TECH TIPS: SHEAVES AND
Tech GROOVES
Tips: Sheaves
greater specific pressures within the sheave itself—which
can lead to accelerated wear of the sheave, wire fatigue
and hoist rope breakage. Indeed such wear can be
very significant as analyses performed using Brugg RLP
(Rope Life Prediction an online application based on the
works of Dr. Klaus Feyrer of the University of Stuttgart)
reveal that an undercut of 75°can reduce rope life by
60%, while an undercut of 105°reduce rope life by as
much as 93.4%. Clearly, the increase in traction provided
by undercuts are balanced by a significant trade-off in
reduced rope life.
V-Groove/Undercut V-Groove
Drive Sheave with Undercut
U-Grooves for four ropes Both V and Undercut V-Groove (also known as
the Progressive V-Groove) designs offer even greater
amounts of traction to installation designers. However
this design also creates higher specific pressures within
the groove, and stresses and distorts the hoist rope.
Naturally this negatively impacts rope life expectancy.
γ 32°- 40°
D D F F
In contrast to the Round or U-Groove, the V-Groove's degree
V-Groove Undercut V-Groove of undercut dramatically increases specific pressures placed
on the hoist rope and creates specific areas of contact that
can be identified by pronounced crown wear on the surface
of outer wires.
The angle for a V-Groove is usually 30° but can go as
high as 38°, while an Undercut-V may range between
32-45° (measured as the included angle of both sides
of the groove). V-Grooves are often used for installations
of speeds up to 157.5 ft/m and higher (or less than or
equal to 0.8 m/s), while Undercut V-Grooves are more
commonly used with slower speed elevators carrying
heavier loads. Using Brugg RLP (Rope Life Prediction),
studies show that an Undercut V-Groove featuring an
Drive Sheave with Undercut
undercut of 35° can shorten rope life by as much as
V-Grooves for four ropes
94.6%, while a 45°undercut can decrease rope life by
75%.
Brugg Lifting • Rome, GA USA • 866.542.7844 • www.bruggrope.com • Brugg Lifting • Birr CH • +41 56 464 42 42 • www.brugglifting.com
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Sheaves & Grooves
BACKGROUND
The Positioning of the Secondary
Sheave Has A Critical Impact on
Sheave Wear and Rope Life
Modern elevator designers are constantly working to
create installations that use floorspace more efficiently.
These compact designs frequently utilize less massive
components, more challenging groove profiles, and often
demand the close placement of secondary, deflector
sheaves and primary sheave. This necessitates the
implementation of complex roping arrangements and
the use of multiple sets of sheaves.
Such conditions often compromise rope performance
dramatically by increasing the number of rope bending
cycles and creating improper fleet angles. This in turn
leads to greater system operating stresses, which
can negatively impact sheave surface wear, rope
performance and hoist rope life expectancy.
Bending Cycles
Many professionals fail to appreciate that hoist ropes
are not single static pieces of wire but are carefully
crafted machines bearing a surprising number of moving
parts.
Each rope is made up of strands of wire. These are
composed of bundled collections of smaller wires that
are helically wound together. Each rope must work in
harmony with the surrounding equipment. To illustrate
the complexity of the matter, consider that a single 8
x 19 Seale hoist rope is basically composed of 152
parts (8 strands, 19 wires per strand). All these parts are
composed of soft steel that must be strong, relatively
lightweight and flexible — which poses a real engineering
challenge. In addition, bear in mind that hoist ropes are
constantly in motion; bending over a sheave (frequently
multiple sheaves), adjusting to stresses and then
straightening out again. And this process is carried on
often for millions of cycles.
It should come as no surprise that this exponential
rise in bending cycles has resulted in a corresponding
increase in elevator breakdowns and decrease in rope
life expectancy.
To address this fact some manufacturers have
developed new rope designs and are using advanced,
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