Design Guide for Selection and Specification of Kevlar Rope for Ocean Engineering and Construction.

The objective of this design is to present information for use in selecting and specifying Kevlar aramid ropes for ocean engineering and construction applications. This guide is based on available technical data which is representative of state-of-the-art knowledge of the material, rope design, manufacturing processes, test procedures and application engineering. The various constructions available are compared with similiar constructions of other rope materials including wire rope and comments are made on the relative merits of each for different ocean engineering applications. This comparative data between aramid fiber rope and rope made from other materials is an aid to help support objective decisions by an engineer in selecting rope materials. Since cost factors are important considerations in the selection process, the relative cost of comparable ropes of various materials are established. In addition, this guide provides information on splices and terminations for aramid rope so that the engineer will understand joint efficiencies, reliability factors and load constraints involved in selecting and specifying splices and terminations. It discusses service considerations such as sheave sizing, abrasion, fake-down requirements, sharkbite protection, environmental exposure and related application information which is needed to specify handling and protecitve requirements.