Ropes

A rope is a length of fibers, twisted or braided

together to improve strength for pulling and
connecting.

It has tensile strength but is too flexible to

provide compressive strength (i.e., it can be
used for pulling, not pushing).

 Rope is thicker and stronger than similarly

constructed cord, line, string, or twine.
 Raw Materials
 Rope may be made
either from natural
fibers, which have
been processed to
allow them to be easily
formed into yarn, or
from synthetic
materials, which have
been spun into fibers
or extruded into long
filaments.
 Natural Fibers
 Natural fibers include
hemp, sisal, cotton,
flax, and jute.
Hemp

Sisal
Flax
 Cotton

Jute
Ropes made out of Natural Fiber
 Made from plants.

 Easily made by hand, but affected by

moisture and humidity, and rots easily.

 Best available is manila.

 Weakest is cotton.
 Ropes – Synthetic Fibers

 Have mostly replaced

natural fibers, much
stronger, doesn't rot
from moisture.
 Synthetic Rope - Nylon
 First and strongest of
common petroleum
plastics used for fiber.

 Very strong but very

stretchy.

 Deteriorates under UV.

 Slippery, needs special

attention w/ knots.

 Good hand.
 Synthetic Rope - Polyester
 a.k.a. Dacron (A manufactured
fiber with excellent strength,
resiliency and abrasion
resistance)
– Resilience is the property of a
material to absorb energy when
it is deformed elastically and
then, upon unloading to have
this energy recovered.

 Nearly as strong as nylon,

somewhat heavier.

 Very little stretch, not quite as

slippery as nylon and holds
knots better.

 Good hand.
 Synthetic Rope – Polypropylene,
Polyolefin
 Lighter, cheaper, but
weaker than nylon or
Dacron.

 Tends to be stiffer and

slipperier.

 Not as good a hand.

 Floats.
 Synthetic Rope – Polyethylene
 Light, cheap, weaker and
stiffer than other
synthetics, but fairly
immune to UV.

 Poor hand

 Floats. .

 Common as hollow
braided water skiing rope.
 Styles of rope construction
 Laid or Twisted

 Braided
– Single
– Double
– Solid

Double Braided Rope

Solid Braided
 Ropes - Applications
 Rope is of paramount importance in fields as diverse as
construction, seafaring, exploration, sports and
communications and has been since prehistoric times.

 In order to fasten rope, a large number of knots have been

invented for various uses.
 Pulleys are used to redirect the pulling force to another
direction, and may be used to create mechanical
advantage, allowing multiple strands of rope to share a
load and multiply the force applied to the end.

 Winches and capstans are machines designed to pull

ropes.
 Capstan?
 A capstan is a rotating machine
used to apply force to another
element, notably used on board
ship and on dock walls, for
heaving-in or veering ropes, and
cables.

 Modern capstans are powered

electrically, hydraulically,
pneumatically, or via an internal
combustion engine.

 Typically, a gearbox is used

which trades reduced speed,
relative to the prime mover (a
structure that provides the
motive power to haul a load), for
increased torque.