Geometry-Dependent Tensile Load Capacity and Fracture Characteristics of Steel Wire Ropes: A Finite Element Parametric Study
Steel wire ropes (SWRs) are exceptional load-bearing elements. However, conventional designs often treat them as passive structures, lacking strategies to actively program their ultimate load-bearing capacity and failure behaviors. To address this gap, this study systematically investigates the tunable load capacity and fracture characteristics of SWRs by developing a simplified power-law hardening elastoplastic constitutive model and a finite element framework integrated with a ductile-damage criterion. Following material parameter calibration via single-wire tests and independent experimental validation of the baseline model using 1 × 7 strand tensile tests, comprehensive numerical parametric studies were conducted to evaluate the simulation-based influence of core diameter (dcore), overall rope diameter (D), layer count (F), and strand configuration (S) on mechanical responses. The numerical results reveal that these geometric parameters act as effective tuning knobs that govern internal stress transfer pathways and ultimate load-bearing capacity. Specifically, simulations predict that increasing the dcore to 1.00 mm elevates the peak tensile force by 9.6% while maintaining a 90.07% tensile force efficiency (TFE, defined as the ratio of mean to peak tensile force). Furthermore, implementing a hybrid multi-strand architecture (SWR-S3) achieves an optimized TFE of 99.76%. These structural modifications facilitate internal strain synchronization, which effectively buffers localized stress peaks and dictates the progressive fracture sequence. Ultimately, this study demonstrates the potential of complementing traditional material enhancement strategies with active geometric parametrization. Rather than offering immediate industrial design rules, it provides a conceptual theoretical framework for exploring custom-tailored tensile strength profiles and predictable failure behaviors. However, because these advanced structural configurations are evaluated using idealized quasi-static finite element models, further experimental validation addressing real-world manufacturing constraints, residual stresses, and dynamic loading is required before practical engineering deployment.