In elevator systems, elevator ropes are used for suspending and/or moving an elevator car, a counterweight or both. Elevator ropes are generally made by braiding from metallic wires or filaments and have a substantially round cross-sectional shape. A problem with metallic ropes is, due to the material properties of metal, that they have high weight and large thickness in relation to their tensile stiffness and tensile strength.
Also light-weight suspension ropes, where the width of the suspension rope for a hoisting machine is larger than its thickness in a transverse direction of the rope, are known. The rope comprises a load-bearing part made of composite materials, which composite materials comprise non-metallic reinforcing fibers in polymer matrix material. The structure and choice of material make it possible to achieve low-weight elevator ropes having a thin construction in the bending direction, a good tensile stiffness and tensile strength in longitudinal direction. In addition, the rope structure remains substantially unchanged at bending, which contributes towards a long service life.
Several arrangements have been presented to provide tools for attaching elevator ropes with the elevator units. With non-metallic elevator ropes, particularly with elevator ropes made of fiber-reinforced polymer composite materials, it is challenging to make mechanical attachment with the elevator unit without causing damage in the elevator rope. Furthermore, installation process is laborious and slow.
Development of damage detection of fibre-reinforced polymer composite materials during service life is a key problem in many practical applications of elevator technology. Many of these non-destructive tests involve the periodic inspection of composite components by means of costly equipment. There is thus a growing need for cost effective and reliable elevator rope terminal assembly with connection to rope condition monitoring means of elevator which integrate sensors allowing the in situ monitoring of damage in the rope.