《Mechanics of Wire Rope》.pdf

Mechanics of Wire Rope Mordica Lecture—Interwire 2003 Wire Association International Atlanta, Georgia—May 12, 2003 George A. Costello Department of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Abstract.—This presentation on the mechanics of wire rope will be divided into two parts: a theory for the static and dynamic response of wire rope, and practical examples in the form of consulting problems with which I have been associated. Introduction It is indeed an honor to be selected as one of the Mordica lecturers for the Wire Association International’s 2003 Interwire conference. The subject of my talk is the mechanics of wire rope. However, before I talk about wire rope, I’d like to point out the importance of mechanics in solving a wide class of problems in engineering. A student came in to see me the other day; he had a problem outlined, and he wanted to work on a thesis in the area of mechanics. I suggested some ways of looking at the problem, but he replied, “How do I do that?” I said, “Well, that’s the problem.” People underestimate, or are often unaware of, the power of mechanics. Consider the application illustrated in Fig. 1, which shows a scale model of a lunar tractor. The date is about a year before we put a man on the moon. Engineers at one of the major subcontractors were worried about the tractor sinking into the lunar soil. At the time, it was not clear what was on the moo