Experience and technologies in NDT of ropes

This paper deals with recent developments in non-destructive tests on operating steel wire ropes, with the aim of analyzing their conditions and residual resistance. The instruments for executing magneto-inductive tests on wire ropes - employed in cableways, chairlifts, mine elevators and, occasionally, in equipment for handling material in harbours (e.g. gantry cranes and portainers) – are commonly composed of three parts: the revealing device (detector); power supply; and a recorder, equipped with an amplification apparatus and paper rolls for printing the results. The system proposed in this work is composed of an innovative magnetic detector where the traditional paper recording system is substituted with a software interface that allows a digital recording of the signal. The performances in terms of accuracy and linearity of the proposed detector are tested through proper laboratory set up and are presented and discussed.