SPECIFICATION FOR STAINLESS STEEL WIRE ROPES SERVICE CONDITION The stainless steel wire ropes are used

in the auto-tensioning devices installed at the ends of each tension length of OHE to suspend the counterweights. With the variation in ambient temperature the length of OHE changes. These variations are taken up by the wire rope moving around the drum/pulleys and a constant tension is maintained in the OHE conductors. The wire ropes are intended for use throughout India including marine/industrially polluted areas and in coastal belt with heavy rains in monsoon and saline atmosphere. The maximum temperature in Sun may reach 85 C and humidity 100%. The wire rope is also subjected to vibrations due to wind and passage of trains. MATERIAL FOR WIRE The material for wire used for stainless steel wire ropes shall be Austenitic Nickel Chromium Molybdenum Stainless Steel conforming to grade 316 S 18 of BS: Part -4- 1970 or AISI grade 310 equivalent to grade D4 Cr 17 Ni 12 Mo2 of IS: 6528-1972. Wires of the rope shall be drawn from wire-rods of lower diameter avoiding drastic reduction in cross section. Intermediate annealing shall be adopted in the cold drawing process to relieve locked-up (residual) stresses and to minimise conversion of austenite into martensite structure. SIZE OF WIRE AND WIRE ROPES Diameter The diameter of wire and wire ropes shall be as follows: Diameter of wire rope :8.5+0.34 -.085 mm Diameter of wire :0.4*-0.01mm The wire rope will be of construction 34 X 7 (6/1) and the central core shall be a fibre core (FC) made of Nylon 6. Diameter of the wires of different strands of different layers and the direction of lay shall be as given in TABLE-1". TABLE -1

Layer

No of Direction strands Of closing Of wires In strands 16 12(6+6) 6 Right hand Left hand Left hand

Direction of laying strands Left hand Left hand Left hand

Nominal Dia of wires in mm of central wire 0.46 0.48/0.36 0.48

Outer Middle Inner

Nominal Dia of wires in mm of cover wire 0.41 0.44/0.33 0.44

The tolerance for diameter of wires shall be (+/-0.01mm) Length : The ropes shall be supplied in the following lengths:8.0 metres (+0.05mm)(0.0mm) CONSTRUCTION OF WIRE ROPE The wire ropes shall be manufactured in accordance with and IS:3973-1967. IS: 2266-1977

The central or main core of the rope shall be of the size sufficient to give full support to the strands and shall be Fibre core (FC) made of Nylon 6". The tolerance for diameter of wires shall be (+/-0.01mm) The length of lay of ropes shall not be greater than eight times the diameter of the rope. PERFORMING : The wires and strands in ropes shall be preshaped to conform to helical shape which they take in the finished rope so as to make them lie dead in the rope without any tendency to unlay while the rope is in unloaded condition. JOINTS : No joints in the wires used for manufacture of rope shall be permitted. SEALING OF ENDS : The ends of the wire rope shall be properly sealed to prevent individual wires getting loose and opening out. The ends of rope shall be welded/fused together by electric welding/ fusion process. The diameter of the sealed ends shall not exceed the diameter of the rope.

IDENTIFICATION MARKING : In order to identify the manufacturer, the month and year of manufacture and tensile strength of wire used in manu- facturing wire rope, an aluminium alloy ferrule of adequate thickness and length (which shall be as small as possible) shall be provided at one end of the wire rope. The identification marking shall consist of the initials of manufacturer, month and year of manufacture on one side and TS 145 on the opposite side. The marking shall be clearly punched/ etched on the furrule. PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES : Tensile Properties : (a) Tensile strength of wire : 145 (+/-) 10 kgf/mm2 (b) Breaking load of wire rope : 4200 kgf minimum (c) One minute withstand load : 3580 kgf minimum X- martensite permeability : and residual stress and relative magnetic

The residual stresses shall not exceed 20 kgf/mm2 and X- martensite content shall not exceed 10% respectively to the wires taken from the completed rope. The relative magnetic permeability of the wires taken from complete ropes shall not exceed 6. The residual stress shall be measured by X-Ray diffraction method. X martensite content shall be measured by magnetic hysteresis saturation loop method.

FREEDOM FROM DEFECTS : The complete rope shall be free from defects like loose wires, broken wires, open strands or other irregularities.The strands shall be evenly laid and shall not unless when unwound from the reel or coil. The wires shall be free from injurious defects, i.e. cracks, pit marks, flattened surfaces, rusting,slivers and peelings etc. The surface shall be smooth.