TECH TIPS: LOAD MEASUREMENT

WHY MEASUREMENT DEVICES ARE FLAWED

Brugg Wire Rope, LLC

Why equalizing hoist rope tensions is so tough to to perform and why most rope tension measurement devices are of little practical use at all.
Let us consider a little matter called constructional stretch.
Over the years industry professionals have sometimes chosen to avoid performing the basic maintenance routine of rope load equalization altogether. This happens for many reasons : the prohibitive expense of having a professional crew correctly perform this tedious, exacting task; the time it requires to rst adjust each rope initially, compounded with the amount of time it requires to make sure that all the ropes maintain a certain degree of equalization with each other; the lack of accuracy inherent in all available tension measurement devices; and a failure to understand how other installation components and related basic factors can impact the results of the equalization process, and in fact make even achieving load equalization impossible. Indeed one of the basic factors that are frequently overlooked in load equalization is constructional stretch of the ropes. Simply put, constructional stretch is the natural reaction of any helically constructed set of wires and strands in a hoist rope whenever a load is applied. Loading creates a constrictive reaction that compresses the rope's core (bringing all elements of the rope closer and reducing the diameter), which in turn leads to a lengthening of the hoist rope (elongation). Though a basic range of constructional stretch can be mathematically derived (calculated as a percentage of stretch per amount of rope length), the precise amount of stretch one can expect to encounter in a certain rope, and how long it will take to completely stabilize the nal rope length can be difcult (if not impossible) to predict. This can be attributed to the variety of ropes produced and numerous factors including: the type of core used; rope design; lay length; grade or grades of steel used; and the amount of preforming present in the rope. Other factors affecting constructional stretch include: type of installation; rope length; acceleration/deceleration; groove prole; load factors in reference to the MBL; twisting of ropes during installation; and whether the ropes were equally tensioned upon installation. Critically however, there is no industry wide, accepted standard that mandates exactly how the rope themselves are to be hung (though guidelines certainly exist as to safety standards and what constitutes acceptable results, actual technique is open to interpretation). One nds that the entire installation/re-roping process is often driven by expediency, convenience and protability, as much as logic and best practices. This means that when hoist ropes arrive on-site they are seldom hung as a group simultaneously. This inequity means that all the ropes are never allowed an equal amount of time and load to stretch naturally as a group, in order to compensate for constructional stretch. For instance, if a crew were to hang three ropes and then install the remaining ropes another day, despite even their best efforts in taking up the ropes, so they all had the same length, they would nd differences in rope lengthand rope tension in a very short amount of time. And this difference can contribute to a reduction in system performance, accelerated rope wear and the eventual degradation of the sheave itself. Ideally Brugg recommends that an installer suspend car and ropes, allowing time to reach and equally distribute constructional stretch additionally, and then equalize all the ropes accurately with the provision that a maintenance person will accurately equalize the ropes again three to six months later. Not only will this result in an increase in system performance by reducing constructional stretch as a factor for consideration in rope tension inequality but it will allow each set of hoist ropes to attain its maximum amount of life expectancy as well. Additionally such measures will greatly reduce wear and tear on the sheave, ride quality will improve noticeably, and one would see a dramatic reduction in overall maintenance costs and breakdown incidents which means less system downtime.

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Why devices measuring rope tension arent what they are cracked up to be.
Clearly, any tool that would gauge rope tensioning with accuracy would be useful to any industry professionals. And the most reliable, simple and efcient way would be to use a tool that measures rope loads (the amount of pressure on a rope) directly. Unfortunately, most tensioning measurement devices measure loads in a rather circuitous fashion. First one applies a certain amount of force (or pressure) to deect a host rope a certain distance, and that amount of deection is then measured. Utilizing both the amount of pressure applied, and the amount of deection measured, the device then calculates the amount of load that is present on the rope. Provided the user applies the device correctly, the input data derived is accurate (which sometimes is dependent upon where the measurements are taken), and the formulas used in the process are implemented correctly, one might be able to create a set of readings that one could use as a basis for comparison. However that is counting on a lot. Nevertheless creating a gauge to measure rope tension is a far different (and simpler) thing than saying that such a device can be used to actually tension

1. Shackle/Wedge Socket 2. Hitch Plate 3. Hoist Rope 4. Car Sheave 5. Counterweight Sheave 6. Shackle/Wedge Socket (CWT side) (image obscured by Drive Sheave) 7. Drive Sheave

Phone (US): 1.706.235.6315 Toll free: 866.54BRUGG (542.7844) Fax: 1.706.235.6035 info: elevatorrope@brugg.com www.bruggrope.com Telfono (E.U.): 1.706.235.6315 Llamada gratuita: 866.54BRUGG (542.7844) Fax: 1.706.235.6035 info: elevatorrope@brugg.com www.bruggrope.com

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Image 1: A standard 2:1 elevator presents many areas that make accurate load measurement especially challenging.

TECH TIPS: LOAD MEASUREMENT

WHY MEASUREMENT DEVICES ARE FLAWED

the ropes themselves (actually they cant tension the ropes, the mechanic must tune themhardly a small distinction). And when multiple hoist ropes are involved, any degree of error in the process of measurement is compounded in the nal result. Indeed simply being able to ascertain loads (even if the measurements were accurate) is no guarantee that one could use such measurements to achieve equalization at allunless one were somehow also able to manipulate all the loads on all the ropes in a system simultaneously and automatically. And that is simply not what measurement devices are meant to do. In the nal analysis, load measurement devices can be thought of at best as passive indicators that reveal rope tensions without actually doing anything at all in regards to equalization. Until recently every load equalization method available to the professional today used a tensioning measurement device in much the same way (and we include our own RPM: Rope Performance Measurement device as wellSee Image 2). Often crews would use as many as two men in an involved back-and-forth manner to adjust shackle nuts, then measure rope tensions (often in more than one place, especially in 2:1 arrangement: See Drawing 1) and then communicate their ndings, so the nuts could be readjusted again. In addition to the length of time the procedure took, their efforts were not made any easier by the very accuracy of the measurement devices themselves. Though many manufacturers like to tout the accuracy of their devices, ranging anywhere from 2 - 8%, this fails to address the very real possibility that the workers nal actual measurement could actually be between 4-16% off. Some manufacturers were inclined to blame the user for any failure in achieving equalization with their tensioning device. Actually there is a degree of truth to this. However we think it unfair to place the major share of fault on the shoulders of professional crews. Especially since the equalization process, when done correctly, is so tedious, labor intensive and complex. Small wonder then that maintenance professionals have avoided the process entirely, or due to the inaccuracy of the measuring instrument itself, are willing to accept something that is less than true rope load equalization.

evolve (from plastic devices to laptop displays) the essential principle remains the same. Unfortunately this process relies on a few assumptions. Due to practical concerns these devices cannot offer the user the degree of sensitivity necessary to precisely measure rope diameters. And they don't alert the user if a measurement was taken from the peaks or valleys of a rope, creating a degree of error in itself. These devices can only provide measurements that are within a certain range

Image 2: Brugg RPM (Rope Performance Measurement) device was an early answer to hoist rope measurement. But as with all other devices suffers from an inherent inaccuracy due to a awed premise for measurement. of precision (or a variable degree of imprecision if you will), and all measurements are taken perpendicular to the ropes axis. This means that the measurements input are not in line with the actual load itselftheyre perpendicular (90) to the direction of the load. In addition such devices cannot exactly account for the many different cross sections of hoist ropes that are in existence. To increase utility (while at the same time limiting precision) some devices utilize a simple, arbitrary factor in their calculations to allow them to quickly create readings that may be applied to ber or steel core ropes. Measurement devices cannot yet account for the presence of rope wear in their diameter readings. Nor can they accurately factor into their calculations for the impact of rope lubrication. And this is not an insignicant factor as rope lubrication affects the amount of friction within the ropes wires, which impacts the overall accuracy of the deection measurement itself. Indeed the deection method inducing a bend in the rope, affects the accuracy of the results itself. There is even a degree of variation apparent

depending upon where the actual measurement is taken in an installation. For instance, due to the friction imparted between various elements in a system, tensions can slightly vary between the car and the shackles, or the car and the main drive sheave. Certainly an elevator system is, in theory at least, a balanced arrangement where one force is perfectly countered by another. But in reality the movement of the ropes themselves is inhibited by the many components it interacts with. Since most of the devices used to measure rope tensions state that one need only measure tensions in one area of a system to acquire a satisfactory idea of rope tensions (which one then uses to tune the rope throughout an entire installation), one can see that this indirect method of measurement is in essence not a true scale for accurate measurement of tensions but is nothing more than a sampling of obtained data that one uses to formulate a good guess of tensions. When one looks at all the sources of error that are inherent in a measurement device based upon simple deection one sees its aws more clearly. Certainly it yields an eye-catching tool. But for load equalization it offers a solution that is only somewhat better than inaccuratewhich, in effect, makes the entire idea less than adequate for the job. Some will argue that achieving perfect equalization cannot be achieved. Indeed national and international boards are only now working on dening what equal tension actually means. And decisions by such bodies will largely be conned to how the matter impacts safety. System performance and rope life issues are, on the whole, of low priority to them. And even if experts can actually nd a range of unequal rope tension that they qualify as acceptable, it will be hard to verify when one is within this range due to the very aws in the measurement tool itself.

The advantage that RLE offers

Clearly if the entire concept of a device to actually measure rope tensions with a high degree of accuracy is impossible, and using an inaccurate device to attain an absolute degree of equalization is untenable, then clearly another solution had to be found. Rope load equalization clearly offers too many advantages in ride comfort, system performance, benets in rope life expectancy and in avoiding expensive sheave and component wear to simply settle for half measures. This is why in late 2009, Brugg Wire Rope, LLC released Brugg RLE (Rope Load Equalization: Image 3), a hydraulic device that avoids awed measurements and tedious hand manipulation of the ropes to attain truly accurate, practically automatic load equalizations. Using a hydraulic uid pumped through an interconnected system of hoses and

Why all tensioning measurement devices are off.

As explained previously, every device available on the market today, no matter if it uses springs, wires, or a computer chip, basically works by applying a known quantity of force to deect a rope. The amount of tension is then calculated after basic details such as amount of deection, rope diameter and rope type are input. Though the form of the device may change and

Phone (US): 1.706.235.6315 Toll free: 866.54BRUGG (542.7844) Fax: 1.706.235.6035 info: elevatorrope@brugg.com www.bruggrope.com Telfono (E.U.): 1.706.235.6315 Llamada gratuita: 866.54BRUGG (542.7844) Fax: 1.706.235.6035 info: elevatorrope@brugg.com www.bruggrope.com

TECH TIPS: LOAD MEASUREMENT

WHY MEASUREMENT DEVICES ARE FLAWED
Brugg Wire Rope, LLC

Image 3: Brugg RLE (Rope Load Equalizer) is the industry's only patented hydraulics-based device that allows one man to equally tension all the ropes in a set at the same time in under 30 minutes. For more details see review the RLE Manual (in English or Spanish) in our online Pressroom section or our Catalog. cylinders, one pressurizes all the cylinders at the same time, which tensions all the ropes on the shackles simultaneously. This means it is now possible for one man to achieve perfect rope load equalization quickly in only minutes. RLE offers a degree of unmatched accuracy that is so exact that even the most sophisticated measuring device available on the market today cannot match it in results (especially when that device is part of an effort to modify rope tensions by hand), nor can those devices even verify RLE's accuracy due to the inherent limits they face in their own precision. As we stated previously, Brugg RLE is based upon basic hydraulic principles. Simply put, when a uid is introduced into a closed system, any pressure or weight when applied to one segment of a system will be distributed equally to all parts of that system. And since the cylinders of RLE are attached to rope end terminations (see area 1 (Car Side Hitchplate) and area 6 (Counterweight Side Hitchplate) in Image 1), the pull force provided by the cylinders equalizes the tensions of all the ropes and all at the same time. This force is exerted directly and in line with the axis of the load carried. As you review RLE's Standard User Manual you come to better understand how load equalization is assured and how this method is superior to other methods that ask you to individually tune each rope using an inherently inaccurate measurement device and direct manual manipulation of a segment of the ropes (in essence, tuning them as you would piano strings, but with a wrench). One note: while RLE makes the equalization of rope tensions fast and easy to perform, maintaining equalization requires vigilance, good maintenance technique, and above all, equal groove depths within the drive sheave itself. Even small sheave groove variations will inevitably create different rope pitch diameters, which can quickly lead to discrepancies in rope travel distances. And this creates unequal rope tensions (which leads to shortened rope life) once again. A simple way to accurately measure groove depth within the sheave itself is by using Brugg GDC (Groove Depth Comparator). Should groove depth variations be detected, the only effective way to maintain rope equalization may be to either to re-machine or replace the sheave (neither option being a cheap proposition).

The future is here

Naturally there will always be a certain amount of resistance to new ideas. Indeed we expect competitors to create newer methods of measuring tensions and some even attempt to match Brugg RLE's idea of using cylinders and hydraulic pressure to equalize rope loads after all, imitation is the sincerest form of attery. However if you understand the advantages that equalization offers to system performance, recognize the benets that it provides for increased rope life, and understand how it can save expensive wear and tear on sheaves and surrounding components, then the advantages of Brugg RLE will be readily apparent to you.

Image 3: Brugg GDC (Groove Depth Comparator) allows professionals to quickly measure and compare sheave groove variations within the sheave itself.

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Phone (US): 1.706.235.6315 Toll free: 866.54BRUGG (542.7844) Fax: 1.706.235.6035 info: elevatorrope@brugg.com www.bruggrope.com Telfono (E.U.): 1.706.235.6315 Llamada gratuita: 866.54BRUGG (542.7844) Fax: 1.706.235.6035 info: elevatorrope@brugg.com www.bruggrope.com

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For further questions on this or other topics concerning hoist ropes review our website at www.bruggrope.com or contact your Brugg Lifting representative. This article appeared in Elevator World in 2012.