Reliable mooring ropes with Dyneema® SK78

We are committed to engineering reliability into mooring ropes made with Dyneema® SK78. Engineering can not only be a paper exercise it must be proven with tangible assets. To be able to study and improve rope durability we have designed and built bespoke testing equipment suited for end use mooring applications.

Mitigating Fairlead Abrasion

Mooring ropes face external abrasion when in contact with metal surfaces under high pressure.

For decades, abrasion performance through fiber-level tests like yarn-on-yarn testing or hex-bar testing has yielded comparative results for fibers and narrow diameter ropes. However, these comparative tests do not scale at all to larger mooring ropes and therefore are not representative of the types of abrasion mooring operators face onboard their vessels.

To simulate real-world abrasion, we have designed and built a state-of-the-art abrasion tester in which ropes run over commercially available fairleads. Our abrasion tester has interchangeable testing surfaces so that we can mimic your specific fairlead conditions. Experiments can be run dry or wet with a variety of line tensions and frequencies with optional monitoring with inspection cameras and thermal sensors. 

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Measuring mooring rope fatigue over time

MEG4 introduced standardized testing for the tension-tension fatigue of mooring tails. We believe that the next generation of OCIMF’s mooring equipment guidelines may incorporate tension-tension fatigue testing of mooring  ropes as well. Therefore, we have built fatigue testing equipment to monitor fiber-level and rope-level fatigue lifetime. At the rope level, we’ve developed an accelerated tension-tension fatigue set up utilizing a tube oven. Experiments are conducted in a similar manner as prescribed in MEG4 for mooring tails.

When this data is coupled with our DNV-certified fatigue performance model, we can help you assess the longevity of your mooring ropes and provide you with the confidence to set performance-driven retirement criteria.

Optimizing bending performance around winches

Rope bending performance is relevant for specific mooring designs and in several other applications. Understanding the bending characteristics of a rope over a sheave is essential to developing durable assemblies. Our cyclic bending over sheave (CBOS) tester is fully customizable to match your specific winch or sheave characteristics. Experiments can be run with multiple types of sheaves, groove dimensions, groove types and diameters in dry, wet, and muddy conditions. Samples can also be monitored by video cameras and thermal sensors.

Proving and improving the reliability and durability of mooring ropes made with Dyneema® is a central focus of our fiber and application development. We firmly believe that:

• Durable mooring ropes will be replaced less frequently which is better for our planet and your OPEX.
• The highest reliability and safety in mooring operations is obtained by leveraging predictive models and tangible use-specific testing.

Interested in assessing the performance of your mooring ropes? Our mooring specialists can provide you with tailor-made recommendations that fit your specific mooring assemblies and end-use conditions. 

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