Effectiveness of mountaineering manual belay/abseil devices

Mountaineers and rock climbers use a belay device to increase tension in the rope that links the belayer to a falling climber—this rope slows and finally stops the fall. With a manual (passive) belay device the belayer can hold a force of several kN although he/she applies a hand force of only 0.2–0...

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Published inSports engineering Vol. 17; no. 3; pp. 131 - 142
Main Authors Stronge, W. J., Thomas, Mathonwy
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London Springer London 01.09.2014
Subjects
Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering
Engineering
Engineering Design
Materials Science
Original Article
Rehabilitation Medicine
Sports Medicine
Theoretical and Applied Mechanics
Climbing ropes
Device comparison
Belay device
Friction
Amplification factor
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Abstract Mountaineers and rock climbers use a belay device to increase tension in the rope that links the belayer to a falling climber—this rope slows and finally stops the fall. With a manual (passive) belay device the belayer can hold a force of several kN although he/she applies a hand force of only 0.2–0.35 kN on the rope; i.e. the device increases the hand force by a factor between 5 and 10. This investigation provides dynamic measurements of force amplification by various manual belay devices when used on a range of both wet and dry climbing ropes and it examines the source of force amplification in these devices. The force amplification is found to be due to a combination of friction and distortion of the rope as it traverses around tight corners within the device. In modern devices, the tension amplification due to distortion exceeds that due to friction.
AbstractList Mountaineers and rock climbers use a belay device to increase tension in the rope that links the belayer to a falling climber—this rope slows and finally stops the fall. With a manual (passive) belay device the belayer can hold a force of several kN although he/she applies a hand force of only 0.2–0.35 kN on the rope; i.e. the device increases the hand force by a factor between 5 and 10. This investigation provides dynamic measurements of force amplification by various manual belay devices when used on a range of both wet and dry climbing ropes and it examines the source of force amplification in these devices. The force amplification is found to be due to a combination of friction and distortion of the rope as it traverses around tight corners within the device. In modern devices, the tension amplification due to distortion exceeds that due to friction.
Author Stronge, W. J.
Thomas, Mathonwy
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Issue 3
Keywords Climbing ropes
Device comparison
Belay device
Friction
Amplification factor
Language English
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Snippet Mountaineers and rock climbers use a belay device to increase tension in the rope that links the belayer to a falling climber—this rope slows and finally stops...
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SubjectTerms Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering
Engineering
Engineering Design
Materials Science
Original Article
Rehabilitation Medicine
Sports Medicine
Theoretical and Applied Mechanics
Title Effectiveness of mountaineering manual belay/abseil devices
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