Rope weight compensation chain
A rope weight compensation chain is a component of large hoists and elevator systems and is used to compensate for the moving rope load .
The chain has the same mass as the suspension rope and connects the load of a hoist with the counterweight . It hangs as a free loop under the load and counterweight. A shortening of the carrying rope between the counterweight and deflection pulley leads to an extension of the rope weight compensation chain on this side and vice versa. This means that the drive always has to move the same load, regardless of the position in which the weight and counterweight are in relation to one another. In the ideal case, weight and counterweight are equally heavy, the drive only has to overcome the friction and inertia when starting the elevator.
This device is used in ship lifts and high-rise elevators . In these hoists, the weight of the suspension ropes, either due to their large number or their length, can no longer be neglected. It is not necessary for each suspension rope to be individually balanced, but only the total weight of the suspension ropes has to be balanced, which is why significantly fewer compensation chains are used as suspension ropes.
Lower ropes are used in mining, where a large rope load is created by the length .