Wire Ropes

Wire Ropes
Steel wires for wire ropes are made of non-alloy carbon steel. They possess high strength to
enable the ropes withstand large tensile forces.

Construction of a wire rope

Stranded ropes
In case of stranded ropes several strands laid helically around a core. This core can be:

1. Fiber core, generally made up of natural fibers like sisal. Natural fibers are also used but
they absorb less lubricant, though, are stronger. Natural fiber can absorb up to 15% of
their weight in lubricant and so protect the inner wires much better from corrosion than
synthetic fibers do.
2. Wire strand core, is made up of one additional strand of wire. Following picture shows
rope made up of six strands wrapped around a core made up of the same strand. This rope
has 6 strands each made of 7 wires and so is called a 7 x 7 rope.

3. Independent wire rope core (IWRC): These are the most durable in all types of environments.
Core is itself is a wire rope made up of wires and strands.
How to Measure the Size of a Rope
The size of a wire rope is the diameter in millimetres of a true circle, which will just enclose all
the strands. Measure 3 places at least 2m apart. The average is to be taken as the diameter of the
rope.

Multi-strand ropes are all more or less resistant to rotation and have at least two layers of strands
laid helically around a centre. The direction of the outer strands is opposite to that of the
underlying strand layers.
Inspecting Steel Wire Rope for defects

The following defects or damage may be spotted in a wire rope:

 Distortion of Rope or Strands can be the result of damage by kinking or crushing or sharp
bending.

 Flattening of Some of the Outer Wires by Abrasion: Easily spotted because the abrasion
gives the flattened wires a bright and polished appearance, but they do not affect as such.
Flats, which extend to three-quarters of the diameter of the wires will reduce their cross-
sections and therefore their individual strengths slightly. The loss in strength of the whole
rope will be very small. These flats are less serious than flattening of whole rope.
  Broken Wires: These are usually the result of fatigue and wear, and mostly occur in crane
wires or wire ropes at the derrick heel block where the rope exits obliquely. A broke wire
indicates damage due some reason. Investigation must be made to find more damage.
 Corrosion: The action of damp and salt on the wires from which the galvanising has worn
off, if this occurs to the inner wires first it causes rust to fall out of the rope and is
therefore easily detected. The action of fumes and funnel gases, which attack the outside
wires, the effect then becomes visible on inspection. Contact with acid, which soaks into
the heart and attacks the inside wires; this is not necessarily noticeable on the outside of
the rope, and can be the cause of parting without warning.

Lack of lubrication is a frequent cause of corrosion. When a wire rope is under tension it
stretches and becomes thinner, and during this process the individual wires are compressed and
friction is set up; the fibre heart and cores are also compressed, releasing oil to overcome the
friction. A wire rope of outwardly good appearance, but with a dry powdery heart or core, has
not been properly maintained and should be treated with caution.

 Effect of Extreme Cold: When subjected to extreme cold a wire rope may become brittle
and lose its flexibility, and an apparently sound rope may part without warning. The
brittleness is not permanent and the rope will regain its resilience in a normal
 temperature, but the potential danger should be remembered when working wires in very
cold climates.

Testing of Steel Wire Rope

After manufacture of each production length of rope, test samples are cut from the finished rope
and strand. These samples are used for following tests:

1. Tensile test to destruction.

2. Tests of performance.
3. Test for torsion.
4. Test for quality of galvanising.

Each coil of wire is accompanied by a certificate of conformity and a test certificate showing the
minimum breaking strength of the wire.

Various discard criteria

Though, a popular convention being visible broken wires, other abnormalities also may be
considered as warning signs for a discard. At least these signs can be pointers for further
investigation of seeking of expert advice.

1. Broken Wires: This is the most commonly used discard criteria. ISO 4309:2011 list the
number of breaks in the load bearing wires in outer strands needed to determine the
discard criteria. The number of visible broken wires are able to be counted in that area of
the rope where most of them are present. The length of the area has been determined to
be 6d or 30d (“d” = nominal rope diameter). The rope must be discarded whenever the
number of broken wires counted, in 6d or 30d, is equal to, or greater than, those listed in
the standards.

1. Diameter: When the over all diameter of the rope is reduced by 8 % or the outer wires
have lost it’s diameter by 33 % through wear. This reduction in diameter of the rope is
measured on a portion of the rope which has been subjected to abrasion and stresses.
2. Popular convention: When the total number of visible broken wires exceed 10 % of the
total number of wires in the rope in a length equivalent to eight times the diameter of the
rope.
3. Plastic damage: When there is evidence of considerable plastic wear or surface
enbrittlement.
1. Sudden reduction: When the diameter of the rope has suddenly reduced or the lay length
has suddenly increased or decreased .The decrease in lay length is usually associated with
waviness in the rope.
2. Corrosion: When there is evidence of severe corrosion like chain pitting. The condition
may be alarming if in addition to corrosion, fatigue is also present.
3. Evidence of internal corrosion: This can be recognized by slackness of outer wires due to
the internal wires corroding away or under wet conditions, a rusty emulsified liquid
/substance exude between the strands under load.
4. Localised distortion: When the rope has been subjected to localized distortions as a result
of mechanical damage, crushing, kink, bird cage, etc.

1. Collapse of core: When the core of the rope has collapsed. If likely to cause the strands to
bear unequal stresses they must be considered as reducing the strength of the rope
considerably and should they be sufficiently serious to cause the heart to protrude, the
rope must be discarded.
1. Excessive exposure to heat:When the rope has been subjected to a high temperature or
heat due to fire
2. Shock: When the rope has been subjected to sever shock load or over load due to some
accident with the equipment.
3. Abrasion caused damage: Abrasion can simply be caused by the constant passing of the
wire rope over the drum, or the sheaves in the application of work. However, improper
lubrication during service of the wire rope will accelerate the affects of abrasion as wires
begin to stick together.
4. Broken Strand: When a strand breaks, the rope must be immediately discarded.
Lubrication during the manufacturing process
If the rope has a fiber core center, the fiber will be lubricated with a mineral oil or petrolatum
type lubricant. The core will absorb the lubricant and function as a reservoir for prolonged
lubrication while in service. If the rope has a steel core, the lubricant (both oil and grease type) is
pumped in a stream just ahead of the die that twists the wires into a strand. This allows complete
coverage of all wires.

Methods
1. Penetrating lubricants: contain a petroleum solvent that carries the lubricant into the core of
the wire rope then evaporates, leaving behind a heavy lubricating film to protect and lubricate
each strand.
2. Coating lubricants: penetrate slightly, sealing the outside of the cable from moisture and
reducing wear and corrosion from contact with external bodies.
3. Combination: Most wire ropes fail from the inside, it is important to make sure that the center
core receives sufficient lubricant. A combination approach in which a penetrating lubricant is
used to saturate the core, followed with a coating to seal and protect the outer surface, is
recommended.

Constituents
 1. Petrolatum compounds, with the proper additives, provide excellent corrosion and water
resistance. They are translucent, allowing the technician to perform visible inspection.
These lubricants may drip off at higher temperatures but maintain their consistency well
under cold temperature conditions.
2. Asphaltic compounds generally dry to a very dark hardened surface, which makes
inspection difficult. They adhere well for extended long-term storage but will crack and
become brittle in cold climates. These compounds are the coating type.
3. Various types of greases are used for wire rope lubrication. These are the coating types
that penetrate partially but usually do not saturate the rope core. Common grease
thickeners include sodium, lithium, lithium complex and aluminum complex soaps.
Greases used for this application generally have a soft semifluid consistency. They coat
and achieve partial penetration if applied with pressure lubricators.
4. Petroleum and vegetable oils penetrate best and are the easiest to apply because proper
additive design of these penetrating types gives them excellent wear and corrosion
resistance. The fluid property of oil type lubricants helps to wash the rope to remove
abrasive external contaminants.

Many lubricants available in market are unleaded environmental types. The coating is non-
sheening and found excellent for resistance to softening under severe working conditions. They
are water resistant and usable for extreme pressure situations too., With good quality lubricants
the viscosity and slickness stay alive through the Wire Rope as the strands move during load-
bearing operations. This attribute helps with continuous redistribution to cover any internal
strand areas that may have been missed during the initial lubrication process.

A good medium would have sound structural and chemical stability. Pressure additive provides
exceptional protection against wear and shock loads. The additives are put to enhance resistance
to water wash-off, protection against fling-off at high Wire Rope travel speeds, and long service
in a high- temperature environment. Non corrosiveness with steel and copper bearing alloys and
compatibility with conventional seal materials are the usual properties. Lubricants nowadays,
come with bio-aquatic toxicity tests certificates. The copy, alternately, is available upon request.

Practical considerations while lubricating

There is difference in overhauling a wire rope that is already being maintained under PMS and a
rope that is maintained when the situation demands. A rope that is secured locationwise and well
lubricated will seldom go bad.

1. To remove the dirt and any layer of hardened lubricant or other contaminant, rope must
be cleaned with a wire brush and petroleum solvent, compressed air or steam cleaner
before relubrication. The wire rope must then be dried and lubricated immediately to
prevent rusting.
2. Modern lubricators with machine intervention is the current trend of systematic
application.
3. Field lubricants can be applied by spray, brush, dip, drip or pressure boot. Lubricants are
best applied at a drum or sheave where the rope strands have a tendency to separate
slightly due to bending to facilitate maximum penetration to the core. If a pressure boot
 application is used, the lubricant is applied to the rope under slight tension in a straight
condition.
4. Excessive lubricant application should be avoided to prevent safety hazards.
5. Wire rope must never be handled with bare hands.
Care and Maintenance of Steel Wire Rope

 Wire ropes have a lubricant incorporated during manufacture. This serves a dual purpose;
1. it provides corrosion protection; and
2. it minimises internal friction.
 The protection provided by this manufacturing lubricant is not enough for ongoing
maintenance later. The needs supplement during service period. This service lubricant is
termed the ‘dressing’. Dressing would depend on the type of rope and its usage.
 Details of the maintenance of steel wire rope carried, or fitted in, ships should be laid
down in the Planned Maintenance Schedule (PMS). Reference must be taken from
manufacturer’s guidelines.
Protecting Wire ropes

 Wire rope can be damaged by worn sheaves, improper winding and splicing practices,
and improper storage.
 High stress loading, shock loading, jerking heavy loads or rapid acceleration or
deceleration (speed of the cable stopping and starting) will accelerate the wear rate.
 Corrosion can cause shortened rope life due to metal loss, pitting and stress risers from
pitting.
 If a machine is to be shut down for an extended period, the rope should be removed,
cleaned, lubricated and properly stored.
 In service, corrosion and oxidation are caused by fumes, acids, salt brines, sulfur, gases,
salt air, humidity and are accelerated by elevated temperatures. Proper and adequate
lubricant application in the field can reduce corrosive attack of the cable.
 Abrasive wear occurs on the inside and outside of wire ropes. Individual strands inside
the rope move and rub against one another during normal operation, creating internal
two-body abrasive wear. The outside of the cable accumulates dirt and contaminants
from sheaves and drums. This causes three-body abrasive wear, which erodes the outer
wires and strands. Abrasive wear usually reduces rope diameter and can result in core
failure and internal wire breakage. Penetrating wire rope lubricants reduce abrasive wear
inside the rope and also wash off the external surfaces to remove contaminants and dirt.
 Wire hawsers should be stowed on reels under a fitted cover whenever possible. The
surface of a wire hawser should be washed with fresh water to free it from salt, then dried
with cloths and lightly smeared with the appropriate lubricant.
 Compatibility with sheave
I. Size of Sheave Required for a Wire Rope Hoist. The diameter of sheave required for
each type of six-strand wire rope supplied should be at least twenty times the diameter of
the wire. The diameter of a sheave used for any wire rope will considerably affect the
life of that rope. As the rope bends round a sheave the strands and wires farthest from the
centre of curvature move apart and those nearest the centre of curvature move closer
together. This results in the generation of considerable friction between these wires and
strands, and the smaller the sheave the greater will be the friction.
II. Friction also increases rapidly with the speed at which the rope is moving. While the
rope is bent round a sheave the outer wires are also subjected to a marked additional
stress, and the smaller the diameter of the sheave the greater will be the stress. For these
reasons the minimum diameters of sheaves recommended from practical experience for
various types of ropes at speeds not exceeding 60m per minute are 20 times the diameters
of the ropes. For increase in speed figures are higher. This will give a rope a reasonable
life, but it is emphasized that its life will be greatly increased if still larger sheaves are
used.
III. The life of a rope used for hoisting can also be considerably shortened by using the
wrong type of sheave. The groove in the sheave must fit and support the rope as it travels
round the sheave, otherwise there will be increased internal friction and external wear.
IV. A sheave with too wide a groove, will result in a flattening of the rope and
considerable distortion and internal friction.
V. A sheave with too narrow a groove, results in the rope not being supported, the wires
of the strands being subjected to considerable wear, and friction being set up between the
rope and the sides of the groove.
VI. The groove of the correct sheave should be shaped in cross-section to the true arc of a
circle for a distance equal to one-third of the circumference of the rope, and the radius of
the groove should be between 5 and 10% greater than the specified radius of the rope.
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