VESSEL MOORING SYSTEMS

Dyneema® SK78 fiber

If creep, abrasion, temperature, durability, and/or fatigue are critical issues in your application, this is the grade for you.

Dyneema® DM20 fiber

FSRU mooring is best with rope made with Dyneema® DM20 fiber.

Bio-based

Both Dyneema® SK78 and DM20 fiber are available as bio-based options. Bio-based Dyneema® fiber offers the exact same performance characteristics as conventional Dyneema® with the added benefit of CO2 savings.

Tension Fatigue Test

With MEG4 came the introduction of standardized testing for tension-tension fatigue in mooring tails – and we believe the next edition of the OCIMF guidelines could incorporate tension-tension fatigue testing for mooring ropes, too. That’s why Dyneema® has built fatigue testing equipment to monitor the fatigue lifetime at both fiber level and rope level. At the rope level, we use a tube oven to accelerate tension fatigue and carry out our experiments in a way similar to that prescribed in MEG4 for mooring tails.

And there’s more. By coupling these data with our DNV-certified fatigue performance model, we can help you assess the longevity of your mooring ropes and give you the confidence to set performance-driven retirement criteria.

Fairlead Abrasion Test

Because of their contact with surfaces under high pressure, mooring ropes inevitably face external abrasion. For decades, fiber-level testing of abrasion performance – such as yarn-on-yarn testing or hex-bar testing – has yielded comparative results for fibers. But these tests can’t be scaled up to assess ship-size HMPE mooring lines, making them a far-from-accurate insight into the types and impacts of abrasion faced by mooring operators onboard their vessels. Enter Dyneema®'s state-of-the-art abrasion tester. Designed and built to simulate real-world abrasion, this equipment runs mooring ropes over commercially available fairleads, using interchangeable testing surfaces that let us mimic your specific fairlead conditions. Experiments can be run dry or wet, with a variety of line tensions and frequencies, and there's even the option to monitor the process using inspection cameras and thermal sensors. 

Creep Performance Tool

Polymer agility is key to manufacturing HMPE lines – but that same flexibility can worsen a rope’s creep (when the long molecular chains slide along each other, elongating the rope). This is a notorious issue with fiber-based mooring ropes, so when you’re designing a vessel mooring system, it’s crucial to be able to accurately predict mooring rope performance over time.

During a multi-year research program, Dyneema® has developed the Creep Performance Tool, which considers the type of HMPE as well as parameters including temperature, time, and tension. It’s a powerful tool for predicting creep rate and elongations as well as estimating creep lifetime. And it is DNV qualified. 

Rope Temperature Model

From ambient temperature to internal friction, there are different factors that can affect a mooring line’s operating temperature – and consequently its durability, reliability, and safety. Designing a mooring system that performs in all kinds of climates and weather systems (especially those with extremely low or high temperatures) can therefore be a major challenge for designers. With our core temperature modeling tools for mooring ropes, Dyneema® can help you accurately predict how ropes will behave in environmental conditions ranging from the Middle East to the Arctic.