IDEA IDEA – WORK STANDARD – DIN 15061 Page : 1

Industrial Designer & Date : 05-Oct-09

Rope drum
Engineer Association

1. GENERAL
The rope drum has the function to move the wire rope, to take up the tensile force on the wire rope and to
store the whole rope length. When a wire rope is spooled to a drum, each wire of the rope is subject to a
bending moment. The bending moment increases with a smaller drum diameter, thus resulting in a quicker
fatigue and easy breakage of each wire. The wire rope deteriorates quickly because of the deformation, the
internal friction due to irregular bending and the increasing contact pressure with the drum. The ratio
between rope diameter and drum diameter influences largely the service life of the wire rope and therefore
it should not less than the recommended value in this standard.

1.1. Dimensions on drum

1.1.1. Groove profile for rope drum
d = rope diameter in mm
r = groove radius in mm
Δr = maximum allowable deviation of radius, depending on the rope diameter
s = pitch of groove in mm
h = height of groove in mm, h > 0,375 . d due to rope exit. ( Seil sprung )
r2 = edge radius in mm, r2 is valid for h < 0,4 . d

s
50º

h r2
d r
t
D
130º

The minimum recommended value is : r = 0,53.d and groove hardness of 35 - 42 HRc. The groove
profile may have allowable deviations depending on rope diameter. See attachment DIN 15 061 bellow.

1.1.2. Diameter of drum

The diameter of drums, sheaves, and compensating sheaves is determined as follows :
D > h1 . d

D = drum diameters in mm, measured between rope centers.

d = minimum rope diameter in mm
h1 = coefficient which varies depending on whether a drum considered and takes into account the
group of mechanism. The value h1 can be taken from attached DIN 15 020.
Under one and the same rope pull S, ropes having a diameter of up to 1,25 times the calculated diameter d
may be provided without affecting their life if the rope reeving components have the diameter D
calculated as above.

1.1.3. Thickness of drum

The thickness of a drum is calculated based on the assumption that the drum is a thick-wall, open cylinder,
which is loaded by an outer pressure.
 IDEA IDEA – WORK STANDARD – DIN 15061 Page : 2
Industrial Designer & Date : 05-Oct-09
Rope drum
Engineer Association

pa

R dϕ

da
di
S S
σt

da = D - 2.r = effective outer drum diameter

di = da - 2.t = effective inner drum diameter
R = 0,5 . da = radius of drum
s = pitch of groove
pa = outer pressure
S = rope force

Vertical component of drum force : dF = R . dϕ . s . pa . sin ϕ

= R . s . pa . sin ϕ . dϕ
π
F = 2.S = R . s . pa . ∫ sin ϕ . dϕ = R . s . pa . [ cos ϕ ]π = da . s . pa
0
0
2 .S
Hence, outer pressure pa =
da . s
da da
The critical point of stress lies in the inner side of the cylinder. With η = =
di da - 2.t
η2 4.S da 2 4.S da 2
Tangential stress σt = 2 . pa . = . = .
η2 - 1 da . s da 2 - di 2 da . s 2 . t . 2 . ( da - t )
S da da
= . Æ If t << da, than ~ 1 Æ
s . t ( da - t ) ( da - t )
S
σt = , which is known as H. Ernst formula.
s.t
In order to anticipate the buckling stress due to the compressive stress, the allowable stress is taken
S da
σa,all = 12 kN / cm2 Æ σt = . < 12 kN / cm2
s . t ( da - t )

H. Ernst has developed empirical calculation, which has been being proven for decades. The
disadvantages of Ernst calculation method are :
• The strength of material is not fully utilized.
• Material, wire rope and drum parameters are implicitly considered as constant factor, the changes of
parameter cannot be involved.
• Multi layer drum cannot be calculated using the Ernst method.
There is also alternative calculation introduced by Payer, who calculates the stress of a rope drum based
on shell theory. The thickness of rope drum is calculated as follow :
S
t = . ϕd . ϕr . ϕE . ϕκ . ϕs
d . σall
Where : S = maximum rope force in N
 IDEA IDEA – WORK STANDARD – DIN 15061 Page : 3
Industrial Designer & Date : 05-Oct-09
Rope drum
Engineer Association

d = rope diameter in mm
σall = allowable stress in N / mm2
 IDEA IDEA – WORK STANDARD – DIN 15061 Page : 4
Industrial Designer & Date : 05-Oct-09
Rope drum
Engineer Association

Convention from the table :

dt / ds = h1 ; s = pitch of groove

For reference, the following values can be used for pre-calculation purpose.
• σall for welded drum in N / mm2, NDT tested
St 37 and equivalent St 52 and equivalent
Fluctuating load, N < 2 . 106 136,4 139
Alternating load, N > 2 . 106 113,7 115,8

• ϕd = 0,9 + 0,001 . ( h1 - 15 )

• ϕr depends on the calculated thickness of drum. Therefore, the drum thickness should be estimated
first and a calculation check must be done afterwards. ϕr is function of h1 and the ratio h / t.

• ϕE is almost independent from h1 for single layer drum.

For E < 100 000 N / mm2 : ϕe = 1,025
E = 100 000 N / mm 2
: ϕe = 1,0
E > 100 000 N / mm2 : ϕe = 0,974

• The today winches and hoist are using the wire rope with the filling factor κ > 0,6, so the factor ϕκ
can be estimated as ϕκ = 0,97.

• The pitch factor ϕs is as follow :

s/d 1,05 1,10 1,15 1,20
ϕs 0,956 0,919 0,885 0,855

For pre-calculation purpose, calculate the drum thickness using both methods and take the bigger one.

1.1.4. Number of winding.

The effective number of rope winding depends on the length of wire rope and the drum diameter. The
drum should provide at least 3 additional winding, which must be added to the calculated effective
winding, to ensure the safe clamping of rope end on the drum. The total number of winding become :

z . H .1000
n = + 3
π.D
n = the total number of rope winding
z = the number of rope reeving
f = number of rope exit from drum
H = lifting height in m
D = drum diameter in mm

1.1.5. Fleet angle

The fleet angle calculation is to check that the wire rope does not spring out of its groove during the
operation. Due to the lifting of load, the wire rope is bent into direction in line with pitch groove or in
opposite to the groove. The rope should not touch the neighborhood if it goes out from its position.
The rope is wound on the drum at an angle β, which is the gradient angle of the drum. The fleet angle is
limited to α1 and α2, which maximum value is taken from the table bellow.
 IDEA IDEA – WORK STANDARD – DIN 15061 Page : 5
Industrial Designer & Date : 05-Oct-09
Rope drum
Engineer Association

s
tan β =
π.D
t1 = 1000 . tan ( α1 + β )
t2 = 1000 . tan ( α2 - β )
The value t1 and t2 are depending on the ratio h1.

The maximum fleet angle is prescribed in DIN 15 020 as α1 as well as α2 = 4º for rotating rope and
1,5º for non-rotating rope. There is alternatives to keep fleet angle within the limitation :
• The fleet angle α decreases with the growing distance a between load sheave and drum.
• The maximum possible angle β + α can be reduced by shifting the sheave sideways. This
measurement is only possible with single layer drum. However the fleet angle on the sheave will
increase.
• The drum diameter can be increased to make its width becomes narrow for a given rope length. This
solution requires a higher driving torque at slower drum speed. Consequently, it will require stronger
gearbox with higher gear ratio. It can be expensive. However, the bigger drum diameter will not only
diminish α; it reduces also β considerably, because the shift of the rope on the drum can be distributed
over a wider circumference. Consequently the maximum of β + α is distinctly reduced. In additional,
the bending radius of the wire rope becomes bigger and the lifetime of the wire rope is extended.

In order to minimize the twist and stop the natural tendency of the rope to unlay, the following rules must
be observed :
• A left-hand drum must be operated with a right-hand lay rope.
• A right-hand drum must be operated with a left-hand lay rope.
 IDEA IDEA – WORK STANDARD – DIN 15061 Page : 6
Industrial Designer & Date : 05-Oct-09
Rope drum
Engineer Association

1.1.6. Possible rope reeving

1.2. Torque and power.

z.v
• The rotational speed on drum: nd =
f .π.D
nd = rotational speed of drum
z = number of rope reeving
f = number of rope fall from drum
D = drum diameter

• The torque on drum : Md = 0,5 . f . S . D

Md = torque on drum
f = number of rope fall from drum
S = rope force
D = drum diameter

• Required power on drum : Pd = 2 . π . Md . nd

Pd = required power on drum
Md = torque on drum
nd = rotational speed of drum

• Drive shaft diameter on drum : ds = 3 Sb . Md . 16

π . τall
Sb = service factor
Md = torque on drum
τall = allowable torsional shear stress