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.....:;;t- Donald Sayenga

~ Associated Wire Rope Fabricators, Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania

Wedge Socket Attachments

1. IntrOductIon

One 01 the most widely used methods lor making a wire rope termination in the field is a three-part device known as a "wedge socket" in North America (the German term is sei/schloss; the Japanese is kuranpu shinpuru). The basic device, consisting 01 grooved wedge, bOdy, and pin, seems to have been patented lirst around 1915 by William H Sandlord 01 Ireland. A French patent was issued in 1915, lollowed by numerous British and American modificatlons, one 01 which was patented as recently as 1986. A notable characteristic associated with these sockets is that Irequently the wedges get seated so deeply during service they cannot be dislodged without great elfort. So me manulaeturers' designs may have been modilied to ease the task 01 wedge removal. As a result, some manulacturer's wedge sockets today are sold specilically lor mining use only.

In 1990, the Construction Salety Association 01 Ontario (CSAO) undertook a set 01 experimental tests to identily and alleviate an unusual phenomenon known as "punching out" 01 a wedge socket. Apparently under certain conditions involving overhead lifting In the field, the wedging element somehow can loosen inside the socket durlng service. One proposed solution lor the "punchlng out" problem required making an inhibiting attachment to the wire rope tail on the dead side of the socket that would prevent the rope from pulling back through if the wedge was loose, and securing the attachment in such a way to affix the dead tail back to the live rope.

In the USA, when a wedge socket attachment is used with a crane, the ASME B30 safety standard mandates "wire rope clips used in conjunction with wedge sockets shall be attached to the unloaded dead end of the rope only." Attachlng the dead tail back to the live rope side has been rejeeted for many years by the Wire Rope Technical Board (WRTB). The practice Is also forbidden in other nations. In Germany, for example, it is banned by the UVV and DIN 15020 standards. The Technical Committee of the Associated Wire Rope Fabricators instituted an "Alpha Projeet" 10 engage in a dialogue with CSAO officials seeking additional clarilication and better underslandlng of the problem. Aseries 01 joint conclusions were reached by the two groups in June 1994. The following summary should be 01 interest for anyone involved wilh making quick field attachments of wedge sockets.

2. The Phenomenon of Loosened Wedges

Wedge sockets provide important benelits because of the quickness 01 their attachment, bul they do not provide a perfact connaction. Evan when attached

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correctly, estimates of wedge socket efficiency are usually as low as 80% or lower. The low efficiencies are partly due to the sharp bending of the rope and partly due to lack of a per/ect fit between the rope and its channel within the socket and its wedge , where the actual wedging action occurs. Also, it is possible to attach a wedge socket backwards, creating an even more severe threat to the wire rope and therefore causing a hazard to the user.

All wedge socket manufacturers have emphasised continually that proper seating of the wedge at the time of attachment is crucial for the successful use of the device. There are several theories explaining how a wedge could become loose in service, but the importance of having the wedge properly seated first cannot be understated. For example, the old Roebling "Blue Cover" advisory book (1967) warned:

"Secure ears of socket to a sturdy support and carefully take astrain on the live side of the rape. Pull wedge and loop rape into position tight enough to hold wedge in place during handling. Final wedge positioning takes place under full operating loads. After final pin connections are made, gradually increase loads until wedge is seated. Avoid applying any sudden shock loads before wedge is in final position. "

Donald Dickie of CSAO advlsed that the tendency for a wedge to exhibit "punching out" er loosening inside the socket during service was first observed in England during the 1970's. Published technical descriptions of the subject are scanty. Only one actual accident caused by this phenomenon has been noted on the record but the matter came to the attention of safety review panels such as the ASME B30 Committee who were concerned because of the tendency to use wedge sockets in various kinds of cranes for overhead lifting, where field dislodgement could be hazardous. ASME has suggested the addition of a clip to the dead side of the socket since the early 1980's. Although the addition of a clip or other inhibiting device is no real remedy for failure to get the wedge seated into the socket correctly in the first place, nevertheless the practice of adding the clip after making a wedge socket attachment has become very common.

3, Clipping vs. loosening

Clipping, in some ways, provides an Illusionary appearance of safety against loosened wedges because there are several negative side-effects caused by the action of a U-bolt around arope. Most of the conventional wire rope clips are specifically designed to secure two diameters 01 wire rope tightly agalnst each other. The action of clipping distorts a wire rope, creatlng a focal point for stress. As a result, many concerns have been raised against the most obvious clipping method, i.e. clipping the dead end back to the live end, with wedge socket in the blght 01 the loop. As far back as the 1970's the Wire Rope Technical Board strongly advised against the practice. The WRTB's Wire Rope Users' Manual (1993) warns in bold print on page 43 "DO NOT ATTACH DEAD END TO LIVE END".

As of 1995, the ASME B30 mandate illustrates only two ways to clip the dead end:

(a) with the dead end looped and clipped back to itself; or,

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(b) with a short extra piece of rope cllpped against the dead end outside the socket.

Formerly there was a third illustration in ASME 630 publicatlons showing a special clip designed for only one diameter of rope but this was deleted because such a clip could not be found in the marketplace. Literature now published by the American Petro leum Institute includes variations on the loop-back technique showing the dead end retained by being looped freely around the live side, and also showing an example of a loose keeper or retainer linking the loop to the live side. The aim of the retainer is to prevent the wlre rope loop from flopplng around or snagging on an obstructlon. There is also a draft standard by ISO (ISOiTC 96/SC 3) contalnlng elaborate instruetions under Seetlon 6.6.2.

The WRT6 and API literature goes beyond ASME 630 by advocatlng specific distances away from the socket for altachment of any clips. The length of a recommended "taII" on the dead end for different kinds of rope is also emphasised by WRT6. Rotation resistant ropes wlth elght or more strands require longer talls. Welding, brazing or seizing of the wire rope ends to sustain the rope balance is a recommended practice for those ropes. All of the WRTB warnings attempt to address the dang er of clipping on the live side of the socket. If this Improper procedure should cause the full load to be transferred away from the socket to the point of clipping , apremature fallure might result. Tests of sockets clipped improperly almost always fail at the point of the live slde clip, not at the wedge socket Itself.

When the CSAO began its review of the subject, one of the theories they tested was the hypothesis that the dangers associated with clipping to the live side possibly posed a lesser hazard than the phenomenon of ' punching out". After Investigating several accidents, CSAO uncovered many variant situations related to the matter. Tests were performed in 1990 and the results were published the following year. Meanwhlle the AWRF Technical Committee was engaged already in a project to improve the Illustrations published In the B30 documents. The "Alpha Projeet" dialogue between the two associations was initiated in 1991 following an illumin­ating presentation by Donald Dlckle at the Fall 1989 AWRF General Meeting in Toronto. While the dialogue was in progress, CSAO began to publiclse a new technique devised by Tim Galarnyk for using a special double-saddle clip clamped on the dead side which functions as a loose retainer against the live slde. Such a device is now being marketed by Columbus-McKinnon under the trade name "Piggy Back". Perhaps the most important revelatlon anSing from the CSAO-AWRF dialogue was the danger of using the wrong wedge. The dimensions of wedges and sockets vary from one manufacturer to the next. They are not Interchangeable.

Meanwhile , crane safety consultant Bob DeBenedictis (New Smyrna Beach, Florida) urged ASM E to adopt the double-saddle clip method. His letter was reviewed at the September 1993 meeting of the 630 Committee. No one present at the time was able to provide any definitive statement about the merits of the new method, so B30 asked AWRF to investigate and make areport. The AWRF Technlcal Committee, chaired by Frank Becker (American Wire Rope & Sling, Ft. Wayne, Indiana) revlewed the new method at great length In February 1994.

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During the meeting an appraisal was made 01 all available test data, and known methods 01 attaching wedge sockets and clipping to prevent "punching out".

4. Conclusions of the AWRF. TC SUbcommlttee

AWRF has adopted a clear pollcy wh ich precludes the establiShment 01 standards, but a modilication 01 this policy encourages the committee to bring lorth Improved practices and guidelines intended lor presentation to organisations writing standards. Becker's committee delegated the various wedge socket questions to a new Blocks, Tackle and Other Fittings (BTOF) subcommittee headed by Kenneth Seilers (Gunnebo-Johnson, Tulsa OK) which met in June, 1994. The subcommittee (wh ich Included representatives from OS HA, CSAO, WRTB, CIMA, and the wedge socket manulacturers) did reach some preliminary conclusions regarding lield dislodging. Most important was unanimous agreement that existing guidelines such as those published in the USA by ASME and in Canada by CSAO ought to be augmented to read as folIows:

"When a wedge socket-type fastening is used, the dead or short end of the wire rope shall be clipped with a U-boll or otherwise made secure. Wire rope clips used in conjunction with wedge sockets shall be attached only to the unloaded dead end of the wire rope. When a wire rope clip or other device is attached to the dead end of the wire rope, the spacing between the wedge socket and other device shall be in accordance with the recommendations of the wedge socket manufacturer or a qualified person. Where It is desirable to restrain the dead end of the wire rope, it is allowable to have a loop, keeper other device around the live end of the wire rope provided it neither restrains nor constrains the live end. n

In August 1994, the AWRF Technical Committee endorsed the views 01 the BTOF subcommittee, causing them to be passed forward to ASME B30 for its consideration. The B30.5 subcommittee, (chaired by Carson Huneycutt, Jones . Group, Concord, North Carolina) plans a review in June 1995. Meanwhile, the Construction Safety Association of Ontario is proceeding with adoption 01 an identical stance, and the Construction Industry Manufacturers Association is looking into the malter. A presentation to the general membership 01 AWRF was made in September 1994 at Annapolis , Maryland. The subcommittee found it desirable to include additional Illustrations in support of the guidelines because of their consensus view that pictures iIIustrating the proper procedures are particularly useful in the field. The subcommittee decided upon an expansion of the Illustrations to show five alternative clipping and restraining techniques. These were :

(a) the short-extra-piece method (now shown by ASME B30);

(b) the dual-saddleclip method suggested by DeBenedlctis;

(c) the loop-back-upon-itself method (now shown by ASME B30);

(d) the loop-back with loose restraint on the live end (now shown by API);

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(e) the loop-around-the-live-end method (now shown by API).

These live methods are shown below in the Figure 1. For each case, the dimensions (glven only In (a) lor clarity) reler to:

S = minimum spacing between clip and socket as recommended by manulacturer or a qualified person;

T = minimum tall length as recommended by manufacturer or a qualified person.

In summlng up the subcommlttee emphasised that these live methods are not the only techniques which may be encountered In the field, but they are the only ones which have been brought to the attention of the subcommittee that seem to lullil the criteria establlshed by various bodles writlng standards.

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