A Review of Tribological Behavior of Wire Ropes: Generation, Characteristics, Effects, and Protection

Steel wire ropes are key load-bearing components in systems such as mine hoisting, bridge cableways, elevators, and cranes, and frictional wear is among the earliest occurring and most easily accumulated form of damage. Under actual working conditions, micro-relative sliding occurs both along the internal wires of the rope and at the contact surfaces with sheaves and ropes, leading to frictional wear, crack propagation, and fatigue failure. Frictional wear, a complex phenomenon influenced by structural layout, contact load, vibration conditions, lubrication, and environmental corrosion, critically determines the service life and load-bearing capacity of steel wire ropes. Recent experimental and numerical studies have significantly clarified the fundamental mechanisms and patterns of internal and external frictional wear in steel wire ropes, offering theoretical support for the distribution of wear, fatigue evolution, and fracture behavior. Meanwhile, non-destructive testing techniques have emerged as a vital tool for the real-time monitoring of wear conditions in steel wire ropes. This review summarizes the research progress on the generation, characteristics, effects, and protection of frictional wear in steel wire ropes, and proposes future directions for tribology and service safety research of steel wire ropes.