A cable is a flexible structural component that offers no resistance when compressed or bent in a curved shape. Technically we can say cable has zero bending rigidity. It can only support tensile loading. Cables are often used in engineering structures for support and to transmit load from one point to another when used to support suspension roofs, bridges and trolley wheels, cables form the main load carrying element in the structure.
The use of carbon steel wire in the fabrication of long span bridges has been practiced for roughly 150 years. The basic concepts and ideas incorporated into those structures are still practiced today in the construction of modern bridges. The same holds true to the structural wire rope and structural strand used today. These materials are distant cousins to the materials first incorporated in the developing bridge world. While combining higher strengths, better abrasion, and greater resistance to corrosion one item that has remained a constant is the use of carbon steel in the wire making process. The requirements of the steel industry today take full advantage of the available technologies while pushing the limits of the current manufacturing capabilities.