Tribological behavior and mechanical properties of transmission wire rope bending over sheaves under different sliding conditions

Wear leads to performance degradation of the wire rope and seriously threatens its service reliability. This paper explored the tribological behavior of a transmission wire rope by a homemade rope-sheave sliding friction and wear test rig. Then, the strength and fatigue performance of the wire rope with different surface wear were investigated using customized test apparatuses. The results show that the friction coefficient (COF) is affected by the rope structure, contact angle and sliding velocity, which decreases from approximately 0.65 to 0.32 with increasing sliding velocity. The friction temperature rise is obviously influenced by the sliding velocity. It increases nonlinearly from approximately 51 degrees C to approximately 102 degrees C. The wear characteristics are mainly spalling, furrows and plastic deformation. The wear mechanisms are adhesive wear and abrasive wear. Additionally, with a decrease in sliding velocity, the breaking force decreases from approximately 48.7 kN-41.2 kN, and the bending fatigue life reduces nonlinearly. The maximum bending fatigue times decrease from approximately 9.9 k to 3.2 k. Furthermore, the surface wear accelerates the crack propagation rate of the service wire rope. The fracture mechanism of the wire rope is mainly ductile fracture under tensile loading and brittle fracture under fatigue loading.

Automated summary

Friction and wear affect the performance of wire rope and pose serious threats to its reliability. This paper investigates the tribological behavior of a transmission wire rope and examines its strength and fatigue performance under different surface wear conditions. The results reveal that the friction coefficient is influenced by rope structure, contact angle, and sliding velocity, while the wear characteristics mainly include spalling, furrows, and plastic deformation. The sliding velocity also affects the friction temperature rise. The study further demonstrates the impact of surface wear on breaking force, bending fatigue life, and crack propagation rate in the wire rope.