CONDITION MONITORING OF STEEL WIRE ROPES

Summary

By utilizing the measurements from a commercial acoustic emission sensor system, a magnetic tester and a camera system during four separate simple bending fatigue tests of steel wire ropes (SWRs), several measurable quantities of the SWRs were made, which identified and indicated deterioration. Based on the processed measurements of a commercial acoustic emission sensor system in one of the tests in this research, the fatigue process of a SWR in a simple bending test is three-phased, with relatively long first- and second phases, showing little, and steady increase in measured signal values, respectively, followed by a shorter phase with a ramp up of signal activity. This three-phase process was recognized in the three other simple bending tests through the processed measurements of a magnetic tester. Changes in the lay length of a SWR were detected using a camera system. Diameter measurements using the same camera system were unsuccessful.

Key words: steel wire ropes, condition monitoring, fatigue, magnetic tester, acoustic emission sensor system.

Author(s): D. Å. Stave, R. Schlanbusch, D. Vysochinskiy and G. Grasmo