From 4 mm to 50 mm rope diameter – Scaling up a new termination for high-modulus fibre ropes

As part of the process of identifying several options for producing an intelligent and functional component, the Institute of Mechanical Handling and Logistics (IFT) of the University of Stuttgart succeeded in inventing and developing a new termination for high-modulus fibre ropes as part of the Hybrid Intelligent Construction Elements (HIKE I) research project. As a fixed connection for a quasi-static application, this termination has a number of advantages over other fibre rope terminations, in particular because of the integrated sensors for calculating the actual load case.

 Initially, the development process focused on fibre ropes with a diameter between 4 mm and 14 mm. The results of this process were presented at the OIPEEC conference in Texas in the USA in 2011 [1]. The usability of the product depends on it being scaled up to accommodate larger rope diameters for heavy-duty applications, such as cranes or mooring lines in the offshore industry. The next phase of the ongoing research project (HIKE II) investigated on the one hand scaling the IFT termination up to 50 mm and the other hand evaluated intrinsic functions in the form of sensor-controlled actuators inside the high-modulus fibre ropes.

Author(s): Winter, S., & Finckh-Jung, A.