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BRITISH STANDARD

Stranded steel wire

ropes

Licensed Copy: lbocvzr lbocvzr, University of Loughborough, 23 March 2004, Uncontrolled Copy, (c) BSI

Part 2: Specification for ropes for

general purposes

UDC 677.721

BS 302-2:1987
Reprinted,
incorporating
Amendment No. 1

BS 302-2:1987

Committees responsible for this

British Standard

Licensed Copy: lbocvzr lbocvzr, University of Loughborough, 23 March 2004, Uncontrolled Copy, (c) BSI

The preparation of this British Standard was entrusted by the Mechanical

Handling Standards Committee (MHE/-) to Technical Committee MHE/2,
upon which the following bodies were represented:
Associated Offices Technical Committee
Association of Supervisory and Executive Engineers
British Coal
British Ports Association and the National Association of Ports Employers
British Railways Board
British Steel Industry (Wire Section)
Bureau Veritas
Chain Testers Association of Great Britain
Department of the Environment (Property Services Agency)
Federation of Manufacturers of Construction Equipment and Cranes
Federation of Wire Rope Manufacturers of Great Britain
Health and Safety Executive
Institution of Mechanical Engineers
Institution of Mining Engineers
Institution of Mining and Metallurgy
Ministry of Defence
National Association of Lift Makers
Zinc Development Association

This British Standard, having

been prepared under the
direction of the Mechanical
Handling Standards
Committee, was published
under the authority of the
Board of BSI and comes
into effect on
30 June 1987
BSI 01-1999
First published, as BS 302,
September 1927
First revision, as BS 302 and
BS 621, December 1957
Second revision, as BS 302,
May 1968
Third revision, as BS 302-2,
June 1987
The following BSI references
relate to the work on this
standard:
Committee reference MHE/2
Draft for comment 85/70786 DC
ISBN 0 580 15634 6

Amendments issued since publication

Amd. No.

Date of issue

Comments

5874

July 1988

Indicated by a sideline in the margin

BS 302-2:1987

Contents
Committees responsible
Foreword

Licensed Copy: lbocvzr lbocvzr, University of Loughborough, 23 March 2004, Uncontrolled Copy, (c) BSI

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

Scope
Definitions
Compliance
Wire rope constructions and sizes
Material
Lay
Lubrication
Minimum breaking load

1
1
1
1
1
2
2
2

Figure 1 6 19 and 6 36 construction groups

Table 1 Wire rope constructions and sizes

Table 2 6 7 construction group
Table 3 6 19 and 6 36 construction groups
Table 4 12 6 over 3 24 construction group
Table 5 17 7 and 18 7 construction groups with fibre
or steel core
Table 6 34 7 construction group with fibre or steel core

1
2
4
5

Publications referred to

BSI 01-1999

Page
Inside front cover
ii

6
7
Inside back cover

BS 302-2:1987

Licensed Copy: lbocvzr lbocvzr, University of Loughborough, 23 March 2004, Uncontrolled Copy, (c) BSI

Foreword
This Part of BS 302 has been prepared under the direction of the Mechanical
Handling Standards Committee. It is one Part of a combined revision of
BS 302:1968, BS 236:1968, BS 329:1968, BS 330:1968, BS 365:1968 and
BS 3530:1968, which are withdrawn. BS 302 is now published in six Parts and
takes account of both national and international developments since 1968.
This Part (Part 2) specifies requirements for general purpose steel wire ropes
additional to the general requirements in Part 1. Subsequent Parts specify the
additional requirements for other particular uses of ropes:
Part 3: Specification for zinc coated ropes for ships;
Part 4: Specification for ropes for lifts;
Part 5: Specification for ropes for hauling purposes;
Part 6: Specification for ropes for mine hoisting.
Two further Parts are in preparation, covering larger diameter ropes (64 mm
to 205 mm diameter) and higher strength ropes and will be Parts 7 and 8
respectively.
In line with the principles of international standard ISO 2408, published by the
International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the constructions are
grouped according to the number of outer wires in the strands. The general
requirements of BS 302-1 and the methods used for calculating breaking loads
and approximate masses are in accordance with ISO 2408. In respect of
individual usages the ropes in Parts 2 and 3 are fully in accordance with ISO 2408
and those in section 2 of Part 4 are in accordance with ISO 4344. In each of these
Parts however, certain additional ropes still in common use in the UK have been
included.
In line with current international practice, the term zinc coated has been
adopted in this standard in place of galvanized. The terms are synonymous.
Purchasers ordering to BS 302 are advised to specify in their purchasing contract
that the manufacturer operate a quality system in compliance with the
appropriate Part of BS 5750, or suitable equivalent, to ensure themselves that
products claimed to comply with BS 302 consistently achieve the required level of
quality.
Wire rope users will find valuable information in the companion publication
BS 6570 Code of practice for the selection, care and maintenance of steel wire
ropes.
A British Standard does not purport to include all the necessary provisions of a
contract. Users of British Standards are responsible for their correct application.
Compliance with a British Standard does not of itself confer immunity
from legal obligations.

Summary of pages
This document comprises a front cover, an inside front cover, pages i and ii,
pages 1 to 8, an inside back cover and a back cover.
This standard has been updated (see copyright date) and may have had
amendments incorporated. This will be indicated in the amendment table on
the inside front cover.
ii

BSI 01-1999

BS 302-2:1987

1 Scope

4 Wire rope constructions and sizes

This Part of BS 302 specifies the requirements for

steel wire ropes for general purposes and is for use
in conjunction with Part 1.

Constructions and size ranges shall be as given in

Table 1.

NOTE 1 Information to be supplied by the purchaser on the

enquiry and order is given in appendix F of BS 302-1:1987.
NOTE 2 The titles of the publications referred to in this
standard are listed on the inside back page.

NOTE In the absence of a precise indication by the purchaser

on the enquiry and order, the choice of construction within a
group is at the discretion of the supplier.

5 Material
5.1 Wire

2 Definitions

5.1.1 General. The wire used for the manufacture of

wire ropes specified in this Part, as shown in
Table 1, shall comply with sections 1 and 2 of
BS 2763:1982. The mechanical tests shall be
3 Compliance
confined to the tensile strength and torsion
Ropes in accordance with BS 302-2 shall comply
requirements.
with this Part and with BS 302-1.
5.1.2 Wire finish. The wire shall be bright or class Z
zinc coated for all constructions. Zinc coating shall
comply with BS 2763.
Table 1 Wire rope constructions and sizes

Licensed Copy: lbocvzr lbocvzr, University of Loughborough, 23 March 2004, Uncontrolled Copy, (c) BSI

For the purposes of this Part of BS 302, the

definitions given in BS 302-1 apply.

Rope
group

Description

Size range
(diameter)

Typical construction

mm

67

Up to seven outer wires in a strand, one layer of 2 to 9

wire over a king wire.

6 7 (6/1)

6 19

8 to 12 outer wires in a strand, two or three

layers over a king wire. Wires equal laid.

3 to 52

6 19 (9/9/1)a
6 19 (12/6 + 6F/1)
6 26 (10/5 and 5/5/1)
6 31 (12/6 and 6/6/1)

6 36

14 to 18 outer wires in strand, 3 or more layers

of wire over a king wire. Wires equal laid.

9 to 60

6 36 (14/7 and 7/7/1)

6 41 (16/8 and 8/8/1)
6 49 (16/8 and 8/8/8/1)

12 6
over
3 24

Paragon multi-strand.

8 to 32

12 6 over 3 24

17 7
or
18 7

17 or 18 strands in rope. Two layers of strand

over fibre or steel core.

6 to 26

17 7 (6/1)
18 7 (6/1)

34 7

34 or 36 strands in rope. Three layers of strand

over fibre or steel core.

16 to 40

34 7 (6/1)
36 7 (6/1)

a3

12 to 18 centreless flat strands each comprising

four to six wires cross laid over three oval
strands usually of the construction (15/9/FIBRE)
over a fibre core.

mm to 6 mm ropes in this group are only available as 6 19 (12/6/1).

BSI 01-1999

Licensed Copy: lbocvzr lbocvzr, University of Loughborough, 23 March 2004, Uncontrolled Copy, (c) BSI

BS 302-2:1987

5.1.3 Tensile grade of wires. For all constructions,

all wires except filler wires, king wires and wires
forming a steel main core, whether bright or zinc
coated, shall be of 1 770 N/mm2 1) tensile grade.

6 Lay

5.2 Rope main core

NOTE For economic reasons right-hand lay is preferred and

will be supplied. It will need to be stated by the purchaser on his
enquiry and order if a left-hand lay rope is required.

6.1 Direction of lay

Ropes shall be of right-hand lay or of left-hand lay.

5.2.1 General. The main core of the rope shall be of

fibre or steel.
5.2.2 Fibre core. Fibre cores shall comply with 3.2 of
BS 302-1:1987.
5.2.3 Steel core. Where a steel core is used, it shall
be an independent wire rope (IWRC) for rope sizes
of 13 mm diameter and above. For rope sizes smaller
than 13 mm diameter the steel core shall be either
an IWRC or a wire strand (WSC).
All wires forming a steel main core, except king
wires, shall be of one tensile grade.

6.2 Type of lay

Round strand ropes shall be either ordinary or
Langs lay. Multistrand ropes shall have either an
ordinary or Langs lay outer layer, with the
exception of ropes of Paragon construction which
shall have a Langs lay outer layer.

7 Lubrication
Fibre main cores shall be treated and the wires of
the rope shall be coated with a lubricant complying
with 3.3 of BS 302-1:1987.
NOTE The degree and type of lubrication should be agreed
between the purchaser and the supplier.

8 Minimum breaking load

The minimum breaking loads shall be as given in
Table 2 to Table 6.
NOTE For guidance, these tables also give approximate masses
of ropes, calculated as in C.2 of BS 302-1:1987.

Table 2 6 7 Construction group

Nominal
diameter

Minimum breaking force

(1 770 N/mm2 tensile grade)

1)

Approximate mass

Fibre cored

Steel cored

Fibre cored

Steel cored

Fibre cored

Steel cored

kN

kN

kg/100 m

kg/100 m

mm

2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

Minimum breaking load

(1 770 N/mm2 tensile grade)

2.35
5.29
9.40
14.7
21.2
28.8
37.6
47.6

2.54
5.72
10.2
15.9
22.9
31.1
40.7
51.5

0.24
0.54
0.96
1.50
2.16
2.94
3.83
4.85

0.26
0.58
1.04
1.62
2.33
3.17
4.15
5.25

1.38
3.11
5.54
8.65
12.5
17.0
22.1
28.0

1.52
3.43
6.10
9.53
13.7
18.7
24.4
30.9

1 N/mm2 = 1 MPa.

BSI 01-1999

Licensed Copy: lbocvzr lbocvzr, University of Loughborough, 23 March 2004, Uncontrolled Copy, (c) BSI

BS 302-2:1987

Figure 1 6 19 and 6 36 construction groups

BSI 01-1999

BS 302-2:1987

Table 3 6 19 and 6 36 construction groups

Nominal
diameter

Minimum breaking force

(1 770 N/mm2 tensile grade)

Minimum breaking load

(1 770 N/mm2 tensile grade)

Fibre cored

Steel cored

Fibre cored

Steel cored

Fibre cored

Steel cored

kN

kN

kg/100 m

kg/100 m

3
4
5
6

4.89
8.69
13.6
19.6

5.29
9.4
14.7
21.2

0.50
0.89
1.39
2.00

0.54
0.96
1.50
2.16

3.11
5.54
8.65
12.5

3.43
6.10
9.53
13.7

7
8
9
10

28.6
37.4
47.3
58.4

30.9
40.3
51.0
63.0

2.92
3.81
4.82
5.95

3.15
4.11
5.20
6.42

17.7
23.1
29.2
36.1

19.5
25.5
32.2
39.8

11
12
13
14

70.7
84.1
98.7
114

76.2
90.7
106
124

7.21
8.57
10.1
11.6

7.77
9.25
10.8
12.6

43.7
52.0
61.0
70.8

48.2
57.3
67.3
78.0

16
18
19
20

150
189
211
234

161
204
227
252

15.3
19.3
21.5
23.9

16.4
20.8
23.1
25.7

92.4
117
130
144

102
129
144
159

22
24
26
28

283
336
395
458

305
363
426
494

28.8
34.3
40.3
46.7

31.1
37.0
43.4
50.4

175
208
244
283

193
229
269
312

32
35
36
38

598
716
757
843

645
772
817
910

61.0
73.0
77.2
85.9

65.7
78.7
83.3
92.8

370
442
468
521

408
488
516
575

40
44
48
52

935
1 131
1 346
1 579

1 008
1 220
1 452
1 704

95.3
115
137
161

103
124
148
174

578
699
832
976

637
771
917
1 076

54
56
60

1 703
1 832
2 103

1 837
1 976
2 268

174
187
214

187
201
231

1 053
1 132
1 300

1 161
1 248
1 433

Licensed Copy: lbocvzr lbocvzr, University of Loughborough, 23 March 2004, Uncontrolled Copy, (c) BSI

mm

NOTE 1
NOTE 2
NOTE 3

Approximate mass

3 mm to 8 mm rope is not available in the 6 36 construction group.

56 mm and 60 mm ropes are only available in the 6 36 construction group.
The values for 3, 4, 5 and 6 mm ropes are based on 6 19 cross-lay construction.

BSI 01-1999

BS 302-2:1987

Licensed Copy: lbocvzr lbocvzr, University of Loughborough, 23 March 2004, Uncontrolled Copy, (c) BSI

Table 4 12 6 over 3 24 construction group

Nominal diameter

Minimum breaking force

(1 770 N/mm2 tensile grade)

Minimum breaking load

(1 770 N/mm2 tensile grade)

Approximate mass
(fibre cored)

mm

kN

kg/100 m

8
9
10
11

34.0
43.0
53.1
64.3

3.47
4.38
5.41
6.55

23.2
29.3
36.2
43.8

12
13
14
16

76.5
89.7
104
136

7.80
9.14
10.6
13.9

52.1
61.2
71.0
92.7

18
19
20
22

172
192
212
257

17.5
19.6
21.6
26.2

117
131
145
175

24
26
28
32

306
359
416
544

31.2
36.6
42.4
55.5

209
245
284
371

BSI 01-1999

BS 302-2:1987

Licensed Copy: lbocvzr lbocvzr, University of Loughborough, 23 March 2004, Uncontrolled Copy, (c) BSI

Table 5 17 7 and 18 7 construction groups with fibre or steel core

Nominal diameter

Minimum breaking force

(1 770 N/mm2 tensile grade)

Minimum breaking load

(1 770 N/mm2 tensile grade)

Approximate mass
(fibre cored)

mm

kN

kg/100 m

6
7
8
9

20.9
28.4
37.2
47.0

2.13
2.90
3.79
4.79

14.0
19.1
25.0
31.6

10
11
12
13

58.1
70.2
83.6
98.1

5.92
7.16
8.52
10.0

39.0
47.2
56.2
65.9

14
16
18
19

114
149
188
210

11.6
15.2
19.2
21.4

76.4
99.8
126
141

20
22
24
26

232
281
334
392

23.6
28.6
34.0
40.0

156
189
225
264

BSI 01-1999

BS 302-2:1987

Licensed Copy: lbocvzr lbocvzr, University of Loughborough, 23 March 2004, Uncontrolled Copy, (c) BSI

Table 6 34 7 construction group with fibre or steel core

Nominal diameter

Minimum breaking force

(1 770 N/mm2 tensile grade)

Minimum breaking load

(1 770 N/mm2 tensile grade)

kg/100 m

kN

mm

Approximate mass

16
18
19
20

144
182
203
225

14.7
18.6
20.7
22.9

99.8
126
141
156

22
24
26
28

272
324
380
441

27.7
33.0
38.7
45.0

189
225
264
306

32
35
36
38
40

576
690
729
813
901

58.7
70.3
74.3
82.9
91.8

399
478
505
563
624

BSI 01-1999

Licensed Copy: lbocvzr lbocvzr, University of Loughborough, 23 March 2004, Uncontrolled Copy, (c) BSI

blank

BS 302-2:1987

Publications referred to

Licensed Copy: lbocvzr lbocvzr, University of Loughborough, 23 March 2004, Uncontrolled Copy, (c) BSI

BS 2763, Specification for round carbon steel wire for wire ropes.
BS 5750, Quality systems2).
BS 5750-2, Specification for manufacture and installation.
BS 6570, Code of practice for the selection, care and maintenance of steel wire ropes2).
ISO 2408, Steel wire ropes for general purposes Characteristics2).
ISO 4344, Steel wire ropes for lifts2).

2) Referred

to in the foreword only.

BSI 01-1999

Licensed Copy: lbocvzr lbocvzr, University of Loughborough, 23 March 2004, Uncontrolled Copy, (c) BSI

BSI
389 Chiswick High Road
London
W4 4AL

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