Research Article

DOI: 10.1002/jst.62
Time-dependent behavior of ropes under impact loading: a
dynamic analysis
Igor Emri

, Anatoly Nikonov, Barbara Zupancic and Urska Florjancic

Center for Experimental Mechanics, University of Ljubljana, and Institute for Sustainable Innovative Technologies,
Ljubljana, Slovenia
In this paper, we present new methodology based on a simple, non-standard
falling-weight experiment, which allows for the examination of the
functionality and durability of ropes beyond the ndings from Union
Internationale des Associations dAlpinisme experiments. The
experimentalanalyticalnumerical treatment allows for the examination of
the time-dependent viscoelasto-plastic behavior of ropes exposed to arbitrary
falling-weight loading conditions. Developed methodology allows for the
prediction of the impact force and the jolt (the derivative of the acceleration/
deacceleration acting on the climber); the viscoelastoplastic deformation of
the rope; stored, retrieved, and dissipated energy during the loading and
unloading of the rope; and the modication of the stiffness of the rope within
each loading cycle. By means of parametric error analysis, we showed that
the relation between the error of calculated data and the error of input data is
extremely non-linear. This demands careful and precise experiments. It was
shown that the accuracy of prediction of all sought-after physical quantities
could be obtained within the acceptable limits, which conrms that the
proposed experimentalanalytical methodology may be used for analyses of
the functionality and durability of ropes and the safety of climbers. & 2008
John Wiley and Sons Asia Pte Ltd
1. INTRODUCTION
Climbing is becoming one of the fastest growing extreme
sports. In this sport, ropes are probably the most critical part
of the equipment. Climbing ropes are designed to secure
climbers, and for that reason, they are dynamic; this means
that they are designed to stretch under a high load so as to
absorb the shock force. This protects the climber by reducing
fall forces. In comparison, static ropes are more durable and
resistant to abrasion and cutting, but they lack the necessary
protection against shock loads produced in a climber fall. For
that reason, they are used only in situations where such shock
loads would never occur (e.g. rappelling, canyoneering, and
spelunking) [1].
Ropes should have good mechanical properties, such as
high-breaking strength, large elongation at rupture, and good
elastic recovery. The Union Internationale des Associations
dAlpinisme (UIAA) has established standard testing proce-
dures to measure, among other things, how ropes react to se-
vere falls [2,3]. The international standard test for climbing
ropes is based on a standard dynamic drop test . Ropes are
drop tested with a standardized weight and procedure simu-
lating a climber fall. This tells us how many of these hy-
pothetical falls the rope can withstand before it ruptures.
Different rope categories have different norms, but the stan-
dard requires climbing ropes to withstand a minimum of ve
such test falls. Virtually all of the ropes on the market can
withstand the minimum number of test falls, while some are
*Center for Experimental Mechanics, Faculty of Mechanical Engineer-
ing, University of Ljubljana, Pot za Brdom 104, 1000 Ljubljana,
Slovenia
E-mail: ie@fs.uni-lj.si
Keywords:
.
ropes
.
impact
.
viscoelasticity
.
time-dependent behavior
.
jolt
.
energy dissipation
& 2008 John Wiley and Sons Asia Pte Ltd Sports Technol. 2008, 1, No. 45, 208219 208
Time-dependent behavior of ropes
rated to withstand a much higher number. The second thing that
a standard drop test measures is the amount of force that is
transmitted to the falling climber. For all of the tests, these forces
must stay within a certain range. The standard also rates factors,
such as rope stiffness, sheath slippage, and rope stretch under
body weight. Different simplied testing procedures are pre-
scribed for each of these properties. For example, rope stiffness
in a standardized test is measured by tying an overhand knot,
exposing the knot to a 10-kg load, and then measuring the size of
the hole in the knot. This test is known as the knot-ability test,
which indicates the handling and suppleness of a rope. Ac-
cording to the procedure prescribed by the standard, the hole
must measure less than 1.1 times the rope diameter. By all
means, these are very practical ways for rapid testing; however,
they provide no information on the underlying mechanisms that
govern the time-dependent behavior of ropes.
The standard says little about the durability of ropes,
which is more difcult to dene or assess with simplied pro-
cedures commonly used by rope manufacturers. Durability in
this case does not mean just failure of the rope, but rather,
deterioration of its time-dependent response when exposed to
an impact force. The experiments prescribed by the existing
standard are not geared to analyze the time-dependent de-
formation process of the rope, which causes structural changes
in the material, and consequently affects its durability.
In this paper, we present a comprehensive dynamic analysis
of a simple, non-standard falling-weight experiment, which
allows for the examination of the time-dependent viscoelas-
toplastic behavior of ropes exposed to arbitrary falling-weight
loading conditions. Developed analytical treatment is subse-
quently examined by using the synthetic experimental data.
By means of the parametric error analysis, we determine the
required precision of all measured physical quantities used in
the derived analytical equations for physical quantities that
determine the durability of ropes and the safety of climbers.
2. THEORETICAL TREATMENT
The time-dependent response of a rope under dynamic
loading generated by a falling mass may be retrieved from the
analysis of the force measured at the upper xture of the rope.
This force is transmitted through the rope and acts on the
falling weight (mass), as schematically shown in Figure 1. In
such experiments, a mass is dropped from an arbitrary height,
hp2l
0
, where l
0
is the length of the tested rope.
Force measured as function of time, Ft, may be expressed
as a set of N discrete data pairs:
Ft fF
i
; t
i
; i 1; 2; 3; ; Ng 1
An example of such measured force is schematically shown in
Figure 2. The diagram is subdivided into three distinct phases:
A, B, and C.
In phase A, the weight (mass) is dropped at t 50, and it
falls freely until t t
0


2h=g
_
, where h indicates the height
from which the mass was initially dropped. Here the rope
becomes straight, which is indicated in Figure 2 as point T
0
. If
we neglect the air resistance, the velocity of the mass at point
T
0
is v
0


2gh
_
. Point T
0
represents the end of the free-falling
phase of the mass, and the beginning of phase B, which is the
beginning of the rope deformation process.
At point T
0
in phase B, where t t t
0
0, the falling
mass starts to deform the rope. Neglecting the air resistance,
and the wave propagation in the rope, the equation of motion
of the moving mass between points T
0
and T
7
may be written
as:
m xt mg Ft 2
Here, m is the mass of the weight, and g is the gravitational
acceleration; xt denotes the second derivative of the weight
displacement, xt, measured from point T
0
. Thus, xt re-
presents the time-dependent deformation of the rope. The
solution of equation 2 gives the displacement of the weight as
the function of time, which is equal to the viscoelastoplastic
deformation of the rope:
xt
gt
2
2

1
m
_
t
0
_
l
0
Fu du
_ _
dl C
1
t C
2
3
Constants C
1
and C
2
may be obtained from the initial condi-
tions at point T
0
:
xt 0 0; and _ xt 0 v
0


2gh
_
4
Therefore:
C
2
0 5
and
C
1
v
0

1
m
_
t
0
Fl dl
_ _
t0
v
0
6
l
0
mg
m
m
F(t)
F(t)
F(t)
F(t)
m
h
t = t
0
l
0
mg
m
m
F(t)
F(t)
F(t)
F(t)
mm
h
t = t
0
Figure 1. Schematics of the rope exposed to the falling mass. Here m
is the mass of the falling weight, h is the height from which the mass is
initially dropped. F(t) is the measured force that is generated in the
rope, l
0
is the initial length of the rope, t 5t
0
is the time when the rope
becomes straight, g is gravitational acceleration. Reproduced from [3]
by kind permission of Taylor & Francis.
Sports Technol. 2008, 1, No. 45, 208219 & 2008 John Wiley and Sons Asia Pte Ltd www.sportstechjournal.com 209
Time-dependent behavior of ropes
Displacement of the weight, which is equal to the deformation
of the rope, may be expressed now as:
xt
gt
2
2

1
m
_
t
0
_
l
0
Fu du
_ _
dl v
0
t 7
Since the deformation of the rope and the displacement of the
weight are the same, we may now calculate the velocity, the
acceleration/deacceleration, and the jolt acting on the weight,
that is, the climber, respectively:
vt _ xt gt
1
m
_
t
0
Fl dl v
0
8
at xt g
Ft
m
9
jt
_ xt
1
m
dFt
dt
10
At point T
1
, where t t
1
, the force acting on the rope
becomes equal to the weight of the mass, Ft
1
mg. At this
point, the velocity of the weight reaches its maximum value:
v
max
vt
1
gt
1

1
m
_
t1
0
Fl dl v
0
11
The location of T
1
, where t t
1
may be found numerically
from
dvt
dt
g
Ft
1

m
0 12
At T
2
, the jolt will reach its negative extreme value,
t t
2
tj j
min
, where:
j
min
jt
2
MIN
1
m
dFt
dt
_ _
13
The force acting on the rope and on the weight has its max-
imum at T
3
, where: t t
3
tF F
max
, and
F
max
Ft
3
MAXfF
i
; i 1; 2; 3; . . . ; Ng 14
The deformation of the rope at this point is:
st
3
xF F
max
xt
3

gt
2
3
2

1
m
_
t3
0
_
l
0
Fu du
_ _
dl v
0
t
3
15
If the properties of the rope would be elastic, the location of
the maximum force should coincide with the location of the
maximal deformation; however, because of the viscoelastic
nature of the rope, its maximal deformation, s
max
, will be de-
layed and will take place at t t
4
, that is, at point T
4
, where
the velocity of the weight is equal to zero:
v
4
vt
4
gt
4

1
m
_
t4
0
Fl dl v
0
0 16
The time, t
4
, may be retrieved numerically from equation 16.
The maximum deformation of the rope is then:
s
max
xt
4

gt
2
4
2

1
m
_
t4
0
_
l
0
Fu du
_ _
dl v
0
t
4
17
Now we can calculate the viscoelastic component of the rope
deformation by subtracting equation 15 from 17:
s
ve
s
max
st
3
xt
4
xt
3

gt
2
4
t
2
3

2
v
0
t
4
t
3

1
m
_
t4
t3
_
l
0
Fu du
_ _
dl
18
The unloading phase of the rope starts at point T
4
. The elastic
component of a ropes deformation will be retrieved and will
Time - t
F
o
r
c
e
-
F
(
t
)
T
4
T
6
t
9
0 t
0
t
4
t
1
T
1
mg
First loading cycle
Second loading cycle
C A B
t
6
T
0
T
4
T
7
F
max
T
3
T
9
t
2
t
7
T
2
T
5
T
8
0
t
3
t
5
t
8
1

Figure 2. Schematics of the force measured during the falling mass experiment (phases AC). t
i
, absolute time of individual events in deformation
process of the rope; t
i
, relative time of individual events in deformation process of the rope; F
max
, maximum force in the rope; m, mass of the falling
weight; g, gravitational acceleration;T
0
, beginning of the loading phase of the rope; T
1
, the moment when the force in the rope is equal to the weight
of the mass; T
2
, the moment of the extreme negative value of the jolt; T
3
, the moment of the maximum force in the rope; T
4
, the moment of the
maximum deformation of the rope when the velocity of the weight is equal to 0; T
5
, the moment of the positive extreme value of the jolt; T
6
, the
moment when force in the rope is equal to the weight of the load; T
7
, the moment when the force in the rope is equal to 0 and the weight starts to y
in upwards; T
8
, the moment when the weight reaches the maximum upper point of its free y in the vertical direction; T
9
, the beginning of the second
loading cycle.
www.sportstechjournal.com & 2008 John Wiley and Sons Asia Pte Ltd Sports Technol. 2008, 1, No. 45, 208219 210
Research Article I. Emri et al.
accelerate the weight in the opposite (upward) direction. At
t t
5
, indicated as point T
5
, the jolt will reach its positive
extreme value: t
5
tj j
max
, where
j
max
jt
5
MAX
1
m
dFt
dt
_ _
19
At T
6
, where t t
6
, the force acting on the rope again be-
comes equal to the weight of the load, Ft
6
mg. At this
point, velocity will obtain its extreme value in the opposite
(negative) direction:
v
min
vt
6
gt
6

1
m
_
t6
0
Fl dl v
0
20
Time t
6
may be again easily determined numerically from
Ft
6
mg. At point T
7
, where the force acting on the rope
becomes equal to zero, Ft
7
0, the weight will start its free
y in the upward (vertical) direction. The velocity of the weight
at point T
7
may be calculated with equation 8:
v
7
vt
7
gt
7

1
m
_
t7
0
Fl dl v
0
21
We can also calculate the elastic part of rope deformation, s
el
,
which is equal to the weight displacement during the unloading
of the rope that takes place between points T
4
and T
7
:
s
el
xt
4
xt
7

1
m
_
t7
t4
_
l
0
Fu du
_ _
dl
gt
2
7
t
2
4

2
v
0
t
7
t
4
22
Furthermore, we can calculate the viscoplastic deformation of
the rope, s
vp
, by subtracting the recovered elastic deformation,
s
el
, from the ropes maximum deformation, s
max
. Therefore:
s
vp
s
max
s
el
xt
7

gt
2
7
2

1
m
_
t7
0
_
l
0
Fu du
_ _
dl v
0
t
7
23
By subtracting the viscoplastic (equation 23) and the viscoelastic
(equation 18) components, we can calculate the plastic compo-
nent of rope deformation:
s
pl
s
vp
s
ve
xt
7
xt
3
xt
4
24
In phase C, point T
7
represents the beginning of phase C, in
which the weight has no interaction with the rope, that is,
Ft
7
0, and starts to y upwards with the initial velocity: v
7
,
v
7
vt
7
gt
7

1
m
_
t7
0
Fl dl v
0
25
It then returns back at point T
9
to start the second cycle of the
rope deformation process. From the velocity, v
7
, we can calculate
the time of the weight vertical ight:
t
u

v
7
g
t
7

1
mg
_
t7
0
Fl dl
v
0
g
26
Furthermore, we are also able to calculate the height, s
b
, to which
the weight will be bounced:
s
b
v
7
t
u

gt
2
u
2
27
At point T
9
, the second loading cycle of the rope starts, which
may be analyzed with the same set of equations derived for
phases B and C.
2.1. ForceDeformation Diagram of the Rope Deformation
Process: Energy Dissipation
Energy dissipation during the rope deformation process,
that is, between points T
0
and T
7
, is one of the most important
rope characteristics, and should be used for comparing the
quality of ropes. Force, Ft, measured during the loading and
unloading of the rope in phase B, may be expressed as the
function of the rope deformation, F Fs, as schematically
shown in Figure 3. Notations used in the Figure are later ex-
plained.
The discrete form of F Fs interrelation may be
obtained by calculating the isochronal values of the rope
deformation corresponding to each discrete value of the
measured force between points T
0
and T
7
:
F
i
Ft
i
; s
i
xt
i

gt
2
i
2
_

1
m
_
ti
0
_
l
0
Fu du
_ _
dl v
0
t
i
; 0pt
i
pt
7
; i 1; 2; . . . ; M
_
28
Here, M is the number of measured force data points within
the time interval 0; t
7
.
F
o
r
c
e

F
(
s
)
T
0
F
max
T
1
T
6
T
7
s
max
s
el
s
vp
W
dis
k
end
k
init
T
3
T
4
mg
s
1
s
6
Deformation - s
Figure 3. Force deformation diagram of the rope loading and
unloading phase (phase B). F
max
, maximum force in the rope; m,
mass of the falling weight; g, gravitational acceleration; T
0
, beginning
of the loading phase of the rope; T
1
, the moment when the force in the
rope is equal to the weight of the mass; T
3
, the moment of the
maximum force in the rope; T
4
, the moment of the maximum
deformation of the rope when the velocity of the weight is equal to
0; T
6
, the moment when force in the rope is equal to the weight of the
load; T
7
, the moment when the force in the rope is equal to 0 and the
weight starts to y in upwards; s
1
and s
6
, deformations of the rope
when the force in the rope becomes equal to the weight of the mass;
s
max
, maximum deformation of the rope; s
vp
, viscoplastic part of
deformation of the rope; s
el
, elastic part of deformation of the rope;
k
init
, stiffness of the rope at the beginning of loading cycle; k
end
,
stiffness of the rope at the end of loading cycle; W
dis
, dissipated
energy of the process.
Sports Technol. 2008, 1, No. 45, 208219 & 2008 John Wiley and Sons Asia Pte Ltd www.sportstechjournal.com 211
Time-dependent behavior of ropes
The deformation energy of the rope at any stage of
deformation may be expressed as:
Wt
_
st
0
Fx dx
_
t
0
Fl
@xl
@l
dl

_
t
0
Fl gl
1
m
_
l
0
Fu du v
0
_ _
dl
29
and should be equal to the sum of the kinetic, W
k
t, and the
potential energy, W
p
t, of the falling weight at any time:
Wt W
k
t W
p
t 30
We are particularly interested in the stored energy, which is the
only source of energy absorption (neglecting the air resistance),
and consequently the reduction of the force acting on
the climber:
W
store

_
smax
0
Fx dx
_
t4
0
Fl
@xl
@l
dl

_
t4
0
Fl gl
1
m
_
l
0
Fu du v
0
_ _
dl
31
Since the stored energy must be equal to the total potential
energy of the weight, then:
W
store
mgh s
max

mg h
gt
2
4
2

1
m
_
t4
0
_
l
0
Fu du
_ _
dl v
0
t
4
_ _
32
During the unloading phase, the elastic component of the rope
deformation is retrieved and it accelerates the weight in an
upward direction:
W
ret

_
smax
svp
Fx dx
_
t7
t4
Fl
@xl
@l
dl

_
t7
t4
Fl gl
1
m
_
l
0
Fu du v
0
_ _
dl
33
The retrieved energy must be equal to the kinetic energy of the
mass at point T
7
. Thus:
W
ret

mv
2
7
2
mg xt
4
xt
7

m
2
gt
7

1
m
_
t7
0
Fl dl v
0
_ _
2
mg xt
4
xt
7

34
The dissipated energy within a loading and unloading cycle,
represented as the shaded area in Figure 3, can be expressed as:
W
diss
W
store
W
ret

_
t4
0
Fl gl
1
m
_
l
0
Fu du v
0
_ _
dl

_
t7
t4
Fl gl
1
m
_
l
0
Fu du v
0
_ _ _ _

_
t7
0
Fl gl
1
m
_
l
0
Fu du v
0
_ _
dl
35
Alternatively:
W
diss
mgh s
max

mv
2
7
2
mg xt
4
xt
7
36
2.2. Increase of the Rope Stiffness
An important parameter for comparing the performance of
different ropes could be the modication of their stiffness within
each loading cycle. The rope becomes stiffer in each loading
cycle, which means that the performance of the rope is de-
creasing. Thus, an indicator of the quality and rope durability
could be the ratio of the stiffness at the beginning, k
init
, and at
the end, k
end
, of the rope deformation process. Therefore:
w
k
init
k
end
p1 37
Stiffness, k
init
and k
end
, may be calculated from the slope of the
force-displacement diagram Fs at points T
1
and T
6
, as sche-
matically shown in Figure 3:
k
init

dFx
dx

xs1
38
Table 1. Physical quantities representing the functionality and durability of ropes.
n Physical quantity Symbol Corresponding equation
1 Maximum force F
max
14
2 Maximum deformation s
max
17
3 Elastic part of rope deformation s
el
22
4 Viscoplastic part of rope deformation s
vp
s
max
s
el
23
5 Viscoelastic part of rope deformation s
ve
18
6 Plastic part of rope deformation s
pl
s
vp
s
ve
24
7 Stored energy W
store
31 or 32
8 Retrieved energy W
ret
33 or 34
9 Dissipated energy W
diss
W
store
W
ret
35 or 36
10 Stiffness of the rope at the beginning of deformation k
init
38
11 Stiffness of the rope at the end of deformation k
end
39
12 Ratio of the stiffness w k
init
=k
end
37
13 Jolt j 10
www.sportstechjournal.com & 2008 John Wiley and Sons Asia Pte Ltd Sports Technol. 2008, 1, No. 45, 208219 212
Research Article I. Emri et al.
and
k
end

dFx
dx

xs6
39
where s
1
and s
6
are rope deformations at corresponding points
T
1
and T
6
, indicating the beginning and the end of the rope
deformation process beyond the deformation caused by the
weight of the falling mass. The stiffness of both is indicated in
Figure 3.
3. PARAMETRIC ERROR ANAYLIS
Based on the measured force, Ft, acting on a rope and a
climber during the falling-weight experiment, we derived a
variety of different physical quantities that may be used as
criteria in the evaluation of the functionality and the durability
of climbing ropes and the safety of climbers. These physical
quantities are summarized in Table 1.
Preliminary experimental investigations [4,5] showed that
calculated physical quantities (listed in Table 1) are very sen-
sitive to the precision of the input data, that is, the mass of the
falling weight, height from which we drop the weight, length of
the rope, measured force, time at which measurements
were performed (sampling rate), and number of signicant
digits in gravitational acceleration. To evaluate the effect
of the input data precision on the accuracy of the
calculated physical quantities, we will use a synthetic
error free reference signal, Ft, which closely mimics the
measured signals:
Ft F1 cos20t Ht H t
p
10
_ _ _ _
N 40
where Ht is the Heaviside (step) function, that is,
Hto0 0, and HtX0 1. The reference signal is shown
in Figure 4. In addition, we used
F 4000 N; m 80 kg h l 3:263 m
t
9
1:2 sec; and g 9:80665 m=s
2
41
3.1 Calculation of the Error-Free, Sought-After Physical
Quantities
For the parametric error analysis of the characteristic
physical quantities (Table 1), we will rst calculate the
reference error-free values. We will rst need to determine
the characteristic times: t
3
, t
4
, and t
7
. From equation 40,
it is easy to see that the maximum force, F
max
F, will
appear at t
3
p=20 sec. We determine the location of
the maximum deformation at T
4
by combining equations 40
and 16:
g
F
m
_ _
t
4

200
m
sin20t
4
v
0
0 42
whereas the location of T
7
may be found directly from the
chosen reference signal, equation 40. Thus:
t
3
p=20 sec t
4
0:176026 sec and t
7

p
10
sec 43
Introducing equation 40 into equations 7 and 8, we obtain the
evolution of the rope deformation process, and the
corresponding velocity of the weight:
xt
gt
2
2
v
0
t
F
m
t
2
2

1
400
cos20t 1
_ _
Ht H t
p
10
_ _ _ _

20p
m
20t pH t
p
10
_ _
;
44
Figure 4. Synthetic reference signal F(t). Here t
i
denotes relative time
of individual events in deformation process of the rope; F
max
,
maximum force in the rope; m, mass of the falling weight; g,
gravitational acceleration; T
1
, the moment when the force in the rope is
equal to the weight of the mass; T
2
, the moment of the extreme
negative value of the jolt; T
3
, the moment of the maximum force in the
rope; T
4
, the moment of the maximum deformation of the rope when
the velocity of the weight is equal to 0; T
5
, the moment of the positive
extreme value of the jolt; T
6
, the moment when force in the rope is
equal to the weight of the load; T
7
, the moment when the force in the
rope is equal to 0 and the weight starts to y in upwards.
Figure 5. Evolution of the rope deformation process (solid line), and
the velocity of weight (dashed line). Here t
i
denotes relative time of
individual events in deformation process of the rope; t
3
, the moment
of the maximum force in the rope; t
4
, the moment of the maximum
deformation of the rope when the velocity of the weight is equal to 0;
t
7
, the moment when the force in the rope is equal to 0 and the weight
starts to y in upwards; s
max
, maximum deformation of the rope; s
vp
,
viscoplastic part of deformation of the rope; s
el
, elastic part of
deformation of the rope; s
ve
, viscoelastic part of deformation of the
rope.
Sports Technol. 2008, 1, No. 45, 208219 & 2008 John Wiley and Sons Asia Pte Ltd www.sportstechjournal.com 213
Time-dependent behavior of ropes
vt gt v
0

F
m
t
1
20
sin20t
_ _
Ht H t
p
10
_ _ _ _

400p
m
H t
p
10
_ _
45
The two relations are shown in Figure 5 , where the solid line
represents the deformation of the rope, and the dashed line
represents the corresponding velocity of the weight. In the
same Figure, the characteristic components of the rope de-
formation, s
max
, s
ve
, s
el
, and s
vp
, are also shown. These quan-
tities and s
pl
may be obtained from equations 17, 18, 2224,
respectively:
s
max

t
2
4
2
g
F
m
_ _
v
0
t
4

F
400 m
cos 20t
4
1 46
s
ve
g
F
m
_ _
t
2
4
t
2
3
2
_ _
v
0
t
4
t
3

F
400 m
cos 20t
4
cos 20t
3

47
s
el
g
F
m
_ _
t
2
4
t
2
7
2
_ _
v
0
t
4
t
7

F
400 m
cos 20t
4
cos 20t
7

48
s
vp
s
max
s
el
49
and
s
pl
s
vp
s
ve
50
Taking into account values in equations 41 and 43, we nd
their true (error-free) values:
s
max
1:0266 m; s
el
0:4968 m;
s
vp
0:5298 m s
ve
0:0159 m
s
pl
0:5139 m s
pl
0:5139 m
51
Using equations 40 and 44, we can now calculate the corre-
sponding force and displacement data points:
fF
i
Ft
i
; s
i
xt
i
; 0pt
i
pt
7
; i 1; 2; . . . ; Mg 52
We are also able to express the force as function of deforma-
tion, F Fs. This relation is shown in Figure 6, where we
also show the elastic, s
el
, and the viscoplastic, s
vp
, part of rope
deformation, and the stiffness of the rope at the beginning,
k
init
, and at the end of deformation, k
end
.
The stiffness of both and their ratios, w, may be calculated
from:
k
init

dF
ds

tt1

dF
dt
ds
dt

tt1

200F sin20t
1

g
F
m
_ _
t
1

200
m
sin20t
1
v
0
53
k
end

dF
ds

tt6

dF
dt
ds
dt

tt6

200F sin20t
6

g
F
m
_ _
t
6

200
m
sin20t
6
v
0
54
and
w
k
init
k
end

sin20t
1

sin20t
6

g
F
m
_ _
t
6

200
m
sin20t
6
v
0
g
F
m
_ _
t
1

200
m
sin20t
1
v
0
55
where t
1
and t
6
are given with the relations:
t
1

1
20
Arccos 1
mg
F
_ _
0:03185 sec 56
and
t
6

p
10

1
20
Arccos 1
mg
F
_ _
0:28231 sec 57
Figure 7. Synthetic curve of the deformation energy as a function of
time, t. Here t
i
denotes relative time of individual events in
deformation process of the rope; T
4
, the moment of the maximum
deformation of the rope when the velocity of the weight is equal to 0;
T
7
, the moment when the force in the rope is equal to 0 and the weight
starts to y in upwards; W
stor
, stored energy of the process; W
dis
,
dissipated energy of the process; W
ret
, retrieved energy of the process.
Figure 6. Force acting on the rope as function of its deformation. m,
mass of the falling weight; g, gravitational acceleration; T
1
, the
moment when the force in the rope is equal to the weight of the mass;
T
3
, the moment of the maximum force in the rope; T
4
, the moment of
the maximum deformation of the rope when the velocity of the weight
is equal to 0; T
6
, the moment when force in the rope is equal to the
weight of the load; T
7
, the moment when the force in the rope is equal
to 0 and the weight starts to y in upwards; s
max
, maximum
deformation of the rope; s
vp
, viscoplastic part of deformation of the
rope; s
el
, elastic part of deformation of the rope; k
init
, stiffness of the
rope at the beginning of loading cycle; k
end
, stiffness of the rope at the
end of loading cycle.
www.sportstechjournal.com & 2008 John Wiley and Sons Asia Pte Ltd Sports Technol. 2008, 1, No. 45, 208219 214
Research Article I. Emri et al.
The deformations of the rope at these two points are
st
1
0:2589 m, and st
6
0:6813 m.
Introducing equations 40 and 44 into equation 29, we can
obtain the relation describing the evolution of the rope
deformation energy, which is shown in Figure 7. Therefore:
Wt F g
F
m
_ _
t
2
2

t
20
sin20t
_ _

F
400
g1 cos20t
F
F
800m
sin
2
20t
v
0
20
sin20t v
0
t
_ _
58
In the same Figure, we show also the corresponding stored,
W
store
Wt
4
, dissipated, W
diss
Wt
7
, and retrieved
(elastic) energy, W
ret
W
store
W
diss
. Their true values are
given as:
W
store
F g
F
m
_ _
t
2
4
2

t
4
20
sin20t
4

_ _

F g
400
1 cos20t
4

F
F
800m
sin
2
20t
4

v
0
20
sin20t
4
v
0
t
4
_ _
;
59
W
diss
F g
F
m
_ _
t
2
7
2

t
7
20
sin20t
7

_ _

F g
400
1 cos20t
7

F
F
800m
sin
2
20t
7

v
0
20
sin20t
7
v
0
t
7
_ _
60
and
W
ret
F g
F
m
_ _
t
2
4
t
2
7

2

t
4
20
sin20t
4

t
7
20
sin20t
7

_ _
_ _ _

g
400
cos20t
7
cos20t
4

5
m
sin
2
20t
4
sin
2
20t
7

v
0
20
sin20t
4
sin20t
7
v
0
t
4
t
7

_
: 61
The numerical values for the three energies are W
store

3365:35 Nm, W
diss
2119:11 Nm, and W
ret
1246:24 Nm,
respectively. According to the law of conservation of energy,
the sum of the kinetic and the potential energy of the falling
mass, W
m
t W
k
t W
p
t, and the deformation energy of
the rope, Wt, should be constant at all times (neglecting the
dissipation due to the air resistance): W
m
t Wt const.
This is demonstrated in Figure 8, where the solid line re-
presents the evolution of the rope deformation energy, Wt,
and the dashed line represents the sum of the kinetic and the
potential energy of the falling mass W
m
t W
k
t W
p
t.
For completeness, we also show, with thinner solid and dashed
lines, the kinetic, W
k
t, and the potential energy, W
p
t, re-
spectively. In the same Figure, the corresponding characteristic
times t t
0
, t
4
, and t
7
, which correspond to t
0
0,
t
4
t
4
t
0
, and t
7
t
7
t
0
, respectively are also shown.
Similarly, we can nd jolt
jt
20F
m
sin20t 62
which is shown in Figure 9.
The absolute values of the minimum and the maximum
jolts are the same:
jj
max
j jj
min
j 1000 m=s
3
63
The calculated true values of the characteristic physical
quantities will now be used in the parametric error analysis to
determine the accuracy of the calculated physical quantities,
which represent the functionality and the durability of the
tested rope and the safety of a climber.
3.2. Error Analysis
The goal of the parametric error analysis is to determine
the effect of the error of the input data on the accuracy of the
calculated physical quantities (Table 1).
Figure 9. Jolt as a function of time. Here t
i
denotes relative time of
individual events in deformation process of the rope; T
2
, the moment
of the extreme negative value of the jolt; T
3
, the moment when the
force in the rope reaches its maximum; T
5
, the moment of the positive
extreme value of the jolt; T
7
, the moment when the force in the rope is
equal to 0 and the weight starts to y in upwards; j
min
, the extreme
negative value of the jolt; j
max
, the extreme positive value of the jolt.
Figure 8. Evolution of the rope deformation energy in relation to the
sum of the kinetic and potential energy of the falling mass. Here t
i
and
t
i
denote absolute and relative time of individual events in
deformation process of the rope; T
0
, beginning of the loading phase
of the rope; T
4
, the moment of the maximum deformation of the rope
when the velocity of the weight is equal to 0; T
7
, the moment when the
force in the rope is equal to 0 and the weight starts to y in upwards;
W(t), the energy of the rope as a function of time; W
m
(t), the energy of
the mass as a function of time; W
k
(t), kinetic energy of the mass as a
function of time; W
p
(t), potential energy of the mass as a function of
time.
Sports Technol. 2008, 1, No. 45, 208219 & 2008 John Wiley and Sons Asia Pte Ltd www.sportstechjournal.com 215
Time-dependent behavior of ropes
It is easy to see that F
max
may always be determined di-
rectly from the source data of measured force,
F
max
MAXfF
i
; t
i
; i 1; 2; 3; . . . ; Ng. Therefore, an error in
the predicted maximum force, F
max
, is given directly with the
accuracy of the force sensor, and the sampling rate of the data
acquisition. Error estimation of the rope deformation com-
ponents, s
max
, s
vp
, s
pl
, s
el
, and s
ve
, is much more complex. It
depends on errors in numerical integration in equation 7, er-
rors in determining t
3
, t
4
, t
7
, and errors in the input data of g,
m, h, and Ft. The same is true for W
store
, W
diss
, and W
ret
,
where we need to integrate equation 29. The physical quan-
tities, W
ret
, s
vp
, and s
pl
, are linear combinations of W
store
and
W
diss
, and s
max
, s
ve
, and s
el
, respectively. Thus, we need to
analyze the inuence of the error of the input data on the last
ve quantities only.
Assuming that the accuracy of the measured time, t
i
, at the
moment when we measure the force, F
i
, may be considered as
error free (which is a reasonable assumption), then the mea-
sured force may be expressed as:
Ft
i
F
i
Ft 64
where F
i
is the measured strength of the force, and Ft is its
error-free time dependency. Consequently, the expressions for
s
max
, s
ve
, s
el
, W
store
, and W
diss
may be rearranged as:
s
max
xt
4

gt
2
4
2
t
4

2gh
_

F
m
_
t4
0
_
l
0
Fu du
_ _
dl 65
s
ve
xt
4
xt
3

gt
2
4
t
2
3

2
t
4
t
3

2gh
_

F
m
_
t4
t3
_
l
0
Fu du
_ _
dl
66
s
el
xt
4
xt
7

gt
2
4
t
2
7

2
t
4
t
7

2gh
_

F
m
_
t7
t4
_
l
0
Fu du
_ _
dl
67
W
store
Wt
4
Fg
_
t4
0
lFl dl F

2gh
_
_
t4
0
Fl dl

F
2
m
_
t4
0
Fl
_
l
0
Fu du
_ _
dl
68
and
W
diss
Wt
7
Fg
_
t7
0
lFl dl F

2gh
_
_
t7
0
Fl dl

F
2
m
_
t7
0
Fl
_
l
0
Fu du
_ _
dl
69
The errors of calculated s
max
, s
ve
, s
el
, W
store
, and W
diss
may
now be estimated from the sum of their partial derivatives with
respect to g, m, h, F, t
3
, t
4
, and t
7
. Therefore:
Ds
max

@x
@g
_ _
tt4
Dg

@x
@m
_ _
tt4
Dm

@x
@h
_ _
tt4
Dh

:
@x
@F
_ _
tt4
DF

@x
@t
_ _
tt4
Dt

_
70
Ds
ve

@x
@g
_ _
tt4

@x
@g
_ _
tt3
_ _
Dg

@x
@m
_ _
tt4

@x
@m
_ _
tt3
_ _
Dm

@x
@h
_ _
tt4

@x
@h
_ _
tt3
_ _
Dh

@x
@F
_ _
tt4

@x
@F
_ _
tt3

_ _
DF

@x
@t
_ _
tt4

@x
@t
_ _
tt3

_ _
Dt
_

_
_

_
71
Ds
el

@x
@g
_ _
tt7

@x
@g
_ _
tt4
_ _
Dg

@x
@m
_ _
tt7

@x
@m
_ _
tt4
_ _
Dm

@x
@h
_ _
tt7

@x
@h
_ _
tt4
_ _
Dh

@x
@F
_ _
tt7

@x
@F
_ _
tt4

_ _
DF

@x
@t
_ _
tt7

@x
@t
_ _
tt4

_ _
Dt
_

_
_

_
72
DW
store

@W
@g
_ _
tt4
Dg

@W
@m
_ _
tt4
Dm

@W
@h
_ _
tt4
Dh

@W
@F
_ _
tt4
DF

@W
@t
_ _
tt4
Dt

_
_

_
73
and
DW
diss

@W
@g
_ _
tt7
Dg

@W
@m
_ _
tt7
Dm

@W
@h
_ _
tt7
Dh

@W
@F
_ _
tt7
DF

@W
@t
_ _
tt7
Dt

_
_

_
74
where DF is dened as the maximal error in the measured force
throughout the experiment, and Dt is the maximal error in
determining t
3
, t
4
, and t
7
. Therefore:
DF MAXfjDF
i
j i 1; 2; . . . ; Ng 75
and
Dt MAXfjDt
3
j; jDt
4
j; jDt
7
jg 76
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0
n

(
%
)

W
W
s
s
s
(%)
Figure 10. Relative error, n, of s
max
, s
ve
, s
el
, W
store
, and W
diss
as a
function of the relative error, k, of g, m, h, F and t
c
. The symbols used
in the Figure denote the following physical quantities: s
max
, maximum
deformation of the rope; S
ve
, viscoelastic part of deformation of the
rope; s
el
, elastic part of deformation of the rope; W
diss
, dissipated
energy of the process; W
store
, stored energy of the process.
www.sportstechjournal.com & 2008 John Wiley and Sons Asia Pte Ltd Sports Technol. 2008, 1, No. 45, 208219 216
Research Article I. Emri et al.
Equations 7074 may be expressed in a matrix form as:
Ds
max
Ds
ve
Ds
el
DW
store
DW
diss
_

_
_

_

a
11
a
12
a
13
a
14
a
15
a
21
a
22
a
23
a
24
a
25
a
31
a
32
a
33
a
34
a
35
a
41
a
42
a
43
a
44
a
45
a
51
a
52
a
53
a
54
a
55
_

_
_

_
jDgj
jDmj
jDhj
jDFj
jDtj
_

_
_

_
D
jDgj
jDmj
jDhj
jDFj
jDtj
_

_
_

_
77
Individual components, a
ij
, of the matrix D are given in
Appendix I.
We still need to comment the errors in estimating the
stiffness at the beginning, k
init
, and at the end, k
end
, of the
impact loading cycle, and the error in the calculation of the jolt
(derivative of the acceleration/deacceleration). These require
numerical derivation of the measured force for rope de-
formation and time, respectively. Numerical derivations may
often be troublesome; however, it is a standard, well-known
numerical problem, which has been properly addressed in
commercial mathematical softwares, such as Mathematica,
and does not need any additional comment.
3.2.1 Sensitivity of the error of calculated data to the error of
input data
Let us rst assume that the relative error of all input
physical quantities, g, m, h, F, and t
c
2 ft
3
; t
4
; t
7
g, is equal:
Dg
g

Dm
m

Dh
h

DF
F

Dt
i
t
i
; i 3; 4; 7
_ _
78
Of course, this assumption is not realistic. However, it will help
us to understand which of the calculated physical quantities,
W
store
and W
diss
, s
max
, s
ve
, and s
el
is most sensitive to the error
of input data. The relative error of the calculated data is de-
ned as:
Z
DC
C
true

100% 79
where DCrepresents Ds
max
, Ds
ve
, Ds
el
, DW
store
, and DW
diss
, and
C
true
is their corresponding error-free values, respectively.
Equivalently, we may dene the relative error of the input data
g, m, h, F, and t
c
as:
k
D

true

100% 80
where D represents Dg, Dm, Dh, DF, and Dt, whereas
true
is
the error-free values of g, m, h, F, and t
c
. Here, t
c
again
represents t
3
, t
4
, and t
7
. Figure 10 shows the results
of these error analyses, shown as Z Zk for each of the
ve sought-after physical quantities. From the Figure, it
can be seen that the accuracy of prediction of the viscoelastic
component of rope deformation, s
ve
, is most sensitive to the
errors of input data, followed by s
el
, W
diss
, W
store
, and s
max
.
The most important observation is that the errors of the cal-
culated data are up to 100 times larger than the error of input
data. Thus, in order to utilize the derived theory for analyzing
the durability of ropes and the safety of climbers, we need to
carry out experiments very accurately.
3.2.2 Example for realistic measuring setup
Let us now turn to the analysis of a realistic situation,
which corresponds to the experimental setup used in our
laboratory. The errors of the input data in our experiments
are typically: Dg 0:00001 m=s
2
, Dm 0:02 kg,
Dh 0:01 m, DF 5N, and Dt 0:0001 s. According
to equation 77, this leads to the following absolute errors of
calculated data: Ds
max
0:002959 m, Ds
ve
0:001568 m,
Ds
el
0:00639153 m, DW
store
11:0115 Nm, and
DW
diss
27:5671 Nm. The corresponding relative errors are
then: ds
max
0:29 %, ds
ve
9:88%, ds
el
1:29%, dW
store

0:33%, and dW
diss
1:3%, respectively.
As predicted previously, the largest error appears
in the prediction of the viscoelastic component of rope
deformation, s
ve
. However, the prediction is still within the
acceptable limit. Predictions of all other physical quantities
are very good, which conrms that the proposed experi-
mentalanalytical methodology may be used for the analyses
of the functionality and durability of ropes and safety of
climbers.
4. CONCLUSIONS
We have presented the methodology based on a simple
non-standard falling-weight experiment, which allows for
the examination of the functionality and durability of ropes
beyond the experimental ndings of the UIAA. The experi-
mentalanalyticalnumerical treatment allows for the
examination of the time-dependent viscoelastoplastic
behavior of ropes exposed to arbitrary falling-weight loading
conditions. A developed methodology can be successfully
applied for calculating the following important physical
parameters: the impact force and jolt (the derivative of the
acceleration/deacceleration acting on the climber); the viscoe-
lastoplastic deformation of the rope; stored, retrieved, and
dissipated energy during the loading and unloading of the
rope; and modication of the stiffness of the rope within each
loading cycle.
A developed analytical treatment was subsequently ex-
amined by using the synthetic experimental data. By means
of the parametric error analysis, we analyzed the required
precision of all measured physical quantities used in the cal-
culation of physical quantities that determine the durability of
ropes and safety of climbers.
Sports Technol. 2008, 1, No. 45, 208219 & 2008 John Wiley and Sons Asia Pte Ltd www.sportstechjournal.com 217
Time-dependent behavior of ropes
The parametric error analysis showed that that the errors of
calculated data are up to 100 times larger than the errors of input
data. Thus, in order to utilize the proposed methodology, one
needs to carry out experiments very accurately. When doing so, the
accuracy of prediction of all sought-after physical quantities are
within the acceptable limits, which conrms that the proposed
experimentalanalytical methodology may be used for the analyses
of the functionality and durability of ropes and safety of climbers.
Acknowledgements
We would like to acknowledge the nancial support provided by
the Slovenian Research Agency (http://www.arrs.gov.si/en/
dobrodoslica.asp). The contribution of our coworker Pavel
Oblak, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia in standardizing the
experimental procedures is also greatly appreciated.
5. APPENDIX I
5.1 Components of the Matrix D
a
11

@x
@g
_ _
tt4

t
2
4
2
t
4

h
2g

a
12

@x
@m
_ _
tt4

F
m
2
_
t4
0
_
t
0
Fl dl
_ _
dt

a
13

@x
@h
_ _
tt4

t
4

g
2h
_

a
14

@x
@F
_ _
tt4

1
m
_
t4
0
_
t
0
Fl dl
_ _
dt

a
15

@x
@t
_ _
tt4

gt
4


2gh
_

F
m
_
t4
0
Fl dl

a
21

@x
@g
_ _
tt4

@x
@g
_ _
tt3

t
2
4
t
2
3
2
t
4
t
3

h
2g

a
22

@x
@m
_ _
tt
4

@x
@m
_ _
tt
3

F
m
2
_
t4
t3
_
l
0
Fu du
_ _
dl

a
23

@x
@h
_ _
tt4

@x
@h
_ _
tt3

t
4
t
3

g
2h
_

a
24

@x
@F
_ _
tt4

@x
@F
_ _
tt3

1
m
_
t4
0
_
l
0
Fu du
_ _
dl

1
m
_
t3
0
_
l
0
Fu du
_ _
dl

a
25

@x
@t
_ _
tt4

@x
@t
_ _
tt3

gt
3


2gh
_

F
m
_
t3
0
Fl dl

gt
4


2gh
_

F
m
_
t4
0
Fl dl

a
31

@x
@g
_ _
tt7

@x
@g
_ _
tt4

t
2
7
t
2
4
2
t
7
t
4

h
2g

a
32

@x
@m
_ _
tt7

@x
@m
_ _
tt4

F
m
2
_
t7
t4
_
l
0
Fu du
_ _
dl

a
33

@x
@h
_ _
tt7

@x
@h
_ _
tt4

t
7
t
4

g
2h
_

a
34

@x
@F
_ _
tt7

@x
@F
_ _
tt4

1
m
_
t7
0
_
l
0
Fu du
_ _
dl

1
m
_
t4
0
_
l
0
Fu du
_ _
dl

a
35

@x
@t
_ _
tt7

@x
@t
_ _
tt4

gt
7


2gh
_

F
m
_
t7
0
Fl dl

gt
4


2gh
_

F
m
_
t4
0
Fl dl

a
41

@W
@g
_ _
tt4

F
_
t4
0
lFl dl F

h
2g

_
t4
0
Fl dl

a
42

@W
@m
_ _
tt4

F
2
m
2
_
t4
0
Fl
_
l
0
Fu du
_ _
dl

a
43

@W
@h
_ _
tt4

g
2h
_ _
t4
0
Fl dl

a
44

@W
@F
_ _
tt4

g
_
t4
0
lFl dl

2F
m
_
t4
0
Fl
_
l
0
Fu du
_ _
dl

2gh
_
_
t4
0
Fl dl

www.sportstechjournal.com & 2008 John Wiley and Sons Asia Pte Ltd Sports Technol. 2008, 1, No. 45, 208219 218
Research Article I. Emri et al.
a
45

@W
@t
_ _
tt4

Fgt
4
Ft
4
F

2gh
_
Ft
4

F
2
m
Ft
4

_
t4
0
Ft dt

a
51

@W
@g
_ _
tt7

F
_
t7
0
lFl dl F

h
2g

_
t7
0
Fl dl

a
52

@W
@m
_ _
tt7

F
2
m
2
_
t7
0
Fl
_
l
0
Fu du
_ _
dl

a
53

@W
@h
_ _
tt7

g
2h
_ _
t7
0
Fl dl

a
54

@W
@F
_ _
tt7

g
_
t7
0
lFl dl
2F
m
_
t7
0
Fl
_
l
0
Fu du
_ _
dl

2gh
_
_
t7
0
Fl dl

a
55

@W
@t
_ _
tt7

Fgt
7
Ft
7
F

2gh
_
Ft
7

F
2
m
Ft
7

_
t7
0
Ft dt

REFERENCES
1. Jenkins M, ed. Materials in sports equipment. Woodhead Publishing Limited:
Cambridge, 2003. ISBN 1 85573 599 7.
2. EN 892:2004 (E). Mountaineering equipment. Dynamic mountaineering
ropes. Safety requirements and test methods.The European Committee for
Standardization, November 2004.
3. http://www.theuiaa.org/upload_area/cert_les/UIAA101_DynamicRopes.pdf.
[15 March 2008]
4. Oblak P. Development of the methodology for dynamic characterization of
ropes (Dissertation). University of Ljubljana: Ljubljana, 2007.
5. Emri I, Udovc M, Zupancic B, Nikonov AV et al. Examination of the time-
dependent behaviour of climbing ropes. In: Fuss FK, Subic A, Ujihashi S, eds.
The Impact of Technology on Sport II. Taylor & Francis: London, 2008; 695700.
Received 1 May 2008
Accepted 9 June 2008
Published online 6 January 2009
Sports Technol. 2008, 1, No. 45, 208219 & 2008 John Wiley and Sons Asia Pte Ltd www.sportstechjournal.com 219
Time-dependent behavior of ropes