The author, for, in excess of 25 years, has been deeply involved in the nondestructive inspection of wire rope and strand, design and development of wire rope and strand testing equipment and various methods of rope inspection including electromagnetic and visual (remote video). Many of the guyed flare stacks and wire rope or strand supported structures in use in U.S. and overseas refineries, pipelines and chemical plants were erected in the 1950's, 60's and 70's. Many were built even earlier. While many of the components of these structures have been routinely inspected by various methods of testing, the wire rope and strand that support and hold these structures in position have, typically, been taken for granted and only elementary visual inspections have been performed. Wire rope and strands in sedentary environments deteriorate and lose their working capability due to many factors. These factors exist both internally and externally. This paper describes many of these factors for deterioration and the method used to detect corrosion, broken wires, abrasion, etc. Explanations as to how the instrumentation works and how the acquired data is used to estimate remaining strength is also included in the paper. Procedures for the inspection of guy ropes, strands and their related fittings are also spelled out in the paper.
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