® cCcASEf5: A Fe SIL Vv yi } | i i \) i i Wire Rope Inspection and ExaminationNeg oye » 8.1 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 Wire Rope Inspection and Examination by Dipl.-Ing. Roland Verreet and William Lindsay Why must wire ropes be inspected and examined? .. . page 2 What is Inspection, what is Examination? page 3 When must wire ropes be inspected? . page 4 When must wire ropes be examined? . page 4 Survey for removal criteria . page 6 Where must wire ropes be inspected « or examined? page 10 Discard number of wire breaks page 12 Rope examination procedure page 13 Equipment... page 13 Locating of wire breaks page 13 Determination of the rope diameter page 15 Measuring rope lay . page 17 Checking the stability of the rope page 18 Changes in rope structure . page 18 Inspecting sheaves and drums 18 Electro-magnetic wire rope examination 20 FOREWORD In the UK two Codes of Practice deal with the Inspection and Examination of steel wire ropes, B.S.7121: Part 1 1989 Safe use of Cranes” and B.S. 6570 : 1986 ,The selection, care and maintenance of steel wire ropes*. B.S. 7121 deals specifically with cranes, much of the information it contains relating to ropes has been taken from B.S.6570. However, B.S.7121 does have additional useful information about the discard criteria to be applied when assessing the condition of a rope. B.S.6570 is a comprehensive Code of Practice and gives information on the sclection, care, maintenance, inspection and examination of general pur- pose ropes.PREC a hee Oe et eed Wire ropes are consumable items with a limited life. During service the physical properties of a wire rope will change. At the commencement of service, the individual wires and strands seiile into position and the rope breaking strength increases. AE ter reaching a maximum it de- creases rapidly (Fig. 1). This decrease in breaking strength is caused by the pro- gressive loss of the metallic cross-section due to abrasion and corrosion, by wire breaks and by changes in the structure of the rope. A chain represents a series con- nection of load bearing elements. If only one link in the chain breaks, the whole lifting device will fail completely. A wire rope represents a parallel connection of load bearing elements and con- sequently it can still be operated safely after one or more wire breaks, Generally, there is a steady rate of increase in the number of wire breaks during the life of the rope. Fig. 3 shows the increasing num- ber of wire breaks as a function of the number of cycles in a bending fatigue test. 8 100 3 & ‘D 3 g 4 E 3 a ~100% 0 ° discard break number of cylees -~ [%]One of the objectives of inspect- ing and examining a wire rope is to supervise the normal process of deterioration so that the rope can be removed from service be- fore becoming a hazard to safety. Another benefit of the inspection and examination procedures is to detect unexpected damage or corrosion. Inspections and examinations, properly carried out, ensure the discard ofa rope before failure. In addition, precautions can be ta- ken to avoid a recurrence of dam- age or excessive wear to future ropes. chain, one element broken Fig. 2 Pera batts what is Examination? An inspection is a careful and cri- tical assessment of the rope and fittings carried out without dis- manitling. An examination is a careful and critical assessment of the rope and fittings carried out by a com- petent person. This should in- clude, where necessary, a visual assessment of the internal condi- tion of the rope, supplemented by other means such as measure- ment and non destructive test- ing. In order for end fittings to be examined properly they may need to be dismantled. rope, one element brokento ett be inspected? Wire ropes should be inspected at the start of each shift, work pe- riod or more frequently, depend- ing upon past experience. Usu- ally this inspection will be carried out by the operator of the indi vidual piece of equipment or pos- sibly by a member of the work force specially appointed. The inspection should be a visual assessment of the condition of as much of the rope length as possi- ble, including the points of at- tachment to the equipment. When a rope has been removed from equipment and later fitted to the same or different equip- ment, it should be inspected after fitting but before resuming serv- ice Ifat any time a change in the rope condition is suspected, it should be reported immediately and the equipment taken out of service until the rope has been examined by a competent person. As a re- sult of this examination it may be prudent to review and amend the scope and frequency of the in- spections. 30 1 - D/a=20 3 25 4 —| toad proportional to rt minimum breaking toad ° oO gq 20 ° tensile strength 200 kp/mm?” e load 111 % B 15 — + 5 tensile strength 180 kp/mm? 4 load 100 % g 10 a ro | brn ° So os — 5 = 5 a oO 0 30.000 60.000 90.000 number of cycles “%_ [-] Fig, 3 120.000Reba sw yay Ll eoc ete tied The Factories Act 1961 Section 26, The Construction (Lifting Op- erations) Regulations No. 1581 and the Offshore Installations (Operational Safety, Health and Welfare) Regulations 1976 No. 1019 all require a thorough rope examination at least once in eve- ry period of six months. The Shipbuilding and Ship-re- pairing Regulations 1960 requi- res a thorough examination every three months or monthly after the first broken wire has been discovered, One of the statutory regulations listed above will apply to the loca- tion and type of rope using equip- ment being examined. It is the responsibility of the indi- vidual to institute and maintain a programme of periodic examina- tion which satisfies the require- ments of the appropriate regula- tions and the specific operating conditions of the equipment. Examination should be carried out at regular intervals. The in- tervals should be scheduled so that any damage will be detected early. According to B.S. 6570 examina- tions should be carried out “at regular intervals, the frequency of which will be influenced by the following: a) statutory requiremenis b) type of appliance and/or design of the system c) operational environmental conditions d) method and frequency of operation e) manufacturer's recommen- dations results of previous inspec- tions and examinations g) experience with previous ropes on the appliance or system” During the first few weeks after the installation of a new rope the daily inspection can be used to monitor performance as the rope might have been fitted incorrectly or the type of rope might not be suited to the equipment. The intervals between the exami- nations should also be reduced after the first broken wire or other damage has been detected. If the rope has been overloaded or if non- visible damage is sus- pected, the intervals between ex- aminations should be reduced accordingly. Moreover, the examinations should be carried out when the rope is put back into service after long periods of standstill. If a lifting device has been dis- maniled and re assembled, the rope must be examined before it is allowed to operate again. 55. Survey of removal A wire rope must be removed if one or more of the following crite- ria can be satisfied: 1) Broken wires. Awire rope must be discarded if the permissible number of wire breaks is reached or exceeded. It must also be replaced when local concentrations of wire breaks oc- cur. Chapter 7 covers in detail the subject of the permissible num- ber of wire breaks according to British Standard 6570 and the statutory requirements. 2) Reduction in diameter. Reduction in diameter can be caused by abrasion, corrosion or a local failure of the rope core. According to B.S. 6570 a wire rope should be discarded .when the rope diameter anywhere is re- duced to 90% of the nominal di- ameter in the case of six and eight strand ropes*. Considering the fact that a rope is allowed to have an oversize of 4% when new, this figure would allow for a di- ameter reduction of 14%, which seems to be excessive. For multi- strand ropes B.S. 6570 recommends a detailed ex- amination “if the rope diameter 6 falls to 97% of the nominal, or rises to 105% of the nominal”, because “discard may be neces- sary”. 3) Corrosion. Corrosion may be external or in- ternal, general or localized. Ac- cording to BS 6570, a wire rope should be discarded “when the surface of the wires is severely roughened or pitted, or if the wires are slack within the strands due to wastage”. 4) Rope deformation a) Waviness (Fig. 4a). This defor- mation, while it may not neces sarily affect the strength of the rope, can transmit pulsation and produce uneven rope wear. When the rope is laid on a level surface under no load, the maximum height of the “wave” should not be greater than the nominal rope diameter + 1/3, otherwise the rope should be removed from service, b) Birdcage (Basket Deformation) A birdcage (Fig. 4b) develops when the outer layer of strands be comes longer than the inner layer or layers. The condition may occur as a result of incorrect fitting, tight sheaves, shock load- ing, incorrect use of a swivel or the application of a heavy load to @ new rope before the strands have settled into position. Ropes with a birdcage should be dis- carded.c) Loop Formations. Wires or groups of wires may form a line of loops parallel to the axis of the rope (Fig. 5a). This deformation is often caused by shock- loading. Loop formations are a justifica- tion for discard. d) Loose Wires. Where loose outer wires (Fig. 5b) are found without any adjacent mechanical dam- age, the most likely cause will be corrosion and the rope should be removed from service. Where loose wires have been caused by mechanical damage, a full exami- nation will decide if the rope can remain in use. e) Nodes (Fig. 5c). A node is a local increase in rope diameter with the core easily visible be- tween several covering strands. It can be caused by shock loading or, in the case of fibre main core ropes, by the absorption of mois- ture. A node is a justification for discard. — Fig. 4f) Thinning of the rope (Fig. 6a). Thinning is a reduction in the di- ameter of the rope over a short length. It is often associated with older fibre cored ropes usually in f sustained heavy loads es. The disintegration of the core can allow one of the covering strands to take the place of the core. When this condition occurs in ropes with IWRC the distortion will most of- ten be in the vicinity of the termi- nation away from drum. The most likely cause is rope rotation which has allowed the rope to unlay, resulting in the overload and reduction in diameter or fail- ure of the IWRC. g) Misplaced Outer Wires. Mis- placed outer wires are wires forced out of position along the line of the rope to form small flat- Fig. 5tened loops. This can be caused by bad drum spooling or by the rope being drawn across a sharp. edge. Langs lay ropes are often worst affected. Misplaced outer wires are a justification for dis- card, h) Kinks (Fig, 6b). Deformation caused by a loop in a rope being tightened when the rope cannot rotate about its axis to release the | torque. The tight bend or kink thus formed can result in a seri- ous loss of strength due to un- balance in the lay lengths. Ropes with kinks must be discarded. i) Flat areas (Fig. 6c). A flattening can be caused by bending the rope severely over the rim of a sheave or any sharp object with the wires on the inside of the bend being forced out of position. Fig. 6220 200 + 5 180 3 160 $0 g & 120 a 3 @ 100 g s 3 80 60 oO 100 200 3800 400 500 600 700 Fig. 7 temperature [°C] Ropes with flat areas should be discarded. 5) Damage caused by heat. Heating rope wires to approxi- mately 300° C and over will lead to considerable reduction in ten- sile strength of the wires (Fig.7). Wire ropes which have been sub- jected to excessive heat must be discarded. 6. Where must wire ropes be Brac mom ett During an inspection or a peri- odic examination by a competent person, the full length of the rope 10 should be checked. The following areas may require more detailed attention: a) Rope zones with the highest number of cycles. During normal day io day operations some sec- tions of a rope length will suffer a greater number of bends over sheaves and drums than others. It is in these areas where the greatest number of fatigue wire breaks can be expected. )) Pick- up points. When a lifting device picks up or releases a load with the same sections of rope regularly in contact with sheaves and drums, those sections of the rope are subjected to increasedstress. c) End fittings. At, or closely adja- cent to, terminal fittings the elas- ticity of the rope is restricted and the geometry “frozen”. Depending upon the type of fit- ting, there will be additional pres- sure on the rope and the section close to the area of contact be- tween rope and fitting is often the focal point for increased stress caused by vibration. The danger of corrosion is also increased by the retention of moisture in the area of contact between rope and fitting. d) Equalising sheaves. Ropes which are often considered to be stationary around equalising sheaves can be subjected to high numbers of bend cycles caused by the uneven. spooling of two drums, by swinging loads or by frequency vibrations. As the rope might never leave the equalising sheave, moisture can be trapped in the area of contact between rope and sheave and cause corro- sion. e) Zones of maximum wear on drums. Pick- up points and cross- over points on the drum are subjected to increased wear and therefore require special at- tention. Misplaced and broken wires caused by scrubbing can be expected at cross- over poinis. ‘The damage can be severe where the fleet angle is excessive. With multiple layer spooling, the first layer of rope on the drum should be tightly wound to pro- vide a firm base for subsequent layers. This applies in particular to plain drums and parallel grooved drums, e. g. Lebus. Slack winding or lateral movement be- tween turns of rope will affect the spooling of subsequent layers and can cause damage. The point where the rope is squeezed between the drum flange and the previous turn as it rises to commence the next layer, is an area of accelerated wear and should be given special attention. f) Sheaves. Sheaves should be ex- amined for general condition and tested for freedom of movement. Using a groove gauge the tread radius can be measured. ‘The radius of the grooves should be equal to the nominal rope di- ameter plus + 6% to + 10%. Undersize grooves will seriously reduce the service life of the rope due to the effects of crushing. Oversize grooves reduce the serv- ice life due to premature fatigue caused by insufficient support in the groove area. Where the rope surface pattern is imprinted into the sheave tread, the sheave should be replaced. 11g) Rope sections working in a hostile environment. High tempe- rature can considerably reduce the breaking load of a wire rope. Temperatures of up to 250°C will not affect the tensile strength of the wire, but temperatures of only 50°C can cause leaching of the rope lubricant. The consequent severe wire to wire friction will result in a mar- ked reduction of rope perform- ance. The exposure of rope to chemical action can greatly in- crease the effect of corrosion. In each of the areas where wire breaks or other defects are found, the number and description along with the location, must be recorded. Discard number of Ry The Construction (Lifting Ope- rations) Regulations requires a rope to be replaced when the number of broken wires reaches 5% of the total number of wires in the rope in 10 xd. The Factories Act, The Shipbuild- ing and Ship-repairing Regula- tions and the Offshore Installa- tions Regulations do not specify a particular number of broken wires for discard and leaves this decision to the discretion of the examiner. 12 The Health and Safety at Work Act requires the provision and maintenance of plant and sys- tems of work that are, so far as is reasonably practical, safe and without risks to health. The table on Page 25 shows the recommended number of discard wire breaks for CASAR special wire ropes. For the number of discard wire breaks in other types of multi-strand ropes the user is advised to contact the rope manufacturer. Depending on the factor of safety, the assessment of broken wires in 6 and 8 strand ropes working over steel sheaves is divided into two groups : 1) Factor of safety less than 5 : 5% of the number of outer strand wires excluding Filler wires. 2) Factor of safety greater than 5: 10% of the number of outer strand wires excluding Filler wires. When broken wires are detected, the number and position, along with the examiner's opinion of the general rope condition, will decide whether or not the rope should be discarded. If local concentrations or groups of broken wires are found, the rope should be discarded when:a) three or more broken wires are found in the close proximity of the termination, b) three or more broken wires are found in one strand or c) five broken wires are found be- tween two adjacent strands within a length of 10 x rope diameter. If the number of broken wires does not justify discard, the posi- tion and number of all broken wires found must be recorded in the rope examination Log Book. When broken wires are found in close proximity to a permanent termination, such as a white me- tal or resin secured socket and the general condition of the re- mainder of the rope is acceptable, it may be decided to cut the rope and re make the termination. In such cases it is recommend that the socket is submitted for N.D.T. and heat treatment. Care must be taken to ensure sufficient turns of “dead” rope remain on the drum after the termination hhas been remade. Rope examination Prater tte Equipment In order to carry out a proper in- spection, the following tools should be available: a list of the discard criteria (this manual) a rope caliper or vernier gauge a steel tape a piece of white chalk a wax pencil (dark coloured) a roll of adding machine paper a sheet of typing carbon paper a screwdriver a magnifying glass a pencil a roll of marking tape two sets of groove gauges a piece of cleaning cloth a wire brush a pair of gloves anote book or an inspection form the previous inspection records Pert Me eo Cd Identification of wire breaks can be by visual and physical exami- nation or by the use of electroma- gnetical equipment (see sec- tion 9). The first step in wire rope exami- nation is to find the rope section with the greatest concentration of wire breaks. This is normally done by first visually inspecting the full length of the rope. In some cases it can be helpful to spool the rope slowly through the hand. Special attention has to be paid and strong protective gloves must be worn. 13A piece of wood held on the sur- face of a moving rope will be de- flected by the protuding ends of broken wires. In the same way, a soft cotton or similar type cloth held against a moving rope will be caught by protruding ends and thus detect the broken wires. Smooth synthetic material is less suitable for this purpose. The detection of broken wires in the strand valleys can be diffi- cult. The use of a scraper or piece of shaped wood will help clean out the valleys. The use of a wire brush on a dirty, heavily lubri- cated rope can loosen, but not always remove, old lubricant and the brush may have to be cleaned frequently with a solvent. Where solvents are used to clean the rope surface, they should be used sparingly and the rope sec- tion should be thoroughly lubri- cated afterwards. A light lubricat- ing oil used with a wire brush is preferred for softening old tubri- cant which can then be wiped off with a cloth. When the worst af- fected sections of rope have been found, their boundaries should be marked by chalk or tape for further examination. Fig. 8 14A gauge should be set to a length of 10 x d. This can now be moved within the boundaries to locate the section with the maximum number of wire breaks. The breaks in 10 x d should be coun- ted and entered in the records. With thin ropes, valley breaks can be deiecied by sirongly flex- ing the unloaded rope (Fig. 8). CBs ht eas rope diameter The rope diameter should be measured on receipt for conform- ity with the specification. British Standard (B.S. 302:1987, Stran- ded steel wire ropes, Part 1. Clause 5.1) allows for a tolerance of - 1% to + 4% of the nominal rope diameter. The generally accepted method of measuring rope diameter for compliance with the Standard is to use a caliper with jaws broad cnough to cover not less than two adjacent strands. The measure- ments must be taken on a straight portion of rope at two points at least 1 metre apart. At each point two diameters at right angles should be measured. The average of the four measure- ments is the actual diameter. After the rope has made the first few cycles under low ioad, the rope diameter should be meas- ured at several points. The aver- age value of all the measure- ments at each point must be re- corded and will form the basis of comparison for all future meas- urements. The measurement of the rope di- ameter is an essential part of all inspections and examinations. It ensures the maximum diameier reduction does not exceed the recommended figure. As siated in 5.2. British Standard 6570 re- commends that a wire rope should be discarded when the di- ameter of the rope is reduced to 90% of the nominal diameter. A comparison of the measured data with the recorded previous values can detect an abnormal rate of reduction in diameter. Coupled with assessment of pre- vious rope examination data, the probable date of rope renewal can be predicted. If we examine the cross-section of a six-strand wire rope, we will find that measuring the thick- ness of the rope over the crowns (Fig. 9a) will produce a higher va- lue than measuring it over the valleys (Fig, 9b). The actual diam- cter of the rope is defined as the diameter of the circumscribing circle. When using a conventional ca- liper, wire ropes with an even number of outer strands (four-, six-, eight-, ten-, and multi- 15strand) ropes must be measured from crown to crown. The advan- tage of a proper wire rope caliper with measuring plates is that even if the measurement is car- ried out “incorrectly”, adjacent crowns are always included, so that the actual diameter is deter- mined at any section (Fig. 10). Measuring the diameter of wire ropes with an uneven number of outer strands (three-, five-, se- ven, or nine-strand ropes) is mo- re complicated: a crown on the one side of the wire rope always has a valley as a counterpart on the other side of the wire rope. A Fig. 9 16 conventional caliper, therefore, has to be applied diagonally to the axis of the rope, so that at any time a crown adjacent to a valley is covered. Again a wire rope ca- liper with measuring plates is definitely to be preferred as it al- ways includes strand crowns. In all cases during periodic ex- aminations where the measure- ments are to be recorded, the rope should be measured as al- ready described. Where the »roundness* is being checked io detect potential faults, two diam- eters, one at right angles to the other can be taken and noted inthe records. The entry into the records might read ,.Rope diam- eter : 20.4/20.5mm". jeasuring rope lay After a rope has been fitted to the appliance, its length cannot be measured again accurately with- out a great deal of trouble. The purpose of measuring the length of lay is to detect any increase in the rope length which may have been caused by corrosion, core deterioration or rope rotation (unlaying). With a new rope the Fig. 10 wires and strands should be al- lowed to settle into their perma- nent position. Six or seven lifting cycles with a light to medium load are recommended before measuring the lay of the rope. To minimise error, the measurement should be made over four lays and the length divided by four to find the average lay length. On eight strand ropes the eight, sixteenth, twentyfourth and thirtysecond strands must be marked. Using a straight length of the rope and with the rope un- der no load, first mark any strand on the crown with a piece of chalk: this strand now becomes “crown zero”. Excluding this strand, count the next eight strands and mark the eighth strand with chalk. Exclude the eighth strand and repeat this procedure a fur- ther two times. The measured length be- tween the outer chalk marks is then divided by four to give the lay length. As a rough check on the overall accuracy of the chalk mark- ing, the length of lay for eight strand ropes is approxima-tely between 6.25 and 6.5 x the diameter of the rope e.g. using a lay length of 6.5 x rope diameter, four lay lengths of a 32mm diam- eter rope will be 32mm x 6,5 x 4 = 832mm. An alternative method of meas- uring the rope lay is to secure the free end of the roll of adding ma- chine paper to the rope with ad- hesive tape. The paper is rolled out over the rope and simultane- ously the wax pencil is drawn over the paper, providing a clear print of the outer wires of the rope. The finished print can be filed for comparison with later measurements. A third method is to wrap typing carbon papers round the rope under the roll of paper. By rub- bing along the paper with a piece of cardboard, the carbon mark- ing on the underside of the paper can be confined to the tops of the strand crowns. 8.5 Checking the stability of the rope Arope in good condition will have all strands tightly laid. A screw- driver inserted between strands when twisted, should meet with stiff resistance. If the screwdriver can be twisted between different pairs of strands without much resistance, a full examination should be carried out. is. The unskilled use of a screw- driver or Marlin Spike to examine the rope core can cause serious damage to the rope. 8.6 Changes in rope Baa In addition to the examination areas detailed in section 4, defor- mation caused at any point in the main working area can move along the rope. Waviness, and in particular, a birdeage can be moved along the rope by the ac- tion of the sheaves. A degree of slackness in the outer cover of a multi- strand rope may not be sufficient to form an immediate birdcage. However, slackness can be “squeezed” along the rape. With the normal length of rope out any slackness in the outer cover will usually be found at the end termination or where the rope meets the drum. Wm T ast eoAt) rare) Remarks in this section are in- tended to apply equally to sheaves and drums. A tight groove in a sheave or drum will subject the rope to enormous radial pressure. Rapid deterioration and premature wire failure, particularly in the valleysbetween strands, can be expected (Fig. 11, A). On the other hand a wide groove will not provide essential support to a rope under load. Oval shaped deformation is produced result- ing in uneven distribution of the load between individual wires with consequent early failure (Fig. 11, ©). Sheaves can be checked with gauges which are available on the open market. The use of specially made circular templates is pre- ferred. The recommend size for a sheave gauge is the nominal rope diam- eter + 6% to +10% (Fig. 11, B). In number of cycles -~ [-] until discard groove diameter £ © + ‘ 3 i 3 a & a & 5 a | optimum Fig. 11 groove diameter order to establish the size of a sheave groove, templates for the sizes above and below the recom- mended size will be required. The sides and tread of sheaves which have been in use for some time are often heavily coated with old lubricant, some of which may first have to be removed with a scraper. By inserting the tem- plate as far as possible and draw- ing it through the remaining lu- bricant, the fit of the template re- lative to the sheave tread can be assessed. The correct template should be in contact with the sheave tread for about 130°. If the template only touches the side flanges, the Se 19roove is too tight. If the template touches only the bottom part of the tread, the groove is too wide. Attention should also be given to the flanges of the sheaves. Ab- sence of lubricant, scratching or unexpected wear on one side will indicate (a) misalignment of the sheave and (b) the danger of torque being induced into the rope due to the rope rolling down the flange into the tread. ‘The tread should be cleaned and carefully examined for any sign of ridging or imprinting. In the case of imprinting with the rope profile the rope in service may have caused the damage and is un- likely to be seriously affected. A Fig. 12 20 replacement rope will not fit ex- actly into the imprint and will suffer serious damage during the early part of its service. When a rope change is made, the sheaves should be checked for eccentricity and the bearing for wear and free running. After a period in service surface wear and/or a number of wire breaks will indicate the rope con- dition has deteriorated and dis- card may be imminent. Specific working conditions however, may Point of Fig. 13lead to internal wire breaks and to internal loss of metallic area. It may be surprising to learn that this applies in particular to ropes which, for safety reasons, are op- erated with large diameter sheaves and high factors of safety. Dynamically loaded ropes or ropes which are subjected to torque when working, can suffer from internal wire breaks caused. by oversirained interior rope ele- ments, In addition, when the ree- ving system includes sheaves lined with plastic or all plastic sheaves, these sheaves offer more elastic support than steel sheaves. The pressure between outer wires and the sheave grooves can be reduced to such an extent that with some rope constructions the first wire breaks will occur, not on the sur- face, but within the rope. In all these cases electro- magnetic tes- iing will allow non-destructive examination and appraisal of the rope's internal condition. Electro-magnetic testing equip- ment available on the market al- lows - depending on individual design - indication or continuous recording of localised damage such as single broken wires, breaks of strands, soldered and welded joints as well as wire pit- ting and even detection of re- duced metallic area caused by corrosion and abrasion over the whole rope length. The data are plotted as a function of the rope length, which is con- tinually measured either during the inspection or, if a recording is done, during the following analy- sis. In this way every signal on the recording can unmistakably be related to a zone on the rope. This method allows a more pre- cise visual inspection of those sections of the rope which showed exceptional inconsisten- cies during the electro-magnetic inspection. Furthermore, record- ing the data during regular elec tro-magnetic inspections makes it possible to compare the results with previous recordings. In this way the advance of the deteriora- tion of the rope can be ascer- tained. Electro-magnetic testing equip- ment for wire ropes was already being developed at the beginning of the 20th century. Only very few specialists could use the equip- ment properly but over the past few years the use of these instru- ments has been greatly improved so that they are now at the com- mand of a much wider range of users. It is likely that within a few years there will be equipment on offer which not only records measured data but also - by means of a mi- cro computer - will process the data with regard to amplitude and frequency. In this way the equipment will provide the exam- iner with data such as frequency 21curves and the accurate assess- ment of the reduction in breaking strength. At the moment instruments are being developed which, apart from the data mentioned above, can also record the rope diameter and the lay length of the rope. This will enable them to register out-of-roundness of the rope di- ameter, corkscrew-like deforma- tions or changes of the lay lengths along the rope length. For inspection a test head is clamped around the rope. Then the whole length of the rope is pulled through the test head. If this is not possible, as in the case of suspended ropes of rope ways, the test head is drawn along the test head Fig, 14 22 wire rope. During this procedure all test data are transmitted via cable or radio to an amplifier. The test data are indicated either op- tically or acoustically, recorded on magnetic tape or represented graphically during the test. An electro-magnetic test instrument is shown in Fig, 14. Calibration of the testing equip- ment requires great care. A re- commended method of checking the function and accuracy of the equipment is to attach lengths of wire, having diameters equal to the largest and smallest sizes in the rope, along the first metres of rope length. By means of sello- tape these wires can be secured in the strand valleys. At the be- ginning of the recording stripchart the examiner will obtain reference data indicating the size of the amplitudes of the test wires. Fig. 15a illustrates a typical dia- gram of a rope section with wire breaks. Fig. 15b shows the recor- ding of a rope section affected by corrosion. Selecting the suitable test instru- meni, competent handling and the correct interpretation of the data require a lot of experience and expert knowledge. Various universities, test institutes as well as commercial firms, render electro-magnetic inspection of wire ropes as a service. The discard numbers of wire breaks specified in the Standards refer solely to external wire breaks. Appraising the condition of the wire rope with regard to in- ternal wire breaks is therefore left to the inspector; he would be well advised to discard a wire rope when the total number of exter- nal and internal wire breaks, added together, reaches the dis- card number of wire breaks spe- cified in the Standards. Electro-magnetic tests can not, and must not, totally replace vi- sual inspections. Yet, they pro- vide valuable additional informa- tion on the conditions of wire ropes and must be regarded as a useful addition to the visual in- spection. Fig. 15 25type of rope: 0 left hand lay 1 right hand lay nominal diameter [mml DD regular lay tangs tay tensile strength [N/mm?} C1 ungalvanized C0 galvanized rope length [ml type of end fitting: date of installation: working hours to date: orbroken abrasion location final evaluation Wate/ signature + description, ef no, lite, ee. 24 ** comments. e.g. description of a rope deformation® CASA Fe Soe cae alice ARS ARID Discard Number of Wire Breaks according to the criteria of BS 6570 8 é/é € ua e 0e53| 0,90 | 077 | 245 | 112 | 4 GUROUF ele o748| 035 | 070 | 220 {| 126 [ + | 2 POWERUEN ele 0747 | 0,96 | 0,75 | 292 | 126] 4 | @ DOMEIPLAT | @ | @ | @ Jor] oc: | og | 56 | 126] 4 | 2 WRAROPLAIT @ |0,608] 0.92 | oe7 | 327 | 208 | 10 | 20 ULOPLAIT @ | @ |{ossi| os7 | ose | sev | 208 | 10 | 20 WPF 2PLAT @ | © [osss] ozs | oss] sea | 260 | 12 | 24 oA wa? 0,680 0 | oa6 | a11 | 208 | 10 | 20 PURZOUAL e 0,730] 05 | oa4 | 203 | 208 | 10 | 20 Wau? e 0755] 02s | oa4 | 207 | 205 | 10 | 20 ARDRAUaY ,650| 09 | oe | a1 | 208 | 10 | 20 Bau e 0.755 0,85 | 04 | 207 | 205 | 10 | 20 UNA? 0660| 0.90 | ogo | 120 | 56 | 3 | 6 IMECAUET 655] v.00 | 090 | 145 | 72 [ 3 | 6 eHNOUF? 027 | 0.20 | o2| 205 | 200] 10 | 20 HU? e 0063] oas | oas| 20 | 126] 5 | 10 UGE e 66a] 090 | oa6 | 126 | a20] 5 | 10 RAMNBoua| © 0477| 094 | 085} 9 | 9 | 5 | 10 CUADROUF? | Oo | © 0684 | 0.96 | 084 | 144 | 14a] 7 | 14The CASAR product line masa: TGA casa plone28 Calculated aggregate breaking oad Minimum breakingioeg Yeni | woe ‘| Gener | ae | Me ‘wt tale srongih of wire 1770 Nimm* | 1960Nimm? | 1770 N/mm? 1960 Nimm* (180 kote’) | (200 kp/mme)_ | (180 kp/mm) | (200 kg/mm) mm_|_mm | korem[ eo | t [| t |e] t few] t 7 | w2| 27] ase] 450 ual sar] sz] 305 & 32,9 206 582] 5,92 445) 453) 493) 5,03 9 | «9 | 38 | ra] 735 554] 563| 61a] 625 wo | sii | 40 | soa] 920 692| 704] res] 782 n 814 553 | 1087) 11,05 BA) 845] 924) 9,39 nm | me} 664 | s906] 1325 999 1016] st07| 1129 B 86,6 779 | 1533) 15,59 1973) 11,92) 1298] 13,25 44 | 104 | 904 | s77| 1807 4359) 1383] 1505] 15.36 45 | 154 | 1039 | 204] 2077 1863] 1589| 1730] 17.86 4 | 115 | 1184 | 26] 2367 17a | 1311] t972] 20,12 a7 | 1478 | 1330 | 261| 2660 | aes7| 296] 2001] 2035) 2216} 2231 18 164.4 148,0 | 2910) 29,59 | 3222) 32,68 | 2226) 2264) 2465) 25,15 9 185,3 1668 | $280) 33,95 | 3632) 37,06 | 2509] 2552] 2778) 28,35 20 205.1 164,6 | 369,0) 36,92 | 4020) 41,02 | 27,7) 28,24| 307,5| 31,38 zi | 262 | 2038 ) aoa} 40,72] aaa] 4526] 3063] 31.15| aan2| o4et 2 248.9 24,0 | $406] 44,80) 4878) 49,78 | 3370) 34,27) 3732) 38,08 2B 2707 263,68 | 408) 49,73) S308! 54,14 | 9685) 27,28) 4059) 41,42 rs 258 266,2 | 5296) 53,24) 5798) 59,16 | 4005) 40,73) 4435] 45,26 3S 3190 267, | 5646] 5742] G252) 63,00) 4319) 43,93) 4789) 48,81 2 | 35 | sino | gigs] e2a7| rat] 6320] gsaa] a7zi| sigs] 5301 a 3754 337.9 | 6645) 67,57} 7358) 75,08 | 5083) 51,69) 5629) 57,44 2 | 453 | sexs | 774] 7295] 7o44] 0106 | sts] ser] sonr| e201 2 | 4326! 3693 | 7657] 77a7| onze] 0552 | sa58| 5057) 6136] 66,9 cy 63,1 4168 | 8197} 83,98 | S077) 92,62} 6271) 63,77] 6944) 70.85 we | saz | 472 | san7| s445 |soans! 10494] 7105] 7225] 7057] c020 “4 5937 534.3 | 105G,8 | 106,87 | 1163,7) 118,74 | 803.9) 81,75) 882] 90,84 36 869.2 02,3 | 11845 | 120,46 | 131%,6 | 133,84 92,15 | 1.0084 | 102,39 8 742.6 668,39 | 19144 | 133,67 | 14555) 143,52 102,26 | 11935 | 115,62. 40 821,2 ‘739.1 | 14585 | 147,82 | 1609,6) 164,24 113,08 | 1231,3 | 125,64 a2 | oma | s2oa | retga| 16405 | 1796] 19228, 125,50 | 1966.6 | 198,44 4 999,0 899,1 | 1768.2 | 179,82 | 1958,0] 199,60 187,56 | 1497.9 | 152,85 46 1088.5 ‘979,7 | 1996.6 | 195,93 | 2133.5] 217,70 149,89 | 1 682,1 | 196,54 a3 | 11076 | 10658 arog 21377 | asena| 23782 163358 | 1707 | 161,70 s0 | 12850 | 11565 | 22745] 231.0 | 251g | 257,00 +7694 | 1920, | 19681 13804 | 1242.4 | 2443.3 | 246,47 | 2705,6 | 276,08 186,95 | 2029,2 | 207,06 oo 1488.8 | 13399 | 2695.2 | 267,98 | 29180] 297,75 200,99 | 24885 | 223,32 36 | ro1g0 | 14517 |ze550| 20035 | 31615] 322.60 217,76 241,95 5 | 17218 | 15104 | sour] 3090s |3araa| 34432 232,42 23824 60 | 500 | 16650 | szzas| 533.00 | 36260] 370,00 249,75 | 27198 | 277,50 62 | t9760 | 17734 | 34975 | 365,68 | 3673,0| 505,20 | 26,1 | 255,76 | 29047 | 206,40 7 2108.7 | 1897.8 | 97324 | 379,57 | 41931) 421,74 | 27999 | 284,67 | 3:099,8 | 316,31 66 22439 | 2019.5 | 8974.7 | 403,90 | 4998.0) 448,78 | 29788 | 302,99 | 3298.5 | 396,59 3 | 23909 | 21518 | 2si9| 42036 | aseea| «79,19 [31799 222,77 [asia | 250.54 mm | 25134 | 22521 | aaaaa | as21 | 6925. 502.8 } 33965] 330.1 | 36947 | 37701 rR 26709 | 24038 | 4727,5 | 480,76 | $235.0 534,18 | 35456 | 360,57 | 3926.2 | 400,65__ Sasa HU Rollay Nominal] wetatic | yoignt Calculated aggregate breaking load Minimum breaking load — Ey . with tensile strength of wire 1770Nimm: | 1960Nimme | 2160Nmm? | 170Nimmé | 1960Nimm! | 2160 Nmmé (180 kp/mm*} | @200%kpimm’) | (220 kam) | (180 Kp/mm’) | (200 kp/mmn’) | (220 kpimm) mm_| mm |kgr%mleN | t [aN] t [a] t [aw] t [ew | t [ot 10 s69 | 490 | 100g] 1025] 1146] 1199} 1230] 1259] 819 833] 996) 914] gna) 985 1" ego { 593 | 1224] 1242] 1352] 1380] 1490] 1518] 995 | 10,12 | toga] 11,11) Mas] 1198 12 e20 | 705 | 1454] 1475 | 1607] 1699 | 170] 1803] 1182] 12,10 | 1908] 1320 | 1998] 14.16 3 954 | 021 | 1639] 17,18} 87,0] 1908 | 2081] 2099] 1390 1627] 1560] 1654) 16,73 44 | 1104 | 949 | 1954] 1967] 2ies] 2208 | 29n5) 24,20] 1617 1791| 1830 | i909] 19,31 45 | 1268 | 1031 | 2o45| 2283} 2486] 2537] 2140] 2790] 1945 04a | 2000; 2195] 2221 16 | 1462 | 1257 | 2588] 2632 | 2666] 29.20] 9158] 32,17 | 2004 2206 23,50 | 2491) 25,20 wz | 1635 | 1408 | 2894] 29,43 | 9005] 3270| 9532] 35,97 | 2959 2578} 25.32 | 2808] 2839 18 | 1962 | 1601 | 3295] 3351 | 3649] 3724] doz | 40.95 | 2669 2ag9| 30.00 | 3178] 32.13 19 | 258 | 1768 | 3638] 37,00] ogo] 41.11 | 4440) 45.22 | 297.1] 3030 | 3290) 3350 | 3528) 35,70 20 | 275 | 1958 | 4026] 4095 | 445.9] 4550] 4994) 50,05] 293} 33.0 | a622] 3690 | 3017] 3068 a | 29,1 | 2142 | 44g] 4404 | 4063] 4962 | 3381] 5400] 9629) asee | 3961] 4020 | 4909) 43,60 22 | 260 | 2373 | 4985] 4957 | sag] 5519 | 5961) 60,71 | 9985| 4060 | a4t,a| 45,00 | 4720) 47,76 2 | 333 | 2609 | 5369] S460 | 5045] 6066 | 6552) 6673] a15| dee | aria] 4314 | 5192) 51,98 24 | 371 | 2813 | 57a] 5897 | Batt] 6542] 75S] 71,96] 4743| 40,00 | saga] 5350 | Seqa] 57,08 25 | 2677 | 3078 | 6330] 6438 | 7010] 7153] 7725) 7568 | s128| 5290 | s670| s790 | eoaa| 61,67 26 | 320 | 3285 | e7m1| 68.75 | 7436] 7609] e250] 04,09 | s550| s6co | 6142] 6270 | e574) 66,52 z_| 40s | 3530 | 7265] 7396 | 6045] 52.09 | 668] 9030 | S863 | G08 | B5x2| 68,75 | 717] 7202 2 | 4473 | 846 | 7ou7| asi | 9766] 9945 | 9661] 9640 | 649.7) 6560 | Tiz9] 7270 | 7656) 7747 2 | 4723 | 406.2 | ga59] 2501 | 9257) 94,46 | 102041 | 103.90 | e902] 70,19 | 7546] 77.00 | 20] 8307 90 | 5084 | 4347 | 945) 90.98 | 990.6] 101,05 | a091,7| 111,19 | 7381 | 75.90 | 174] 63,40 | 9779] 8508 32 | sea7 | sort | 0013] 104,00 | 11420] 116,53 | 12585] 126,18 | 494| 05,74 | 9900] 9490 | 10028] 101,48 3¢ | e559 | 5641 | 11609] 118.06 | 128555] 131,17 | 1416,7| 14425 | 9508 | 96,69 | 10450 106,60 | 11909] 114.48 36 | 7332 | 6906 | 1297.8] 131,98 | 1497.1 | 146,65 | 1589,8| 161,31 | 10700 | 109,10 | r18s,0| 120,90 | 1262, 127,74 38 | 9233 | 7081 | 14573] 148,20 | 16137] 164,66 | 1778.4] 181,13 | 4491.0 | 121,50 | 1918.0| 13450 | 14122 142,90 go | s105 | 70,1 | s611,7| 163,90 | 1784,7| 102,11 | 1966.8 | 200,32 | 196000 | 138,00 | 1462.0] 149,10 | 15604 | 157,00 42 | 10042 | 9636 | 1777;5| 100,76 | 1968,3| 200,04 | 2169.1 | 220,99 | 14550 | 147,97 | 1611.2] 164,41 | 16674 169,63 44 | 10984 | 9446 | 1944.1] 197,71 | 21828] 219,67 | 2972.5 | 241,64 | 15960 | 162,80 | 1767.0| 100,20 | 18287] 105.75 46 | 11983 | 10906 | 21210] 215,70 | 2348,7| 239,67 | 2588,4 | 263,63 | 17480 | 170,90 | 1995,0] 197,40 | 19997| 202,65 4e_| 13172 | 11927 | gson| 237,00 | 2581.6 263,43 | 204550 | 209,77 | 1908, | 195,90 | 2114] 215,64 | 2987.0] 222,75 2930 ete Calculated aggregate breaking load ‘Winimam breaking Toad ame | ven | Woh aaa TRS 1770Nimm? | 1960.Nimm? | 1770 Nmm* |” 7960 Nimm? (180 kpfmm) | (200 kp/mm’) | (180 kplan?) | (200 kp/mm*) mm_| mm _| kom Pet t [mw] t | we] t fw] et 8 aos | 23¢ | sao] 549) s9a| 610] 472) 390] 32a] 524 9 37 | 356 | @86] 97 | 759] 775| 000] 610] 654) 678 10 aa | 440 | 646] 861 | 937| 956 | 740] 753| 920| 837 1 s72 | 526 | 92] 1029 | 1120] 1143 | 985] 900] 980] 10.00 2 688 | 633 | tia] 1239 | 1949] 137 | 1056] 1084] 1160) 1205 3 aio | 745 | 1494] 1458 | 1586] 1620 | 1258 12,76 | 1389] 14.10 4 934 | s5@ | 1653] teat | 1930] 1867 | 1446] 1471 | 160, 1s | 1074 | 988 | 1900] 19,2 | 2104) 21,47 | 1653] 1691 | 1041 16 | 120 | 1123 | 2160] 2497 | 2392] 2441 | 1890) 19.22 | 2099 7 1256 | 24n7] 2450 | 2676] 271 | ais] aust | 2042 8 +424 | 2740] 2787 | 9035] 3096 | 2398] 2498 | 2655 9 1o71_| 3023] 30,75 | aa4a| 34,16 | 2645] 2590 | 2029 2 3754 | sana] 24,92 | ara7] 39,13 | 2953] 2003 | s270 I 1926 | a705| 3768 | 41u3] A187 | ga42| 3297 | 3590 2 ats | ao7t] 4140 | 4808] as.o0 | 3562 | 36.23 | 3045 a 298 | aan} 4495 | 4895] 49,95 | 9958) 39.94 | 4239] 4371 mu 2515 | 4899) 49,21 | 5359] 85.68 | 4234] 43,06 | dong] 47.04 8 2se | s907| 5307 | 5076| 59.96 | aaa] 47.22] 5142] 5247 % 298 | s76e) 536s | 698.7] 65:17 | so47| 5132 | s5a8| 57.09 a 313 | e124] 6227 | 671] 60,19 | sa58] 5449 | $993] 60.54 2% 3403 | e547] 5658 | 7250] 7598 | S762] 5359 | 6360] 85,10 2 3671 | 7068) 7,82 | 782i] 79,00 | igo] 6285 | 6943] 69.99, 20 3068 | 7exa) 743 | 192] 06,08 | 66a] 67,76 | 7378] 75.26 3 4207 | goa s2\32 | 9963] 91,46 | 7083] 7203 | 7943] 90.09 g2 | «236 | 49s | 964g] avs | 9576] 9771 | 7567] 7695] e979] 85,50 33 | 5227 | 4sa09 | 9252) 9409 [10246 | 10455 | gom6| 92.33] 9965] 91.48 4 | 5512 | soz1 | o7s.7| 9922 | 10804 | 110,26 | 53,7] 96.82 | 945.9] 95,46 a5 | seao | sagz |10352| 10528 11463 | 116,97 | 905.6] 92,12 | 10090 102,35 6 | 6150 | 5558 | 10885] 11069 | 12053 | 122.99 | 9524] 96.96 | 10567 | 107,62 3a | eats | 6362 |1224t| 12448 | 19555 | 198,91 | 1073.1 | 108.92 | 11860 | 121,02 40 | 7626 | 7016 [sos] 19727 |1soqz | 15252 |ae1s | 126,11 | r9078 | 193.46 42 | e449 | 7773 [14964] 152,07 |18559 | 168,97 | 1308; | 133,05 | raaga | 147,85 44 | 9234 | 8455 | 16944] 165,21 [18099 | 9468 | 149qt | 145,44 | 1589.7 | 161,60 46 | 10051 | 9247 |az79.1| 180.92 | 1970 | 201,03 1856,7 | 158,31 | 1723.8 | 175,90 48 | 10930 | 10056 |1ga4| 196,74 |21423| 21860 | 16928 | 172.15 | 19745 | 191.27 50 | 1195, | 10994 | 2195.1] 215,00 |2a4aa | 200,99 | 1950,7 | 188.21 | 2049.4 | 200,12 52 | 19002 | 11962 | 2901.4] 23406 | 25484 | 26008 | 20137 | 204,78 | 2999.9 | 227,54 54 | 14046 | 12922 | 2486.1 | 252.82 |27529 | 200.91 | 2175.9 | 221.22 | 2408.8 | 245,00 56 | 18140 | 13928 | 2679.7] 272.51 | 2967.4 | 302,79 | 2048.8 | 290.45 | 2596.5 | 264,94 s8- | 16199 | 14903 | 2867.3) 291,59 |3175,1 | 323,99 | 2508.9 | 255,14 | 2778.2 | 283,49 60 | 17222 | 15844 | 30442] 30o,99 |39754| 244,49 | 2621.5 266,59 | 2002.9 | 206.21 62 | 1198 | 17018 |serd2| 332,97 | 36056 | 369.96 | 26158 | 206,95 | 31180 | 318.17 64 | 19709 | 18132 |34885] 25476 |3963.0| 04,18 |g000.1 | 305,10 | 3022.7 | 00.99 66 | 21011 | 19330 |srige| 37e1o |ar1a.t | 420.22 | 31993 | 325,25 | 25416 | 361,39 68 | zsi7 | 2053.2 [99601 401,70 |4ara.s | 446.34 | 3057.6 | 941,45 [37180 | 370,30 7 | 2se14 | 21725 |atra7| 425,05 |4sona | 472,28 | 3550.7 | 961,20 | 99941 | ac1.a4 ma _-{ 24936 | 2294,1 | 44197] a4e,as |4se7s | 498,73 |3751,7 | 381,53 | 41544 | 423.92Acknowledgement The authors and the publisher are pleased to acknowledge the valuable help received from Mr. M. J. McEntee, C. Eng., F. 1. Mech. E., F. I. Plant E., H. M. Principal Specialist Inspector (Engineering). Readers Comments For reasons of space, this booklet can only deal with general aspects of wire rope inspection and examination. However, the publisher and the authors are always pleased to give their opinions on specific problems. For future editions of this booklet, the authors look forward to re- ceiving readers’ suggestions for iniprovements or general comments. ‘These should be addressed to: Wire Rope Technology Dipl.-Ing. Roland Verreet Griinenthaler StraBe 40a D- 52072 Aachen Germany Telephone +49 241 - 17 31 47 Fax +49241- 12982 or $$ William Lindsay Wire Rope Consultancy 10 Poplar Drive Lenzie Glasgow, G66 4DN UK Telephone 041-776 1696 31