A system for the measurement of wire-rope defect positions

Electromagnetic tests are nowadays widely employed to early detect defects of metallic wire ropes. Commercial instruments for electromagnetic tests are able to highlight small defects but provide only a rough estimation of their positions. An analysis of the uncertainty contributions that affect the defect position measurements is described in this paper and an improved measurement system is also presented. The system is designed to be employed with commercial instruments for electromagnetic tests and it is composed of a laser-based detector, a digital acquisition system and a personal computer. A specially designed algorithm locates a reference point in the rope and measures the distance between the defects and the reference. Preliminary experimental results obtained with a standard rope are also presented.