MODELLING VISCOELASTIC BEHAVIOUR IN BRAIDED SYNTHETIC ROPES USING TOPOLOGICAL MANIFOLDS

Summary

The polymers that constitute high-modulus synthetic fibres all exhibit non-linear viscoelastic effects in varying degrees. Braided synthetic ropes exhibit viscoelastic effects similar to the materials of which they are comprised, but with additional non-linear, time dependent effects due to mechanical interactions of fibre-rope components. The viscoelastic effect modeled in this paper is hysteresis as it applies to the relationship between force, strain, and strain-rate. The viscoelastic effects were modeled using discrete representations of topological manifolds to represent the force–strain–strain-rate relationship.