Abstract
The failure behavior of steel wire ropes under heavy load conditions is a complex system involving the interaction of mechanical damage, lubrication status, and detection technology. Despite numerous studies, the existing literature seriously lacks a systematic framework to correlate the structural integrity and deformation behavior of gel-like grease and its central role in suppressing the critical failure modes (wear, fatigue, corrosion) of steel wire ropes. This review aims to fill this critical knowledge gap. By critically synthesizing existing studies, this paper explains for the first time how the microstructural evolution and rheological behavior of gel-like grease can ultimately determine the macroscopic failure process and life of steel wire ropes by influencing the interfacial tribological processes. We further demonstrate, based on the understanding of the above mechanism, how to optimize the detection strategy and design high-performance gel-like greases for specific working conditions. Ultimately, this work not only provides a unified perspective for understanding the system reliability of steel wire ropes but also lays a solid theoretical foundation for the future development of intelligent mechanism-based lubrication and predictive maintenance technologies.