Propagation of Ultrasonic Guided Waves in Composite Multi-Wire Ropes

Abstract

Multi-wire ropes are widely used as load-carrying constructional elements in bridges, cranes, elevators, etc. Structural integrity of such ropes can be inspected by using non-destructive ultrasonic techniques. The objective of this work was to investigate propagation of ultrasonic guided waves (UGW) along composite multi-wire ropes in the cases of various types of acoustic contacts between neighboring wires and the plastic core. The modes of UGW propagating along the multi-wire ropes were identified using modelling, the dispersion curves were calculated using analytical and semi-analytical finite element (SAFE) techniques. In order to investigate the effects of UGW propagation, the two types of the acoustic contact between neighboring wires were simulated using the 3D finite element method (FE) as well. The key question of investigation was estimation of the actual boundary conditions between neighboring wires (solid or slip) and the real depth of penetration of UGW into the overall cross-section of the rope. Therefore, in order to verify the results of FE modelling, the guided wave penetration into strands of multi-wire rope was investigated experimentally. The performed modelling and experimental investigation enabled us to select optimal parameters of UGW to be used for non-destructive testing.

A Review of Non-Destructive Damage Detection Methods for Steel Wire Ropes

“…It was found that the higher frequency of guided waves in the steel WR lead to the faster energy attenuation, and the receiving length of elastic waves increased with the frequency. The propagation characteristics of various UGW between strands and cores of WR and their effects on the penetration depth of WR were studied in [57] by Raisutis et al In the work of [58], the efficiency of employing the magnetostriction of ferromagnetic materials were studied relying on the UGW method for WRs damage inspection, and the location and severity of damages were approximately identified and For purpose of the generation and reception of ultrasonic longitudinal guided waves in seven-wire steel strands in a pitch catch arrangement, Liu et al [53] optimized the magnetostrictive transducers configuration for both transmitter and receiver. Consequently, magnetostrictive transducers with an optimized configuration, including permanent magnet distribution and multilayer coil connection, could be efficiently used for the inspection of seven-wire steel strands by using UGW in a pitch catch arrangement.…”

“…It was found that the higher frequency of guided waves in the steel WR lead to the faster energy attenuation, and the receiving length of elastic waves increased with the frequency. The propagation characteristics of various UGW between strands and cores of WR and their effects on the penetration depth of WR were studied in [57] by Raisutis et al In the work of [58], the efficiency of employing the magnetostriction of ferromagnetic materials were studied relying on the UGW method for WRs damage inspection, and the location and severity of damages were approximately identified and characterized using the short-time Fourier transform and wavelet analysis.…”

Numerical and Experimental Investigation of Guided Wave Propagation in a Multi-Wire Cable

“…Ultrasonic guided wave (UGW)-based nondestructive testing (NDT) techniques are increasingly being used to inspect various multi-wire cables given their high sensitivity, long-range inspection, and full cross-sectional coverage properties. Many studies [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] related to guided wave dispersion properties, propagation characterization, signal processing methods, and wire breakage detection in multi-wire cables have been reported.…”

Non-Destructive Detection of Wire Rope Discontinuities from Residual Magnetic Field Images Using the Hilbert-Huang Transform and Compressed Sensing

“…The UGW method has been shown to provide a detection speed that is faster than other methods, but the method demonstrates a low anti-interference ability and suffers from strong background noise [3,4,5,6,7]. Treyssède and Laguerre’s [3] applied the transmission characteristics of UGW for wire rope testing.…”

“…Xu [7] evaluated the detection precision of the UGW method for wire rope defects obtained at different frequencies, showing that wire ropes at higher frequencies had longer recovery lengths for their elastic waves. Raisuitis [5] investigated the propagation of UGWs along composite multi-wire ropes with various types of acoustic contacts between neighboring wires and the plastic core. Tse and Rostami [6] investigated the efficiency of employing the magnetostriction of ferromagnetic materials in conjunction with the UGW method for wire rope defect inspection, and the location and severity of defects were approximately identified and characterized using the short-time Fourier transform and wavelet analysis.…”