Life Cycle Assessment of Wire Rope Used in Crane Application in a Steel Plant

Wire rope is an important part of any crane. Failure of wire rope may lead to major loss in terms of life and cost. Wire rope failures are attributed by many aspects like operational, manufacturing, environmental, etc. Common type of failure mode is fatigue. There is a requirement of theoretical calculation of fatigue life of a wire rope, so that it can be changed before failures. Present case study shows a failure case of wire rope which is used in slab yard of steel plant. In this case study, wire rope failed prematurely within sixth month of service. The investigation consists of visual inspection, chemical analysis, characterization of microstructures using optical microscopes and hardness test. Present study also considers rope design aspect, effect of lubrication, rope construction factor with bending fatigue life cycle assessment of wire rope. Analysis suggests that the rope failed and damaged with guard of sheave indicating fouling of rope. Appearance of damage marks on guard indicates off-centered rope which can occur due to operational issue.