Synthetic rope failure: Does it drop or recoil?

Side or angled pulls all depend on the degree of angle the rope is being forced to run through. In rope rescue we have a term, critical angle. This refers to the multiplying of forces caused by the angle, on an anchor system you want the angle higher, ie. 0° will share the load equally on a multi point anchor where an angle of 120° will multiply the load to 150% on each anchor. The opposite is true for change of direction anchors, if the rope is running straight through (or 180°) then there is no load on the anchor, but reduce that to 150° and the load is multiplied up to 4 times.... depending on the application. So as the rope on the winch runs through the fairlead if it is "bending" only a few degrees, the load is higher than if it was straight but not significantly. On the other hand, if the rope is "bending" 90° coming through the fairlead then the load will be many times higher than if it were straight. Measured at the bend is where the increase would be, obviously the load itself is the same weight, but some of the increase is carried through the bend to the winch as well, the rope (or cable or wire rope) is seeing that higher load right at the apex of the "bend".......
You'll need some diagrams but what I think you are referring to is how straight the line is between two points used as anchors?
 
If one were inclined, that overlooks the rust issue. This is better.
https://www.devon4x4.com/Dana 44-stainless-fairlead-for-lowline-winch.html

The one that I saw built awhile back was made in a stainless alloy; it wasn't for outdoor/vehiclular use, though. From what the machinist was telling me, the bulk of the labor was in machining the billet; the polishing was rather simple.

The plain steel would indeed rust; I was just pointing out that making it serviceable wouldn't actually take a great deal of time.
 
Depending on how in depth we want to get, yes. But making a change in direction with a snatch block also create additional loads. If the snatch block for the COD is anchored and the angle of the rope as it passes through is close to 180° (ie it passes straight through and does not change direction) then the load on the COD anchor is minimal, however, if the rope enters the COD at say the 9 o'clock position and exits at the 6 o'clock position then the angle is 90° and the load on the anchor will be 2 times the weight of the actual load. This applies to COD only.

Anchors are another story, the less the angle the less strain there is on the gear and object(s) being used for the anchor. If we have a short tree saver and it is barely long enough to wrap around our chosen tree, the ends pretty much just coming together, the load on that strap will be approaching 2-4 times the load being pulled. If we take the same strap and put it around a much smaller tree and allow the ends to come together out and away from the anchor (tree), creating, say for example, a 30° angle between the two legs then each leg will only carry 50% of the load.
 
I confirmed a suspicion and learned something. The TRE hawse has arrived. Both sides are radiused. The Warn steel hawse is not. This is very important and satisfies the remaining doubts and questions I had about why the rope parted on this pull.

This is the Warn hawse with a straight edge connecting the back edge of the hawses with the far side of the drum where the pull was occurring.
20190624_134200.jpg


Notice how the rope would be dragged across the rear hard edge of the hawse! This edge is visible as the step inside the fairlead mount.
20190624_134339.jpg


While I can understand and agree that the sandcast finish is not doing the rope any favors, I strongly believe this sharp edge is the primary flaw in my system that caused the failure.

The TRE hawse is radiused on both the front and back. The importance of this is ridiculously obvious now that I see it!

Here is a quick and dirty mock up of the angles the rope could be on a side pull with the rope piling up on one side of the drum.
20190624_134733.jpg


20190624_134717.jpg


20190624_134728.jpg


On both sides of the hawse, during the pull, the rope is squarely positioned on a radiused edge. Details matter!

I believe that synthetic rope is the appropriate material for our winches and for our uses. But the rope is only one part of a larger winch and recovery system. The entire system must be designed, assembled and used with both the strengths and weaknesses of synthetic rope in mind. If it isn't, preventable failures like the one I experienced will happen.

When I am able to install the TRE hawse, I will need to take a close look at the fairlead mount to make sure it still clears the rope since the TRE opening is different that what is currently there.

Thanks @Garza!
 
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I confirmed a suspicion and learned something. The TRE hawse has arrived. Both sides are radiused. The Warn steel hawse is not. This is very important and satisfies the remaining doubts and questions I had about why the rope parted on this pull.

This is the Warn hawse with a straight edge connecting the back edge of the hawses with the far side of the drum where the pull was occurring.
View attachment 101061

Notice how the rope would be dragged across the rear hard edge of the hawse! This edge is visible as the step inside the fairlead mount.
View attachment 101062

While I can understand and agree that the sandcast finish is not doing the rope any favors, I strongly believe this sharp edge is the primary flaw in my system that caused the failure.

The TRE hawse is radiused on both the front and back. The importance of this is ridiculously obvious now that I see it!

Here is a quick and dirty mock up of the angles the rope could be on a side pull with the rope piling up on one side of the drum.
View attachment 101060

View attachment 101063

View attachment 101059

On both sides of the hawse, during the pull, the rope is squarely positioned on a radiused edge. Details matter!

I believe that synthetic rope is the appropriate material for our winches and for our uses. But the rope is only one part of a larger winch and recovery system. The entire system must be designed, assembled and used with both the strengths and weaknesses of synthetic rope in mind. If it isn't, preventable failures like the one I experienced will happen.

When I am able to install the TRE hawse, I will need to take a close look at the fairlead mount to make sure it still clears the rope since the TRE opening is different that what is currently there.

Thanks @Garza!

Take a look at the scribe line on the back of our fairleads. That is how big the opening on your fairlead mount needs to be for using synthetic rope correctly. 1.75"

This is a feature on our fairleads I admittedly don't magnify enough, but of utmost importance!

Ricky
 
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Take a look at the scribe line on the back of our fairleads. That is how big the opening on your fairlead mount needs to be for using synthetic rope correctly. 1.75"

Ricky

I wondered what that line was for. Good to know!

I would take a picture, but I'm at the airport and won't be home for a week.
 
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If one were inclined, that overlooks the rust issue. This is better.
https://www.devon4x4.com/Dana 44-stainless-fairlead-for-lowline-winch.html

That is the cat's ass for synthetic rope. Radiused and nicely polished surfaces for the rope to run over.
 
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I’ve always wondered why the openings in most hawse fairleads are narrower than the winch drum. Is this by design or never been thought about? It puts the rope at an angle even when it’s a straight line pull.
 
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I’ve always wondered why the openings in most hawse fairleads are narrower than the winch drum. Is this by design or never been thought about? It puts the rope at an angle even when it’s a straight line pull.
It is designed that way to assist the line when it approaches the side of the drum. If it was the exact width or wider, the line could stuck up on top of itself easier against the drum side. With the opening being slightly narrower, it starts putting pressure on the rope to pull it onto the next layer being formed so it doesn't want to keep stacking vertically.

Under load, the line won't readily stack up or overwrap since the wrap being laid pushes the line over.
 
Other than its bulkiness, wouldn't a roller fairlead be a better choice for rope if we are concerned about chaffing and rough edges?
 
Isn't the problem with roller fairleads the corners where the rollers come together? I like the idea of roller fairleads for synthetic line, but every one I've looked at looks like it would eat a winch line under certain circumstances.
 
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