Since the advent of the fixed wing, heavier than air aircraft by

the Wright brothers in 1903 mankind has been trying to harness the
great capabilities of these aircraft to be used as war machines. There
have been many different technologies created to turn airplanes into
feared weapons of war, but of what use is an aircraft if it cannot get to
the warzone in time to make a difference in the battle? As early as
1911 a man by the name of Eugene Ely performed the first ever
landing of an airplane onto a ship. With this landing the idea of using a
boat (aircraft carrier) to transport aircraft into wherever they may be
needed and have the aircraft land safely back onto the ship was born.
This idea, however, presented a major problem because aircraft usually
need a relatively large distance to come to a stop after landing, making
landing on a ship impossible. The reason that Eugene Ely was able to
successfully make that landing in 1911 is all due to the ingenuity of a
man named Hugh Robinson who first invented the aircraft arresting
system.
The aircraft arresting system is comprised of three basic components:
The arresting cable, which is grabbed by the tail hook of an incoming
aircraft, the sheaves, which are pulley-like devices that the arresting
cables run through in order to absorb some of the force of the landing
as well as directing the force of the airplane toward the final part in the
system, the arresting gear engine. This engine can be as primitive as
a system of pulleys that connected the arresting cable with a dead

weight (this method was used in the first landing by Eugene Ely), to
the much more complex systems that are used today that can be
adjusted to compensate for both the weight of the aircraft and the
speed at which the aircraft is approaching. For this article I have
investigated the stresses that occur within the arresting cable portion
of the system. I believe these cables are a wonder of engineering
because they are able to stop a 50000-pound aircraft going 130 knots
in only 340 feet. If it were not for the strength of these cables the
aircraft arresting system and aircraft carrier, as we know it would not
be in existence.

When evaluating the design of an aircraft arresting cable, there

are many aspects that need to be taken into consideration to ensure
the outcome is a cable that will be able to last for many successful
arrestments. Some of these criteria that must be considered are; what
different types of stress the cable will be subjected to, the effect the
tail hooks impact has on the strength of the cable, and how we can
used different formulae to approximate the tensile stress in a given
cable under different circumstances.
One of the most important considerations when evaluating a
cable design is the magnitude of the tensile stress present in the cable.
If these tensile stresses do not remain within the limits of the cable
when subjected to its maximum service tension the cable will fail with

possibly tragic circumstances. As Gibson, Alexander & Cress (1968)

document, in order to calculate the tensile stresses in a cable in axial
tension several variables need to be known. These variables include
the cables cross sectional area, wire lay angles, strand lay angles and
axial force. If the cable in question is in both axial tension and bending,
the tensile stresses of the cable are dependent on the radius of the
bend as well as the magnitude of the internal cable friction. Since the
cable is bent there is a relative motion between the individual strands
of the cable. If these strands are not able to freely move by oneanother due to the friction between them, the result will be uneven
tension in each of the strands of the cable. This uneven tensile stress
will reduce the ultimate strength of the cable. There are three ways to
decrease the amount of internal stress the cable is subjected to. Firstly,
a stiffer cable will increase the magnitude of the internal bending
stresses, therefore, a cable that is constructed of many smaller
diameter strands will have less bending stress than a cable with fewer
large strands. These smaller diameter strands also enable the cable to
withstand a smaller bending radius than a cable with fewer large
strands even though the cross sectional area of the cables may be
identical. A second method used to reduce the internal cable stresses
is by subjecting the cable to larger bending radii, that is, use a larger
pulley in the design of the sheaves. Another way to reduce the internal
cable stress is to use an oiled hemp core at the center of the cable.

The idea behind this is that the core provides the wire a cushion to
reduce metal on metal contact that will notch the wires causing a
possible point of fracture. The oil in the hemp is also very important as
it lubricates the individual strands of wire enabling them to slide by
one-another more easily and thereby helping to equalize the stress in
each strand and increasing the ultimate strength of the cable.

The stresses in the cables are ultimately caused when some of

the kinetic energy of an aircraft is transferred to the arresting engine
through the cable. For instance, Jones (1982) states that the BAK-13
aircraft arresting system is capable of arresting a 53000-pound aircraft
travelling at speeds of 190 knots and can arrest aircraft weighing up to
80000-pounds from a speed of up to 150 knots. Given this information
the force applied to the system can be approximated using the formula

Vf 2=Vi2 +2 ad
(1)

Where Vf is the final velocity of the aircraft (0)

Vi is the initial velocity of the aircraft just as arrestment
begins
a is the acceleration of the aircraft
d is the distance needed to stop the aircraft

After the acceleration of the aircraft is determined the force on the

arresting cable can be found using

F=ma
(2)

Where F is the magnitude of the force applied to the cable

m is the mass of the aircraft
a is the acceleration of the aircraft

The largest maximum hook load (which will be equal and opposite to
the magnitude of the load applied to the cable) given by Jones was
83400 pounds, which was caused by a 60000-pound aircraft landing at
172 knots. This load is well below the 188000-pound minimum
breaking strength set by the US Military.
The process of designing a cable that can meet the requirements
of an aircraft arresting system involves careful planning and selection
of the material used and construction of the cable. Analyzing the
stresses present in the cable is very difficult because the stress is
dependent on so many different variables. Even after all of the careful
planning and smart designing that went into these cables they still
have a relatively short service life. The cables are replaced after one

hundred arrestments to ensure the safety of the pilots landing on the

aircraft carriers. If it were not for the ability of these cables to be
extremely flexible yet strong we would have no way of landing an
aircraft safely on a ship.

ME2111
Stress in Aircraft Arresting Cables
John Nabuurs
#3336262
November 29, 2012

Dr. Biden,

In response to your request I have enclosed a full report about

the stresses in aircraft arresting cables. The report contains my
findings as well as the conclusions I have drawn from them. I look
forward to working with you again in the future

Regards,

John Nabuurs
#3336262

Encl: Report