People in the crane-building sector are searching for better and better materials to be use as heavy cable sheaves, for years. The steel sheaves bring in many disadvantages:
1. They increase the “dead” weight when scaling up, especially in mobile cranes;
2. The useful life of steel hoisting cables is shortened by its use.
3. They also suffer from problem of corrosion, particularly in offshore applications.
In comparative tests, researchers have established that steel cables lasts longer when blended with Monocast sheaves; as compared to steel sheaves alone. Keeping the type of steel cable, in mind the useful life may increase by 250 to 550% when we use a Monocast sheave. It is corrosion inert & cannot rust. This advantage plays an important role in its major use in offshore applications, where rust & corrosion are two major causes of wear and tear. That is why this type of sheaves is widely used in the offshore industry.
Since Monocast sheaves weigh approximately one-seventh as compared to cast steel sheaves, the use of blended sheaves saves “dead” weight. This virtually makes the mobile cranes more stable & this means that hoisting machines can lift more heavy loads.
Tags: , , , cable sheaves, comparative tests, corrosion, crane, mobile cranes, offshore applications, steel cable, steel cables
