Application, Care, and Use of Wire Rope for Oil Field Service

API RECOMMENDED PRACTICE 9B FOURTEENTH EDITION, OCTOBER 2015

ADDENDUM 1, SEPTEMBER 2020

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Contents

Page

1. Scope 1

2. Field Care and use of Wire Rope 1

   1. Handling on Reel 1

   2. Handling During Installation 3

   3. Care of Wire Rope 4

   4. Seizing 10

   5. Poured Sockets 11

   6. Attachment of Clips 12

   7. Casing-line and Drilling-line Reeving Practice 15

3. Recommended Design Features 20

   1. Importance of Design 20

   2. Socket Baskets 20

   3. Material for Sheave Grooves 20

   4. Bearings 20

   5. Diameter of Drums 20

   6. Drum Grooves 20

   7. Diameter of Sheaves 20

   8. Sheave Grooves 22

4. Evaluation of Rotary Drilling Line 25

   1. Total Service Performed 25

   2. Round-trip Operations 26

   3. Drilling Operations 28

   4. Coring Operations 29

   5. Setting Casing Operations 29

   6. Short Trip Operations 30

   7. Other Operations 30

   8. Evaluation of Service 30

   9. Rotary Drilling Line Ton-Mile Calculators 31

   10. Rotary Drilling Line Service Record Form 31

5. Cutoff Practice for Rotary Drilling Lines 33

   1. Service Life 33

   2. Initial Length of Line 33

   3. Service Goal 33

   4. Variations in Line Services 33

   5. Cutoff Length 33

6. Inspection and Retirement 34

   1. Inspection Requirements 34

   2. Wire Rope Removal Criteria 36

7. Common Types of Wire Rope Deterioration 37

   1. General 37

   2. Wire Wear 38

   3. Broken Wires 39

      Contents

      Page

   4. Drum Wear 40

   5. Corrosion 41

   6. Rope Distortion 43

   7. Lay Length 44

   8. Diameter Reductions 45

   9. Heat Damage 46

   10. Extraordinary Wear/Damage 47

8. Field Troubles and Their Causes 47

Bibliography 49

Figures

1. Efficiency of Wire Rope Reeving for Multiple Sheave Blocks Cases A, B, and C

   (Fast Line and Efficiency Factors for Derricks, Booms, etc.) 6

2. Efficiency of Wire Rope Reeving for Multiple Sheave Blocks Cases D and E

   (Fast Line and Efficiency Factors for Derricks, Booms, etc.) 7

3. Efficiencies of Wire Ropes Bent Around Stationary Sheaves (Static Stresses Only) 9

4. Fatigue Fractures in Outer Wires Caused by the Formation of Martensite 9

5. Putting a Seizing on a Wire Rope 11

6. Correct Method of Attaching Clips to Wire Rope 14

7. Incorrect Methods of Attaching Clips to Wire Rope 14

8. Typical Reeving Diagram for a 14-Line String-up with 8-Sheave Crown Block and 7-Sheave

   Traveling Block: Left Hand Reeving (See Arrangement No. 1 in Table 5) 16

9. Fleet Angle from Drum to Sheave and Sheave to Drum 19

10. Relative Service for Various DT/d Ratios for Sheaves 23

11. New Sheave Grooves 25

12. Use of Sheave Gage 26

13. Facsimile of Rotary Drilling Line Service Record Form 32

14. Relationship between Rotary-line Initial Length and Service Life 34

15. Example of Abrasion of the Outer Wires 38

16. Example of Peening of the Outer Wires 38

17. Example of Single Broken Wire on the Crown of a Wire Rope 39

18. Example of Valley Wire Breaks that are Displaced from their Unbroken Position 39

19. Example of External Damage Resulting in Broken Wires 40

20. Example of Pattern of Drum Crushing 41

21. Example of Crushing on a Wire Rope 41

22. Example of Surface Corrosion on a Wire Rope 42

23. Example of Pitting Corrosion on a Wire Rope 42

24. Example of Fretting Corrosion in a Wire Rope 42

25. Example of a Kink in a Wire Rope 43

26. Example of a Permanent Bend in a Wire Rope 43

27. Example of Waviness in a Wire Rope 44

28. Diagram Showing the Lay Length of a 6-Strand Wire Rope 44

    
    

    Contents

    
    

    Page

29. Diagram Showing Correct and Incorrect Ways to Measure Wire Rope Diameter 45

30. Example of Loss of Core Support Resulting in Localized Diameter Reduction 45

31. Example of Electrical Arc Causing Severe Wire Rope Damage 46

Tables

1. Typical Sizes and Construction of Wire Rope for Oilfield Service 2

2. Minimum Design Factors 4

3. Attachment of Clips 12

4. Attachment of Double Saddle Clips 13

5. Typical Reeving Arrangements for 14, 12, 10, 9, and 6-Line String-ups Using 8-Sheave Crown Blocks with 7-Sheave Traveling Blocks, 7-Sheave Crown Blocks with 6-Sheave Traveling Blocks,

   and 6-Sheave Crown Blocks with 5-Sheave Traveling Blocks 17

6. Sheave-Diameter Factors 21

7. Relative Bending Life Factors for Various Construction 22

8. Grove Radii for Sheaves 23

9. Ton-Mile Goal per Foot of Rope 35

10. Field Troubles and Their Causes 47

Application, Care, and Use of Wire Rope for Oil Field Service

1. Scope

   This recommended practice (RP) covers typical wire rope applications for the oil and gas industry.

   
   

   Typical practices in the application of wire rope to oil field service are indicated in Table 1, which shows the sizes and constructions commonly used. Because of the variety of equipment designs, the selection of constructions other than those shown is justifiable.

   
   

   In oilfield service, wire rope is often referred to as wire line or cable. For the purpose of clarity, these various expressions are incorporated in this recommended practice.

   
   

2. Field Care and use of Wire Rope

   1. Handling on Reel

      
      

      1. Use of Binding or Lifting Chain

         
         

         When handling wire rope on a reel with a binding or lifting chain, wooden blocks should always be used between the rope and the chain to prevent damage to the wire or distortion of the strands in the rope.

         
         

      2. Use of Bars

         
         

         Bars for moving the reel should be used against the reel flange, and not against the rope.

         
         

      3. Sharp Objects

         
         

         The reel should not be rolled over or dropped on any hard, sharp object in such a manner that the rope will be damaged.

         
         

      4. Dropping

         
         

         The reel should not be dropped. This may cause damage to the rope as well as break the reel.

         
         

      5. Mud, Dirt, or Cinders

         
         

         Rolling the reel in or allowing it to stand in any medium harmful to steel such as mud, dirt, or cinders should be avoided. Planking or cribbing will be of assistance in handling the reel as well as in protecting the rope against damage.

         
         

      6. Lifting the Reel

         
         

         The preferred method for lifting a reel with slings is to use a spreader bar that is of sufficient length to keep the sling legs from contacting the reel. This will prevent the flanges of the reel from being bent, distorted, broken, or damaged in any way by the slings.

         
         

      7. Shaft through Arbor Holes

When lifting reels of wire rope, care must be taken that the shaft through the reel is of adequate length for the task, plus its wall thickness and diameter are of sufficient strength and size respectively to safely support the weight without damaging the center holes of the two flanges of the reel.