The distribution of the contact forces on steel wire ropes

The influence of the contact pressures between rope and sheaves on the endurance of ropes is unmistakable. When these stress influences are taken into consideration various problems arise [1], so the selection of the model for stress calculations led and is still leading to comprehensive discussions . The distribution of the contact force among the wires, which come in contact with the sheaves, however has received less attention. With regard to this Wijss speaks of " an approximately equal force per wire " [2] . This assumption however requires a peculiar transverse stiffness of the rope. The rope cross section must accommodate itself to the shape of the groove, which has a radius being 5% greater than the radius of the rope, however it must still resist equal contact forces at each of the bearing surfaces. Bechtloff [3] developed a model for transverse forces on wire ropes, which also led to the conclusion that the contact forces on the wires in contact with the sheave were nearly equal.

Author: L. Wiek