12 3 4 



Wire Rope Diameter (in.) 

 Figure 7. Design load capacity of wire ropes for 6,000 feet water depth. 



resistance of cable to fatigue. Preliminary calculations indicate that the load 

 capacity available for design becomes small indeed when a 5:1 safety 

 factor is used. As an illustration, Figure 7 presents the design capacity for 

 5: 1 and 3:1 safety factors; included in these curves are the payload plus an 

 allowance for dynamic loads. From this analysis, a value of 100 tons is 

 selected as the maximum load for a single cable 6,000 feet long and a safety 

 factor of three. 



After a detailed investigation of the above and additional factors, it 

 was determined that a 3-1/2-inch diameter cable is the most desirable and 

 feasible wire cable for suspending a load of 100 tons to 6,000 feet. However, 

 there is a compromise: the safety factor is three. Each additional 100 tons, 

 therefore, requires another wire rope plus handling equipment. The 

 3-1/2-inch wire rope was selected as the most desirable of all wire and 

 synthetic ropes for the purposes of this project. 



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