High modulus fibers bring new strengths to ropes

The purpose of this presentation is to highlight the new high-tech developments that are now providing very high strengths for ropes and flexible fiber strength members. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has a magazine that highlights the importance of world changing ideas by innovated people - in other words: "thinking Outside the Box". "The World is Flat", a book by Thomas Friedman of the New York Times, relates how innovations, in a relevantly short time, will be having new products and applications on a worldwide basis. In this globalization, the use of increasingly stronger fibers and the development of new constructions will become major factors in providing flexible fiber strength members that will be the resource for developing a wide range of new and unusual applications. The emergence of high modulus fibers (HMF) now make it possible for ropemaking engineers and producers to be more innovative in the development of flexible fiber strength members. These tension members can now offer very high strength-to-weight ratios as well as providing important additional operational values. This makes it possible to "think outside the box" and that will have a significant interest for future globalization.