Message from the President
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Issue No. 110 Summer, 2006 Message from the President 1 CABLE ROAD POMFRET, CT 06258 TEL: 860-928-7981 FAX: 860-928-6167 WIRE & ROPE DIVISION E-MAIL: [email protected] Dear AWRF Members, As I sit to compose my last of four “Letters from done by our Entertainment Committee chairperson the President”, I am amazed at how quickly time has Denny Worswick. Of course the persons who make passed! It seems like yesterday that I wrote my first it all come together are our Executive Director Jeff one right after the fall meeting in Boston. All the Gilbert and his assistant Dee Dee. Without their hard past presidents had told me that my term would go work none of it would happen. by in the blink of an eye and they were right! In March of this year I was invited to the OIPEEC It’s been a busy 2006 so far and I don’t see it meeting which was held in Athens, Greece. I was letting up. Our Spring General Meeting was held in also invited to sit in upon their Management Board St. Petersburg, Florida. For those of you who were meeting. I took this opportunity to propose to not able to attend the meeting, you missed one of their Board that OIPEEC should join AWRF so our best. The hotel was lovely and the weather that their members would be able to attend our was cooperative. The presentations were excellent meetings. This proposal was well received and they due, a great deal, to the work of our Program made the counter proposal that AWRF should join Committee chairperson, Mr. Paul Boeckman. Our OIPEEC so the same benefits could be extended to hats go off to you Paul for putting together an our members. At the closing banquet the OIPEEC impressive program. Our featured presentation was President and I signed a “Letter of Understanding” “Wire Rope Forensics” by Roland Verreet of Wire that we would join each others organization so Rope Technology in Aachen, Germany. Roland’s our members can receive the benefits of both. It last presentation to the AWRF was at our fall 2001 was a significant moment for both organizations, meeting in New Orleans. Roland is one of the most one which I hope AWRF can build upon and enter knowledgeable people in the world on the subject into similar arrangements with other like minded of wire rope. Roland’s presentation spanned both organizations around the world. To learn more about days and kept us all fascinated and asking for more! OIPEEC, visit their web site www.oipeec.org . All Our entertainment at the banquet was “Motown AWRF members can now attend OIPEEC meetings Madness” featuring the Blues Brothers. They had at the member rate. They only hold their technical the dance floor packed and then some! I had not meetings every other year and I believe the next ever seen so many of our members out on the dance meeting is scheduled for South Africa in 2008. A floor at any other meeting. From young to not so deep mine tour as part of the program is planned. young, they were dancing! Another great job was Continued on page 33 Contents: ASSOCIATED WIRE ROPE FABRICATORS Corrosion in Wire Rope Insurance and Legal Resources “An association serving the Committee lifting, rigging, and load securement industry” Government Affairs Small Business AEDC Economics Corner P.O. BOX 748 • WALLED LAKE, MI 48390 Health Care Plans Candidates for the Board of 1-800-444-2973 Safety Committee Directors PHONE: 1-248-994-7753 • FAX: 1-800-666-2973 News About Members AWRF Calendar e-mail: [email protected] • website: www.awrf.org 2 Come to San Antonio October 22-25 Watch for information at www.awrf.com 3 SHOP TALK Corrosion in Wire Rope Don Pellow, P.E. Lubricating wire rope products is a When Wire rope is manufactured, necessity for all wire ropes exposed to the it is common practice to thoroughly elements, whether they are Lubricating coat a wires as they are formed at the wire rope products is a necessity for stranding machine, resulting in the wires all wire ropes exposed to the elements, being completely coated around their whether they are operating over sheaves, circumferences (Image 2). However, as around drums (Image 1), or just absorbing the wire rope is used, the lubricant is vibration and/or shock loading as standing lost by a combination of external forces lines Even wire rope slings require field and conditions. These include handling re-lubrication. Lubrication is necessary during shipment and installation; wear, for two primary reasons. First, it will allow abrasion, and contact with drums, the wires to properly move and adjust to sheaves or guides, compression forces equalize loading as the wire rope or cable between the wires, strands, and core-, passes over sheaves, around a drum, or and environmental conditions such as simply supporting a load with line tension moisture, heat, wind blown particles, or fluctuations. Second, the lubrication chemicals. provides a protective barrier to prevent The first stage of corrosion is the or inhibit corrosion or oxidation of the appearance of a light, orange-colored steel wire surfaces. oxidation on the outer wires. In operating Image 1 wire ropes, this usually occurs on the If left unchecked, this initial surface crowns of the wires where they contact corrosion will spread across the worn, sheaves, drums, or guides (Image 3). This uncoated surfaces, and it will become is superficial rust and can be wiped from thicker and begin to penetrate the wire surfaces (Image 5). If the wire rope travels over sheaves or around drums, Image 2 small steel particles consisting mostly of iron oxide can begin to flake from As the lubricant, or even a galvanized or the wire surfaces. This will expose new aluminized coating, is worn or removed areas of bare steel wire, which then re- from the wire surfaces, the bare steel initiates the corrosion process. wires come into direct contact with the Image 3 environment. Corrosion or rust will begin to form on these unprotected steel surfaces in the presence of moisture, air, or other chemicals. The process of oxidation begins, which can result in catastrophic consequences if left unchallenged. Image 5 As the amount of lubricant continues Don Pellow, P E., is president of to decrease, red corrosive oxides will Pellow Engineering services, Kansas Image 4 appear in the valleys of the wire rope city, Mo, an engineering consulting and between the outer wires (Image firm with expertise in wire rope and the wire rope with no apparent damage 6). At this point, the lubricant within slings. He also is the publisher of to the wires (Image 4). At this time, it is the wire rope is greatly depleted, and Bob’s Rigging and crone Handbook recommended to re-lubricate the wire the strand-to-strand contact areas Pellow can be reached at dpellow@aol. rope to prolong the wire rope’s service. com and www.donpellow.com. 4 A wire rope in this highly corroded condition may experience randomly broken wires in the section when traveling over sheaves or around drums due to reduced wire strength and unequal loading among all the wires and strands Image 6 (linage 9). linage 10 depicts a wire rope display, a rusty condition. Because the with minimal outer wire wear in a very section of, this particular wire rope has advanced stage of pitting corrosion been operating over sheaves, the crown that was tensile tested to its remaining of the outer wires have been exposed ultimate strength. It broke at 50 percent to elements, for some time, and the of its original certified strength with corrosion has begun to penetrate the only two outer strands rupturing mg. surfaces of the crowns of the outer Normally, a new, unused wire rope pulled wires (Image 7) in a random crevice to breaking strength will result in three to pattern. This “pitting corrosion” is an advanced stage of oxidation of the steel, which has begun to reduce the cross-sectional steel area of the wires. Image 9 ’ Image 7 Oftentimes at this stage in wire rope service life, the inside of strands may lose all traces of lubrication and begin to show internal corrosion (Image 8). Unrestrained and continued use of the Image 10 wire rope in this same environment, the four outer strands and the core breaking, corrosion will continue to attack the which reflects on the fact that severe steel wires. The corrosion culminates in corrosion dramatically reduces the significant loss of cross-sectional steel strength of a wire rope, not by only areas, the reduction in bending fatigue loss of cross-sectional steel area but by life of the wires, and lack of wire rope inhibiting the free movement of the wires flexibility. The end result is a wire rope and strands. with appreciably less strength, reduced Reapplying lubrication at such an bending fatigue life, and the inability to advanced stage of corrosion will have little equalize loading among the wires and effect on prolonging the wire rope service; strands as it is flexed or bent it actually may generate a dangerous situation by covering up or hiding the pitting corrosion that would otherwise be obvious during visual inspection. Lubrication at this stage of severe pitting corrosion will not reinstitute the integrity of the wire rope. In fact, wire rope should never be left in service in such condition and must be replaced at a much earlier stage of corrosion as prescribed by ASME Image8 standards and OSHA regulations.