This research performs an analysis of the frictional forces in wire ropes and in the individual strands when subjected to axial, torsional, and bending loads and verifies the results with laboratory experiments. The first portion of this research will estimate the effective length, measured from the fractured end of a wire, to sustain its appropriate share of the load. This analysis will involve the contact forces, the coefficient of friction, and an invocation of Saint-Venant's principle. The second portion of the research will determine the bending stresses in a rope with friction. This will involve the solution of the nonlinear equations of equilibrium for a thin wire. Experiments will be performed on several types of wire ropes to check the validity of the assumptions made in the analysis.
