Staged Rope Recoil Control via Asymmetric Failure Assemblies
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Solution Overview
Problem
Rope assemblies often experience recoil upon failure, posing a danger to people and structures, and there is a need for systems and methods to minimize this recoil and detect when a rope has been loaded beyond its design limit.
Innovation Solution
A recoil control system comprising first and second recoil control assemblies with different lengths and predetermined failure limits, which reconfigure when tension exceeds the first assembly's limit, limiting the movement of the rope assembly and indicating potential overload.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a single recoil control assembly is used, then the system is simple, but it cannot provide staged recoil control or overload detection
Solution Approach 1:
The recoil control system is divided into multiple independent assemblies (first and second assemblies) with different failure limits. Each assembly operates independently to provide staged recoil control, allowing the system to manage different levels of overload conditions separately and effectively.
Solution Approach 2:
The first and second recoil control assemblies are arranged in a nested configuration where the second assembly encompasses or works in conjunction with the first assembly. This nesting allows both assemblies to function simultaneously within a compact structure, providing multiple levels of recoil control without proportionally increasing system complexity.
2Reliability
If the second assembly has the same length as the first assembly, then the structure is symmetrical and simple, but it cannot provide progressive recoil control
Solution Approach 1:
The second recoil control assembly is designed with a different length than the first assembly, creating an asymmetric structure. This asymmetry enables progressive recoil control where each assembly responds to different tension levels, allowing the system to provide staged protection against increasing overload conditions.
3Reliability
If the first assembly has a higher failure limit than the second assembly, then the second assembly activates first for minor overloads, but this reverses the intended staged control sequence
Solution Approach 1:
Each recoil control assembly is designed with specific local properties (different failure limits) suited to its intended function. The first assembly has a higher failure limit for major overload protection, while the second assembly has a lower failure limit for minor overload detection, creating localized functional differentiation within the system.
Data Source
AI summary
A rope system adapted to be connected between first and second structures comprises a rope recoil system comprising first and second rope recoil assemblies. The first rope recoil assembly defines a first length and a first predetermined rope recoil maximum limit at which the first rope recoil assembly fails when under tension. The second rope recoil assembly defines a second length, where the second length is longer than the first length. The rope recoil assembly is arranged between the first and second structures such that the rope recoil system is in a first configuration. When at least one of the first and second structures moves away from another of the first and second structures, the first rope recoil assembly fails and the rope recoil system reconfigures into a second configuration.