FIBRE ROPE Ӏ TOWER CRANES
FIBRE HIGH
Fibre ropes promise to increase the overall lifting capacity of cranes. Some of the biggest gains may be seen on tower cranes. Recent launches by Liebherr and Wolffkran show how the technology is developing, writes Will North.
The development of fibre rope in the lifting industry has been a gradual process, over a number of years. Initially, fibre rope manufacturers focused on the offshore sector. In the oil and gas industry cranes are often used to lower heavy loads, such as blow-out preventers, to the seabed. When you are working
Fitting Trowis’s
chaRope on a Wolffkran hoist drum. The new rope can be swapped like-for- like with steel, on the same rigging components
deep underwater, the weight of steel wire rope can quickly surpass the lifting capacity of cranes and winches. Fibre ropes, designed to be neutrally buoyant in water, allowed these contractors to lower and lift loads, to any depth. Adopting fibre rope on
construction applications took longer. Early ropes were prone to
stretching, and could be pulled out of shape under tension. That meant that they could not be easily spooled onto a Lebus-style drum. On a boat, where rope could be stored in loose loops on or under the deck, this was not a problem. On a tower or mobile crane, with limited space, this was a major challenge.
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