Effect of abrasive wear on the tensile strength of steel wire rope

Known amounts of external abrasive wear were introduced into a new 6-strand steel wire rope and the effects of this wear on the tensile strength of the rope examined against the rope discard criteria for wear stated in ISO 4309: 1990 and other selected international standards. The variations of strength with degree of wear in the test rope were compared with continuous observations on two haulage ropes which were in service under abrasive wear conditions up to the stage of failure. The results point to a need for greater caution in applying available discard criteria for wear. The results also indicate the existence of two different rapid strength deterioration regimes in strand wire rope under increasing amounts of external abrasive wear and they direct towards test parameter levels which signal the onset of these regimes. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.