Torque and Stress Balanced Design of Helically Armored Cables

A new linear model of the mechanical behavior of helically armored cables is introduced. This model can be used to establish the conditions necessary to achieve a torque balanced cable construction and the requirements for equal load sharing among the armoring wires. Existing linear models are unable to accomplish this and more exact nonlinear formulations are not readily usable. It is recognized that a cable model is needed which more accurately describes the physical behavior of cables and yet is capable of solution by hand-calculation. This becomes particularly important in preliminary design where many other variables are also involve. The proposed cable model is tested for accuracy by comparison with a manufactured cable shown to be torque balanced.