Influence of bedding-in on the tensile performance of HMPE fiber ropes

International audienceSynthetic fiber ropes are widely used in the maritime industry, with applications from sailboat rigging to offshore platform mooring lines, thanks to their numerous qualities compared to steel cables: light weight, good specific mechanical properties and excellent marine resistance. A key feature of these ropes is their sensitivity to loading history, as this affects subsequent performance. In the present work the influence of the maximum bedding-in load level and the loading path were studied at the different rope component scales (filament, yarn and braided rope), in order to develop an optimal bedding-in procedure for braided ropes. The load levels were: 10%, 30% and 50% of the tensile break load of the sample. From the results obtained, the influence of braid construction and material have been studied, and an efficient bedding-in process has been defined. It was shown that the main parameter is the maximum load level, the loading path is not important. The load required to bed in HMPE ropes is closely related to changes in the braid angle under load