Development and Testing of a Diamond Braided Eye Splice
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ASME Early Career Technical Journal 2011 ASME Early Career Technical Conference, ASME ECTC November 4 – 5, Atlanta, Georgia USA DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING OF A DIAMOND BRAIDED EYE SPLICE Caitlin Plunket, Austin Yuill, and David Branscomb, M.S. Auburn University Auburn, Alabama, USA Chad Rodekohr, PhD Presbyterian College Clinton, South Carolina, USA ABSTRACT To make ropes more useable, many people add knots. A rope with a conventional eye splice termination is said to lose However, knots cause the rope to lose much of its strength. ten percent of its original strength [1]. The purpose of this This loss of strength is due to a more concentrated area of strain research was to determine if an eye splice produced on a [3]. A special kind of knot that allows the rope to retain more of braiding machine would be subject to the same loss in strength its strength is the splice. Splices make a more permanent encountered in conventional splices. Braided rope made at the fastening than knots and spread the stress through a larger area same speed and braid angle is compared to a braided eye splice. than a knot [3]. Yet, commonly used splices do not allow the The spliced ropes were made with sixteen Vectran® yarns rope to retain all of its original strength. around a cotton core. The splices were tested on a mechanical For example, a commonly used splice known as a testing machine and each splice compared to a rope made with buried eye splice is made by threading the free end of a rope the same specifications. Many designs were attempted back through the middle [1]. As the rope is pushed through including jamming the braid and allowing the splice to itself, an eye is formed. When this splice is under tension, the incorporate two to five revolutions (helical interlacements) after rope and splice act like a Chinese finger trap. This means that the splice was made. The braids in the jammed state were the rope acts like the finger trap and gets tighter under tension observed to fail within the spliced region. The splices preventing the splice or “finger” from being pulled out [1]. The consisting of two revolutions pulled out of the rope while being buried eye splice yields a breaking strength of ninety percent of tested. However, splicesincluding three revolutions with the the rope’s ultimate strength [1]. braiding point constantly pulled back proved to be a best design The purpose of this experimental work was to prove among those tested. The average loss of strength of this design that a braided spliced rope could maintain the strength of rope ranged from six to nine percent demonstrating an improvement made to the same specifications. The braided eye splice is in tensile properties over the conventional eye splice compared to the rope strength of an unaltered braided rope. It termination. The tensile failure of these splices does not occur is believed that a rope with a splice can lose up to ten percent of in the spliced section suggesting that full rope strength is its original strength [1]. This experiment proved that, if made maintained. Furthermore, the tensile failure is believed to be a correctly, a spliced rope can maintain the rope strength. holding defect, as it is observed to occur on the capstan holding the free end of the rope. VECTRAN ® SYNTHETIC ROPE The fiber used to make the braided eye splices was INTRODUCTION Vectran® which is a multifilament yarn spun from liquid Rope has many uses today from materials handling crystal polymer [4]. “Pound for pound Vectran® fiber is five and marine to aerospace to sports. Evidence of short handmade times stronger than steel and ten times stronger than aluminum ropes dates back to prehistoric cultures [2]. These early ropes [4].” The unique properties of Vectran ® such as high strength, were made by twisting natural fibers. However as the shipping high abrasion resistance, minimal moisture absorption, and high and marine industry expanded, longer and stronger ropes were impact resistance would allow for a more versatile and durable needed [2]. Eventually, ropes came to be made from higher splice. quality materials such as nylon and polyester. Today, some ropes are still twisted, but many are braided. ASME 2011 Early Career Technical Journal - Vol. 10 99 Table 1.Typical ropes are made from Nylon and Polyester. Vectran® is a good substitute as it has unique and desirable qualities as shown in this table. Properties Vectran® Nylon Polyester Tensile 3200 MPa 400-870 450-850MPa Strength MPa Elongation 3.3-3.7% 18-45% 25% at Break Melting >400 °C 160-260 252-292 °C Point °C Water 0.2% 3.8% 0.2-0.5% Absorption Figure 2. The diamond braid used during this experiment. Density 1.4 g/cm3 1.15 g/cm3 1.38 g/cm3 In a diamond braid, the yarns go over one and under adjacent yarns. In a regular braid, the yarns go over two and under two. Table 1 compares Vectran® to Nylon and Polyester which are commonly used for making ropes. The table shows The braiding point of the splice is determined by the that Vectran® has the most desirable qualities one would want distance from the braiding machine (see Figure 3). The braid when manufacturing a spliced rope like high tensile strength angle is determined by the carrier speed and the take up speed and a low percentage of elongation at break. as shown in the equation below: !!!! BRAID ARCHITECTURE ∝= 2!"#$!% ! Biaxial braid is the most basic and common form of where n is the carrier speed (the speed of the braiding two-dimensional (2-D) braided structures, composed of yarns machine), v is the take up speed, and Dm is the diameter of the interlacing in opposite directions. Among biaxial architectures, mandrel or core [6].The further the braiding point is from the various repeating patterns may be produced (see Figure 2). machine, the smaller the braid angle is (see Figures 4 and 5). Terminology of these patterns depends on industry and The braiding point is said to be in a jammed state or “jammed” application as textile and composite industries use different when the diameter of the braid will decrease no more as seen in names [5]. The most common repeat patterns are 1/1, 2/2, and Figure 4 [7]. In other words, the braided structure is under 3/3, where each yarn traverses according to the pattern sufficient tension that no other crimp exchange occurs. Crimp description over and under adjacent yarns [5]. The repeating exchange is the process by which a system of interlaced yarns pattern is determined by which carriers are utilized during the reaches equilibrium when under tension [7]. In this experiment, braiding operation. For the splices produced in this work, a it was found that the highest strength results were experienced sixteen-yarn, diamond braid was used. The bobbin carriers by the specimens with a braiding point that was “pulled back” (Packages) used to create this braid are seen in Figure 1. In a about two feet from the braiding machine. This suggests that diamond braid, each yarn travels over and under adjacent yarns the location where the braiding (interlacing) began did not start in the repeating pattern (see Figure 2). until the yarns were two feet from the braiding machine as shown in Figure 3. Figure 3. When the braiding point is pulled back, the braid angle increases in size. When the braiding point is Figure 1. This figure shows the bobbin carrier jammed, the braid angle is as small as possible allowing configuration (Packages) on the braiding machine. The no more room for the diameter to decrease. red and yellow circles are loaded in order to produce a sixteen-yarn, diamond braid. ASME 2011 Early Career Technical Journal - Vol. 10 100 Figure 4. The braid angle of a splice in a jammed state is very large causing the braid to be very tight. Figure 5. The braid angle of a splice that is not jammed is smaller than that of one in a jammed state causing the braid to be more open, and it allows more room for the braid to elongate under tension. IMPACT OF WORK Splices are a way to terminate the end of a rope and make a useful connection to do work. They can be used for sports, towing, and tethers as well as in many other engineering Figure 6. Braiding machine and speed controlled take-up applications. This experiment explored the strength of a novel machine during manufacturing [9]. splice and proved that a spliced rope can maintain more than ninety percent of the strength as compared to un-spliced rope. The new, braided splice explored in this paper is incorporated into the rope using a braiding machine. This design allows for a stronger splice which is unable to be pulled out under tension. Under testing, the braided splice design that was found to yield the highest strength never failed within the spliced region. A stronger splice made from rope means that they can be used for heavier loads, and they would not have to be replaced as often because they would be more durable. EXPERIMENTAL DETAILS The experiment was carried out using a custom- designed servo-actuated take-up machine attached to a Wardwell Horizontal 32 carrier braiding machine (Figure 6). A desktop computer was used for the motion control (Figure 7). Figure 7. The experimental take-up machine motion The speed-controlled take-up machine of Figure 7 control system, including (top row, left to right) computer, replaced the geared capstan originally designed for the braiding motion control card/breakout board, encoder on braiding machine.