Rope characteristics

➜ BREAKING STRENGTH

The calculated breaking strength of a steel wire rope is defined as the metallic cross section of a steel wire rope (the sum of the individual cross sections of all the wires making up the rope) multiplied by the nominal tensile strength of the steel wire rope.

The minimum breaking strength of the steel wire rope is the calculated breaking strength of the rope multiplied by the spin factor. The actual breaking strength of a steel wire rope is the breaking strength of the rope as determined in a breaking test. A new steel wire rope must achieve an actual breaking strength equal to or higher than the minimum breaking strength.

The breaking strength of a steel wire rope can be increased by increasing the metallic area of the rope (e.g. by using strands with higher fill factors, by compacting the strands or by swaging the rope), by increasing the tensile strengths of the individual wires or by increasing the spin factor of the rope. This can also be achieved by improving the contact conditions between the rope elements by using a plastic infill.