WIRE ROPES

 A flexible metallic steel rope

 Corrosion resistant Carbon Steel strands are twist
wound tightly around (impregnating) fibre Core generally
made of synthetic/ jute rope at the centre.
 Having enormous tensile strength , thus useful in
lifting/ transporting of heavy materials e.g. Winding in
Shaft, Lifting of materials by hoist cranes, Aerial
Ropeway etc.
Also, wire ropes can cope up bending stress, so can go
around the groove of pulleys etc. smoothly or can
withstand rope knots causing sharp bends under tension.
 Properties of Steel Wire Ropes
contd..
• Made of Anti-corrosive steels. Ropes used for winding is
galvanized to give extra anti-corrosive property.
• Can withstand shock load also. E.g. movement of cage by Hoist
in shaft, ropes in Coal cutting Machine etc.
• Crushing & distortion resistant.
• Anti abrasive to wear & tears.
• Some of the ropes , having steel wire at the centre impregnating
thermo-stable fibers rope at the core ,is high temperature
resistant also. E.g. wire ropes for ladles lifting etc. in SMS.
• Flexibility Factor of a wire rope depends upon-
i. Core Flexibility e.g. fiber core imparts more flexibility than steel
rope core.
ii. Thickness of individual wire – less thickness, more the
flexibility
iii. No. of wires – larger it is, more is the flexibility.
• Cores are lubricated with grease so that under varying tension,
the friction between strands and core can be minimized.
 Alloying elements in Steel for Wire
Ropes
The composition follows IS Specification No. 1835 of
1961.
Carbon- 0.11%
Manganese- 0.48%
Sulphur – 0.033 % ,
Phosphorous- 0.014%
Both Sulphur + Carbon not to exceed
0.05%.
Ultimate Tensile Strength not to be less than 65Kgf/
mm 2
 Types of Tests conducted for Wire
Ropes as per I S Specifications
• Tensile Test
• Torsion Test
• Bending Test
• Wrapping Test
• Looping Test
Construction of Wire Ropes
Measurement of Rope diameter
 Designating wire Ropes
First mention the No. of strands followed by
no. of wires in each strand.
e.g., 6 x 7 wire rope means there are 6
strands in total , each made of 7 wires.
Filler means the no. of wires in central
strand as core. So, it is called 6 x 19 Filler .
 Types of Wire Ropes
Wire Ropes

Stranded W/ Non- stranded

Ropes W/ Ropes

Stranded
Locked coil
( Performed) Ropes
Ropes

Right Hand Left Hand Lay

Lay ( Half Locked Full Locked
Common ) ( Specific) Ropes Ropes

Ordinary
( Regular) RH Lang’s Lay Equal Lay
Lay
 Description of different types of
1.
Ropes
Stranded Rope has strands on the outermost periphery .
Each strand consists of a no. of concentrically twisted steel
wires laid in the form of helix or spiral round a central steel
wire called King wire.
All the Stranded wires are Performed wire Ropes . It means
all the steel wires, forming a strand , are drawn through a die
giving them helix or spiral shape & then it is laid to form a
strand. Similar process is adopted for forming a rope with
strands.
It is done to prevent opening of rope strands & wires while rope
is cut.
Advantages are-
i. Easy to handle
ii. Longer Life
iii. Balanced load on Strands
iv. Broken rope lie flat
v. Easy to splice
vi. Less liable to kink
 RH & LH Lay Ropes
1. RH Lay Ropes:-
i. Strands laying is in Clockwise direction but strands
wire may not in same direction.
ii. In other words, direction of laying is in the same
direction as the threads of a right hand screw.
iii. It is standard construction of ropes – preferred in
general winding & haulage transportation.
2. LH Lay Ropes:-
i. Its laying is in opposite (anticlockwise ) direction i.
e. in LH direction of Screw threads.
ii. It is uncommon and preferred only in some specific
cases of Multi-rope Kope winders etc.
iii. It is manufactured & supplied as per specific order
& need.
Types of stranded Wire Ropes
 Ord. RH Lay vs Lang’s Lay Rope
1. In Ord. RH Lay rope, the strands wires laying is in
opposite direction to laying of strands.
i. Its advantage is it is non- spinning type as the strand
wires and Strand layins are in opposite direction , so
balancing each other.
ii. Ideal for use where end of wire rope is unavoidable e.
g. cranes rope with which load is suspended.
2. But in Lang’s Lay construction, the strands wires are
laid in same direction of laying strands in the Rope.
i. It causes rope to spin. So, it can’t be used where
rope has to have free end.
ii. Advantages are:-
a) Smoother wearing surface
b) More resistant to bending fatigue
c) Preferred in hoist ropes as it is not liable to break on
the crown of the strands unlike in ord. lay ropes.
Crown Failure vs Valley Fialure
 Equal Lay Ropes
It is also called Equal Lay or Parallel lay Ropes because in
this type, all the layers of wires have the same pitch &
length of lay.
 Each wire, therefore, lies either in a bed formed by the
interstices or valley between the wires of an underlayer
or alternatively along the crown of an underlying wire.
 These are made in both – Lang’s Lay or Ordinary lay.
 It is most common way of manufacturing ropes these
days.
 Advantages are-
i. It is good wear resistant and avoids internal wear also.
ii. It avoids deformation & secondary bending which
results from the point of contact between the wires in
a conventionally laid strands.
iii. It has longer life than conventional ropes.
iv. It comes in 4- patterns namely: Warington Pattern,
Seale Pattern, Filler Pattern & Warington- Seale Pattern.
 Non –standard ( Locked Coil) Ropes
 Its cross-section shows that the central portion
consists of strands of Thick round wires.
 Only the Outer Layers or 2- outer layers consists
of round wires placed between specially shaped
wires of I – section, rail section or trapezoidal
section so that the wires lock with one another and
rope surface is smooth/ palin.
 The laying of Outer wires is in opposite direction to
that of the inner wires. Thus, locked ropes are non-
spinning type. Preferred in shaft sinking for Bucket /
scaffold lowering where no guide ropes are avl.
 Ropes are of Full Lock or Half Lock construction.
 It is heavier & lesser flexible.
 It has higher FOS ( Factor of Safety) for the same
given section in comparison to stranded ropes.
 So, preferred also in Kope winders these days.
Locked Wire Ropes
 Space Factor of Rope
 Ratio of Aggregate Cross sectional Area
of the wires to the area of Circle drawn
around the rope.
 It is between 50 and 60 % for common
ropes.
 It is around 75 % for Locked Coil Ropes.
 Selection of Wire Ropes- Factors
1. Watery Places & Corrosive Atmosphere:- Galvanized
ropes must be used. E.g. Shafts, Dams etc.
2. High Temperature:- Fiber Core Ropes must be avoided .
E.g. – Foundries ,SMS etc.
3. Stationary Ropes:- Generally made of Large Dia. Wire
Strands, lesser flexible – e.g. Guide Ropes in Shaft etc.
4. Running Coiling Rope:- Made of thin wire Strands with
more flexibility. Smaller is drum of winding, more is
flexibility reqd. Lay of rope should be Regular as it is
more flexible. E.g. Rope of CCM.
5. Spinning not Required:- In Hoist of Crane or for Bucket
lifting in shaft , non- spinning type must be used
specifically e.g. Locked Coil or Ordinary Lay ropes to be
used here.
6. Shock Loads:-Where Rope is susceptible to Shock load
or sudden variable load, core should be of Steel Strand.
E.g. in CCM.
 Selection of Wire Ropes- Factors
7. Resistance to wear:-Resistance Ropes in Haulages &
Winders to have resistant to Abrasion type of Rope.
Lang Lay is preferred here as it has more of Wear
resistant surface area available.
8. Tensile strength & factor of Safety:- Ropes for
transportation of men should have FOS > 20%. & High
Tensile strength .Lang’s Lay is preferred to Regular
Lay
9. Bending & fatigue ::- Repeated bending of ropes over
sheaves or drums causes fatigue failure. Flexible
ropes with thin wire dia . In large no. in Strands are
used.
10.Groove size:- The rope should not be too lose or tight
on drum or pulley groove.
11.Crushing & distortion:- A flattened strand rope &
locked coil Ropes are better to withstand crushing
impacts or direct load on the surface. Also, here the
core must be of Steel Wire Strand.
Ropes used for different Purposes in Mines
1) Winding Ropes:-
6x7 Lang’s Lay Fiber Core( F.C.)
6x 19 Seale Regular or Lang Lay F.C.
6x21 Filler wire Regular or Lang Lay , F.C.
6x 25 --------do-----------------------------
6x27 Flattened Strand Lang Lay, F.C.
6x30 ------------------do----------------

2) Guide Ropes:- Half Locked Coil Guide Rope

3) Haulage Ropes:-
6x7 Seale Construction Regular or Lang lay
6x19 -------- -----do----------------------------

4) Coal Cutting Machine Ropes

6x37 Regular Lay with Independent Wire Rope Core ( IWRC)
6x31 ----------------------------------------do--------------------------
 Ropes in Use in Mines ……contd.
5) Dipper Shovel Ropes:-
a) Dipper Hoist Ropes:-
For 32mm & lesser Dia, 6x25 Filler Lang
Lay with IWRC.
For 35mm-68mm Dia., 6x41 Seale Filler
Lang Lay with IWRC.
b) Boom Hoist Ropes:-
For 30 mm Dia., 6 x 25 filler wire Lang Lay
with IWRC
Ropes in Dipper Shovel
Dragline Hoist Rope:-
For 32 mm Dia. -58 mm Dia., 6x25 Filler wire
Lang Lay with IWRC
Or,
6 x41 Seale Filler wire Lang Lay with IWRC
Dozers :-
6 x 25 Filler wire Regular Lay with IWRC (
Blade Hoist Ropes)
 Mass of Wire Ropes
The Mass of Rope depends upon the quantity
of steel in it , i.e. space factor & design of the
rope. .
Thus Mass of Rope in Kg/ mtr., M=∏ (D2 /4).1. δ.

= k. D2
Where ,D = Dia. Of Rope in cm.
δ= Density of Steel in Kg/ cm3
= Space factor in %
Constant k =( ∏ /4) δ.
 Strength of Wire Ropes
Formula is Breaking Strength, T= s. D2
Where s = Rope Constant
D= Dia. Of Rope in cm.
T = Breaking Strength in KN.
If the steel has a Breaking strength of 1570 MN/
m2= 1570 x (103 /104) KN/ cm2 =157 KN/ cm2 =
160 Kgf/mm2 approx. ( as 1 KN= 100Kgf),
then value of k & s are as below :-
Numerical