New Rope Testing Laboratory At Gleistein
In addition to conducting classic tensile tests for assessing break loads and undertaking OCIMF conforming tests, Gleistein’s the high-tech new rope testing laboratory, located at the Gleistein Ropes headquarters in Bremen, Germany, also enables individual programs to be executed including precise shock and continuous load simulations as well as testing in liquids – with maximum loads extending all the way to 3,000 kN.
The new laboratory is among the most modern and best equipped in the world. Its myriad application and adjustment options allow load scenarios to be defined more meticulously than ever. This enables possibilities and testing combinations to be offered that have not been widely available until now.
Load Cycle Test
Besides regular tensile tests to determine maximum rope break loads, the new laboratory has the capacity to conduct fully-programmable 1,000 load cycle tests for specific series of tensioning and releasing. Changes to a rope’s diameter under strain are measurable in the new facility and fatigue tests may also be conducted in a special environmental chamber that allows examinations at temperatures ranging from -30° C to +50° C. In addition, a purpose-built tub has been installed to enable testing to be conducted in liquids of almost any type. A video observation option is also available for monitoring long-term tests when coupled with a high-speed camera.
Three Tensile Testing Machines
Three tensile testing machines serving maximum loads up to 2, 30 and 300 tons, respectively, are at the heart of the new Gleistein lab and capable of handling test objects up to 20 metres long with a diameter extending to 500 mm. Detailed performance analyses are provided by the integrated computing hardware and software. The new, state-of-the-art rope testing laboratory is just the latest in a continual programme of innovation and advancement at Gleistein Ropes, which is also an official testing site of Germanischer Lloyd (GL). The facility will be primarily used to augment Gleistein’s already formidable research and development activities, but will also be available for external testing purposes.
Forefront
Thomas Schlaetzer, managing director at Gleistein Ropes, comments on the new lab: “Our investment in this new facility is further confirmation of our commitment to remaining at the forefront of innovation. After all, it is all good and well to know how things perform in theory – but the real test is what happens in practice. We now have the capability to simulate reality like never before and this gives us a further tool to develop and leverage our technological competitive advantages.”