order that he may ably supervise the application<br />
of electric drive, and obtain the maximum advantage<br />
•"Electrical Supt., Carnegie Steel Company, Duquesne, Pa.<br />
- other engineering society and will be<br />
continued.<br />
As to future development in the Association's<br />
activities no one can do more than surmise. When<br />
it is recalled that the steel mill electrical engineer less<br />
than 30 years ago was either caring for a few lights<br />
or adjusting brushes on a generator, while now his<br />
advice is sought in nearly every steel mill engineering<br />
problem, and that this Association has always<br />
filled the demand of its membership for development,<br />
it can be said with conservation that the future of<br />
this Society will reflect the development of the utilization<br />
of electricity in the steel industry and the importance<br />
of the steel mill electrical engineer. Those<br />
who have had the vision and the determination to<br />
place the use of electricity in the steel industry in the<br />
high position it now possesses as a means of doing<br />
work will not cease their activity at the present stage<br />
of its development, nor will the research engineers or<br />
the designing engineers cease in the improvement of<br />
the means offered the steel mill engineer to further<br />
411
412<br />
the use of electricity. Therefore the future development<br />
of the Association must be a continually broadening<br />
one until it eventually must become an <strong>org</strong>anzation<br />
for all classes of steel mill engineers at or before<br />
the time when the steel industry becomes 100 per<br />
cent electrified.<br />
As surely as the use of electricity in the steel industry<br />
is on the threshold of still greater development, the<br />
steel mill electrical engineer is on the way to greater<br />
recognition. It is the duty of the Association to aid<br />
him in his quest for further development. How will<br />
it do it? It must act as an educational medium for<br />
continued engineering information, an advertising<br />
agent to place himself before his public and enable<br />
him to sell himself, and finally it must urge that in his<br />
enthusiasm for the engineering specialty that is his<br />
selected profession, he must never be carried beyond<br />
the ethical standards of the engineering profession.<br />
THE VALUE OF CONVENTIONS<br />
By A. J. STANDING*<br />
CONVENTIONS, as the name implies, are gatherings<br />
of people who are called together to accomplish,<br />
by means of unity of purpose, certain constructive<br />
results that could not otherwise be achieved.<br />
After all, conventions are made up of individuals and,<br />
therefore, the success of any convention, both from<br />
the standpoint of its accomplishments as a convention<br />
as well as the standpoint of individual gain, must<br />
be measured in the final analysis in terms of individual<br />
effort. In other weirds, a convention is what<br />
A. J. STANDING, Chairman,<br />
Banquet Committee A 1. & s E. E.<br />
the individuals make it. and each attending member<br />
gains only in proportion to the effort he exerts to<br />
derive benefit from the convention.<br />
The most obvious service any individual can render<br />
in behalf of our convention is to attend the various<br />
technical sessions and show interest in the industrial<br />
exhibits; by so doing he gives the support of his<br />
presence to those who strive to make all the features<br />
a success.<br />
The conventions of our A. I. & S. E. E. have a fo'ur-<br />
*EIectricaI Superintendent, Bethlehem Steel Company,<br />
Saucon Plant. Bethlehem, Pa.<br />
Die Blast FumaceSSteel Plant<br />
September, 1924<br />
fold value to those accredited representatives of steel<br />
plant electrical departments who attend with the object<br />
of getting the greatest possible return for the companies<br />
they represent on the money invested in sending<br />
them to these conventions.<br />
First, and logically so, is the direct benefit gained<br />
by hearing the technical papers read and taking part<br />
in the discussion of such papers and reports as are<br />
directly of interest to us.<br />
Second is the benefit to be gained from close inspection<br />
and discussion of the many interesting and<br />
profitable exhibits and actual demonstrations that<br />
have become such a prominent part of our conventions.<br />
Information gained by actual observation is so much<br />
more readily retained.<br />
Third, I fee that the association with men in similar<br />
lines of activity, the questions and answers brought<br />
up in the many private discussions, are all a very vital<br />
part of the actual assimilated knowledge one can take<br />
away from our conventions.<br />
Fourth, I place the value of acquaintanceship and<br />
sociability fostered among officers, members and<br />
associates as being of inestimable value in broadening<br />
a man's outlook and his knowledge of the personnel<br />
of the electrical end of the steel industry as a whole.<br />
Through the friendships begun at our convention<br />
there grows a feeling of fraternity that can be counted<br />
on in almost any situation that may arise in the actual<br />
operation of our various departments and is being<br />
more and more used as a medium of exchange of ideas<br />
helpful to each other.<br />
I know of no other Association whose conventions<br />
are fruitful of more that is of actual lasting value to<br />
its members than are our own. provided, of course, we<br />
each do our share toward making each feature a success.<br />
There is one other point to be borne in mind, and<br />
that is the realization we should all have that when<br />
we are assembled in convention we are always the<br />
responsible representatives of various steel plants.<br />
and the conduct of our entire convention is judged by<br />
industry at large in that light. It behooves us all.<br />
therefore, to keep the name and fame of the convention<br />
of the Association of Iron and Steel Electrical<br />
Engineers above reproach.<br />
WHY ELECTRIFICATION OF MILL DRIVES<br />
IS ECONOMICAL<br />
By S. S. WALES*<br />
THE uses of the electric motor today- covers a much<br />
wider range than its most partisan advocates<br />
hoped for when it first entered the mechanical<br />
world as a substitute for the earlier devices for distributing<br />
power.<br />
The wizard of the electrical fraternity, Thomas A.<br />
Edison, at the time he introduced the incandescent<br />
lamp, proposed running the entire surface car system<br />
of New York City, as it then existed, by electric<br />
motor, but advanced as that thought was, it has been<br />
surpassed in reality by tbe wonderful development<br />
of the electric locomotive, which is capable of doing<br />
the work of three powerful steam engines on the<br />
heavy grades in the Rocky Mountains.<br />
•Electrical Engineer, Carnegie Steel Company, Pittsburgh,
September, 1924<br />
Thomas McDonald, formerly general manager of<br />
one of the large steel plants of the country, in 1896<br />
while building a mill in which all auxiliaries were electrically<br />
driven, suggested motor driven main rolls<br />
for non-reversing mills, but even his dream has been<br />
surpassed by the modern reversing booming mill and<br />
continuous mill with their controlling, limiting and<br />
protective devices which almost appear to think for<br />
themselves.<br />
While a few men of vision and imagination were<br />
looking forward and predicting a wonderful future<br />
for this new tool that electricity had put into their<br />
hands, it is fair to ask what basic reason gave its present<br />
supremacy to the electric motor and why it so<br />
S. S. WALES, Director A. I. & S. E. E.<br />
successfully supersedes other power producing units<br />
even for main roll drives, and it is interesting to find<br />
that this basis is not really electrical.<br />
Sentiment has had little to do with the rapid advance<br />
of electric power production, distribution and<br />
use in the mill, and to some extent the art has developed<br />
backwards, that is from the motor through<br />
the distribution system, back to production equipment<br />
in reverse order to its discovery. While now resting<br />
on the firm foundation of saving in cost over other<br />
methods and carrying the two advantages of safety<br />
and convenience, it was very fortunate for the infant<br />
science that there were steam and hydraulic applications<br />
in the mills, where efficiency need not be considered,<br />
and to which electric power was admirably<br />
adapted even in its crude form.<br />
Steel mill electric power deveopment began about<br />
1892 with the motorizing of pass and runout tables on<br />
some old type hand served mills, and by the introduction<br />
of electric overhead traveling cranes for roll<br />
changing. The electric cranes, charging machines<br />
and pass tables immediately took their places in the<br />
Ine Dlast furnace'''Z/jteel riant<br />
413<br />
mill and. with few very minor exceptions, superseded<br />
all other methods of lifting and transferring material,<br />
purey on the ground of ease of transmission of power<br />
from a fixed to a moving point. Here efficiency did<br />
not enter the question very largely, as compared with<br />
convenience.<br />
The fixed motors, running roller tables, etc., had<br />
only efficiency to stand on, but the steam consumed<br />
by the small hoisting engines then used and the condensation<br />
losses in the long small steam lines, gave<br />
ample margin for the motor to show an advantage.<br />
At that time power was generated by units of<br />
which the 200-hp.. belted, 250-volt, d.c. generator was<br />
a fair average, the prime movers being single cylinder,<br />
simple, non-condensing, side valve engines,<br />
using steam at about 100-lb. gauge pressure. The<br />
over-all efficiency of these units could not have exceeded<br />
2 l /2 per cent or 400 lbs. of steam per kwh.<br />
After the power had been produced with this tremendous<br />
waste, it was transmitted for a distance of from<br />
500 to 1,000 ft. with line losses based on 10 per cent to<br />
20 per cent drop at normal load, peaks not considered,<br />
and 60-deg. copper temperature to motors probablyaveraging<br />
75 per cent efficiency, and strange as it mayseem,<br />
the first radical improvements in the whole system<br />
appeared in the motors. In rapid succession the<br />
open tvpe double reduction motor was followed by<br />
the open type singe reduction, the semi-enclosed<br />
single reduction, the wholly enclosed and then the<br />
special mill type motor, which was the first concession<br />
made by the electrical manufacturers and designers<br />
to the steel industry.<br />
During the motor development, transmission lines<br />
had been extending until the size of copper and first<br />
cost had become a considerable item, so the next improvement<br />
followed back from the motor to the line.<br />
Slow speed steam engines with large alternating<br />
generators were installed, with slightly improved<br />
efficiency over the early d.c. equipments, and power<br />
was carried at 6600 volts a.c. to the center of consumption,<br />
where it was transformed to 250-volt d.c.<br />
for use by means of static transformers and rotary<br />
converters, which is substantially the method employed<br />
today, except that the high speed motor<br />
generator set. taking 6600 volts at the a.c. end, has<br />
largely superseded the rotary converter due to flexibility<br />
and its ability to correct low power factor.<br />
For a long time the competition between the electric<br />
motor and other forms of power users was confined<br />
to small units and to places inaccessible to steam<br />
engines so that it was only when a daring attack was<br />
made on an actual electrical mill drive, using d.c.<br />
generation, transmission and main roll motor, that<br />
the steam drive developed its real strength, which lay<br />
in the fact that the central station generating units<br />
could not be of appreciably larger size or higher<br />
efficiency than the engine that would be required to<br />
run the mill direct.<br />
In estimating the economies of such equipment,<br />
the engineer was confronted with additional losses, instead<br />
of savings, which no amount of "convenience"<br />
or "safety" could overrule, and it was only when the<br />
electrical industry produced the steam turbine generator<br />
that the complete electrification of the rolling mill<br />
became an economic possibility. So the final step in<br />
the backward line of progress was taken, and the reciprocating<br />
steam engine was in full retreat before<br />
the victorious motor, except for a rear guard action
414<br />
set up by the uniflovv engine, which did not develop<br />
the strength its friends expected.<br />
It appears, then, that the basic foundation of the<br />
success of the electric motor in replacing steam<br />
engines in power development in steel mills is not due<br />
to the increase in the power, reliability and efficiency<br />
of the motor itself, or in its transmission system, but<br />
principally to a radical improvement in the method<br />
of using steam itself by means of tbe turbine, which<br />
is more perfectly adapted in speed and construction to<br />
driving electric generators than to direct connection<br />
to the machinery of the mill.<br />
In some favored sections, where large water<br />
powers are available, this will not hold good, but<br />
where fuel is the source of power then the turbogenerator<br />
must stand as tbe strongest ally of electric<br />
power users. So. with all his pride in the wonderful<br />
progress in electrification, the electrical engineer<br />
must bow to the steam engineer, who has defeated<br />
himself.<br />
Under average conditions and with up-to-date<br />
transmission lines and motors, one hp. engine can be<br />
delivered to the roll necks of a non-reversing mill by<br />
the electric route, using modern compound condensing<br />
engines for 2.47 lbs. of coal at the boilers, as<br />
against 2.10 lbs. of coal with the same engine direct<br />
connected to the mill, including line losses, or an increase<br />
of coal consumption of about 13 per cent,<br />
whereas with the same electric route, using steam<br />
turbine generated power, 1 hp. can be delivered to<br />
the rolls for 1.53 lbs. of coal, or a decrease in coal consumption<br />
of about 30 per cent over the direct connected<br />
roll engine, due entirely to the advantage of<br />
the turbo-generator over the engine-driven generator.<br />
COMBUSTION AND FUEL ECONOMY<br />
By W. P. CHANDLER*<br />
THE fuel bill of the steel industry is the greatest<br />
raw material cost which has to be met. During<br />
the last decade the bill has been climbing by leaps<br />
and bounds and it is little wonder that combustion, the<br />
process consuming this raw material, has been receiving<br />
particular attention. In the field of electric power<br />
generation the demand for economical use of fuel is<br />
even more pronounced, since it is the largest single<br />
item of expense, and it is in this field that we see the<br />
greatest economies being obtained.<br />
In existing plants the economies are usually<br />
brought about by the installation of accessory equipment,<br />
such as draft regulation, which will produce<br />
more nearly perfect combustion, or by making certain<br />
changes in stoker or burner design so that a more<br />
intimate mixture of fuel and air will take place. Very<br />
great economies can also be obtained by improvements<br />
in the generation, transportation and utilization of the<br />
steam, the intermediate medium between the fuel and<br />
the electric power, and while not strictly in the combustion<br />
field it usually falls under the same supervision.<br />
The really large economies, however, are obtained<br />
by replacing old equipment with that of recent improved<br />
design. This normally requires the expenditure<br />
of large sums of money and naturally is much<br />
slower of accomplishment.<br />
*Fuel and Experimental Engineer, Carnegie Steel Company,<br />
Duquesne, Pa<br />
Die Blast FumacoSSteol Plant<br />
September, 1924<br />
The boiler of 20 years ago might give 60 per cent<br />
efficiency if the firemen were both careful and skillful,<br />
but usually the practice was considerably under this<br />
figure.<br />
As a comparison, tests conducted at central stations<br />
of recent design have shown efficiencies well<br />
over 90 per cent for the combined steam-generating<br />
equipment.<br />
This improvement in the utilization of fuel in the<br />
power houses of the country has been reflected in the<br />
government's reports, which show that in the last four<br />
VV. I>. CHANDLER, Secretary,<br />
Combustion Engineering Section A. I. & S. E. E.<br />
years the number of kwh. produced per ton of coal<br />
has jumped from 625 to 835, a gain of 33 1/3 per cent.<br />
The supervision of combustion in a steel mill,<br />
however, extends far beyond the boilers of the powergenerating<br />
system. Each department of the plant requires<br />
furnaces designed especially for its needs. The<br />
fuel best suited to the purpose, or most advantageously<br />
obtained, must be supplied in the proper amount<br />
and so as to produce the proper working temperature<br />
for the process. The heat in the products of combustion<br />
leaving the main body of the furnace must be<br />
reclaimed a.s completely as possible, in order to insure<br />
the lowest possible fuel consumption.<br />
The blast furnace departments at the present time<br />
are probably leading in the matter of fuel economy.<br />
The gases leaving the top of the furnace are consumed<br />
under boilers or in hot blast stoves or internal combustion<br />
engines. The economies obtained in recent
.September. 1924<br />
Name Booth<br />
Alfred Box cc Company 2<br />
Allen Bradley Company 116<br />
Alliance Machine Company 82<br />
Allis Chalmers Manufacturing Company.... 68<br />
Appleton Electric Company Ill, 118<br />
Automatic Reclosing Circuit Breaker Co.... 21<br />
American Engineering Company 159<br />
Baker R & L Company 93, 94, 95<br />
Bartlett Hay ward Company 84, 85<br />
Benjamin Electric Manufacturing Company. 79<br />
W. A. Bittner Company 56<br />
Bussmann Manufacturing Company 115<br />
Bacharach Industrial Instrument Co 39<br />
Central Electric Company 87<br />
Chicago Fuse & Manufacturing Company. . . 22<br />
Chicago Pneumatic Tool Company 15, 16<br />
Corliss Carbon Company 40<br />
Crocker Wheeler Company 59<br />
Crouse Hinds Company 90, 99<br />
Cutler Hammer Manufacturing Co 74, 75<br />
The Cutter Company 13<br />
The Calorizing Company 47<br />
Delta Star Electric Company 155<br />
Detrick Arch Company 53<br />
Doubleday Hill Electric Company 72<br />
Dravo Doyle Company 150<br />
Duquesne Light Company 36, 37, 38<br />
Eastman Graf Company 1<br />
Economy Fuse & Manufacturing Company. 35<br />
Edison Storage Battery Company 83<br />
Electric Controller & Manufacturing Co 80,81<br />
The Electric Journal 134<br />
Electric Materials Company 78<br />
Electric Service Supplies Company 50, 51<br />
Electric Storage Battery Company 46<br />
Electrical World 11<br />
Fairbanks Morse Company 112, 117<br />
Fuels and Furnaces 12<br />
Fuller Lehigh Company 32, 33<br />
Farrell Foundry & Machine Company 96,97<br />
General Electric Company 120 to 129<br />
The Hay ward Company 135, 136<br />
Herr & Harris Company 12<br />
Ludwig Hommel & Company 110, 119<br />
Hyatt Roller Bearing Company 69<br />
Homestead Valve Manufacturing Company. 44<br />
Iron City Electric Company 45<br />
Jos. Jacques 145<br />
Johns Manville Company-, Inc 65<br />
W. A. Jones Foundry & Machine Co 113<br />
Keystone Lubricating Company 57, 58<br />
H. Kleinhans Company 142, 143, 146, 147<br />
Lalcewood Engineering Company 28<br />
J. Frank Lanning Company 153<br />
Laughlin & Barney 160, 161<br />
Die Blast 'tiriUKC 13 Steel Plant<br />
LIST OF EXHIBITORS<br />
IRON AND STEEL EXPOSITION<br />
September 15-20, Pittsburgh, Pa.<br />
41:<br />
Name Booth<br />
-Moloney Electric Company 154<br />
Monitor Controller Company 7<br />
M<strong>org</strong>an Engineering Company '." 66, 67<br />
Mutual Electric & Machine Company 19<br />
Mutual Foundry & Machine Company 5,6<br />
\Y. A. McCombs Company 4<br />
McGraw-Hill Company 11<br />
C. H. McCullough Engineering Company. ... 25<br />
National Carbon Company 89<br />
National Electric Manufacturing Company . 77<br />
New Departure Manufacturing Company... 137,138<br />
Nichols-Lintern Company 10<br />
Norma Company of America 158<br />
Ohio Electric & Controller Company 18<br />
Okonite Wire & Cable Company 3<br />
Otis Elevator Company 29, 30, 31<br />
Packard Electric Company 60, 61<br />
Pawling-Harniscbfeger Company 156<br />
Pittsburgh Electric Furnace Corporation... 70,71<br />
Pittsburgh Transformer Company 23, 24<br />
Pyle National Company 41<br />
Pittsburgh Electrical & Machine Works 64<br />
Payne-Dean, Ltd 76<br />
Reed Air Filter Company 131<br />
Railway & Industrial Engineering Company 98<br />
Republic Flow Meter Company 54<br />
H. Lee Reynolds Company 91,92<br />
Robinson Ventilating Company Lobby<br />
Rollway Bearing Company 17<br />
Rutherford & Uptegraff 62, 63<br />
Reliance Electric & Engineering Co., 140, 141, 148, 149<br />
Rowan Controller Company 157<br />
The Sharpies Specialty- Company 136<br />
Square D Company 20<br />
SKF Industries, Inc 144<br />
Standard Underground Cable Company 73<br />
Stroh Steel Hardening Process Company. ... 55<br />
The Superheater Company 114<br />
Shepard Electric Crane & Hoist Company. . . 42,43<br />
Wm. Swindell & Company 151<br />
Thermoid Rubber Company 152<br />
Thomas Flexible Coupling Company 132<br />
Tool Steel Gear & Pinion Company 14<br />
Trumbull Electric Manufacturing Company. 52<br />
Thompson Electric Company 88<br />
Union Electric Company 34<br />
U. S. Graphite Company 26<br />
V. V. Fittings Company 130, 139<br />
Vulcan Soot Cleaner Company 133<br />
Western Electric Company 48, 49<br />
Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing<br />
Company 100 to 109<br />
Westinghouse Lamp Company '86<br />
West Penn Power Company . 36, 37; 38
416<br />
boiler installations show exceptionally low losses of<br />
heat and hot blast stoves of 75 to 80 per cent efficiency<br />
are being installed. However, the greatest fuel<br />
economies have been made possible by the use of internal<br />
combustion engines.<br />
The other departments in the steel mill have also<br />
been the subject of considerable study for the combustion<br />
engineer and the open hearth and heating furnaces<br />
are beginning to show gratifying reductions in<br />
their fuel consumptions.<br />
Here a woeful waste in fuel had been in practice<br />
for years, and the fuel savings possible were therefore<br />
all the greater.<br />
The open hearth furnace, with its very high operating<br />
furnace temperature, resolves itself into a problem<br />
of waste heat reclamation. The answer litis been<br />
regenerators, recuperators or waste heat boilers m<br />
which the heat is returned to the furnace or absorbed<br />
by a secondary medium. The problem of the heatingfurnace<br />
is a similar one, except to a lesser degree, since<br />
continuous furnaces have made possible a much<br />
greater absorption of beat in the main chamber and<br />
reduced the reclamation problem correspondingly.<br />
Great developments along these lines have already<br />
taken place and much improvement in fuel economies<br />
should be expected in these departments during the<br />
next few years.<br />
The field of fuel conservation, combustion engineering<br />
or whatever it may be termed is a very broad one.<br />
When a new furnace is to be built the first step is the<br />
selection of the fuel which is to be used. The decision<br />
rests on availability and price. Once the fuel is determined<br />
its storage, preparation and introduction<br />
into the furnace must be considered. Means must be<br />
provided for supplying the air necessary for combustion.<br />
If high temperatures are required the necessary<br />
preheat for the air, the fuel or both, must be obtained.<br />
The design of the furnace must be such that<br />
a maximum of the heat generated in the combustion<br />
chamber will be absorbed by the metal being processed.<br />
Tbe hot w-aste gases leaving the furnace<br />
proper must pass through some heat reclaiming device<br />
in order to prevent an other wise large stack loss.<br />
Each step must be considered separately and then<br />
the whole tied together before the design of the finished<br />
equipment can be completed.<br />
The combustion engineer has a big field to cover<br />
in efforts toward lower fuel bills, and with the everincreasing<br />
cost of the various fuels the demands for<br />
such savings will be more and more insistent.<br />
—Iron and Steel Engineer, Editorial Section.<br />
IRON TRADE REVIEW<br />
July 31.<br />
A moderate recovery is developing in the iron and<br />
steel markets and some broadening in tbe scope of<br />
demand is apparent. The pig iron market shows a<br />
strengthening tone and furnaces represented with<br />
headquarters at Cleveland this week booked over<br />
200,000 tons.<br />
Iron Trade Review's composite of 14 leading iron<br />
and steel products this week is $39.47, compared with<br />
$39.53 in the preceding week and $47.26 a year ago.<br />
A survey- of European business conditions made<br />
by Iron Trade Review's resident correspondent in<br />
Europe, shows that trade is good in four European<br />
nations, namely France, Italy, Sweden and Belgium;<br />
I he Dias t hirnaceS Steel riant<br />
September, 1924<br />
fair in 17 and poor in five. European trade in general<br />
is awaiting result of the Dawes plan of action.<br />
August 7.<br />
Mill and steel works operations are showing further<br />
moderate gain. July pig iron production indicates<br />
a slowing down of the curtailment process. A<br />
decrease of 14.6 per cent in output in July as compared<br />
with the decline of 20 per cent in June and 21<br />
per cent in May. |uly production was at the rate of<br />
21,000.000 tons'annually as against a rate of 40,800,-<br />
000 tons in March. The July output of 57,541 tons<br />
daily was the lowest since January, 1922, and represented<br />
a loss of 48.5 per cent from a high point of the<br />
year in March. Total production in July was 1,783,-<br />
778 tons, compared with 2.022,836 tons in June. Active<br />
furnaces at the end of July numbered 146, or 12<br />
less than at the end of June.<br />
An easier situation in the steel market has reduced<br />
Iron Trade Review's composite this week to $39.29,<br />
compared with $39.47 in the week preceding. Lake<br />
Superior iron ore prices as much as 50 cents a ton below<br />
the open market quotations have been offered.<br />
The largest recent sale is 200,000 tons to the American<br />
Radiator Company. More than 100 Great Lakes<br />
iron ore carriers have been taken off the active list.<br />
A feature of Iron Trade Review's cablegram from<br />
London this week is that pig iron made in India is being<br />
offered in England in competition with the domestic<br />
production. A British firm has obtained an order<br />
for 1,500 tons of tram rails for the city of Hull, England,<br />
despite a much lower offer from Germany, due<br />
to the sentiment prevailing against the low wages<br />
paid the German workmen and the longer working<br />
hours.<br />
An article in this issue by Robert T. Mason gives<br />
facts and figures relating to the 1924 road-building<br />
program involving large tonnages of steel.<br />
The increase in the Southern consumption of pig<br />
iron that is made in the South is pointed out in an article<br />
in this issue. Only eight per cent of Southern<br />
pig iron was used in the South in 1911. while last year<br />
the proportion was 62.4 per cent, this being a sidelight<br />
in industrial development in the South.<br />
A report of the engineer committee investigating<br />
super-power development in the Northeastern section<br />
of the United States gave considerable detail in this<br />
issue, and reveals that the super-power plan may result<br />
in an annual saving of 15.000.000 tons of coal.<br />
August 14.<br />
Pig iron prices are stronger in all the leading markets.<br />
In the Chicago district they have been marked<br />
up 50 cents. Late buyers tire beginning to come into<br />
the market and there is considerably more activity<br />
than during the past month. Foundry iron at less than<br />
$1'* has practicallv disappeared in Northern markets.<br />
I rem Trade Review's composite shows an increase<br />
this week for the first time since February- 14, 1924.<br />
Tbe composite now is $39.21 as compared with $39.29.<br />
Lower prices of certain finished steel products and<br />
especially sheets are more than offset by the firmer<br />
position of pig iron.<br />
Iron Trade Review's cablegram this week- points<br />
out that since the McKenna duties were repelled in<br />
Great Britain, August 1, the output of motor parts in<br />
Sheffield has been reduced one-third. The steel<br />
makers are complaining that the government com-
September, l c >24<br />
mittee for investigating the steel industry with particular<br />
reference to foreign trade, is dominated by free<br />
traders.<br />
The business trend section this week shows that<br />
business sentiment continues to improve, numerous<br />
economical indications now being promised for the<br />
immediate outlook, some of them being a small decline<br />
in July steel orders, with other signs of a turn<br />
in the steel trade; continued strengthening of grain<br />
prices; rapid strides toward an agreement on the<br />
Dawes plan ; the advance of commodity- price indices.<br />
A numlTer of articles in this issue are devoted to<br />
the foundry trade, including one by W. J. Corbett,<br />
industrial engineer, the Electric Steel Founders Research<br />
Club, Chicago, pointing out the fallacy of basing<br />
prices of steel castings on their weight. Another<br />
by Lieut. Com. A. M. Charlton describes some of<br />
the foundry practices on large war ships. Another<br />
article relating to prices of castings gives the experience<br />
of one company in determining selling prices by<br />
two factors, actual time required and amount of metal<br />
used. The experience of New Jersey foundry-men in<br />
co-operating with the Boys' Vocational School at<br />
Newark for the training of apprentices are shown in<br />
this issue.<br />
August 21.<br />
Prices of pig iron are up 50 cents in practically all<br />
of the leading markets. The Valley price now is<br />
$19.50 and one large merchant furnace interest has increased<br />
its quotation to $20 after booking about 30,-<br />
000 tons during the week at outstanding lower figures.<br />
Iron Trade Review's composite shows a slight gain<br />
again to $39.75, compared with $39.31 in the week<br />
preceding.<br />
This issue contains a special insert devoted to the<br />
iron and steel and general industrial position of St.<br />
Louis, giving the results of a survey of St. Louis'<br />
position with respect to materials, products, manufactured<br />
products and transportation.<br />
An article describes the Shoenberger Works in<br />
Pittsburgh that is 100 years old this year.<br />
Spending $5,000,000 Monthly<br />
Ihe Dlast luniace _ Mool riant<br />
Steel Corporation Extension Work as Indicative of<br />
Confidence in Business Outlook<br />
The United States Steel Corporation is making<br />
larger expenditures for extensions and improvements<br />
than were supposed a few months ago would be necessary<br />
or possible, according to Judge Elbert H. Gary,<br />
chairman of the corporation, who was interviewed bynewspaper<br />
men on Tuesday afternoon, August 26.<br />
"We are expending at the present time," said he, "at<br />
the rate of about $5,000,000 per month for extensions<br />
and improvements, and our present intentions are to<br />
continue to expend at least that amount for the remainder<br />
of the year. This appears to us to be necessary<br />
to take care of the business on hand and the<br />
business we expect to receive."<br />
The statement was made in the course of a general<br />
discussion on the status of business. "As I have told<br />
you before," he continued, "there has been a steady,<br />
perceptible, though small, improvement in our business,<br />
commencing several months ago. The improvement<br />
has up to date been greater than I expected it<br />
417<br />
would be and is fully as much as 1 would like to see<br />
it. I mean by that I would rather see a slow, steady<br />
and persistent growth in business than to see a rapid<br />
progress that might result in a sudden material reaction<br />
at any time.<br />
"Our new business, that is, our bookings of neworders,<br />
according to the last report received, for the<br />
first 22 days in August were 10 per cent more than<br />
they were during the same time in July, and July,<br />
as you know, was somewhat larger than June, and so<br />
on. Our shipments for the first 16 days of August<br />
were 18.3 per cent larger than they were for the first<br />
16 days of July. It seems to me that showing should<br />
be considered very satisfactory.—Iron Age, Aug. 28.<br />
OBITUARY<br />
Jacob H. Mohr, superintendent of Carrie furnaces<br />
of the Carnegie Steel Company, Rankin, Pa., was<br />
killed in an automobile accident at the plant, August<br />
4. In company with M. J. Ry-an, Mr. Mohr was leaving<br />
the plant in an automobile driven by Mr. Ry-an.<br />
It is said that, misunderstanding the. signal of the<br />
watchman, Mr. Ryan drove across the railroad track<br />
on which a plant switching engine was backing. In<br />
attempting to leave the car, Mr. Mohr was pinched<br />
between the railroad car and the automobile, receiving<br />
internal injuries from which he died on the way to<br />
the hospital. Except for a period of about a year<br />
and one-half with the Oliver Iron & Steel Company,<br />
Mr. Mohr had been with the Carnegie Steel Company<br />
continuously for 41 years. His first connection was<br />
at the Edgar Thomson W r orks as a messenger boy.<br />
Returning to the Carnegie Company- in 1893 from the<br />
Oliver Iron & Steel Company, he was in the open<br />
hearth department at Homestead for two years, and<br />
then for five years was assistant chief chemist and<br />
later chief chemist at the Duquesne Works. He was<br />
chief chemist at Carrie furnaces from 1900 to 1902<br />
and assistant superintendent from 1902 to 1905, when<br />
he was made superintendent. He was born in Germany<br />
53 years ago, but came to this country with his<br />
parents when a boy. His widow, one son and four<br />
daughters survive him.<br />
Mr. Mohr has been a contributor to this magazine :<br />
his annual review of blast furnace practice always reflecting<br />
his close knowledge of developments and tendencies.<br />
THE SAFETY CRUSADE<br />
(Concluded from page 407)<br />
turing has other hazards—explosives used in quarri<br />
the presence of powdered coal, used as fuel in most<br />
cement plants, and the molten stone from the kilns<br />
which is transported through the plants mechanically.<br />
Though it is generally overlooked, powdered coal is<br />
a dangerous explosive, and the fact that this is not<br />
generally recognized makes an added hazard. Despite<br />
the fact that the cement industry is more hazardous<br />
than many other industries, it has shown a material<br />
reduction of accidents. This demonstrates the efficacy<br />
of the contest.<br />
Above all things, the cement companies have aimed<br />
to prevent carelessness, the most fruitful cause of<br />
accidents, and here the contest has aided greatly.
418<br />
Die Blast Fu rnace S> Steel Plant<br />
September, 1924<br />
7As POWER PLANT<br />
Scientific Coal Storage<br />
Summary of the Report of the Storage of Coal Committee of the<br />
American Engineering Council<br />
D A N G E R of coal famine will be eliminated, industry<br />
stabilized, railroads relieved and the consumer's<br />
coal bill ultimately cut by seasonal<br />
storage of coal, it is asserted in the report of the storageof<br />
coal committee of the American Engineering<br />
Council made public recently.<br />
"The storage of coal," the report declares, "is<br />
essentially necessary- as an aid to the solution of the<br />
national coal problem, and is an economic and practicable<br />
means of insuring an adequate supply of coal<br />
as needed.<br />
"If each coal consumer will adopt the policy of<br />
annually purchasing coal on a uniform monthly delivery<br />
basis, there will result automatically sufficient<br />
seasonal storage to guarantee coal to the consumer,<br />
as needed. Furthermore, this policy will bring about<br />
a uniform demand for coal whereby the coal producer<br />
and carrier may establish uniform and standard production<br />
and shipment schedules.<br />
"It will also remove the evils of intermittent<br />
operation of coal mines, frequent panicky market conditions,<br />
and coal shortages due to inability of the carriers<br />
to meet peak demands."<br />
Seasonal storage of coal by consumers, the committee<br />
finds, is an economic and practical means of<br />
insuring an adequate supply and satisfactory quality<br />
of coal when needed. "The irregularity in coal production,"<br />
the report continues, "is largely due to seasonal<br />
demand. Since more coal is consumed in the<br />
late fall and in the winter than at other periods, coal<br />
producers and carriers each year are confronted<br />
alternately- with a feast and a famine—with an inordinate<br />
demand for coal and transportation followed<br />
by a period of no demand. This seasonal demand is<br />
responsible for 47 per cent of the idle time of the<br />
coal industry.<br />
Seasonal demand also contributes to another very<br />
disturbing element, namely, the overdevelopment of<br />
mine capacity through opening too many mines. Coal<br />
production capacity is now twice as large as the consumption<br />
capacity. The two factors—intermittent or<br />
seasonal operation and overdevelopment—are in a<br />
very large measure responsible for the ills of the coal<br />
industry."<br />
The report, given out by Ex-Governor James Hartness<br />
of Vermont, president of the American Engineering<br />
Council, comprises about 110,000 words. It was<br />
prepared by a main committee of the council, headed<br />
by W. L. Abbott of Chicago, working with the Department<br />
of Commerce, the United States Coal Commission,<br />
and Federal, state and municipal agencies as<br />
well as private enterprise.<br />
Sixty-seven sub-committees, functioning in every<br />
important industrial center in the United States, and<br />
comprising 400 individual engineers, constituted the<br />
field <strong>org</strong>anization which carried on the nationwide<br />
survey for more than a year.<br />
The report sets forth "a simple and practical remedy,"<br />
saying that it is the coal consumer who must<br />
start the cycle that will bring about a stabilized<br />
industry.<br />
"The amount of storage required to produce these<br />
corrective and constructive results," the committee<br />
declares in summarizing its conclusions, "is small in<br />
terms of the per cent of annual consumption. For<br />
seasonal storage, from 9 to 10 per cent of the annual<br />
consumption is all that is required. If this amount is<br />
supplemented by additional reserve storage of no<br />
more than 7 per cent, there will result an accumulation<br />
of some 83,000,000 tons of coal in storage by<br />
September 30 of each year. The practicability of this<br />
amount of storage with but slight additional outlay<br />
for equipment is indicated by the fact that in September,<br />
1923, 56,000,000 tons were in storage.<br />
"Equipment has been developed and may be secured<br />
to meet any storage situation or requirement.<br />
The cost of such equipment ranges from a few cents<br />
per ton of capacity- up to $2.50 or $3.00 per ton of<br />
capacity.<br />
"Storage of coal presents no serious risk of loss<br />
from breakage, spontaneous combustion, or loss of<br />
heat value or firing qualities. All kinds of coal have<br />
been and may be successfully stored. The insignificant<br />
money loss due to the factors named above<br />
should not deter any one from storing coal. Application<br />
of the simple and inexpensive regulations and<br />
practices set forth in this report will provide all reasonable<br />
safeguards against such possible losses.<br />
"The cost of storage per ton, including fixed<br />
charges on equipment, maintenance and operation expense<br />
and interest on investment in coal as well as<br />
taxes and insurance, in most instances does not exceed<br />
75 cents per ton yearly. More generally it is<br />
around 50 cents per ton yearly. This cost is insignificant<br />
when distributed over annual consumption.<br />
"Storing of coal may be easily financed. Banks<br />
will finance such an investment as readily as any<br />
other commercial undertaking.<br />
"The transportation facilities in the United States<br />
are adequate for normal and regular movement of coal.<br />
For short periods the railways can move coal at an<br />
abnormal rate, but this is both expensive and detrimental<br />
to shipment or other commodities and to normal<br />
freight movement.
September, 1924<br />
"To increase transportation facilities to meet the<br />
peak demands resulting from the prevailing unsystematic<br />
practice in coal shipment would require an<br />
additional investment of some $12,000,000,000. Such<br />
an investment is not justified.<br />
"The railroads have more to gain by storing coal<br />
than any other class of consumer. They should store<br />
their own coal on such a scale and at such times as<br />
to obviate the movement of company or non-revenue<br />
producing coal during the period when there is a<br />
heavy demand for the transportation of revenue producing<br />
freight. They should abandon, however, the<br />
uneconomic practice of using freight cars for storing<br />
coal and thereby- withholding railroad equipment from<br />
other uses.<br />
"In general, storage should take place at the point<br />
of use, to accomplish the most in relieving transportation<br />
and safeguarding supply-. However, under<br />
some circumstances, storage-in-transit or at an intermediate<br />
point is advisable.<br />
"In general, storage at mines is not recommended,<br />
but there should be sufficient mine storage facilities<br />
and capacity to overcome ordinary operating delays,<br />
such as belated arrival of cars, temporary breakdown<br />
or idleness of mining equipment and the like. Such<br />
provisions would materially increase the producing<br />
hours of mines and miners.<br />
"Cars should be assigned to mines upon the basis<br />
of coal actually sold and not upon rated capacity of<br />
production. This measure would be a wholesome<br />
deterrent to overdevelopment of coal producing<br />
facilities.<br />
"While this study refers primarily to industrial<br />
consumers of bituminous coal, yet householders have<br />
also a direct responsibility. Indeed the householder is<br />
in a position to aid with the least cost, because no<br />
special equipment for storing and reclaiming is required<br />
and his individual investment in coal is rela<br />
lhe Dlast Kimace jteel Plant<br />
Coal beyond<br />
reach of<br />
Crane Bucket<br />
419<br />
tively small. Householders use approximately' 50,000,-<br />
000 tons of bituminous coal annually, which, if placed<br />
in their bins by- the end of September of each year<br />
would materially contribute to the solution of the<br />
coal problem.<br />
"Federal, state, city and other civic divisions of<br />
the body politic are not meeting their responsibility<br />
in relation to the seasonal storage of coal. They are<br />
as derelict in regard to seasonal storage as are other<br />
users and frequently add to a confused situation by<br />
securing priority- orders. Public officials should take<br />
the load, by precept and by- example, in furthering the<br />
storage of coal.<br />
"Contracts for coal should be observed with fidelity.<br />
The evil practice of indiscriminate breaking of<br />
coal contracts has seriously injured the American coal<br />
industry- with reference alike to production, transportation<br />
and consumption. Contracts for coal should be<br />
observed with the same good faith as universally prevails<br />
in regard to other forms of commercial contracts.<br />
"Confirmation of the practicability of coal storage<br />
is afforded by the anthracite coal industry. This industry<br />
is far more stable than the bituminous, because<br />
producers, carriers and consumers of anthracite<br />
coal for a number of years have alike encouraged and<br />
practiced storage."<br />
The committee recommends that all coal consumers<br />
purchase their coal on an annual contract for<br />
yearly requirements with a provision that the coal be<br />
delivered monthly in equal allotments. It urges that<br />
consumers provide necessary storage facilities to meet<br />
the terms of such contract.<br />
"These recommendations," the report points out,<br />
"are based upon the finding that the purchase of coal<br />
upon a uniform monthly delivery basis will result in<br />
a condition whereby coal mines may inaugurate and<br />
maintain a regular production schedule; carriers may<br />
plan definitely as regards both schedules and equip-
420<br />
ment for a uniform movement of coal; stocks of coal<br />
automatically will accumulate during the months<br />
from April to September inclusive in sufficient amount<br />
to meet the extra consumption during the winter<br />
months; a reduction in the price of coal will be made<br />
possible by more regular schedules of production and<br />
transportation and by elimination of peak demands in<br />
the winter months when the costs of both production<br />
and transportation are the highest."<br />
The committee reiterates, says the statement of<br />
findings given out by Ex-Governor Hartness, that the<br />
coal consumers through seasonally storing coal can<br />
and should initiate this vitally necessary cycle of<br />
changes.<br />
The personnel of the committee of the American<br />
Engineering Council which conducted the investigation<br />
follows:<br />
IN England until quite recently the largest steam<br />
boilers in use were only able to evaporate about<br />
90,000 lbs. of water per hour, but as regards capacity<br />
they are a great advance upon anything in the<br />
nature of steam generators to be found a generation<br />
ago. The boiler in vogue in many parts of the United<br />
States, of course, far eclipses British figures, as maybe<br />
instanced by the Cleveland Electricity Company's<br />
boilers capable of evaporating 300,000 to 400,000 lbs.<br />
of water per hour, with a heating surface of threefourths<br />
of an acre, while the Detroit Edison Company<br />
at Trenton has, I understand, boilers almost as large<br />
and has under consideration others able to deal hourly<br />
with an even greater quantity of water and to feed<br />
individually a 35,000-kv. turbine.<br />
Even more astonishing, however, than the growth<br />
in size is the increase in pressure that marks modern<br />
boiler installation, and a comparison between<br />
American, British and Swedish figures is of considerable<br />
interest. Large power stations quite ordinarily<br />
use 350 lbs. pressure per square inch. At Chicago<br />
550 lbs. is the figure adopted in the Crawford Avenue<br />
station, and we are given to understand that<br />
water tube boilers with drums having shells 4 inches<br />
thick and working at 1,200 lbs. are in course of construction.<br />
A Swedish engineer, M. Blomquist, has<br />
invented a boiler which works at 1,500 lbs. per square<br />
IheDlast lurnace ^Steel Plant<br />
September, 1924<br />
W. L. Abbott, chief operating engineer of the<br />
Commonwealth Edison Company of Chicago, chairman;<br />
H. Foster Bain, director of the Bureau of Mines.<br />
Washington; William Hutton Blauvelt, consulting<br />
engineer, New York City; W. H. Hoyt, chief engineer<br />
of Duluth, Missabe & Northern Railway Company,<br />
Duluth, Minn.; William J. Jenkins, vice president and<br />
general manager of the Consolidated Coal Company<br />
of St. Louis; David Moffat Myers, consulting engineer,<br />
New York City; Prof. S. W. Parr, University<br />
of Illinois, Urbana; Dean Perley F. Walker, University-<br />
of Kansas, Lawrence; Roy V. Wright, editor of<br />
the "Railway Age Gazette," New York; Edgar S.<br />
Nethercut, secretary of the Western Society of Engineers,<br />
Chicago; O. P. Hood, U. S. Bureau of Mines,<br />
Washington.<br />
The World's Largest Steam Boiler<br />
Steam at 3,200 lbs. Pressure—A Radically Different Type<br />
Generator Offering Possibilities<br />
By A. C. BLACKALL*<br />
description. It solves the practical difficulties involved<br />
in the generation of steam from water at the<br />
critical point. The "critical point," it should be noted,<br />
is that pressure (3,200 lbs. per square inch) and temperature<br />
(760 deg. F.) beyond which it is impossible<br />
for water to remain as water—it must immediately<br />
change into steam at the same density. Moreover, the<br />
total amount of heat is the same in the steam as in<br />
the water from which it has just been "generated,"<br />
and therefore there is no latent heat involved in the<br />
transformation—a fact of extreme importance and<br />
significance.<br />
Let it be admitted at once that there is no novelty<br />
in the idea of producing steam at this tremendous<br />
pressure. More than a hundred years ago, when<br />
steam above atmospheric pressure began to be used in<br />
the engines of the day, investigators and physicists<br />
! were very much alive to the possibilities of high pres<br />
sures and even high superheat. But there were insuperable<br />
difficulties in the way. At that time very<br />
, little was known of the properties of metals to with<br />
i<br />
stand great pressures and temperatures, and the art<br />
of mechanical engineering was in its infancy'.<br />
Practical men were content with the really remarkable<br />
results that they were able to obtain with low<br />
; pressures, and even with steam far below atmospheric<br />
: pressure. The separate condenser, the invention of<br />
inch and which consists of a number of heavy steel 1 James Watt, enabled engineers to utilize what will<br />
tubes revolved at high speed to keep the water in con always be the most effective part of the steam expantact<br />
with the interior of the tubes. But most remarksion range, i. e., that part between 15 lbs. per square<br />
able of all is the boiler just constructed by the Eng inch absolute, and the absolute zero or perfect<br />
lish Electric Company at Rugby which raises steam i vacuum. Watt was essentially a low pressure en-<br />
at a pressure of 3,200 lbs. per square inch. This is i gineer, but even in his time there were other pioneers<br />
practically a "flash" boiler on a large scale. The : who were anxious to proceed to higher steam pressteam<br />
generated will be reduced to a pressure of 1,500 ) sures. Among them was Richard Trevithick, who<br />
lbs. for use in a turbine running at 25,000 rpm.<br />
proposed to operate boilers at 60 oounds per square<br />
The new departure is so vastly in advance of any inch pressure. This "dangerous" proposal so perthing<br />
previously in operation that it merits a special l turbed Watt that he looked upon Trevithick as a<br />
"murderer." In recent years, however, materials and<br />
•London, England.<br />
workmanship have been so greatly improved that the
September, 1924<br />
generation and utilization of steam at its critical point<br />
have once more become matters not merely of theoretical<br />
and scientific interest, but of practical engineering<br />
possibility. The Swedes have the advantage of<br />
us in the possession of the purest iron ore in the<br />
world, which may have influenced* the installation at<br />
the recent Stockholm Exhibition of a battery of boilers<br />
producing steam at 3,000 lbs. pressure per inch<br />
for driving the turbo-electric power plant.<br />
Each boiler element consisted simply of a long<br />
coil of steel tube. The feed water was pumped in at<br />
the lower end by hy-draulic pressure, and the steam<br />
was tapped at the other end through a non-return<br />
valve to the steam main. If, as sometimes happened,<br />
one of the boilers "burst," the only- indication was that<br />
the pressure gauge had gone back; and the boiler was<br />
replaced by a spare element at the first convenient<br />
opportunity. It is noteworthy that there were no<br />
steel drums or other reservoirs, and the reason for<br />
this will appear hereinafter. The steam was used as<br />
it was produced, and produced only as it was needed.<br />
There was nothing to be gained by using the steam<br />
at full pressure in the turbines, and it was therefore<br />
allowed to expand down to about 1,000 lbs. per square<br />
inch. As a result, although the temperature dropped<br />
slightly, the steam' was in a superheated and dried<br />
conditions before it entered the turbine.<br />
Recently the problem has been tackled afresh by<br />
Dr. Benson and, as previously mentioned, his experimental<br />
super-pressure plant has been constructed at<br />
the Rugby (Eng.) works of the English Electric Company<br />
to investigate thoroughly all the features of the<br />
system. Only by actual experience can the questions<br />
of cost, efficiency, and suitability of materials be definitely<br />
settled. The primary and superheating coils<br />
are of carbon steel supplied by a continental concern<br />
of long and intimate association with metallurgical<br />
problems of this kind. Chrome nickel steel may possibly<br />
be used in future if found desirable.<br />
The tubing of the primary coils, as also that of<br />
the superheater coils, is only 0.8 inch bore, the external<br />
diameters being 1.2 and 1.6 inches respectively.<br />
It will readily be appreciated that the choice of suitable<br />
materials is of the utmost importance. A pressure<br />
of 3,000 lbs. per square inch is not excessive in<br />
hydraulic and compressed air work, and temperatures<br />
of 700 to 800 deg. F. are quite usual in connection<br />
with Diesel engines. It is when these high pressures<br />
and temperatures are in combination in the same<br />
piece of apparatus that both material and workmanship<br />
become matter for anxious thought. Once the<br />
difficulties have been overcome (and with our present<br />
knowledge of metals and perfection of workmanship<br />
there seems no reason to doubt that they will be)<br />
we shall see some wonderful developments in steam<br />
practice, and the internal combustion engine will have<br />
to look to its laurels. It will also become a very<br />
doubtful question whether it is worth while following<br />
up the search for the so-called "gas-turbine," when a<br />
perfectly controllable medium such "as steam at, for<br />
example, 2,000 lbs. pressure and 700 deg. F., is available<br />
in any quantity desired.<br />
To revert to some of the phenomena accompanying<br />
the generation of steam at the critical point, the<br />
disappearance of latent heat should first be taken into<br />
consideration. One British thermal unit (Btu.) raises<br />
the temperature of one pound of water through 1 deg.<br />
F. When one pound of water begins to boil at<br />
atmospheric pressure its temperature is 212 deg. F.<br />
IneDlast kirnace^Steel Plant<br />
421<br />
To completely change the water into a pound of steam<br />
at atmospheric pressure, 966 Btu. must be absorbed;<br />
but the temperature is still only 212 deg. What has<br />
become of the heat? It's there right enough, but it is<br />
not recorded on the thermometer. Consequently- it is<br />
said to be "latent," or lost to sight.<br />
As a matter of fact, it has done an enormous<br />
amount of work. It has pushed the atmosphere back<br />
until the space occupied by the water has increased<br />
in volume by 1,600 times (approximately, one cubic<br />
inch of water produces a cubic foot of steam). The<br />
production of steam under familiar normal conditions<br />
as we know it, is always accompanied by a great increase<br />
in volume a.s compared with the water from<br />
which it has been generated, and it is also accompanied<br />
by ebullition more or less violent according to<br />
the rate of evaporation. In boilers, violent ebullition<br />
causes priming, which is mitigated somewhat by increasing<br />
the water surface to reduce the ebullition.<br />
Hence the reason for large boilers, or large steam<br />
drums in water-tube boilers. In the days of oscillating<br />
paddle engines, the dangers of priming were very<br />
great, particularly when the boilers were on the small<br />
side and had to be forced.<br />
However, as boiler pressures increased and vertical<br />
engines were introduced, with the cylinders and<br />
steam pipes at a higher level, priming difficulties<br />
diminished. This was partly due to the fact that less<br />
heat is required to evaporate high pressure steam as<br />
the water reaches the higher boiling points. In other<br />
words, the "latent" heat is less, although the "sensible"<br />
heat (the heat required to bring the water up<br />
to the boiling point) is greater.<br />
The relative figures for the sensible and latent<br />
heats are as follows :<br />
At atmospheric pressure: 180 plus 970 equals<br />
1,150 Btu.<br />
At 67 lbs. per square inch (absolute) 374 plus<br />
827 equals 1,179 Btu.<br />
At 247 lbs. per square inch (absolute) 374<br />
plus 827 equals 1,201 Btu.<br />
It will be seen that the total heat increases very<br />
little as the pressure rises. At about 1,500 lbs. pressure<br />
it actually begins to decrease, and at the critical<br />
point—3,200 lbs. pressure—it is only 908 Btu. But at<br />
this point the latent heat has vanished entirely, and<br />
the figure 908 represents heat only. That is the<br />
amount of heat that has brought the water at 3,200<br />
lbs. pressure up to the boiling point, and no additional<br />
(i. e., "latent") heat is needed to convert it entirely<br />
into steam. But that is not strictly and literally correct.<br />
Precisely what happens is this: The slightest<br />
addition of heat instantly- converts the whole mass<br />
of water into steam without any increase of volume<br />
or change of density.<br />
At one moment the boiler coils are full of water<br />
at 3,200 lbs. pressure per square inch and 706 deg. F.<br />
The next moment it is all steam at the same pressure<br />
and temperature. Hence no steam drum or reservoir<br />
is necessary, as there is no increase in volume. It is,<br />
in the most literal sense, a flash boiler. All that is<br />
wanted is a hydraulic pump to feed the cold water<br />
into the coils and a fire to heat the water in the coils<br />
to the desired temperature; and a steady flow of steam<br />
without ebullition or priming is the result.<br />
In actual practice, however, it naturally is not<br />
always such plain sailing; otherwise we should have<br />
had the "critical point" flash boiler in general use
422<br />
years ago. As stated, it is largely- a matter of finding<br />
the right material, namely, a steel which, when drawn<br />
into tubing, will withstand the high temperature of<br />
generation and superheat, in combination with the<br />
enormous pressure; and which will, moreover, last<br />
for a reasonable time in service.<br />
However, it should be mentioned that the danger<br />
resulting from explosion is practically nil. At Stockholm,<br />
all that happened when a coil split or burned<br />
out was that the boiler ceased to function, and was<br />
replaced by a spare. The amount of water or steam<br />
in each element was only a few pints and was soon<br />
dissipated when a tube failed. Similarly, there is lit-<br />
IN 1920 there was described in this journal a CO, recorder<br />
based on certain properties. The scope of<br />
this instrument has been extended so that CO as<br />
well as CO, can be recorded in flue gases.<br />
The efficiency of a boiler installation depends on<br />
the temperature drop between the combustion chamber<br />
and the last heat absorbing element be that boiler,<br />
feed water heater or waste heat boiler. It is desirable<br />
to obtain not only all the heat available from the fuel,<br />
but to obtain the highest possible initial temperature<br />
in order to increase the available heat. Flue gas<br />
analy-sis permits the determination of an excess or<br />
deficiency in air, and also whether under certain circumstances<br />
unburned gases may not escape even in<br />
the presence of excess air. The CO, content of flue<br />
gases is a measure of the excess air. The importance<br />
of CO content is recognized but has not been recorded<br />
nearly so frequently as CO, because of the lack of<br />
suitable practical instruments. CO is a product of<br />
incomplete combustion due either to deficiency in air<br />
or to too rapid cooling of the products of combustion<br />
even in the presence of excess air. Both causes, of<br />
course, seldom occur in the same plant during any<br />
relatively short period.<br />
With correct operation steaming coals yield 14 to<br />
16 per cent CO,, lignite 16 to 18 per cent without any<br />
CO. The new double recording instrument operates<br />
correctly under all plant conditions even if there is a<br />
large and long continued deficiency of air.<br />
The working principle is founded on the difference<br />
in resistance to flow of a gas which exists in a capillary<br />
and an ordinary tube. The resistance to flow in<br />
the capillary depends on the viscosity, while in the<br />
ordinary tube it depends on the density. The properties<br />
are completely independent and characteristic<br />
for each gas. CO, shows a smaller resistance than<br />
air to flow through a capillary, but a larger resistance<br />
to flow through a tube. The differential drop of flue<br />
gas compared to that of air is proportional to the CO,<br />
content, is indicated by a manometer and is recorded.<br />
In the case of CO the ratio of viscosity to density is<br />
Hie Dlast l-nriiiice Z Meel riant<br />
*Das Gas-und Wasserfach, April 12, 1924, pages 197-199.<br />
Abstracted by Albert P. Sachs, Technical Director, Universal<br />
Trade Press Syndicate.)<br />
September, 1924<br />
tie danger with a split tube in any water-tube boiler.<br />
The firedoors and dampers close automatically with<br />
an increase in pressure in the furnace, and the forced<br />
draught carries the escaping steam up the funnel<br />
until the boiler can be isolated.<br />
The safe generation of steam at the critical point<br />
will give rise to far-reaching developments in engineering<br />
practice, especially in steam turbines. Although<br />
it may be some time before it affects marine<br />
work, land power station experts throughout the universe<br />
are even now keenly interested—and there are<br />
no keener engineers than those in charge of the huge<br />
electrical undertakings of the present day.<br />
New Measuring Device for the Recording o<br />
CO2 and CO Based on Physical Properties*<br />
By R. DUENCKEL<br />
practically the same as that of air. This permits the<br />
correct registering of CO, even in the presence of CO.<br />
The CO is then burned by means of copper oxide.<br />
Each volume of CO is converted to one volume of C02<br />
so that no changes in composition except the replacement<br />
of each volume of CO by an equal volume of<br />
CO,. If now CO, is recorded the increase in C02 is a<br />
measure of the percentage of CO present. By means<br />
of a differential manometer which records the pressure<br />
drop due to ordinary flue gas in which the CO is<br />
converted to CO, by copper oxide the percentage of<br />
CO present is indicated and recorded.<br />
The apparatus is comparatively simple. The flue<br />
gas to be tested first passes through a dust filter. The<br />
supply- line' branches into three lines. The first is<br />
connected with a capillary tube parallel to a tube<br />
through which air flows. Both the flue gas and the<br />
air are connected to the opposite arms of a circular<br />
manometer. The difference in level is recorded by a<br />
simple registering device as the CO, content. The<br />
second branch flows through another capillary, while<br />
the third branch is arranged so that gas passes<br />
through a small electrically heated furnace containing<br />
copper oxide before it passes through a third capillary<br />
which is set parallel to the second capillary. These<br />
two capillaries connect with the opposite arms of a<br />
circular manometer, the difference in level of which<br />
is recorded as CO on an ordinary recording cylinder.<br />
All four capillaries (one for air, two for unchanged<br />
flue gas and the other for oxidized flue gas) lead into<br />
one line which is connected to a pump which draws<br />
off the gases at a constant suction.<br />
If the flue gas contains C02 only the first cylinder<br />
records the correct value for it while the second<br />
cylinder registers zero for the CO content. But if<br />
CO is also present both cylinders show a record, the<br />
first for the actual CO, present, the other for the CO<br />
present. The current consumption of the electric furnace<br />
does not exceed 50 watts and the supply of<br />
copper oxide is such that in the complete absence of<br />
air on an eight-hour run it can still completely burn<br />
4 per cent CO to CO, completely. Of course, this is<br />
(Concluded on page 426)
September, 1924<br />
Ihe Dlast hirnacellyjleol Plant<br />
Electrical Cleaning of Blast Furnaces Gases<br />
T W O things may be wasted in a blast furnace gas<br />
—the gas itself and the dust which it contains.<br />
Mr. A. E. MacCoun in his paper, "Blast Furnace<br />
Advancement," some years ago stated that, during one<br />
test made by him, a little over 200 pounds of flue dust<br />
was produced per ton of iron made. In the production<br />
of 40,000,000 tons of iron per vear. therefore, about<br />
4.000.000 tons of flue dust will be made.<br />
How much of this is being wasted it is hard to say;<br />
for dust caught is in the cyclone dust catchers, tlie<br />
mains, the combustion chambers and the brickwork.<br />
And many plants already have gas-cleaning systems.<br />
But waste there is; and with the waste there is<br />
nuisance.<br />
This four million tons of flue dust has a real value,<br />
for its iron content is often greater than that of the<br />
ore itself. Fortunately one need not emphasize this<br />
point to blast furnace men, for the strenuous post-war<br />
period has awakened a national consciousness to the<br />
elimination of needless waste.<br />
Last year, upward of 40.000,000 tons of iron was<br />
produced by the blast furnaces of this country. At<br />
least an equal amount of coke, if riot a greater amount,<br />
was consumed in the production of this quantity of<br />
iron. Forty million tons of coke were charged into<br />
the blast furnaces of the United States. What may be<br />
the cost of this coke is problematical, but if we assume<br />
an average price of $5 a ton. which is probably low,<br />
then we are astounded by the fact that $200,000,000<br />
worth of coke was used in producing the iron of this<br />
country during the last y-ear. The average blast furnace<br />
operators knows, of course, that only half of the<br />
coke burden is actually' consumed in the furnace. The<br />
other half is emitted from the top of the furnace in<br />
the form of blast furnace gas. Therefore, of the coke<br />
which was charged into the blast furnaces of this country,<br />
$100,000,000 worth was burned in the furnace and<br />
another hundred million dollars worth was burned in<br />
auxiliary equipment.<br />
Yet the care and attention which the first $100,000,-<br />
000 worth received was infinitely greater than the care<br />
and attention which the second $100,000,000 worth received,<br />
although they were brothers and not first<br />
cousins. Peculiarly enough, it is much easier to conserve<br />
that part of the coke which issues in the form of<br />
gas than the portion which is consumed in the blast<br />
furnace proper.<br />
The blast furnace operator has a definite grip on<br />
his blast furnace gas during every minute of the day.<br />
But the care and attention which other fuels demand<br />
are not required by blast furnace gas; for once properly<br />
cleaned and when burned in the correct type of<br />
burners it will yield its maximum possible thermal<br />
value with less irregularity than anv solid or liquid<br />
fuel.<br />
During the year of 1922. according to the American<br />
Gas Journal of December 29. 1923, the manufactured<br />
gas which was sold in the United States amounted to<br />
By N. H. GELLERT*<br />
•President. Gellert Engineering Company, Philadelphia.<br />
Pa. Paper read before the joint meeting of the Eastern States<br />
Blast Furnace and Coke Oven Association of Chicago District,<br />
June 5, 1924, Cleveland, Ohio.<br />
423<br />
488,813,860 M cubic feet, and had a total value of<br />
$337,116,805. In the absence of more authoritative<br />
figures, we may assume the average heat value of this<br />
gas to have been 500 Btu. per cubic foot.<br />
During 1923. if we accept 140.000 cubic feet of blast<br />
furnace gas per ton of iron as a fairly average figure,<br />
there was produced about 5,600,000,000 M cubic feet<br />
of blast furnace gas. to which we may give a heating_<br />
value of 90 Btu. per cubic feet.<br />
There was consequently 11 y2 times as much gas<br />
produced by the blast furnaces than by the gas manufacturing<br />
plants which sold their product to the public.<br />
And the gas that came from the blast furnaces had a<br />
unit heat value of a little less than two-tenths of the<br />
unit heat value of so-called manufactured gas. This<br />
means that the heat value of the blast furnace gas produced<br />
was a little over twice as great as that of all the<br />
manufactured gas sold in the United States. Yet the<br />
value placed upon it is less than one-third of that for<br />
which the manufactured gas was sold; or in other<br />
words, the blast furnace operator was allowed to buy<br />
his gaseous heat units for one-sixth the cost to those<br />
who used manufactured gas..<br />
Let this point be fixed in our minds—that the blast<br />
furnace gas industry, in quantity of gaseous heat units<br />
developed, is twice as large as the entire manufactured<br />
gas industry of the country.<br />
This is the size of the responsibility- of the blast<br />
furnace operator. To him must we look for the proper<br />
utilization of this vast source of energy.<br />
The operator who is allowing his gas to leak unnecessarily,<br />
or who is not securing the maximum efficiency<br />
from the combustion of his gases in the hot<br />
stoves or boilers is as guilty of deliberate waste as the<br />
operator who throws a part of his coke pile into the<br />
dump.<br />
Before any dry-cleaning methods were devised,<br />
blast furnace operators were using uncleaned gas or<br />
else gas cleaned by some wet system.<br />
No matter how controversial the subject of hot<br />
dirty- gas versus wet clean gas may have been years<br />
ago, no modern furnace operator holds any brief for<br />
dirty gas, for its wastefulness is self-apparent. The<br />
blast furnace operator who is burning dirty gas in his<br />
hot stoves or boilers is not only using this most valuable<br />
fuel inefficiently but is accelerating the destruction<br />
of his auxiliary equipment. The combustion<br />
chambers of his stoves are being filled with dust; the<br />
checker brick is being fluxed with alkaline material<br />
and its refractory nature is being destroyed by the<br />
glaze which this reaction produces. In comparativelyshort<br />
periods of time the brickwork is destroyed and<br />
recheckering is made necessary. The boiler tubes are<br />
coated with dust, and are insulated by the coating, so<br />
that the transfer of heat from the hot burning gases<br />
to the water in the boiler is being greatly retarded.<br />
Notwithstanding the damage which this dirty gas<br />
does during its passage through the boilers and staves,<br />
it discharges into the atmosphere the products of combustion<br />
laden with a burden of dirt and fume, and fills<br />
the air with millions of particles that eventually must<br />
settle on the surrounding neighborhood.
424<br />
But all blast furnace operators are convinced of<br />
the necessity of cleaning blast furnace gas. Even the<br />
wet method of cleaning gives results that make the<br />
use of dirty gas inexcusable. Yet there are certain<br />
inherent objections to wet cleaners which the majority<br />
of blast furnace men have had, and which cannot<br />
readily be overcome. There are five attendant difficulties<br />
in cleaning gas by a wet method..<br />
A large water supply is required. In order to clean<br />
the gas that comes from a 500-ton furnace there is<br />
needed 2,000,000 gallons and upwards of water per<br />
day. This necessitates an ample water supply and a<br />
large pumping equipment. The blast furnace operator<br />
who says that he has all the water that is necessary<br />
and that pumping costs him nothing or very<br />
little because he has excess gas or steam, is simplyfooling<br />
himself. Nothing is obtained for nothing. To<br />
pump 2,000,000 gallons of water requires a considerable<br />
amount of power and when this power is consumed<br />
for pumping it cannot be used for anything<br />
else.<br />
Mr. Ge<strong>org</strong>e M. Rohl in his paper on the cleaning<br />
of blast furnace gas at the last session of the American<br />
Iron & Steel Institute made the statement that wet<br />
cleaners required .04 kw. for pumping the water required<br />
to clean 1,000 cubic feet of gas. This means<br />
that 5.6 kw. per ton of iron are used for pumping<br />
water.<br />
In localities where watar is exceedingly scarce, and<br />
there are many such places, wet washers create a demand<br />
that is difficult to take care of, and often results<br />
in the too economical use of water and the resultant<br />
inefficiency of the cleaner.<br />
But even when there is plenty of water and the gas<br />
is satisfactorily washed, there still remains the problem<br />
of getting rid of the water with all the dirt and<br />
sludge which it has removed from the gas. To discharge<br />
2.000,000 gallons of dirty water into a stream<br />
is possible in some localities simply because the community<br />
has not become sufficiently irritated at the<br />
nuisance. We must all look this issue of stream pollution<br />
squarely in the face, for in every communitythere<br />
is constant agitation which must eventually- result<br />
in the passage of stricter laws and a stricter enforcement<br />
of the laws now existing. To deliberately<br />
and unnecessarily pollute a stream is wrong, w-hether<br />
it is done by an industrial concern or by a private individual;<br />
and it is only a matter of time before it will<br />
be impossible for any industry- to discharge an effluent<br />
into any stream when that effluent is harmful to either<br />
fish or bacterial life, or when it causes a nuisance because<br />
of its unhealthful or dirty nature.<br />
Many of the plants which have already installed<br />
wet washers have found it necessary to make additional<br />
installations of auxiliary equipment in order to<br />
remove the sludge from the effluent. Before the effluent<br />
can be made clear not only thickeners and settling<br />
basins have been found necessary, but also continuous<br />
filters. Only with the use of such a complete<br />
equipment has it been possible to produce a clear effluent<br />
which, up to the present time, has not proven objectionable.<br />
But this involves the use of other equipment<br />
than a cleaner and necessitates the operation of<br />
filters which come under the line of chemical equipment<br />
and results in greater labor charges a.s well as<br />
maintenance costs.<br />
Another feature of wet wabhing is the objectionable<br />
entrainment of mechanical moisture. When a<br />
TneBlasthirnaceSSteel Plant<br />
September, 1924<br />
wet washer operates efficiently and reduces the temperature<br />
of the gas to below 80 deg. F., its moisture<br />
of saturation is exceedingly small. The figures which<br />
are usually given are the theoretical calculations; but<br />
many- of the w-et washers, perhaps most of them, entrain<br />
moisture mechanically and carry this moisture<br />
through the mains to the hot stoves and boilers.<br />
In an admirable discussion of Mr. Hohl's paper on<br />
"Cleaning Blast Furnace Gas," Mr. J. C. Barrett commented<br />
on this phase of wet cleaning.<br />
In his statement he said that gas which was washed<br />
by wet cleaners often caused the residual dust, after<br />
the gas had passed through the cleaner, to bake in<br />
both the hof stoves and boilers.<br />
On the boiler tubes this wet dust formed a very<br />
hard crust which it was difficult to remove by any ordinary<br />
methods of blowing. In the hot stove combustion<br />
chambers it built up into a solid hard mass<br />
and also deposited as a crust on the top of the<br />
checkers.<br />
The condition is much aggravated when the<br />
cleaner is not operating at its maximum efficiency<br />
and the gases are not cooled down sufficiently. For<br />
as the temperature of the washed gas is increased, its<br />
absorption of moisture is greater, and the dust is<br />
naturally wetter. But this is not the only objection<br />
to moisture, for each particle of water requires the use<br />
of heat to bring it up to the flame temperature of the<br />
gas, and consequently the heat developed for this purpose<br />
is not available for useful work.<br />
The paradox of wet cleaning is that it must rob<br />
the gas of its sensible heat in order to give it the<br />
greatest efficiency in combustion. At the last meeting<br />
of the American Iron & Steel Institute, Mr. Hohl<br />
stated that Richards & Johnson estimated 11 to 12<br />
per cent of the total heat of the gas to be in the form<br />
of sensible heat, while later experiments by Joseph,<br />
Royster & Kinney gave 10 to 12 per cent as the sensible<br />
heat of the gas.<br />
If reference is again made to the $100,000,000<br />
worth of coke which comes out of a blast furnace in<br />
the form of gas, and the figures as quoted by Mr. Hohl<br />
are accepted as correct, then from $10,000,000 to $12,-<br />
000.000 worth of coke is in the form of sensible heat.<br />
This is what wet washing aims to waste in order to<br />
the greatest efficiency- from the remaining $90,000,000<br />
worth of coke.<br />
While a blast furnace operator would look with a<br />
great deal of disfavor on a 10 per cent dilution of his<br />
blast furnace gas, with some inert material like nitrogen<br />
or carbon dioxide, he often accepts without discussion<br />
the necessary evil of losing 10 per cent of the<br />
heat of his gas by cooling his hot gases to the required<br />
degree found necessary- in wet washing.<br />
Not only are the total figures for the industry impressive,<br />
but the figures which show what is going on<br />
at an individual furnace are sufficiently important to<br />
merit serious consideration.<br />
In a paper delivered by Mr. H. A. Brassert before<br />
the American Iron & Steel Institute in 1914, he submitted<br />
several formulae for the calculating of the Btu.<br />
per cubic foot of blast furnace gas, the cubic feet of<br />
gas made per ton of iron and other interesting data.<br />
By means of these formulae there has been developed<br />
for the discussion tonight some data based on a coke<br />
rate of 2,000 pounds per ton of iron at a furnace which<br />
has a capacity of 500 tons per day.
September, 1924<br />
According to Mr. Brassert's formulae, the gas<br />
which comes from such a furnace will have a<br />
latent heat of combustion of 95.4 Btu. per cubic foot.<br />
There will be made 142,000 cubic feet of gas per ton<br />
of iron. This gas will have an equivalent latent heat<br />
value of 13,500,000 Btu. per ton of iron.<br />
But these figures do not include the sensible heat<br />
of the gas. In a paper which the speaker presented<br />
some time ago, a typical example was worked out to<br />
determine the amount of sensible heat which was<br />
present in a gas having a temperature of 400 deg. F.,<br />
since this temperature approximated the actual conditions<br />
at many of the blast furnaces.<br />
In the calculation of the specific heats of the constituent<br />
gases, the formulae of Richards were used.<br />
Since that time a great deal of study has been made<br />
of the data which has now been published on specific<br />
heats, and the results of this study are now made<br />
available to the public in curves presented for the first<br />
time. Many of the formulae surpass those of Richards<br />
in accuracy and should it be necessary to secure<br />
the closest possible information, it would be advisable<br />
to use some of the formulae which have been recommended.<br />
But for the work which we are considering<br />
today and the results of which are more or less approximate,<br />
the data developed previously will hold.<br />
If we consider gas with an average composition as<br />
follows:<br />
Carbon Dioxide 12.5 per cent<br />
Carbon Monoxide 24.5 per cent<br />
Hydrogen 3.5 per cent<br />
Nitrogen 58.6 per cent<br />
Having a moisture content of 35 grains per cubic<br />
foot, then we find that the sensible heat amounts to<br />
approximately- l8 z /2 Btu. per cubic foot at a temperature<br />
of 400 deg. This means that for every ton of iron<br />
made, there is present in the gas a sensible heat value<br />
of 1,200,000 Btu. Every ton of iron, therefore, is<br />
paralleled by the production of gas with a heat value<br />
of 14,700,000 Btu., or every minute there comes from<br />
the blast furnace, in the form of gas, a heat value of<br />
5,099,000 Btu.<br />
To make it easy to calculate tbe Btu. value for a<br />
furnace of any capacity, the term ton-minute is devised.<br />
The gas per ton-minute is that amount of gas<br />
which is given off by the furnace during every minute<br />
for every rated ton of daily capacity.<br />
According to these calculations, 10,198 Btu. exists<br />
in the blast furnace gas per ton-minute.<br />
Accepting, the heat value of coke as 14,500 Btu.<br />
per pound, it may be seen that 1.020 pounds of coke is<br />
the equivalent of the gas which is produced per ton of<br />
iron. This means that in a 500-ton furnace with a<br />
2,000-pound coke rate, 351 pounds of coke are consumed<br />
every minute in the form of gas. The equivalent<br />
of the sensible heat in the gas is 80 pounds of<br />
coke per ton of iron. The question, therefore, before<br />
the blast furnace operator is clearly- this: Shall he<br />
make use of these 80 pounds of coke or shall he,<br />
literally, throw them away?<br />
The sensible heat of a gas is no less valuable than<br />
its equivalent in latent heat.<br />
Because of all these objections to wet washing the<br />
whole blast furnace industry- has encouraged and<br />
looked with favor on every step in the development of<br />
systems which tend to clean gas by dry methods.<br />
Electricity has eliminated from the problem of clean<br />
Die Blast h.rnaceSSteel Plant<br />
425<br />
ing gases every one of these objectionable features.<br />
There is no water required in cleaning gas by electricity<br />
for less current than is necessary to operate the<br />
pumps and the auxiliary equipment when water is being<br />
used can be applied directly to the individual molecules<br />
of the gas, and act directly on each particle of<br />
dust and thereby secure the direct precipitation of the<br />
dirt from the gas. There is no sludge problem, because<br />
the dust is recovered in its dry form and can be<br />
handled in its dry state, and has a value not unlike<br />
that of the original ore which is charged into the blast<br />
furnace. There is no danger of the pollution of<br />
streams for there is nothing to discharge into the river.<br />
With the electrical cleaning of gas there is no<br />
mechanical moisture entrainment; there is no necessity<br />
for the operation of an expensive and laborious<br />
auxiliary equipment, and most important of all, there<br />
is no loss in sensible heat.<br />
Because there is no entrainment of mechanical<br />
moisture, residual dust is deposited in a flocculent instead<br />
of in a hardened state. The speaker quotes<br />
again from Mr. Barrett's paper as follows:<br />
In the discussion of Mr. Barrett which has alreadybeen<br />
referred to, he stated that gas cleaned by a dry<br />
method did not cause any deposition of a hard material,<br />
but that the dust deposited from such a dryclean<br />
gas was collected in a flocculent manner on the<br />
tubes of the boilers and in the checker brick of the<br />
stoves and was consequently very easily removed byblowing<br />
the dust off both tubes and checkers.<br />
Since, therefore, the electrical cleaning of gas has<br />
eliminated all of the problems that have made wet<br />
cleaning objectionable, it is worth while considering<br />
this method seriously.<br />
The standard unit consists of a cylindrical shell<br />
nearly 9 feet in diameter and some 30 feet high, and<br />
is filled with vertical pipes, 90 in number, each 6 inches<br />
in diameter and 10 feet long. Through the center of<br />
each pipe is suspended a wire to which is furnished<br />
the high tension electrical current which causes precipitation.<br />
The gas enters underneath a header plate<br />
and travels around the outside of the pipes and up<br />
through the electrified zone in the pipes and out<br />
through the upper part of the precipitator.<br />
As the gas goes through the electrified zone, each<br />
particle of gas is ionized, and consequently each particle<br />
of dust and fume is electrified. Because of its<br />
electrification it is driven to the sides of the pipe,<br />
where it is held by the corona discharge from the<br />
wire. This discharge may be distinguished by the<br />
purple glow around the wire which is clearly seen<br />
when one looks up into the pipes. The action is not<br />
magnetic. It is electrolytic.<br />
Particles of non-metallic material are as easily and<br />
as quickly precipitated to the sides of the pipe as<br />
metallic particles. The action takes place in an extremely<br />
short while as the velocity through the pipes<br />
is at the rate of between 10 and 13 feet a second, and<br />
consequently the gas is within the pipe for approximately<br />
one second. There is no resistance to the flow<br />
of gas other than that caused by the natural bends<br />
through which the gas must travel since the cross sectional<br />
area of the pipes is greater than the cross sectional<br />
area of the main, which feeds the precipitator.<br />
No additional burden is therefore placed on the blowing<br />
engines and the pressure is no more greatly decreased<br />
than through an equal number of bends and<br />
length of main.
426<br />
When a precipitator has been running for a period<br />
of 30 minutes to an hour and the pipes are coated<br />
with dust, the unit automatically cut off and the pipes<br />
are automatically rapped and the dust drops to the<br />
bottom hopper, from which it may be discharged at<br />
will, preferably every 12 hours. As soon as the pipes<br />
have been rapped, the unit is automatically cut in<br />
again and precipitation continues. In a plant which<br />
handles the gas from a 500-ton furnace and which contains<br />
approximately eight precipitation units, only<br />
one-eighth of the plant is out for rapping at any given<br />
time.<br />
In a case where a slip occurs and large amounts of<br />
dust are consequently precipitated in a very short<br />
period of time, a button on the switchboard enables<br />
the operator to throw in the whole cycle of action between<br />
the regular rapping periods, and consequently<br />
rap the pipes at will. The whole equipment is interlocked<br />
with safety devices so that no one can enter the<br />
cage containing the high-tension equipment without<br />
immediately cutting off the current from that particular<br />
cage.<br />
W r ith a plant of such simple nature, the maintenance<br />
cost is extremely low. The precipitator shell<br />
with its pipes, structural work and wires has no<br />
movement and consequently contains nothing to wear<br />
out. . The operating motors are small, none of them<br />
over 2-hp., so that they present no problems other<br />
than that usually presented by motors of this size.<br />
Tips of the mechanical rectifier will wear out in the<br />
course of six months, but are replaced in a very- few<br />
minutes time at a cost of a few- cents apiece.<br />
There is no other cleaning plant that requires so<br />
little attention and has such a small maintenance expense<br />
attached to it. The operating cost of a precipitation<br />
plant is exceedingly small, for the entire current<br />
consumption required in a 500-ton furnace plant<br />
is not over 50 kw. and the labor is taken care of by<br />
one attendant per shift.<br />
The results obtained have been satisfactory in all<br />
three if the installations on blast furnaces. Exact<br />
tests made at Colorado have shown that gas cart be<br />
cleaned to a little over one-tenth of a grain per cubic<br />
foot, and even in cases of heavy slips when 10 grains<br />
of dust per-cubic foot are present in the inlet gases<br />
can be cleaned to one-half a grain per cubic foot. But<br />
the greatest proof of the value of cleaning gas electrically<br />
is seen by the actual results obtained in the<br />
hot stoves and boilers. In tests that have been made<br />
on hot stove efficiency there has been an increase of<br />
efficiency in the stove of 33 1-3 per cent when using<br />
gas that has been cleaned electrically instead of dirty<br />
gas. A saving of over 30 per cent in gas consumed in<br />
a stove has been recorded on such tests, and with the<br />
same gas consumption, it has been possible to increase<br />
the blast temperature from 100 to 200 deg.<br />
Stoves have not fouled up, dust has not baked in<br />
the combustion chambers and as a whole the gas has<br />
burned with a flame that has been sharp and clear.<br />
The Colorado installation, on which work is now<br />
being done, will be the largest of its kind yet built and<br />
will have every automatic feature that has been mentioned.<br />
Eventually it is planned to extend it to include<br />
the third furnace so that a battery of 24 units<br />
will take care of the whole plant.<br />
From the results obtained at Colorado it is calculated<br />
that approximately '80 tons of flue dust will be<br />
recovered in the precipitators from the two furnaces,<br />
Hie Blast FurnaceSSteel Plant<br />
September, 1924<br />
the value of which, since the dust runs 50 per cent in<br />
iron, will not only pay for the operation of the cleaning<br />
plant but will give sc profit of $30 per furnace per<br />
day.<br />
Here is the development of an idea that eliminates<br />
a nuisance both to the public and to the blast furnace<br />
operator and converts it into money for his use. It is<br />
estimated by the engineers of the Colorado company<br />
that the total economies effected by this cleaning plant<br />
will enable them to pay for the entire cost of the installation<br />
in one year. While this is an unusual condition,<br />
it may be said that the cleaning of gases by<br />
electricity will provide such economies that a plant<br />
can be paid for out of the economies in two years if<br />
no previous plant exists at the furnace, and in four<br />
years if a dry cleaning plant is substituted for wet<br />
cleaners.<br />
It has often been contended that the cost of a dry<br />
cleaning system is greater than that of a wet cleaning<br />
system and on this basis several furnaces decided to<br />
install wet cleaners. This is obviously a fallacy, for<br />
when wet cleaners are installed to accomplish the<br />
cleaning of the gas and the recovery of the sludge and<br />
the prevention of the sludge nuisance in a stream,<br />
their cost is no less than that of dry cleaning plants.<br />
These, then, are the facts with regard to the dry<br />
cleaning of blast furnace gases. Yet in the estimate<br />
of savings to be obtained by its use, no figures can be<br />
justly given to show those intangible benefits which<br />
accrue, and the valuation of which must remain in the<br />
realm of conjecture. No dollar value can be placed on<br />
the elimination of the smoke and stream pollution<br />
nuisance, yet in the long run it is bound to reflect itself<br />
in monetary value somewhere along the line of industrial<br />
costs. No estimate outside of pure guess can be<br />
made of the benefits to be obtained by eliminating the<br />
troubles of supersaturated gases, of mechanical moisture,<br />
of baking dust, of the fuss and worry about<br />
sludge recovery.<br />
Ten million dollars worth of sensible heat in the<br />
blast furnace gases of the country demand each year<br />
an attention which they have not yet secured. Shall<br />
this heat not only be wasted but utilized in the creation<br />
of a nuisance, and lend itself to the development<br />
of a source of worry, or shall it be conserved to aid,<br />
penny by penny, in the present industrial fight for<br />
stabilized business conditions?<br />
' ]<br />
New Measuring Device<br />
(Continued from page 422)<br />
an extreme case which could not occur in normal<br />
boiler practice.<br />
The problem of determining CO, and CO simultaneously<br />
is thus simply solved and the equipment<br />
records their percentage continuously and distinct<br />
from each other even though a single strip of recording<br />
paper may be used. In fact this last condition<br />
leads to a clear comparative diagram with both percentages<br />
arranged alongside of each other.<br />
The Northern Indiana Gas & Electric Companv have<br />
placed another contract for the remodeling of their two<br />
6-ft. sets at the Lafayette Station, with The U. G. I.<br />
Contracting Company.
September, 1924<br />
The Blast himacoSStoel Plant<br />
Steel Treaters Convention<br />
T H E Sixth Annual Convention of the American<br />
Society for Steel Treating to be held at Commonwealth<br />
Pier, Boston, September 22 to 26, like all<br />
previous conventions, will be the largest ever held by<br />
the society.<br />
The ever increasing growth of the society and<br />
the interest displayed at Pittsburgh last year, would<br />
indicate that a few years hence, the annual convention<br />
and exhibition will surpass anything of its kind<br />
ever held in this country.<br />
The increasing popularity of previous conventions<br />
would indicate that this year's gathering will tax the<br />
capacity of Commonwealth Pier in spite of the fact<br />
that the space to be occupied by exhibits will be almost<br />
double that of the Pittsburgh convention. It<br />
will occupy 150,000 square feet of Commonwealth<br />
Pier. Extensive preparations are being made at the<br />
pier for the reception of the exhibits, indications at<br />
present pointing to the largest attendance of any convention<br />
ever held.<br />
There are 200 exhibitors, 30 of them representing<br />
the steel makers, 30 representing all types of furnaces,<br />
while some 70 machine and machine tool builders have<br />
reserved space. Over 1,000 h.p. will be required to<br />
work the display.<br />
Annual Meeting.<br />
The annual meeting of the American Society for<br />
Steel Treating will be held in the ball room at the<br />
Copley Plaza Hotel on Wednesday morning at 9:30<br />
A. M. Dr. Ge<strong>org</strong>e K. Burgess, chairman. The<br />
national committees of the society will present their<br />
reports at this meeting.<br />
427<br />
The plan carried out last year at Pittsburgh of<br />
holding technical sessions from 9:30 in the morning<br />
until 12:00 will be followed again this year. There<br />
will be but one technical session a day, and this session<br />
will be held in the ballroom of the Copley Plaza<br />
Hotel. The exposition will not open in the morning<br />
on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, but will open<br />
at 1 :00 o'clock. However, on Thursday and Friday,<br />
the exposition will be open at 10:00 o'clock in the<br />
morning.<br />
This arrangement will assist in eliminating the<br />
long hours for the exhibitors and also give them an<br />
opportunity to attend technical sessions in the morning.<br />
However, due to the large number of papers that<br />
have been presented, it will be necessary to hold short<br />
technical sessions, and round table discussions in the<br />
afternoons. These meetings will be held in the meeting<br />
room, located at Commonwealth Pier, and undoubtedly<br />
will be very largely attended.<br />
Noted Engineers to Attend.<br />
Professor Kotaro Honda, one of the most brilliant<br />
metallurgists in the world has notified the American<br />
Society for Steel Treating that he will be present at<br />
their annual convention and steel exposition. Professor<br />
Honda has prepared a paper which will be read<br />
at the Wednesday morning session. It is also possible<br />
that an event may be arranged so that Professor<br />
Honda may meet some of the prominent metallurgists<br />
of this country in attendance at the convention. Information<br />
has been received that Doctors Bulle and<br />
Bleibtreu of the German Iron and Steel Institute will<br />
be present.<br />
Hotel Copley Plaza, headquarters for the Sixth Annual Convention, American Society for Steel Treating.
428<br />
Ihe Dlast hi 3<br />
rnace. Steel Plant<br />
TENTATIVE PROGRAM<br />
Sixth Annual Convention<br />
AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR STEEL TREATING<br />
Boston, September 22-26, 1924<br />
Note Registration begins at 1 P. M. HT Registration Desk, Commonwealth Pier<br />
MONDAY. SEPTEMBER 22<br />
Morning Session<br />
Meeting in Ball Room, Copley Plaza Hotel.<br />
10:00—Address of Welcome—Maj James M. Curley.<br />
Welcome by Boston Chapter—V. O. Homerberg.<br />
Address of Welcome—A. O. Fulton, General Chairman,<br />
Response—President Ge<strong>org</strong>e K. Burgess<br />
Technical Session<br />
Chairman—Dr. Ge<strong>org</strong>e K. Burgess<br />
"The Nature of the Function of Chromium in High Speed<br />
Steel," E, C Bain and M A Crossraan, Atlas Steel Corporation.<br />
"The Use of Cobalt and Vanadium as Additions to High Speed<br />
Steel," Dr. W. Oertel and Dr. ing. F. Poelzgueter, Germany.<br />
(By title).<br />
"Magnetic Determination of the Elastic State," A. V. deForest,<br />
American Chain Company.<br />
"The Law of Depression of Freezing Point as Applied t<br />
Metallic Alloys," Kotaro Honda and Toyato lshigaki, Imperial<br />
University, Japan. (By title).<br />
Afternoon Session<br />
1:00—Exposition opens.<br />
2:30—Technical Session, Meeting Room, Commonwealth Pier.<br />
Chairman—A. H. d'Arcambal.<br />
Svinposium on Sail Baths as Heating Media.<br />
"Heat Treatment in Salt Baths," Maj. A. E. Bellis, Bellis<br />
Heat Treating Company.<br />
"Salt Baths," Sam Tour, Doehler Die Castings Company.<br />
"Fused Salt Baths for the Prevention of Soft Spots in<br />
Quenched High Carbon and Carburized Steels," W. J. Merten,<br />
Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company.<br />
Evening Session<br />
7:00—Moving Pictures.<br />
Exposition open until 10:00 P. M,<br />
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23<br />
Morning Session<br />
Meeting in Ball Room, Copley Plaza Hotel.<br />
9:30—Technical Session.<br />
Chairman—Dr. John A. Mathews.<br />
"Density and X-Ray Spectrum of Hardened Ball Steel Drawn<br />
at Various Temperatures," K. Heindlhofer and F. L. Wright,<br />
SKF Industries, Inc.<br />
"The Application of X-Ray Crystal Analysis to Metallurgy,"<br />
Dr. W. P. Davey, General Electric Company.<br />
"Spheroidizing Cementite in Hypoeutectoid Steel," R. S. Mac-<br />
Pherran and J. Fletcher Harper, Allis-Chalmers Mfg. Com<br />
pany<br />
"A New Method of Interpreting Notched Bar Impact Test Resnlts,"<br />
Dr. ing. Max Moser, Essen, Germany. (By title).<br />
"A Laboratory Method for the Preparation of Small Steel Bars<br />
Differing Only in Carbon Content and the Effect of Changes<br />
in Carbide Concentration on the Specific Resistance," E. C.<br />
Campbell, University of Michigan, and G. W. Whitney,<br />
American Smelting & Refining Company. (By title).<br />
"The Microstructure of Austenite and Martensite," F. F.<br />
Lucas, Western Electric Company.<br />
Afternoon Session<br />
1:00—Exposition opens.<br />
1:30—"Plant Visitation, Thomas G. Plant (Manufacturer of Queen<br />
Quality Shoes), or Waltham Watch Company.<br />
2:30—Technical Session, Meeting Room, Commonwealth Pier.<br />
Chairman—Prof. H. M. Boylston.<br />
"The Intrinsic Value of Heat Sources versus the Floating Economic<br />
Value of the Btu.," E. F. Collins, General Electric<br />
Company.<br />
"Selection of Fuel for the Heat Treatment of Metal," J. A<br />
Doyle, W. S. Rockwell Company.<br />
"Gas as a Factor in Improving Quality Standards and Lower<br />
ing Production Costs of Heat Treated Steel," H. O- Loebell,<br />
Combustion Utilities Company,<br />
Evening Session<br />
7:00—Moving Pictures.<br />
9:30—Annual Smoker and Entertainment, Ball Room, Copley Plaza<br />
Hotel.<br />
Exposition open until 10:00 P. M.<br />
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24<br />
Morning Session<br />
Meeting in Ball Room, Copley Plaza Hotel,<br />
9:30—Annual Meeting of the American Society for Steel Treating.<br />
Chairman—Dr. Ge<strong>org</strong>e K. Burgess.<br />
Report of Chapter Delegates.<br />
"Alloy Steels," Dr. John A Mathews, Crucible Steel Company<br />
of America.<br />
"Some Fundamental Factors for Obtaining Sharp Thermal<br />
Curves," Carl Bwnedicks, K. G, Lund and W. H. Dearden,<br />
Stockholm, Sweden. (By title).<br />
"Granulation Hypothesis and the Delta-Gamma Chang* in Iron,<br />
Carbon and Nickel AIlovs," Colonel N. T. Belaiew. (By<br />
title).<br />
September, 1924<br />
"Strain Endurance of Metals," W. J. McAdams, Jr., Naval Experimcntal<br />
Station. Annapolis.<br />
"On the Transformation in Pure Kotaro Iron, Honda, Im<br />
perial University, Japan.<br />
Afternoon Session<br />
1 :00—Exposition opens.<br />
1 :S0—Plant Visitation, General Electric Company, Lynn, or Naumkeag<br />
Manufacturing Company, Salem (Textile Material).<br />
2 : 30—Technical Session, Meeting Room, Commonwealth Pier.<br />
Chairman—Colonel A. E. White.<br />
"The Heat Treatment of Automobile Parts," J. M. Watson,<br />
Hupp Motor Car Company. (Illustrated with a motion picture)<br />
.<br />
"Die Records and Their Effects on Die Costs," E. J. P. Fisher,<br />
H. Wallace & Sons Company,<br />
"Heat Treatment of Tool Steel," P. C. A. H. Lantsberry,<br />
Jessop Steel Company, Sheffield, England.<br />
"Progress in the Manufacture and Use of Clay Refractories,"<br />
W. G. Owen, Haws Refractories Company.<br />
Evening Session<br />
7:00—Moving Pictures.<br />
Exposition open until 10:00 P. M.<br />
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25<br />
Morning Session<br />
Exposition opens at 10:00 A. M.<br />
Meeting in Ball Room, Copley Plaza Hotel.<br />
9:30—Technical Session.<br />
Chairman—Dr. Albert Sauveur.<br />
'Quenching Diagrams for Carbon Steels in Relation to Somt<br />
Quenching Media for Heat Treatment," H. J. French and<br />
O. Z. Klopsch, Bureau of Standards.<br />
"A New Theory of Overstrain and Strength of Materials," H. P.<br />
Troendly and G. V. Pick well, Win. D. Gibson Company.<br />
"X-Ray Tests Applied to the Problems of the Steel Foundry,"<br />
Dr. H. H. Lester, Watertown Arsenal.<br />
"Influence of the Structure "as cast" upon the Manufacture<br />
and Qualities of Some Alloyed, Especially High Speed Steels,"<br />
Dr. ing. Franz Rapatz, Dusseldorf, Germany. (By title).<br />
"The Effect of Various Reductions in F<strong>org</strong>ing Upon the physical<br />
Properties of Steel," D. J. McAdams, Jr., U. S. Naval<br />
Experimental Station, Annapolis.<br />
Afternoon Session<br />
Technical Session, Meeting Room, Commonwealth Pier.<br />
"Hardness Testing Symposium, National Research Council, Dr.<br />
H. P. Hollnagel, chairman.<br />
"Comparison of Brinell and Rockwell Hardness of Hardened<br />
High Speed Steel," S. C. Spalding, Halcomb Steel Company.<br />
"The Relation of Hardness and Impact Measurements to Performance,"<br />
G. W. Webster, Bellis Heat Treating Company.<br />
"Relation Between Rockwell and Brinell Hardness Scales,"<br />
Irving II. Cowdrey, Massachusetts Institute S. M. of Technology.<br />
E. Committee<br />
"The Ball Indentation Hardness Test," Bellis S. L. Hoyt, Heat Treating General<br />
Electric Company.<br />
"Report on Hardness Testing Work of A.<br />
on Cutting Metals," Maj. A. E. Bellif<br />
Company.<br />
5:30—Exposition closes.<br />
Evening Session<br />
6:30—Annual Banquet and Dinner Dance of the American Society for<br />
Steeling Treating, Ball Room, Copley Plaza Hotel. Tickets<br />
at Registration Desk.<br />
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26<br />
Morning Session<br />
Exposition opens at 10:00 A. M.<br />
9:30—Technical Session, Ball Room, Copley Plaza Hotel.<br />
Chairman—Dr. Zay Jeffries.<br />
"Stainless Iron and Steel," T. Holland Nelson, United Alloy<br />
Steel Corporation.<br />
"Stainless Steel and Stainless Iron," O. K. Parmiter, Firth-<br />
Sterling Steel Company.<br />
H. Desch, England. (By<br />
"Tensile Properties of Some Steel Wire at Liquid Air Temperatures,"<br />
W. P. Sykes, National Lamp V. Works O. Homerberg, of General MassaElectric Company.<br />
"Grain Boundaries in Steel," Cecil<br />
title).<br />
"Macroscopic Examination of Steel,'<br />
chusetts Institute of Technology.<br />
Afternoon Session<br />
I :80—Tour through Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of<br />
versity. Technology and Navy Yard.<br />
2:30—Technical "On Metallurgical Session, Meeting Education," Room, S. Commonwealth L. Hoyt, General Pier. Electric<br />
Symposium Company. on Metallurgical Education.<br />
Chairman—Dr. Paper—Prof. 1). O. J. E. Demurest, Harder. Ohio Stat* University.<br />
Metallurgical Education," Evening Session<br />
Bradley Stoughton. Lehigh Uni-<br />
-Band Concert.<br />
-Exposition officially closes.
September, 1924<br />
lh
430<br />
IkeblasfFumaceSSteel Plant<br />
LIST OF EXHIBITORS<br />
AT COMMONWEALTH PIER<br />
J '» Booth No.<br />
Abrasive Machine Tool Co C-205<br />
Acme Machine Tool Co C-221<br />
Adams * Durkee Steel Co., Inc... A- 55<br />
Air Reduction Sales Co B-134 and 144<br />
American Gas Furnace Co A-9-10<br />
American Machinist C-247<br />
American Tool Works C-237<br />
American Twist Drill and Tool Co. B-161<br />
Andresen & Associates, F. C B-159<br />
Atmsirong-Blum Manufacturing Co. B-139<br />
Armstrong Cork & Insulation Co... B-131<br />
Atkins .% Co., Inc., E. C B-112<br />
Atlas Steel Co B-168<br />
-Yvey Drilling Machine Co C-221<br />
Baker Brothers C-221<br />
Barber Colman Co C-201-202<br />
Bath & Co., Inc., John A- 37<br />
Bausch & Lomb Optical Co A- 45<br />
Bay State Tap & Die Co. . . . B-175<br />
Bellevue Industrial Furnace Co ... . A- 53<br />
Bellis Heat Treating Co A- 6<br />
Bethlehem Steel Co A-36-37<br />
Blanchard Machine Co C-221<br />
Bristol Co B-99-100<br />
Brown Lynch Scott Co B-128<br />
Brown Instrument Co B-132<br />
Brown & Sharpe Mfg. Co C-218-19<br />
Bureau of Standards B-176<br />
Caloriiing Co A-21-28<br />
Campbell Co., Inc., A. C C-237<br />
Carborundum Co A- 18<br />
Carpenter Steel Co B-150<br />
Case Hardening Service Co A- 29<br />
Celite Products Co A- 11<br />
Central Steel Co B-126-138<br />
Cincinnati Bickford Machine Co... C-221<br />
Cincinnati Milling Machine Co C-221<br />
Cincinnati Planer Co C-221<br />
Cleveland Twist Drill Co.. 0-246<br />
Cochran-Bly Co C-237<br />
Colonial Steel Co A- 43<br />
Cooper-Hewitt Co C-203<br />
Crucible Sttel Co. of America... A-39-40-41<br />
Davison Gas Brnr & Wdg Co., N. C. A- 8<br />
Dearborn Chemical Co A- 61<br />
Disston ib Sons, Inc., Henry, . B-122<br />
Driver-Harris Co A- 59<br />
Dyeast Steel Co C-210<br />
Eaton-Electric Furnace Co.... B-125<br />
Engelhard, Inc., Charles... A- 66<br />
Federal Machine & Welder Co B- 92<br />
N'ame Booth No.<br />
Firth-Sterling Steel Co . . . . B-135 and 145<br />
Fitchburg Machine Works C-250<br />
Ford Co., J. B A- 25<br />
F<strong>org</strong>ing, Stamping, Heating Treating A- 35<br />
Ganschow Co., Wm A- 49<br />
General Alloys Co A-12-22<br />
General Electric Co B-90-91<br />
General Weld & Equipment Co. . . . B-149<br />
Geometric Tool Co C-208<br />
Gisholt Machine Co C-197<br />
Goddard & Goddard Co B-167<br />
Goss & DeLeeuw Machine Co C-221<br />
Gould & Eberhard, Inc C-221<br />
Gunn Mfg. Co B-143<br />
Hagan Co., Ge<strong>org</strong>e J B-108<br />
Halcomb Steel Co A- 50<br />
Hauck Manufacturing Co A- 54<br />
Hayes, C. I B-102<br />
Heald Machine Co C-209<br />
ll.-im Grinder Co C-252<br />
Hendey Machine Co C-241<br />
Heppenstall F<strong>org</strong>e & Knife Co.... A- 57<br />
High Speed Hammer Co C-204<br />
Hoskins Manufacturing Co B-115<br />
Houghton & Co., E. F A- 63<br />
Hunt Steel Co., A. E B-171A<br />
Hunter Saw & Machine Co B-137-A<br />
lllingworth Steel Co., John B-118<br />
Industrial Gas Equipment Co A- 5<br />
International Nickel Oo A-13-23<br />
Iron Age Publishing Co A- 60<br />
Jessop & Sons, Inc., Wm B-171-B<br />
Jones & Lamaon Mach Co. C-211 and 217<br />
Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp A- 44<br />
Kardex Co B 174<br />
Keller Mechanical Engin. Corp.... 0-221<br />
Keystone Lubricating Co A- 24<br />
King Refractories Co., Inc A- 38<br />
Leeds & Northrop Co B-101 and 114<br />
Leitz, Inc., E A- 56<br />
Lewis-Shepard Co B-116<br />
Lodge & Shipley Machine Tool Co.. C-221<br />
l.udlum Steel Co B-148 and 160<br />
Lynd-Farquhar Co C-237 and 245<br />
McDonald & Co., P. F B-107<br />
Midvale Co B-141<br />
Moline Tool Co C-221<br />
Monarch Machine Tool Co C-237<br />
National Automatic Tool Co 0-221<br />
National Electric Light Assn B- 93<br />
September, 1924<br />
N'ame Booth No.<br />
New Engd Asn of Gas Eng. B-137 and 147<br />
New England Tool & Annealing Co A- 48<br />
Nuttall Co., R. D B-142<br />
Ohio Machine Tool Co C-213<br />
Ohio Steel Foundry Co B- 96<br />
Olsen Testing Machine Co., Tinius.. A- 64<br />
Oxweld Acetylene Co A- 65<br />
Pangborn Corporation. B-151-152-163-164<br />
Peerless Machine Co C-248<br />
Pennsylvania Pump & Comprssr Co. B-153<br />
Penton Publishing Co A- 33<br />
Pittsburgh Crucible Steel Co A- 51<br />
Potter & Johnson Machine Co... C-243<br />
Pratt & Whitney C-196<br />
Prentiss Co., Henry C-221 and 235<br />
Racine Tool & Machine Co C-215<br />
Republic Flow Meters Co A- 26<br />
Rivett Lathe & Grinder Corp C-207<br />
Rockwell Co., W. S A- 30<br />
Rodman Chemical Co A- 34<br />
Roessler & Haeslacher Chemical Co A- 58<br />
Ryan & Co., F. J A- 17<br />
Shore Instrument * Mfg. Co B-169<br />
Simonds Saw & Steel Co B 127-128<br />
Spencer Turbine Co A- 7<br />
Sly Mfg. Co., W. W B-155 to 156<br />
Stromberg Electric Co B 133<br />
Surface Combustion Co A-15-16<br />
Swedish Crucible Steel Co A- 1<br />
Tacony Steel Co B-162<br />
Thomson Electric Welding Co...! B- 97<br />
Thompson Co., Henry G C-221<br />
United Alloy Steel Corporation... A-31-32<br />
Union Twist Drill Co C-216<br />
V. So 0. Press Co C-221<br />
Vanadium-Alloys Steel Co A- 63<br />
Vanadium Corp. of Americ* A- 67<br />
Vulcan Crucible Steel Co B-172<br />
Walcott Lathe Co C-21*<br />
Walker Co., 0. S C-221<br />
Wallace & Sons Mfg. Co., R...... B-173<br />
Ward's Sons Co., Edgar T A- 42<br />
Warner & Swasey Co C-228-236<br />
Westinghouse Elec & Mff. Co.. B-94-95<br />
Wetherell Brothers Co B-154<br />
Wheelock Lovejoy S$ Co., Ine A- 27<br />
Whitehead Metal Products Co B-138<br />
Wilmarth-Marmon Co C-237<br />
Wilson-Maeulen Co B-139-130<br />
Wolff Gas Radiator Co., A. H A- 14
September. 1924 T, R| , t ,^c l n| 431<br />
Ihp Ulasr hirnacp _yJIPPI riant<br />
•i •••• ••""''• • •• •••• i asagaa 8 ••'•'•'•• ssassBEs •"•*••' sssss •-••••• '••••••• ••••• - • ••••. •-• • - .<br />
1 SHEET-TIN PLATE 1<br />
. 1 . ' ..' J I ! - j ... j FP i i i i | ; . .,'•". . .'.', - ".'.-.''.-'-".'. .".".', . - . ' ." ' '.'..'!.".. ' ."-'. '.' 'i ' I ' " p. p.*;<br />
Pickling of Iron and Steel; A Bibliography<br />
1—General and Miscellaneous. 2—Machines and Equipment. 3—<br />
Pickling in Acid Solutions. 4—Pickling in Salt Solutions. 5—<br />
Electrolytic Pickling. 6—Inhibitors and Accelerators. 7—Effect<br />
of Pickling. 8—Recovery of Spent Liquors.<br />
Marino, Pascal Electrolysis. (British Patent, 20,-<br />
180 of 1912.)<br />
Marino, Pascal. Electrolytic Process for Removing<br />
Oxid or Rust. (United States Patent, 1,195,704.)<br />
Metal to be cleaned is made the cathode in an electrolytic<br />
circuit, in solution of sulphate and fluorid of sodium, potassium<br />
or magnesium.<br />
Marino, Quintin. Electrolytic Method of Cleaning<br />
Iron and Steel. (United States Patent, 1,324,317.)<br />
Consists in making the iron to be cleaned the cathode in a<br />
solution containing a soluble sulphate and a soluble fluorid.<br />
Nistle, Ge<strong>org</strong>e IV. Electrochemical Concentration of<br />
Liquids. (United States Patent, 896,749.)<br />
Payne, Arthur. Method of Cleansing Molds. (United<br />
States Patent, 1,430,844.)<br />
Electro-chemical process of removing scale from iron, which<br />
consists in immersing the iron in an electrolyte in contact with<br />
a metallic plate higher in the electrochemical series than iron.<br />
Reed, C J. Electrolytic Pickling of Steel. 1907.<br />
(In Transactions of the American Electrochemical Society,<br />
v. 11, p. 181-184.)<br />
The same, abstract. 1908. (In Iron Trade Review,<br />
v. 42, p. 422.)<br />
Method of removing magnetic oxid of iron by making the<br />
metal the cathode in a sulphuric acid bath.<br />
Reed, Charles J. Process of Electrolytically Dissolving<br />
Iron Oxide Scale. (United States Patent, 827,179.)<br />
Reed, Charles J. Process of Electrolytically Removing<br />
Scale and Producing Iron Sulfate. (United States<br />
Patent, 827,180.)<br />
Reed, Charles J. Process of Electrolytically Removing<br />
Scale and Producing Iron Sulfate. (United States<br />
Patent, 855,667.)<br />
Revillon, L. Un Nouveau Procede de Decapage et D^<br />
Oxydation Galvaniques des Metatux. 1919. (In Revue<br />
de Metallurgie, v. 16, Memoires, p. 257-268.)<br />
An electrolytic method of cleaning steel and other metals,<br />
using sodium ferrite as the electrolytic agent.<br />
Scott, E. Kilburn. Economy of Acids in Metal<br />
Trades. 1917. (In Journal of the Society of Chemical<br />
Industry, v. 36, pt. 2, p. 810-814.)<br />
Brief discussion of electrolytic pickling, p. 813-814.<br />
Thompson, C. H. Electrolysis. (British Patent,<br />
3,374 of 1912.)<br />
Electrolytic pickling of metals in a chlorid, a sulphate or a<br />
nitrate.<br />
•Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh.<br />
Compiled by VICTOR S. POLANSKY*<br />
PART III<br />
Thompson, M. DeKay, and Dodson, F. W. Electrolytic<br />
Pickling of Steel. 1917. (In Metallurgical and<br />
Chemical Engineering, v. 17, p. 713-714.)<br />
Experiments on the effect of chemical and electrolytic pickling<br />
on black sheet iron and transformer sheet iron containing<br />
silicon.<br />
Thompson, M. DeKay, and Mahlman, 0. L. Electrolytic<br />
Pickling of Steel. 1917. (In Transactions of the<br />
American Electrochemical Society, v. 31, p. 181-189.)<br />
The same, abstract. 1917. (In Iron Age, v. 99, pt.<br />
2, p. 1190-1191.)<br />
The same, abstract. 1917. (In Iron and Coal Trades<br />
Review, v. 97, p. 690.)<br />
The satne, abstract. 1917. (In Iron Trade Review,<br />
v. 61, p. 1375-1376.)<br />
The same, abstract. 1917. (In Journal of the Franklin<br />
Institute, v. 183, p. 797.)<br />
The same, abstract. 1917. (In Metallurgical and<br />
Chemical Engineering, v. 16, p. 586-587.)<br />
Investigation of the relative efficiencies of the electrolytic<br />
and the chemical processes of pickling steel.<br />
Inhibitors and Accelerators.<br />
Addy, Matheiv, Co. Pickelette Acid Saver and Beneficiating<br />
Agent. 31 p. [1924.]<br />
Contains a brief discussion of pickling, and numerous useful<br />
tables.<br />
Aiken, Benjamin F., and Others. Wire or Metal<br />
Cleaning Bath. (United States Patent, 288,150.)<br />
Relates to the addition of metallic cyanide to pickling solution,<br />
which increases the efficiency of the acid bath.<br />
American Chemical Paint Company. Pickling Made<br />
Efficient with Rodine Extract. 46 p. 1924. (Bulletin<br />
No. 15.)<br />
Deals with the chemistry involved in pickling and shows photomicrographs<br />
of surfaces under various conditions of treatment.<br />
Benekcr, Jay C. Wire and Metal Cleaning Bath.<br />
(United States Patent, 914,916.)<br />
By adding a small amount of arsenic to the dilute acid, the<br />
action is limited to the solution of the scale and the metal is but<br />
slightly attacked.<br />
British and Foreign Chemical Producers, Ltd. Pickling.<br />
(British Patent, 158,768.)<br />
To avoid brittleness in iron or iron alloys, <strong>org</strong>anic bases, especially<br />
quinoline nucleus, are added to a pickling bath.<br />
Burgess, Charles F. Some Observations on the Influence<br />
of Arsenic in Pickling Solutions. 1905. (In Transactions<br />
of the American Electrochemical Society, v. 8, p.<br />
165-170.)
432<br />
"Commercial" Rust Remover and Pickling Compound.<br />
1922. (In American Machinist, v. 57, p. 825.)<br />
Foreign preparation used for rust removal from metals, as<br />
well as in sulphuric acid baths for pickling purposes.<br />
Compound for Control of Acid Fume in Pickling.<br />
1921. (In F<strong>org</strong>ing and Heat Treating, v. 7, p. 421.)<br />
Developed by Hoffman Process Company, Pittsburgh.<br />
Crabbe, Hairy J. Pickling Compound. (United<br />
States Patent, 1,268,818.)<br />
Mixture for making pickling solutions for treating castings<br />
or other metal articles, is composed of sodium chlorid, 1 part<br />
and sodium acid sulphate, 2.5 parts.<br />
Emlen, Ge<strong>org</strong>e W. Improvement in Pickling. 1922.<br />
(In Iron Age, v. 109, p. 813.)<br />
New compound developed which retards acid attack on sound<br />
metals.<br />
Griffin, Roger C. The Solubility of Metals in Acids<br />
Containing Formaldehyde. 1920. (In Journal of Industrial<br />
and Engineering Chemistry, v. 12, p. 1159-1160.)<br />
Deals with the use of hydrochloric acid containing 1 per cent<br />
of formaldehyde, which secures pickling of rusty steel without<br />
any effect on the steel itself.<br />
Hoffman, Addison F., and Parkin, W. M. Process<br />
of Pickling Metal Articles. (United States patent, 1,221,-<br />
735.)<br />
Neutralized waste sulphite liquor is added to an acid to form<br />
a blanket of foam on the liquor and prevent the escape of acid<br />
spray.<br />
Holmes, Harry N. Removal of Scale and Rust from<br />
Iron and Steel. (United States Patent, 1,470,225.)<br />
Iron or steel is pickled in a bath of sulphuric acid containing<br />
0.2 per cent aldehyde, to inhibit the attack of the acid on the<br />
metal.<br />
Mechanism and Efficiency of Restrainers. 1923.<br />
(In Chemical Trade Journal and Chemical Engineer, v.<br />
73, p. 34-35.)<br />
Abstract from the "Alkali Inspectors Report" for 1922. Presents<br />
experimental data on the comparative efficiencies of pickelette<br />
acid, tragon, gelatin and cresol acid as restrainers in pickling<br />
of tin-plate.<br />
Meuricc, Albert. Sur le Decapage en Trefilerie. 1896.<br />
(In Bulletin de l'Association Beige des Chimistes, v. 9,<br />
p. 343-358.)<br />
The same, abstract translation. 1896. (In Journal<br />
of the Society of Chemical Industry, v. 15, p. 454-455.)<br />
Hie51asf FumaceSSfeelPlani<br />
The same, abstract translation. 1903. (In Metal Indusrty,<br />
U. S., v. 1, p. 114.)<br />
States that arsenic may be advantageous to an acid pickle,<br />
since when present in suitable proportion it reduces the consumption<br />
of acid while increasing the effectiveness of its work.<br />
New Pickling Compound. 1922. (In Metal Industry,<br />
U. S., v. 20, p. 403.)<br />
"Sumfoam" compound, said to protect cleaned metal .from action<br />
of the acid after scale removal.<br />
"Pickelette." 1920. (In Iron and Coal Trades Review,<br />
v. 101, p. 763.)<br />
Brief description of a new pickling mixture.<br />
Robinson, Chaunccy E., and Sutherland, William L.<br />
Composition for Polishing Metal Bars, Plates, Sheets,<br />
Etc. (United States Patent, 640,491.)<br />
Rustproofing Syndicate, Ltd. Pickling Metals. (British<br />
Patent, 163,868.)<br />
Bath for pickling ferrous metals, which attacks the scale portions<br />
only and has no detrimental effect on the metals.<br />
Substitute for Sulphuric Acid in Pickling. 1915. (In<br />
Iron Age, v. 96, pt. 2, p. 1519.)<br />
A compound perfected by the Research Manufacturing Company,<br />
Oak Lane Station, Philadelphia, is applied to iron, steel,<br />
brass, copper, etc.<br />
Effect of Pickling.<br />
Baedecker. Versuche Ueber das Verbeizen von<br />
Stahl- und Eisendraht. 1888. (In Zeitschrift des Vereines<br />
Deutscher Ingenieure, v. 32, pt. 1, p. 186-188.)<br />
September, 1924<br />
Investigation on the absorbtion of hydrogen by pickled iron<br />
and steel wire. Tabulates results.<br />
Baker, Herbert A., and Lang, IV. R. Deteriorating<br />
Effect of "Acid Pickle" on Steel Rods and Their Partial<br />
Restoration on "Baking." 1906. (In Journal of the<br />
Society of Chemical Industry, v. 25, pt. 2, p. 1179-1180.)<br />
The same. 1907. (In Journal of the Chemical, Metallurgical<br />
and Mining Society of South Africa, v. 7, p.<br />
424-425.)<br />
Cause of deterioration is believed to be due to the formation<br />
of a hydrid of iron. Gives results of investigation.<br />
Burgess, Charles F. Action of Acid on Iron and of<br />
the Use of the Acid Pickle. 1905. (In Electrochemical<br />
and Metallurgical Industry, v. 3, p. 332-335, 384-386.)<br />
The same, abstract. 1905. (In Engineering News,<br />
v. 54, p. 352-353.)<br />
The same, abstract. 1905. (In Iron Age, v. 76, p.<br />
801-803.)<br />
Burgess, Cliarles F. Injurious Effect of Acid Pickles<br />
on Steel. 1906. (In Electrochemical and Metallurgical<br />
Industry, v. 4, p. 7-11.)<br />
States that the brittleness or "rotting" of iron and steel is<br />
due to the penetration of hydrogen rather than of the acid. Gives<br />
methods and results of investigation.<br />
Burges.', Charles F., and Engle, S. G. Observations<br />
on the Corrosion of Iron by Acid. 1906. (In Transactions<br />
of the American Electrochemical Society, v. 9, p.<br />
199-210.)<br />
Gives results of experiments on the effect of dilute acids on<br />
iron.<br />
Carpenter, R. C. Heat Transmission Through Castiron<br />
Plates Pickled in Nitric Acid. 1890. (In Transactions<br />
of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers,<br />
v. 12, p. 174-186.)<br />
Presents method and results of investigation.<br />
Chemistry of Pickling Baths. 1918. (In Automotive<br />
Industries, v. 39, p. 960-961.)<br />
Discusses the action of acids, effect of the strength of bath,<br />
temperature effect, and the <strong>org</strong>anic and in<strong>org</strong>anic materials<br />
modifying the action of the bath.<br />
Conroy, James T. Rate of Dissolution of Iron in<br />
Hydrochloric Acid. 1901. (In Journal of the Society<br />
of Chemical Industry, v. 20, p. 316-320.)<br />
Presents results of experiments.<br />
Coulson. John. Electrolytic Pickling Process and<br />
Its Effect on the Physical Properties of Iron and Steel.<br />
1917. (In Transactions of the American Electrochemical<br />
Society, v. 32, p. 237-245.)<br />
The same, abstract. 1917. (In Iron Age, v. 100, pt.<br />
2, p. 964-965.)<br />
Gives results of the effect of 27 per cent sulphuric acid at<br />
60 deg. C. on several specimens of iron and steel.<br />
Firth (Titos.) and Sons, Ltd. Development of Stainless<br />
Steel; Its Properties and Uses. [1922?]<br />
Valuable information, based on reports and from the research<br />
laboratories of this company. Treats of the effect of<br />
various acids on stainless steel and tabulates results, p. 12-13.<br />
Fuller, T. S. Penetration of Iron by Hydrogen. 1919.<br />
(In Transactions of the American Electrochemical Society,<br />
v. 36, p. 113-138.)<br />
Results of experiments on the effect of different electrical<br />
conditions on the penetration of iron by nascent hydrogen at<br />
temperatures from 20 deg. C.-200 deg. C. Treats briefly of the<br />
effect of acid "pickle", p. 118-119.<br />
Fuller, T. S. Prevention of Brittleness in Electroplated<br />
Steel Springs. 1917. (In Transactions of the<br />
American Electrochemical Society, v. 32, p. 247-256.)<br />
Deals with the brittleness of spring steel due to pickling in<br />
sulphuric acid.
September, 1 c >24<br />
Gruenwald, Julius. Neuere Untersuchungen L'eber<br />
das Beizen. 1909. (In Stahl und Eisen, v. 29, pt. 1, p.<br />
537-543.)<br />
Results of investigations of pickling. Contains numerous<br />
tables and foot-note references.<br />
Hess. R. L. Effect of Pickling on Alloy Steels. 1920.<br />
(In Iron Age, v. 105, p. 593-594.)<br />
Account of investigation of the effect of pickling on the quality<br />
of the material.<br />
Hughes. D. E. Note on Some Effects Produced by<br />
the Immersion of Steel and Iron Wires in Acidulated<br />
Water. 1880. (In Journal of the Society of Telegraph<br />
Engineers, v. 9, p. 163-181.)<br />
Irwin & Co., James. Advantages of Hydrofluoric<br />
Acid. 1898. (In Foundry, v. 12, p. 240-241.)<br />
The same. 1898. (In American Machinist, v. 21, p.<br />
670.)<br />
Johnson. William H. On Some Changes Produced<br />
in Iron and Steel by the Action of Hydrogen and Acids.<br />
1875. (In Proceedings of the Roval Society of London,<br />
v. 23, p. 168-179.)<br />
Account of pickling tests conducted on wrought iron and<br />
steel wire.<br />
Langdon, S. C, and Grossman, M. A. Embrittling Effects<br />
of Cleaning and Pickling Upon Carbon Steels. 1920.<br />
(In Transactions of the American Electrochemical Society,<br />
v. 37, p. 543-578.)<br />
Effects were ascertained by measuring the brittleness of plain<br />
carbon steel rods by the alternating stress method and the plates<br />
by the Erichsen penetration method.<br />
Ledebur, A. Effect of Pickling and Rusting on the<br />
Strength of Iron. 1891. (In Journal of the Iron and<br />
Steel Institute, v. 39, p. 428.)<br />
Abstract of paper in "Mittheilungen aus den Koeniglichen<br />
Technischen Versuchsanstalten zu Berlin," 1890, supplement 1.<br />
Ledebur. A. Neuere Yersuche Ueber die Beiz-und<br />
Rostbruechigkeit des Eisens. 1889. (In Stahl und Eisen,<br />
v. 9, pt. 2, p. 745-755.)<br />
The same, abstract translation. 1889. (In Journal<br />
of the Iron and Steel Institute, v. 35, pt. 2, p. 459-460.)<br />
Further experiments by the author on the influence of dipping<br />
in acids of iron.<br />
Ledebur, A. Ueber die Beizbruechigkeit das Eisens.<br />
1887. (In Stahl und Eisen, v. 7, pt. 2, p. 681-694.)<br />
The same, abstract translation. 1887. (In Journal of<br />
the Iron and Steel Institute, v. 31, pt. 2, p. 356-360.)<br />
Discusses changes in the physical properties of iron and steel,<br />
produced by dipping in acids.<br />
Longmuir, Percy. Corrosion of Metals. 1911. (In<br />
Journal of the Iron and Steel Institute, v. 83, pt. 1, p.<br />
147-169.)<br />
Includes a discussion of the effect of acid cleaning on steel,<br />
p. 163-164.<br />
McKay, Robert J. Why Pickling Tank Rods Corrode.<br />
1922. (In Iron Trade Review, v. 70, p. 959-964.)<br />
Results of experiments conducted on a number of acid resisting<br />
alloys used in pickling tank construction.<br />
Morrison, C. J. Embrittling Effect of Pickling Upon<br />
Carbon Steel. 1921. (In Iron Age, v. 108, p. 334-335.)<br />
Discussion by G. F. Comstock and A. B. Wilson, p. 685-<br />
686.<br />
Gives results of study of grain sizes, and shows that pickling<br />
increases the width of junction lines between grains.<br />
Parr, S. W. Embrittling Action of Sodium Hydrox<br />
ide on Soft Steel. 1917. (In University of Illinois.<br />
Engineering Experiment Station. Bulletin 94.)<br />
Treats briefly on Ledebur's researches on "pickling brittleness"<br />
in steel, and the effect of nascent hydrogen upon the physical<br />
properties of steel, p. 21-22.<br />
Ihp Dlasf lurnaco Z Mool riant<br />
433<br />
Pickling and Corrosion of Sheets. 1915. (In Iron<br />
Age, v. 95, pt. 1, p. 621.)<br />
Pickling Castings. 1903. (In Foundry, v. 23, p. 109-<br />
111.)<br />
The acids, hydrochloric, sulphuric and hydrofluoric, their advantages<br />
and disadvantages as pickling agents, are discussed.<br />
Plating "Over-Pickled" Cast-iron. 1909. (In Brass<br />
World and Platers' Guide, v. 5, p. 50.)<br />
Long time pickling causes graphite, carbon and silicon to be<br />
formed on the iron and makes plating difficult.<br />
Richardson, E. A. The Effects of Pickling Upon<br />
Corrosion of Iron. 1914. (In Metallurgical and Chemical<br />
Engineering, v. 12, p. 759.)<br />
The same, abstract. 1915. (In Iron Age, v. 95, pt.<br />
1, p. 621.)<br />
Shows that short time pickling tests exert a great influence<br />
upon the rate of corrosion.<br />
Staley, Homer F. The Cause and Control of the Mottling<br />
of Enamels on Metals. 1911. (In Transactions of<br />
the American Ceramic Society, v. 13, p. 489-493.)<br />
Deals with the chemical reactions taking place during pickling.<br />
Thompson, E. S. Some Experiments with Substitutes<br />
for Sulphuric Acid for Pickling. 1919. (In Brass<br />
World and Platers' Guide, v. 15, p. 79-80.)<br />
Gives comparative tests on niter-cake and sulphuric acid to<br />
determine their relative values on hot rolled flange steel.<br />
Treischel, Chester. The Cause and Control of "Blistering"<br />
in Sheet-Steel Enameling. 1919. (In Journal of<br />
the American Ceramic Society, v. 2, p. 774-781.)<br />
Treats briefly of the effect of pickling on the blistering of<br />
steel.<br />
Recovery of Spent Liquors.<br />
Acid Economy in Metal Industries. 1918. (In Scientific<br />
American Supplement, v. 85, p. 38.)<br />
Deals with lack of a systematic method for the recovery of<br />
waste pickle acid.<br />
Bloxam, A. G. Improvements in Pickling Metals.<br />
(British Patent, 27,353 of 1908.)<br />
Relates chiefly to the recovery of ferrous sulphate from<br />
spent pickling liquors.<br />
Bowen, Ebenezcr. Improved Economic Treatment of<br />
Certain Bv-Products of Gas and Tin-Plate Manufacturers.<br />
(British Patent, 3,179 of 1888).<br />
Brown, S. A*. Single- and Multiple-Effect Plant in<br />
the Chemical Industries. 1924. (In Chemical Trade<br />
Journal and Chemical Engineer, v. 74, p. 123-124.)<br />
Deals briefly with recovery of iron sulphate ("copperas")<br />
from pickling liquors from sheet or tube mills, p. 124.<br />
Crossley, F. D. Improvements in the Treatment of<br />
Spent Iron Pickling or Cleaning Liquors or Other Solu<br />
tions Containing Sulphate or Chloride of Iron, for Obtaining<br />
Sulphate or Chloride of Iron or Other Useful<br />
Products Therefrom. (British Patent, 7,832 of 1902.)<br />
Dicscher, Samuel E. Pickling Sheets, Etc. (United<br />
States Patent, 1,023,458.)<br />
Method of regenerating the pickling bath.<br />
Folding, F. J., and Cathcart, W. R. Improved Proc<br />
ess for the Recovery of Valuable Products from Pickling<br />
Liquor and Gas Liquor. (British Patent, 11,364 of<br />
1910.)<br />
Folding, Frederic J. Process of Utilization of By<br />
product Metallic Salts and Ammoniacal Liquor. (United<br />
States Patent, 961,764.)<br />
Farnham, F. F. Process and Apparatus for Electrolytic<br />
Recovery of Waste Liquor. (United States Patent<br />
1,006,836.)
434<br />
Fireman, Peter. Utilization of Sulphuric Acid<br />
Pickle Liquors. (United States Patent, 1,287,939.)<br />
Liquor is neutralized with scrap iron or calcium oxid, the<br />
resultant iron sulphate is treated with calcium chlorid and the<br />
ferrous chlorid solution obtained is treated with calcium hydroxid<br />
to regenerate the calcium and produce a precipitate of<br />
ferrous hydroxid.<br />
Greenway, A. G. Improvements in Galvanizing Iron<br />
and in Utilizing the Waste Acids Therefrom. (British<br />
Patent, 9,680 of 1889.)<br />
Hoffman, Addison F. Pickling Ferrous Articles and<br />
Electrically Regenerating the Pickling-Bath. (United<br />
States Patent, 1,305,213.)<br />
Relates chiefly to the regeneration of pickle liquor by oxidation,<br />
whereby the ferrous salts are partially or entirely converted<br />
into ferric salts.<br />
Hoffman, Addison F. Process of Producing Byproducts<br />
from Waste Pickle Liquors. (United States<br />
Patent, 1,269,442.)<br />
Relates to the regeneration of spent liquor by oxidation with<br />
air and manganese dioxid or other manganese compounds.<br />
Hoffman, Addison F. Process of Pickling Iron and<br />
Steel. (United States Patent, 1,146,071.)<br />
Relates to pickling and regenerating the pickling liquor.<br />
Hoffman, Addiso?i F., and Parkin, W. M. Recovering<br />
Values from Pickling Metals. (United States patent,<br />
1,269,441.)<br />
Waste sulphuric acid pickling liquor is freed from suspended<br />
solid impurities by sedimentation, concentrated and the ferrous<br />
sulphate is crystallized out.<br />
Howl, E., and Perry, F. Sulphuric Acid Recovery<br />
from Waste Pickling Solutions. (British Patent, 5,830<br />
of 1915.)<br />
By concentrating the spent liquor the ferrous sulphate is precipitated<br />
in the anhydrous form.<br />
Kirkman, H. J. Improvements in the Utilization of<br />
Waste Pickle from Tinning and Galvanizing Works.<br />
(British Patents, 14,061 of 1888.)<br />
Kirkman, H. J. Improvements in the Utilization of<br />
Waste Pickle from Tinning and Galvanizing Works.<br />
(British Patent, 16,247 of 1888.)<br />
Knowles, A. C. Iron Sulphates. (British Patent,<br />
100,516.)<br />
Relates to the recovery of iron sulphatos from pickling solutions.<br />
Laurie, A. P., and Others. Utilization of Waste Products<br />
of the Chemical Industry. 1919. (In Chemical<br />
Trade Journal and Chemical Engineer, v. 64, p. 453-454.)<br />
Treats briefly of the recovery of waste pickling liquors.<br />
McFetridge, Joseph. Process of Treating Waste Ferrous<br />
Sulfate Liquors. (United States Patent, 1,045,-<br />
723.)<br />
The same. (Canadian Patent, 146,264.)<br />
Marsh, Henry S., and Cochran, Ralf S. Methods of<br />
and Apparatus for Reclaiming Spent Pickling Solutions.<br />
(United States Patent, 1,369,451.)<br />
Causes the solution to flow in a stream, cooling at an intermediate<br />
point, and transferring the heat from the solution at<br />
one portion to the solution at another portion, and precipitation<br />
is effected whence heat is taken.<br />
Oesterle, William F., and Others. Process of Utilizing<br />
Waste Ferrous Liquors. (United States Patent, 1,-<br />
108,387.)<br />
Parker, T.. and Robinson, A. E. Improvements in<br />
and Connected with the Utilization of Sulphate of Iron<br />
Galvanizing Pickle. (British Patent, 10,554 of 1889.)<br />
Parker, Thomas. Improvements in the Utilization<br />
of Waste or Spent Acid Pickle from Galvanizing Works.<br />
(British Patent, 24,859 of 1894.)<br />
Ihe Dlasr kirnacel^jieel rlani*<br />
September, 1924<br />
Peyton, Ernest. Improvement in Utilizing the Waste<br />
Products from the Pickling of Iron and Other Metals.<br />
(British Patent, 15,250 of 1901.)<br />
Ramage, A. S. Utilizing Spent Pickle Liquor.<br />
(United States Patent, 788,064.)<br />
Scott, E. Kilburn. Economy of Acids in Metal<br />
Trades. 1917. (In Journal of the Society of Chemical<br />
Industry, v. 36, pt. 2, p. 810-814.)<br />
Deals briefly with the recovery of spent pickle liquor, p. 813.<br />
Shaw, Joseph A. Process of Reclaiming Spent Pickling<br />
Solutions. (United States Patent, 1,384,974.)<br />
Solution is treated with nitrogen peroxid and oxygen, and the<br />
resulting gaseous material is subjected to the action of a scrubber<br />
for the recovery of the nitrogen oxids.<br />
Sommer, William. H., and Stone, William E. Method<br />
of Recovering Sulphate Crystals. (United States Patent,<br />
1,256,068.)<br />
Ferrous sulphate is crystallized by steam while the bath is<br />
continually agitated by the introduction of air. The saturated<br />
solution is kept at the same temperature as the pickling bath,<br />
and after the impurities have settled out, the sulphate is collected.<br />
Stabler, Herman. Stream Pollution by Acid-Iron<br />
Wastes. 1906. (In United States. Geological Survey.<br />
Water Supply and Irrigation Paper no. 186.)<br />
77ie same, condensed. 1906. (In Engineering News,<br />
v. 56, p. 543.)<br />
Investigation at Shelby, Ohio, gives some methods of recovery.<br />
Thompson, Ge<strong>org</strong>e F. Process for the Treatment of<br />
Waste Liquors. (British Patent, 17,279 of 1909.)<br />
By reacting on ammonium sulphate with magnesium oxid, a<br />
precipitate of iron is obtained.<br />
Treatment of Waste Pickle. 1890. (In Journal of<br />
the Society of Chemical Industry, v. 9, p. 518.)<br />
Turner, Thomas. Improvement in the Treatment of<br />
Waste Pickle from Galvanizing Works. (British Patent,<br />
9,225 of 1889.)<br />
Turner, Thomas. Improvements in the Treatment of<br />
Waste Pickle from Galvanizing Works. (British Patent,<br />
17,074 of 1889.)<br />
Turner, Thomas. Treatment of Waste Liquors from<br />
Galvanizing Works. (British Patent, 16,166 of 1888.)<br />
Utilization of Waste Pickle. 1889. (In Journal of<br />
the Society of Chemical Industry, v. 8, p. 484.)<br />
Discusses briefly the treatment of waste pickle liquor with<br />
milk of lime, whereby the acid is neutralized and the iron is<br />
precipitated.<br />
Waste Pickle in Galvanizing, Etc., Works. 1892.<br />
(In Journal of the Society of Chemical Industry, v. 11,<br />
p. 682-683.)<br />
Brief treatment of the recovery of pickling liquors.<br />
Weaver, A. T., and Others. Methods of and Apparatus<br />
for Treating Waste Pickle Liquor. (United<br />
States Patent, 1,348,462.)<br />
Relates to the recovery of iron oxid.<br />
A complete index to the 45 volumes of the Transactions<br />
of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers<br />
will he issued during October. The general<br />
style of the Engineering Index Annual has been followed,<br />
all items being grouped alphabetically under<br />
authors' names and subjects. Particular attention<br />
has been paid to Volumes 26 through 45 (those since<br />
1905), with the idea of bringing to light the great<br />
store of hitherto unindexed material hidden in discussions<br />
and in the papers themselves. The items have<br />
also been very fully cross-referenced. "The work will<br />
prove a key to the valuable literature of mechanical<br />
engineering.
September, 1924<br />
imiiiiiiiiiimiiKiiiiiiiiiiitiiNiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniit imiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiihiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiimiiniinimtiiiiii<br />
Trade Notes and Personals<br />
mini IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII in mn i iiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiii i iiiiiiiiiiiiilliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiii<br />
Sanford Riley Buys Harrington Stoker<br />
Believing that the Harrington Stoker represents<br />
the best machine of its type on the market today, the<br />
Sanford Riley Stoker Company has taken over the entire<br />
business of the United Machine & Manufacturing<br />
Company of Canton, O. From now on the business<br />
of the United Machine & Manufacturing Company<br />
will be handled in the name of the Sanford Riley<br />
Stoker Company. The head office of the company<br />
will be at Worcester, Mass., with plants at Worcester,<br />
Mass., Detroit, Mich., and Canton, O. The consolidation<br />
of these two companies will result in the most<br />
complete line of underfeed, overfeed and chain grate<br />
stokers ever brought together under one head. With<br />
Riley, Jones, Murphy and Harrington Stokers to<br />
choose from, it will be possible to handle any solid<br />
fuel from the highest grade semi-bituminous down to<br />
the poorest grades of culm, lignite, anthracite screenings,<br />
coke breeze, refuse, etc. This consolidation<br />
makes available to the stoker-buying trade the combined<br />
engineering and manufacturing talent of the<br />
two companies, and it will be possible to offer a type<br />
of stoker suitable for every possible combustion<br />
need. Mosher Separators as heretofore made by the<br />
United Machine & Manufacturing Company will be<br />
manufactured and sold by the A. W. Cash Company,<br />
Decatur, 111., manufacturers of boiler specialties and<br />
combustion control. The A. W. Cash Company is a<br />
subsidiary of the Sanford Riley Stoker Company.<br />
Storing and Handling Core Oil<br />
Foundries have not had the advantage of as many<br />
time and labor saving devices as have been invented<br />
for work in other industries. This, no doubt, is largely<br />
due to the fact that foundry work does not offer the<br />
opportunity. We were pleased to learn, however, of<br />
an easier and more efficient way for handling core<br />
oil, which is of interest to all foundries.<br />
The outfit consists of a steel tank into which core<br />
oil is transferred when received. The tank is equipped<br />
with a measuring pump so that the desired quantity<br />
of core oil can be accurately delivered. The tank may<br />
be located convenient to the mixers, saving many<br />
steps back and forth. There is no slopping and spilling,<br />
as the exact amount of oil is drawn with each mix.<br />
In addition to the economy, there is greater<br />
efficiency because of this accuracy resulting in<br />
stronger cores and clearer castings with less chance<br />
of imperfections which otherwise occur. Where<br />
emulsion is used an extra tank may be installed<br />
equipped with water line and also an air line, the<br />
latter being used for the purpose of mixing.<br />
With this arrangement the operator merely opens<br />
the valves for the desired amount of water, accurately<br />
measures the required quantity of oil, and then opens<br />
the valve on the air line which agitates it into a thorough<br />
emulsion. This affords a decided saving in oil,<br />
time and labor over the old method for those foundries<br />
using emulsion.<br />
Where core oil is purchased in large quantities or<br />
tank car-lots, underground storage may be provided,<br />
IneDlasT kirnacplyjlWI Plant<br />
435<br />
which saves space. A long distance pump is located<br />
in the mixing room, or core making department, which<br />
is connected to the underground tank.<br />
Alfred Kauffman was recently elected president<br />
of the Link-Belt Company, Chicago, manufacturer<br />
of conveying equipment, to succeed Charles Piez,<br />
now chairman of the board. He has been connected<br />
with the company for 24 years. Mr. Kauffman was<br />
born in 1879 and was educated at Rutherford, N. J.<br />
At the age of 15 he became an apprentice in the tool<br />
room of the General Electric Company at Schenectady,<br />
N. Y., later joining Robert Hoe & Company,<br />
builder of printing presses. Following three years of<br />
apprenticeship there he entered Pratt Institute, Brooklyn,<br />
N. Y., from which he was graduated in 1901.<br />
Mr. Kauffman then became connected with the Link-<br />
Belt Company, holding the position of draftsman until<br />
August, 1906. He was appointed assistant to the<br />
superintendent of construction and a year later became<br />
superintendent. In 1909 he was appointed sales<br />
engineer in the West Virginia territory and in 1913<br />
as assistant to the president. In that year he was<br />
appointed manager of the company with office in<br />
Philadelphia, having charge of eastern operations.<br />
In the next year he was advanced to manager of the<br />
company's Indianapolis plants and in February, 1915,<br />
was appointed vice president and general manager of<br />
those plants. From this position he was elected<br />
president July 24, 1924. Mr. Kauffman is a member<br />
of the executive committee of the Indianapolis branch<br />
of the National Metal Trades Association and is active<br />
in other industrial and social clubs in that city.<br />
In line with their established program for expansion,<br />
the Sloss-Sheffield Company of Birmingham recently<br />
accorded the Link-Belt Company of Chicago<br />
an order for a gondola car dumper. This dumper will<br />
be similar to that installed at the Cahokia power station,<br />
East St. Louis.<br />
The new machine will be required to dump gondola<br />
cars of coal (of a capacity including 100 tons) at<br />
the rate of 20 an hour. The Link-Belt gondola car<br />
dumper is distinctive in that only a 19-hp. motor and<br />
one man is required for its operation.<br />
Jay M. Amsden, who has been superintendent of<br />
the Hanna docks at Ashtabula, O., has been made<br />
general superintendent of all the Hanna Dock interests,<br />
including the Ohio & Western Pennsylvania<br />
Dock Company and the Lower Lakes Dock Company,<br />
operating docks at Sandusky, Cleveland and<br />
Ashtabula, O., and Erie, Pa.<br />
Back from Europe, where he visited England and<br />
Continental countries, Charles S. Robinson, vice president<br />
and general manager Youngstown Sheet & Tube-<br />
Company, Youngstown, declares conditions are apparently<br />
growing better. Mr. Robinson states that<br />
Great Britain is encountering great difficulties in connection<br />
with the payment of unemployment doles.<br />
many of the unemployed being disinclined to return<br />
to work, as the amount they would earn is little in<br />
excess of what they receive in doles.<br />
President Eugene G. Grace of the Bethlehem Steel<br />
Corporation returned last week from a month's vacation<br />
trip to England.
436 TheBU FurnaceSSfeel Plant Sq,te,,,ber ' ^<br />
mBrrnmrnimrtrmiiiiinmrnmiinniiinmiiiirrffl<br />
WITH THE EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURERS<br />
" n-iiif ITTIITI vtnininnrrT^iiiiiHimiifMuiiiiiHTiruniiiiiniM i iiminiirii 11 iiiiiiirnn n iHiiniiirrtririurTiiiiriiiiiiirti iTiriiiniirTTntTiiiiiiiniKi riHiiiTMiurM rn i umiir-urr : •tiiriiiiinirmniiiPiitti L f J iirnj-irtirm nniiiiiirrii ri 11 m ninriri 11»«i MniiimrrM n htinminiPirn n miiniP»rrrri iiriiiiniipjrri rrti iiiiiiii-iirtrrMTiiriiiniTiTnni<br />
REMARKABLE DIESEL ENGINE<br />
An entirely new design of two-cycle, double-acting<br />
Diesel engine, believed to represent the greatest advance<br />
in the art yet made in America, and expected to<br />
mark an epoch in the development of internal combustion<br />
power machinery throughout the world, was<br />
announced here today by the Worthington Pump &<br />
Machinery Corporation. The new engine combines a<br />
fuel economy comparable with that of the best existing<br />
types of Diesel engine, with dimensions, weight<br />
and construction cost per hp. approaching those of<br />
reciprocating steam machinery.<br />
Another striking and important feature of the<br />
design is the fact that the hp. per cylinder can from<br />
all indications be carried to a tar higher value than<br />
any vet attained in Diesel engines, thus immensely<br />
increasing the field of possible usefulness of Dieseltvpe<br />
power, and making it an active competitor of<br />
steam power machinery over a much wider range<br />
than has before been possible. The first unit built<br />
in the Buffalo plant of the Worthington corporation,<br />
is very conservatively rated at 600 to 800 hp. for a<br />
single cylinder unit, at speeds of 90 to 120 revolutions<br />
per minute.<br />
The new Worthington engine was wholly designed<br />
and built in America, and owes nothing to European<br />
patents or ideas developed abroad. Behind it is the<br />
Worthington company's 24 years of experience in<br />
building internal combustion engines, culminating in<br />
nearly four years of intensive research, study and experiment<br />
aimed directly at the production of the result<br />
which has now been attained in the new engine.<br />
The Worthington corporation has been a leader in<br />
American Diesel engine production since, 1912, in<br />
which year the first wholly American design of engine<br />
of this type was developed in the company's<br />
Buffalo shops.' Nearly 100,000 hp. of Worthington<br />
Diesel engines are now in active service in the United<br />
States. The Worthington type of gas engine has been<br />
known since 1900, and over a quarter of a million hp.<br />
of such engines, including the largest double-acting<br />
gas engines ever built, are now in use.<br />
The immediate inspiration behind the research<br />
campaign which has now put the company in the<br />
forefront not only of American, but of world practice<br />
in this type of power machinery, was the known need<br />
of an improved Diesel engine for ship propulsion. It<br />
is common knowledge that for the past five years, the<br />
problem of disposal of the United States war-built<br />
merchant fleet, which is the major portion of the entire<br />
problem of the American merchant marine, has<br />
defied solution. Its difficulties have been two:<br />
First, the fact that under existing American laws,<br />
and with American standards of wages, subsistence<br />
and equipment, thq differential in operating costs<br />
against the American vessel in competition with those<br />
of other countries has been sufficient, in times of lowocean<br />
freight rates such as have prevailed for the past<br />
few years, to drive the American vessel out of the<br />
market.<br />
Second, the fact that as a result of its war program,<br />
the U. S. Shipping Hoard is owner of an immense<br />
fleet of steamships, which can neither be operated by<br />
it in competition with foreign vessels, nor sold to<br />
private owner,-, on any basis permitting their operation,<br />
and which are consequently laid up in idleness;<br />
where their very existence operates as a perpetual<br />
threat against the market, keeping freight rates at<br />
their lowest level and making any revival of the shipbuilding<br />
industry impossible. Vet these ships represent<br />
a huge investment of the public money which<br />
cannot be abandoned as long as any hope remains of<br />
even partly redeeming it.<br />
The Shipping Board, headed by former Chairman<br />
Benson and present Chairman O'Connor, has long<br />
realized, and has convinced Congress, that the only<br />
hope in this situation lies in the conversion of these<br />
idle steamships into motorships, which, as is well<br />
known, can operate profitably at rates well below the<br />
profit level for steamers.<br />
The difficulty has been that existing types of<br />
Diesel engine require so much more space and weight<br />
per hp. than the steam machinery they were expected<br />
to replace, that their installation involves expensive<br />
structural changes, and also, as a rule, the<br />
sacrifice oi some of the ship's deadweight capacity for<br />
cargo, besides the very heavy first cost of the engine<br />
itself.<br />
This problem possessed peculiar interest to the<br />
Worthington corporation, for two reasons. As the<br />
leading American Diesel engine builders, the company's<br />
engineers naturally had followed closely the<br />
development of this type of power in the field of ship<br />
propulsion. At the same time, having been for many<br />
years leading builders of marine auxiliary machinery,<br />
they were especially familiar with the special problems<br />
involved in marine engineering, and on both<br />
counts were desirous of contributing, and felt themselves<br />
unusually fitted to contribute, to the solution<br />
which the Shipping Board was seeking.
To you, sir:—<br />
Ihp Dlasf lurnuco^ jfool Plant<br />
This is merely by way of being an<br />
invitation to visit the great Colfax<br />
super power plant of the Duquesne<br />
Light Company while attending the<br />
Iron and Steel Convention.<br />
Details may be had at our booth at<br />
the Exhibit.<br />
DUQUESNE LIGHT COMPANY<br />
PITTSBURGH, PA.<br />
"Live in and Expand Your ^Business in Greater 'Pittsburgh "<br />
437
438<br />
It became evident that the situation demanded a<br />
new type of engine, designed to overcome the handicaps<br />
inherent in the character of existing D.esel machinery.<br />
The problem before the Worthington engineers,<br />
therefore, was to produce an engine with all<br />
the advantages of the Diesel engine in fuel and general<br />
operating economy, but approaching, in dimensions,<br />
weight and speed per hp., closely enough to<br />
steam machinery, to permit it to be substituted for<br />
such machinery in ships already built, at no prohibitive<br />
cost either for the engine or for the job of installation.<br />
An additional point of great importance to marine<br />
engineers was that of manoeuvring qualities. A marine<br />
engine must be capable of being started, stopped<br />
and reversed quickly, and with ease and certainty of<br />
control. In this particular is to be found one of the<br />
reasons why the reciprocating steam engine has so<br />
long held its ground in competition with both the<br />
steam turbine and the Diesel engine.<br />
The leading collaborators in the long research now<br />
successfully concluded, were O. E. J<strong>org</strong>enson, a Diesel<br />
engineer of international reputation, for the past five<br />
years a member of the Worthington technical staff,<br />
and Dr. C. E. Lucke, Professor of Mechanical Engineering<br />
of Columbia University, New York.<br />
The engine which has resulted is not only expected<br />
to form an entire solution of the marine problem which<br />
called it into being, but will undoubtedly be of the<br />
greatest interest to industrial and mechanical engineers<br />
everywhere, as the relation of space, weight and<br />
first cost to hp. is of importance in land power plants<br />
as well as in shipping. The new engine is characterized<br />
by simplicity of design and construction, and its<br />
initial cost per hp. will consequently be low.<br />
The basic principle underlying the Worthington<br />
engine may be briefly stated to be : in the four-cycle<br />
Diesel engine one stroke in four is a power-stroke;<br />
in the two-cycle engine one stroke in two; in the new<br />
engine every stroke is a power stroke. Its working<br />
cycle, therefore, is virtually the same as that of a<br />
reciprocating steam engine.<br />
The principle, of course, is not a novel one, but<br />
complicated heat stresses in the cylinder of a doubleacting<br />
engine, have hitherto interfered with its successful<br />
application. The success of the Worthington<br />
design lies in the manner in which the problems of<br />
expansion and of heat removal are solved.<br />
Once the major problem is overcome, the great<br />
advantages of the double-acting type are evident. The<br />
balance of the moving parts, for example, is greatly<br />
simplified, and the weight saving, not only from the<br />
manner in which the required power per cylinder is<br />
distributed through four strokes instead of being concentrated<br />
in one, but also from the decreased provision<br />
needed to care for the momentum of moving<br />
parts, and in other ways, is obviously great.<br />
The cylinder of the new engine might be described<br />
a.s composed of two single-acting cylinders, opposed<br />
end for end and working in opposite directions, their<br />
respective pistons flanged to the same rod, the<br />
scavenging and exhaust ports, cooling water circulation<br />
and expansion provisions of the two being<br />
virtually independent of each other.<br />
Once this fundamental idea of the engine is<br />
grasped, the design is seen to be quite simple, following<br />
in all respects the best modern standards in Diesel<br />
engine practice. The plan followed for insuring the<br />
lino blast fumacoSSfeel Plant<br />
September, 1924<br />
maximum strength and rigidity in the cylinder construction,<br />
combined with the necessary freedom for<br />
expansion and uniformity of heat transference, and<br />
with economy in materials, is both simple and effective.<br />
The valve gear presents no particular novelty in<br />
design. There are three fuel spray valves, one on<br />
top of the upper end of the cylinder, and two in the<br />
bottom head on opposite sides of the piston-rod,<br />
entering at an angle. One of the admirable points<br />
of the design is the ingenuity with which these two<br />
valves are worked out so as to give a uniform and<br />
symmetrical distribution of the charge around the<br />
piston rod.<br />
• 1 he reversing mechanism, as a point of interest, is<br />
second only to the unique cylinder design. Each of<br />
the three valves has its own cam, all three geared to<br />
the same shaft. The cams are symmetrical, and all<br />
that is necessary to reverse the running direction is<br />
to shift all three cams simultaneously through 34<br />
deg. on the shaft.<br />
This is accomplished by a worm shaft, which in<br />
turn is actuated by an oil-operated hydraulic mechanism<br />
controlled by a four-way cock, this in turn being<br />
operated by a single lever on the manoeuvring platform.<br />
The engine is started and stopped by a single<br />
lever, which as it is moved forward successively<br />
opens the air starting valves, then the fuel supply<br />
valves, simultaneously closing the air starting valves;<br />
the lever being then capable of setting, by a ratchet<br />
and pawl, at any desired fuel supply. To stop, all that<br />
is necessary is to throw this lever back to the stop<br />
position.<br />
The starting and stopping lever and the reversing<br />
lever, though independent of each other in all other<br />
respects, are interlocked so that the engine must be<br />
brought to a full stop before reversing. Manoeuvring<br />
control is, therefore, practically as simple and effective<br />
as that of a reciprocating steam engine, and much<br />
more prompt and efficient than that of a steam turbine.<br />
This feature, indeed, of positive quick-operating<br />
reversing gear, is expected to appeal to marine engineers<br />
almost as strongly as the more immediately<br />
obvious advantages of the new design.<br />
Every effort has been made, in all the auxiliary<br />
mechamsm as well as in the engine proper, to secure<br />
the utmost possible simplicity both in design and<br />
operation, that can be combined with the highest efficiency<br />
and reliability. Scavenging, cooling and lubrication,<br />
for example, are all believed to represent a<br />
new level of thoroughness and efficiency in Diesel engine<br />
practice, and this is typical of the engine as a<br />
whole.<br />
Census of Manufactures, 1923<br />
The Department of Commerce announces that,<br />
according to reports for the biennial census of manufactures,<br />
1923, the establishments engaged primarily<br />
in the manufacture of gas and oil stoves and appliances<br />
in that year reported such products valued at<br />
$104,174,80, together with other classes of products<br />
valued at $8,114,947, making a total of $112,289,797.<br />
Because of changes in the classification of this industry,<br />
the figures for 1923 are not comparable with<br />
those reported for 1921, but the rate of increase during<br />
the two-year period may be roughly estimated<br />
at 120 per cent.
Iho Dla.st 1'iirnaco'L/jrPGi riant<br />
GN« H.H/0)<br />
Cylinder Lubrication for<br />
Internal Combustion Engines<br />
The Bowser R-P lubricator, the aristocrat of all lubncacators,<br />
made possible the satisfactory lubrication of<br />
internal combustion engines—for it made possible the<br />
synchronizing of pumping plungers with main engine<br />
pistons.<br />
Such extreme accuracy, whereby the oil is admitted to<br />
the engine cylinders and injected directly on the pistons,<br />
is exclusively our accomplishment—and as such is protected<br />
bv patent owned by this Companv.<br />
Full details of Bowser attainments in lubrication, for<br />
all types of engines, are given in our latest catalog.<br />
For your copy please address Dept. 5.<br />
S. F. BOWSER & COMPANY, Inc<br />
LUBRICATION ENGINEERS AND MANUFACTURERS<br />
FORT WAYNE, INDIANA, U.S.A.<br />
'r<br />
M<br />
t - :<br />
% R<br />
j \ V<br />
. • - - i'tiFJii , ri«'iitrr<br />
.<br />
Twenty-two feed Model "M.G.O." Lubricator, R-P type.<br />
.... :.i,^,^ii.<br />
-.— --<br />
•£<br />
438-A
439-A<br />
lho Dlast I'u ,/SS<br />
rnaco Steel Plant<br />
ACETYLENE remains today the only pracl\<br />
tical welding gas and by far the best<br />
gas for cutting. This is in spite of continuous<br />
efforts to substitute other fuel gases.<br />
Most users realize that since acetylene is<br />
perfectly adapted for both welding and<br />
cutting, it is unnecessary to have two<br />
stocks of fuel gas and two types of apparatus<br />
for cutting and welding.<br />
Jke&t-OjQte<br />
Prest-O-Lite Dissolved<br />
Acetylene is made in 28<br />
plants, stocked in 44 warehouses,<br />
and sold through<br />
19 District Sales Offices.<br />
THE<br />
PREST-O-LITE CO.<br />
Incorporated<br />
General Offices:<br />
Carbide &. Carbon Building<br />
30 East 42d Street, New York<br />
In Canada:<br />
Prest-O-Lite Co. of Canada,Ltd.<br />
Toronto<br />
DISSOLVED<br />
ACETYLENE<br />
J
September, 1924<br />
Hie Blast F,<br />
Victor W. Zilen has become chief engineer of the<br />
Titusville Iron Works Company, Titusville, Pa., and<br />
the Titusville F<strong>org</strong>e Company, that city. He also is<br />
production engineer of the Buffalo Machine & Iron<br />
Corporation, Buffalo, N. V.<br />
H. C. Thomas, formerly vice president and assistant<br />
manager of the United Alloys Steel Corporation,<br />
Canton, O., which position he resigned last February,<br />
and for 10 years previous to that time assistant superintendent<br />
of the Indiana Steel Company's plant at<br />
Gar)', Ind., has been appointed general manager of<br />
the plants of the Alan Wood Iron & Steel Company<br />
at Swedeland, Pa., Ivy Rock, Pa., and Conshohocken,<br />
Pa. Richard G. Wood, L. Heckscher, William A.<br />
Cooper and John E. Mountain will retire from active<br />
control of operations. Mr. Thomas was an assistant<br />
metallurgist at the Ivy Rock plant before he resigned<br />
to go to Gary. He recently returned from an extensive<br />
foreign trip.<br />
T. J. Bray, president Republic Iron & Steel Company,<br />
is in Mercy Hospital, Pittsburgh, having been<br />
taken ill while in that city.<br />
S. F. Pryor, who will succeed Harry W. Goddard<br />
a.s chairman of the board of the Wickwire-Spencer<br />
Steel Corporation, if the plan of re<strong>org</strong>anization is carried<br />
through, is chairman of the executive committee<br />
of the Remington Arms Company and is a director of<br />
the Air Reduction Company, Inc., American Brake<br />
Shoe & Foundry Company, American Ship and Commerce<br />
Company, Baldwin Locomotive Company,<br />
Nash Motors Company, Southern Wheel Company,<br />
William Cramp & Sons Ship & Engine Companv,<br />
Merchants Shipbuilding Corporation. American .Agricultural<br />
Chemical Company and various other corporations.<br />
He has been vice president of tin- Union<br />
Pacific Railroad, vice president of the Simmons 1 lardware<br />
Company, in charge of the railway supply department<br />
and president of the Southern Wheel Company.<br />
urnaco O Steel PI<br />
anr<br />
439<br />
Messrs. Vickers Limited have just installed at their<br />
Barrow-in-Furness works a new open-hearth Siemens<br />
steel furnace of the very latest type, built and designed<br />
by Messrs. Wincott's. of Sheffield. The capacity<br />
is between 10 and 20 tons per heat, and it is<br />
now possible to get a total output from the steel foundries<br />
at the Barrow works up to 300 tons of castings<br />
per week, ranging from a few pounds weight each to<br />
a 20-ton casting. Casting to Admiralty, Lloyd's, and<br />
Board of Trade requirements, such as ship's structural<br />
work, can now be made at the Barrow works up to the<br />
above figures. In addition, it is anticipated that a<br />
good proportion of the output will be absorbed for<br />
commercial castings. The first heat was tapped from<br />
this furnace on the 18th ult., with very successful results,<br />
as detremined from the test figures and analyses,<br />
and it will now be possible for Messrs. Vickers Limited<br />
to give special attention to inquiries for steel castings<br />
of every description up to 20 tons weight.<br />
Frank C. Roberts, consulting engineer, Philadelphia,<br />
much of whose work has been in the design and<br />
construction of blast furnaces and of important industrial<br />
and power buildings, was given the honorary<br />
degree of doctor of engineering by Princeton University<br />
at its last commencement.<br />
B. D. Quarrie has resigned as general manager<br />
and director of the Otis Steel Company, Cleveland.<br />
No appointment will be made to fill his place. He has<br />
been with the Otis Company about two years and was<br />
previously general superintendent of the blast furnace<br />
and steel works of the American Steel & Wire Companv<br />
in Cleveland.<br />
Thomas J. Rossiter has resigned as superintendent<br />
of the Salem, O., plant of the American Steel & Wire<br />
Company and has been succeeded by Robert C. Garrison,<br />
who has been assistant superintendent of the<br />
H. P. Works in Cleveland. Mr. Rossiter has been in<br />
poor health for some time. After his recovery he<br />
probably will re-enter the employ of the comnany in<br />
some other capacity.
440 Tlie Blast FurnaceSSteel Plant September ' <br />
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.tiw -V, . Jj'jfc^'^r&ip*^<br />
^T^Sm^<br />
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'fiauL, -'• '•<br />
Ihe Dlast ktrnuco^jtool riant<br />
2**^ • -i ^?5|P^ r<br />
Alto?<br />
ASBESTO-SPONGE<br />
FELTED INSULATION<br />
"fHmWnW'''<br />
ilk » -j|^»*--<br />
Pb'-^ir<br />
ft^^JB|~,Ml^w VI-I. FSS.^^ ^m*^<br />
K*'=.a*V pw/ v / > ^«L«** -* .***&. %JU£<br />
Through<br />
Asbestos<br />
and Its allied product'<br />
INSULATION<br />
BRAKE LININCS<br />
ROOFINGS<br />
PACKINGS<br />
CEMENTS FIRE<br />
PREVENTION<br />
' PRODUCTS '<br />
: ^M ^KK ~w. jaHE-HfiflN<br />
il Li-<br />
P—-I—-—J—t—<br />
58 L<br />
>-^*>ii .£ V T V ; Vi,' ' | 1 t •*L^<br />
Pfc */" "V ,<br />
? 1<br />
W<br />
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•w*f.<br />
'yr+<br />
Safe transit for B.T.U.'s<br />
TESTS on Johns-Manville Asbesto-Sponge Felted<br />
Pipe Insulation show that it is the most efficient<br />
on the market.<br />
Equally important, however, is its remarkable durability.<br />
You can actually "hit it with a hammer"<br />
without doing it serious damage. Its efficiency stays<br />
on the job.<br />
Remember that Johns-Manville makes insulation of<br />
every type—always representing the highest standard<br />
urable<br />
construction<br />
of quality and efficiency. Insulation Specialists in our<br />
sixty-two branches are at your service.<br />
JOHNS-MANVILLE Inc., 292 Madison Ave. at 41st St., N. Y. C.<br />
Branches in 62 Large Cities<br />
For Canada; CANADIAN JOHNS-MANVILLE CO., Ltd.. Toronto<br />
JOHNS-MANVILLE<br />
Power Plant Materials<br />
440-A<br />
'"'Z<br />
•?'
441-A Die Blast F, nace^jteel riant<br />
k' " •••••• ~~~^ __ ' ' • ' :,I|I| I " i : ' '" !li " : " ' ' ' - ' "'• ll " "' ! ' l! ' : ' ''"'"' ''''"' l ! •'"•' ;|l!, l'l' , l | !" l 'lllill|l|l|iilllllll||||lllll|||g<br />
Blue Gas Engineering—<br />
CJThe vital importance or careful engineering in the design and construct<br />
ion of blue gas apparatus is very apparent to the discriminating invest<br />
igator.<br />
CfThis type of ap<br />
paratus cannot be<br />
"thrown together.<br />
It must he designed<br />
and built with re<br />
gard to proper ma<br />
terials properly be<br />
stowed.<br />
Cflt must afford ea«e<br />
and economy or oper<br />
ation, adaptability to<br />
changed conditions<br />
and rugged resistance<br />
to wear and tear.<br />
U. G. I. BLUE GAS APPARATUS is the original.<br />
Its experimental stages were passed years ago. It produces a<br />
CLEAN, COOL GAS, having high flame temperature and does<br />
it cheaply and efficiently.<br />
U. G. I. BLUE GAS is a substitute for natural gas.<br />
We would be glad to show facts and figures.<br />
THE U. G. I. CONTRACTING CO.<br />
Broad and Arch Sts., Philadelphia<br />
335 Peoples Gas Bldg., Chicago 928 Union Arcade, Pittsburgh<br />
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September, 1924<br />
I he Dias t hirnacc "1 Ateel Plant<br />
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NEWS OF THE PLANTS j<br />
Siimirmiirrtmriiiiimiiirrirminniimmiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii mi iiiiniiiiiiiiiitiiini i IIIII mi mini iiiiininiiiiniiiiiiiMiiiniiiiii mn n n mn mil mi IIIII inn mil mmiiiirmmi i IIIIIII mi iiiiimiiiiiiiiiwiminiimimiiimi<br />
The Belfort Steel & Iron Company, Blanton, R. F.<br />
D., Ironton, O., has preliminary estimates of cost under<br />
way for a number of additions in its plant to provide<br />
for extensive increase in capacitv. The work as<br />
now projected will include a new rolling mill, rod mill.<br />
wire mill and other structures. Arthur G. McKee &<br />
Company, 2422 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, < )., are enginers.<br />
I. P. Blanton has recently been elected president<br />
of the company, succeeding S. Coles Peebles.<br />
The Penn Seaboard Steel Corporation, Franklin<br />
Bank Building, Philadelphia. Pa., is said to have plans<br />
under advisement for extensions and improvements<br />
at its plant at Xew Castle, Del., to consist of the installation<br />
of additional furnaces and accessory equipment,<br />
estimated to cost in excess of $500,000, including<br />
machinery. It is expected to proceed with the<br />
work at an early date.<br />
The Bethlehem Steel Corporation. Bethlehem, Pa.,<br />
has plans for the construction of a new power house<br />
at its Cambria works, Johnstown, Pa., estimated to<br />
cost about $200,000. including equipment. The work<br />
will be carried out in connection with the adopted program<br />
of expansion at the plant, including blast furnace<br />
improvements and other alterations. A contract<br />
has been let to Arthur G. McKee & Company, 2422<br />
Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, O., engineers and contractors,<br />
to install electric ball operating rigs on blast<br />
furnaces Xo. 10 and 11 at the plant. Orders for other<br />
work, including'equipinent, will be placed in the near<br />
future. The company is advancing operations at its<br />
different mills, following curtailment for a number<br />
of weeks past, and has resumed work at its rail mill<br />
at the Steelton, Pa., plant, to operate on a single turn<br />
each day until further notice ; it is expected to blow<br />
in two blast furnaces at the plant at an earls' date.<br />
The Tidewater Steel Corporation, 140 Broadway,<br />
X. Y., has purchased a tract of property near Hagerstown,<br />
Md., comprising about six acres of land, and<br />
has plans under way for the construction of a new<br />
plant to occupy a portion of the site for the present,<br />
and ultimately the entire tract. The first building<br />
will be 65x300 ft., 1-story, and will be equipped largely<br />
as a steel fabricating plant.<br />
The Toledo Furnace Company, Toledo, O., has<br />
work in progress on additions and improvements at<br />
its plant to provide for considerable increase in production,<br />
as well as permit greater efficiency in operation.<br />
The company will replace one of its furnaces with a<br />
new unit of thoroughly modern type. A new pig-iron<br />
mill will be erected, and extensions made in the reinforced<br />
concrete dock at the plant. A new intake<br />
water system will be installed, and other work handled<br />
to improve this branch of the works. The entire<br />
project will involve in excess of $2,500,000, and will<br />
require several months for entire completion. The<br />
Barret Company, Chicago, 111., is general contractor<br />
for the work.<br />
The Witherow Steel Company, Pittsburgh, Pa.,<br />
will make a number of extensions and improvements<br />
in its plant, to include the installation of a large car<br />
441<br />
hearth annealing furnace and accessory equipment,<br />
for which a general contract has been awarded to F.<br />
I. Ryan & Company, Philadelphia. Pa. The new furnace<br />
unit will he 34 ft. long. 12 ft. wide and 6y2 ft.<br />
high, with capacity of 75 tons on the car.<br />
The Delaware River Steel Company, Chester, Pa.,<br />
has plans under way for expansion and betterment at<br />
its works, primarily to the blast furnace, including<br />
the installation of a new furnace top, skip hoist, with<br />
trestles, bins and auxiliary equipment. It is expected<br />
to proceed with the work at an early date.<br />
The United States Steel Corporation, Xew York.<br />
is reported to be considering plans for the rebuilding<br />
of its blast furnace at Gary. Ind.. recently destroyed<br />
by fire caused by a gas explosion. The stack had<br />
been out of commission for a number of weeks and<br />
was being relined and repaired at the time of the<br />
disaster, which caused other property loss at the plant<br />
reported in excess of $500,000.<br />
The Punxsutawney Furnace Company, Punxsutawney,<br />
Pa., will soon commence the installation of<br />
additional equipment for general improvements at its<br />
blast furnace, and for which a general contract has<br />
been given to Arthur G. McKee & Company, 2422<br />
Euclid Avenue. Cleveland, Ohio. The work will include<br />
the construction of a double track steel trestle,<br />
coke and ore bins, transfer and car equipjment and<br />
miscellaneous apparatus.<br />
The American Puddled Iron Company, Youngstown.<br />
O., which commenced operations several<br />
months ago at a new mill at Warren, O., under a special<br />
mechanical process, will make a number of improvements<br />
and alterations in the plant, including the<br />
installation of additional equipment, as well as relocation<br />
of existing machinery. The plant has been<br />
closed down until fall to allow for the changes and<br />
is expected to resume just as soon as the work has<br />
been completed.<br />
The American Sheet & Tin Plate Company, Frick<br />
Building, Pittsburgh, Pa., has completed plans for<br />
the erection of a new building at its Canton, O., plant<br />
to be 1-story, estimated to cost $65,000. including<br />
equipment. It is proposed to begin work at an early<br />
date.<br />
The Kalman Steel Company, Mutual Life Building,<br />
Buffalo, X. Y., has preliminary plans under way<br />
for additions in its plants at Youngstown, O., and<br />
Blasdell, X. Y., u.sed primarily for the production of<br />
rods for concrete reinforcement. The expansion is<br />
reported to involve in excess of $150,000. including<br />
equipment at the two mills and will be placed in<br />
progress at an early date.<br />
Officials of the Atlas Steel Corporation. Dunkirk,<br />
X. Y., are arranging for the early re<strong>org</strong>anization of the<br />
company, now in receivership, and the resumption of<br />
operations at the local mill, in which a number of<br />
cbanges and improvements are proposed. H. E.<br />
Xichols is receiver for the company, in charge.
44<br />
Positions Wanted and Help Wanted<br />
advertising inserted under proper headings<br />
free of charge. Where replies are keyed<br />
to this office or branch offices, we request<br />
that users of this column pay postage for<br />
forwarding such replies. Classified ads can<br />
be keyed for the Pittsburgh, New York or<br />
Chicago offices.<br />
POSITION WANTED<br />
MELTER, 18 years practical experience. Open<br />
Hearth and Electric, leading European makers<br />
high grade steels, age 35, wants position where<br />
his knowledge and experience can be used. H'ghest<br />
references. Box 301, care of The Blast Furnace<br />
and Steel Plant.<br />
POSITION 7 WANTED—Cold strip mill superintendent<br />
with thorough knowledge in operating.<br />
Can apply latest methods to produce highly finished<br />
material. Twenty years' experience; reliable<br />
references. Box 000, care of The Blast<br />
Furnace and S*eel Plant.<br />
MASTER MECHANIC with 30 years' experience<br />
on construction and operation of steel mills,<br />
blast furnaces, open hearths, Bessemer departments,<br />
by-product coke plants; constructed hydro<br />
and steam electric plants, large pumping stations,<br />
etc.; at present emploved, wish to make change.<br />
Box 100, care of The Blast Furnace and Steel<br />
Plant.<br />
CHIEF DRAUGHTSMAN—Broad and varied experience<br />
in general engineering, mechanical,<br />
structural, electrical, designing machinery, tools,<br />
power, structural steel, concrete and industrial<br />
buildings; purchase, installation and plant maintenance.<br />
Address Box A M B, care of The Blast<br />
Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
DESIGNING ENGINEER, experienced executive<br />
with technical training, desires position as chief<br />
engineer or master mechanic. Fifteen years' experience,<br />
including design and construction of rolling<br />
mills, furnaces, plant equipment, power plants,<br />
special machinery, etc.; four years in machine<br />
shop. Address Box F C M, care of The Blast<br />
Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
POSITION WANTED—A graduate mechanical<br />
engineer with 12 years' experience in rolling<br />
mills, desires a position as superintendent or assistant.<br />
Experience covers every job in a rolling mill<br />
from laborer to assistant superintendent. Also<br />
has had some office and sales training. At present<br />
employed, but desires a better outlook. Box<br />
C A S, care of The Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
POSITION by chemist, technical graduate. 15<br />
ye.irs experience glass, animal rats, bleaching<br />
iron and steel. Six years experience as<br />
plant executive. Research work a specialty.<br />
Fox L, care of The Blast Furnace and Steel<br />
Plant.<br />
YOUNG rolling mill superintendent with 20 years'<br />
practical experience on iron and steel Belgian<br />
type mills, also latest continuous type steel mills,<br />
desires to make change. Can furnish records and<br />
references. Have practical knowledge of rolling<br />
and roll designing. Box F A W, care of The<br />
BlaBt Furnace and Stee! Plant.<br />
ENGINEER, Cornell graduate, seven years' steam<br />
and fuel engineering, three years' executive experience<br />
as master mechanic of a rolling mill, three<br />
years' sales engineering, desires change. Box S,<br />
care of The BlaBt Furnace and Stpel Plant.<br />
PLANT ENGINFFK or assistant to general<br />
manager. A graduate mechanical engineer,<br />
with broad training and experience H available<br />
for position requiring nbilitv and hard<br />
work. Box F, care of The Blast Furnace and<br />
Bteel Plant<br />
Ihe Dlast l*u mace. /ZS Steel Plant<br />
POSITION WANTED<br />
ENGLISHMAN, 23, of sound general and technical<br />
educations, with se^en years' experience of<br />
steel making by open hearth process (acid and<br />
basic) in prominent English steel works, desires<br />
appointment where scientific and practical knowledge<br />
would be an asset. Box G B J, care of The<br />
Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
WANTED—A position wherein the following will<br />
be of value: A fair tehnical education, a large<br />
amount of practical experience in the various mechanical<br />
arts and plant operation and maintenance<br />
with an eye on the "works operating expense"<br />
account, a fair degree of executive ability<br />
and absolute dependability. Experience has been<br />
had in production and general machine shops,<br />
rolling mills, rod and wire mills and at blast furnaces.<br />
Expert in design and construction of the<br />
Dwight and Lloyd type of sintering plant. Box<br />
C C C, care of Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
CHEMICAL ENGINEER, 1922 graduate, leading<br />
university, desires position in a steel plant.<br />
One year's experience in the inspection department.<br />
At present employed, but available on<br />
short notice. Box J B C, care of Blast Furnace<br />
and Steel Plant.<br />
POSITION WANTED—Electric furnace man open<br />
for position; experienced on basic Heroult electric<br />
furnaces, tool and alloy steels. Box A T,<br />
care of The Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
WITH experienced consulting mining engineer;<br />
will go to any country. Speak French<br />
and Spanish Box M, care of The Blast Furnace<br />
and Steel Plant.<br />
HEATER on soaking pits or reheating furnaces;<br />
10 years' mill experience; can give references.<br />
R^x C Z, care of The Blast Furnace and Steel<br />
Plant.<br />
SALES POSITION with manufacturers' sales<br />
agent for power plant specialties or chief<br />
draftsman or plant engineer with moderate<br />
sized manufacture Box K, care of The Blast<br />
Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
I DESIRE to have a position as tracer or on<br />
small drafting work with rellible concern.<br />
preferably In mechanical line. Box .1, care<br />
of The Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
YOUNG MAN. technical graduate and 7 years<br />
practical experience, would like to connect<br />
with <strong>org</strong>anization needing a producer. Prefers<br />
a job which keeps him on tbe road the major<br />
portion of the time. He has Intensive education<br />
along lines of general inspection of materials.<br />
Box I, care of The Blast Furnace and<br />
Steel Plant.<br />
POSITION as field engineer, construction<br />
work, general survey work and right-ofway<br />
work linx O, care of The Blast Furnace<br />
and Steel Plant.<br />
POSITION WAXTED by chemical engineer, degree<br />
of doctor-engineer (lOlfi) from leading<br />
German university, 33 years old, six years' experience<br />
embracing the analysis, metallography and<br />
physical testing of steel and alloys. Nationality,<br />
Norwegian. Languages, Norwegian, Swedish, German<br />
and English. Location, anywhere. Available,<br />
any time. Can furnish best of references. Box<br />
R E D, care of The Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
TIME KEEPER—Have had several years experience.<br />
Box H, care of Tlie Blast Furuuee<br />
and Steel Plant.<br />
POSITION WANTED<br />
CHIEF CLERK or assistant to works manager;<br />
32 years old, married. Ten years' experience<br />
In sheet and tin rolling mills, galvanizing,<br />
long terne and factory record and<br />
office work. Experienced from time-keeping to<br />
corporation yearly statement, including cost.<br />
Box L E T, care of The Blast Furnace and<br />
Steel Plant,<br />
ROLLING MILL superintendent, experienced in<br />
the heating and rolling of carbon, alloy and electric<br />
furnace steels, desires position; experienced in<br />
blooming, plate and universal mills. Highest references.<br />
Box A li T, care of The Blast Furnace<br />
ami Steel Plant.<br />
YOUNG MAN with five years' experience aB machinist<br />
and three years' experience in foundry,<br />
Tech graduate, wishes position with growing firm<br />
at or near Philadelphia, Pa. Box W B, care of<br />
The Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
POSITION WANTED by experienced roll turner<br />
and designer. Have had several years' experience<br />
in charge of roll shops, designing, etc., as well<br />
as turning rolls. Have also had experience working<br />
on the mills. Can handle position of mill<br />
superintendent, roll designer or boss roll turner.<br />
Can furnish best of references. Box P V C, care<br />
of The Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
POSITION WANTED—Steel mill electrical engineer<br />
desires change in location. Five years' engineering<br />
and operating experience in steel mills.<br />
Technical graduate, member A. I. & S. E. E., Associate<br />
A. I. E. E.; age 32. Box A R L, care of<br />
The Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
YOUNG MAN, technical education, desires position<br />
in Pittsburgh District as chemist on analysis<br />
of open hearth steels. The applicant is at present<br />
emphiyed in steel work, but desires a connection<br />
offering greater possibilities. Details as to<br />
past experience and recommendations will be submitted<br />
on request. Box G P G, care of The Blast<br />
Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
WANTED—Position on maintenance in. medium<br />
sized steel plant or factory; 12 years' drafting<br />
room experience on general mill engineering and<br />
three years' machine shop experience. Box F D J,<br />
care (if Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
POSITION WAXTED—Blast furnace superintendent,<br />
twelve years practical experience as<br />
blast furnace master mechanic, general foreman<br />
and assistant superintendent, thoroughly familiar<br />
with metallurgy of iron, maintenance of plant,<br />
Bessemer, foundry, Spiegle, ferro silicon and ferro<br />
manganese, also up-to-dare in best cost practice,<br />
technical education; employed at present. Address<br />
Box F W H, care of The Blast Furnace and Steel<br />
riant.<br />
PHOTOGRAPHER—Thoroughly competent to take<br />
charge of photographic department in industrial<br />
concern; experienced steel mill man; reference<br />
furnished. Address Box C B S , care of Tlie<br />
Blast furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
FTELD ENGINEER, desires change. Technical<br />
training and nine years experience on construction<br />
and maintenance of steel plants; also general<br />
surveys; 30 years old and married. Box 200, care<br />
of The Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
POSI HON WANTED—Assistant superintendent<br />
open hearth or bloom mill. Have had<br />
quite a number of years' experience in open<br />
hearth and bloom mill practice, believe in<br />
quality steel and can furuLsh best of references.<br />
Box T, care of The Blast Furnace and<br />
Steel Plant.
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| Tke Bias* IronaceSSleel Plani<br />
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Vol. XII PITTSBURGH, PA.. OCTOBER, 1924 No. 10<br />
Unfinished Correspondence<br />
IT is unfair to an author to select suggestive passages from his<br />
literary or diplomatic effort without full appreciation of the surrounding<br />
context. (§A recent booklet distributed for editorial<br />
comment contains the verbatim correspondence which has passed<br />
between Warren G. Stone, President of the Brotherhood of Locomotive<br />
Engineers, and Thomas G. Lewis, President of the United<br />
Mine Workers, concerning the operation of certain coal mining<br />
properties bought and financed by members of the railroad <strong>org</strong>anization.<br />
President Stone, acting as chairman of the board of the<br />
coal company, refuses to accept the ultimatum of President Lewis<br />
as to how these mines, owned by railway union men, shall be<br />
operated.<br />
The correspondence is replete with charges and countercharges.<br />
Apparently, there are strong differences of opinion<br />
among these <strong>org</strong>anization leaders as to certain bases and practices<br />
often referred to as fundamental.<br />
The United Mine Workers have seen fit to publish and broadcast<br />
the correspondence to date, undoubtedly with the thought<br />
that a final solution will be found in their favor. It will be interesting<br />
to observe the reactions upon their mutual cause, but it is difficult<br />
to see where these fulminations can have a beneficial effect<br />
upon Public Opinion, which after all is the court of last appeal for<br />
such controversies.<br />
443
444<br />
IhobL-t<br />
„;-> NU lant<br />
October. 1924<br />
Mighty Machines at Conneaut Harbor<br />
Eight Modern Ore Unloaders Discharge 70,000 Tons of Ore<br />
in Twenty-two Hours<br />
CONNEAUT Harbor now leads the world m tonnage<br />
of iron ore received and unloaded cm tinmost<br />
modern ore-dock. Pictured below across<br />
the double page is shown the Pittsburgh & Conneaut<br />
Dock Company's lower lake terminal, where upper<br />
Minnesota and Michigan ores meet the railroads<br />
which penetrate the Pittsburgh. Youngstown and<br />
Wheeling iron and steel making districts.<br />
Engineered and manufactured by the Wellman-<br />
Seaver-M<strong>org</strong>an Company of Cleveland, unloaders of<br />
identical type have created history in the rapid dispatch<br />
of lake vessels.<br />
Seven such unloaders transferred in less than four<br />
hours 10,600 tons of iron ore from the steamship J. A.<br />
Campbell to railroad cars at Conneaut Harbor. The<br />
>ame equipment discharged the cargo of 11,0OtJ tons<br />
from the W. P. Palmer in two hours and 58 minutes.<br />
Three men formed the operating crew for each<br />
machine.<br />
Similar machines used as coal unloaders handle<br />
enormous tonnages of coal at the docks of the Canadian<br />
Pacific Railway at Fort William, Canada.<br />
Previous to 1910 this type unloader was operated<br />
hvdraulicallv. Four such machines shown at the left.<br />
contracted for in 1898. were the originals of this type<br />
unloading equipment. They were of 10-ton bucket<br />
capacity.' This dock was electrified in 1910, and later<br />
installations have been electrically operated, 220 volts<br />
d.c. being emploved.<br />
The two unloaders shown at the extreme right in<br />
operation m two of the forward hatches of the lake<br />
steamship Percival Roberts, Jr.. were put in operation<br />
on |uly 1, 1924. The contract for building these maehines<br />
was awarded on January 1, and completing the<br />
work m six months is regarded as establishing a<br />
record.<br />
Each unloader is a unit and consists of a main<br />
framework mounted on truck- which travel along runwav<br />
rails located at the rear. The main framework<br />
extends back to the rear runway over a temporary<br />
storage pile. Between the front and rear runways<br />
space is provided for railroad tracks, where ore-carrying<br />
cars are placed under the machines and loaded<br />
with ore for transportation to the furnace plants. The<br />
girders of the main framework form a support for the<br />
runway rails on which a trolley travels. This trolley<br />
supports a balanced walking beam, from the outer<br />
end of which a stiff bucket leg hangs, a- shown in the<br />
This photograph taken on July 14, 1924, is a view shozving the ore dock of the Pittsburgh & Conneaut Dock Company, Conncai<br />
Harbor, Ohio. Nine Wcllman-Scaver-M<strong>org</strong>an Company's ore unloaders complete the equipment which is the largest ore unloading pi<br />
in the World. The four machines at the left were the first of this type lo be constructed, the contract being let as early as 1898." T<br />
machines are of 10 tons capacity each and arc hydraulically operated, The first of these electrical machines was installed in 1<br />
the two on the extreme right have fust recently been put into commission. It is to be noted that a new record has been establishe
October, 1924<br />
Ihp Dlasf hir<br />
illustration. The bucket is at the lower end of this leg<br />
and is operated by machinery located on the walking<br />
beam. All horizontal movements of the bucket are<br />
by means of moving the trolley backward and forward<br />
on the girders, vertical movements of the bucket<br />
being accomplished by the operation of the walking<br />
beam. The forward portion of the beam being out of<br />
balance, the bucket descends by gravity as soon as the<br />
brakes of the hoisting mechanism are released. The<br />
hoisting mechanism is located in an inclosed house at<br />
the rear end of the walking beam.<br />
A receiving hopper mounted at the forward end<br />
of the main framework and between the main girders<br />
is provided for receiving ore discharged from the<br />
bucket. The hopper holds about three full bucket<br />
loads, and is intended to act as a balancing point for<br />
the ore between the bucket and the cars or storage.<br />
as the case may be. The hopper is equipped with outlet<br />
gates, the contents being discharged as required<br />
into a larry which runs on an auxiliary track suspended<br />
from the upper side of the main girders. The larries<br />
moved to a point where their contents mav be<br />
discharged into cars or into a temporary storage pile.<br />
Machines of the type illustrated have been built<br />
in capacities of 10 and 17 tons in the bucket shells.<br />
The speeds of electrically operated units are regulated<br />
so as to operate through a complete cycle in about<br />
50 sec. Fight machines of this type, having a capacity<br />
of 15 tons each, unloaded seven boats of 70.000<br />
tons total capacity in 22 hrs. Four machines working<br />
in boats of 13.000 tons capacity are said to have<br />
O Sfocl Plan*<br />
445<br />
unloaded these cargoes in about 3 hr. 25 min. Unloading<br />
costs ranging from 2y2 to 4y2 cents per ton<br />
are claimed, which cost includes superintendence,<br />
labor, repairs and materials on the machines as well<br />
as cost of power and light.<br />
In operating the machine, the latter is moved opposite<br />
one of the hatches of the boat to be unloaded,<br />
and the bucket is lowered through the hatch into the<br />
ore. After filling the bucket the walking beam hoist<br />
mechanism is put in operation and the bucket hoisted<br />
out of the boat. At the same time the trolley is traveled<br />
back so that the bucket is brought over the main<br />
hopper between the girders in the main framework<br />
and its contents discharged into this hopper. The<br />
bucket is then returned to the boat.<br />
The ore in the main hopper is discharged in turn<br />
into the larry, the hopper of which is equipped with<br />
scal.es so that its contents may be weighed and the<br />
weight recorded. If railroad cars are not available<br />
for immediate shipment, the larry is traveled to a<br />
position on the rear cantilever of the machine and its<br />
contents discharged into a temporary storage pile.<br />
From this pile it is usually reclaimed for shipment or<br />
storage by means of a bridge located on the runway<br />
at the rear.<br />
Only two operators are required for one machine.<br />
One operator whose station is in the bucket leg directly<br />
over the bucket shells, controls the raising and lowering<br />
of the bucket, travel of the trolley back and<br />
forth, and moving the other machine along the dock.<br />
The other operator controls from the larry cab.<br />
construction of these last fwo machines, the contract being awarded January 1, 1924. and the machines 'were put into operation on<br />
v 1 1924, requiring only six months to complete the zcork, a task never before atteriptcd in the short space of time. Not shown in<br />
picture but of equal importance, is I lie unloader leg and bucket which W'orks in the hold of these modern freighters. The leg is<br />
mounted in the walking beam that it can rotate in a circle allowing the bucket to reach out in every direction. I.ess than three per<br />
t of a cargo of ore is left for removal by shovelers.
446<br />
\obLs. furnacoSSfeel Plant<br />
October. 1924<br />
Present Day Developments in Iron and<br />
Steel Industry<br />
Methods Employed in Turbine Drum Manufacture Suggest<br />
Making Hollow Ingots<br />
A T recent meetings held by the London Iron and Steel<br />
Institute, many subjects of interest have been discussed.<br />
Sir William Ellis, in his inaugural address<br />
after election as president, dealt with improvements in<br />
steel manufacture carried out during the period of<br />
nearly 40 years, in which he has been associated with<br />
one of the leading steelworks dealing with specially<br />
complicated metallurgical problems. The president<br />
said that in the early eighties the management of steel<br />
works was in the hands of men of great common sense<br />
and power of application, but owing to the absence of<br />
efficient means of training they were unable to deal<br />
with their practical difficulties except by commonsense<br />
methods.<br />
The various departments were run by separate<br />
engines with long steam mains, very often poorly protected<br />
against condensation, so that the efficiency of<br />
the various driving engines was very low. Hydraulic<br />
pressure of 400 lbs. and sometimes 750 lbs. was largely<br />
in use, but likewise produced by very uneconomical<br />
engines. Steel hammers up to 50 tons were in use.<br />
but four firms had already put down f<strong>org</strong>ing presses<br />
up to 4,000 tons, and steel shafting for marine workwas<br />
only just being introduced. Jib cranes, which<br />
were very slow and uneconomical in working, were<br />
largely in use in the f<strong>org</strong>es, and the overhead crane<br />
was only beginning to be adopted. These were often<br />
driven by long lines of square shafting from small<br />
engines uneconomically served by low pressure steam<br />
from a distant boiler, or in the case of machine shops<br />
by ropes similarly driven. The Bessemer process was<br />
in full swing, and the Seimens-Martin was alreadybeing<br />
largely developed, but a 30-ton furnace was in<br />
those days regarded as of high capacity. Metallurgy<br />
as a science had hardly come into existence.<br />
A vast change has been wrought. The Bessemer<br />
process has practically disappeared in Great Britain<br />
and the Seimens-Martin process re'gns supreme, but<br />
on a far larger scale, furnaces over 60 tons weight being<br />
common practice. Steel-making in electric furnaces<br />
has also been introduced, and. owing to the<br />
absence of coke in the process, steel of exceptional<br />
purity is being produced, and a very accurate analysis<br />
is obtainable owing to complete control during melting<br />
being possible.<br />
F<strong>org</strong>ing plant has developed to an enormous extent.<br />
Ingots of over 100 tons weight are required<br />
both for gun f<strong>org</strong>ings and for large marine shafting,<br />
and it is obvious that it is only the introduction of hydraulic<br />
presses for f<strong>org</strong>ing purposes which has rendered<br />
this class of production possible. The use of<br />
lighter presses, 2,000, 1,000 and 500 tons for varying<br />
classes of f<strong>org</strong>ing work has also become common practice,<br />
and steam hammers have practically disappeared<br />
"London. England<br />
By A. C BLACKALL*<br />
except for use in the smith's shop and for the production<br />
of lighter classes of f<strong>org</strong>ings. The introduction<br />
of electric driving and high-pressure steam are the<br />
two elements which have revolutionized steelworks<br />
equipment and introduced economies more than any<br />
other features except perhaps improved education.<br />
While great progress has been made in the manufacture<br />
of ingots of heavy tonnage since the days when<br />
they were made in composition moulds, there is still<br />
a great deal to do before uniformly satisfactory ingots<br />
can be produced. Let it be assumed that the quality<br />
of the steel as it leaves the furnace is what is required,<br />
and that the melting has been carried out satisfactorily<br />
and the requisite analysis arrived at. The troubles<br />
which exist arise mainly from the behavior of the steel<br />
after it is run into the mould. The greater the diameter<br />
of the ingot the longer is the time of cooling, and<br />
consequently the greater is the difference in structure<br />
between the top and bottom and the outside and center<br />
of the ingot. The Whitworth fluid pressing s\ r stem<br />
introduced many years ago; the use of cast iron molds<br />
instead of compo lined, the introduction of the Harmet<br />
process, were all endeavors to overcome the effect of<br />
the natural rate of cooling, and were attempts to arrest<br />
the steel in its uniform quality when it arrived in the<br />
mould. Owing to the difference in specific gravity of<br />
the different elements in a steel ingot, principally carbon,<br />
phoshorus and sulphur, the longer fluidity continues<br />
the greater is the opportunity for these elements<br />
to rearrange themselves to their own liking.<br />
This results in segregation and various occlusions, and<br />
in view of the nature of the work for which ingots of<br />
this nature are required the greatest possible uniformity<br />
in structure and physical properties is essential.<br />
The metallurgist who can successfully overcome the<br />
inherent difficulties of producing ingots of large<br />
weight and uniform structure will have indeed done<br />
a great service to the steel industry.<br />
When the building of the Lusitania and the Carmania<br />
were contracted for, both turbine driven, the<br />
manufacture of turbine drums constituted a mechanical<br />
difficulty which was dealt with by welding. As<br />
it was, however, desirable to introduce some better<br />
method the patent rights of a hollow rolling process<br />
exhibited at the Dusseldorf Exhibition were obtained.<br />
A large rolling mill was then designed and also a<br />
powerful punching press, which enabled the builders<br />
to commence with a solid ingot from which the center<br />
was punched or, in the case of larger work, bored.<br />
Thereafter it was rolled to the requisite diameter in<br />
the hollow rolling mill. On the introduction of geared<br />
turbines this method was again of special use, as most<br />
of the large gear rims for the different war vessels and<br />
passenger lines have been made in this way. It is<br />
felt that a greater uniformity of structure is obtained<br />
over the periphery where the teeth ha ' r diagon-
ally cut in rims produced by hollow rolling. The reason<br />
for mentioning this particular industry is that for<br />
many purposes development in the way of producing<br />
hollow ingots would be of great service, as it would to<br />
a great extent do away with the undesirable center<br />
portion of the ingots of large diameter, which has now<br />
to be removed by punching or boring. It is also not<br />
improbable that for plates of large size, where uniformity<br />
of quality is necessary, a hollow ingot cut and<br />
flattened out might give better results than if rolled<br />
from a solid ingot of very heavy weight.<br />
J. P. Bedson discussed the continuous rolling mill.<br />
and said the considerations entering into this question<br />
were those of balancing low operatings costs and high<br />
yield against somewhat heavy initial cost. With a<br />
combination of the continuous mill small plants could<br />
be designed which would give increases in output with<br />
considerable saving in labor for mills where anything<br />
from 500 to 1,000 tons per week were required of the<br />
usual standard small sized rods and bars.<br />
Dr. Arne Westgren and Costa Phragmen dealt<br />
with X-Ray studies of the crystal structure of steel—<br />
a comparatively new method from which important<br />
results are being obtained.<br />
The institute has presented its Bessemer medal to<br />
Professor Albert Sauveur, the famous American<br />
metallurgist.<br />
It has long been recognized that the open hearth<br />
steel furnace is from the thermal point of view a very<br />
inefficient apparatus. W. Dryssen of New York reminded<br />
steelmakers in this country that very little has<br />
been done to improve this type of furnace's efficiency,<br />
and consequently its fuel consumption remains practically<br />
the same today as it was 30 years ago. Attention<br />
has been recently directed to making a reduction<br />
in the cost of steel making by taking steps to utilize<br />
the heat losses associated with the operation of the<br />
open hearth furnace. This has taken the form of installing<br />
waste heat boilers to recover the heat as<br />
steam, and a point has been reached today when as<br />
much as 17 per cent of the heat in the fuel can be<br />
recovered in this manner. Even in a well-designed<br />
producer gas open-hearth furnace the heat actuallyused<br />
by the bath is only a small percentage of the<br />
whole. In the ordinary hot pig-iron process the<br />
losses are at least 92 per cent, and in the cold pig-iron<br />
process never less than 85 per cent. This constitutes<br />
a very serious waste of fuel and makes out a strong<br />
case for the use of waste heat boilers. Old-fashioned<br />
British steel makers are sometimes inclined to look<br />
askance at the association of steam-raising with the<br />
steel furnace and appear to fear that the logical sequel<br />
to developments of this character may be to make the<br />
manufacture of steel a kind of by-product of steamraising<br />
plant. This is an extreme view to take, and<br />
most of the experts who have given attention to the<br />
subject are convinced that there is a good deal to be<br />
said for the utilization of waste heat for steam-raising<br />
purposes. On the other hand, those who insist that<br />
the line of improvement should be to increase the output<br />
of steel for a given expenditure of fuel are seeking<br />
to raise the efficiency of steel making plants by direct<br />
means. There is, however, no good reason why workin<br />
both directions should not proceed at the same time<br />
and bring about a material reduction in the cost per<br />
ton of producing ingots.<br />
IhpDIast Furnace i_/Meel Plant<br />
Washing of Northwestern Coals<br />
During the past several months a study of the<br />
washability of fine sizes of coal on tables, with particular<br />
reference to Washington and Alaskan coals, has<br />
been conducted by the Department of the Interior, in<br />
co-operation with the University of Washington, at<br />
the Seattle station of the Bureau of Mines. A coal<br />
from a Washington mine, presenting unusual washing<br />
difficulties, has been studied in considerable detail,<br />
using a particular commercial-size table. Floatand-sink<br />
tests of zonal products, supplemented by<br />
screen-sizing tests and chemical analyses, have given<br />
valuable information as to the workings of a coal<br />
table. This work is not yet completed but several conclusions<br />
of general application to any tabling operation<br />
may be drawn from the work to date.<br />
There is a definite relationship between the tonnage<br />
of feed to a coal table and the maximum size of<br />
particles in the feed which will separate well on the<br />
table. The coarser the feed to the table, the greater<br />
must be the tonnage fed to obtain a good separation.<br />
A certain depth of material is required on the table to<br />
permit good stratification, this depth varying with the<br />
coarseness of the feed. On the other hand, there is an<br />
upper limit to the depth of material that can be separated<br />
on the table. These two factors will determine<br />
the maximum size of coal that can be handled by a<br />
table.<br />
The table used in the Bureau of Mines tests has a<br />
remarkable sizing action on all material that is properly<br />
stratified, that is, on all material that is not too<br />
coarse to stratify in the depth of coal on the table.<br />
and at the same time is not sufficiently fine to slime.<br />
The coarsest particles of any given specific gravity are<br />
discharged from the table first, and the finer the material<br />
the farther it will be carried out on the table<br />
before it is discharged. Materials of all specific gravities<br />
follow this same law. The result of this sizing<br />
action of the table is to make it impossible to obtain<br />
a clean separation between materials near in specific<br />
gravity when using an unsized feed. On the other<br />
hand, a separation using a classified feed will be favored<br />
by this action of the table.<br />
The efficiency of the washing operation on tables<br />
is low when attempting to make a low-ash washed<br />
coal, and increases rapidly with higher allowable ash<br />
content in the washed coal. The explanation of this<br />
fact seems to lie in the fact that the largest proportion<br />
of the impurities is near in specific gravity to that of<br />
coal. The sizing action of the table previously mentioned<br />
causes an overlapping between material of different<br />
specific gravities, and the effect on the efficiency<br />
of the separation is more pronounced where the proportion<br />
is large.<br />
Sampling of Blast Furnace Gases<br />
Somewhat more than a thousand gas samples have<br />
been taken from the interior of a commercial blast<br />
furnace shaft during the past year by the Department<br />
of the Interior engineers, who are making a studv ol"<br />
commercial blast furnace practice for the Bureau of<br />
Mines. These data have been studied, and a report of<br />
the results will be issued at an early date. A similar<br />
investigation will be conducted by the Bureau oi<br />
Mines at another commercial blast furnace in the<br />
future.
448<br />
Ihp Dla.st kirnace '1 Mool r I ant<br />
Flow of Gas or Air in Pipes<br />
By Using the Formulae Given Both High and Low Pressure<br />
Flows May Be Estimated<br />
IX considering the flow ol gases (air, etc.). in piping,<br />
a distinction must be made as between low<br />
pressure flow and high pressure flow. When the<br />
difference between the initial pressure and the terminal<br />
pressure is small (that is a few inches of water)<br />
the variation in density (due to increased or decreased<br />
volume resulting from a decreased or increased pres<br />
sure) may be neglected without great error and the<br />
hydraulic formula is applicable. I he hydraulic formula<br />
referred to has the form Q = .7854d 2 v, in which<br />
the velocity "v" is determined from the pressure.<br />
coefficient ot friction, etc.<br />
When the difference between the initial pressure<br />
and terminal pressure is great I that is many inches<br />
of water or pounds I the variation in density I due<br />
to increased or decreased volume resulting from the<br />
decrease in pressure along the line) must be considered<br />
and the hydraulic formula must be modified to<br />
suit.<br />
The writer recommends that the gas formulae subsequently<br />
given be used for both low pressure and<br />
high pressure flow as giving, with a proper coefficient<br />
of friction (which should be used in any case) more<br />
correct results.<br />
When a gas flows along a pipe, there is necessarily<br />
a fall of pressure due to the resistance of the pipe and<br />
consequently the volume and velocity of the gas increases,<br />
going along the pipe in the direction of travel.<br />
The effect of the resistance is to create eddying motions<br />
which, as they subside, give back to the gas<br />
the heat equivalent of the work expended in producing<br />
them. The result is that, apart from conduction<br />
through the walls of the pipe the flow is iso-thermal<br />
(that is constant temperature). In the following tinexpansion<br />
will be considered iso-thermal; m other<br />
words "T" is taken as constant. Assuming "T" as<br />
constant is on the safe side in the majority of cases<br />
because any reduction in temperature of the gas from<br />
external sources will assist the flow flue to a decrease<br />
in volume; conversely, any increase in temperature of<br />
the gas from external sources will retard the flow.<br />
but this is an unusual condition.<br />
(1) — (a) if the pipe is horizontal, the effect of<br />
gravity and barometric pressure in the upward<br />
or downward flow is zero; if the pipe is approximately<br />
horizontal, in contradistinction to<br />
a cross country installation having great rises<br />
and falls, the effect of gravity and barometric<br />
pressure on the upward How or downward flow<br />
is approximately zero.<br />
(b) The resistance of ells, lees, valves, etc.,<br />
must be reduced to equivalent of pipe for which<br />
see Xat. T. Co. Hd. Ilk. 191.3 Ed., p. 324 ami<br />
other authorities.<br />
(c) The relation between the capacity as<br />
determined by Unwin and other formulae is as<br />
follows (from Nat. T. Co. Hd. Bk. p. 323, 1913<br />
Ed.):<br />
'National Tube Company, Pittsburgh, Pa.<br />
By FRANKLIN H. SMITH*<br />
October, 1924<br />
Relative Capacity<br />
Cox 0.98<br />
Unwin 1.00<br />
Oliphant 1.05<br />
Pittsburgh 1.08<br />
Rix 1.09<br />
'fowl - 1.13<br />
The Xat. T. Co. I Id. P.k. 1913 Ed., p. 323. states<br />
that the < )liphant & Pittsburgh formulae are most<br />
generally accepted; therefore, since the Unwin formula<br />
gives somewhat less capacity than the Oliphant<br />
or Pittsburgh formula, it is on the safe side.<br />
id) The quantity of gas discharged varies<br />
as the square root of the difference of the'squarjes<br />
of the initial and final pressures. Xat. T. Co. Hd.<br />
Bk. 1913 Ed., p. 323.<br />
(2) D = dia. in feet.<br />
C = coefficient of friction for gases.<br />
1 .0044<br />
- .0044 (1. -f — ) = .0044 H<br />
7D 7D<br />
Diameter C.<br />
6 in 0057<br />
12 " 0050<br />
18 " 0048<br />
24 " 0047<br />
30 " 0046<br />
36 " 0046<br />
42 " 0046<br />
48 " 0046<br />
60 " 0045<br />
I nwin gives another coefficient for air and gases<br />
oi other densities which is less than as given above.<br />
However, since the above coefficient "C" gives a<br />
smaller flow, it may be safely used for the flow- of air<br />
and all gases for piping for industrial plants.<br />
(3)—m Hydraulic mean radius<br />
D<br />
tor pipes of circular section<br />
4<br />
I) = I )ia. in ft.<br />
F = log-'<br />
P=<br />
g = Acceleration due to gravit)<br />
= 32.2<br />
k = Gas constant<br />
53<br />
- (53 = j, r as constant for air)<br />
S<br />
S ;- Specific gravity of the gas compared to air<br />
T := Absolute Temp. F.° (= 461 -f Temp. F.°)<br />
P, = Greater (initial) pressure lbs. per sq. ft. absolute<br />
P., = Lesser (terminal) pressure lbs. per sq, ft. absolute<br />
C = Coefficient of friction (see item "2")<br />
L. = Length of pipe in feet<br />
V, = Initial velocity in the pipe, ft. per sec.<br />
V2 = Terminal velocity in the pipe, ft. per sec.<br />
Q = Flow, cu. ft. per sec, at "T"<br />
K = Weight, lbs. per cu. ft., at "T"<br />
= (S) X (wgt. of air at "T")
( >ct. 924<br />
^ — Weight of gas (or air) flowing in pounds per<br />
second = OK<br />
Note: For a steady flow the same weight must pass every<br />
given point in any given time.<br />
V, =<br />
41.3<br />
/ IY'(4Lc-- D+ E)<br />
i UV-*VJ<br />
1\ v S(4Lc + D + E)<br />
(General formula for circular pipes.j<br />
v<br />
p» a<br />
gRTD^P, 2 - Pa<br />
[.0025 L ui) +<br />
a )<br />
l)+D 2 Ej<br />
41.3 / TD<br />
/<br />
2 (P, 2<br />
- P, 2 )<br />
P, V S [.0025L(7D +1)+ D 2 Ej<br />
(General formula for circular pipe modified for coefficient<br />
of friction "C"—see item "2". Also see "V,".<br />
W =<br />
.7854 D'\\l\ .0148 D W ^ S<br />
RT<br />
.7854 D 2 V,P„ .0148 D 2 V2P2S<br />
RT<br />
Since W QK<br />
W<br />
450<br />
Ihe blast !"iir<br />
^)<br />
.MooI Plant<br />
Electric Scrap Baling<br />
A New German Method of Simplifying Production and<br />
Meeting Competition<br />
T H E scrap iron press pictured below is provided<br />
with two stamping punches, of which one<br />
moves vertically and the other horizontally.<br />
Both are driven by electric motors by means of worm<br />
gears and spindles. Overloading of the motors and<br />
gears are avoided by using friction clutches.<br />
The material to be baled is collected in a tilting<br />
hopper which discharges its content automatically<br />
into the trough shaped press. The front wall of this<br />
trough is hinged to facilitate the entrance of verv<br />
bulky scrap. During the baling process the horizontal<br />
stamp is lowered first, compressing the material<br />
but partially, the pressure and corresponding dendity<br />
of the bale being indicated by an ampere meter while<br />
its height is shown by a gauge in the operators stand.<br />
As soon as the proper height is attained the horizontal<br />
stamp is forced forward, compressing the material<br />
October, 1924<br />
sideways and causing the particles of scrap to interlace<br />
so thoroughly that it forms a parcel which will<br />
withstand the rough handling during storing and<br />
charging.<br />
The finished bale is ejected from the press through<br />
a trap door by pushing the horizontal stamp through<br />
its full stroke.<br />
It is advisable to discharge the bale immediatelv<br />
into the charging ladle.<br />
The following weights of parcel are recommended :<br />
200 to 700 lbs. for small presses<br />
800 to 1,000 lbs. for medium presses<br />
1,000 to 2,000 lbs. for large presses<br />
The output of the press depends on the material<br />
used and the size of the parcel and varies between 20<br />
and 70 tons per 8-hour shift.<br />
Exceptional viezv of a large scrap-baler at work in Germany. This machine makes possible very great economies in she<br />
mill practice.
October. 1924<br />
The Tin Situation<br />
In discussing the tin situation the National Bank<br />
of Commerce states in the September issue of Commerce<br />
Monthly that the United States now consumes<br />
around 60 per cent of the world output of tin. Continuing<br />
the bank says:<br />
"The heavy tin consumption in the United States<br />
results from its position as the greatest manufacturer<br />
of tinplate, a rank gained within recent years. According<br />
to present estimates, the tinplate" output of<br />
the LTnited States in 1923 was larger than the total<br />
world output in 1910. This country has been a net<br />
exporter of tinplate since 1911. While net exports<br />
have grown from 106,000,000 pounds in that year to<br />
579,000,000 pounds in 1918, and 256,000,000 pounds in<br />
1923, the home market is the chief reliance of the<br />
industry."<br />
Referring to world production of the raw material<br />
the bank adds:<br />
"Although tin is the rarest of common metals of<br />
commerce and occurs in paying quantities in but few<br />
widely separated localities, increase in production has<br />
thus far more than kept pace with increased world<br />
requirements. In 1903 the world output was 93,893<br />
tons, while in 1923 it amounted to approximately 125,-<br />
800 tons, or an increase of about 35 per cent. However,<br />
world production for various reasons has declined<br />
considerably from the high point of 133,565 tons<br />
produced in 1913. Reduced production in recent years<br />
has been caused largely by accumulations of stocks at<br />
mines and refineries during and following the war,<br />
unsatisfactory price conditions and the gradual exhaustion<br />
of richer workings.<br />
"Deliveries of tin constitute the best available,<br />
though only an approximate, measure of world consumption.<br />
In the pre-war years 1910-14 consumption.<br />
estimated on this basis, ranged between 107,000 and<br />
120,000 tons and averaged 112,000. Since the war.<br />
consumption has ranged from a low of only 75,000<br />
tons in 1921 to 130,000 tons, a high record,'in 1923.<br />
While 1923 consumption was considerably in excess<br />
of primary production, the substantial available carryover<br />
more than offset this difference and the average<br />
of 1923 prices, while much better than in 1921 or<br />
1922, was still on a level with average prices before<br />
the war.<br />
"While other countries have not expanded consumption<br />
of tin above pre-war ratio, as has the United<br />
States, the amounts used elsewhere have increased.<br />
since the post-war slum]), to a level approaching that<br />
of pre-war years.<br />
"Despite the outstanding position of the United<br />
States as a user of tin, the principal market for trading<br />
is London, and the London price leads those of markets<br />
elsewhere. Demand for tin in the United States<br />
is of course a most important factor in determining<br />
the London price. Thus the heavy rate of operation<br />
in the American tinplate industry in 1923 and the<br />
early months of 1924 was reflected in the upward<br />
swing of tin prices, while a prompt and drastic decline<br />
in prices followed the let-down in the tinplate<br />
industry.<br />
"Summarizing the present situation, world consumption,<br />
since the depression of 1921, has somewhat<br />
exceeded the pre-war level. Production is still below<br />
1913 output. The older producing areas of the British<br />
Empire have felt the decline in production most<br />
Iho Dlast hirnaco '"'jtool riant<br />
451<br />
strongly, while newer low cost areas have tended to<br />
increase their output. Even in the older districts,<br />
however, many producers have succeeded in reducing<br />
costs to within measurable distance of the pre-war figures.<br />
Meanwhile, with the clearing away of excess<br />
stocks and the growth of demand for the goods into<br />
which it goes, the tin industry is working into a sound<br />
position."<br />
Electrochemists Meet at Detroit Oct. 2-3-4<br />
An unusual amount of interest has been aroused in<br />
the forthcoming meeting of the American Electrochemical<br />
Society, to be held at the Hotel Tuller, Detroit,<br />
Mich., October 2, 3 and 4. The subjects covered<br />
by the program have a wide commercial bearing.<br />
Two sessions will be devoted to the subject of<br />
"Corrosion," a subject of interest not only to the<br />
electrochemist, but to engineers in every field of<br />
activity. Contributions to this live subject have been<br />
received from all parts of the world and the sessions<br />
promise to be very w-ell attended.<br />
Detroit is the heart of the automobile industry of<br />
this country and it is very fitting for the Society to<br />
have at this time an open forum on the topic, "Industrial<br />
Electric Heating," in which field the automobile<br />
industry has made such remarkable strides. Prof. C.<br />
F. Hirshfeld, of the Detroit Edison Company, is responsible<br />
for an admirable program on this topic of<br />
electric heating.<br />
There will also be sessions on Refractories for Electric<br />
Furnaces and the Physical Chemistry of Electrodeposition.<br />
Two round table discussions have been arranged :<br />
one on "Electric Furnace Cast Iron," in charge of G.<br />
K. Elliott, of the Lunkenheimer Company. Cincin<br />
nati, and the other, on "Control Methods in Elec<br />
trodeposition," in charge of Prof. O. P. Watts, of the<br />
University of Wisconsin, and Dr. William Blum, of<br />
the Bureau of Standards.<br />
Mr. Alex Dow, well known throughout the country<br />
as one of the foremost central station engineers.<br />
will address members and guests on Friday evening.<br />
his subject being, "Central Station Design and Super<br />
power."<br />
Aside from the technical and scientific program.<br />
the entertainment committee has spared no effort in<br />
making the visit of the Society members a memorable<br />
one. For Wednesday evening, a "get-together" fish.<br />
frog and chicken dinner at the famous Eastwood Inn<br />
has been arranged. Other entertainment features include<br />
a smoker at Hotel Tuller Roof Garden, automo<br />
bile trips and theater party for the ladies, and visits to<br />
a number of the large automobile plants.<br />
Flow of Gas<br />
(Continued from page 449)<br />
= 3124.8 X .6975<br />
= 2179.5 absolute terminal pressure, lbs. per<br />
sq. ft.<br />
2179.5<br />
= 15.135 lb. per sq. in., absolute<br />
144<br />
15.135 — 14.7 = .435 lb. per sq. in. gage (= 12<br />
in. water column, which checks the given<br />
value).
^ TlipDlast kirnaceSMeel riant<br />
Chromium—Its Uses and Its Alloys<br />
Due to Its Valuable Properties, Chromium Is Extensively Used in<br />
the Steel Industry for the Manufacture of Alloy Steels<br />
and Heat and Corrosion Resisting Alloys<br />
T H E chief interest of chromium to the metallurgist<br />
is its use in the steel industry for the manufacture of<br />
alloy steels and heat and corrosion resisting alloys<br />
The attention of the steel industry was first definitely<br />
drawn to chromium steels by R. A., now Sir Robert.<br />
Hadfield in a long report to the Iron and Steel Institute<br />
in 1892. This was the first systematic investigation<br />
of these steels and showed many of their remarkable<br />
properties. It is interesting to gain from<br />
this report a glimpse of the metallurgy of 30 years<br />
ago, when we read, "Judging from the results of the<br />
tests given in this paper it is probable that chromium<br />
steel has an important future before it." He adds.<br />
"The writer cannot but think that the special question<br />
of steel alloys or combinations will be found to<br />
possess considerable practical importance to the world<br />
at large, and perhaps be the means of enabling our<br />
civil and mechanical engineers to design and construct<br />
works of a magnitude at present not possible. * * *<br />
When it is borne in mind through how many difficulties<br />
the metal known as carbon steel has had to struggle,<br />
and for how long a time it has had to undergo<br />
trial and examination, it is not surprising that the<br />
introduction of special combinations, such as manganese,<br />
nickel, and chromium steel should take place but<br />
slowly." And this was only 30 years ago! How rapidly<br />
has metallurgy and the use of special steels advanced<br />
in that short time; and what may we expect<br />
in the next 30 years?<br />
Apparently the earliest experiments with reference<br />
to the addition of chromium to iron and steel<br />
were made by Faraday and Stodart* in 1$20. They<br />
believed that as chromium was a hard metal its addition<br />
to iron or steel would confer increased hardness.<br />
and that it might thus take the place of carbon. This<br />
we now know to be incorrect for, while chromium will<br />
increase the hardness of iron, it will not take tinplace<br />
of carbon in conferring hardening properties.<br />
By DR. WALTER M. MITCHELL*<br />
PART II<br />
ness, and infusibility of the ferro chromium alloys, as<br />
well as their resistance to the action of strong acids.<br />
According to Hadfield, it is probably to Baur of<br />
Xew York that credit is due for the first commercial<br />
production of chromium steel. In 1865 Baur took out<br />
American patents, claiming "a steel greatly improved,<br />
toughened, and hardened by the addition of chromium,<br />
and also claiming to be the first to establish<br />
the fact that chromium can be used practically in<br />
FIG. 3—Maximum 2 per cent carbon ferrochromium. Lacelike<br />
patches of carbides are to be noted. 100 \. Lightly<br />
etched with 1-1 HCI. (Reduced V4.)<br />
making steel." In 1869 Baur patented further im<br />
In 1923, Berthiert published an account of his exprovements, and some years later a method of makperiments<br />
which had been inspired by the work of ing the ferro chromium to be used. His process was<br />
Faraday and Stodart. Berthier described the manu carried on by the Chrome Steel Company, Brooklyn,<br />
facture and tests of steels containing 1 per cent and X. V.. who exhibited numerous samples of chromium<br />
\y2 per cent chromium from which knives and razors, steel at the Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia in<br />
reported as being of good quality, were made. Ber- 1876. This company, records of which seem to have<br />
thier's work is of considerable interest because he suc disappeared, produced laminated plates for burglar<br />
ceeded in making ferro chromium alloys containing proof safes, bars for jails, etc., in addition to the regu<br />
17 per cent chromium, and some special samples conlar chromium steel for cutting tools. In Baur's earlier<br />
taining as high as 60 per cent chromium. He men work In- claimed to use chromium as a steel making<br />
tions the care he had used in the preparation of this element, and "that the metal derived its steely quali<br />
alloy, not because he believed that it had any special ties solely from the metallic chromium present and<br />
value in itself, but because he believed that it would not from carbon." This we know to be incorrect, and<br />
be found useful as a means of introducing chromium that chromium does not impart any so-called "steely"<br />
into steel. He also noted the great hardness, brittle- qualities; that is, of becoming hard if suddenly cooled.<br />
But it was not until considerably later, in 1876, that<br />
*The authur ib Metallurgist with E. I du Pont ilc Nemour--<br />
Baur realized that the direct alloying of the chromium<br />
& Company, Wilmington. Del<br />
•Phil. Trans. 1822, 253.<br />
ore with the iron or steel under treatment was so un<br />
tAnnales de Chemie. 17, 55<br />
certain as to render the product of little value, and
that the chromium must be introduced as a ferro-alloy<br />
in order to insure a reliable product. As this had<br />
been announced some 55 years previously by Berthier,<br />
it is rather surprising that Baur should have<br />
overlooked it. Soon after this chromium steel was<br />
made in France by Brustlein, and later in Germain<br />
and elsewhere, whereupon it became a common article<br />
of commerce, although somewhat limited in use.<br />
Ferrochrbmium.<br />
The first step necessary for the successful production<br />
of chromium steel was therefore the preparation<br />
of a reliable and uniform ferrochromium, or "ferrochrome."<br />
Berthier realized this, and Baur had no<br />
success until he had profited by his own or Berthier's<br />
experience and produced the necessary allow Ferrochromium<br />
was originally produced by both the crucible<br />
and the blast furnace processes'. The crucible<br />
process was decidedly expensive, and hence was conlined<br />
to turning out high percentage alloys. Baur. in<br />
1869. produced ferrochromium varying from 20 to 45<br />
per cent by mixing chrome ore from the serpentine<br />
rocks near Hoboken and Xew Haven with 6 to 8 per<br />
cent of charcoal and a flux, the mixture being fused<br />
at a high temperature in graphite crucibles. In 1875<br />
Kern of St. Petersburg is stated to have produced a<br />
74 per cent ferrochromium by fusing m a crucible<br />
chromite from the Urals with charcoal.<br />
The manufacture of ferrochromium in the blast<br />
furnace is a troublesome process because of the difficult}-<br />
of reducing chromium from its oxides except<br />
at very high temperatures. This requires a very hot<br />
blast with high pressure and a heavy consumption of<br />
FIG. A—Maximum 2 per cent carbon ferrochromium. 100 X-<br />
Etched with boiling alkaline potassium permanganate.<br />
Carbides darkened.<br />
fuel, over three tons being necessary for each ton of<br />
alloy produced. (In which connection it is to be recalled<br />
that the fuel consumption of the blast furnace<br />
in the manufacture of pig iron is less than one ton<br />
for each ton of pig produced.) With the blast furnace<br />
the practical limit of chromium content was<br />
found not greater than 40 per cent, whereas something<br />
like 65 per cent was theoretically obtainable<br />
Thoftla.st FurnacpSSfeel Plant<br />
from the richness of the ore. Hadfield remarks on<br />
the now well known quality of chromium in raising<br />
the limit of carbon which will be retained in solution.<br />
this being greater than m the case of spiegel or ferromanganese,<br />
and running as high as 12 per cent in<br />
some cases in a 65 per cent ferrochromium. The carbon<br />
is always present in the combined form as a more<br />
or less complicated double carbide of iron and chro-<br />
FIG. 5—Maximum 5 per cent carbon ferrochromium showing<br />
cellular eutectic structure. 100 > . Boiling 1-1 HCI.<br />
mium. Hadfield tried in various ways to produce<br />
graphitic carbon in ferrochromium, but was always<br />
unsuccessful. Doubtless this is where some of the fuel<br />
required in the blast furnace found its ultimate resting<br />
place. Regarding the affinity of chromium in iron<br />
for carbon, more will be said later. It is interesting<br />
to note, however, in passing, that this characteristic<br />
chemical affinity led to the wrecking of a companv<br />
which commenced the manufacture of pig iron some<br />
years ago in Tasmania. This company had valuable<br />
ore possessions—over half a million tons of brown<br />
hematite lay in sight on the surface" to say nothing of<br />
what might be underneath. Unfortunately for them.<br />
as it subsequently turned out. this ore contained about<br />
3 per cent chromic oxide. Owing to the propensity<br />
of chromium for turning all the carbon into the combined<br />
form, the only pig that this company could produce<br />
was a hard white iron, which was of little use as<br />
foundry iron, could not be puddled into wrought iron.<br />
and could not (at that time) be used for making steel:<br />
and as a result the company went bankrupt. Later<br />
on, however, this supposed white elephant prosed to<br />
be most valuable when a certain steel works found that<br />
their product was much improved by the addition of<br />
this white iron ; and that axles made of ordinary carbon<br />
steel, which would not stand up under the drop<br />
test, would do so successfully when the steel was<br />
alloyed with a certain percentage of chromium.<br />
At present ferrochromium is produced entirely by<br />
the electric furnace, and alloys of practically any composition<br />
are obtained. The first experiments in this<br />
country were conducted by De Chalmont at Spray,<br />
X T . C, in 1896. A year later, Morehead commenced<br />
the commercial production of ferrochromium with
454<br />
the electric furnace at Holcomb Rock, Va. During<br />
the Spanish-American War the demand so exceeded<br />
the supply that a larger plant was considered advisable,<br />
and this was constructed at Kanawha Falls, W.<br />
Va., in 1901, and has-been in continuous operation<br />
since that time. Previously, supplies of the more expensive<br />
low carbon grades of ferrochromium had<br />
come from Europe, so the manufacture of these alloys<br />
FIG. 6—Maximum 5 per cent carbon ferrochromium. Although<br />
this is from the same lot as No. 5, the widely different<br />
structure of the carbides indicates different analysis.<br />
100 X. Boiling 1-1 HCI. (Reduced yA.)<br />
was commenced at Niagara Falls in 1907, and a verylarge<br />
proportion of the domestic requirements have<br />
since been supplied from that plant<br />
The process consists in smelting chromite with<br />
anthracite coal at a high temperature, which reduces<br />
the chromite directly to a 6 to 8 per cent ferrochromium<br />
in one operation. Because of the infusibility<br />
of chromium carbide and its high carbon content such<br />
ferrochromium is not always desirable in steel making;<br />
and to furtlTer reduce the carbon, which so<br />
troubled the earlier metallurgists, the alloy is again<br />
smelted in another electric furnace with a slag of<br />
chromite, lime and fluorspar. In this way the carbon<br />
may be reduced to .50 per cent, or even .25 per cent.<br />
the chromium content remaining practically without<br />
change. For the manufacture of "stainless iron,"<br />
very low carbon ferrochromium is necessary, and<br />
various reduction processes have been patented for<br />
the further elimination of carbon, the metallurgical<br />
difficulties of which are considerable, so that the cost<br />
of refining greatly increases the price of these alloys<br />
oyer the higher carbon alloys. Through recent developments<br />
in these processes we are now able to produce<br />
ferrochromium with . 10 per cent carbon or less.<br />
Similiary, chromium metal of great purity has recently<br />
been produced in the electric furnace which,<br />
on account of its freedom from carbon and occluded<br />
gases, is found to be malleable instead of brittle as<br />
previously supposed.<br />
The usual commercial ferrochromium is made in<br />
various grades, depending upon the carbon content,<br />
running from 20 per cent to about 8 per cent, the<br />
Ihp Dla.sf rurnaco TO MPPI riant<br />
October, 1924<br />
chromium content remaining practically constant at<br />
65 to 70 per cent; the balance iron and impurities, of<br />
which silicon is the greatest. Owing to the process<br />
of manufacture and the nature of the alloy there is<br />
decided segregation of carbon, so that, while the<br />
average analysis of a lot will run true to its maximum<br />
value, individual samples will not do so, and may<br />
vary widely. Figs. 3 to 7 are micrographs of a series<br />
of ferrochrome showing the variations in structure<br />
and constituents depending upon the carbon content<br />
The material is not hard to polish, but it is very hard<br />
to grind, and is attacked by only the strongest etching<br />
reagents. The high carbon ferrochromes are inclined<br />
to be porous or spongy, and are difficult to photograph<br />
satisfactorily.<br />
Chromium Steels.<br />
The chief use of chromium in metallurgical processes<br />
is for the production of chromium steels, which<br />
may be made by either the crucible, electric furnace.<br />
or open hearth process. At the temperature of molten<br />
steel, metallic chromium is capable of reducing iron<br />
oxide, hence depending upon the condition of the<br />
slag it may be to a great extent oxidized in the open<br />
hearth, particularly during the melting and boiling<br />
of the charge. Practically all simple chromium steels<br />
are now made by the addition of ferrochromium, as<br />
was first established by Berthier. although recently<br />
several processes have been patented for the direct<br />
production of chromium steel by the addition of chromite<br />
with the use of non-carbonaceous reducing<br />
agents under a basic slag. In the crucible process the<br />
ferrochromium is added with the original charge in<br />
FIG. 7—Maximum 6 per cent carbon ferrochromium, fused<br />
and cast into welding rods. Note characteristic "coffin"<br />
shaped crystals of carbide. 150 X, Boiling 1-1 HCI. (Reduced<br />
54.)<br />
the crucible; if in the electric furnace, the addition<br />
may be made at any time, but preferably after the<br />
charge has melted. In the open hearth, ferrochromium<br />
is added just long enough prior to tapping for<br />
the alloy to be well melted and mixed through the<br />
bath, or otherwise great waste of chromium results.<br />
While chromium will, under certain slag conditions,<br />
reduce iron ore, it is not as efficient as ferrosilicon or
ferromanganese, and is never used as a deoxidizer, but<br />
only for its effects as an alloying agent in the finished<br />
steels.<br />
The effects produced by the addition of chromium<br />
to steel are as follows:<br />
(a) The lowering of the carbon content of the<br />
eutectoid, pearlite, so that a steel with lower carbon<br />
content containing chromium will be structurally<br />
similar to a higher carbon steel.<br />
(b) A retarding effect upon the allotropic transformations<br />
of iron, also upon the speed of diffusion<br />
of carbon in steel.<br />
(c) The formation, with carbon, of carbides<br />
which are not only extremely hard, but which go<br />
into solution very slowly, and then onlv at a high<br />
temperature.<br />
It is generally accepted at present that the susceptibility<br />
of steel to heat treatment depends upon<br />
the formation of a solid solution of iron and carbon<br />
when heated above the critical range; and the subsequent<br />
dissociation of this solid solution bv cooling, at<br />
a suitable rate, to the point where the material will<br />
have the desired physical properties. The slower the<br />
rate of cooling, or the higher the temperature of tempering<br />
after quenching, which accomplishes the same<br />
purpose, the softer and more ductile the steel.<br />
The effect of the presence of chromium is to retard<br />
all these transformations, not only the rate at<br />
which the solid solution is formed above the critical<br />
stage—this is further retarded by the difficulty with<br />
which the carbides are absorbed and diffused—but<br />
also the rate at which dissociation takes place when<br />
cooling to atmospheric temperatures. Consequently<br />
chromium steels are more difficult to render homogeneous,<br />
and remain harder, than straight carbon<br />
steels when subjected to the same heat treatment.<br />
The resultant effect upon the physical properties is<br />
increased hardness, finer grain structure, better resistance<br />
to shock, and higher tensile strength without<br />
corresponding loss in ductility.<br />
(To be continued, i<br />
Maintaining the Quality of Steam Turbine<br />
Oil in Service<br />
By C H. BROMLEY<br />
This is a subject to which a great deal of attention<br />
is being given at this time, not only by leading oil companies<br />
and turbine builders, but by users as represented<br />
by the Prime Movers' Committee of the National Electric<br />
Light Association and other similar engineering<br />
<strong>org</strong>anizations. The Bureau of Standards has also interested<br />
itself in the subject. Of special interest, therefore,<br />
is the new Bulletin 11-A of the Richardson-Phenix<br />
Division, S. F. Bowser & Company, Incorporated, Fort<br />
Wayne, Ind. Although the bulletin does not pretend<br />
to be a comprehensive treatise on the maintenance of<br />
quality in steam turbine oil in use, it is nevertheless, the<br />
most comprehensive piece of literature on the subject<br />
today.<br />
Steam turbines are especially severe upon lubricating<br />
oils, and a straight mineral oil only can be successfully<br />
used. The journal speeds in the bearings of steam<br />
turbines, is higher than that met in practically all other<br />
machines where the bearing pressure per square inch is<br />
comparable. In addition to the very high speeds and<br />
comparatively great pressure, the bearings are subjected<br />
to high temperatures, due not only to the internal fric-<br />
'ion of the oil. but to the conduction of heat at high<br />
DipblastFurnacoe Stool PL!<br />
temperature from the high pressure end of the turbine<br />
An appreciation of this is gained when it is realized that<br />
total steam temperatures at the throttle in modern power<br />
plants are nowadays from 600 to 680 deg. F. Naturally,<br />
de to the close clearance between the stationary<br />
and revolving elements of the turbine, the oil filled in<br />
the bearings must never be broken if the turbine is not<br />
to wreck itself.<br />
The rubbing speed of an eight turbine shaft revolving<br />
at 1800 rpm. is 3750 ft. per minute—nearly a mile<br />
a minute. The rub is only on the oil, and never directly<br />
on the bearing metal: that is, the friction developed is<br />
always friction. In turbines where the bearing shells<br />
are made hollow and cooled by circulating water; water<br />
may enter the oil and oiling system if there are any<br />
leaks in the water coils of the bearings. The combination<br />
of water, air, heat and the rapid circulation of<br />
the oil, causes it to oxidize, and readily form emulsion<br />
and sludge.<br />
Oxidation is the very serious result to which even<br />
pure mineral oils are liable in steam turbine practice,<br />
and air and heat are the greatest promoters of oxidation.<br />
As a consequence of oxidation, the turbine oil<br />
begins to deteriorate, owing to the formation of <strong>org</strong>anic<br />
acids caused by oxidation of the unsaturated compounds.<br />
This oxidation is greatly accelerated by the presence of<br />
small particles of oxidized metals, dirt or dust. The<br />
ideal turbine oil would, of course, be one that was nonoxidable,<br />
but unfortunately this is not possible under<br />
present known commercial means of refining.<br />
Together with the foregoing conditions, the factors<br />
tending to rapidly deteriorate the turbine oil are further<br />
multiplied because of the service to which steam turbines<br />
are put in these days of modern power plant economics.<br />
Engineering and power plants today demand the<br />
production of a kilowatt at the lowest possible cost.<br />
month in and month out. The engineer demands that<br />
turbines run at long and continuous periods, at or near<br />
their most economical load. This is especially true in<br />
the power plants of steel mills and electric public utilities<br />
The number of large turbines increases, owing to the<br />
lowering of the water rate by size (of turbines) alone<br />
up to certain limits, thus the investment in and the earning<br />
power of such machines must be carefully and adequately<br />
insured against shutdowns and damage. Power<br />
being a basic industry, the production end of the works<br />
usually comes to a standstill when power is not available,<br />
as when the turbines are shut down.<br />
There must be continuously maintained the widest<br />
possible margin of safety with the oil. And this simplv<br />
cannot be done unless the oil is continuously purified<br />
and the water, solids, emulsions, sludge and acid kept<br />
from accumulating.<br />
Perhaps a few simple figures will give one a better<br />
conception than anything else can of what the oil in<br />
the reservoir of a steam turbine is up against in the way<br />
of severe service. Take a 30,000 kw. turbine, turning<br />
out 15,000,000 kw. hr. per month, month in month out.<br />
That means operating at full rated capacity for 70 per<br />
cent of every 24-hour day, throughout a month of 30<br />
days. It means that an 1800 rpm. machine, with shaft<br />
say 8 in. diameter, would rub the oil in each bearing<br />
5,400,000 ft. per day, or during the total of 21 days in<br />
which it was producing the 15,000,000 kw. hr., it would<br />
rub the oil in each bearing 113,700,000 ft.—once around<br />
the earth every month. The oil in the turbine reservoir,<br />
based on a volume of 785 gal., and a turbine oil<br />
pump capacity of 225 gal. per minute, would be circulating<br />
8.669 times
Iho Dlast nirnaco jtool riant<br />
Industrial Transportation<br />
Material Handling Has Been Reduced to a Mathematical Relation<br />
Between Laborers Replaced and Cost of Equipment<br />
TRANSPORTATION, since the beginnin gof time,<br />
has been a problem of major proportions. The<br />
ability to move objects, people and thought, from<br />
one place to another has, in a large measure, governed<br />
the progress of all peoples. Indeed, it can be said<br />
that transportation, in the broad sense, is basic in all<br />
things industrial and social.<br />
It is only reasonable to believe that many of the<br />
lives lost and much of the energy and time expended<br />
in the building of the pyramids by the Pharaohs,<br />
would have been saved if the rulers of that day had<br />
possessed facilities for transportation equal to our<br />
present day railroads. We venture to say. the Revolutionary<br />
War would have endured lor no such period<br />
as eight years had Ge<strong>org</strong>e Washington possessed a<br />
small fleet of airplanes and a few sets of radio. In<br />
similar strain, if some genii could sow broadcast over<br />
the face of Europe 10,000,000 automobiles and 10,000,-<br />
000 telephones — those two mediums for the transportation<br />
of people and thought would do more to<br />
eliminate future wars than all the leagues, courts and<br />
conferences we have ever known or ever will know.<br />
Had this country not developed, to their present high<br />
state of efficiency, the railroads, telegraph, telephone.<br />
.\cvcn men released fur other pursuits by crane manipulating<br />
pipe bundles<br />
roads, etc., in all probability we would not have been<br />
a united nation but rather a group of four or five separate<br />
commonwealths.<br />
So rapid has been our development, however, that<br />
we have proved ourselves poor prophets. We plan<br />
and work for the future—only to leave behind costly<br />
abandonments. Time was when men laid their business<br />
foundations, created their commercial enterprises<br />
and mapped their future successes on warehouses<br />
"Chicago, 111.<br />
By RUSSELL B. WILLIAMS<br />
river boats and wagon haulage. But the steam railroads<br />
came and every plan, every enterprise, every<br />
success was altered and revised.<br />
Thereafter, people tacked their faith to the steam<br />
propelled utility. But to little avail, for now we have<br />
electricity, and electricity has completely revolutionized<br />
industrial and social life.<br />
Thus we constantly seek better methods of transportation.<br />
The bicycle, once the acme of speed and<br />
convenience is now too slow. The tractor has supplanted<br />
the wheel-barrow; the elevator tbe hod; the<br />
automobile the chaise. We realize, ever more fully.<br />
that given our modern appliances, hand labor and rule<br />
of thumb methods are not only obsolete but ruinous.<br />
With the result that we trim here and pare there, the<br />
application of hand labor to all things pertaining to<br />
transportation. Moving it mechanically is better.<br />
cheaper and faster than moving it humanly.<br />
Individual Conditions Govern Types.<br />
The success of any industrial transportation system<br />
very largely depends upon the foresight exercised<br />
in the type employed, the layout, method of installation<br />
and location. Foresight, in the matter of industrial,<br />
or interplant transportation, is but another name<br />
tor knowledge of conditions. And complete and<br />
thorough knowledge of all conditions is necessary to<br />
assure the success and economy of the system employed.<br />
Xot long ago one of the railroads leading into a<br />
southern metropolis designed and erected an enormous<br />
freight terminal. It was to be the last word in efficiency<br />
in material handling. The fre'ght terminal was<br />
multi-story and hoist and conveying equ pment was<br />
designed to carry and distribute the freight. And although<br />
the project seemed flawless and highly efficient<br />
on paper, the actual operation of the terminal<br />
proved it a colossal failure. Last reports have it that<br />
freight is here moved only at a cost of about 75 cents<br />
a ton and that engineers visit the place to gain a good<br />
idea of how not to erect a freight terminal. It stands<br />
a monument to lack of foresight, a dirth of knowledge<br />
of conditions.<br />
There are places, such as in quarries or mines<br />
where the industrial or plant transportation systems<br />
are complete units in themselves—tlie system linking<br />
together all parts or department of the entire plant.<br />
In steel plants or foundries, however, transportation<br />
systems frequently serve only individual departments<br />
and have no connection with other departments. As<br />
an instance, we find industrial cars carrying raw material<br />
to the cupolas but these cars do not work in<br />
conjunction with that part of the plant transportation<br />
system which carries the molten metals from the cupolas<br />
to the pouring floors. In fact, the transportation<br />
systems employed throughout the steel industry are<br />
characterized by short, unconnected units.<br />
Industrial railways form the major portion of the<br />
transportation systems in steel plants. Their emplov-
October. 1924<br />
LSUFurnacoSStpclPl<br />
Reading from top and from left to right are shown above te i types of conveying equipment—I ft. 3 in. diameter generator<br />
charging car for Didier-March Company for Springfield Gas Light Company. Springfield. Mass. Tongue fitted with hook for<br />
lifting up and carrying furnace doors through which cur dumps. Five ton larry car for handling carbocoal briquets. Government<br />
Clinchfield (Va.) plant. International Coal Products company. 5,500 lb. capacity hand-propelled hot coke car with hand<br />
operated rotary feeder for emergency use. Hartford City Cos l.'ghi Company. Hartford, Conn. Electrically propelled car for<br />
handling slacked lime, Philadelphia. Quench car for handling briquets of carbocoal—Interntaional Coal Products Corporation,<br />
Clinchfield, Va. 70 cu. ft. gable-bottom side-dump electrically operated car built for Virginia-Carolina Chemical Company,<br />
Lynchburg, Va. 24 in. track gauge, 3ft.9'/2 in. wheel base. 21 in. driving wheel, 10 hp. "G. E." motor. Speed 6 miles an hour<br />
—with 3600 lb. of acid phosphate on l /2 of 1 per cent adverse gride. Self-propelling electric two-way side dump car. Capacity<br />
of tons. Capable of pulling also a 7-ton trailer car on 2 per ce it grade. 160 cu. ft. electrically operated bottom discharge coke<br />
car, Illinois Glass Company, Atlon, III Coal received from overhead bins and discharged to bins below Discharged gate mechanically<br />
operated by man in the cab<br />
457
458<br />
ment has become so universal as to be a standard<br />
practice. Because of this universality, industrial railway<br />
transportation in steel plants is a subject for<br />
discussion in itself. We therefore pass over railway<br />
transportation with the mere presentation of a few<br />
pictures showing the various types of powered and tinpowered<br />
industrial cars—as an illustration of the high<br />
degree of efficiency to which rail transportation has<br />
been developed.<br />
Eliminating Men Through Electric Hoists.<br />
The electric hoist is a vehicle of transportation not<br />
so widley used in steel plants and in manufacturies of<br />
products fabricated from steel, as they might be. Just<br />
why electric hoists remain more or less unrecognized<br />
as a means for transportation is a matter of conjecture.<br />
Perhaps it is a reflection on the name of the<br />
mechanism, for a great many electric hoists are now<br />
employed to lift or lower material. As a medium for<br />
transportation, however, the}- have not enjoyed universal<br />
application.<br />
And this is working to the detriment of the industry<br />
for in a number of cases hoists are proving a most<br />
economical means of transportation. At the plant of<br />
John Maneely Company, Philadelphia, for instance, a<br />
2y2 ton hoist has been in successful operation for upwards<br />
of eight years. This hoist is mounted on a<br />
single girder bridge crane with a span of 42 feet and<br />
with a lift of 14 feet. The travel of the overhead crane<br />
is the length of the pipe shop which is approximately<br />
200 feet.<br />
The pipe shop is located midway between the fabricating<br />
shop and the ware house, and the material is<br />
brought in through doors running the entire length of<br />
both sides. The overhead crane picks up the bundles<br />
of pipe brought to the doors and carries them to either<br />
the machines or to storage. All this transportation<br />
work is accomplished by the crane operated by one<br />
man. The lengths of pipe bundles range from 18 to<br />
22 feet and vary in weight ranging from a few hundred<br />
pounds to several tons.<br />
In speaking of the performance of this crane, Mr.<br />
Dodds, superintnedent. said : "As an example of the<br />
DieBIasffurnaceSSfeelPlanl<br />
October, 1924<br />
efficiency with which this hoist operates, we can say<br />
that a large order for sprinkler pipes can now be filled<br />
in one-half day by one man, whereas, formerly, such<br />
an order would require the services of eight men, fully<br />
two days. The average saving throughout the year<br />
amounts to at least 2y2 men a day, which, in terms of<br />
labor costs, totals over $3,000.<br />
"The crane has a further advantage of permitting<br />
of higher piling of pipe. This enables us to keep<br />
larger stocks on hand, which saves the time of workmen<br />
on the drilling, cutting and threading machines.<br />
The floor space saved through the higher piling<br />
amounts to about 2.000 square feet which is an appreciated<br />
factor. As for the cost of operation; the depreciation<br />
on a 20-year basis, interest on the investment,<br />
maintenance and repairs, power requirements,<br />
etc.. total a yearly charge of less than $500.00. We<br />
feel safe in saying that our hoist is effecting an annual<br />
saving of something over $5,000."<br />
Self Powered Trucks Most Economical.<br />
More easily applied than electric hoists, by reason<br />
of their ability to travel without a definite track, is<br />
the gasoline or electric truck, put into more or less<br />
universal use within the past 10 years.<br />
A most interesting application of truck tractors<br />
was made recently at the Bullard Machine Tool Company,<br />
Bridgeport, Connecticut. Mr. Bullard, vicepresident<br />
of this <strong>org</strong>anization has made some study of<br />
this type of transportation and the statement he makes<br />
regarding their performance is not only interesting<br />
but highly enlightening. We quote:<br />
"We employ two truck tractors in our plant, one of<br />
which has been in service for over four years, the<br />
other having been purchased about one year ago. The<br />
old machine is used in the machine shop and assembling<br />
department for handling chips and refuse, and<br />
for hauling all of the foundry refuse to the refuse storage<br />
and cares for the ashes from the boiler plant.<br />
Machine No. 1 goes right into the machine shop or<br />
assembly department and collects the chips and refuse<br />
at the machines or containers. It hauls this material<br />
Truck tractors performing a variety of functions in famous machinery building plant.
October, 1924<br />
from the shop to the chip pile where it is dumped. This<br />
work is handled by one tractor operator and two<br />
helpers.<br />
All of the sand used in the foundry is conveyed<br />
by tractors. This includes both new, and used sand,<br />
as well as refuse. Formerly we required the services<br />
of five men wth barrows, to care for the chips and<br />
refuse from the machine shop and assembling department.<br />
We also had to use one man a half-day for<br />
cleaning and general work; four men a half-day for<br />
handling the foundry sand and two men a part of the<br />
time on other work now performed by the tractors.<br />
The elimination of all of this labor through the employment<br />
of two truck tractors, two operators and two<br />
helpers, has resulted in a handsome saving in labor<br />
costs. We figure that the older tractor is earning an<br />
investment return of approximately 300 per cent.<br />
Tho5lasth,rnaco-3SteolPl ant<br />
Of interest to those who wish to calculate the savings<br />
effected by labor saving or labor aiding machinery<br />
is Mr. Bullard's mathematical calculations. This<br />
table can be used as a model by which savings effected<br />
by almost any machine can be calculated.<br />
OPERATING COST OF TRUCK TRACTOR<br />
Depreciation—$1,625.00 H- 5 years life $ 325.00<br />
6 $1,625 X .06<br />
•Average interest at 6 per cent X 58.50<br />
5 2<br />
Maintenance and repairs 125.00<br />
Total annual fixed cost $ 508.50<br />
Fixed cost per working day—$508.50 -r- 280 $ 1.82<br />
Gasoline cost per day .42<br />
Oil cost, per day .15<br />
Total machine cost per day $ 2.39<br />
Driver—9 hours X .55 4.95<br />
Labor — 2 men X -50 X 9 hours 9.00<br />
Total daily operation cost $ 16.34<br />
SAVINGS EFFECTED BY No. 1 TRACTOR—<br />
IN MACHINE SHOP<br />
Previous daily cost of handling chips and refuse (5 men<br />
X .50 X 8 hours) $ 20.00<br />
Previous daily cost of yard cleaning (1 man X -50 X 5<br />
hours) 2.50<br />
Transporting foundry sand (4 men X 4 hrs. X -50).. . 8.00<br />
Other work done with tractor 2 men X 3 hrs X .50) . . . 3.00<br />
Total cost of previous method, per day $ 33.50<br />
Daily cost of operating tractor 16.34<br />
Saving, per day, in labor costs $ 17.16<br />
Saving, per pear—$17.16 X 280 $4,804.80<br />
SAVING EFFECTED BY No. 2 TRACTOR-<br />
FOUNDRY REFUSE<br />
Daily cost of tractor and driver, previous method $ 15.00<br />
Labor (4 men X 10 hrs. X .50) 20.00<br />
Total daily cost of handling sand, previous method $ 35.00<br />
Cost of hauling ashes (2 men X 2 hrs. X .50) 2.00<br />
Total cost of hauling, previous method $ 37.00<br />
Cost of doing same work with tractor 16.34<br />
Daily saving in labor costs $ 20.66<br />
Annual saving $5,784.80<br />
No. 1 added to No. 2 equals :<br />
$ 4,804.80<br />
5,784.80<br />
$10,589.60—annual saving effected through use<br />
of two tractors.<br />
Combining Tractors With Lift Trucks.<br />
An interesting example of how pneumatic lift<br />
trucks can be combined with truck tractors was found<br />
•Allowing for interest earned by depreciation reserve.<br />
459<br />
recently at a large Chicago manufacturer. At this<br />
plant six electric tractors are employed with over 200<br />
lift trucks. The tractors are driven through the various<br />
departments of the plant at regular schedules, they<br />
conforming to those established schedules as rigidly as<br />
any railroad train. Finished parts ready for assembling,<br />
refuse to be taken to the car loading hoppers, finished<br />
products to be stored or transported to the shipping<br />
department are placed in boxes mounted on skid legs.<br />
These are hauled by lift trucks to established s.a.o.is<br />
and allowed to remain until the next tram comes along.<br />
Here the "train" or tractor operator will "hook on".<br />
hauling his train to its destination. As many as 15<br />
lift trucks can be used as "cars" or trailers, the usual<br />
length of a "train" being seven or eight trailers. It<br />
is estimated by the production manager of this concern<br />
that through the employment of electric tractors<br />
and lift trucks fully 50 men a day are eliminated.<br />
As remarked in the beginning, "The ability to move<br />
objects, people or thought, from one place to another,<br />
has, in a large measure, determined the progress of all<br />
peoples." Certain it is, the ability to move material<br />
is a determining factor in the progress of industrial<br />
concerns. To those who move their materials most<br />
rapidly, cheaply and efficiently is accorded the largest<br />
measure of success.<br />
Coal and Coke in Low-Pressure Steam Plants<br />
Accurate data on the effectiveness of combustion<br />
of bituminous coal and coke for generating steam under<br />
hand-fired low-pressure cast-iron boilers of a type<br />
actually, used in heating large buildings have been obtained<br />
as the results of a study conducted by Interior<br />
Department engineers at the Pittsburgh station of the<br />
Bureau of Mines. The experimental work has been<br />
under way since early in 1922. The effectiveness of<br />
different methods of firing the different coals tested<br />
was determined, as well as the relative value of the<br />
different fuels used. The results showed that the bituminous<br />
coals from the Pittsburgh and Lower Kittaning<br />
beds, Pennsylvania, and the coke were of about<br />
equal steaming value at the lower pressures but at<br />
medium and higher pressures permissible with this<br />
equipment, the coke had about 90 per cent of the<br />
steaming value of the bituminous coal.<br />
The new bridge across the harbor at Sydney, New-<br />
South Whales, Australia, is estimated will need 50,000<br />
tons of steel. A contract for this work was recently<br />
let to a British firm for £4,217,000 ($18,133,000 at<br />
current rate of exchange). A well known Pittsburgh<br />
firm (McClintic-Marshall) was one of the tenderers.<br />
The bridge is to be of the arch type, quite similar to<br />
the Hellgate bridge of the Pennsylvania Railroad in<br />
New York. About half of the steel plate will be rolled<br />
in Oustralia by the Broken Hill Proprietary at its<br />
Newcastle works, the balance coming from Dorman.<br />
Long & Company in England. The Newcastle plant,<br />
largely constructed by American engineering firms.<br />
including a number at Pittsburgh, now has three 500ton<br />
blast furnaces, open hearth furnaces, and mills for<br />
rolling all sizes and shapes. By-product coke-ovens<br />
are also in use. The Broken Hill Proprietary originally<br />
operated one of the largest lead-silver-zinc<br />
mines at Broken Hill, and did have the largest smelter<br />
in the world at Port Pirie, South Australia, but<br />
started in the iron and steel business until now it has<br />
the large plant mentioned.
460'<br />
Ino Dla.sf hit 'Stool Plant<br />
( letober. 1924<br />
THE SAFETY CRUSADE<br />
Are Your Bulletins Obsolete?<br />
Observers Quickly Lose Interest in Neglected Bulletin Boards<br />
Take a look at the bulletin board in your shop.<br />
factory or office.<br />
Read the announcement about Easter services in<br />
the churches and the other one about Miss Bresnahan<br />
getting married.<br />
A bulletin board in many places is the mausoleum<br />
for dead facts, the place where events become mildewed.<br />
If the Easter announcement was for Easter this<br />
year and not last year, then your bulletin board is kept<br />
up to date better than most bulletin boards. Probably<br />
Miss Bresnahan, now Mrs. Dillon, has alreadybrought<br />
the new baby in to show to her old friends<br />
at the office.<br />
The scarcity of real bulletin boards, carrying bulletins<br />
of current interest, became evident to the Policyholders'<br />
Service Bureau of the Metropolitan Life<br />
Insurance Company. The men of this bureau visit<br />
hundreds of business houses and factories every year.<br />
A study of bulletin board methods was made and a<br />
monograph has been issued on the subject.<br />
Here are some of the high spots of this monograph :<br />
"Care of the bulletin board should be the definite<br />
duty of some one person.<br />
"As soon a.s its object is attained, a posting should<br />
be removed. Out-of-date notices hurt the value of the<br />
bulletin board.<br />
"It is not necessary to post a new notice immediately<br />
to replace one taken down. An interval of<br />
blank space emphasizes the next bulletin.<br />
"To impel frequent inspection a bulletin board<br />
must carrv news.<br />
'Whenever possible first intimation of any change<br />
m conditions or routine affecting the employes should<br />
appear on the bulletin board.<br />
"Such notices together with announcements of<br />
policy will give the board news value.<br />
"News value can be enhanced by posting employes'<br />
lost and found ads, notices concerning employes' functions,<br />
etc."<br />
The monograph contains also full instructions<br />
about selecting a good location for a board and the<br />
best method of construction.<br />
Thirteenth Annual Safety Congress<br />
What happened in safety during the past year will<br />
be the keynote of the Thirteenth Annual Safety Congress<br />
of the National Safety Council, which meets in<br />
Louisville, September 29 to October 3.<br />
The story of progress will be related by speakers<br />
of national and international prominence, will be<br />
shown vividly by exhibits, motion picture films and<br />
lantern slides and will lie demonstrated in the dailysectional<br />
sessions and general sessions of the greatest<br />
Safety Congress in history. More than 4,000 industrial<br />
plants and Community Safety Councils in 60<br />
American cities, members of the National Safety-<br />
Council, will be represented at the Congress. Indicative<br />
of increased safety activities and safety interest<br />
by industries is the increase in the membership of the<br />
National Safety Council. The membership is now the<br />
largest since the council was founded 12 years ago.<br />
Alex. Barroww.an (standing behind his invention), gas engineer at Joliet Plant, designs safety locking device for gas engine<br />
starting valves, at Illinois Steel Company.
It is planned to have Secretary of Commerce Herbert<br />
Hoover and Secretary of Labor James J. Davis<br />
speak at the Congress. The list of 275 speakers includes<br />
Richard F. Grant, president. Chamber of Commerce<br />
of the United States, Washington, D. C.; Dr.<br />
Arnold J. Jacoby, director, psychiatric clinic, Detroit:<br />
C. F. Kettering, vice president and chief engineer,<br />
General Motors Research Corporation, Dayton;<br />
James Herron, nationally known student of human<br />
problems in industry, Chicago; Ernest N. Smith, general<br />
manager. American Automoible Association,<br />
Washington, D. C.; Judge Shepard Bryan, Atlanta,<br />
Ga. ; Mrs. Frank B. Gilbreth, Mount Claire, N. J.;<br />
Dr. Augustus Dyer, Vanderbilt University, Nashville,<br />
Tenn. ; Dr. F. L. Hoffman, Babson Institute, Wellesly<br />
Hills, Mass. ; Dr. A. H. Ryan, professor of physiology.<br />
Tufts College: Cyrus Ching, United States' Rubber<br />
Company, New York City; Mrs. John Sherman, president.<br />
General Federation of Women's Clubs, Estes<br />
Park, Colo. ; Bishop Woodcock, Episcopal Diocese of<br />
Kentucky, Louisville; W. W. Freeman, president,<br />
Union Gas ct Electric Company, Cincinnati; D. F.<br />
Afflack, Universal Portland Cement Company, Chicago;<br />
Dr. C. E, A. Winslow. Yale University, and Dr.<br />
A. J. Pacini, Chicago.<br />
Some industrial features of the Congress will be<br />
an extensive report of a study made by nationally<br />
known experts on the causes of benzol poisoning; a<br />
thorough report of research work into corrosion and<br />
its relations to safety in chemical plants; prevention<br />
of lead poisoning and health education of our foreign<br />
families. Industries are coming more and more to<br />
realize that the majority of accidents are due primarily<br />
to mental conditions of the individual and this attitude<br />
is reflected in the devotion of much time by the various<br />
sections of the Council to the fascinating study<br />
of the mental causes of accidents. Psychiatrists, psychologists,<br />
physicians and surgeons and laymen noted<br />
for extensive research into this phase of safety work<br />
are included on the Congress program.<br />
The council will exhibit its new industrial safety<br />
film which is being produced at a cost of $10,000 and<br />
from six to ten other films dealing with safety in industry.<br />
One hundred new and unique types of safeguards<br />
which have been developed during the past<br />
year will be shown by lantern slides. Many of the<br />
industrial sections will have exhibits in connection<br />
with their sessions. These exhibits will consist »f<br />
the mechanics of accident prevention.<br />
Representatives of the American Automobile Association,<br />
the National Automobile Chamber of Commerce<br />
and the International Chiefs of Police Association<br />
will be brought together in the public safety program<br />
of the Congress. There will be a special street<br />
and highway exhibit consisting of records and charts,<br />
signs and signals, etc., used in street traffic control<br />
and regulation and public safety work.<br />
By J. F. Irby*<br />
A Punch Pressing Engagement<br />
Every shop in the country working with metals<br />
may not have among its equipment a punch press of<br />
such dimensions as the one illustrated here. Still there<br />
are few shop owners that are not faced, at one time<br />
•Allmetals Welding & Mfg. Company, Baltimore, Md.<br />
Tke Blast FumaceS Stool PI<br />
or another, with the spectre of a shut-down because<br />
of damaged machiner}-. Thus the main point in the<br />
following incident should be interesting as typical of<br />
the wide variety of repair and reclamation work done<br />
by welding. »<br />
\\ e may start with the statement that when broken<br />
equipment is carefully repaired with a reinforced oxyacetylene<br />
weld it is stronger at the repaired section<br />
than it was originally. Some skeptics might say,<br />
'Acs, probably," or "Undoubtedly, in a laboratory<br />
test, but does the same hold good in practice?"<br />
ft does! But to answer it most satisfactorily is to<br />
prove it.<br />
Fig. 1 shows a punch press frame, a gray iron<br />
casting weighing approximately two tons. A piece of<br />
metal too thick or tough broke the casting square off<br />
at the level of the table. The frame was cracked<br />
through a hollow rectangular section 1'^ in. wide by<br />
20 in. deep, 6 in. thick at front, 1 '•'> in. at the back and<br />
2 in. thick at sides.<br />
After the edges were carefully veed and the frame<br />
accurately aligned, it was preheated by gas burners<br />
and a good welding job done by competent oxy-acety-<br />
Compound fractures<br />
lene operators. The casting was carefully covered to<br />
protect it from any draughts during welding, and this<br />
covering was left in place until the casting had cooled.<br />
After this proper annealing the punch press frame<br />
was put back in service and stood up under the work<br />
for a year. Then someone again fed it too big a bite<br />
and the frame broke. Of course, the frame was sent<br />
to same shop which had welded it after the first accident.<br />
It wes repaired and is shown in the second<br />
illustration ready for another term of service.<br />
The point in the story is not that one good job<br />
deserves another, nor that the competent welder is an<br />
ever ready help in time of trouble, but that the second<br />
break did not run through the old weld. This was<br />
left unharmed. Nor was the new break within the<br />
region preheated for the old weld. It was in the crank<br />
bearing 4 ft. away. This then demonstrates the<br />
original proposition, that a second break in a properly<br />
made weld need never be feared.
462<br />
lino Blast Fu rnaco S Steel Plant<br />
< tctober, 1924<br />
Engineers' Society of Western Pennsylvania<br />
Moves Into Larger Quarters<br />
Transformed Hawaiian Room Meets Expanded Needs<br />
PITTSBURGH has one of the oldest and largest<br />
local engineering societies in the country, the<br />
Engineers' Society of Western Pennsylvania, <strong>org</strong>anized<br />
and chartered under the laws of Pennsylvania<br />
in March, 1880. Starting wit ha membership of 110<br />
it has kept pace with the growth of the city until it<br />
now has 1,500 members.<br />
The first quarters occupied by the society were at<br />
410 Penn Avenue. The first meeting was held on<br />
March 20, 1880. Many scientific men of national and<br />
international reputation have served as officers and<br />
assisted in placing the <strong>org</strong>anization in the important<br />
position it holds today. Among those who served as<br />
president in the early years are William Metcalf, Dr.<br />
John A. Brashear, Thos. H. Johnson, Thos. P. Roberts,<br />
Ge<strong>org</strong>e S. Davison and E. B. Taylor. Several<br />
changes in quarters have been made in keeping with<br />
of the Organization<br />
the growth of the <strong>org</strong>anization and in November, 1921,<br />
they moved into the William Penn Hotel. Their location<br />
has proved so popular that they have been obliged<br />
to increase their space by securing the Hawaiian<br />
Room, giving them a large attractive club room and<br />
an administration office.<br />
Service to the community, industry, and the engineering<br />
profession is the object of the <strong>org</strong>anization.<br />
Thirty technical meetings a year are held for the purpose<br />
of keeping the members in touch with the latest<br />
developments in engineering and to give them an opportunity<br />
to exchange experiences and ideas. Papers<br />
and discussions presented are published in the monthly<br />
proceedings, forming valuable reference books. These<br />
proceedings have a circulation of about 2,000 and are to<br />
be found in libraries all over the country. Other<br />
activities include periodic inspection trips to plants in<br />
An intimate picture of commodious club facilities now extended to engineers of Western Pennsylvania
October, 1924<br />
and about Pittsburgh, social events, including an annual<br />
banquet for which speakers of international reputation<br />
are secured. Over 1,000 engineers and executives<br />
attended last year's dinner. Special tables are<br />
reserved in the cafeteria of the William Penn Hotel<br />
forming a noonday meeting place for a large number<br />
of the downtown members. The total attendance at<br />
all functions of the society last year was 4236.<br />
The present officers are Frederic Crabtree, president;<br />
Walter B. Spellmire and William E. Fohl, vice<br />
presidents; A. Stucki, treasurer, and K. F. Treschow,<br />
secretary.<br />
Butesin Picrate—A New Treatment for Burns<br />
By Floyd K. Thayer*<br />
In spite of the very extensive research done in the<br />
last 50 years, on both, naturally occurring and synthetic<br />
medicinals, it is a rare matter to find antiseptic and<br />
anesthetic action combined in the same compound.<br />
Where both actions are found, one or the other is<br />
quite certain to be only incidental to the main physiologic<br />
function of the compound; for example: The<br />
mild analgesic action of phenol compared to its germicidal<br />
power, or the very slight antiseptic action of anesthetics<br />
of the anesthesin and orthoform type.<br />
To increase the dosage to a point where both<br />
functions would be definitely apparent, is likely to<br />
bring about undesirable and perhaps toxic reactions.<br />
The advantages of a compound possessing both, anesthetic<br />
and antiseptic action in a marked degree, are<br />
quite obvious. While new uses for such a chemical<br />
might occur to the ingenious practitioner, yet there<br />
can hardly be a more important objective than its application<br />
to the treatment of burns.<br />
Picric acid has long been known to possess antiseptic<br />
properties. Its phenol coefficient, as given by<br />
various authors, varies from 4 to 7. Recent literature<br />
points out the value of picric acid as an antiseptic, especially<br />
in the treatment of burns.<br />
Knowing the property of picric acid to form salts<br />
with many basic compounds, it occurred to us that it<br />
would be desirable to combine it chemically with an<br />
anesthetic. The anesthetic chosen was Butesin, which<br />
is of the water-insoluble type and two to four times<br />
as strong as Anesthesin. Chemically, Butesin is the<br />
n-butyl ester of para-aminobenzoic acid.<br />
Butesin Picrate is formed by reacting aqueous solutions<br />
of picric acid and butesin hydrochloride. The<br />
product separates as a yellow solid having a melting<br />
point of 109 deg. to 110 deg. C. It is odorless, but has<br />
a slightly bitter taste. Its solution does not stain to<br />
anywhere near the same degree that a picric acid<br />
solution does. The new- compound contains, 71.6 per<br />
cent butesin and 28.4 per cent picric acid.<br />
Butesin Picrate is soluble in water, 1 part in 2000;<br />
in cottonseed oil. 1 part in 100. In alcohol, ether and<br />
benzene it is readily soluble.<br />
Butesin Picrate, synthesized with the double purpose<br />
in view, of obtaining anesthetic and antiseptic<br />
action in the same chemical compound, was submitted<br />
to not only pharmacological tests, but to bacteriological<br />
as well.<br />
As a means of ascertaining its anesthetic efficiency,<br />
and at the same time testing for possible irritation, the<br />
IneBlastfuniaceSSteel Plant<br />
463<br />
eye of a rabbit was flooded with a 1 :2000 aqueous solution<br />
of Butesin Picrate for one minute. Immediately<br />
thereupon, the point of a pencil was drawn across the<br />
cornea of the eye without the rabbit showing the<br />
slightest sign of winking. This is classed as immediate<br />
anesthesia. The duration was from 15 to 20<br />
minutes. At no time was any irritation noticeable.<br />
Bacteriological tests were made by dissolving<br />
Butesin Picrate in sterile distilled w-ater—1 part to<br />
2000. A culture of bacteria isolated from a burn and<br />
containing streptococci and staphylococci was placed<br />
in contact with this aqueous solution. Subcultures,<br />
taken after intervals of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 hours, failed<br />
to show any growth whereas an immediate subculture<br />
displayed a heavy growth.<br />
For clinical purposes Butesin Picrate is marketed<br />
in two preparations. It is incorporated in a base composed<br />
of white wax, paraffin, mineral oil, borax and<br />
water. A cottonseed oil solution is likewise used.<br />
Both of these preparations contain 1 per cent of Butesin<br />
Picrate.<br />
In a large steel plant, near Chicago, hundreds of<br />
burn cases, ranging from first to third degree burns,<br />
have been treated with Butesin Picrate preparations,<br />
with results which the surgeon in charge characterized<br />
as "very wonderful."<br />
This new treatment has been found efficacious on<br />
electric burns as on steam and hot metal burns. One<br />
doctor writes that burns heal in about one half the<br />
usual time under Butesin Picrate.<br />
So strongly analgesic is the action of this anesthetic-antiseptic<br />
that all burning sensation disappears<br />
within 15 to 30 minutes. The ointment anesthetizes<br />
the cornea as readily as the aqueous solution.<br />
After using the Butesin Picrate treatment in a<br />
large number of burn cases, one doctor reported how<br />
pleased he was to find an almost entire absence of<br />
that offensive odor so often encountered when the first<br />
dressing is removed. This was just another way of<br />
saying that there was freedom from saprophytic action.<br />
Success of this new remedy has not been confined<br />
alone to burns. Ulcers, lesions, and other painful,<br />
denuded skin areas respond in a most gratifying manner<br />
to treatment with Butesin Picrate Ointment. Here<br />
again, as in the case of burns, prompt relief t r om pain<br />
is afforded and, at the same time, under strictly aseptic<br />
conditions.<br />
In order to discover if any toxic symptoms might<br />
result, should absorption take place after application<br />
of the ointment to large areas of denuded skin, over<br />
four and one half cubic centimeters (4y Cc.) of saturated<br />
aqueous solution of Butesin Picrate, per kilogram<br />
bodyweight, was injected directly into the circulation<br />
of a rabbit and without the slightest untoward<br />
effect.—The American Journal of Clinical Medicine.<br />
March, 1924.<br />
Tar Yield of Western Lignites<br />
A large number of assay retort tests of samples<br />
of lignite taken from public lands in the western states<br />
have recently been made by the Interior Department<br />
at the oil-shale laboratory of the Bureau of Mines,<br />
Boulder, Colorado. The Colorado lignites so far tested<br />
yielded from 8 to 10 gallons of tar to the ton. Samples<br />
of Wyoming lignite yielded as high as 20 gallons<br />
•Research Chemist, The Abbott Laboratories, Chicago, 111. to the ton.
464<br />
The Blast Ft. mace vS> Steel Plant<br />
CURRENT REVIEW<br />
Iron Trade Review<br />
August 28.<br />
Steel output is gradually rising, production again<br />
being about 50 per cent for the first time since June.<br />
Railroads are coming into the market for 250,000 tons<br />
of rails and are negotiating for 12,000 cars. The pig<br />
iron market continues to gain strength, with an increase<br />
in the melt. More users are closing for their<br />
fourth quarter requirements.<br />
Iron Trade Review's composite of 14 leading iron<br />
and steel products this week is $39.35 against $39.37<br />
in the preceding week, $41.14 three months ago and<br />
$44.84 a year ago.<br />
In the foreign markets the feature this week is the<br />
anxiety expressed in Great Britain and France respecting<br />
a possibility of increasing competition from the<br />
German source as negotiations over the Dawes plan<br />
reach consolation. Sales are being made by the German<br />
manufacturers in Birmingham, England under<br />
the British market price. A report from Brussels<br />
states that 30,000 Belgian miners have gone on strike<br />
for higher wages.<br />
An article in this issue by Joseph Horton, British<br />
correspondent of Iron Trade Review outlines the plan<br />
in use in Great Britain for exporting tin plate. The<br />
British manufacturers are shipping abroad annually<br />
nearly five times the tonnage sold abroad by Americans,<br />
their cargoes going regularly to 16 countries.<br />
J. W. Bolton contributes an article to this issue<br />
giving the results of studies of the structure of gray<br />
iron. He describes macroscopic and low power mag<br />
nification methods which reveal the general structure<br />
of gray iron and semisteel. This article is accompanied<br />
by many photographic specimens.<br />
September 4.<br />
Pig iron shipments continue to increase in volume<br />
and the undertone of the market is strong, the higher<br />
levels recently adopted appearing more firmly established.<br />
The four months' decline in pig iron production<br />
was checked in August which is the first month<br />
to show increase since March. The total production<br />
in August was 1,874,920 tons against 1,783,457 tons<br />
in July. The August rate represents 54 per cent of<br />
that in March. Railroads are putting out more inquiries<br />
for equipment and 17,000 cars now are pending.<br />
Iron Trade Review's weekly composite is $39.23,<br />
the lowest since August, 1922, and compares with<br />
$39.35 in the previous week and $44.68 one year ago.<br />
The cessation of the British structural strike is creating<br />
a renewed demand for material in that country.<br />
The strike checked business in that country for more<br />
than seven weeks.<br />
Vincent Delport, French correspondent of Iron<br />
Trade Review contributed to this issue an article describing<br />
the business and technical features in the<br />
building of locomotives in France.<br />
September 11.<br />
October, 1924<br />
Evidence of a revival m the steel market is more<br />
general. Railroads have placed 12.000 cars in the week<br />
and opened new negotiations.<br />
August gain in steel ingot production after three<br />
months of decline proves to have been greater than<br />
was previously indicated and represents a gain of 36<br />
per cent over July, the production in August going up<br />
to an annual rate of 30,400 tons compared with 22,360<br />
tons in July, this is on the basis of 60.5 per cent of the<br />
rate of ingot production in March which was the highest<br />
in history. Despite the upward trend in prices of<br />
pig iron and scrap, a slight dropping tendency in the<br />
general market is registered, but Iron Trade Review's<br />
composite fo 14 leading iron and steel products is<br />
$39.15 against $39.33 the previous week and an average<br />
of $39.33 for August.<br />
This issue is devoted largely to material of special<br />
interest to those concerned with the testing of material.<br />
An article deals with the field of magnetic testing<br />
and describes recent progress. Another outlines<br />
methods for inspection of stock by the Brinell test.<br />
The technic of X-ray testing is improving, as outlined<br />
in an article detailing the experience at the<br />
Watertown Arsenal in the application of X-ray process<br />
to steel castings. Numerous illustrations are given<br />
with these articles.<br />
Complete details are given pertaining to the sixth<br />
annual convention of the American Society for Steel<br />
Treating in Boston, September 2.<br />
September 18.<br />
A slightly easier tendency is noted in some districts<br />
with respect to pig iron prices, as the majority<br />
of melters have closed for their fourth quarter needs<br />
and furnaces decline to quote for the first quarter of<br />
1925. On a 4,000 ton inquiry for foundry iron for the<br />
first half of 1925. $10, lake furnace and $1950 valley.<br />
were named.<br />
Iron Trade Review's composite this week shows<br />
another decline to $38.95 against $39.15 in the preceding<br />
week shows another decline to $38.95 against<br />
$39.15 in the preceding week, weakness in steel prices<br />
being the principal cause. Eastern plates are offered<br />
at 1.60c to 1.70c per pound. Some of the Y'alley producers<br />
of sheets, bars, billets and slabs have abolished<br />
the basing point differential as between Valley and<br />
Pittsburgh. The railroads are the heaviest buyers in<br />
the steel markets at present.<br />
Some hesitancy is expressed in the Western markets<br />
as the time is near for the effect of the Federal<br />
Trade Commission's cease and desist order, with respect<br />
to Pittsburgh basing point controversy. The<br />
Steel Corporation has not announced its future course<br />
and has not availed itself of the opportunity to appeal,<br />
at this date.
October. 1924<br />
More blast furnaces are going into operation, but<br />
the recovery in this department and in steel making<br />
is moderate.<br />
The forecasting of machine tool building and equipment<br />
demand, by means of charts and reference to<br />
business cycles is outlined in this issue by Ernest F.<br />
Du Brul.<br />
A complete report is given of the autumn meeting<br />
of the Iron and Steel Institute, Great Britain, in London,<br />
September 4. The feature in the meeting was<br />
the address by the president urging British manufacturers<br />
to adopt more intensive methods of labor and<br />
fuel saving.<br />
Friends of James A. Campbell, president of<br />
Youngstown Sheet & Tube Company attended a dinner<br />
in Cleveland September 11 on the occasion of his<br />
70th birthday. The dinner was attended by Charles<br />
M. Schwab, E. G. Grace and other prominent steel<br />
men from other cities.<br />
Recent Patents, U. S. and Foreign<br />
Producing ferrochrome and other ferrous alloys.<br />
D. W. Berlin. E. P. 201,520, 19.2.23. Conv., 26.7.22.<br />
Electrodes formed from a mixture of chrome or<br />
other ore, an exothermic reducing agent, e.g., silicon<br />
or silicon-aluminium, and a binding agent, are coupled<br />
in an electric furnace in contact with molten slag or<br />
metal. The ore is reduced and gradually melted into<br />
the bath. The electrodes may be made of higher conductivity<br />
by embedding iron or an alloy of iron in the<br />
mass.—C. A. K.<br />
Producing rustless iron and steel. D. W. Berlin.<br />
E. P. 202,952, 27.2.23. Conv., 28.8.22.<br />
Chromium or an alloy of chromium is formed into<br />
electrodes and caused to melt into a bath of iron by<br />
means of a suitable electric current. The operation<br />
may be effected in an ordinary Martin furnace. (Cf.<br />
preceding abstract.)—C. A. K.<br />
Process of coating metals (e.g., iron with chromium).<br />
H. C. P. Weber. U. S. P. 1,497,417, 10.6.24.<br />
Appl., 31.3.20.<br />
An article of iron or an iron alloy is cleaned, dried,<br />
covered with a layer of chromium chloride, and placed<br />
in an evacuated space. On heating ferric chloride is<br />
formed and volatilizes, while a coating of chromium<br />
is obtained on the article. The depth of the coating is<br />
controlled tcy the temperature and time of treatment, a<br />
layer 0.2 mm. thick being obtained in 4 hrs. at 1000<br />
deg. Coatings of tungsten, molybdenum, uranium,<br />
zirconium, and other difficulty reducible metals on iron<br />
or other metal or matelloid may be obtained in this<br />
way. In place of the chloride, other volatile compounds<br />
of the metals to be applied, such as the cyanides<br />
or carbonyls, may be used. The coatings are very<br />
resistant to oxidation even at high temperatures.<br />
—T. S. W.<br />
Alloy steel. W. N. Bratton, Assr. to Climax Molybdenum<br />
Co. U. S. P. 1,498,071, 17.6.24. Appl., 5.-<br />
12.23.<br />
A steel containing 1—2.5 per cent Mn. up to 1.25<br />
per cent Mo, up to 1 per cent C, and up to 3.5 per cent<br />
Ni, together with other ingredients if desired, is very<br />
tough.—T. S. W.<br />
Composition for hardening steel. W. C. Bassett.<br />
U. S. P. 1,499,285, 24.6.**. Appl.. 18.11.22.<br />
The Blast furnace 3Steel Plant<br />
405<br />
A case-hardening mixture contains over 50 per cent<br />
of sawdust; the remainder consists of charcoal together<br />
with a smaller amount of sodium carbonate and<br />
magnesium carbonate, the last two constituents together<br />
being somewhat over 5 per cent.—G S. W.<br />
Drawing, rolling, and wire-drawing metals. G de<br />
Dudzeele. E. P. 210,719, 27.3.23. Conv., 5.2.23.<br />
The surface of the metal to be treated is amalgamated<br />
by any known method, e.g., by dipping in a 10<br />
per cent aqueous solution of mercuric chloride. The<br />
coefficient of friction of the surface is so reduced that<br />
several successive mechanical treatments may be effected<br />
without the necessity of cleaning- or annealing<br />
after each operation.—C. A. K.<br />
Production of aluminium and silicon and other elements<br />
from aluminiferous substances such as clav or<br />
bauxite. L. D. Hooper. E. P. 217,376, 14.4.23.<br />
In the production of aluminium from aluminiferous<br />
material, such as clay or bauxite, iron and other metal<br />
oxides and silica present in the material are reduced<br />
to the elements by heating with sufficient aluminum to<br />
reduce all the oxides except the alumina, and alumina<br />
is separated from the product, and subsequently converted<br />
into aluminium by the usual process. Variations<br />
which may be made in the process according to<br />
the composition of the material, include the addition<br />
of silicon, ferro-silicon, iron, silicon carbide, or carbon,<br />
or mixtures of these, or of fluxes such as fluorspar and<br />
cryolite to the charge heating the mixture in vacuo or<br />
under any suitable pressure; and carrying out the<br />
process in the presence of air or other gases. When<br />
reduction is complete, alumina is separated from the<br />
other constituents of the mass, either by so adjusting<br />
the charge and the conditions that the reduction products<br />
and the alumina separate in two layers, or by producing<br />
a mixture which can be ground to a powder,<br />
and then separating iron and other reduction products<br />
by magnetic means. (Reference is directed, in pursuance<br />
of Sept. 7, Sub-sect. 4, of the Patents and Designs<br />
Acts, 1907 and 1919, to E P. 6132 of 1902 and<br />
14,572 of 1900.)—L. A. C.<br />
Wet magnetic separation of material by means of<br />
roller or cylinder separators. P. C. Rushen. From F.<br />
Krupp A.-G Grusonwerke. E. P. 217,817, 9.10.23.<br />
Liquid is sprayed onto the surface of the roller<br />
magnet, or stationary drum, above the level of the<br />
slime, so that a film of liquid is carried down on the<br />
surface of the roller into the slime. The magneticmaterial<br />
in the slime is drawn onto the face of the<br />
roller within this film and is removed by a jet or<br />
scraper. In the case of an inclined separating plant.<br />
the axes of the rollers are adjustable so that the film<br />
liquid meets the slime at any desired point. The<br />
process is applicable to magnetic rollers or to stationary<br />
drums with internal rotary magnets and external<br />
counter poles.—G. S. W.<br />
Metallurgical (open-hearth) furnaces. F. H. Loftus.<br />
E. P. 217,943, 22.1.23.<br />
The fuel gas from the regenerators of an openhearth<br />
furnace is delivered, under pressure, through a<br />
nozzle into a mixing chamber, crossing the air uptake.<br />
A jet, supplied with preheated air from the regenerators<br />
by a "booster" fan, is situated at the back of the<br />
gooseneck opposite the nozzle in order to increase the<br />
velocity of the flame and to promote more perfect combustion.<br />
If combustion in the mixing chamber is too
466<br />
fierce, it may be damped by supplying waste gas to the<br />
"booster" jet in place of air. The gas nozzle and mixing<br />
chamber are designed so that a wide shallow flame<br />
is directed onto the hearth of the furnace and away<br />
from the walls and roof. A small air port is situated<br />
above the mixing chamber to provide a blanket of air<br />
around the roof and walls as a further protection from<br />
the flame. The gas nozzle is lined throughout with<br />
refractory material and may be water-cooled. With<br />
the exception of the "booster" jet controls, the design<br />
of the furnace does not involve the use of any additional<br />
valves besides the usual reversing valves.<br />
—G. S. W.<br />
Allovs. E. C. R. Marks. From Kemet Laboratories<br />
Co.,'inc., E. P. 217,991, 26.3.23.<br />
Binary alloys of iron and aluminum containing<br />
more than 9 per cent Al exhibit high electrical and<br />
heat resistance, but are brittle. The addition of manganese<br />
or chromium increases the ductility of the<br />
alloy and enables it to be worked. Alloys of suitable<br />
composition contain Al 1(3—16 per cent (12 per cent),<br />
Cr less than 20 per cent (19 per cent), C not more than<br />
1 per cent—C. A. K.<br />
Froth-flotation concentration of ores and the like.<br />
Minerals Separation, Ltd. From Minerals Separation<br />
North American Corp., Ltd. E. P. 218,012, 20.3.23.<br />
Ore pulp is subjected to a froth-flotation separation<br />
using a frothing agent, such as xylene or solvent naphtha,<br />
containing a large proportion of aromatic hydrocarbons<br />
characterized by the presense of one or more<br />
methyl groups. Xylene alone can be used with advantage,<br />
particularly in separating galena from blende<br />
and pyrites. With toluene and to a greater extent<br />
with the higher members of the series, there is a tendency<br />
for blende to pass with the galena into the froth.<br />
The frothing re-agent may contain heavy aromatic<br />
coal tar derivatives (cresol, naphthalene, anthracene,<br />
etc.) or asphaltic material in solution. Such heavy hydrocarbons<br />
or the like stabilize the froth and increase<br />
its carrying capacity. These flotation agents may be<br />
used for concentrating a more valuable metal in the<br />
presence of iron, e.g., zinc or copper mineral from ores<br />
containing iron pyrites. The process may also be adjusted<br />
to obtain a series of concentrates of different<br />
metals from an ore as in the case of a lead-zinc-silver<br />
ore.—G. S. W.<br />
Centrifugal separator (for recovering precious metals).<br />
E. I. and Le R. D. West, Assrs. to W. H. Raplee.<br />
U. S. P. 1,498,768, 24.6.24. Appl, 12.7.23.<br />
The material is delivered from a feed hopper to a<br />
horizontal rotary barrel provided with annular ridges<br />
on its inner surface. The hopper communicates with a<br />
central bore in one end of the barrel. The other end<br />
of the barrel is closed by a hollow member provided<br />
with radial ports adjacent to the end of the barrel, and<br />
surrounded by a fixed casing into which the separated<br />
material is drawn by a pump.—II. H.<br />
Boiler corrosion and treatment of boiler feed water.<br />
A. Winstanley. Water and Water Eng., 1924, 26, 65<br />
—69.<br />
In a number of boiler installations in which pitting<br />
occurred the lime-soda method of feed water treatment<br />
was used and prevalence of sodium salts (particularly<br />
sodium sulphate) in the water was noted. Experiments<br />
were therefore made to determine the effect of<br />
concentrated solutions of these salts on boiler steel.<br />
IheDlast l-iiniaceAteel Plant<br />
October, 1924<br />
Distinct pitting, visible to the naked eye, after 6<br />
months, and pitting visible under a hand lens, after 9<br />
months, occurred in bars of new boiler steel suspended<br />
in boilers the feed water of which contained 18.62 and<br />
9.74 grains of sodium sulphate per gal, respectively,<br />
increasing to 1762.8 and 760.4 grains per gal. after the<br />
normal period of running. The quantity of salts in<br />
solution was considerably less after treatment with<br />
barium hydroxide than after the lime-soda treatment.<br />
The approximate weights of sodium sulphate and<br />
chloride required for saturation of water boiling under<br />
pressures up to 100 lb. were determined. For sodium<br />
sulphate the concentration varied from 26,465 grains<br />
per gal. at 10 lb. to 25,380 at 100 lb., and for sodium<br />
chloride from 28,000 at 10 lb. to 22,040 at 40 lb. The<br />
temperature of the water was in each case higher than<br />
that of the steam, a condition which not only leads<br />
to loss of heat but also produces foaming.—R. E. T.<br />
Nickel Production in Canada<br />
The revised statistics of nickel in Canada for the<br />
year 1923 show that there has been a marked revival<br />
in production. The output last year was 62,057,835<br />
lb., contained in cupronickel matte, as compared with<br />
17,355,056 in the previous year, whilst the nickel contents<br />
resulting from the treatment of silver-cobalt<br />
ores increased in 1923 to 396,007 lb. from 242,067 lb.<br />
in 1922. The total computed value of the nickel production<br />
was $18,332,077, based on a value of 29-35<br />
cents a pound. The total amount of ore mined by the<br />
three companies, Mond, British America and International,<br />
was 1,187,355 tons. The output of nickel<br />
for the three months of this year shows an increase of<br />
74 per cent, compared with the corresponding period<br />
of the past calendar year. The precious metals recovered<br />
during the first quarter of 1924, by r the nickel refineries,<br />
were as follows: Gold $4,988^ silver $10,266,<br />
platinum $50,901 (495 oz.), palladium $42,5S6 (638<br />
oz.), rhodium $20,476 (276 oz.), ruthenium $12,820<br />
(105 oz.).<br />
BOOK REVIEW<br />
By E. H. MCCLELLAND*<br />
Coal Carbonization, by Horace C. Porter. 442 pp.<br />
1924. Cloth. $6. Chemical Catalog Company, Inc., 19<br />
East 24th St., New York City. (American Chemical Society.<br />
Monograph Series.)<br />
In these days of specialization it is increasingly<br />
difficult to keep pace with technical progress, and<br />
there is always a welcome for a new book which bears<br />
the stamp of authority and which affords an adequate<br />
survey of any important industry.<br />
Not the least gratifying feature of a technical book<br />
is a preface in which the author directly and concisely<br />
tells the reader exactly what he intends to do. As an<br />
example of what a preface should be, there are few<br />
better instances than that in Dr. Porter's "Coal Carbonization,"<br />
and the following review, which is primarily<br />
descriptive rather than critical, is based in part<br />
upon this preface and upon the Introduction by Professor<br />
S. W. Parr, who, like the author, is well known<br />
in the field of fuel technology.<br />
Of the rather limited number of books on coke<br />
appearing during recent years, the greater number<br />
have been European, and most of those in the Eng-
October, 1924<br />
lish language have been produced in England where<br />
many of the problems are essentially different from<br />
those in the United States. There is, therefore, ample<br />
justification for a book by an American writer, and<br />
the author—a chemical engineer, for many years engaged<br />
in fuel investigations with the United States<br />
Bureau of Mines, and for a time with the Koppers<br />
Company—brings to his task a rich fund of scientific<br />
training and technical experience.<br />
For approximately 75 years, or until the end of<br />
the nineteenth century, the carbonization of coal was<br />
carried on in substantially the same way as at the<br />
outset, with but slight attention to modifications or<br />
improvements; but during recent years, many highlytrained<br />
specialists have given their attention to unfolding<br />
the complexities of the subject, and great<br />
progress has been made. As a consequence, the subject<br />
of coal carbonization is now too extensive to be<br />
treated exhaustively in a single volume. The present<br />
work, however, is comprehensive, and is thorough to<br />
the extent of outlining the economic situation, incorporating<br />
the essential theory, describing the industrial<br />
equipment for coal carbonization and explaining its<br />
operation, and discussing the more important products.<br />
The book is provided with copious footnote<br />
references to original sources of information, and it is<br />
significant of the rapid recent development in this<br />
field that most of the references wffiich the author finds<br />
it worth while to cite are to literature published<br />
within the last four or five years.<br />
-£_ The book does not deal with historical development.-HOT<br />
with present (and to a limited extent,<br />
future) conditions. The treatment is well balanced;<br />
the author sponsors no one system, but attempts to<br />
give a typical cross-section of the industry today. It<br />
is an unbiased treatise in which topics are treated in<br />
accordance with their relative importance as determined<br />
by the present status and trend of the industry.<br />
Chief attention is given to coking and gas making<br />
at high temperatures. Today, on the basis of capital<br />
investment and value of products, by-product coking<br />
constitutes 75 per cent of the carbonization industry<br />
in America, and gives promise of retaining a relatively<br />
prominent position for some time to come, and we<br />
find that approximately half the book is devoted to<br />
the working of by-product coking plants, various types<br />
of by-product ovens, heating of the ovens, and recovery<br />
of by-products. The description of ovens is<br />
confined to types in use in the United States, and these<br />
are described in great detail with numerous illustrations<br />
and diagrams'. A list of other types is given<br />
with citation of references to descriptive articles<br />
thereon, thus giving the book a reference value beyond<br />
the scope of its text. Low-temperature and<br />
miscellaneous processes are dealt with briefly, two<br />
chapters deal respectively with "The Gas Industry"<br />
and "The Processes of Gas Manufacture by Coal Carbonization,"<br />
and the final chapter is concerned with<br />
"The Application of the Products of Coal Carbonization."<br />
An appendix contains a number of useful<br />
tables and charts on such subjects as composition of<br />
coals, yield of coke, data on oven charging, and plant<br />
lay-out. One of the most interesting is a chronological<br />
table of by-product coke plants in the United<br />
States. The fact that this table has been corrected up<br />
to March 1, 1924, is but one of the evidences throughout<br />
the book that the author has brought his work up<br />
to date,<br />
The Blast RirnaceSSteel Plant<br />
467<br />
The book is primarily "for the average technically<br />
trained man, chemist, business executive, or engineer.<br />
who requires a knowdedge of the principles and an outline<br />
of the practice in coal carbonization." Though<br />
it does not go into great detail regarding the uses of<br />
coke, it will be of service in the steel industry as blast<br />
furnace gas is now an important item in coke manufacture,<br />
and more than three-fourths of the coke produced<br />
finds application as blast furnace fuel.<br />
Dr. Porter's "Coal Carbonization" is easily one of<br />
the most directly useful of the "Monograph Series"<br />
being issued under the auspices of the American<br />
Chemical Society. Like many (but not all) of the<br />
other works in this series, it contains a table of contents<br />
which is more than a mere list of chapter headings.<br />
This detailed table of contents is a valuable<br />
feature which should be embodied in every technical<br />
book, as it is the only medium through which the<br />
reader is enabled to make a quick survey of the scope<br />
and arrangment of the work. Such a table of contents<br />
should not be expected to perform the functions of<br />
an index, but in the present work it may serve to supplement<br />
the "Index of Subjects" which is 'carelessly<br />
made and very inadequate. Judging by evidences of<br />
inconsistency with the orthography of the text, this<br />
"Index of Subjects" is not the work of the author.<br />
There is little attention to synonyms and cross-indexing<br />
and it fails to bring out satisfactorily the subject<br />
matter of the text. For example, there is only a single<br />
entry under "By-product," and only one each under<br />
"Cost" and "Costs."<br />
The book is a creditable one. In the words of<br />
Professor Parr's Introduction, "The author is peculiarly<br />
well fitted by both training and experience for<br />
his task and as a result there has been brought together,<br />
a fund of information not otherwise accessible<br />
in any compact and convenient form. His treatment<br />
of the entire field has been impartial, conservative,<br />
scientific, and both the author and the industry are<br />
to be congratulated on the result."<br />
"Anhaltszahlen for den Energieverbrauch in Eisenhuettenwerken."<br />
(Datas on Energy Requirements<br />
in Iron and Steel Plants), by the Heat Economy Bureau<br />
of the German Iron and Steel Institute. 74<br />
pages 7y2xl0y. $1.75 at P. F. Hermann, Century<br />
Building, Pittsburgh, Pa.<br />
The book is of utmost interest and gives all kinds<br />
of datas for energy use in coke ovens, blast furnaces,<br />
open hearth furnaces and converters, rolling mills,<br />
just as well as exact datas on energy with every power<br />
machine and other equipment used in iron and steel<br />
works. There are, for example, every type of steam<br />
turbines, gas engines ; also losses in electrical transmission<br />
of energy are given. Especially the rolling<br />
mill datas are very complete and include not only roll<br />
train resistance of the different kinds of mills but also<br />
fuel consumption of soaking pits, heating and f<strong>org</strong>ing.<br />
annealing and enameling furnaces, etc. All in all, it<br />
is a big mass of information given in a very simple<br />
way. The only disadvantage is the German language,<br />
but, of course, there are many people around who understand<br />
this language so that this book should receive<br />
the big circulation that it deserves.<br />
"Waermestrombilder (Sankey Diagramme) Aus<br />
Dem Eisenhuettenwesen" (Diagrams and Tables on<br />
Heat Circulation in Iron and Steel Works), by the
468<br />
Heat Economy Bureau of the German Iron and Steel<br />
Institute. 20 pages 7y2x\0y2. 70 cents. Paul F.<br />
Hermann, Century Building, Pittsburgh, Pa.<br />
In quite a clear way and by tables which are only<br />
too good to be understood this very interesting booklet<br />
shows the use of heat in coke ovens, in blast furnaces,<br />
the losses of wind in cowpers, the gas distribution<br />
produced by the blast furnace as energy to the<br />
different equipment machines, etc. The heat circulation<br />
in converters and the heat economy of gas producers<br />
are shown. Y T ery exact datas are given on open<br />
hearth furnaces, also on rolling and f<strong>org</strong>ing furnaces.<br />
There are still some other tables and at the end large<br />
tables which show the heat distribution in different<br />
big plants, divided by fresh heat and use of used heat.<br />
This is a very useful booklet for every plant engineer<br />
in iron and steel business.<br />
The Science of Metals—Book Review<br />
By Zay Jeffries and Roberts S. Archer<br />
In the development of the vast complex of products<br />
and processes incident to our modern civilization,<br />
it is the rule that art precedes science. Man usually<br />
learns how before he learns why. The great variety<br />
of metal products now available, and their processes<br />
of manufacture, were developed largely by means of<br />
endless experiments without the help of general guiding<br />
principles. Metals and alloys which have been<br />
made and used for thousands of years have been subjected<br />
to scientific study for only about a half century.<br />
More and more attention has been devoted to the systematic<br />
investigation of the structure and properties<br />
of metals and alloys until, at the present time, the<br />
rate of accumulation of data is almost too rapid for<br />
digestion. We are in possession of a great store of<br />
facts, in whose assimilation the beginner may well become<br />
confused. The need is for a better classification<br />
and a more fundamental analysis of this knowledge.<br />
"The Science of Metals" is a very definite attempt<br />
by Jeffries and Archer to present clearly and relatively<br />
the fundamental principles upon which the theories of<br />
metallic structures have been built. Throughout the<br />
450 pages copious references are made to original investigators,<br />
and due credit is given to those whose<br />
labors have contributed to present accumulated<br />
knowledge.<br />
Every chapter proceeds to its calculated conclusion<br />
clearly and concisely. Two chapters carry unusual<br />
clarity and interest, Chapter V, Grain Growth<br />
and Recrystallization, and Chapter IX, Constitution<br />
of Alloys.<br />
Chapter V, Grain Growth and Recrystallization—<br />
Grain growth obviously results from tendency of matter<br />
to assume the form of greatest physical stability,<br />
which is the form of least energy. The crystallization<br />
of metals from the liquid state is always accompanied<br />
by an evolution of heat, representing the loss<br />
in kinetic energy of the atoms incident to their fixation<br />
in the rigid crystal lattice. The atoms at the<br />
surface of a liquid or solid body are less subject to the<br />
attraction of their neighbors than are the atoms in<br />
the interior. They are, therefore, more free to move<br />
and consequently possess more energy of motion. A<br />
"free" surface of any body is thus a locus of extra<br />
energy, known as "surface energy," or sometimes<br />
"surface tension." There is, therefore, a tendency for<br />
small particles, such as drops of a liquid or crystals of<br />
The Blast FurnaceSSteel Plant<br />
October, 1924<br />
a solid, to unite to form larger particles, since in doing<br />
so they diminish their surface area and hence their<br />
total energy. It follows that the most stable form for<br />
any piece of metal would be a single crystalline grain.<br />
To have the smallest possible surface area, this<br />
grain should be spherical in shape. This would not.<br />
however, necessarily give the minimum surface<br />
energy, because of the geometrical properties of the<br />
crystal. The most stable shape for a crystalline substance<br />
is often an idiomorphic form built up of the<br />
natural crystal faces. On the other hand, it is well<br />
known that small particles of certain crystalline constituents<br />
in a metallic aggregate tend on long heating<br />
to assume a spherical form. The most stable form of<br />
a metallic crystal is that of least surface energy', which<br />
will probably be either idiomorphic or spherical.<br />
There has been considerable confusion in the literature<br />
on grain growth, arising from a lack of distinction<br />
between true or stable equilibrium and metastable<br />
equilibrium. Grain growth is a process involving<br />
inertia which must be overcome, just as the friction<br />
of the material composing a mountain must be overcome<br />
before the force of gravity can level it with the<br />
plain. Similarly, the fact that, even after prolonged<br />
annealing above the recrystallization temperature.<br />
grains may be found having jagged or irregular outlines<br />
does not in any way disprove that smooth outlines<br />
would represent a condition of greater thermodynamic<br />
stability. Obviously, any roughness on the<br />
surface of a crystal is a source of increased surface<br />
energy, and hence diminished stability.<br />
Chapter IX, Constitution of Alloys—Most alloys<br />
are aggregates, in that they are made up structurally<br />
of two or more physically different constituents. The<br />
properties of an alloy, or aggregate, are determined<br />
by the quantities of the various constituents, their distribution,<br />
their specific properties and. to a smaller<br />
extent, by the surface forces between them. A rational<br />
understanding of the properties of alloys, thereforce,<br />
requires a knowdedge of alloy construction ; that<br />
is, of what constituents are present under various circumstances,<br />
and in what proportions.<br />
The problem of alloy constitution is complicated<br />
by the fact that under ordinary conditions alloys are<br />
often not in a state of physicochemical equilibrium.<br />
The internal changes which must take place to establish<br />
equilibrium proceed slowly because of the rigidity<br />
of the solid state, and at low temperatures may be entirely<br />
arrested, so that an unstable structure becomes.<br />
for all practical purposes, a stable and permanent one.<br />
It is nevertheless necessary to base the study of<br />
constitution on conditions of true equilibrium. It is<br />
only under such conditions that the constitution of an<br />
alloy is definite. The equilibrium conditon is the<br />
condition which is approached as a limit when opportunity<br />
for atomic rearrangement is given bv slow cooling<br />
or prolonged annealing. It is the standard from<br />
which actual conditions are to be considered as departures<br />
of variable and indefinite extent.<br />
From this chapter on alloys, the authors proceed<br />
logically through structure and "properties of aggregates,<br />
concluding with a summary of the evidence<br />
bearing on the nature of hardened steel, together with<br />
their views regarding the causes of hardness.<br />
Profusely illustrated with photo-micrographs.<br />
curves and essential tables, the volume affords a mine<br />
of information not otherwise readily accessible. Mc<br />
Graw-Hill are the publishers.
October, 1924<br />
The Blast Ft,rnaooSSteel Plant<br />
Pittsburgh Welcomes Iron and Steel<br />
Engineers<br />
Unusual Attendance Marked the Convention and Exposition<br />
Held by the A. I. & S. E. E.<br />
T H E Nineteenth Annual Convention and Exposition<br />
of the Association of Iron and Steel Electrical<br />
Engineers, was held at Pittsburgh September 15<br />
to 19, and demonstrated the progress that has been<br />
made in the electrical and mechanical fields the last<br />
year. The electrical displays were exhibited in Duquesne<br />
Garden, while meetings of the <strong>org</strong>anization<br />
were held in the William Penn Hotel.<br />
At a meeting in the hotel Tuesday, L. A. Umansky<br />
of the General Electric Company, Schenectady. N. Y.,<br />
spoke on "Adjustable Speed Sets for Rolling Mills."<br />
and E. G. Bailey of the Bailey Motor Company. Cleveland,<br />
delivered an address on "Combustion Control."<br />
Displays Are Numerous.<br />
All the iron and steel centers of the country had<br />
exhibitors on display. There were 155 booths at which<br />
all the achievements of not only last year, but of the<br />
last 18 years, are being displayed.<br />
One of the interesting displays showed the great<br />
elasticity of steel. A small steel ball is shot into the<br />
air and rebounds on a flat steel disc.<br />
The women who attended the convention were entertained<br />
by the Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing<br />
Company at the Pittsburgh Country Club Tuesday<br />
afternoon. Wednesday they were entertained al<br />
the Shannopin Country Club by the Duquesne Light<br />
Company and the West Penn Power Company.<br />
Wednesday was "Electrical Heating Furnace Day "<br />
Lectures were delivered by E. A. Hurme of the West<br />
inghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company, C. F.<br />
Cone of the" Hagan Corporation of Pittsburgh. J. A.<br />
Seede of the General Electric Company of Schenectady,<br />
E. D. Sibley of the Metropolitan Edison Com<br />
pany of Reading and R. S. Sawdey of the Van Dorn<br />
Iron Works of Cleveland.<br />
A. C. Cummins acted as chairman of the general<br />
arrangements committee, being assisted by A. (.<br />
Dver. R. B. Gerhardt, T. R. Dovle. A. R. lones and<br />
G. W. Quentin.<br />
Prominent Steel Men Deliver Addresses<br />
The dinner of the Association of Iron and Steel<br />
Electrical Engineers, the climax of a four-day exposition<br />
and convention commemorating the thirtieth<br />
anniversary of the application of electric motors in<br />
the manufacture of iron and steel, was held in the<br />
William Penn Hotel Thursday night. Addresses were<br />
made by men prominent in the iron and steel industry.<br />
or the engineering phase of it. R. S. Shoemaker, president<br />
of the association, presided, while L. H. Burnett.<br />
assistant to the president of the Carnegie Steel Company,<br />
was toastmaster.<br />
Homer D. Williams, president of the Carnegie Steel<br />
Company, reviewed the period and narrated the important<br />
steps taken by the introduction of electricity<br />
into steel making, recalling the first installations in the<br />
469<br />
Homestead works. A. W. Thompson, president of the<br />
Philadelphia Company, explained the phenomenal<br />
growth of the central power system, asserting that<br />
during the past year 71 independent power plants dismantled,<br />
on the basis that the power from the central<br />
system was cheaper.<br />
Other speakers were E. J. Buffington, of Chicago.<br />
Harry P. Davis, vice president of the Westinghouse<br />
Electric & Manufacturing Company, Mayor William<br />
A. Magee, and A. C. Cummings.<br />
The officers for the coming year were elected at the<br />
business session; they are A. C. Cummings, president;<br />
Ge<strong>org</strong>e H. Schaeffer, and S. S. Wales, vice<br />
president; James Farrington, treasurer; F. W. Cramer.<br />
secretary; and W. S. Hall, G. R. McDermott, A. J.<br />
Standish, directors.<br />
Convention Activities<br />
In connection with the convention, G. L. Crosby.<br />
sales manager of the Roller-Smith Company of Bethlehem,<br />
Pa., held a miniature sales convention in the convention<br />
hall. The sales campaign of the company for<br />
the ensuing year being discussed. Those who attended<br />
the miniature convention were H. E. Ransford of<br />
Pittsburgh, who is in charge of the company's exhibit;<br />
Ge<strong>org</strong>e Peikson of St. Louis,. Mortimen Frankle of<br />
Chicago, J. E. Wood of Cleveland. W. D. Merewith of<br />
Buffalo, and Joseph Esherick of Philadelphia.<br />
The Exposition just closed proved one thing conclusively<br />
: Pittsburgh is the center to which the thousands<br />
interested in steel mill problems and progress<br />
will surely gravitate.<br />
The end of a week's show usually finds the exhibitors,<br />
or those who are charged with the responsibility<br />
of demonstrating their companies' exhibits a tired lot<br />
of individuals. Last week was no exception in that<br />
respect, but in another most vital respect there was a<br />
difference; all were happily tired; they seemed to feel<br />
that their efforts were fully rewarded by the keen<br />
interest plainly' shown by the thousands of visitors who<br />
thronged the aisles and crowded about the booths.<br />
Not mere curiosity seekers were there; the method<br />
of admittance by ticket only guaranteed a quality of<br />
attendance seldom approached at industrial expositions.<br />
Even though this convention lacked the spectacular<br />
individual quality furnished in 1923 by the Electrified<br />
Foundry, under the management of the Pittsburgh<br />
Electric Furnace Company, the generally interesting<br />
features seen at all the booths furnished a fund of sum<br />
total knowledge not soon f<strong>org</strong>otten by those who<br />
observed.<br />
To describe them all is an impossible task, but to<br />
fail to call attention to at least a number of those outstanding<br />
would be equally unfair.<br />
The Ohio Electric & Controller Company. Cleveland.<br />
O., was represented bv F W. Jessop. Paul H.
470<br />
Ihe Blast kirnaceZyjteel riant<br />
October, 1924
October, 1924<br />
Diver and R. O. Werty of Cleveland, and Chas. H.<br />
Murdo, Pittsburgh; W.' II. Williams, Chicago; L. O.<br />
Morrow, Philadelphia, and R. Home, Detroit, representatives<br />
and associate members of the A. I. & S.<br />
E. E.<br />
The exhibit consisted of typical pictures of Ohio<br />
Magnets at work, and an exhibit of magnet parts especially<br />
illustrating the insulation of the various members,<br />
important because the useful life of a magnet is<br />
measured by the life of its insulation.<br />
The new Ohio Magnet Controller was shown in action<br />
consisting of the fewest possible number of parts<br />
required to close the circuit, break it with a small<br />
harmless arc and reverse the circuit through limiting<br />
resistance to drop the load quickly.<br />
As long as the magnet is connected to this controller<br />
there is a resistance across its terminals (regardless<br />
of the operating position) to absorb the<br />
enormous pick voltage induced when the magnet circuit<br />
is broken.<br />
This important feature reduces the arc, protects<br />
the insulation of the magnet and also that of any other<br />
motor or coil connected to the same system. It is<br />
essential for safety of men as well as machinery.<br />
The resistance used is Cromalox strip worked<br />
warm but capable of working red hot. The operating<br />
coil can stand across full line voltage continuously.<br />
The four contacts are uniform and easily made. The<br />
arc shields can be lifted up about a hinge to get at the<br />
contacts.<br />
Magnet controllers have given a lot of trouble<br />
hence this one which occupies but little space was examined<br />
critically' and approved by a large number of<br />
operating men attending the convention.<br />
Among the Exhibitors.<br />
The Nichols-Lintern Company, Cleveland, Ohio.<br />
This company exhibited the improved Lintern Electro<br />
Magnetic Sander, which is now furnished with a heated<br />
air chamber which provides that the condition of<br />
the sand will be such that it will respond quickly and<br />
easily. They also exhibited their new line of Universal<br />
signal lanterns, which they feel is complete,<br />
and that there is a Universal for every need.<br />
Cutler-Hammer Manufacturing Company. This<br />
company placed before the steel mill electrical engineers<br />
attending the convention a new reversing full<br />
magnetic mill controller of the inductive time limit<br />
type. The functions of the controller on exhibiton<br />
were fully demonstrated in connection with a Crocker-<br />
Wheeler 25-hp., 220-volt. d.c. motor. A flywheel and<br />
friction load is provided to stimulate the load characteristic<br />
of a roll table. Meters are provided for indicating<br />
currents taken by motor under varying accelerating<br />
conditions. The controller is of exceptional<br />
interest in that time limit acceleration is provided<br />
without the use of dashpots or electro-mechanical devices<br />
and auxiliary contacts have been practically eliminated.<br />
The exhibit controller, which is of standard<br />
design, shows clearly a simplicity of construction that<br />
has not heretofore been obtained with this type of control<br />
apparatus for steel mill operation.<br />
Duquesne Light Company and West Penn Power<br />
Company. "Live in and Expand Your Business in<br />
Greater Pittsburgh." The growth of the Pittsburgh<br />
District has been closely connected with the development<br />
and expansion of its public utility companies<br />
furnishing light and power. That these companies<br />
The Blast Furnace3Steel Plant<br />
471<br />
may more ably serve the district and be ready to meet<br />
the increased demands of this great community rapidly<br />
growing greater, power stations are constantly being<br />
enlarged, new equipment purchased and more lines<br />
and cables laid for the distribution. All along the line<br />
additional equipment is being installed as the scope of<br />
the service broadens.<br />
In order that the visiting officials, engineers and<br />
their friends attending the Iron and Steel Exposition<br />
at the Duquesne Gardens, Pittsburgh, Pa., may more<br />
fully realize the magnitude of the service being rendered,<br />
one of the largest central stations, Colfax, convenient<br />
to Pittsburgh, and the new heating boiler,<br />
fired with Lopulco system were open for inspection of<br />
visiting engineers.<br />
Johns-Manville, Inc., Chicago, 111. This company<br />
displayed samples of various forms of insulation, roofings,<br />
waterproofing, electrical and power specialty<br />
materials, and possibly some new forms of high heat<br />
insulation. They unanimously report greater interest<br />
by potential buyers than ever shown at any previous<br />
exposition.<br />
Bacharach Industrial Instrument Company, Pittsburgh,<br />
Pa. To assist the combustion engineeer in his<br />
efforts to produce good uniform material with a minimum<br />
amount of fuel, many different kinds of industrial<br />
instruments have been designed and are being manufactured.<br />
The efforts of this company have been to<br />
manufacture industrial instruments which will produce<br />
the desired results dependably and with the least<br />
amount of attention. A number of these instruments<br />
were exhibited and included the Hydro Low Pressure<br />
Recorder for measuring gas and air pressure the<br />
Hydro Volume Meter for recording flows of gas and<br />
air; the Hydro Pressure Volume Recorder for convenient<br />
comparison of volume and pressure; the Bacharach<br />
Manometers for indicating pressures and volumes<br />
of gas and air; the Universal Draft Indicator for<br />
measuring low pressures on a magnified scale; Pitot<br />
tubes and orifices to meet almost any conditions; Bacharach<br />
electric C02 and CO meters for controlling<br />
combustion and furnace atmosphere; the Maihak Engine<br />
Indicator for setting valves and determining power<br />
of -eciprocating engines, including the internal combustion<br />
class; the Bacharach Pyrometers for controlling<br />
temperatures, and Standco megohmers for measuring<br />
electrical leaks through insulation.<br />
Those in attendance included Messrs. E. J. Strauss,<br />
J. A. Stein, L. Vayda and Mr. Danks, of Cleveland.<br />
W T estinghouse Lamp Company. This exhibit consisted<br />
of a complete line of incandescent lamps used<br />
for lighting industrial establishments and iron and<br />
steel mills. Some of these exhibits showed in a very<br />
interesting manner lighting effects obtained under<br />
clear and frosted lamps. Shadow effects and the ruggedness<br />
of particular types of incandescent lamp,<br />
where subject to extreme viriation. was also featured.<br />
Industrial types of reflectors was shown and the process<br />
of manufacture of there reflectors was detailed.<br />
Vulcan Soot Cleaner Company. The valve operating<br />
soot blower head exhibited in this booth was in<br />
charge of Mr. Fred W. Linaker, vice president of the<br />
Vulcan Soot Cleaner Company, together with Mr.<br />
John D. Hiles and Mr. Short of the John D. Hiles<br />
company, their Pittsburgh representatives.<br />
The Vulcan self-contained soot blower head differs<br />
from all others in that the valve is an integral part of
472 The Blast PurnaceSSteol Plant<br />
the head and is closely associated with the cleaner element,<br />
so that the valve and rotatable element are operated<br />
by one operating handle or one chain. The<br />
valve disc portion consists of a swinging valve disc.<br />
It is self-grinding, positive in action and cannot be<br />
held away from the seat by any dirt or grit on either<br />
the seat or the disc. It can be seen in actual service<br />
on the largest horizontal water tube boiler in the<br />
world (the 3,000-hp. boiler in the Cecil Plant of the<br />
Allegheny County Steam Heating Company, Pittsburgh,<br />
Pa.).<br />
Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company,<br />
East Pittsburgh, Pa. This company had on exhibit<br />
at their booths an entirely new line of d.c. magnetic<br />
controllers, designed especially for heavy duty steel<br />
mill service. The latest design of type C form BB<br />
magnetic controller, which is devised for plugging<br />
service, was connected to an 80-hp. type MC motor<br />
and controlled by a new type of foot-operated master<br />
switch. This was shown in actual operation. A<br />
type C form MB controller, which is a new form, was<br />
shown with the latest design of two-point master<br />
switch.<br />
The new design type C form DD controller, which<br />
provides dynamic braking in the off position, was exhibited<br />
in operation with the new design of four-point<br />
master switch in connection with an 80-hp. type MC<br />
motor. The new type C form EE controller, which<br />
is for hoist duty with dynamic braking lowering, was<br />
shown on the exhibition floor with its latest design<br />
of crane hoist master switch.<br />
A new form of controller, known as the type C<br />
form MD, was exhibited for the first time with the<br />
latest form of type MM or "pan cake" master switch.<br />
This is a non-reversing type of controller which provides<br />
dynamic braking in the off position.<br />
The controller exhibit was completed with a display<br />
of the latest design of crane protective panel,<br />
which includes some new and exclusive protective features.<br />
Several different sizes of the well known type CS<br />
motor were shown. Several improvements that increase<br />
reliability were included.<br />
An interesting feature of the exhibit was a demonstration<br />
outfit which will show type LV lightning<br />
arresters in actual operation. Miniature lightning discharges<br />
were produced and the demonstration outfit<br />
showed how the excess line voltage produced by these<br />
discharges are dissipated by the arrester. A large<br />
type SV arrester was shown.<br />
Micarta. the material of endless possibilities, was<br />
displayed in such a way as to show some of the many<br />
forms in which it can be produced.<br />
Safety knife switches were shown in many forms<br />
and capacities. A heavy duty type, with new design<br />
arc quenchers, being built especially for steel mill<br />
service was displayed.<br />
A number 2 MDA turbine and a 7 l /2 -kw. turbine<br />
generator showed the latest advances made in tbe<br />
steam turbine field.<br />
All the d.c. power used by exhibitors was furnished<br />
from a 300-kw. Westinghouse automatic sub-station.<br />
The Duquesne Light Company furnished 2200-vplt,<br />
3-phase, 60-cycle power from a transformer sub-station<br />
outside the exhibition hall to the 432-hp., 1200-rpm.<br />
motor which drove the generator. The switching<br />
equipment was of the full automatic type, protecting<br />
the motor generator against all kinds of overload or<br />
October, 1924<br />
overheating and shutting down the outfit when there<br />
was no demand for current.<br />
SKF Industries, Inc., New York, N. Y. In the<br />
exhibit of this company a range of Skayef self-aligning<br />
and Hess-Bright deep groove ball bearings and<br />
Atlas balls were shown along with interesting models<br />
which will bring out the anti-friction qualities of ball<br />
bearings. A large ball and roller bearing, such as<br />
used in steel mill applications, shown and suitable<br />
blueprints of steel mill mountings.<br />
Square D Company, Detroit, Mich., showed 1 he<br />
Square D 80000 series, the switch which has excited<br />
such favorable comment by industrials ever since its<br />
development. Demonstrations of the two much talked<br />
of features—the individual base construction, by<br />
which switch parts can be removed from the front of<br />
the switch in a few minutes' time, and the cover control<br />
with the key. The 76000 line of straight connected,<br />
quick make and break, single throw motor<br />
starting switches were also on display.<br />
Standard Underground Cable Company, Pittsburgh,<br />
Pa. This company exhibited samples of various<br />
types of bare and insulated electric wires and<br />
cables for aerial and underground service, also samples<br />
of outdoor and indoor cable terminals and cable<br />
junction boxes. A feature of the exhibit was a demonstration<br />
of joint making on lead covered underground<br />
cables.<br />
William Swindell & Bt others, Pittsburgh, Pa., showed<br />
representative installations of its line of electric furnaces.<br />
Arc type melting furnaces for iron and steel<br />
were shown including both the single type and the<br />
multiple type, the latter being the newest development<br />
in the electric melting field. Electric heat treating<br />
and annealing furnaces of various forms were shown.<br />
These are of the metallic resistor type equipped with<br />
automatic temperature control.<br />
Stroh Steel-Hardening Process Company, Pittsburgh,<br />
Pa. This firm covers an extensive range of<br />
manufacture having diversified clientele in blooming<br />
mills, rolling mills, cement, lime and brick plants,<br />
mines and collieries, foundries, industrial works, quarries<br />
and gravel pits. This makes it possible to exhibit<br />
only a limited application of the Stroh Process which<br />
is a method for casting the finest alloy steei together<br />
with ordinary- soft steel in one solid piece The resultant<br />
casting has a wearproof alloy steel stratum up'Ti<br />
the wearing surfaces, while tbe body is composed of<br />
any desired steel and is in no way affected. Th* hammer<br />
formed and hammer finished crane track wheels<br />
exhibited have the flanges and tread of Stroh Ail.-y<br />
giving over four times the life of other wheels, the<br />
flanges cannot break and the tread is designed for ultimate<br />
wear and hardest mill service.<br />
Keystone Lubricating Company, Philadelphia, Pa..<br />
showed their complete line of lubricants with photographs<br />
of installations of the Keystone safety lubricator.<br />
This system is being generally adopted by the<br />
steel industry, not only for cranes and ore bridges.<br />
but also for boring mills, mill tables, levelers, upsetting<br />
machines and other units, and it is recognized as<br />
the most improved safety feature in present day lubrication<br />
methods.<br />
There was on display the Keystone converter cup.<br />
through the use of which this safety lubricating system<br />
is made automatic and kept under constant pressure.<br />
(Continued on page 479)
October. 1924<br />
The Blast furnaceSSteel P|£<br />
Pittsburgh Entertains Iron and Steel Engineers<br />
Pittsburgh's parks abound in natural scenery Insert—A section of East Liberty's shopping district.<br />
Pittsburgh's "CIVIC Center", considered one of the most remarkable in the country, where are grouped the buildings of a dozen<br />
institutions. schools and <strong>org</strong>anizations<br />
473
474<br />
Ihe Dlast I'timace^jteel riant<br />
October, 1924<br />
yi..«sm, ,->. „ - ......— ..- " " ^ ^ 7 / '•'- , • ^.••^•».-. »•*—- • - f/^^ , • • ^ \ 7 / ' " " • " " • " —<br />
74s POWER PLANT<br />
Experiences With Waste Heat Boilers<br />
Behind Open Hearth Furnaces*<br />
IT is natural that metallurgical furnaces, which need<br />
high temperatures, also possess high waste gas temperatures,<br />
and this is especially the case at furnaces<br />
which work without or with small beat stores.<br />
But even at regenerator furnaces an enlargement of<br />
the chambers above a certain dimension does not<br />
bring about a greater economy, for the larger regain<br />
of heat in the chamber is equalized by greater radiation<br />
losses. Also, further increase of the gas or air<br />
preheating and with it the combustion temperature is<br />
limited by the durability of the fire bricks.<br />
Under these circumstances most of the metallurgical<br />
furnaces work with considerable waste gas<br />
loses. At furnaces with regenerators 30 to 35 per cent<br />
of the employed heat goes with the waste gases into<br />
the stack at heating and puddling furnaces. Without<br />
recuperators this loss increases to 70 per cent. This<br />
has led to the employment of the waste gases under<br />
boilers, but the efficiency is not very large, as the<br />
heat transmission does not take place by radiation but<br />
by the less effective contact, by which large and expensive<br />
heating areas are necessary. The heat transmission<br />
can be increased by the following means:<br />
Good circulation of the water in the boiler; increase of<br />
velocity of the gases; clean heating surfaces, and by<br />
*Stahl und Eisen.<br />
tAmberg, Bavaria.<br />
By WILLIAM SCHUSTER DONAWITZ<br />
Translated by F. Illiesi<br />
Fi^urt.i. Wabte heat boiler o} tk% M A IV.<br />
whirling the waste gases in order to get a good contact<br />
with the heating surfaces. In spite of these measures,<br />
the steam generation is only then economical<br />
when the waste gases have a temperature above 450<br />
deg. C. This is the case at open hearth furnaces, and<br />
it is peculiar that till recently the waste gases, which<br />
go into the stack with a temperature of 500 to 900<br />
deg. C, were not turned to advantage.<br />
This is probably due to the proved fear of an unfavorable<br />
reaction on the rather sensible furnace<br />
operation, troubles of production at boiler reparations.<br />
and limitations of freedom of motion are perhaps to<br />
the bad experiments which are made with waste gas<br />
boilers behind tilting furnaces, as the slit between<br />
furnace and head decreases naturally the waste gas<br />
temperatures.
October, 1924<br />
But the fears in regard to bad furnace operation<br />
and break-down of the boiler during the operation, can<br />
almost entirely be annulled by right construction and<br />
by the principle that the boiler operation has to be<br />
directed as much as possible to the operation of the<br />
furnace.<br />
As the place behind the furnaces is mostly very<br />
narrow, water or smoke tube boilers can be used. At<br />
the Donawitz Steel Works, three different kinds are<br />
tried. One of them consists of three waste gas boilers<br />
of the Brunner Machine Company, A. S., which are<br />
put into a parallel circuit. Each one possesses a cylindrical<br />
upper and lower boiler, connected by vertical<br />
water tubes of 745 square feet heating surface. The<br />
superheater has an area of 468 square feet and the<br />
economizer of 1,277 square feet. The waste gases<br />
go first through the three boilers, then through the<br />
superheater and at last through the economizer, arcsucked<br />
off by an exhauster and pressed into the stack.<br />
The waste gases have also a direct connection with<br />
the stack.<br />
The second boiler is furnished by the Hanomag,<br />
Hanover. The waste gases go at first through the<br />
superheater of 548 square feet, go up and down<br />
through the boiler of 2,128 square feet, heating surface,<br />
and at last through the economizer of 1,532<br />
square feet heating surface. The latter can be quite<br />
or partly put out of the circuit. An exhauster is also<br />
provided. The third boiler has a superheater before<br />
the boiler of 585 square feet; the boiler has 2,980<br />
square feet and the economizer-2,128 square feet heating<br />
surfaces. Boiler setting as well as superheater are<br />
amply provided with explosion lids, which open at<br />
occurring explosions during reversing. The experiences<br />
with these boilers are as follows :<br />
The exhauster was so regulated that the draft behind<br />
the Forter valve remained the same as formerly,<br />
so that the furnace operation was not suffering any<br />
change. It was, however, difficult to keep the draft<br />
on the same height, as through small slits in the brickwork<br />
at an under pressure of l^j to 2% in. W.G considerable<br />
quantities of false air enter the flues. Not<br />
only the efficiency of the boiler but also the draft behind<br />
the Forter valve is deteriorated by this. A good<br />
effect had a cover of tar on the outside of the brickwork.<br />
An advantage have the boilers without brickwork,<br />
f. i. the boilers of the M. A. N. (Maschinenfabrik<br />
Augsburg-Xurnberg.)<br />
A further circumstance, which influences badly the<br />
draft behind the furnace, is the accumulation of dirt<br />
in the flues and as the furnace needs more draft at the<br />
end of a melting period, it is advisable to choose a<br />
rather large exhauster with speed regulation.<br />
The boiler efficiency depends naturally upon the<br />
temperature of the waste gases and varies considerably<br />
during a melting period. Also the daily steam<br />
production is depending upon the operation of the<br />
furnace. Therefore, those mills which work only with<br />
waste gas boilers must keep one or two boilers for coal<br />
firing. Distinctly recognized is an increase of the<br />
evaporation at the end of a melting period in consequence<br />
of higher temperatures of the waste gases on<br />
account of worse efficiency of the dirty heating chambers.<br />
It is the rule if the furnace works satisfactorily<br />
the boiler does not, and reverse.<br />
The steam production amounts to 200 to 230 lbs.<br />
per ton of steel, while 45 to 55 per cent of the furnace<br />
heat is regained, or 15 to 17 per cent of the generated<br />
the blast rurnace "1 jteel rlani<br />
475<br />
steam is again needed for the exhausters at electrical<br />
drive. Steam driven turbo-ventilators are more econ<<br />
imical.<br />
The situation of the superheater behind the boiler<br />
is nut to lie recommended, because the temperature of<br />
the waste gases is too low to secure a sufficient superheating.<br />
In placing the superheater before the boilers,<br />
it has to be observed that the normal relation between<br />
boiler and superheater surfaces cannot be applied<br />
to this arrangement, as the superheaters are exposed<br />
to higher temperatures than at the normal<br />
steam boiler operation. The superheating amounted<br />
up to 520 deg. C. and the tubes became dark red.<br />
Therefore, the surface was reduced from 548 to 70<br />
square feet in the second case and from 585 to 400<br />
square feet in the third case. Generally the superheating<br />
should be one-tenth of the boiler heating surface.<br />
The superheater should also be placed so that<br />
it can be put out of operation in order to clean it or<br />
effect repairs.<br />
The deposits on the heating surfaces were very<br />
troublesome. These consisted mainly of metalloxides<br />
as oxide of zinc, dioxide of tin, lead oxide of scale<br />
and ore dust, which at a normal open hearth furnace<br />
go into the stack, while they deposit on the cooler<br />
boiler surfaces. At the higher waste gas temperatures<br />
about at the end of the melting period, these<br />
depositions burn together and can only be removed<br />
b}- chisel and saw. Especially troublesome are the deposits,<br />
when tinned or galvanized iron sheets are<br />
charged, so that it is of great advantage to melt this<br />
kind of scrap in furnaces without waste gas boilers.<br />
The economizers suffer largely by the high content<br />
of water vapors in the waste gases, originating<br />
from the steam, blown into the gas producers and the<br />
water seal of the Forter valve. Especially dangerous<br />
is the sulphur content of the waste gases in case the<br />
outer temperature of the economizer lies deeper than<br />
the thawing point of the waste gases. The tubes<br />
cover themselves with water, which combines with<br />
the sulphuric dioxide of the gases to sulphuric acid<br />
and creates heavy corrosions.<br />
The following table gives evaporation trials on the<br />
three boilers :<br />
The experiments made with the water tube boilers<br />
show that an addition of 50 to 60 per cent false air<br />
cannot be avoided. For this reason it has been resolved<br />
to abandon water tube boilers and introduce<br />
the boilers of the M. A. N. (Fig. 1) with smoke flues,<br />
which are practically air tight. The superheater before<br />
the boiler has a heating surface of 276 square feet,<br />
the boiler of 2,607 square feet, and the water preheater,<br />
which is situated above the boiler, of 1,503<br />
square feet. The superheater can be lifted out of the<br />
flue in case of repairs. The water is preheated by the<br />
exhaust of the turbo-feeding pumps to 80 deg. beforeentering<br />
the economizer, so that corrosions are<br />
avoided.<br />
A 27-page bulletin on Automatic Station Control<br />
Equipment has recently been issued by the General<br />
Electric Company and is designated as No. 47731. It<br />
describes briefly the uses and advantages of this type<br />
of equipment, and is well illustrated. The greater part<br />
of the bulletin is given over to a list of installations up<br />
to January 1, 1924, giving the name of the company,<br />
station, type of apparatus, kilowatt capacity and incoming<br />
and outgoing voltage.
476 Ii K\ ,[ «Cl I D| | October, 192-1<br />
Ine Ulasr hirnace _, Oteol riant<br />
Great Clearing House of New Information<br />
Pittsburgh Will Send an Unusually Large Delegation of Operating<br />
Men to New York Gathering<br />
T H E National Exposition of Power and Mechanical<br />
Engineering is now well established as the great<br />
annual clearing house of information concerning<br />
new developments in appliance for the generation and<br />
utilization of power. The Third Annual Exposition<br />
will be held in the Grand Central Palace, New York,<br />
December 1st through 6th, 1924, and will parallel the<br />
annual meetings of the American Society of Mechanical<br />
Engineers and the American Society of Refrigerating<br />
Engineers.<br />
In a country depending upon power for its strength<br />
and growth it is only natural that a power show should<br />
flourish. Since man changed from a tool-using to a<br />
tool-controlling animal his demand has been for power<br />
and increasingly more power. The industrial supremacy<br />
of America is traced by many engineers to<br />
the fact that there is more installed horsepower per<br />
workman in this country than in any other country.<br />
Furthermore, the relation between the wage rate of<br />
one country to the wage rate of another is the same as<br />
the ratio of available horsepower in the two countries.<br />
The American workman is paid twice as much as the<br />
British workman because he directs twice the horsepower.<br />
In a time when the power demands of our<br />
metropolitan centers are doubling every 10 years,<br />
when a power station built six months ago is out of<br />
date today, when all power engineers are straining<br />
every effort to seek out most economical methods of<br />
burning fuel and of generating and using power, an<br />
exhibition like the power show fills an important place<br />
in our scheme of existence.<br />
IT will not be without interest, following upon a previous<br />
article in Chemistry and Industry (March 7).<br />
to consider a little more in detail the scientific<br />
principles underlying the design of the remarkable<br />
"Benson" super-pressure steam generator, in which<br />
water is converted into steam without the absorption<br />
of latent heat under the critical conditions of approximately<br />
3200 lbs. pressure per sq. in, and a temperature<br />
of 706 deg. F. (375 deg. C).<br />
As will be remembered, the installation consists<br />
of a series of coils of y in. steel tubing arranged<br />
vertically, through which distilled water is being<br />
passed continuously at 3200 lbs. pressure by means of<br />
a gear-driven force pump. The coils are heated by<br />
an oil or pulverized-fuel flame blast, using hot air<br />
for combustion, and towards the end of the travel<br />
the water attains a temperature of 706 deg. F. (375<br />
deg. C), and is bodily converted into steam without<br />
ebullition or boiling, and therefore without the absorption<br />
of latent heat. The steam is then discharged at a<br />
The facts that at the present time the coming show<br />
has twice the requests for space that the previous show<br />
had at a corresponding time last year, that the attendance<br />
last year increased 30 per cent over that of<br />
the year before and that engineers and manufacturers<br />
all over the country are now making their plans to be<br />
present at the coming event, are definite proofs that its<br />
success is assured.<br />
The importance of power in the development and<br />
maintenance of our civilization is not generally understood.<br />
It is true that the popular magazines and the<br />
daily press speak frequently of it, but the diversity<br />
and complexity of the problems involved in power development<br />
and utilization can only be thoroughly appreciated<br />
after a visit to an exhibition such as can be<br />
found at the Grand Central Palace the first week of<br />
December.<br />
The Power Show is looked upon as the great opportunity<br />
for comparing competitive products, for permitting<br />
actual contact with new appliances and the<br />
<strong>org</strong>anizations that supply them, and as a place where<br />
buyers may receive expert advice from many manufacturing<br />
concerns in regard to money-saving equipment.<br />
The constant struggle for improvement furnished<br />
the necessary stimulus to commerce and industry,<br />
and an exposition which reveals new ideas,<br />
their uses and limitations is an important help in the<br />
struggle.<br />
The managers of the exposition are Fred W. Payne<br />
and Charles F. Roth, whose headquarters are in the<br />
Grand Central Palace, New York, N. Y.<br />
Theory of the "Benson" Super-Pressure<br />
Steam Generator<br />
slight superheat 720 deg. F. (385 C.) through a reducing<br />
valve, being thereby reduced in temperature to<br />
about 620 deg. F. {330 deg. C), and into a second<br />
series of coils forming a superheater, in which it is<br />
heated to an average of 850 deg. F. (455 deg. C), and<br />
finally discharged at this temperature and 1500 lbs<br />
pressure to the turbine or other source of use.<br />
The essential reason underlying the design of the<br />
"Benson" generator and the employment of 3,200 lbs.<br />
pressure is to obtain on a practical scale very high<br />
pressure steam with the aid of the coil generator or<br />
"boiler". The elimination of latent heat in itself does<br />
not result in any higher efficiency in the condensing<br />
turbine, the heat being of course lost in the condenser<br />
just the same. That is to say, the increase in theoretical<br />
efficiency to be obtained by using steam at 3200<br />
lbs. pressure, as compared with say 2750 lbs., is very<br />
small. The practical difference, however, is enormous,<br />
because in the first case no latent heat of steam is required<br />
and a coil generator can be used, whereas in
October. 1924<br />
the second case the latent heat of steam is about 290<br />
Btu. (from 1 lb. of water at 32 deg. F.), so that ebullition<br />
or boiling accompanies the generation of the<br />
steam, and a coil generator consequently is not practicable.<br />
The main difficulty with the use of high-pressure<br />
steam has always been to construct a boiler to stand<br />
the conditions, and 127 years of evolution—since 1797<br />
when Richard Trevithick invented the "Cornish"<br />
boiler, worked at 25 lb. pressure—has only resulted in<br />
the average industrial steam pressure being today,<br />
say, 100—160 lbs., ordinary power station pressures<br />
16(3—220 lbs., and the modern super-power station 350<br />
lbs. Whilst a few water-tube boilers are now constructed<br />
to work up to about 600 lbs. and even 800—<br />
1200 lbs. as an experiment, for several thousand<br />
pounds pressure it is necessary to use narrow bore<br />
coils to reduce the area that has to stand the strain,<br />
and incidentally also to eliminate the element of danger<br />
by having an extremely small water content. A<br />
steel tube can be constructed to stand thousands of<br />
lbs. per square inch pressure, and the present "Benson"<br />
generator was put on hydraulic test by the insurance<br />
company to 6500 lbs. per square inch for 20<br />
minutes without a trace of leakage.<br />
But the absorption of latent heat has hitherto<br />
proved an insurmountable obstacle to the use of the<br />
coil generator, because particles of liquid (water) are<br />
converted into comparatively large bubbles of gas<br />
(steam) of much greater volume, so that in a narrow<br />
bore coil the whole water contents are blown out. Mr.<br />
Benson has solved this problem by a thorough consideration<br />
of the properties of steam. As the pressure<br />
rises, the latent heat, which is 966.6 units under atmospheric<br />
conditions, diminishes, since the change in volume<br />
between water and steam becomes less and less.<br />
The ordinary steam tables do not show this as they<br />
seldom go above 250 lbs. pressure, and it is necessary<br />
to study some publication such as Goodenough's<br />
"Properties of Steam and Ammonia" (John Wiley or<br />
Chapman and Hall). The following typical figures<br />
illustrate the reduction in the latent heat as the pressure<br />
rises :<br />
(1 lb. Water at 32 deg. F.)<br />
Saturated<br />
Absolute Steam Sensible Latent<br />
pressure Temperature, heat from heat<br />
lb. per sq. in deg. F. 32 deg. F Btu.<br />
114.9 338 308.5 882.2<br />
361.6 435 411.4 791.2<br />
538.7 475 455 745.8<br />
1093.0 550 541 644.8<br />
1785 620 633 518<br />
2360 660 700 412<br />
2880 690 776 280<br />
3075 700 820 198<br />
3200 706.3 921 Nil<br />
Mr. Benson has therefore completely solved the<br />
problem by going right up to the critical conditions<br />
when no latent heat at all is required, since the steam<br />
is at the same volume as the water (three times that<br />
of 60 deg. F.), and therefore no ebullition takes place.<br />
Once steam is formed, and what is the essential difference<br />
between a liquid and a gas is outside the scope of<br />
this article, then we can do what we like in the way<br />
of superheating or reducing the pressure.<br />
To calculate the amount of the increase in thermal<br />
efficiency by raising the steam pressure to 1500 lbs. or<br />
over is a complicated question, and it is best obtained<br />
from a series of Rankine cycles plotted for different<br />
The Blast FurnaceSSteel Plant<br />
477<br />
pressures at constant total heat of steam on temperature<br />
entropy diagrams, both of course under adibatic<br />
(or theoretically perfect) expansions. Thus taking a<br />
total heat of steam at 1350 Btu. calculated from 32<br />
deg. F., and superheating as required to attain the<br />
given total heat, at 100 lbs. pressure only 400 Btu.<br />
(29.6 per cent.) is theoretically available for actual<br />
work in expanding down to a vacuum (29 in.), whereas<br />
at 350 lbs. the figure is 468 Btu. (34.7 per cent), and<br />
at 3200 lbs. 595 Btu. (44.0 per cent).<br />
Practically, of course, there is a considerable loss<br />
for various reasons, but the matter can be conciselyexpressed<br />
by saying that the ordinary high-class industrial<br />
steam engine or turbine is running at 10—11<br />
per cent thermal efficiency from the coal, the most<br />
modern super-power station 17—19 per cent (an exceptional<br />
figure), whereas a large "Benson" generator<br />
plant would give 28—30 per cent, an amazing advance.<br />
In other words, we can now generate power from rawcoal,<br />
using a condensing unit and pulverized fuel for<br />
heating, at an efficiency equal to the Diesel engine<br />
with oil, and the principle is equally revolutionary applied<br />
to land, marine, locomotive and motor-car work.<br />
In addition, the use of the exhaust steam from the<br />
turbine in boiling and process work, as in the chemical<br />
industries, would apparently give an over-all thermal<br />
efficiency of something like 80—85 per cent since no<br />
heat is lost in the condenser.<br />
Power Plant Refractories Survey<br />
A co-operative agreement has been made between<br />
the Department of the Interior and C. A. Hirshfield<br />
of Detroit, representing a group of large central power<br />
plant operators, to make a survey r of present conditions<br />
relating to the use of power plant refractories.<br />
The survey will be conducted by engineers of the<br />
Bureau of Mines.<br />
With the present high ratings at which boiler<br />
plants are being operated and the increasing use of<br />
pulverized coal with its attending high temperatures,<br />
the refractories now available for lining boiler furnaces<br />
are proving inadequate. In this survey a study<br />
is being made of the characteristics of refractories<br />
now available for use in power-plant boiler furnaces,<br />
and the conditions under which they are used, their<br />
life in operating practice under the conditions prevailing<br />
at different plants and the way in which the refractories<br />
now marketed fail to meet these conditions.<br />
The purpose of the survey is to obtain fundamental<br />
data to be used in bettering refractory service.<br />
Washing of Freeport Coals<br />
A study of the washing characteristics of coal from<br />
the thick Freeport bed in Pennsylvania has been completed<br />
by Department of the Interior investigators<br />
working in co-operation with the Carnegie Institute<br />
of Technology. The tests were conducted at the Pittsburgh<br />
experiment station of the Bureau of Mines.<br />
Coal from this thick bed makes good metallurgical<br />
coke except that at some mines the ash content is usually<br />
too high, and at other mines sulphur is present in<br />
the coal in excess of amount permitted in metallurgical<br />
coke. Therefore, washing to remove the ash and<br />
the sulphur is an important and vexing problem to the<br />
coal-mine operators. The coal is mined for by-product<br />
coking, steam-raising, domestic use, gas-making and<br />
other purposes.
478<br />
Iilllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll Illlllllll liiimimiiiiiiini IIIIIIII Illllllll i I<br />
The old Block House built at the confluence<br />
of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers<br />
to protect the early settlers from the ravages<br />
of the Indians.<br />
IIIIIIII in mi IIIIIII nun IIIIIII ilium mi mm lu ><br />
ii!iiiuuiiiiiiunniiiiiiinniiiiiiiiunii;iiinuuiiiniiniiiiiiiinniiiiiii«iiiiiiiuniiii.iuiiiii!iiuniiiiiiinniuiiiiniiiuiiiiiii<br />
Soldiers and Sailors Memorial 11 all<br />
IIIIIII'IIIIIIIIIIUIMIIi; IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIUI IIIIIII Illlll'llllllllllllllllllllllllllllilllUIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII<br />
Ihe Dlast furnace ""•Meet riant<br />
October, 1924<br />
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimniiiliiiii IIIIIII n IIIII IUIIIII « imiiiiiiiiimiiiiiii m<br />
A typical scene at the Point today. Pittsburgh's<br />
river tonnage exceeds that of the<br />
-world's four largest ports combined, averag-<br />
4,000,000 tons annually.<br />
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October, 1924<br />
Ihe Dlast I'urnaco i^Meel riant<br />
|imNiMiiiiiiuiiiimiiiiniiiiiiiin iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiilllllliliiiillllHlllilllllllllllillllliiiig<br />
Equipments Shown at the Iron and Steel Exposition<br />
3 S<br />
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CONVENTION ACTIVITIES<br />
(Continued from Page 472)<br />
They had sampLes of greases for open gears, for<br />
use in the Venango gravity cup system—also liquid<br />
greases for ring oil motor bearings, and densities for<br />
ball and roller bearings. Demonstrated on a hot plate<br />
the relative loss of viscosity of motor oil and liquid<br />
grease, showing the ability of the liquid grease to retain<br />
its density and non-creeping qualities under operating<br />
temperatures.<br />
The General Electric Company, Schenectady, N.<br />
Y., as usual, had a very generous space allotment.<br />
Their exhibit included the following: 1 mill type<br />
(Type MD) motor complete with control; 1 polyphase<br />
and adjustable speed brush shifting 3-phase motor<br />
with operating switch; 1 small Sprague hoist; 1 steam<br />
flow meter; 1 small industrial type squirrel cage induction<br />
motor, and various kinds of control apparatus.<br />
Probably the general public were most keenly interested<br />
in the unique demonstration of Fused Quartz<br />
—one of the most remarkable developments known to<br />
recent science. To observe a beam of light transmitted<br />
around corners in a solid glass tube is sufficient evidence<br />
of the intensity of research carried on by the<br />
General Electric.<br />
Ludwig Hommel & Company, Pittsburgh, Pa.,<br />
had on display apparatus manufactured by the Sangamo<br />
Electric Company of Springfield, 111., the Wagner<br />
Electric Corporation of St. Louis, Mo., the States<br />
Company, of Hartford, Conn., and the Economy Electric<br />
Devices Company of Chicago, 111.<br />
A very interesting exhibit of the new Fynn-Weichsel<br />
motor shows the effect of the "motors that corrects<br />
power factor". A standard induction motor-generator<br />
set and a motor-generator set using the Fynn-Weichsel<br />
motor are arranged so that they may be operated<br />
separately or in parallel, and so that the load on either<br />
set may be varied. Instruments are mounted so that<br />
the effect of the different operating condition on the<br />
power factor of the supply circuit may be observed.<br />
The new Sangamo horizontal two element polyphase<br />
watt-hour meter was displayed. One of these<br />
meters was so connected that it measured the total<br />
kwh. used by the Wagner exhibit. One of the outstanding<br />
features of the new meter is that by observing<br />
the speeds of the two separate discs the power<br />
factor of the circuit being measured may be easily and<br />
quickly determined. This meter further affords a<br />
quick and accurate check on the correctness of the<br />
meter connections, and as to whether from any cause<br />
one potential element or circuit may be open, a common<br />
cause of error in polyphase metering.<br />
Aluminum field coils for street railway motors,<br />
crane motors, d.c. mill motors, etc., are rapidly proving<br />
their superiority to copper coils in their ability to<br />
stand up under severe service. A section of this new<br />
type of coil was shown and proved most interesting.<br />
Hyatt Roller Bearing Company, Harrison, N. J.<br />
The Hyatt Roller Bearing Company exhibited a complete<br />
line of Hyatt bearings for steel mill equipment<br />
470<br />
and for mill motors, with models illustrating the simplicity<br />
of applying Hyatt bearings to motors. Hyatt<br />
bearings mounted in glass, driven by small motors,<br />
visually demonstrated the positive oiling action.<br />
American Engineering Company, Philadelphia, Pa.<br />
The "Lo-Hed" Mono-Rail Electric Hoists, which were'<br />
on exhibition in Booth 159, have an exclusive feature<br />
that not only increases their utility on any material<br />
handling job, but also greatly increases their field of<br />
application. They are designed so that they operate<br />
in the minimum headroom; considerably less weight<br />
for capacity than any other hoist on the market. This<br />
is accomplished by having the hoisting drum on one<br />
side of the I-beam track and the motor on the other<br />
side—an arrangement which permits the load block to<br />
be drawn up inside the frame of the machine until it<br />
practically touches the under side of the rail. The<br />
construction of these hoists is exceptionally fine.<br />
Gears are of high carbon steel, drop f<strong>org</strong>ed. Roller<br />
bearings are used throughout. The mechanical<br />
efficiency is 80 per cent with a factor of safety of 5<br />
at full load. Safety, accessibility and ruggedness are<br />
outstanding features. "Lo-Hed" hoists are made in<br />
capacities of from 1,000 to 12,000 lbs. There are five<br />
types (1, bolt suspended; 2, plain trolley, floor operated;<br />
3, hand geared trolley, floor operated; 4, motor<br />
driven trolley, floor operated ; 5, motor driven trolley,<br />
cab operated), all of which are available for either a.c.<br />
or d.c. operation.<br />
Bartlett Hayward Company. Baltimore, Md. The<br />
equipment which the Bartlett Hayward Company exhibited<br />
consisted of a complete line of fast flexible<br />
couplings, showing sizes from 1-in. bore to 12-in. bore.<br />
In addition to this line of couplings, they exhibited<br />
also a very r interesting machine developed by Mr.<br />
Fast for testing flexible couplings. This machine is<br />
arranged so that a load of 2,500 hp. can lie developed<br />
on a coupling and will also give a practical demonstration<br />
of the oil film theory, by means of which<br />
they will be able to thoroughly demonstrate the fact<br />
that the load carrying surfaces of the Fast coupling<br />
do not have a metal to metal contact.<br />
J. Frank Fanning & Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., had<br />
two electric hoists, one 1,000-lb. and one 1-ton capacity.<br />
They also had a small roll of Krome Tan belt,<br />
a set of Stewart Brons bushings, and a few pigs of<br />
Motor Marine and Zero metals, Babbitrite compound<br />
and two babbitt ladles. A bearing was exhibited that<br />
ran for days under a pressure of 3,000 lbs. per square<br />
inch, 32,000,000 ft. per minute, and it was in perfect<br />
condition. This bearing was used on a 4y2-in. shaft.<br />
Fuller-Lehigh Company, Fullerton, Pa. The display<br />
exhibited by this company centered around pulverized<br />
coal as the general subject. There was a<br />
working model of the Fuller-Kinyon conveying system<br />
for pulverized coal which showed the general<br />
features embodied in this device; also, a working<br />
model of an electro-pneumatic switching valve which<br />
is used in the conveying system and which permits<br />
remote control of the fuel feed to all individual furnace<br />
bins by push button operation so that irrespec-
4S0<br />
tive of the length or size of line and the number of<br />
furnaces or their respective locations, absolute control<br />
of the whole system is effected by the operator from<br />
a central switchboard conveniently located. There<br />
were small size models of the vertical and horizontal<br />
flare type burners, a small model of a vertical waste<br />
heat dryer and a small model of the Fuller-Lehigh<br />
pulverizer. Also photographs of the Drake Simplex<br />
unit type pulverizer, similar to the installation at<br />
Sherman Creek, New York City.<br />
Homestead Valve Manufacturing Company, Homestead,<br />
Pa., exhibited the Homestead Quarter Turn<br />
Valve and the Protected Seat Hydraulic Operating<br />
Valve, also the Protected Seat Globe Valve.<br />
Homestead quarter turn valves are of the plug cock<br />
type, but have improvements which render them superior<br />
to other types of plug cocks on the market<br />
today. They are entirely sealed from leakage—bottom<br />
and top, the plug being placed in the body and<br />
sealed with a substantial packing gland. The plug is<br />
forced tightly to the seat in the closed position, and<br />
is held on the seat at all times by the improved locking<br />
cam. The Homestead valves of particular interest<br />
in the steel industry are the hydraulic valves for 500lb,<br />
and 1,500-lb. pressure; the small size three and<br />
four-way valves for operating machinery by low pressure<br />
water, air, or steam ; the large three-way valves,<br />
4 and 6 in. for gas lines in open hearth and furnace<br />
departments ; the Homestead-Hovalco conmbination blow-<br />
•off valve, extensively used in boiler rooms; the protected<br />
seat globe valve for general steel plant service ; and the<br />
protected seat hydraulic operating valve. The company<br />
was represented at the convention by Messrs. B. F.<br />
Schuchman, H. P. Ackerman and C. E. Powell.<br />
Republic Flow Meters Company, Chicago, 111.<br />
This company exhibited their full line of instruments<br />
for efficiency work on the power plants and steel mills.<br />
These instruments consist of recording, indicating<br />
and integrating steam, air, gas and water flow meters,<br />
as well as C02 recorders, and instruments for indicating<br />
and recording drafts and pressures. Also the Republic<br />
pyrometer, which is one of their latest developments,<br />
was shown for the first time at this exhibit.<br />
Pittsburgh Electric Furnace Corporation, Pittsburgh,<br />
Pa. This company's exhibit consisted primarily<br />
of photographs of furnace installations, together<br />
with representative iron and steel castings<br />
made in the Electromelt furnace. The memory of<br />
their Electrified Foundry, erected in five days to feat<br />
IheDlast kiniacer>jteel Plant<br />
October. 1924<br />
ure last year's exposition in Buffalo, is still fresh in the<br />
minds of all iron and steel engineers.<br />
Western Electric Company, New York, N. Y. This<br />
company showed many samples and display boards of<br />
the leading electrical supply apparatus and devices<br />
that they handle in a jobbing way. For instance, D<br />
and W fuses, Deltabeston wire, Victor friction and<br />
rubber tape, etc. In their exhibit room were copies of<br />
their general catalog together with catalogs, booklets<br />
and pamphlets on devices that were of interest to the<br />
steel engineers.<br />
Doubleday-Hill Electric Company, Pittsburgh, Pa.<br />
This company exhibited buss renewable fuses, steel<br />
conduit fittings, manufactured by the Appleton Electric<br />
Company of Chicago, 111., and distributors maintaining<br />
a large stock of Square D switches, Benjamin<br />
reflectors, Triumph motors, rigid steel conduit, Robbins<br />
& Myers fans, National X-ray reflectors, and<br />
American Steel & Wire Company rubber covered<br />
An interesting illustration of floor space economy, by magnet operation.<br />
wires and cables. Special display of the new Ilg portable<br />
ventilating fans was given prominence.<br />
M. H. Detrick Company, Chicago, 111., exhibited<br />
a model showing a Detrick arch. This arch was the<br />
type used generally in connection with traveling grate<br />
stokers for the burning of anthracite and bituminous<br />
coals and coke breeze. The main features of the arch<br />
are: 1, Simplicity of construction; 2, Minimum number<br />
of shapes required, there being only two different<br />
shapes required for the complete arch ; 3, Center suspended<br />
tile; 4, The construction of the fan ignition<br />
and the fan end arch. The construction of the main<br />
arch is the same that is used in connection with every<br />
type of boiler and stoker, and also in connection with<br />
heating furnaces and annealing ovens. There were<br />
on exhibit blueprints of interesting types of heating<br />
furnaces. Mr. Louis Ellman was in charge of the<br />
display.<br />
Dravo Doyle Company, Pittsburgh, Pa. This company<br />
exhibited in operation the latest and most timely<br />
products of the American Engineering Company, the<br />
DeLaval Separator Company and the DeLaval Steam<br />
Turbine Company: Lo-Hed Monorail Hoists, plain<br />
and motor driven trolley. These hoists were so shown<br />
as to bring out their unusual mechanical perfection<br />
and accessibility as well as the low head room feature.<br />
DeLaval Portable and Stationary Transformer and<br />
Lubricating Oil Purifiers. The portable unit was<br />
shown in operation on transformer oil. DeLaval<br />
Worm Gear Speed Reducers; the latest type worm
October, 1924<br />
gears, especially' designed and produced for industrial<br />
applications and including features of especial appeal<br />
to the practical operating man. DeLaval Flexible<br />
Couplings, an old established quality product, now<br />
rapidly increasing in popularity because they require<br />
no lubrication, are not affected by dust and are reasonable<br />
in cost. This equipment was selected for exhibition<br />
as representing in each case the latest developments<br />
of particular interest to the industrial electrical<br />
engineer. It has already been widely adopted by the<br />
steel industry.<br />
The Electric Controller & Manufacturing Company,<br />
Cleveland, Ohio. The display of this company<br />
consisted of full magnetic controller with current limit<br />
acceleration and overload protection for blooming mill<br />
screwdown motor; full magnetic form "H" dynamic<br />
braking controller for hoist motion of electric traveling<br />
crane; Youngstown safety stop; Type Q brake;<br />
traveling nut type limit switch; a.c. and d.c. magnetic<br />
contactors; E. C. & M. automatic compensator; man<br />
Milburn Company Gives Interesting Oxy-<br />
Acetylene Cutting Demonstration<br />
The Alexander Milburn Company of Baltimore<br />
Md., for whom the H. Kleinhans Company of Pittsburgh<br />
are representatives, attracted considerable attention<br />
and interest<br />
with their oxyacetylene<br />
cutting<br />
demonstration, at<br />
the recent Iron and<br />
Steel Exposition,<br />
held at Duquesne<br />
Garden, Pittsburgh,<br />
Pa.<br />
They particularly<br />
emphasized the<br />
non-back firing<br />
feature of the cutting<br />
torch. Their<br />
capable demonstrator<br />
pleased the<br />
ladies by cutting<br />
designs in 2-inch<br />
bars and edified<br />
those interested in<br />
oxy-acetylene cutting<br />
by slicing 6inch<br />
axles and 6inch<br />
billets without<br />
a flashback.<br />
The Milburn<br />
Company claim<br />
that their torch<br />
cannot be made to<br />
flashback under<br />
any circumstances<br />
even in the hands<br />
of the most inexperienced<br />
operator.<br />
They also claim<br />
a saving of upward<br />
of 20 per cent<br />
of fuel over other<br />
makes of torches.<br />
the Dlast runiaco' bteel riant<br />
481<br />
ual automatic compensator; Type NC 40 deg. squirrel<br />
cage induction motor.<br />
"Cutler-Hammer Flectric Elevator Controllers,"<br />
is the title of an attractive 48-page booklet published<br />
by the Cutler-Hammer Mfg. Company of Milwaukee,<br />
Wis. This booklet, which is known a.s publication<br />
No. 3082, illustrates and describes many types of elevator<br />
control apparatus for passenger and freight elevators<br />
and emphasizes their simplicity, quiet operation,<br />
and smooth acceleration. Carbon-to-copper<br />
standardized power contacts are used which are interchangeable<br />
on a.c. and d.c. controllers of the same<br />
rating. Acceleration is obtained by time limit relay's<br />
of simple design, which furnish the same comfortable<br />
smoothness of acceleration in spite of widely varying<br />
load conditions. A section is devoted to auxiliary<br />
apparatus for use with elevator controllers, which include<br />
reversing switches, floor selectors, various limit<br />
switches, car switches, and door switches.<br />
That machinery in action always has a popular appeal zuas exe-plified by the crowds around th<br />
of H. Kleinhans Company, Pittsburgh. Pa. This Company is manufacturing the Maun Electric Arc We<br />
The Gasoline Driven Unit shown in the illustration wis in actual operation, supporting a welder i<br />
jacent welding booth. This outfit lias a number of interesting features, such as a self-starter,<br />
muffler that gives an almost imperceptible exhaust; the radiator guard, -which is also a con<br />
entirely unique Mann Electric Governor, a patented feiture, giving the electric welding opera<br />
trol over his engine. The engine idles when no power is required, is brought up to speed by a but<br />
welder's electrode holder, and instantly takes full load -when the welder strikes his arc.<br />
The Mann Welder has just been placed on the market, and H. Kleinhans Company claim that it<br />
bodies a number of new and distinct features, all of which go to make the machine everything that<br />
unit should be. The features are perfect heat contro' in the arc regardless of variation in ar<br />
the leads; penetration, that quality in the arc which mikes for homogenity in the weld and is esp<br />
sential in difficult zvork such as overhead welding; welding speed, and simplicity. The contro<br />
of entirely by generator windings, the only outside adjustment being a rheostat for varying th<br />
vay be required for different classes of work. In other words, they claim that their machine is p<br />
fool-proof. A short circuit automatically reduces the load and can be left on indefinitely wi<br />
motor generator set was also exhibited.
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Trade Notes ana Publications<br />
lllllllll!!llllllllllllllflllllllinilllll!lllll!!IIN<br />
The American Engineering Company of Philadelphia<br />
announces the following representatives for the<br />
sale of their Lo-Hed Monorail Electric Hoist: H. D.<br />
Betts, 406 S. Franklin Street, Syracuse, N. Y.; C. F.<br />
Bulletti Machinery Company, 67-71 Main Street, San<br />
Francisco ; A. G. Gar}-, 410 Endicott Building, St. Paul;<br />
Chatard & Norris, 206 W r ater Street, Baltimore; Colwell<br />
& McMullin, Park Square Building, Boston;<br />
Coon-DeYisser Company, 605 Chamber of Commerce<br />
Building, Chicago; Dravo-Doyle Company, Dravo<br />
Building, Pittsburgh; A. Q. Dufour, Merchants and<br />
Manufacturers Bank Building, Milwaukee ; Florandin<br />
Equipment Company, 110 W. Fortieth Street, New<br />
York; Fulton Engineering Company, 612 American<br />
Bank Building, San Francisco; S. A. Gilliard, 405 Liberty<br />
Building, Buffalo; E. C. Home Machinery Company<br />
: 1751 Wazee Street, Denver; J-B Sales Company,<br />
Xew Haven ; Lyman Tube and Supply Company, Montreal;<br />
J. R. Purser, 406 Commercial B.ank Building,<br />
Charlotte, N. C.; Seeger Machine Tool Co., 260 Luckie<br />
Street, Atlanta; Solon Jacobs & Company, 2012 L. C<br />
Smith Building, Seattle.<br />
The Wilson-Snyder Manufacturing Company of<br />
Pittsburgh, Pa., have recently obtained an order from<br />
the Pan American Petroleum Company of Los Angeles<br />
for 10 pipe line pumps for their California field. Each<br />
pump is to have a capacity of 15,000 barrels per day<br />
against 750 lbs. per square inch line pressure and is to<br />
be driven by a 300-bhp. Deisel engine.<br />
The Buckeye Steel Casting Company of Columbus,<br />
Ohio, have just put into operation a new normalizing<br />
furnace of the refractory tile recuperative type. It<br />
has a capacity of 180 tons of castings per 24 hours. The<br />
furnace is now operating on oil but is also fitted<br />
up to use gas. The Chapman-Stein Furnace Company,<br />
of Mt. Vernon, Ohio, were the designers and<br />
contractors.<br />
The Jones 6k Laughbn b.eel Company has placed<br />
an order for four completely mechanical gas producers<br />
with the Chapman Engineering Company of Mt. Vernon,<br />
Ohio. They are to be installed at the Woodlawn,<br />
Pa., plant.<br />
The Gary Tube Company has placed an order with<br />
the Chapman-Stein Furnace Company of Mt. Vernon,<br />
Ohio, for furnaces for the new skelp mill now being<br />
built at Gary, Indiana. Each of the furnaces is to<br />
have a normal capacity of 20 tons of slabs per hour<br />
and is going in under a very low and rigid fuel economy<br />
guarantee.<br />
The Automatic Control of Combustion. This new<br />
publication by the Carrick Engineering Company is a<br />
very thorough discussion of automatic control methods<br />
and systems. It brings out the limitations of the various<br />
systems and why they fail. It analyzes the conditions<br />
to be met in co-ordinating supply of steam with<br />
the demand and gives some very interesting charts of<br />
steam pressure. The fallacy of close steam regulation<br />
is exploded and the comparison between damper<br />
position and steam pressure brought out in a way that<br />
The Blast FurnaceSSteel Plant<br />
will surprise many engineers. Copies of this 32-page<br />
treatise may be obtained from the Carrick Engineering<br />
Company.<br />
-\<br />
Systems for the Automatic Control of Combustion.<br />
In this 16-page bulletin published by the Carrick Engineering<br />
Company the complete specifications, together<br />
with diagrams and list of equipment required<br />
for 33 distinct methods of automatically controlling<br />
boiling room equipment are given.<br />
This bulletin has been prepared primarily for consulting<br />
and designing engineers seeking accurate, authoritative<br />
and complete information in an accessible<br />
form. Thirteen different methods of controlling<br />
powdered coal are included. Each method is illustrated<br />
and described and the apparatus necessary listed.<br />
This bulletin will be sent to interested parties free<br />
of cost, if application is made on their letterhead.<br />
The National Tube Company has ordered 10 motors<br />
for driving the 14-in. and 16-in. continuous skelp mills<br />
at Gary, Ind., from the Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing<br />
Company, while the W r estinghouse Electric and Manufacturing<br />
Company will furnish the alternating current<br />
switchboard, the Pittsburgh Electric & Machine<br />
Works the direct current switchboard and the General<br />
Electric Company a 1,500-kw. motor-generator<br />
set. Pinion and mill housings order has gone to the<br />
Wheeling Mould & Foundry Company.<br />
The Lansing, Mich., Fuel &. Gas Company is increasing<br />
the capacity of its condensing plant, and to<br />
that end has contracted with the U. G. I. Contracting<br />
Company of Philadelphia for the furnishing and erection<br />
of an 8-foot diameter U. G. I. high duty condenser.<br />
This condenser will be installed complete<br />
with latest type of temperature controls.<br />
It is reported that the Laclede Gas Light Company<br />
of St. Louis, Mo., is installing U. G. I. heavy oil nebulizing<br />
system on the carburetted water gas apparatus<br />
at its Station "A" works.<br />
The Northern Westchester Lighting Company is<br />
making extensions and improvements to its plant at<br />
Ossining, N. Y. Among the improvements will be the<br />
installation of a 7-foot cone top water gas apparatus<br />
for which the contract has been given to the U. G. I.<br />
Contracting Company of Philadelphia.<br />
STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT. ETC.. OP<br />
The Blast FumaceSSteel Plant<br />
[Required by Act of Congress of August 24, 1912]<br />
Name of Publication: Blast Furnace and Steel Plant, published monthly at<br />
Pittsburgh, Pa. [Report of October, 1924.]<br />
Publisher—The Andresen Co., Inc., 108 Smithneid St., Pittsburgh, Pa.<br />
Editor—Fred J. Crolius, 108 Smithneid St., Pittsburgh, Pa.<br />
Managing Editor—L. L. Carson, 108 Smithfield St., Pittsburgh, Pa.<br />
Business Manager—L. L. Carson, 108 Smithfield St., Pittsburgh, Pa.<br />
Names and Addresses of stockholders holding 1 per cent or more of total<br />
amount of stock:<br />
L. L. Carson, 108 Smithfield St., Pittsburgh, Pa.<br />
F. C. Andresen, 709 House Bldg., Pittsburgh, Pa.<br />
C. J. Keller, 5840 Solway St., Pittsburgh, Pa.<br />
R. H. Thiess, 426 Byrne Bldg., Los Angeles, Calif.<br />
M. M. Zeder, 108 Smithfield St., Pittsburgh, Pa.<br />
Known bondholders, mortgagees, and other security holders holding 1 per<br />
cent or more of total amount of bonds, mortgages, or other securities:<br />
None.<br />
L. L. CARSON, Business Manager.<br />
Sworn to and subscribed before me this 20th day of March, 1024.<br />
CHAS. A. SEIBERT. Notary Public.<br />
(My commipMioD expirea March 6, 1927.)
October. 1924 The Blast P u mace rZo Steel PI an J<br />
iii"HUJUiuu
484<br />
St. Louis Coke & Iron Co. in Receivership<br />
Under friendly proceedings filed in the United<br />
States district court of Springfield, 111., a receivership<br />
has been established for the St. Louis Coke & Iron<br />
Company of St. Louis with James Duncan of Alton,<br />
111., president of the Litchfield & Madison Railroad<br />
Company, named by the court to handle the property.<br />
President W. G. Maguire of the St. Louis Coke &<br />
Iron Company has declared that the action, resulting<br />
from the depressed condition of the iron market and<br />
a shortage of working capital, was instituted to insure<br />
continuing operations by the present management.<br />
The blast furnace and by-product coke ovens of the<br />
company at Granite City are in operation and these<br />
plants and the business will be continued under the<br />
receivership. The receiver has arranged to borrow<br />
$300,000 to carry on the business.<br />
The suit, resulting in the receivership, was instituted<br />
jointly by the St. Louis Coke & Iron Company<br />
and by the Iron Mountain Company, the latter claiming<br />
$45,000 due for ore. It is stated in the petition<br />
that the company has $6,763,000 in bonds outstanding<br />
and also $2,000,000 in other indebtedness, but that the<br />
assets exceed these liabilities. Stocks and bonds of<br />
the company total SI 1,581,477.<br />
Perry Iron Company Will Build By-Product Coke<br />
Plant.<br />
Contracts for a by-product coke plant of 30 ovens,<br />
with a daily capacity of 400 tons of coke, to be used by<br />
the Perry furnace, will be placed by the Perry Iron<br />
Company, Erie, Pa., controlled by Pickands. Mather &<br />
Company, Cleveland, O.<br />
The Perry Iron Company has closed a contract with<br />
the Pennsylvania Gas Company, Oil City, Pa., under<br />
the terms of which the gas company will be daily supplied<br />
with 4,000,000 cu. ft. of by-product gas from the<br />
coke plant. The gas company will erect at Erie gas<br />
holders, purifying and mixing plants, and compressing<br />
stations for the blending of natural and artificial gas.<br />
It is estimated that the entire project will cost close to<br />
$5,000,000.<br />
Magnitude of the Gas Industry<br />
By Dr. J. B. Garner<br />
(a) Natural Gas—In 1918 there were 2,508,543<br />
domestic and 16,581 industrial consumers of natural<br />
gas. The volume of gas consumed was 721,000,959<br />
M cubic feet—449,898,661 M cubic feet of which was<br />
consumed by industries and 271,102,298 M cubic feet<br />
was consumed by domestic consumers. The large<br />
volume of natural gas has the heat equivalent of 26.-<br />
480,000 tons of bituminous coal. The total value of<br />
the gas as marketed was $153,553,650. There were<br />
required for delivery of the natural gas to the consumers<br />
more than 50,000 miles of pipe line, and 15,-<br />
000,000 people living in more than 2,200 towns and<br />
cities in the 27 states were served with this commodity.<br />
The investment in the industry was more than<br />
$1,250,000,000. In order to supply 'this vast volume<br />
of gas it was necessary to have 40,500 producing wells<br />
drawing gas from an acreage of 14,575,457 acres with<br />
the assistance of compressing stations of an estimated<br />
brake hp. of more than 325,000. A.s by-products of the<br />
natural gas industry there were 282,535,550 gallons of<br />
gasoline and 43,500,000 pounds of carbon black produced.<br />
Die Blast rurnaceSSteel Plant<br />
October, 1924<br />
(b) Manufactured Gas Industry—In 1918 there<br />
were 8,124,433 consumers of manufactured gas. The<br />
volume of gas consumed was about 380,000,000 M<br />
cubic feet. The total value of the gas was more than<br />
$450,000,000. There were required for the delivery of<br />
the gas more than 63,315 miles of pipe line. More<br />
than 48,000,000 living in 4,600 towns and cities in the<br />
48 states were served. The investment in the industry<br />
was more than $2,750,000,000. In the making of gas<br />
in 1918 the gas companies used 9,000,000 tons of bituminous<br />
coal, 919,760,000 gallons of oil, 1,500,000 tons<br />
of coke and 2,000,000 tons of anthracite coal. As byproducts<br />
of the manufactured gas industry there were<br />
160,714,658 gallons of tar, 58,519,080 pounds of ammonia<br />
sulphate, 10,416,164 gallons of light oils and<br />
545,003 pounds of naphthalene. The manufactured<br />
gas industry each day pays $200,942 in wages and salaries;<br />
spends $348,081 for all kinds of materials for<br />
gas making; buys $113,530 worth of coal; consumes<br />
$125,000 worth 'of oil; pays $50,000 for all kinds of<br />
taxes and rents and employs more than 65,000 people.<br />
The Koppers Company, Pittsburgh, has been<br />
awarded contracts for extensions to the Alabama Byproducts<br />
Corporation's plant. The work is scheduled<br />
to be completed by April.<br />
New Junior Universal Iron Worker<br />
A new junior LJniversal Iron W r orker, designated<br />
as a No. J/> U. I. W. machine, has just been introduced<br />
to the trade by the Buffalo F<strong>org</strong>e Company, of<br />
Buffalo, N. Y. This unit has the same slitting, shearing,<br />
mitering and barcutting capacities as the larger<br />
No. 1 machine of this company, but the framework<br />
here is more compact, and in some instances the mechanical<br />
operating characteristics are changed slightly<br />
in design. The new unit is especially adapted to the<br />
smaller size machine shop where floor space is limited.<br />
The main differences between the new Junior Iron<br />
Worker and the No. 1 and No. 2 machines of this<br />
company consist of a shorter throat, reduction in overall<br />
size of the frame, elimination of the high and low<br />
dieblock for punching girders and H columns, and<br />
substituting instead a combination dieblock for handling<br />
channels and beams as well as angles, tees and<br />
flat work. Two bracket supports also replace the<br />
one-piece subbase used with the larger machines. This<br />
latter necessitates construction of a 14 in. concrete<br />
foundation in order to obtain proper operating height<br />
of the machine. The 12 in. throat while limiting the<br />
capacity on sheet work, has made possible the compact<br />
frame (45 in. long x 46 T 4 in. high) and small<br />
space requirements. The ram on the punch end is<br />
of new design, being made of square tool steel and<br />
hardened. In place of having a cast iron bushed connection<br />
to the rocker arm as used on the other punches,<br />
it engages with the rocker through a hardened<br />
tool steel seat. The connecting rod has been dispensed<br />
with, tbe eccentric engaging directly with the<br />
walking beam on the punch end; there is also a new<br />
drive shaft bearing, in which the drive shaft itself is<br />
mounted stationary on the machine, while the flywheel<br />
is keyed to the pinion. This in turn is equipped'<br />
with a brass bushing and runs idle on the drive shaft.<br />
This shaft, together with the pinion, is made of chrome<br />
nickel ; the gear is a steel casting, and the disks<br />
whicl the bearing for the king pin are welded<br />
to tl
October, 1924<br />
The barcutter and shear end of this Junior unit<br />
are practically the same as the Buffalo No. 1 machine,<br />
the slitting shear blades having four cutting edges,<br />
same as the larger machines. The life of the blade,<br />
therefore, is greatly increased. This new model has<br />
incorporated also the improved type of interchangeable<br />
motor and pulley drive arrangement. This makes<br />
possible a rapid change from motor to pulley drive<br />
without necessitating the removal of the shaft.<br />
The construction of this Junior unit is the same<br />
as the older machines. The frames are made of Buffalo<br />
Armor Plate, having a tensile strength of 75,000<br />
lbs. to the square inch. Bearings are bronze lined.<br />
All gears are machine cut. The shear is provided<br />
with knives for slitting plates of any width or length.<br />
The barcutter knives are made in five pieces, thereby<br />
making replacement easy and inexpensive. The capacities<br />
of the punches, shears and barcutters extend<br />
over a wide range. This machine will punch I beams<br />
and channels 5 in. to 15 in.; shear plates y2 in. thick,<br />
while the barcutter will shear rounds up to 1^6 in.<br />
with the standard knives. Other capacities, such as<br />
for shearing flats, cutting squares, mitering angles,<br />
etc., range in like proportion.<br />
The standard coping and 90 deg. notching tools<br />
can be furnished with this machine, as well as a triple<br />
punching attachment.<br />
Accidents in the coke oven industry of the United<br />
States in the year 1923 killed 45 employees and injured<br />
2,593, according to statistics compiled by the<br />
Department of the Interior through the Bureau of<br />
Mines. Coke manufacturers employed during the<br />
year 23,729 men, a larger number than was employed<br />
either in 1921 or 1922. The accident rate for the industry<br />
was the lowest in 10 years with the exception<br />
of the years 1915 and 1922. The reduction, however,<br />
was confined to accidents of a non-fatal character, as<br />
the fatality rate increased slightly as compared with<br />
the two preceding years. The accident rate for the<br />
year, based on 1,000 full-time or 300-day workers, was<br />
102.94, of which 1.76 represented the fatalities and<br />
101.18 the non-fatal injuries. The fatality and injury<br />
rates for the year 1912 were 1.59 and 93.77, respectively,<br />
and those for the 5-year period' 1916-1920<br />
averaged 1.81 and 167.03. Comparing the rates for<br />
1923 with those for the 5-year period, the fatality rate<br />
in 1923 represents a reduction of 3 per cent and the<br />
injury rate a reduction of 39 per cent. The number<br />
of shifts worked by all employes (7,688,160) was likewise<br />
larger than in the other two years mentioned.<br />
The average days worked per employe, 324, has not<br />
been equalled since 1918, when the average was 329;<br />
the average for the five years, 1916-20, was 319.<br />
In the number of men employed at coke ovens, the<br />
leading states were Pennsylvania with 8,101 ; Indiana,<br />
2,394; Ohio, 2,124; Alabama, 1,725; Illinois, 1,566;<br />
West Virginia, 1,073; New York, 1,056, and Michigan,<br />
1,043.<br />
Ovens of the beehive type employed 8,515 men,<br />
who performed 2,143,363 days of labor, an average of<br />
252 days per man. These figures represent material<br />
increases over 1922. Accidents killed 12 men and injured<br />
875, indicating a fatality rate of 1.68 per thousand<br />
men employed (300-day workers) and an injury<br />
rate of 122.48.<br />
By-product coke ovens employed 15,214 men who<br />
worked 5,544,797 shifts, an average of 364 shifts per<br />
l)ie Blast Pumace3SteelPlant<br />
485<br />
man. These figures also indicate large increase over<br />
1922. Accidents caused the death of 33 men and the<br />
injury of 1,718, representing a fatality rate of 1.79 and<br />
an injury rate of 92.95.<br />
The main causes of accidents reported to the<br />
Bureau of Mines were falls of persons, burns, falling<br />
objects, hand tools, cars, larries and motors and cokedrawing<br />
machines.<br />
Arthur G. McKee & Company, Cleveland, have<br />
been selected as engineers and contractors by the A.<br />
M. Byers Company in connection with the design and<br />
construction of a pig casting machine installation at<br />
the Byers Company's Girard, Ohio, blast furnace plant.<br />
The new equipment will include a single strand pig<br />
machine of the Heyl & Patterson type, 150-ton ladle<br />
crane as manufactured by the M<strong>org</strong>an Engineering<br />
Company, and two 90-ton Pollock short pour hot<br />
metal ladles.<br />
Carbonization of Coal in France<br />
At the Fourth Congress of Industrial Chemistry.<br />
M. Ste. Claire Deville discussed the work carried<br />
out by the coking plant at Heinitz, with the object of<br />
improving the coke obtained by carbonizing the socalled<br />
"fat" coals of the Saar. The work led to the<br />
specification of a semi-coke used in the proportion of<br />
roughly one-eighth in preparing the mixture for improved<br />
coke, and to the construction of a fixed oven<br />
with turning paddles by the Societe de Fours a Coke.<br />
In addition a plant for primary tars under reduced<br />
pressure (one-fifth atmospheric) and able to treat five<br />
tons at a time was also devised. Numerous coke-ovens<br />
were tested, including a small rotary furnace resembling<br />
the large ovens of the same type used in the<br />
Ruhr. In this model the semi-coke is discharged at<br />
each half rotation by a hinged door which opens under<br />
its own weight, allowing the coke to fall. Despite the<br />
results obtained with this oven, at present trials are<br />
being carried out mostly with the Salerni plant, which<br />
includes two parts composed of semi-cylindrical elements<br />
with corrugated bottoms placed *n parallel and<br />
having a common cover. The movement communicated<br />
to the mass by turning shafts (one for each element)<br />
does not take place along the axis of the cylinder<br />
but in a plane parallel to it, the result being to<br />
drive the particles of coal from element to element<br />
and finally to the discharge. The mixing seems much<br />
more complete than in rotary ovens, and the surfaces<br />
in contact with the hot walls are continually being<br />
rertewed. With crushed Velsen coal 100 parts of dry<br />
coal yielded 13 parts of anhydrous tar and the semicoke<br />
showed a content of 11 to 12 per cent of volatile<br />
matters. The mixing during carbonization thus seems<br />
to have a favorable effect somewhat similar to that of<br />
injected steam, the minimum temperatures at which<br />
distillation commences being reduced, so that heat is<br />
required and the plant lasts longer.<br />
The administration of the Saar Mines is now building<br />
near Sarrebruck a small works for experiments on<br />
low-temperature carbonization, including plant for<br />
treating tar and liquid fuels. The plant includes two<br />
batteries of Salerni elements which can deal with 30 to<br />
40 tons of fuel per 24 hours. A precise scientific programme<br />
has been mapped out for this new works.
486<br />
Mr. L. C. Nicholson, superintendent of the rolling<br />
mill at the Brier Hill plant of the Youngstown Sheet<br />
& Tube Company, has resigned and accepted a similar<br />
position with the Wheeling Steel Corporation at<br />
LaBelle Works, Steubenville, Ohio.<br />
Officials of the departments of the Ivy Rock Steel<br />
plant presented a silver loving cup to the former<br />
superintendent. J. E. Mountain, at a gathering held at<br />
the latter's home on West Sixth Avenue, Conshohocken.<br />
Superintendent Mountain recently severed<br />
his connections with the steel company after 22 years'<br />
service. He assumed charge of the plant at its completion<br />
in 1902. and was active until last month. Following<br />
presentation of the cup by the committee of<br />
17, Mr. Mountain expressed his appreciation of the<br />
gift. He has just celebrated his sixty-ninth birthday<br />
anniversary:<br />
Briggs & Turivas have just purchased all of the<br />
buildings, machinery, equipment contents, etc., of<br />
Brown & Company, Inc., Pittsburgh, Pa., manufacturers<br />
of rolled iron and steel products, consisting of<br />
9-in. and 16-in. bar mills, a 20-in. sheet mill and a 20in.<br />
muck mill and squeezer, and complete line of rolling<br />
mill equipment. The entire plant and equipment<br />
will be dismantled and sold.<br />
Oscar F. Smith has resigned his position as chief<br />
chemist for the Atlas Steel Corporation, Dunkirk, N.<br />
Y., and has accepted the position of chief chemist and<br />
testing engineer with W. B. Coleman & Company,<br />
Philadelphia, Pa.<br />
At the American Mining Congress, to be held m<br />
Sacramento, Cal., September 29 to October 4, the exhibition<br />
of the Link-Belt Company promises to be one<br />
of those outstanding for interest. It is the plan of the<br />
Link-Belt Company to erect and have in operation<br />
one of their new vibrating screens, as well as various<br />
other displays of Link-Belt equipment. The exhibit<br />
will be in charge of Mr. Shirley of the Link-Belt<br />
Meese & Gottfried Company, he being assisted by<br />
lite Blast TurnaceSSteel PI<br />
ant<br />
October, 1924<br />
Mr. Strube, engineer from the Link-Belt Philadelphia<br />
works.<br />
The Ohio Electric & Controller Company, Cleveland,<br />
Ohio, announce the appointment of Mr. G. R.<br />
Home as their district sales manager. Magnet Department,<br />
2158 Penobscot Bldg., Detroit, Mich.<br />
Wm. Jessop & Sons, Ltd., tool steel manufacturers,<br />
Sheffield, have sold their interest in the Jessop Steel<br />
Company, Washington, Pa., and this company is now<br />
being re<strong>org</strong>anized under the American management<br />
and ownership. The branches of Wm. Jessop & Sons,<br />
Lt., of Sheffield in various parts of the United States<br />
and Canada, however, will remain under the control<br />
of the English company, which will continue to export<br />
its special tool and alloy steels to all parts of North<br />
America as heretofore.<br />
A statement recently circulated in Great Britain<br />
to the effect that Wm. Jessop & Sons, Ltd., had disposed<br />
of all their American interests is officially denied.<br />
Only that portion of the business which was<br />
handled by the Jessop Steel Company has been sold.<br />
The English company will continue its business in the<br />
United States and Canada as usual, and at the same<br />
time the new interests which have purchased control<br />
of the plant at Washington, Pa., are planning to enlarge<br />
and develop their business in all branches of special<br />
and alloy steel manufacture.<br />
Contracts for a continuous billet and sheet bar<br />
mill recently were awarded the M<strong>org</strong>an Construction<br />
Company, Worcester, Mass., by the Youngstown<br />
Sheet & Tube Company, Youngstown, Ohio. The<br />
new mill will replace an older unit, which is claimed<br />
to be the first continuous type sheet bar mill built in<br />
this country. The present 18-inch billet and sheet bar<br />
mill was first operated in 1906; it has a rolling speed<br />
of 460 feet per minute and an output of 960 tons per<br />
turn of eight hours. The new mill will be designed<br />
with a rolling speed of 750 feet per minute and for a<br />
capacity of 1,600 tons of semi-finished steel per turn<br />
of eight hours.
Ine DIast kirnaceOjteel riant<br />
Blue Gas Engineering—<br />
{JThe vital importance of careful engineering in the design and construct<br />
ion of hlue gas apparatus is very apparent to the discriminating invest<br />
igator.<br />
tJThis type of ap<br />
paratus cannot he<br />
"thrown together.<br />
It must he designed<br />
and built with re<br />
gard to proper ma<br />
terials properly he-<br />
stowed.<br />
{Jit must afford ease<br />
and economy of oper<br />
ation, adaptability to<br />
changed conditions<br />
and rugged resistance<br />
to wear and tear.<br />
U. G. I. BLUE GAS APPARATUS is the original.<br />
Its experimental stages were passed years ago. It produces a<br />
CLEAN, COOL GAS, having high flame temperature and does<br />
it cheaply and efficiently.<br />
U. G. I. BLUE GAS is a substitute for natural gas.<br />
We would be glad to show facts and figures.<br />
THE U. G. I. CONTRACTING CO.<br />
Broad and Arch Sts., Philadelphia<br />
335 Peoples Gas Bldg., Chicago 928 Union Arcade, Pittsburgh<br />
.rfjM&f,<br />
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Co-operate:—Refer to The Blast Furnace and Steel Plant<br />
486-A
487<br />
MiimmmiiiijjJiiifmmimiiiiiiiiJmmiiiiiiijjiw<br />
I he Dias I lurnace^/jteel riant<br />
| NEWS OF THE PLANTS<br />
TiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiN<br />
The Penn Seaboard Steel Corporation, Franklin<br />
Bank Building, Philadelphia, Pa., is developing plans<br />
for expansion at its New Castle, Del., plant, and will<br />
concentrate all operations at this point in the future.<br />
The company disposed of its plant at Chester, Pa..<br />
some time ago, and is said to have arranged for the<br />
sale of the mills at Tacony, Philadelphia. The plant<br />
at New Haven, Conn., will also be merged with the<br />
New Castle works. Interest in the Rockaway Rolling<br />
Mills Corporation, Rockaway, N. J., recently has been<br />
sold. The expansion program will include the erection<br />
of new finishing mills at the New Castle plant,<br />
as well as the installation of additional furnaces and<br />
other equipment, estimated to cost close to $1,000,000,<br />
complete. It is expected to develop a large capacity,<br />
with employment of a number of additional workers.<br />
The Youngstown Sheet & Tube Company, Youngstown,<br />
Ohio, is arranging a fund of approximately<br />
$10,000,000, for extensions and improvements in its<br />
different plants during the coming year. A large portion<br />
of the fund will be used at the East Chicago, Ind.,<br />
mills, to include the erection of a number of buildings,<br />
additional machinery and blast furnace expansion. At<br />
the East Youngstown, Ohio, plant, a continuous sheet,<br />
bar, and billet mill will be built, and considerable new<br />
machinery placed in service. Work is now under way<br />
on a new sheet mill at the Brier Hill plant of the company,<br />
and it is purposed to push this structure to completion.<br />
The American Tube & Stamping Company, Bridgeport,<br />
Conn., is perfecting plans for the early erection<br />
of a new continuous billet mill and high speed strip<br />
mill at ist local plant on Stratford Avenue. A site has<br />
been selected adjoining the open hearth furnaces for<br />
the new mills. The billet mill will be of 22-in. type,<br />
with building to be one-story, 70 x 120 ft. A traveling<br />
crane will be installed, and all equipment electricoperated.<br />
The strip mill will be likewise one-story, 70<br />
x 300 ft., situated on the Yellow Mill Creek. The expansion<br />
is estimated to cost close to $500,000.<br />
The Thomas Sheet Steel Company, Niles, Ohio,<br />
has work in progress on an expansion and improvement<br />
program at its local plant, formerly the property of<br />
the Youngstown Sheet & Tube Company. Two new<br />
mills are in course of building and it is expected to<br />
install equipment in the near future, including furnaces<br />
and accessory apparatus. Extensions have also<br />
been made in the rolling mills at the plant and it is<br />
purposed to place the additional capacity in service at<br />
an early date. The company has recently resumed<br />
close to full production at the sheet mills, giving employment<br />
to an increased working force.<br />
The Bethlehem Steel Corporation, Bethlehem, Pa.,<br />
will proceed with its expansion program at its Lackawanna<br />
plant at Buffalo, N. Y., and has authorized the<br />
installation of a new 28-in. structural mill, as well as<br />
a 35-in. roughing mill. New buildings will be placed<br />
tinder way at an early date, and list of accessory<br />
equipment arranged. The new structural mill will be<br />
electrically-operated and a contract for the equipment<br />
has been given to the Westinghouse Electric & Manu<br />
October. 1924<br />
facturing Company, East Pittsburgh, Pa., at a price<br />
said to approximate $500,000. A number of new electric<br />
traveling cranes will be installed at the Lackawanna<br />
works, as well as at the Cambria mills at Johnstown,<br />
Pa., where a similar expansion and modernization<br />
program is now under way. The company has<br />
recently awarded a contract to the General Electric<br />
Company for equipment for a power house at the last<br />
noted plant, on which work will proceed at once.<br />
The Vanadium Alloys Steel Company, Latrobe.<br />
Pa., has completed plans and will begin the immediate<br />
erection of a new addition to its local plant, to be onestory,<br />
70 x 250 ft., to be equipped primarily as a hammer<br />
shop. A portion of the new structure will be<br />
given over to power plant service.<br />
The National Tube Company, Frick Building.<br />
Pittsburgh, Pa., has plans in progress for the erection<br />
of a new two-story and basement building on Forbes<br />
Street, near Norwood Avenue. It will be 55 x 100 ft.,<br />
and will be used largely as a laboratory for experimental<br />
and research service. It is estimated to cost<br />
about $75,000, with equipment. Edward Stotz, Monongahela<br />
Bank Building, Pittsburgh, is architect.<br />
The company is making extensions and improvements<br />
at its Gary, Ind., works, to include the installation of a<br />
battery of eight continuous furnaces for the new skelp<br />
mill, and auxiliary equipment. It is purposed to carry<br />
out this and other expansion at an early date.<br />
The Indiana Steel Company, Gary, Ind., has commenced<br />
the rebuilding of its blast furnace No. 5, recently<br />
partially destroyed by an explosion, and will<br />
push construction so as to have the stack ready for<br />
service at the earliest possible date.<br />
The Alabama By-Products Corporation, Tarrant<br />
City, Ala., has work under way on additions to its<br />
local coke oven and by-products plant, designed to<br />
increase the present capacity about one-third. In the<br />
coke department, it is expected to develop a total of<br />
1350 tons per day, with large increase in capacity in<br />
the benzol and other by-products departments. A<br />
fund of about $1,000,000, has been arranged for the<br />
work, which is expected to be completed earlv in the<br />
coming year.<br />
The Ford Motor Company, Highland Park, Detroit,<br />
Mich., has completed plans for the erection of an<br />
additional mill at its River Rouge steel works, and<br />
plans to begin work at an early date. The structure<br />
will provide for considerable increase in output, and<br />
is reported to cost close to $500,000, including equipment.<br />
Albert Kahn, Marquette Building, Detroit, is<br />
architect.<br />
The Allegheny Steel Company, Brackenridge, Pa.,<br />
has been making a number of improvements at its<br />
local plant and has recently placed in service a new<br />
electrically-operated steel melting furnace, with<br />
hearth capacity of 12,000 pounds. The unit has a rating<br />
of 800 kw. and operates continuously. Accessory<br />
equipment has been installed to accommodate the increased<br />
capacity. Other equipment betterments will<br />
be made to develop maximum efficiency.
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| Die Blasi PurnaceSSWl Plan! |<br />
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Vol. XII PITTSBURGH, PA., NOVEMBER, 1924 No. 11<br />
Construction or Destruction<br />
Which?<br />
DURING the last 148 years the United States has been built<br />
from a wilderness to the most thriving nation in the world.<br />
History contains no record of a people who have been so<br />
well favored. The progress made has not been the result of chance.<br />
The whole has been brought about by a carefully-mapped out program,<br />
which has been codified into laws and customs. These regulations<br />
are observed by all citizens having the welfare of the nation<br />
at heart.<br />
The plan of government under which we are living is a known<br />
quantity. There is no guessing as to the future. In drawing conclusions,<br />
we unhesitatingly say our forefathers builded well.<br />
In the year 1924 there has appeared a group who have taken<br />
the opposite view, and have said: "Our forefathers did not build<br />
solidly. Let us tear down the structure they erected. Let us destroy<br />
our laws and customs. The experience of peoples of thousands<br />
of years is all wrong. We will build a new system upon the<br />
ruins of the tried structure. Let us do away with the laws whicn<br />
give protection to all alike. Let us inaugurate plans that have<br />
brought ruin wherever they have been tried. Why? Because we<br />
are dissatisfied."<br />
We need only review the history of our country to prove that<br />
the dissatisfied element is usually wrong. Take the "Knownothing"<br />
party, the "Greenback" party, the "free coinage of silver,"<br />
and greater than all these, the party which brought on the Civil<br />
War and sought to separate the country into two nations instead<br />
of the one United States. Every man who worked, voted and<br />
fought for these radical changes is happy today that these political<br />
projects were defeated.<br />
This publication is not devoted to political questions, but it is<br />
vitally interested in the welfare of the nation. Each of us must<br />
decide at this November election whether we favor the parties of<br />
construction or those of destruction.<br />
(Signed) L. L. CARSON.<br />
489
490<br />
ihe Dlast I'urnaceL.Meet riant<br />
November, 1924<br />
Optimism Pervades Convention<br />
Leaders of Industry Enthusiastic at Atlantic City Gathering of<br />
American Gas Association<br />
THERE is no danger of a saturation point in the<br />
domestic use of gas service so long as the population<br />
of the LTnited States remains one of home<br />
dwellers and the price of solid fuel remains so high<br />
as at present, according to Samuel T. Bodine, president<br />
of the United Gas Improvement Company of<br />
Philadelphia, at the sixth annual convention of the<br />
American Gas Association.<br />
His statement, which carried with it optimistic assurances<br />
of a restoration of business confidence and<br />
activity, was one of several made as part of a nationwide<br />
survey by the association to ascertain the economic<br />
and industrial conditions in the country.<br />
Mr. Bodine does not consider the expansion now<br />
taking place in the manufactured gas industry as in<br />
any way phenomenal. He said: "It is running at<br />
about the same compounding percentage which has<br />
obtained since the gas-men of the country, awakening<br />
from their conservatism in the conduct of the commercial<br />
department of their business, have proven<br />
that gas. manufactured under improved process and<br />
utilized through improved and more efficient appliances,<br />
has become a vital factor in domestic comfort<br />
and manufacturing economy."<br />
Thomas N. Carter, president of the Public Service<br />
Electric and Gas Company of New Jersey, stated that<br />
so far a.s that part of New Jersey served by his company<br />
is concerned, the prospect for the gas industry is<br />
bright.<br />
Competition with other cheap fuels, such as oil, has<br />
stimulated the gas industry on the Pacific Coast so<br />
that it is actually ahead of other business developments,<br />
in the opinion of F. A. Leach, vice president<br />
and general manager of the Pacific Gas and Electric<br />
Company.<br />
The views of such broadly informed experts was<br />
reflected throughout the week's convention by a<br />
marked feeling of optimism as to general conditions.<br />
The American Gas Journal summarized the Association's<br />
meeting in part as follows :<br />
The Big Show at the Pier.<br />
To the 1924 exhibition of the A. G. A. there came<br />
with the finished fruits of brain and brawn nearly 170<br />
exhibitors, to show these marvels and to explain their<br />
virtues for the profit and instruction of those from all<br />
corners who, like the writer hereof, have so much yet<br />
to learn about a business that means such volumes<br />
to the national wealth and prestige, such sustenance to<br />
the all successful industry and such surcease of toil to<br />
the tired housewife.<br />
The visitors noted a bewildering variety of displays<br />
appealing to their imagination, to their sense<br />
of appreciation for painstaking achievement and to<br />
their pride in the consciousness that the wonders<br />
wrought by the manufacturers of gas and of the metallic<br />
agencies for its use were the triumphs of American<br />
capitalists and engineers.<br />
A lure that led so many inside the doors of the exhibition<br />
halls was the display of a series of paintings<br />
By F. J CROLIUS<br />
by F. L. Stoddard, in vivid tones and blazing conceptions,<br />
forming what might be named the Pictorial Epic<br />
of Gas. These images were irresistible. Folks went,<br />
they saw, they were intrigued and they stayed long<br />
to marvel.<br />
Even the almost wholly educational and promotional<br />
phases of the booths held out something to<br />
touch the imagination. (Item: the dumb but eloquent<br />
figures showing that a single public service in a single<br />
state had swollen its sales of gas by nearly three billions<br />
of cubic feet since 1920—and had performed<br />
other feats in expansion that made the head swim to<br />
ponder them.)<br />
Many great and magic names in the factory firmament<br />
appeared on the list of exhibitors and were<br />
draped tastefully as well above the booths in the harmonious<br />
uniform design made mandatory by the association.<br />
The bigger hall where this miniature<br />
world fair is going on, banked high with evergreen<br />
trees and streamers too, and strung with myriad electric<br />
bulbs, made a festive stage setting for the glorification<br />
of gas.<br />
Flames of it spouted or glowed here and there<br />
from pipes to help tell the mystery of the latest machinery<br />
on the market. Pipes themselves, in all sizes<br />
and shapes, invited inspection. Castings, gauges, meters,<br />
also huge coal crushers. Movie cameras attached<br />
to new motors and showing the picture of the<br />
motor working along with the motor itself. Gas heaters,<br />
all styles and sizes. Girls cooking sweets now<br />
and then and asking you to have a nibble.<br />
Then, as a climax, the story of coal mining as set<br />
out with working models and pictures and lay figures<br />
by the United States Bureau of Mines.<br />
Alexander Forward Presents Statistics.<br />
Steady Progress In Industry.<br />
A sketch of the important items in the statistics of<br />
the industry for 1923, as compiled and analyzed by<br />
the association's statistical department, demonstrates<br />
that during last year the industry continued to enjoy<br />
he steady march of former years. The total gas<br />
produced and purchased for public distribution in 1923<br />
was 418,000,000,000 cubic feet. For the first time we<br />
crossed the mark of 400,000,000,000 cubic feet in a<br />
year.<br />
It is interesting to note that of the gas actually<br />
manufactured in the plants, approximately 74 per<br />
cent is carburetted water gas, 19 per cent is coal gas,<br />
and approximately 8 per cent is oil gas. The coal gas<br />
manufactured shows an increase of about 6,000,000,000<br />
cubic feet over the 1922 figure, while the carburetted<br />
water gas manufactured in 1923 shows a gain of approximately<br />
8,000,000.000 cubic feet over 1922. Carburetted<br />
water gas seems, therefore, to be more than<br />
holding its position. This is, of course, due in part<br />
to the increase in some cities in house heating and<br />
similar loads, creating a peak load carried by additional<br />
water gas equipment. Due to the trend toward<br />
a lower content of British thermal units and to in-
November, 1924<br />
creasingly efficient methods, we are using proportionately<br />
less oil, thus aiding conservation of natural resources<br />
in this direction.<br />
Increase In Coke Over Gas.<br />
An important feature is the marked increase in coke<br />
oven gas purchased and mixed with manufactured gas<br />
for city use. In 1921 the amount of this gas purchased<br />
was 37,000,000,000 cubic feet; in 1922 this figure<br />
increased to 55,000,000,000 cubic feet and reached<br />
approximately 66.000,000,000 cubic feet in 1923 — or<br />
about 8,000,000,000 cubic feet more than the coal gas<br />
manufactured for that year. This represents an increase<br />
of approximately 80 per cent between 1921 and<br />
1923.<br />
If this purchased coke oven gas is added to the<br />
coal gas manufactured, the combined 1923 figure will<br />
show an increase over 1921 of approximately 25,000,-<br />
000.000 cubic feet as against 24,000,000,000 cubic feet<br />
for carburetted water gas—and a percentage increase<br />
of 25 per cent as against 11 per cent. From this standpoint<br />
the anticipated trend toward the increased use<br />
of coal gas is justified. However, these figures clearly<br />
show the strong position both of coal gas and of<br />
carburetted water gas.<br />
Gas Industry Using More Coke.<br />
In considering the raw materials used for the<br />
manufacture of gas it is interesting to note that in 1921<br />
the ratio of coke to anthracite coal used for gas manufacture<br />
was as 57 to 43, whereas in 1923 the ratio was<br />
as 75 to 25. Coke is a product second only to gas in<br />
importance to the industry and its increasing use in<br />
our own manufacturing processes will be welcomed by<br />
any gas men. Of the coke used in 1923 40 per cent<br />
was coke made by combination coal and water gas<br />
plants as a by-product of their coal gas manufacture<br />
and used as a generator fuel in their water gas machines.<br />
Such control of an essential raw material is<br />
a factor of strength for any industry.<br />
The Blast h, rnaco r^o<br />
Steel Plant<br />
491<br />
Gas Sales.<br />
The total annual sales of gas for the year 1923 are<br />
reported as a little over 384,722,000,000 cubic feet, an<br />
increase of approximately 9.87 per cent over the annual<br />
sales in 1922. A comparison of the 1923 sales<br />
with the gas produced and purchased for the same<br />
year indicates "unaccounted for gas" of approximately<br />
7.94 per cent as compared with 9.18 per cent in 1921,<br />
the last year for which official statistics were published<br />
by the association. This reduction in gas unaccounted<br />
for is probably due not only to increased efficiency but<br />
to the increase in the amount of coke oven gas purchased.<br />
Our sales in 1923 were more than double the annual<br />
sales for 1913—the increase in sales for the 10<br />
years more than equaling the total output for the year<br />
prior to the outbreak of the World War. In this decade<br />
the sales of manufactured gas practically equal the<br />
total sales of gas during all of the preceeding 40 years.<br />
Increase In Industrial Gas.<br />
The analysis of sales according to uses indicates<br />
that 24.02 per cent of the total sales for 1923 (or<br />
slightly over 92,000,000,000 cubic feet) were used for<br />
industrial purposes. In 1921 the industrial sales represented<br />
21.62 per cent of the total, or a little over<br />
70.000,000,000 cubic feet. In two years therefore our<br />
sales for industrial purposes have increased by nearly<br />
22,000,000,000 cubic feet, a ratio of increase of 30 per<br />
cent. It has been stated that our sales for 1923 are<br />
double those for 1913. It is interesting to note that<br />
the industrial sales for 1923 represent 47 per cent of<br />
this increase, as the sales for industrial purposes in<br />
1923 were practicably negligible.<br />
Technical Section.<br />
Under authority of and appropriation by the Executive<br />
Board, the Committee on Measurement of large<br />
Volume of Gas has just completed a series of tests<br />
to determine tbe relative accuracy of large volume<br />
meters including such types as the Standard Orifice<br />
FIG. 1.—A familiar viezv along Atlantic City's Boardzvalk zvhere the A-'erican Gas Association. Sheet Steel Exec<br />
. . - American Hardware Association held meetings simultaneously.
492<br />
Meter, Pitot Tube, displacement meters, Venturi Tube<br />
and Thomas meters. The results of these tests will<br />
be particularly important to companies purchasing<br />
large volumes of coke oven gas and in connection with<br />
the metering of large volume industrial sales.<br />
Included in the tremendous variety of exhibits,<br />
each of which carried some point of interest to 5,000<br />
or more visitors who thronged the Pier were many<br />
innovations of peculiar value to those members of the<br />
steel fraternity who were fortunate enough to be present.<br />
The Kolumbus Coke Separator, shown in the accompanying<br />
figure, meets a need long felt wherever<br />
fuel is burned.<br />
The "Kolumbus" Coke Separator is a simple and<br />
efficient machine which separates from ashes practically<br />
all the unburned fuel in usable form. It handles<br />
all the ashes from either coal or water gas generators<br />
and. as illustrated above, delivers the reclaimed fuel,<br />
fine ash, large clinker lumps, and coarse clinker<br />
through separate openings into barrows or cars. In-<br />
FIG. 2.—Shozving the Kolumbus coke separator in operation,<br />
separating out from badly burned fuel a very high percentage<br />
of residual carbon.<br />
vented in Germany about four years ago, on the market<br />
only about three years, the machines in use already<br />
number over 700. Their use has extended among<br />
the larger gas works and industrial plants in European<br />
countries, until today these machines have been distributed<br />
to coal and coke burning plants as far away<br />
as Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. They are now<br />
being introduced into the United States by Ash Reclaiming<br />
Machinery Corporation.<br />
The very practical development of the Radiant<br />
Heater in unit construction should be a boon to present<br />
sufferers in natural gas areas. A cross-section of<br />
the heating element is shown in Fig. 3.<br />
Gas makers showed unusual appreciation of the<br />
U. G. I. Model "B" control, which seems to possess<br />
exceptional features in gas works operation. This<br />
compact control unit is shown in Fig. 4. Among its<br />
many advantages may be cited :<br />
The length of cycles may be changed at any time<br />
during the operation of the gas apparatus without<br />
shutting down to make such change. No other adjustment<br />
is necessary outside of shifting the gear ratio<br />
of the co.ie gear, which gives a positive cycle length.<br />
(Continued on Page 524.)<br />
IheDlast rurnaco^jleel riant<br />
November, 1924<br />
Glorifying the Influence of Power<br />
An important purpose of the Power Show is to glorify<br />
power and its tremendous influence in advancing American<br />
civilization. The Third National Exposition of<br />
Power and Mechanical Engineering, which is the official<br />
name for the Power Show, will be held from December<br />
1st through the 6th. Its stage will include 150,000 sq.<br />
ft. in the three stories of the Grand Central Palace. Its<br />
entertainers will consist of 3200 representatives of over<br />
300 exhibitors, well trained in their art and ready to dispense<br />
information and satisfaction to the audience of<br />
75.000 who will view the magnificent display of machinery<br />
worth many millions of dollars that will be on view and<br />
partially in operation during the week of the show. That<br />
an annual spectacle of this character has become so thoroughly<br />
established in three short years, is definite proof<br />
that the economical production, distribution and utilization<br />
of power is coming to be generally understood as the<br />
foundation of industrial progress. The show is appreciated<br />
as the annual opportunity for engineers and industrialists<br />
to become acquainted with the tremendous developments<br />
in mechanical engineering compelled by the everincreased<br />
demand for power.<br />
The holding of the Power Show at the same time as<br />
the great annual gatherings of the American Society of<br />
Mechanical Engineers and the American Society of Refrigerating<br />
Engineers, and with the wholehearted co-operation<br />
of the American Society of Heating and Ventilating<br />
Engineers and the National Association of Stationary<br />
Engineers, gives an educational status to the event and<br />
attracts designing and constructing engineers and operating<br />
men who are fully aware of its tremendous significance.<br />
But it is also an object lesson to the general public<br />
in that it shows something of the complicated <strong>org</strong>anization<br />
of apparatus out of sight but ready at the closing<br />
of the switch or the pressing of a button to illuminate the<br />
face of the earth and do the work of its people.<br />
One of the aspects of the success of the Power Show<br />
in the past years, not generally understood or appreciated,<br />
is the excellent opportunity it offers to engineers and purchasers<br />
to become acquainted with the personnel of the<br />
selling <strong>org</strong>anizations represented at the show as well as<br />
the devices on exhibition. This acquaintance promotes<br />
the interchange of experience and information of farreaching<br />
effect. The opportunity to compare competing<br />
devices under the same roof is time-saving and much more<br />
satisfactory than a pilgrimage from installation to installation<br />
.<br />
The scope of the coming Power Show is inclusive of<br />
the entire range of power producing, distributing and<br />
utilizing apparatus. Steam-generating devices with the<br />
auxiliary materials and apparatus will be shown in abundance.<br />
Prime movers will be represented. Metering equipment,<br />
which has played such an important part in securing<br />
the excellent economies in modern steam plants, will<br />
occupy an important place on tbe stage. The using devices<br />
will include machine tools and transmission equipment,<br />
such as belting, bearings, couplings, etc. Everv<br />
manufacturer and engineer will find much of real value<br />
in solving the daily problems of increasing economy. In<br />
addition to this a section of machine tools is being placed<br />
in the exposition to meet the demands made bv engineers<br />
at the past two expositions for this type of equipment.<br />
Thus the exposition is extending its scope into further<br />
fields of mechanical engineering.
November, 1924<br />
Die Blast hirnacoSSlool Plant<br />
Electric Heating of Sheet and Tin<br />
Mill Rolls<br />
Haphazard Results of Former Preheating Methods<br />
Now Eliminated<br />
T H E first turn each week in sheet and tin mills<br />
is commonly beset with more or less difficulty.<br />
The most serious drawback is the necessity of<br />
starting the turn with rolls greatly below normal rolling<br />
temperatures and bringing them up to proper temperature<br />
and shape. Even though the rolls be partially<br />
preheated by steam, gas flame or stack gases,<br />
it is ordinarily necessary to roll narrow iron and heavy<br />
gauges until the rolls attain temperature. In order<br />
to permit proper flow and distribution of the heat introduced<br />
into the rolls and to prevent excessive roll<br />
breakage, it is commonly the practice to restrict the<br />
production until the rolls are in suitable condition.<br />
Electric preheating of the finishing rolls of sheet<br />
and tin mills is a new development which has demonstrated<br />
its ability to eliminate the first turn difficulties<br />
incident to cold rolls. By this means it is possible<br />
to put the rolls in mid-week condition before the mills<br />
are started so that production may proceed immediately<br />
on any desired order and at maximum rate. The<br />
pronounced superiority of the results afforded by electric<br />
preheating over any previous heating methods<br />
mark this development as a distinct improvement in<br />
the art.<br />
Fig. 1 show r s the appearance of an electric roll<br />
heater applied to a pair of rolls in position. The device<br />
comprises two frames each carrying two flexible<br />
cylindrical sectors. The frames are arranged to clamp<br />
a pair of rolls in place in their housings. The cylindrical<br />
sectors which carry the heating elements on<br />
their internal surfaces, fit snugly to the rolls. These<br />
sectors are lagged to confine the heat to the rolls. Due<br />
to the flexible feature and by means of take-up devices,<br />
the heaters will fit rolls varying in diameter due to<br />
dressing.<br />
Roll heaters are made in sizes suited to 28 inch and<br />
30 in. rolls respectively. Standard 28 in. heaters are<br />
suited for use with rolls from 27j4 in. to 28^ in. actual<br />
diameter. Standard 30 in. heaters are suited for use<br />
with rolls from 29^4 in- to 30^ in. actual diameter.<br />
To obtain the best fit it is desirable to vary the distance<br />
between roll centers according to roll diameters.<br />
Thus with a pair of rolls 27*/ in. in diameter a separation<br />
of \y2 in. beteween rolls gives the best results.<br />
This requirement is best cared for by providing a pair<br />
of wedges tapering from 1/16 in. to 2 in. in thickness.<br />
These can be introduced between a pair of rolls as<br />
far as necessary to obtain the desired separation. If<br />
the wedges are applied from the proper side of the<br />
mill they may be rolled out when the mill starts, letting<br />
down the rolls without shock and making unnecessary<br />
the use of the crane for removing the<br />
wedges.<br />
•Electrical Engineer, Freyn Brassert & Company, Chicago, 111.<br />
By GORDON FOX*<br />
493<br />
Standard roll heaters are made in 24 in., 30 in., 36<br />
in. and 44 in. lengths. It is recommended that they<br />
be used in accord with Table I. Where the same roll<br />
face is listed for two heaters the wider heater is recommended<br />
but the narrower heater may be used. If<br />
a narrow heater is applied to a wide mill the heat may<br />
be concentrated to an undesirable degree over the<br />
central portion of the roll. This condition is accen<br />
tuated by fast heating which establishes a considerable<br />
heat gradient or temperature difference between<br />
the center and the end of the roll face. A slow heat,<br />
as obtained by using the two heater halves in series,<br />
gives more uniform heat distribution over the length<br />
of the roll face. Therefore, when a narrow heater is<br />
used on a wide roll, it may be desirable to adjust the<br />
rate of heat application to suit in order to avoid a full<br />
mill.<br />
TABLE I — HEATER AND ROLL WIDTHS<br />
Suitable for Rolls of<br />
Heater Width Face Dimensions<br />
24" 28" to 36" inclusive<br />
30" 36" to 42"<br />
36" 40" to 48"<br />
44" SO" to 60"
494<br />
The manner and extent of heating of the rolls is<br />
best shown by Fig. 2 which gives the results of a<br />
test on a 28 in. x 44 in. mill equipped with a 28 in. x<br />
36 in. heater. In this case the heating period was 12<br />
hours and the final temperature at the center of the<br />
roll face was 617 deg. F. A moderate rate of heat<br />
application has been selected to approximate heating<br />
by rolling and to minimize expansion strains. It has<br />
been found entirely possible to bring the rolls to a<br />
temperature of 750 deg. F. but no benefit is apparent<br />
over results obtained with rolls starting at 550 to 600<br />
deg. F.<br />
It will be noted that approximately 230 deg. F.<br />
temperature difference exists between the center and<br />
I.<br />
)<br />
8:<br />
5<br />
eso<br />
eoo<br />
5SO<br />
Soo<br />
4So<br />
(^ ZOO<br />
•IG.<br />
• 4 ^ 6 7<br />
Hours i^un<br />
Performance o/ za~x3G E/ectr/'c fa//<br />
Heafer on e8~x44"/c!o//s<br />
lne Dlast hi<br />
_<br />
mace. Steel Plant<br />
November, 1924<br />
gauge and found to be as uniform on the first pack as<br />
on any subsequent pack.<br />
An interesting test was run on a 28 in. roll which<br />
had three holes drilled radially inward near the center<br />
of the roll face. These holes were 4 in, 10 in. and<br />
14 in. in depth. Temperatures taken while warming<br />
up this roll electrically indicate that the interior of<br />
the roll heats up substantially as rapidly as does the<br />
surface.<br />
Electric preheating gives temperatures much in<br />
excess of those attained by any other method of preheating<br />
other than the use of "warming-up" iron.<br />
Moreover, it is a definite method as contrasted with<br />
rather haphazard results obtainable with gas flame,<br />
exhaust gases, steam or hot water. Since electric preheating<br />
affords a definite result, the furnaces may be<br />
charged with no hesitation as to the condition of the<br />
rolls to handle the order charged.<br />
The practical results obtained with electric preheating<br />
are measured by their performance in the<br />
several plants now using them. These plants now<br />
find it necessary, in fact rather undesirable, to roll<br />
narrow iron on a mill which has been electrically preheated.<br />
Many independent rollers have pronounced<br />
the rolls to be practically in mid-week condition at the<br />
beginning of the first turn. At one plant, 30 gauge,<br />
36 in. wide, 96 in. long sheets are frequently rolled<br />
on a 44 in. mill with no preliminary orders and no extra<br />
passes and this mill has rolled 30 in. x 36 in. x 120<br />
in. sheets in the first charge with entire success. This<br />
mill has made some excellent tonnages on the first<br />
turn. It may be definitely stated that warming-up<br />
iron may be dispensed with when rolls are electrically<br />
preheated and the tonnage on the first turn may be<br />
as high as on any other turn.<br />
The amount of electric power consumed in heating<br />
the rolls depends upon their size, initial and final temperatures<br />
and the period of heating. Table II gives<br />
data applying to 28 in. rolls.<br />
TABLE II<br />
POWER CONSUMPTION OF ELECTRIC ROLL HEATERS<br />
Heater<br />
Size, Ins.<br />
24<br />
30<br />
36<br />
44<br />
Input, Kw.<br />
39<br />
48<br />
56<br />
72<br />
Consumption in<br />
12 hrs., Kwh.<br />
468<br />
575<br />
672<br />
864<br />
Cost at .$01<br />
per Kwh.<br />
$4.68<br />
5.75<br />
6.72<br />
8.64<br />
A mill equipped with fourteen 28-in. diameter heaters<br />
of various widths recently consumed 8670 kwh. in<br />
the end of the roll face at the expiration of the heating put to transformers, including all losses, over a heat<br />
period. This difference corresponds closely with rolling period of approximately 12 hours.<br />
ing conditions and approximates the difference neces<br />
The heaters present a uniform load. They may<br />
sary to remove the cross from the rolls. The design be used on low voltage direct or a.c. circuits as de<br />
of the heating elements has been governed to secure sired. If a.c. is used the power factor of tbe load, in<br />
this result. It is entirely possible, as previously inticluding feed lines and transformers, is about 90 per<br />
mated, to warm up to a "full mill" with the electric cent. It should be borne in mind that this is normal<br />
heaters but ordinarily the mill is a trifle hollow at ly an off-peak load and occurs at a time when excess<br />
starting with 2 in. or 3 in. fish tails on full width by-product fuels may be available. If power is pur<br />
sheets.<br />
chased, tbe actual cost is represented by the consump<br />
The uniformity of heating is excellent. Although<br />
the entire periphery of the rolls is not directly covtion<br />
times the kwh. rate, independent of the demand<br />
charge.<br />
ered by the heaters, the flow of heat is suffiicently<br />
As the heaters are applied to the standing rolls, no<br />
rapid so that there is no appreciable variation nor the power is required to turn over the mill. The power<br />
least corrugation nor distortion of the rolls. In an required to turn over one pair of rolls is nearly as<br />
endeavor to detect any "out-of-round" condition, longi much as the input to one electric roll heater. The<br />
tudinal strips have been cut from the first packs power required to turn over a cold mill and a hot<br />
through the rolls. These strips were calipered for mill is ordinarily more than the input to an electric
November, 1924<br />
r<br />
Siny/e Pole\ 0<br />
Pisconnect\ X<br />
Su/itches i T<br />
Fuses I 0<br />
L.<br />
Hie Blast F,<br />
urnace ° Steel Plant<br />
FIG. 3.<br />
Knuckle Join I<br />
Connectors<br />
Knuckle Joint<br />
Connectors or<br />
Eoyitsalent<br />
Note:-<br />
/?// Switches Closed<br />
—[ Halves in Parallel<br />
c\ ' Hidd/e Switch Open<br />
I Outside Suj/tches C/osed<br />
I Hali/es in Series<br />
I<br />
I Sizes of Switches £ Eases<br />
^asper "fobulot/'on on Dra.*9/8 L<br />
Heating Unit.<br />
CONNECTIONS FOQ ELECTRIC POLE HEFITEG<br />
O/v THREE PH/JSE SYSTEM<br />
roll heater. As the mill is standing no attendance is<br />
required during the heating period.<br />
The heaters are ordinarily handled by a crane.<br />
They are provided with swing bolts and ratchet<br />
wrenches, making their application and removal easy<br />
and rapid. The heaters are usually applied by the<br />
mechanics who set up the mills. This operation requires<br />
about 10 minutes. About five minutes are<br />
required to remove and store a heater and to rig a<br />
mill with the fore plates and rest bars ready for rolling.<br />
It has been found that, after the heaters areremoved,<br />
the rolls drop in temperature about one deg.<br />
F. per minute, this small loss having no apparent bearing<br />
on the results obtained.<br />
Electric heaters are now used in eight mills. One<br />
mill, which is fully equipped with 14 heaters, has<br />
worked out to a nicety the matter of handling and<br />
storage of the heaters. Moveable racks have been<br />
constructed, each receiving three heaters or six halves.<br />
These racks are carried by the crane and distributed<br />
along the mill. When the heaters are removed fromJ<br />
the rolls they are deposited directly upon the racks*-<br />
Rubber //rmor<br />
Oi/er Cables<br />
J<br />
H<br />
, Single Pole<br />
Disconnect<br />
Switches<br />
Fuses<br />
495<br />
zzpv<br />
\ B20V<br />
with a minimum of crane movement. The upper<br />
clamp bolts of the heaters are swung into engagement,<br />
holding the halves rigidly in place. After the mills<br />
are cleared the racks are carried down the mill out<br />
of the way and rolled into a lean-to on their own<br />
wheels. At this plant the 14 stands have been cleared<br />
and the mills turned over 21 minutes after the current<br />
was cut off the first heater. As there are 7 stands in<br />
each line, each unit of 7 stands turns over about 11<br />
minutes after current is cut off. Thus the delay incident<br />
to the use of the heaters is very small indeed and<br />
of little moment in view of the great time saving due<br />
to immediate capacity production.<br />
Electrically, the installation of roll heaters is simple.<br />
A suitable source of alternating or d.c. of proper<br />
capacity is necessary. Alternating current is generally<br />
preferable as conversion losses are thereby avoided.<br />
It may be necessary to install transformers to provide<br />
the necessary power. A three phase line is then extended<br />
the length of the mill line with taps at columns<br />
»near the furnaces. The necessary switches are ordi<br />
narily located on these columns. Removable cables
496<br />
are arranged to connect at these switch boxes extending<br />
to the knuckle-joint connectors on the roll heaters.<br />
It is considered desirable to provide for connection<br />
of the heater halves either in series or in parallel.<br />
The series connection affords a slow heat suitable for<br />
removing the frost from very cold rolls or for maintaining<br />
the heat while permitting it to spread, as when<br />
a narrow heater is applied to a wide roll. The series-<br />
FIG. 4.<br />
Die Blast FurnaceSSteel Plant<br />
Su/itch Pos/i/on-Up<br />
Ha/i/es in Poro//el<br />
SUJ//C/> Pos/i/on- OouJn<br />
Ha/^es in Ser/es<br />
C0NN£CT/0/V5 EOQ C~L£CT&/C l?OLL HE/RTEP<br />
Orv 5/HOLE PHASE OB D C System<br />
FIG. 5.—An excellent viczv of an electric roll heater ready for<br />
installation and service.<br />
November, 1924<br />
parallel arrangement may be derived by use of a<br />
three pole double throw switch as shown in Fig. 4 in<br />
which case the power is d.c. or taken from a single<br />
phase. Fig. 3 shows a method of securing the desired<br />
result with one 3-pole single throw switch, connected<br />
to a three phase system. The various heaters<br />
are connected to different phases in a manner to approximately<br />
balance the demand.<br />
To date no roll breakages attributable to warming<br />
up have been reported on mills using electric preheaters.<br />
A considerable saving due to decrease in<br />
roll breakage is indicated but not yet established as<br />
a certainty. During the winter months it is recommended<br />
that the heater halves be connected in series<br />
to give a slow heat during the first hour or two to<br />
take out the frost before full heat is applied.<br />
Electric heaters have been frequently applied to<br />
rolls in a rack to preheat prior to a mid-week change of<br />
rolls with admirable results. One plant keeps a pair<br />
of rolls hot at all times by use of an electric heater<br />
thus applied.<br />
Symposium on Corrosion<br />
At the Baltimore meeting of the American Chemical<br />
Society which will be held during Easter Week,<br />
the Division of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry<br />
will hold a symposium on corrosion. At the present<br />
time the tentative outline of the symposium is as<br />
follows :<br />
1—Submerged corrosion of metals<br />
a. Iron and steel<br />
b. Non-ferrous metals<br />
2—Atmospheric corrosion<br />
3—Corrosion of special alloys<br />
It is hoped that the scope of the papers of this<br />
symposium will cover the problems of corrosion in the<br />
heavy chemical industry, in the special chemical industry,<br />
in the marine world, in ordnance equipment,<br />
in the oil industry, mining industry, etc. Papers relating<br />
to any of these subjects or subdivisions will be<br />
welcomed by the chairman of the symposium, who is<br />
Robert J. McKay.<br />
In case one plans to present a paper before this<br />
symposium he should correspond at once with Mr.<br />
McKay or the secretary of the division, Erie M.<br />
Billings.<br />
The Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad Company,<br />
Birmingham, Ala., is said to have plans under way<br />
fur additions in its plant at Fairfield. Ala., to cost in<br />
excess of $500,000, including buildings and equipment.<br />
The primary work will consist of an addition to the<br />
blooming mill, designed for the production of small<br />
billets, with increased power facilities and auxiliary<br />
mechanical equipment. It is purposed to proceed<br />
with the expansion at an early date. Ge<strong>org</strong>e W.<br />
Crawford is president.<br />
The Wisconsin Steel Company, Chicago, 111., has<br />
authorized extensions at its plant at South Chicago<br />
to provide for considerable increase in capacity. The<br />
work will include a new 40-in. blooming mill, for<br />
which the machinery will be furnished by the Mackintosh-Hemphill<br />
Company, Pittsburgh, Pa. Other<br />
subsidiary expansion will lie carried out. The reported<br />
cost is placed at close to $500,000.
November, 1924 11 K] i T ^>C/ I Dl 1 4 -<br />
IheDlast hirnace_/jfeel rlanr<br />
E SAFETY CRUSADE<br />
National Safety Meets at Louisville, Ky.<br />
3,500 Members Elect Officers and Hear Vital Reports<br />
National problems of accident prevention in America<br />
affecting the industries, railroads, mines, the<br />
schools, the homes and the general public were given<br />
close study at the 75 sessions of the Thirteenth Annual<br />
Safety Congress of the National Safety Council<br />
held at Louisville, Kentucky, September 29 to October<br />
3. Approximately 3,500 were in attendance including<br />
representatives from Canada, Alaska, and other distant<br />
parts. Of particular interest were the crowded<br />
public safety sessions held at the latter end of the Congress.<br />
Every meeting was excellently attended.<br />
While possibly not the biggest safety congress it was<br />
the unanimous judgment that this year's convention<br />
from the standpoint of actual benefit to the safety<br />
movement was the best ever held. Louisville industries<br />
and civic <strong>org</strong>anizations co-operated wholeheartedly<br />
in making the Safety Education Week and the<br />
Safety Congress a success.<br />
Carl B. Auel, of the Westinghouse Electric and<br />
Manufacturing Company, East Pittsburgh, Pa., was<br />
elected president of the National Safety Council to<br />
succeed Lewis A. DeBlois of Wilmington, Del. Mr.<br />
Auel was previously vice-president in charge of general<br />
activities and has for years been actively identified<br />
with the accident prevention work of his own<br />
company and with the safety movement at large. Mr.<br />
DeBlois becomes vice-president in charge of general<br />
activities.<br />
The first day, Monday, was given over to the annual<br />
meeting of members in the morning and a general<br />
session in the afternoon. Among the speakers at<br />
these two meetings were Secretary of Labor, James<br />
J. Davis; Richard F. Grant, President, Chamber of<br />
Commerce of the United States; C. F. Kettering, Vice-<br />
President and Chief Engineer, General Motors Research<br />
Corp., and Dr. Arnold L. Jacoby, Director,<br />
Psychopathic Clinic, Detroit.<br />
Another general session combining education and<br />
public safety was held on Tuesday afternoon with<br />
Ge<strong>org</strong>e H. Pride, Autocar Company, Ardmore, Pa.;<br />
Ernest N. Smith, General Manager, American Automobile<br />
Association and Judge Shepard Bryan of Atlanta<br />
as speakers. The public safety sessions were devoted<br />
to city planning and safety, accident statistics and howto<br />
use them, traffic studies and education of drivers<br />
and pedestrians. Noted city planning engineers, educators,<br />
state motor vehicle officials and police officials<br />
spoke.<br />
Secretary Davis, in his address, urged closer cooperation<br />
of the industries in the collection of accident<br />
data and the minimizing of industrial accidents.<br />
Mr. Grant declared: "It is a matter of great public<br />
concern and interest that the question of safety has<br />
now assumed national proportions and is enlisting the<br />
unselfish work and devotion of men from all walks of<br />
life in an effort to find the best possible solution of<br />
the hazards of our complicated present-day life. The<br />
service in keeping this vital question before the public.<br />
It is to be congratulated that its work in traffic<br />
safety now enlists the attention of federal authorities<br />
and that there has been brought into a national conference<br />
the leading men of the country, both official<br />
and non-official in the solution of these complex problems."<br />
There is no field of greater fertility for profitable<br />
scientific research than that of the mental factors entering<br />
into accidents, according to Dr. Jacoby. "The<br />
expenditure", he said, "upon the investigations of the<br />
minds of machine operators, of but a small fraction of<br />
the amount of money that has been expended in the<br />
manufacture of safety signs alone would be productive<br />
of valuable results. As a result of such investigations,<br />
not only will there develop better methods of<br />
examination to separate mental hazards, but also better<br />
methods of education through the media of signs<br />
and instruction."<br />
Touching upon public safety. Dr. Jacoby said: "If<br />
traffic officers were to pay more attention to those<br />
drivers who manifest dangerous egotistic attitudes in<br />
their driving and less to the arrest of individuals<br />
driving beyond the legal speed limit on an open road,<br />
where no danger could possibly result, we might expect<br />
some improvement."<br />
Officers Elected, 1924-25.<br />
President, Carl B. Auel, Westinghouse Electric<br />
Company, East Pittsburgh, Pa.<br />
Vice-President: In charge of Public Safety, David<br />
Van Schaack, Aetna Life Insurance Company, Hartford,<br />
Conn.<br />
Vice-President: In charge of General Activities,<br />
Lewis A. DeBlois, E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Company,<br />
Wilmington, Del.<br />
Vice-President: In charge of Public Relations,<br />
Lew R. Palmer, Equitable Life Insurance Society,<br />
New York City.<br />
Vice-President: In charge of Local Safety Council,<br />
Ge<strong>org</strong>e T. Fonda, Fonda-Tolsted Inc., New York City.<br />
Vice-President: In charge of Industrial Safety,<br />
Henry A. Reninger. Lehigh Portland Cement Company,<br />
Allentown, Pa.<br />
Vice-President and treasurer: Charles B. Scott,<br />
Bureau of Safety, Chicago, 111.<br />
Secretary and managing director: William H.<br />
Cameron, Chicago, Illinois.
498<br />
The Blast FumaceSSteel Plant<br />
The Safety Bonus*<br />
A Practical Plan, Successful in Mining, Which Offers Suggestions<br />
for Steel Mill Application<br />
T H E "safety bonus" in metal mining is a sum in<br />
addition to the regular wage, paid to foremen or<br />
bosses for keeping the accident rate down to a<br />
specified minimum. It has been used with success<br />
for some time by certain companies as a regular part<br />
of their safety work. It is desirable from the employer's<br />
point of view in that tbe desired results in accident<br />
reduction must be accomplished before the bonus is<br />
earned; and from the standpoint of the recipient, in<br />
that he receives a reward for the additional effort<br />
which he has put forth in order to earn the bonus.<br />
While this paper relates to the safety bonus as applied<br />
in the metal mining industry, the bonus system<br />
discussed herein will apply equally well to coal<br />
mining, oil-field work, and other mineral industries.<br />
Various estimates have been made as to the percentage<br />
of accidents that can be prevented through<br />
physical safeguards, adoption of safe working methods,<br />
and other safety measures which can be initiated<br />
and carried out wholly through the management or<br />
the safety department. This percentage will always<br />
be a variable according to the local plant and conditions.<br />
But all who have been engaged in accident<br />
prevention agree that such work alone cannot bring<br />
the accident frequency down to where it should be,<br />
and .that it is very necessary to work directly with<br />
the workmen, in an effort to make each individual do<br />
his share in making the work safe. In this latter<br />
phase of the work, the boss who has immediate supervision<br />
of the men is the one who can do the most,<br />
since he is in daily and frequent contact with the men<br />
while they are at work. In the metal mines, the shilt<br />
and slope bosses are the key men; in the oil fields,<br />
the "tool-pushers" or sub-foremen, and the same ap<br />
plies to all industries. So it becomes necessary to<br />
keep these sub-foremen constantly interested in accident<br />
prevention, both because they are in personal<br />
touch with the men and because they are responsible<br />
for production and hostile to any plan which they<br />
think will interfere with their output. - In large <strong>org</strong>anizations<br />
it is the shift boss who represents the coin<br />
pany and its policies to the man on the job.<br />
The responsibility for seeing that the working<br />
places are "safe" goes with the shift boss' job, but it<br />
is not always taken as seriously as necessary to get<br />
the best results. There are many little things in a<br />
place which can be called "reasonably safe" which may<br />
cause accidents, and still may be overlooked or remedied,<br />
according to the attitude of the boss. In a plan<br />
whereby the bosses and men receive a bonus for production,<br />
safety details are very apt to be disregarded<br />
as all are willing to take more chances, in their efforts<br />
to increase their production bonus.<br />
Through his intimate contact with the men under<br />
his direction, the shift boss has the best opportunity<br />
•Modern Mining for October.<br />
tMining Engineer, Bureau of Mines, Department of the<br />
Interior.<br />
By F. C. GREGORYf<br />
November, 1924<br />
of anyone in the <strong>org</strong>anization, of influencing the attitude<br />
of the workmen toward accident prevention, and<br />
also can best keep in touch with their mental condition,<br />
as influenced by their home life and personal<br />
affairs.<br />
If it is granted that these sub-foremen occupy the<br />
key positions as outlined above, it is surely well worth<br />
while to make an effort to see that they use that position<br />
to the best advantage in the prevention of accidents.<br />
They can be readily assembled for instruction<br />
in the essentials of such work and, with their cooperation,<br />
the work of the safety department is assured<br />
of a chance of success. It is true that much has<br />
been accomplished through these men without any<br />
other incentive than their interest in protecting their<br />
men, but the burden of production is placed on them,<br />
and unless the safety side of the work is also impressed<br />
upon them'it is apt to be subordinated to production.<br />
Where is has been tried out, the "safety bonus"<br />
has furnished the needed stimulus to the bosses to<br />
keep them constantly interested in keeping the accidents<br />
down to a minimum. The boss is impressed by<br />
the fact that the management will pay him real hard<br />
cash for helping to keep his men from being injured,<br />
and as a result of his desire to earn the bonus, he<br />
will put into his work the extra effort necessary to<br />
see that the men protect themselves.<br />
The direct cost and results from the "safety bonus"<br />
can be estimated more closely than roost plans for<br />
safety work, since a standard is established and there<br />
is no expenditure on the part of the management if<br />
this standard is not reached. The bonus must be<br />
earned before it is due. It is hard to estimate the total<br />
cost of accidents in an industry, as there are many<br />
obscure results — lost time from production by others<br />
than the injured, the expense of hiring and training<br />
new men to take the place of the injured employe, and<br />
the effect of a high accident rate on the morals of the<br />
men—are some of them. Adams* states that, comput-<br />
Department of Investigations, Serial No. 2579, February, 1924.<br />
ing the value of fatal accident at 6,000 days, the time<br />
lost through fatal and nonfatal accidents to the men<br />
employed in the coal and metal mines of the United<br />
States amounts to about one shift in 10. With wages<br />
computed at $5 a day and compensation at 50 per cent<br />
of wages, the direct cost of accidents as measured bycompensation<br />
only, is 25 cents per shift for each employe.<br />
It is believed that this is below the actual<br />
average in the industry.<br />
Since few of the bonus systems in operation are<br />
the same in detail, an outline of four plans, all considered<br />
fairly satisfactory, are outlined below.<br />
1. Each shift boss who supervises 2,500 shifts<br />
without a lost-time accidentf shall receive a bonus<br />
of $30. No penalty for an accident shall be imposed<br />
*W. W. Adams, Metal Mine Accidents, Bureau of Mines,<br />
fA lost-time accident is one where disability lasts beyond the<br />
day of injury but less than 14 days.
November, 1924<br />
except that all credit up to the day of the accident is<br />
lost; the new bonus period starting on the following<br />
day. A yearly bonus of $100, shall be given to the<br />
foreman having the best record for the year. Seriousness<br />
of accident, if disability is beyond day of injury,<br />
is not considered.<br />
2. A monthly bonus shall be paid to both foremen<br />
and shift bosses for accident prevention, with<br />
1,000 shifts as a base. For shifts above or below this<br />
number, the bonus is in proportion.<br />
For foremen supervising 1,000 shifts:<br />
No bonus when lost time exceeds \y per<br />
cent of time worked.<br />
With no lost-time accidents! $50<br />
With lost time from accidents less than<br />
yi per cent of time worked 40<br />
With lost time from accidents less than<br />
1 per cent of time worked 30<br />
With lost time from accidents less than<br />
iy per cent of time worked 25<br />
me Dlast lur ^Steel PI ant<br />
Shift bosses shall receive one-half the above bonus<br />
for the same records.<br />
The calendar month is the bonus period. If a fatal<br />
accident occurs, all foremen and the shift boss on duty<br />
lose bonus for the month.<br />
3. A bonus of $25 to each shift boss working 1,000<br />
man-shifts without a seriousf accident and no losttimef<br />
accidents, graduated down to $7.50 for no serious<br />
and not over three lost-time accidents. After a<br />
serious accident to one of his men, the shift boss must<br />
work 500 man-shifts before starting on bonus period<br />
again. For preventing the report of an accident the<br />
shift boss shall be penalized 1,000 shifts for the first<br />
offense and debarred from bonus for a second offense.<br />
4. A bonus of $10 shall be paid to each shift boss<br />
working 750 shifts without a seriousj accident. Five<br />
dollars per month shall be paid each "jigger boss" in<br />
charge of 10 or more men who works the month without<br />
a serious accident.<br />
The Republic Iron & Steel Company, Youngstown,<br />
Ohio, has completed the construction of a new<br />
continuous mill at its Bessemer plant, comprising a<br />
combination sheet bar, billet and skelp mill, steamoperated.<br />
It is planned to place the new unit in service<br />
at an early date. Work has also been finished on<br />
the installation of a new mixer for handling molten<br />
iron, about 800 tons capacity, situated between the<br />
blast furnaces and the steel mill. This expansion will<br />
practically complete the company's improvement program<br />
which has been in progress for a number of<br />
months past.<br />
Homestead Entertains<br />
490<br />
Charles M. Schwab, chairman Bethlehem Steel<br />
Corporation, was guest of honor at a celebration<br />
under the auspices of the Homestead Chamber of<br />
Commerce at Homestead, Pa., on October 10. It will<br />
lie recalled that in his early days Mr. Schwab was<br />
general superintendent of tbe Homestead Steel<br />
Works, in which capacity he played an important<br />
MR. CHARLES M. SCHWAB<br />
part in the early growth of the community. The cele<br />
bration marked the growth of Homestead from a<br />
small mill town to a business, industrial and residential<br />
district with a population of almost 50,000, with<br />
industrially invested capital of more than $41,000,000<br />
and annual payrolls exceeding $15,000,000.<br />
New Ferro-Phosphorus Furnace<br />
J. J. Gray, manufacturer of ferro-phosphorus, has<br />
These four plans represent the extremes of the contracted with Arthur G. McKee & Company, Cleve<br />
conditions that are required before the bonus is land, for the design and construction of a new blast<br />
earned. Under each plan the bonus is earned at fre furnace at his plant at Rockdale, Tenn. Although the<br />
quent intervals, which is one of the requisites of its manufacture of ferro-phosphorus is ordinarily con<br />
success. If the conditions are so severe that they canfined to electric furnace or similar operation, Mr. Graynot<br />
be met by a sincere effort on the part of the bosses, has, for some time past, produced this alloy in a blast<br />
the bonus will not have the desired effect. The "safety furnace, under a patented process controlled by him.<br />
bonus" has resulted in a reduction in the cost of in Operations, however, have been on a rather small<br />
spection by the safety department.<br />
scale, and it is now planned to materially increase<br />
production by dismantling the existing furnace and<br />
JA serious accident is one causing disability for 14 providing or more a complete new stack, approximately 70 ft.<br />
days.<br />
high with 12-ft. hearth. On account of the peculiar<br />
difficulties and hazards incident to the manufacture<br />
of ferro-phosphorus, the furnace will be provided with<br />
a specially constructed gas tight hearth and bosh, the<br />
hearth jacket being of cast iron with machined joints.<br />
The tuyere breast and bosh jacket will be very heavy,<br />
cooled by special means, and provided with heavysteel<br />
bands to insure against the escape of the phosphorus<br />
produced in the smelting operation.<br />
The Gibb Instrument Company of Bay City, Michigan,<br />
manufacturers of electric welding machines and<br />
electric heating machines has broken ground for a new<br />
modern plant.
500<br />
ie Dlast kirnaco -Moo I Plant<br />
November, 1924<br />
The Pay-Roll Dollar in Industry<br />
The Vital Importance of the Human Element Compared with the<br />
Apparent Importance of Plant Equipment<br />
T H E last 10 years has brought a vast change in<br />
the relations of man to man. It is not merely the<br />
fact that workmen are fewer, nor that employers<br />
are less independent — fundamental forces have been<br />
at work which no man nor set of men have the slightest<br />
power to change. Civilization has taught us that<br />
another's opinion of each of us individually is a matter<br />
of utmost importance; we can work happily and<br />
live comfortably only when we hold the good will of<br />
those about us, above us and below us, and to deal<br />
equitably with others we must certainly possess a<br />
feeling of confidence in their integrity.<br />
We cannot hope to build a home, city or nation,<br />
and build it well, unless we first lay the foundation of<br />
MR. S. F. FANNON<br />
good will. Good will is the prime factor in business.<br />
We have erased from our blackboards the statement,<br />
"The public be damned," and we have written in its<br />
place, "The public be pleased," or "The customer is<br />
always right." I am certain that each and every one<br />
of us realizes that a certain part of our profits today<br />
are directly due to this principle of good will in business.<br />
And yet with all the lessons we have had, with<br />
all that we are learning about god will, I wonder<br />
how many of us have ever stopped to realize just what<br />
we are suffering in this country because of the lack<br />
•Director, Department of Public Relations, Sherman Service,<br />
Inc., Boston, Mass.<br />
By S. F. FANNON*<br />
of application of good will in its most fundamental<br />
application—not toward our customers, but toward<br />
our employes, whose hands and brains make possible<br />
production in quality and quantity. Do you realize<br />
that because we have failed to develop, as industries<br />
all over the country, a feeling of good will between<br />
employer and employe that we are losing 25 per cent<br />
of every dollar that we are investing in the pay envelope,<br />
that industry is putting one dollar in the pay<br />
envelope from which it is receiving but 75 cents in<br />
return today? A 75-cent dollar in business! What a<br />
stupendous loss—a loss which at once creates an economic<br />
waste, that cannot help but affect employer,<br />
employe and the entire country.<br />
Let us consider for a moment or two the various<br />
major factors found in industry. Take machinery.<br />
We have ever spent a large amount of time and money<br />
upon machinery, that from it we might receive the<br />
maximum return for every dollar invested. We have<br />
kept our inventors busy applying their genius toward<br />
the development of this factor, that we might secure<br />
a higher production and the largest possible return<br />
on every dollar invested in machinery.<br />
Day and night we are working upon the problem<br />
of raw materials. We have created our own research<br />
departments that we might locate sources from which<br />
we might secure a constant supply of the proper qualities,<br />
and thus eliminate all losses in raw materials.<br />
There is hardly a newspaper or periodical published<br />
today that does not contain an article on management.<br />
Highly developed courses on management<br />
are to be found in the curriculum of our larger universities.<br />
We are putting forth every possible effort<br />
in order that there may be no loss in the dollar invested<br />
in management.<br />
The same can be said of merchandise and market.<br />
The matters of style, the elements of fashion, the<br />
question of seasonable goods, the various channels of<br />
distribution, and numerous other related phases are<br />
all under continual scrutiny, not only by individual<br />
manufacturers, but also by associations of manufacturers,<br />
in practically all lines today. W r e are maintaining<br />
experimental laboratories for the purpose of<br />
obtaining quality, decreasing cost, and developing<br />
new and additional uses of products, that we might<br />
secure the maximum return for the dollar invested in<br />
merchandise and market.<br />
But when we come to the dollar invested in the<br />
human factor we find quite a different story. It does<br />
not seem possible that men who have shown such intelligence<br />
and foresight in handling the dollars invested<br />
in these other factors, would fail in many instances<br />
to provide against a loss in the dollar invested<br />
in men. There are a few employers who give intelligent<br />
and sympathetic consideration to the viewpoint<br />
of the workers. These employers are receiving a<br />
larger return for the money invested. Nevertheless,<br />
the truth remains that we are almost universally<br />
neglecting the dollar invested in the payroll envelope.
November, 1924<br />
Are we to admit that cash invested in plant and<br />
equipment exerts a more powerful appeal to the executive<br />
than cash invested in payroll? Is it possible<br />
that a machine made of iron and steel is more attractive<br />
to the executive than a machine made of flesh and<br />
blood? Man-power is vitally essential to machinepower<br />
and to the profitable operation of any industry.<br />
All factors found in industry and business depend<br />
upon the loyal support, intelligent co-operation, and<br />
harmonious production by the human element.<br />
Nevertheless, mechanical factors commonly receive<br />
95 per cent of the executive's attention, and the<br />
Ihe Dlasl liirnace^jteel Plant<br />
501<br />
crumbs of 5 per cent are thrown to the human factor.<br />
In many plants at this moment engineering specialists<br />
are engaged in studying and improving conditions of<br />
equipment and process. This is as it should be—executive<br />
appreciation of science in machinery and<br />
processing adds to profit. But in how many plants<br />
will you find management sufficiently enlightened to<br />
realize that science in the human factor pays large<br />
dividends ?<br />
W r hy is it that we are paying 95 per cent attention<br />
to plant and equipment and only 5 per cent to men?<br />
One man said to me, "Mr. Fannon, I will tell you why.<br />
1920 i9£4<br />
It is a remarkable fact that in spite of an industrial depression of some severity, zvith very fczv exceptions, wage rates have maintained<br />
the high levels zvhich were reached in the boom period of last year. This is true of the iron and steel industry, being<br />
due to increases in wage rates and to the adjustment of working hours of a large group of labor to an 8-hour day basis.<br />
Data compiled by the National Industrial Conference Board shozv that in the iron and steel industry the average hourly<br />
workers, both skilled and unskilled, there is an increase in the month of August over the month of August. 1923, In skilled<br />
workers', the increase in the index figure is as much as 24 points. The index number of zvage earners employed fluctuated<br />
between 83.2, the high mark in March of this year, and 53.1 in July of this year, and for the month of August, there is again<br />
an increase over the month of July. It is worth noting also that computing the cost of living and wage rates from the same<br />
common basis of 100 in July, 1914, that the drop in the cost of living has been considerably greater than the drop in wages<br />
from the high peak, and thai the purchasing power of the dollar is greater than it was.. The average wage earner is, according<br />
to investigations made by the Board, 27 per cent better off than he was in July, 1924.
502<br />
America is a business nation. Being a business nation,<br />
she thinks in dollars and cents. Thinking in dollars<br />
and cents, the executive quite naturally thinks of<br />
his largest investment, and his largest investment is<br />
in plant and equipment." Now this is a fallacy. Our<br />
largest investment is not in plant and equipment, but<br />
in the dollars and cents invested in the payroll envelope.<br />
In the average business cash invested in payroll<br />
will exceed cash invested in plant and equipment<br />
within two or three years; even the most unusual<br />
enterprise's payroll will exceed plant investment<br />
within five years.<br />
Take for example your own plant. Figure its cost<br />
as compared to your annual payroll and you will<br />
find that there is not much difference between the<br />
1904<br />
1909<br />
t?6BA9i<br />
1914<br />
1913<br />
290 IDS<br />
CORPORATION<br />
^^<br />
.BECTHE<br />
ESTABLISHMENTS<br />
INDIVIDUAL<br />
527%<br />
52 *•/.<br />
5ir;<br />
4-T. E V.<br />
WAGE EARNERS<br />
COPPOWTION<br />
m \<br />
Tke Blast Fu rnace f^o Steel Plant<br />
OTHER<br />
23.T-/.<br />
2 IT*.<br />
EO.D'/.<br />
35.203<br />
80.9 7.<br />
Analysis of the relations shozvn by the charted totals above brings<br />
to light many significant facts. In 1904 there zvere 3,860,000<br />
wage earners employed by corporations, and their average annual<br />
product equaled only $2,800 apiece. Fifteen years later, in<br />
1919, the number of corporation wage earners had increased to<br />
7,875.000, while their average annual production had jumped<br />
to $7,000 apiece. Mechanical equipment designed to speed up<br />
production must be credited zvith most of this increase, as<br />
comparisons made in trades zvhere no such equipment has<br />
been introduced show marked reduction in output. Assuming<br />
the 75c dollar in pay-roll it is evident that these manufacturing<br />
industries suffered an actual loss in 1919 of nearly five<br />
billions of dolars.<br />
two—the amortization of your plant is probably on a<br />
20-year basis—your payroll is paid every year.<br />
And yet how we safeguard the investment in plant<br />
and equipment! He would be a foolish man who<br />
would allow his plant to go a single night without<br />
proper insurance. But how many plants today have<br />
a protection on the larger investment, that of the payroll<br />
envelope? Necessary? Absolutely! Our industrial<br />
fire losses have averaged two hundred million<br />
dollars yearly—strife losses have equalled two billion<br />
dollars—a risk and waste ten times as great as that of<br />
fire—and though it has been tried, no insurance company<br />
has as yet been able to withstand the losses in<br />
the writing of strife insurance policies. And what is<br />
the cause of strife but the lack of good will and common<br />
understanding?<br />
Many employers have tried to secure improved returns<br />
on payroll investment by placing industrial spies<br />
in the plant to report delinquent employes so that they<br />
may be discharged. It is no more sound to fire the<br />
average delinquent workman than it is to scrap a<br />
IDC<br />
November, 1924<br />
valuable machine simply because it isn't operating<br />
well. This antiquated practice is utterly hopeless of<br />
success because no system of spyism can do more than<br />
deal with symptoms, leaving the causes as firmly entrenched<br />
as ever.<br />
Other employers have tried to secure improved<br />
results on payroll investment through the various<br />
activities known as welfare work. They tried to win<br />
the co-operation of their employes by giving them<br />
something. Labor does not want patronage—particularly<br />
when it assumes large proportions and lays itself<br />
open to criticism as undesired activities paid for involuntarly<br />
by the employes out of money taken from<br />
their pay envelopes.<br />
Some employers think that wages alone control<br />
productive effort. This is unsound because thousands<br />
of workmen who are getting a large day's pay are delivering<br />
from 25 to 50 per cent less than a full day's<br />
work. It oftimes turns out that the more the employer<br />
pays, the less the employe delivers. This fact<br />
may well furnish food for thought to employers who<br />
are increasing wages in the hope of increasing production.<br />
Other employers think that vocational skill controls<br />
productive effort. There are, however, countless<br />
employes who are vocationally^ fit, but who are delivering<br />
from 25 to 50 per cent less than a full day's work.<br />
Some of the shortest producers are well trained men<br />
in their vocations.<br />
Intelligent analysis has proved that the factor<br />
which controls the productive effort of every workman<br />
is his "motive." If a man kills another man, the law<br />
recognizes that motive controls action and the state<br />
will ascertain the motive for the act. But aside from<br />
acts governed by law the existence and power of motive<br />
has been little understood.<br />
In industry, the motives of workmen exert a tremendous<br />
influence for or against productive effort,<br />
and are thus the root of vast losses on payroll investment.<br />
And yet employers pay little or no attention<br />
to the motives of employes.<br />
In various plants considerable attention is given<br />
to motion-study, but not to motive-study, although<br />
the motions of the workmen are controlled by their<br />
motives. Sherman Service has established the fact<br />
that every working force is made up of three types of<br />
employes, irrespective of the size of the plant, "kind of<br />
product, open or closed shop, or any other condition.<br />
Not three types of employes by sex. creed, vocation<br />
or rate of pay, but three types as regards motives:<br />
Conservative, Radical and Neutral.<br />
The proportions vary somewhat from one plant to<br />
another, but we have established through our analysis<br />
that in 100 typical employes, 10 per cent are of<br />
conservative motive, 10 per cent of radical motive,<br />
and 80 per cent of neutral motive.<br />
The 10 employes of conservative motive produce<br />
a full day's work. There is no loss on their payroll<br />
dollar.<br />
But tbe 10 employes of radical motive produce<br />
only 50 per cent of a full days' work. There is a loss<br />
of 50 per cent on their payroll dollar.<br />
And the 80 employes of neutral motive produce<br />
only 75 per cent of a full days' work. There is a loss<br />
of 25 per cent on their payroll dollar.<br />
The net result in this case, which is typical, is a<br />
loss in production value of 25 per cent of payroll investment<br />
per 100 employes.
November, 1924<br />
An employe of conservative motive is a 100 per<br />
cent producer for the reason that he believes that it<br />
pays to apply himself loyally and diligently, and to<br />
give his employer as much as possible. His daily production<br />
reflects satisfaction, co-operation and active<br />
interest-in-the-job.<br />
An employe of radical motive is a 50 per cent producer<br />
for the reason that he believes that it pays to<br />
restrict his efforts and to give the employer as little<br />
as possible. His daily production reflects discontent,<br />
antagonism and extremely active hatred-of-the-job.<br />
An employe of neutral motive is a 75 per cent producer<br />
for the reason that he believes that it pays to<br />
produce just enough to hold his job. His daily production<br />
reflects indifference, non-initiative, and lack of<br />
interest-in-the-job.<br />
Thus we have a loss of 25 per cent in production<br />
due to incorrect motives of the employes. Correct<br />
this motive and we salvage some part at least of this<br />
25 per cent loss which is at once placed on the profit<br />
side of the ledger.<br />
Just consider for a moment or two the cash value<br />
of these motives. Take these 100 men at $4.00 per<br />
day, and we are putting in the pay envelope each year<br />
$120,000, out of which, as we have just seen, we are<br />
losing $30,000. Twenty-five per cent loss in the payroll<br />
isn't very much after all, that is, it isn't very<br />
hard to lose. It is only 12 cents an hour on a $4.00<br />
wage; but don't f<strong>org</strong>et this, there is an octoupus with<br />
10 great arms reaching out after that 12 cents an<br />
hour loss—absenteeism, labor turnover, waste of time,<br />
waste of materials, waste of tools, spoilage of machinery,<br />
waste of supervision, under production in<br />
quality and quantity, inefficient procedure, dissatisfaction,<br />
reducing the loss down to 1 2/10 cents an<br />
hour for each item.<br />
You are asking, "Is there a remedy, and if so, of<br />
what does it consist?" Yes, there is a remedy, and<br />
that remedy is education. And, while it seems a simple<br />
word, it is not as simple in its application as it<br />
seems to you at this time. I don't mean by education<br />
that you are to put seats in a certain room of your<br />
factory and then call in your employes and give them<br />
certain lessons like in a primary class. Not an education<br />
that comes from the executive down, but an<br />
education that comes from the men to the men in<br />
their own language, the very kind of an education<br />
that you give the customer when you call on him.<br />
You must place yourself on the customer's level and<br />
talk his language, that is the way that education must<br />
be applied to the employe.<br />
As a result of 14 years of practical experience in<br />
industrial co-ordination, we have learned that in the<br />
solution of this problem everything depends upon the<br />
sincerity and spirit with which you approach it. The<br />
method of education is no less important.<br />
Bear in mind that there has already developed a<br />
gulf between management and employes, and any outward<br />
move by management would likely be viewed<br />
with suspicion and distrust. Some one would raise<br />
the cry, "What's up the boss's sleeve?" "What's he<br />
trying to put over on us now?" Again, any stereotyped<br />
method of education cannot wholly accomplish<br />
the purpose, since it fails to deal with existing pertinent<br />
factors, and if the message should be paradoxical<br />
with the grievous existing condition, it is likely<br />
to do much harm.<br />
Tke Blast furnaceSSteel Plant<br />
503<br />
Finally, any direct means "handed down" by management<br />
cannot prove effective until the barrier of<br />
mistrust now existing has been torn down and a constructive<br />
foundation of common understanding, sympathy<br />
and appreciation has been built up in its stead.<br />
For it is a scientific fact that the same causes will produce<br />
the same results.<br />
The remedy, nevertheless, as I have stated before,<br />
lies in education, but in order that this may be intelligently<br />
applied, there must first be a correct understanding<br />
by management of the viewpoint of the employe<br />
as to the working conditions, wages, supervision,<br />
facilities and environment. This analysis can be made<br />
by skilled man engineers without in any way disturbing<br />
the policy of administration, but careful procedure<br />
is necessary in order that this viewpoint will<br />
be free of bias and prejudice.<br />
Second, such conditions as are found to exist which<br />
present cause for real grievance and which are correctable<br />
should be removed.<br />
Then a systematic well-prepared <strong>org</strong>anized campaign<br />
of education should be launched, based on careful<br />
study. This education should deal with the advantages<br />
of our form of government, our industrial<br />
system, opportunities for learning and for commercial<br />
progress and happiness, and a correct understanding<br />
of simple economics so that he may appreciate the<br />
many beneficial possibilities afforded him.<br />
The employe should and could be made to understand<br />
why the pyramiding of wages without a consistent<br />
increase in production is fundamentally unsound<br />
and must ultimately react to his own disadvantage,<br />
since labor consumes from 80 to 85 per cent of<br />
all that is produced.<br />
Your workers can be made to realize that it is the<br />
purchase power of the dollar, not the dollar itself, that<br />
is the determining factor of their gain. And of equal<br />
importance, they could and should be acquainted with<br />
the many advantages of "stick-to-it-ive-ness" on the<br />
job—of the particularly favorable and attractive conditions<br />
of the plant in which they are employed, and<br />
especially of how it will benefit them most if they<br />
serve their employer best and give him their maximum<br />
co-operation. They should be disillusioned from<br />
such fancied grievances as they may bear—and their<br />
negative thoughts should be supplanted by sound<br />
understanding of the rebounding gains to them byobservance<br />
of fundamentals of good will.<br />
If the workman can be influenced to actions which<br />
react to his own loss and disadvantage, he can be<br />
molded constructively. But this education must be<br />
conducted on a practical basis and in a manner which<br />
the employe will be receptive to, will understand and<br />
will believe.<br />
By fostering co-operation rather than competition<br />
between management and wage earner, a real worth<br />
while, work-together spirit can be established with<br />
substantial gains to both the employer and the<br />
employe. All this can be done and is being done<br />
where there is proper application and the results are<br />
most gratifying.<br />
Mr. Howard J. Witman, 632 Nasby Building, Toledo,<br />
Ohio, has been appointed district representative<br />
of the Kuhlman Electric Company of Bay City, Michigan.<br />
Mr. Wittman will have Northwestern Ohio as<br />
his territory.
504<br />
Die Blast F,<br />
ttrnace /S) jteel riant<br />
November, 1924<br />
Chromium—Its Uses and Its Alloys<br />
An Important Effect of Chromium in Steel is Marked Lessening<br />
of Thermal Conductivity—This Property Is of Importance<br />
When Heat Treating Large F<strong>org</strong>ings<br />
T H E retarding effect of chromium is of considerable<br />
importance when heat treating large f<strong>org</strong>ings,<br />
etc. Ordinary carbon steel if suddenly quenched in<br />
water will become very hard, but if cooled more<br />
slowly will be quite soft. Hence the difficulty of<br />
hardening massive pieces of such material because of<br />
the impossibility of securing sufficiently rapid cooling<br />
in the interior. The additon of a small percentage of<br />
chromium will so retard the rate at which the interior<br />
metal softens, that this "mass effect" is greatly reduced.<br />
Consequently such steels are called "deep<br />
hardening." With greater chromium content the<br />
solid solution will become so stable that quenching is<br />
not necessary to produce hardness, the steel becoming<br />
hard when merely cooled in air, and steels of this<br />
character are known as "self hardening" or "air<br />
hardening."<br />
An important effect of chromium in steel, which<br />
undoubtedly is the cause of some of the phenomena<br />
just described, is the marked lessening of thermal conductivity<br />
imparted by its presence. For instance,<br />
"stainless steel" (13 per cent chromium) in the hardened<br />
condition, where the maximum chromium is in<br />
solution, will have a thermal conductivity less than<br />
one-fourth that of pure iron; in the annealed condition,<br />
where some of the chromium has been precipitated<br />
in the form of carbides, the thermal conductivity<br />
is about one-third that of pure iron—the effect of<br />
chromium in solution being clearly shown. Hence<br />
any heat transfer to the interior of a given piece of<br />
steel, which is necessarily antecedent to atomic<br />
changes, will take place very much more slowly than<br />
in straight carbon steel, and high chromium steels<br />
must therefore be heated more slowly and carefully ;<br />
preheating, as with high speed steel, being practically<br />
essential.<br />
Unlike nickel which, when present even in small<br />
proportions, combines with the iron to form a solid<br />
solution, chromium combines with the carbon, forming<br />
a series of extremely stahle_ .carbides, only going<br />
into solid solution with the iron when present in excess<br />
of the proportion demanded by the carbon for<br />
the formation of such carbides. If chromium is present<br />
in such excess, the solubility of the iron for carbon<br />
is thereby reduced, and the saturation point, or<br />
rather the eutectoid ratio, of carbon in iron is<br />
lowered. Monypennyf has investigated this and finds<br />
that the eutectoid ratio is lowered for various chro<br />
mium contents as follows:<br />
Chromium<br />
0 per cent<br />
2<br />
4<br />
8<br />
12<br />
Carbon<br />
.89 per cent<br />
.65<br />
.55<br />
.42<br />
.32<br />
•The author is Metallurgist with E. I. du Pont de Nemours<br />
& Company, Wilmington, Del.<br />
tJournal Iron and Steel Inst. 1920 I, 493.<br />
By DR. WALTER M. MITCHELL*<br />
PART III<br />
From this is evident the increasing effect of carbon<br />
in conferring hardening ability in high chromium<br />
steels in comparison to steels that are free from chromium.<br />
For example, from the structural standpoint,<br />
an annealed steel containing 12 per cent chromium<br />
and .05 per cent carbon corresponds to a tool steel<br />
containing 1.3 to 1.5 per cent carbon.<br />
Owing to lack of definite knowledge of the physical<br />
chemistry of the iron-chromium-carbon system it<br />
is difficult to state the manner of formation of the<br />
FIG. 8—Low Carbon high chromium iron alloy.<br />
150\. Picric Acid. (Reduced %.)<br />
chromium carbides or their exact composition. Edwards,<br />
Sutton, and Oishit state that alloys, where the<br />
ratio of chromium to carbon content is less than about<br />
10-1, will show little or no greater facility to harden<br />
on cooling from either high or low initial temperature<br />
than ordinary carbon steels, but alloys in which this<br />
ratio is exceeded harden much more readily, i. e., their<br />
critical cooling velocities are substantially slower than<br />
carbon steels of similar carbon content, "and they become<br />
in the "deep" or "self" hardening class. 'This<br />
applies only to the ternary chromium steels; in quaternary<br />
and higher steels the value of this ratio, which<br />
is at best uncertain, will be altered.<br />
With the ratio of chromium to carbon content up<br />
to 4.3, chromium forms the carbide Cr3C2, which combines<br />
with cementite' to form the double carbide<br />
Fe^CC^C, the chromium and carbon contents of<br />
which are 4.3 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively.<br />
tJournal Iron and Steel Inst. 1920 I, 403.
November, 1924<br />
W'ith annealed steels, containing less chromium than<br />
is necessary for the formation of this carbide, practically<br />
none of the chromium will be present in solid<br />
solution with the iron. If, however, chromium in excess<br />
of that required to form this compound is present,<br />
it seems probable that the nature of the carbides<br />
will change, as chromium is increased beyond the 4.3<br />
ratio, and a second or higher carbide will be formed,<br />
the composition of which is doubtful, possibly Cr5C2<br />
or Cr4C, which will also combine with cementite,<br />
forming another double carbide.<br />
The temperatures at which the carbides separate<br />
from solution during cooling are raised by an increase<br />
in chromium and carbon content of the steel. In considering<br />
any particular series of alloys in which the<br />
carbon is constant, or in which the chromium is constant,<br />
the same authors found that the separation of<br />
the carbides occurred at the highest temperature when<br />
the proportion of chromium was approximately 10<br />
times that of carbon ; and that the temperature of the<br />
thermal change increased as the chromium and carbon<br />
content increased along a line in the ternary diagram<br />
corresponding with alloys containing 10 times<br />
as much chromium as carbon. Upon this evidence<br />
the authors base their plea for Cr5C2 as the composition<br />
of the higher carbide.<br />
Arnold and Readt prepared a series of alloys containing<br />
approximately .85 per cent carbon with chromium<br />
varying from .65 per cent to nearly 24 per cent,<br />
which were carefully annealed to precipitate the carbides<br />
and then electrolytically decomposed. From<br />
analyses of the residues thus obtained, these authors<br />
FIG. 9—Low carbon high chromium iron alloy.. 150X-<br />
Etched with boiling alkaline poitassium permanganate<br />
(carbides darkened). (Reduced J4-)<br />
concluded that the carbides found corresponded with<br />
the compositions Cr3C2 and Cr4C, both occurring combined<br />
with cementite to form double carbides, the proportion<br />
of the Cr4C compound increasing with carbon<br />
content and thus changing the general nature of the<br />
higher double carbides.<br />
tJournal Iron and Steel Inst. 1911 I.<br />
Tke Blast Furnace's Steel Plant<br />
505<br />
A somewhat similar line of thought was reached<br />
by MacQuiggS after investigating alloys of 20 per<br />
cent chromium and upwards. In alloys of this composition<br />
with low carbon, less than .20 per cent, chromium<br />
was present in solid solution with the iron, and<br />
there were no free carbides discernible. These alloys<br />
FIG. 10—Low carbon high chromium iron alloy. Etched<br />
with boiling 1-1 HCI (solid solution darkened). 150X-<br />
(Reduced %.)<br />
were soft, although harder than the corresponding<br />
carbon steels, and could not be hardened by quenching.H<br />
Increase of carbon to .46 per cent with 22 per<br />
cent chromium showed carbides present in the form<br />
of small white particles in a matrix of solid solution,<br />
the carbides being very stable and not absorbed by<br />
heating, or at least only to a minor extent. Such low<br />
carbon alloys were readily f<strong>org</strong>eable and Tollable, but<br />
because of their greater hardness required a higher<br />
low limit of temperature for hot working than plain<br />
carbon steels. With further increase in carbon content,<br />
the relative proportions of the iron chromium<br />
solid solution decreased while the carbides began to<br />
appear in network formation, increasing to lace-like<br />
patches with a eutectoid structure (similar to the low<br />
carbon ferrochromes). With higher proportions of<br />
carbon the solid solution assumes the form of dendrites<br />
(Figs. 8-10) in a eutectoid matrix, presumably<br />
of carbides and solid solution. With a 2.75 per cent<br />
carbon in a 27 per cent chromium alloy the free solid<br />
solution disappeared, the whole material assuming a<br />
eutectoid structure somewhat similar to pearlite in<br />
carbon steel. Further, the physical properties were<br />
analagous, combining great hardness and toughness.<br />
On still increasing the carbon content to 3 per cent, a<br />
§F<strong>org</strong>ing-Stamping-Heat Treating, Jan., Feb., 1924.<br />
flThere has been (considerable discussion over the hardening<br />
ability of the very low carbon iron-chromium alloys.<br />
Due to tbe greater hardness characteristic of solid solutions<br />
as compared to pure metals, and the retarding action of<br />
chromium on grain growth, it is hut natural that these alloys<br />
should be harder than the corresponding low carbon steel.<br />
But it is doubtful if these alloys can be considered as hardened<br />
by quenching in the same sense that carbon steels<br />
are hardened.
506<br />
new constituent appeared, as with hypereutectoid carbon<br />
steel, in the shape of structurally free carbides<br />
occurring as needles and the characteristic "coffin"<br />
shaped crytals. (Figs. 11 and 12.)<br />
Thus the range of 20-25 per cent chromium steels,<br />
similar to the higher percentage of ferrochromium<br />
alloys, gives rise, with varying carbon content, to a<br />
FIG. 11—High carbon high chromium iron alloy (hypereutectoid).<br />
150X- Etched with Le Chatelier's reagent<br />
(Reduced %.)<br />
range of alloys structurally analagous to the straight<br />
carbon steels. These vary from the iron-chromium<br />
solid solution as the chief constituent with very low<br />
carbon, through the hypoeutectoid, eutectoid, and<br />
hypereutectoid stages, as the carbon increases; the<br />
solid solution taking the place of the ferrite, and the<br />
carbides the place of cementite. The dividing line,<br />
which corresponds to the eutectoid ratio, being apparently<br />
the 10-1 chromium-carbon ratio of Edwards.<br />
From the action of the etching reagents, MacQuigg<br />
concluded that the composition of the carbides in<br />
these alloys varied with increasing carbon content.<br />
That this is evidently the case may be inferred from<br />
the appearance of the free carbides which, in the hypoeutectoid<br />
alloys, appear as rounded non-crystalline<br />
forms, while in the hypereutectoid alloys the carbides<br />
assume the needle and coffin shaped outline which is<br />
generally found in high carbon ferrochromium alloys.<br />
Both of these forms are altered very slowly on heating,<br />
the rounded carbides apparently being much more<br />
stable than those in crystalline form.<br />
In view of the great industrial possibilities of the<br />
higher chromium steels, because of their abrasion and<br />
corrosion resisting qualities, further research is desirable<br />
to determine the chromium-carbon ratio which<br />
divides the alloys with free solid solution, which will<br />
have the greatest resistance to chemical attack, from<br />
those which, because of the free carbides, possess<br />
greater hardness and abrasion resistance. Edwards,<br />
as mentioned, has given this ratio as 10-1, and the<br />
investigations of MacQuigg have confirmed this in a<br />
measure. But it is doubtful if this ratio will hold<br />
constant for the high chromium alloys, such as the<br />
Ihe Dlasl lurnace^Meel riant<br />
November, 1924<br />
ferrochromes. With these it appears to be more<br />
nearly 20-1 as the dividing line. Such investigations<br />
may also determine whether the generation of the<br />
higher carbides gives rise to the self hardening properties<br />
of the hypereutectoid chromium steels.<br />
Due to the retarding action of chromium upon<br />
atomic and molecular migrations the rate of cooling<br />
has a marked effect upon the temperatures of the<br />
critical transformations. The higher the initial temperatuer<br />
above the Ac4 point, the lower the temperature<br />
at which the transformations take place with<br />
rapid cooling. Apparently the more complete the<br />
chemical union which forms the carbide at the high<br />
temperature the greater its stability; or perhaps, the<br />
type of carbide formed at the high temperature is<br />
more stable. Thus, those transformations in chromium<br />
steels which are depressed by normal cooling<br />
will be still further depressed, or may take place so<br />
slowly as to be entirely suppressed, with more rapid<br />
cooling.<br />
The general effect of chromium, neglecting for the<br />
moment the manner in which the critical transformations<br />
are affected by variations in the rate of cooling,<br />
is the raising of the temperatures of the critical<br />
ranges. Scott* finds that the A1 range is raised progressively<br />
up to about 8 per cent chromium, after<br />
which it remains without change; Acj being raised<br />
more than Ar1( the lag between these ranges being<br />
thus increased. The carbide constituent of the pearlite<br />
in annealed or tempered steels does not dissolve<br />
at Ac4 on heating, but only commences to dissolve at<br />
that point, solution proceeding progressively with increase<br />
of temperature. As the rate of diffusion of the<br />
carbide is much slower than in carbon steels, much<br />
longer soaking is necessary in chromium steels to<br />
produce equilibrium conditions at a given tempera-<br />
Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, 28, 212.
November, 1924<br />
ture—in which connection the effect of the decreased<br />
thermal conductivity must also be considered.<br />
Scott found further that the A2 range was affected<br />
differently from the Al range. At about 3 per cent<br />
chromium A2 falls below Ac,_, and at 13 per cent falls<br />
below Arj. When Ac2 falls below Ac1( the latter<br />
change is not detectable by the usual magnetic meth-<br />
FIG. 13—High carbon chromium iron alloy under oblique<br />
illumination showing relief structure of carbides. 150/.<br />
Not etched.<br />
ods, and this means of determining the correct hardening<br />
temperatures is valueless.<br />
In the lowering, or complete suppression, of the<br />
Ar, transformation with sufficient chromium content,<br />
doubtless because of the slowness with which the carbide<br />
is precipitated from solution, we have the cause<br />
of the important quality of "self hardening," which<br />
will be further discussed in connection with high<br />
speed steels. Chromium steels having normal transformation<br />
points become pearlitic or sorbitic on slow<br />
cooling, much the same as straight carbon steels. If<br />
the chromium content is such that the transformations<br />
are lowered by rapid cooling, the steels are martensitic<br />
or troostitic; when, with still higher chromium,<br />
the transformations are suppressed the steels<br />
are austenitic. The latter steels, owing to the relatively<br />
larger proportion of chromium and carbon held<br />
in solution at high temperatures may precipitate this<br />
more readily as a finely divided carbide. Hence, on<br />
tempering, these steels do not become martensitic, but<br />
pass directly into a troostitic constituent, assuming<br />
with Bain and Jeffries that troostite consists of finely<br />
divided particles of carbide dispersed through a solid<br />
solution. The coalescence of the carbide particles,<br />
once they are thrown out of solution, into particles<br />
large enough to be seen by the eye or to affect the<br />
physical properties, takes place much more slowly.<br />
With the very high chromium and carbon alloys, such<br />
as were studied by MacQuigg, the proportion of carbides<br />
is so large and these are so stable that they<br />
are practically insoluble short of the molten state.<br />
These alloys do not show the customary constituents,<br />
martensite, troostite, sorbite, etc., and show very little<br />
change from the cast condition with any heat treatment,<br />
excepting a slight rounding of crystal corners,<br />
Ihe Dlasl kirnace^jteel riant<br />
507<br />
even under prolonged periods of heating. (Figs. 12<br />
and 13.) i. \<br />
The tendency of chromium is to raise the A3<br />
range; that is, the temperature at which the carbides<br />
will have the maximum solubility in the solid<br />
solution. This has been clearly shown by Bain* in<br />
experiments on a series of alloys varying from 1.4 to<br />
15.6 per cent chromium. The temperature of quenching<br />
which confers maximum hardness varied from<br />
1500 deg. F., with the lowest chromium content, to<br />
1900 deg. F. for the steel with highest chromium;<br />
which explains the familiar fact of the necessity of<br />
exceeding by some 300 deg. or 400 deg. the normal<br />
hardening temperature of plain carbon steels, in order<br />
to produce hardness in steels of the "stainless" type.<br />
•Transactions A. S. S. T. 5 89.<br />
Apprentices Attend Carnegie Tech Classes<br />
Continuing the co-operative plan effective a year<br />
ago between the Sheet Metal Contractors' Association<br />
of Pittsburgh and Local Union No. 12 of the Amalgamated<br />
Sheet Metal Workers' International Alliance,<br />
approximately 65 sheet metal apprentices will attend<br />
classes one day a week during the coming year at<br />
Carnegie Institute of Technology, in Pittsburgh, according<br />
to a report from the Institute authorities. For<br />
the coming year, also, it is reported, the employers<br />
have again agreed to pay the apprentices their full<br />
day's wages while they are attending classes, and the<br />
union officials will again assume the responsibility of<br />
compelling the apprentices to attend the classes.<br />
In addition to the continuation of the sheet metal<br />
apprenticeship agreement, a somewhat similar plan<br />
concerning the training of apprentices of the local<br />
union of the International Wood, Wire and Sheet<br />
Metal Lathers at Carnegie Tech, will be in effect<br />
again this year. Although this second co-operative<br />
plan is considerably different from the sheet metal<br />
apprenticeship agreement in its details of operation, it<br />
is similar in its significance because it reflects the<br />
changing attitude of labor unions toward the training<br />
of apprentices. Under the plan made a year ago<br />
between the Institute and the local union of the metal<br />
lathers, about 15 metal lathers apprentices will again<br />
take night courses three nights a week during the current<br />
year it is announced.<br />
While both of these developments are unique, officials<br />
of Carnegie Tech and others interested in apprentice<br />
training consider them as indicative of a<br />
growing tendency among labor union officials and the<br />
so-called capatalistic interests to co-operate toward<br />
the solution of the apprenticeship problem. Pittsburgh<br />
now holds the distinction of being one of the first cities<br />
in the country to take definite steps in the training<br />
of apprentices by <strong>org</strong>anized labor, employers, and educational<br />
interests into a common cause.<br />
Since the time a year ago when the effecting of<br />
these two agreements at Carnegie Tech were announcd,<br />
inquiries have been received, it is reported at<br />
Carnegie Tech, from cities throughout the country<br />
regarding the methods used in promoting and developing<br />
such plans. According to Dr. C. B. Connelley,<br />
Director of Industrial Relations, who has fathered the<br />
(Continued on page 518)
508<br />
Die Blast FurnaceSSteel Plant<br />
November, 1924<br />
•-'• B • '• •-•••• i -.•••..•. CB •-•"^""•'"-'•'•••''"". 1 •-"•••••••- - .••••• ..-...-.-..•.-.•.-•. ••• . - •;<br />
SHEET-TIN PLATE |<br />
Sheet Steel Simplification<br />
Unanimous Ratification of Committee's Schedule at<br />
Atlantic City Conference<br />
A T a meeting at Middletown, < )hio, on Tuesday, September<br />
9th, the Sheet Steel Simplification Committee,<br />
headed by Walter C. Carroll, chairman, received<br />
either the endorsements of the schedule as submitted<br />
to the sheet steel manufacturers early in July or their<br />
criticisms with suggestions as to additions or further<br />
eliminations, from every sheet manufacturer. In other<br />
words, the report made at the meeting represented<br />
100 per cent of the industry. A total of 11 additional<br />
items were recommended by two mills, and a further<br />
elimination of a total of 22 items was suggested bytwo<br />
other mills. Taking these changes into considera-<br />
MR. WALTER C. CARROLL<br />
tion, the final simplification schedule will show 261<br />
items, or a reduction from 1819 items of 85.6 per cent.<br />
Following this preliminary endorsement, a conference<br />
held at the Marlborough-Blenheim in Atlantic<br />
City, October 14, unanimously adopted the proposals<br />
with but slight exception. The original proposals were<br />
amended to include 18 gauge one-pass cold rolled box<br />
annealed 36x96 in., and 14 gauge blue annealed 24x96<br />
in.<br />
The question of eliminating all gauges lighter than<br />
28 full weight galvanized and painted roofing met with<br />
considerable discussion, but was finally adopted.<br />
The schedule as shown on page 509 will be placed<br />
in operation beginning January 1, 1925.<br />
A committee composed of one representative each<br />
from the National Association of Sheet and Tin Plate<br />
Manufacturers, the metal branch of the National Hardware<br />
Association, National Association of Sheet Metal<br />
Contractors, both of which <strong>org</strong>anizations also held<br />
meetings in Atlantic City simultaneously, the jobbing<br />
manufacturers, the federal specifications board, the<br />
American Engineering Standards committee, the United<br />
States Chamber of Commerce and the Government<br />
Bureau of Standards, was appointed. This committee<br />
will endeavor to iron out such inconsistencies, objections,<br />
and mistakes as may appear in further study<br />
of the simplified sheet schedule.<br />
This committee will report back to the metal<br />
branch of the National Hardware Association at its<br />
annual convention to be held next June.<br />
Following the sheet steel meeting, the producers<br />
of plain round conductor pipe agreed to eliminate the<br />
manufacture of 2y2 and 3y2 inch sizes and eaves<br />
trough in the 3 and 4y> in. sizes, and elbows in the No.<br />
0 angle. In addition, a resolution unanimously was<br />
adopted to the effect that no eaves trough, conductor<br />
pipe, elbows, shoes, mitres and accessories, including<br />
gutters, valleys and ridge rolls, will be made lighter<br />
than 28 gage full weight, eliminating 27 gage entirely.<br />
The association, it's committee chairman, Mr. Carrol,<br />
and Mr. Hoover's <strong>org</strong>anization, are jointly to be<br />
congratulated on the expeditions and effective work<br />
which over a period of comparatively few months has<br />
resulted in this fine co-operative effort.<br />
SIMPLIFIED PRACTICE*<br />
Just What This Term Implies Is Explained, Together<br />
With the Method of Procedure.<br />
ANY of our industries — many more of our businesses—believe<br />
that we are suffering from too<br />
great variety in almost every article of commerce<br />
in this country. Leading men in widely different<br />
fields agree that the reduction of variety, the simplifying<br />
of industrial and commercial practice in any<br />
line, will secure some or all of these advantages:<br />
Simplified practice will decrease:<br />
Stocks.<br />
Production costs.<br />
Selling expenses.<br />
Misunderstandings.<br />
All costs to user (including initial accessory and<br />
maintenance costs).<br />
•Department of Commerce, Washington, D. C.
Gauge<br />
12<br />
14<br />
16 24x96<br />
18 24x96<br />
20 24x96<br />
22 24x96<br />
24 24x96<br />
26 24x96<br />
28 24x96<br />
29<br />
30 24x96<br />
16<br />
18 24x96<br />
20 24x96<br />
22 24x96<br />
24 24x96<br />
26 24x96<br />
28 24x96<br />
29<br />
30<br />
8<br />
10 24x96<br />
12 24x96<br />
14<br />
16 24x96<br />
10 42x96<br />
12 42x96<br />
14 42x96<br />
16 42x96<br />
SIMPLIFICATION OF SIZES FOR STEEL SHEETS PROPOSED BY SIMPLIFICATION COMMITTEE<br />
24x120<br />
24x120<br />
24x120<br />
*24xl20<br />
*24xl20<br />
•24x120<br />
•24x120<br />
24x101<br />
24x101<br />
24x101<br />
24x101<br />
48x96<br />
48x96<br />
48x96<br />
48x96<br />
•26x96<br />
*26x96<br />
*26x96<br />
*26x96<br />
•26x96<br />
26x96<br />
26x96<br />
*26x96<br />
*26xl20<br />
•26x120<br />
*26x120<br />
•26x120<br />
ONE PASS<br />
f72x96 f72xl20<br />
GALVANIZED FLAT SHEETS<br />
•28x84<br />
•28x84<br />
•28x84<br />
COLD<br />
28x96<br />
28x96<br />
28x96<br />
28x96<br />
28x96<br />
28x96<br />
•28x96<br />
28x96<br />
28x96<br />
28x96<br />
28x96<br />
ROLLED<br />
f28xl08<br />
f28xl08<br />
f28xl08<br />
23x120<br />
28x120<br />
28x120<br />
28x120<br />
28x120<br />
28x120<br />
28x120<br />
28x120<br />
28x120<br />
28x120<br />
BOX<br />
30x96<br />
30x96<br />
30x96<br />
30x96<br />
30x96<br />
30x96<br />
30x96<br />
30x96<br />
30x96<br />
30x96<br />
30x120<br />
30x120<br />
30x120<br />
30x120<br />
30x120<br />
30x120<br />
30x120<br />
30x120<br />
30x120<br />
30x120<br />
33x96<br />
36x96<br />
36x96<br />
36x96<br />
36x96<br />
36x96<br />
36x96<br />
36x96<br />
36x96<br />
36x96<br />
ANNEALED SHEETS<br />
30x96<br />
30x96<br />
30x96<br />
30x96<br />
30x96<br />
30x96<br />
30x96<br />
30x96<br />
BLUE ANNEALED SHEETS<br />
172x144 f,<br />
30x96<br />
30x96<br />
30x96<br />
30x96<br />
42x120<br />
42x120<br />
42x120<br />
30x120<br />
30x120<br />
30x120<br />
30x120<br />
30x120<br />
30x120<br />
60x96<br />
60x96<br />
CORRUGATED ROOFING AND SIDING<br />
36x96<br />
36x96<br />
36x96<br />
36x96<br />
36x96<br />
36x96<br />
36x96<br />
36x96<br />
36x96<br />
36x96<br />
60x120<br />
60x120<br />
36x120<br />
36x120<br />
36x120<br />
36x120<br />
36x120<br />
36x120<br />
36x120<br />
36x120<br />
36x120<br />
36x120<br />
36x120<br />
36x120<br />
36x120<br />
36x120<br />
36x120<br />
36x120<br />
36x120<br />
48x96<br />
48x96<br />
48x96<br />
48x96<br />
•36x144<br />
•36x144<br />
•36x144<br />
•36x144<br />
48x144<br />
48x144<br />
48x144<br />
48x144<br />
48x120<br />
48x120<br />
48x120<br />
48x120<br />
48x120<br />
48x120<br />
48x120<br />
48x120<br />
48x120<br />
48x120<br />
48x120<br />
60x144<br />
60x144<br />
t36xl68<br />
f48x240<br />
t48xl56<br />
t60x240<br />
t60xl56<br />
t60xl20<br />
GALVANIZED—Present standard widths and corrugations—In even foot lengths 5 ft. 0 in. to 12 ft. 0 in. in 29 gauge and heavier, EVEN GAUGES.<br />
PAINTED— Present standard widths and corrugations—In even foot lengths 5 ft. 0 in. to 12 ft. 0 in. in 28 gauge and heavier, EVEN GAUGES.<br />
ROOFING—(All other Styles and Patterns)<br />
GALVANIZED—Present standard styles and patterns in 29 gauge and heavier, EVEN GAUGES.<br />
PAINTED— Present standard styles and patterns in 28 gauge and heavier, EVEN GAUGES.<br />
•Two sheet mills recommend item thus marked be eliminated. (Total, 22 items.)<br />
fTwo other sheet mills recommend items thus marked be added. (Total, 13 items.)
510<br />
Simultaneously, simplified practice will increase:<br />
Turnover.<br />
Stability of employment.<br />
Promptness of delivery.<br />
Foreign commerce.<br />
Quality of product.<br />
Profit to producer, distributor and user.<br />
Frequently a manufacturer, or group of manufacturers,<br />
would like to eliminate excess varieties, but<br />
feels that the producers cannot properly approach<br />
either the distributors or the users of these articles<br />
with such a proposal. In other lines it is the distributors<br />
who would like to bring about reduction of variety<br />
if they could get the manufacturers and users to agree,<br />
while in still others, it is the user who would most<br />
appreciate fewer kinds.<br />
Secretary Hoover has established the Division of<br />
Simplified Practice to serve as a centralizing agency<br />
in bringing producers, distributors and users together<br />
and to support the recommendations of these interests<br />
when they shall mutually agree upon simplifications<br />
of benefit to all concerned. Any group in any branch<br />
—production, distribution or use—can secure the services<br />
of the division upon request.<br />
These services are:<br />
1. Talks to trade associations, or other <strong>org</strong>anizations<br />
interested, showing the results achieved in similar<br />
fields through reduction of variety. These talks<br />
are illustrated by lantern slides and are modified<br />
wherever possible to apply particularly to the immediate<br />
field of interest.<br />
2. Authorization of a trade association secretary,<br />
or other competent man chosen by the industry concerned,<br />
to act as Secretary Hoover's representative in<br />
making a preliminary survey which shall summarize<br />
the facts of present practice. The sort of data to be<br />
obtained in such a survey is outlined in accompanying<br />
"Suggestions for Surveys of Varieties and Types."<br />
Experience shows that this authorization from the<br />
Department greatly strengthens the surveyor in his<br />
appeal to all producers.<br />
3. Arrangement of general conference of the Department<br />
of Commerce in Washington, or other central<br />
point, to which all producers, distributors, users,<br />
and general interests are invited for discussion of the<br />
report based on the survey and for recommendation<br />
of simplifications.<br />
4. Publication of the recommendations of the general<br />
conference backed by the moral prestige of the<br />
department, giving full credit to all the representatives<br />
at the conference.<br />
5. Request to each individual producer and distributor<br />
for formal acceptance of the recommendation<br />
as his standard of practice.<br />
6. Follow-up request, after reasonable interval,<br />
for statement from each concern accepting under (5)<br />
showing percentage of production or consumption<br />
which conforms to recommendation and reasons for<br />
departure from its provision. (This data to be used<br />
in guiding conferences called to revise the recommendation<br />
at proper intervals, thereby preventing any<br />
paralysis of invention and development.)<br />
7. Arrangement of revising conferences at periods<br />
agreed upon by the industry.<br />
In all of this service it will lie noted the division is<br />
concerned solely with finding and supporting the best<br />
thought and practice of the interested industry. In<br />
no way does it make pretense of technical knowledge.<br />
The Blast FurnaceSSteel Plant<br />
November, 1924<br />
In no way does it attempt to determine, or even suggest,<br />
simplifications which the industry should adopt.<br />
Its sole function is to bring together all interests and<br />
to support such action as these interests may mutually<br />
agree upon.<br />
Some seventy groups are already using this service<br />
in working out definite simplified practice recommendations,<br />
and each week new projects are added.<br />
In some lines the conferences may decide that to<br />
obtain the full benefit of simplification, standard specifications<br />
or other standards of practice must be developed.<br />
If the industry does not have proper laboratory<br />
facilities or engineering talent within its <strong>org</strong>anization,<br />
the division can arrange for the services of<br />
the National Bureau of Standards, in research, and<br />
those of the American Engineering Standards Committee,<br />
in development of technical standards. In such<br />
instances the bureau or the standards committee, will<br />
proceed under the direction of a committee of the<br />
conference and will report back to a subsequent conference.<br />
Tbe adoption of the specification or other<br />
standard by this second conference must precede its<br />
support by the Department of Commerce.<br />
Simplified practice may thus take any form which<br />
the industry or business believes will be of service in<br />
reducing the tremendous wastes now incident to excess<br />
variety in shape, size, quality, process, composition,<br />
or any other characteristic of product. Whatever<br />
the form developed, the Department stands ready<br />
to support all such simplifications of practice as will<br />
eliminate waste, stabilize business or extend our<br />
national commerce.<br />
BOOK NOTE<br />
There has not been published in recent vears anv<br />
modern, comprehensive work dealing with the metallurgy<br />
of aluminum. The work by Dr. Joseph W.<br />
Richards on that subject, the third and last edition of<br />
which was published in 1896, has been out of print for<br />
many years.<br />
The increasing use of aluminum and its alloys, the<br />
growing importance of the industry, and the need of<br />
a thorough and up-to-date work on aluminum metallurgy,<br />
have prompted the publication of an entirely<br />
new and authoritative volume dealing with that<br />
subject.<br />
This new volume, "Metallurgy of Aluminum and<br />
Aluminum Alloys," has been prepared bv Robert J.<br />
Anderson, tbe well-known metallurgical engineer and<br />
technical specialist on aluminum, who was formerly<br />
in charge of the aluminum investigations of the U. S.<br />
Bureau of Mines, and whose experience covers many<br />
years in all branches of the industry.<br />
The new work will be a complete and thorough<br />
presentation of the metallurgy of aluminum covering<br />
tbe subject fully from the mining of bauxite to the<br />
uses and applications of the metal and its alloys.<br />
While it has been more the purpose of the author'to<br />
produce a practical work, the theoretical aspects have<br />
not been neglected, and tbe book will be found of<br />
great help not only to metallurgical engineers and<br />
foundrymen, but also to automotive and' mechanical<br />
engineers, and others interested in specific applications<br />
of the metal and its alloys.<br />
The book will contain over 800 octavo pages and<br />
297 illustrations, and will be ready about December<br />
15. The price will be $10 net. H. C. Baird & Company,<br />
New York City, are the publishers.
November, 1924<br />
Die Blast Ft,<br />
r^j Steel PI<br />
CURRENT REVIEW<br />
The Dawes Plan and German Industries<br />
While these lines were being written, the London Conference<br />
was in session. The attempts to get together and<br />
stay together in harmony over the Dawes plan are evidently<br />
gaining steadily in earnestness and sincerity and<br />
while the voices of reaction are loud and critical, the<br />
logic of events seems to be shaping the situation in such<br />
a way that the only solution of a chaotic and dangerous<br />
problem will be effected on a basis of fairness, mutual<br />
compromise and good will. Germany has awaited the<br />
outcome of the conference with a heavy heart inasmuch<br />
as the basis for Germany's national and economic development<br />
is to be determined for many years to come.<br />
Fear and hope are in the balance. Fear, that the way<br />
to Germany's political independence may not be cleared<br />
and hope, that with the inauguration of the Dawes plan<br />
a decided change in the development of Germany's economic<br />
life may take place.<br />
General interest centers about the contemplated 800<br />
million dollar loan, which is destined to not only provide<br />
the basis for the new German gold note bank, but which<br />
logically will act as a direct stimulus to business in general<br />
and thus help to remove the present money stringency.<br />
Furthermore, accumulated funds in America,<br />
seeking an outlet for investment, may then look to Germany<br />
for most promising opportunities.<br />
The Dawes plan, being pivot and base of the entire<br />
structure to be erected, provides solely for tbe technical<br />
foundation of the financial structure of the reparations<br />
problem, a great success in itself which can not be overestimated.<br />
It should not be overlooked, however, that<br />
thereby the foundation only for actual work on the<br />
reparations and on the reconstruction has been safeguarded.<br />
The latter are not only problems of finance,<br />
but problems of production as far as Germany is concerned,<br />
a point which is deserving of widest attention<br />
and especially now during the period of transition.<br />
Germany must prepare herself for increased production<br />
and on a price level which will coincide with the<br />
absorbing capacity of her domestic market and with<br />
the marketing conditions beyond her borders.<br />
All hopes for revival of trade will be in vain a.s<br />
long as such revival is aimed at higher returns for<br />
industrial products than which correspond to the price<br />
level of foreign industrial products. Foreign credits to<br />
Germany can be of healthy effect only when a production<br />
is furthered which already has been placed on a normal<br />
and sound basis and with outlets ready at hand. In<br />
other words, German industries must once again be<br />
placed on a paying basis. It will not suffice that the<br />
r-chnical foundation and equipment is made available for<br />
increased production, the products must be priced so<br />
that they can be sold.<br />
So far, no efforts have been made in Germany to<br />
reduce prices of industrial products, neither for domestic<br />
us; nor for exportation; on the contrary, indications<br />
point to a continuation of tbe methods which by circum<br />
ant<br />
511<br />
stances were forced upon Germany during the last few<br />
years, meaning the effects of inflation and of economic<br />
isolation.<br />
It must readily be admitted that great difficulties<br />
will have to be overcome in order to reestablish rational<br />
production, especially so in view of the outspoken lack<br />
of credit facilities. Circumstances, however, demand an<br />
early departure from present tendencies, so that Germany<br />
will be ready when the Dawes plan begins to<br />
operate.<br />
Speaking of the burdens placed upon Germany in<br />
consequence of the reparation settlement, there seems<br />
to be the wide-spread opinion in the United States<br />
that the heavy reparation obligations will inevitably<br />
compel Germany to curtail internal consumption and<br />
force her to dump large quantities of exports as in<br />
1922. In this respect we venture the opinion that Germany<br />
will be indeed fortunate if her production will be such<br />
as to enable her to export at all and to meet foreign<br />
competition. Furthermore, efforts will be directed toward<br />
exportation of quality goods rather than of mass and<br />
cheap goods. Quality products demand a certain price<br />
and can not be sold at bargain prices. Therefore, dumping<br />
will be out of the question.<br />
Of much more serious nature is the present plan<br />
of the German government to return to the pre-war<br />
policy of agrarian protectionism. This would indeed be<br />
a deplorable development, inasmuch as an increased<br />
tariff on grain will not only increase the living costs<br />
of the industrial population, but will lead to higher<br />
wages, diminishing Germany's ability to compete in the<br />
world's markets, affecting her trade balance unfavorably<br />
and thus, no doubt, restrict her ability to meet reparations.<br />
It should not be f<strong>org</strong>otten, that, before the war,<br />
Germany was obliged to import grain to the value of<br />
three billion marks a year in order to provide bread<br />
for her population. Experience has shown that Germany,<br />
despite her protective tariff of 1902, was not able<br />
to produce the amount of bread needed for her population<br />
and that was before the war, when Germany's area<br />
was larger. It is clear that Germany's bread grows in<br />
her factories and mines which in 1913 have exported<br />
products valued at more than six billion marks in order<br />
to be able to import products from the United States,<br />
Russia and the rest of the world, which Germany herself<br />
can not supply and to pay for those raw materials<br />
which, turned into finished goods, were needed for exportation.<br />
The realization of the Dawes plan will also necessitate<br />
the removal of the barriers which are in the way of<br />
facilitating German exports. This refers especially to<br />
the reduction of foreign customs tariffs. Such reduction<br />
has been advocated by prions American economists<br />
who have pointed out the important role the American<br />
market, for instance, could play if a policy were adopted<br />
to aid in the restoration of Germany's trade balance,<br />
which, according to the Dawes plan, is a preliminary<br />
condition to German reparation payments.<br />
—American Chamber of Commerce, Berlin.
512 Ihe Blast hirnace^ Meel riant<br />
Suspension Insulators<br />
In order that electrical energy may be utilized at<br />
a distance from the point of generation, effective resistance<br />
must be offered to the escape of the current<br />
from the conductor. This resistance is provided by<br />
insulation, which takes many forms. For long-distance<br />
overland transmission, first for telegraphy, then<br />
for telephony, and later for power, bare wires have<br />
been supported on poles or towers. Between the wire<br />
and the pole or tower, an electrical barrier must be<br />
interposed of such shape and strength as to hold the<br />
wire securely against wind and sleet and other forces,<br />
while preventing flow of current from the wire. Almost<br />
everyone is familiar with the grooved glass caps<br />
screwed on the wooden pins on the arms of telegraph<br />
poles. It became necessary first to improve this type<br />
of insulator and then to devise others for the vastly<br />
larger currents of much higher voltage adopted for<br />
efficient transmission of power.<br />
As rapidly as science and engineering could make<br />
advance possible, voltages for long-distance power<br />
transmission have been increased, from a few thousand<br />
in 1890 to 220,000 volts in 1923*. At one stage,<br />
about 1900, 60.000 volts was believed the absolute<br />
limit, but research discovered new laws and now<br />
330,000 volts or more are a practical possibility.<br />
Without development of line insulators this progress<br />
would have been impossible. Persons observant<br />
of power lines in recent years have seen insulators put<br />
on one and then more "petticoats" and change form<br />
in numerous ways. For high-tension (high-voltage)<br />
lines, insulators, in many systems, have been taken<br />
from the pins and suspended from the cross-arms. One<br />
insulator proving insufficient with increasing voltage,<br />
two to 15 or more have been hung in a string. Many<br />
other changes, not detectable by the passerby, have<br />
been important.<br />
Development has been based largely on cut-andtry<br />
experimentation ; but there have been also many<br />
instances of fundamental research. In one of these,<br />
Harold B. Smith sought to place the surface of the<br />
insulator under more favorable electrical conditions,<br />
to simplify the form of insulating surface for convenience<br />
in manufacture, to avoid corona prior to<br />
breakdown, to prevent arcing along the insulating surface,<br />
to reduce weight, length and cost, to raise the<br />
voltage per unit, and to eliminate porcelain, if possible.<br />
(Corona is a phenomenon of the escape of electricity<br />
from the conductor. It occurs with high voltages<br />
and causes loss.)<br />
Principles and elements of design not previously<br />
used were introduced. Numerous models were tested<br />
at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and at the Pittsburgh<br />
plant of the Westinghouse Company. Early<br />
tests under favorable conditions to determine certain<br />
facts gave encouragement. Designs were then modified<br />
and tests made under conditions simulating bad<br />
weather. After experiments on many models, a type<br />
was found which would not break down, when dry,<br />
until a voltage of 280,000 or over was reached, and,<br />
when wet, would hold 200,000 volts or more.<br />
One important new feature is the creation of a hollow<br />
electric "field" around the insulating member.<br />
(By a hollow electric "field" is meant one surrounded<br />
•In 1896, electrical energy generated by the Niagara Falls<br />
Power Company was first transmitted 22 miles to Buffalo at<br />
11,000 volts.<br />
November 1924<br />
symmetrically along its axis by a stronger field of<br />
higher average and maximum potential gradient.) To<br />
study the form of "field" for each model, shredded<br />
asbestos was used, making the lines of electrical flow<br />
visible and permitting them to be photographed.<br />
The preferred experimental type is receiving service<br />
tests on transmission lines under various climatic<br />
conditions. It has three principal parts: a hood of<br />
sheet metal, in shape resembling an inverted handbasin<br />
with very wide brim, a spindle of impregnated<br />
wood, and at the lower end of this spindle a torus<br />
(doughnut-shaped ring) of metal tube. Tentative<br />
dimensions are: overall length 30 to 40 inches; diameter<br />
of hood, 45 inches; diameter of torus, 17 inches<br />
over-all, and diameter of tube of which torus is made,<br />
6 inches. The spindle is the insulating element. Satisfactory<br />
electrical and mechanical properties have<br />
been secured.<br />
Not trusting eyes unaided to make sure that no<br />
corona or sparks were passing across the insulator<br />
models, polar high-speed stereoscopic photographs<br />
were taken, some of them at the rate of 520 per second.<br />
Neither streamer nor arc was detected along<br />
the insulating spindle, nor could be blown upon it by<br />
strong air currents.<br />
Shapes and material of hood and torus resulted<br />
from efforts to distribute the electrical flux and to<br />
form a favorable electrical field around the spindle<br />
under all weather conditions, avoiding corona until<br />
the breakdown limit had almost been reached, and<br />
preventing arcing along the insulating surface.<br />
It is expected that one of these insulators at each<br />
point of suspension will be sufficient on 110,000-volt<br />
power lines, that two will suffice for 220,000-volt lines,<br />
and three on 330,000-volt lines. This systematic research<br />
may prove epoch-making in insulation of power<br />
transmission lines.<br />
Based on information supplied by Harold B. Smith, Fellow,<br />
American Institute of Electrical Engineers, Professor of<br />
Electrical Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester,<br />
Mass.<br />
—Research Narratives.<br />
Weekly Publications<br />
Abandonment of the Pittsburgh base method of<br />
quoting prices by the U. S. Steel Corporation and independents<br />
has created considerable confusion in the<br />
steel market. Cleveland has been made a base on<br />
wire products equally with Pittsburgh, while shipments<br />
from three western mill points are put at a differential<br />
$2 per ton higher and from New England,<br />
$3 higher. For Chicago delivery $3 over the Pittsburgh-Cleveland<br />
base is quoted. Base prices on wire<br />
are reduced $1, resulting in the saving to Chicago territory<br />
of $4.80 per ton and at Cleveland of $3.<br />
Cable advices from London show that the Germans<br />
are underselling the British producers in the<br />
English market on certain classes of steel and the<br />
British steel makers are considering a new pooling<br />
arrangement for buying raw materials.<br />
An article by J. F. Curley gives tables showing<br />
the annual consumption of reinforcing steel by years<br />
since 1910.<br />
G. R. Brandon, an industrial furnace engineer at<br />
Chicago, contributes an article on conserving industrial<br />
fuels.
November, 1924<br />
A description of the twenty-eighth annual<br />
meeting a.id exhibition of the American Foundrymen's<br />
Association at Milwaukee and also a<br />
review of new machine tools.<br />
Pig iron output in September totalled 2,053,-<br />
617 tons, an annual rate of 24,250,000 tons. The<br />
September production was 12.7 per cent over<br />
that of August and there was a gain of 24 active<br />
furnaces in the month.<br />
More than 200 chemists, metallurgists,<br />
manufacturers and foundrymen met at Detroit<br />
for the forty-sixth meeting of the American<br />
Electroi hemical Society, October 2, 3 and 4.<br />
The thirteenth annual Safety Congress of<br />
the National Safety Council was attended by<br />
3,500 persons at Louisville. Carl B. Auel, Westinghouse<br />
Electric & Manufacturing Company,<br />
was elected president of the council.<br />
Steel ingot production in September showed<br />
a gain of 10.7 per cent over August. The average<br />
daily production was above 100,000 tons<br />
for the first time in five months and was at<br />
the annual rate of 33,670,000 tons, compared with an annual<br />
rate of 30,400,000 tons in August. Pig iron specifications<br />
are of larger volume, although new buying is quiet.<br />
Can We Compete?<br />
Ultimately the products of American manufacture<br />
must compete in the world markets. Just how difficult<br />
a problem this may become, when shattered<br />
Europe regains her balance and arrays her underpaid<br />
working forces against the present American<br />
standard of living wages, is graphically shown by the<br />
accompanying cuts.<br />
"What fair or square American would ask American<br />
Brick Manufacturers to pay American union wages<br />
and compete with the 60 cent Holland labor here<br />
shown.<br />
No real red blooded American, who has any spirit<br />
of fair piay about him. would sanction or tolerate<br />
such unfair, unjust and ruinous conditions. Buyers<br />
of foreign made brick may think they are saving<br />
money but they are only buying a scourge of withering<br />
blight on the capital and labor employed in eastern<br />
brick plants."—American Clay Magazine.<br />
A typical picture of Dutch brick making.<br />
Die Blast Fi urnace 3 Steel Plant<br />
This is zvhat American labor must compete against.<br />
513<br />
More interest is noted in iron for the first half a<br />
good bookings for that period are reported. Price weakness<br />
is apparent in the Pittsburgh District and in the East.<br />
Manufacturers of sheets in the Youngstown District<br />
are losing considerable business in the Chicago territory<br />
as a result of the abolition of the Pittsburgh plus<br />
system. Many complaints are being made against<br />
short haul steel rates and the Commerce Commission<br />
will be asked to take action.<br />
An article analyzing the position of the sheet<br />
makers in the Youngstown District with respect to<br />
new market conditions.—Iron Trade Review.<br />
TECHNICAL ARTICLES<br />
High Manganese Steel for Locomotives — Segment<br />
Patterns and Core Work Extensively Used by<br />
General Electric Company — Clipping and Machining<br />
Lessened by Reduction of Risers and Webs.<br />
Studebaker Gray Iron Foundry Largest — Raw<br />
Material Storage Bay Entirely Coverey and Inclosed<br />
—Special Sand Storage and Handling Features.<br />
Heat Treatment of Gray Cast Iron.<br />
Proportioning and Shaping of Sink Heads.<br />
New Annealing Equipment for Strip Steel — Electric<br />
Mule on Rack for Charging — Ample Combustion<br />
Space in uFrnaces — Arrangement for<br />
Cooling Boxes and Quick Charging of Furnaces.<br />
Electric Furnaces for Heating and Melting—<br />
American Electrochemists Cover New Ground<br />
in Discussing Electric Industrial Heating and<br />
Corosion — Session Electric Furnace Cast Iron.<br />
Building Diesel Oil Engines for Ford —<br />
Crankshaft Bearings Planed Instead of Borfd<br />
—Special Fixture Made for Jointing Bedplates<br />
— Crankshafts Turned Direct from F<strong>org</strong>ed<br />
Block.<br />
New Type of Mechanical Hot Bed—Elliptical<br />
Moving Members Insure Proper Advance<br />
of Rails, Billets, etc., with Less Direct Transfer<br />
of Heat—Special Cooling Apparatus.<br />
Multiple System of Electric Melting—"Twin<br />
Furnace" Plan as applied to a Steel Foundry—<br />
Greater Speed in Melting and Less Equipment<br />
Claimed.
514 The Blast Ft urnace.<br />
r^> Steel Plant<br />
Metals Used In World Cruiser Airplanes.<br />
Making Steam Turbine Diaphragm Blades—Novel<br />
Planer Fixture Permits Planing at Several Angles—<br />
Centrifugal Babbitting of Large Bearings—Unusual<br />
Radius Tool.<br />
Handling by Electric Truck.<br />
—Iron Age during October.<br />
Motor Vehicles<br />
Washington, D. C, October 10, 1924. The Department<br />
of Commerce announces that, according to data<br />
collected at the biennial census of manufactures, 1923,<br />
the establishments engaged primarily in the manufacture<br />
of motor vehicles in that year produced 3,472,420 gasoline<br />
or steam-driven passenger vehicles, including chassis,<br />
valued at $2,277,800,046; 12.878 public conveyances, valued<br />
at $24,667,251 : 1,192 Government and municipal<br />
vehicles, valued at $10,051,776; 402,408 business vehicles,<br />
including chassis, valued at $295,868,451; 1,236 electric<br />
vehicles, including chassis, valued at $3,059,906; and<br />
11,191 trailers, valued at $4,233,069; together with other<br />
products valued at $547,647,375, making a total of $3,-<br />
163,327,874. This total represnts an increase of 89.3<br />
per cent as compared with 1921, the last preceding census<br />
year. The output of motor vehicles of all classes, including<br />
chassis, totaled 3,890,134 in number and $2,611,-<br />
447,430 in value. (The values here given are f.o.b. factory.)<br />
The foregoing figures and the other statistics herewith<br />
relate to manufacturers whose principal products<br />
General Statistics<br />
THE MOTOR VEHICLE INDUSTRY<br />
1923<br />
Number of establishments 351<br />
Wage earners (average nurriber)t 241,356<br />
'Maximum month May 258,111<br />
Minimum month Jan. 216,383<br />
Per cent of maximum 83.8<br />
Wages $406,730,278<br />
Paid for contract work $1,961,141<br />
Cost of materials (including fuel) $2,147,463,352<br />
Products, total value $3,163,327,874<br />
Value added by manufacture:): $1,015,864,522<br />
Horsepower 441.945<br />
Coal consumed (tons of 2,000 lbs.) 1,797,920<br />
PRODUCTS—NUMBER, BY CLASS<br />
1923<br />
Passenger vehicles, number 3,419,425<br />
Value up to $500.00 1,727,958<br />
501.00 to $800.00 814,090<br />
$801.00 to $1,500.00 664,189<br />
$1,501.00 to $2,500.00 170,948<br />
$2,501.00 to $3,500.00 30,903<br />
$3,501.00 and up 11,337<br />
Motor trucks, delivery wagons, busses, sight-seeing wagons,,<br />
and chassis, number 403,910§<br />
Up to VA of ton ' 75,173<br />
From 1 to 1 1 /2 tons 282,386<br />
From 2 to 3 tons 30,701<br />
From 3 l /2 to 5 tons 13,231<br />
From 5 l /i tons up 2,419<br />
November, 1924<br />
were assembled motor vehicles, and do not include data<br />
for the production of establishments engaged primarily<br />
in the manufacture of bodies, parts, and accessories for<br />
motor vehicles.<br />
The proportion of closed passenger cars has increased<br />
from 10 per cent in 1919 to 21.6 per cent in 1921 and 35.1<br />
per cent in 1923. The number of this class of motor<br />
vehicles (not including electric cars) manufactured in<br />
1923 reached a total of 1,201,316, compared with 303,-<br />
687 in 1921 and approximately 156,000 in 1919.<br />
Of the 351 establishments reporting, 54 were located<br />
in Michigan, 46 in Ohio, 32 in Illinois. 30 each in Indiana<br />
and New York, 28 in California, 26 in Pennsyvania, 20 in<br />
Wisconsin, 14 in Massachusetts, 11 in Missouri, 9 in New<br />
Jersey, 6 each in Minnesota and Iowa, 5 each in Connecticut,<br />
Texas, and Washington, and the remaining 24<br />
in Colorado, District of Columbia, Ge<strong>org</strong>ia, Kansas, Kentucky,<br />
Louisiana, Maryland, Nebraska, New Hampshire,<br />
North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregan, South Carolina, and<br />
Tennessee. In 1921 the industry was represented by<br />
385 establishments, the decrease to 351 in 1923 being due<br />
to the omission of 97 establishments which had been included<br />
for 1921 and the inclusion of 63 which had not<br />
been classified in this industry for that year. Of the 97<br />
establishments omitted, 48 had gone out of business, 28<br />
were idle througout the year 1923, 14 had been engaged<br />
primarily in the manufacture of motor vehicles in 1921<br />
but reported other commodities — motor vehicle bodies<br />
and parts, machine shop products, and carriages and<br />
wagons—as their principal products for 1923 and were<br />
therefore classified in the appropriate industries, 5 were<br />
not engaged in manufacturing during any part of the<br />
1921<br />
385<br />
143.658<br />
May 165.636<br />
Jan. 81,125<br />
49.0<br />
$221,973,586<br />
$982,593<br />
$1,107,062,085<br />
$1,671,386,976<br />
$564,324,891<br />
(d)<br />
(d)<br />
1921<br />
1.442,289<br />
999,356<br />
278,278<br />
123.236<br />
33,421<br />
7,998<br />
144,821<br />
27,002<br />
93,853<br />
16,463<br />
6,433<br />
1.070<br />
Per cent of<br />
increase 4<br />
• A minus sign (-) denotes decrease. $ Value of product less cost of materi '<br />
t Not including salaried employees and proprietors and § [Includes 1,399 motor busses an • eeing wagons<br />
firm members. Statistics for these 'classes will be given in and 975 electric delivery wagons, tri I chassis, but<br />
final report. does not include 872 hearses and undei /agons.<br />
-8.8<br />
68.0<br />
83.2<br />
99.6<br />
94.0<br />
89.3<br />
80.0<br />
Per cent of<br />
increase 4<br />
137.1<br />
154.4<br />
138.7<br />
38.7<br />
-7.5<br />
41.7<br />
178.9<br />
178.4<br />
200.9<br />
86.5<br />
105.7<br />
126.1
November, 1924<br />
year, and 2 reported products valued at less than $5,000.<br />
(No data are tabulated at the biennial censuses for establishments<br />
with products under $5,000 in value.)<br />
The statistics for 1923 and 1921 are summarized in<br />
the following statement. The figures for 1923 are preliminary<br />
and subject to such correction as may be found<br />
necessary upon further examination of the returns.<br />
The total production of motor vehicles as reported<br />
at the 1923 biennial census of manufactures differs from<br />
the aggregate number as reported in the monthly commercial<br />
reports, namely, 3,637,216 passenger cars'and 376,-<br />
293 trucks, by reason of the facts that—(1) The figures<br />
in the case of the biennial census relate to production,<br />
whereas the monthly figures as published in the monthly<br />
commercial reports, relate in many cases to factory sales<br />
rather than to production. (2) While the biennial<br />
statistics pertain as nearly as possible to the calendar<br />
year ended December 31, 1923, a few manufacturers reported<br />
for their business years most nearly conforming<br />
to the calendar year.<br />
X-Ray Diffraction<br />
Cornell University and the University of Michigan<br />
have ordered X-ray diffraction equipments for use in their<br />
physics laboratories. The metallurgical, geological and<br />
other departments will also use the outfis.<br />
The equipment will be furnished by the General Electric<br />
Company, in whose research laboratory this X-ray<br />
method of studying crystal structure was developed.<br />
Six similar outfits are already in use in college research<br />
laboratories, including Massachusetts Institute of<br />
Technology, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, McGill<br />
University, Pennsylvania State College, University of<br />
Wisconsin, and California Institute of Technology. Two<br />
industrial research laboratories and two government<br />
laboratories are also equipped with this type of apparatus.<br />
The General Electric Company itself is constantly<br />
using two sets.<br />
By means of the apparatus, characteristic X-ray diffraction<br />
patterns of fifteen powdered crystals can be<br />
recorded photographically at once. The results obtained<br />
have an immediate field of usefulness in the theory of<br />
metallurgy and in certain branches of physical chemistry,<br />
as well as in chemistry and geology. The apparatus is<br />
suited not only to general crystal research, but to most<br />
forms of routine commercial laboratory work.<br />
—General Electric Bulletin.<br />
The tests reported in Bulletin No. 143 of the Engineering<br />
Experiment Station of the University of Illinois<br />
were undertaken with a view of obtaining definite information<br />
concerning the positive and negative pressures<br />
found in soil-stacks, waste pipes, traps, and vent pipes,<br />
and also concerning the limitations of rates of discharge<br />
and the capacities of waste pipes and soil-stacks. It is<br />
believed that the results obtained from these tests and<br />
the principles established will be helpful when making<br />
designs of plumbing installations, and in reducing the<br />
complication and cost of plumbing work.<br />
The principal problems discussed in the bulletin are<br />
the proper type and capacity of vents for various conditions,<br />
the causes and methods of preventing self-siphonage<br />
of traps, the capacity of coil-stacks, and the effect on the<br />
pressures in a plumbing system resulting from (a) clos<br />
The Blast hirnaceSSteel Plant<br />
515<br />
ing the top of the soil-stack, (b) mixing solid matter with<br />
the discharge from water-closets, (c) changing the length<br />
of the horizontal pipe in the basement to which the soilstack<br />
is connected, (d) changing the height of fall in the<br />
soil-stack, (e) changing the rate of discharge, (f) the<br />
use of a house trap, and (g) submerging the outlet<br />
from the plumbing system, as may happen when the<br />
water in the street sewer rises above the outlet of the<br />
house sewer or when roof water, discharging into the<br />
house drain, overcharges it.<br />
Copies of Bulletin No. 143 may be obtained without<br />
charge by addressing the Engineering Experiment Station,<br />
Urbana, Illinois.<br />
Analyzing Unemployment<br />
Averaging good and bad years, 10 to 12 per cent<br />
of all the workers in the United States (several millions<br />
of men and women) are out of work all the time.<br />
Widespread unemployment is now a constant phenomenon<br />
with far-reaching economic, social, psychological<br />
and moral bearings. In seeking work through<br />
certain types of commercial or fee-charging employment<br />
bureaus, particularly those dealing with unskilled<br />
and casual labor, thousands of men and<br />
'women are being exploited. Public employment<br />
bureaus or exchanges can make a material contribution<br />
toward the solution of this and other phases of<br />
the ever-recurring problem of unemployment.<br />
These are some of the facts brought out in the introduction<br />
to the report of a five-year study of employment<br />
methods, needs and agencies, which has just<br />
been made public by the Russell Sage Foundation. It<br />
is made clear in the report that the figures on unemployment,<br />
while representing the average of the country's<br />
experience during the last two decades, are not<br />
necessarily indicative of present conditions or of the<br />
last year.<br />
The investigation, which extended into more than<br />
70 cities in 31 states and Canada, has just been completed.<br />
The full report, covering more than 600<br />
printed pages, will be issued shortly. The survey<br />
was conducted by a staff of trained field investigators,<br />
all of whom had previously been engaged in employment<br />
work, under the direction of Shelby M. Harrison,<br />
director of the Foundation's Department of Surveys<br />
and Exhibits.<br />
Practically every known means for bringing work<br />
and the worker together was studied. The "want ad"<br />
pages of newspapers, the fee-charging labor agencies,<br />
the free public employment office, the labor union's<br />
method of securing work for its members, the fraternal<br />
order's activities in this field, the practice of applying<br />
for work at the factory gate or the office door, all were<br />
investigated. The report will point out the advantages<br />
and disadvantages to employer and employe in<br />
each of these means and its effect on the general employment<br />
situation.<br />
A special study was made of the situation in Ohio,<br />
Wisconsin, Massachusetts and New York, where there<br />
has been the greatest development of <strong>org</strong>anized public<br />
employment work. Separate studies were made<br />
also of the special problems of farm labor, migratory<br />
and casual workers, junior workers, handicapped<br />
workers, immigrants, Negro workers, and professional<br />
workers.
After citing the fact that each year from 1,000,000<br />
to 6,000,000 persons are out of work for weeks and<br />
sometimes for months at a time, the introduction to<br />
the Foundation's forthcoming report says :<br />
"There is something which we are just beginning<br />
to recognize—a resentment on the part of the workers<br />
against an industrial situation in which such insecurity<br />
and uncertainty of employment are possible.<br />
It is not only unemployment, but the fear of unemployment—the<br />
knowledge that any job is uncertain<br />
and insecure, subject to the fluctuations of economic<br />
change—which is responsible for much of our present<br />
industrial unrest."<br />
This situation, the report will show, has been<br />
aggravated by the fact that the unskilled worker who<br />
has sought employment through certain types of labor<br />
agencies in many cases has been subjected to such<br />
abuses as paying a fee and then failing to get a job;<br />
being sent to distant points where no work or where<br />
unsatisfactory work exists, but whence he could not<br />
return because of the expense involved; being employed<br />
through collusion between the agent and employer<br />
and after a few days' work being discharged<br />
to make way for a new workman while the agent and<br />
employer divided the fee.<br />
The report of the Russell Sage Foundation says:<br />
"One conclusion drawn from such findings has<br />
been that we must have public bureaus to take the<br />
place of the private fee-charging agencies. That is,<br />
in so far as people are informed on the question and<br />
have expressed their sentiments, most of them appeared<br />
convinced that we should have public employment<br />
bureaus because of the abuses of some feecharging<br />
agencies quite regardless of other considerations.<br />
In addition, however, the feeling has been<br />
growing that this service in the nature of the case<br />
should be free, and that the very fact of fee-charging<br />
carries with it a dangerous temptation to abuse and<br />
fraud.<br />
"It is obvious, of course, that if the public exchanges<br />
could by legislation or court action secure<br />
exclusive sway in the whole field, the fee-charging<br />
agencies with the abuses attributed to them would be<br />
bound to disappear. And such a plan, aimed to abolish<br />
these agencies, particularly those dealing with<br />
unskilled, semi-skilled, casual, and other non-professional<br />
workers, is what some advocates of the public<br />
exchanges would adopt. There is, however, serious<br />
question whether action of that kind, if it were possible,<br />
would be wise. The mere abolition of a thing<br />
does not always help the situation. That is only<br />
negative. It is more important to build up a good<br />
constructive competing <strong>org</strong>anization. The abolition<br />
alone of the private fee-charging agencies would not<br />
necessarily bring about a system of public employment<br />
bureaus nor an efficient system. With all their<br />
abuses the private agencies are performing a function<br />
needed in the absence of an adequate public system ;<br />
they should not be abolished until something is provided<br />
to take their place.<br />
"It would seem far more practical to set to work<br />
on a positive program of improving tbe public bureaus,<br />
for if we get a good public service, the fee-charging<br />
agencies and their abuses will then become a minor<br />
question. The private agency will be eliminated because<br />
it will be useless; or we shall learn how to improve<br />
it through experience gained in the public<br />
bureaus."—Russell Sage Foundation.<br />
Ike Blast Furnace's Steel Plant<br />
Hubbard Company Adopts Group Insurance<br />
A $1,000,000 group insurance program to cover<br />
800 employes has been put into effect at the three<br />
Pittsburgh plants of Hubbard & Company, manufacturers<br />
of shovels, spades, spikes, picks, etc.<br />
The bulk of the insurance, which was written by<br />
th'e Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, was<br />
issued on tbe contributory plan, whereby the Hubbard<br />
Company and the workers jointly pay the premiums.<br />
However, $180,000 of the total amount was<br />
issued free of cost to 90 employes, who have been in<br />
the service of the company for 15 years or more.<br />
Under the terms of the insurance contract, the<br />
coverage of individuals ranges from $1,000 life, death<br />
and dismemberment insurance to $3,000, the amounts<br />
being governed by occupation and length of service.<br />
Certain classes of workers are also entitled to accident<br />
and health insurance carrying weekly benefits of<br />
from $10 to $15.<br />
A special offer is made by tbe Hubbard Company<br />
to employes who have served 15 years or more. In<br />
such cases the company will pay full premiums for<br />
$2,000 life, death and dismemberment insurance, and<br />
on accident and health insurance carrying a weekly<br />
benefit of $15 a week.<br />
These workers, however, are entitled to an additional<br />
$1,000 life insurance and $1,000 death and dismemberment<br />
insurance, the premiums to be paid<br />
jointly by company and employe.<br />
Besides the actual provisions of the insurance contract,<br />
certain service advantages are being offered by<br />
the Metropolitan. Among these are the distribution<br />
of instructive health pamphlets and a free visiting<br />
nurse service.—Metropolitan Bulletin.<br />
Barrett Company Sues for Renewal of Tar<br />
Contract<br />
An injunctive suit to prevent the Laclede Gas<br />
Light Company from breaking its contract to sell coal<br />
tar products to tbe Barrett Company, manufacturers<br />
of a paving composition, was filed in Federal Court<br />
recently.<br />
After filing of the bill of complaint, which alleged<br />
that unless relief was given, the Barrett Company<br />
would suffer irreparable loss to its business. Federal<br />
Judge Davis issued an order against officials of the<br />
Laclede Company directing them to show cause why<br />
an injunction should not be issued.<br />
The plaintiff company, which is incorporated under<br />
tbe laws of New Jersey, and has factories throughout<br />
the United States, including one at St. Louis, alleges<br />
that tbe Laclede Company, from which it has purchased<br />
by-products under contract for 25 years, has<br />
refused to renew the contract, although a five-year<br />
contract, which has until the end of 1924 to run, gave<br />
the Barrett Company an option on another five-year<br />
contract.<br />
Officers of the Laclede Company also were restrained<br />
in Judge Davis' order in disposing of any coaltar<br />
products to companies competing.<br />
In its bill of complaint, the Barrett Company declared<br />
that if its supply of coal-tar products was cut<br />
off by the Laclede Company, it would be unable to<br />
obtain these supplies at reasonable prices elsewhere,<br />
and thus its business would suffer damage.<br />
The Barrett Company distills the coal-tar products<br />
into a patented composition for paving purposes.
Ihe Blast ktmace'3Steel Plant<br />
Examanation ot Steel by X-Ray<br />
Report on Spectrometer Equipment at the Government<br />
Arsenal, Watertown, Mass.<br />
The present equipment has a nominal capacity of<br />
300,000 volts, but the maker will not guarantee any<br />
life of a potential higher than 200,000 volts. It is<br />
expected to raise the limits ultimately to even 500,000<br />
volts so that it will be possible to examine steel five<br />
or six inches in thickness.<br />
For the protection of those using the apparatus it<br />
is installed in a room lined with steel one quarter of<br />
an inch thick. Every joint and securing screw was<br />
similarly covered. A lead-lined periscope containing<br />
two mirrors enable the operator to view with safety<br />
the Coolidge tube while making an exposure. In the<br />
examination of steel three inches in thickness, the time<br />
exposure was about 30 minutes. The cost of such an<br />
installation of equipment may be upwards of $10,000.<br />
The study of these films has resulted sometimes in<br />
changing from a casting to a f<strong>org</strong>ing; several of them<br />
have resulted in changing the method of molding or of<br />
pouring, with the result of obtaining entirely satisfactory<br />
castings. Some films have shown that the<br />
designer has called upon the foundry to produce what<br />
was not producable.<br />
Besides revealing cavities and the presence of<br />
sand, the apparatus will reveal metal that has been<br />
burned and also the presence of very fine shrinkage<br />
cracks ; in one case a fine crack in a f<strong>org</strong>ing caused by<br />
working at too low a temperature.<br />
Another useful field is that of enabling the designer<br />
to know the location, volume or quantity and the<br />
character of defects in castings, and consequently he<br />
has been able in several instances by chills, etc., to<br />
locate the shrinkage cavities where they do no harm.<br />
A comparatively small shrinkage cavity which exists<br />
because of the separation of the metal after it<br />
has solidified can be recognized. The surfaces are<br />
fracture surfaces and cannot be distinguished from<br />
the rest of the broken face by their appearance. Unless<br />
a point contour diagram over a square millimeter<br />
of both faces is made the existence of the shrinking<br />
cavity will not be recognized. Yet it may have been<br />
the cause of fracture taking place at that particular<br />
point. But take a picture of the piece with X-rays<br />
and the shrinkage cavities are recognized at once by<br />
their characteristic outline. At the same time blowholes<br />
would be identified by their smooth boundaries<br />
and slag inclusion by a patchy appearance.<br />
This non-destructive testing equipment has found<br />
a secure, if, as yet, somewhat limited place. Roughly,<br />
this means that with this apparatus, it is possible to<br />
get even in a ten-minute exposure, what under previous<br />
conditions would have required several thousand<br />
hours. Aside from the higher voltage of the tube,<br />
some of this reduction in time is attributable to the<br />
higher effiicency of the screen and the greater sensitivity<br />
of the film now available. In these tests Eastman<br />
supersensitive film (duplitized) and a Patterson<br />
double intensifying screen were used.<br />
•Boston, Mass.<br />
By L. C. BREED*<br />
Summary of results in taking X-ray diffraction<br />
patterns.<br />
The following specimens were examined: Electrolytic<br />
iron, not annealed; carbon steel, martensitic with<br />
trace of austenitic; carbon steel, martensitic with trace<br />
of troostistic; carbon steel, troostistic with trace of<br />
marensitic ; carbon steel, troostistic with trace of sorbitic;<br />
carbon steel, sorbitic; carbon steel, sorbitic;<br />
carbon steel, sorbitic, showing beginning of spheroidizing<br />
of cementitic.<br />
"It was found that, for ordinary temperatures, in<br />
plain carbon steels of hyper-eutectoid composition,<br />
the crystal structure, as shown by the X-ray spectrometer,<br />
varies through a continuous series from that<br />
existing when the metal has been very rapidly cooled<br />
from a temperature in or above the critical range to<br />
that existing when the cooling has been very slow<br />
from a temperature above the critical range.<br />
Typical micro-structures are developed in such<br />
steels depending upon the portion of this series to<br />
which the crystal structure existing in them belongs.<br />
These typical micro-structures have long been recognized<br />
and the range of the crystal structures which<br />
each indicates has been shown to be as follows:<br />
1. The martensitic micro-structure indicates the<br />
existence of (a) and (y) iron crystals, the proportion<br />
of (a) iron crystals decreasing and the proportion as<br />
the structure approaches the troostitic. The space<br />
lattices of the (y_) iron crystals apparently do not suffer<br />
much, if any, distortion as long as any of these<br />
crystals exist. The space lattices of the (a) iron crystals,<br />
however, are probably somewhat distorted, the<br />
distortion decreasing as the troostitic structure is approached.<br />
2. The troostitic structure represents a condition<br />
in which iron crystals are present only in the (a) form.<br />
The space lattices of these crystals are also probably<br />
somewhat distorted, but to a lesser extent than in the<br />
martensitic structures. As structure approaches the<br />
sorbitic this distortion of the space lattices decreases.<br />
3. In the condition denoted by the sorbitic structures,<br />
there exists a mixture of (a) iron and very<br />
minute iron-carbide crystals. The probable distortion<br />
of the space lattices of the (a) iron crystals disappearing<br />
and the size of the iron carbide crystals growing<br />
as the micro-structure approaches the pearlitic.<br />
4. In the alloys having the pearlitic and cementite<br />
structures there is a mixture of perfectly formed (a)<br />
iron and iron carbide crystals.<br />
The X-ray diffraction patterns of this series do not<br />
definitely indicate the disposition of the carbon atoms<br />
in the martensitic and troostitic micro-structures.<br />
They do not positively show the presence of iron carbide<br />
crystals nor do they produce evidence that very<br />
minute crystals of the compound do not exist."<br />
Hermann H. Zornig, in "Army Ordinance", thus<br />
gives an account of his attempt through working in<br />
the laboratories in the U. S. Watertown Arsenal, to
518<br />
produce one series of X-ray diffraction patterns. The<br />
X-ray spectrometer used in these experiments was<br />
the standard X-ray diffraction apparatus, manufactured<br />
by the General Electric Company. In order to<br />
adapt this apparatus to take specimens of the shape<br />
found to be best suited to this work, one of the cassettes<br />
was slightly modified. This consisted only of<br />
the addition of a special specimen holder.<br />
Three general forms of specimens were chosen,<br />
namely, the powdered material contained in tubes or<br />
in films of amorphus materials, the material drawn or<br />
otherwise formed into fine wire or narrow flat surfaces<br />
of the material such as the edges of ribbons. Of<br />
these, the form was chosen because it permitted the<br />
use of specimens which could be easily heat treated<br />
and in which the surface layer of the diffracting crystals<br />
could readily be examined microscopically. The<br />
specimens were prepared from a piece of 1.50 inch<br />
(3.805 em.) diameter, round, hot rolled bar stock.<br />
This was carefully f<strong>org</strong>ed down into several strips<br />
about 0.187 inch (0.475 em.) by 0.085 inch (2.22 em.)<br />
by 14 inches (35.5 em.) in size. These strips were<br />
reduced by grinding to a section of 0.085 inch (0.215<br />
em.) by 0.75 inch ,1.9 em.) care being taken to remove<br />
about the same amount of material from opposite sides.<br />
They were then cut into lengths of about 1.25 inch<br />
(3.17 em.).<br />
Drillings, taken from the tonghold (about 1 inch<br />
[2.54 em.] square section) which had been left on one<br />
of the f<strong>org</strong>ed strips, were analyzed to obtain the chemical<br />
composition of the specimens.<br />
The specimens were next heat treated. After heat<br />
treatment, the diffracting surface of each specimen<br />
was polished, etched, and examined microscopically.<br />
In every case a slight amount of surface decarburization<br />
was found. The decarburized surface layer was<br />
carefully removed from the top and sides of the specimen<br />
by hand, using a fine file, or where the specimens<br />
were very hard, by a slow-moving grindstone<br />
well covered with water. The removal of surface<br />
metal was in each case continued until the whole<br />
of the surface showed, after polishing and etching a<br />
uniform surface upon microscopic examination. The<br />
width of the diffrating surfaces was at this time<br />
brought to 0.7 m/m 0.05 m/m.<br />
Photo-micrographs were made of the prepared surfaces<br />
at magnifications of 100 and 2,000 diameters. The<br />
etching re-agent used in all cases was a 2 per cent<br />
solution of nitric acid in alcohol. The photo-micrographs,<br />
which were taken at a magnification of 2,000<br />
diameters, show the details of the structure existing in<br />
each specimen.<br />
The Blast Furnace's Steel Plant<br />
November, 1924<br />
local sheet metal workers union and the Pittsburgh<br />
sheet metal contractors association for the training<br />
of apprentices is the stipulation that every apprentice<br />
attached to the union "must and shall attend Sheet<br />
Metal Classes at Carnegie Institute of Technology<br />
the last four years of his apprenticeship, or until he<br />
has finished the course for Sheet Metal Apprentices.<br />
The extent of co-operation to which the employers<br />
have committeed themselves to assist in the training<br />
is recorded in the section of the agreement which says:<br />
"The employer shall send the apprentices to the Carnegie<br />
Institute of Technology for trade instruction one<br />
day_ each week from October 1 to May 1 during the<br />
last four years of his apprenticeship. The apprentice<br />
shall be allowed his regular wage for days while attending<br />
school."<br />
The course of instruction includes geometrical<br />
drawing, mathematics, pattern drafting, and ship practice.<br />
Each apprentice pays his own tuition fee, which<br />
is rated according to the fees charged for the night<br />
courses of similar scope.<br />
The plan for the training of the 15 apprentices of<br />
the local metal lathers union, which was made with<br />
Carnegie Tech upon the request of the union, has already<br />
received the endorsement of the international<br />
officials of the International Wood, Wire and Sheet<br />
Metal Lathers Union. Beginning during the week of<br />
October 6, evening classes for this group of apprentices<br />
was resumed in mathematics, mechanical drawing,<br />
and shop work. In both cases, the instrumental<br />
work will be in charge of the Department of<br />
Building Construction of the College of Industries.<br />
—Carnegie Inst, of Tech. Bulletin.<br />
German vs. American Automobile Industry<br />
An interesting analysis of the American and German<br />
automobile industries has been contributed by<br />
Dr. F. E. Junge, Consulting Engineer, New York, to<br />
"Transatlantic Trade," issue of July, 1924, the illustrated<br />
journal of the American Chamber of Commerce<br />
in Berlin. This report is as follows :<br />
According to the U. S. Census Report of 1923, the<br />
wage level of American labor—taking the average of<br />
all trades—ranges from $5 to $12 a day, the lowest<br />
paid worker being the shoemaker and the highest the<br />
bricklayer and plasterer. This leaves out of consideration<br />
agricultural and domestic wages, with which<br />
the comparison in this essay is not concerned.<br />
Taking particularly the automobile industry of<br />
America, we have the unique situation that its standards<br />
of production and therefore also its prices and<br />
wages are largely dominated by one man, Henry Ford,<br />
who alone produces about 96 per cent of the lowpriced<br />
cars of the country and pays a minimum wage<br />
Apprentices Attend Carnegie Tech<br />
of $6, or 25 gold marks, for an 8-hour day.<br />
(Continued from page 507)<br />
To ascertain tbe corresponding wage level in Ger<br />
apprentice training plans, labor union <strong>org</strong>anizations<br />
many is no easy task, owing to the fluctuations of cur<br />
and employers associations have already joined hands<br />
rency which have occurred and to the changes of pur<br />
in several cities in order to make agreements similar<br />
chasing power of tbe money which are still occurring;<br />
and we must remember that it is not the amount<br />
to those now in operation at the local institution. Both<br />
but the margin men have between their income and<br />
Dr. Connelley, and President Thomas S. Baker, who<br />
the minimum necessary to support their families<br />
has taken an active interest in the apprentice training<br />
which is the real measure of the daily wage.<br />
movements, predict that the current year will see many<br />
such plans effected throughout the country.<br />
Another complication which impairs the correctness<br />
of an investigation of German wages is the dif-<br />
Among the novel and somewhat radical terms of<br />
the agreement in the contract this year between the (Continued on page 523)
November, 1924<br />
Ihe Dlast l-urnace3 jteel riant<br />
The Birmingham Meeting<br />
American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers Hold<br />
Their 130th Session—Sir William Ellis Fails to Arrive<br />
W I T H characteristic efficiency the 130th session<br />
of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical<br />
Engineers got under way. The technical<br />
sessions included the opening of the institute<br />
when Ge<strong>org</strong>e G. Crawford, president of the T. C. I.<br />
Company, welcomed the engineers. His remarks<br />
were brief but none the less cordial and emphatic in<br />
the assurances that not only were the associated<br />
engineers of the district honored by the gathering<br />
coming to Birmingham, but the citizens of the district<br />
as well.<br />
William Kelly, president, responded for the Association.<br />
He said that marvelous and interesting<br />
work had been done in the Birmingham district and<br />
the Association felt a measure of pride in what had<br />
been done on account of the fact that some of its<br />
members had participated in the work that had<br />
brought fame to the district.<br />
Frank H. Crockard, president of the Woodward<br />
Iron Company, presided at the afternoon session. He<br />
carried the program with the same efficiency that<br />
characterized the efforts of his former chief when Mr.<br />
Crockard was associated with Mr. Crawford. The<br />
discussion of the paper by Theodore Swann on the<br />
operations of his electric furnaces at Anniston carried<br />
perhaps more sparks than the other. Mr. Swann,<br />
who is one of the youngest industrialists of the district,<br />
read a paper entitled, "Production of Ferro<br />
Phosphorus in the Electric Furnace," and was the<br />
mostly highly technical of all read.<br />
Expansion Program Under Way<br />
The Carnegie Steel Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., is<br />
proceeding with the improvement program at its<br />
Homestead, Pa., plant arranged earlier in tbe year,<br />
and will expend a gross of close to $25,000,000 over a<br />
48 months' period at this works. Immediate work<br />
will include a 44-in. and 36-in. blooming mill, respectively,<br />
with complete equipment for electric drive. A<br />
new 28-32-in. structural mill will also be erected at<br />
510<br />
"Blast Furnace Practice in Alabama," by H. E. Mussey,<br />
Woodward Iron Company, Woodward, Ala.<br />
His paper was discussed by some of the leaders,<br />
and was designated by many visitors as very timely.<br />
Howard Mussay of the Woodward Company offered<br />
a paper on blast furnace operations. He has a wide<br />
experience in that work, having been at the Ensley<br />
plant for some time. His paper described innovations<br />
at Woodward which are not ony new to the district<br />
but to furnace operations elsewhere.<br />
"By-Product Coking."<br />
By Frank W. Miller, superintendent by-product<br />
plant, Sloss-Sheffield Steel & Iron Company. This<br />
paper by a former Semet-Solvay expert brought forth<br />
much interesting discussion.<br />
"Alabama Steel Industry."<br />
By Col. James Bowron, chairman, Gulf States<br />
"Coal Washing Practice in Alabama."<br />
Steel Company. This was one of the feature speeches<br />
of the meeting. Col. Bowron reviewed the inception<br />
Mr. H. S. Geismer read excerpts from his paper on and tremendous growth of the southern iron and steel<br />
coal washing practice in Alabama, and pointed out industry, and discussed informally its various phases,<br />
many interesting local conditions. Mr. Geismer said difficulties and possibilities.<br />
the large percentage of Alabama coal was washed and At the conclusion of the day technical sessions,<br />
one of the troubles encountered was the effect of re announcement was made of the inspection trips which<br />
leased sludge on vegetation and plant life along the had been arranged for all visitors. Several choices<br />
streams of the state. The visitors were told of the were offered. A visit to the Employes' Hospital of<br />
many damage suits which developed and the discus the Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad Company at Fairsion<br />
brought out that considerable progress had been field ; the Shannon ore mines of the Gulf States Steel<br />
made in eliminating that situation.<br />
Company, being the leading choices. Both points of<br />
interest were heavily attended.<br />
"Production of Ferrophosphorus in the Electric Fur At the night session technical discussions included:<br />
nace," by Theodore Swann, Birmingham.<br />
"Geology of the Birmingham Iron Ores."<br />
By Dr. E. F. Burchard, United States Geological<br />
Survey.<br />
"Iron Ore Mining Practice in Alabama."<br />
By W. R. Crane, superintendent, Southern Experiment<br />
Station of the Bureau of Mines.<br />
"Geology and Utilization of Tennessee Phosphate<br />
Rock."<br />
By W. R. Smith, Assistant State Geologist of<br />
Tennessee.<br />
"Manufacture of Ferrophosphorus at Rockdate, Tenn."<br />
by James A. Barr, Mt. Pleasant, Tenn.<br />
an early date, with other structural mills to be built<br />
later, to replace older units at the plant. Work is<br />
also under way on expansion and improvements at<br />
the Duquesne plant, to include the remodeling of the<br />
present 38-in. blooming mill and the installation of<br />
considerable additional equipment. Electric power<br />
equipment will be installed to replace the present<br />
steam-drive. A large fund has also been arranged for<br />
this expansion.
520<br />
H.e Blast FurnaceSSteel Plant<br />
N ovember, 1924<br />
7As POWER PLANT<br />
Reconstructing Boiler Furnace Walls<br />
C O M P L E T E side wall and front wall patches using<br />
crushed old furnace linings as a refractorybase,<br />
are being successfully used on oil burning<br />
boiler furnaces at the Glenwood, N. Y., Power Station<br />
of the New York Central Railroad Company.<br />
This method of construction was tried out by the<br />
plant superintendent and a recent inspection of one of<br />
the walls so repaired shows it to be in excellent condition<br />
after eight months' service.<br />
For the side wall patches, expanded metal reinforcement<br />
is embedded in the patch and anchored<br />
through the wall, using s.^-in. bolts placed at suitable<br />
intervals.<br />
The service required is unusually severe, not only<br />
on account of the use of oil fuel, but for the fact that<br />
•n'A"-<br />
Section at A-B<br />
An Effective Method of Waste Recovery<br />
I7g ^Floor Line<br />
©/924-by Quiqley Furnace Specialties Co.<br />
this station is used to carry peak loads morning and<br />
afternoon, with a consequent cooling and heating of<br />
furnace walls twice in each 24 hours.<br />
The work done illustrates admirably how much old<br />
material can be picked up around the plant and put in<br />
service.<br />
The expanded metal used happened to be some left<br />
over material such as is used for reinforcing concrete<br />
floors and roads. All of the materials for patching<br />
work of this sort, are, as a rule, available around any<br />
boiler plant, with the possible exception of the expanded<br />
metal. The metal used for this work is soft<br />
open hearth steel, which can be secured in standard<br />
sizes measuring 5 ft. 3 in. wide in 8 or 10 feet lengths,<br />
at a cost of approximately $6.50 per hundred sq. ft.<br />
Sectional view of reconstructed boiler furnace wall and side view showing the successive steps in the application<br />
beginning with the priming coat and finishing with a surface coat over the rammed-in lining.
November, 1924<br />
Bolts and washers of suitable size were found<br />
around the plant and the refractory material used was<br />
crushed old fire brick which had already seen service<br />
at high temperature in the same furnaces. This<br />
was crushed to }4-in. mesh, using the fines, and mixed<br />
with high-temperature cement in proportion of 70 lbs.<br />
of crushed brick to 30 lbs. of the cement. In making<br />
the mixture, the cement was first diluted to a heavy<br />
pancake batter, and the crushed material gradually<br />
added and thoroughly mixed.<br />
One of the walls repaired, as shown in the accompanying<br />
diagram, was eaten away to the full depth<br />
of the first brick lining, so that the red brick was exposed.<br />
In preparing the wall, all loose material was removed,<br />
leaving as far as possible, the fire brick headers<br />
projecting into the space to be patched. The metal<br />
reinforcement was then placed and bolts attached,<br />
holes through the wall being easily made with an air<br />
hammer. Three courses of fire brick were laid at the<br />
floor line, giving the wall a thickness of 19 in. at that<br />
point, so as to permit the patch to slope back slightly—<br />
about *4 i' 1 - t° each foot in height. This was done to<br />
prevent bulging of the wall.<br />
A wood form was then erected in sections and the<br />
crushed old fire brick mixture rammed in behind the<br />
form after the old wall surface had been prepared with<br />
a priming coat of thinned high temperature cement<br />
followed by a coat of batter made from the same cement.<br />
This batter coat was applied sectionally as the<br />
ramming-in progressed, so as to insure a moist surface<br />
that would bond the crushed fire brick mixture to the<br />
old wall.<br />
The whole job, including a surface wash of thinned<br />
Hytempite batter over the reconstructed wall, was<br />
completed within two days.<br />
This method of reconstruction prevented the tearing<br />
out of entire side walls and continues to give excellent<br />
results in service.<br />
Power Show to Feature Lectures<br />
The Third National Exposition of Power and Mechanical<br />
Engineering will feature a series of lectures<br />
on recent developments in important phases of power<br />
plant and mechanical engineering practice. The exposition<br />
will be held in the Grand Central Palace, New<br />
York, from December 1 through 6, 1924, and the lectures<br />
will be held in the assembly hall at times that<br />
will not conflict with the more formal papers presented<br />
at the annual meetings of the American Society<br />
of Mechanical Engineers and the American<br />
Society of Refrigerating Engineers which parallel the<br />
first four days of the exposition.<br />
A large number of schools of mechanical engineering<br />
will send delegations of students and instructors<br />
to the exhibition and a series of lectures is planned<br />
to give the students, and any others who may be interested,<br />
a complete picture of recent developments<br />
of power plant and mechanical engineering practice<br />
with the exposition as a background. The lectures<br />
will be supplemented with visits to the various exh'bits.<br />
The topics selected are: The Boiler Room,<br />
Steam Prime Movers, Oil and Gas Engines, Hydroelectric<br />
Power Plant Equipment, Materials Handling,<br />
Modern Machine Tool Developments, Mechanical<br />
Power Transmission, Mechanical Refrigeration,<br />
Heating and Ventilating.<br />
Die Blast furnace'SSleel Plant<br />
521<br />
The selection of speakers has not been completed,<br />
but leaders in the respective fields will be chosen.<br />
The selected list of technical moving pictures<br />
which was shown last year attracted large crowds at<br />
the several showings. At the coming event the picture<br />
program will be elaborated by recent releases<br />
which will add greatly to the novelty and interest of<br />
the show.<br />
The exhibits, which will occupy 150,000 square<br />
feet on three floors of the Palace, will include a complete<br />
showing of all lines of power plant apparatus<br />
and accessories, materials handling equipment, and<br />
many showings of heating and ventilating apparatus,<br />
refrigerating machinery, machine tools, and machine<br />
shop equipment. As the exposition, attracted all types<br />
of mechanical engineers and industrial executives and<br />
operating men, the manufacturers of machine tools<br />
and shop equipment have come to realize the opportunity<br />
they have to display their products before an<br />
excellent audience and many of them have purchased<br />
space at the coming show.<br />
In the same way, the addition of heating and ventilating<br />
equipment and refrigerating machinery adds<br />
greatly to the diversity and interest of the show and<br />
the final result is an exhibition in which every mechanical<br />
engineer and industrialist will find much of<br />
novelty and value.<br />
The exposition is now attaining the ideals of its<br />
advisory committee and founders in that it is becoming<br />
a national clearing house for new developments<br />
and new ideas in the field of power generation and<br />
utilization.<br />
Smoke Nuisance May Be Eliminated<br />
That the smoke nuisance in cities such as Pittsburgh,<br />
Pa., Salt Lake City, Utah, and Ogden, Utah,<br />
may be eliminated is a possibility of the near future<br />
if experiments to be conducted this year at Carnegie<br />
Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh are successful.<br />
According to an announcement, steps have already<br />
been taken by the Department of Metallurgical and<br />
Mining Engineering and the U. S. Bureau of Mines<br />
to study the "utilization of the products of low temperature<br />
carbonization of coal with particular reference<br />
to the economic production of smokeless fuel."<br />
The purpose of the study, which will be made by<br />
J. D. Davis, acting supervising chemist at the U. S.<br />
Bureau of Mines, and L. C. Karrick, a Carnegie Tech<br />
Research Fellow, is to devise means economically<br />
feasible for abatement of the smoke nuisance in cities<br />
such as Pittsburgh, Salt Lake City, and Ogden.<br />
The growing urgent demand for some practical<br />
means of combating the smoke nuisance in such cities<br />
is given as the reason for the intended study by the<br />
Carnegie Tech authorities. Furthermore, according to<br />
the announcement, it has long been thought that a<br />
smokeless fuel might be prepared by low temperature<br />
carbonization of coal which would solve the problem.<br />
That householders rather than industrial plants in<br />
such cities are "responsible" for the smoke nuisance,<br />
is an interesting statement in connection with the<br />
proposed study. "It is pretty generally recognized,"<br />
says the announcement, "that the smoke condition of<br />
our cities is largely due to the domestic consumption<br />
of soft coal. This is due to the fact that soft coal is<br />
burned in domestic heating appliances with low<br />
efficiency, it being impossible to formulate rules for
522<br />
combustion that will be generally observed by householders.<br />
The present research will have for its object<br />
primarily the investigation of the economic feasibility<br />
of applying low temperature carbonization in the cities<br />
mentioned."<br />
In attacking the problem, authorities at the Institute<br />
and the Bureau of Mines intend to study the<br />
yields and qualities of the distillation products of a<br />
few typical coals in the laboratories of the Bureau of<br />
Mines at Pittsburgh, and to investigate the cost of<br />
plant, fabrication and revenue to be derived by sale<br />
of products in the vicinity of Pittsburgh, Salt Lake<br />
City and Ogden. Tbe distillation method to be used<br />
has already been worked out mi a laboratory scale<br />
and for the present investigation will be applied on a<br />
scale large enough to yield the data required.<br />
Another investigation that may result, indirectly<br />
at least, in the saving of thousands of lives of coal<br />
miners from explosion disasters will also be made<br />
this year at Carnegie Institute of Technology in cooperation<br />
with the U. S. Bureau of Alines and an advisory<br />
board of coal mine operators and engineers.<br />
This problem is announced as a study of methods and<br />
costs of rock dusting in coal mines, rock dusting haying<br />
become recognized in this country as being the<br />
most practical preventative of coal mine explosions<br />
ever devised.<br />
"Investigations of the Bureau of Mines and the<br />
British Department of Mines," according to the announcement,<br />
"have proved that coal dust explosions<br />
can be prevented by spraying rock dust on the ribs<br />
and roof of a mine. Rock dusting is required by law<br />
in England and will no doubt be legally necessary in<br />
the United States within the next few years. Coal<br />
operators are asking the Bureau for information as to<br />
methods and costs of the process, and a complete<br />
study is desirable." This study will be made by C.<br />
W. Owings, assistant coal mining engineer, U. S.<br />
Bureau of Mines, and Charles E. Dodge, Research<br />
Fellow, Carnegie Institute of Technology.<br />
Other problems announced for investigation this<br />
year by Carnegie Tech in co-operation with the<br />
Bureau of Mines and the Board of Coal Mine Operators<br />
and Engineers are :<br />
The time-rate of combustion of coal dust particles<br />
of definite sizes; by C. M. Bouton, Associate Research<br />
Chemist, U. S. Bureau of Mines, and J. H. Hayner,<br />
Research Fellow, Carnegie Institute of Technology.<br />
This is a continuation of a 1923-1924 problem, which<br />
solved the preliminary step of sorting dust which<br />
would all pass through the finest commercial sieves<br />
into various finer sizes by means of air elutriation.<br />
Underground coal loading machines; by F. E.<br />
Cash, mining engineer, U. S. Bureau of Mines, and<br />
Edwin H. Johnson, Research Fellow, Carnegie Institute<br />
of Technology.<br />
(1) To develop simple methods of quantitative,<br />
microscopic, mineralogical analysis of clays and<br />
shales ; and (2) to study by these methods the most<br />
available clays and shales associated with tbe coal<br />
measures of Pennsylvania to determine the suitability<br />
of rock dusting coal mines; by Alden FI. Emery, Assistant<br />
Geologist, U. S. Bureau of Mines, and R. De<br />
Chicchic, Research Fellow, Carnegie Institute of<br />
Technology.<br />
A comparative study of friction loss in mine cars<br />
with different types of bearings; by Mayo D. Hersey,<br />
U. S. Bureau of Mines, and Mark S. Downes and<br />
IheDlast I'ttrnace L. jteel Plant<br />
November, 1924<br />
Henry Shore, Research Fellows, Carnegie Institute<br />
of Technology.<br />
A study of efficiency in blasting coal; by J. E. Tiffany,<br />
explosives testing engineer, U. S. Bureau of<br />
Mines, and B. L. Lubelsky, Research Fellow, Carnegie<br />
Institute of Technology.<br />
Statistics on Mechanical Stokers<br />
The Department of Commerce announces the following<br />
statistics on mechanical stokers according to<br />
reports received from 13 establishments. These data<br />
are shown by months for 1924 and 1923.<br />
STOKERS SOLD, HORSEPOWER, AND KINDS OF<br />
INSTALLATION<br />
Establish- Installed under:<br />
Year and ments Stokers Fire-tube Water-tube<br />
Month reporting Sold Boilers Boilers<br />
(number) No. H.P. No. H.P. No. H.P.<br />
1924<br />
Jan<br />
Feb<br />
March . .<br />
April . . .<br />
May ...<br />
June ....<br />
July ....<br />
August . .<br />
Sept<br />
1923<br />
Jan<br />
Feb<br />
March ..<br />
April ....<br />
May ....<br />
June<br />
July<br />
August ..<br />
Sept. ...<br />
Oct<br />
Nov. . . .<br />
Dec<br />
Total 1923<br />
15<br />
15<br />
15<br />
15<br />
15<br />
15<br />
15<br />
13<br />
13<br />
15<br />
15<br />
15<br />
15<br />
15<br />
15<br />
15<br />
15<br />
15<br />
15<br />
15<br />
15<br />
—<br />
91<br />
111)<br />
89<br />
89<br />
64<br />
102<br />
115<br />
94<br />
73<br />
145<br />
129<br />
120<br />
167<br />
194<br />
135<br />
129<br />
135<br />
99<br />
88<br />
50<br />
73<br />
1,464<br />
66.492<br />
62,113<br />
34,597<br />
47.939<br />
34.447<br />
35,549<br />
37,759<br />
41,931<br />
25,988<br />
83,270<br />
66,619<br />
68,955<br />
85,339<br />
100.513<br />
59,719<br />
52,518<br />
71.693<br />
60.486<br />
32,576<br />
16.241<br />
32,517<br />
730,446<br />
7<br />
11<br />
12<br />
15<br />
3<br />
19<br />
14<br />
17<br />
27<br />
29<br />
9<br />
9<br />
14<br />
14<br />
6<br />
21<br />
18<br />
16<br />
14<br />
10<br />
17<br />
177<br />
1,044<br />
1,525<br />
1,625<br />
1,970<br />
550<br />
2,724<br />
1,660<br />
2,486<br />
6,646<br />
3,400<br />
1,172<br />
1,259<br />
2,000<br />
1,915<br />
804<br />
3,454<br />
2,624<br />
2,754<br />
2,330<br />
1.300<br />
2,820<br />
25.832<br />
84<br />
99<br />
77<br />
. 74<br />
61<br />
83<br />
101<br />
77<br />
46<br />
116<br />
120<br />
111<br />
153<br />
180<br />
129<br />
108<br />
117<br />
83<br />
74<br />
40<br />
56<br />
1.287<br />
65,448<br />
60,588<br />
32,972<br />
45,969<br />
33,897<br />
32,825<br />
36,099<br />
39,445<br />
19,342<br />
79,870<br />
65,447<br />
67,696<br />
83.339<br />
98,598<br />
58,915<br />
49,064<br />
69.069<br />
57,732<br />
30,246<br />
14,941<br />
29.697<br />
704,614<br />
A. S. M. E. Annual Meeting, December 1-4<br />
The forty-fifth annual meeting of tbe American<br />
Society of Mechanical Engineers will be held in the<br />
Engineering Societies Building, New York City. December<br />
1 through 4. For the third consecutive year<br />
tbe meeting will be held coincident with the Power<br />
Show.<br />
High spots in the technical program include joint<br />
sessions of the Machine Shop Practice Division of the<br />
society with the special research committee on cutting<br />
and forming of metals, the special research committee<br />
on lubrication, and tbe management division respectively<br />
; a session on oil burning sponsored by the power<br />
and fuels divisions, and a session on the handling and<br />
storing of oil sponsored by the materials handling<br />
division.<br />
A paper on the Zoelly Turbo-Locomotive, by Dr.<br />
Henry Zoelly of Switzerland, and a paper on The<br />
Petroleum Situation in the United States by Dr. Julian<br />
D. Sears, administrative geologist of the United States<br />
Geological Survey, will form other attractive features<br />
of the program.<br />
New Officers of A. S. M. E. Elected.<br />
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers<br />
announces the result of the election of officers for 1925<br />
as follows:
President: Dr. William F. Durand, Stanford University,<br />
Calif.<br />
Vice-Presidents: Prof. Robert Angus, Toronto,<br />
Canada; S. F. Jeter, Hartford, Conn.; Thomas L. Wilkinson,<br />
Davenport, Iowa.<br />
Managers: John H. Lawrence. New York City;<br />
Edward A. Muller, Cincinnati, Ohio; Paul Wright,<br />
Birmingham, Ala.<br />
Treasurer: William H. Wiley, New York City.<br />
Delegates to American Engineering Council: Dr.<br />
William F. Durand, Stanford University, Calif.; Fred<br />
R. Low, New York City; Wilson P. Hunt, Moline,<br />
111.; I. E. Moultrop, Boston, Mass.; E. N. Trump,<br />
Syracuse, N. Y.; William W. Vareny, Baltimore, Md.;<br />
Ira Dye, Seattle, Wash.; W. S. Finlay, Jr., New York<br />
City; Dean E. Foster, Tulsa, Okla.<br />
New Haven Railroad Orders Freight and<br />
Switching Locomotives<br />
The New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad<br />
Company has ordered from the General Electric Company<br />
and the American Locomotive Company seven<br />
single-phase locomotives of a new type. Five of these<br />
units are for freight service and will be used on the<br />
main line between Oak Point and New Haven. The<br />
other two are switching locomotives and will be used<br />
in general yard service. Whenever double heading,<br />
these locomotives will function in multiple unit with<br />
the present single phase locomotives.<br />
The design of this type of locomotive is somewhat<br />
unusual in that although it is actuated from a single<br />
phase trolley it does not have a.c. traction motors.<br />
Each locomotive, in fact, contains a traveling substation<br />
and will be equipped with a synchronous<br />
motor generator set for converting the 11,000-volt 25cycle<br />
single phase supply to d.c, and with d.c. railway<br />
motors driving the axles.<br />
Power is collected by the usual slider pantograph<br />
trolley and is delivered to a main transformer situated<br />
in the locomotive cab. This main transformer<br />
steps down the trolley potential to 2300 volts, which<br />
drives a single phase synchronous motor direct connected<br />
to the main generator. The main generator,<br />
which delivers current to the traction motors, is designed<br />
with a variable field and the speed of the locomotive<br />
is regulated by field control of this generator.<br />
The traction motors are of the standard series d.c.<br />
railway type, the performance of which is well known.<br />
They are geared to the axle through cushion type<br />
gears which allow a small movement of the gear ring<br />
about the gear hub or center, thus minimizing shocks<br />
and stresses in the gears and pinions.<br />
Protective devices have been studied with great<br />
care. Between the pantograph trolley and the main<br />
transformer a time limit automatic oil circuit breaker<br />
is installed. Between the d.c. generator and the motors<br />
there are a high speed circuit breaker and line<br />
switches. The high speed circuit breaker will afford<br />
protection to both the motors and the generators and<br />
will ordinarily prevent the opening of the time limit<br />
switch or of the trolley or feeder sectionalizing<br />
switches and will thus prevent any interference with<br />
the continuous operation of the motor generator set.<br />
The system of control, by varying the field<br />
strength of the generator used, in connection with<br />
the characteristics of the motor generator set, gives a<br />
The Blast htmacoSSteel Plant<br />
locomotive which is extremely flexible and adaptable<br />
to all operating conditions. It also has the very desirable<br />
characteristic of operating at a power factor<br />
of unity or better under all ranges of load. The set<br />
has been made of sufficient capacity to take care of<br />
the rated loads and will also furnish an appreciable<br />
amount of wattless current, especially at light loads<br />
for power factor correction. This tends to improve<br />
the trolley voltage for all load conditions and should<br />
be of material benefit in the operation of the entire<br />
system.<br />
German vs. American Automobile Industry<br />
(Continued from page 518)<br />
ference which exists between the standards of living<br />
in the part of Germany rating far below the index or<br />
standards of the South and West. Even more pronounced<br />
is the difference of wage scales between<br />
town and country.<br />
Now, keeping the above mentioned inequalities<br />
well in mind, it follows that between the minimum<br />
wages paid in German and American industries,<br />
namely, $.50 and $5.00, respectively, there is a ratio<br />
of 1/10. While between the maximum wages of<br />
$2.00 and $12.00, respectively, there is a ratio of 1/6.<br />
Hence if we make the latter ratio the basis of our<br />
comparison we are sure to understate rather than to<br />
overstate the facts of the situation.<br />
After fixing the ratio of wages paid in the German<br />
and American automobile industries as 1/6, it<br />
remains to ascertain the corresponding ratio of prices<br />
paid for motor cars in the two countries. It is interesting<br />
to note in this connection that contrary to German<br />
practice there are in America practically no<br />
cycle cars or miniature automobiles in use, because<br />
even the low priced cars like the Ford, Overland, etc.,<br />
have full size and standard equipment, the differences<br />
between the various makes concern only the power<br />
rating of the motors, the form of bodies and the quality<br />
of materials and accessories employed in the equipment.<br />
Hence the remarkably low price of automobiles<br />
in America is attained by mass production and<br />
efficient <strong>org</strong>anization, not by a reduction of capacity,<br />
appearance or comfort or the cars.<br />
With this fact in mind it is the more noteworthy<br />
that over 78 per cent of all cars made in the United<br />
States sell at prices below $1,000, Ford leading with<br />
a standard five-passenger touring car costing in the<br />
neighborhood of $350, or 1400 gold marks, Overland<br />
following with a five-passenger sedan, with all the appearance<br />
and comforts of a closed car, selling at $695,<br />
or 2,800 gold marks. That these low priced cars are<br />
built for service and not for dumping grows evident<br />
from the fact that in spite of the tremendous<br />
wealth available in America, the demand for high<br />
priced cars is exceedingly low, only 4 out of 1,000<br />
cars sold in the United States costing more than<br />
$4,000 apiece.<br />
The conclusion which we reach by result of our<br />
analysis can be summarized as follows: While the<br />
ratio of wages paid by German and American automobile<br />
manufacturers, respectively, is 1 to 6, the ratio<br />
of prices for relative products is 3 to 1. In other<br />
words, the German workingman receives one-sixth of<br />
the wages of the American workingman, and the German<br />
consumer has to pay three times more for a similar<br />
car than the American consumer.
524 The Blasts urnaco r£><br />
Steel Plant<br />
November, 1924<br />
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i<br />
WITH THE EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURERS I<br />
?M ,IIII imiiiiimiiimliiliiiimilfflllllimiiiimiiiliimiim miimiiiiiiiiin mmmiiiiii i miimiiimiliimiiilil III"IIIIIIIIIIII'IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII iimiiiiimimiiimiiiiimiiimi iiiiimiiimi iiiiinniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiillillliiiiiiiiiiiiiililiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiilililililiiiiliiliniiii'<br />
Optimism Pervades Convention<br />
(Continued from Page 492.)<br />
Any proportion of blow to run is made by the<br />
settings on the front dials without having to stop the<br />
control. This can be varied .within 1 per cent of the<br />
cycle.<br />
The down-run percentage can be varied without<br />
making any change to the cycle length or proportion<br />
of blow to run.<br />
Hand operation of the gas apparatus is possible<br />
at any time by disconnecting the automatic feature<br />
of the control from the master valve nest. The gas<br />
apparatus may again be put back on to automatic control<br />
operation whenever desired.<br />
The master valve nest is a series of four-way valves<br />
operated by the automatic control timing device, to<br />
position the hydraulic cylinders of the gas apparatus<br />
valves. By means of the large inlet and outlet pipes,<br />
supplying water to the valves, and the large internal<br />
port construction of the nest, back pressure is considerably<br />
reduced.<br />
The indicator shows the gas maker the exact position<br />
of the gas making cycle, without having to be<br />
near enough to read the front dials.<br />
Whenever the electric motive power should fail,<br />
the control automatically shuts down placing the<br />
valves of the gas apparatus in their safe position.<br />
Radio Apparatus<br />
The Department of Commerce announces that, according<br />
to the data collected at the biennial census of<br />
manufactures, 1923, radio apparatus to the value of<br />
$43,460,676 was manufactured during the year for sale<br />
as such. This total includes 1,889,614 head sets, valued<br />
;.t $5,352,441 ; 508,001 loud speakers, valued at $5,620,-<br />
961 ; 414,588 receiving sets of the tube type, valued at<br />
$12,065,992, and 116,497 receiving sets of crystal type,<br />
valued at $550,201, together with the other items shown<br />
FIG. 3.— The new Superay Radiant Heater—a unique application in the table below. The manufacture of 2.601,575<br />
of radiant heat principle, zvhich recovers from the fuel not radio tubes, valued at $4,572,251, was reported sepa<br />
only the radiant heat but also the reflected and convected heat. rately. A part of these tubes were sold to manufacturers<br />
to complete receiving sets (and their value is<br />
therefore included in the total value of such sets, as<br />
given above) and the remainder were sold to individual<br />
purchasers for use in the construction of homemade<br />
sets.<br />
The following table, giving the numbers and values<br />
of the several classes of radio equipment reported<br />
as manufactured in 1923. is preliminary and subject to<br />
such correction as may be found necessary upon further<br />
examination of the returns:<br />
PRODUCTION OF RADIO APPARATUS. 1Q23<br />
(Reported by 290 establishments)<br />
Number Value<br />
Total value* $43,460,676<br />
Loud speakers 508,001 5,620 961<br />
Head sets 1,889,614 5.352,441<br />
Receiving sets, tube type 414,588 12,065,992<br />
Receiving sets, crystal type 116,497 550,201<br />
Transmitting sets 1.073 900^230<br />
OUTLET WATER<br />
DISCHARGE. —<br />
INLET WATER SUPPLY.<br />
PIPES TO HYDRAULIC<br />
CYLINDERS OF APPARATUS.<br />
Transformers<br />
Rheostats<br />
Lightning arresters<br />
Miscellaneous parts<br />
1,700,024<br />
1,089,721<br />
355,161<br />
3,773,213<br />
716,774<br />
196.534<br />
14,284,330<br />
FIG. 4.—Shows the new Model "B" automatic and thermo-con-<br />
*Not including tubes for sale as such.<br />
RADIO TUBES, FOR SALE AS SUCH<br />
trol. This equipment is a very compact machine in zvhich the Number Value<br />
control timing device is mounted directly over a U. G. I. mast Total<br />
er valve nest, zvhich consists of a series of four-way valves Under 5 watts<br />
built in single block. The control and the master valve nest 5 to 50 watts<br />
arc connected through the scries of levers sliozvn and the Over 50 watts<br />
valves of the latter operate the hydraulic cylinders of the<br />
valves on the zvater gas apparatus.<br />
2,601,575 $4,572,251<br />
2,559,206 3,788,167<br />
15,167 80 529<br />
27,202 703,555<br />
—Bulletin.
November, 1924<br />
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Trade Notes and Publications<br />
'"I'll m u m IIIII"-' IIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIHIIIIinillllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllillliuinilllllmil lllllllllllllllliitl n iiniiiiiiiiinniiiuium<br />
Bulletin No. 48941A, entitled "CR-9006 Enameled<br />
Resistor Units," has been issued by the General Electric<br />
Company. This is a well illustrated booklet describing<br />
the uses and advantages of these units and<br />
giving standard ratings and dimensions. Applications<br />
are given for several different fields of service. The<br />
bulletin contains 18 reading pages.<br />
The Bernitz Furnace Appliance Company of Boston<br />
has recently issued Bulletin W. G. descriptive of<br />
Bernitz Super Blocks for the lining of water gas generators.<br />
These blocks are made of carborundum, but<br />
the construction is such that troubles previously experienced<br />
with solid carborundum linings are said to<br />
be entirely eliminated. The arch design of the block<br />
allows expansion without detrimental results to either<br />
the setting or the shell of the generator. Instead of<br />
the usual solid lining, there is used a perforated construction<br />
so as to allow air and steam to come into<br />
the sides of the fuel bed as well as through the grates<br />
during the blow and up-run respectively. Then during<br />
the down-run these perforations or apertures give<br />
the gas made additional output. These perforated<br />
blocks usually extend to a height of from 36 in. to 48<br />
in. above the grate, depending upon the size of the set<br />
and operating conditions. Above these perforated<br />
blocks for a height of 16 in. to 32 in. similar blocks<br />
are used, but without perforations. This takes us up<br />
to a point which is above where clinker trouble is<br />
experienced, so from here up the usual standard fire<br />
brick construction is continued. It is stated that with<br />
the Bernitz construction existing percentages of<br />
down-run can be greatly increased because the resulting<br />
clinkers, which would ordinarily prohibit the<br />
increases, can be readily handled. Of course, the<br />
maximum percentage of down-run is naturally different<br />
for every machine and for every grade of fuel and<br />
can be determined only by actual trial. However,<br />
the percentage of down-run has in some cases been<br />
increased from 50 to 85 per cent of the run.<br />
Dravo-Doyle Company have ready for distribution<br />
a new and interesting Cochrane publication relating<br />
to the filtration of water for industrial plant, swimming<br />
pool and other uses. The subjects covered are:<br />
Cochrane filters and certain interesting features of<br />
same; swimming pool and other applications; new<br />
type of chemical and coagulating feeding devices;<br />
Cochrane zeolite and lime and soda ash water softeners.<br />
W. B. Scaife & Sons Company are distributing a<br />
very interesting 32-page booklet on Water Purification,<br />
introducing the subject as follows: "Dirty or<br />
turbid water is always objectionable for domestic use.<br />
The greatest menace to health in water from any<br />
source is the presence of the typhoid bacillus introduced<br />
by sewage or from surface runoffs in inhabited<br />
districts. Filtration removes suspended impurities so<br />
that a clear water is obtained, but sterilization in addition<br />
to filtration is a necessity for safeguardng domestic<br />
supplies, or water used in the preparation of food<br />
products. Many water supplies are a constant source<br />
of waste and expense to manufacturers on account of<br />
the impurities carried in suspension. Turbid water<br />
is very objectionable for many industries, such as<br />
laundering, dyeing, bleaching, paper-making, distilling,<br />
etc. Water containing iron either in solution or<br />
Die Blast FttrnacoSSteel Plant<br />
525<br />
in suspension is unsuitable for those processes where<br />
it either enters into the product or comes in contact<br />
with it. Purifying water to make it clear and free<br />
from iron will correct many of the difficulties encountered<br />
in manufacturing plants, and will also insure<br />
in many industries the production of more uniform<br />
products of high grade. Swimming pools rapidly become<br />
contaminated with bacteria that are a menace to<br />
health. After a few hours' use the water may contain<br />
hundreds of thousands of bacteria per cubic centimeter;<br />
so that filtration and sterilization become<br />
necessary to safeguard bathers. In addition to filters<br />
and filtering systems discussed in this catalog, we<br />
also design and build several types of water softening<br />
and purifying systems. Over 30 years' experience in<br />
designing and installing filters and softening systems<br />
for every purpose enables us to supply apparatus perfect<br />
in detail to insure water of the desired purity for<br />
any specific use. Our long list of satisfied customers<br />
for whom we have installed water-purifying apparatus<br />
is the best evidence of the value of our service and of<br />
our ability to fulfill any guarantees we make."<br />
The Conveyors Corporation of America, 326 West<br />
Madison Street, Chicago, announce the appointment<br />
of W. P. MacKenzie Company, 1234 Callowhill Street,<br />
Philadelphia, as their sales representatives in Southeastern<br />
Pennsylvania and Southern New Jersey.<br />
This <strong>org</strong>anization will handle the sale of America<br />
Steam Jet Ash Conveyors, American Cast Iron Storage<br />
Tanks, American Air Tight Doors for ash pits<br />
and boiler settings, and other specialties.<br />
The MacKenzie Company are well known in and<br />
around Philadelphia as they have been selling heating,<br />
ventilating and power plant equipment for many<br />
years.<br />
Associated with Mr. W. P. MacKenzie in the sales<br />
<strong>org</strong>anization are Messrs. John Beard, J. E. Fulweiler,<br />
S. T. MacKenzie and W. R. Lunn.<br />
In addition to the sales of the American Steam<br />
Jet Ash Conveyor the MacKenzie <strong>org</strong>anization handle<br />
the sale of the products of Alphons Custodis Chimney<br />
Construction Company, International Filter Company,<br />
Peabody Engineering Company, L. J. Wing Manufacturing<br />
Company, and others.<br />
Orders received by the General Electric Company<br />
for the three months ending September 30 totaled<br />
$58,389,832 as compared with $65,483,549 for the same<br />
quarter in 1923, a decrease of 11 per cent, according to<br />
a statement made by Gerard Swope, president.<br />
For the first nine months of the present year orders<br />
total $203,097,719 as compared with $229,747,304<br />
for the same period in 1923. a decrease of 12 per cent.<br />
Arthur G McKee & Company, Engineers and Contractors,<br />
Cleveland, have been awarded contracts for<br />
extensive improvements to the blast furnace plant of<br />
the Delaware River Steel Company at Chester, Pa.<br />
The existing hand filled furnace will be converted<br />
into a skip filled unit, the new work including a steel<br />
stock trestle with Baker suspension type ore storage<br />
bins, coke bin, skip bridge, new furnace top with Mc<br />
Kee revolving distributor and electrically operated bell<br />
rigs, scale car, skip cars, and other auxiliaries necessary<br />
to make the furnace modern and efficient in all<br />
respects.
Semi-Steel<br />
By G. W. Gilderman*<br />
Semi-steel is a term that is little understood. The<br />
mixtures parading under this title in the past and the<br />
manner in which these mixtures have been made have<br />
been so varied that, until a few years ago, semi-steel<br />
was considered more or less as a joke. There are still<br />
a few foundrymen who are under the impression that<br />
semi-steel is merely a close-grained iron. As this<br />
metal is made today, however, it is well worthy of<br />
the name.<br />
Semi-steel is extensively use in internal combustion<br />
engine parts. These castings must withstand<br />
severe service and so must be strong and closegrained.<br />
Whereas the ordinary gray cast iron has a<br />
strength of 2300 to 2700 pounds, semi-steel often<br />
reaches 3600 pounds before breaking. Bars have been<br />
cast that did not break until a load of 4000 pounds<br />
was reached; this, however, is not to be expected in<br />
everyday practice.<br />
The exact date that semi-steel ceased to be an experiment<br />
is not definite. Formerly when a cylinder<br />
was to be cast, a few old files were thrown into the<br />
ladle and the mixture stirred in order to get a uniform<br />
metal. If the casting came out satisfactorily, the files<br />
got the credit; if not, everyone stood around and tried<br />
to find the answer. Later, steel scrap was added directly<br />
to the cupola, first in small amounts, gradually<br />
increasing to 40 per cent. The proportion has since<br />
been reduced til! now 20 to 25 per cent of steel scrap<br />
is considered good practice.<br />
Let us take for example a mixture to produce a<br />
casting having a thickness of y in. The analysis<br />
should be: Silicon 1.60 per cent, manganese 0.75 per<br />
cent, phosphorus 0.40 per cent, and sulphur about 0.09<br />
per cent. In order to obtain this analysis in the casting,<br />
the charge should consist of 60 per cent pig iron,<br />
20 per cent steel scrap, and 20 per cent cast scrap.<br />
The pig iron should analyze as follows: Silicon 2.30<br />
per cent, manganese 1.25 per cent, phosphorus about<br />
0.40 per cent, and sulphur less than 0.05 per cent. If<br />
the manganese content of the pig iron is too low, the<br />
deficiency may be made up by adding ferro-manganese<br />
to the cupola.<br />
In making up the charge, the first thing to be considered<br />
is the size of the steel scrap that is to be used.<br />
If the scrap is heavy, such as the ends of T-rails and<br />
I-beams or pieces with a corresponding section, it<br />
should be charged directly on top of the coke, keeping<br />
a space of about 8 in. next to the wall for pig iron.<br />
If the scrap is small, the pig iron should be charged<br />
first, then the scrap scattered over the top of the pig<br />
iron. Scrap as small as y in. thickness may be used<br />
in this way.<br />
Semi-steel should be melted hot. The fuel ratio<br />
depends of course on the conditions obtaining in each<br />
foundry; however, the general practice is not greatly<br />
different from gray iron work. An additional 5 per<br />
cent of coke is sometimes necessary when using heavy<br />
steel scrap. Small charges, 1000 pounds in a 48-in.<br />
cupola or 2,000 lbs. in a 60-in. cupola, will usually give<br />
the best results. Mixing ladles are necessary when<br />
pouring small castings.<br />
Semi-steel must be handled somewhat faster than<br />
gray iron. This fact must be considered when de-<br />
Ihe Blast himace^jleel riant<br />
*Superintendent of Foundries, Dodge Manufacturing Company,<br />
Mishawaka, Ind.<br />
termining the size of gates and risers. When a riser<br />
is necessary, it should be about 50 per cent larger than<br />
if for the same casting in gray iron. In allowing for<br />
shrinkage, yg in. per ft. has been found to be satisfactory.<br />
In the preparation of the mold few deviations from<br />
ordinary practice are necessary. More new sand<br />
should be used in the facing, as much as one-half in<br />
some cases. In no case should the proportion of new<br />
sand be less than one-third. In preparing the mold for<br />
a casting weighing 500 to 2000 lbs., a skin-dried mold<br />
is more satisfactory. The facing in this case should<br />
be made up of 20 parts sand and one part of pitch<br />
compound. For castings weighing more than one ton,<br />
a dry sand facing liberally studded with nails is necessary.<br />
The dry sand facing is made by mixing one<br />
yard of heavy new sand, 12 cu. ft. of sharp sand, 140<br />
lbs. of flour, and 2 qts. of molasses.<br />
All dried molds should be given a coat of blackwash<br />
before being dried. Compound facings can best<br />
be dried by means of a torch while dry sand facings<br />
must be dried with charcoal.<br />
In order to get a high casting pressure, either a<br />
deep cope or a built-up runner box may be employed.<br />
When it is not possible to use a churning rod, the riser<br />
should be covered with sea coal as soon as the mold<br />
is poured.<br />
Pattern proportion is a very important detail in<br />
the manufacture of semi-steel castings. Before attempting<br />
to make a new casting, the drawings should<br />
be carefully examined in order to locate any heavy<br />
sections attached to light sections. If such are found,<br />
means must be found to feed these portions or chills<br />
must be employed to make them solidify as rapidly as<br />
the remainder of the casting. This is well illustrated<br />
in the case of a blank gear. In this case, we have a<br />
heavy section at the junction of the arm and rim next<br />
to a comparatively light section of the arm. In a case<br />
of this kind, a spongy spot will usually be found at<br />
the base of the teeth when cut, unless precautions are<br />
taken to prevent such a condition. Tbe usual method<br />
of correcting this difficult}- is to use a chill made to fit<br />
the casting at this intersection and rammed up in the<br />
mold. Similar spongy spots are often found in cylinders<br />
and pistons.<br />
In making semi-steel castings, a sound clean metal<br />
is the principal requirement. Smne flux or scavenger<br />
is required in the ladle, the ones chiefly used being aluminum,<br />
ferro-titanium and ferro-vanadium. Aluminum<br />
melts very rapidly and rises to tbe top, carrying<br />
with it most of the gases contained in tbe molten<br />
metal. The aluminum is rapidly oxidized and enters<br />
the slag in that form, leaving little or none of that<br />
metal in the casting. Ferro-titanium acts in much the<br />
same way as aluminum in that it removes gases. Its<br />
action is, however, more intense. When a large<br />
amount of this alloy is used, some of it will be found<br />
in the casting, but if only a small amount is used, the<br />
casting will be practically free from titanium. One<br />
ounce of 15 per cent ferro-titanium for each hundred<br />
pounds of iron gives very satisfactory results. Ferrovanadium<br />
is used extensively in the manufacture of<br />
piston rings. Its principal value lies in the fact that<br />
it breaks up the large graphite flakes, thereby<br />
strengthening the casting. Iron treated with ferrovanadium<br />
will withstand repeated shock better than<br />
an iron not so treated. Two ounces of 30 per cent<br />
ferro-vanadium is enough to treat 100 pounds of iron.<br />
—Purdue University Bulletin No. 6.
November, 1924<br />
Experienced Alloy Steel Man Joins United<br />
Alloy Organization<br />
Effective at once, L. G. Pritz has been appointed<br />
vice president in charge of all operations of the United<br />
Alloy Steel Corporation. Mr. Pritz has had a very<br />
broad steel experience. Starting at the South Chicago<br />
plant of the Illinois<br />
Steel Company in 1909,<br />
Mr. Pritz has served as<br />
turn foreman, melter, superintendent<br />
of electric furnace,<br />
and superintendent<br />
of s ]> e c i a 1 high grade<br />
steels. This company operates<br />
and produces steels<br />
made by all the processes,<br />
except the crucible, including<br />
Bessemer, basic and<br />
acid open hearth, and electric<br />
furnace.<br />
Resigning as metallurgical<br />
engineer in charge of<br />
the high grade specialty<br />
and alloy steel department, he became associated with<br />
the Timken Roller Bearing Company in 1917. Resigning<br />
in 1922 as general superintendent of the steel<br />
works where he had charge of electric furnaces, rolling<br />
mills and tube plant in the production of bearing<br />
steels, he became associated with the Sizer Steel Corporation<br />
of Buffalo as vice president, specializing in<br />
the production of bar steel, die block steel, tool steel,<br />
bit steel and alloy steels for automotive parts.<br />
Mr. Pritz, while still a comparatively young man,<br />
is one of the oldest electric furnace men in the United<br />
States, and comes to the Alloy <strong>org</strong>anization well fitted<br />
to carry on the work of producing alloy and specialty<br />
steels of the highest standard of quality.<br />
Mr. Harry Hodgetts, formerly superintendent of<br />
furnaces for the Joseph E. Tropp Company, Inc., of<br />
Earlston, Pa., has resigned to undertake the develop-<br />
The Blast Ft. rnace:<br />
O Steel Plant<br />
527<br />
ment of the extensive properties of the Tatesville<br />
Silica Sand Company, of Everett, Pa. Mr. Hodgetts<br />
was formerly superintendent of furnaces, Pittsburgh<br />
Crucible Steel Company, Midland, Pa., and at various<br />
intervals has been associated with Republic Iron<br />
& Steel Company, Struthers Furnace Company, and<br />
the Carnegie Steel Company, Youngstown, Ohio.<br />
At a recent meeting of the directors of the Empire<br />
Rolling Mill Company, Cleveland, Mr. Justin Griess<br />
was elected a director to fill the vacancy caused by<br />
the death of A. W. Ellenberger. Mr. Griess is vice<br />
president of the McMyler-Interstate Company, Cleveland.<br />
Jones & Laughlin Steel Company have under way<br />
at their South Side plant in Pittsburgh an extensive<br />
enlargement to the soaking-pit capacity for the 40-in.<br />
blooming mill. Where this mill was formerly supplied<br />
by 24 8-ingot pits, the extension calls for 42 of<br />
the same size pits. This mill rolls an 18xl8-in. ingot<br />
and the added capacity will materially increase the<br />
hot storage of steel, with a resultant total tonnage<br />
output.<br />
Mr. Wm. A. Blockinger, superintendent of the<br />
sheet department, Columbia Steel Corporation, Pittsburg,<br />
Calif., has resigned to accept a similar position<br />
in Alabama. He is now superintendent of the sheet<br />
department, Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad Company<br />
at the new plant near Ensley, where large scale<br />
production of black and galvanized sheets ma}- soon<br />
b; expected.<br />
Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad Company are<br />
making progress in the installation of four 100-ton<br />
open hearth furnaces at their new plant near Ensley,<br />
Ala. This additional ingot capacity is called for by<br />
the operating schedule of the new sheet and jobbing<br />
mills at this plant.<br />
Walter J. Willis, superintendent of the Depew,<br />
N. Y., works of the Gould Coupler Company, Inc., is<br />
in Europe, his itinerary including a number of steel<br />
foundries in France and Germany.
S28<br />
Hie Blast RirnaceSSteel Plant<br />
November, 1924<br />
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Some Pointers on By-Product Coke Oven Operations<br />
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To Install Koppers Coal Gas Plant.<br />
The Consumers' Power Company has recently<br />
placed a contract with the Koppers Company of Pittsburgh<br />
for a Koppers coal gas plant to be installed for<br />
their Jackson, Mich., property.<br />
This plant will consist of 15 Koppers Company<br />
Becker type gas ovens, together with one producer.<br />
The plant will have a capacity of approximately 1,600,-<br />
000 cu. ft. of 550 Btu. gas per day.<br />
To Build 175-Mile Natural Gas Line<br />
Following the recent taking over of the holdings of<br />
all of the larger natural gas producing companies in<br />
the Amarillo field by subsidiaries of the Prairie Oil &<br />
Gas Company, comes the official announcement that<br />
these interests will immediately construct a natural<br />
gas pipe line from Amarillo to Lamesa, about 175<br />
miles. The proposed pipe line will serve more than 20<br />
towns, including Canyon, Plainview, Lubbock, Slaton,<br />
Tahoka, O'Donnell, Lamesa and a number of smaller<br />
communities along the route.<br />
In view of the fact that the territory to be covered<br />
is treeless and that coal is now the exclusive fuel<br />
for domestic purposes, it is expected that the coming<br />
of natural gas will be of great economic value. Most<br />
of the coal supply comes from the mines at Dawson,<br />
N. M., and sells for high prices, in some instances as<br />
much as $25 a ton. The natural gas supply already<br />
developed in the Amarillo field is many times more<br />
than would be required to supply the towns that are<br />
to be reached by the new pipe line, it is stated.<br />
Order Placed with Steere Company for<br />
Scrubber.<br />
The Steere Engineering Company of Detroit,<br />
Mich., has received an order for an intensive scrubber<br />
from the U. G. I. Contracting Company for the plant<br />
extensions they are making for the Syracuse Lighting<br />
Company.<br />
In March of this year Henry L. Doherty and Company<br />
announced the acquisition, through Combustion<br />
Utilities Corporation, of the Surface Combustion Company,<br />
Inc., Industrial furnace engineers and manufacturers.<br />
Combustion Utilities Corporation has just announced<br />
the consolidation of the personnel and activities<br />
of its appliance and industrial furnace departments<br />
with those of the Surface Combustion Company,<br />
Inc. The greater <strong>org</strong>anization continuing under the<br />
name of the Surface Combustion Company, Inc., will<br />
be the utilization department of Combustion Utilities<br />
Corporation.<br />
Under the consolidation Henry O. Loebell continues<br />
as president of the Surface Combustion Company,<br />
Inc.; E. E. Basquin, vice president and general manager;<br />
W. M. Hepburn, vice president; Frank H. Adams,<br />
treasurer; and E. M. Doig, secretary. Paul J. Nutting,<br />
formerly in charge of Toleda Appliance Division<br />
of Combustion Utilities Corporation, becomes vice<br />
president in charge of production. C. B. Phillips, former<br />
sales manager Toledo Division, becomes vice president<br />
and sales manager of the Stock Furnace Division,<br />
which will include all the well-known "Improved" and<br />
"Utility" appliances, and the "Blue Line" furnaces.<br />
F. W. Manker, previously in charge of Combustion<br />
Utilities large furnace department, becomes vice president<br />
and will be associated with Mr. Hepburn in the<br />
Large Furnace Division.<br />
The Surface Combustion Company, Inc., sales and<br />
general offices will be continued at 366-368 Gerard<br />
Avenue, New York, and all production at the Toledo<br />
Works, 2288 Albion Street, Toledo, Ohio.<br />
In commenting on this consolidation Mr. Loebell<br />
said, "This consolidation unites in one unit the utilization,<br />
engineering and sales personnel of these two<br />
<strong>org</strong>anizations, so well-known 'wherever heat is used<br />
in industry'. It brings to all industries the skilled<br />
services of the largest family of combustion engineers,<br />
whose skill is exemplified in equipment for the utilization<br />
of fuel with the utmost economy, but which makes<br />
for easier control. We will continue to f<strong>org</strong>e ahead<br />
and force progress in efficient fuel utilization in industry,<br />
by providing a complete line of furnace equipment,<br />
and a well rounded <strong>org</strong>anization to assist all industry<br />
in its great strides forward."<br />
The By-Products Coke Corporation, Chicago, 111.,<br />
has arranged for the installation of a new sintering<br />
plant at its Federal furnaces at South Chicago, to be<br />
designed for a daily output of 250 tons of sinter from<br />
blast furnace flue dust. The plant will be built by<br />
the American Ore Reclamation Company, operated<br />
under a license for the Dwight & Lloyd sintering<br />
process. It is expected to be ready for service during<br />
the coming year.<br />
New Type Oil Burner<br />
The Combustion Engineering Corporation is distributing<br />
a pamphlet recently issued on a new type<br />
oil burner called The Quinn P.G.S. Burner.<br />
It is obviously a very economical plan for oil refineries<br />
to burn the heavy sedimentary oils in order<br />
that they may release all the better grade oils to<br />
the general market. In the past this has seldom<br />
been possible due to the inability of any one type of<br />
burner to suit itself to oils of this kind and the other<br />
requirements of refinery practise.<br />
Although the burner described in this folder is applicable<br />
to stationary boilers or to the burning of oil<br />
for any purpose it has been especially designed for refinery<br />
work. Thorough tests have proved beyond<br />
question its ability to meet any and all refinery conditions.
November, 1924 T. R| if ^) -1 r r 11111' -' 11 • i r 111 n I •: 1 r • 1 p • • • r -: r r r in: i r I r i - r r - r; • i • 11 • r r 11 p r r r F r r r 11111 ] F p F r r r F r r I r r r I j ru i p p?^<br />
The Belfont Steel & Wire Company, Ironton,<br />
Ohio, will hold in abeyance the construction of its<br />
proposed new steel plant on site adjoining its present<br />
works, recently announced, and will continue production<br />
under the present status at its blast furnaces and<br />
wire mills. Necessary alterations and improvements<br />
will be made in the existing works in connection with<br />
the general betterment program as previously arranged.<br />
The company owns a controlling interest in<br />
the plant of the Ashland Steel Company, Ashland,<br />
Ky., where a number of improvements have lately<br />
been made for increased production and greater<br />
efficiency in operation. The Belfont company will secure<br />
rods and other materials from this source. I. P.<br />
Blanton is president, and S. G. Dilfillan, vice president.<br />
Plans are under way for the construction of a large<br />
steel fabricating works at Boyles, Birmingham, Ala.,<br />
understood to be carried out by a new company, name<br />
temporarily withheld. The Birmingham Real Estate<br />
Board, J. L. Yancy, president, is interested in the<br />
project, and will give out information, it is stated, at<br />
an early date. The plant will be located on a 500acre<br />
site and will consist of a group of buildings, including<br />
power house and other mechanical structures,<br />
with cost estimated in excess of $1,000,000, including<br />
machinery. A list of the fabricating and other steel<br />
mill equipment to be installed will be arranged in<br />
the near future.<br />
The Bethlehem Steel Company, Bethlehem, Pa.,<br />
has extended the program for expansion and betterments<br />
at its Lackawanna plant at Buffalo, N. Y., and<br />
in addition to the new 35-in. roughing mill and 28-in.<br />
structural mill recently announced, will build a 44-in.<br />
blooming mill and 18-14-in. structural mill. Work on<br />
the structures will proceed at an early date. Other<br />
extensions and improvements will be carried out at<br />
the existing mills, including the installation of considerable<br />
equipment and electric power apparatus.<br />
The company has decided to build two new 18-14-in.<br />
structural mills at its Johnstown, Pa., works and will<br />
proceed with this expansion at an early date. The<br />
new mills will be electrically operated.<br />
The Compania Electrica Siderurgica y Industrial<br />
de Valdivia, Santiago, Chile, has recently perfected<br />
its <strong>org</strong>anization for the construction of a local steel<br />
works and is now negotiating for final concessions<br />
from the government of Chile to carry out the proposed<br />
project. The plant will consist of a number of<br />
one-story mill units, to be equipped for an initial<br />
monthly output of about 2,500 tons and which will be<br />
increased at a later date. Electric furnaces will be<br />
installed and all other machinery will be of latest<br />
approved type. It is said that the projected works<br />
will involve in excess of $700,000. The Electrical<br />
Equipment Division, Bureau of Foreign and Domestic<br />
Commerce, Washington, D. C, has received information<br />
regarding the enterprise from William M.<br />
Collier, ambassador at Santiago.<br />
The Delaware River Steel Company, Chester, Pa.,<br />
has plans under way for the construction of a new<br />
ore dock at its plant at the foot of Wilson Street. The<br />
new dock will be 65 ft. wide and 450 ft. long, and will<br />
provide facilities for handling the largest ore-carrying<br />
vessels afloat. Machinery for complete mechanical<br />
operation will be installed, including traveling cranes,<br />
unloading apparatus, etc. Application to proceed with<br />
the work has been made to the Commissioners of<br />
Navigation, and it is expected that permission will be<br />
granted at an early date.<br />
The Struthers-Wells Company, 1009 Pennsylvania<br />
Avenue, Warren, Pa., has awarded a general contract<br />
to the McClintic-Marshall Company, Oliver Building,<br />
Pittsburgh, Pa., for the erection of a new one-story<br />
addition at its steel plant and plate mills, to provide<br />
for increased capacity. It is expected to proceed with<br />
the work immediately. John T. Dillon is president.<br />
The Jones & Laughlin Steel Corporation, Pittsburgh,<br />
Pa., is reported to be perfecting plans for the<br />
early erection of the initial units of its proposed new<br />
steel mill at Hammond, Ind., projected a number of<br />
months ago and held in abeyance since that time. The<br />
company has a tract of 1,200 acres at this locality and<br />
has recently been acquiring additional property for<br />
right-of-way purposes for the construction of an outlet<br />
sewer and drain from the mill site, leading to the<br />
Calumet River. The Pennsylvania Railroad Company<br />
has also purchased a right-of-way to the plant<br />
site from its main line, a distance of about two miles.<br />
Plans for the plant provide for a number of one-story<br />
mill units, with power house and other mechanical<br />
buildings, reported to involve in excess of $5,000,000.<br />
Evan F. Jones, recently with the Wickwire Spencer<br />
Steel Corporation and with the M<strong>org</strong>an Construction<br />
Company, has been made general manager of the<br />
Atlas Die Casting Company, Worcester, Mass., and<br />
has entered upon his new duties. A. W. Hutton remains<br />
with the company as chief engineer.<br />
Recent awards for river improvement work have<br />
come to manufacturers in the Pittsburgh district. H.<br />
P. Gazzam Machine Company received a contract to<br />
furnish river wall valves for lock No. 49 and No. 50,<br />
Ohio River. There is a total of 175,508 pounds of<br />
cast iron; 43,408 pounds of cast steel and 3,372 pounds<br />
of phosphor bronze. The chief of engineers also approved<br />
the award of the Louisville district to the Stroh<br />
Steel Hardening Process Company of a contract to<br />
furnish 19,744 pounds of steel castings for locks No.<br />
40 and No. 50, Ohio River. The J. & J. B. Milholland<br />
Company received a contract from the Louisville district<br />
for the delivery of 13,758 pounds of steel reinforcing<br />
bars and 5,000 pounds of miscellaneous steel<br />
for locks No. 49 and No. 50. The total amount, exclusive<br />
of bronze, amounts to more than 123 tons.<br />
Rebuilding of some of the old buildings of the<br />
Steel Company of Canada, Ltd., Hamilton, Can., has<br />
been undertaken. The old buildings at the Swansea<br />
plant which have been out of repair, will be modernized.<br />
The company does not expect an increased output<br />
to result from the betterments, but merely an improvement<br />
in plant conditions.
44 The Bias tFu mace .3 Steel PI ant<br />
S'rr'E*E<br />
Positions Wanted and Help Wanted<br />
advertising inserted under proper headings<br />
free of charge. Where replies are keyed<br />
to this office or branch offices, we request<br />
that users of this column pay postage for<br />
forwarding such replies. Classified ads can<br />
be keyed for the Pittsburgh or New York<br />
offices.<br />
POSITION WANTED<br />
SUPERINTENDENT of sheet mill desires to make<br />
a change; has had years of experience in the<br />
rolling of light iron and high grade auto and<br />
metal furniture sheets; can furnish reference. Box<br />
XXX, care of The Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
MELTER, 18 years practical experience. Open<br />
Hearth and Electric, leading European makers<br />
high grade steels, age 35, wants position where<br />
his knowledge and experience can be used. Highest<br />
references. Box 301, care of The Blast Furnace<br />
and Steel Plant.<br />
POSITION WAXTED—Cold strip mill superintendent<br />
with thorough knowledge in operating.<br />
Can apply latest methods to produce highly finished<br />
material. Twenty years' experience; reliable<br />
references. Box 000, care of The Blast<br />
Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
MASTER MECHANIC with 30 years' experience<br />
on construction and operation of steel mills,<br />
blast furnaces, open hearths, Bessemer departments,<br />
by-product coke plants; constructed hydro<br />
and steam electric plants, large pumping stations,<br />
etc.; at present employed, wish to make change.<br />
Box 100, care of The Blast Furnace and Steel<br />
Plant.<br />
CHIEF DRAUGHTSMAN—Broad and varied experience<br />
in general engineering, mechanical,<br />
structural, electrical, designing machinery, tools,<br />
power, structural Bteel, concrete and industrial<br />
buildings; purchase, installation and plant maintenance.<br />
Address Box A M B, care of The Blast<br />
Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
DESIGNING ENGINEER, experienced executive<br />
with technical training, desires position as chief<br />
engineer or master mechanic. Fifteen years' experience,<br />
including design and construction of rolling<br />
mills, furnaces, plant equipment, power plants,<br />
special machinery, etc.; four years in machine<br />
shop. Address Box F C M, care of The Blast<br />
Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
POSITION WANTED—A graduate mechanical<br />
engineer with 12 years' experience in rolling<br />
mills, desires a position as superintendent or assistant.<br />
Experience covers every job in a rolling mill<br />
from laborer to assistant superintendent. Also<br />
has had Bome office and sales training. At present<br />
employed, but desires a better outlook. Box<br />
0 A S, care of The Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
POSITION by chemist, technical graduate, 15<br />
years experience glass, animal rats, bleaching<br />
iron and steel. Six years experience us<br />
plant executive. Research work a specialty.<br />
Fox L, care of The Blast Flirnace and Steel<br />
Plant.<br />
YOUNG rolling mill superintendent with 20 years'<br />
practical experience on iron and steel Belgian<br />
type mills, also latest continuous type steel mills,<br />
desires to make change. Can furnish records and<br />
references. Have practical knowledge of rolling<br />
and roll designing. Box F A W, care of The<br />
Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
JCNGINEER, Cornell graduate, seven years' steam<br />
and fuel engineering, three years' executive experience<br />
as master mechanic of a rolling mill, three<br />
years' sales engineering, desires change Box S,<br />
care of The Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
*pi<br />
POSITION WANTED<br />
ENGLISHMAN, 23, of sound general and technical<br />
educations, with seven years' experience of<br />
steel making by open hearth process (acid and<br />
basic) in prominent English steel works, desires<br />
appointment where scientific and practical knowledge<br />
would be an asset. Box G B J, care of The<br />
Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
WANTED—A position wherein the following will<br />
be of value: A fair tehnical education, a large<br />
amount of practical experience in the various mechanical<br />
arts and plant operation and maintenance<br />
with an eye on the "works operating expense"<br />
account, a fair degree of executive ability<br />
and absolute dependability. Experience has been<br />
had in production and general machine shops,<br />
rolling mills, rod and wire mills and at blast furnaces.<br />
Expert in design and construction of the<br />
Dwight and Lloyd type of sintering plant. Box<br />
C C C, care of Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
CHEMICAL ENGINEER, 1922 graduate, leading<br />
university, desires position in a steel plant.<br />
One year's experience in the inspection department.<br />
At present employed, but available on<br />
short notice. Box J B 0, care of BlaBt Furnace<br />
and Steel Plant.<br />
POSITION WANTED—Electric furnace man open<br />
for position; experienced on basic Heroult electric<br />
furnaces, tool and alloy steels. Box A T,<br />
care of The Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
HEATER on soaking pits or reheating furnaces;<br />
10 years' mill experience; can give references.<br />
Box C Z, care of The Blast Furnace and Steel<br />
Plant.<br />
SALES POSITION with manufacturers' sales<br />
agent for power plant specialties or chief<br />
draftsman or plant engineer with moderate<br />
sized manufacture Box K, care of The Blast<br />
Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
I DESIRE to have a position as tracer or on<br />
small drafting work with reliable concern,<br />
preferably in mechanical line. Box .T, care<br />
of The Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
YOUNG MAN, technical graduate and 7 years<br />
practical experience, would like to connect<br />
with <strong>org</strong>anization needing a producer. Prefers<br />
a job which keeps him on the road the major<br />
portion of the time. He baa intensive education<br />
along lines of general inspection of materials.<br />
Box I, care of The Blast Furnace and<br />
Steel Plant.<br />
POSITION as field engineer, construction<br />
work, general survey work and right-ofway<br />
work. Box G, care of The Blast Furnace<br />
and Steel Plant.<br />
POSITION WANTED by chemical engineer, degree<br />
of doctor-engineer (1916) from leading<br />
German university, 33 years old, six years' experience<br />
embracing the analysis, metallography and<br />
physical testing of steel and alloys. Nationality,<br />
Norwegian. Languages, Norwegian, Swedish, German<br />
and English. Location, anywhere. Available,<br />
any time. Can furnish best of references. Box<br />
RED, care of The Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
TIME KEEPER—Have had several yearn experience.<br />
Box H, care of The Blast Furnace<br />
and Bteel Plant.<br />
YOUNG MAN with five years' experience as machinist<br />
and three years' experience in foundry,<br />
Tech graduate, wisheB position with growing firm<br />
at or near Philadelphia, Pa. Box W B, care of<br />
The Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
Co-operate:—Refer to The Blast Furnace and Steel Plant<br />
POSITION WANTED<br />
CHIEF CLERK or assistant to works manager;<br />
32 years old, married. Ten years' experience<br />
in sheet and tin rolling mills, galvanizing,<br />
long terne and factory record and<br />
office work. Experienced from time-keeping to<br />
corporation yearly statement, including cost.<br />
Box L E T , care of The Blast Furnace and<br />
Steel Plant.<br />
ROLLING MILL superintendent, experienced in<br />
the heating and rolling of carbon, alloy and electric<br />
furnace steels, desireB position; experienced in<br />
blooming, plate and universal mills. Highest references.<br />
Box A R T , care of The Blast Furnace<br />
and Steel Plant.<br />
POSITION WANTED by experienced roll turner<br />
and designer. Have had several years' experience<br />
in charge of roll Bhops, designing, etc., BB well<br />
as turning rolls. Have also had experience working<br />
on the mills. Can handle position of mill<br />
superintendent, roll designer or boss roll turner.<br />
Can furnish best of references. Box P V C, care<br />
of The Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
POSITION WANTED—Steel mill electrical engineer<br />
desires change in location. Five years' engineering<br />
and operating experience in steel mills.<br />
Technical graduate, member A. I. & S. E. E., Associate<br />
A. I. E. E.; age 32. Box A R L, care of<br />
The Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
YOUNG MAN, technical education, desires position<br />
in Pittsburgh District as chemist on analysis<br />
of open hearth steels. The applicant is at present<br />
employed in steel work, but desires a connection<br />
offering greater possibilities. Details as to<br />
past experience and recommendations will be submitted<br />
on request. Box G P G, care of The Blast<br />
Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
WANTED—Position on maintenance in medium<br />
sized steel plant or factory; 12 years' drafting<br />
room experience on general mill engineering and<br />
three years' machine shop experience. Box F D J,<br />
care of Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
POSITION WANTED—Blast furnace superintendent,<br />
twelve years practical experience as<br />
blast furnace master mechanic, general foreman<br />
and assistant superintendent, thoroughly familiar<br />
with metallurgy of iron, maintenance of plant,<br />
Bessemer, foundry, Spiegle, ferro silicon and ferro<br />
manganese, also up-to-date in best cost practice,<br />
technical education; emploved at present. Address<br />
Box F W H, care of The "Blast Furnace and Steel<br />
Plant.<br />
PHOTOGRAPHER—Thoroughly competent to take<br />
charge of photographic department in industrial<br />
concern; experienced steel mill man; reference<br />
furnished. Address Box C B S , care of The<br />
Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
FIELD ENGINEER, desires change. Technical<br />
training and nine years experience on construction<br />
and maintenance of Bteel plants; also general<br />
surveys; 30 years old and married. Box 200, care<br />
of The Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
POSITION WANTED—Assistant superintendent<br />
open hearth or bloom mill. Have had<br />
quite a number of years' experience in open<br />
hearth and bloom mill practice, believe In<br />
quality steel and can furnish best of references.<br />
Box T, care of The Blast Furnace and<br />
Steel Plant.<br />
POSITION WANTED—Chemist and engineer desires<br />
responsible connection; experienced in both<br />
blast furnace and steel plant. Box 0 A N, care of<br />
The Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.
I'lilimiimi mill IIIIII mi i m IIIIII mn iiiiiiiiiiiiin IIIIII IIIIII IIIII miiimi uiiiimmii , illiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiii iiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiimimimiiii mi 11 IIIIIIII iiiiimi IIIIIIII iiiiiim mimii i %<br />
! Trie Blasi PurnaceSSWl PW I<br />
'• I i i" "IIIIIII I I I Ill "II m m 1 Ill I Illl I m m Illl II I I || | i;<br />
Vol. XII PITTSBURGH, PA., DECEMBER, 124 No. 12<br />
Why cut trees for Christmas?<br />
Why destroy and waste timber?<br />
Christmas at Minnecua Hospital, Colorado Fuel & Iron Company.<br />
Why not plant and grow forests?<br />
Why not make Christmas a birthday<br />
instead of a deathday?<br />
The trees shown in this picture were<br />
planted on December 25, 1920.<br />
On the 25th of December for the past<br />
five years, trees have been planted on<br />
Minnequa Hospital grounds in the presence<br />
of patients, employees, nurses and<br />
doctors.<br />
5.31<br />
More than a hundred of the 1700 trees<br />
on the grounds are Christmas trees and<br />
every day in the year they remind someone<br />
of Christmas.<br />
If every family in the United States<br />
would plant a tree on the 25th of December<br />
each year, a young forest of 20,000,-<br />
000 trees would be born; to this add 20,-<br />
000,000 or more uncut trees and reflect<br />
upon the continued annual economic<br />
benefit to the country.<br />
R. W. Corwin, Chief Surgeon
532<br />
IheDlasf kirnace^L/Meel rlanf<br />
Electro-Metallurgical Applications<br />
Starting Points in the Economic ludustrial Utilization of Power<br />
By J. L. McK. YARDLEY*<br />
PART I.<br />
This article deals with a field of engineering<br />
in which mechanical, electrical, chemical<br />
and metallurgical engineers are all interested<br />
and have responsibilities. It is a discussion<br />
of electrical power utilization developments<br />
which are based upon fundamental principles<br />
of physical chemistry and electro-chemistry.<br />
It indicates the close co-relationship of the<br />
various engineers in the solution of such industrial<br />
problems. It deals only with metals<br />
which are ordinarily employed in construction<br />
or manufacture and in the production of<br />
which large quantities of electrical power are<br />
employed. Smelting and electrolytic methods<br />
are compared. Data and illustrations on<br />
plants and equipment for the production of<br />
iron, zinc, copper, nickle, aluminum, etc., are<br />
included.<br />
INASMUCH as the mechanical and electrical engineer<br />
should and must meet with the chemist and<br />
metallurgist on a common ground in those industries<br />
based upon physical chemistry and electro-chemistry,<br />
it is proposed to state and briefly discuss some<br />
of the more elemental things, in which mechanical and<br />
electrical engineers as well as chemists and metallurgists<br />
are vitally interested, because they constitute<br />
starting points in the economic industrial utilization<br />
of power.<br />
1. Every chemical combination or dissociation absorbs<br />
or gives out a certain definite amount of heat<br />
and takes place at either a definite temperature or<br />
within a certain temperature range.<br />
2. Some chemical combinations in aqueous or<br />
molten solutions are capable of being dissociated or<br />
produced by the action of electric current flowing<br />
through them.<br />
Upon the first statement is based the practice of<br />
smelting; and upon the first and second, the practice<br />
of electrolysis. In smelting, energy, whether in electrical<br />
form or otherwise, applied in producing the<br />
chemical combination or dissociation, must supply<br />
that quantity of heat and at that temperature. In<br />
electrolysis, the energy required or absorbed is not<br />
only determined as in smelting, by the heat of chemical<br />
formation, but it is also determined by a fact established<br />
by Faraday, that the number of grams of any<br />
metal which would take the place of one gram of<br />
hydrogen in a chemical combination will be deposited<br />
by a definite quantity of electricity called one Faraday<br />
(F), in amount equal to 96,540 Coulombs.<br />
The electrical energy absorbed or produced in<br />
electrolysis, in volt Coulombs or watt seconds, for the<br />
•General Engineer, Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing<br />
Company, East Pittsburgh, Pa.<br />
December, 192*4<br />
number of grams of the metal in the chemical combination,<br />
which is equal to its atomic weight, is e X n<br />
X 96,540, where e is the electromotive force absorbed<br />
or produced in the electrochemical process and n is<br />
the valence or number of bonds uniting the metal with<br />
the other elements in the chemical compound. Thus;<br />
if electric current be passed through a pure solution<br />
of copper sulphate, CuS04, in water from an insoluble<br />
anode to a copper cathode, copper, Cu, is deposited<br />
at the cathode and oxygen, O, is liberated and sulphuric<br />
acid, H2S04, is formed at the anode, e =<br />
1.22 volts; n = 2; atomic weight of Cu = 63.57.<br />
Then, 63.57 grams of Cu are deposited by 1.22 X 2 X<br />
96,540 = 235,50 volt Coulombs, or watt seconds; or,<br />
converting to pounds per Kwh., 1 Kwh. theoretically<br />
deposits<br />
3600 X 1000 X 2.2 X 63.57<br />
2.135 lbs. of Cu.<br />
235,500 X 1000<br />
The Gibbs-Hemholtz equation definitely connects<br />
electrical energy absorbed or produced in electrolysis<br />
with heat of chemical formation and temperature of<br />
operation. According to it<br />
de<br />
e n F (at temp. T) = 4.187 Q (at temp. T) + n F T ;<br />
dT<br />
where T equals absolute temperature, O equals heat<br />
of formation in gram calories and, since one gram<br />
calorie = 4.187 Joules, 4.187 X number of gram calories<br />
= number of Joules, or watt seconds, corresponding.<br />
From this equation e the theoretical voltage absorbed<br />
or produced in electrolysis, may be obtained;<br />
thus :<br />
4-187Q de<br />
e = \- T .<br />
nF dT<br />
The second term at the right is the temperature coefficient<br />
of the electromotive force multiplied by the absolute<br />
temperature. It may be considered as a term<br />
of correction or refinement and since it is small at<br />
ordinary temperatures, the approximate result obtained<br />
by using only the first term is sufficiently accurate.<br />
For example, with the aid of this equation,<br />
the decomposition voltage for copper sulphate, used<br />
above, may be obtained. As shown by the following<br />
equations, when an electric current is passed through<br />
a solution of copper sulphate, both CuS04 and H.,0<br />
are dissociated and H.,S04 is formed.<br />
CuSC>4 + HX> + electrolysis = Cu (at cathode)<br />
+ H2S04 + O (at anode)<br />
Molecular weight:<br />
(63.6 + 32 + 4X16) + (2X1 + 16) =<br />
63.6 + (2X1 + 32 + 4X16) + 16<br />
Gram, kilogram or pound equivalent:<br />
159.6 + 18 = 63.6 + 98+16<br />
Heat of formation or dissociation — gram calories:<br />
197.500 + 69,000 = heat of electrolysis + 210,200.<br />
Then heat of electrolysis = 197,500 + 69,000 — 210,-
December, 1924<br />
?nn _ ^ wi , • j 56,300 X 4.187<br />
ZUU _ 56,300 gram calories ; and e = —• —<br />
96,540 X 2<br />
= 1.22 volts.<br />
So much for fundamental theory; but very frequently,<br />
the heat of formation of the material smelted<br />
or electrolyzed which, in any smelting or electrolytic<br />
operation, is the primary thing determining the<br />
amount of energy required is so masked by other factors<br />
that in calculating the final or overall efficiency<br />
or economy of a process, the initial starting point is<br />
either not determined accurately at all or is practically<br />
lost sight of. In the smelting process, heat is absorbed<br />
or is obtained from :<br />
1. The various heats of combinations or dissociation<br />
that are operative in the rearrangements of<br />
chemical combinations which take place at or before<br />
reaching the smelting temperature.<br />
2. Raising the valuable chemical combination and<br />
such other chemical combinations as are necessary to<br />
the requisite reactions, and the furnace to the smelting<br />
temperature.<br />
3. Radiation, convection, conduction heat losses.<br />
4. Electrical supply equipment.<br />
In the electrolytic process, heat is absorbed or is<br />
obtained from :<br />
1. The heat of formation or dissociation active in<br />
the main reaction.<br />
2. The heats of formation or dissociation in the<br />
various secondary reactions that go on in commercial<br />
electrolytes at or near the anode or cathode.<br />
3. Raising the electrolyte and electrodes to operating<br />
temperature.<br />
4. Radiation, convection, conduction, heat losses.<br />
5. Electrical loss in the form of or equivalent to<br />
leakage, thus reducing the ampere efficiency, that is,<br />
the number of grams of metal deposited per Faraday<br />
from the theoretical 100 per cent, which is as previously<br />
stated.<br />
6. Electrical supply C 2 R losses, which show up in<br />
voltage drop in the various component parts of the<br />
electrical circuit such as the electrolyte, the anode,<br />
cathods, contacts, bus leads or conductors and the<br />
electrical supply equipment itself and result in a total<br />
impressed voltage, E, being required, which is much<br />
larger than e. If no other external heat is provided,<br />
it is obvious that ampere efficiency (No. 5 aboxe) X<br />
e<br />
— is a measure of the inherent efficiency of the elec-<br />
E<br />
J<br />
trochemical process at a particular plant.<br />
The electrical losses mentioned just above are all<br />
perhaps of a nature with which mechanical and electrical<br />
engineers are generally acquainted, except those<br />
taking place in the electrolyte itself and these, accordingly,<br />
require special study to determine variations<br />
due to variations in temperature, acidity, current<br />
density and other factors. For example, the copper<br />
sulphate solution of composition ordinarily employed<br />
in copper refineries has a negative temperature coefficient<br />
of approximately .5 per cent per deg. F. within<br />
the range of temperature ordinarily employed, so<br />
that appreciable saving of power results from operating<br />
at the highest practicable electrolyte temperature,<br />
that is, around 150 deg. F. Other ohmic losses being<br />
small compared to the electrolyte loss a power saving<br />
of 15 per cent results as compared to operation at 120<br />
Uieblasff,<br />
urnace ,/sa su pi ant<br />
533<br />
deg. F. This partly accounts for the economy of copper<br />
refineries which generate their own power from<br />
steam and operate in the neighborhood of 20 per cent<br />
non-condensing, so as to provide steam for electrolyte<br />
heating, and experience as a result a net saving somewhat<br />
more than 10 per cent. Mention should, perhaps,<br />
be made also at this point of the fact that in the electrolytic<br />
refinery the opposite reaction is going on at<br />
the anode to that taking place at the cathode, so that<br />
the resultant e is zero and E is the result of resistance<br />
drop purely. As a further example, the acidity of the<br />
zinc sulphate (ZnSOJ solution at one of the largest<br />
electrolytic zinc reduction plants ranges between 5<br />
per cent and 9 per cent. With constant voltage applied,<br />
a change of 1 per cent in the acidity of the solution<br />
changes the resistance so as to produce about a<br />
15 per cent change in current density. This is of importance<br />
because it is indicative of the fact that control<br />
of the electrolytic cell room conditions can readily<br />
be at least partially obtained through variations in<br />
acidity, thus relieving the electrical supply equipment<br />
and rendering it unnecessary that that equipment be<br />
provided inherently with an impracticable amount of<br />
voltage varying capability.<br />
From a consideration of the various items of the<br />
total heat appearing in the smelting or the electrolytic<br />
process, it is apparent that the only really useful energy<br />
is that taking part in the final or main reaction or<br />
that energy anywhere else in the process that tends<br />
to reduce the amount required in the main reaction.<br />
The useful heat is a small part of the whole and all the<br />
various losses and secondary reactions must be taken<br />
into account in determining the over-all economy.<br />
Where possible, the secondary reactions should be<br />
made to work in favor of, rather than against, the<br />
process and where external heat can be supplied more<br />
cheaply, as it has been shown can be done by steam<br />
in the copper refinery, than from electrical energy this<br />
should be done. In smelting, the largest quantities of<br />
heat appear or are absorbed under headings 1, 2 and 3,<br />
above. In electrolysis, the quantities of heat involved<br />
under 1, 2 and 3 also constitute by far the major part.<br />
The radiation, etc., losses under 4, for electrolysis are<br />
so much less than under 3, for smelting, owing to the<br />
lower temperature of operation that this partly accounts<br />
for the comparative economy usually to be obtained.<br />
To state the case briefly, the energy required for<br />
electric smelting is a function of the amount of furnace<br />
charge, whereas, the energy required for electrolysis<br />
is a function of the amount of metal deposited.<br />
This is the fundamental difference between the two<br />
processes and the one which determines the economic<br />
success of either in any application. It is not an appreciable<br />
disadvantage so far as efficiency is concerned<br />
in the electrolytic process, at least in aqueous solutions,<br />
to have large quantities of the materials in process.<br />
For example, in the case of a large electrolytic<br />
copper reduction works, more than one-half month's<br />
production would be tied up in the electrolyte alone<br />
and for a daily production of 60 tons of copper there<br />
would be in the neighborhood of 30,000 tons of electrolyte.<br />
This large body of electrolyte, flowing in<br />
cycle, contains only about 3 per cent of copper when<br />
it enters the electrolytic cell room and still contains<br />
about 2V2 per cent of copper when it leaves it to return to<br />
the ore beds. For economic smelting, on the other hand, oi<br />
the more common metals, it is essential that only small
534<br />
quantities of material in proportion to recoverable metal<br />
be in process. Low priced electric energy in conjunction<br />
with high priced fuel is a favorable condition for economic<br />
electric smelting, but high grade, concentrated<br />
materials in process are also essential.<br />
In Norway and Sweden, particularly, there are<br />
large economic electric smelters producing pig iron<br />
from iron ore. A type of furnace, such as shown in<br />
Fig. 1, is employed, which is similar to the blast furnace.<br />
The gases are recirculated but there is no blast<br />
and external heat to produce the temperature neces<br />
Tke Bias! Tt urnace rZo jfeel rlanf<br />
December, 1924<br />
sary for the reaction is introduced through six electrodes<br />
from 3000 kw. transformers. The energy consumption<br />
is in the neighborhood of 2400 kwh. per long<br />
ton, or 1.09 kwh. per lb. of pig iron.<br />
It is of particular interest that the product equals<br />
47.5 per cent of the furnace charge. The charge per<br />
ton of product is approximately, 3,680 lbs. of iron ore<br />
containing 61.5 per cent of iron, 132 lbs. of lime stone,<br />
815 lbs. of charcoal and 17.5 lbs. of electrode consumed,<br />
or a total of 4,645 lbs. The ore consists of 20.64 per<br />
cent Fe203 and 64.96 per cent Fe304, or 760 lbs. and<br />
FIG. 1.—Shaft type, electric smelting furnace for pig iron. This type of furnace allows for circulation of gas so that<br />
per cent of the heat value of the gas formed is utilized within the furnace. Of the total Kwh. supplied about 6'/<br />
7 per cent is lost in the cooling water and 20 per cent to 25 per cent by radiation.<br />
'\/\
December, 1924<br />
2385 lbs., respectively, per ton of pig iron produced.<br />
It is, of course, understood, that electric smelting, as<br />
fuel smelting, require fluxes and reagents to produce<br />
chemical reactions at the smelting temperature.<br />
Hence, the amounts of limestone and charcoal stated<br />
above. In view of the high percentage of the final<br />
product in the initial furnace charge, owing to the<br />
high grade iron ore employed, an analysis of the way<br />
heat is absorbed or produced, in the main reactions at<br />
least, will be of interest as indicative of the efficiency<br />
and economic possibilities not only of this particular<br />
electric smelting operation but of other similar operations.<br />
1. Reduction temperature 900 deg. C.—probable<br />
equation :<br />
Fe304 + 3C = 3Fe + 2CO + CO,,<br />
Molecular weight — weight equivalent:<br />
231.5 + 36 = 167.5 + 2(28) + 44<br />
IneDlasf rurnaco^jleel riant<br />
Heat of formation or dissociation — gram calories:<br />
270,800 = 2(29,160) + 97,200 + electric heat.<br />
. , 115,280X3.968X1,000<br />
I hen, electric heat = =<br />
167.5 X 3.412<br />
800 Kwh. per long ton.<br />
2,385 X 167.5<br />
As there are = 1,725 lbs. of Fe produced<br />
231.5<br />
from Fe304, 627 Kwh. will be required.<br />
2. Reduction temperature 800 deg. C. — probable<br />
equation :<br />
2FeO + 2C = 2Fe + CO<br />
Reduction temperature 700 deg. C. — probable<br />
equation:<br />
Fe203 + 2CO = 2FeO + CO + CO,<br />
Combining:<br />
Fe,03 + 2C = 2Fe + CO + CO,<br />
159.7 + 24 = 111.7 + 28 + 44<br />
197.700 = 29,160 + 97,200 + electric heat.<br />
71,340 X 3.968 X 1,000<br />
Then, electric heat = ' =<br />
111.7 X 3,412<br />
742 Kkh. per long ton.<br />
Then, the 535 lbs. of Fe produced from Fe„03 will<br />
require 181 Kwh. Then, the total 2,260 lbs. of Fe<br />
(including 3 per cent loss), produced will require 808<br />
Kwh. theoretically.<br />
3. The ore carrying the reduced Fe is raised to a<br />
much higher temperature 1,400 deg. or 1,500 deg. C.<br />
in the crucible of the furnace by the addition of about<br />
342 Kwh. per ton of Fe where the Fe melts, uniting<br />
with 3 per cent or 4 per cent of carbon and a fractional<br />
percentage of silicon to form the fusible product<br />
known as pig iron. There are several minor reactions<br />
in the reduction of the silicious gangue, in this<br />
case 14.4 per cent of the ore, and in the decomposition<br />
of the limestone, which fluxes the gangue and the ash<br />
of the reducing agent, if any, to form a fusible slag<br />
floating on top of the iron which is tapped and thrown<br />
away. These reactions do not materially affect the<br />
total electric heat required which, therefore, is ap<br />
535<br />
proximately 1,150 Kwh. per long ton of white low<br />
silicon iron suitable for making steel.<br />
Accordingly, the inherent efficiency of the process<br />
comparable to the energy efficiency, — X Amp. Eff.<br />
E<br />
for electrolytic processes, is 1150<br />
2400<br />
= 48 per cent.<br />
Whereas, the furnace operating voltage is usually<br />
from 70 to 80 volts, equipment having a range of from<br />
60 to 120 volts is required.<br />
In Norway and Sweden also, there has been extensive<br />
economic electric smelting of zinc. Here also,<br />
the raw material employed has been high in the values<br />
produced. It has consisted largely of cheap, slagging<br />
lead zinc, say 35 per cent zinc and 10 per cent lead,<br />
ores, making beside metallic zinc, lead bullion and copper<br />
matte. In other words, it is really a separating<br />
process, each of the three products requiring further<br />
work to place it in marketable form. The power consumed<br />
is from 2 to 2y2 Kwh. per lb. of zinc produced.<br />
Electrical units of about 1,000 kw. each have been<br />
largly employed. Equipment having a voltage range<br />
for the furnace of from 50 to 180 volts, or 90 to 180<br />
volts, is required.<br />
(To be continued.)<br />
The metal-mining industry of the United States<br />
employed 123,279 men in 1923, representing an increase<br />
of 17 per cent over the number employed in<br />
1922, according to statistics compiled by the Department<br />
of the Interior through the Bureau of Mines.<br />
The volume of work performed was equivalent to<br />
36,559,805 men-shifts of labor, or 25 per cent more<br />
than in the preceding year. The death rate from accidents<br />
at the mines was lower than has ever before<br />
been recorded, but the non-fatal injury rate continued<br />
to rise. The fatality rate was 3.01 per thousand men<br />
employed, calculated on a standard of 300 work days<br />
per man per year; the injury rate was 275 per thousand<br />
men. Prior to 1923 the lowest fatality rate was<br />
3.09 for the year 1921 ; the highest was 4.45 for 1911.<br />
The actual number of men killed by accidents in 1923<br />
was 367; the number injured was 33,563, each injury<br />
incapacitating the employee for one day or more.<br />
The reduction in the fatality rate for 1923 is credited<br />
to iron mines and to the gold and silver group of<br />
mines, as there was a slight increase in the fatality<br />
rates for mines producing copper, lead and zinc and<br />
non-metallic minerals .<br />
The volume of work done, as indicated by the aggregate<br />
number of man-shifts of labor performed by<br />
all employees, indicated increased activity in all of<br />
the major branches of mining. The increase, as compared<br />
with 1922, was 37 per cent at copper mines, 35<br />
per cent at iron mines. 11 per cent at gold and silver<br />
mines, 19 per cent at lead and zinc mines in the Mississippi<br />
Valley States, and 12 per cent at mines producing<br />
non-metallic minerals.<br />
Not only did the industry as a whole enjoy greater<br />
activity than in the preceding year, but the average<br />
number of work days per man was 297 in 1923, as compared<br />
with 276 days in 1922. This increase likewise<br />
was shown for all branches of mining.
Preparation of Metallographic Specimens<br />
A Compilation of Definite Facts and Rules Which Will Enable<br />
An Investigator to Prepare Satisfactory Specimens<br />
Ir is hard to tell how many young and promising metallurgists<br />
just from the hospital walls of a college<br />
will hive this year their spirit broken and for a week<br />
or so will be seriously contemplating the change of<br />
the profession when their best efforts to prepare decent<br />
specimens continually and ignominiously fail,<br />
but judging from the sweet recollection on the subject<br />
of the older generation they will be many.<br />
College education gives all that is necessary for<br />
the understanding of the principles underlying metallography,<br />
but this is not all. A great precipice exists<br />
between the work in alma mater's laboratory under<br />
the eagle eye of a professor and the brain-breaking<br />
problems as from whom to order and how to specify<br />
a powder which actually will produce a scratchless<br />
specimen, or how much water to add to it, or some<br />
other item of trifling importance, the whole value of<br />
which only those who had to solve them themselves<br />
could appreciate. The bridge across this chasm is<br />
the knowledge of these little, unimportant details, so<br />
often acting as demarcation line between success and<br />
sad failure. The purpose of this paper is to give them.<br />
For men versed in metallography these details<br />
cease to exist. The materials involved are established<br />
by a long line of precedents and the mechanical<br />
performance comes automatically without any definite<br />
thought on the part of the operator, and this is the<br />
reason why textbooks, even such splendid works as<br />
Doctor Sauveur's, unintentionally do not convey any<br />
more details than are necessary for an experienced<br />
man.<br />
By JOHN D. GAT*<br />
*Metallurgical Engineer, United Alloy Corporation, Canton,<br />
Ohio.<br />
Lucky is the man if the first job which Lady Fortune<br />
did bring to him happens to be in a modern, upto-date<br />
laboratory. Alas, there still are in this happyland<br />
of ours some places where the good slogan "what<br />
was good for our fathers is good for us" holds strong,<br />
and the poor personnel suffers from an endless row<br />
of unexplainable troubles.<br />
It is mostly for the benefit of the younger members<br />
of the profession that the author submits to the<br />
readers a detailed description of the procedure<br />
adopted as giving quite satisfactory results in his<br />
laboratory, but hopes also that it may give some suggestions<br />
"to anyone interested in metallography and,<br />
by helpful criticism aroused, will be inducive to further<br />
promotion of quality and simplification of laboratory<br />
routine work.<br />
The first operation with which the preparation of a<br />
sample begins is the selection of a representative<br />
sample of the size convenient for the following manipulations<br />
from the object to be examined. This is made<br />
on the basis that it must be representative of the features<br />
sought.<br />
Wishing to select a sample which would show a<br />
desired feature most pronouncedly, one has to use his<br />
own judgment, as only a few very general informations<br />
can be given. If attention is called to the<br />
structure alone, and only a small bar is the object, a<br />
cross section will give all data desired, including a<br />
possible presence of pipe or segregations. If nonmetallic<br />
inclusions are of interest the best policy is to<br />
polish parallel to the direction of rolling and near the<br />
center. Cold rolled steel, wrought iron and f<strong>org</strong>ings<br />
will reveal their specific characteristics more pronouncedly<br />
when cut parallel to the direction of the<br />
last work. If the question arises regarding the nature<br />
of seams, rolling laps, f<strong>org</strong>ing defects, welds, depth of<br />
case, they, self-evidently, must be well represented on<br />
FIG. 1.—Cross section of .030 in. steel sheet. Solder was too the cold sample. In the above case it is advantageous to<br />
and did not adhere to the metal. Black hands—interstices polish be- perpendicularly to the plane in which the detzveen<br />
solder and the sheet. Finished on magnesite wheel. fects are located because there is always a chance to<br />
miss them if cut otherwise.<br />
Larger size of specimen, of course, will broaden<br />
the field of observation, but at the same time considerably<br />
increase the difficulty of obtaining a satisfactory<br />
finish of the surface. The question is reduced to<br />
the problem, how small a sample will fully represent<br />
a given feature. For a great majority of cases a polished<br />
surface of one quarter of a square inch is<br />
ample, and is easy to manipulate. True, it is<br />
sometimes necessary to put under the microscope a<br />
cross section of a needle or an automobile axle, but<br />
for all other work one may recommend to cut specimens<br />
of approximately above given area, but in no<br />
case allowing any of the dimensions to be less than<br />
one-eighth of an inch. If a large surface is to be<br />
examined it is better to cut it into smaller pieces than<br />
to attempt to prepare for the microscope, say, 4x4 in.<br />
square. Though the third dimension of the specimen<br />
has nothing to do with the ease of polishing, it is pre-
December, 1924<br />
ferable to keep it around one-half inch to facilitate its<br />
subsequent mounting on the stage.<br />
When the specimen is selected it has then to be<br />
separated from the rest of the metal. As n method<br />
with the largest scope of usefulness cutting with an<br />
abrasive wheel, such as supplied, for example, by<br />
Norton Company as 12xj4 in. or 3/32 in. 60-3M shellac<br />
wheels, can be strongly recommended. They cut<br />
fast, have long life and will easily cut any material<br />
coming into a steel mill laboratory from ferro chrome<br />
down. Hack saws, even power-driven, cannot compare<br />
with them because of the limited range of application,<br />
slowness of work and unevenness of the<br />
surface produced involving some additional grinding.<br />
Installation of a cutting wheel will soon pay for itself<br />
even in a very small laboratory.<br />
To obtain the best results from a wheel care should<br />
be taken not to press the specimen too hard against<br />
it. If it takes with the normal pressure, say, one-half<br />
inch to cut 15 inches of one-inch plate, all of the former<br />
will be gone and the task will not be completed if<br />
the pressure is too high. Press as long as there is no<br />
smell (excessive heat generated by abnormal friction<br />
decomposes the binding medium of wheels) and no<br />
grit is flying, only sparks.<br />
The only handicap for the general usefulness of<br />
cutting wheels is the size of the objects to be cut.<br />
Their maximum dimensions are specified by the opening<br />
in the housing in which the wheel is enclosed, but<br />
for practical purposes it is inconvenient to cut anything<br />
thicker than two or at the most two and a half<br />
inches. When an order is received in the laboratory<br />
to examine, for example, the center of an ingot measuring<br />
32x32 in. in cross section there is no use to try<br />
to handle it without the help of the machine shop<br />
which should be instructed to cut a plate of it about<br />
one inch thick and not more than 6x6 in. area. The<br />
same procedure has to be followed in any case when<br />
heavy or bulky objects are to be dealt with.<br />
If some other feature, not the structure, is sought,<br />
the specimen can be left on the wheel until it is cut.<br />
Though the danger of affecting the structure of a<br />
sample, especially a hardened one, is not very great,<br />
it still must be minimized by holding the piece with<br />
the fingers so as to feel the temperature and to prevent<br />
excessive overheating by frequent immersion in<br />
water.<br />
Sometimes cutting of a sample leaves it in such a<br />
shape or size that some further preparation is needed<br />
to facilitate its subsequent handling. Even a very<br />
experienced operator will not undertake to polish a<br />
cross-section of a piano wire, 30-gage sheet or y,-'m.<br />
ball without mounting them first, which means surrounding<br />
them with some suitable media and producing<br />
thus an article of convenient shape. This is<br />
usually done by surrounding the specimen with some<br />
kind of a mold and pouring in it an easily fusible<br />
metal.<br />
Molds which can be changed to suit a particular<br />
occasion seem to be more advantageous than those of<br />
permanent shape. If the shape of specimens is liable<br />
to vary widely, considerable savings in bulk of the<br />
mounted sample as well as a wider range of sizes being<br />
taken care of can be effected by adjusting suitably<br />
the retaining wall of a mold. A sheet of thin gage<br />
steel is cut into strips about y or ^4-in. wide and 4<br />
to 6 inches long. It is but of little importance<br />
Tlie 51asf FurnaceSSleel Planr<br />
537<br />
whether their edges are parallel, but it is advantageous<br />
to have one of them as straight as possible to simplify<br />
their use, as will be seen later.<br />
A specimen to be imbedded is placed on a flat steel<br />
plate with the surface to be polished down. A strip<br />
FIG. 2.—Carelessly finished on au old wheel zvith Norton levigated<br />
aluminc. No turning at 100 deg. and heavy pressure.<br />
The shape of sonines cannot be distinguished. Tzvo particles<br />
of dust were not recovered before exposure.<br />
FIG. 3.—Magnesitc finish. Sufficient elimination of scratches<br />
and satisfactorily frequent rotation. Pressure is excessive<br />
resulting in deep "tails."<br />
FIG. 4.—Magnesite finish. Too dilate mixture and exclusively<br />
slow speed polish. The sample in relief before elimination of<br />
the scratches.<br />
of steel is bent to surround it, leaving a clearance of<br />
not less than J^-in. and the ends of the strip are<br />
pressed together to close the mold. The straight edge<br />
of the strip should be down for the same reason. A
538 Die Bias! Furnaco3Steel Plan!<br />
common solder, 50 per cent lead and 50 per cent tin<br />
melted in a crucible acts as mounting medium. If<br />
the specimen has such a shape as to be able to rest on<br />
the bottom plate and is heavy enough not to float under<br />
the impact of the stream of molten solder no special<br />
precautions should be taken. Otherwise it is<br />
necessary to hold it with pincers until the solder sets.<br />
One may recommend the addition of the latter in two<br />
portions'. The first, covering the bottom as a layer<br />
y&-in. deep, serves to hold the specimen in place and<br />
to seal the openings around the bottom, through which<br />
the metal under hydrostatic pressure is liable to<br />
escape. It solidifies almost instantaneously and the<br />
mold is then filled to the top.<br />
,jr* .. - •<br />
:>' : . • .<br />
. . . . • ' t<br />
" - ~"*w*<br />
1<br />
. *-Jk\'>^».'-*idfc ^*-*-- • ••„'<br />
s<br />
f"^» '<br />
* 1<br />
* , * • * ,<br />
''. •' 1 •'.'<br />
*':£:1 $ -i-;M<br />
&..<br />
FIG. 5.—Same specimen as Fig. 4 but a different place. Finished<br />
with levigated alumine from Central Scientific Company. Reasonable<br />
freedom from scratches not too prominent "tails" but<br />
finished in the wrong direction.<br />
FIG. 6.—Same spot as Fig. 5 but repolished and allozvcd to dry<br />
between second and last wheels to shozv the rust formed.<br />
Alumine finish.<br />
One-eighth of an inch as minimum clearance was<br />
mentioned because it is necessary for proper imbedding.<br />
Solder passing between two closely placed<br />
metallic surfaces loses its heat and is liable to solidify<br />
before the space is completely filled or to become so<br />
cold that it does not adhere to the surface of metal<br />
close enough to prevent the formation of some interstices<br />
in which liquids used in subsequent operation<br />
by Hubert. The paper is cut in 12-in. circles and<br />
placed on both sides of wheels and the gasket is tightened<br />
with a nut. Centrifugal force holds the paper<br />
perfectly flat. Usually about 10 sheets of each grade<br />
are put on wheels simultaneously. When a sheet is<br />
worn out, i. e., does not polish fast enough, it is torn<br />
are liable to collect and oxidize the nearby a<br />
Dece 924<br />
7 or<br />
the same reason it is better to mount sepa sti ets<br />
than a bundle formed by placing several of them together.<br />
Though mounting of quenched steels ought to affect<br />
slightly their physical properties, the structure<br />
may be safely considered as unaffected due to low<br />
temperature and a brief interval of time during which<br />
it is applied.<br />
Cutting usually leaves the specimens covered with<br />
many deep scratches which are removed on a grinding<br />
wheel. As quite suitable for this purpose alundum<br />
wheels furnished by Norton Company as 12xl-in.,<br />
grain from 36 to 46, grade M, may be used. They are<br />
rough enough to cut fast but uniform in texture, so as<br />
not to mark the specimen with deep and ununiform<br />
scratches. Finer grain size should be avoided. The<br />
sample is pressed with fingers towards the flat side<br />
of the wheel and often immersed in water to prevent<br />
dangerous overheating. General rule is to turn a<br />
specimen at 90 degrees to the direction of marks left<br />
by the preceeding operation, though very nelpful and<br />
always followed sometimes has to be abandoned in<br />
the case of the roughing wheel. Specimens which<br />
are to be examined for non-metallic inclusions always<br />
have to have the direction of final polish perpendicular<br />
to the direction of rolling, and therefore it is sometimes<br />
unavoidable to hold the specimen in 1he same<br />
position on cutting and roughing wheels. The grinding<br />
is finished when the scratches are of the same<br />
depth and run in the same direction. When the<br />
edges of specimens are of no particular value, they<br />
may be advantageously rounded here to prevent the<br />
possibility of cutting the cloth on wet wheels.<br />
Paper wheels, which are the next step of preparation,<br />
consist of four grades of emery paper mounted<br />
on flat wheels 12-in. diameter and rotating in<br />
vertical plane. The wheels are not encased in housings.<br />
One stand with two wheels and a motor running<br />
at 1100 rpm. serves for the whole set. The<br />
grades of paper mentioned in order used are: No. 1.<br />
G, 1M and O or IF. Three last are made in France<br />
off and a fresh one is ready. As a time-saver this arrangement<br />
is to be highly recommended, though it<br />
has a slight drawback, perceptible rounding of the<br />
edges. In a great majority of cases it may be disregarded,<br />
but interferes with the work when the peri<br />
phery of a sample has to be examined under high<br />
magnification. In the latter instance it is better to<br />
imbed the speciman anyway.<br />
The sample is firmly held with the fingers and<br />
pressed against the wheel. The direction of polishing<br />
should be at the right angle to the scratches left<br />
by the rough wheel. The first paper, the coarsest,<br />
needs more time and attention than anv following.<br />
All previous marks sjfculd be eliminated here. Almost<br />
always the time Winsumed on this wheel is long<br />
enough to overheat the sample and cooling in water<br />
is necessary. After immersion the specimens should<br />
be dried in order not to spoil the wheel with the moisture.<br />
When all scratches on the surface run in the<br />
same direction the specimen is transferred on the next<br />
grade of paper, turning it, as usual, at 90 degrees.<br />
Only a few seconds are needed to remove the previous<br />
marks on any of the subsequent wheels even when<br />
the pressure is slight, as it should be here.<br />
Wet wheels, the next operation, will give more<br />
troubles than all others combined if certain precau-
December, 1924<br />
tions are not observed. Their purpose is the total<br />
obliteration of all divergencies from a perfect plane<br />
needed for microscopic work. Very fine grades of<br />
paper, especially those which have been worn already,<br />
will produce a flat surface almost free from scratches,<br />
but their use is to be discouraged due to burnishing<br />
action distorting the actual structure. Wet wheels<br />
should be as free from this objectionable feature as<br />
possible. This is achieved by the use of soft backing<br />
on which the abrasive is carried and moderate speed.<br />
The best grades of broadcloth are the common material<br />
for backing.<br />
A set of vertical spindles on which easily removable<br />
horizontal wheels 10-in. diameter are mounted<br />
is placed in a row inside of respective housings provided<br />
with covers. Probably located shaft and belting<br />
connect them with a common motor and the<br />
pulley ratio is calculated to run the wheels at 500<br />
rpm. This arrangement can be placed on a separate<br />
table as it is shown on the accompanying photograph.<br />
Selecting the material of which the wheels are to<br />
be made, it is necessary to keep in mind that wood,<br />
even chemically treated to make it water-proof, is<br />
lacking in sufficient hardness, so that after some use<br />
the surface of the wheel will be far from a true plane,<br />
firstly due to the abrasive action on wood, and secondly<br />
to the fact that comparatively rough surface of<br />
the wood results in accumulation of unevenly distributed<br />
masses of powder under the cloth. Metal<br />
wheels are subjected to corrosion which often is not<br />
uniformly distributed, especially on the zinc wheels,<br />
which after a few days in service become covered<br />
with little clusters of rust of quite an appreciable<br />
height. They, protruding through the cloth, scratch<br />
the specimens badly and the longer polishing results<br />
not in improving but in total spoiling of the surface,<br />
though the powder on which the blame is usually directed<br />
in such a case is not at fault.<br />
Any wheel can be vastly improved by interposing<br />
between it and the cloth a disc cut of glass to fit its<br />
shape. Ordinary window glass is suitable, but to<br />
minimize the breakage clue to inevitably occuring<br />
shocks when a specimen "catches" the cloth double<br />
thickness or, better, plate glass can be recommended.<br />
There is no special need for fastening the disc with<br />
some waterproof glue, but for safety sake it does not<br />
hurt. In our practice the dampened cl^j^tretched<br />
over the disc and kept in place with rubber bands<br />
holds the same fast enough to suit any safety man.<br />
The centrifugal force is well balanced and three or<br />
four rubber bands of the kind used in offices are quite<br />
sufficient.<br />
The cloth as received from a store is free from<br />
grit for practical purposes. It should be cut into<br />
squares with sides about two inches longer than the<br />
diameter of wheels and stored in a place protected<br />
from dust. When a wheel is worn out, i. e., torn on<br />
coarser or becomes too gritty on the last one, it is removed<br />
from the housing, rubber bands lifted and the<br />
cloth thrown away. The wheel is held in a vice byits<br />
hub, the glass washed clean from any adherent<br />
powder, replaced, covered with a square of cloth and<br />
the rubber bands are put around it so as to fit the<br />
groove on the side of the wheel. By pulling at the<br />
edges the cloth is smoothed and then trimmed with<br />
shears, leaving a border about half inch wide. After<br />
this it is placed on the spindle, wet with water and is readv<br />
to receive powder.<br />
MasfFurnaceSSfoolPlanf<br />
539<br />
A powder to be conveniently applied to a wheel<br />
must be suspended in some liquid. As a container for<br />
this mixture an ordinary wash bottle of about 1,000<br />
cc. capacity and of the kind used in chemical laboratories<br />
hardly can be surpassed. It permits to have a<br />
comparatively large amount of mixture ready for immediate<br />
use, well preserves it from contamination<br />
with dust and makes the application to the cloth even<br />
using one hand, very simple.<br />
To prepare it, enough powder is placed in the<br />
bottle to fill it to about one-eighth of its capacity for<br />
coarser wheels and half of this amount for the final,<br />
the bottle is filled with liquid, shaken vigorously and<br />
the mixture is ready for use.<br />
Three grades of powder are sufficient to prepare a<br />
sample. For the first stage is selected XF alundum<br />
manufactured by Norton Company, for the second<br />
levigated alumina of the same make, for the last<br />
"Magnesite" polishing powder furnished by Henry A.<br />
Goldwynne, 26 Cortland street. New York, or levigated<br />
alumina from Central Scientific Company.<br />
Water is used as carrier for first two powders. If<br />
levigated alumina is preferred for the last wheel it is<br />
mixed with the amount of water indicated on the container<br />
in which it is sold ; if Magnesite, the water has<br />
to be substituted with some other substance not acting<br />
chemically on this powder. The change from<br />
orthodox water to, say, benzol, was made because the<br />
elimination of the former permits to use a very slight<br />
pressure, maximum dilution of powder and thus to<br />
carry the elimination of scratches as far as wanted, far<br />
above the requirements of routine work, if necessary,<br />
without the slightest danger of oxidation.<br />
Benzol is selected as a carrier only because the mill<br />
store room has a large supply of it at hand and, of<br />
course, any similar liquid is quite satisfactory.<br />
The wheels are always kept covered. The lid<br />
is removed from the first one when a sample is ready<br />
for it. The cloth is moistened with a handful of<br />
water, and some powder, after shaking the bottle, is<br />
squirted on it so as to cover uniformily the whole surface.<br />
This is done when the wheel is running. The<br />
specimen is put on the side of the wheel which is going<br />
from the operator and. to prevent the possibility,<br />
though very small on a flat wheel with glass backing,<br />
of tearing the cloth, the back part of it is lowered<br />
first. It is safer to place the specimen near the center<br />
and then to move it outwards. Some more<br />
powder is added while the polishing proceeds and the<br />
operation is continued until all preceding scratches<br />
are eliminated.<br />
The sample and fingers are washed in running<br />
water, the first wheel covered with its lid and the<br />
polishing, after turning at 90 degress, is continued<br />
exactly in the same way on the second wheel as on<br />
'he first.<br />
Sometimes when several specimens are to be polished<br />
at the same time all of them are run on one<br />
wheel and then on the other. This practice should be<br />
strongly discouraged. If samples are dried between<br />
operations no savings in time are effected. If left wet,<br />
the rust inevitably forms as little specks which need<br />
much time for their removal on last wheel and are<br />
once in a while mistaken, under cursory examination,<br />
for sonims.<br />
The preparation of a specimen for visual examination<br />
terminates, unless etching js necessarv, with
540<br />
washing and drying of it after the second wheel.<br />
Scratches still left are of the size and character which<br />
does not interfere with microscopic examination even<br />
at higher powers. The use of the last wheel is to be<br />
recurred to only when some special work has to be<br />
done or photographs are to be taken and is more<br />
due to esthetical reasons than any others.<br />
Non-metallic inclusions, especially alumina, handicap<br />
the simple procedure described above. Usually<br />
they are harder than steel and stand in relief during<br />
the last stages of polishing. Fine abrasive accumulates<br />
behind such projections until the friction of cloth<br />
removes it in a lump leaving on the surface of the<br />
specimen a deep scratch similar in shape to the tail<br />
of a comet.<br />
They not only badly spoil the appearance of specimens,<br />
but, what is more important, camouflage to a<br />
certain extent the real shape of inclusions. Though<br />
some reduction of these scratches can be obtained by<br />
frequent turning of specimens while on coarser wet<br />
wheels at 180 degrees, they cannot be completely<br />
eliminated, and the onlv means left when the sharp<br />
definitions of inclusions is important lies in the use<br />
of the last wheel. Very light pressure and thinness<br />
Ul<br />
MasfTurnaceSSfeel Plant<br />
December, 1924<br />
are cheaper and as good as chemically pure, and are<br />
used in two stages. A small dessicator provided with<br />
a porcelain plate is filled with soda ash (anhydrous<br />
sodium carbonate) instead of calcium chloride and<br />
then with alcohol to about inch and a half above the<br />
plate. Soda ash is added partly to absorb water, but<br />
mainly to neutralize acids carried on specimens, and<br />
to allow the same bath to be used considerably longer<br />
than without it. This serves as the first bath. A<br />
small quantity of alcohol frequently replaced and kept<br />
in a small dish with ground cover is used for second<br />
immersion. When a specimen has cracks, or is of a<br />
shape which is liable to hold water in some interstices,<br />
or is imbedded in solder, where there aways<br />
is a chance that the latter did not thoroughly adhere<br />
to the specimen, it is better to leave it in the first<br />
alcoholic bath for a few minutes until all water is<br />
replaced with alcohol instead of just rinsing it as it<br />
is done when the sample is sound.<br />
After removal from alcohol the excess of it is<br />
thrown awav with a quick motion of the hand and the<br />
sample is dried with air blast or a soft rag.<br />
The greatest scope of routine work can be covered<br />
when the etching is needed by the use of picric or<br />
c U.ST Q M F P. FW| pw *'(0 J E K 4. C Ihiiut! pM C>E S^ /
December, 1924<br />
sketchy description of the desired intensity of etching<br />
one may say that the action of the acid should be<br />
stopped as soon as the bright surface of the specimen<br />
becomes dull and is colored light, even gray.<br />
Blackish or brownish tints indicate overetching.<br />
When the desired shade is reached the specimen<br />
is held for a few seconds under a stream of water,<br />
the water is shaken off( the specimen immersed in<br />
two successive alcohol baths and then is dried with<br />
an air blast or with a piece of soft cotton cloth bv<br />
pressing it gently on the surface without rubbing.<br />
To have the prepared surface perfectly parallel<br />
with the plane of the stage, or perpendicular to the<br />
optical axis of the microscope is the principal requirement<br />
for mounting a specimen before placing it on<br />
the stage. A magnetic specimen holder is very convenient<br />
at times but its usefullness is handicapped<br />
by _ the impossibility of observation of the whole<br />
polished surface without resetting and the troubles<br />
encountered when large, especially mounted, specimens<br />
are to be examined.<br />
A brass pipe about inch and a half diameter is cut<br />
on a lathe into y2, 1, \y2 in. lengths. Some of them<br />
are flattened on the sides so as to accommodate longer<br />
specimens. It seems to be not far from true that<br />
these three sizse will take care of all specimens coming<br />
into a laboratory with a very few exceptions. As<br />
a base for the mounts a plate of heavy glass cut into<br />
strips of about 1 in. x 3 in. to fit the stage is used.<br />
For mounting medium, nothing is found to excell<br />
moulding wax of the kind which can be bought in<br />
5 and 10 cent stores because it does not change its<br />
plasticity under the influence of temperature.<br />
The specimen is placed face down on a piece of<br />
clean paper, a suitable size of pipe is selected, a small<br />
lump of moulding wax is fastened by pressure to the<br />
glass plate and the pipe is put in such a position as<br />
to surround the specimen. The base plate with wax<br />
adhering to it is turned upside down and pressed on<br />
the specimen until the former is well imbedded and<br />
the plate rests on the walls of the pipe. There is<br />
no need to have the pipe around the mounting and<br />
therefore it is removed, the polished surface wiped<br />
from dust with a camel hair brush and the specimen<br />
is put on the stage.<br />
When an abnormally large sample has to be examined<br />
it is better to imbed it by hand, omitting<br />
pipe and to correct the deficiency in mounting by a<br />
frequent refocusing rather than to keep in stock excessive<br />
sizes of pipe lengths just for such rare occasions.<br />
Preparation of specimens for microphotography<br />
does not involve any mounting if inverted type of<br />
microscope is used, or is similar to the described<br />
above with an ordinary kind. In the first case the<br />
object is placed face down on glass plate provided<br />
on the stage and is ready for focusing unless its size<br />
is smaller than the opening in the plate. In this<br />
occasion a magnetic holder can be used to advantage.<br />
By laying it on the stage a convenient support is<br />
formed for almost any size of specimens on which<br />
they are held in the same position as on the glass<br />
plate. Specimen holders of spring type cannot be<br />
recommended because only very seldom the polished<br />
surface forms a true right angle with the sides of the<br />
specimen and the pressure of the spring inevitably<br />
TneBlasffurnaceSSfeelPU<br />
541<br />
will hold it at any other than 90 degrees angle with<br />
the optical axis of the apparatus.<br />
Some of the specimens may be needed several<br />
months after the first examination, and the question<br />
arises how to protect them from deterioration, keep<br />
all necessary information complete and easily available<br />
and not to lose the identity of a sample.<br />
Specimens examined in a year's time, which seems<br />
to be the limit of their usefullness, run into thousands,<br />
so that their storage in dessicators will involve<br />
a large and unnecessary outlay of space and money.<br />
Unnecessary because though some specimens may<br />
happen to be of great interest some time after the examination<br />
the great majority never will be used again,<br />
and it is simpler to repolish and reetch one when<br />
needed than to keep thousands ready for microscope.<br />
There is a way of eliminating the dessicators and still<br />
having the specimens well preserved, lacquering, but<br />
it has its drawbacks. Though some of Du Pont cellulose<br />
acetate and nitro-cellulose lacquers produce<br />
after a single immersion and air drying a water-proof<br />
and totally, even under higher magnifications, invisible<br />
coat, the samples thus treated require careful<br />
handling because the lacquer being soft is very easily<br />
scratched.<br />
A filing cabinet of the kind used in drafting rooms<br />
for blue prints can be used as convenient storage<br />
place. Its drawers ate large enough to permit the<br />
installation of wooden partitions, each to accommodate<br />
ten samples, usually nine in a row and as many<br />
rows as the size permits, and are shallow enough to<br />
avoid the unnecessary waste of room.<br />
Specimens are marked in numerical order and are<br />
placed in compartments so that each row holds 99<br />
specimens. As almost always the size of specimens<br />
is large enough to have space for at least three<br />
figures the use of a letter prefix and numerals from<br />
one to 99 will easily take care of the yearly supply<br />
of samples.<br />
Stenciling, though rather troublesome, does not<br />
give any special benefit and should be replaced by<br />
writing with india ink directly on specimens as being<br />
more versatile, dependable and convenient.<br />
The lack of instantaneously available information<br />
will reduce the whole mass of specimens carefully<br />
stored to something not much more in value than an<br />
equivalent weight of scrap iron. Every sample as<br />
soon as it is examined is entered in a log book under<br />
a given number. It is then written on the sample<br />
itself. The log book should approach bookkeeper's<br />
ledger,—with the least amount of writing to record<br />
the maximum volume of informations.<br />
Attempts to devise a log book well suited for anylaboratory<br />
in the universe will be, of course, futile as<br />
well as foolish, but as a first approximation may be<br />
suggested the form given below and found satisfactory<br />
for an ordinary steel works laboratory.<br />
Mr. W. L. Schreck, who recently resigned as chief<br />
engineer of the Wheeling Steel Corporation to enter<br />
business for himself as general consulting engineer,<br />
with offices in Wheleing. W. Va.. is now in Europe.<br />
.Mr. Schreck will visit many of the most important<br />
iron, steel and mining districts of continental Europe<br />
and will return early in the spring of next year.
542 The Blast l'iirnaco'3 Stool riant<br />
December, 1924<br />
Gas Producer Theory and Practice<br />
Beginning of a Series of Investigations Dealing With the Important<br />
Phases of Producer Operation<br />
W H I L E the development of improved gas producers<br />
has been very rapid of late years the fact<br />
remains that steel plant practice is still on a<br />
much lower level than it should be. The improvement<br />
in the practice has not kept step with the improvement<br />
and development of the producer itself. There<br />
are of course many old style producers in operation<br />
where good practice is extremely difficult but it is<br />
too often a fact that when new up-to-date machines<br />
are installed old methods are continued and little improvement<br />
results so far as the efficiency of the process<br />
is concerned.<br />
Object.<br />
In the consideration of a subject of this kind there<br />
is very apt to be a clash between the theorist and<br />
the practical man which makes it hard to get on common<br />
ground and work out means for improving practice.<br />
The gas producer problem seems to present more<br />
difficulties on this account than many others and for<br />
this reason this article is written with the idea of combining<br />
theory and practice in the proper proportions<br />
to make it of the greatest value possible. It must be<br />
remembered however that there are so many types of<br />
machines in use under different conditions and using<br />
different grades and kinds of fuel that it is almost impossible<br />
to make definite general statements. In the<br />
following there are a few minor theoretical discrepancies<br />
which are allowed for the sake of simplication.<br />
The First Producer.<br />
The first gas producer was simply a shaft with a<br />
top and hopper, through which coal was charged and<br />
a grate at the bottom through which air entered. This<br />
was verv unsatisfactory on account of clinker trouble<br />
and steam was introduced with the air thereby reducing<br />
clinkering. With the exception of the grates<br />
which have been done away with, this is the general<br />
form of the gas producer today.<br />
By A. B. HUYCK*<br />
PART I.<br />
Characteristics of Gas Making Fire.<br />
The gas made in this producer may be very good<br />
or very bad depending on several conditions. We will<br />
assume that we have a good gas making fire. It consists<br />
of three layers or zones. The ash zone is at the<br />
bottom and is cold from the incoming steam and air<br />
which are passing through it from the blast hood.<br />
The fire zone is hottest just above the ash and gradually<br />
gets colder as we travel upward until we get<br />
into the third zone of green fuel on the top of the fire.<br />
Gas Formation.<br />
The theory of the gas formation may be divided up<br />
into three parts. First we will consider the formation<br />
of carbon monoxide (CO). At the hottest portion<br />
of the fire just above the ash the oxygen (02)<br />
in the air comes in contact with hot incandescent car-<br />
•Bethlehem Steel Company, Buffalo, N. Y.<br />
bon and combines with it forming carbon dioxide<br />
(CO,) in accordance with the chemical equation 02<br />
+ C = CO,, liberating a great amount of heat which<br />
accounts for the high temperature of the fire at this<br />
point. This carbon dioxide (C02) in passing on up<br />
through the fire then picks up carbon from the hot<br />
coke in accordance with the chemical equation C02<br />
+ C = 2CO. This completes the formation of the<br />
carbon monoxide which is from 24 to 28 per cent of<br />
good producer gas.<br />
Decomposition of Moisture.<br />
Second we will consider the decomposition of the<br />
moisture from the steam brought in by the blast. The<br />
heat of the fire breaks the water up into its two component<br />
parts, hydrogen (H2) and oxygen (O,) expressed<br />
chemically 2H20 = 2H2 + 02. The oxygen<br />
(O,) goes to help the oxygen of the air in the formation<br />
of carbon dioxide (C02) while the hydrogen appears<br />
in the gas generally to the extent of about 12<br />
per cent.<br />
Distillation of Green Coal.<br />
This brings us to the last sub-division of the gas<br />
formation which is the distillation of the coal in the<br />
top of the fire. This is simply the result of the heat<br />
coming up from the fire and distilling or driving off<br />
the volatile matter in the green coal in the form of<br />
methane (CH4), ethelen (C,H4), etc. There is generally<br />
about 3 per cent of these gases in producer gas.<br />
In addition to these gases the formation of which<br />
we have just covered and which are the combustible<br />
gases we have in producer gas some carbon dioxide<br />
(C02) which has not been reduced to carbon monoxide<br />
(CO), a small amount of oxygen (02) which has<br />
not been utilized and a large amount of nitrogen (N2)<br />
brought in by the air. A typical analysis of very good<br />
producer gas, per cent by volume, would be:<br />
CO, C„H4 02 CO CH4 H, N=<br />
4.8' .4 .3 26.3 3.0 12.0 53.2<br />
Fire Bed Conditions.<br />
The formation of good gas depends entirely on<br />
the condition of the firebed. By the condition of the<br />
firebed is meant the thickness, temperature and density<br />
of its different zones and the absence or presence<br />
of holes or channels.<br />
The thickness of the fire is very important. As far<br />
as the ash layer is concerned enough ash is necessary<br />
to fully protect the blower top and base ring casting<br />
and to keep the fire up in its proper position in the<br />
producer. The depth of the incandescent zone should<br />
be deep enough to give the carbon dioxide formed<br />
plenty of opportunity to pick up carbon from the hot<br />
coke as it passes up through the fire to form carbon<br />
monoxide. It is not possible to say just how thick a<br />
fire it is worth while trying to carry but it is certain
that 12 inches or more possibly up to two or three feet<br />
of incandescent coke is advisable. The depth of the<br />
coal layer should be enough to keep the gas temperature<br />
down to a point where hydro carbons are distilled<br />
and driven off and not broken up into hydrogen<br />
and soot and also to assure the fire plenty of fuel on<br />
the top to take the place of that burned out at the<br />
bottom. If a good coal layer is not carried it will be<br />
found impossible to build up a fire with any depth.<br />
Usually from eight to 24 inches of coal is advisable.<br />
The firebed and coal layer should be of such a<br />
density that not too much opposition is offered to the<br />
issuing gas and yet plent yfo surface is exposed for<br />
chemical action and distillation. It is largely governed<br />
by the quality and size of the coal. More will<br />
be said in regard to this when the coal is discussed.<br />
The important point so far as firebed temperatures<br />
are concerned is as high a temperature as possible in<br />
the incandenscent zone so as to facilitate the chemical<br />
reaction. This is limited by clinker formation and is<br />
controlled by the proportion of steam in the blast.<br />
As it is a practical impossibility to keep a fire<br />
in a perfectly homogenous condition the natural tendency<br />
is a formation of holes and channels in certain<br />
portions of the firebed where for some reason there is<br />
less resistance to the blast. A hole or channel is then<br />
simply a fissure or crack in the bed through which the<br />
blast rushes since it is the path of least resistance. A<br />
great proportion of the blast will seek this hole with<br />
the result that enough oxygen is supplied to burn and<br />
not gasify the coal around its sides. Also it robs the<br />
rest of the fire of blast and so cuts down the gasification<br />
in the other sections. The result is always a high<br />
temperature in the blow hole which melts the ash and<br />
forms clinker.<br />
Th.s tendency- of forming cracks and holes has been<br />
the gas man's chief source of trouble and much of the<br />
late development in gas producers has been made with<br />
the idea of overcoming this tendency-. A bad blowhole<br />
in an otherwise good fire will quickly destroy the<br />
quality of the gas.<br />
Agencies Affecting Firebed Conditions.<br />
Necessarily the development of improved gas producers<br />
has practically all been along the line of working<br />
out means for keeping the firebed in good gas<br />
making condition with the use of a minimum amount<br />
of hand labor. In the modern producer these firebed<br />
conditions are affected by six different agencies, the<br />
characteristics of the coal, the coal distribution, mechanical<br />
agitation or leveling, blast distribution, blast<br />
mixture and ash removal.<br />
The characteristics of the coal supplied a gas producer<br />
have everything to do with its operation. The<br />
ideal fuel is a high volatile coal with low ash and sulphur,<br />
free from fines or slack, lumps to be from y<br />
to 4 inches across. Manufacturers differ to a small extent<br />
on the size lumps they advise for their respective<br />
machines but in general that covers the matter. If the<br />
lumps are larger than that the firebed is not compact<br />
enough, there is too much open space between lumps<br />
and not enough surface is exposed for rapid action.<br />
If the lumps are too fine the fire is too dense, the green<br />
coal cakes and gums up over the top of the fire choking<br />
the blast, cutting down the gasification and making<br />
high blast pressures necessary. This high pressure<br />
tending to burst through in spots causes extensive<br />
formation of blow holes and clinkers.<br />
Ike Blast lurnace^jteel riant<br />
A coal well above 30 per cent volatile matter gives<br />
the best results in the producer. The amount of hydrocarbons<br />
in the gas depends upon this quality. Low<br />
sulphur and ash mean a minimum of clinkering. The<br />
amount of sulphur in the coal or rather the ratio between<br />
the sulphur and ash is the governing factor,<br />
complicated at times by large proportions of iron. If<br />
we have a great amount of sulphur in proportion to<br />
ash it may be necessary to blow such a large proportion<br />
of steam in order to prevent clinkering that the<br />
capacity and gas quality may be seriously affected<br />
by the lack of oxy-gen and the cooling of the firebed.<br />
For this reason often times in practical operation the<br />
clinkers are tolerated by putting more labor on the<br />
producers.<br />
There are so man) - grades of coal used in producers<br />
that it is impossible to give any set rules for<br />
governing operation. What can be done with one<br />
grade cannot be done with another and the only way<br />
to find out how near ideal operation can be approached<br />
is to make a study of that particular grade as it is<br />
gasified under practical operating conditions. With<br />
poor grades of coal or slack it is impossible to carryas<br />
heavy a fire as with good coal.<br />
Coal Selection.<br />
In the selection of a coal we are governed by what<br />
is available and the price as well as by how a producer<br />
will handle it. In coming to a decision on what coal<br />
should be used a thorough study must be made of all<br />
these factors of the case. In this connection there is<br />
one point which should be mentioned and which is<br />
a considerable item. With a poor coal the higher<br />
gas temperatures necessary result in much more wear<br />
and tear on producer parts, gas mains, reversing<br />
valves, dampers, etc., so that a producer operated on<br />
good coal will have a much lower cost of maintenance<br />
and will aid considerably in lowering a part of mill<br />
maintenance.<br />
If in the planning of a gas producer installation,<br />
enough units are decided on to take care of the requirements<br />
on good coal and at some later time the<br />
original idea is lost sight of and poorer coal is used<br />
in an attempt to cut down cost very often the savin T<br />
in fuel is more than offset by the troubles in the mill<br />
due to poor gas. In other words if in order to use<br />
poor coal it is necessary to force the gas house to the<br />
limit, mill and gas house trouble alone will probablyoffset<br />
the saving in coal cost not to mention the decreased<br />
efficiency of gasification.<br />
Generally speaking there is little doubt that better<br />
coal means better economy so far as the gas house<br />
is concerned.<br />
Coal Distribution.<br />
The distribution of the coal as it comes down on<br />
the fire should be uniform. That is it should cover<br />
the top of the bed evenly and not pile up in certain<br />
places. If it does pile up in certain parts of the firebed<br />
and is not barred around by hand the fire is coked<br />
and gummed up in those places and blows through<br />
at others forming channels and holes resulting in<br />
poor gas and a waste of coke in the ash as well. It<br />
would seem that a producer which sprinkles the whole<br />
firebed rather than drops coal on one side as the fire<br />
revolves would have the advantage so far as coal distribution<br />
is concerned.<br />
It is not only necessary that we have a uniform<br />
lay-er of coal on the fire but that we keep the. layer
a constant thickness in order to keep a uniform gas<br />
temperature and quality. To do this we must have a<br />
control with which we can regulate the supply putting<br />
in fresh coal at the same rate that the fire burns out<br />
at the bottom so keeping the layer at a constant depth<br />
even with a varying amount of blast necessitated by<br />
a varying demand for gas.<br />
At the time any quantity of coal is dropped on the<br />
fire we get a puff of rich volatile matter. For this<br />
reason the coal should be fed continuously and not<br />
dropped on at intervals.<br />
Producer manufacturers all put automatic feeds<br />
on their producers except in cases where the installation<br />
is small or where overhead bins are not possible.<br />
They do this because by so doing they can<br />
approach the conditions just enumerated and also because<br />
it cuts down the amount of hand labor necessary<br />
to feed the machines.<br />
Mechanical Interference With Fire.<br />
In regard to mechanical interference with the fire<br />
there is not much to say other than to give a description<br />
of the different methods. When two different<br />
builders of producers asbolutely disagree as to the<br />
theory of proper agitation and yet both build excellent<br />
machines that give very good performance there<br />
is little use in indulging in much theoretical discussion<br />
of the subject.<br />
The purpose of this interference is to keep the<br />
fire uniform and homogeneous and free from blow<br />
holes thereby keeping the gas quality good, eliminating<br />
clinkers and keeping up the possible high rate<br />
of gasification.<br />
Of the four concerns who build producers in any<br />
numbers two agitate the firebed, one levels it and one<br />
both agitates and levels. While there is of course<br />
disagreement among them as to the value of their<br />
respective schemes, the fact remains that the purpose<br />
is the same and that they all accomplish it very<br />
well.<br />
A description of the different methods of agitation<br />
will be given later.<br />
Blast Distribution.<br />
The distribution of the blast should be such that<br />
there is no tendency to blow through in certain parts<br />
of the fire. A good many different forms of blast<br />
hoods have been tried out, some of them with as<br />
many as five or six steps. The forms used in modern<br />
producers are relatively simple being of a two or three<br />
step form determined by experiment to give good distribution.<br />
Some of the simple single mushrooms seem<br />
to give as good results as the five or six step tops.<br />
The proportion of air and steam in the blast is or<br />
should be governed by the amount of clinker formed.<br />
Enough steam should be blown to prevent the formation<br />
of clinkers by cooling the fire to a temperature<br />
lower than the melting point of the ash. The poorer<br />
the coal the more steam w-ill be necessary. Not<br />
enough attention is given this part of producer operation.<br />
Too often trouble with clinkering could be<br />
completely overcome by intelligent blast regulation.<br />
It is important however not to shut off the air to the<br />
extent of lowering the capacity of the producer. The<br />
only way to find out the proper air slide setting is<br />
by trial.<br />
Ash Removal.<br />
The ash removal has been the subject of considerable<br />
experimenting and investigation. There are two<br />
Die Blast furnace^Steel Plant<br />
methods of removing ash, the periodic and the continuous.<br />
The periodic is done sometimes by hand and<br />
sometimes mechanically at intervals of 12 or 24 hours<br />
or some longer time while the continuous is always<br />
mechanical. The development has been along the<br />
lines of continuous ash removal for two reasons, first<br />
because it in connection with good agitatiion eliminates<br />
the cleaning period when the fire is badly torn<br />
up and gas making very much interfered with and<br />
second because it cuts down the labor necessary which<br />
was used for breaking down the fire and sboveling<br />
out the ashes.<br />
A good continuous ash removal is a great nelp<br />
to agitation since it keeps the fire at a nearly constant<br />
height. If the removal is periodic there are times<br />
when the fire is too high or too low to be properly<br />
agitated unless the agitator travels up and down with<br />
it. If the agitation does not keep the firebed worked<br />
down as the ashes are removed the continuous removal<br />
may not be an advantage as the fire will arch until<br />
broken down by hand. One producer builder in developing<br />
a device for continuously removing ashes<br />
found that the firebed was agitated considerably from<br />
below and claims that this is a distinct help in keeping<br />
it in good condition.<br />
Summation.<br />
Of course it is too much to expect that any one<br />
make of producer would embody- all the good points<br />
of producer design and be an ideal machine. Nevertheless<br />
the modern producer gas machine is an excellent<br />
piece of apparatus and will gasify good coal<br />
very efficiently if properly operated.<br />
Machines on the Market.<br />
The four makes of mechanical gas ptoducers on<br />
the market are Wood, M<strong>org</strong>an, Chapman and Wellman<br />
or Hughes. All of them are automatically fed,<br />
agitated or leveled and have mechanical ash removal.<br />
The R. D. Wood type of producer is manufactured<br />
by two different companies, in two slightly different<br />
forms. The agitation is accomplished by two vertical<br />
stirring arms set at different distances from the axis<br />
of the producer. They are curved and rotate on their<br />
vertical axis. They in conjunction with the rotated<br />
fire cause the agitation. Both turbo and steam jet<br />
blower are supplied. The ashes are continuously- removed.<br />
Greater capacity is claimed for this producer<br />
than for any other. It is also claimed that it<br />
will gasify slack coal very satisfactorily and at a high<br />
capacity.<br />
The M<strong>org</strong>an Producer is distinctive with respect<br />
to its leveling device. Its builders claim that the fire<br />
should not be agitated but should be leveled only- and<br />
have proceeded on that hypothesis. A leveling bar<br />
is suspended from the top and drags over the top of<br />
the firebed as the fire revolves leveling it and filling<br />
any holes that may form. The builders also claim<br />
an improved blast distribution by the use of three<br />
radial arms set 120 deg. apart with a blast outlet in<br />
each. The ash remval is periodic.<br />
The Hughes or Wellman producer is the original<br />
mechanical producer so far as this country is concerned<br />
and is probably best known. The agitation<br />
member is a heavy poker which hangs from the top<br />
and oscillates back and forth as the fire revolves. The<br />
ash removal is periodic. Turbo blower is supplied<br />
if desired. In the latest design of this machine some<br />
changes have been made that increase its capacity<br />
and make the ash removal continuous.
The Chapman producer differs in several respects<br />
from any of the others. The agitation is accomplished<br />
by a floating tube in the form of a rake. This rake<br />
rotates and is intended to operate just under the top<br />
of the fire. The distinctive features of this method<br />
of agitation are the motion of the agitator up and<br />
down with the fire and the speed of rotation allowable<br />
on account of rotating the agitator rather than the<br />
producer shell as in the other makes. The ash removal<br />
is continuous and also acts as firebed agitation from<br />
below. The top and agitator are applicable to old producers<br />
and have the advantage of changing an old<br />
type produced into a modern one so far as agitation<br />
and coal feed is concerned, at a relatively low cost.<br />
Capacity.<br />
The matter of capacity has been given much attention<br />
in the last few years with the result that great<br />
steps have been made. Producer capacities have been<br />
increased from 500 or 600 pounds of coal per hour<br />
up to 3,000 pounds. One builder claims as high as<br />
4,500 pounds even on slack coal. There is no question<br />
but that most producer manufacturers claim<br />
greater capacities than the user can hope to get even<br />
under intelligent supervision. A great majority of<br />
up to date producers in service are being operated<br />
at considerably less than 2,000 pounds per hour.<br />
Capacities have been increased of late years by increasing<br />
the size of shell and increasing the blower<br />
capacities which resulted in low-ering the first cost of<br />
equipment and the cost of operating labor.<br />
Efficiency.<br />
In speaking of gas producer efficiency the thermal<br />
efficiency is generally referred to. The thermal efficiency<br />
means the heat efficiency. That is the amount<br />
of heat delivered from the producer in the gas as compared<br />
to the amount of heat put into it in the form of<br />
coal, steam, etc. The efficiency of a gas producer is<br />
then the amount of heat delivered from the producer<br />
in the gas divided by the amount of heat put into the<br />
producer. Both these factors are made up of heat in<br />
more than one form.<br />
Let us consider these heat values going into and<br />
coming from the producer. Going into it we have<br />
the heat carried by the coal, by the steam and by the<br />
air. Coming from it we have the sensible heat and<br />
the heat of combustion in the gas plus a small amount<br />
of heat in soot formed. The sources of loss then as<br />
far as the producer itself is concerned are radiation<br />
of heat which is carried away by air currents and cooling<br />
water, carbon lost in the ash and carbon lost in<br />
soot.<br />
For the present we will dismiss the ash and soot<br />
losses by saying in almost all cases they can be kept<br />
very low, about one per cent each, by ordinary operation.<br />
The important item then as far as the producer<br />
itself is concerned is the radiation loss.<br />
In considering the efficiency of our gas making<br />
machine in this way we must not fail to remember<br />
that it takes in the producer only. This is only a<br />
part of the heat consideration and if the mains are<br />
long and exposed it may be the smaller part. We<br />
must keep in mind then that the manner in which we<br />
run our producer has to do not only with the producer<br />
itself but with the conducting system up to the<br />
furnace.<br />
As was stated the heat available in the gas as it<br />
leaves the producer is in two parts, the heat of com<br />
IheDlast rurnaeeOjreel riant<br />
bustion or the heat which results when the combustible<br />
elements burn and the sensible heat or heat<br />
in the gas due to its temperature. The heat of combustion<br />
does not change since the gas quality cannot<br />
change but sensible heat is lost all along the way to<br />
the furnace by radiation. Now the more sensible<br />
heat in the gas, the higher its temperature, and the<br />
higher its temperature, the more heat is lost by radiation<br />
both in the producer and along the main. So to<br />
cut our largest loss to a minimum both at the producer<br />
and in the main we must operate with a gas<br />
temperature as low as possible.<br />
So when we speak of gas producer efficiency we<br />
must remember that we are speaking of the producer<br />
alone and that a machine of higher efficiency may be<br />
operating less economically than one of low-er efficiency<br />
if it happens to be at a greater distance from<br />
the furnace.<br />
There is another phase of the matter which is very<br />
important and concerning which something should<br />
be said. Authorities agree that in the regenerative<br />
furnace a part of the sensible heat in the gas is lost<br />
by the resulting increase in the temperature of the<br />
waste gas. There is a difference in opinion as to what<br />
proportion of it is lost. Campbell says all of it.<br />
Surely a part is lost and whether or not all of it<br />
does not matter so far as we are concerned, because<br />
no matter which is the case, we are given another<br />
very important reason for keeping our gas temperatures<br />
as low as possible.<br />
The matter of improvement in producer practice<br />
then resolves itself down mainly into ways and means<br />
for keeping gas temperatures down to the lowest<br />
possible point. In the modern mechanical producer<br />
it is a simple matter and means only education and<br />
supervision of the operators. With the older producers<br />
however, it is a difficult problem.<br />
(To be continued.)<br />
1803 — 1924<br />
"Over One-Hundred and Twenty Years of<br />
Service"<br />
The above caption, which is used to introduce a<br />
very interesting booklet recently compiled and issued<br />
by Mackintosh-Hemphill Company- of Pittsburgh, evidences<br />
the pride of achievement which these hundred<br />
and more years of business life have brought, not only<br />
to the original founders of one of the best known<br />
engineering <strong>org</strong>anizations in the steel industry but<br />
also to those successors who have so well carried out<br />
the ideals fundamentally laid down.<br />
"The Maker of Pittsburgh,"—so Henry Clay Frick<br />
called James Hemphill.<br />
"Mr. Carnegie was a magnificient opportunist,"<br />
said Mr. Frick—Mr. Hemphill made opportunity. Do<br />
you know the story of Homestead? James Hemphill<br />
conceived it, designed its mammoth superiorities, constructed<br />
it, equipped it, then sent for Andrew Carnegie<br />
; "take it, Andrew, you can henceforth have no<br />
rival in the world."<br />
The truth of this vision was shown when the Steel<br />
Corporation was <strong>org</strong>anized.<br />
The booklet is replete with historical data, intimate<br />
facts of the remarkable story of steel.
546 „^3 Tke Blast F, urnace. Steel PI anr<br />
Does Industrial Health Work<br />
Pay the Employer?<br />
By HELEN LORENZ WILLIAMS*<br />
T O what extent is an employer responsible for<br />
the health of his employees? If he assumes<br />
responsibility for it, does the expense involved<br />
pay- a sufficient return in financial profits? If it does<br />
not, is it good business? These are questions that<br />
confront the employer who looks with skepticism<br />
upon the rapid increase in industrial health work and<br />
so hesitates to establish it in his own shop or office.<br />
To a certain extent employers nowadays feel responsible<br />
for the health of their employees. That is.<br />
''National Tuberculosis Association. Xew York Citv.<br />
December, 1924<br />
for workers who operate dangerous machines or spend<br />
the day in an atmosphere laden with mineral or textile<br />
dust, safety devices that minimize the danger of<br />
preventable accident or illness are installed as a matter<br />
of course.<br />
On the other hand, industrial health work as it<br />
is understood by business concerns that are conducting<br />
it in a much broader way, is expensive; and no<br />
firm is engaged in the production and sale of a product<br />
for humanitarian reasons only, be they ever so<br />
laudable. Which is as it should be.<br />
'.Typical daily scene in an emergency hospital where subjects are examined for incipient stages
December, 1924<br />
Industrial health work is not merely a sentimental<br />
and unnecessary fad, it is an investment. Its success<br />
is a sound business success. In this respect,<br />
industries that have practiced it the longest are the<br />
greatest enthusiasts. While it is difficult to show<br />
that it pays large cash dividends, those that do accrue<br />
from it are of a more subtle but equally valuable<br />
nature. For example, the worker who receives free<br />
medical advice and attendance, and possibly nursing<br />
service, is loathe to leave his job. In fact, he may<br />
even prefer his old job to a new one at a higher wage,<br />
but with less security in times of illness. Dr. B. L.<br />
Wyatt, formerly Director of Public Service, Laurentide<br />
Company, Grand'mere, Quebec, states that other<br />
returns from health supervision which have no financial<br />
equivalent are, increased production (due to a<br />
more cooperative spirit and improved health standards)<br />
; increased efficiency and decreased operating<br />
costs, (due to fewer occupational "misfits") ; diminished<br />
unjust claims for compensation, (due to careful<br />
recording of the physical condition of applicants<br />
and employees) ; improved home and community<br />
conditions, (due to health education and other measures)<br />
; improved relations between employer and<br />
employee, (due to the factors of community interest'<br />
and mutual advantage).<br />
Industrial executives who have had the greatest<br />
experience with programs of health supervision are<br />
agreed that such results are at least as important as<br />
those that show on the books as profits in dollars and<br />
cents, although it is generally conceded that the maximum<br />
benefits cannot be realized in less than from<br />
three to five years. The New York Telephone Company-,<br />
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, and the<br />
Dennison Manufacturing Company, who have been<br />
doing industrial health work for more than a decade,<br />
are among the <strong>org</strong>anizations which, by a steady expansion<br />
of their program, prove their belief in its<br />
efficacy. One of the strongest arguments in favor of<br />
industrial health work is the experience of the<br />
National Cash Register Company. This corporation<br />
has reduced the average loss of time by employees<br />
on account of illness to 13 hours per y-ear as contrasted<br />
with the United States Public Health Service<br />
survey which showed an average for the country of<br />
7 days.<br />
The degree to which the work should be undertaken<br />
depends largely on the type of industry and its<br />
location. For example, mining companies whose<br />
workers live in remote communities far removed from<br />
social contact or medical assistance, not only care for<br />
the miners themselves, but their wives and children<br />
as well. In an office in a large city, on the other hand,<br />
the work need not necessarily be so extensive.<br />
Among the chief advantages of an industrial<br />
health service is the periodical physical examination.<br />
Investigations of one large life insurance company<br />
indicate that such examinations have a potential life<br />
saving value of $30.00 each. On the other hand, they<br />
are worth as much to the employer as they are to<br />
the employee for one reason at least; a worker cannot<br />
be efficiently placed unless something is known about<br />
his physical condition.<br />
One of the insidious diseases that periodic medical<br />
examinations help to control is tuberculosis. The<br />
National Tuberculosis Association and its affiliated<br />
<strong>org</strong>anizations have for a number of years been ardent<br />
supporters of the industrial health idea, as well as<br />
The Blast TumaceSSteel Plant<br />
547<br />
periodic physical examinations for both worker and<br />
employer. To carry- on this work as well as other<br />
phases of the campaign, the seventeenth annual<br />
Christmas seal sale will be held throughout the country<br />
during December.<br />
An Unusual Career<br />
An unusual career was brought to a close with<br />
the passing of Dr. Bruno V. Nordberg, founder of<br />
the Nordberg Manufacturing Company, whose death<br />
occurred on Thursday, October 30th, 1924.<br />
For more than 40 years he has been closely associated<br />
with engineering progress and development in<br />
the power and mining machinery fields and his death<br />
is a serious loss to that engineering profession to<br />
which he was so long an important factor. Dr. Nordberg<br />
was recognized in the engineering world as one<br />
of the foremost inventive geniuses of his time. As a<br />
steam engineer he stood pre-eminent in the period in<br />
DR. BRUNO V. NORDBERG<br />
which he lived. His unusual skill and engineering<br />
foresight is shown in special installations found<br />
throughout the country and particularly in the mining<br />
fields. The machinery which he designed will stand<br />
for years as monuments to his ability.<br />
While building up his engineering staff the other important<br />
departments of the <strong>org</strong>anization were not f<strong>org</strong>otten.<br />
The same fore-thought and rare judgment were<br />
shown in the selection of the various other departmental<br />
heads, many of whom have seen years of Nordberg service<br />
and have been trained along the sound lines and policies<br />
of the founder of the business.<br />
During the last years the burdens of Dr. Nordberg<br />
were gradually placed upon younger shoulders. The <strong>org</strong>anization<br />
which he had perfected had proved its ability<br />
to continue on a sound basis, the foundation for which he<br />
had so firmly built.
548<br />
The Blast TurnaceSSleel Plant<br />
Bibliography of Manganese Steel<br />
(Bibliographies accompany several of the references<br />
mentioned below. See the second, eleventh, and twelfth<br />
references under Hadfield; the second reference under<br />
Hibbard; and references under Burnham, Desch, Hopkinson,<br />
Mars, and Ruemelin.)<br />
Books and Periodical Literature.<br />
L'Acier au manganese, 1908. (In Le Genie civil, v.<br />
52, p. 288-290.)<br />
Anger er, V. Designing Manganese Steel Track<br />
Work. 1915. (In Railway Age Gazette, v. 59, p. 34l-<br />
342.)<br />
Gives brief history arrd uses of manganese steel in railroad<br />
work.<br />
Armstrong, P. A. E. Manganese Steel Welding.<br />
1916. (In Electric Railway Journal, v. 47, p. 1144-1146.)<br />
Describes the Strohmenger process for welding manganese<br />
steel.<br />
Arnold, J. O., and Read, A. A. Chemical and Mechanical<br />
Relations of Iron, Manganese, and Carbon.<br />
1910. (In Journal of the Iron and Steel Institute, v. 81,<br />
p. 169-185.)<br />
Arnold, J. O., and Read, A. A. Chemical Relation of<br />
Carbon and Iron. 1894. (In Journal of the Chemical<br />
Society, v. 65, p. 788-801.)<br />
Gives analysis of manganese steel, p. 798-801.<br />
Barrett, IV. F. On the Physical Properties of a<br />
Nearly Non-Magnetisable (Manganese) Steel. 1887.<br />
(In Report of the British Association for the Advancement<br />
of Science, v. 58, p. 610.)<br />
Barrett, IV. F., and others. Researches on the Electrical<br />
Conductivity and Magnetic Properties of Upwards<br />
of One Hundred Different Alloys. 1902. (In Journal<br />
of the Institution of Electrical Engineers, v. 31, p. 674-<br />
732.)<br />
The same, abstract. 1903. (In Minutes of Proceedings<br />
of the Institution of Civil Engineers, v. 151, pt. 1,<br />
p. 498-499.)<br />
Includes 18 varieties of manganese alloys.<br />
Barton, Larry J. Manganese Steel Made in Electric<br />
Furnace. 1922." (In Iron Age, v. 109, p. 4-8, 109.)<br />
Discusses melting practice for castings, use of manganese<br />
steel scrap, deoxidizing with manganese ores, and heat treatment.<br />
Beliaeff, Sergius S. Cored Structure in Quenched<br />
Manganese Steel. 1922. (In Chemical and Metallurgical<br />
Engineering, v. 27, p. 1086.)<br />
Sample quenched in water from 1850° F., was etched with<br />
3 per cent nital to develop its structure.<br />
Bidwell, Ge<strong>org</strong>e L. Beater Rolls and Hydration<br />
Problems. 1922. (In Paper, v. 30, No. 7, p. 53-54, 56.)<br />
The same. 1922. (In Paper Trade Journal, v. 74,<br />
pt. 2, No. 15, p. 191, 193.)<br />
Discusses the use of manganese steel beater and washer<br />
bars in paper manufacture.<br />
Blue, A. A. Carbonizing Manganese Steel. 1921.<br />
(In F<strong>org</strong>ing and Heat Treating, v. 7, p. 413-415.)<br />
Deals with the advantages of using higher manganese content<br />
in steels for carbonizing purposes.<br />
Blue, A. A. Distortion Produced in Casehardening.<br />
1922. (In American Machinist, v. 56, p. 915-916.)<br />
Deals with the effect of casehardening on manganese steel.<br />
By E. H. MCCLELLAND*<br />
*Technical Librarian, Carnegie Library, Pittsburgh, Pa.<br />
December, 1924<br />
Brcarley. Harry. Case-Hardening of Steel; an Illustrated<br />
Exposition of the Changes in Structure and Properties<br />
Induced in Mild Steels by Cementation and Allied<br />
Processes. Ed. 2. 1921. Longmans.<br />
Treats of manganese steel, p. 78-79, 144.<br />
Bronson, C B. Heat Treatment as Applied to Railroad<br />
Materials. 1919. (In Journal of the American<br />
Steel Treaters' Society, v. 1, p. 336-341.)<br />
Deals with manufacture, heat treatment, and tests of manganese<br />
steels.<br />
Burgess, Charles F'., and Aston, James. Observations<br />
upon the Alloys of Iron and Mangane-se. 1909. (In<br />
Electrochemical and Metallurgical Industry, v. 7, p. 476-<br />
478.)<br />
Burnham, Thomas H. Special Steels; a Concise<br />
Treatise on the Constitution, Alanufacture, Working,<br />
Heat Treatment and Applications of Alloy Steels;<br />
Chiefly Founded on the Researches Regarding Alloy<br />
Steels of Sir Robert Hadfield, and with a Foreword by<br />
Him. Pitman. 1923. (Pitman's Technical Primer<br />
Series.)<br />
"List of papers bv Sir Robert A. Hadfield on manganese<br />
steel," p. 167-168.<br />
Treats of manganese steel, p. 91-100.<br />
Campbell, Howard. Grinding Manganese-Steel Castings.<br />
1923. (In American Machinist, v. 58, p. 783-786.)<br />
Presents some interesting methods and equipment.<br />
Camprcdon, Louis. Proprietes physiques et mecaniques<br />
des aciers extra-doux ou fers fondus. 1890.<br />
(In Le Genie civil, v. 17, p. 276-277, 358-359.)<br />
Discusses the physical and mechanical properties of manganese<br />
steel.<br />
Carpenter, H. C H., and others. Seventh Report to<br />
the Alloy Research Committee: On the Properties of a<br />
Series of Iron-Nickel-Manganese-Carbon Alloys. 1905.<br />
(In Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers,<br />
v. 69, p. 857-1041.)<br />
Gives a summary of the work of previous investigators, and<br />
describes preparation, heat treatment, and chemical, mechanical,<br />
and micrographical properties of the alloys.<br />
Carr, Bradley Sayre. Manufacture of Manganese<br />
Steel Castings. 1918" (In Machinery, v. 25, p. 182.)<br />
Abstract of article in "Armour Engineer."<br />
Cast-Steel Wheel with Manganese Tread and Flange.<br />
1916. (In Electric Railway Journal, v. 48, p. 69-71.)<br />
The same. 1916. (In Foundry, v. 44, p. 457-460.)<br />
Chicago's Experience with Solid and Insert Manganese<br />
Special Track Work. 1914. (In Electric Railwav Journal,<br />
v. 43, p. 970-980.) ' "<br />
History of experience in the use of manganese steel, with<br />
accounts of individual installations.<br />
Cone. Edwin F. High-Manganese Steel for Locomotives.<br />
1924. (In Iron Age, v. 114, p. 824-825.)<br />
Davis, Z. T. Manganese Steel Cutting. 1923. (In<br />
Tournal of the American Welding Society v 2 No 3<br />
p. 31-33.)<br />
Dcjean. M. P. Sur la classification des aciers au<br />
nickel et des aciers au manganese. 1917. (In Comptes<br />
rendus hebdomadaires des seances de l'Academie des<br />
Sciences, v. 165, p. 334-337.)
December, 1924<br />
Desch, Cecil H., and Whyte, Samuel. The Influence<br />
of Manganese on the Corrosion of Steel. 1914. (In<br />
West of Scotland Iron and Steel Institute, v. 21, p. 176-<br />
191.)<br />
The same, abstract. 1914. (In Journal of the Iron<br />
and Steel Institute, v. 90, p. 386.)<br />
Discusses corrosion of manganese steels in 5 per cent<br />
sodium chlorid solution.<br />
Contains a bibliography of 18 references.<br />
Difficulties in the Manufacture of Manganese Steel<br />
Castings. 1914. (In Electric Railway Journal, v. 43, p.<br />
1221-1222.)<br />
Diller, H. E. Casting Manganese Steel. 1924. (In<br />
Foundry, v. 52, p. 245-249, 298-302.)<br />
Describes method of casting, testing and working.<br />
Diller, H. E. Specializes Manganese Steel. 1923.<br />
(In Foundry, v. 51, p. 891-897.)<br />
The same. 1923. (In Iron Trade Review, v. 73, p.<br />
1672-1677.)<br />
Dubois, R. Recherche des causes de la desagregation<br />
du ferro-manganese expose a l'air libre. 1901. (In Bulletin<br />
de l'Association Beige des Chimistes, v. 15, p. 281-<br />
286.)<br />
Discusses the action of weathering on ferro-manganese.<br />
Dupuy, Eugene L., and Portevin, Albert M. Thermo-<br />
Electric Properties of Special Steels. 1915. (In Journal<br />
of the Iron and Steel Institute, v. 91, p. 306-335.)<br />
Test results made on four special manganese steels, p.<br />
331-332.<br />
Garrison, F. Lynwood. New Alloys and Their Engineering<br />
Applications. 1891. (In Journal of the Franklin<br />
Institute, v. 132, p. 54-65, 111-129, 223-240.)<br />
Treats of manganese steel, p. 127-129, 223-228.<br />
The same, abstract. 1891. (In Journal of the Iron<br />
and Steel Institute, v. 40, p. 302-309.)<br />
Treats of manganese steel, p. 305-306.<br />
Ge<strong>org</strong>e, Howard H. Correct Welding Procedure Retains<br />
Qualities of Manganese Steel. 1924. (In Electric<br />
Railway Journal, v. 63, p. 611-613.)<br />
Use of arc welding prolongs life of manganese steel special<br />
work from one to five years.<br />
Gilbert, N. J. Effect of Certain Elements on the<br />
Properties of Steel. 1919. (In Journal of the American<br />
Steel Treaters' Society, v. 1, p. 349-359.)<br />
Compares properties of manganese steels with other steels.<br />
Grard, Charles Albert Marie. L'acier; aviation—<br />
automobilisme; constructions mecaniques sanctions de la<br />
guerre. 1919.<br />
Deals with the properties, f<strong>org</strong>ing, and heat treatment of<br />
common and special steels.<br />
Treats of manganese steel, p. 208-211.<br />
Groos, A., and Varinois, Maurice. Traite theorique<br />
et pratique de cementation; trempe, recuit et revenu.<br />
Ed. 2, rev. and enl. 1921.<br />
Manganese steel is discussed, p. 33-34.<br />
Guillet, Leon. Aciers au manganese. 1903. (In<br />
Bulletin de la Societe d'Encouragement pour l'lndustrie<br />
Nationale, v. 105, p. 421-448.)<br />
Tne Blast TumaceSSteel Plant<br />
The same, abstract translation. 1904. (In Stahl und<br />
Eisen, v. 24, pt. 1, p. 281-285.)<br />
Lengthy article on the mechanical properties, critical points<br />
and metallography of manganese steel.<br />
Guillet, Leon. Les aciers speciaux; preface de Henry<br />
Le Chatelier. 2v. in 1. 1904-05.<br />
Includes researches on the structures and physical properties<br />
of manganese steel, p. 47-77.<br />
549<br />
Guillet, Leon. Nouvelles recherches sur les aciers au<br />
manganese. 1904. (In Revue de metallurgie, v. 1,<br />
memoires, p. 89-91.)<br />
Further researches on manganese steels, and states that<br />
these steels cannot be used without quenching, as the hardness<br />
of troostite-martensite structure is insufficient for practical<br />
purposes.<br />
Guillet, Leon. Quaternary Steels. 1906. (In Journal<br />
of the Iron and Steel Institute, v. 70, p. 1-141.)<br />
Treats of the constitution, mechanical properties and influence<br />
of treatment on manganese steels, p. 6-7, manganesechromium<br />
steels, p. 101-109, manganese-silicon steels, p. 109-<br />
114. Contains numerous photomicrographs.<br />
Guillet, Leon. Recherches sur les aciers au manganese.<br />
1903. (In Le Genie civil, v. 43, p. 261-264,<br />
280-282.)<br />
Hadfield, Robert A., and others. Contribution to the<br />
Study of the Magnetic Properties of Manganese and of<br />
Some Special Manganese Steels'. 1917. (In Proceedings<br />
of Roval Society of London, Series A, v. 94, p.<br />
65-87.)<br />
Hadfield, Robert A. Experiments Relating to the<br />
Effect on Mechanical and Other Properties of Iron and<br />
Its Alloys Produced by Liquid Air Temperatures. 1905.<br />
(In Journal of the Iron and Steel Institute, v. 67, p. 147-<br />
255.)<br />
Contains a bibliography of 76 references, p. 206-210. Includes<br />
consideration of various^ alloys containing manganese.<br />
Hadfield, Robert A. Heating and Cooling Curves of<br />
Manganese Steel. 1913. (In Journal of the Iron and<br />
Steel Institute, v. 88, p. 191-202.)<br />
Hadfield, Robert A., and Friend, J. Newton. Influence<br />
of Carbon and Manganese upon the Corrosion of<br />
Iron and Steel. 1916. (In Journal of the Iron and Steel<br />
Institute, v. 93, p. 48-76.)<br />
Considers manganese steel.<br />
Hadfield, Robert A. Iron Alloys with Special Reference<br />
to Manganese Steels. 1893. (In Transactions<br />
of the American Institute of Mining Engineers, v.<br />
23, p. 148-196.)<br />
Hadfield, Robert A., and Hopkinson, B. Magnetic<br />
and Mechanical Properties of Manganese Steel. 1914.<br />
(In Journal of the Iron and Steel Institute, v. 89, p.<br />
106-137.)<br />
Hadfield, Robert A., and Hopkinson, B. Magnetic<br />
Properties of Iron and Its Alloys in Intense Fields.<br />
1910. (In Journal of the Institution of Electrical Engineers,<br />
v. 46, p. 235-306.)<br />
Discusses magnetic properties of alloys in general, p. 253-<br />
258, and iron manganese alloys, p. 263-269.<br />
Hadfield, Robert A., and others. Magnetic Mechanical<br />
Analysis of Manganese Steel. 1921. (In Proceedings<br />
of the Royal Society of London, Series A, v. 98,<br />
p. 297-302.)<br />
The same, abstract. 1921. (In Journal of the Iron<br />
and Steel Institute, v. 103, p. 462.)<br />
Hadfield, Robert A. Manganese-Steel Rails. 1914.<br />
(In Transactions of the American Institute of Mining<br />
Engineers, v. 50, p. 327-339.)<br />
The same, abstract. 1914. (In Engineer, v. 118, p.<br />
564.)<br />
Hadfield, Robert A. Manganese-Steel, with an Abstract<br />
of the Discussion upon the Papers; ed. by James<br />
Forrest. 1888. Institution of Civil Engineers.<br />
Treats of manganese in its application to metallurgy.—<br />
Some newly discovered properties of iron and manganese. Reprinted<br />
from the "Minutes of proceedings of the Institution<br />
of Civil Engineers."
Hadfield. Robert A. On Manganese Steel. 1888.<br />
(In journal of the Iron and Steel Institute, v. 33, p.<br />
41-82.)<br />
Gives history, manufacture and properties of manganese<br />
steel. Contains a bibliography, p. 76-77.<br />
Hadfield. Robert A. Results of Heat Treatment on<br />
Manganese Steel and Their Bearing upon Carbon Steel.<br />
1894. (In Journal of the Iron and Steel Institute, v. 45,<br />
p. 156-180.)<br />
"Bibliography," p. 177-180.<br />
Hall, John H., and others. Heat Treatment of Cast<br />
Steel. 1920. (In Transactions of the American Institute<br />
of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers, v. 62, p.<br />
353-396.)<br />
Treats of high-manganese carbon steel, p. 381-388.<br />
Hall. John H. Manganese Steel. 1915. (In Journal<br />
of the Society of Chemical Industry, v. 34, pt. 1, p.<br />
57-60.)<br />
The same. 1915. (In Journal of Industrial and Engineering<br />
Chemistry, v. 7, p. 94-98.)<br />
The same, condensed. 1915. (In Foundry, v. 43,<br />
p. 138-139.)<br />
Discusses properties, manufacture, moulding, etc., of manganese<br />
steel.<br />
Hall, John H. Manganese Steel Castings. 1913.<br />
(In Iron Age. v. 91, pt. 1. p. 712-713.)<br />
Treats of foundry methods and heat treatment.<br />
Hall, John H. Pearlitic and Sorbitic Manganese<br />
Steels. 1922. (In Iron Age. v. 110, p. 786-788.)<br />
Treats of castings of about 1 per cent manganese, some<br />
of the literature on the subject and their heat treatment and<br />
properties.<br />
Hand. S. A. Manganese Steel and Methods of Machining<br />
It. 1921. (In American Machinist, v. 54, p.<br />
43-45.)<br />
Discusses briefly the heat treatment and methods of<br />
grinding.<br />
Harbord, Frank William, and Hall. J. W. Metallurgy<br />
of Steel. Ed. 7, rev. 2 v. 1923. Griffin. (.Metallurgical<br />
Series.)<br />
Treats of manganese steel, v. 1. p. 400-403.<br />
Hibbard, Henry D. Discovery of Manganese Steel.<br />
1922. (In Blast Furnace and Steel Plant, v. 10, p. 450.)<br />
The same. 1922. ( In Brass World and Platers'<br />
Guide, v. 18. p. 339.)<br />
The same. 1922. (In Iron Trade Review, v. 71,<br />
p. 39.)<br />
Research Narrative No. 35, of the Engineering Foundation.<br />
Hibbard. Henry I). Manufacture and Uses of Alloy<br />
Steels. 1915. (In United States Bureau of Mines.<br />
Bulletin No. 100.<br />
Treats of manganese steel, p. 22-34.<br />
"Bibliography," p. 34-36.<br />
The same. 1916. (In Railwav Review, v. 58, p.<br />
281-284, 304-305, 345-346, 371-375," 680-683, 840-844.)<br />
Manganese steel, p. 371-375.<br />
Heat Treatment of Manganese Steel. Yl2\. ( In<br />
Engineering, v. 118, p. 411.)<br />
Hilpert, S.. and others. Ueber die magnetischen<br />
Eigenschaften von Nickel und Manganstaehlen. 1912.<br />
(In Stahl und Eisen, v. 32, pt. 1, p. 96-104.)<br />
The same. 1912. (In Zeitschrift fuer Elektrochemie,<br />
v. 18, p. 54-64.)<br />
The same, translation. 1912. (In Journal of the<br />
Iron and Steel Institute, v. 86, p. 302-310.)<br />
Discusses the influence of heat treatment on magnetic properties<br />
of manganese steels.<br />
IhoDlast I'urnace L-jteel Plant<br />
Hopkinson, B„ and Hadfield, Robert A. Research<br />
with Regard to the Non-Magnetic and Magnetic Conditions<br />
of Manganese Steel. 1914. (In Transactions of<br />
the American Institute of Mining Engineers, v. 50, p.<br />
476-500.)<br />
"Bibliography," p. 494-497.<br />
Howe, Henry M.. and Levy. Arthur G. Are the Deformation<br />
Lines in Manganese Steel Twins or Slip<br />
Bands? 1915. (In Transactions of the American Institute<br />
of Mining Engineers, v. 51, p. 881-896.)<br />
Howe, Henry M. Heat-Treatment of Steel. 1893.<br />
(In Transactions of the American Institute of Mining<br />
Engineers, v. 23, p. 466-541.)<br />
Presents results of experiments on toughening manganesesteel<br />
by sudden cooling, p. 467-476.<br />
Howe, Henry M. Manganese-Steel. 1891. (In<br />
Transactions of the American Society of Mechanical<br />
Engineers, v. 12, p. 955-974.)<br />
The same, abstract. 1891. (In Journal of the Iron<br />
and Steel Institute, v. 40, p. 309-311.)<br />
Gives results of tests and various uses of manganese steel.<br />
Howe, Henry M. Manganese Steel. 1893. (In<br />
journal of the Franklin Institute, v. 135, p. 114-128,<br />
191-200.)<br />
Howe, Henry M. Metallurgy of Steel, v. 1. 1895.<br />
Manganese steel is discussed, p. 48, 361-365.<br />
Howe, Henry M. Note on Manganese-Steel. 1893.<br />
(In Transactions of the American Institute of Mining<br />
Engineers, v. 21, p. 625-631.)<br />
Howe, Henry. M. Role of Manganese. 1917. (In<br />
Proceedings of the American Society for Testing Materials,<br />
v. 17, pt. 2, p. 508.)<br />
The same. 1917. ( In Engineering and Mining Journal,<br />
v. 104, p. 467-468.)<br />
The same, abstract. 1917. (In Iron Age. v. 100, pt.<br />
l.p. 239.)<br />
The same, condensed. 1917. (In Iron Trade Review,<br />
v. 60. p. 1401-1402.)<br />
Discusses mechanical properties of manganese steel.<br />
Improved Manganese Steel. 1915. (In Machinery.<br />
v. 21, p. 450.)<br />
Improved steel possessing the characteristic hardness of<br />
the regular manganese steel, but which contains less manganese.<br />
Jacobs. F. B. Grinding Manganese Steel Castings.<br />
1921. (In Foundry, v. 49, p. 767-770.)<br />
Discusses the method and reasons for grinding.<br />
Johnson. F. E. Manganese Steel. 1910. (In Journal<br />
of the Association of Engineering Societies, v. 45,<br />
p. 175-183.)<br />
The same, abstract. 1911. (In Engineering Review,<br />
v. 24, p. 173.)<br />
The same, abstract. 1911. (In Foundry, v. 37, p.<br />
243-244.)<br />
Paper read before the Utah Society of Engineers.<br />
Johnson. R. M. Manganese Steel Grinding. 1920.<br />
(In Grits and ('.rinds, v. 11, No. 10, p. 2-8.)<br />
The same. 1920. (In Foundry, v. 48. p. 659-661.)<br />
The same. 1920. (In Iron Trade Review, v. 66, p.<br />
999-1001.)<br />
Killing. Erich. Beitraege zur Frage der Manganausnutzung<br />
im basischen Martinofen. 1920. (In Stahl<br />
und Eisen. v. 40. pt. 2, p. 1545-1547.)<br />
Discusses experiments on conditions necessary to secure<br />
the most effective use of the manganese additions.
December, 1924<br />
Lake, E. F. Manganese Steel and Some of Its Uses.<br />
1907. (In American Machinist, v. 30, pt. 1, p. 700-702.)<br />
Discusses its advantages over carbon steel for rails, vaults,<br />
etc.<br />
Lav.', E. F. Effect of Mass on Heat Treatment.<br />
1919. (In Proceedings of the Steel Treating Research<br />
Society, v. 2, No. 2, p.' 11-19, 31.)<br />
Discusses mechanical properties of manganese steel as influenced<br />
by various heat treatments, p. 14.<br />
Ledebur. A. Ueber Manganstahl. 1893. (In Stahl<br />
und Eisen. v. 13, p. 504-507.)<br />
Levin, M.. and Tammann, G. L T eber Mangan-Eisenlegierungen.<br />
1905. (In Zeitschift fuer An<strong>org</strong>anische<br />
Chemie, v. 47, p. 136-144.)<br />
Ihe Dlasl kirnace^ jteel Plant<br />
The same, abstract translation. 1908. (In Revue de<br />
metallurgie, v. 5, pt. 1, memoires, p. 537-539.)<br />
Gives results of experiments of the heating and cooling<br />
curves of manganese-iron alloys.<br />
Machine Shop without Cutting Tools. 1909. (In<br />
American Machinist, v. 32, pt. 2, p. 893-897.)<br />
Deals with appliances used in building burglar proof safes<br />
of manganese steel which can only be machined by grinding.<br />
McKee, Walter S. Manganese-Steel Castings in the<br />
Mining Industry. 1916. (In Transactions of the American<br />
Institute of Mining Engineers, v. 53, p. 437-450.)<br />
The same, condensed. 1915. (In Iron Age, v. 96,<br />
pt. 2, p. 1362-1365.)<br />
The same, without discussion. 1915. (In Iron Trade<br />
Review, v. 57, p. 1077-1081.)<br />
Considers their characteristics, some of their uses, foundry<br />
practice and heat treatment.<br />
McKee, Walter S., and Blake, J. M. Manganese<br />
Steel Castings in the Mining Industry. 1921. (In Transactions<br />
of the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy<br />
and of the Mining Society of Nova Scotia, v. 24,<br />
p. 188-195.)<br />
Gives the chemical and physical properties, heat treatment<br />
and uses.<br />
McKee, Walter S. The Manufacture of Manganese<br />
Steel Castings. 1917. (In Transactions of the American<br />
Foundrymen's Association, v. 25, p. 403-426.)<br />
The same. 1917. (In Foundry, v. 45, p. 141-146.)<br />
The same. 1917. (In Iron Trade Review, v. 60, p.<br />
413-418.)<br />
Discusses the difficulties encountered in making alloy castings,<br />
and application of manganese steel to various kinds of<br />
work.<br />
Making Manganese Steel bv the Open-Hearth Process.<br />
1919. (In Iron Trade Review, v. 65, p. 1701-1705.)<br />
Making Manganese Steel Castings Machineable.<br />
1912. (In Foundry, v. 40, p. 271.)<br />
Method of softening the castings by heat treatment.<br />
Manganeisenhaltige Legierungen und Hire Herstellung<br />
und Verwendung. 1912. (In Elektrochemische Zeitschrift,<br />
v.19, p. 131-133.)<br />
Includes use of ferromanganese, etc., in manganese steel.<br />
Manganese Steel for Burglar-Proof Safes. 1899.<br />
(In Journal of the Franklin Institute, v. 147, p. 491.)<br />
Manganese Steel Products. 1909. (In Iron Age, v.<br />
84, pt. 1, p. 984-987.)<br />
Deals with the progress of the Potter process of rolling<br />
manganese steel.<br />
Manganese Steel Track-Work Specifications. 1915.<br />
(In Electric Railway Journal, v. 45, p. 1118.)<br />
551<br />
Manufacture of Manganese Steel Castings. 1913.<br />
(In Iron Trade Review, v. 52, p. 1404-1411.)<br />
Discusses the practice of the Edgar Allen American<br />
Steel Co.<br />
Mars. G. Die Spezialstaehle; Hire Geschichte, Eigenschaften,<br />
Behandlungen und Herstellung. Ed. 2, rev.<br />
1922.<br />
Contains bibliographical foot-notes.<br />
Treats of manganese steel, p. 287-331.<br />
Mcsnager, A. Essais d'aciers speciaux sur les chemins<br />
de fer et tramways. 192L (In Le Genie civil, v.<br />
79, p. 155.)<br />
Discusses advantages of Hadfield steel (12 per cent manganese)<br />
for railway parts exposed to heavy wear.<br />
Metealf, William. Steel; a Manual for Steel Users.<br />
1900. Wiley.<br />
Treats of the properties of steel, effect of impurities, theory<br />
and methods of hardening, tempering, annealing, etc. Manganese<br />
steel, p. 33-35.<br />
Mukai, Tetskiehi. Studien ueber chemisch-analytische<br />
und mikroskopische Untersuchungen des Manganstahls.<br />
Friedberg. 1892.<br />
Not in Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh.<br />
New Track Appliances. 1913. (In Railway and<br />
Engineering Review, v. 53, p. 955-957.)<br />
Committee report to the Roadmasters' and Maintenance<br />
of Way Association on manganese steel appliances.<br />
Ohnes, Kamerlingh, and others. On the Influence of<br />
Low Temperatures on the Magnetic Properties of Alloys<br />
of Iron with Nickel and Manganese. 1921. (In Proceedings<br />
of the Royal Society of London, Series A, v.<br />
99, p. 174-196.)<br />
Osmond, F. Sur la cristallographie du fer. 1900.<br />
(In Annales des mines, v. 196, memoires, p. 110-165.)<br />
Discusses the structure of manganese steel, p. 138-139.<br />
Pennington, H. R. Welding Frogs and Crossings<br />
with Manganese Steel. 1922. (In Railway Review, v.<br />
70, p. 153-157.)<br />
The same. 1922. (In Engineering and Contracting,<br />
v. 57, p. 152-154.)<br />
Discusses the qualities of manganese steel and methods of<br />
using it in welding operations.<br />
Portcvin. A., and Le Chatelier, Henry. Sur les aciers<br />
au manganese. (In Comptes rendus hebdomadaires des<br />
seances de l'Academie des Sciences, v. 165, p. 62-65.)<br />
Gives results of the effect of very slow cooling on manganese<br />
steels of different percentages of manganese.<br />
Potter, W. S. Manganese Steel. 1909. (In Journal<br />
of the Western Society of Engineers, v. 14, p. 212-<br />
240.)<br />
The same, abstract. 1909. (In Iron Trade Review,<br />
v. 44, p. 584-587.)<br />
Deals with the physical properties and heat treatment, and<br />
gives results of a series of tests to determine the coefficient of<br />
friction between chill cast and steel-tired wheels, and Bessemer<br />
and manganese steel rails.<br />
Potter, IV. S. Manganese Steel, with Especial Reference<br />
to the Relation of Physical Properties to MicrosLructure<br />
and Critical Ranges. 1914. (In Transactions<br />
of the American Institute of Mining Engineers, v. 50, p.<br />
437-475.)<br />
Recent Solid Manganese Steel Crossings. 1915. (In<br />
Electric Railway Journal, v. 45, p. 711-712.)<br />
New method of manufacture of manganese steel castings<br />
for special track work.
552<br />
Revillon, L. Les aciers speciaux. (1907.) Masson.<br />
(Encyclopedic scientifique des aide-memoire.)<br />
Concise review of their physical and chemical properties,<br />
methods of working and uses.<br />
Treats of manganese steel, p. 65-82, also of nickel-manganese,<br />
manganese-silicon and manganese chromium steels.<br />
Rhodes, J. B. A Development of a High-Grade Alloy<br />
Steel at Low Cost. 1915. (In Journal of the American<br />
Society of Naval Engineers, v. 27, p. 911-915.)<br />
The same. 1915. (In Iron Age, v. 96, p. 1553-1554.)<br />
Discusses high grade castings and f<strong>org</strong>ings of a manganese-copper-nickel<br />
steel showing superior static properties<br />
and developed at a low cost.<br />
Roberts, H. IV. Relative Life of Manganese and<br />
Open-Hearth Rail on Curves. 1918. (In Electric Railway<br />
Journal, v. 52, p. 697.)<br />
The same, abstract. 1918. (In Engineering and<br />
Contracting, v. 50, p. 479.)<br />
Gives results of tests showing manganese rails to wear<br />
about seven times as long as open-hearth.<br />
Rolled Manganese Steel Rail. 1908. (In Railroad<br />
Age Gazette, v. 45, p. 1536-1538.)<br />
Rouelle, Jean Baptistc Celestin. L'aciers; elaboration<br />
et travail. 1922. (Collection Armand Colin. Section de<br />
chimie.)<br />
Outlines methods of manufacturing steel and special steels,<br />
and deals with testing, heat treatment, shaping and working.<br />
Treats of manganese steel, p. 87-89.<br />
Rudhardt. Paul. Les metaux utilises la technique<br />
moderne et leur traitement rationnel. Ed. 2. 1920.<br />
Treats very briefly of manganese steel, p. 153.<br />
Ruemclin. G., and Fick. K. Beitraege zur Kenntnis<br />
des Svstems Eisen-mangan. 1915. (In Ferrum, v. 12,<br />
p. 41-44.)<br />
Discusses the physical and chemical properties, and contains<br />
numerous foot-note references.<br />
Sauveur. Albert. Manganese Steel and the Allotropic<br />
Theory. 1914. (In Transactions of the American Institute<br />
of Mining Engineers, v. 50, p. 501-514.)<br />
Sauveur, Albert. Metallography and Heat Treatment<br />
of Iron and Steel. Ed. 2. 1916. Sauveur.<br />
Treats of manganese steel, p. 343-346.<br />
Schneider et Cic. L'acier au manganese. 1909. (In<br />
Revue de metallurgie, v. 6* memories, p. 551-561.)<br />
Treats of the properties and applications.<br />
Schuler, E. J. Manganese Special Work Welding.<br />
1924. (In Engineering and Contracting (Railways), v.<br />
61, p. 419-420.)<br />
Selleck, Theodore G. Practical Talks on Case-Hardening.<br />
1919. (In Journal of the American Steel Treaties'<br />
Society, v. 1, p. 325-335.)<br />
Gives table of carbonizing efficiency of various steels, including<br />
manganese, p. 335.<br />
Shatter, E. L. Making Manganese Steel by the Open-<br />
Hearth Process. 1920. (In Foundry, v. 48, p. 63-66.)<br />
Discusses how steel containing 12 per cent manganese is<br />
made by open hearth process.<br />
Sirovich, G. Deoxidation of Steel by Silico-Manganese.<br />
1919. (In Journal of the Iron and Steel Institute,<br />
v. 99, p. 662.)<br />
Brief abstract from Metallurgia Italiana, 1918, v. 10, p.<br />
353-357.<br />
Spring, La Verne Ward. Non-technical Chats on<br />
Iron and Steel and Their Application to Modern Industry.<br />
1917. Stokes.<br />
Treats of manganese steel, p. 235-236.<br />
Die Blast FurnaceS Steel Plant<br />
December, 1924<br />
Springer, J. F. Manganese Steel. 1910. (In Cassier's<br />
Magazine, v. 39, p. 99-116.)<br />
Deals with properties and tests of manganese steels.<br />
Stadler, A. Einfluss des Mangans auf die mechanischen<br />
und strukturellen Eigen schaften niedriggekohlten<br />
Flusseisens gewoehnlicher Handelsqualitaet. 1913. (In<br />
Zeitschrift fuer An<strong>org</strong>anische Chemie, v. 81, p. 61-69.)<br />
Stone, S. R. Manganese Steel for Machinery Parts.<br />
1913. (In Iron Age, v. 91, pt. 1, p. 140-142.)<br />
Discusses the variety of service in which such castings have<br />
been used to advantage.<br />
Stoughton, Bradley. The Metallurgy of Iron and<br />
Steel. Ed. 3. McGraw. 1923.<br />
Discusses manganese steel, p. 435-437.<br />
Strauss, Jerome. Characteristics of Some Manganese<br />
Steels. 1923. (In Transactions of the American<br />
Society for Steel Treating, v. 4, p. 665-708.)<br />
Gives a brief history of iron-manganese alloys, and discusses<br />
the mechanical, electrical and magnetic properties, and shows<br />
the relation of microstructure to mechanical properties in a<br />
series of steels.<br />
Strauss, Jerome. Properties of Manganese Steels.<br />
1920. (In Proceedings of the Steel Treating Research<br />
Society, v. 2, No. 11, p. 14-19, 47.)<br />
Short review of the physical and mechanical properties as<br />
influenced by various heat treatments.<br />
Strong, J. B. Manganese Construction in Track<br />
Work. 1920. (In Official Proceedings of the St. Louis<br />
Railway Club, v. 25, No. 5, p. 47-55.)<br />
The same, abstract. 1920. (In Engineering and Contracting,<br />
v. 54, p. 499.)<br />
The same, abstract. 1920. (In Railwav Review, v.<br />
69, p. 928.)<br />
Strong, J. B. Rolled Manganese Steel Rails. 1909.<br />
(In Railway and Engineering Review, v. 49, p. 214-215.)<br />
Taritgi, N. Neues Yerfahren zur Yerwertung stark<br />
Siliciumhaltiger Eisen- und Mangan-Mineralien. 1913.<br />
(In Chemiker-Zeitung, v. 37, p. 511-512.)<br />
Way Engineer. Welding Manganese Steel. 1916.<br />
(In Electric Railway Journal, v. 48, p. 27-28.)<br />
Brief discussion of P. A. E. Armstrong's and \V. S. Potter's<br />
articles.<br />
Welding Manganese Steel. 1923. (In Journal of<br />
the American Welding Society, v. 2, No. 6, p. 39-56.)<br />
Questions asked the bureau of information of the American<br />
Welding Society on electric welding of rails, and giving<br />
the opinion of competent engineers on the subject.<br />
Wickhorst, M. H. Tests of Manganese Steel Rails.<br />
1918. (In American Railwav Engineering Association,<br />
v. 19, p. 472-491.)<br />
The same, abstract. 1918. (In Iron Age, v. 101 pt.<br />
l.p. 560-561.)<br />
The same, abstract. 1918. (In Railway Age, v. 64,<br />
p. 162.)<br />
Gives a report of the behavior of manganese steel rails<br />
under service conditions.<br />
Zerhansen, F. R. How Manganese Steel Castings<br />
are Made. 1914. (In Foundry, v. 42, p. 132.)<br />
The same, abstract. 1914. (In Machinery, v. 20, p<br />
831.)<br />
Details of molding, melting and pattern making.
December, 1924<br />
Die Blast FumaceSSteel Plant<br />
CURRENT REVIEW<br />
Lubrication of the Automatic Stoker<br />
By A. F. BREWER*<br />
Fuel conservation is one of the paramount features<br />
of modern boiler plant operation. It is, in<br />
fact, the keynote of efficient combustion, for boiler<br />
efficiency is directly dependent upon the amount of<br />
fuel burned in the evaporation of water into steam.<br />
Solid fuels are in general, more susceptible to wasteful<br />
handling and firing than either liquid or gaseous fuels;<br />
therefore, automatic means to improve this condition<br />
have been developed in the shape of the mechanical<br />
stoker.<br />
The mechanism of the modern stoker is relatively<br />
simple in design, the driving unit being the essential<br />
part requiring lubrication. Individual manufacturers,<br />
however, employ various adaptations or types of drives<br />
according to the operating requirements of their stok-<br />
553<br />
Stoker fuel is fed in at either the sides or front end of<br />
the furnace through a hopper or magazine, being distributed<br />
along the top of an inclined set of grates. In<br />
the front feed stoker the grates slope towards the rear<br />
of the furnace, being set in one uniform plane. In the<br />
side feed furnace there are two sets of grates, each set<br />
sloping towards the center, making an angle or V at<br />
their lowest point.<br />
Certain of the grates in an overfeed stoker installation<br />
move backward and forward with respect to each<br />
other, being actuated by kicker or rocking bars. This<br />
motion carries the fuel down the grates to the rear or<br />
center. All this time combustion is taking place, coking<br />
and the burning of volatile gases occurring while<br />
the coal is on the upper parts of the grate. When the<br />
fuel has been carried to the clinker crusher or dumping<br />
device at the bottom of the grate or grates, it should<br />
have been completely burned and should then be ready<br />
FIG. 1.—View of a chain grate stoker shozving grates in course of passage over the front sprocket, the regulating and control<br />
mechanism, etc. An advantage of this type of stoker is that the entire device can be readily removed from the furnace for<br />
repair or inspection without disturbing ihe boiler or setting. FIG. 2.—Sectional view, in perspective, of a mechanical stoker<br />
of the overfeed type. Details of grate construction are clearly shown. FIG. 3.—Longitudinal section through a typical underfeed<br />
type of stoker. The actual relation of the fuel and fuel bed to the operating mechanisms of the stoker is clearly<br />
shown.<br />
ers. In studying stoker lubrication we must as a result,<br />
look into the several designs or basic types in<br />
use today, inasmuch as lubrication will be materially<br />
contingent thereupon.<br />
Types of Stokers.<br />
There are three distinct types of automatic stokers<br />
on the market, viz.:<br />
(a) The overfeed<br />
(b) The underfeed and<br />
(c) The chain grate or traveling stoker.<br />
To a certain extent their names imply the manner<br />
in which coal is fed to the furnace. In the Overfeed<br />
•Mechanical Engineer, The Texas Company, New York. The<br />
original of this article appeared in the August issue of "Lubrication,"<br />
and is based on research work conducted in the field.<br />
It is reprinted by permission of The Texas Company. Photographs,<br />
courtesy of Combustion Engineering Corporation, Westinghouse<br />
Electric & Manufacturing Company, Babcock & Wilcox<br />
Company, McClave-Brooks Company and B. F. Sturtevant Company,<br />
Inc.<br />
for discharge as ash. Overfeed stokers are adaptable<br />
to the firing of coking varieties of coal due to the motion<br />
of. their grates which keeps the fuel bed porous<br />
and broken up, thus preventing caking or the formation<br />
of clinkers.<br />
Underfeed stokers involve the introduction of fresh<br />
coal beneath the fuel bed by means of steam or electric<br />
driven rams or plungers. The coal is usually delivered<br />
through a gravity feed hopper to the several<br />
retorts in which these rams or plungers operate. Essentially<br />
these retorts are individual primary combustion<br />
chambers, the sides being either stationary or<br />
subject to reciprocating motion. These sides also<br />
serve to carry the tuyeres or air grates, the latter consisting<br />
usually of a number of superimposed perforated<br />
plates.<br />
As fresh coal is fed into the retorts it is gradually<br />
forced underneath the fuel bed by the action of either<br />
the plunger alone or a number of automatic auxiliary
554<br />
distributing pushers or plungers. This movement of<br />
the base of the fuel bed, together with the continued<br />
air blast which is delivered through the tuyeres, insures<br />
against caking or any tendency towards dirty<br />
fires. The volatile gases are driven off as the fresh<br />
coal becomes hotter and hotter through its proximity<br />
to the fuel bed above, being burned as they pass<br />
through this heated area; the green coal meanwhile<br />
becomes gradually coked and ultimately burned completely.<br />
The chain grate or traveling stoker involves an endless<br />
chain which passes over suitable sprockets at the<br />
front and rear of the furnace, the meshed link or bars<br />
of this chain serving as the grate or fuel bed. This<br />
chain is in motion continuously, passing round and<br />
round through the furnace, taking fresh fuel at the<br />
front end of the furnace and discharging the residual<br />
ash at the rear, as the chain turns over the sprockets.<br />
The necessary sprockets are fastened to suitable shafts<br />
which are part of the base frame of the stoker. Either<br />
the front or rear sprocket can be used as the driving<br />
element by suitable connection to a worm reduction<br />
gear mechanism, which in turn may be either driven<br />
by a steam engine or electric motor.<br />
Coal is fed by gravity to the chain grate stoker in<br />
much the same manner as to the other types mentioned<br />
above; usually a suitable hopper is installed for this purpose<br />
at the front end of the furnace. The necessary air<br />
for combustion is delivered through the chain grate via<br />
either one or more distributing compartments below the<br />
top grate.<br />
Stoker Drives.<br />
In order to manipulate the grates of the overfeed<br />
stoker, operate the plungers and rams of the underfeed<br />
machine, run the chain grate at the desired speed, and<br />
turn the clinker grinder, it is essential to use some form<br />
of reduction geared power unit. This is commonly<br />
either a small vertical reciprocating steam engine, a turbine<br />
or an electric motor. The several types of stokers<br />
on the market vary considerably in their methods of<br />
handling fuels just as they vary in regard to their driving<br />
mechanisms.<br />
Ihe Diast kirnace^yjteel Plant<br />
December, 1924<br />
In the overfeed stoker the feature of operation is the<br />
rocking or reciprocating motion to which the grates are<br />
subjected. This is brought about by means of a kicker<br />
bar or rocker which receives its reciprocating motion<br />
from the driving unit through a crank, eccentric connection,<br />
or a series of toggle levers.<br />
The underfeed stoker in general depends upon the<br />
reciprocating action of the plunger in the charging of<br />
fresh fuel and the pressure of the air blast, for the agitation<br />
of the fuel bed. Therefore, the essential operating<br />
mechanisms involved are the plunger and the coal feeding<br />
devices. The plungers and distributing rams are usually<br />
connected to the driving unit through a suitable crank<br />
shaft of heavy construction. The driving unit can also<br />
be further connected through crank, link or rod mechanisms<br />
to operate a clinker grinder if necessary, and also<br />
the reciprocating overfeed grates and retort side bars in<br />
some types of stokers. As a result a regular sequence<br />
of operation is maintained in all the necessary moving<br />
parts just as long as the driving unit is running and the<br />
proper connections are maintained.<br />
The principle operating part in the chain grate stoker<br />
is the driving mechanism. As has already- been stated<br />
this may be attached to either the front or rear sprocket<br />
shaft through suitable reduction gearing. Additional<br />
mitre gears in connection with adjustable ratchet mechanisms<br />
are also used on some front feed stoker drives<br />
for the purpose of regulating the coal feeding device.<br />
In other types a hand-wheel operated worm and gear devise<br />
is used for the controlling of the coal feed from the<br />
hopper onto the stoker chain. The sprocket shafts are<br />
carried in pedestal bearings of suitable size and construction<br />
to meet the wearing conditions and enable<br />
proper lubrication.<br />
Stoker Lubrication.<br />
We have therefore certain definite details in every<br />
type of stoker which will require lubrication, i. e., there<br />
are the worms and gears, the miscellaneous bearings of<br />
the accessory connections which serve to operate the movable<br />
grates, etc., the pedestal and other more important<br />
bearings of both chain grate and underfeed stokers and<br />
the driving engines, turbines or motors. As a result,<br />
stoker lubrication can be discussed from three broad<br />
view-points, viz.: as applying to reduction gears, bearings<br />
and steam cylinders.<br />
While many of the moving parts of any type of au<br />
FIG. 4.—Front view of a mechanical stoker showing worm reduction<br />
gearing enclosed in an oil-tight casing, the mechanicaltomatic stoker are exposed to a certain amount of heat,<br />
timer with four speed reduction, and the kicker bar operating such connections as require lubrication are generally sub<br />
mechanism zvith driving rod.<br />
ject to far lower temperatures, although these latter may<br />
often be sufficiently high to render lubrication a serious<br />
problem. Bearings of movable grate connections as a<br />
rule will be chiefly affected in this respect. Other operating<br />
parts being outside the furnace receive only the<br />
heat of radiation from the boiler.<br />
Reduction Gears.<br />
Worm and spur gears are the main parts which must<br />
be lubricated. According to the make of stoker, the<br />
worms may be located either above or below the main<br />
driving gears. As a result, their lubrication requires<br />
consideration from two angles. Stokers normally run at<br />
low speeds due to the gradual rate at which the coal must<br />
be fed. As a result large speed reductions are used especially<br />
where the prime mover is a turbine or an electric<br />
motor. The selection of the lubricant for a stoker worm<br />
drive should be based primarily upon the tvne of gear<br />
casing installed. In other words an oil tigl i ; will<br />
enable the employment of bath lubrication "a se of<br />
a lubricant of just sufficient viscosity to preclu vear-
December, 1924<br />
ing of the teeth. Where but a safety gear shield or an<br />
open or leaky case is involved, naturally we must turn to<br />
the heavier, more plastic grades of lubricants.<br />
Essentially a worm gear installation will require a<br />
comparatively heavy, adhesive lubricant which will not<br />
wipe off the teeth when subjected to the combined sliding<br />
and rolling action of the teeth. Furthermore, in many<br />
installations the same lubricant must not only serve to<br />
lubricate the gears but also the worm shaft thrust bearings,<br />
nasmuch as the lubricating requirements will differ<br />
considerably, in such cases it will be necessary to<br />
compromise and use a lubricant as suitable to both as<br />
possible. Usually a straight mineral product of about<br />
the consistency of steam cylinder oil will meet these conditions.<br />
The location of the worm with respect to the gear is<br />
important not only from the viewpoint of selection of<br />
the grade of lubricant, but also as to the manner of lubrication.<br />
When the worm is located below the wear it<br />
should be submerged to approximately the center line of<br />
the worm shaft. This will insure the transference of<br />
sufficient lubricant to the gear teeth as they mesh with<br />
the worm. This condition does not occur to the same<br />
exent, however, when the worm is above the gear, due to<br />
the lower surface area of the gear teeth, and the fact that<br />
the lubricant will tend to travel along the worm.shaft<br />
and drip down outside the trough. Also, especially when<br />
the stoker is first started up will there be a possibility of<br />
an insufficient film of lubricant being carried by the gear<br />
teeth to the worm. To forestall these conditions, it is<br />
advisable to run the gears submerged to the full depth of<br />
their lower teeth in a bath of lubricant, and use a highly<br />
adhesive, though relatively fluid, product which will stick<br />
tenaciously to the worm teeth and not drip off even where<br />
radiated heat may be relatively high.<br />
When worm drives are not enclosed in an oil-tight<br />
casing bath lubrication is usually precluded, and it becomes<br />
necessary to apply the lubricant by hand, in heated<br />
condition, by means of a brush. In such instances the<br />
lubricant must be of considerably higher viscosity than<br />
specified above since it must maintain a suitable film on<br />
the teeth for the usual considerable period of time which<br />
elapses between applications. Low- viscosity oils or nonadhesive<br />
greases will drip off when thinned down under<br />
the higher temperatures encountered. For such gears it<br />
is therefore advisable to use a straight mineral gear lubricant<br />
of approximately 1000 sec. viscosity Saybolt of<br />
210 deg. F. Dirt and dust must also be considered when<br />
lubricating worm reduction gears of this nature. Therefore,<br />
frequent attention should be given to cleaning the<br />
entire mechanism, otherwise excessive wear may occur<br />
due to the presence of abrasive material in the lubricating<br />
film on the teeth.<br />
Bearings.<br />
Bearings in a stoker installation are internal and external<br />
in location. Internal bearings usually get little or<br />
no lubrication; in fact they are generally built with reatively<br />
high clearances, to operate without oil. The<br />
amount of motion to which they are subject is relatively<br />
slight, as is also the comparative rubbing speed. Therefore,<br />
heat conditions are really the only detriments involved.<br />
External bearings, however, should receive careful<br />
attention. Frequently they are designed for grease lubrication,<br />
being equipped with suitable grease cups.<br />
These latter are advantageous in that they are usuallv<br />
dustproof and insure a supply of clean lubricant to the<br />
bearing surfaces. Grease also tends to work out toward<br />
Die Blast FumaceSSteel Plant<br />
555<br />
the end of the bearing, thus preventing the entry of dust<br />
along the shaft. For such service a medium bodied compression<br />
cup grease free from thickeners or non-lubricating<br />
adulterants will function best. It is perfectly possible,<br />
however, to lubricate stoker bearings with oil and<br />
this is often done where it is desirable to use one product<br />
for the external bearings of both the prime mover and<br />
the stoker. In such cases a medium viscosity engine oil<br />
of about 300 sec. viscosity Saybolt at 100 deg. F. will be<br />
suitable.<br />
Prime Movers.<br />
In general the above will include steam engines, steam<br />
turbines, electric motors, silent chain drives, or in certain<br />
cases, line shafting and belts. The lubrication of such<br />
equipment has been extensively dealt with in recent issues<br />
of LUBRICATION. ^Therefore reference is made to those<br />
articles.<br />
FIG. 5.—A.z'ertical type of stoker driving engine showing method<br />
of connection to the stoker proper, and the means installed<br />
for lubrication.<br />
Certain types of stokers may be equipped with vertical,<br />
reciprocating, enclosed crankcase steam engines, usually<br />
of the single acting type. In this event a few words of<br />
detail regarding their lubrication will be of interest.<br />
In the lubrication of these engines the design not onlv<br />
does not aim to prevent the entry of water but actually<br />
makes use of this latter as a carrier for the oil. During<br />
the process of lubrication the oil in the crankcase not<br />
only serves the bearing but also the cylinder walls to a<br />
partial extent, co-operating in this latter with the oil<br />
which is fed with the steam. To obtain effective lubrication<br />
the crankcase must be filled with water (preferably<br />
condensate) to the level of the overflow pipe. On top of<br />
this body of water is carried a y to y2-m. film or layer<br />
of specially refined lubricating oil. As the crank disc<br />
dips into this the requisite amount of lubricant is thrown<br />
to the cylinder walls, and internal bearings. The purpose<br />
of using a mixture of oil and water for lubrication<br />
•November, 1923; April, 1924.
556 Die Blast FurnaceSSfeel Plant<br />
is to enable the attainment of a more effective distribution<br />
of the oil than were the latter used alone.<br />
Thereby, too, it is possible to bring about lubrication<br />
of both cylinders and bearings by means of one oil, and<br />
that a heavier product than would normally be used for<br />
other splash feed systems. Usually this oil must have a<br />
viscosity in the neighborhood of 100 sec. Saybolt at 210<br />
deg. F. Furthermore, it must separate readily from<br />
water, yet it must have sufficient adhesive ability to<br />
render it capable of clinging to the cylinder walls in the<br />
presence of water. Emulsification to a slight extent<br />
does no harm, but there is always possibility of repeated<br />
churning causing thick emulsions or "livering," especially<br />
if too much oil is used or if it has not been sufficiently<br />
carefully refined and prepared. Emulsions will naturally<br />
tend to render the lubricating system inoperative.<br />
Main bearings of such engines are usually lubricated<br />
by sight feed oil cups or compression grease cups. The<br />
steam in turn is lubricated as necessary through hydrostatic<br />
or force feed oilers using oftentimes the same grade<br />
of oil as in the crankcase.<br />
Conclusion.<br />
While w-e have touched but briefly upon this most<br />
important feature of steam power plant operation—the<br />
lubrication of the automatic stoker—enough stress has<br />
been laid upon the construction, design and the operating<br />
features involved to indicate the importance of proper<br />
and sufficient lubrication. Upon the operation of the<br />
stoker will depend our rate of steam production. Therefore,<br />
even though our stoker may be apparently rugged<br />
and seemingly immune from lubrication difficulties, it<br />
will pay to give it careful attention and remember that<br />
it is quite as deserving of the best grades of lubricants<br />
as the other operating units in the plant.<br />
Excerpts from the Steel Trade Weeklies<br />
The Federal Trade Commission sums up results<br />
of the abolishment of Pittsburgh plus, viewing the<br />
tendency toward delivered prices as retarding adjustment.<br />
A cablegram from London states that as a result<br />
of the defeat of the labor party in Great Britain the<br />
British iron and steel markets are more buoyant.<br />
The twenty-eighth convention of the American<br />
Foundrymen's Association at Milwaukee breaks all<br />
records in point of attendance, with 5,031 registered.<br />
Confidence is returning in the iron and steel markets,<br />
and buying is much heavier, stimulated to some<br />
extent by the optimism expressed at the meeting of<br />
the Iron and Steel Institute in New York, especially<br />
in the address of E. M. Gary.<br />
November 6.<br />
October pig iron production was 2,461,144 tons, an increase<br />
of 407,827 tons over September. On an average<br />
daily basis the gain was 16 per cent over September.<br />
An article by Leonard P. Ayres, vice president,<br />
Cleveland Trust Company-, illustrated with charts,<br />
shows the relationship between pig iron production<br />
and prices consecutively since 1898. Prices lag at<br />
start of recovery of production.<br />
The American Welding Society in annual convention<br />
at Cleveland urge the fabrication of steel structures<br />
by means of welding.<br />
Total ingot production in October was at the annual<br />
rate of 35,840,000 tons, compared with 33,670,000<br />
tons in September. The October output was 3,111,-<br />
452 tons, the highest point since April.<br />
December, 1924<br />
Traffic managers of leading iron and steel producers<br />
meet in Pittsburgh and appoint a committee to<br />
formulate a program for rate revisions.<br />
Technical Articles.<br />
Description of an Oklahoma foundry producing<br />
special electric steel castings as required for larger demand<br />
in the southwestern oil fields.<br />
The Otis Steel Company of Cleveland joins the<br />
ranks of strip producers. Completion of new openhearth<br />
capacity affords it control over materials.<br />
Blooming mill hydraulic system is unique. No cooling<br />
bed in hot strip mill.<br />
A technical description of a tin plate plant built in<br />
India by American and British engineers.<br />
A Milwaukee manufacturer of steel castings adopts<br />
electric furnace for annealing and heat treating. Variable<br />
input arrangement conserves power. Transfer<br />
table and storage track facilitate handling of cars.<br />
A description of a new fire clay mill near Joliet,<br />
Illinois.<br />
—Iron Trade Review.<br />
Current Articles<br />
Tooling for Small Quantity Work<br />
Jobs not calling for bulk production put through<br />
on semi-production basis—savings accomplished<br />
by grouping operations.<br />
An American Tin Plate Plant in India<br />
New York engineers make many modifications to<br />
meet climatic conditions—marked success of early<br />
operations.<br />
Iron Ore Available for United States<br />
Reserves of the world which may be smelted in<br />
American furnaces—Our own reserves should last<br />
250 years.<br />
Nitrogen in Steel—Prevention or Cure?<br />
Its removal facilitated by various additions—Lowtemperature<br />
production of iron in the blast furnace<br />
advocated as a preventive.<br />
Making Large Size Hammer-Welded Pipe<br />
Penstocks, tanks, stills, digestors and receivers—<br />
Methods of forming and welding—Finishing to<br />
size important.<br />
Steels at Highest Working Temperatures<br />
Changes in strength and other properties of carbon<br />
and alloy steels at 500 to 1200 deg.—Range of "reduced<br />
malleability" in hot working.<br />
Steady Business Improvement Expected<br />
Washington cheerful after the election—General<br />
congratulation on account of collapse of Gompers-<br />
La Follette radicalism.<br />
Judge Gary Tells About Stinnes Interview<br />
Was powerless to act unless steel manufacturers<br />
of all countries could work in harmony—Recent<br />
talk about an international meeting.<br />
Horizontal Ring Induction Furnaces<br />
Comparison with electric arc furnaces for metals—<br />
Attractive features of induction melting—Results<br />
from a 6-ton unit.<br />
Eliminating Blue Prints in Machining<br />
Jigs registered from a machined surface are used<br />
for tool setting—"Greased Air" Employed in deephole<br />
drilling.<br />
—IRON AGE during November.
December, 1924<br />
Die Blast FurnaceSSteel Plant<br />
Southern Pacific locomotive equipped zvith firebox with one-piece crozvn, sides and combustion chamber.<br />
One Piece Plate for Locomotive Fireboxes<br />
A B O U T six years ago the Lukens Steel Company<br />
installed a 206-inch mill for rolling and handling<br />
wide plates such as are now used on many railroads<br />
in the construction of a one-piece plate which<br />
comprises the crown sheet, side sheets and combus-<br />
FIG. 1.—Plate cut to finished size.<br />
tion chamber of a firebox. To bend or roll such a<br />
plate requires some art, for as you will note the sides<br />
have a straight slope with the crown curved to a<br />
radius and the combustion chamber makes a complete<br />
shell.<br />
The plates used in this construction are generally<br />
of y%-\n. gauge material and usually measure for the<br />
larger locomotives anywhere from 180 to 195 inches<br />
wide. The rectangular plate is cut out and drilled as<br />
shown in Fig. 1. The next procedure is to bend or<br />
form the plate as shown in Figs 2 and 3. Of course,<br />
the size and shape of these vary in accordance with<br />
the different locomotives for which they are required.<br />
The next step is to weld in the throat sheet and attach<br />
the mud ring, Fig. 4. The box is now ready for installation<br />
on the locomotive. All of the work as shown<br />
in the illustrations is done by the locomotive builder,<br />
FIG. 2.—Plate formed for use.<br />
557<br />
the Lukens Steel Company furnishing only the flat<br />
plate.<br />
The advantages of the one-piece crown, sides and<br />
combustion chamber are many. It not only makes a<br />
nicer appearing box more easily handled in construction,<br />
but it also has an economic and safety value. In<br />
FIG. 3.—Firebox made of one piece plate.<br />
the first place, the seams are eliminated; this no<br />
means the reduction in cost of drilling, riveting, calking<br />
etc., but it avoids all the dangers of leaks which<br />
are prevalent at such joints. In addition, as the transmission<br />
of heat from fire to water is important, the<br />
FIG. 4.—Firebox and combustion chamber.<br />
construction of one-piece crown, sides and combust<br />
chamber makes only one thickness of metal throughout<br />
the entire firebox and combustion chamber for the<br />
heat to pass through. It has to pass through three<br />
thicknesses where joints are used with inside and outside<br />
butt straps as was required in the old construe-
tion. Still further, in cooling when the engine is out<br />
of operation or the lire removed for any purpose, all<br />
of the cooling strains concentrate at the joints. The<br />
rest of the box naturally cools more rapidly than the<br />
joints on account of the extra metal concentrated at<br />
the joints, hence all the cooling stresses act on the<br />
hotter metal and practically all the strain is concentrated<br />
here. Everyone having experience with loco-<br />
FIG. 5 —Firebox made from plate 241 by 195 inches.<br />
motives of the old construction knows that it is at<br />
such joints that the cracks and failures invariably<br />
occur.<br />
The new construction of one-piece crown, sides<br />
and combustion chamber has now been given a thorough<br />
trial, and locomotives of such construction have<br />
been in operation long enough to prove their great<br />
value in efficiency, economy and safety.<br />
The mill for rolling the plates has two 30-ton<br />
working rolls, each of which are supported by 60-ton<br />
reinforcing rolls, making the mill very stiff and allowing<br />
for the rolling of a uniform plate of quality with a<br />
It is interesting to note that the first boiler plates<br />
in America were turned out of the Lukens plant at<br />
Coatesville, Pa., this institution dating back to the<br />
year 1790 and formally established in 1810. We are<br />
indebted to the Lukens Steel Company for this information<br />
and illustrations.<br />
—Railway Journal.<br />
Tine Blast Furnace's Steel riant<br />
Centrifugal Applications<br />
Utmost In Portability Assured This Transformer<br />
< )il Purifier — Mounted on a White truck with all<br />
auxiliaries it is used to dehydrate oil in the outlying<br />
districts served by a great utility company.<br />
Erie County Electric Company Stops Turbine Trouble<br />
With Oil—Trace difficulty to lubricating oil,<br />
remedy it bv tilling system with another brand, and<br />
cure it by installing a purifier after exhaustive tests.<br />
Located Near Coal and Water. This Plant Has<br />
Plenty of Pure Oil—Saxton plant of Penn Central<br />
I.-lit'and Power Company, located at the mouth of a<br />
coal mine, keeps turbine and transformer oil clean.<br />
British Station Saves Cost of Two Purifiers in Seven<br />
Months — City of Sheffield ( England), Corporation<br />
electricity department uses two stationary type De-<br />
Lavals to dehydrate transformer oil at central plant.<br />
Purifier Protects the First Unit Installed at Waukegan<br />
Station -- Newest plant of the Public Service<br />
Company of Northern Illinois is designed ultimately to<br />
be one of the world's largest generating stations.<br />
Maximum ( )il Temperature Drops 20 Deg. After<br />
a Purifier Is Installed — Dependable lubrication also<br />
helps Arizona Power Company to successfully carry<br />
a load which jumps from 1,000 to 7,400 kwh. in the<br />
course of 30 minutes.<br />
Largest Power Svstem In Hard Coal Field Works<br />
With Clean Oil —" Transformer oil purifier cleans<br />
and dehydrates oil used in generating and distributing<br />
31,000 kva. needed to meet power needs of Glen<br />
Alden Coal Company.<br />
Savs Transformer Oil Purifier Removes Sulphuric<br />
Acid from Oil—City Lighing Department of Seattle<br />
feeds 10 per cent of water through its purifier with the<br />
oil and finds that acidity is materially reduced.<br />
Pneumatic-Tired Trailer Adds to Portability of<br />
This Oil Purifier — Central Hudson Gas and Electric<br />
Company develops conpact transformer oil maintenance<br />
outfit with a machine mounted on a trailer built<br />
of Ford parts.<br />
—DeLaval Centrifugal Review.<br />
November Iron and Steel Engineer contains the<br />
following interesting articles :<br />
Interchange of Power in the Southwestern States,<br />
by T. M. Oliver. An illustrated discussion of a new<br />
phase of power development, given by the Electrical<br />
Engineer of the Alabama Power Company before the<br />
Birmingham Section of the society.<br />
FIGS. 6 and 7.—Locomotives equipped zvith one-piece fireboxes.<br />
Electric Mining Equipment, Its Selection, Care and<br />
clean, smooth surface. The mill is driven by a 30,000horsepower<br />
combined geared, reversible and condens-<br />
, ing engine and has a capacity to handle 30-ton ingots.<br />
Operation, by A. F. Elliot, Electrical Superintendent<br />
of Sloss Sheffield Steel & Iron Company. Given before<br />
the Birmingham Section.<br />
Developments in Electric Maintenance Shop Practice.<br />
A general discussion by leading member electrical<br />
superintendents and engineers.<br />
Spot Welding, by G. A. Hughes. Electrical Engineer,<br />
Truscon. Steel Company, Youngstown, Ohio.<br />
An eight page technical paper reviewing the progress<br />
made by the use of the spot welder.
December, 1924<br />
Ihe Diast rurnacp'S jteel Plant<br />
7% POWER PLANT<br />
Planning Modern Stoker Installations<br />
Resume and Analysis of the Important Combustion Problem by a<br />
Specialist of Broad Experience<br />
T H E R E have been many changes in the past year<br />
in the manner of boiler and stoker combinations;<br />
more narrow and higher tubed boilers are being<br />
used, and on horizontal tube boilers the front header<br />
is being set 18 feet from the floor line. A few years<br />
ago, draft was everlasting trouble maker with stokers,<br />
but today, adequate stacks are being installed to give<br />
sufficient draft to burn the maximum amount of coal<br />
the equipment is designed for.<br />
By JOSEPH G. WORKER<br />
559<br />
Of course, the modern boiler and stoker setting is<br />
costing more money than it did a few years ago, but<br />
this expenditure is being justified.<br />
The coals used in most of the central stations in the<br />
East are semi-bituminous and bituminous coming from<br />
Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, etc. Of all<br />
the several types of stokers to select from a few years<br />
ago—the field has sifted until now, the multiple re<br />
*Assistant to the President, American Engineering Corporatort stoker, Fig. 1. is almost universally used. The<br />
tion, Philadelphia, Pa.<br />
engineer of today has no difficulty in selecting- the<br />
FIG. 1.—One of the longest and largest of the modern multiple relort underfeed stokers.
560 IneBlast FurnaceSSleel Plant<br />
December, 1924<br />
FIG. 2.— (Left)—92 per cent efficiency and over 600 per cent of boiler rating obtained zvith this underfeed stoker setting at the<br />
Hell Gate station of the United Electric Light and Power Company. Engineers—Thomas E. Murray, Inc. FIG. 3.— (Right)<br />
—One of the most modern underfeed stoker settings now being installed at the Kearney Station of the Public Service Company.<br />
Engineers—Public Service Production Company.<br />
type of stoker to be used for these coals in large stations,<br />
for modern stoker practice.<br />
The underfeed stoker is used very generally as far<br />
west as Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Toledo and Detroit,<br />
and one of the latest stations to use this stoker is the<br />
United Light & Power Company for their large new<br />
plant on the Mississippi River. The highest performance<br />
to be obtained on the underfeed stoker in the<br />
past is shown by the results at the Hell Gate Plant of<br />
the United Electric Light & Power Company of New<br />
York. Table 1 shows the heat balance.<br />
In Illinois, where Illinois coals predominate, the<br />
forced draft chain grate is extensively used. This<br />
stoker has been developed considerably in the past<br />
few years, and is nothing like the natural draft chain<br />
grate stoker. The natural draft chain grate stoker has<br />
almost passed out of existence as far as combination<br />
with large boilers are concerned. It is being replaced<br />
even in older plants by the forced draft chain grate<br />
stoker.<br />
The performance to be expected from this type<br />
of stoker is indicated by the results of tests at the<br />
Calumet Station of the Commonwealth Edison Company<br />
of Chicago, which showed 75 per cent efficiency<br />
without economizers.
December, 1924<br />
D,e Blast FurnaceSSleel Plant<br />
TABLE 1. — HEAT BALANCES<br />
A few years ago, the results that could be obtained<br />
Connors Creek<br />
(Detroit)<br />
Lakeside<br />
(Milwaukee)<br />
Hell Gate<br />
(New York)<br />
on stokers were measured by the character of the<br />
boiler that was placed over the stoker; that is, if the<br />
Total heat absorbed,<br />
stoker was applied on the H.R.T. boiler, the efficiencies<br />
boilers, superheater<br />
and economizer . . .<br />
Heat absorbed b y<br />
boilers and superheater<br />
Heat absorbed b y<br />
economizer<br />
Heat carried away by<br />
76.0%<br />
14.2<br />
89. H<br />
85.3<br />
3.8<br />
3.2<br />
92.7%<br />
84.6<br />
8.1<br />
3.2<br />
obtained were on one standard. When stokers were<br />
applied under water-tube boilers, it was then said<br />
that higher efficiencies could be obtained with stokers.<br />
The probabilities are that, as far as the stoker was concerned,<br />
and there was a method of measuring its efficiencies<br />
as an independent unit, it would be found that<br />
the stoker applied to H.R.T. boilers would be just as<br />
dry gases<br />
Loss — Combustible<br />
in ash or flue dust<br />
Loss due to incomplete<br />
combustion.. .<br />
Heat carried away by<br />
steam in products<br />
of combustion ....<br />
3.6<br />
0.2<br />
5.0<br />
1.0<br />
0.5<br />
4.9<br />
2.3<br />
0.4<br />
0.1<br />
3.4<br />
0.2<br />
efficient as one applied to water-tube boilers; therefore,<br />
in planning modern installations, it should be first<br />
determined what efficiency is desired.<br />
If 90 per cent efficiency is desired with the ordinary<br />
grade of coal, this is perfectly possible with the<br />
modern mechanical stokers, but the design must be<br />
such that the furnace and boiler construction handle<br />
Radiation and unaccounted<br />
for losses<br />
Total<br />
Flue gas temperatures<br />
leaving boiler<br />
Per cent of rating—<br />
boiler and superheater<br />
CO2 leaving boiler...<br />
Btu. coal as fired.. ..<br />
Gain in boiler eff. if<br />
flue gases reduced<br />
to 430 deg<br />
Temperature air en<br />
100.0<br />
604 °F.<br />
137<br />
11.8%<br />
12,072<br />
100.0<br />
430°F.<br />
147<br />
14.4%<br />
11,483<br />
104°F.<br />
100.0<br />
485 °F.<br />
181<br />
13.04%<br />
14,010<br />
1.48%<br />
65 °F.<br />
the heat that is liberated from the stoker.<br />
Engineers not long ago, in their study of a stoker<br />
and boiler, wanted to know what results were obtained<br />
on stokers when using this coal. This was the<br />
old way of going about designing a stoker installation.<br />
If this study showed that 75 per cent efficiency was<br />
obtained with this kind of coal on the particular stoker,<br />
then the new plant was designed along this line. The<br />
new method is to find out if 80 per cent or 90 per cent<br />
efficiency is possible, and if so, then go about designing<br />
the equipment that will give this efficiency and<br />
taking care that all elements are provided, that will<br />
tering<br />
1.00% eliminate wasted heat. That is, our old data book rec<br />
Theoretical gain with<br />
24.20 Hr. 28.0 Hr. ord of stokers is no longer of any use in designing the<br />
air at 140°<br />
modern setting.<br />
Length of run<br />
204 °F. 193°F.<br />
A few years ago, stokers were made 8 ft. to 10 ft.<br />
Flue gas temperature<br />
leaving economizer.<br />
from the front wall to the bridge wall. This gave a<br />
In planning new stoker installations, engineers are very short travel for the coal to be burned. If high<br />
using new methods and are designing up to a high capacity from certain units were needed, the stoker<br />
efficiency rather than down to an obsolete plant effi was made wider. These short stokers resulted in a<br />
ciency.<br />
PIG 4.— (Left)—Application of underfeed stoker to boilers for Weymouth Station of the Edison Electric Illuminating Convpany.<br />
Engineers, Stone & Webster, Inc. FIG. 5.— (Center)—Application of a hydraulic type underfeed stoker at Consumers<br />
Power Company', Milwaukee. Engineers, Commonwealth Pozver Company. FIG. 6.— (Right)—Hydraulic underfeed stoker<br />
application for burning Western high ash coals with totary ash discharge for the River Side Power Manufacturing Company<br />
at Iowana. Engineers, United Light & Power Company.<br />
561
562 The Blast FurnaceSSteel Plant<br />
very high loss from combustible in the ash. The<br />
coal was burned quickly at a high rate and as it<br />
reached the rear of the stoker, it was discharged into<br />
the ash pit.<br />
In planning the modern stoker, the length of stoker<br />
that will give the lowest per cent of combustible in<br />
the ash should be used. Stokers are now being made<br />
from 17 ft. to 18 ft. from the front wall to the bridge<br />
wall where previously they were made 8 ft. or 9 ft.<br />
A review of some of the modern stoker installations<br />
recently installed or about to be installed will IK- interesting<br />
from the viewpoint of the use of long<br />
stokers.<br />
Hell Gate Plant—United Electric Light &<br />
Power Company.<br />
This is probably one of the highest types of stokerboiler<br />
combination of engineering designing in the<br />
country. The first stokers installed at this plant were<br />
double ended fired but by the introduction of the long<br />
stoker, the later units were equipped with single ended<br />
stokers. The 12 stokers originally installed were 14<br />
retort underfeed stokers, 17 tuyeres long with the<br />
double rotary ash discharge between them. Each<br />
boiler had a furnace width from sidewall to side wall<br />
of 24 ft. 9 in., and the depth between each end wall of<br />
19 ft. 1 in.<br />
The latest installation consists of 14 retort, 33<br />
tuy-ere stokers, Fig. 2. with a dimension of 15 ft. 6 in.<br />
from the front wall to the bridge wall. The side walls<br />
of this new furnace consist of water tubes arranged<br />
vertically with welded fins filling the space between<br />
them. The lower part of the tubes at a distance a<br />
little above the fuel bed line is covered with fire brick<br />
tile.<br />
Tests on this installation show 92.7 per cent combined<br />
efficiency of boiler, superheater and economizer<br />
when burning coal containing 14,563 Btu. An analysis<br />
of the combustible in the ash shows that the combustible<br />
runs about 4y2 per cent which showed a heat<br />
loss of about 0.4 of 1 per cent, as shown in the f<strong>org</strong>oing<br />
heat balance. ><br />
Kearny Station, Public Service Production<br />
Company.<br />
This plant, which is now being installed, is of particular<br />
interest because the stokers are probably the<br />
largest that have ever been built. Fig. 1—this not being<br />
entirely due to its width but its depth and also the<br />
distance from the clinker grinder rolls to the top of<br />
the coal hopper.<br />
This stoker setting, Fig. 3, is designed to give 350<br />
per cent of rating with efficiencies over 80 per cent.<br />
The power to operate this large stoker, when running<br />
without a fuel bed is 1.3 hp.<br />
Weymouth Station, Edison Electric Illuminating<br />
Company, Boston.<br />
Many engineering innovations are designed into<br />
this plant. This is one of the first applications of the<br />
long stoker in modern power house construction. The<br />
stokers are 29 tuyeres long and are built to handle 20<br />
tons of coal per hour. These stokers burn a very dry<br />
coal of approximately 14,500 Btu. and are designed to<br />
run continuously at 350 per cent of boiler rating.<br />
Fig. 4.<br />
Saginaw River Plant, Consumers Power Company.<br />
Advances made recently in efficient stoker steam<br />
generating plants with high capacity output is ex-<br />
exemplified in the design of this plant. The station was<br />
purposely and intentionally laid out with guaranteed<br />
units so that one pound of good West Virginia coal<br />
would be used for each kw. of net output.<br />
The boilers installed are 927 hp. (Fig. 5), and although<br />
the plant has only been running a short time,<br />
high efficiencies are shown to be possible and it is<br />
expected to obtain 140,000 lbs. of steam from each of<br />
the boilers.<br />
The side walls are equipped with water cooled<br />
tubes which take the place of the ordinary brick furnace<br />
walls. The stokers are driven by hydraulic rams<br />
through a medium of oil pressure.<br />
FIG. 7.— Typical application of forced draft chain grate stokers<br />
for burning middle western coal.<br />
United Light & Power Company, Iowana, la.<br />
One of the most interesting modern stoker steam<br />
central station installations, is the one now being<br />
built on the Mississippi River near Davenport, la.,<br />
where underfeed stokers will be used. This stoker,<br />
Fig. 6, is designed to burn a poor grade of Illinois and<br />
Iowa coal, and is designed for high modern efficiencies.<br />
Instead of using a crank shaft for driving the plungers<br />
of these stokers, oil cylinders will lie used in connection<br />
with what is known as a Hele-Shaw pump.<br />
Chester Plant, Delaware County Electric Company.<br />
This installation is unique in that provisions are<br />
being made so that preheated air up to about 500 deg.<br />
F. to 600 deg. F. can be used in connection with the<br />
stokers. The stoker is being especially designed for<br />
this kind of service. The coal to be used will be bituminous<br />
coal and high thermal efficiencies are calculated<br />
as the performance results.
December, 1924<br />
Richmond Station, Philadelphia Electric Company.<br />
This new plant of the Philadelphia Electric Company,<br />
possibly to be the largest station in the world,<br />
will start out with twelve 1.569 hp. boilers. The stokers<br />
will be of the long underfeed type and designed<br />
for preheated air.<br />
Wabash River Station, Indiana Electric<br />
Corporation.<br />
_A typical installation of the application of forced<br />
draft_chain grate stokers to large boilers is shown in<br />
Fig. 7. It will be noted that the effective length of<br />
the stoker is 21 ft. 3 in. With this kind of installation,<br />
high thermal combined boiler and stoker results<br />
is possible and about 250 per cent of boiler rating for<br />
capacity.<br />
November Contents General Electric Review<br />
Editorial—Scientific Crystal Gazing.<br />
Operation of 1,200-lb. Pressure Generating Unit at<br />
the Weymouth Power Station, Edison Electric Illuminating<br />
Company, Boston—By E. W. Norris, Stone &<br />
Webster, Inc. Great engineering interest is attached<br />
to the 1,200-lb. turbine-generator, of approximately<br />
3,000 kva., described in the article, for it will be the<br />
first of so high a pressure to be placed in commercial<br />
service in this country.<br />
New Tvpe of Single-Phase Locomotives for the<br />
N. Y., N.'H. & H. R. R.<br />
The Field of Research in Industrial Institutions—<br />
By E. W. Rice, Jr. Research in the realms of pure<br />
science and in the current problems of production has<br />
given birth to new branches of industry, has fairlyrevolutionized<br />
production methods in existing industries<br />
to their great advantage, and is fundamentally<br />
perfecting the products of manufacture.<br />
The Charles A. Coffin Foundation Award to the<br />
Northern Texas Traction Company-.<br />
The Remote Operation of Valves and Gates—By<br />
R. H. Rogers. In this article the author deals w-ith<br />
the service of electricity in the remote operation of<br />
valves and gates. An unusually interesting example<br />
of this application of electric power is illustrated at<br />
the locks of the New York State Barge Canal, where<br />
the control of the valves and gates stands out in sharp<br />
contrast to the manual operation of those of the Erie<br />
Canal.<br />
The Importance of Standards in the Evaluation of<br />
Insulating Materials — By Law-rence E. Barringer.<br />
The great difficulty of formulating tables of properties<br />
which can be safely used either for comparison or for<br />
determining the form and amount of insulation to be<br />
used.<br />
Study of Crystal Structure and Its Application—<br />
By Wheeler P. Davey. This is the opening installment<br />
of a series of articles that will develop into an<br />
up-to-date treatise on crystal structure as determined<br />
by x-rays and will become an invaluable guide to its<br />
diversified applications.<br />
Studies in the Projection of Light—Part XIV.—<br />
By Frank Benford. In this installment the author<br />
discussess the influence of manufacturing errors on<br />
the projection of light from a paraboloidal mirror.<br />
The Sheathed Electrode and an Example of Its<br />
Application to the Automatic Welding of Galvanized<br />
Tanks—By B. C. Tracey.<br />
The Blast Fu<br />
r^o<br />
rnace. Steel Plant<br />
563<br />
Salient Features of the Power Show<br />
Third National Exposition of Power and Mechanical Engineering<br />
Opens December 1<br />
The Power Show functions as a clearing house<br />
of information about the recent developments in<br />
power and mechanical engineering. The exhibits<br />
include machinery and equipment for the generation<br />
and utilization of power and the development of the<br />
arts and sciences of mechanical engineering. It includes<br />
boilers, stokers, superheaters, economizers, air<br />
preheaters, prime movers, pumps, condensers, valves,<br />
control apparatus, measuring instruments, materials<br />
handling equipment, transmission equipment, such as<br />
ball-bearings, clutches, belting, etc., machine tools,<br />
refrigerating machinery and heating and ventilating<br />
equipment. The exhibits will lie of interest to all industries<br />
which use heat or power in any form or have<br />
any problems in mechanical engineering.<br />
Lectures.<br />
Lectures will be given by outstanding men on the<br />
following subjects: The Boiler Room, Steam Prime<br />
Movers, Oil and Gas Engines, Hydroelectric Power<br />
Plant Equipment, Materials Handling, Modern Machine<br />
Tool Developments, Mechanical Power Transmission,<br />
Mechanical Refrigeration, Heating and Ventilating.<br />
These lectures will not conflict with the<br />
technical sessions of the annual meeting of The American<br />
Society of Mechanical Engineers, which will be<br />
held in the Engineering Societies Building from December<br />
1 through 4, or the meeting of the American<br />
Society of Refrigerating Engineers, which will be held<br />
from December 2 through December 4 at the Hotel<br />
Astor.<br />
An elaborate program of films of general engineering<br />
and industrial interest will be shown. Educational<br />
exhibits showing the development of various<br />
forms of mechanical engineering equipment will be<br />
shown. There will be a showing of the historical development<br />
of machine tools.<br />
Last year 62,079 engineers, operating men, manufacturers,<br />
industrialists, financiers, educators and<br />
students attended the Exposition. The first year the<br />
attendance was 47,580.<br />
The Exposition is administered by the International<br />
Exposition Company, the managers of which<br />
are Fred W. Payne and Charles F. Roth, with offices<br />
in the Grand Central Palace.<br />
The management is assisted by an advisory board<br />
composed of consulting engineers and representatives<br />
of The American Society of Mechanical Engineers,<br />
the American Society of Refrigerating Engineers, the<br />
American Society of Heating and Ventilating Engineers,<br />
the National Electric Light Association and<br />
the National Association of Stationary Engineers.<br />
The following is a list of the exhibitors at the<br />
power and mechanical engineering exposition with<br />
the numbers of the booths occupied:<br />
Space Name<br />
319-320 Aero Pulverizer Company.<br />
75 Allen-Sherman Hoff Company.<br />
58 American Arch Company.<br />
74 American Schaeffer & Budenberg Corporation.<br />
208 Armstrong Cork & Insulation Company.<br />
38 Ashton Valve Company.<br />
65 American Brass Company.<br />
260 Armstrong Machine Works.<br />
95-a Andale Engineering Company.<br />
65 Anaconda Copper Mining Company.<br />
74 American Steam Gauge & Valve Company.<br />
48 American Chain Company.
564<br />
204 Alberger Heater Company.<br />
213-214 Area Regulators Inc.<br />
212 Alsop Engineering Company.<br />
260 Advance Engineering Company.<br />
539 Ackerman Johnson Company.<br />
60 Ashcroft Manufacturing Company.<br />
495 American Blower Company.<br />
413 Andresen Company.<br />
412 Ames B. C. Company.<br />
552-553 Atwood & Morrill Company.<br />
432 American Pulverizer Company.<br />
429 Alexander Brothers.<br />
558 Blacker Engineering Company.<br />
54-55 Bailey Meter Company.<br />
16 Baker Dunbar Company<br />
249 Ballwood Company.<br />
313 Barnes & Jones.<br />
312 Bassick Manufacturing Company.<br />
50-51 Beaumont R. H. Company.<br />
78 Bernitz Furnace Appliance Company.<br />
70-71 Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation.<br />
68 Bigelow Company.<br />
340-341-342 Boston Gear Works.<br />
247 Bradley Washfountain Company.<br />
44-a Bridgeport Brass Company.<br />
12 Bristol Company.<br />
323 Brown Instrument Company.<br />
276 Builders Iron Foundry.<br />
8 Bundy Steam Trap Company.<br />
"A" Burhorn Edwin Company.<br />
90 Babbitt Steam Specialty Company.<br />
28 Brown Engineering Company.<br />
280 Boiler Kote Company.<br />
550 Boiler & Equipment Supply Corporation.<br />
543 Buffalo F<strong>org</strong>e Company.<br />
544 Buffalo Steam Pump Company.<br />
290 Budd Grate Company.<br />
547 Barco Manufacturing Company.<br />
427-428 Bartlett Hayward Company.<br />
550 Bayer Company.<br />
550 Bayer Steam Soot Blower Company.<br />
413 Blast Furnace & Steel Plant.<br />
423 Brady Conveyors Corporation.<br />
437 Blackburn Smith Corporation.<br />
263 Cambridge & Paul Inst. Company of America.<br />
285 Carr Fastener Company.<br />
566 Philip Carey Company.<br />
22 Carborundum Company.<br />
14 Celite Products Company.<br />
2 Chapman Valve Manufacturing Company.<br />
343 Clark, James, Jr., Electric Company.<br />
300-301-302-303-304-305 Climax Engineering Company.<br />
337 Clipper Belt Lacer Company.<br />
67 Cochrane Corporation, H. S. B. W.<br />
15-B Coen Company.<br />
53 Combustion Pub. Corporation.<br />
92 Connelly D Boiler Company.<br />
440 Chatillon, John & Sons.<br />
43 Connery & Company, Inc.<br />
32 Coppus Engineering Corporation.<br />
52 Crane Company.<br />
261 Crane Packing Company.<br />
277-278 Crosby Steam Gage & Valve Company.<br />
17 Carling Turbine Blower Company.<br />
79 Craig Damper Regulator Company.<br />
28 Cash, A. W, Company.<br />
241-242 Cory, Chas., & Son, Inc.<br />
286 Culm-Burn Equipment Company.<br />
543-544 Carrier Air Conditioning Company of America.<br />
328 Continental Valve & Equipment Company.<br />
69 Consolidated Safety Valve Company.<br />
423 Carrick Engineering Company.<br />
329 Conner Wm. B., Inc.<br />
23 Combustion Engineering Company.<br />
410 Campbell Andrew C, Inc.<br />
92 Cleveland Worm Gear Company.<br />
441 Central F<strong>org</strong>ing Company.<br />
509 Columbus Machine Company.<br />
512 Diamond Chain Manufacturing Company.<br />
222 248 488 206-207 36-37 10 13 D'Este, Dearborn Davidson, Dampney Durabla Detroit Julian, Belt Stoker Manufacturing Company Chemical M. Lacer T., Company. Company. of Company. America. Company.<br />
Hie Blast FurnaceSStee! Plant<br />
December, 1924<br />
94 Detrick, M. H., Company.<br />
27 Dodge, F. W., Corporation.<br />
41 Drake Non-Clinkering Furnace Blk. Company.<br />
17 Diamond Power Specialty Company.<br />
508 Dixon, Joseph, Crucible Company.<br />
208-a Dodd Mead & Company.<br />
423 Dickson, Walter S., & Company.<br />
486 Dick, R. & J., Company, Inc.<br />
12-a Eastern Steam Specialty Company.<br />
288-289 Edge Moor Iron Company.<br />
271-272-273 Elliott Company.<br />
44-B Ellison, Lewis M.<br />
18 Engineer Company, The<br />
217-218 Erie City Iron Works.<br />
100-101 Everlasting Valve Company.<br />
30 Edward Valve & Manufacturing Company.<br />
76 Ernst & Company.<br />
28-a Engineers Book Shop.<br />
531 Fairbanks Company.<br />
246 Fafnir Bearing Company.<br />
338-339 Falk Corporation.<br />
15-a Fisher Governor Company.<br />
315 Flexible Steel Lacing Company.<br />
84 Foster Engineering Company.<br />
62 Foxboro Company, The<br />
14-a and 14-b Fuller-Lehigh Company.<br />
252-253 Fulton Company, The<br />
92 Frederick Iron & Steel Company.<br />
46 Flynn & Emrich Company.<br />
17 Falls Engine Stop Company.<br />
41 Furnace Engineering Company.<br />
425^126 Farnsworth Company.<br />
326-327-330-331 Fairbanks Morse & Company.<br />
540 Foote Broas. Gear & Machine Company.<br />
226 Filtration Engineers Inc.<br />
438 Federal Gauge Company.<br />
564 Filtrators Company, The<br />
274-275 Gifford Wood Company.<br />
262 Girtanner Engineering Corporation .<br />
92 Gordon, James T., Company.<br />
35 Graver Corporation.<br />
201-202-203 Green, A. P., Fire Brick Co.<br />
49 Griscom-Russell Company.<br />
23 Green Engineering Company.<br />
87-88 Gillis & Geoghegan, Inc.<br />
542 Garlock Packing Company.<br />
546 Garratt Callahan Company.<br />
4—5 Goodman Manufacturing Company.<br />
557 Hanson Tap & Gauge Company.<br />
557 Hanson-Whitney Machine Company.<br />
46 Hand Stoker Company.<br />
92 Hagan Corporation.<br />
88 Hill Clutch Mch. & Foundry Company.<br />
204 Howard Iron Works.<br />
81 Huyette, Paul B., Company.<br />
81 Hays, Joseph W., Corporation.<br />
67 Harrison Safety Boiler Works.<br />
230 Howden, Tames, & Company of American.<br />
502 Hofft, M. A. Company.<br />
544 Hollow Ball Company.<br />
10 H. & O. Chain Company.<br />
60 Hancock Inspirator Company.<br />
60 Hayden & Derby Manufacturing Company.<br />
441 Hydraulic Press Manufacturing Company.<br />
509 Hytest Machine Company.<br />
39 Industrial Power.<br />
23-24-25 International Combustion Engr. Corporation.<br />
9 International Nickel Company.<br />
283-284 International Correspondence Schools.<br />
485 Irving Iron Works Company.<br />
314 Industrial Management Group.<br />
423 Illinois Engineering Company.<br />
506 International Filter Company.<br />
551 Insulating Material Company.<br />
90 Jenkins Bros.<br />
93 Jointless Fire Brick Company.<br />
412 Jones & Lamson Corporation.<br />
510-511 Jones, W. A., Foundry & Machine Company.<br />
211 Keeler, E., Company.<br />
296-297 530 317 95 11 19 8-a Korfund Keystone Kissick Key Keystone Klingerit, King Boiler Refractories Fenno Company, Refractories Lubricating Inc. Equipment Company. Company, Inc.<br />
Company. Company. Inc.
December, 1924 The Blast hirnace'3Steel Plant<br />
72 Kellogg, M. W., Company.<br />
566 Keasby, Robert A., Company.<br />
91 Ladd, Ge<strong>org</strong>e T., Company.<br />
86 Lead Lined Iron Pipe Company.<br />
63 Lunkenheimer Company.<br />
271 Lagonda Manufacturing Company.<br />
272 Liberty Manufacturing Company.<br />
203 Liptak Fire Brick Arch Company.<br />
307 Locke Regulator Company.<br />
225 La Bour Company.<br />
24 Lopulco Company.<br />
13 McLeod & Henry Company.<br />
321 McVicker, W. B., Company.<br />
411 McCrosky Tool Company.<br />
226 M. & M. Engineering Company.<br />
34 Mack Engineering & Supply Company.<br />
60 Manning Maxwell & Moore Inc.<br />
40 Manufacturers Record.<br />
280 Maphite Sales Corporation.<br />
209-210 Marion Machine Foundry & Supply Company.<br />
258 Mason Regulator Company.<br />
237-238-239 Merrick Scale Manufacturing Company.<br />
267 Merco-Nordstrom Valve Company.<br />
322 Midwest Air Filters Inc.<br />
265 Morse Chain Company.<br />
334-335-344-345 Morse Dry Dock & Repair Company.<br />
254 Moto Meter Company Inc.<br />
12-a Metallo Gasket Company.<br />
79 Murphy Iron Works.<br />
322 Midwest Steel & Supply Company, Inc.<br />
216 Marlin Rockwell Corporation.<br />
541 Management & Administration.<br />
501 Mueller Company, Inc.<br />
500 Mueller Metals Company.<br />
268 Midwest Piping & Supply Company.<br />
424 Mason, Volney W., Company.<br />
411 Modern Machine Tool Company.<br />
66 Nash Engineering Company.<br />
82 National Engineer.<br />
93 Neemes Foundry Inc.<br />
346-347 New Departure Manufacturing Company.<br />
234-235 Norma Company of America.<br />
324-325 Norton Company.<br />
341 Nicetown Ball Bearing Company.<br />
95-a Nicholson, W. H., & Company.<br />
82 N. A. S. E.<br />
76 National Company.<br />
19 Northern Equipment Company.<br />
549 Nitrose Company.<br />
8-B National Tube Company.<br />
484 Niles Bement-Pond Company.<br />
528 N. K. A.—Ball & Disk Bearings.<br />
57 Otis Elevator Company.<br />
227 Olsen Tinius Testing Machine Company.<br />
228 Orange Bearing Company.<br />
16 Payne Dean, Limited.<br />
47 Peabody Engineering Company.<br />
287 Pennsylvania Crusher Company.<br />
13 Permutit Company.<br />
10 Philadelphia Gear Works.<br />
4 Pittsburgh Valve Fdry. & Const. Company.<br />
556 Perolin Company.<br />
42 "Power".<br />
20 Power Specialty Company.<br />
219-220 Preferred Utilities Company, Inc.<br />
306 Pyramid Iron Products Corporation.<br />
91 Pittsburgh Testing Laboratory.<br />
98 Power Plant Engineering.<br />
262 Perfection Grate & Supply Company.<br />
48 Pratt & Cady Company.<br />
343 Porter-Richards Machinery Company.<br />
505 Power Transmission Company.<br />
484_483 Pratt & Whitney Company.<br />
504 Powell, Wm., Company.<br />
89 Quigley Furnace Specialties Company.<br />
496 Queen's Run Refractories Company.<br />
3 Racine Tool & Machine Company.<br />
292-293 Ramsey Chain Company.<br />
215 316 240 48 11-a 31 6 Reliance Reading Reed Richardson Robinson, Roto Republic Air Company. Steel Gauge Flow Filter John Scale Casting Meters Column R. Company, Company. Company. Inc.<br />
565<br />
548 Ren Manufacturing Company.<br />
291 Research Engineering Corporation.<br />
536 Roberts Steam Specialty Company.<br />
25 Raymond Bros. Impact Pulv. Company.<br />
411 Rockford Machine Tool Company.<br />
219 Ray, W. S., Manufacturing Company.<br />
503 Stroh Steel Hardening Process Company.<br />
336 Sandvik Steel, Inc.<br />
79 Sanford Riley Stoker Company.<br />
33 Sarco Company, Inc.<br />
318 S-C Regulator Manufacturing Company.<br />
69 Scovill Manufacturing Company.<br />
332-333 SKF Industries, Inc.<br />
255 Seminole Chemical Company.<br />
76 Simplex Valve & Meter Company.<br />
281-282 Smidth, F. L., & Company.<br />
85 Smith & Serrell.<br />
10 Southern Engineer.<br />
76 . . Sowdon, W. H.<br />
28 Spence Paulsen Company.<br />
3i Springfield Boiler Company.<br />
26 Stewart Sayers Company.<br />
56 Superheater Company, The<br />
27 Sweet's Engineering Catalog.<br />
17 Smith Gas Engineering Company.<br />
28 Sterling Engineering & Equipment Company.<br />
26 Sharpies Specialty Company.<br />
534-545 Schutte & Koerting Company.<br />
535 Safety Equipment Service Company.<br />
229 Swartwout Company, The<br />
245 Standard Steel & Bearings, Inc.<br />
554-555 Skinner Bros. Manufacturing Company.<br />
532 Strom Ball Bearing Manufacturing Company.<br />
76 Skeen, D. H., & Company.<br />
59 Tagliabue, C. J., Manufacturing Company.<br />
98 Technical Publishing Company.<br />
256-257 Techno Service Corporation.<br />
95-a Tide Water Oil Sales Corporation.<br />
28 Templeton Manufacturing Company.<br />
264 Temperature Control Company.<br />
222 Thomas Flexible Coupling Company.<br />
507 Taylor Instrument Companies.<br />
497 Topping Company.<br />
560 Thompson, Henry G., & Son Company.<br />
505 Transmission Ball Bearing Company.<br />
412 Triplex Machine Tool Company.<br />
498 Toledo Scale Company.<br />
538 Talcott, W. O. & M. W., Inc.<br />
499 Toledo Pipe Threading Machine Company.<br />
497 Topping Brothers.<br />
45 Uehling Instrument Company.<br />
79 United Machine & Manufacturing Company.<br />
79 Underfeed Stoker Company of America.<br />
79 Underfeed Stoker Company of Canada, Ltd.<br />
439 Universal Coal Spreader Company.<br />
442-AA3 Universal Fixture Company.<br />
17 Vincent Gilson Engr. Company.<br />
268-269-270 Vogt, Henry, Machine Company.<br />
279 Voss, J. H. H.<br />
19 Vulcan Soot Cleaner Company.<br />
244 Vasil Steam Systems Company.<br />
533 Vacuum Oil Company.<br />
221 Wailes Dove-Hermiston Corporation.<br />
250-251 Walsh & Weidner Boiler Company.<br />
308-309-310-311 Walworth Manufacturing Company.<br />
223-224 Warren Webster & Company.<br />
77 Wheeler, C. H., Manufacturing Company.<br />
64 Wheeler Condenser & Engineering Company.<br />
61 Wing, L. J., Manufacturing Company.<br />
286 Wolff & Munier Inc.<br />
236 Wright-Austin Company.<br />
76 Williams Gauge Company.<br />
309 Watts Regulator Company.<br />
266 Waite & Davey Company.<br />
231 Warren Steam Pump Company.<br />
99 Wayne Tank & Pump Company.<br />
557 Whitney Manufacturing Company.<br />
529 Westco-Chippewa Pump Company.<br />
528 Wollman Engineering Company.<br />
located 259 493-494 7-a Booths and on "X" Yale 7-b Mezzanine Third 1-101 Laboratories.<br />
& Yarnall-Waring are Floor.<br />
Towne located Floor, Manufacturing and on Main Company. booths Floor; with Company. higher booths numbers 200-347 are
566<br />
r^j<br />
The Blast F urnace. Steel PI anl<br />
December, 1924<br />
Minimum.i .11. iiimiiiiiimimiiiiiimimiiiiiiiiii imiiiiii uiunm,. < iiiiiiiiiimm mi n iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiini iiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiii n iiiimiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiisiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimit<br />
WITH THE EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURERS<br />
FII'.IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII i :i INK iniiiii inimiiiiim mill mi IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinii iiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiii III.IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII'IIH,-.<br />
New Speed Reducer With Several Interesting<br />
Features<br />
High speed turbines and motors, which are rapidly<br />
coming into general use because of their compactness<br />
and economy, require a speed reducing mechanism<br />
when driving low speed machiner}-, such as compressors,<br />
generators, refrigerating machines, pumps, conveyors,<br />
crushers, etc.<br />
The ideal speed reducer should transmit the load<br />
noiselessly, without shocks or loss of power, and<br />
should be compact and require minimum attention.<br />
A speed reducer has been recently developed that<br />
meets these requirements in a novel manner. The<br />
load is transmitted from the high speed shaft through<br />
planetary gears to a slower rotating annular ring.<br />
Inside this ring are connected a number of rockers<br />
which engage with a spider keyed to the low speed<br />
shaft.<br />
As the driving motor or turbine starts up, each<br />
of the rockers engaging with the teeth of the spider,<br />
first compresses a spring plunger which brings the<br />
bottom of the rocker into positive contact with the<br />
inside of the annular ring and at the same time brings<br />
its side into positive contact with the side of the adjacent<br />
spider tooth.<br />
During the time required to compress the spring<br />
plungers, corresponding to about one-quarter of a<br />
revolution, there is practically no load on the turbine<br />
or motor, and the load is then transmitted gradually<br />
and without starting shock. The spring plungers also<br />
serve to eliminate vibration and backlash, thereby assisting<br />
quiet operation.<br />
The low speed shaft to which the spider is keyed<br />
is supported on both sides of the spider. The pinion<br />
on the high speed shaft is allowed to float and adjust<br />
itself to the proper position between the planetarygears,<br />
thus preventing side strains or unequal stresses<br />
and assuring perfect torque.<br />
The speed reducer is totally- enclosed, so as to be<br />
dust-proof and fool-proof, and all parts run in oil,<br />
with forced lubrication above 1800 rpm. It can be<br />
applied to either step-up or step-down speed change,<br />
and is furnished in ratios from 4:1 to 200:1 and for<br />
any load up to 500 hp. Full information as to its<br />
application to specific requirements can be obtained<br />
by writing The Aleachem Gear Corporation, 122-142<br />
Dickerson street, Sy-racuse, X. Y.<br />
Modern Couplings<br />
The fact that Fast's Flexible Coupling is different<br />
—entirely different—from ordinary couplings is responsible<br />
for its use by Westinghouse, General Electric,<br />
Carnegie Steel and others for more than ten-million<br />
hp. in the last five years.<br />
A recent bulletin issued by the Bartlett Hayward<br />
Company shows the outstanding features of Fast's<br />
design: double-engagement, positive lubrication, no<br />
flexible materials to fatigue and limit the life of the<br />
coupling; how it is self-aligning, mechanically compensating<br />
for all errors of shaft alignment.<br />
Owing to the greatly increased demand for Link-<br />
Belt products and close range service, the Link-Belt<br />
Company has erected a new warehouse and office<br />
building at 5938 Linsdale Avenue. The building recently<br />
being completed, the Detroit branch has moved<br />
to their new home, from their former quarters on<br />
Woodward Avenue.<br />
The new structure is two stories and houses not<br />
only the general office for the Detroit branch but a<br />
large warehouse where standard Link-Belt and H. W.<br />
Caldwell & Son Company, products are kept in readiness<br />
for immediate shipment. This stock includes the<br />
various types of chains for elevating, conveying and<br />
power transmission purposes, sprockets, clutches, malleable<br />
iron elevator buckets, etc.<br />
In commenting upon the acquisition of the new<br />
home, B. H. Lundahl, manager of the Link-Belt Detroit<br />
Office, said: "Our Detroit office has grown with<br />
the City of Detroit and we are very optimistic regarding<br />
our future.
December, 1924<br />
The Blast FurnaceSSteel Plant<br />
I' 1 " 1 m mini mm i mi n i IIIIIII i in mi IIIII n t n u mm in minium n ;. i mm mm mi IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII mill<br />
I TRADE PUBLICATIONS AND NOTES 1<br />
100 and 1 Ways to Save Money<br />
The successful contractor of today can no longer<br />
figure merely on the "pick and shovel" way but must<br />
use labor aiding machines to reduce his cost wherever<br />
possible. He needs better, faster and cheaper methods.<br />
Companies doing their own work also need modern<br />
tools and improved methods for construction and<br />
maintenance operations which must be finished quickly<br />
and with minimum hand labor.<br />
Compressed-air operated tools, driven by air from a<br />
portable or semi-portable compressor, have proved<br />
great labor-savers in road-building, trench and tunnel<br />
digging, pipe work, steel erection and repair, rock excavation,<br />
backfill-tamping and in similar work. The<br />
Ingersoll-Rand Company through its development of<br />
rock drills, trench diggers, tie tampers, paving breakers,<br />
and special applications of sand rammers, calking<br />
hammers and other pneumatic tools, can now furnish<br />
compressed air operated tools for a great many operations.<br />
Each of these air operated tools will do the<br />
work of from three to ten or more men. Modern air<br />
compressors, either portable or semi-portable for operating<br />
these tools, have been developed, so that complete<br />
Ingersoll-Rand equipment can be furnished for<br />
any job.<br />
Greater profits can be made on hundreds of jobs<br />
by adding a portable compressor and air tools to the<br />
regular equipment, thus reducing the man-hours required.<br />
The pages of Ingersoll-Rand's latest bulletin<br />
show how I-R machines have been used on various<br />
classes A unique of work application and how was they recently have made made pronounced of a small<br />
f<strong>org</strong>e savings. blower manufactured by the American Blower<br />
Company, known as their Size A, Type "P".<br />
Robert Oakman's 120 ft. yacht, "Mamie O", is<br />
equipped with two 180 hp. full Diesel engines. The<br />
gases generated by these engines caused a very disagreeable<br />
condition in the engine room, which is naturally<br />
small.<br />
To relieve this condition, the inlet of the fan was<br />
provided with a flange and a 3 in. steel pipe run to the<br />
crank case of each engine, for the purpose of exhausting<br />
the gases from them and discharging same outside<br />
of the boat.<br />
This has overcome entirely the objectionable features.<br />
Bulletin 56, Series 1, describes this blower.<br />
Underfeed Stoker Company, Ltd., of Great Britain,<br />
an associated company of the International Combustion<br />
Engineering Corporation, has just received an<br />
order for six chain grate stokers of the self-contained<br />
type from one of the largest paper mills in Holland.<br />
These are similar to the stokers recently ordered<br />
by the Montreal Tramways from the Combustion<br />
Engineering Corporation, Ltd., of Canada, a subsidiary<br />
of International, and are being introduced in<br />
567<br />
the States by the Combustion Enginereing Corporation<br />
of America.<br />
This order is one of a series from the same concern<br />
which has been gradually replacing other types of<br />
stokers with these machines after assuring themselves<br />
of the economies therefrom by practical experience<br />
with earlier installations—this order being the last of<br />
a series with their mill, aggregating twenty-four machines.<br />
H. W. Thompson, .'formerly sales manager for<br />
Bardons & Oliver, has been elected a vice president of<br />
the Ge<strong>org</strong>e T. Trundle Engineering Company, Cleveland,<br />
O., in charge of promotion. He will assume his<br />
duties with that company- on December 1, 1924.<br />
Large Gear Drives<br />
A list of the steel plants in which Mesta Double-<br />
Helical Cut Tooth Gear Drives have seen years of<br />
hard service sounds like the roll call of the Sheet Steel<br />
Association.<br />
Bulletin "B", just off the press, is being distributed<br />
by the Mesta Machine Company.<br />
Excellent photographs illustrate the enormous<br />
size of some gears, and views of the interior of the<br />
Mesta machine shops indicate very clearly their exceptional<br />
production facilities. The accuracy of the<br />
teeth in large double-helical gears and pinions is of<br />
prime importance, as the life of such moving members<br />
is determined largely by uniformity of pitch and<br />
accuracy- of the tooth profile. Bulletin "B" explains<br />
fully. There is also a page devoted to Mesta Flexible<br />
Couplings. Mesta Una-Flow Engines<br />
The story- of a discussion held in 1903 between the<br />
chief engineer of a well-known building company and<br />
the superintendent of a well known steel plant illustrates<br />
the importance of the time element in engine<br />
replacements.<br />
Bulletin V-2 demonstrates the very great economies<br />
possible where Una-Flows are installed.<br />
Reeves Brothers Enter the South<br />
The Reeves Brothers Company, Alliance, Ohio, has<br />
acquired a tract of about 40 ac'res of land at Birmingham,<br />
Ala., and has authorized plans for the immediate<br />
construction of a new steel fabricating plant to occupy<br />
a considerable portion of the site. A contract<br />
for buildings has been let to the McClintic-Marshall<br />
Company, Pittsburgh, Pa. The initial works will be<br />
designed to give employment to close to 200 men, and<br />
are estimated to cost in excess of $750,000, including<br />
machinery. A considerable portion of the equipment<br />
will be transferred from the present Alliance olant, and<br />
additional equipment purchased at an early date. It<br />
is stated that the plant will be ready for set vice early<br />
in the spring of the coming year.
56S<br />
Dr. Carl Benedicks, director of the Metallographic<br />
Institute of Stockhold, Sweden, will deliver the annual<br />
lecture before the Institute of Metals Division of<br />
the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical<br />
Engineers at its annual meeting, the third week in<br />
February, 1925. Later Dr. Benedicks will visit several<br />
of the leading universities of the country, as well<br />
as some of the local chapters of the American Society<br />
for Steel Treating, and deliver addresses.<br />
Thomas Adams has tendered his resignation as<br />
president of the Ashland Steel Company, Ashland,<br />
Ky. L. R. Putnam, who has been general manager<br />
of the company, also resigned his position, effective<br />
Xov. 1. Mr. Putnam will engage in the industrial<br />
insurance field. I. P. Blanton, president Belfont<br />
Steel & Wire Company, and vice president of the<br />
Ashland Steel Company, will have direction of the affairs<br />
of the company until the annual meeting in<br />
January. The Belfont Company now controls twothirds<br />
of the stock of the Ashland Company.<br />
Hans Thyssen of the well known firm of Thyssen<br />
& Company, Muelheim, Germany, arrived in Xew<br />
York this week, accompanied by several representatives<br />
of the Thyssen group of iron and steel works.<br />
They will investigate the possibilities of the American<br />
market as an outlet for German steel products. The<br />
plants in the Thyssen group have an annual capacity<br />
of 1,700,000 tons of pig iron and 1,300,000 tons of<br />
steel ingots.<br />
Charles Piez, chairman Link-Belt Company, Chicago,<br />
has been elected president of the Illinois Manufacturers'<br />
Association.<br />
H. A. Barren has been appointed general superintendent<br />
of the Jay Waldeck Company, assistant general<br />
superintendent of the American Steel & Wire<br />
Company, both appointments becoming effective Xovember<br />
11. Mr. Barren for a number of years has<br />
been manager of the company's blast furnaces in the<br />
Cleveland and Pittsburgh districts and as in the past,<br />
will divide his time largely between Cleveland and<br />
Pittsburgh. Mr. Waldeck has been manager of the<br />
company's wire mills in the Cleveland district.<br />
Die Blast FurnaceS Steel Plant<br />
December, 1924<br />
Emil Winter, president Pittsburgh Steel Products<br />
Company and vice president of the Pittsburgh Steel<br />
Companv, Pittsburgh, has been appointed a member<br />
of the Pittsburgh Art Commission to fill the vacancycreated<br />
by the death of Willis McCook, who at the<br />
time of his death was president of the Pittsburgh<br />
Steel Company.<br />
O. C. MacMillan, formerly assistant manager of<br />
the order department. Inland Steel Company, Chicago,<br />
has become associated with S. W. Lindheimer,<br />
Chicago, in the sale of rails, frogs and switches and<br />
track fastenings.<br />
Marcus A. Grossmann has become affiliated with<br />
the metallurgical department of the Lnited Alloy-<br />
Steel Corporation, Canton, Ohio, in charge of the research<br />
division. Since his graduation from the<br />
Massachusetts Institute of Techology in 1911, Mr.<br />
Grossmann has been actively engaged in research<br />
work, specializing in alloy steels. He was formerlychief<br />
metallurgist of the Electric Alloys Steel Company<br />
and the Atlas Steel Corporation.<br />
Ge<strong>org</strong>e G. Titzell, Jr., has been appointed assistan<br />
district sales manager in St. Louis of the Carnegie<br />
Steel Company, Pittsburgh. Mr. Titzel was formerly<br />
resident sales agent of the company at Kansas City.<br />
He succeeds Lawrence F. Miller, who recently resigned<br />
to become general manager of sales for the<br />
Xational Enameling and Stamping Companv of St.<br />
Louis.<br />
Official announcement of the resignation of Colonel<br />
Oscar H. Fogg, as secretary-manager of the American<br />
Gas Association was made at the regular monthly<br />
meeting of the executive board of the <strong>org</strong>anization.<br />
Colonel Fogs;, who has headed the gas association<br />
since 1919, leaves to assume the position of president<br />
and general manager of the Baltimore Gas Appliance<br />
and Manufacturing Company, Baltimore, Maryland.<br />
The American Gas Association has a membership<br />
of more than 500 manufactured gas utilities in the<br />
United States and Canada.
Hie Blast Fi urnace ^Steel Plant<br />
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J31ue Oas Engineering—<br />
*JjThe vital importance of careful engineering in the design and construct<br />
ion or hlue gas apparatus is very apparent to the discriminating invest<br />
igator.<br />
tfllhis type of ap<br />
paratus cannot be<br />
"thrown together.<br />
It must he designed<br />
and built with re<br />
gard to proper ma<br />
terials properly be<br />
stowed.<br />
tjjlt must afford ease<br />
and economy of oper<br />
ation, adaptability to<br />
changed conditions<br />
and rugged resistance<br />
to -wear and tear.<br />
U. G. I. BLUE GAS APPARATUS is the original.<br />
Its experimental stages were passed years ago. It produces a<br />
CLEAN, COOL GAS, having high flame temperature and does<br />
it cheaply and efficiently.<br />
U. G. I. BLUE GAS is a substitute for natural gas.<br />
We would be glad to show facts and figures.<br />
THE U. G. I. CONTRACTING CO.<br />
Broad and Arch Sts., Philadelphia ^<br />
335 Peoples Gas Bldg., Chicago 928 Union Arcade, Pittsburgh<br />
568-A<br />
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Co-operate:—Refer to The Blast Furnace and Steel Plant
569 Hie Blast FurnaceSSteel Plant DeCember ' 1924<br />
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Some Pointers on By-Product Coke Oven Operations<br />
IIIIIIIIIII mini in mn mi n in i i i mi imtmm mi in n in mn m i n mi in i mini IIIIIIII i iiiimn n milium i iiiiiii?<br />
Special Small Size Coke Ovens<br />
Five Ordinary Ovens Would Have Supplied Enough Gas for<br />
Battle Creek<br />
T H E Battle Creek battery of eleven Becker-type<br />
ovens, each with a coal capacity of 6.8 tons per<br />
charge, was designed on principles clearly established<br />
first by the experimental battery of five ovens in<br />
the Chicago By-Product Coke Company plant. On a<br />
larger scale these ovens have been tried with success<br />
also in several other plants, notably in the 366-oven<br />
addition to the Clairton, Pa., plant of the U. S. Steel<br />
Corporation.<br />
All these earlier batteries had, however, been full<br />
size "coke" ovens, heated with oven-gas from fuel gas<br />
^lines on both sides of the battery, usually with a coal<br />
capacity of 12.5 to 16 tons per charge. Clearly only<br />
five or six such ovens would be sufficient for Battle<br />
Creek and a battery of as small a number as that was<br />
impractical except for experimental purposes. The<br />
obvious thing to do was, therefore, to use a smaller<br />
unit in larger numbers. This was done without loss<br />
of the essential elements of the larger oven, simply by<br />
I<br />
Monel Metal and Nickel Literature<br />
Monel Metal and Rolled Pure Xickel have established<br />
an enviable record for service under unusually<br />
severe operating conditions. They are now recognized<br />
as the most important of the non-ferrous metals.<br />
During years of study of the performance of Monel<br />
Metal and Rolled Pure Xickel under a wide range of<br />
conditions, there has been accumulated a great deal<br />
of valuable data. The list "B" shows some of the<br />
technical and trade literature, now available.<br />
These bulletins may be secured from the International<br />
Xickel Company.<br />
making the oven shorter, about 23 ft. inside length instead<br />
of 35 to 42 ft. as commonly found for coke ovens.<br />
Reduction in oven length had numerous mechanical<br />
advantages. In the first place, a single fuelgas<br />
line on one side of the battery serves to heat the<br />
entire length of the ovens. As the coal charge is<br />
smaller, a smaller larry car and corresponding lighter<br />
construction of battery machinery are possible. With<br />
shorter ovens and smaller charges, the coke-pushing,<br />
receiving and quenching equipment is correspondinglysmaller<br />
and less expensive. These and other modifications<br />
in mechanical requirement all contribute to a<br />
lessening of initial costs for machinery without in any<br />
way affecting the certainty of operation, the quality<br />
of coke, or the yield and quality of by-products. In a<br />
word, the efficiency of large-unit production has been<br />
adapted to smaller plant conditions.—Chemical and<br />
Metallurgical Engineering.<br />
Some details of the oven. At the top of the page the gas outlets from the individual retorts are sliozvn leading into the<br />
Note also in the foreground the track on which the charging equipment is moved from oven to oven. Belozv on the left is<br />
ram for pushing the coke out of the retorts into larry cars and on the right the doors through zvhich the coke is pu<br />
Note the aprons and quick release clamps.<br />
Bourne-Fuller Extensions<br />
The Bourne-Fuller Company, Cleveland, Ohio, has<br />
work under way on extensions and improvements in<br />
its Upson blast furnace and steel plant. The stack is<br />
lieiiif?; relined and considerable additional equipment<br />
will be installed including a skip-hoist, ore and coke<br />
bins'; and a battery of five soaking pits at the steel<br />
work. The project will comprise the construction of<br />
a new four-story steel and concrete plant unit, 72 x 175<br />
ft., while a number of additional plant units will be<br />
added later. It is stated that the entire project will<br />
cost in excess of $300,000, including equipment.
December, 1924<br />
Tke Blast FumaceSSteel Plant<br />
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! NEWS OF THE PLANTS<br />
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The Youngstown Sheet & Tube Company, Youngstown,<br />
Ohio, is perfecting plans for proposed additions<br />
to its plant at Indiana Harbor, Ind., in conjunction<br />
with a new blast furnace on which construction is now<br />
in progress. It is expected to have this unit ready<br />
for blowing in at the earliest possible date. The expansion<br />
program will include tbe construction of three<br />
new open-hearth furnaces, and extensions and improvements<br />
in the blooming mill, with the installation<br />
of considerable additional equipment of improved<br />
type. Other work comprises a wire rod mill to develop<br />
a capacity of about 10,000 tons per month; a<br />
wire plant, equipped for wire-drawing, nail manufacture,<br />
etc.; and a sheet and tin plate mill. The entire<br />
project is reported to involve close to $5,000,000.<br />
Re-<strong>org</strong>anization plans are in progress for the Baldwins<br />
Canadian Steel Corporation, Toronto, Ontario,<br />
with plant in the Ashbridge Bay Industrial District,<br />
Toronto, to include considerable additional financing<br />
to provide for expansion in the present mills, including<br />
improvements in existing buildings and the installation<br />
of equipment. It is proposed to carry out the work<br />
during the winter months and have the enlarged plant<br />
ready for service early in the spring. The works have<br />
a present estimated output of 100,000 tons of steel ingots<br />
and castings per annum. It is planned to develop<br />
a large production in the line of plates and affiliated<br />
steel products, with the employment of close to 600<br />
operatives. The company is affiliated with Baldwins,<br />
Ltd., of England, and which latter company is completing<br />
negotiations for the purchase of a portion of<br />
the plant of the McClary Manufacturing Company at<br />
Montreal, Quebec, to be used in connection with a proposed<br />
large works at this place for the manufacture of<br />
galvanized sheets. It is expected to perfect details<br />
at an early date, including the <strong>org</strong>anization of a subsidiary<br />
to be known as Baldwins, Montreal, Ltd., and<br />
which will operate the proposed new works.<br />
The Delaware River Steel Company, Chester, Pa.,<br />
will proceed with improvements and extensions in its<br />
blast furnace, to include the installation of considerable<br />
additional equipment. The present unit is of<br />
hand-operated type and will be converted into a skipfilled<br />
unit. The equipment installation will include a<br />
trestle for handling steel stock with suspension type<br />
ore storage bins, coke bins, skip bridge, skip cars,<br />
scale cars and other auxiliary apparatus. Work is in<br />
progress on a new ore dock at the plant for the unloading<br />
of material; complete ore-handling machinery,<br />
hoisting apparatus, etc., will be installed.<br />
The Savannah Steel Corporation, Savannah, Ga.,<br />
recently <strong>org</strong>anized with capital of $200,000, by Elliott<br />
W. Reed, 302 Estill Avenue, Atlanta, Ga., and associates,<br />
is perfecting plans for the establishment of a<br />
new rolling mill and steel fabricating works at Port<br />
Wentworth, Ga. The company is said to have acquired<br />
a large tract of land at this location, fronting on<br />
the Savannah River, including a number of buildings<br />
used previously by the Terry Shipbuilding Company,<br />
including machine shop, power house, etc. It is pro<br />
570<br />
posed to remodel and convert the existing buildings into<br />
the proposed steel works, with initial installation for<br />
a complete rolling mill for the production of bars, as<br />
well as structural shapes. The plant is estimated to<br />
cost approximately $200,000, including equipment for<br />
which orders will be placed at once. It is purposed<br />
to expand the initial works in the near future. G.<br />
Leonard Allen, Savannah, is also an official of the<br />
<strong>org</strong>anization.<br />
The Xational Tube Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., will<br />
make improvements in its blast furnace Xo. 2 at its<br />
Benwood, W. Va., works, to include the installation of<br />
a revolving distributor and other miscellaneous equipment.<br />
Plans are also under consideration for other<br />
work at company mills.<br />
J. J. Gray, operating a blast furnace at Rockdale,<br />
Tenn., has authorized plans for the construction of a<br />
new unit, using present site. The existing stack will<br />
be dismantled and replaced by a furnace about 70 ft.<br />
high, and will be designed primarily for the production<br />
of ferro-phosphorus, as ordinarily produced in an<br />
electric furnace and made possible under regular blast<br />
furnace operation by a special process. Ore will be<br />
secured from mines at Iron City, Tenn. It is planned<br />
to begin work at an early date and have the stack<br />
ready for service in the early months of the coming<br />
year. Arthur G. McKee & Company, Cleveland, Ohio,<br />
will design the unit and supervise the construction.<br />
The Kansas City Steel & Wire Company, Kansas<br />
City, Kan., recently <strong>org</strong>anized with a capital of $750,-<br />
000, has acquired the former plant of the McKenna<br />
Steel Working Company, located at Twelfth Street<br />
and the line of the Terminal Railroad, Armourdale district,<br />
Kansas City. Plans are under way for the complete<br />
remodeling of the works to include the construction<br />
of additional buildings, the latter consisting of two<br />
one-story structures, 100 x 150 ft., and 82 x 250 ft.<br />
The equipment installation will include 8 and 10-inch<br />
mills, two 50-ton open-hearth furnaces, cooling beds<br />
and auxiliary apparatus. The plant will be devoted<br />
to the production of steel bars, steel rods, and kindred<br />
products. The entire project is estimated to involve<br />
close to $500,000. L. W. Conroy, formerly connected<br />
with the Lackawanna Steel Company, Buffalo, N. Y.,<br />
and the Carnegie Steel Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., will<br />
be vice president and general manager of the new <strong>org</strong>anization.<br />
The Connors Steel Company, Birmingham, Ala., is<br />
reported to have plans under way for the rebuilding<br />
of the portion of its plant in the Woodlawn district,<br />
recently destroyed by fire, with loss reported at close<br />
to $35,000, including equipment. Xew machinery will<br />
be installed to replace damaged apparatus.<br />
Ge<strong>org</strong>e W. Batim, iron and steel manufacturing<br />
executive in the Pittsburgh district for 20 years, died<br />
late Wednesday night, Xovember 26, at the age of 69.<br />
He was a director of the Mackintosh-Hemphill Company,<br />
and formerly served as vice president of the<br />
company. He was affiliated with other iron and steel<br />
interests and lately took an active interest in oil.
Positions Wanted and Help Wanted<br />
advertising inserted under proper headings<br />
free of charge. Where replies are keyed<br />
to this office or branch offices, we request<br />
that users of this column pay postage for<br />
forwarding such replies. Classified ads can<br />
be keyed for the Pittsburgh or New York<br />
offices.<br />
POSITION WANTED<br />
SUPERINTENDENT of sheet mill desires to make<br />
a change; has had years of experience in the<br />
rolling of light iron and high grade auto and<br />
metal furniture sheets; can furnish reference. Box<br />
XXX, care of The Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
MELTER, 18 years practical experience. Open<br />
Hearth and Electric, leading European makers<br />
high grade steels, age 35, wants position where<br />
his knowledge and experience can be used. Highest<br />
references. Box 301, care of The Blast Furnace<br />
and Steel Plant.<br />
POSITION WANTED—Cold strip mill superintendent<br />
with thorough knowledge in operating.<br />
Can apply latest methods to produce highly finished<br />
material. Twenty years' experience; reliable<br />
references. Box 000, care of The Blast<br />
Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
MASTER MECHANIC with 30 years' experience<br />
on construction and operation of steel mills,<br />
blast furnaces, open hearthB, Bessemer departments,<br />
by-product coke plants; constructed hydro<br />
and steam electric plants, large pumping stations,<br />
etc.; at present employed, wish to make change.<br />
Box 100, care of The Blast Furnace and Steel<br />
Plant.<br />
CHIEF DRAUGHTSMAN—Broad and varied experience<br />
in general engineering, mechanical,<br />
structural, electrical, designing machinery, tools,<br />
Eower, structural steel, concrete and industrial<br />
uildings; purchase, installation and plant maintenance.<br />
Address Box A M B, care of The Blast<br />
Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
DESIGNING ENGINEER, experienced executive<br />
with technical training, desires position as chief<br />
engineer or master mechanic. Fifteen years' experience,<br />
including design and construction of rolling<br />
mills, furnaces, plant equipment, power plants,<br />
special machinery, etc.; four years in machine<br />
shop. Address Box F C M, care of The Blast<br />
Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
POSITION WANTED—A graduate mechanical<br />
engineer with 12 years' experience in rolling<br />
mills, desires a position as superintendent or assistant.<br />
Experience covers every job In a rolling mill<br />
from laborer to assistant superintendent. Also<br />
has had some office and sales training. At present<br />
employed, but desires a better outlook. Box<br />
CAS, care of The Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
POSITION by chemist, technical graduate, 15<br />
years experience glass, animal rats, bleaching<br />
Iron and steel. Six years experience us<br />
plant executive. Research work a specialty.<br />
Box L, care of The Blast Furnace and Steel<br />
Plant.<br />
YOUNG rolling mill superintendent with 20 years'<br />
practical experience on iron and steel Belgian<br />
type mills, also latest continuous type steel mills,<br />
desires to make change. Can furnish records and<br />
references. Have practical knowledge of rolling<br />
and roll designing. Box F A W, care of The<br />
Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
ENGINEER, Cornell graduate, seven years' steam<br />
and fuel engineering, three years' executive experience<br />
as master mechanic of a rolling mill, three<br />
rears' Bales engineering, desires change. Box S,<br />
care of Tbe Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
jS> Tde Blast F, urnace. Steel PI anr<br />
POSITION WANTED<br />
ENGLISHMAN, 23, of sound general and technical<br />
educations, with seven years' experience of<br />
steel m;iking by open hearth process (acid and<br />
basic) in prominent English steel works, desires<br />
appointment where scientific and practical knowledge<br />
would be an asset. Box G B J, care of The<br />
Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
WANTED—A position wherein the following will<br />
be of value: A fair tehnical education, a large<br />
amount of practical experience in the various mechanical<br />
arts and plant operation and maintenance<br />
with an eye on the "works operating expense"<br />
account, a fair degree of executive ability<br />
and absolute dependability. Experience has been<br />
had in production and general machine shops,<br />
rolling mills, rod and wire mills and at blast furnaces.<br />
Expert in design and construction of the<br />
Dwight and Lloyd type of sintering plant. Box<br />
C C C, care of Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
CHEMICAL ENGINEER, 1922 graduate, leading<br />
university, desires position in a steel plant.<br />
One year's experience in the inspection department.<br />
At present employed, but available on<br />
short notice. Box J B 0, care of Blast Furnace<br />
and Steel Plant.<br />
POSITION WANTED—Electric furnace man open<br />
for position; experienced on basic Heroult electric<br />
furn;ices, tool and alloy steels. Box A T,<br />
care of The Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
HEATER on soaking pits or reheating furnaces;<br />
10 years' mill experience; can give references.<br />
Box C Z, care of The Blast Furnace and Steel<br />
Plant.<br />
SALES POSITION with manufacturers' sales<br />
agent for power plant specialties or chief<br />
draftsman or plant engineer with moderate<br />
sized manufacture Box K, care of The Blast<br />
Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
I DESIRE to have a position as tracer or on<br />
email drafting work with reli.ible concern,<br />
preferably In mechanical line. Box J, care<br />
of The Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
YOUNG MAN, technical graduate and 7 years<br />
practical experience, would like to connect<br />
with <strong>org</strong>anization needing n producer. Prefers<br />
a job which keeps him on the road the major<br />
portion of the time. He has intensive education<br />
along lines of gener.il inspection of materials.<br />
Box I, care of Tlie Blast Furnace and<br />
Steel Plant.<br />
POSITION as field engineer, construction<br />
work, general survey work and rlght-ofwav<br />
work. Box G, care of The Blast Furnace<br />
and Steel Plant.<br />
POSITION WANTED by chemical engineer, degree<br />
of doctor-engineer (1916) from leading<br />
German university, 33 years old, six years' experience<br />
embracing the analysis, metallography and<br />
physical testing of steel and alloys. Nationality,<br />
Norwegian. Languages, Norwegian, Swedish, German<br />
and English. Location, anywhere. Available,<br />
any time. Can furnish best of references. Box<br />
RED, care of The Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
TIME KEEPER—Have had several years experience.<br />
Box H, care of The Blaat Furnace<br />
and Steel Plant.<br />
YOUNG MAN with five years' experience as machinist<br />
and three years' experience in foundry,<br />
Tech graduate, wishes position with growing firm<br />
at or near Philadelphia, Pa. Box W B, care of<br />
The Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
Co-operate:—Refer to The Blast Furnace and Steel Plant<br />
POSITION WANTED<br />
CHIEF CLERK or assistant to works manager;<br />
32 years old, married. Ten years' experience<br />
in sheet and tin rolling mills, galvanizing,<br />
long terne and factory record and<br />
Dffice work. Experienced from time-keeping to<br />
corporation yearly statement, including cost.<br />
Box L E T , care of The Blast Furnace and<br />
Bteel Plant.<br />
ROLLING MILL superintendent, experienced in<br />
the heating and rolling of carbon, alloy and electric<br />
furnace steels, desires position; experienced in<br />
blooming, plate and universal mills. Highest references.<br />
Box A R T, care of The Blast Furnace<br />
and Steel Plant.<br />
POSITION WANTED by experienced roll turner<br />
and designer. Have had several years' experience<br />
in charge of roll shops, designing, etc., as well<br />
as turning rolls. Have also had experience working<br />
on the mills. Can handle position of mill<br />
superintendent, roll designer or boss roll turner.<br />
Can furnish best of references. Box P V C, care<br />
of The Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
POSITION WANTED—Steel mill electrical engineer<br />
desires change in location. Five years' engineering<br />
and operating experience in steel mills.<br />
Technical graduate, member A. I. & S. E. E., Associate<br />
A. I. E. E.; age 32. Box A R L, care of<br />
The Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
YOUNG MAN, technical education, desires position<br />
in Pittsburgh District as chemist on analysis<br />
of open hearth steels. The applicant is at present<br />
employed in steel work, but desires a connection<br />
offering greater possibilities. Details as to<br />
past experience and recommendations will be submitted<br />
on request. Box G P G, care of The Blast<br />
Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
WANTED—Position on maintenance in medium<br />
sized steel plant or factory; 12 years' drafting<br />
room experience on general mill engineering and<br />
three years' machine shop experience. Box F D J,<br />
care of Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
POSITION WANTED—Blast furnace superintendent,<br />
twelve years practical experience as<br />
blast furnace master mechanic, general foreman<br />
and assistant superintendent, thoroughly familiar<br />
with metallurgy oi iron, maintenance of plant,<br />
Bessemer, foundry, Spiegle, ferro silicon and ferro<br />
manganese, also up-to-date in best cost practice,<br />
technical education; employed at present. Address<br />
Box F W H, care of The Blast Furnace and Steel<br />
Plant.<br />
PHOTOGRAPHER—Thoroughly competent to take<br />
charge of photographic department in industrial<br />
concern; experienced steel mill man; reference<br />
furnished. Address Box C B S , care of The<br />
Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
FIELD ENGINEER, desires change. Technical<br />
training and nine years experience on construction<br />
and maintenance of steel plants; also general<br />
surveys; 30 years old and married. Box 200, care<br />
of The Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.<br />
POSITION WANTED—Assistant superintendent<br />
open hearth or bloom mill. Have had<br />
quite a number of years' experience in open<br />
hearth and bloom mill practice, believe In<br />
quality steel and can furnish best of references.<br />
Box T, care of The Blast Furnace and<br />
Steel Plant.<br />
POSITION WANTED—Chemist and engineer desires<br />
responsible connection; experienced in both<br />
blast furnace and steel plant. Box CAN, care of<br />
The Blast Furnace and Steel Plant.
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CARNEGIE LIBRARY OF PITTSBURGH<br />
3 1812 04296 3877<br />
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