06/03/2023, 16:25 Sheave groove inspection
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Sheave groove inspection
Nobles Wire Rope
Thursday, 28 November 2019 Sheaves
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Sheave wear can tell us a lot about our rope mechanisms as well as be a primary cause au/product-
of rope breakdown. Inspecting sheaves is vital to getting the most out of wire rope and catalogue/nobles-
avoiding trouble. It is important that we all work to avoid ‘bad sheaves’ wire-rope-sheaves)
Basic features of a sheave Make An Enquiry
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Sheaves are used wherever rope needs to turn a corner. They guide ropes to where we Id=243)
want them to lead and they re-direct the tension forces applied to ropes in ways that
we can use to our advantage. They cannot, of course do this without engaging the rope
and supporting it.
Sheaves achieve this with two basic features: Smarter Lifting
Articles
- The rope groove radius, and
Best Practice and
- The rope groove ‘Vee’ Guidelines
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Of course - there are plenty of other dimensions to consider if we want to have the
best design. Subscribe to
Smarter Lifting
When it comes to these basic features, they both are critical – even if the rope is
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perfectly lined up. This is because ropes are structures which generate and transmit
torsion along their axis – and they also move and have mass – which means they
vibrate, oscillate, carry their own momentum, and experience gravity.
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One thing we do know, is that if the vee angle isn’t there and isn’t the right sort of ([Link]
shape – that problems will occur. We also know that thanks to the torsion in the rope,
the rope will always be making contact with the flats of the vee and riding out of the
groove to some extent even if everything is perfectly lined up at the time.
We also know that the rope groove radius is critical.
The radius
The radius is a seemingly obvious feature. Rope is more-or-less round in section and
we naturally expect that a round shape will be the best thing for it. Which is of course
correct. The support offered by the curved surface is beneficial to the rope. The thing
is… rope when new is always a little bit bigger than the nominal size. How much
bigger? About 5 % (for fibre core 7%). Note: this is for ropes 8mm in diameter and larger
- ropes that are smaller than this have an even larger oversize tolerance.
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This means that the rope groove we specify needs to be larger than the rope nominal
size – why? Well if it wasn’t then it might end up smaller and eventually try to squish,
wear away and in the extreme case jam the rope – that would be bad.
Once we look at a rope mechanism – what we want to see at any point in time is a
rope groove radius which is just that little bit bigger than the rope. As a general
principle this is easy to understand – quite simply a little bit bigger is better than a little
bit smaller and even if the groove is way too big this isn’t as catastrophic as one which
is way too small.
So… we try to inspect the groove by measuring it. This sounds straight forward – but
isn’t quite so simple.
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Context
Context is important to any inspection. What are we looking at? Is this a sheave and
rope which are currently in service – or is the rope to be replaced? The reason that we
must know the context is that just like the sheave – rope wears too. Are we still
retaining the rope? If we are, then it will have some wear which we may or may not be
able to appreciate – it will be necessary to inspect the rope first.
With this information as to the context we are then able to discriminate between
standard limits for sheave dimensions. Limits vary a little between applicable
standards - although they aim for the same thing.
This is a large topic – and it is not possible to cover the detail in a single article. We
must therefore leave you with two essential limits to apply once we have avoided any
obviously ‘bad’ sheaves.
- Min radius for new sheaves or ropes per AS1418.1 = 0.535 times rope
nominal diameter.
- AS2759 advises that sheaves should be repaired when the radius reaches
0.515 times the diameter – but then cautions that grooves must be checked to
ensure they will accept replacement ropes.
This second limit stands to reason – since a new rope will likely not fit a 0.515 radius
groove, but a rope still in service might, because it will have lost some of its oversize.
Other standards (which may be specific to particular machines and industries) specify
similar values – an example of this is the American API RP 9B which is applied to some
drill rigs. Before we get carried away and try to measure our sheave grooves – we
must first eliminate any “Bad Sheaves”, otherwise our measurements might be
misleading, or to no avail.
So what is a bad sheave?
Bad sheaves
Sheaves can often be the cause of poor rope performance. In extreme cases they can
rapidly destroy a new rope to the extent that it lasts far less time than the rope it
replaces. This is a real problem because the most immediately available response to a
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rope breakdown is a new rope. Sheaves get forgotten, or are more difficult to address
in time.
The first and most important point thing to eliminate are ‘sheaves gone BAD’. Bad
sheaves are always going to be unkind to the rope. They are also going to be difficult
(or pointless) to condition monitor by measurement. A ‘bad sheave’ is going to be one
which has any of the bad wear situations we describe in the following.
Treading
A common wear presentation is so called ‘rifling’ or ‘treading’. When this occurs, we can
see the negative imprint of the rope onto the sheave.
This is where we start inspecting any groove. A set of marks much like the treading in
the image might be visible. These could simply be little marks in paint or galvanising –
indeed such marks could be a good thing, since such ‘witness marks’ can confirm to us
that a sheave has been load tested. They could also be simply the imprint of lubricant
or a little surface corrosion.
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The first point of inspection therefore is to wipe clean the groove and ensure that it is
possible to get a good look at it. This makes a difference specifically with respect to
treading. If we are looking at a situation where the rope is still in service, then a tiny
little treading can be tolerated. If we are changing the rope, then treading cannot be
tolerated because it will never match the shape of the new rope – even if it is the exact
same brand and size – even if it has been cut from the same reel. This is because one
and the other have worn together in sympathy.
Upon inspecting the sheave, we must establish it to be free from treading otherwise
we’ll be giving a new rope a rough ride – and we’ll also struggle to measure the wear
and apply limits.
Reading the sheave
Once we have the context, and have eliminated an obvious treading problem, the next
step is to ‘read the sheave’. Reading the sheave means feeling for ridges and burrs –
and working out if the shape we’re going to measure really is the right shape to begin
with.
This is what we might find:
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Wear can be apparent right in the middle of the groove. The rope may be cutting a slot
at the base of the groove and we may be able to feel a ridge developing at the
transition.
Wear can also give similar ridges but occur somewhere the rope is working back and
forth so that the groove radius is worn wider than it should be. The groove here is more
likely to be elliptical so it is both too large and not really the right shape. Without the
ridges this is a bit like using a sheave that is too large, but the presence of the ridges
makes this somewhat worse than that.
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Wear can often be biased towards one side.
In very severe cases we might see a rope spending a great deal of time on the vee flank
and even see wear right out to the sheave rim.
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Or we may have combinations of wear effects, which will make measuring the wear
difficult.
Several other points of inspection must also be attended to and inspectors must be
mindful of other forms of wear, deterioration and defect which they should look out
for.
In cases of severe fleet angle, or bearing spacer collapse the sheave may be worn on
the outside of its rim.
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In severe cases this is accompanied by a sharp burr forming which will rapidly destroy
any rope it touches.
Measuring the groove
Once the machinery is immobilised and made safe, or the sheaves have been safely
removed – the groove can be inspected.
Tools
Using the right tools can make all the difference. Measuring the groove radius of a
sheave requires a gauge.
There are two ways to do this.
Gauge and eye
Gauge and feeler
Ideally, both are applied. The inspector should always err on the side of caution and
assure themselves that the sheave grooves are (if anything) bigger than the measure
rather than the other way around. This is an important practical consideration since it
will not always be possible to measure an entire sheave from the best angle when it is
in situ.
Gauges
Using a gauge is not complicated – we just need to understand the tools in use and get
a good look at the job. If we can’t get a good look, then we may have to use a feeler
gauge, a torch, mirror to help us – or must remove the sheave.
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Groove radius is larger than the gauge.
Groove radius is smaller than the gauge.
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Groove radius looks to be a good match for the gauge.
But what sort of gauge do we have? In this example that’s a model of a true-size
gauge, so the radius is pretty much exactly 15mm. That would mean this groove could
be made for ropes from 26 to 28mm in diameter in accordance with the sheave block
standard (AS2089) – which is exactly what this is a picture of.
Gauges vary however. This depends upon what they are intended for. Some are true
size to cover various situations. Some gauges are made with minimum and maximum
values for a given application standard, some gauges are precision sets with a spread
of values to measure a single application and rope size.
Others are simply inexpensive plastic ‘guides’ with a nominal oversize included in the
design. These are not so good at measuring to standard. Gauges can also help us
detect ‘bad sheaves'.
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This sheave shows asymmetric wear and a ridge. Note also that there is some treading
(rifling) apparent.
Gauges come in many forms:
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Far from the whole story
Checking sheave grooves is only the beginning of sheave inspection. It is something
that every user should be aware of, and all users should be attuned to the problem of
‘bad sheaves’ – but there is a bigger story to tell.
Fullsome maintenance of sheaves also requires attention to the full gamut of other
issues. Sheaves can simply wear straight through and split, they can contain dents,
pits, cracks and gouges. Cast sheaves can contain hollows and inclusions, plastic
sheaves can perish. Bearings, seals, axles and supports can wear out or develop their
own problems. And sometimes the sheaves you have – are just not the right sheaves
for the job.
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If any of these are at all a concern to you, and if the safety and reliability of your reeved
systems are paramount then the only advice is to undertake a thorough strip down
overhaul of your sheaves on a periodic basis and seek professional engineering advice.
Nobles offer a variety of sheave groove measuring aids. We can provide gauges for
general inspections of various sheaves as well as specifically tailored gauges for
detailed condition monitoring of a single machine. Nobles also offer competent
inspection services onsite, as well as detailed inspection and overhaul of sheaves
covering all aspects of detectable defect and damage including bearings, shafts and full
assemblies. We also offer new replacement sheaves engineered for the best result.
For more information about our services or engineering capabilities or to speak to
one our lifting and rigging specialists, call us on 1300 711 559 or send us an email at
sales@[Link].
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