Some works on fatigue life and reliability diagnostic of wire ropes

Since 1973 the Interbranch Laboratory for Wire Rope Testing and Rope Transport Equipment has been acting at the University of Mining and Metallurgy in Cracow. The Laboratory has been called into being as a result of an agreement between the Minister of Education and Technics, the Minister of Coal and Energy, the Minister of Steel and Machine Industry, and the Minister of Transport. The organizer of the Laboratory and its head for many years was the late Prof.dr. Juliusz Stachurski, who suddenly died in 1981. The Interbranch Laboratory covers with its activity entire Poland. It maintains also close contact with the corresponding units in Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Great Britain, Italy etc. It cooperates also with the International Organization for the Study of the Endurance of Wire Ropes - OIPEEC, and with the International Organization for the Transportation by Rope - OITAF. To the Laboratory is attached the scientific-technical council with Prof. dr. Zygmunt Kawecki as president . The results of some works carried out at the Interbranch Laboratory are reported on below. The works deal with an improvement of the durability of ropes and with the reliability diagnostic especially that of the magnetically tested ropes. The magnetic testing of ropes is actually the main object of interest of the Laboratory.