Determination of the Bending Properties of Wire Rope Used in Cable Barrier Systems

This paper presents research on the bending properties of 3 × 7 19-mm wire rope commonly used in road cable barriers. A total of 19 experimental tests were conducted. In addition, two nonlinear 3D numerical models of the wire rope using beam and solid finite elements were developed. Based on these models, four numerical simulations were carried out. The numerical results were validated against the experimental ones and a very good agreement was obtained. The main result of the research is the determination of the moment–curvature relationship for the wire rope considered. The effect of prestretching on the rope performance is discussed. The numerical results are analyzed in this paper in detail, including the behavior of the wire rope under bending and analyses of the cross-sectional and contact stresses. Suggestions concerning the type of finite element for wire rope modeling are also given. The results can be used, for example, in numerical simulations of crash tests of cable barriers.