Traction machine undercut grooves had worn down to the bottom of the undercut

• Description of defect

Untreated wearing grooves can lead to a serious case where the groove will lose the undercut resulted in ropes slip and hence causing abrasion to the ropes. Ropes that experience severe abrasion can cause them to break and even if one rope snapped, it creates destruction for both grooves and ropes and eventually cause hazard the system’s operation.

Ropes with higher tension/load will press the sheave grooves harder, which will result in wearing of ropes. Meanwhile, ropes with less tension/load will slide through the sheave grooves resulting in increased crown and sheave wear. In addition, V-grooves shape will increase the bearing pressure on the rope which will reduce the ropes service life and hence it is essential to maintain the roundness of its shape.

• Causes

1. Excessive wearing of grooves due to untreated worn grooves and unequal tension of ropes

A schematic diagram showing a condition where groove worn down to the bottom of the undercut [16]