Mechanical Properties of Polyester Mooring Cables

The work presents expressions to deal with the stiffness nonlinearity of polyester mooring cables. The study is based on two efforts. One basic effort is a comprehensive set of model cables tests performed. The other effort has been completed by the analysis of the acceptance tests performed with actual full-scale cables with 5-in (0.127-m) or thicker diameters. For the parallel construction cables under analysis here, a weak dependence on the frequency has been detected, while the mild to significant dependence on the average load and load amplitude has become clear. A theoretical consideration is made through the Maxwell model. Finally, suggestions on how to deal with the expression in a mooring design are also addressed. *ISOPE Member. Received June 6, 1998; revised manuscript received by the editors April 21, 1999. The original version was submitted directly to the Journal on June 6, 1999.