US1308342A - of wilmington - Google Patents

Description

E. DU PONT.

PROCESS OF MAKING EXPLOSIVE BLACK POWDER.

APPLICATION men 056.29, 1915.

1,308,342. Patented July 1, 1919.

FIG.

II II wlmezs's: mew/70 WW. 9 0' FM 2AM W UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ERNEST DU PONT, OF WILMINGTON, DELAWARE, ASSIGNOR T0 BALL GRAIN EXPLO- SIVES COMPANY. OF WILMINGTON, DELAWARE, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

PROCESS OF MAKING EXPLOSIVE'BLACK POWDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 1, 1919.

Application filed December 29, 1915. Serial No. 69,167.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that Erxnsr DU Pox'r, a citizen of the United States, residing at Vilmington, county of New Castle, and State of Delaware, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Processes of Making llxplosive Black Powder. of which the following is a full. clear, and exact description. reference being had to the accompanying drawings. which form a part of this spcc1hcation.

It is well umlcrstood that the manufacture of black powder is more or less dangerous: explosions sometimes resulting during grinding and mixing, teclmicallyknown as im-orporation. and sometimes during the operation of pressing and forming the cakes or grains. In the latter operation the principal source of danger is undoubtedly the great pressure-v21rying' from 1500 to 20M) pounds per square inch-requ1red to produce the desired finished product. Further, this high pressure produces such wear and tear of the parts in contact with the powder that they have to be replaced very frequently. I

The object of my invention is to so modity the process as to render the incorporating operation absolutely safe and to dispense with the necessity of employing high pressure in the molding ot' the powder. thereby rendering this operation also absolutely safe and incidentally avoiding the expense and delay involved in the frequent substitution of parts of the press.

The practice of the process involving my invention does not require the use of any special apparatus. but to aid inunderstandingof the process, I will describe the same in connection with the accompanying drawings. in which Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of a grinding and mixing mill: Fig. 2 a similar view of a stirring tank: and Fig. 3 a similar view of a mold.

The mill shown in Fig. 1 is fully set forth and described in the du Font. and du lont application. Serial No. 807.374. tiled December 18. 1913. and comprises a cylinder a revolublc on two pairs of wheels I, one pair of which is on a driving shaft 1', the cylinder containing two heavy rollers 11- and having axial openings 0 in the ends communicating with the interior of a box surrounding the cylinder.

The solid ingredients of the explosive,

namely, niter (either nitrate of potash or nitrate of soda), sulfur and charcoal, are ground together in the mill, which need not, however, be of the construction shown in the drawings. In place of water there is employed a. liquid which has no solvent or chemical effect upon the ingredients. Such a liquid is gasolene. The proportions of the solid ingredients may vary somewhat, but a typical composition is one containing 75 parts by weight of nitrate of potash, 15 parts by weight of charcoal and 10 parts by weight of sulfur. The amount of gasolene or equivalent liquid added should he sutlicient to cover the mass and render it fluid during the process of grinding. This amount will vary with the particular liquid used and it will also vary with conditions; but, as an example, it may be stated that with 100 parts of the above mixture of solid ingrediei'its and with the grinding operation conducted at a temperature of 20 C., 100 parts by weight of asolene has been found to sutlice. To the above mixture should be added water. say from 2.7 to 3.0 parts by weight, which is the same amount of water added in the ordinary so called dry process. The mill should be operated until all the solid materials are thoroughly ground together.

The mixture is then removed to a tank 1 provided with a stirring device h. the latter operating to keep the solid materials in suspension in the gasolene. It will be under stood that no particular construction of apparatus is necessary to carry out this step of the process.

Any measured quantity of the material that may be drawnofi' necessarily contains a definite quantity of the powder mate'ials. and such measured quantity so drawn off is poured into a mold and molded into a cake. In Fig. 3 is shown a simple form of mold that will be found eflioacious. although no particular form of mold is essential. The same comprises a tube i of metal of about one half inch internal diameter and two plungers The phmgers should be about as good a tit as a machinist would naturally make where free movement. of the plungers within the tube is desired. It will be found that. the excrtion'ot a very slight pressure. such. for example, as can be exerted with comparatively light hand pressure is sufficient to compress the powder to the extentdesirable and to squeeze out the gasolene or at least a large portion of it; the

minute. space between the tube i and the plungers j, incident to thejt'ree sliding tit between them. being sutlieient to allow the gasolene to escape.

The cake or rod of powder is then removed and dried at a tenq erature sutlicient to drive off the remaining gasolene and the, water. The proper temperature depends upon the time which it is desirable to take for drying. Thus, if the temperature is high. say 100 t.. the drying process takes but a very short time, but if the temperature is low. say 50 the time required to expel the moisture from the inside of the cake is relatively long.

Ypon close examination and thorough test. the powder is found to have physical and other properties quite equal to. and in some respects superior to. those possessed by powder manufacturtal in any of the known ways and pressed in a heavy press under a pressure of from 1500 to .3000 pounds per square inch. The molds will last indefinitely. the required pressure being so slight as to produce no appreciable wear and teal.

it will he understood that while other liquids having no solvent or chemical action upon the explosive ingredients may he used in place, of gasolene. other liquids. such as alcohol. which is miscible with water. would he incapable of use. because they would prevent the water from performing its function.

While. properly speaking. the mold has no selective action in eliminating the larger part of the gasolene and not the water. the fact is that only the gasolene will he therein eliminated. By reason of the solvent action of the water it is held as a coating around the particles of the material which it in part dissolves. Therefore. when the mass is compressed in a mold which allows liquid to escape. or even should it be poured on a filter. the inactive liquid alone escapes.

Having now fully described my invention. what I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. The process of manufacturing explosive black powder which consists in incorporating the solid ingredients thereof with a liquid having no solvent or chemical action upon the ingredients and with water and then molding the explosive.

2. The process of manufacturing explosive black powder which consists in incorporating the solid ingredients thereof with a liquid having no solvent or chemical action upon the ingredients and with water of a weight less than that of said liquid. and then molding the explosive.

3. The process of manufacturing explosive hlack powder which consists in grinding and mixing the solid ingredients thereof in the presencc of a liquid having no solvent or chemical action upon the ingredient and in the presence of water, then stirring the mixture. and then molding the explosive.

4. The process of manufacturin pellets of explosive powder which consists in grinding together the solid ingredientsthereof in a liquid which has no solvent or chemical action upon such of the ingredients as are to be ground. there being present a small per centage of a liquid having a solvent action on one ingredient and which therefore tends to resist dissociation therefrom, molding the. explosive in a mold which permits a portion of the inactive liquid to escape. and suh jecting the molded cakes to drying action at a temperature suflicient to dry off both the inactive and the solvent liquid.

5. The process of manufacturing explosive black powder which consists in incorporating the solid ingredients thereof with a liquid having no solvent or chemical action upon the ingredients and with water, the water having a solvent action upon a part of the. powder and thereby tending to resist dissociation therefrom. then pressing the explosive in a mold and thereby expelling from the explosive more or less of the first named liquid, and then drying the molded product.

6. The process of manufacturing explosive black powder which consists in incorporating thesolid ingredients thereof with a liquid having no solvent or chemical action upon the ingredients and with water of a weight between 1:} and 3,; .percent. of the weight of said solid ingredients 7. The process of manufacturing pellets of explosive powder which consists in grinding together the solid ingredients there of together. with from 1:} to 3. 5% of their weight of water..in gasolene. molding the powder in a mold from which the excess of gasolene can escape. the water hy reason of itssolvent action remaining in association with th powder. and subjecting the molded )elletto a drying action at a temperature sutlieient to remove the gasolene and the water.

8. The. process of mamlfactmring pellets of explosive powder. which consists in main taining the mass. which has been previously ground. in suspension by agitation in gasolene, and measuring out definite volumes of the gasolene so that definite weights of pellets may he pre-determined.

In testimony of which invention. I have hereunto set my hand, atv Philadelphia, Penna. on this 27th day of December, 1915.

ERNEST DU roar.

tlopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington. D. c."

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