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Notes on Cables

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15 views

Notes on Cables

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u22652150
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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NOTES ON CABLES

In SWK122 you analysed many cable problems and you assumed two important things:

 Cables are always in tension – which means that it will always pull on any supports
and the supports will pull the cable.
 The force in a cable is always in the direction of the cable – this means there are no
shear forces or bending moments in cables and there are only axial tensile forces.
In all the problems you solved to date, you assumed that the own weight of the cables can be
neglected and the cables were straight lines, with no change in slope over the length of the
cable. This is only true for light cables, where the own weight is negligible in comparison the
force in the cable. In SWK211 we are going to look at three types of cables:
1) Light cables subjected to concentrated loads (similar to SWK122 problems).
2) Light cables subjected to distributed loads (such as cable stayed bridges).
3) Heavy cables, where the own weight of the cable is important (such as electricity
transmission lines).
To prepare for the problem class on cables you first need to read the handbook notes on
cables (Hibbeler Chapter 7.4 page 381 to 398). Where the maths get really complicated for
heavy cables I will provide an easy alternative in this document.

1. LIGHT CABLES SUBJECTED TO CONCENTRATED LOADS

The forces in light cables subjected to concentrated loads can be solved by using the geometry
of the structure and equilibrium equations – exactly as you would determine the forces in the
members of a truss. Point statics or the method of sections can be used and often it is best to
use a combination of these two techniques. It is important to remember that, if all the loads
act vertically, the horizontal reactions at both ends would have the same magnitude (in
opposite directions) and this horizontal force would be the horizontal component of the force
in the cable throughout the length of the cable. The minimum force in the cable would thus be
where the cable has the smallest vertical component, while the maximum cable force would
be where the slope of the cable is a maximum.

2. LIGHT CABLES SUBJECTED TO DISTRIBUTED LOAD

In a cable stayed bridge, a cable is used to carry the load of a heavy bridge deck or pipeline
that hangs from the cable. The own weight of the cable is not only small in comparison to that
of the bridge or the pipeline, but the load the cable carries is uniformly distributed over the
length of the bridge (w kN/m for 0 ≤ x
≤ L). The horizontal component of the
reactions at both ends of the cable will
be equal in magnitude and opposite in
direction if the load only has a vertical
component. This would result in a
constant horizontal force throughout
the length of the cable and the
minimum force in the cable would be
the horizontal force, where the cable
is at its lowest point or turning point
𝑑𝑦
( = 0). The maximum cable force
𝑑𝑥
would be where the slope of the cable, and thus the y-component of the force is the biggest.
This is normally at one of the supports. These problems are best solved by using the method
of sections, cutting the cable at the lowest point and solving the three equilibrium equations
for both the left and the right part of the cable.

3. CABLES SUBJECTED TO OWN WEIGHT

Where heavy cables or chains are


used, the own weight of the cable
would cause sagging and it is
important to know how much the
cable would deflect as a result of its
own weight. An example would be
to make sure that the electricity
distribution cables that crosses
roads are high enough above the
road, that large trucks would not
touch the cables that hang through
between supports. For these
problems it is important to know that
the cable weight is constant over
the length of the cable. This means that the own weight load that the cable has to carry is not
constant in terms of a horizontal axis, but constant along the deflected shape of the cable. The
easiest way to solve these problems is to use the equations as indicated below:
The cable AB has an own weight of w N
per running meter. The minimum cable
force is T0 at the turning point C. The force
in the cable (T) at point D, which is a
length of cable s from point C would be:

𝑇 = √𝑇02 + (𝑤𝑠)2 where 𝑇0 = 𝑤𝑐


𝑥
𝑠 = c sinh
𝑐
𝑥
𝑦 = 𝑐 cosh
𝑐
You are now ready to try Problem class 7.

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