Composite Cable Termination via Segmented Splicing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional testing equipment for tensile strength members, particularly synthetic filament cables, is limited in length and cannot effectively test or attach high-performance terminations to long cables, which are essential for applications requiring known and predictable strength, such as hoisting and mooring.
Innovation Solution
A method involving creating a short synthetic tensile strength member with a high-performance termination, testing its strength, and then splicing it onto a longer cable using prior art interweaving techniques to form a composite cable with a known performance, allowing for efficient attachment and testing of long cables.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If conventional testing equipment is used to test long cables with high-performance terminations, then the cable length can be extended for practical applications, but the equipment cannot effectively test or attach terminations to cables longer than its limited capacity
Solution Approach 1:
The long cable is divided into multiple shorter segments that can be individually tested with conventional equipment. Each segment is tested separately for termination strength, then the segments are spliced together to form the complete long cable assembly, enabling reliable testing of cables exceeding equipment length limitations
Solution Approach 2:
Terminations are attached and tested on short cable segments before the segments are assembled into the long cable. This preliminary testing ensures that each component meets strength requirements independently, allowing the use of conventional testing equipment while guaranteeing the reliability of the final long cable assembly
2Strength
If high-performance terminations are attached to long cables directly, then the cable can be used in hoisting and mooring applications requiring known strength, but conventional equipment cannot attach or test these terminations on long cables
Solution Approach 1:
The manufacturing process is segmented into separate steps: first attaching terminations to short cable segments in a controlled manner using conventional equipment, then splicing these pre-terminated segments together. This segmentation makes the attachment process manageable and repeatable while maintaining high termination strength
Solution Approach 2:
Terminations are preliminarily attached to short cable segments under controlled conditions before final assembly. This preliminary attachment allows for proper curing and initial strength development, making the overall manufacturing process more reliable and easier to control than attempting direct attachment to long cables
3Weight of moving object
If synthetic filament cables are used to replace steel cables, then weight and corrosion resistance are improved, but the cables must have equivalent useful length requiring terminations that conventional equipment cannot test
Solution Approach 1:
The synthetic filament cable is divided into testable segments with terminations that can be individually assessed using conventional equipment. This segmentation enables the use of lightweight synthetic materials for long cable applications while maintaining the ability to verify termination strength through standardized testing procedures
Solution Approach 2:
Terminations on synthetic cable segments are preliminarily tested before assembly into the complete long cable. This preliminary verification ensures that synthetic cables meet strength requirements equivalent to steel cables, enabling their use in load-bearing applications while maintaining the weight advantages of synthetic materials
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach enables the creation of composite cables with high-performance terminations that maintain the breaking strength of the individual cables, overcoming the limitations of conventional testing equipment and allowing for the use of synthetic filament cables in place of steel cables, with termination efficiencies exceeding 90%.
Implementation Method 1
A liquid potting compound is then introduced into the expanding cavity with the wires in place. The liquid potting compound transitions to a solid over time and thereby locks the wire rope into the cavity.
Data Source
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AI summary
A method for creating a composite cable having at least one high-performance termination on at least one end. A high-performance termination is added to an end of a short synthetic tensile strength member. The strength of the tensile strength member and termination is then tested. Once tested satisfactorily, the short cable is spiced onto a long cable of the same type using prior art splicing technique's. The union of the short cable and the long cable creates a "composite" cable having a high-performance termination on at least one end. In most applications It is preferable to set the length of the short cable so that the interwoven splice will exist at a desired location.