US1116944A - Aluminum-glazed black powder. - Google Patents

Description

it falllhlli l lf lill ldlifllil FIN SPARBQE, OF VJILMINGTON, DELAWARE, ASSIGI-IOR- TO E. I. no FONT DE NEMOURS POWDER CGMPAINY, OF WILMINGTON, DELAWAIi-E, A CORPORATION 033 NEW JERSEY.

ALUMINUM-GLAZED BLACK POVIDER.

No Erawi T 0 all 207:0120 '22 concern:

Be it known at I, FIN Seamus, lVilmington, in the county of New Castle and in the State of Delaware, have invented a certain'new and useful Improvement in Aluminuin-Glazed Black Powder, and do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My intention relatcs'to an improvement in black gunpowder but has special refer once to the coating of granulated black gunpowder, such, for example, as that used in blasting operations.

My invention relates especially, however, to providing a. coating for such powder.

Hitherto gunpowder for blasting purposes or for firearms has been manufactured with a coating of graphite, the same having been applied as the last step in the roanulao ture thereof. Such coating of graphite has been called glazing, inasmuch as its presence provides the powder with a smoother surface and renders the surface thereof glossy.

Textbooks, referring to glazing by the application of a coating of graphite, state that such coating reduces the hygroscopicity or the powder and that it causes the powder to run more easily in the loading machines and that it also assists in obtaining uniform ballistic results in firearms. It has been dour onstrated, however that the use of a coating of graphite renders the powder less hygroscopic to only a negligible degree and, furthermore, that the ease of running in the loading machines and bore holes not entirely dependent upon the application. oi a coating of graphite but that this result may a so be ohtained t an extent suilicient for mos purposes by a ruhbin of the grains or by tumbling the in a barrel. has

n (:01. cited a co a r. c- .4-

lcci s tae strength or ing gr too powder.

lne 0 J -ention is to overcome previous ms inventi on comp-i coating upon black 1 of pulverized metallic sr Fit-g aluminum. This l= "I a co tin and in general Specification of Letters Patent.

application filed deptember 20,1913. Serial No. 790,846.

Patented Nov. 10 191 ll,

parent from the fact that the coating material is a good conductor of heat and from the fact that aluminum is a component frequently used in "producing explosives. Graphite, on the other hand is a non-active substance it burns with considerable dill.- culty compared with. the other ingredients present in such powder and as it conse qucntly lowers the rate of ignition. As I have previously pointed out aluminum has been previously used as an ingredient of cX- plosives. to the use of aluminiun as a general ingredient of powder of the kind referred to. T his will be evident from the small percentage which I ordinarily use in producing hlacl; powder in accordzmcc with my invention. Ordinarily lhe percentage of aluminum which I use is than (X53? and the pcrgpenljage as a rule would he less than 0.971., iii view of the fact that only a portion of the pulverized aluminum added to the powder would adhere to the powder.

My invention directed particularly to the elimination of. the objectionable coating agent which has been previously used, graphite, and to providing a coating which does not retard ignition but which in fact hastens the speed of ignition. The coating which I use is more advantageous than graphite for the further reason that it may he applied in a fraction of the time required for the application of graphite, and inasmuch a smaller quantity of my coating may he used than in the case of graphite.

i'l hile my invention s capahlh of being carried out; n many (1i out ways, tor the purposes of illustration I shall set forth an example of the way in which it may be accou'iplishcd. For example, i. may use as a coating pulverized alun'iinuin. The aluini 'niun inlay he applied to the powder in e1rthe same manner a raphite now change the character of the powder. The

char e in the barrel is then revolved for a suite 1e time as, for example, from fifteen to thirty minutes. I have in some instances,

however, been able to apply the aluminum in a shorter time, as for example, ten min utes, but it is conceivable that with different methods the time mi ht be longer even than thirty minutes. During the coating process the materials may-or may not be heated as found desirable, as for example according to the humidity of the atmosphere. It may also be found desirable to run the grain directly from the mill into a revolving barrel for a period of time as, for example, a few hours, during which time the powder may if desired be heated, either by warm air being blown into it or by the friction generated by the movement of the powder in the barrel. Thereupon, after the owder has become smooth and has been ried in the barrel, and preferablyafter the dust has been. separated therefrom, the aluminum may be added and applied as indicated above.

While I have described my invention abovein detail I wish it to be understood that man changes may be made therein without eparting from the spirit of my invention;

I claim:-

to granulated uncoated black powder a coating of a metallic substance containing alu minum.

2. The process which comprises applying,

to granulated uncoated black powder a coat ing of aluminum.

3. An explosive comprising granulated black powder having a coating of a metallic substance containing aluminum located contiguous to the bodies of black powder in the grains.

4:. An explosive comprising granulated 4 3, 1. The process which comprises applying