Rolling/Sliding Wear Behavior of High Carbon Steel Wire Rod (HSWR) of Traction Machine

Steel wires are critical load-bearing components in a wide range of applications such as elevator, cranes, mine haulage etc. The traction machine of elevator which transmits power to wire rope causes micro-slip between wire rope and sheave during reciprocating action. The lubrication condition of wire rope is also changed due to the lack of grease. This study focuses on the wear behavior of steel wire and effect of both dry and grease conditions by using the rolling/sliding contact wear tester done under various slip ratios and rolling speeds. The experimental results of the wear volume curve against the number of revolutions under the grease condition are compared with the results under dry condition. The worn surface of steel wire and the size of wear particles were observed by SEM. In order to quantify the wear amount of steel wire we established an equation and finally obtained the wear coefficient.