Wire Ropes

Wire ropes are extensively used in hoisting, haulage and material

handling equipment. They are also used in stationary applications
such as guy wires and stays. The advantages of wire ropes are as
follows:
I.High strength to weight ratio;
II.Silent Operation even at high velocities; and
III.Greater reliability

The constructions of the wire rope are shown in Fig. 23,3(a) and
(b). The wire rope consists of a number of strands, each strand
comprising several steel wires. The number of wires in each strand
is generally 7, 19 or 37, while the number of strands is usually six.
The individual wires are first twisted into the strand and then the
strands are twisted around a fiber or steel core
 Construction Of Wire Rope

The specification of wire ropes includes two numbers, such as 6 x

7 or 6 x 19. The first number indicates the number of strands in
the wire rope, while-the second gives the number of steel wires in
each Strand. The popular constructions of steel wire ropes are as
follows:
• 6 x 7 (6/1)
• 6 x 19 (12/6/1)
• 6 x 37 (18/12/6/1)
 Construction of wire rope Cont.
• The mechanical properties of wire ropes2 are given in Tables 23.3 and
23.4. In these tables, the nominal diameter (d) of the wire rope indicates
the diameter of the smallest circle enclosing the wire rope. The tensile
designation of wires, such as 1570 or 1770, indicates the minimum
ultimate tensile strength (in N/mm2) of the individual wires used for
making the wire rope. The central portion of the wire rope is called the
core. There are three types of cores—fibre, wire and synthetic material.
The fibre core consists of natural fibres like sisal, hemp, jute or cotton. The
fibre core is flexible and suitable for all conditions except when the rope
is subjected to severe crushing, e.g., when working under high load. The
steel core consists of another strand of fairly soft wires with lower tensile
strength. The wire core is used where the wire rope is subjected to severe
heat or crushing conditions. Plastic cores are used in special purpose wire
ropes. It can be a plastic-impregnated fibre core, plastic covered fibre core
or a solid plastic core
 Table 23.3 Breaking load and mass for 6 x 7 (6/1) construction

Approximate Minimum breaking load corresponding to

Nominal
mass tensile designation of wires of (c,N)
diameter
(mam)(Dr) (kg/I00 m)
1570 1770 1960
Fibre Steel Fibre Steel. Fibre Steel Fibre Steel
core core core core . core core core core

8 22.9 252 33 36 38 41 42 45
9 28.9 31.8 42 46 48 51 53 57
10 35.7 39.1 52 56 59 64 65 70
11 43.2 47.6 63 68 71 77 79 85
12 51.5 75 85 94
56.6 81 :91 101.

There is one more term related to the construction of wire ropes, namely, rope-lay.
The lay of the rope refers to the manner in which the wires are helically laid into
strands and the strands into the rope. If the wires in the strand are twisted in the
same direction as the strands, then the rope is called a Lang's lay rope. When the
wires in the strand are twisted in a direction opposite to that of the strands, the rope
is said to be regular-lay or ordinary-lay. The lays of wire rope are illustrated in Fig.
23.4.
 Lays of Wire Rope

(b) Lang's lay

(a) Regular lay
Fig. 23.4 Lays of Wire Rope

Regular-lay ropes are more popular than the Lang's-lay ropes. The balance resulting
from the opposite direction of twisting the strands to that of the wires is advantageous.
Regular-lay ropes offer the following advantages:
1. They have more structural stability.
2. They have more resistance to crushing and distortion.
3. They have less tendency to rotate under load.
5. They are easy in handling during installation.

In Lang's-lay ropes, the same direction of twisting results in outer wires being bent on a
larger arc of a circle. Lang's-lay ropes are difficult to handle and install. They are less
resistant to crushing and distortion. Lang's-lay ropes are likely to untwist unless both
ends are permanently fastened
Table 23.4 Breaking load and mass for 6 x 19 (12/6/1) construction wire
ropes with fibre core

Minimum breaking load corresponding to tensile designation of (kN)

Approximate Mass(kg/ 100m) 1570 1770 1960

Nominal Fiber Core Steel Core Fibre Core Steel Core Fibre core Steel core Fibre core Steel Core
diameter (dr)
(mm)

8 22.1 24.3 31 33 35 37.6 39 41.6

9 28.0 30.8 39 42 44 47.5 49 52.6
10 34.6 46 48 52 54 58.7 60 65
11 41.9 54 58 63 66 71.0 73 70.7
8
4
12 49.8 64.3 69 75 78
.
87 93.6
6
13 58.5 74.5 82 88 92 99 102 110
14 67.8 97.4 95 .102 107 115 118 127
16 88.6 123 124 133 139 150 154 166
18 112 137 156 160. 176 190 195 210
19 125 152 174 188 196 212 217 234
20 138 184 193 208 218 235 241 260
22 167 219 234 252 263 204 292 314
24 199 257 278 300 318 338 347 375
26 234 260 326 352 368 397 407 439
Guideline Procedure for the selection of Wire ropes

• In the design of rope drives, it is required to select the wire rope from the
manufacturer's catalogue. The guidelines for the selection of wire ropes
are as follows:
(i) The strength of the wire rope depends upon the tensile strength of the
individual wires.
(ii) The flexibility of the wire rope is an important consideration where
sheaves are small or where the rope makes many bends. Flexibility in
wire ropes is achieved by using a large number of small-diameter wires.
The wire rope of 6 x 7 construction consists of a few wires of relatively
large size. It is too stiff for hoisting purposes, The 6 x 19 or 6 x 37
constructions are flexible wire ropes, and are commonly used in hoists.
The 6 x 7 construction is suitable as a haulage and guy rope.
(iii) Where the wire rope is likely to drag through gritty material or across a
stationary object, abrasion resistance is the governing factor. Large-
diameter wires with 6 x 7 construction give better wear resistance.
Factor of Safety for Wire Ropes
 Stresses In Wire Ropes
• The analysis of stresses in wire rope is complicated, owing to a
number of factors. The individual wires are subjected to direct
tensile stress due to the load being raised, as well as to
bending stresses. When the wire rope passes around the
periphery of the sheave or the drum, the length of the wires
in the outer portion of the rope increases, while that in the
inner region decreases. This results in additional tensile
stresses in outer wires. The bending stresses in one of the
individual wires is given by
• σb=Mb Y y=dw
And
I 2
 Therefore, σb=Mb dw
2I
Where dw= diameter of individual wire (mm)
The elastic-curve equation is given by,

(a)

The radius of curvature r in the above equation is equal to the radius of the
sheave Therefore,
(b)

where,
D = diameter of the sheave (mm)
From expressions (a) and (b),
in the above expression, E is the modulus of elasticity of the wire.
However, the individual wires of the wire rope make a corkscrew ( curved,
twisting) figure in space, as they go around the periphery of the sheave.
This configuration is different from that of the straight circular wire
bending around the sheave. To account for this difference, the modulus of
elasticity E is replaced by the effective modulus of elasticity E, called the
modulus of elasticity of the rope. Replacing E by Er ,

In the design of wire ropes, it is convenient to convert the bending stresses into
an equivalent bending load. It is a hypothetical tensile load that would induce
the same bending stress. Equivalent bending load Pb is given by

where A is the area of the metallic cross-section in the wire rope. Table 23.7 gives
the data for representative wire ropes.
 Table 23.7 Wire Rope Data

The failure of the wire rope is mainly due to fatigue or wear, while passing
around the sheave. The bending and straightening of the rope as it passes
over the sheave results in fluctuating stresses leading to fatigue failure. The
individual wires slide on each other and over the sheave resulting in gradual
wearing of the load carrying material.
The amount of wear that occurs depends upon the pressure between the
rope and the sheave. As shown in Fig. 23.5(a), the force per unit length of the
wire rope is (pdr). Considering equilibrium of forces in the vertical direction,
 or

where,
P = tension in the rope (N)
dr= nominal diameter of wire rope (mm)
D=sheave diameter (mm)
The fatigue diagram for 6 x 19 regular-lay rope is shown in Fig. 23.6. The diagram
is constructed by experiments. The ordinate represents a dimensionless quantity
(P/ Sut), where Sut is the ultimate tensile strength of the wire. The abscissa
represents the number of bends that would cause fatigue failure of the rope. It
has been observed from the fatigue diagram that the rope has long life if the
Ratio (P/ Sut ) is less than 0.0015. The values of Sut for wire materials are given in
Table 23.8.
 Examples
Example 1. A temporary elevator is assembled at the construction site to
raise building materials, such as cement, to a height of 20 m. It is estimated
that the maximum weight of the material to be raised is 5 kN. It is observed
that the acceleration in such applications is 1 m/s2. 10 mm diameter, 6 X 19
construction wire ropes with fibre core are used for this application. The
tensile designation of the wire is 1570 and the factor of safety should be 10
for preliminary calculations. Determine the number of wire ropes required for
this application. Neglect bending stresses.
Ans.
Given W = 5kN h=20 m α= 1 m / s2
For Wire rope construction=6 X 19
Dr= 10 mm tensile designation=1570 (fs)=10
Let us assume that the number of wire ropes is z. The force acting on each
wire rope comprises the following factors:
(i) The weight of the material to be raised;
(ii) The weight of the wire rope; and
(iii) The force due to acceleration of the material and the wrie rope

Step 1 Weight of the material

The weight of the material raised by each wire rope is given by,

5000
( )N
𝑧
Step 2 Weight of the wire rope
From Table 23.4, the mass of 100 m long wire rope is 34.6 kg. Since the height
is 20 m, the weight of the wire is given by,

20
34.6 9.81 𝑜𝑟 67.89 𝑁
100
Step 3 Force due to acceleration
5000 1
The mass of the material raised by each wire rope is [ ] and that of
9.81 𝑧
20
each wire rope is [34.6 ( )]. The force due to acceleration(i.e mass X
100
acceleration) is given by,
Contd….
 5000 1 20
[( )( ) + 34.6 ( )] (1)
9.81 𝑧 100

509.68
or [ + 6.92] N
𝑧

Step 4 Number of wire ropes

From Table 23.4, the breaking strength of the wire rope is 48 kN. Assuming the
factor of safety to be 10,
48000 5000 509.68
= + 67.89 + + 6.92
10 𝑧 𝑧

Or z=1.666 or 2 Wire Ropes

Example 2 Assume the data of Example 1 and determine the true factor of
safety taking into account the bending stresses. The sheave diameter can be
taken as (4561).
Solution
Given D = 45dr
Step I Bending load
From Eq. 23.3 and Table 23.7,
A Er Dw
Pb=
D
(0.40d2r )(83 000)(0.063dr )
= = 46.484dr2 = 46.48(10)2 = 4648 N
(45dr)

Step II Total load on wire rope

The total force acting on the wire rope consists of three factors discussed in the
previous example, plus the bending load. The total force is given by,

5000 509.68
[ + 67.89+ + 6.92] + 4648 or 7477.65 N
2 2
Step III Factor of safety

48000
(Fs)= = 6.42
7477.65
Example 3 It is required to select a 6 x 19 wire rope with 1570 as tensile
designation for a hoist on the basis of long life. The weight of the hoist along
with the material is 5 kN. It is to be raised .from a depth of 100 m. The maximum
speed of 5 m/s is attained in 5 s. Determine the size of the wire rope and the
sheave diameter for long life on the basis of the fatigue as failure criterion. What
is the factor of safety of this wire rope under static conditions?

Solution
Given W =5 kN h= 100 m v2 = 5 m/s vi = 0 t = 5 s
For wire rope, construction = 6 x 19 tensile designation — 1570
Step I Total load on wire rope.
The total force (P) acting on the wire rope consists of three factors--(i) the
weight of the hoist; (ii) the weight of the wire rope; and (iii) the force due to
acceleration. The weight of the hoist is given as
5kN or 5000 N (i)
Referring to Table 23.4, the mass of the wire rope depends upon the nominal
diameter (dr), which is unknown at this stage. As a trial value, the mass is
assumed to be 40 kg per 100 m length. Since the material is to be raised from a
depth of 100 m, the length of the wire rope is assumed as 100 m. Therefore, the
weight of the wire rope will be,
40 X 9.81 or 392.4 N (ii)
 5000
Total mass of hoist and wire rope =[ + 40] 𝑘𝑔
9.81
v2−v1 5−0
Acceleration = = =1 m/s2
𝑡 5
5000
Acceleration force=[+ 40] 1
9.81
=549.68 (iii)
So P= 5000+392.4+549.68=5942.08 N

Step II Value if (p) for long fatigue life

For 1570 tensile designation,

Sut = 1570 N/ mm2
The wire rope has a long fatigue life if the ration (p/Sut) is equal to or less thatn
0.0015.
𝑝
So = 0.0015
𝑆𝑢𝑡
p=0.0015 Sut = 0.0015(1570)
=2.355 N/mm2 (a)
Step III Nominal diameter of wire rope
From Table 23.7, the recommended sheave diameter for 6X19 wire rope is
(45dr).
So D= 45dr
From Eq. 23.4,
2𝑃 2𝑃
P= 𝑜𝑟 2.355 =
𝑑𝑟 𝐷 𝑑𝑟 (45𝑑𝑟)
𝑃
So dr2 = 𝑚𝑚2 𝑏
52.99

Substituting the value of P in the Eq. (b),

𝑃 5942.08
dr2 = = 𝑜𝑟 𝑑𝑟 = 10.59 𝑚𝑚
52.99 52.99
The standard nominal diameter of the wire rope is 12 mm.
dr=12 mm
D=45dr=45(12)=540 mm

Step IV check for design

From Table 23.4, the mass of 100 m length wire rope of 12 mm diameter and
with a fibre core is 49.8 kg,
Weight of wire = (49.8)(9.81)=488.54 N
5000
Acceleration force=[ + 49.8] 1
9.81
=559.48 N
P= 5000+488.54+559.48=6048.02 N
 2𝑃 2(6048.02) 𝑁
P= = = 1.867
𝑑𝑟 𝐷 12(540) 𝑚𝑚2
𝑝 1.867
= = 0.00119
𝑆𝑢𝑡 1570
So p/Sut < 0.0015

Step V Static design

From Table 23.4, the breaking load of a 12 mm diameter wire rope is 69 kN.

69 𝑋 103 69 𝑋 103
(fs)= = = 11.4
𝑃 6048.02