Environmental and sheave material effects on the wear of roping wire and sheave

摘要

Polymer replacement of steel pulley sheaves has been reported to reduce wear of wire cables. Nylon 6, PVC, UHMWPE, polyurethane (PU70D), acetal and mild steel sheaves were tested in a reciprocating rig, rolling against a high strength plain carbon steel wire. It was found that polymers containing chlorine (PVC and PU70D) greatly accelerated corrosion of the wire and that the severity of corrosion was dependent on relative humidity. Nylon 6, acetal and UHMWPE sheaves showed superior wear performance, compared to steel, PVC and PU70D sheaves. The influence of moisture on wear was investigated by introducing distilled water into some of the experiments.