RI 9644

REPORT OF INVESTIGATIONS/1998

Model for the Structure of Round-Strand

Wire Ropes

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Public Health Service
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

Cover: Paths of three types of double helical wires in

a 619 Seale, IWRC, right regular lay wire rope
looking down the rope axis.

Report of Investigations 9644

Model for the Structure of Round-Strand Wire Ropes

Richard C. Wang, Anthony J. Miscoe, and William M. McKewan

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Public Health Service
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
Pittsburgh Research Laboratory
Pittsburgh, PA
September 1998

International Standard Serial Number

ISSN 1066-5552

CONTENTS
Page
Abstract. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Description of rope structure
...................................................................
Structural elements
........................................................................
Classification of wires. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Structural parameters
......................................................................
Mathematical modeling
.......................................................................
Basic relationships. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Coordinate systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Vector equations for single and double helices
...................................................
Single helix model. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Double helix model. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Example for a specific wire rope
.............................................................
Model applications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Generation of wire paths. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Evaluation of geometric properties
............................................................
Path length per lay of strand
...............................................................
Curvature and torsion
....................................................................
Analysis of deformations
...................................................................
Axial elongation and lateral contraction
......................................................
Wire strain. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Reduced wire radius. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Radius of deformed helix
...............................................................
Angle of deformed helix
..................................................................
Bending and twisting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Conclusions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1
2
2
2
3
3
4
4
5
5
5
6
7
10
10
12
12
12
15
16
16
16
17
18
19
19
19

ILLUSTRATIONS

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.

Structural elements in a typical wire rope

...................................................
Comparison of typical wire rope lays
......................................................
Developed views of strand and wire helices
.................................................
Coordinate systems for single helix
........................................................
Coordinate system for double helix
........................................................
Strand arrangement of 33-mm 619 Seale, IWRC, right regular lay wire
. .rope
.....................
Cross section of IWRC strand .S1
.........................................................
Cross section of IWRC strand .S2
.........................................................
Cross section of Seale strand S3
..........................................................
Paths of single helical wires W11, W20, W30
................................................
Path of double helical wire W21
..........................................................
Path of double helical wire W31
..........................................................
Path of double helical wire W32
..........................................................
The moving trihedral
...................................................................
Curvature of IWRC and S3 wires
.........................................................
Torsion of IWRC and S3 wires
...........................................................

3
3
5
6
7
8
8
9
9
11
11
11
11
12
14
15

ii
TABLES

Page
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Structural parameters of strands in 33-mm 619 Seale wire

. .rope
................................
Structural parameters of wires in 33-mm 619 Seale wire. .rope
.................................
Path length of wires per lay of strand
.......................................................
Curvature and torsion of single helical wires
.................................................
Curvature and torsion of double helical wires
................................................

UNIT OF MEASURE ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THIS REPORT

kPa

kilopascal

psi

pound (force) per square inch

lb

pound

rad

radian

mm

millimeter

E or deg

degree

newton

SYMBOLS USED IN THIS REPORT

Vectors
b

unit binormal vector

vector that traces single helix in strand

coordinate system

f, g, h

unit vectors in strand coordinate

system

vector that traces wire rotation and lies on

U-V plane

unit vectors in rope coordinate

system

vector that traces single helix in rope

coordinate system

unit tangent vector

i, j, k

unit principal normal vector

vector that traces double helix

in rope coordinate system

8
8
12
13
14

iii

Other Symbols
c1, c2, ..., c6

coefficients in equations 44 and 45

on U-V plane

xu, yu, zu

projections of u on X, Y, and Z

c7

common term in coefficients1 c

through c
6

xv, yv, zv

projections of v on X, Y, and Z

"s

angle of strand helix

Ls

lay length of strand

"w

angle of wire hexlix

Lw

lay length of wire

,r

rope strain

relative rotation

,s

single helical wire strain

Rs

radius of single helical wire

,w

double helical wire strain

Rw

radius of double helical wire

2s

angle of strand rotation

rs

radius of strand helix

2w

angle of wire rotation

rw

radius of wire helix

6s

curvature of single helical wire

Sr or z

length of rope

6w

curvature of double helical wire

Ss or w

length of strand

Poissons ratio

Sw

length of wire

Js

torsion of single helical wire

U, V, W

axes of strand coordinate system

Jw

torsion of double helical wire

u, v, w

coordinates along U, V, and W

difference in angle of wire rotation

between wires W31 and W32

uc, vc

contact point coordinates between

cross sections on U-V plane

10

X, Y, Z

axes of rope coordinate system

11 20 30

xs, ys, zs

component functions in single helix

model along X, Y, and Z

21 31 32

component functions in double helix

model along X, Y, and Z

xw, yw, zw

subscript denoting straight wire W10

, ,

subscripts denoting single helical wires

W11, W20, and W30

, ,

subscripts denoting double helical wires

W21, W31, and W32

subscript denoting deformed rope structure

Mentionof any company name or product does not constitute endorsement by the National Institute for Occupational Safety
and Health.
To receive other information about occupational safety and health problems, call 1-800-35-NIOSH (1-800-356-4674), or visit
the NIOSH Home Page on the World Wide Web at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh

MODEL FOR THE STRUCTURE OF ROUND-STRAND WIRE ROPES

By Richard C. Wang,

Anthony J. Miscoe,

and William M. McKewan

ABSTRACT
The behavior of wire ropes used in hoisting is not well understood. In an effort to improve this
understanding,the structure of round-strand wire ropes was analyzed. This report provides a generalized
mathematical model that completely describes the geometry of the wires.
consists
It of two sets of vector
equationsand is valid for any round-strand wire rope. One set of equations is used to trace the paths of wires
that have the form of a single helix; the other is used for the paths of double helical wires. The specific
model for a 33-mm 619 Seale, independent wire rope core (IWRC), right regular lay wire rope was
presentedas an example. The paths and the geometric properties of the wires, which include the path length
per lay of strand, the curvature, and the torsion, were determined from this model. The effects of strain
deformation were analyzed, resulting in a system of equations
for determining the structural parameters of
the deformed rope. In future work, the model could be used to analyze wire ropes of different constructions
so that a more scientifically based understanding of rope behavior can be established.

Mechanical engineer.
Mechanical engineer (retired).
3
Physical scientist.
Pittsburgh Research Laboratory, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Pittsburgh, PA.
2

INTRODUCTION
Wire ropes are used for transmitting tensile forces. The
main characteristics that make them so well suited to this function are flexibility and strength. Wire ropes are used in many
applications involving the safety of people, such as elevators, ski
tows, and cranes. In mine hoisting systems, wire rope is used to
transport personnel, product, and supplies between surface and
underground. The condition of the rope deteriorates during use
due to fatigue, wear, and corrosion. Because the failure of a wire
rope can be catastrophic, periodic inspection is needed so that the
decision can be made as to whether the rope should be retired.
Mine safety research has long been concerned with
improvingthe understanding of rope behavior to forestall the
hazardous use of a degraded rope, yet prevent the
uneconomical, premature retirement of still-useful rope.
Becausethere is widespread disagreement among specialists
withregard to the indicators and methods now used to assess
hoistrope condition, the National Institute for Occupational
Safetyand Health (NIOSH), Pittsburgh Research Laboratory,
studiedthe factors responsible for the degradation of hoist
ropesso that a better understanding of rope performance can
be developed.
The current Federal retirement criteria for wire ropes
used in mine hoisting specify the allowable reductions of
ropediameter and outside wire diameter and the location and
number of broken wires [30 CFR4 56.19024, 57.19024,
75.1434,77.1434 (1997)]. However, their effects on strength
loss for ropes of different constructions have not been
properly considered.This will lead to removing wire ropes
from service at different stages where the actual loss of
strengthis either less or more than what is anticipated. To
remedythis deficiency, the knowledge of how the total load
is distributed among the wires in different rope constructions
needs to be acquired. In general, the load distribution is
dependent not only on the
cross-sectional area of wires, but
also on the specific arrangement of wires in a rope.

The wire stresses in an independent wire rope core

(IWRC) were compared by Costello [1990]. It was found
that,for 17,379 N (3,907 lb) of load applied to the IWRC, the
normal stress was 310,264 kPa (45,000 psi) in the central
wireof the center strand and 279,196 kPa (40,494 psi) in the
centralwire of the outside strand. They were not only significantly different, but also considerably higher than 247,591
kPa (35,910 psi), the nominal stress
computed by taking the
total load and dividing it by the total metallic area. It is
thereforebelieved that the load distribution must be considered for different rope constructions to prevent
catastrophic failure of ropes in service. To do this, an
understandingof the wire geometry that affects the load
distribution must
first be acquired. Although mathematical
models have been used to study wire geometry by many
researchersin the past, these models can be used only for
single helical wires. Lee [1991] presented two sets of
Cartesiancoordinate equations in matrix form for double
helical wires, but did not give detailed derivation of the
equations.One set of the equations was for regular lay ropes;
the other was for lang lay ropes.
In this study, the rope structure was analyzed, and a generalizedmathematical model describing the wire geometry in
anyrope construction with round strands was developed. The
modelcontains a rotation ratio, termed "relative rotation" in
this report, which characterizes the relationship between the
wireand the strand helices. In the use of rope with the ends
restrained from rotating, this relative rotation remains
constant,thus reducing the parameters in the models to the
angle of wire rotation only. The model is general enough
that any combination of wire and strand lay directions can be
handledif the stated sign conventions for the angles of strand
and wire rotation and the relative rotation are followed.

DESCRIPTION OF ROPE STRUCTURE

STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS

A wire rope is a structure composed of many individual

wires.A typical wire rope is composed of two major structural
elements,as shown in figure 1. One is the strand that is
formed byhelically winding or laying wires around a central
wire or a strand core. Different shapes of strand may be
formeddepending on the shape of the core. For example, in
triangular strand constructions, triangular cores may be
composed of triangular wires or of round wires laid in
triangles. Only a wire rope made of round strands was
analyzed inthis report. The other major structural element is
the core around which the strands are

helically
wound.
The .core
is made
of natural fibers, polySee CFR
in references.
Code of Federal
Regulations
propylene,or steel that provide proper support for the strands
under bending and loading in normal use. The most
commonlyused cores are fiber core, independent wire rope
core (IWRC), and wire strand core (WSC).
Although the strand can be laid in any one of many
specificgeometric arrangements and composed of any number
of wires, the rope also can have any number of strands.
Therefore,wire rope generally is identified by the number of
strands, the nominal or exact number
of wires in each strand,

and its specific geometric arrangement. When wires are laid

in the direction opposite to that of the strands, the rope is
called a regular lay rope. When wires are laid in the same
direction as

that of the strands, the rope is called a lang lay rope. If the
strandsare laid into the rope to the right in a fashion similar to
the threading in a right-hand bolt, they are right lay rope
strands. Conversely, strands laid into the rope to the left are
left lay rope strands. Different combinations of these wire
ropelays are shown in figure 2. The WireRope Users Manual
[Wire Rope Technical Board 1993] contains more detailed
informationon wire rope identification and construction. Most
of the rope produced today is preformed; this means that the
wiresare permanently shaped into the helical form they will
assumein the rope. This manufacturing process eliminates the
tendencyof the wires to unlay, usually hazardously, when they
are unrestrained or when the rope is cut.
CLASSIFICATION OF WIRES

It is assumed in this study that all wires have a circular

crosssection and remain circular when they are stretched or
bent. The centroidal axis, which lies along the center of a
wire,is selected to represent the path of the wire and used to
study its geometric characteristics that are related to wire
stress. The centroidal
axis of the central wire of a strand also
represents the path of the strand.
Based on the structural elements in a wire rope as
describedabove, there is at most one straight wire in a straight
rope. It is located in the center of a WSC or IWRC rope. The
remaining wires can be classified geometrically into two
groups: single helices or double helices. The outer wires in a
straightstrand used as the WSC have a single helical form
because they are helically wound only once around a straight
axis. When a strand is helically wound into a rope, the central
wirealso has a single helical form. All of the other wires have
a double helical form because they are wound twice, once
around the strand axis and another around the rope axis.
However,they remain single helices relative to the central wire
of the strand in which they are wound. This relationship is
important in the modeling of a double helical wire.

Figure 1.C Structural elements in a typical wire rope.

STRUCTURAL PARAMETERS

The following basic parameters specifying the helical

structure are defined; the symbols representing them in the
mathematical model are shown in parentheses.
1.
Strandhelix axis (Z): The axis of the rope around
whichthe strands are helically wound to form a rope or around
whichthe wires are helically wound to form the center strand
of a rope. The positive direction of the axis is defined to be
the direction that the helix advances.
2.
Wirehelix axis (W): The centroidal axis of the helical wire around which other wires are helically wound to form
a strand. It is also the centroidal axis of a helical strand. The
positivedirection of the axis is defined to be the direction that
the helix advances.

Figure 2.C Comparison of typical wire rope lays.

3.
is formed and negative if a left lay rope is formed. The angle
Radiusof strand helix (rs): The perpendicular distance between the centroidal axis of the strand and the strand
is expressed in radians, unless specified otherwise.
helix axis.
9.
Angleof wire rotation (2w): The angle at which the
4.
centroidalaxis of a helical wire sweeps out in a plane perRadius of wire helix (rw): The perpendicular
distancebetween the centroidal axis of the wire and the wire
pendicular to the wire helix axis. The angle is defined to be
helix axis.
positivein a right-handed coordinate system if a right-hand
5.
: The strand helix having a constant
strand isformed and negative if a left-hand strand is formed.
Circular helix
helical radius is a circular helix. Similarly, the wire helix
The angle is expressed
in radians, unless specified otherwise.
having a constant helical radius is also a circular helix.
10. Lay length of strand (Ls): The distance measured
6.
parallelto the axis of the rope around which the centroidal axis
Angle of strand helix ("s): The angle of a strand
helix at any point along the centroidal axis of the strand is the
of a strand or wire makes one complete helical convolution.
angle between the tangent vector at that point, heading
thein
11. Laylength (pitch) of wire (Lw): The distance measdirectionthat the strand helix advances, and the plane that is
uredparallel to the wire helix axis around which the centroidal
perpendicular to the
strand helix axis and passes through that
axis of a wire makes one complete helical convolution.
point.
12. Lengthof rope (Sr or z): The length measured along
7.
the strand helix axis. It represents the distance that a strand
Angle ofwire helix ("w): The angle of a wire helix
at any point along the centroidal axis of the wire is the angle
helix has advanced on the axis of the rope.
between the tangent vector at that point, heading in the
13. Lengthof strand (Ss or w): The length measured
directionthat the wire helix advances, and the plane that is
alongthe wire helix axis. It represents the distance that a wire
perpendicular to the wire helix axis and passes through that
helix has advanced on the centroidal axis of the strand.
point.
14. Length of wire (Sw): The path length measured
8.
along the centroidal axis of the wire.
Angleof strand rotation (2s): The angle at which the
centroidalaxis of a helical strand sweeps out in a plane perpendicularto the strand helix axis. The angle is defined to be
positivein a right-handed coordinate system if a right lay rope

MATHEMATICAL MODELING
obtainedby using the developed view of the wire helix and are
expressed below.

BASIC RELATIONSHIPS

In circular helices, the centroidal axes of both the wire

and the strand may
be considered to be lying on right circular
cylinders.Because the surface of a cylinder can be developed
into a plane, some basic relationships between each of the
centroidalaxes and the other parameters can be established by
using the developed views shown in figure 3.
Therelationships between the length of rope and the angle
of strand rotation and between the length of strand and the
angle of strand rotation can be obtained by using the
previouslydefined parameters and from the developed view of
the strand helix and are expressed below.
Sr ' rs2s tan("s)

Ss '

r s2s
cos("s )

(1)

(2)

The length of rope, Sr, in equation 1 becomes the lay length of

strand,Ls, when 2s ' 2B. Similarly, the relationships between
the length of strand and the angle of wire rotation and between
the length of wire and the angle of wire rotation also can be

Ss ' rw2w tan("w)

(3)

rw2w
cos("w )

(4)

Sw '

The lengthof strand, Ss, in equation 3 becomes the lay length

of wire, Lw, when2w ' 2B.
Becausethe length of strand obtained from the wire helix
must equal that obtained from the strand helix for a given
lengthof rope, a new term "n" is defined to be the ratio of the
angleof wire rotation to the angle of strand rotation, which can
be obtained from equations 2 and 3.

n '

2w '
2s

rs
rw tan("w ) cos(

(5)

Thisratio is dependent on the angles of both helices when both

helicalradii are fixed. It is considered to be important in characterizing the rope structure, specifically the relationship

The other, a local coordinate system, is the strand coordinate

system (figure 4B). Its coordinates are U, V, and W with the origin on the centroidal axis of a strand. This local coordinate system moves along the centroidal axis of the strand. The W-axis is
in the direction of the tangent vector to the centroidal axis of the
strand. The U-V plane is perpendicular to the centroidal axis of
the strand and is the plane where the angle of wire rotation, 2w, is
measured. The U-axis is parallel to the X-Y plane and is also
parallel to the line on the X-Y plane that specifies the angle of
strand rotation. The unit vectors directed along the positive directions of U, V, and W are f, g, and h, respectively.
VECTOR EQUATIONS FOR SINGLE AND DOUBLE
HELICES

The model describing the centroidal axis of the central

wire of a strand in the rope using the rope coordinate system
is a single helix model. The model describing the centroidal
axisof a wire in a strand using the strand coordinate system is
also a single helix model. Once these single helix models are
formed,they will be used to develop a double helix model
describingthe centroidal axis of a double helical wire in either
a regular lay rope or a lang lay rope in the rope coordinate
system.
Single Helix Model
Figure 3.C Developed views of strand and wire helices.

betweenthe wire and strand helices, and is termed the "relative

rotation"in this report. The relative rotation will be positive
for lang lay ropes and negative for regular lay ropes.

When the rope coordinate system is placed at the center of

the wire rope and a certain strand is specified to have an initial
strand rotation angle of 0 at z ' 0, as shown in figure 4A, the
vector equation of the helix for the centroidal axis of this strand is
R ' xs i % ys j % zs k.

(6)

COORDINATE SYSTEMS

Because several
geometric characteristics of helices that
are related to load distribution and wire stresses can be easily
evaluatedthrough vector analysis, vector equations describing
these helices are used to model the different wires in a rope.
boldface typeis used for
To distinguish vectors from scalars,
vectorsin the equations. Two three-dimensional, right-handed,
rectangular Cartesian coordinate systems are selected to
analyze the strand and wire helices.
Oneis a global fixed system called, for convenience, the
ropecoordinate system (figure 4A). The coordinates are X, Y,
and Z with the origin
at the center of the rope and the Z-axis
coincidingwith the rope axis. The X-Y plane is perpendicular
to the rope axis and is the plane where the angle of strand
rotationis measured. The X-axis is arbitrarily selected so that
it intersects, in its positive direction, with the centroidal axis
of a strand. The X-axis is also used as the reference line from
whichthe angle of strand rotation, 2s, is measured. The unit
vectorsdirected along the positive directions of X, Y, and Z
are i, j, and k, respectively.

The subscript "s" indicates variables that are associated with a

single helix. The parametric equations of R for a circular
strand helix are

and

xs ' rs cos(2s),

(7)

ys ' rs sin(2s),

(8)

zs ' rs2s tan("s).

(9)

The strand rotation angle 2s in equations 7, 8, and 9 is positive

for a right lay rope and negative for a left lay rope.
Similarly,when the strand coordinate system is initially
placedon the centroidal axis of a certain strand at 2s ' 0, a
certain wire is specified to have an initial angle of wire
rotation of 0 at w ' 0, as shown in figure 4B. The vector
equation of the circular helix for the centroidal axis of this
wireis similar to equation 6 in the rope coordinate system and
can be written as

Q ' u f % v g % w h.

(10)

Figure 4.C Coordinate systems for single helix.A, rope coordinate system;B, strand coordinate system.

The parametric equations of Q for a circular wire helix in a

strand are

and

u ' rw cos(2w),

(11)

v ' rw sin(2w),

(12)

w ' rw2w tan("w).

(13)

The wire rotation angle 2w in equations 11, 12, and 13 is

positiveif it forms a right-hand strand and negative if it forms
a left-handstrand. Because the coordinate system is moving
alongthe centroidal axis of the strand, w simply represents the
path length along the centroidal axis that the system has
traveled for a wire rotation angle 2of
w.
Double Helix Model

The double helix model can be developed by properly

combining the vector R in the rope coordinate system and a
vectorq on the U-V plane of
the strand coordinate system, as
shownin figure 5. It is assumed that, in the rope coordinate
system,a position vector P with the head of the vector located
at (u,v,w) of the strand coordinate system traces the centroidal
axis of a double helical wire and has a general form

P ' xw i % yw j % zw k,

(14)

wherexw, yw, and z w are the component functions. The subscript "w" indicates variables that are associated a double
helix.
The vector q in the strand coordinate system is a position
vectorthat traces the centroidal axis of a double helical wire
on the U-V plane at a certain value of w in the strand
coordinate system. The vector equation for q may be
written as

q ' u f % v g.

(15)

The w component is not needed in specifying the location of

the centroidal axis of a double helical wire because q is always
on the U-V plane. The parametric equations for u and v are
identical to equations 11 and 12.
Becausethe head of R is located exactly at the tail of q,
the vector P can be readily obtained through vector addition
once the vectorq in the strand coordinate system is projected
to the rope coordinate system. Using the fact that the U-axis
is parallel to the X-Y plane and the line that specifies the angle
of strand rotation (2s) and that the U-V plane is perpendicular
to the W-axis, which has an angle of strand helix ( "s), the
individualprojections of u and v on the X-, Y-, and Z-axes are

By introducing the relative rotation(defined

n
by equation 5)
into equations 7, 8, 9, 16, 17, 19, and 20, replacing u and v
withequations 11 and 12, and substituting them into equation
23, the following component functions for the double helix
model in terms of only wire rotation angle are obtained.

' rs cos

2w
n

% rw cos(2w) cos

& rw sin("s)sin(2w) sin

2w
n

(24)

The sign for 2w is positive when it rotates counterclockwise

yw 'r s sin

2w
n

% r w cos(2w) sin

% r w sin("s) sin(2w)cos

z w ' r s tan("s)

2w
n

2w
n

2w
n

& r w cos("s) sin(2w)

(25)
(26)

and negative when it rotates clockwise. The lay type determinesthe sign for n as defined by equation 5. The component
zw is always positive and increases in the direction that the
helix advances.
Figure 5.C Coordinate system for double helix.

and

EXAMPLE FOR A SPECIFIC WIRE ROPE

xu ' u cos(2s),

(16)

yu ' u sin(2s),

(17)

zu ' 0,

(18)

xv ' & v sin("s) sin(2s),

(19)

yv ' v sin("s) cos(2s),

(20)

zv ' & v cos("s).

(21)

The vector q now can be expressed in the rope coordinate

system as

q ' (xu % xv) i % (yu % yv) j % (zu % zv) k.

(22)

P is the sum ofR and q, the general form

Because the vector
P now can be written as
of the vector equation for

P ' (xs % xu % xv) i % (ys % yu % yv) j % (zs % zu % zv) k. (23)

The circular helix models presented above are applicable

to any type of rope construction as long as its strands are
round, i.e., the wires are laid in circular pattern. As an
example,the structural parameters of a 33-mm 619 Seale,
IWRC,right regular lay wire rope are used to show how the
model for a specific rope is obtained.
Thebasic strand arrangement of a 619 Seale wire rope is
shown in figure 6. The structural parameters of different
strandsare presented in table 1. The strand cross sections perpendicularto the strand or wire helix axis are shown in
figures7 through 9. The structural parameters of the single
anddouble helical wires in each strand are presented in table 2.
Some of the parameters, such as the lay length of strand, the
lay length of wire, and the relative rotation, were calculated
basedon the basic relationships given by equations 1, 3, and 5.
The model for single helical wires can be obtained by
simply substituting the values of the
parameters rs and " s, as
indicatedin table 2, into equations 7, 8, and 9. The model for
doublehelical wires can be obtained by substituting the values
of the parameters rs , rw , "s, and n as shown in table 2 into equations24, 25, and 26. As examples, the component functions of
the model for each type of wire in the rope are presented
below.

10

Figure 6.C Strand arrangement of 33-mm 619 Seale, IWRC,

right regular lay wire rope.

Figure 7.C Cross section of IWRC strand S1.

Table 1.C Structural parameters of strands in 33-mm 619 Seale wire rope

Strand

Form

No. of
strands

Strand
radius,
mm

1
6

2.271
2.016

5.110

IWRC:
S1. . . . . . . . . . Straight. . . . .
S2. . . . . . . . . . Single helix
..
Seale:
S3. . . . . . . . . . Single helix
..
NAp Not applicable.

Helix parameters
rs,
mm

"s,
rad

Ls,
mm

NAp
4.287
11.41
3

NAp
1.2362

NAp
77.48

1.2259

199.61

Table 2.C Structural parameters of wires in 33-mm 619 Seale wire rope

Wire

No. of
wires per
strand

Straight:
W10 . . . . . . . . . . .
1
Single helical:
W11 . . . . . . . . . . .
6
W20 . . . . . . . . . . .
1
W30 . . . . . . . . . . .
1
Double helical:
W21 . . . . . . . . . . .
6
W31 . . . . . . . . . .
9
W32 . . . . . . . . . . .
9
NAp Not applicable.

Wire
radius,
mm

Helix parameters
rs,
mm

"s ,
rad

Ls,
mm

rw,
mm

"w ,
rad

Lw,
mm

0.801

NAp

NAp

NAp

NAp

NAp

NAp

NAp

0.735
0.704
1.456

1.536
4.287
11.413

1.2864
1.2362
1.2259

33.02
77.48
199.61

NAp
NAp
NAp

NAp
NAp
NAp

NAp
NAp
NAp

NAp
NAp
NAp

0.656
0.712
1.243

4.287
11.413
11.413

1.2362
1.2259
1.2259

77.48
199.61
199.61

1.360
2.168
3.867

1.4149
1.7849
1.9408

54.37
1.5087
62.65 &3.3855
62.65 &3.3855

11

2.

3.

4.

Wire W11
xs ' 1.536 cos(
2s)

(7a)

ys ' 1.536 sin(

2s)

(8a)

zs ' 5.2552s

(9a)

xs ' 4.287 cos(

2s)

(7b)

ys ' 4.287 sin(

2s)

(8b)

zs ' 12.3312s

(9b)

Wire 20

Wire W21

xw ' 4.287 cos

Figure 8.C Cross section of IWRC strand S2.

2
1.5087

% 1.360 cos(2w)
& 1.285 sin(2w)

yw ' 4.287 sin

(24a)

2
1.5087

% 1.360 cos(2w)
% 1.285 sin(2w)

zw ' 8.1732w & 0.447 sin(

2w)
5.

Figure 9.C Cross section of Seale strand S3.

1.

Wire W10

Because this is the center wire of the rope, its path is always
on the Z-axis. The vector equation has only one component in
the direction of k, and the magnitude is simply the rope length.

(25a)

(26a)

Wire W30
xs ' 11.413 cos(
2s)

(7c)

ys ' 11.413 sin(

2s)

(8c)

zs ' 31.7682s

(9c)

12

6.

7.

Wire W31

xw ' 11.413 cos

2w
& 3.3855

xw ' 11.413 cos

% 2.168 cos(2w) cos

(24b)

yw ' 11.413 sin

& 3.

% 3.867 cos(2w)

& 2.040 sin(2w) sin

zw ' &9.3842w & 0.733 sin(

2w)

Wire W32

(26b)

& 3.639 sin(2w)

(24c)
z ' &9.3842w & 1.307 sin(
2w)

yw ' 11.413 sin

&

% 2.168 cos(2

(26c)

2w
& 3.3855

% 3.867 cos(2w) sin

% 2.040 sin(2
(25b)

% 3.639 sin(2w) cos

(25c)

MODEL APPLICATIONS
Themodel for a specific wire rope can be easily obtained,
configurations.Using the model developed in this report, the
as shown in the example above, and has many practical appliwire paths can be easily generated by a computer. They not
cations. It can be used to generate the wire paths and to evalonly reveal the shapes
of the wire paths, but also are useful in
uatethe geometric properties of the wires. The effect of deforlocatingthe places where a wire will be rubbed by the other
mation can be determined by substituting the structural
wiresand in determining the interval at which an outer wire
parametersof the deformed rope into the original model. The
will be exposed on the rope surface.
model also has other applications, such as predicting damage Typicalpaths of single helical wires generated by equapatternsthrough external and internal wear, examining and
tions 7a-8a-9a, 7b-8b-9b, and 7c-8c-9c for wires W11, W20
improvingthe design of a rope construction prior to manuand W30, respectively, are shown in figure 10. The paths
facturing,and producing three-dimensional pictures of the
shownare in about one lay of strand S3. Typical paths of
wires for computer analysis.
doublehelical wires generated by equations 24a-25a-26a, 24b25b-26b,and 24c-25c-26c for wires W21, W31, and W32, respectively,are shown in figures 11 through 13. The paths
GENERATION OF WIRE PATHS
shownare in about two lays of the strand formed by each wire.
As described earlier, the wires in wire ropes have three
The reason for the major
difference between the shape of the
forms: straight, single helix, or double helix. The only
W21path and that of the W31 and W32 paths is that strand S2,
straightwire in a rope is the center wire in an IWRC. The
whichcontains wire W21, is a lang lay strand, whereas strand
wiresaround the center wire forming the center strand and the
S3,which contains W31 and W32, is a regular lay strand. The
centerwires in the outer strands of the core and in the surface
side views ofall wire paths show much sharper turns than the
strandshave the shape of a single helix. The wires forming the
actual wire paths. This is because much larger scales have
o
u
t
e
r
s
t
r
a
n
d
s
been selected on the Y coordinate than those on the
of the core and the surface strands except their center wires
Z coordinate of these figures so that more of their paths can be
have double helical paths that are very complex in their
viewed.

13

Figure 10.
C Paths of single helical wires W11, W20, W30.

Figure 12.
C Path of double helical wire W31.

Figure 11.
C Path of double helical wire W21.
Figure 13.
C Path of double helical wire W32.

14

EVALUATION OF GEOMETRIC PROPERTIES

To learn how the tensile load is distributed among the wires
in a rope and to calculate wire stresses, several geometric properties of each wire must be evaluated before and after the application
of load. These properties are the path length, curvature, and
torsion.

Path Length Per Lay of Strand

The equations for evaluation of the path length of single and
double helical wires in each lay of the strand can be derived from
equations 2, 3, and 4 and are shown in equations 27 and 28.

Path length of single helical wires in each lay of strand:

2Brs
cos("s)
Path length of double helical wires in each lay of strand:
Sw '

Ss '

(27)

2Brs
cos("s) sin("w)

(28)

Curvature and Torsion

A special moving frame of reference, similar to the strand
coordinate system adapted in the mathematical modeling, has been
used in the generation of the basic equations for evaluation of the
curvature and torsion of a curve in three-dimensional space
[Sokolnikoff and Redheffer 1958; Leithold 1986]. This frame is
formed by a three-dimensional, right-handed set of orthogonal unit
vectors, as shown in figure 14. The origin of the frame is located
at the head of any position vector that may be Ror Pof the models
just developed. The three unit vectors t, n, and b are called the
unit tangent, the unit principal normal, and the unit binormal
vectors, respectively. The frame is sometimes referred to as the
"moving trihedral" associated with the curve.
The curvature at a certain point of a curve is a measure of how
quickly the curve changes direction at that point. It is the
reciprocal of the radius of the curve at that point and expressed in
the unit of 1/mm in this report. In a wire, a change of the
curvature is produced by bending moments that act on the wire
cross section. Curvature not only is related to the shearing stress,
but also affects the distribution of the tensile stress on the cross
section. Therefore, the deformation of the rope structure in terms
of the curvature change needs to be specified to determine its
effect on shearing and normal stresses.

Table 3 shows the path lengths per lay of strand for a 619
Seale rope as calculated by equations 27 and 28. The table also
shows the wire-to-rope length ratios by comparing the wire paths
to the strand lay lengths.

Table 3.C
CPath length of wires per lay of strand

Wire
Straight:
W10 . . . . . .
Single helical:
W11 . . . . . .
W20 . . . . . .
W30 . . . . . .
Double helical:
W21 . . . . . .
W31 . . . . . .
W32 . . . . . .

Path length
per lay
of strand,
mm

Lay length
of strand
referred to

Lay length
of strand Ls,
mm

Wire-to-rope
length
ratio

NAp

NAp

NAp

1.000

L11
L20
L30

33.02
77.48
199.61

34.40
82.03
212.10

1.042
1.059
1.063

L20
L30
L30

77.48
199.61
199.61

83.04
217.06
227.50

1.072
1.087
1.140

NAp Not applicable.

Figure 14.
C The moving trihedral.

15

The curvature vector is defined to be the first derivative of t

in the moving trihedral, as shown in figure 14, with respect to arc
length of a curve. It can be expressed as 6n, where 6 is a scalar
multiplier. The curvature vector is in the same direction of the
principal normal vector. The magnitude of this vector is called the
curvature of the curve and is simply equal to 6 because the
magnitude of n is unity. The curvature of a straight line is always
zero because the tangent vector is constant. The curvature of the
centroidal axis of either a single or a double helical wire, therefore,
may be specifically defined to be the magnitude of the rate of
change of the unit tangent vector with respect to arc length of
the wire.
Basic formulas derived for evaluation of curvature are
expressed in terms of the position vector with arc length as the
parameter, because arc length arises naturally from the shape of
the curve [Sokolnikoff and Redheffer 1958]. To directly apply the
model developed in this report, it is more convenient to use
equations 29 and 30 for computation of the curvature [Stewart
1991]. The vectors R and P denoted with single and double
primes in the equations represent the first and second derivatives,
respectively, with regard to 2s or 2w, just as for real-valued functions. Similarly, the vectors denoted with triple primes, to be used
later in this report, represent the third derivatives with respect to 2s
or 2w. The symbol "| |", by which the vector is bounded,
represents the magnitude of the vector, which is generally used in
vector analysis. R was given by equation 6, and its component
functions were given in equations 7, 8, and 9. P was given by
equation 14, and its component functions were given in
equations 24, 25, and 26.

Curvature of single helical wires:

6s '

*R! R"*
*R!*3

(29)

Curvature of double helical wires:

6w '

*P! P"*
*P!*3

(30)

Substituting the first and second derivatives of each vector

into equations 29 and 30 and performing the cross and dot products
and other operations, the expanded forms of these equations
expressed in terms of the component functions are shown below.

Expanded curvature equation for single helical wires:

6s '

(ys!zs"& zs!ys")2 % (zs!xs"& xs!zs")2 % (xs!ys"& ys!xs")2

(xs!)2 % (ys!)2 % (zs!)2

(29a)

After substituting the functions into equation 29a, it can be reduced

to its simplest form, as shown in equation 29b. This expression
indicates that the curvature of a single helical wire is independent
of the angle of strand rotation and is constant for a given helix
angle.

6s '

cos2("s)

(29b)

rs

Expanded curvature equation for double helical wires:

6w '

(yw! zw"& zw!yw")2 % (zw!xw"& xw!zw")2 % (xw!yw"& yw!xw")2

(xw!)2 % (yw!)2 % (zw!)2

(30a)

The curvatures were computed for both single and double

helical wires in a 619 Seale wire rope. The results for single
helical wires are shown in table 4. The results for double helical
wires are shown in table 5, with the absolute value of 2wincreasing
from 0 to 360 at increments of 15.
The curvatures of the IWRC and S3 helical wires were plotted
against the absolute value of the angle of strand or wire rotation.
Their relationships are shown in figure 15 for two periods. They
indicate that (1) the curvature of single helical wires is independent
of the angle of strand rotation, as expressed by equation 29b,
(2) the curvature of double helical wires is a periodical function of
the angle of wire rotation with a period of 360, and (3) the
curvature of double helical wires is at maximum when the wires
are farthest from the rope center and at minimum when the wires
are nearest to the rope center because the angle of wire rotation is
measured from the positive U-axis, which points away from the
rope center, as shown in figure 5.
Table 4.C
CCurvature and torsion
of single helical wires
Wire
W11 . . . . . .
W20 . . . . . .
W30 . . . . . .

Curvature,
1/mm
0.0513
0.0252
0.0100

Torsion,
1/mm
0.1753
0.0724
0.0179

16

CCurvature and torsion of double helical wires

Table 5.C
Angle of
wire
rotation, o
0 ......
15 . . . . . .
30 . . . . . .
45 . . . . . .
60 . . . . . .
75 . . . . . .
90 . . . . . .
105 . . . . . .
120 . . . . . .
135 . . . . . .
150 . . . . . .
165 . . . . . .
180 . . . . . .
195 . . . . . .
210 . . . . . .
225 . . . . . .
240 . . . . . .
255 . . . . . .
270 . . . . . .
285 . . . . . .
300 . . . . . .
315 . . . . . .
330 . . . . . .
345 . . . . . .
360 . . . . . .

Curvature, 1/mm
W21
0.0652
0.0649
0.0638
0.0620
0.0593
0.0559
0.0517
0.0467
0.0411
0.0353
0.0297
0.0254
0.0238
0.0254
0.0297
0.0353
0.0411
0.0467
0.0517
0.0559
0.0593
0.0620
0.0638
0.0649
0.0652

W31
0.0202
0.0201
0.0197
0.0190
0.0180
0.0167
0.0151
0.0132
0.0110
0.0086
0.0060
0.0033
0.0016
0.0033
0.0060
0.0086
0.0110
0.0132
0.0151
0.0167
0.0180
0.0190
0.0197
0.0201
0.0202

Torsion, 1/mm
W32
0.0265
0.0264
0.0260
0.0254
0.0244
0.0232
0.0216
0.0197
0.0175
0.0152
0.0130
0.0113
0.0106
0.0113
0.0130
0.0152
0.0175
0.0197
0.0216
0.0232
0.0244
0.0254
0.0260
0.0264
0.0265

W21
0.1249
0.1256
0.1277
0.1313
0.1365
0.1435
0.1528
0.1653
0.1829
0.0286
0.2460
0.2914
0.3157
0.2914
0.2460
0.2086
0.1829
0.1653
0.1528
0.1435
0.1365
0.1313
0.1277
0.1256
0.1249

W31

W32

&0.0198
&0.0200
&0.0207
&0.0218
&0.0233
&0.0254
&0.0281
&0.0319
&0.0377
&0.0485
&0.0757
&0.1897
&0.7359
&0.1897
&0.0757
&0.0485
&0.0377
&0.0319
&0.0281
&0.0254
&0.0233
&0.0218
&0.0207
&0.0200
&0.0198

&0.0268
&0.0273
&0.0288
&0.0314
&0.0353
&0.0407
&0.0479
&0.0580
&0.0723
&0.0933
&0.1234
&0.1586
&0.1768
&0.1586
&0.1234
&0.0933
&0.0723
&0.0580
&0.0479
&0.0407
&0.0353
&0.0314
&0.0288
&0.0273
&0.0268

The torsion at a certain point of a curve measures the degree

of twisting of a curve at that point. The change of torsion in a wire
is produced by twisting moments that act on the wire cross section.
Angular deformation between cross sections results in shearing
stresses.
The first derivative of b in the moving trihedral, as shown in
figure 14, with respect to arc length of a curve will yield a vector
that is parallel to nand can be expressed as &Jn. The scalar multiplier J is called the torsion of the curve. It measures the rate at
which the centroidal axis of either a single or a double helical wire
twists out of its osculating plane, which is the plane containing the
unit tangent and the unit principal normal vectors. The torsion of
a straight line is defined to be zero. If the curve is a plane curve,
the torsion is always zero, because the osculating plane is the plane
of the curve and the unit binormal vector is constant.
Basicformulas derived for computation of torsion are expressedin terms of the position vector with arc length as the
parameter[Sokolnikoff and Redheffer 1958]. To directly
apply the models developed in this report, it is more
convenient to use equations
31 and 32 for computation of the
torsion [Stewart 1991].

Torsion of single helical wires:

Js '

R! R" @ R
*R
R! R"*2

(31)
Figure 15.
C Curvature of IWRC and S3 wires.

17

Torsion of double helical wires:

Jw '

P! P" @ P
*P! P"*2

(32)

Substitutingthe derivatives of each vector into the

equationsand performing the cross and dot products and other
operations,the expanded forms of these equations expressed in
terms of the component functions are shown below.

The torsions of the IWRC and S3 helical wires were

plottedagainst the absolute value of the angle of strand or wire
rotation. Their relationships are shown in figure 16 for two
periods. They indicate that (1) the torsion of single helical
wires is independent of the angle of strand rotation, as
expressedby equation 31b, (2) the torsion of double helical
wiresis a periodical function of the angle of wire rotation with
a period of 360, and (3) the torsion of double helical wires is
at minimumwhen the wires are farthest from the rope center
andat maximum when the wires are nearest to the rope center.
It is also noted that the minimum torsion occurs at the
locations where the curvature is at maximum, and the
maximum torsion occurs at the locations where the curvature
is at minimum.

Expanded torsion equation for single helical wires:

ANALYSIS OF DEFORMATIONS
Js '

xs(ys! zs"& zs!ys") % ys(zs!xs"& xs!zs") % zs(xs!ys"& ys!xs")

(ys!zs"& zs!ys") % (zs!xs"& xs!zs") % (xs!ys"& ys!xs")
2

(31a)

When a tensile load is applied to a wire rope, each

individual wire will deform. Because of the differences in the
wire lengths and the helix angles of single and double helical
wires, the load will not be distributed among the wires simply
based on the cross-sectional areas. The effect of these wire

After substituting the functions into equation 31a, it can

be reduced to its simplest form, as shown
in equation 31b. It
indicatesthat the torsion of a single helical wire is independent
of the angle of strand rotation and is constant for a given helix
angle.

Js '

sin("s) cos("s)
rs

(31b)

Expanded torsion equation for double helical wires:

Jw '

xw(yw!z w"& z w!yw") % yw(z w!xw"& xw!z w") % z w(xw!yw"& yw!xw")

(yw! z w"& z w!yw")2 % (z w!xw"& xw!z w")2 % (xw!yw"& yw!xw")2

(32a)

The torsions of both single and double helical wires in a

619Seale wire rope were computed. The results for single
helical wires are shown in table 4. The results for double
helical wires are shown in table 5, with the absolute value of
2w increasing from 0 to 360 at increments of 15. The
negativetorsions for W31 and W32 represent the twisting of
the centroidal axes of these wires in a left lay strand, where the
twisting is opposite in direction to that in a right lay strand.

Figure 16.
C Torsion of IWRC and S3 wires.

18

deformationson the geometry of the rope structure needs to be

determined. The major change is axial elongation along the
centroidalaxis of a wire. Accompanying the axial elongation
is a lateral contraction of the cross section. In addition,
bendingand twisting moments are generated in the wire that
causechanges in the curvature and torsion of the wire. The
combination of all of these individual wire deformations
results in the deformation of the rope structure.
There will be a resultant twisting moment, which will
cause the rope to rotate if the ends are not restrained.
Therefore,deformation of the rope structure will depend on
whetherthe rope is allowed to rotate or not. In mine hoisting,
the cage or skip and rope are prevented from rotating by the
shaftguides. Some rope manufacturers also produce rotationresistantrope [Wire Rope Technical Board 1993], which is
made with layers of strands laid in opposite directions to
producecounteracting torques. In the use of rope with both
ends restrained, the total number of strand lays and the total
numberof wire lays in a rope are kept constant. Thus, the
relative rotation, n, included in the
models for double helical
wires,remains constant as the rope structure deforms under
load. Because of the objective of evaluating the retirement
criteria formine hoists, only the restrained-rotation case will
be considered in this report.

which are the same as those shownin figure 3 for the

undeformed rope,will be used. The only differenceis to
replace theoriginal structuralparameterswith the
deformedones, i.e., S
with Srd, Ss with Ssd, rs with rsd, "s
r
with "sd, Sw with Swd, rw with rwd, and "w with "wd. When2s
' 2B, Srd becomesthe deformedlay length of strand,
which may be expressed as sL
(1 % ,r). On the basis of a
single lay of a strand, equations 33
and 34 are obtained for
single and double helical wires, respectively.
In each lay of
the strand,a double helical wire has an angle of wire
rotation of 2
Bn, although the strand only has an angle of
strand rotation of B2.

Path length of the deformed single helical wire in each lay

of strand:

Ssd '

[Ls(1 % ,r )]2 % (2Br

(33)

Path length of the deformed double helical wire in each lay

of strand:
[Ls(1 % ,r)]2 % (2Brsd )2 % (2

(34)

Axial Elongation and Lateral Contraction

The axial elongation and lateral contraction of the wires
will occur simultaneously when the rope is under tension.
Neithercan be determined independently. However, a sufficient number of equations may be established to obtain the
solutionsfor a given rope strain. The structural parameters of
the deformed rope used in deriving the required equations are
the path length of the wire in each lay of the deformed strand,
the wire strain, the reduced wire
radius, and the radius of the
deformedhelix. Each of them is described below. The
symbolsused are the same as those defined previously, except
that the subscript "d" has been added to represent their values
in the deformed rope structure. The variable used to specify
the axial elongation of the rope is the rope strain, which is
representedby ,r in the equations. It is determined by dividing
the amount of elongation of the rope by the original length
before the application of load.

Wire Strain
Hooke's law states that, within the elastic range, the
deformation produced by external
forces that act on nonrigid
bodiesis proportional to the stress. The path lengths of the
wire before and after the application of load, therefore, are
needed to specify the axial deformation and determine the
tensile stress.
To establish the relationship between lengths
the
of wire
and rope in the deformed rope structure, the developed views,

The wire strain is the change of the path length of a wire,

as expressed by equations 35 and 36.

Wire strain for single helical wires:

,s '

Ssd & Ss
Ss

(35)

Wire strain for double helical wires:

Swd & Sw
Sw
Reduced Wire Radius
,w '

(36)

Experiments show that the axial elongation of a wire in

tension is always accompanied by lateral contraction of the wire.
For any material, the ratio of the unit lateral contraction to the unit
axial elongation is known as Poisson's ratio, F, which is constant
within the elastic range. The unit lateral contraction for a round
wire is determined by dividing the reduction of the wire radius in
the deformed rope structure by the original radius. If R s and Rw
represent the original wire radii of single and double helical wires,
respectively, the reduced wire radii, Rsd and Rwd, can be expressed
in terms of the wire strain ,s and ,w, respectively, in accordance
with the definition of Poisson's ratio.

19

20

Radiusof the deformed strand helix for wire W30 or strand S3:

Reduced radius of single helical wires:

Rsd ' Rs(1 & F,s)

(37)

r30d ' R10d % 2R11d % 4R21d % 2R20d % R32d % r32d

(41)

Reduced radius of double helical wires:

Rwd ' Rw(1 & F,w)

(38)

A Poisson's ratio of 0.303 for steel [Avallone and Baumeister

1986] may be used for determining the reduced wire radius at
different wire strains.

The radius of the deformed wire helix for double helical

wiresalso is a function of the various reduced wire radii. For
example,the radii of the deformed wire helix for wires W21
and W31, according to figuresand
8 9, are simply the sum of
the various reduced wire radii, as shown below.

Radius of the deformed wire helix for wire W21:

Radius of Deformed Helix
The radius of the deformed helix for single helical wires
is a function of thevarious reduced wire radii. For example,
the radii of the deformed helices for wires W11 and W20,
according to figures 6 through 8, are simply the sum of the
various reduced wire radii, as shown below.

Radius of the deformed strand helix for wire W11:

r11d ' R10d % R11d

(39)

Radiusof the deformed strand helix for wire W20 or strand S2:
r20d ' R10d % 2R11d % 2R21d % R20d

(40)

Theradius of the deformed strand helix for wire W30 or strand

S3 cannot be simply expressed as in equations 39 and 40 for
wires W11 and W20. It will depend on the radius of the
deformedwire helix for wire W32, r32d, which is not merely
the sum of the various reduced wire radii. However, both can
be
related by the following equation.

r32d &

'

R32d &

&(c2 uc % c5) %

r21d ' R20d % R21d

(42)

Radius of the deformed wire helix for wire W31:

r31d ' R30d % R31d

(43)

Theradius r32dwill be dependent on the location of the contact

point, as shown in figure 9, of the adjacent elliptical cross
sectionsof wires W31 and W32 in the deformed rope structure.
Assumingthat the contact point between the wire W32 at 2w '
&3B/2 rad and the wire W31 at 2w ' &(3B/2 % B/9) rad is at
(uc,vc) on the U-V plane, which is perpendicular to the
centroidalaxis of the deformed strand S3, equations 44 and 45
can be derived. Equation 44 is obtained from the equations of
be equal
the two ellipses by letting31vof the upper quadrants
to v32 of the lower quadrants at u ' u c. Equation 45 is obtained
by letting theirrespective derivatives be equal, i.e., dv31/du '
dv32/du at u ' uc. The equations represent two conditions that
r32d must satisfy.

Radiusof the deformed wire helix for wire W32 subject to two
conditions:

[uc L32(1% ,30)]2

[L32(1% ,30)]2 % (2Br32d )2
2

(c2 uc % c5)2 & 4c3 (c1 uc % c4 uc % c6)

2c3

(44)

21

(45)

uc[L32 (1% ,30 )]2

[L32 (1% ,30 )]2 % (2Br32d )2

[L32 (1% ,30 )]2 % (2Br32d )2

(R32d & uc )[L32 (1% ,30 )]2 % (2Br32d R32d )2

'

1
&c2 %
2c3

c2(c2uc % c5) & 2c3(2c1uc % c4)

2

(c2uc % c5)2 & 4c3(c1uc % c4uc % c6)

22

The coefficients c1 through c6 in these equations are described

by the following expressions, where N ' B/9. The common
term in all of the coefficients is7, cas defined in equation 52.
2
c1 ' cos2(N) % sin (N)
c7

2 sin(N) cos(N) %

2 sin(N)
c7

2
c3 ' sin2(N) % cos (N)
c7

(46)

(47)

'

& 2 cos(N) (R30d % R31d )

c7

(50)

c6 '

2
(R30d % R31d )2 & R31d
c7

(51)

[L30(1 % ,r
% (2Br30
L30(1 % ,r)]2 % (2Br30d )2 %
)]2

Angle of the deformed strand helix:

If the original"s is less thanB/2 rad, then

"sd ' tan& 1 Ls(1 % ,r )

2Brsd
(49)

'

When the rope elongates under tensile load and is restrainedfrom rotating, the angles of the strand and wire helices
will also change because of the axial elongation and lateral
contractionof the wire. Using figure 3, the relationship betweenthe angle of the deformed strand or wire helix and the
rope strain,,r, is given in the following equations.

(48)

& 2 sin(N)(R30d % R31d)

c7

Angle of Deformed Helix

(53)

If the original"s is greater thanB/2 rad, then

"sd ' B & tan& 1 Ls(1 % ,r )

2Brsd

(54)

Angle of the deformed wire helix:

If the original"w is less thanB/2 rad, then

(52)

Because wire W10 is the straight wire of strand S1, the

wire strain is identical to the rope strain. Its reduced wire
radius,R10d, is simply equivalent to R10(1 & F,r). The structural parameters in length measurement for the other helical
wires are interrelated, as indicated by the equations above.
Theycan be determined by solving the required simultaneous
equationsfor the wires in each strand. For example, four
simultaneousequations, i.e., equations 33, 35, 37, and 39, may
be solved for the structural parameters of wire W11 under a
certainrope strain. Once the structural parameters of the wires
in strand S1 in the deformed rope become known, the
structuralparameters of the wires in strand S2 under the same
rope strain can be determined by solving eight simultaneous
equations,i.e., equations 33, 35, and 37 written for wire W20
withequation 40 and equations 34, 36, and 38 written for wire
W21 with equation 42. Using the solutions obtained for the
wires in strands S1 and S2, the structural parameters of the
wires in strand S3 under the same rope strain can be
determined by solving 20 simultaneous equations, i.e.,
equations 33, 35, and 37 written for wire W30 with
equation41; equations 34, 36, and 38 written for wire W31
withequation 43; and equations 34, 36, and 38 written for wire
W32 with equations 44 through 52.

wd '

tan& 1

[Ls(1 % ,r)]2 % (2Brsd )

(2Bnrwd )2

(55)

If the original"w is greater thanB/2 rad, then

wd '

B& tan& 1

[Ls(1 % ,r)]2 % (2Brsd

(2Bnrwd )2

(56)

Usingthe radii of the deformed helix determined previously, the angle of the deformed helix for single helical wires, "sd,
can be calculated with either equation 53 or 54, depending on
whetherthe original angle, "s, is less than or greater than B/2.
Similarly,the angle of the deformed helix for double helical
wires,"wd, can be calculated with either equation 55 or 56, also
dependingon whether the original angle, "w, is less than or
greaterthan B/2. The lay length of strand, L s, in these equations is the original lay length.
The model for the deformed wire rope can now be constructed by replacing the structural parameters
in the original
modelwith the deformed ones obtained from the analysis of
deformations shown above.

23

Bending and Twisting

To determine the bending and twisting of the wires, the
curvatureand torsion of the deformed wires must be evaluated.
The equations required for evaluation are the same as those
derivedearlier, except that the structural parameters of the deformed rope or the component functions of the deformed
modelmust now be used in equations 29b and 31b for single
helical wires and equations 30a and 32a for double helical
wires.
If 6sd and 6 wd represent the curvatures of the deformed
single and double helical wires, respectively, then bending
may be expressed as (6sd & 6s) or (6wd & 6w). Similarly, if Jsd
and Jwd

represent the torsions of the deformed single and double

helical wires, respectively, then
twisting may be expressed as
(Jsd & Js) or (Jwd& Jw). As indicated by equations 29b and 31b,
both the curvature and torsion of the deformed single helical
wires also will be
independent of the angle of strand rotation.
Therefore,both the bending and twisting of single helical wires
would be uniform along their entire paths when a load is
applied. Both the curvature and torsion of the deformed
doublehelical wires are periodical functions of the angle of
wire rotation. The period is 2B, just as shown in figures 15
and 16 for the undeformed double helical wires.

CONCLUSIONS
The model developed in this report fully describes the geometry of the structure of wire ropes of any round-strand
construction. It is expressed by vector equations in a threedimensional,right-handed, rectangular Cartesian coordinate
systemand is general enough that any combination of wire and
strandlay directions can be handled if the stated sign conventionsfor the angles of strand and wire rotation and the relative
rotation are followed in the component functions.
The wire paths are defined for the first time by using a
developedmodel, which not only reveal the shapes of the
various wires, but also are useful for predicting damage
patternsthrough external and internal wear. The geometric
properties of each wire can be easily evaluated by using this
model. A 33-mm 619 Seale, IWRC, right regular lay wire
rope was analyzed to illustrate the model's usefulness.

A system of equations was also established for

determiningthe structural parameters of the deformed rope at
a given rope strain, with restrained ends, thus obtaining the
model for the deformed rope. The geometric properties of
each deformed wire can be evaluated the same way as shown
in this report for the undeformed rope.
It is recommended for
future work that stress analysis be
conductedbased on the changes of these geometric properties
of the deformed wires to determine how the load is distributed
among these wires. Furthermore, the model could be used to
studythe effect of wear and breaking of wires on strength loss
for the various round-strand wire ropes used in mine hoisting
so that more scientifically based retirement criteria can be
established.

REFERENCES
Avallone EA,
Baumeister T III, eds. [1986]. Marks' standard handbook
formechanical engineers. 9th ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Book Co.,
p. 5-16.
CFR.Code of Federal regulations.
Washington, DC:Government
U.S.
Printing Office, Office of the Federal Register.
Costello
GA [1990]. Theory of wire rope. New York, NY: SpringerVerlag, pp. 53-54.
LeeWK [1991]. An insight into wire rope geometry. Int J Solids
Structures
28(4):471-490.

Leithold
L [1986]. The calculus with analytic geometry. 5th ed. New
York, NY: Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc., pp. 1072-1077.
Sokolnikoff IS, Redheffer RM[1958]. Mathematics of physics and modern
engineering. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., pp. 311-315.
Stewart
J [1991]. Calculus. 2nd ed. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole
Publishing Co., pp. 688-691.
WireRope Technical Board [1993]. Wire rope users manual. 3rd ed.
Woodstock, MD: Wire Rope Technical Board.

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DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 98-148

September 1998