MECHANICAL BEHAVIOR OF HIGH PERFORMANCE FIBER ROPES IN TECHNICAL APPLICATIONS

During the last years, fiber ropes have proven to be an option to replace steel wire ropes in many technical applications. Especially for hoisting applications or winch-based applications, fiber ropes (e.g. made from high-modulus polyethylene, TLCP fibers or aramid fibers) do offer a lot of advantages. Due to their low material density paired with high strength, these fiber ropes can ease handling and installation of ropes in technical applications at comparable performance. For applying a fiber rope in a technical application, e.g. hoisting gears, knowledge on the behavior under mechanical stress is essential. Especially the behavior under tensile load, tension-tension and cyclic bending has to be known to find an adequate fiber rope for special applications. This publication is showing the mechanisms to correctly analyze the application-related mechanical properties of fiber ropes and the testing machinery, and describes special applications where fiber ropes can already be used to replace steel wire ropes.