Numerical Simulation of Damage Localization in Polyester Mooring Ropes

Abstract

This paper presents the derivation of a mechanical model to estimate the effects of damage on the response of ropes. Damage can be represented through a degradation of the properties of individual rope elements, and it can also include the complete rupture of one or more elements. The general assumptions made to estimate the length over which damage propagates along the length of a rope and how this length is considered in modeling damaged rope behavior are explained. Consistent with tests on damaged polyester (PET) mooring ropes, numerical simulations demonstrate the existence of strain localization around the failure region and, due to degradation of rope element properties, damage localization as well. This damage localization causes the premature failure of rope elements, reducing the maximum load capacity and maximum failure strain that a damaged rope is capable of resisting relative to that of an intact rope. The proposed model suggests that some of the variables that affect damaged rope behavior are the degree of damage present at a given cross-section, the location of broken rope elements, and the length over which damage propagates along the rope length. Experimental data are used to validate the model.