OTe 3850

ROPES FOR DEEP WATER MOORING

by Kenneth T. Ronson, British Ropes LTD.

r - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --------~~----------,
Copyrlght 1980 Offshore Technology Conference

This paper was presented al the 12th Annual QTC in Houston. Tex., May 58. 1980. The material Is subject to correction by the author, Permission to copy is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words.

Introduction The aim ofthis paper is to guide the designers of

The past decade has seen a complete change deep mooring systems and to promote confidence in
from the belief that a cheap and abundant source ot wire ropes, confidence based on the production,
energy was available from 'oil, to a realisation that oil research and site experience gained from many years
reserves are limited and that the price the world is of involvement with the offshore industry.
prepared to pay for hydrocarbons is in direct relation
to the cost of developing alternative sources of energy. 1. Design
The current worldwide interest in enhanced oil The principal requirements for a tether designed
recovery is a direct reaction to the present and to moor large structures in deep water, would at first
r;>redicted energy shortage and the economic and sight, appear to be satisfied by a number of different
political influences which determine th'EJ price of oil. wire rope constructions. However, after detailed
consideration of the design criteria and working
The continuance of the 'oil age' depends on conditions likely to be experienced, the !livo most
three factors:- . ... favourable constructions appear to be either:~
The rate of discovery of new reserves
The development of recovery processes and Spiral Strand
techniques or
The price of oil in relation to other forms of Six Strand Rope
energy.
Up to the present time, exploration and recovery Consequently all the development work outlined
has been confined to reseNes onshore and in in this paper is based on these two constructions.
comparatively shallow offshore waters, but the urgent
need in the future is for exploration and recovery in 1.1 Spiral Strand
greater 'water depths. This consists of a number of layers of helically
The technology is available for the exploration laid wires, each layer being concentric and co-axial
drilling but recovery in very deep waters presents about the strand axis. The wire diameters, number of
considerable problems. There are various concepts wires and the lay angles are designed to maximise the
under consideration and these include the Tethered available steel area and to optimise properties such as
Buoyant Platform and the Guyed Tower. These will strength, modulus and torsional stability. The major
require large diarT")eter tethers for the mooring system. advantages of this construction are:-
Alternative sources of energy currently being
evaluated include wave energy devices and Offshore a) High strength to size ratio
Thermal Energy Conversion Systems. The designs of
b) High modulus
these structures also require large diameter wire ropes
for the mooring system. c) High resistance to corrosion
d) Excellent tension fatigue performance

References and illustrations at end of paper. e) Good torsional balance under load
1.2 Six Strand Rope
When a number of strands are spun together to
form a single unit, this is referred to as a rope: In this
case sixstrands are~c1osed around a central core which
is itself a separate strand or rope. The major
adv.antages of this construction are:-
a) Flexible and therefore easy to handle
b) Robust construction
c) Good bend fatigue performance
There is already considerable experience in the
offshore industry in the use of large diameter six.
strand ropes.
The graphs illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 indicate
the breaking loads and weights for a range of sizes of
both spiral and six strand ropes which would satisfy
the mooring requirements of structures designed to
operate in the water depths currently being explored.
The wire for both constructions should be galvanised
plain carbon steel, produced in accordance with
BS2763 and galvanised to BS443.
2. Fatigue
The wire rope tethers for a large structure in
deep water will be subjected to a large number of
tension fluctuations and the possibility of tension
fatigue must be considered. In addition to this some
cyclic bending of the tethers (adjacent to the term-
inations, at fairleads etc.) will also occur although
this will be of small amplitude and relatively low
frequency.
The design of the mooring system should
recognise these two distinct forms of potential
deterioration and every effort should be made to
ensure that the predicted tension and bend fatigue
lives are compatible both with each other and with
the corrosive life of the tether.
2.1 Tension Fatigue
The environmental conditions will create a load
fluctuation about a mean value within the tether.
These occur at a relatively high frequency but the
vast majority of such load cycles are of very low
amplitude. The resultant stresses caused by this
cyclic loading will influence the fatigue life of the
tether.
Data on average wave height/frequency is readily
available, but it is the platform response to the waves
which will influence the amplitude and mean load
experienced by the tethers.
Most of the available experimental data on
tension fatigue is related to high amplitude conditions.
However, it is possible to extrapolate these results
and to predict performance levels for a range of me.an
loads but with low amplitude variation. The graphs
in Figures 3 and 4 illustrate the predicted tension
fatigue performance of large diameter ropes and
strands. The ropes were tested at various mean loads
and amplitudes expressed as a percentage of the
rope/strand Minimum Breaking Load.
486
The most significant fact to emerge from this
work is that the load amplitude has'a much greater
influence on fatigue life than the level of mean load.
The information presented in the graphs can be
used to establish performance levels for the ropes/
strands. For example, in order to achieve a tension
fatigue life of say 25 x 106 cycles for a tether
operating under a mean load of 20% of Minimum
Breaking Load the amplitude should be restricted to
6% for a six strand rope and 9% for a spiral strand.
2.2 Bend Fatigue
The wire rope tethers will experience some
cyclic bending in service but the frequency of such
bending will be several orders of magnitude lower
than the frequency of the tension fatigue cycles.
Even small angles of deflection will influence
performance.
The bend fatigue performance of various wire
rope constructions is illustrated in Figures 5 and 6.
The ropes and strands were tested at various 0 : d
ratios and the load levels are expressed as a percentage
of the rope/strand Minimum Breaking Load.
The most significant fact to emerge from this
work is that the bending ratio has a much greater
influence on fatigue life than the level of mean load.
The results can be used to establish performance
levels for the ropes or strands. For example, in order
to achieve a bend fatigue life of 2 x 105 cycles for a
tether operating under a mean load of 20% of
Minimum Breaking Load, the 0 : d ratio should be at
least 700 : 1 for a six strand rope and 1000 : 1 for a
spiral strand.
3. Corrosion
The traditional material from which wire ropes/
strands are manufactured is plain carbon steel, cold
drawn to produce the highest tensile strength
consistent with good ductility. Where the rope/strand
is to work in a corrosive environment for long periods
a surface coating of zinc is applied to the individual
wires before spinning. The galvanising techniques are
closely controlled to give a high quality, non-porous
coating of even thickness with good adherence to the
steel substrate. Typical coat weights for the size of
wires envisaged here would be 350 glm2 . There has
been a considerable amount of research work carried
out on marine corrosion in general and on wire ropes
in particular all of which confirm the effectiveness of
zinc coatings as a corrosion protective.
3.1 Process of Corrosion
When galvanised wire is exposed to a marine
environment, the zinc provides a protective layer
which deteriorates in two distinct phases:-
a) The zinc corrodes at a rate which is dependent
upon exposure conditions. (temp, flow rate etc.)
b) Once the zinc coat is penetrated the remaining
zinc acts sacrificially to delay corrosion of the
steel.
 Rusting of the ,steel will only commence when
the available zinc is depleted to such an extent that it
can no longer depress the electrolytic potential of the
rope/strand below the critical level.
(0.85 V relative to Cu/CuS04)
3.2 Rate of Corrosion
The initial phase of deterioration, depletion of
the zinc coatinQ, depends on the inherent corrosion
rate of the zinc itself. This is dependent on water
flow rates which in turn vary along the length of the
rope/strand. Corrosion rates will also change with
time due to the formation of deposits on the rope/
strand surface. Consequently the rate of zinc remov\:ll
can vary widely although for slow moving sea water a
value of 150 g/m 2 per annum is typical. This
indicates a theoretical life for the zinc coating on the
exposed wires of a little over two years. After this
period corrosion of the crowns of the outer wires
may commence.
Corrosion of the steel substrate is expected to
proceed at a rate of approximately 0.25 mm per
annum. On the assumption that a 5m m reduction
in diameter could be tolerated without a significant
loss in breaking load (a 5 mm reduction on a 150 mm
diameter spiral strand would result in a loss in
breaking load of approximately 4%) this indicates a
further life of ten yea-rs. A corrosive life of twelve
years could therefore be predicted before a significant
loss in tether strength occurs;
(Refer to section 4 for -extended corrosive life).
3.3 Practjcal Experience
In practice, marine fouling will quickly intervene
to appreciably slow the rate of corrosion and give a
much better performance than predicted. This
contention is supported by practical experience with
large wire ropes in the North Sea.
A typical example, detailed below, is a 3%"
diameter anchor line which was removed after eight
years service as part of the catenary mooring system
of a semi-submersible rig operating in the North Sea.
Full evaluation was continued with two years further
exposure at a marine testing station.
After ten years, a superficial examination of the
rope showed the exposed areas of the outer wires in
each strand to be heavily corroded. Internal exam-
ination of the strands showed the degree of corrosion
to decrease through subsequent constructional layers
with the galvanising of the 'king wire' and its
immediate covering layer intact. There was evidence
of the original blocking material (see Section 5.1)
throughout the strand although this was loaded with
corrosion debris between the outer layers. The wires
in the core were in good condition with a substantial
amount of the blocking material still in evidence,
although again this was loaded _with corrosiondebris.
Tensile tests for residual breaking load have been
carried out since this rope was removed from service.
These showed that after ten years marine exposure,
and despite the apparent severe corrosion, the residual
breaking load was only 2% below the guaranteed
Minimum Breaking Load of the new rope.
487
There has been a limited amount of work done
on the corrosion resistance of spiral strands under
these conditions. Nevertheless, there has been a
considerable amount of research conducted on the
corrosion of individual wires and small sizes of strand.
From the conclusions of this work a better
performance can be predicted for spiral strand than
six strand for the following reasons:-
1) !t has been shown that the life of zinc coating
IS proportional to its thickness and that large
wires will corrode at a slower rate than smaller
wires. For an equivalent breaking load, the
outer wires of a spiral strand could be in the
region of 15% larger than those of six strand
rope.
2) For an equivalent breaking load the exposed
surface area of a spiral strand is 15-20% less than
that in a six strand rope.
3) The outer cover of a spiral strand construction
represents approximately 20% of the strand
breaking load. The outer wires of a six strand
construction represents 35% of the rope breaking
load. Therefore for an equivalent exposure time
the loss in breaking load suffered by a six strand
rope due to corrosion would be greater than for
a spiral strand.
4. Mode of Failure
Any assessment of rope performance would not
be complete without consideration at the failure
mechanism.
When a wire rope is subjected to fatigue the time
at which wire breaks initiate varies considerably with
rope construction and loading conditions and should
be determined for each specific case. However, both
tension and bend fatigue conditions will produce
initial wire breaks in the outer layer of wires where
they can most easily be detected, either by visual
examination or Non-Destructive Testing Techniques.
The tether' designs under consideration here
contain several hundred wires each of which is
working independently. The fracture of one or
several of these wires will therefore have no significant
effect on the stress levels in the remaining wires or on
the strength of the tether as a whole.
4.1 Discard Criteria
It is common practise in a wide range of
applications to base rope removal criteria on the
number of broken wires present in a given length of
rope e.g. 24 wire breaks in a rope length of 6 times
rope diameter. The resultant loss in strength due to
broken wires is easily determined and can be used in
conjunction with predicted losses due to corrosion to
form a reliable basis for any rope discard criteria.
5. Further Techniques to Improve
Corrosion Resistance
5.1 Blocking
It is common practise in the wire rope industry
to treat wire ropes with corrosion preventative
compounds. The interstices of the rope/strand are
 filled with a heavy grease during manufacture. These British Ropes Limited has a proven method of
materials are formulated to improve corrosion incorporating such elements and small scale samples
resistance and fatigue life. Based on experience of are currently being evaluated in the North Sea
wire ropes operating in the North Sea over many (patent applied for)
years a petrolatum wax = based blocking compound
is recommended for this application. 6, Performance Monitoring
The preceding sections of this paper have shown
5.2 Sheathing
that a wire rope will deteriorate gradually due to
There is a considerable attraction in the use of a corrosion and fatigue, and that sudden, catastrophic
continuous, extruded plastic sheathing for corrosion failures will not occur unless the deterioration of the
protection. An impermeable sheath would tether has gone un-noticed. It is therefore important
permanently arrest the ingress of corrosive media and to have a reliable means of monitoring the condition
prevent corrosion for an indefinite period of time. of the tethers in service.
This must represent the ultimate form of corrosion
There are two basic forms of performance
protection since the rope/strand would never corrode
monitoring which should be considered for this
except in the event of damage to the sheath. If any
application:
damage does occur then the latent corrosion
protection (galvanizing and blocking) will provide
6.1 Non-Destructive Testing
adequate protection until suitable repairs can be
effected. Of the various techniques of Non-Destructive
Testing currently available for wire ropes the Magnetic
A wide variety of plastics are available, among
Flux Leakage method is considered the most suitable
them Polyvinylchloride (P. V. C.) Polyethylene and
more recently Polyurethane. On the basis of evidence Static magnetic excitation is applied to the rope
presently available a high density grade polyethylene or strand and the magnetic flux passing through the
is recommended for this application. rope is measured. This magnetic flux is a function of
the metallic area of the rope and any change in the
A series of full scale tests have been carried out
magnetic flux, caused by a change in metallic area
on spiral strand sheathed with high density poly-
and/or broken wires will be detected.
ethylene, 7.5 mm radiaj thickness, to examine the
behaviour of the sheath under a range of compressive In practice an initial signature would be taken
loads, typical of those experienced either during from the new rope and all subsequent examinations
installation or in service. would be compared to the original in order to assess
any deterioration. This technique has been in use in
The tests showed that high compressive loads, in
the Mining Industry for over twenty years, and its
the order of 560 kgf/cm2 (8000 lbf/in2 ) resulted in
reliability in assessing the condition of steel wire rope
severe distortion of the sheathing. However..loads UP
is such that the technique is a legal requirement in
to 140 kgf/cm2 (2000 lbf/in2 ) were shown to
several countries.
produce negligible distortion even for extended
periods.
6.2 Examination of Samples

5.3 Shaped Wire Visual inspection and mechanical testing of

tether samples should ideally be carried out in
Shaped wires of full lock type (Z section) could This
conjunction with Non-Destructive Testing.
be used to provide a final layer over the basic spiral
would require:
strand construction. This would result in a design
more resistant to the ingress of corrosive media, but
should only be considered for tethers in a taut either a) The provision of special (short) tether
moored system. samples which are intended primarily for
The strength to size ratio and the performance performance monitoring purposes.
in both bend and tension fatigue conditions would be
or b) The sampling of full length tethers.
comparable to those of a basic spiral strand but the
strength to weight ratio is SIightl y inferior.
With this in mind, the use of shaped wires should It is essential that the sample is truly
only be considered if for some reason a plastic sheath representative of the tether system as a whole. This
cannot be employed. If the tether is to be sheathed requirement will only be satisfied if the following
then the locking and sealing features of the shaped conditions are met:
wires would have no significant advantage.
a) The sample tension is typical of service loadings.
5.4 Cathodic Protection
b) The sample is subjected to appropriate fatigue
Another method of improving corrosion conditions.
performance is by cathodic protection. For a long
c) The sample is exposed to all (or at least the
length of suspended wire rope the most practical
worst) corrosion.
method of cathodic protection is to incorporate
continuous sacrificial elements into the rope or strand d) The sample has been subjected to the relevant
during manufacture. termination/end effects.

488
 It is clear from the above that it would be In recent years this material has become the
impossible to divorce the monitoring samples from standard material for socketing large diameter ropes
the working tethers. They must be an integral part throughout the world. Its higher strength compared
of the tether system if they are to provide an auth- to white metal gives improved resistance to creep at
en tic record of tether condition. high loads. Continuous working in sea water has
no effect on the efficiency of zinc-capped sockets.
A typical inspection programme would require
the first sample to be removed after say, five years Resin
and subsequent inspections at three year intervals.
However, the frequency of sample removal will This is the generic term for compounds which,
depend on the following factors. when in liquid form, will solidify when certain
reagents are introduced. Resins which have been
a) Predictions of corrosion and fatigue perfor-
considered for socketing fal I into three main cate-
mance.
gories, namely Epoxiesr Polyesters and Urethanes.
b) The results of other performance monitoring There has been no extensive testing of urethanes
systems in service. but because of their inherent flexibility creep may
prove to be a problem.
c) The condition of the last sample removed.
Polyester resins have been used extensively
d) The requirements of the inspection author- in the U.K. and have proved to be an excellent
ities. casting material. In fact Polyester resins are used
as the standard material for terminating samples
7. Terminations for both tensi Ie and fatigue testing in British Ropes
Laboratories. Epoxy resin development work has
The prime requirement of a wire rope term-
ination, or connector, for this application is its been Iimited due to the increased cost when com-
pared to polyester resin. However there is no
ability to sustain the full breaking load of the rope.
reason to believe that epoxy resins would be in any
In order to achieve this a poured cone termi- way inferior to the polyesters and may offer advan-
nation, as illustrated in Figure 7 is recommended. tages in certain areas.
This is a standard method of terminating ropes and
strands which are used as structu ral tension members,
it is 100% efficient and has an excellent fatigue 7.2 In-Line Connectors
performance.
Certain mooring systems wil I require two len-
The poured cone termination is made up sep- gths of mooring line to be connected in order to
arating the individual wires of the rope or strand and form a single continuous tether. For example,
forming them into a brush. The brush is then cast to enable the most heavily worked part of the
into a conical housing using a suitable casting system to be removed and replaced before the rest
material. of the tether has reached the end of its service Iife.
The connector would again take the form of a
Although a straight sided internal cone is a poured cone termination and the socket housing
generally accepted socket design, the double cone designed to facilitate quick and easy installation
basket, as illustrated in Figure 7 does offer certain on site.
advantages. This shape prevents the ful I length of
the wires in the brush from making contact with Development work is currently being carried
the interior surface of the basket and therefore out on this concept and the results will be avail-
ensures that each wire is surrounded by the casting able later this year.
material. This in turn ensures that the full load in the
rope is evenly distributed throughout the total 8. Handling
number of wires in the socket.
Steel wire ropes up to 103 mm (4) diameter
7.1 Casting Materials are in constant use in the North Sea and are easily
handled by experienced personnel.
White Metal.
The ropes under consideration for this applic-
This material has a composition of 5% Tin, ation could be 178 mm (7) diameter or more, with
15% Antimony and 80% Lead and is generally used individual package weights up to 100 tonnes. They
for socketing small engineering ropes. When used are bigger dimensions but with proper analysis of the
with large ropes it does have a tendency to creep application and the correct design of equipment,
under sustained high loadings and is therefore not these large ropes can be handled efficiently with due
recommended for this application. regard to safety, speed and cost,

Zinc.
The problems Ii kel y to be encountered can be
The zinc which is used for socketing pur- considered under three related headings : Bemji ng :
poses is electrolytically produced and is 99.99% pure. Tension : Mass.

.-,.
8.1 Bending supply package would not be capable of withstanding
these increased loadings. This fact may influence the
The minimum bending diameter of a wire rope/
strand is the smallest diameter around which it can be choice of tether handling winch. Unless the tether
coiled without causing distortion or displacement can be installed direct from G low tension take-up
of the individual wires. This value must be recogni- stand then it must be transferred from the supply
sed in the design of all handling equipment. package to the handling winch prior to installa-
tion. (see Section 11).
N.B.
The size and weight of the terminations for
It must be emphasised that this minimum
bending diameter is for handling and transporta- these ropes and strands could also cause handling
tion only, and is not the bending diameter necessary problems. For example a poured cone termination
to achieve an acceptable bend fatigue performance for a 127 mm spiral strand will weigh approximately
(see Section 2.2.) 0.4 tonnes with dimensions of 400 mm diameter
and 700 mm length.
8.2 Tension
Such heavy and bulky components must be
The coiling of a wire rope during production, contained and handled by considered designs of
is carried out at a relatively low tension, typically equipment and procedures.
5 torinef. However the rope/strand wi II experience
a change in tension during installation, and this may 9. Practical Tests and Results
induce rotation of the rope/strand. This fact should
be recognised in any handling procedur~ Further- Handling trials have been carried out on proto-
more, interference between adjacent rope laps, caus- type production lengths of large diameter wire rope
ed by excessive fleet angles created during installa- and strand.
or change-out, will also influence the rotational
characteristics of the rope/strand and could result in The rope diameters and constructions are list-
a lively tether. ed below and cross sections are illustrated in Figures
8, 9 and 10.
The difference in tension betwean production 180 mm (H diameter
and installation of the tether has little effect on its 6x97 (24/24/1 618&8181811 ) 1.W. R.C.
size. Therefore tight coiling which is essential to
trouble free handling is not achieved by applying 127 mm (5) diameter
tension to the rope, but rather by the correct dimen- 1x291 (54/48/42/36/31 /25/1 9/1 4/7&717/l)
sions of the supply package/winch.
?40 mm (5. 7/2) diameter
Al I ropes have an extension characteristic which sheathed spiral strand (construction as 2 above)
is made up of two parts : the permanent extension,
resulting from bedding down of the individual wires, The trials were designed to establish both the
and the elastic extension, which is a function of the minimum bending diameter and the tension necessary
rope tension. These characteristics must be consid- to straighten these large diameter ropes and strands.
ered in the design of the tether anchorage and ten- The results of these tests are shown in Figurel 1.
sioning procedures, particularly where a multiple of
From these results it can be seen that the
tethers are involved.
sheathing effectively holds the wires of the spiral
Typical values for permanent extension of six strand in position and results in a smaller bending dia-
meter than with the unsheathed spiral strand. This
strand ropes and spiral strand would be O.5% and
advantage is unlikely to occur with a six strand rope.
0.25% of rope length respectively. Modulus values
of 9000 kgf/mm2 for six strand rope and 15000
10. Supply Package
kg f/mmz for spiral strand should be used for elastic
extension calculations. Three types of package are normally used for
the transportation of wire rope and strand :-
8.3 Mass Standard Reel, Shell-type Reel and Crosshead. In
view of the size and weight of the ropes involved in
Ropes of the size, weight and length required this application a standard reel would almost always
for deep water moorings wil I need very carefu I hand- be used.
Iing and all equipment and procedures must aim for
maximum control of the tethers. Man-handling will This consists of a fabricated cylindrical barrel of
not be either safe or effective. a suitable diameter, terminated at each end with per-
manent fabricated f Ianges. These wi II retain the lay-
When a tether is installed (or retrieved) on the ers of rope on the barrel and support the coiled rope
platform, then the stresses imposed on the winch during transport, with the axis of the reel horizon-
barrel and flanges, caused by the tether weight, will tat.
be substantial Iy greater than those imposed on the Incorporated in the flanges is a central hole
supply package during manufacture. A conventional through which a shaft may be inserted to allow the

490
 reel to rotate about its horizontal axis during coil- The tether is coiled a number of times, usually
ing and uncoiling. four or five, around two (or more) capstans. As the
A sketch of a typical package reel, suitable for tether passes through the winch, the tension is reduc-
600 metres of 127 mm diameter spiral strand with ed to a minimum such that only low tension control
block cylindrical terminations and tail rope is shoWn is required at the supply package. An independent
in Figure 12- power source transmits the torque necessary to con-
trol the tether and inertia of the equipment and also
11. provides constant tension at the storage reel. Even
Handling Equipment
though the stresses imposed on the capstans wit I
The final two sections of this paper are devo- result in only low tension control at the storage
ted to an evaluation of various types of handling reel, nevertheless, at least two capstans are nece-
equipment and a conceptual layout of such equip- ssary, in addition to the storage reel and control
ment for the deployment of tethers from a T.B. P. stand. Hence the mass of the equipment and the
The package design recommended in the previous space required may be greater than for a single barrel
section has been used as the basis for this evalua- winch.
tion.
Advantages
The handling equipment currently available falls
into particular types :- a. Design and manufacturing expertise available
from a number of sources.
11.1 Single Barrel Winch
b. Only low tension control is required at the
This is an established component for handling storage reel and the tether can therefore be
wire rope and spiral strands. There are a number of installed or retrieved direct from the supply
experienced manufacturers. package.

The tether is coiled to a number of layers across Disadvantages

the barrel of the winch and a power source transmits
the torque necessary to control the tether and inertia a. The size and weight of equipment.
of the equipment, either through a shaft or through
b. Current systems could not handle the tether
the winch flanges, to the barrel.
termination.
If a single winch is to be used for both installa-
11.3 The Linear Winch - Caterpillar Type
tion and change-out then it will have a mass of appro-
ximately 60% of tether weight, independent of pow- A preliminary investigation of this equipment,
er source and shaft supports, in order to withstand revealed that the tracks and hydraulic system neces-
the loads imposed during change-out. In view of this sary for handling a large diameter tether would be
it is unlikely that the provision of such a winch for complex in design.
each individual tether will be acceptable because of
cost and weight. In addition there is very little direct experience
of handling a mass which in itself would create a ten-
It follows therefore that each tether must be sion greater than 10 tonnef. although current eqUip-
available on its own (lightweight) supply package, ment is used for handling large diameter pipe.
and prior to installation the tether must be trans-
ferred to the winch. 11.4 The Linear Winch - Grip Type

Advantages This is an established component for handling

a. Design and manufacturing expertise available wire rope and strand and there are a limited number
from a number of sou rces. of experienced manufacturers.

The tether is installed direct from the supPlY

b. No restriction of power source.
package via the linear winch, The winch conskts of
two wedge type clamps. The lower grip is stationary
Disadvantages
and is used for holding the tether while the upper
a. Transfer of tether to and from supply package grip cycles back and forth pulling in or paying out
will increase time required for installation and the tether. The complete tether mass is accepted by
change-out. the linear winch and therefore only low tension con-
b. The weight and size of this equipment may trol is required at the supply package and support
cause problems particularly where more than stand.
one unit is required for multiple installation. Advantages

1.2 The Double Barrel Winch a. As the linear winch accepts al I the tension
imposed by the mass of the tether, all ancil-
This may be either a Twin or Quad Capstan Iiary components, including the supply package
design and is an established component for handling and control stand, can be designed for low ten-
wire rope and strand. There are a number of exper- sion control only (typically a maximum of 5
ienced manufacturers. tonnef ).
Am4
+Z 1
b. The lightweight supply package required can be 12. Equipment Layout
more easi Iy transported.
The tethered buoyant platform is one example
c. There is no need for additional handling of the of a structure which will require large diameter
supply package. mooring ropes.

d. Any power source converted by hydrau Iic t rans The sketch in Figure 13 is a conceptual layout of
mission can be employed. the equipment required for the installation of tethers
from such a structure using a grip type linear winch
e. Hydraulic power transmission will give unified and a package stand with low tension control. Varia-
control between the supply package stand and tions to this layout would enable several tethers to be
the winch. installed simultaneous y.
f. The linear winch is a proven component for
Conclusion
handling rope tensions well in excess of those
created by this particu Iar tether assembly, This paper has discussed briefly the main points
to emerge from five years development work on the
performance and handling of large diameter ropes for
deep water mooring.
Any comparison of handling equipment must
recognise the particular tether specification and appli- Whilst this information will provide a sound
cation. Nevertheless, if the supply package referred basis for the design of mooring systems in general,
to, in section 10 is typical (i.e. 600 m of 127 mm detailed studies of the requirements for particular
diameter spiral strand, gross weight including SUPPJY systems should be carried out in conjunction with
reel 60 tonnes) then the linear winch grip type the rope manufacturer in view of the continuing
probably represents the best solution. development work which is being undertaken.
 lWI
1s00 [ ,/

1A@%&&

- 120
- 110
-m
sol
c
all:
c
70$
w
w
40
100 105 110 115 120 125 1S0 135 140 145 150
Nominal Diameter (mm)

I
Fig. 1 - Six strandropecharacteristics
:- size,weightand Fig.2- Spiralstrandcharacteristics
:- size,weightand
breakingloadrelationship. breakingloadrelationship.

;0
10* lo, 10S 10*
Fatigue Life [cycled

Fig.3- Six strandropecharacteristics

:- tensionfatigue.

Fig.4- Spiralstrandcharacteristics
:- tensionfatigue.
 25%
30%
400
Mean Load (% of Rope M. B.L.)

Pulley Outer
800

:1
1400

1600

Fetigue Life (cycles)

,
10 10 10 107

Fig. 5 - Six strand rope characteristics: bend fatigue.

AThe ropebrush
B:The casting compound
25% 20% 15% 10% CThe cone housing
200

400

800

I Mean Load
Pulley: Outer (% of Strand M. B.L.)
800 Wire Bize Ratio

low
1
30%
1200

1400

lmo \

Fatigue Life (cycles)

10 10 10 ,~,

Fig. 7 - Cross section of pour-

ed cone termination.
Fig. 6 - Spiral strand characteristics: bend fatigue.
 Fig. 8 - Cross section of 178 Fig. 9 - Cross section of 127
mm 6X97 (24/24//l6/8&8/8/8/l) mm 1X291 (54/48/42/36/31/25/
I.W.R.C. 19/14/7/7/1)

Rope Minimum Bending Ropetensionto

Description Diameterm straightenrope kgf

1.80
I Six strand
I I
5400
I
I Spiralstrand
I 3.00
I 4800 I
Sheathed
2.60 5200
Spiralstrand

Fig. 11 - Minimum bending diameter and tension required

to straightened 178 mm 6 strand rope and 127 mm sheathed
and unsheathed spiral strand.

Fig. 10 - Cross section of 140

mm sheathed spiral strand - co-
nstruction as figure 9.
Fig. 12 - A typical package for 600 metres, 127 mm DIA. Spiral
strand with block cylindrical terminations .

SOale 1:200

Socket Compartment

Handling Winch

Hendling Winch

I
I I Rig Leg Top Laval

I%fy:tion
Termination Leval

leer Winch

ather Tvbe

ig. 13 - Conceptual layout of equipment for tether installa-

tionutilising linear winch (grip type) and package stand with
ow tension control.