{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,1]],"date-time":"2026-09-01T05:16:46Z","timestamp":1788239806356,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":41,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"17","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,28]],"date-time":"2026-08-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787875200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"National Natural Science Funds for Distinguished Young Scholar","award":["52325211"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["52325211"]}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["52575266"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["52575266"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"award":["52575266"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["52575266"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/01h0zpd94","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Research Project of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education","award":["25YJCZH129"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["25YJCZH129"]}]},{"name":"science and technology innovation Program of Hunan Province","award":["2024RC3169"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2024RC3169"]}]},{"name":"Hunan Provincial Innovation Foundation for Postgraduate Teaching Reform","award":["2025JGYB255"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2025JGYB255"]}]},{"name":"Innovative Research Group Project of Hunan Province","award":["2025JJ10006"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2025JJ10006"]}]},{"name":"Higher Educational Institutions of Hunan Province","award":["2023CT02"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2023CT02"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Materials"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Steel wire ropes (SWRs) are exceptional load-bearing elements. However, conventional designs often treat them as passive structures, lacking strategies to actively program their ultimate load-bearing capacity and failure behaviors. To address this gap, this study systematically investigates the tunable load capacity and fracture characteristics of SWRs by developing a simplified power-law hardening elastoplastic constitutive model and a finite element framework integrated with a ductile-damage criterion. Following material parameter calibration via single-wire tests and independent experimental validation of the baseline model using 1 \u00d7 7 strand tensile tests, comprehensive numerical parametric studies were conducted to evaluate the simulation-based influence of core diameter (dcore), overall rope diameter (D), layer count (F), and strand configuration (S) on mechanical responses. The numerical results reveal that these geometric parameters act as effective tuning knobs that govern internal stress transfer pathways and ultimate load-bearing capacity. Specifically, simulations predict that increasing the dcore to 1.00 mm elevates the peak tensile force by 9.6% while maintaining a 90.07% tensile force efficiency (TFE, defined as the ratio of mean to peak tensile force). Furthermore, implementing a hybrid multi-strand architecture (SWR-S3) achieves an optimized TFE of 99.76%. These structural modifications facilitate internal strain synchronization, which effectively buffers localized stress peaks and dictates the progressive fracture sequence. Ultimately, this study demonstrates the potential of complementing traditional material enhancement strategies with active geometric parametrization. Rather than offering immediate industrial design rules, it provides a conceptual theoretical framework for exploring custom-tailored tensile strength profiles and predictable failure behaviors. However, because these advanced structural configurations are evaluated using idealized quasi-static finite element models, further experimental validation addressing real-world manufacturing constraints, residual stresses, and dynamic loading is required before practical engineering deployment.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ma19173671","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,31]],"date-time":"2026-08-31T04:24:03Z","timestamp":1788150243000},"page":"3671","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Geometry-Dependent Tensile Load Capacity and Fracture Characteristics of Steel Wire Ropes: A Finite Element Parametric Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"19","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-7228-4497","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jing","family":"Xiao","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Transportation, Changsha University of Science & Technology, Changsha 410114, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"formal-analysis","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Qiqi","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Mechanical and Vehicle Engineering, Changsha University of Science & Technology, Changsha 410114, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"formal-analysis","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"funding-acquisition","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"supervision","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2658-8629","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lin","family":"Hu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Mechanical and Vehicle Engineering, Changsha University of Science & Technology, Changsha 410114, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"funding-acquisition","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Shaowei","family":"Wu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Mechanical and Vehicle Engineering, Changsha University of Science & Technology, Changsha 410114, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Weixiong","family":"Lin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Dongfeng Liuzhou MOTOR Co., Ltd., Liuzhou 545026, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Chengbo","family":"Gu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"AISN Innovative Design and Manufacturing Co., Ltd., Liuzhou 545000, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,28]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"108957","DOI":"10.1016\/j.engfailanal.2024.108957","article-title":"Numerical and experimental research on the bearing characteristics and failure mechanism of zinc-cast socket termination for wire rope. Part 1: Methodology and theory","volume":"167","author":"Su","year":"2025","journal-title":"Eng. Fail. Anal."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"119217","DOI":"10.1016\/j.engstruct.2024.119217","article-title":"A new mechanical model of short wire ropes: Theory and experimental validation","volume":"323","author":"Barsi","year":"2025","journal-title":"Eng. Struct."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"108359","DOI":"10.1016\/j.engfailanal.2024.108359","article-title":"Research on fatigue failure and structural measures of suspenders in the Jinsha River railway suspension bridge","volume":"162","author":"Xue","year":"2024","journal-title":"Eng. Fail. Anal."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1582","DOI":"10.1016\/j.istruc.2022.03.011","article-title":"Experimental and numerical investigations of UHSS wire main cables for suspension bridges","volume":"38","author":"Wang","year":"2022","journal-title":"Structures"},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"257","DOI":"10.1007\/s10853-025-11793-7","article-title":"Shear behavior and damage forms of ceramic\/multi-strand twisted wire-based entangled materials sandwich structure","volume":"61","author":"Tang","year":"2026","journal-title":"J. Mater. Sci."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"117775","DOI":"10.1016\/j.engstruct.2024.117775","article-title":"A novel fiber-reinforced polymer rope: Concept design and experimental evaluation","volume":"305","author":"Zhou","year":"2024","journal-title":"Eng. Struct."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Hrabovsk, L., Fries, J., and Pravda, \u0160. (2024). A Laboratory Machine Verifying the Operation of a Hydraulic Rope Equalizer with Tensometric Sensors. Sensors, 24.","DOI":"10.20944\/preprints202403.1555.v1"},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"106264","DOI":"10.1016\/j.istruc.2024.106264","article-title":"Mechanical performance of Q345 steel after corrosion: Experimental and theoretical investigation","volume":"62","author":"Kong","year":"2024","journal-title":"Structures"},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"118398","DOI":"10.1016\/j.engstruct.2024.118398","article-title":"Parametric modeling and finite element analysis of triangular strand wire rope","volume":"314","author":"Xia","year":"2024","journal-title":"Eng. Struct."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"107447","DOI":"10.1016\/j.istruc.2024.107447","article-title":"Mechanical characterization of large diameter UHMWPE ropes under quasi-static tensile loading: An experimental study","volume":"69","author":"Chen","year":"2024","journal-title":"Structures"},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"106287","DOI":"10.1016\/j.istruc.2024.106287","article-title":"Effects of tribological and material properties of wire rope on the motion synchronization of a precision flexible transmission device","volume":"63","author":"Chen","year":"2024","journal-title":"Structures"},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"107237","DOI":"10.1016\/j.istruc.2024.107237","article-title":"Dynamic simulation and experimental investigation of the double-rope winding hoister based on an equivalent mechanical model of wire ropes","volume":"69","author":"Zhou","year":"2024","journal-title":"Structures"},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"108136","DOI":"10.1016\/j.istruc.2024.108136","article-title":"A multi-scale finite element analysis method for dynamic simulation of the wire rope","volume":"71","author":"Xia","year":"2025","journal-title":"Structures"},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"763","DOI":"10.1007\/s40544-022-0665-y","article-title":"Friction and wear of multiple steel wires in a wire rope","volume":"11","author":"Peng","year":"2023","journal-title":"Friction"},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"541","DOI":"10.1080\/17445302.2023.2190445","article-title":"Mechanical analysis of a type of wire rope subjected to tension","volume":"19","author":"Ma","year":"2024","journal-title":"Ships Offshore Struct."},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"10","DOI":"10.1016\/j.prostr.2023.06.003","article-title":"Modeling of wire strands considering the stresses due to stranding","volume":"46","author":"Wetzel","year":"2023","journal-title":"Procedia Struct. Integr."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"21","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijsolstr.2016.10.021","article-title":"Mechanics model and its equation of wire rope based on elastic thin rod theory","volume":"102\u2013103","author":"Wu","year":"2016","journal-title":"Int. J. Solids Struct."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"103823","DOI":"10.1016\/j.advengsoft.2024.103823","article-title":"Refined finite element analysis of helical wire ropes under multi-axial dynamic loading","volume":"200","author":"Li","year":"2025","journal-title":"Adv. Eng. Softw."},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"108792","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijmecsci.2023.108792","article-title":"Efficient finite element modelling of helical strand cables utilising periodicity","volume":"263","author":"Smith","year":"2024","journal-title":"Int. J. Mech. Sci."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"216","DOI":"10.1177\/0309324720958257","article-title":"Modeling of braided wire ropes under tension and torsional loads","volume":"56","author":"Liu","year":"2021","journal-title":"J. Strain Anal. Eng. Des."},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Zhou, L.P., Yao, G.W., Zeng, G.P., He, Z.Q., Gou, X.T., He, X.B., and Liu, M. (2024). Cellular Automata-Based Experimental Study on the Evolution of Corrosion Damage in Bridge Cable Steel Wire. Buildings, 14.","DOI":"10.3390\/buildings14113354"},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Bussolati, F., Guidault, P.A., Guiton, M.L.E., Allix, O., and Wriggers, P. (2020). Robust Contact and Friction Model for the Fatigue Estimate of a Wire Rope in the Mooring Line of a Floating Offshore Wind Turbine. Virtual Design and Validation, Springer International Publishing.","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-030-38156-1_13"},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"124387","DOI":"10.1016\/j.conbuildmat.2021.124387","article-title":"Influence of corrosion pit on the tensile mechanical properties of a multi-layered wire rope strand","volume":"302","author":"Chen","year":"2021","journal-title":"Constr. Build. Mater."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"111027","DOI":"10.1016\/j.oceaneng.2022.111027","article-title":"Effect of time-varying corrosion on the low-cycle fatigue mechanical properties of wire rope","volume":"250","author":"Yang","year":"2022","journal-title":"Ocean Eng."},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"205413","DOI":"10.1016\/j.wear.2024.205413","article-title":"Fretting wear behavior and strength degradation of helical contact steel wire in wire rope under different corrosive media and time-varying conditions","volume":"550\u2013551","author":"Huang","year":"2024","journal-title":"Wear"},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"107399","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijfatigue.2022.107399","article-title":"Experimental study on effect of additional torsional load on bending fatigue behavior and failure mechanism of steel wire rope","volume":"167","author":"Hu","year":"2023","journal-title":"Int. J. Fatigue"},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"40","DOI":"10.1016\/j.conbuildmat.2018.08.106","article-title":"Effect of design variables on deflected tensile performance of high-strength 7-wire steel strand for stay cable","volume":"188","author":"Kim","year":"2018","journal-title":"Constr. Build. Mater."},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"110201","DOI":"10.1016\/j.triboint.2024.110201","article-title":"Effects of fatigue load characteristics on bending tribo-corrosion-fatigue damage of steel wire ropes in seawater and pure water","volume":"201","author":"Wang","year":"2025","journal-title":"Tribol. Int."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"181","DOI":"10.1016\/j.engfailanal.2018.09.015","article-title":"Dynamic simulation and optimization of clamping mechanism of online tension testing machine for wire ropes","volume":"95","author":"Song","year":"2019","journal-title":"Eng. Fail. Anal."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"107487","DOI":"10.1016\/j.engfailanal.2023.107487","article-title":"Study on the durability of steel wire under the coupling effects of harsh environment and variable loads","volume":"157","author":"XuanRui","year":"2024","journal-title":"Eng. Fail. Anal."},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"104829","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijnonlinmec.2024.104829","article-title":"Study on the tribological performance at the interface between a steel wire rope and groove during a twisting process","volume":"166","author":"Chen","year":"2024","journal-title":"Int. J. Non-Linear Mech."},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"105103","DOI":"10.1016\/j.engfailanal.2020.105103","article-title":"Experimental characterization and damage reliability analysis of central core strand extracted from steel wire rope","volume":"120","author":"Mouhib","year":"2021","journal-title":"Eng. Fail. Anal."},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"138553","DOI":"10.1016\/j.conbuildmat.2024.138553","article-title":"The degradation of equivalent elastic modulus of steel wire ropes under long-term loading","volume":"450","author":"Deng","year":"2024","journal-title":"Constr. Build. Mater."},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"595","DOI":"10.1016\/j.istruc.2020.05.028","article-title":"Experimental and numerical study on cable breakage equivalent force in cable-stayed structures consisting of low-relaxation seven-wire steel strands","volume":"27","author":"Minaei","year":"2020","journal-title":"Structures"},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"042004","DOI":"10.1088\/1757-899X\/439\/4\/042004","article-title":"Distributions of stress and deformation in a braided wire rope subjected to tensile loading","volume":"439","author":"Song","year":"2018","journal-title":"IOP Conf. Ser. Mater. Sci. Eng."},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"104167","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tafmec.2023.104167","article-title":"Numerical prediction of fretting fatigue life for cold-drawn eutectoid carbon steel wire using continuum damage mechanics and effective slip amplitude","volume":"128","author":"Hu","year":"2023","journal-title":"Theor. Appl. Fract. Mech."},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"23","DOI":"10.1186\/s40323-020-00159-0","article-title":"Cross section shape optimization of wire strands subjected to purely tensile loads using a reduced helical model","volume":"7","author":"Filortto","year":"2020","journal-title":"Adv. Model. Simul. Eng. Sci."},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"111070","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijsolstr.2021.111070","article-title":"Optimal structural patterns of multi-strand wire ropes","volume":"225","author":"Liu","year":"2021","journal-title":"Int. J. Solids Struct."},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"449","DOI":"10.1533\/ijcr.2004.0289","article-title":"A comprehensive failure model for crashworthiness simulation of aluminium extrusions","volume":"9","author":"Hooputra","year":"2004","journal-title":"Int. J. Crashworthiness"},{"key":"ref_40","unstructured":"(2002). Steel Wire Ropes\u2014Safety\u2014Part 4: Stranded Ropes for General Lifting Applications (Standard No. EN 12385-4:2002)."},{"key":"ref_41","unstructured":"(2023). Steel Wire Ropes\u2014Determination of Breaking Force (Standard No. GB\/T 8358-2023)."}],"container-title":["Materials"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1996-1944\/19\/17\/3671\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,1]],"date-time":"2026-09-01T04:25:43Z","timestamp":1788236743000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1996-1944\/19\/17\/3671"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,28]]},"references-count":41,"journal-issue":{"issue":"17","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9]]}},"alternative-id":["ma19173671"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/ma19173671","relation":{},"ISSN":["1996-1944"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1996-1944","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,28]]}}}