Damage to steel wire ropes caused by electric arc

RoundTable – ENDURANCE RESEARCH OF WIRE ROPE AND ITS PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS – Glasgow 1985

If a steel wire rope is touched by a conductor of a power transmission line (for example in case of the breaking of an insulator at the crossing of a ropeway and a power transmission line), an electric arc is produced which damages the rope. At the same time, the rope is submitted to mechanical and thermical stress. The question which arose in this connection was what electrical current loading could be tolerated for the different ropes, and especially:
a) Under what conditions would a rupture of the rope have to be expected; i.e. would
it be necessary to take precautionary measures?
b) If the rope does not break: Is it possible to decide by visual evaluation whether:
- the travel in course can be concluded or
- the evacuation of the passengers has to be carried out without putting the
ropeway into movement?
In order to find an answer to these questions, ropes were tensioned with operational force, and an electric arc with a definite volume of energy was initiated between these ropes and a power transmission line which was suspended across them. In doing so, special care was taken to ensure that the impact of the electric arc was concentrated on the smallest possible section of the rope.

Author(s): G. Oplatka & M. Roth