Composite counterweight and method of making same
View Patent ↗A composite material comprises a particulate material generated as a waste by-product of an industrial process, and a binder for binding the particulate material into a uniform mass. The particulate material and binder are combined in preselected proportions and compressed to form a counterweight having a preselected density and a fixed configuration. A counterweight is manufactured by selecting a first proportion of a particulate material generated as a waste by-product of an industrial process, selecting a second proportion of a binder for binding the particulate material into a uniform mass, combining the first proportion of the particulate material with the second proportion of the binder into a uniform mass, forming the counterweight from the uniform mass, and incorporating the counterweight into a finished product.
1. A composite material comprising:
a particulate material comprising at least one of steel mill scale, oxygen furnace clarifier grit, and taconite mine tailings, having a particle size greater than 0.5 millimeter but no greater than 12.5 millimeters; and
a binder for binding the particulate material into a uniform mass;
wherein the particulate material and binder are combined in preselected proportions and compressed to form a counterweight having a preselected density and a fixed configuration.
2. A composite material according to claim 1 , wherein the particulate material comprises iron oxide.
3. A composite material according to claim 1 , wherein the binder is one of a polyolefin, polyethylene, polypropylene, a phenolic, methylene diphenyl diisocyanate, sodium silicate, a thermoset plastic, and a mixture of molasses and lime.
4. A composite material according to claim 1 , wherein the proportion of particulate material ranges from 80% to 98%, and the proportion of binder ranges from 20% to 2%.
5. A composite material according to claim 4 , wherein the proportion of particulate material is 95%, and the proportion of binder is 5%.
6. A composite material according to claim 1 , wherein the density of the counterweight ranges from 70 pcf to 340 pcf.
7. A composite material according to claim 6 , wherein the density of the counterweight is 250 pcf.