Wire Rope Inspection and Replacement Flashcards

What is the minimum number of randomly distributed broken wires in one rope lay that requires wire rope removal from service per ASME B30.5?

Answer: 6 broken wires

ASME B30.5 requires wire rope removal from service if there are 6 or more randomly distributed broken wires in one rope lay, or 3 or more in one strand.

Wire rope with kinks should be:

Answer: Immediately removed from service and discarded

Kinked wire rope must be immediately removed from service. Kinking permanently damages the internal structure of the rope, drastically reducing its strength and fatigue life.

What does corrosion inside a wire rope indicate, and how can it typically be detected?

Answer: Internal wire deterioration; detected by loss of rope diameter, stiffness changes, or discoloration at rope interstices

Internal corrosion is a serious form of wire rope deterioration that affects the core and inner wires, detectable by reduction in rope diameter, increased stiffness, or rust-colored discharge between strands.

When measuring wire rope for diameter reduction, at what percentage of nominal diameter reduction must rope be removed from service?

Answer: 3% reduction

Wire rope must be removed from service when its actual diameter has reduced by more than 3% from the nominal (catalog) diameter, as specified in ASME B30.5.

What is 'bird caging' in wire rope, and what causes it?

Answer: Outward flaring of wire rope strands caused by sudden shock load or reverse bending

Bird caging occurs when wire rope strands and/or wires flare outward from the rope body, typically caused by shock loads or reverse bending, permanently damaging the rope's structure.

A wire rope's 'lay direction' refers to:

Answer: The direction in which the outer strands are helically twisted around the rope's center

Lay direction describes whether the outer strands are twisted in a right-hand (regular) or left-hand (lang's lay) direction as they spiral around the rope's core.