LAUSR

Abstract The present study establishes a solution model of a spiral strand subjected to a bending load, in which the interwire frictional contact and the Poisson's ratio of the wires are considered, and the interwire friction force is automatically achieved. Based on this model, the performance of bended wire rope strand with interwire frictional contact is solved with conjugate gradient method, fast Fourier transform, finite difference method and improved Euler's predictor–corrector method. The effects of the frictional contact, bending load and lay angle on the performance of the bended strand are analyzed. The results show that the consideration of the interwire frictional contact can obtain a larger bending stiffness of the strand compared with a pure bending model. The serious diameter shrinkage of the outside wire due to the effect of Poisson's ratio, the maximum pressure and deformation due to the core-wire contact occur at the furthest part from the curvature center of the bended strand, where the tensile failure and contact fatigue are most likely to happen. Meanwhile, interwire slippage and bending fatigue are liable to happen at the neutral layer. The strand with a large lay angle has a better resistance to bending fatigue but worse tribological properties, compared with a small lay angle strand.