Uneven tension in elevator wire ropes intensifies operational vibration, accelerates wire rope wear, and poses a risk of rope breakage.
Elevator wire ropes are critical load-bearing components in the elevator system, and their condition directly affects operational safety. Issues such as wear, broken wires, corrosion, and elongation of wire ropes require professional inspection and timely treatment. This article systematically analyzes the selection, inspection, and maintenance technologies of wire ropes based on GB/T 8903-2018 "Steel Wire Ropes for Elevators" and GB/T 31821-2015 "Technical Conditions for Scrapping of Main Components of Elevators."
Article 5.9 of GB 7588-2003 specifies the selection and safety factor requirements for wire ropes. The safety factor of traction wire ropes shall not be less than 12, and three or more wire ropes shall be arranged. Common wire rope construction types include 8×19S+FC fiber core and 8×19S+IWR steel core; steel-core wire ropes have higher strength and better crush resistance, making them suitable for high-capacity elevators. Common nominal diameters are 8 mm, 10 mm, 12 mm, and 16 mm.
Wire rope inspection and maintenance are divided into six aspects: appearance inspection, diameter measurement, elongation monitoring, tension testing, lubrication condition inspection, and magnetic flux testing. Appearance inspection shall be conducted once a month, recording the number of visible broken wires, which shall not exceed 12 within one lay length. The deviation between diameter and nominal diameter shall not exceed 7%. After new wire ropes are put into service, elongation is fastest within 3 to 6 months, and rope shortening and tension adjustment shall be carried out promptly.
Tension testing requires that the tension deviation among individual wire ropes shall not exceed 5%; uneven tension will cause individual wire ropes to be overloaded and accelerate wear. The surface of wire ropes shall have uniform special-purpose grease to prevent internal corrosion. Magnetic flux non-destructive testing shall be conducted every 2 to 3 years to detect internal broken wires and corrosion. Any of the following conditions shall result in immediate scrapping: the number of visible broken wires reaching the specified value, diameter reduction reaching 7%, severe corrosion pitting, kinking or twisting, or lantern-shaped deformation.
During wire rope installation, kinking is strictly prohibited; a single kink renders the rope scrapped. When the traction sheave groove wear is excessive and the depth reduction does not exceed 1 mm, machining or replacement is required. The service life of wire ropes is typically 5 to 8 years, depending on usage frequency and maintenance quality. Through proper lubrication and tension maintenance, the service life can be extended from 5 years to 8 years, reducing the average annual cost by approximately 40%. For new elevators, tension shall be tested monthly during the first 6 months, with doubled frequency.
An office building elevator developed operational vibration after 3 years of operation. Inspection revealed that the tension deviation of 6 wire ropes reached 20%; after readjustment, operation was smooth. The lesson is that wire rope tension shall be tested quarterly and precisely adjusted during initial installation. Wire rope replacement costs approximately 30 to 50 yuan per meter; the total replacement cost for a 10-stop elevator is approximately 3,000 to 5,000 yuan.
Daily maintenance records for wire ropes shall include the tension values, number of broken wires, and diameter data from each inspection, establishing a wire rope health file. Data trend analysis can provide early warning of wire rope condition deterioration and provide a basis for planned replacement. Wire rope replacement for hotel elevators shall be scheduled during the off-season, with spare parts procured in advance and work performed at night or during low-traffic periods to minimize the impact on guest travel. The maintenance contractor shall provide an annual wire rope inspection report, including magnetic flux testing results and life assessment conclusions, for the owner's review and archiving.
Wire rope maintenance management shall also address the impact of environmental factors on wire rope life. Humidity and temperature variations in the hoistway affect the lubrication condition and corrosion rate of wire ropes. It is recommended to install temperature and humidity sensors in the hoistway to monitor environmental parameters in real time. When humidity exceeds 80%, hoistway dehumidification measures shall be activated. The temperature in the elevator machine room shall be controlled between 5 and 40 degrees Celsius to avoid high temperatures accelerating wire rope aging. Wire rope lubrication shall use elevator-specific wire rope lubricating grease and be performed according to the manufacturer's recommended intervals. Excessive lubrication will instead reduce the friction coefficient and affect traction capacity, so the standard dosage shall be used. Wire rope replacement shall follow the principle of batch replacement; old and new ropes shall not be mixed. After new rope installation, a full-load test shall be conducted to verify that traction conditions are qualified before normal operation. It is recommended to establish a wire rope usage file for each elevator, recording each tension test value, broken wire count, diameter measurement value, and lubrication operation information. Through long-term data accumulation, a wire rope life prediction model can be established to achieve scientific replacement plan management.
Wire rope maintenance management shall also address the impact of environmental factors on wire rope life. Humidity and temperature variations in the hoistway affect the lubrication condition and corrosion rate of wire ropes. It is recommended to install temperature and humidity sensors in the hoistway to monitor environmental parameters in real time; when humidity exceeds 80%, hoistway dehumidification measures shall be activated. The temperature in the elevator machine room shall be controlled between 5 and 40 degrees Celsius to avoid high temperatures accelerating wire rope aging. Wire rope lubrication shall use elevator-specific wire rope lubricating grease and be performed according to the manufacturer's recommended intervals. Excessive lubrication will instead reduce the friction coefficient and affect traction capacity, so the standard dosage shall be used. Wire rope replacement shall follow the principle of batch replacement; old and new ropes shall not be mixed. After new rope installation, a full-load test shall be conducted to verify that traction conditions are qualified before normal operation. It is recommended to establish a wire rope usage file for each elevator, recording each tension test value, broken wire count, diameter measurement value, and lubrication operation information. Through long-term data accumulation, a wire rope life prediction model can be established to achieve scientific replacement plan management. The annual wire rope inspection report shall include four items: appearance inspection results, diameter measurement data, tension testing results, and magnetic flux testing results. The report shall also provide remaining life prediction and replacement recommendations for the wire ropes. Wire rope management for hotel elevators shall combine elevator usage frequency and load characteristics to develop personalized maintenance plans. For example, service elevators and freight elevators have different usage frequencies and load conditions from passenger elevators; wire rope wear is faster, and maintenance intervals shall be correspondingly shortened. Wire rope procurement shall select qualified products provided by qualified suppliers; products shall have complete quality certification documents and type test reports. The first tension adjustment after wire rope installation shall be performed by experienced technicians, using a tension tester to detect and adjust each rope individually to ensure that the tension deviation of each wire rope is controlled within 3%.
The annual wire rope inspection report shall include four items: appearance inspection results, diameter measurement data, tension testing results, and magnetic flux testing results. The report shall also provide remaining life prediction and replacement recommendations for the wire ropes. Wire rope management for hotel elevators shall combine elevator usage frequency and load characteristics to develop personalized maintenance plans. For example, service elevators and freight elevators have different usage frequencies and load conditions from passenger elevators; wire rope wear is faster, and maintenance intervals shall be correspondingly shortened. Wire rope procurement shall select qualified products provided by qualified suppliers; products shall have complete quality certification documents and type test reports. The first tension adjustment after wire rope installation shall be performed by experienced technicians, using a tension tester to detect and adjust each rope individually to ensure that the tension deviation of each wire rope is controlled within 3%. Daily maintenance records for wire ropes shall include the tension values, number of broken wires, and diameter measurement data from each inspection, and data trend analysis shall be used to identify wire rope degradation patterns. Technological developments in wire ropes have also brought new options to the elevator industry. Coated wire ropes apply a special coating to the wire rope surface to improve corrosion resistance and wear resistance, extending service life by 2 to 3 times. The procurement cost of coated wire ropes is approximately 1.5 to 2 times that of ordinary wire ropes, but the full life cycle cost is more advantageous. High-strength wire ropes use higher-strength steel wire materials, which can reduce wire rope diameter under the same breaking force and reduce traction sheave groove wear. High-strength wire ropes are suitable for high-capacity elevators and high-speed elevators in super high-rise buildings. Wire rope condition monitoring technology is also continuously developing; electromagnetic testing technology can accurately detect internal broken wires and corrosion conditions of wire ropes, and fiber optic sensing technology can monitor the stress distribution and temperature changes of wire ropes in real time.
The annual inspection report for wire ropes should include four items: appearance inspection results, diameter measurement data, tension test results, and magnetic flux test results. The report should also provide remaining life prediction and replacement recommendations for the wire ropes. Wire rope management for hotel elevators should be combined with elevator usage frequency and load characteristics to develop personalized maintenance plans. Wire rope procurement should select qualified products provided by qualified suppliers, and the products should have complete quality certification documents and type test reports. The first tension adjustment after wire rope installation should be performed by experienced technicians to ensure that the tension deviation of each wire rope is controlled within 3%. Technological development of wire ropes has also brought new options to the elevator industry. Coated wire ropes apply a special coating to the wire rope surface to improve corrosion resistance and wear resistance, extending service life by 2 to 3 times. High-strength wire ropes use higher-strength steel wire materials, allowing reduced wire rope diameter under the same breaking tensile force and reducing traction sheave groove wear. Wire rope condition monitoring technology is also continuously developing. Electromagnetic testing technology can accurately detect internal broken wires and corrosion conditions of wire ropes, and optical fiber sensing technology can monitor stress distribution and temperature changes of wire ropes in real time, providing data support for predictive maintenance.
The key points of wire rope maintenance management lie in timely inspection and preventive replacement. Quarterly tension testing and annual magnetic flux testing are the main means of discovering hidden dangers in wire ropes, and the test data should be entered into the wire rope health file for trend analysis. Wire rope replacement should be comprehensively considered based on test results and life assessment, optimizing replacement timing while ensuring safety to reduce replacement costs. Technical standards and quality requirements for elevator wire ropes are continuously improving. Hotels should select qualified products from well-known brands and establish long-term cooperative relationships with qualified suppliers. Daily maintenance and regular inspection of wire ropes should be included as standard work content in elevator maintenance contracts, and maintenance units should strictly implement them in accordance with specification requirements and keep records.
Full life cycle management of fire elevators ensures functional reliability and compliance at critical moments through refined management of each stage: design, construction, acceptance, operation and maintenance, and renovation and renewal.