AN INTRODUCTION TO WIRE ROPE

Wire rope is metal in its strongest form. It consists of a group of strands laid helically around a
core. The strands of a wire rope, or cable, consist of a number of individual wires laid about a
central wire.The terms wire rope and cable are used interchangeably. There is some tendency
to use the term wire rope for sizes in. and larger and cable for the smaller sizes. But this is
not uniform practice and either name is correct.
Wire rope is versatile. It can be used to transmit motion through almost any plane or angle, to guy
or tie down, to hold back, launch or control; to counterbalance; to guide or to lift; or to do
hundreds of other jobs. It has a long life and needs little or no maintenance.
Most people do not think of wire rope as a machine, but it is. It is a machine composed of a
number of precise, moving partsall designed to bear a very definite relation to one another. In
fact, some wire ropes contain more moving parts than many complicated mechanisms. A six-
strand rope consisting of 49 wires per strand, laid around an independent wire rope core, contains
a total of 343 individual wires. All of these must be able to blend and move with respect to one
another if the rope is to have the flexibility necessary for successful operation.
BASIC TYPES OF WIRE ROPE
1. Bright wire. Most ropes are made with an uncoated (bright) wire that is manufactured
from high-carbon steel. The chemistry of the steel used and the practice involved in
drawing the wire are varied to supply the ultimate combination of tensile strength, fatigue
resistance, and wear resistance in the finished rope.
2-Galvanized wire. This is often used to improve corrosion resistance of wire ropes. Possible
methods of manufacturing:
Galvanized to finished size wire is first drawn as a bright wire to a predetermined size
thats smaller than the required finished wire size. This wire is then run through the
galvanizing line, and the resultant coating of zinc increases the wire diameter to the
finished size. Galvanized to finished size wire has a strength 10% lower than the same size
and type of bright wire. Ropes made from this wire therefore have a minimum breaking
force thats 10% lower than the equivalent size and grade of bright rope.
Drawn galvanized wire is galvanized before the final drawing to finished size. Since the
galvanized coating also goes through the drawing process, it is much thinner than the
coating on galvanized to finished size wire. Drawn galvanized wires are equal in strength
to the same size and type of bright wire and drawn galvanized rope is equal in strength to
the same size and grade of bright rope.
3-Galvanized aircraft wire. A galvanized wire that has higher tensile strength and fatigue
resistance. Its primary usage is in aircraft control cables.
4-Stainless steel wire. This is a special alloy containing approximately 18% chromium and 8%
nickel. It has high resistance to many corrosive conditions and is used extensively in yachting
ropes and control cables
ROPE MATERIALS
Wire rope, with but few exceptions, is made from cold drawn carbon steel wires. There have been
many different strength grades of rope made. Some are listed below in the order of increasing
strengths:
Iron (actually low carbon steel)
Traction steel
Mild plow steel
Plow steel
Improved plow steel
Extra improved plow steel
The bulk of commercial wire rope is made from Improved Plow Steel (IPS), a high-carbon steel
with a tensile strength of about 260,000 psi. IPS is about 15% stronger than plow steel, which got
its name from the original high-carbon crucible furnace steel used to produce plowshares.
An even higher grade is Extra Improved Plow Steel, which is 15% stronger than IPS. Various
manufacturers have their own name for this grade. It was developed for applications needing
greater safety factors without a diameter increase, such as rotary oil well drillingand for
maximum resistance to abrasive wear, such as draglines in strip mining through rocky terrain. This
premium grade has tensile strength ranging from 280,000 to 340,000 psi. Each of these grades are
usually furnished in bright or self-colored condition, which means that no special metallic or
chemical coating has been applied, except for lubrication.
If operating conditions necessitate greater resistance to corrosion than that provided by the usual
bright carbon steel wires, galvanized wires can be used. The resulting wire ropes usually have
listed strengths 10% less than corresponding types of bright carbon steel rope. Usually the grease
applied to a rope at the point of final twist during manufacture is sufficient to lubricate the rope
against internal abrasion and to protect it against normal oxidation.
Two other grades are iron and traction. Iron is a misnomer; it is a low carbon steel wire of about
100,000 psivery ductile and able to undergo repeated bending stresses around small sheaves.
Although largely replaced by traction, it still remains effective for guys, tillers and sash ropes.
Traction steel gets its name from the traction type elevators on which it has found widespread
acceptance as a hoisting rope. Its tensile strength ranges from 180,000 to 190,000 psi. Its high
resistance to bending fatigue and minimum abrasive force on sheaves and drums are both of
extreme importance for long life in elevator service.

The grades mention above are the important grades used for construction, mining and industrial
equipment. However there are other materials available, such as galvanized aircraft cable and
stainless steel aircraft cable, both of which are for specialized applications. Some bronze ropes are
also available for marine use, and monel metal has occasionally been used for corrosion resistance.
PARTS
GENERAL.
Wire rope is composed of three parts:
WIRES THAT FORM THE STRAND
MULTI-WIRE STRANDS: Laid helically around a core
THE CORE




The basic unit is the wire. A predetermined number of wires of proper size are fabricated in a
uniform geometric arrangement of definite pitch or lay to form a strand of required diameter. The
required number of strands are then laid together symmetrically around a core to form the rope.
CORE TYPE.
In general, wire rope cores are of three types:
Fiber
Wire strand
Independent wire rope
Each type of core serves the basic purpose of affording support to the strands laid around it.

FIBRE CORE (FC)


Adequate for many types of service providing maximum flexibility and elasticity to the wire rope.
Made of hard fibres, usually sisal or manila, most often used today is polypropylene. These latter
cores are useful where conditions surrounding rope use could result in premature failure of natural
fibre cores. Sisal and manila fibre cores are impregnated during the cordage process with a
suitable lubricant having preservative properties. Fiber Core provides excellent flexibility

INDEPENDENT WIRE ROPE CORE (IWRC)


Consists of a 6 x 7 strand steel wire rope with a 7 wire wagge strand. This core finds greatest
use where ropes are subjected to severe pressure while running over sheaves or winding onto
drums. This type of core should be used when a rope operates in temperatures damaging to
natural or man-made fibres. It provides additional strength and less stretch. IWRC (independent
Wire Rope Core) provides good crush resistance and increased strength

STEEL STRAND CORE (WSC)


Consists of a strand of steel wires, nominally 7, 19 or 37 in numbers. It is used occasionally in
running rope of smaller diameters rather than IWRC. It may also be used in stranding ropes,
guys, suspender ropes, etc. Where extra strength, reduced stretch and maximum resistance to
weathering are required.


CORE MATERIAL.
Wire-rope cores are made of fiber, cotton, asbestos, polyvinyl plastic or wire.
Manila or sisal fiber (F.C.) is the type of core often used when loads are not too great. It supports
strands in their relative positions and cushions the wires to prevent their nicking each other.
Cotton fiber is used for small ropes such as sash cord and aircraft cord.
Asbestos cores can be furnished for certain operations where the ripe is used in oven operations.
Wire cores are made in two different forms.
The one used most extensively is a wire rope of suitable size to serve as a core. It is called as
independent wire rope core (IWRC).
The other type of wire core is a wire strand structure (WSC or SC). This consists of a multiple-
wire strand, and may be the same construction as the main rope strands.
Plastic cores include the four following general types:
Polypropylene cores, made up of a multiplicity of synthetic filaments extruded from a
petrochemical resin. These are similar in physical construction to fiber cores.
Plastic impregnated fibre cores are sisal fiber cores impregnated with polyvinyl chloride (PVC).
Solid plastic cores are rods of PVC plastic.
Plastic covered fibre cores have PVC extruded to a specific thickness around the core.
Fiber cores look like an ordinary hemp fiber rope. But in construction and lubrication they will
differ somewhat. Because of its wearing qualities and resiliency this core was for years the most
popular center. But wire cores offer less stretch, have better resistance to heavy crushing loads and
are not affected by heat.
The IWRC type has about the same flexibility as the fiber core rope and can be used
interchangeably without changing sheaves or drums. It increases the rope strength by at least
7.5%.
CHOICE OF CORE.
Fiber cores are adequate for most types of service. Not only do they provide the necessary
foundation, but they also add to the pliability of a wire rope. There are some installations,
however, where conditions are such that a fiber core is inadequate; in these cases a wire strand or
independent wire rope core is used. For service where high operating pressures are encountered,
where resistance to heat, additional strength, or minimum stretch is a prerequisite, either a strand
core or an independent wire rope core is used.
WIRE ROPE ASSEMBLIES
Wire rope become assembly when its ends are altered by some form of splice, or by addition of
fittings. They may be used for operating controls, as a part of machinery and equipment, or for
slings and hoists.
Hand-spliced endings have largely been replaced by other methods of end fitting. Because the
splice efficiency depends entirely upon the skill of the person doing the splicing, this type does not
consistently produce the ropes full strength. Under a tension load the splice may part at a stress
lower than the ropes rated strength and surely less than the actual strength of the rope
Zinced endings: There are three types of zinced endings: A cone is formed from molten zinc
poured into a mold in which a frayed rope end has been inserted; sometimes a ferrule is used as
mold and stays on after pouring the zinc; or sockets are used instead of the ferrule. An open socket
has ears to hold a pin and cotter. A closed socket has a loop or bail. Both are heavy forgings and
find widespread use.
All three zinced on endings need a good deal of preparation. The ropes end must be broomed out,
cleaned with acid and straightened.
Special endings: such as thimbles, clips, and clamps are quicker and easier to apply than a zinc
socket, but efficiency is not as high as with other attachments. These are filed attachments and
inspection is necessary during service to make sure the nuts on the clips remain tight and provide
proper holding power. Clips are U-shaped bolts with a grooved base and nuts to tighten-these and
other grooved devices fit around a rope to form loops, or to provide endings similar to zinced
sockets. In some cases, special thimbles and bolted clamps are used instead of clips.
Mechanical endings: A mechanical splice consists of a loop in the end of a rope and a sleeve
pressed on the rope at the base of the loop to hold the end of the strands in place.
Swaged endings: Swaging is the cold-flowing, under pressure, of metal fittings into the rope body,
between strand sand wires. This pressure, applied by press or by rotary waggers, elongates the
fitting but forces its metal inward so that the bond becomes permanent and compact, yet as strong
as the breaking strength of the rope.
Wire rope slings-Safety is of paramount importance in any wire rope sling. It is important to
remember, where a sling with two or more legs is involved, that consideration must be given to the
fact that the stress in a sling varies with the angle at which the legs are used.
Some of the simpler sling arrangements, or hitches as they are called, are listed below. Space does
not permit a fuller discussion of slings, particularly multiple-leg types, in this issue.
Normally, 6x19 class wire rope is recommended where a diameter in the to 1-1/8 in. range is to
be used, and 6x37 class wire rope where a diameter in the 1-1/4 and larger range is to be used. In
some cases the 6x19 class may be used even in the larger sizes if resistance to abrasion is of
primary importance, and the 6x37 class in the smaller sizes if greater flexibility is desired.

Straight lift hitch is a straight connector between crane hook and load.
Basket hitch may be used with two hooks so that the sides are vertical, or with a single hook with
sides at various angles.
Choker hitch is widely used for lifting bundles of items such as bars, poles and pipe. The choker
hitch holds these items firmly but the load must be balanced so that it rides safely.
Many slings are constructed by braiding several individual wire ropes together.


REFERENCES

www.thomasregister.com
www.mainco.co.uk
www.jhenryholland.com
www.usace.army.mil/publications/eng-manuals/em1110-2-3200/c-5.pdf