The Specifications of Wire Rope
The Specifications of Wire Rope
Wire rope is made up of several strands, which themselves are made up of wires twisted together. The strands are wrapped symmetrically around the core, forming a rope. Generally, the core will be one of three types: fiber, wire strand or independent wire rope.
History
Wire rope first began to appear in the 1600-1700s. They were originally made from wrought iron. Development was slow until 1849-89, when many breakthroughs were made. Wire rope was found to be better than chains. If a link in a chain breaks, the failure is catastrophic. If a wire in a wire rope has a flaw or becomes damaged the rest of the wires can compensate.
Features
The lay of a wire rope refers to the direction in which the wires and strands are twisted together. Other characteristics include the number of wires in each strand, the number of strands in the rope, the material of the core, and whether the rope is a galvanized steel or a flexible steel wire rope.
Specifications
Wire rope specifications are written using a standard system of abbreviations. For example, GSWR stands for Galvanized Steel Wire Rope and FC stands for Fiber Core.
